Chapter 10
“Ruth, quick attack, building and leap.” The Umbrea shot forward and raced up the building. At the apex of the roof she launched herself at her opponent. They impacted with a noise that echoed across the fields. Heads came up and pokegirls and kits started easing in the direction of the fight.
Nicodemus recovered Ruth in midair and released her in front of him. “Tabitha, flamethrower. Jenny, be ready for a dodge.”
Flames shot skyward as the veteran Rapitaur attacked. Elena whipped around and barely avoided the attack. “Jenny!” The Thundrix screamed as flames from Jenny’s flamethrower attack washed over her. Elena pulled up hard and climbed, jinking to throw off pursuit. She yelped in surprise as Naomi teleported into her path and dropped a net, which wrapped around her. She fought the restraints and began to fall as the Espea released Lucretia and teleported away.
The Ladyien hammered the dropping Thundrix with vortex, sucking her higher to begin her fall again. Nicodemus smiled faintly as the distant sound of cursing drifted down. “Fight it, Elena,” he muttered.
Silver flashed as the Thundrix slashed at the net with her knife. She managed to slip free before impact and laughed wildly as her wings bit the air.
“Naomi.” Elena’s laugh came to a sudden halt as the Espea grabbed one wing with her telekinesis and the Thundrix cart wheeled into the ground in a spray of dust. She jumped to her feet, hissing with rage and lightning flashed as she hit Naomi with thunderbolt. The Espea skidded along the ground and vanished as she teleported away.
“Tabitha, flame shot.” The bolt of fire took Elena squarely in the chest as she climbed into the air once more. The Thundrix dropped heavily back to the ground and spun to face her new opponent. “Ruth, quick attack, rear.”
Tabitha made a rude gesture and raced away from the thunderbolt before it could connect. Elena was smashed forward as Ruth slammed into her from the back. The Umbrea kept going and passed by the tumbling Thundrix, who slapped her sideways with a feather shuriken attack as she rolled to her feet. “Naomi.” Elena howled in fury as the Espea hit her with another quick attack from the rear, slamming her face first into the sand. “Lucretia. Hit her hard.”
The whole time Lucretia had been circling the battle, she’d been using speed storm to boost her speed. Now she used quick attack and dashed forward in a red blur which took Elena in the chest as the Thundrix again tried to escape to the skies. Once more, the Thundrix slammed into the dirt.
Elena slowly climbed to her feet again, her eyes glowing as she, too, used speed storm. Abruptly the glow spread across her entire body and brightened until it was blinding.
“Stand down!” Nicodemus watched the glow as Tabitha moved to stand protectively near him. On his left, Jenny did the same.
When the glow faded, Elena had changed. Her black and yellow feathers had been replaced by a brilliant gold and her eyes were an emerald green. While she had been shorter than him before the change, now she would be able to look him in the eyes.
Nicodemus jogged across the field and stopped in front of her. “Well, it worked.”
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, staggering slightly from exhaustion as she did so. “Yessir. Now I’ll be even better.” She twisted a wing around to show him. “Do you like my new colors?”
“You are the prettiest Thundercunt I’ve ever seen and I’m blessed that you’re mine.”
She chuckled and kissed him softly. “I’m taller now. You don’t have to bend down anymore.”
“No, I don’t. Let’s get you healed up and then I can welcome my new pokegirl into my harem.”
“Yessir. Your new pokegirl is eager for that, sir!”
***
“Rowan wants us to meet her in her office.” Isabella dropped down next to her husband. “We have a visitor.”
“What’s so important about another Tamer here for a starter?” Nicodemus scratched his neck absently. He’d gotten hay in his shirt earlier in the day and was now paying the consequences. “That’s hardly unusual.”
Since he and Isabella had started training the pokegirls, demand for Rowan’s stock had gone up substantially. Rowan raised Ponytaur, Ingénue and Goth. All were available as starter pokegirls and one of the things she’d had him do as part of his apprenticeship was to teach basic combat techniques to the ones ready to be given to a Tamer. They’d all shown marked improvement and as a result had become more adoptable in the last four months.
Isabella gave him a mischievous look. “No, she’s had a surprise audit sprung on her.”
He frowned as his mind worked. “It’s our fault, isn’t it?”
“Probably, but Rowan doesn’t seem concerned about it. She wants you to escort one of the inspectors around while I take the other.”
He gave her a suspicious look. “What are you hiding?”
