Minotaur Planet

By Thom Nichols

Durf isn't dead and Brianna's Call is back. It's all happening again, but nothing is the same. Billy is now Billie and Super Bowl is now the World Series. To make matters worse, Brianna's Call is being chased by a fleet of space ships intent on keeping the magic. Billy is forced to confront ancient weapons of the gods, battle alien wizards all while pretending to be a female minotaur ballplayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thom Nichols
• Release date: Oct 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452321714

Thom Nichols

Thom L. Nichols was born under a mountain in Mt. Shasta California. He grew up in Arizona, but has lived all over the United States. Starting out in the Marine Corps, he has had a multitude of jobs ranging from overnight security guard to UNIX Senior Specialist and everything in between. He married his wife of nineteen years (So far) two weeks after meeting her. He has three children and one granddaughter (So far). He has been writing since he was born, but always for fun. He wanted to get his degree in English so that he could become a writer, but with a family he decided to go the safe way and went into computers. Now that the kids are pretty much grown and moving out, he decided to follow his dream.

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Minotaur Planet

Thom Nichols

Published by Thom Nichols at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Thom Nichols

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

1. Billy and Durf

The plane ride to Hawaii was a long one. Billy took his whole family and his entourage. They took up the entire first class section. It cost a small fortune, but none of them had ever been to Hawaii and no one wanted to miss out. Billy was to play in the NFL Pro-Bowl later on in the week, but they were arriving early to sneak in a vacation/honeymoon.

Before dozing off, Billy helped buckle in the babies. He and Julie had sextuplets. The boys were centaurs. They both had reddish-brown lower bodies with short black tails. Their upper bodies were scrawny with thin black manes. Two of the four girls were also centaurs, but of a different variety. Instead of having the lower bodies of horses, they had the lower bodies of skunks. The third female child was mostly human. She had a huge skunk’s tail that was the length of her entire body. She also had pointed ears and tiny short thin hair growing over a third of her body. Most of the hair was black. But, she had two white stripes running skunk-like down her back. The fourth female child was perfectly human.

Julie was out of her seat most of the time fussing over one of them. They were, after all, less than a month old and needed a lot of attention. The two boys were the worst. Even being that young, they were already standing. Regular foals usually began standing within an hour of birth. The boys weren’t the exception. They could already walk and trot. Since they couldn’t sit in a plane seat, at takeoff, they were forced to stand in the aisle while Billy and Julie held them. Now that the plane was cruising over the ocean, they followed Julie every time she stood.

Mouse, Billy’s best friend, and Ki, his agent and roommate were huge helps. They helped feed and cleanup after the children. The guys, Kenny, Paul, and Surfer Joe, were no help at all. They began drinking before they even boarded the plane. Rob, Ki’s boyfriend, fell asleep the moment he sat down and buckled in. The only one that was missing was Durf. He died a few days ago during the Super Bowl.

Durf was a pest at the best of times, but he and Billy had grown close. Durf was a magical being that lived inside of Billy’s tooth. They had a symbiotic relationship like a landlord and a tenant. The rules for Durf’s existence were simple. He had to take up residence within a willing participant’s tooth, and be inside that tooth at daybreak. If he wasn’t inside at daybreak, he would die.

During the Super Bowl last week, Brianna’s Call returned to Earth. Brianna’s Call was the sum of all Earth’s magic from hundreds of years ago. It was hurtled out into space never to return again. But, it did return and wizards from all over sought to possess it. During the war that ensued, Billy magically accelerated the day to defeat the king and queen Durfs. His friend didn’t have time to return to his tooth and disappeared. In the chaos of the Super Bowl, Billy never found the body. The next day, Billy held a funeral for Durf. They buried an empty coffin in the back of his estate.

