A Dangerous Legacy Pt. 01

"You do now." She waved her hand and I felt the tingling heat. When she was done my feet were in basic sneakers, nice and new, and I looked at them, shorter and wider. I pulled one off and saw the size, saw my foot had changed.

"I passed?"

"You retained your basic essence and morality. You earned your money the right way and didn't hurt anyone with your powers. Nor did you revel in base needs. I would have expected you would have taken a lover or two, why not?"

"I've been celibate for two years. I guess it just wasn't a priority."

She smiled almost knowingly. "Do you object to sex?"

"That's a very personal question."

"I gave you the gift."

"So? Who the hell are you to me?"

She sat down on the couch once again, while I stood. "I'm your aunt."

I sank down and stared. I'd asked about half-siblings but I'd never asked my birth mother about aunts or uncles. No wonder she seemed familiar to me; we had the same eyes.

"I ask again, Anna, because it will be important: do you have a problem with sex?"

"No, not at all," I nearly whispered. "In fact I've had more than my fair share. I decided to be celibate to focus on other things, take a break. I didn't want casual sex but didn't have the time for a relationship."

"Good. Very good. You should know that the memories of everyone you know will match how you look now. All photos as well. The old Anna does not exist. Any knowledge you attained will be backed up with degrees and certificates. You'll find them in here."

She held out her hand and on her palm was a small box, the size of a matchbox. It was dark and began to shake. Suddenly it grew to the size of a medium sized moving box, floating in the air. It was mahogany and hinged, and floated gently to the ground.

I leaned over and looked at her. When Alessandra nodded I opened it up and found framed degrees and certificates in all the things I'd wished myself to know.

"Reality reflects what you wished. That's the lesson of that gift, and you understood. You didn't wish for anything unnatural or impossible, nor did you use what you wished for to disturb anyone's life or the fabric of reality.

"Now your next gift is this box. It can now only be used by you, and no one else. When not in use it will shrink to matchbox size. If you lose it, it will appear immediately to you. Whatever you wish will be created inside and it will grow to the size needed. Reality will correspond. For example, wish for a debit card connected to a bank account with ten million dollars and the card will appear in the box, and the bank account will exist. Wish for a car and it will appear, the legalities will be in order. But for a car, you'd best place the box in the street.

"It cannot conjure anything permanently anchored like a building, only something portable. Nor can it conjure anything living. You can't put something in it and make it disappear. Remember that whatever you wish for will exist. It may summon something that already exists or create something new. Choose what you wish for wisely."

"For one week?" I asked, amazed and dazed still.

"One more week until the next test."

I almost couldn't wait to see what came next. "Thank you," I said, still stunned.

It took her by surprise. "My child, can't you see?"

"That this could be a curse as much as a blessing? Of course. Thank you for the opportunity."

She nodded, smiled slightly, and disappeared. My dog came hesitantly over to the box, sniffing. I reached over and stroked him behind the ears. "I don't know what she is, Diego, but I have this feeling I shouldn't screw this up."

I took all the framed papers out and stacked them on the floor. With a small shake the box shrank immediately back to small.

"Diego, no! Leave it!" I commanded as the pooch went for it.

I picked it up and thought wildly what to wish for. Well, the dog needed more toys. "I wish for another flying chicken tug toy like the one Diego used to have. And a rope tug toy like PetsMart has."

It shook and floated, growing and then settling down. I opened it to find the toys and with a smile tossed them to my overjoyed pet. He grabbed the chicken and ran ten feet into the dining room, plopping down to chew and bat at it.

Well, I'd learned from my first "gift" to dive right in.

"I wish for an American express card with no limit in my name. I also wish for all the paperwork and a debit card as well as checkbook from a bank account at Bank of America in my name for ten million dollars, after taxes paid."

The box floated, danced, grew, and settled to my lap. I opened the now briefcase sized box to find the two cards, and two stacks of papers, one of them tax forms. I took those out and wished for a portable file case. More shaking and growing and the box settled on the floor.

It took three more wishes, but I had a file case, folders, and labels, and put the banking info in. Then I put t he cards in my wallet and let it sink in. A credit card with no limit. Ten million dollars in the bank.

