Chapter 2
 
                “Master?” Lucretia paused as he headed up the steps of the massive building. “What are we doing here?”
                Nicodemus turned around. “Relax. I promise I’m not going to do anything stupid.” He grinned. “I am quite aware this is a police station.”
                The Ladyien gave a nervous glance around before dropping her voice. “I’m sorry, master, but I don’t remember us witnessing anything that needs reported. If we are, then I’ll need to be reminded of what I observed.”
                His grin became a warm smile. “That is very nicely put and no, we aren’t here to report anything. I’m here to ask some questions.”
                Lucretia relaxed suddenly. “Yessir.” Without any more hesitation she followed him inside.
                This was the northernmost police station before leaving Montevideo and it had seen better days. The walls were yellowed and flyspecked. An unbalanced blade caused the ceiling fan to wobble as it slowly spun. 
                The OfficerJenny standing at the counter was wearing a threadbare yet freshly pressed uniform. She looked at them disinterestedly. “Good morning. What crime do you wish to report?”
                Nicodemus read her nametag. “I don’t want to report anything, officer Ynez. I just want to ask about the feral encounter status report. I’d like to see the latest one.”
                The pokegirl looked surprised. “You want to see the FESR? And just why do you want to see that?”
                Nicodemus put on his friendliest smile. “I’m going hunting and thought it might be a good guide to troublesome ferals.”
                The OfficerJenny smiled back almost reluctantly. “That is why it is compiled, but usually it’s only used by the police.” She turned to a tired looking computer and started typing. Her voice took on a lecturing tone. “The report is compiled from two things. Reported encounters or sightings of pokegirls are part of it, but not everyone reports the pokegirls they run across.” She glanced up to make sure he was listening. “The other data is collected from pokegirl centers and involves newly caught ferals brought in for initial registration. Once they catch one or two pokegirls, most Tamers make a straight line for the closest pokegirl center to have their records updated.” She glanced up again with an expectant look on her face.
                Nicodemus kept the smile on as he realized he’d suddenly fallen into the first vestibule of hell. She was a talker and he was probably the first audience she’d had in days.
                Ynez continued once she was sure she had his attention. “We update the report every week, which means the data is slightly out of date but should still be useful if you are hunting for bounties or problem pokegirls. You do know that not all of them have bounties assigned, don’t you?” He nodded solemnly. “Good. Some Tamers don’t seem to understand that not all feral pokegirls deserve a bounty.” She snorted. “I had some Tamer come in here with an Elf and try to claim a bounty for a dangerous capture.”
                She paused and gave him a direct look. “I hope you understand that the area around Montevideo isn’t really that good a place to try and use this report. By the time we get it, most feral pokegirls have run into one or more Tamers because there are so many of them around the city.”
                Nicodemus stared at her for a few seconds before realizing she was waiting for input from him. Usually talkers didn’t notice if you never responded.        
                “Um, yes, that’s good to know.” He pulled his thoughts together. “I was interested in the information around the ruins of Florida.” His mind sent him a quick warning as her lips twitched. “A printout would be just fine,” he said hastily.
                “I’d be more than willing to discuss your choices with you at length.” She smiled brightly. “That way you could maximize your efficiency.”
                He was sure that would take several hours and he’d rather pull his own ear off with a pair of pliers. “I need to get on the road and while I’m sure your advice would help a great deal, if I study the report on the way, I think I can get by.” He gave her a friendly look. “However, I’ll remember you’re here for next time.”
                She nodded and pressed a button. The laser printer hummed as it started warming up. “You just do that. I’ll be looking for you.” She handed him the two sheets of hardcopy it extruded. “You have a nice and productive day now, citizen.”
                Once they were several blocks down the street, Nicodemus turned to Lucretia. “I want you to remember to keep on the lookout for that OfficerJenny so we can avoid her from hereon out.”
 