On the plane, Billy was leaning back with his eyes closed. He was pretending to be asleep even though he wasn’t really sleepy. Billy was thinking about Durf. He wished that he had thought about him when he decided to accelerate the day. He wished he could take it back now. He could have thought of a better way. There had to be a better way. But, even now, he couldn’t think of one. Billy shifted his head to the window and looked outside. They were over the ocean, and there really wasn’t anything to see. He smiled inwardly as he began recalling some of Durf’s antics. He really was a pain in the butt.

Billy closed his eyes again. He focused on his magic. Since Brianna’s Call, Billy’s magic had increased one hundred fold. At times, he found it difficult to not use magic. Billy’s magic started as a curse. The curse gave him the ability of precognition. He began using his magic more frequently when he joined the NFL. He didn’t want to use it to cheat, but it was the only way to reach Brianna’s Call. Now that Brianna’s Call was back, his precognitive visions would occur without him calling up the magic. Sometimes, his subconscious would take over and he would see glimpses of a thousand different futures at once. He would have to physically beat down the magic until his head cleared.

The upswing in his magic was due to the fact that he and Mouse were on the field at the Super Bowl when Brianna’s Call touched down. It saturated them so thoroughly that they became something like a battery for magic.

The plane hit an air pocket and jumped. There hadn’t been very much turbulence so far, and this one startled him. He looked around quickly. Julie and Mouse were looking at the kids. Everything seemed to be ok. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Casually, he peeked into the future. He wanted to see if the plane actually made it to Hawaii. He wasn’t afraid of flying, but that was a big air pocket.

The way Billy’s magic worked wasn’t very simple. He had to focus on a particular event or person. Then, he could either see it through to its natural conclusion or he could see the result of the event if he changed something. The changes could be very subtle, like sitting in one chair verses sitting in another. He called these changes to the future alternate possibilities. To Billy, it was like looking through a bee’s eyes. Like a graph, a hundred little windows would open up. Each one would show the same event or person at that moment and then play forward changing one thing. Even though he could view each one separately, only a second would pass while he watched.

Billy looked at his plane at the scheduled landing time. In all of the precognitive windows, the plane landed. Billy breathed a sigh of relief. His mind turned again to Durf and the moments leading to the end of his life. Instantly, Billy was looking out of the bee’s eyes. He hadn’t purposely called the magic. He sighed. The surplus of magic was sometimes very inconvenient.

A hundred tiny windows opened up. They were all of the Super Bowl. Even using magic, Billy wasn’t able to take the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl. Eddie Van, who was also cheating magically, took the New Orleans Saints after a field goal victory over Billy’s team. In all of these precognitive windows, Billy was with Mouse and Durf.

Blinking quickly, Billy sat straight up. He had never used his magic like that before. He had always used it to see the future. He had never orientated it on anything in the past. Thinking about it, however, it made sense. He looked around to see if anyone noticed him jumping. Everything in the plane was still normal. He leaned back again and pulled up the magic.

Again, in the beehive of windows, he was on the field with Mouse and Durf. They had to get to the fifty yard line during the game. Billy and Mouse were pulling off their clothing. Billy smiled. Durf had convinced them that they had to streak out onto the field naked. Billy tried to argue, but time was running out. Looking back now, it was very clear that Durf was just being Durf. If they had run out onto the field with their clothing on, the refs would have stopped the game just as they did when they ran out there naked.

Watching the first window, the one that actually happened, he saw himself and Mouse run out onto the field. Billy lost track of Durf as he turned his attention to the sky. He watched as Brianna’s Call landed and Tithonos began growing. Sighing again, Billy knew that his vision self would soon begin battling him. Billy knew that he couldn’t change anything, but he suddenly had the ability to find out what would have happened if he didn’t accelerate the day.

Looking over to the next window, the precognitive window began to fast forward. It switched to that fateful moment and stopped. Durf wasn’t out on the field. Now that he focused on it, he remembered vividly that Durf wasn’t there as he was dueling Tithonos. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw the little guy. He refocused his magic back to the sideline and back in time to the point where he was taking off his clothing. He began advancing the scene forward, but this time focusing on Durf.

