How long is ten years? To an eleven year old girl, ten years is a lifetime. To a multiple millennia old Mecromancer it is a rounding error. To the newest Mecromancer it went by far too quickly.

The quarantine passed mostly without incident. Nobody died by turning into a pile of purple goo, so that was a plus. Lilithana spent a lot of time helping Zagreus ‘train’ using his newfound abilities. It took Jade one hundred and fifty-seven days of Zagreus telling her that he would be out in a ‘little while’ before she got ‘super-annoyed’ and forced him to admit that it would be a little longer than that.

Cinder had a small sim-room already set up for her quarantine time, it had a basic quarters attached. She ran combat sims, every day, to burn off energy.

Cinder messaged him the morning after the code purple asking to play a game though the tablets. It started with simple board games. She talked to him through the comms and refused to use the cameras. They barely spoke a word that was not related to the games. She had to teach him but he slowly got better and even beat her occasionally. They eventually moved on to complex strategy games that lasted weeks.

Lilithana threw Jade her next birthday party. Zagreus and Cinder attended via drones. Jade broke down and cried, ending the party.

Then that quarantine mess was over, and life moved on.

Jade was a good bit taller by time Zagreus got out. They grow up so fast.

Cinder was free and eager to get new orders. She was immediately instructed to submit all of her requests for orders to Zagreus. Cinder complained. He complained. Karimere laughed at them both.

Routine set in for a while. Training, eating, sleeping, etc.

Their games continued on days he did not have a date. Cinder still used the comms and tablets to play remotely.

Karimere did whatever it was she did. She would show up at random for a few days, set some orders then vanish again.

Cinder followed her normal duties by taking care of the other test subjects. She nodded and affirmed her orders when Zagreus gave them. She seemed to make an active effort to not discuss anything beyond her specified orders. She didn’t once backhand him down a corridor, so he thought she was taking the whole situation pretty well.

Lilithana was rarely seen except for her dates with Zagreus. Even then she would usually have to borrow his shower to get the grime and dirt off. If he understood her descriptions right she was rebuilding the entire lab from the ground up with little more than fish bones and some potato peels. But maybe he misheard her. He was a little distracted at the time.

Jade was finally able to fully transform into a shadowcat. She had received her own armor similar to Zagreus’, along with a straight, single-edged, power sword and a tall rectangular shield. She had some other strange weapons she was trying out but she had not settled on a long range weapon yet. Her personal illusion powers had progressed rapidly. She had even made a point to go annoy Kytheras on occasion. The stubborn golem grudgingly admitted she was improving. They grow up so fast.

Zagreus’ eleventh mecromail had a teleporter. He was limited to teleporting to locations using a triangulated signal. Practice was slow. He had started only being able to use it once a week but now he could use it once per day. He would simulate a hundred or more teleports then do one real one. It HURT. A teleportation felt like having his whole body liquefied then squished through a drainpipe and then being put back together with his skin inside out. In the last few months he had finally been able to teleport a few times without blacking out or throwing up. But he still needed practice.

***

Zagreus muttered and swore to himself as he made his way back to his room. He walked like a drunk as his whole body burned. Today’s teleportation had been particularly nasty. He opened the door to the familiar sound of the shower running and a nice figure inside it. Lilithana was early.

He decided to grab a drink. The shower door opened to reveal a pale skinned female with a distinct lack of long furry ears or stitches. They grow up so fast.

Dammit.

Jade stood there in her twenty-ish year old body and all its glory. She was almost as tall as him now, a bit taller than Lilithana, if you ignore the rabbit ears. Jade’s body was slender, her breasts a small handful. Her skin was smooth and firm and … Nope. Stop it. This is Kitten.

She stepped out and ‘searched’ for a towel that was clearly not there. In fact, all his towels were ‘somehow’ missing. She stooped and bent to repeatedly looking on the lower shelf. For the past year or so she had been become increasingly bold with her attempts to get his attention. He had made every effort to ignore that boldness. So far that had worked for him. She had clearly decided to escalate the conflict.