***
 
                Lucretia watched her Tamer as they walked. He was adjusting the straps on the new pack he’d bought before they left town. “Are we going to catch more pokegirls, master?”
                “We are.” He glanced at her. “Murchison is playing games with us, but I guess that goes with being part of a criminal organization. It sucks but right now there’s nothing I can do about it except grin and say ‘thank you’.”
                “Master, without meaning any disrespect, why are you with Team Zenith? I’m sure you would have been able to get a pokegirl without their interference.”
                Nicodemus chuckled. “Yes, I already had some plans in motion. However, I was stymied as to how to get a pokedex. The only thing that came to mind was to catch a pokegirl who works at a remote pokegirl center and bond her to me so she could pass me on the Tamer test. This came along before I could work out the flaws in my plans, so I went this route.”
                “I see. Master, now that you have a pokedex, I’d like to know if you will remain with Team Zenith.”
                “No, I don’t think I will. Murchison is an ass and he’s too arrogant. Eventually a disaffected member of Team Zenith will turn him in to the police for leniency or he’ll attempt a job that’s too big for him and get caught. Unless it happens soon, I’ll be gone long before that happens.” He gave her a curious look.  “Are you trying to talk me out of a life of crime?”
                “It doesn’t suit you, master.” Lucretia had relaxed around him since becoming his pokegirl and knew he wouldn’t punish her for speaking her mind, as long as she was respectful. “Neither does a life as a hero, but you would make an outstanding Master Tamer or Breeder.”
                Nicodemus suddenly looked pleased. “You think so?” He preened for a second. “I think I would too. However, I’m blacklisted here in the Silver River League.”
                “I’m sure you’ve already got plans to overcome this difficulty as well,” she replied confidently.
                He shot her a suspicious look. “Are you supposed to stroke my ego this much?”
                She nodded. “As your alpha I am responsible for the well being of the entire harem, including our master.”
                “That’s an interesting way to look at it.” He grew thoughtful. “Are you sure you’re not just doing this to make sure you keep your job?”
                “No, master, that is not my only reason.” She returned his sudden smile and, having planted the seeds she wanted in his mind, changed the subject. “Are you going to keep the Rack and the Ivywhore?”
                “I haven’t decided yet about whether or not I’m going to keep the Rack. I’ve already posted the Ivywhore for sale on pokebay.” He frowned. “I’m not eager to have to teach the rules to more than one pokegirl at a time, even with your help. There’s a lot of adjustment that has to go on for everyone when a harem member is added, and that includes me.”
                Lucretia nodded. “Both of the local ranches deal in Ivywhores. Why not sell to one of them?”
                “If I sell to one of the ranches, I owe Tawny another ten percent of my take. I’m already losing forty percent and I’m trying to minimize my losses.”
                “Oh.” She realized he didn’t look happy and decided to ask about something else to take his mind off of a situation he couldn’t change. “Master, I saw you bought a portable pokegirl healing unit. Even with the solar panel you got with it, I would recommend an electrical pokegirl to help keep the battery charged.”
                He nodded. “Yes, I know. The money for the stones was helpful, but there’s not much left after this pokepack and the PPHU.” He scratched his chin. “I’ll need a better razor soon. Anyway, you know I didn’t give up all of the evolution stones and we have the Rack. Once she settles down, I was considering making her a Thundrix.”
                He stopped suddenly. “This is nice. Usually I don’t have anyone to talk to about my ideas. You’re good to have around.”
                For the rest of the day Lucretia had an extra bounce in her step.
 
***
 
                Elena landed easily and offered Nicodemus the digital camera as her wings folded up. “Master, there’s a building in the ruins up ahead. It has smoke coming out of the chimney so I think it’s occupied.” It had turned out, once he brought her into the harem, that the Rack hadn’t been feral for long. From their discussions after she’d recovered speech, Nicodemus estimated she’d lost her first Tamer about six months beforehand somewhere in the Slot League. They’d stumbled across a flight of Wasps and he and most of his harem had been taken for conversion. 
                The Rack had fought her way free and collapsed from a combination of injury and exhaustion. By the time she’d recovered it had been too late and they were gone. Half mad from grief, she’d drifted south and eventually gone feral.
                Nicodemus cued up the image. There was a smallish building and small number of outbuildings encircled by a wall that had been liberally lined with rusty barbed wire. A crude sign depicting a cup and some grapes swung lazily from the front of the building.
                From a tree in the corner of the frame dangled the mostly skeletal remains of some pokegirl. 
                “Not the most inviting place I’ve seen, but it looks like a tavern.” Nicodemus shook his head and handed the camera back. “They might have some information we can use. How far?”
                The pokegirl shrugged. “It’s about eight or nine miles, sir, as the Rack flies.” She smiled hesitantly at her joke. It firmed up when he smiled back. “Master, may I ask a question?”
                “Elena, if I don’t want to answer a question, I’ll inform you, but your questions are always welcome.”
                “Thank you, sir. I will remember that about you. Why did they put a corpse in that tree?”
                “As far as anyone knows, there are no carrion eating pokegirls except for the Slutge and her evolutions. The smell of a rotting pokegirl will often keep away most of the other types. Some people use it when they don’t have electricity for the ultrasonic repellers, which don’t work all the time anyway. Of course, neither does this.”
                “Oh. Is it ok if I think it’s nasty?”
                He nodded solemnly. “I agree that it is. Still, we need to talk to whoever lives there.”
                “Do you think he knows about the Ponytaur herd?” Elena spread her wings for takeoff as she watched him.
                “It’s likely, since they were reported around this area. Stay nearby and point me in the right direction.”
                She nodded and vaulted into the air as Lucretia circled in and landed. The Ladyien was doing overhead patrols looking for potential captures or problems. So far the trip had been quiet. “News, master?”
                Nicodemus took a pull on his canteen and offered it to the Ladyien. “Someone’s living in the ruins of Florida.”
                Lucretia drank and handed back the water bottle. “Then we’ll have to talk to them and see if whoever is there knows anything about the Ponytaur.” She smiled briefly. “But you already knew that.”
                “It’s still good to see you’re thinking.” She beamed at the praise. “Now get up there and let’s get moving. I want to make the ruins before dark.”
 