Durf was laughing. Billy couldn’t help smiling. It was just a joke and he fell for it. The NFL commissioner had already contacted Ki, fining him one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the stunt. He was lucky that he didn’t suspend him from the Pro-Bowl.

Billy shook his head and resumed watching. There was an infinitesimal flash of light and Durf was gone. Billy had to rewind and slow everything down. He focused carefully on Durf. Like an arrow, a tiny beam of light struck Durf. It looked like a laser from an outer space movie. Billy recognized it instantly. It was a shard of Brianna’s Call. Over the last couple months, he had been chasing shards. He knew exactly what they looked like. This one was very small and it struck seconds before Brianna’s Call touched down.

Billy slowed down the motion of the vision even further. As the shard struck Durf, a miniature tornado or whirlwind appeared at his feet. It encased him in its spinning winds, blurring his features. A look of shock appeared on Durf’s face before the tornado enveloped him completely. The spinning lasted for a second and then everything disappeared. The lower cone seemed to rise up into itself taking Durf with it. Seconds later Brianna’s Call struck and pandemonium broke out. Durf was gone.

Hope swelled up inside Billy’s chest. He sat up quickly again. Durf could be alive. If that tiny little magical tornado transported Durf somewhere, he could have found new residence before Billy accelerated the day. It could have transported him into a time zone where it was still night. How was he going to find out? He looked around quickly. Ki was looking through Rob’s bag. Ki! He whispered.

Looking up, Ki caught his eye. She was a tiny elf, very slender and only three feet tall. She had golden blonde hair and fair skin. Like all elves, she had tall pointy ears. Before Brianna’s Call, she would hide herself with an illusion. She cloaked herself in the guise of a midget or little person. Now that Brianna’s Call had spread a healthy layer of magic over the world, she and other magical beings had ‘Come out of the closet’. She smiled at Billy. Mhum. She said absently and glanced back down to the carryon bag.

Ki! Billy whispered a little louder. I think Durf is alive. I need your help.

Ki stopped rummaging and looked up. Mouse also stopped in her tracks and looked over. Mouse shared the symbiotic relationship with Durf for years before he switched to Billy’s mouth. She took the news of his death extremely hard. She was much closer to him than Billy was. What? Mouse gasped.

Setting the baby down, Mouse moved into Julie’s chair as Ki leaned forward. I think that the infusion of Brianna’s Call has amplified my magic. Billy whispered. I was thinking about Durf and my magic invoked. I was looking at him at the time of his disappearance. I saw him disappear. It was a shard from Brianna’s Call. It wasn’t Tithonos or me advancing the day. He disappeared before Brianna’s Call hit.

But when you advanced the day? Mouse gasped hopefully. She had her hand covering her lips. He hadn’t returned…

I think the shard teleported him somewhere. Billy continued excitedly. He could have ended up somewhere on the dark side of the planet. He would have found temporary residence somewhere.

Mouse’s face lit up. Can you locate him?

I don’t remember how to summon an imp. Billy said quickly. He turned to Ki. Can you do it?

It was too late for Ki to tell them not to get their hopes up, so she didn’t even try. Slowly, Ki made a gesture in the air. A tiny creature popped into existence. It was only six inches tall and it looked like a devil. Its skin was red and it had a barbed tail. Timidly, it cringed toward Ki. Imp, She said authoritatively. Our friend Durf is missing. Point out the direction to him. The tiny creature cowered at the sound of Ki’s voice. It shrank back. Then, slowly he looked in every direction before glancing back up at the elf. He shook his head.

Can’t you find him? Mouse asked passionately. The imp, cringing, jumped into Ki’s hand. He looked terrified of Mouse.

I’m sorry. Ki said with solemnity. She placed her hand over Mouse’s. I think he really is gone.