He leaned into his stagger and turned towards the bed. This, was a grave tactical error. The stronger his feelings the more work he had to put into hiding them. Whenever Jade was near he had to make sure to keep his defenses up. Old memories, old feelings, needed to be locked away to keep her safe.

In a couple steps she was over to him, holding him up. Her warm, wet body pressed eagerly against him. Her scent, her desire washed over him.

I hate my powers. He was doing his best to keep his mind closed. But he was battered and drained from the teleport. Physical contact amplified their connection. In his pained stupor he almost surrendered and let her have her way. But he couldn’t do that to her. “I’m fine Kitten. It was a rough teleport today.”

“Can I get you something?”

“Just let me rest.”

“Let me help you undress. I could rub you where it hurts.”

“I need a drink, then let me rest.”

He complied enough to let her strip him out of his shirt and help him into bed. She brought him a drink and some pain meds. He drank, closed his eyes and tried to block out all the enticing sensations and feeling his heightened senses were hungrily absorbing.

“Zagreus.”

His real name. It sounded odd coming from her. “I’m here.”

“So am I. Or haven’t you noticed.”

“Bad teleport. Feel like my lungs are in my feet. Can we talk later?”

“You told me we would talk a year ago.”

“Has it been that long? Sorry. I’m a piece of shit. You don’t need to waste your energy on a piece of shit like me.”

“Zagreus.”

“You used my real name twice. You aren’t going to let up are you?”

“Maybe I should feed you some chocolate and force the issue. It worked for Lili.”

He didn’t know if she was serious or just trying to make sure she had his attention. Possibly both. Living here would stain her, but he did the best he could. He had talked to her many times about this place and who lived here. He wanted her to understand that choices were available to her. Even if they were both bound by the First Rule, she could still make every effort to choose how she followed it. “Is that what you want to do?”

“I want…” She leaned over and ran her hands up his chest. She was mounting a full on assault. Jade didn’t have his powers but she knew instinctively how to send. When they were touching she could send her feelings too. Her touch was dangerous, and delicious.

Dammit.

Instincts are a strange thing. They help you react to certain stimuli without a thought. They can save your life. But at the same time instincts can over override your mind and leave you vulnerable to whatever primal or over-trained programming is in your brain.

Zagreus needed to stop this. He went to push her away. But his instincts had other priorities. And his instincts were faster.

Jade was hit with a soft wave of mental energy. It made her feel like every bit of skin was being tenderly licked and caressed. This ability he had long since perfected on Lilithana. It was basically a reflex at this point. Jade gave a soft moan as her eyes fluttered. And then she glowed with the radiance of a small blushing star.

Instincts are a strange thing. Jade had clearly built herself up to execute her plan of seduction. She had mentally prepared for expected new experiences. She had allowed herself to be exposed (literally). She was still pressing the offensive. But now there was a new, overwhelming sensation stimulating every nerve ending in her flesh. Her mind was racing to catch up.

Her instincts were faster. Jade bolted out the door.

“Dammit.” He muttered to himself.

Karimere flew into his room moments later.

“What torment have you decided to lay upon me today?” He groaned.

“I feel it is you who continue to torment me.” Karimere said.

“Huh?”

“I instructed Cinder to follow your orders and you have failed to abuse your position one time in many years. Sometimes I doubt if you are even male.”

“I am male, and no I’m showing you. I feel like I am dying. Can you go away and let me die in peace?” He made a vague shooing motion.

“I could wait around until you are stiff.” She teased.

“Did you come down here to practice pickup lines or do you need something important?”

“I have completed modifying the training mecromail for Jade. I will do the implantation tomorrow.”

“Her birthday is in two days. Will you wait until after the party?”

“I thought you would request that. I will wait. But I want you in the mental training room first thing tomorrow morning.”

That is a trap, but that trap happens tomorrow, after I sleep. He nodded and vaguely grunted in compiance. He laughed to himself about all the warnings he gave Jade. It wasn’t like he stood out as a beacon of resistance against the bullshit. He remembered Lilithana saying, ‘If you so something long enough you will have little left but short cuts.’ He drifted off to la-la land.