The bomber crew looked at him. Hogan looked twice. Yes they were still women. Captain Evers stood, calling his men? to attention.

"At ease. Captain, we're hoping to find some answers to your predictment. I do need to know what happened."
 "There's not much to tell." Captain Evers sat down. "It's like I said. We took a lot of fire and had to bail out. We all found each other and by something miraculous, none of us were badly hurt. We started walking and saw a tall, young woman. We approached her and a fogbank rolled in and then it felt as I'd been dropped in a fire. I passed out and woke up like this." He gestured towards himself. "This is some sick joke, right?"

"We're trying to find out." Hogan studied each man/woman. "So tell me about this woman..."

Newkirk carved carefully. Carter sat by him, watching the wood shavings curl and fall. He didn't say anything, just watched. The smell of crisp wood filled the air. LeBeau approached them. "I have lunch."

"Great." Newkirk studied his work and frowned. "This isn't what I wanted."

"I like it." Carter gingerly picked up the started carving. "It's a neat buck."

"You like it?" Newkirk seemed oddly pleased. "At least you know what it is."

"Tres bien," LeBeau said, turning the animal over in his hands. "It's a good start."

"You're really good with your hands," Carter said.

"'Ave to be, mate. I'm a magician." Newkirk looked at Carter. "I can't mix explosives."

"It's really easy! And you can wire them together now."

"Not willingly, mate."

"Come eat." LeBeau glanced at his friends.

"I can't cook, either."

"That's why I do." LeBeau waited for Newkirk to put away his pocketknife and they headed for the barracks. Newkirk carried two knives, the pocket knife and his 'pencilsharpner'. That slender stiletto was rarely seen unless necessary. In the barracks, the men ate slowly. Hogan joined the team at the tables, face grim. He glanced at Newkirk. "In the office after lunch," he said.

Newkirk swallowed hard. Hogan studied his face, noting a faint line of shadow. He looked closer. Carefully applied makeup, invisible except at very close range, coarsened Newkirk's facial characteristics, obscured the lighter bones. He grinned slightly. In his office, his men all looked at him. "Newkirk, I can't believe I'm asking this. A great offense, you said. Would these fairies take offense at a fight?"

"It depends. Realize, gov, I'm no expert on the little people but it would depend how this fight went down." Newkirk looked at him. "What happened?"

"The bomber crew approached a tall woman. They got a little--pushy." Hogan's voice hardened.

"I thought fairies were little people with wings," Carter said.

"Fairy can be a general term," Newkirk said. "A tall woman? It could be an elf."

"Elves are short," Kinch said. "Santa's elves."

"They can be tall." Newkirk cocked his head. "Pushy, gov?"

Hogan rubbed his temples. "I got the impression they asked her questions and when she ignored them, one or more got angry. And they grabbed her and may have hit her."

All his men looked appalled. "Yes, that's an offense," Newkirk said. "But why me?"

"We'll ask."

Newkirk nodded.

That night the men all stood around the ring of stones. Hogan looked at Newkirk. Newkirk swallowed and placed a small carving of a buck inside the ring. Then he stepped back and looked around helplessly. "Uh, hello?" he called. No answer. "Um, Lady or Lord?"

"This is ridiculous," Kinch mumbled.

"I am here, mortal."

Hogan jerked as a shimmering figure appeared from nowhere. A woman, garbed in silvery white, flowing attire, moved silently through the circle. "Mon Dieu," LeBeau whispered. The woman stepped closer and Hogan noted with a chill that this was not a human woman and he was far beyond his ken. Large almond shaped eyes of iridescent violet gazed at them. White gold hair fell in shiny waves and Hogan swore her ears were pointed. He shivered.

The women bent and picked up the stag. "A beautiful gift," she said in an odd yet pleasant voice. She caressed the antlers. She looked at Newkirk. "You are the visitor from last night, the one affected by the spell who should not have been. Our apologies."

"I just need to be turned back, lady." Newkirk shivered yet met the woman's eyes. "Please."

"It is not so easy as that. Come into the circle and we will talk in safety."

Newkirk started forward and Hogan grabbed him. "Wait," he ordered.

"You are all welcome. Come."

Hogan stepped inside the ring and he felt rather than heard his men follow. "Wow," Carter breathed as the exotic woman smiled at him.

"You may call me Selene," the woman said.

"Selene?" Carter asked.

"It's a name I have been called." She looked at Hogan. "You are the leader."

"Yes." He breathed in.

"Your names?"

Hogan introduced his men and himself. "Selene, please turn my man back."

She looked at Newkirk. "You are Newkirk?"

"Yes," Newkirk confirmed.

"Newkirk." She rolled the name in her mouth. "I must ask your forgiveness. A group of human men hurt one of our clan last night. She cast a spell and you, unfortunately, you were caught in the backlash." Her eyes turned blue briefly. "I can not turn you back. Not now. Only the spellcaster may cancel this spell and she is not willing to do so. If she cancels her spell, all the people switch back, including the wrongdoers."