Billy felt really crappy. He knew how much Mouse was suffering and he should have at least had more proof before bring it up in front of her. I’m sorry Mouse. He apologized. I didn’t mean… He stopped and turned toward Ki’s hands. The little imp was shaking his head and looking up at her. Billy indicated toward it.

Quizzically, Ki asked. Is Durf dead?

The imp continued to shake his head. Mouse stopped crying. He’s alive She dared not to hope. Ki re-asked the question and the imp nodded. Ki asked him again where Durf was, but again the imp couldn’t answer.

He must be inside some kind of magical place. Ki told them. Some place like the little world or the chamber he was enslaved in. He has to be in some place the imps magic can’t penetrate for him to be able to point him out.

How are we going to find him? Billy asked quickly.

Maybe you can locate him. Ki continued ponderingly. Think about it. You looked forward in time to the conclusion of the Super Bowl when you first realized that Eddie Van was cheating, didn’t you? She didn’t wait for a response. You’ve never been to Texas Stadium before that. How were you able to see it? Billy opened his mouth to say something, but Ki continued. What if you focus your precognitive magic on Durf and find out what will happen to him in the next hour if everything remains the same.

Yes, Mouse gasped excitedly. You’ll be able to see where he is. You’ll probably recognize something around him.

Once again, Billy had never used his magic like that before, or at least knowingly. But, Brianna’s Call had augmented his magic. Maybe it was now powerful enough to find him. He began concentrating. Pulling up as much of the magical stores he could hold and he closed his eyes. Picturing Durf as intently as he could, Billy focused the magic. Suddenly, a face appeared before him. It wasn’t Durf. It was a cow’s face. Something wasn’t right. Concentrating harder of Durf, Billy tried again. He closed his eyes and the cow’s face returned. Thinking about his magic, Billy realized that there was only one possible future available to him. It was because he wanted to know exactly what Durf was doing now. That meant that this was the first window in his precognitive matrix. He was about to enhance it to look at alternate futures when the cow’s face began to turn.

The room around Billy began to move. Billy blinked several times quickly. The shifting room was dizzying. He shut his eyes and rubbed them. When he opened them, he didn’t see the cow’s face anymore. Instead, he saw the insides of a locker room. It was as if he was standing in the wash room of a locker room. Billy could see a row of toilet stalls, a row of sinks with mirrors over them and a bunch of steam coming from the back of the room.

Billy’s eyes opened wide. He saw the naked forms of several females taking a shower in a huge shower bay. He turned slowly to the other side of the room. He saw a woman drying herself off walking past. She had a towel wrapped around her head and was patting herself down with another. Billy’s eyes opened even wider as he saw several women half naked or wrapped in towels standing and sitting in front of open lockers. There was something different about these women. But, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it yet.

The room began to rotate again. This time, Billy didn’t rub his eyes. When the room stopped, he saw that there was a mirror rotating toward him. Suddenly, the room stopped moving and the mirror was right in front of him. As he looked into it, once again, he saw the face of the cow. He glanced down inside the mirror. The body of the cow, his body, wasn’t the bulky round form he was expecting. It was the body of a woman. What the… He swore.

Billy? Durf’s voice asked quizzically. Billy, is that you?

2. Billie

There was a snort. Billy felt stress raging throughout his body. He glanced at himself in the mirror. The eyes of the cow were narrowing. He saw that the cow’s arms were planted against the sides of the sink and were gripping forcefully. Her knuckles were turning white. Billy could feel his hands clenching also. He could feel the cold porcelain crushing against him palms. No! He snorted, but so did the cow woman.

Billy, what are you doing? Durf’s voice said inside his head. Let her go.

Durf? Billy asked. He saw the cow woman’s mouth move. Is that you?

No! He heard himself and the cow woman say forcefully again.

Yes, it’s me. Durf said quickly. But, you have to let her go.

What are you talking about? Billy asked puzzled. What’s going on? Where are we?

