She knew that the room had been designed to be psychologically comforting to children with strategically placed inspirational posters, a comfortable chair and couch to sooth the children into opening up about their problems. The flaw in all of this was Dorgan, that's Dr. Dorgan to you, thank you.

Victoria thought the woman smelled like rancid bacon and mothballs. She grimaced at the thought. The woman looked like a squashed Pillsbury dough woman with beady black eyes the image was magnified since she looked like she was in a dress at least one size too small.

Shea couldn’t prove it, but occasionally she thought the woman was an alien or something. Once she had even thought that she saw tusks on the sides of her mouth. Shaking her head Victoria went back and answered the woman's last question. “No. Dr. Dorgan, I’m fine. I don’t know what happened.”

Dr. Dorgan eyed her like a particularly tasty morsel. “Did Lucas say anything that caused your, Fit?”

I almost swallowed. “No Dr. Dorgan.” I lied. I’m still not sure what happened or why I saw a floating blue box in front of my eyes. I was trying not to reflect on its message Honestly, who wouldn’t be freaked out by a floating blue box that moves with their head that is asking you to confirm your acceptance? I sighed and tried to give more thought to Dr. Dorgan's questions. I swear that woman wants to prove me crazy and ship me off somewhere.

“Well if you figure it out let me know.” She said in a sweet wheedling voice.

“I will Dr. Dorgan,” I said with the sweetest and most disarming smile I could manage. “You will be the first I tell.”

“Good. Now tell me about the fight yesterday.” She said looking at the teenager with her beady black eyes.

“Fight?” Victoria asked in surprise.

“In the girl's locker room? The one you witnessed and Karen disappeared from?” the older woman replied as she started tapping her pen on the page of notes in front of her. She then cocked her head to the side as she examined the teenager in front of her.

“There was a fight in the locker room? I mean I saw Karen strip and run out of there but there was a fight?” She said as she tried to give the visual cues for surprise and confusion. The Councilor grunted as a knock sounded on the door to the office. Victoria glanced at the door and caught a reflection of Dr. Dorgan in a mirror out of the corner of her eye. In it she had green skin tones dark hair pulled back in a bun and small tusks protruding up through her lips. “Come in.” The mystery of her speech patterns was made clear to the teenage girl. Dr.Dorgan was an orc.

The door opened and a youngish woman entered. Victoria thought she was in her mid-twenties and wore a stylish dress with a jacket top over it. “I’m Dr. Dorgan and this is one of the girls Victoria.”

“I see.” The woman answered but the cues Victoria read indicated that the young woman had no idea about anything that was going on. She felt the woman was in good company as she wasn’t sure what was going on either.

“Victoria, go with Ms….”

“Uhh, Livingston. Yes, I’m Miss Livingston.” The girl said.

“Go with her for what?” She asked guardedly.

“Head check. We think one of the girls in your gym class had a new form of lice.” Reflexively the teenager and Miss Livingston reached up and scratched their scalps. “See that's an evident sign that you may have it.” The orcish councilor said. “Now go.”

X X X

“Look I don’t have any lice or anything,” Victoria said to the young woman as they left the office and she was guided into a room next to it. “It's just a reflex. I mean just the thought of it makes my scalp itch.”

“Well you know government dot the t’s cross the I’s and prey no one sues you, come right this way.”

“Uhh, isn’t that supposed to be cross the t’s and dot the I’s?”

“Oh no. You have no idea how government works do you!” The woman said with sympathy in her voice. Victoria gave her an annoyed look then shook her head.

“Let's get this over with. I have AP history in less than ten minutes.” She said as she looked down at the woman's fingers and noted the woman's long supple fingers and a pale line on her ring finger.

“Well sit here.” Mis Livingston said gesturing at a stool that would put Victoria’s head at shoulder height to the woman. There came the snap of rubber gloves from behind her as she sat. “I’m just going to move your hair out of the way.” The girl felt her hair moved to start at the top of her head.

Victoria started to ramble on aimlessly ending most of her thoughts with questions. Miss Livingston was distracted as she searched the teenager's hair being careful and thorough as she worked until Victoria asked the big question when she judged the woman called Miss Livingston was distracted. “So what are you searching for its not lice.”