Hooting and hollering I began to dance. Diego got excited and joined me, grinning a goofy dog grin, thinking we were playing.

"Well boy, for what I have planned we have to look the part." I wished for a good leather collar and expensive new tag for him with his name and my phone number. I slipped it on and indeed, Diego looked dashing, but he always did. He was by far the most photogenic German Shepherd I'd ever seen.

"Come on boy, let's go for a drive."

As I grabbed my coat I remembered to wish for a new rabies tag from the previous year. I checked the computer and planned two stops. The first was to the vet for all his shots and I paid with my new credit card. Everyone loved Diego for being such a sweet dog, and loved me for stocking up on Science Diet, Diego's favorite food which I hadn't been able to afford in years.

Next I took him to the groomers and asked for a bath, nail trim, anti-shed treatment, the works. They asked me to come back at six, in four hours, and I gave him a kiss and hug and left. Four hours to take my cards out for a drive.

First I went to the Betsey Johnson boutique in tourist land, Michigan Avenue. I wasn't up on designers for the most part, but I knew I liked her. It took all three hours but I got five dresses, six tops, four skirts, and five pairs of shoes there as well as underwear from down the way. At La Perla I got seven bras with fourteen panties that matched, and five garter belts plus ten pairs of silk stockings.

I was a little late picking Diego up but of course they didn't mind, as well behaved as he was. Any time I'd ever taken Diego into a groomer's they practically begged to keep him there. I really lucked out when my dog chose me to go home with.

He looked great and so I drove him home, changed into one of the simpler outfits, and had to wish a better winter jacket and boots into existence. I took him for a walk and then spoiled him with delivery food.

Then I drove the used Honda I'd bought and went out to the dealership way up on the north shore that I wanted. There were a few raised eyebrows at the rattle-trap Honda, but when I stepped out dressed now in a Betsey Johnson dress and heels, looking groomed, the salesman took notice.

After a solid hour of negotiations I traded in the Honda and drove off in my new Tesla Roadster. Feeling elated, I pulled out the box at a stoplight and wished for a new smartphone with the same phone number, ringtones, contacts. When it came, fully charged, I called my friend Desiree and asked her out to dinner.

To me, everything had changed, but to her I'd always been like this. Oh, the car was new, but she said I'd been talking about buying it for weeks. We discussed her moving to New York as we ate, and I ate whatever I wanted, enjoying the hell out of it.

She noted several men looking at us, but honestly I didn't care. Oh, I missed sex, I really did, and thought it about often, but I didn't want to find somebody right then. Magic was real, and the knowledge rocked my world. It had transformed me and now it was transforming my life. I was on a journey, on a plane in the sky. I couldn't worry about finding someone until I touched back down.

She had energy and I had money, so we went to a club. Her scene, not mine, and of course men descended within minutes. I left her with one and some cab money, then drove home. The first day of my second week of trials had been busy as hell. When I fell into bed I went to sleep right away, the dog curled up at my side.

The next day I took Diego for a long walk as it was warming up and we played in the park with neighbors for a while. I'd have to leave my run down ranch house soon so I made an appointment with a realtor for before lunch.

I explained what I was looking for and watched the dollar signs light up the realtor's eyes. She printed off several possible properties and passed them over. In the car I used my little box to summon a nice designer briefcase and put the papers inside.

Next stop was the salon.

There I turned myself over to the experts. Highlights in my hair came before a cut and style, keeping long but layered. My skin was scrubbed and scraped and moisturized until it was raw and soft, then soothed and oiled and moisturized again. I got all new makeup and learned how to put it on, how to style my hair.

When I looked in the mirror in the designer outfit, fully groomed, I looked at last like one of those women I thought I could never be. It wasn't right. So I made a phone call and set an appointment for the next day to tan, went home and walked the dog and played with him for a bit.

These days had been long, but it was a challenge to get all this done. In two days I'd done a lot, so that night I decided to take it easy. Online I found the latest fashions, figured out what would look good on me, and summoned it all with the box.

I had a Tesla Roadster in the garage and a designer wardrobe. I lived in a crappy rental, but soon that would change. So with big plans, I went to sleep.

