Of course I wanted to believe something magic was really happening. But fairies, really?

Thomas shot a glare at Dani and TS, then went on. "There are some magics out there, fairies being a good example, who compromise our secrecy. Sometimes accidentally, sometimes for fun. And, from time to time, violently. We have to deal with a lot of crime that non-magics just aren't equipped to deal with. Bit of an FBI and CIA feeling sometimes."

"Makes it fun," Dani said. "It's a good job."

"A lot of paperwork though," TS said. "You wouldn't believe how long it takes just to write up a report about, I dunno, some dumb, young wizard trying to use a love potion on a non-magic."

I stared at them. They were either all playing along really well or... no. I hadn't stumbled onto a bunch of magical beings or whatever they were. It was too good and too unbelievable to be true. But, why had they kept putting it off? If there really was a boring, non-magical explanation for all of this, why hadn't they told me right away? And if, by some insane miracle, I really had stumbled into some kind of fantasy movie, there was still no reason for them to have waited. As far as I could tell, Jon coming had been pointless.

"And you waited this long to tell me… why?" I asked. "You could have explained it without waiting for Jon to get here, or even had him do it."

"Actually, we were going to alter your memory," Thomas said softly.

"What?" I blurted.

"Jon mixed up a potion that would wipe your memory and make you believe anything we told you. We had to wait for him, because none of us can do that. We could have just found someone in Panama to do it, but Jon likes to be hands-on."

They were still sticking to the magic angle. "I suppose Jon is a wizard or something?" I asked, expecting Thomas to say no.

"Yes."

They all still looked perfectly serious. I was confused. I was starting to believe them. I wanted to believe them. But, a part of me was afraid that they were suddenly going to burst out laughing because they fooled me.

"And let me guess," I said, trying to see which way this was leading, "you’re all witches and wizards. And you," I continued, looking at Dani, "cast some survive-falling-off-a-ship spell that night."

He shook his head and laughed. "No, no. I’m not a wizard. I'm a water elemental. A nereid to be specific."

"A nereid," I repeated. Something clicked, and I felt like an idiot. They were messing with me. "A Greek nereid? Like from Greek mythology?" I demanded.

Dani rolled his eyes. "No. The mythical nereids are named after us, not the other way around."

"You're Greek though."

"I can't help where I was born."

He said it with a perfectly straight face, and I was torn again. "And Mariana’s a nereid too?" I asked carefully.

"Nah, she’s a mermaid. We’re totally different. That‘s like saying a shark is the same as a guppy cause they both live in the water."

"Would you be the shark or the guppy?" TS asked with a grin. I noticed once again that his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth when he laughed.

Dani hummed under his breath and made a rude gesture at him.

"So," I said. I looked back at Thomas, "You were going to erase my memory, but you didn’t?"

This wasn't possible, was it? There was no such thing as magic or wizards or water elementals.

"You can see what my eyes really look like," Dani said.

I froze. Dani's eyes were strange. If eyes that reacted with emotions weren't proof that magic was real, I wasn't sure what was. Were they... Were they really telling the truth?

"So, we had Fend talk to you," Thomas said, "and you could hear him."

"Fend?" I asked. I had heard that name a couple of times now.

"The raven," Thomas said. "He's Jon's familiar."

"Okay..." This had gone on too long, hadn't it? If it were a joke, they would have said something by now. "And, you didn't erase my memory, why?"

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"My eyes are just plain blue to non-magics. If you can see them, and you can hear Fend, then you..." Dani paused.

"You're a magic," TS said. "It wouldn't be possible otherwise."

I was stunned. For a moment I wasn't sure what to say. I was magic?

"You’re a witch," Thomas said. "If you were anything else, you’d know. Non-magical humans sometimes give birth to magical ones. It’s pretty rare, but it happens. A witch can’t do any real damage without a way to channel her power. As a result, magical humans like you who don’t know it just… Well, they stay that way unless they get lucky like you."

He fell silent, and they all watched me, as if waiting for me to realize that he was telling the truth. I wanted to, but it all just seemed too perfect. Too incredible. I stared down at my hands, trying to figure out what to say. I was still afraid that if I jumped right in eagerly, they'd all reveal it was one big joke. Suddenly, there was a commotion.

"Damn it, TS! Get off the bed first!" Dani yelled.

"Ew, Teth, you got fur in my mouth," Thomas spat.

I looked up and froze. Thomas and Dani were still sitting on the bed and half on them, half off the bed, was a wolf. At least, it looked like one. I had seen wolves in the zoo before, but this was nothing like them. It was huge, at least twice the size of a normal wolf. It was a solid, shaggy, dark brown. Its paws were the size of dinner plates. Its snout was stubbier than a regular wolf, but it had long fangs hanging out of the top and another set on the bottom. Really long fangs. Its tongue lolled out of the corner of its mouth behind one set of fangs, and I could swear it was grinning.

