Gertie's Paranormal Plantation: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy by Melanie James Page A

damn bus.” Marie croaked. “You mean to tell me you’ve found another satyr? Where’s the first one?”
    “ This is the first one. I found out something about satyrs. They’re shifters all right. Here, I should just have him show you. Vasili, go say hello to Marie. It’s okay. Show her what you do.”
    The new Vasili walked up to Marie. Suddenly his entire body shimmered into a blur and when he came back into focus, he had transformed once again. Now Vasili became an equally well-built black man. He took Marie’s hand and in a deep smoky voice he made his introduction. “Marie, your beauty exceeds that of an angel.” He kissed the back of her hand. “I want nothing more than to give you every pleasure you dream of and more.”
    Marie’s eyes bugged out and I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or shocked. She fanned herself with her free hand. “Whew! You are something. Mmm, mmm, mmm . Nice. Now, tell me where Brad is. Tell me! Or you’ll become a basilisk’s breakfast.”
    Vasili looked at me and then to each of the others. He walked up to me and transformed into the form he was when I met him. “Gertie’s lover, Brad. Yes, I met him. I can speak any language, yet his language is very old and hard to understand. He was the one that tied me up. I don’t know where he is, but he should be returning here soon.”
    “Brad? Are we talking about the same guy? Where did he go?”
    “He said that he was gathering his men and he would return. I think he plans to use me as some sort of sacrifice.”
    “What? My Brad? You’re either lying your horns off or you must have gotten a pretty good wallop in that melon of yours.” I remembered what Marie said about how satyrs are prone to lies, but if he was lying, he was very convincing. “Vasili, tell me. What brought you here to my plantation? You sought me out and I want to know why.” I tapped on the image of the basilisk. “I could whip one of these suckers up in a minute. Keep that in mind.” I absolutely hate to be stern or threatening. It’s contrary to every nerve I have. However, I worried for Brad’s safety. In this case, I felt like it was my only choice.
    “You were right about me on the night when we met. I was a homeless goat. I came here because I have heard of this place. A loving home for lost and lonely creatures like me. When you took that leather collar off of me, you removed the curse that kept me in my truest form, a goat. The collar prevented me from shifting into any other form. Once I was free, I can only be what I am. A true satyr. And a satyr can do only one thing.”
    “That’s why you tried to seduce me? Because it’s your nature?”
    “What can I say? I’m just a sexy beast. However, a satyr does not seduce or try to cause harm. We have been wrongly persecuted throughout history. We only live to give pleasure.”
    Esmeralda begged for Vasili’s attention. “Me! Me! Come here, sexy beast, and do me now! I need some pleasuring.”
    Vasili approached Esmeralda and shimmered. When he was done, he was none other than Randy’s sister, Kelly. He shimmered again and he transformed into a man I recognized as a local deputy sheriff. “That’s great, but I want a fresh new hottie like Wanda and Marie got! Give me something new, big guy.”
    Wanda waved her hands. “No, no, it’s not like he can just become whatever he wants. When he focuses on the one he wants to seduce, his image transforms into whatever his victim’s, for lack of a better word, most active sexual fantasy involves.”
    Armed with knowledge of how the satyr operates, an idea popped up in my mind. “But…if you knew he was a satyr and how his little shifter trick works, you could take control of what he turns into. You’d just have to have a fantasy character in your head, ready to go.” I announced.
    Wanda touched Vasili on the shoulder. “Vasili, is that possible? For someone to trick you into transforming into something specific?”
    “As long as this