The Wizards' Dare Club met on the first Thursday of the month, at midnight, in the basement lounge of the dorm where three of us lived. The five of us were students at Wesleyan College--and not the only students of magic, just friends who enjoyed our little game.

Wizards' Dare was, essentially, just Truth or Dare, except we upped the ante with magic: a sorcerous compact, signed by all, that compelled us to speak the truth and never renege on a dare. The letter of the dare or task was strictly enforced by the magic. The Right of Reversal kept things in balance. If someone tasked you with a dare, you could invoke the Right of Reversal, and then they would have to complete the dare instead. However, once the task was completed, you were subject to the original dare and another of the tasker's choosing--and, courage having been proven, the follow-up dare was typically unmerciful.

It turns out that even when you're an apprentice wizard, even when you're in a clique that meets up to play a tense, sexy game every month, you can't just go around turning your female friends into statues. People look at you weird, and you have to transfer, even if they all got turned back. Anyway. At Wesleyan, my quirk was still under wraps.

So there were the five of us, sitting cross-legged in a circle on the floor: Kate, Marcus, Ana, Sajani, and me. It was getting late, pushing 3 in the morning; no more dares that would have us running around campus, using telekinesis to put cars in improbable places or filch embarrassing items. Ana finished asking Marcus some embarrassing truth about his last girlfriend, and then it was Sajani's turn.

Sajani added a lot of spice to the game. She loved getting people naked--the participants or bystanders--and had an exhibitionist streak herself, so we quickly learned she didn't fear the Right of Reversal. Sajani's dares were predictably sexual and embarrassing and we all had an excited apprehension of them. But she seemed to be tapped out of good ideas for the night.

I saw my chance. As casually as I could, I offered the suggestion: "Make Kate let you turn her into a statue." Kate, of course, glared good-naturedly at me. But Sajani pondered for a few moments, then began grinning broadly. She regarded Kate for a moment, then turned to me. "That's a very good idea, Brian. In fact, I dare you to have me turn you into a statue."

Sajani paused a moment. "Naked, of course."

The other players giggled, but my heart raced. This was not what I intended, but the idea definitely had a certain appeal. You don't play Wizards' Dare without something of a submissive streak, and the idea of allowing this beautiful sorceress to strip and ensorcell me--to make me hard, as it were--was pretty exciting. I tried to maintain my cool. "For how long?"

Her grin turned wicked. "Until I change you back."

This was better than I could have hoped for. Sajani might get her revenge someday, but that was a price I was willing to pay. "Very well, Sajani, but first: I invoke the Right of Reversal."

Sajani laughed, then paused for a moment. Then her face fell. "Wait... I need to reword that." As if involuntarily, she began unbuttoning her shirt. Cate, Marcus, and Ana were a little confused, looking back and forth between themselves. I just stared.

"Wait! This isn't what I want," Sajani protested, as her hands finished removing her shirt and dropped it to the floor behind her.

"Stop, we need to change this." Hands darted behind her back and Sajani's bra came off, revealing well-shaped if smallish breasts. She moved to cover them with her arm, but her hands disobeyed, peeling off her socks instead. Sajani gracefully stood up onto her slender bare feet.

She glanced hopefully at me, but I said nothing. Sajani wasn't protesting any more, just pouting. She understood. She wriggled out of her jeans and stepped smoothly out as they fell to the floor; her panties followed immediately. Her long, lean body was now completely bare except her glasses, which the spell evidently allowed her to keep. The sight was not exactly new to us, but still always very much welcome.

No sooner was Sajani undressed than she began mumbling a spell under her breath. She rolled her eyes. Her hands were gesturing vividly, tracing the arcane gestures needed, leaving her naked body completely revealed. The spell Sajani knew was evidently no combat charm; it took nearly a minute while the gestures traced out what seemed to me an erotic, exotic dance.

As the spell neared its end, Sajani focused her exasperation on me, glaring. I only smiled and bowed my head slightly. The lady doth protest too much, perhaps? The last words she spoke: "</i>karanda petrificactus... Sajani,</i>" spitting out her own name.

As Sajani did so, a glowing ring of energy swept up from the ground, along her body. As it rose, the flesh it passed changed to gray stone: first her feet, then her calves, thighs, ass, abdomen, breasts, arms... finally, she gave a small yelp just before it reached her still-disgruntled face. Then she was silent, completely transformed into stone. We were all speechless--my friends, I suppose, with surprise, but I with pure excitement. By any standards, Sajani was a gorgeous girl that made a fantastic statue. But add in the fact that she had brought her naked, powerless state upon herself? And against her own will? Entirely too much.

Still, I did my best to deadpan: "I like the glasses." They still sat, unchanged, over Sajani's blank stone eyes. I did like them, too: they made it much easier to think of this helpless statue as so my so-recently-fiery friend. We all stood up--our game forgotten--and formed a loose circle around Sajani, each of us regarding her in thought.

Ana attempted to cast a dispel, but the spell drained away even as she attempted to incant the words of power. Sajani continued to stand on bare stone feet, naked, motionless. Marcus explained what we were all thinking: "The compact... she has to be the one to change herself back."

Ana continued to state the obvious to fill the silence: "But we can't just leave her."

"Of course not," Marcus replied. "We'll... keep her safe, while we work on a solution. Cate, can you meet at my room at eleven tomorrow? I need to pick your brain about countermagic." Cate nodded. Then he turned to me. "Since this is kind of... your fault, why don't you take care of Sajani until we work it out?"

I thought I caught a subtle wink, but feigned indignation. "It's the right of reversal, and she needed her own medicine. There was just no way to give her... any less of it." All true. I glanced up and down Sajani's stone body. Keeping her this way for so long... a happy accident.

We finished our still-stunned goodbyes and arranged plans for research and our next meeting. I teleported the immobile Sajani to my room, then walked back myself. When I arrived and opened the door, seeing her nude stone form in the corner brought a smile to my face all over again, a broad smile I no longer tried to hide. I ran my hands over her smooth, firm curves. She was a good friend, and we would change her back eventually. But I was in no hurry; and neither was Sajani.