***
 
                “Do you want another beer?” The tavern owner asked. Jose Aguilar was tall and thin with wispy brown hair and a toothy smile. He smiled a lot and tended to play with the pokeball on his belt.
                Nicodemus could already feel the buzz of the first two. “No,” he replied distinctly. “However I would like some information and I’m willing to pay for it.”
                Aguilar grinned. “If it’s about those damned Catgirls I’ll give it to you free. All you have to do is eliminate them for me and I’ll consider us even.”
                Nicodemus blinked at him as his mind moved sluggishly. “The Catgirls. Of course.”
                Jose swept up the beer and replaced it with a large mug of orange juice. “It looks like you made a good decision in turning down another beer, young fellow.” He laughed quietly as his woman, a Ladyien with threads of gray in her hair, took the empty mug and drifted away.
                Nicodemus forced his mind to focus and carefully enunciated his words. “You were going to tell me about the Catgirls?” He took a slug of the orange juice and almost sighed as coolness flowed down his throat.
                “Normally the pokegirls around here don’t bother with me. I don’t have much that would interest them and Rosa can deal with the occasional stupid one.” He leaned against the wall. “But recently a group of Catgirls have been raiding my vegetable garden and rooting around in my trash. I keep it covered normally, but their activities are spreading it around and eventually it’ll draw something dangerous. Whenever Rosa goes after them they split up and one of them keeps her busy while the others go for the garbage.”
                Nicodemus nodded. “Do you know how many of them there are?”
                Jose shrugged. “I’ve seen three at one time but there may be more.”
                “I can look into it. Do you know anything about a herd of Ponytaur that are supposed to live in the area?”
                The owner nodded. “I’d stay away from those putas if I were you. They’re bad news.” His mouth worked.  “There are two Rapitaur running the herd and they’re tough bitches. The herd has some fillies and is very protective of them. I’m just glad they leave me alone and I avoid them in return.”
                Nicodemus nodded. “That’s a healthy attitude, but I still want to know more about them. They’re listed as a menace and there’s a small bounty on each of them.”  
                Jose shrugged. “If you insist on dying, at least get rid of those Catgirls for me first.”
                “Fine. Tell me about them and the Ponytaur.”
 