Durf sighed. Billy could feel Durf’s exasperation inside his own body. Billy, this is Billie. Billy felt his right arm pull away from the sink. It raised itself up and indicated toward the mirror and the female body. Billie is the nice lady that is letting me live inside her tooth. If you don’t give her control back of her body, she is going to evict me.

I have control of her body? Billy said. He lifted his other hand from the sink and waved it between his face and the face in the mirror.

Billy, people are starting to stare. Durf continued. Stop talking out loud and give Billie control of her body.

Billy looked to his side. There was a few women at the sink now and they were indeed looking over at him/her. Billy also finally figured out what was different about them. They all had the bodies of women and the faces of cows. Billy tried to smile at them, but his mouth felt weird. It felt like it did when he was turned into a unicorn headed centaur. He turned quickly back to the mirror. A minotaur. He said inside his head. Have I been turned into a minotaur?

No. Durf said. Billy could feel Durf shaking his head even though the cow head in the mirror didn’t move. Like I said, this is Billie’s body, not yours or mine. Now let her have it back.

Catching on that some type of magic was going on Billy began to accept that what Durf was saying was real. I don’t know how. He said out loud again.

Just go limp. Durf said. Don’t do anything.

Nervously, Billy began to comply. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed. He was standing up at the moment and to go completely limp would make him fall down. But, as he began to relax, he felt his body move of its own accord. First, his heart began to pound. He could feel himself taking in quick, short, angry breaths. He snorted again several times. Suddenly, his body whipped itself around and he began marching toward the back of the shower.

There were only three people left inside the shower bay. Two of the minotaur women were near the front and one was in the middle. Billy’s body strode past the minotaur woman in the middle of the bay. Unconsciously, Billy’s eye turned toward her. He felt his head move again. The showering minotaur was facing him and lathering her body up vigorously. Billy’s body grunted angrily and his head snapped forward all by itself. He reached the back of the shower bay and stopped. Billy’s hands reached up and turned on the three end spigots. Hot water began cascading down over his body.

At first there were only swear words. Billy recognized them, but not the voice that was coming out of his body. Billie was swearing them in just above a whisper, but Billy could hear them loudly and clearly. The showering water was obviously meant to cover up her speech as she berated Billy and Durf. You said that you were going to be the only one. She raged, her voice still just over a whisper. What do you think you’re doing taking over my body like that? I’ll kick you out and murder you myself.

Billie, please. Durf said. This is my old landlord. He isn’t supposed to be here. I don’t know how…

I don’t care how. Billie interrupted. Just get him out of here.

Ok. Durf agreed quickly. Ok. There was a pause. Then, Durf spoke more calmly. Billy, I need you to think about turning around. But, don’t physically turn. Before Billy could respond, Durf continued. Just do it.

Feeling stupid, Billy thought about turning around. His perception began to change. He could feel himself turning and he knew that Billie’s body wasn’t moving. As he turned, the walls of the shower became a Viking village. Durf was sitting at a long table. There was a feast sitting before him. Go ahead. Durf said heartily. Walk normally.

Billy took a timid step. He couldn’t feel the minotaur body any more. He moved closer to the table. The smell of the dinner was intoxicating. Ki was a very good cook and prepared most of his meals. This banquet was on a par with her cooking. Billy picked up a piece of bread. He put it up to his nose and smelled it. It smelled fresh and was warm. He bit into it. It was delicious. Durf, Billy asked as he swallowed. Where are we?

We’re inside Billie’s tooth, of course. Durf laughed. He picked up the drumstick of the turkey in front of him and bit into it heartily.

I get that. Billy said looking around. This looks like the setup from when you were living in my tooth. But, how did I get here?

I don’t know. Durf shrugged. One minute we were at the Super Bowl and the next I was in Pennsylvania. I was lucky to find Billie. She was staying late after a home game going over film of the Denver pitchers. It took me hours to convince her to allow me to stay. And, you had better not have messed it up for me.

Pitchers? Billy said furrowing his brow. You mean like in baseball?

