I sit down and talk to Tara and Jane about their request to join the Family. I tell them everything I think they need to know to make their decision. Personally, I’m worried most about the economic aspects. I'm starting to feel the stress of feeding the family and we don't even have any bills to pay yet!

  They don't seem worried though. They even offered to go without pay as long as the Family shows them the same care they show themselves. They understand that they’ll be Vassals, at least at first.

  The other thing I'm most worried about is a condition I imposed on them myself. I want them to learn. Everyone in our Blood Family values learning - more than they value life itself. I will not accept a vassal who doesn't share that value.

  I’m shocked to see Tara burst into tears when I tell them that. Even Jane looks uneasy. When Tara calms down, she explains to me that she doesn't know how to read. Jane can read but has never been to school.

  They're overjoyed when I tell them that we’ll teach them. That's the last obstacle in our way.

  The procedure for Binding a Vassal is a little different from the Family ceremony. The Binding is not between all of us, but between the Vassal and the Family head. The ceremony is more like exchanging wedding vows.

  First we each cut our forearms to collect half a cup of blood. Then I say a short spell. Then each of them says a short spell. Then I drink the blood from their cups. Then they each drink some of my blood. I finish with a final spell and it's done.

  As before, I feel a little weird after the ceremony. It's almost like I can feel connections forming between us. A little disquieting but also fulfilling. Forget it, I can't explain in words.

  And their blood tastes sssoooooooo gooooddd!

  My step falters when I see the ghost. I'm on my way to do some combat training in the evening. She’s standing in the courtyard holding a sheet of parchment and a fist-sized rock.

  She's on my path of travel so I come quite close to her. At first, focused on the strange symbol on the parchment, she doesn't notice me. But as I get close, her eyes light up and she stops me with a gesture, holding out the rock. Stupefied by her beauty, I take it.

  Using hand motions, she indicates that I should squeeze it in my fist. I do so, but with no result.

  Without warning she holds the parchment up against my chest and makes a gesture with her other hand. I can feel Mana flowing into the paper and there's a flash of blue light. Blinking to clear my eyes, I bring her beautiful face back into focus.

  With a flash of impatience in her eyes, she gestures for me to squeeze the rock again. Expecting nothing to happen, I half-heartedly squeeze. With a loud crack, the rock is crushed into gravel. I look at it in shock. When I look back up, she’s gone.

  Bemused, I go on to the training hall. We're working with blunt weapons today. Whenever I swing my mace, it absolutely obliterates the targets. After I destroy two shields and break someone's arm, no one will work with me any more. They make me go back to my room to sleep it off.

  Whatever 'it' is.

  Who is that girl?

  At first I wasn’t sure where I fit in. The whip is a bit of an odd weapon to wield, especially as part of a group. Addie has some ideas though. First she puts me through my paces alone. Then she teams me up with Rio to test my precision and control. That didn’t last too long, as Rio inexplicably turns white and needs to sit down and rest for a while. It isn’t my fault. I never hit him at all.

  I might have come a little close a couple of times but that is what we’re supposed to be testing. Addie replaces Rio with Nix. Nix has no problems at all. I guess he trusts me implicitly. The thought makes me feel all warm inside. Once Nix and I have trained our coordination, Addie throws Rio back in and adds in Kari. They make up the front line, I’m in the middle and Nix covers the rear.

  It seems the whip is quite useful as a disruptive element. An unexpected flick to the eyes or other sensitive spot will definitely put someone off their stride. At the very least it’s a distraction they can’t afford to ignore.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  This is our last day of Family training before our first Dungeon dive. I’m pretty excited. We all are. Rio and Kari are our main damage dealers. Nix backs them up with his staff, plus does the healing. I break our opponents’ rhythm and disrupt their formations while Addie monitors and controls the flow of battle.

  Surprisingly, it’s Saki who’s having a hard time finding her footing in the team. Her magic is incredible, her precision is unbelievable, she moves with grace in battle; the problem is her power. She’s so incredibly powerful that she has trouble toning it down for small-scale action. In short, she’s a bit dangerous to be around in close quarters.

  Not my problem, though. Addie will have to work it out with her. I’m just the gorgeous girl with the whip. Hehehehe …

  There he is again. Or was, rather. As soon as he stepped out of the men’s bathhouse, toweling his still damp hair dry, he’s assaulted by three of my female classmates. Or something. They drag him off into a nearby closet as I turn away in disgust.