"Sorry," said a voice that sounded like TS, only deeper and scratchier. "I figured this was the fastest way to clear things up."

As I stared in shock, the wolf began to shrink. The fur melted away into clothing and skin, and the paws split into hands. Then, TS was there. His legs were on the bed still across Dani and Thomas’ laps, and his hands were on the floor holding him up. He swung his legs around, stood, and stretched. He flashed me a grin and settled back on the bed.

"Thanks for the warning," Dani muttered. He moved a little farther away from TS.

"So, you already know what Danio and Mariana are. I am a werewolf," TS announced.

This couldn’t be happening. They weren't joking. It was real. TS was a werewolf, Dani was a water elemental, Mariana was a mermaid, and I... I was a witch.

"You alright?" Thomas asked softly. "I know it’s a lot to accept."

"It can’t be real…"

"Well, that was the best proof I had," TS laughed.

"You saw me fall off the ship," Dani said. "Look at my eyes." He leaned forward, and I could see different blues in them gently moving. Like ebbing and flowing water. "Have you ever seen a human with eyes like this?"

"No..." I said weakly. "You're really... not human?"

"I already told you, I’m a water elemental," Dani laughed. "A lot of magics like me look almost human. There's nothing odd about me to a non-magic; they see black hair and blue eyes. But, obviously, that's not right."

His hair almost looked black, but had a definite blue tint, and his eyes were still merrily swirling. He really wasn't human.

"But…" My head reeled. I tried to make sense of it all and kept going over everything I’d seen in movies about wizards and werewolves and mermaids. "It’s not a full moon tonight," was the only thing I thought of saying.

TS laughed, and for the first time, his tongue poking out reminded me of a dog instead of just looking odd. "That’s movie stuff. I can turn into a wolf any time between sunset and sunrise."

"But not during the day?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I’m just a regular human during the day. I look human right now, but I'm not."

I nodded. This was still too much to take in. "So... why are you here?"

"We're taking a cruise," Thomas laughed. "We, uh..."

"Pulled some strings," TS added.

"Since MES pays for college credit, we worked a free cruise out of them," Thomas said.

They laughed and fell silent. I sat quietly for a moment, and they all seemed content to let me think. Part of me still felt like they were about to say it was all a big joke, but amazingly, I knew it wasn’t. All the things I had seen, the conversations I had overheard. It all made sense. I couldn't believe this was happening.

"By the way, Jon is looking into getting you a wand," Thomas said to me.

My jaw dropped. "A wand? Like a magic wand?"

"Exactly," he laughed. "You are a witch, after all. I'll teach you a few spells, get you started." There was something slightly off about his smile. He glanced at TS, who nudged Thomas' knee with his. Thomas flashed him a different, almost sad smile and turned back to me. "If you stop by tomorrow night, I should have a wand for you."

"Okay," I said.

There was a knock on the door, and TS went to open it. Charlie followed him back into the room and stared at me in obvious confusion.

"Jen, what a surprise." He looked at Dani and frowned. I realized that he didn't know that I was, apparently, a witch. He must have expected my memory to be erased by now. There wasn't enough room on the bed with Dani, Thomas, and TS, but it seemed that Charlie wanted to sit across from me, too. He ended up sitting mostly on Dani's lap and looked at me curiously.

"Get off! You smell horrible," Dani cried, leaning away from him. "What have you been doing?"

"Sauna. Why is, uh..." He glanced at me.

"Charlie, here," Dani said to me, "is a fire elemental."

"Danio!" Charlie gasped.

"It's okay," Thomas snickered. "She's a witch."

"What?" Charlie looked at me in shock. I could see orange and red sparks flying in his eyes. A fire elemental. That meant that the streaks in his hair probably weren't dyed in, just like Dani's was really blue.

"It's news to me too," I told him.

"Toasty," Charlie laughed. "She get missed or something?"

"Seems that way," Thomas answered. "Lucky we found her. She's almost too old."

"Well, then," Charlie said, before I could ask what that meant, "I am, indeed, a fire elemental. An imp, in fact." He laughed. "Probably the only kind you'd enjoy running into." He snapped his fingers, and a flame appeared on his palm. He closed his fist, and the flame went out.

"Wow," I breathed.

I heard a muffled ringing, and Thomas pulled a phone out of his pocket. "Yeah?... Jon, I just ate. You were there, remember?... I'm already back on the ship... I'm not going to... but..."

"You should go," Dani said.

TS nodded in agreement.

Thomas glared at both of them. "No, I'm coming, I'm outnumbered... Yes, I'll ask her, bye." He snapped his phone shut. "Fine," he grumbled to them. He sighed and looked at me. "I'm sorry, Jennifer. I'm afraid I've got to go. Jon has a question for you though."

"Oh?" I asked.