Yeah, like in baseball. Durf said making a funny face at him. And, did you hear me, you had better not have messed it up for me here.

Look, if I messed it up for you, you can just come and live in my mouth again. Billy shrugged. But, who is Billie?

Durf stood up and looked over Billy’s shoulder. Billy turned to see what he was looking at. As if he stepped back into Billie’s head, he was once again looking out of her eyes. A female minotaur was standing in front of her with a towel wrapped around her waist. She was using another towel to dry off her arms. She was looking up at Billie as if she were talking to her. Will you look at that? Durf exclaimed lecherously.

Come on, ya perv. Billy laughed. What about it? What’s going on? What happened to you? And, who is Billie?

Durf sat back down, but he continued to glance over Billy’s shoulder. Well, He said slowly. I thought that I had gone back in time. But, since you are here, I guess it’s something else.

Gone back in time? Billy asked.

Yeah. Durf continued. I have been here for about four months. Brianna’s Call is about to touch down again in eight days.

But, it already touched down. Billy shook his head not understanding.

Not here it hasn’t. Durf continued. That’s why I thought that I went back in time. He chuckled. I actually thought that Billie was you.

She’s a girl. Billy said quickly.

Yeah, Durf continued. There have been other subtle changes, a lot of them. I thought you being a girl was just one of the changes.

What else has changed?

Well, Brianna’s Call is going to land during game seven of the World Series instead of at the Super Bowl for one. Let’s see, there is no Tithonos here. I’m not a slave.

Good. Billy said quickly. Tithonos turned out to be a real pain. But, I’m glad you’re not a slave any more. I thought you were dead.

Well, since I didn’t go back in time. Durf said ponderingly. I must have shifted to some kind of alternate dimension or something.

Alternate what?

You know, like your magic. Durf explained. Billy had an expression of complete confusion. When you look into the future and you see different outcomes to the same event depending on what you do. Billy nodded. Well, it’s like you went to one outcome and I went to another.

Is that possible? Billy asked. Durf shrugged and took another huge bite from the turkey leg. So, He continued after a moment. If you’re not a slave anymore, why are you chasing Brianna’s Call?

Like I said, Durf shrugged. I thought Billie was you. I’m just going where she’s going.

Billy walked around the table and sat down. He tried his best to look anywhere but forward. Whenever he looked directly forward, he would see out of Billie’s eyes. And, even thought they were all getting dressed now, they were in a locker room and there were partially naked bodies everywhere. He helped himself to a pear, and subconsciously stared at a woman brushing her hair through Billie’s periphery. How come we can’t hear them? He asked glancing over at Durf.

I have the sound turned down. Durf said. He stood up and walked over to the left side of the small village. He pulled on a rope that was dangling down and it drew open a set of drapes. The drapes were covering an ear shaped mound. Upon closer examination, Billy realized that it was an inverted ear. He looked around at the outskirts of the small village. He could see the eyes, ears, nose and mouth of Billie at the boundaries. Over his head, he could see her brain and below them, he could see her throat. As Durf opened the drapes, noise from the locker room permeated the village.

I like to keep them closed most of the time. He jerked on the rope and the drapes closed. As Durf began to walk back to the table, the drapes took the shape of Billie’s ear.

What if she calls? Billy asked.

That’s different. Durf snickered. It’s part of the magic. I can always hear her if she’s talking to me.

Well, this is just too weird. Billy said slapping the table and rising. I need to get back. You should come with me. Mouse really misses you.

Ok. Durf smiled. How are you going to get back?

Can’t you send me back?

I didn’t bring you here. Durf said shaking his head.

Billy closed his eyes and thought about the airplane to Hawaii. He concentrated as hard as he could, picturing Julie and the babies. But, nothing happened. Suddenly he realized that he wasn’t swollen with magic anymore. He looked over at Durf. He was chuckling. No. Billy said defiantly. I am not stuck here. He closed his eyes again and bore down. He called up his precognitive magic and focused on his plane trip. Through the magical windows of his precognitive ability, he saw the plane, but he wasn’t on it. Neither were any of his friends. All he could see were a bunch of minotaurs.