The next step took three of the five remaining days. I wanted to be fair so it took some leg work, but I found the home I wanted, which was a brownstone of five apartments. I had to make sure everyone in them wanted to move, which meant creating more and more money in my account. It cost thirty-two million to buy everyone out, but I did, and the building was mine. It would just take two months until I could move in.

So for the interim I bought a house in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, a nice Victorian. I donated all my old furniture, hired movers to box everything else, and spent the last day conjuring furniture for my temporary home.

On the fourteenth day I just knew Alessandra would find me, and indeed she did. My doorbell rang and I answered it nervously. The mirror by the door showed a slim, attractive woman dressed in a tight sweater dress and tall black leather boots. A stranger with a tinge of familiarity.

I opened the door and she was grinning. "Anna!"

"Alessandra," I said with a nervous nod. I wasn't sure how I'd pass this test with all that I had done. "Come in."

I showed her to the living room where I had tea waiting, a pot of Earl Grey which I favored. I'd bought little cakes from a nearby bakery and those waited as well.

"Well, this is much more welcoming," she said as Diego came running in from the yard, the doggie door swinging loudly.

"Down boy," I said firmly. He was excited, moving, all this new territory to claim.

"Please, have a seat. Tea?"

"Honey and milk, please." She cooed to Diego, scratching his chin the way he liked and he half melted at her feet.

I poured two cups with honey and milk and passed her one, sitting on the couch opposite her. I put three tiny vanilla cakes on a plate and grabbed it mostly to have something to do. When Diego started sniffing I tossed him one by the fireplace and he plopped down to eat it.

"You're nervous."

I nodded and sipped my tea. "Indeed I am. I'm not sure exactly what the test was."

"So let's go over things. You created money. How much?"

"Fifty million dollars."

"Quite a large sum. And did you just wish it into existence?"

"Actually, I wished for it to be siphoned off from the personal accounts of twenty people who can spare it and frankly I feel didn't need it."

"So you didn't just create it?"

"One of the degrees, actually two of them, I wished for were in economics. I knew what would happen to magically create money from nothing. I didn't want to upset the balance of things too much."

She nodded and popped a small cake into her mouth. "And you bought this house."

"I bought this house and a new car. But I also bought a brownstone downtown. I've wanted it since I was a child. I gave the tenants thirty days and two million each for their apartments, and already hired a contractor to revert it to the manor it once was."

"Why did everyone agree to move?"

"I gave them two million each, cash, under the table. They signed over their deeds, and the alderman already agreed to let the construction permit turn it to a single residence."

"And what will you do with two homes?"

"I'll give this one to friends who need it."

"And why do you want- how large a brownstone is it?"

"Five units. Once done it will be a six bedroom ten bath monster."

She nodded. "Why do you need such a large space?"

"Want. I admit, I want. If...if this lifestyle is to continue, I think I'd like to have foster children. I don't know yet, but I prefer to be surrounded by people. I'm a pack animal."

Another strange emotion crossed her eyes, something like dreaded avarice. She sat forward, her cashmere coat revealing a dress not that far off from mine. "So you planned for the future, worked not to disturb the natural order, and figured out a way to help friends in need."

Put that way...guilt crept in. "I went nuts at the salon and I did conjure an entire wardrobe from nothing, though many pieces I bought at stores. I just...hate shopping, actually."

She said nothing at first, smiling in a way that told me she was thinking, and it was equally good and bad. I ate two small cakes to have something to do and then called Diego over to lick frosting from my fingers.

"Your next gift-"

"I passed the test?"

She nodded, biting her lip. Her words were polite, but I could sense she didn't like me, for whatever reason. "You passed this test with flying colors. I'm just not sure how you'll do with the next test."

"Can you tell me why the tests? What exactly is going on?"

She set her cup down and sat forward. "Anna, I can't explain it now. In a way, this is a job interview. If you'd been raised within our family you'd know more, but your mother...she had her reasons. If you pass the third test a new life will be yours, one you cannot imagine. If you don't, everything you wish for in the next week from the box on top of what you already have is yours. The body and mind you've created is yours, but all memory of this time will be gone."

"Gone?"