  I don’t really understand why all of the girls are attracted to him. He does absolutely nothing for me. I guess I can’t blame them, though. We’re under a lot of stress and … philanderin g - I guess that’s the right word - is one way to let off steam. For me it’s the austerity of the bow and shagyu. For others it’s the … arrows … which…

  Aaagh! Why am I even thinking about this. Damn hormones! Why do I have to be a teenager for so frickin’ long?

  Inexplicably an image crosses my mind. An image of the blind boy I secretly watch training a few times a week. He’s gotten kind of buff lately…

  I heave a sigh. What is wrong with me, today? Maybe my blood sugar is low. I go in search of breakfast.

  Excerpt from Saki’s Journal

  I just wanted to see Nix’ clinic. That’s all. I had no ulterior motive at all. Just a little visit to see what kind of facilities Nix had found to practice his healing magic in. I wasn’t there to verify Nix’ self-report on the rather absurd upswell in the number of injuries sustained by elfen maidens in town. I just wanted to see how he was doing. That’s all.

  That little rat. What I found was a party. They had food and drink and were sitting around the tables listening to two singers and a lute player harmonize a song. They being the aforementioned elven maidens. There must have been at least twenty of them. Their hair ran the full range of colors across the rainbow and more. Perfectly arranged and styled to frame each beautiful face in its own unique way.

  Lithe and buxom and fit and sexy - no matter what your taste, they were dressed to kill and confident as tigresses. And all fully focused on that annoying little dork. His face was covered with lip imprints in a dozen shades of lipstick. One of the little vixens was hand feeding him grapes while another stood behind him combing his hair. Others pressed up close to him from all sides. It was disgusting! Ab-so-lute-ly disgusting!

  There should be some kind of a law! Just you wait, Nixon Sordes. I, your best friend Sakura Tsubaki, will rescue you from the path of the philandering wastrel you have set your feet upon. The punishments may seem severe at first, but it will be for your own good. Should I get Addie involved? Maybe Penny? Or should I attempt to reform you on my own? So difficult to decide …

  It’s late evening when Rio bursts into the common room. “Addie! Quick! It’s Kari!” he pauses, heaving for breath after his mad dash to find me.

  I practically leap out of my chair to grab his collar and lift him up. “What? What’s going on?”

  “The obstacle course. She’s at the obstacle course,” he gasps out before collapsing.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a bottle of blood and gulp it down. Without even pausing to savor the surge of energy, I step out and start shadow jumping. When I arrive at the training field there’s a big crowd, shouting and laughing and placing bets. I elbow my way to the front and find …

  A race. A race on the obstacle course. Kari, Big Bad Bill, and the three guys who were stuffing Kari’s nose with her toes a couple weeks ago. All bouncing around in a most mesmerizing fashion as they run, leap, swing, climb and jump over, around, and through the obstacles. I can say they’re bouncing because they’re all stark raving naked. Completely unencumbered by clothing of any kind. Not even shoes.

  I sigh and press my hands to my temples. A headache. Why can’t I get through just one, single day without a headache. I watch as Kari trips up Sweet William and dives past the leader to cross the finish line first. She throws her arms up over her head and lets loose a mighty dragon roar of victory!

  Followed by an as I appear behind her and grab her by the throat, lifting her up so her feet are dangling helplessly high above the ground. “What do you think you’re doing, young lady?” I ask in my dangerously patient tone.

  She goes completely limp in my grasp. “Um, having a race?”

  “And where are your clothes?”

  She looks down and puts on her best shocked expression, “My clothes! Where are my clothes?!? Did I …? Did I run so fast they came off? How amazing!”

  I try to look her in the eye, but she keeps shifting her gaze away. I give a resigned sigh. “Never mind. I’m surprised you’re not hungry after all that exercise, though.”

  “But I am hungry. Really, really …”

  “No,” I interrupt her. “No, you’re not hungry. Not today, nor possibly tomorrow. In fact, I feel like you want to go to your room and meditate for the rest of the day. Possibly the week. Alone.”

  On that note, I give her throat an extra tight squeeze to stop any attempts at objections or last words and haul her naked butt home.