"I'm innocent!" Newkirk blurted. "You can't leave me a woman!"
 "Fear not. I can turn you back to your male self. I can only do that, however, on the Winter solstice."

Newkirk jerked. "December 21? That's over a month away!"

"I am sorry. Magic, all magic, has rules. Ours is no exception. For a transformation spell, to rework this spell, I can only cast it on Winter or Summer Solstice. It is not my spell."

"How did the other lady do it?" Kinch asked.

"She is a powerful sorcerer and is very angry. Any of us can use magic yet for me to unweave this spell, the part that affects Peter, I must cast it only on Winter or Summer Solstice. This is not my spell or magic." She looked at Peter. "You may return here any night and call my name. I will come to answer your questions. The spell must be done, however, on the Solstice night. If you can not make it, you will wait until the next Solstice."

Newkirk paled and Hogan touched his shoulder. Carter and LeBeau moved closer to them. "Is the other woman all right?" Hogan asked.

"She will be. They physically injured her."

"They didn't, ah," Hogan struggled. Selene looked at him. "Ah,...."

"They hit her only. She will recover." She looked at each man, closely looking at each one. "You will need your warriors in the battles to come."

"Who are you?" LeBeau blurted.

"We are the fey, the ones who live beyond the veil. We are always here, side by side with your world but touching it in ways you don't know."

"You know of our war?" Hogan asked.

"Of course." Selen smiled. "We watch."

"You can't help?" Kinch asked.

Her face saddened and she shook her head. "We, too, are fighting a war. Some of us are lending aid but I can't tell you more."

"You can't help me?" Newkirk asked softly.

"Not in the manner you wish. Not yet." She drew close to him, gently touched his cheek. "I am sorry."

"And the other woman? If I could talk to her, maybe she..." Newkirk stopped as Selene shook her head.

"She has not recovered yet."

Newkirk nodded. His shoulders sagged. She kissed him lightly on the mouth, whispered gently, and then stepped back. "Good luck, warriors," she said. She softly touched each man, gazed in their eyes. Hogan quivered as her fingers clasped his shoulders. Her foreign eyes studied his.

"Good luck, " she murmured. She caressed his cheek. "You and your warriors will do much good."

"Good luck to you as well. I apologize for the other men."

"You did no wrong." She stepped away. "We shall meet again."

She walked off a few steps and simply vanished. Hogan blinked, secretly wondering if he'd gone mad. "Newkirk?"

LeBeau's voice asked lowly.

Hogan looked. Newkirk shivered in the center of the circle. Carter laid a hand on Newkirk's shoulder and LeBeau gripped his arm. Kinch looked at Hogan, resting a hand on Newkirk's back. "Newkirk?" Hogan said. Newkirk blinked and looked at him. His eyes glowed extremely dark in his ghostly pale face. "Come on, Newkirk."

Newkirk stumbled forward. Hogan breathed in the scent of lilacs again and grasped Newkirk's elbow. He guided Newkirk out of the circle. "It'll be all right, Newkirk," Hogan said. "We'll get through this."

Newkirk grimly nodded. Hogan squeezed his shoulder and gestured to the rest of his men. They headed back to the camp. Hogan had Kinch take point and he circled back around his men. They made it back to the camp in silence. At the foot of the tunnel, Newkirk walked off down another branch of the tunnels. "Let him be a few minutes," Hogan said.

"Six weeks," Kinch said. "It'll be tough."

"We can do it." Hogan rubbed his head. "Fairies. Elves."

LeBeau looked down the tunnel. "I hope he understands that."

"We'll tell him," Carter said.

"Colonel, what about the bomber crew? We can't keep them six weeks." Kinch stripped off his coat.

"They'll have to go to London. I can't see the fey changing them back."

"Fey. I seriously think we all need therapists," Kinch muttered.

"We better get Newkirk." LeBeau headed down the tunnel. Hogan grabbed his arm.

"Give him some time."

"Mon Colonel, when Newkirk thinks this through, he will go to the culprits who did this to him." LeBeau looked at Hogan. "And he will fight."

"The bomber crew?" Carter blurted.

"He's right." Hogan let LeBeau go. "Let's go."

They found Newkirk cleaning weapons. His hair fell over his eyes and he silently oiled and cleaned a Luger. Beside him lay a vast array of pistols, rifles, and knives. "You don't have to do that now," Hogan said.

"'Ave to do it sometime, gov. Keeps me busy." Newkirk wiped the pistol, set it aside, and began sharpening a dagger. Carter sat down and picked up a gun. "I can do it, Carter."

"You don't have to do it alone." Carter 'broke' the pistol. LeBeau shrugged and sat down. Newkirk watched his friends all start cleaning weapons. Bewilderment turned to exsperation to gratitude. The five men cleaned weapons for over an hour until LeBeau yawned.

Hogan said "Let's get some sleep."

They all went up. Olson nodded to them sleepily. "Anything from London?" Hogan whispered.

"No, sir. Wilson fed the bomber crew like you ordered."

"Good."