"As will memories of your former life. You will believe you have always looked and been this way. One benefit of being of our line is that no matter what happens, you will have a good life."

"I want my memory. Without it, the dark times will fade. And then I will become just another spoiled, pampered, rich, pretty girl. I'll have no drive. All my life, good or bad, all I've ever had was my drive. Don't take that away."

The look she gave me would have looked at home on the face of an upscale waiter when a patron asked for A-1 at a five star steakhouse. "Hmm. Then you'll have to pass this test, and I'll give you the choice to keep your darkness."

The way she said it told me she doubted I could pass the last test. That angered me deeply, after all, hadn't I proved myself competent and capable the last two weeks? "What is this 'gift' that you think I can't handle?"

"There's good and bad. You'll need to choose a familiar. That's an animal companion that will become important soon."

"Easy. Diego."

"I thought so. But for what comes after if you pass the test you'll need help. That means you must have three people live with you. For the next week you will have them with you."

"Roommates are not a problem. Are they...like me?"

"If you mean taking a test, no, they were born into their lives knowing all required of them."

She knew perfectly well what I had meant. Were they awaiting a legacy? Impossibly beautiful young women as riddled with nerves as I was? "Damn it, Alessandra, you're making me nervous! Just what is it you think I can't do?"

"You said you didn't desire casual sex any longer, yes?"

"That's right. In a manner of speaking. It's more I have not yet reconciled my feelings on the matter after its long absence from my life."

"If you pass the test it will not be casual sex, but if you don't, it may be too much to ask you to take three men as your lovers for one week."

Nothing she could have said would have shocked me more. "Uh, is there anything...strange about them?"

"Strange?"

"Look, I've been celibate for three fucking years. I'm climbing the walls. You're telling me I can have three lovers for a week and if it doesn't go well, I won't remember them nor feel guilty. If it does go well, they're stuck with me and I with them. So, unless they're really eighty-year old yetis, I'm not so sure what the problem is."

She blinked. "This is usually the hardest one for anyone testing. It was hard for me."

"Still have your three?"

She nodded, a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. "Two, actually."

"Well then, when do I meet them?"

"If you're ready, now."

I took a deep breath and grabbed Diego's collar as he drew close. "Ok, go."

Alessandra waved her hand and suddenly three men stood behind the couch she occupied. All stared at me with unabashed curiosity and I did my best not to stare back at them, not yet. I tried to keep my eyes on Alessandra, but it was tough.

One was very tall and slim, tanned which made his light blonde hair and green eyes stand out. The one in the middle almost as taller, broad, built like a linebacker. He also had long hair pulled back in a ponytail, though his was auburn, his skin pale olive, his eyes something bright, perhaps hazel. The man on the left wasn't as tall as the others though still at least six feet tall, his long hair fell pitch black to his shoulders, his eyes a burning blue above the dark shadow of a light beard. He was built stronger than the one in the middle. Despite the differences between them, they seemed to fit well together, like childhood friends full grown.

I forced my eyes back to my apparent aunt. "Is there anything more you can tell me?"

She stood as did I, and I was surprised to see they were even taller than I thought, the brunette standing at six-two, and the blonde, the tallest, at about six inches over that. I bit my lip to keep an audible sigh back, thinking it was as if Alessandra had conjured them from my most personal and frequent sexual fantasies.

They wore knowing smiles, however. I liked confidence in a man, but arrogance was something to be suspicious of.

"Anna, I present to you Julian," she indicated the blond, "Andre," the redhead nodded at her words, "and Pierre. " Pierre was the brunette, who looked like a pretty pirate.

At their names each had inclined their head slightly and called me "Madame" with a slight French accent. I nodded back and took their measure. Each was well muscled in their own way, and their knuckles were rough, telling me they were brawlers. Julian seemed the youngest at perhaps twenty-five, Andre the oldest as somewhere closer to forty, and Pierre was probably close to my age. My real age.

"Nice to meet you all."

"You have four bedrooms, yes?" Alessandra asked.

"Yes."

"They will each take one. I will send over what they need for a week. Julian is a master chef, Pierre is mechanically inclined, and Andre...he will serve you well."