Her smile changed, becoming predatory. “It’s Cecilia Stanton and Dermot Maloney. Apparently someone told about us being here.”
Nicodemus looked at her evenly. “If others know they are here, we cannot do anything abrupt. Suspicion would immediately fall upon us if they disappeared. Besides, a good audit report will help us too.”
“A girl can dream, can’t she?”
He chuckled as he rose and offered her a hand. “I suppose so. Everyone needs short and long term goals that they should be planning for.”
“Are they a goal you’ve been considering?”
He shrugged. “Yes, but I’ve only been considering them indirectly. I figured the best way to annoy them would be to become a successful rancher and maybe put them out of business. The problem is that the demand for starter pokegirls has outstripped the supply for decades, which means it’s unlikely I’d be able to do that.”
“If they’re here because of us, this is the second time they’ll be interfering with our plans,” Isabella pointed out.
“I’m keeping count. If this happens any more, one or both of them may get moved to a different list than the one I’ve got them on now.”
“What list is that?”
“The list Murchison was on.”
She nodded slowly. “If they go on that list, we’ll have to be very careful. But you already know that.”
“Yes.” He frowned. “I doubt they’re here to attack us, but don’t go anywhere without a member of your harem out at all times. They don’t need any opportunities to be impulsive and Toni strikes me as someone who might be prone to hasty action.”
“Do you really think they’d attack us?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think they’d lie about what happened. I also want us recording everything that goes on. You never know when we might need it to rebut more lies.”
“I can appreciate being prudent.”
Mary and Tammy were playing checkers when they came inside. One of the Makeup Artist Goths looked up. “Mistress Rowan would like you to wait out here while she gets the preliminary paperwork out of the way.”
“Thank you, Tammy.”
Nicodemus glanced at Isabella. “You can tell them apart? How?”
She chuckled. “I guess. So far, either I’ve been right or they don’t care.”
A few minutes later the bell rang and the Goth that had spoken got up and went into the office. She came right back out and eased the door shut behind her. “Master Nicodemus, Mistress Isabella, mistress Rowan would like you to go into her office for instructions. She asked me to give you this note and insists you read it before entering.”
Nicodemus scanned the note. In it Rowan reminded them that the audit could be used to cause trouble if anyone misbehaved and cautioned them to be wary around the auditors. He handed it to his wife, who read it. “What do you think we should do?”
“I think we should act like we’ve never met them before and ignore them until introduced.” He glanced at her. “What do you think?”
She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “That might work. Don’t do anything to antagonize them. Who do you want to escort?”
“If we get to choose, I’ll take Cecilia. Dermot might not have it in for you and might give you an easier time.”
“Do you think she’s pretty?”
Nicodemus blinked at the sudden change of topic and lowered his voice. “I don’t think I’m stupid enough to want to sleep with or even be around someone like her.” A thought occurred to him. “You’re my wife and nothing is going to change that.”
Isabella’s eyes got very big and suddenly she hugged him. “Thanks,” she whispered.
The Goth opened the door for them. “Thank you, Tammy.”
“It’s Mary, sir.”
Nicodemus frowned. “I could have sworn you were the one she just called Tammy.”
The Makeup Artist Goth just grinned at him and gestured them inside. Dermot and Cecilia were seated at the conference table with Rowan. Cecilia’s lips thinned and Dermot glared at Nicodemus as Rowan gestured them forward. “Nicodemus, Isabella, these are our inspectors. They’ll be needing guides to show them around while they are conducting their inspection.” Rowan’s eyes darkened in warning. “They’re allowed to go wherever they want, with the exception of my private quarters.”
Nicodemus nodded. “Yes, Rowan.” He exchanged a quick glance with Isabella before turning to the inspectors. He kept his voice light. “Miss Stanton, I’ll be showing you around while Isabella will be escorting Mr. Maloney.”
Dermot shook his head. “No, that won’t do. I want you to show me around. The woman can go with Cecilia.”
“Mr. Maloney, if that’s the way you want it.” He nodded to Cecilia. “Ms. Stanton. Mr. Maloney, where would you like to start your inspection?”
Dermot looked thoughtful. “Where do you think you’ve done the most damage?”
“Sir, I’ve worked at just about every aspect of operating a ranch, from keeping the books to birthing kits. I think I do an adequate job at all of it.” Nicodemus would treat him like one of his parent’s visiting professor friends who wanted to use their son to show off his knowledge. It had happened fairly regularly and he knew how to behave.