***
 
                The moonlight came and went as clouds scudded by overhead. Nicodemus waited in some shadows about ten yards from the garbage while Jose and Rosa were in the tavern. Lucretia glanced at him as Elena fidgeted, eager for the upcoming fight.
                “We wait until the Catgirls are busy with Rosa and then you two hit them. If everything goes well they should be taken by surprise and we’ll end this quickly.” He sighed. “Then we can focus on the real prize.”
                Elena flexed her wings. “Why are the Ponytaur so important, master? The bounty on them can’t be much.”
                Nicodemus chuckled. “The bounty is so small that, while it is posted on the bounty sites, it’s on the last page. I’m not interested in the bounty so much as I’m interested in the pokegirls. One or two of them would make my plans a lot simpler.”
                Lucretia’s head came around. “Master, are those the plans we were discussing earlier?”
                “They are.” Elena looked curious but remained quiet as he continued. “Having some fast ground transport would make travel a lot easier.”
                “Sir, are we going to be doing some traveling?” The Rack still looked curiously at him.
                “You never know, Elena.”
                Suddenly, there was a banging noise outside the wall and Jose started cursing. Rosa ran outside and lifted off, circling the tavern as she gained altitude.
                “We should give her a couple of minutes.” Lucretia grabbed one of Elena’s wings as she spread them eagerly. “The Catgirls need to get used to her still being alone.” 
                The Rack glared at her until Nicodemus frowned. Then she sighed and half folded her wings. “Whatever.”
                Lucretia shook the wing she still held. “I am your alpha and ‘whatever’ is not an acceptable response.”
                Elena looked into Nicodemus’ eyes for a long moment before turning back to the Ladyien. “I am sorry, my alpha. Please accept my apologies.”
                Lucretia released the wing. “Trust me, Elena, it won’t be long.”
                A hungry look came into the Rack’s eyes. “Good.”
                A few minutes later Nicodemus checked his watch. “Got your pokeballs?” Two heads nodded briskly. “Then go get them.” The pokegirls lifted off and vanished into the darkness.
                He eased forward and peered around the corner of a shed. From here he could see the building where garbage was stored. It was emptied once a month and the refuse went to a pit a mile away where it was burned. He was supposed to alert his pokegirls if one of the Catgirls made it past them. He’d rather be conducting the battle, but darkness made that impossible without night vision devices he didn’t have.
                A burst of loud yowling followed by Elena’s battle cry made him smile thinly. He listened with pleasure as the sounds of battle escalated quickly.
                Suddenly he froze as something snuffled the back of his neck. He slowly turned, reaching for his mace. The pokegirl leaned forward and sniffed him, her eyes big in the semi-dark. “Eva?” She grinned and pounced.
 
***
 
                Lucretia frowned as she went into a hover. “Master, we got two of them, but they aren’t Catgirls. They were Eva.” She waited a handful of seconds. “Nicodemus?” The clouds slid out of the way and the wan moonlight glittered off drops of wetness on the ground. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “ELENA!”
                “I’m over here,” Nicodemus called softly. He moved slowly into the moonlight. His clothes were shredded and ribbons of blood ran down his chest. His voice was taught with pain. “Get the first aid kit from my pack.”
                Lucretia gasped and dropped to the ground. “I can’t leave you. What if the Eva comes back?”
                Nicodemus flashed a grim smile and winced as he held up a pokeball. “She’s right here. Get the pack. Now.”
                Elena swept in and landed as Lucretia dashed off. “Are you ok?”
                Nicodemus glanced at himself. “No. I’ve got some pretty serious claw wounds and I may have a cracked rib.” He winced as he inhaled. “Perhaps more than one.”
                Lucretia raced over the nearest building and landed next to him. She handed him the pack with an apologetic smile. “Master, I can’t override the security block you put on it.”
                “Oh. I’ll have to program you into it.” Nicodemus released the first aid kit and handed it to his alpha. 
                She quickly began treating his wounds. “Master, how did you fight her off and capture her?”
                Nicodemus snorted and gasped. “I didn’t. That sort of thing only happens in fiction. She wanted to tame, not to kill me. Once she finished, she curled up on me, went to sleep and I caught her in this pokeball. I got lucky.” He shivered. “Very lucky indeed.”
                He winced as Lucretia used laceration glue to close the cuts. “You won’t be able to bathe for a few days.” She hesitated. “We were lied to, master.”
                “This is starting to be a habit.” Nicodemus glared into space for a second. “Explain.”
                “When we arrived, Rosa pointed to the intruders and said ‘there are those damned Eva.’. I don’t think she was aware of her slip at the time.”
                Elena blinked. “She’s right, sir. I didn’t realize at the time but that’s what Rosa said. Is the difference important?”
                “Yes, it is. Eva are masters at misdirection.” Nicodemus smiled softly. “Or would that be mistresses? Anyway, that explains why they’ve been able to divert Rosa long enough for one to get food for the group. It also explains how one snuck away and attacked me. If I’d known they were Eva, I’d have been on guard against just such a maneuver.” He groaned as he tested the glued wounds. “And that is the last time I trust anyone else’s intel. From now on, we gather our own.”
                “What about Jose, master?” Lucretia gave him a glance as she repacked the medical kit.
                “He’s starting to be a thorn in my side and that does not bode well for his continued health.” Nicodemus looked thoughtful. “He hasn’t risen to the level of interference yet, but one more problem with him and I will take steps.”
                “What about your injuries?”
                “Most of what happened was my fault for being stupid and trusting Jose and Rosa. That’s a lesson I should have already learned. Like I said, from now on we do our own reconnaissance.”
                Elena frowned. “We’ve got all three Eva. What if Jose wants one?”
                Nicodemus looked grim. “At that point he becomes a serious problem and then I’ll deal with him. I’m beginning to think that might be the best thing to do. It would give us the tavern as a base without him interfering.” He shook his head. “No, he’s not that bad. Not yet. We’ll set up somewhere in the area and start watching the Ponytaur herd.”
                “What about the Eva, sir?”
                “That one wanted into my harem so badly she didn’t bother to wait, so I guess she stays. I’ll evaluate the others while we’re monitoring the herd.”
 