Durf began to laugh out loud. Billy was seeing the plane from this alternate dimension not the one from his Earth. Billy swore. Great. He exclaimed. I’m going to miss the Pro Bowl. I’m going to get fined again and kicked out of the NFL.

Controlling himself, Durf suggested. Why don’t you stay here for eight days? When Brianna’s Call lands, you can use that magic to transport yourself back.

I don’t know any trans-dimensional teleportation magic. Billy yelled. Where are we going to find someone that can do that?

Well, this world is a lot like Earth. Durf suggested. There has to be someone around here somewhere that can do it.

You mean like the nexus in Wickenburg Arizona. Billy asked hopefully.

Durf shrugged. Billy sat back down. It was only eight days. It wasn’t like he had to wait months. All right. He said resigned. I can do eight days. He looked forward and could see out of Billie’s eyes again. She and another minotaur woman were walking out of the locker room.

Hundreds of people were outside. Camera crews and reporters blocked their exit and placed microphones in their faces. Camera flashes exploded like mad from the crowd and everyone began talking at once. What’s going on? Billy asked.

They lost game one of the World Series. Durf said indifferently.

They are playing in the World Series? Billy asked smiling. But they’re women.

Yeah, remember, we went over that a little while ago. Durf said. You’re a boy and she’s a girl, and she really isn’t you.

That’s not what I meant. Billy said, but he didn’t pursue it. He continued to watch from out of her eyes. He knew what she was saying even if he couldn’t hear. She was giving them the same canned responses that all players regurgitate. He did it when he was in front of the cameras and more players would do it when they were long gone. The only difference this time was that a large minotaur with huge horns stepped between Billie and the cameras.

The new minotaur was male. He was dressed in a really nice business suit. It was jet black with a bright red tie. His face was much larger than any of the other minotaurs Billy had seen. It was thick and his fur was dark brown. He had three huge rings through his left nostril, and his eyes were partially closed in a permanent squint. His horns on top of his head were twisting outward at the base, but pulled themselves forward at the tips so that they were pointing right at Billie. They were very impressive.

That’s Omar. Durf said as the large minotaur placed his arm around Billie’s shoulder and guided her away from the crowds. He’s her agent. Billy looked up to see Omar lean forward to kiss Billie on the lips.

How did he do that? Billy said leaning closer. When I had the unicorn’s head, I couldn’t kiss anyone.

That’s because you were trying to kiss a human’s mouth with a horse’s lips. They’re both minotaurs. Durf explained. Billy grumbled. He still didn’t think that cow lips would match up like people lips.

Durf moved back to the ear and pulled the curtain to open the drapes. I also have us booked at Michaels. Omar said. He had a deep gruff voice. It resounded throughout the village. After that, I’ll take you home and rub your back. I’ll make you forget all about the game.

Billie stopped. She removed his arm from around her shoulder. No. She said. Her voice was surprisingly feminine. With her minotaur head, Billy expected it to also be gruff. No, I have something I need to do. I’ll call you tomorrow.

Omar looked affronted. But, then he forced a smile. Until then. He said chivalrously. He reached down to take her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it. Billie watched him as he turned and walked away.

Billie. Durf said in a singsong voice. Billie didn’t answer. Instead, she stormed out of the stadium toward her car. Durf tried to entice her again, but she remained stubbornly silent until she sat down behind the wheel and slammed the door.

Out! She ordered. Get out of my mouth now, both of you.

Billie opened her mouth and turned toward the passenger seat. Billy felt the weirdest sensation of his life. His body began to dissolve and there was an irresistible pull toward a door that had just opened. Looking outside, Billy could see Billie’s teeth and tongue. He raised his hand in front of his face, and his hand was disappearing. It took only seconds until his whole body turned into blue light. He felt himself racing, as light, out of the door and out of Billie’s mouth. He could see another stream of light paralleling him as he traveled.