“Parasite but left by a queen.” The lady replied.

“Wha does it do?”

Without thought the older woman replied. “It lets a queen control a subject.” Then as she got to the base of Victoria’s neck she continued in what sounded like a teaching tone. “If the queen is dead they have been known to burrow into the host and spawn a new queen that devourers the host from the inside and wears them like a mask.”

The woman gave Victoria one last look and palpitation of her skin. “You’re clean. And can go back to class.” She caught the look of horror on the teenager's face, however. “What?”

“You thought there was a parasite on me that would devour me?” There was an edge of panic in her voice. “What about the other girls.?” She asked and then started to scratch her scalp.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Who told you that?” Miss Livingston said it is her own form of shock.

“You just did. Miss. Livingston.” She said placing emphasis on her name as she gestured at her own left-hand ring finger.

“How?” She asked in surprise.

“I’m pretty perceptive,” Victoria smirked. “Now what's going on?” She thought before she lied. “I remember Karen running off and yet that's like a weird dream because that crazy girl never ran from anyone.” She said giving the older woman a hard stare.

Taken aback the woman wasn’t sure what to say or do. She moved t the door to block it then looked at the teenager before her. Victoria could tell the woman was thinking furiously just before she caught the sight of a quick smirk on her face. “Okay, I think, yes. I’ll tell you everything and give you a little show and tell.”

“First there are a few key facts you should be aware of.” The woman put her hand behind her back and Victoria could feel the pull of magic coming from her. She wasn’t quite sure what it meant. “Fact number one the world isn’t as safe as everyone likes to pretend it is, there are predators out there that have to be constantly monitored,” Victoria noted a message that popped up:

There has been an increase in the mana density in your area.

Spells will function at 105%.

She realized that the Supposed woman was stalling her and wondered if the mana increase might have had something to do with it “Yeah, and?” She asked impatiently.

“I’m getting to that. These are predatory species that seem to only be able to be recognized by a small segment of the population.” With her free hand, the Woman brushed her brown hair to the side. “Those people are aided in their efforts with access to magic.”

The teen rolled her eyes at the older woman. “Please pull the other one.” She said scoffing.

There has been an increase in the mana density in your area.

Spells will function at 110%.

“There are trade-offs. We get great power, the ability to understand ourselves better and the agility to wield magic, however. Mortals.”

“Mortals?”

“Yes, mortals regular humans unaided by magic. When exposed to a high magic field tend to lose memories or have their memories altered.

The thought dawned on Victoria that the phenomena would describe what had happened and why everyone remembered the cockamamie story she had told. “So why are you telling me this?”

There has been an increase in the mana density in your area.

Spells will function at 115%.

“Why? Sometimes it’s nice that other people know what we go through on their behalf. Other times I just like to screw with people.” She said with a smirk. Victoria figured it out she was holding a spell drawing mana in and it was filling the small room they ere in.

“So you are telling me to screw with me how? I could go out and tell people what really happened.”

There has been an increase in the mana density in your area.

Spells win function at 120%.

The woman who called herself Miss Livingston laughed. “You won’t in just a moment you will forget all about this and just remember that you had a head check.”

There has been an increase in the mana density in your area.

Spells will function at 125%.

Victoria saw the woman's eyes glance to the side and then felt the pressure of the spell she had held dissipate. “Remember all you had was a head check for lice today and you were fine. You can go.” She said as she stepped away from the door and beckoned the teenager out the door.

The teen nodded and they both shared a smile. “Now what happened today in here?” She asked as Victoria slipped through the door.

Victoria couldn’t help but be a bit of a smart ass, it was a weakness of every teenager. “You told me I was free of lice.” Then she got a wicked smile on her face. “So the mana has to be at one hundred and twenty-five percent of the ambient mana flow to screw with people's memories?”

The woman known as Miss Livingston stood still in shock before she could react however the teenager was in the crowd of students and down the hall. She clapped a hand to her head.”What just happened, this is so not good.”