***
 
                Nicodemus stretched slowly, luxuriating in the fact that there was no pain. Lucretia grinned. “I’ve removed the last of the glue, master. You’re going to have those scars for the rest of your life, but the slashes weren’t deep enough to cause muscle damage.”
                He chuckled. “Even though she can’t really talk that well, Ruth has managed to say she’s sorry for what happened several times over the last month.”
                The Ladyien snorted. “If she hadn’t held you down and cleaned your wounds with her tongue, they wouldn’t have gotten infected and would have healed weeks ago.” She shook her head. “I know she meant well, master, but if you hadn’t known which herbs to use in a poultice, you could have gotten very sick.” She gave him an amused look. “You almost got attacked by Elena and you did get attacked by Ruth. If this is going to be your normal methodology, then you are going to need a pokegirl with some kind of healing abilities to put you back together.”
                “As much as I’d like to tell you it won’t happen again, maybe you’re right.” Nicodemus reached into his mouth and felt around briefly. “The tooth she loosened seems to be settling down too.” He frowned and opened his pokedex. “You know, you could be taught the honey techniques. Once you know them, they can be taught to anyone else in my harem.”
                Lucretia blinked in surprise. “Yes, I could,” she replied thoughtfully. “But who could we get to teach me?”
                “All NurseJoy know them. Now we need to find one who is wants something and give it to her.” He shrugged. “Or somebody else. Maybe a Team member has a pokegirl who knows them. We’ll find a way to make it happen.” He folded up the pokedex and clipped it back onto his belt. 
                “Now for the Ponytaur.” He gestured at the hand drawn map held down by some rocks. “We’ve been watching them for almost a month now and I think we’re ready to act. The key is the draw they use in the evenings.” He traced a line indicating a rocky crevasse that extended for almost fifty yards. “They use this as their path back to their sleeping grounds.” A smile ghosted across his face. “They’ve been here for a couple of years and have gotten lazy since they’ve got two Rapitaur. Most herds break up as soon as more than one Rapitaur evolves.” 
                He stared blankly at the paper for a moment. “I didn’t like waiting this long, but you were right, I did need to heal and the extra information means we now know that not only are they lazy, they’ve gotten predictable. We also know that Jose was wrong; the three he thought were fillies are just small. So we won’t be trying to pick off a couple of stragglers. Instead we’ll take the whole herd.”
 
***
 
                The evening sun cast deep shadows across the lead Rapitaur as she entered the draw. It was narrow enough that the one behind her had to follow in single file as long as they stayed in tauric form. The towering walls were covered with loose stones, but she ignored them as she moved quickly. She’d been coming here for two years and nothing ever changed. Any threatening pokegirls had been dealt with long ago and the ones who remained had learned to give the herd a wide berth.
                She froze in shock when the rumble started and rock cascaded down, blocking the exit she was headed for. Dust rose in a choking pall, making her sneeze. A second avalanche blocked the entrance far to the rear of the hindmost mare.
                The Rapitaur moved forward and examined the rocks. They were too steep to climb. She cast about and found what looked like a possible path up the wall. It was slightly less steep than the surrounding area, but the loose rocks were a risk. Carefully, she placed her front hooves and started up, slipping slightly as she climbed.
                The arrow took her high in the rump and she screamed before sliding back down to the bottom of the cut in a shower of rocks.
                Nicodemus nocked another arrow and lowered the compound bow. “Elena, is your mask secure?” He flashed a grin when the Rack nodded firmly. “Lucretia, Elena, initiate stage two. Go get them.”
                For the whole time they’d been studying the Ponytaur herd, every day Lucretia had released all of her lust dust onto a sheet. It had been carefully collected into bags and now the two pokegirls took off, carrying the fruits of her labors.
                The flying pokegirls flew over the line of trapped Ponytaur and emptied the bags as they went, covering the cut with the gently drifting dust.
                A riot broke out below them as the equine pokegirls sucked the dust into their lungs. The cut wasn’t wide enough for them to tame and soon the weaker members of the herd began to drop as the drug overcame their willpower.
                Lucretia and Elena made a second pass, dropping more dust to seal the fate of their foes.
                Two more of the herd tried to scale the walls, but they were also slow. Nicodemus shot them too, wounding each and sending them skidding back into the cut. Within half an hour, all the pokegirls were down. Now Lucretia and Elena made a third pass, this time throwing pokeballs.
 