Both beams of light landed on the passenger seat. Billy felt his body begin to return to normal. It began to solidify and grow at the same time. He could see the other tiny beam of light bounce off of the passenger seat and flash into the back seat. From his past dealings with Durf, Billy knew that they were both going to return to their normal forms. And, both of them would never fit in the passenger seat together. He was glad that Durf thought of jumping into the back.

Billy held up his hand again. He wanted to watch it reform. As the transformation nearly finished, Billy’s hand was pressed against the windshield as his face began pressing against his hand. Billy groaned and then swore. He wasn’t in a sitting position. He tried to force his legs down in the seat, but they wouldn’t move the correct way. The windshield shattered and Billy’s torso was thrown against the hood of the car. He felt his body continue to grow and solidify.

My car. Billie screamed and opened her car door. She stood half way in and half way out. What are you?

Billy tried to move, but found that he was trapped. As the transformation completed, a long unicorn horn twisted its way out of his forehead. It scratched along the hood of Billie’s car gouging it. Billy had returned to his unicorn-headed centaur form. His upper torso was stretched over the hood. His forelegs were in the front seat. His hind legs broke the car seat and were pinned inside the backseat.

Durf, now a seven foot Viking, opened the driver’s side back door and stood beside Billie looking at Billy. Yeah, that’s gotta hurt. He whistled shaking his head.

Billie turned around and pushed Durf in the chest. Look what you did to my car. She raged. Durf fell to the ground. You said that it would only be you in there. You said that you wouldn’t say or do anything while other people were around. And, you said that you would never take control of my body like that, never, ever. She slammed the driver’s door and rounded on Durf. With one hoof, she kicked him.

Wait. Durf pleaded. He held up a hand helplessly. Billie raised her hoof to kick him again. Wait, please. I can explain. It’s not my fault. Billie paused, hoof still pulled back. She delivered one more hard kick, but then walked away from him and turned to look at Billy.

And, what are you? She asked as Billy tried to pick himself up off of the car hood. It made a loud crunching noise as the hood dented. Quickly, Billie looked around. They were in the player’s private underground parking area. There were a lot of cars parked, but no people were around. Billie was one of the first to leave.

I’m Billy. Billy said as he managed to lift himself a few inches off of the car. He began brushing glass off of himself with one hand and holding himself up with the other. It looks like I’ve returned to my centaur body.

What’s a centaur? Billie asked looking back toward Durf.

A centaur is another magical being. Durf said. He was off the ground and walking cautiously toward her. Remember I told you about Brianna’s Call. Remember I told you that I went back in time. Well, it turns out that I didn’t. I somehow switched worlds. This is the guy from the other world. This is my old landlord.

Great. Billie said slapping her hands together. He can be your landlord again. And, I can be rid of you.

Durf made a sour face, but before he could say anything, Billy pleaded for assistance. Durf giggling maliciously rushed forward. A huge battle axe was in his hand. Durf, what are you going to do. Billy asked wryly. He tried to twist around to watch, but trapped he couldn’t manage it. There was a loud whack and more glass tinkling to the ground. Billy felt a sharp pain in the side of his right foreleg.

Oops. Durf said timidly. I think I cut a little too deep.

Hey! Billie screamed. What are you doing? Durf shrugged and indicated toward Billy sympathetically. Here. Billie growled swearing again. She leapt and landed on the roof. Durf had sliced through the metal between the windshield and the passenger window. Billie reached down and began to pull. She bent the roof up as Durf pulled down. Billy’s upper body came free. He was able to twist around and help Billie peel back the roof. With a final kick, Billy was able to force his lower body out of the car by rearing onto his hind legs. He jumped out of the back seat and landed on the concrete floor.

Billy was a large centaur. He stood about eight feet tall. His lower body was dark reddish brown with a