Ken woke to the sound of an argument outside his room. While 6 people shared the room in shifts, he was the only person on 12a-8a sleep shift, so he basically had the room to himself.

“He needs his sleep,” a voice declared.

“This thing is magickal, we need his help,” another voice demanded firmly, but, Ken noted, without desperation.

“I’m awake!” Ken called. It was gray outside with predawn light. Probably nearing 6am, but without his phone Ken couldn’t know for sure.

Taking a moment to wake up fully, Ken opened his eyes and his mind‘s eye together to see the circle around him. A few spirits stood patiently outside the circle as well as the persons on the other side of the door. When he concentrated, Ken could see the others in the house as well as people outside, but the circles of protection he’d placed last night were much stronger than the weak circle he’d raised before bed for some peace from the overwhelming mana. Being stronger they also made seeing things on the other side harder too.

Ken got up and dressed, arming himself with his Athame as well as his gear from yesterday. Remembering his training with Kalaam, Ken lowered the circle around his room and drew energy into his mana-bladder until it felt unpleasantly full and slightly stretched.

According to what he’d been told, he was only going to get to “enjoy” the extreme mana levels for a few more days. Afterwards it was going to take more and more work and planning to store Mana for when he needed it. His current demi-god state of complete access to mana would become more work to maintain and the wasteful spells like teleporting would require either access to places of power or a lot of his personally stored energies; more than he could currently hold in his mana-bladder.

Stretching his Mana-Bladder would eventually allow him to hold more and more, but after mana settled, it was likely going to be months until he could do lots of flashy magick without needing a break to gather mana in most places.

Ken made a note to himself to create a few mana batteries with Crystals, but noted that while mana was going to be less easy to access, the ability to make the batteries is something he could put off for a quiet moment later as there was still plenty of mana in the air around him.

In just 8 hours it had become noticeably less dense though. It was still dozens of times thicker than it had been on his training island, but when he took a moment to go astral and look down from above the house, he could actually watch the mana flow into Ley Lines, down trees and into the ground as well as into people, plants and animals where it was being converted into something else.

Ken returned to his body, and the spirits who had been patiently waiting still stood there waiting for his attention.

I seem to have multiple issues ahead of me this morning. Can I deal with your concerns later? Ken asked the spirits.

Most of the spirits nodded and disappeared. Ken could tell they were still around, but they weren’t manifesting even into the astral near him anymore. One of the spirits shook his head no, and at Ken’s look indicating that he should proceed, the spirit stretched forward with the intent to share.

Ken allowed the connection and the spirit’s emotions flooded in. Frustration, anger, hate and fear painted a story of a man knocking on the spirit’s door.

Kyle (the spirit) had answered, and immediately upon opening the door the man knocking and his three friends had leapt into the house, knocking Kyle down and closing the door behind them.

The struggle hadn’t taken long. He had quickly been held down and choked to death. Despite the world growing dim from lack of oxygen to the brain, Kyle’s final thoughts had filled with even more terror as he watched his murder’s face fill with glee when his Daughter had called down from upstairs wondering why he was making so much noise…

Kyle was going to use his new body to get revenge on the bastards who’d done this to him. Kyle got up and started walking to the door thinking about stealing some guns…

…when his body suddenly didn’t respond right.

Ken and Kyle struggled for a moment until Ken pushed Kyle out of his body. For a moment Kyle struggled, and then with a burst of frustration he disappeared to go find another body.

Ken grabbed his Athame and put up a circle around the room before falling back onto his bed.

Possession. Ken had just been possessed.

It had seemed so right and natural to just do what the spirit had wanted to do. If the spirit hadn’t thought about stealing the guns, Ken might have just let it happen. Somehow though the idea of hurting the people here by stealing from them had pulled him out of it though. It made him remember himself and stop being pulled by the will of the Spirit.

Ken still remembered everything Kyle had shared, and while he felt fear and concern for Kyle’s Daughter Jenna and his son Matthew, he could now separate his own concern from the memory of the overwhelming desperation Kyle had felt.

Ken gathered himself and then astral projected to Kyle’s home. Unlike in the memory Kyle’s home was peaceful… and more confusing Kyle was sound asleep in his perfectly healthy and alive body while his kids were fine in their rooms.

Confused, Ken entered Kyle’s dream and shared the memory he’d been given. After experiencing his horror Kyle committed to arming himself and never opening the door without checking what was outside… he knew it was probably paranoia, but this dream was so real. Kyle thanked the angel who warned him and Ken pulled himself out of the dream and back into his body.

Opening his eyes, Ken mentally guided his Athame into lowering the circle around him yet again. He’d only been awake for 5 minutes and his day had been crazy already.

Today was going to be a long day.

Ken walked downstairs to the smell of cooking bacon. A young lady (Samantha?) was at the stove desperately trying (and failing) to cook faster than the horde of house guests could deplete the breakfast offerings. 3 people were doing dishes to prepare for the next wave of people descending to eat upon waking.

A man Ken didn’t recognize standing near the exit offered him a cup of coffee as well as a plate of bacon, sausage and toast out while indicating that he could follow.