***
 
                “Master,” Elena called in a low voice, “Jose Aguilar is coming.”
                Nicodemus looked up from his pokedex. Since a pokepack had to scan items completely for storage, with the right knowledge one could coax all the information from a filled pokeball that a pokegirl center could provide a Tamer. He’d been reviewing the nineteen Ponytaur and two Rapitaur they’d captured and trying to decide which, if any, he’d keep.
                He frowned and nodded as he speared another piece of rabbit with his knife. Because of the loose tooth, he’d gotten into the habit of cutting his food into small pieces. While the tooth was fine now, the habit still remained. “Really? I wonder what he wants.”
                A couple of minutes later, Jose hove into view and his angry expression brought Nicodemus to his feet. “Señor Aguilar, I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks. Would you like some refreshments?”
                Jose stopped when he was close enough to loom over Nicodemus. “No. Is it true that you’ve captured the entire Ponytaur herd?”
                “It is.”
                “You weren’t supposed to capture them all! You were only supposed to take a weak one to keep the herd strong.”
                Lucretia looked shocked as Nicodemus blinked in surprise. “I never said that was what I was going to do, señor.”
                Jose’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “Those pokegirls are on my property. They belong to me. I’ll decide how many of them you are going to take and how many you’ll leave.”
                “Even if I was willing to accept your ludicrous idea that feral pokegirls somehow belong to you, you’re a bit late. They’ve already been captured.” Nicodemus’ shrug seemed to infuriate the tavern owner.
                “You arrogant little snot. You see here, I want you to release all but one of the smaller Ponytaur. You’ll also let the Rapitaur go. Then you’ll pack up your shit and get the hell off my property. I want you gone by morning. Otherwise you’ll have to face the consequences.”
                Nicodemus’ eyebrows rose. “Consequences?”
                “This is my land. I’ve claimed everything in Florida and around it. You’re trespassing and you’ve been freeloading off my property for nearly a month. I think confiscating all of your pokegirls and property should just about cover the money you owe me.” 
                “You’re kidding. You can’t own all of this. It’s nothing but ruins.” Nicodemus’ voice rose slightly.
                “The police will see things my way, boy. You can either release those pokegirls and then get the hell off my land, or I’ll take them from you and everything else you own before releasing them myself and having you jailed for theft.” Jose leaned down until he was nose to nose with Nicodemus. “What do you say now?”
                Nicodemus stabbed him just below the xiphoid process, angling the blade up and through the diaphragm before driving it into the heart. He pulled the blade free as he stepped back. Jose collapsed with a look of shock on his face.
                He rolled the dying man onto his back and ripped the pokeball from his belt. Turning, Nicodemus tossed it to his alpha. “You two go to the tavern and catch Rosa. When she’s been run through a level five conditioning program, she’ll sell too. Leave the gate and front door open when you leave.” He turned to Elena, who was just staring at him. “You have a problem with this?”
                She blinked and grinned. “Nosir! I’m glad I finally belong to a Tamer with some balls, sir!” She vaulted into the air and circled the clearing, calling down to Lucretia. “Come on, Ladyien, let’s go get her!”
                Lucretia asked one question as she spread her wing cases. “What about the body?”
                “We should be polite and clean up, so we’ll burn the garbage before we leave the area and head for home.”
               
***
 
 
Nicodemus Azrael
Ladyien – Lucretia
Rack – Elena
Eva – Ruth
Eva – Naomi