Ken obliged absolutely famished. He chugged the mug of lukewarm ambrosia before piling bacon onto a piece of toast and attacking it while they walked.

“Something murdered a family last night.” The man said.

“The night watch heard a young girl crying and her father was yelling before a monster screeched over the two of them. After a moment we heard his yells as he was attacked by the thing. The mother ran out of the house being chased by the monster, but as soon as the monster saw the night watch, it ran back into the house.

The watch entered looking for the girl. The father was spread all around the girl’s room, but there was no sign of her. We think the monster has the girl, but it’s holed up in the basement.”

“We’ve tried to enter, but it seems to be using magic to throw things around the room. When the entry team tried to remove the furniture barricading the stairs the furniture kept moving back into place and small objects were being thrown at them.”

“Everyone has pulled back and we are all waiting for you to come take a look.” The man finished.

Ken finished his food and gave it a moment to settle while they finished walking over in silence. As he’d been told there was a large group of people standing outside a house down the street from where the Alpha house he was part of.

Ken walked over and sat down into a meditative position. He raised a circle around himself with his Athame and actually watched in amusement as a couple people who tried to get closer couldn’t pass the boundary. He stepped out of his body and flew up. It suddenly occurred to him that this house was 3 houses away from the Alpha home. This was what Sith Lord had warned him about last night.

If I fight the monster, I’ll be fighting the victim… Ken remembered.

Ken looked down into the home. A creature of darkness sat in anger and fear in the basement. It didn’t seem to notice him though, so Ken moved his Astral Self again, but now instead of going through space, he moved through time. Quickly he watched as people moved around the front in reverse. A couple hours passed in moments until he watched the team descend the basement, confront the monster’s barricade, retreat up to the daughter’s room, get sick in the hallway, see the mess for the first time, retreat out the door and return to their patrol.

Time kept moving backwards before another group quickly returned to the home with the mother, talked with her after she fled out the door, paused at a sound and…

Ken slowed down the rewind and jumped to a couple minutes earlier.

Ken watched the father enter his 6 year old daughter’s room naked, wake her and start removing her clothes. She cried and started struggling, and he seemed to get angry. As Ken watched helplessly, he noticed a dark shadow moving in the body of the Father. It seemed to be both part of him and separate from him at the same time. Ken got the sense that this was the disgusting behavior the father was doing in spirit form. It held memories of the father’s abuse, his mother’s abuse, her father’s abuse and more, countless generations long.

The daughter become more and more distraught as her father was forcing himself upon her until something within her snapped.

Darkness welled out of her eyes and screeched in fury. The furniture in the room whirled around her as she was covered in the shadows she emitted in the form of a monstrous humanoid bear with wings.

The furniture smashed the father again and again, tearing him apart before the mother who’d been lying in bed arose and ran down to her daughter’s room.

Upon seeing the scene, the mother screamed and ran out of the house, straight toward the patrol who was standing out front. The monster-daughter had chased after the mother, but upon seeing the armed patrol raise weapons, the monstrous girl had fled back inside and down to the basement before flying furniture barricaded itself on the stairs down.

Ken returned to his body in the present. Furious he got up, pulled down the circle around him and advanced into the home.

A few seconds did wonders for his sanity though and by the time Ken was standing in front of the door to the basement he had a plan of action. He reached into the mind of mom and thought about the daughter. As the thought entered, she remembered her fear for Gina as well as her shame…

Ken disconnected before her thoughts could finish, he really didn’t want to hear all this right now.

“Gina.” Ken called. “I know what happened last night. I know you were defending yourself and I’m proud of you for being strong. Is there something we can do so that you can feel safe again?”

With his second sight Ken watched as the shadow beast slowly retreated. After shrinking to the size of a 6 year old around her body, the shadow beast called out. “Mommy is scared of me.”

“Mommy had never seen you get strong like you did last night.” Ken called back. “She didn’t know it was you.”

“Why’d she come last night. She never came when daddy punished me for being bad before… and now I’m not just a little bad. I’m so bad I killed daddy.”

Stunned, Ken held onto the door to avoid falling and took a moment. Last night hadn’t been the first time, and mommy had been letting it happen.

“I killed people who hurt me too and I’m not bad.” Ken finally said.

“You killed your daddy when he punished you?” Gina said hopefully as furniture started moving out of the way between the two of them.

“My daddy didn’t punish me the way your dad did.” Ken said. “I don’t think it’s ok to do what your dad was doing to you.”

“I don’t think it is ok either.” Gina quietly said. “He always called me a dirty bad girl, but I didn’t feel dirty or bad until he started punishing me.”

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Ken heard her and felt the emotions she was remembering. Ken sent her feelings affirming her goodness and the wrongness of what her father had done.

With a cry the monster drew fully into Gina as the young girl ran up to receive comfort from someone who felt safe, someone who seemed to understand, and someone who was horrified at what was done by her father, but not by her.

Ken sat crying with Gina for a few minutes consoling both her and, secretly, himself.

In a world now filled with magickal monsters the greatest evil he had encountered so far was a human father.