“You cooked the books, did you?” Dermot glanced at Rowan, who was glaring at him.
“No, sir, I was trained in how to legally perform my duties in recordkeeping. I’m afraid I’ve only spent minimal time in the kitchen.”
Dermot transferred his glare to Nicodemus. “You’re pert, boy. I don’t like pert.”
He’d found it useful to allow the professors to slap him down in the beginning too. It made him look like he was trainable. “Sorry, sir; did you want to start with the accounts?”
“Yes, I do.”
“This way then, sir.” Nicodemus plucked a pokeball from his belt and released Lucretia. “Lucretia, Mr. Maloney and Miss Stanton are conducting a surprise inspection of the ranch and we’ll be escorting Mr. Maloney around as he audits. He’d like to start with the accounts.”
“Yes, sir; we’ll need to go to your office for that.”
“You can put her up right now.” Dermot’s voice was flat.
“Sir, she’s got total recall and she’s been helping me to keep from making any mistakes. I’d like her to be available for the questions I can’t answer yet.”
Lucretia suddenly looked pleased.
“Leave her out,” Rowan instructed. “And Isabella, you’ll need Kay. In addition, I want you two to record the entire audit so we can review it with an eye towards correcting any missteps you two make.”
Isabella nodded and released her Kay-D-Bra. “Kay, we’ll be escorting Miss Stanton while she’s conducting a surprise audit.”
Kay’s antenna twitched and her eyes widened slightly. “Yes, mistress.” Nicodemus felt her mind touch his. I will keep her safe from Toni. We do not know what pokegirls Dermot has. Mistress wants you to be careful with him and take no chances.
Nicodemus was still getting used to mental conversation and he’d been told he still had a tendency to “shout”. Sometimes it made Kay and Naomi wince, so he just nodded his understanding. “Mr. Maloney, my office is down the hall.”
***
“So, is he any good in bed?”
Isabella rounded on her with a thunderous expression. “Miss Stanton, I don’t know who tried to teach you manners, but they didn’t do a very good job of it. What my relationship is with Nicodemus is not any of your business and that includes any details of such a relationship.”
Cecilia grinned. “It’s just us girls here. You can tell me.”
Isabella looked around while she considered a response since her first one, knocking out Cecilia’s teeth, was unlikely to get them a good review.
They were visiting one of the dormitories where the Ingénue lived. As much as possible, Rowan segregated the pokegirls first by species and second by age. It tended to reduce conflicts between pokegirls to group them together. This dorm was for the 13-15 year olds. The walls had posters of various wreckball teams and vid stars on them along with a chart showing the possible evolutions of an Ingénue along with any information known on what could influence a particular evolution.
The room had been repainted recently in soft golds and browns which made the room cheery and warm. The pokegirls had been told to wait outside while Cecilia looked their habitation over and were standing in the ranks they’d be in for morning formation, chatting with each other.
“Miss Stanton, this is a formal inspection and I’m not sure, considering what has happened in the past that I want to ‘be just us girls’ with you.”
Cecilia turned red. “I told grandfather the truth about what happened. He is the one that blew it out of proportion. It’s not my fault.”
Kay drifted slowly towards her mistress as Isabella bristled.
“Are you aware that he tried to blackball Nicodemus and me with his lies?” Her eyes blazed when Cecilia silently nodded. “Then you were an accomplice in his deception as you chose not to denounce him.”
“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”
Isabella took a deep breath and centered herself. “Mad doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.”
“He threatened Toni’s life.”
“Your pokegirl threatened his, which is what precipitated the entire situation.”
“You don’t know what happened. You weren’t there.”
“Nicodemus recorded the incident and Lucretia was there. She has total recall and gave me exactly what happened, word for word. I might as well have been there.”
Cecilia shrugged. “Toni does that; she’s a Psi-Dyke and it is part of her nature.”
“That’s an excuse and you know it. I could respond that Nicodemus doesn’t respond well to threats.” She sighed. “So, you told your grandfather the truth, he lied, and you let him. We’re not going to be friends in circumstances like that.”
Cecilia’s mouth thinned. “I am not going to call my grandfather a liar just to make you happy.”
“So the lie is perpetuated. We need to continue this audit.” Isabella kept her tone cool as she lifted her clipboard. “Do you see any deficiencies or should we move on?”
***
Nicodemus gestured Dermot into the storage room. Lucretia followed them in. She’d ghosted along behind them since she knew Dermot didn’t want her input. Nicodemus had occasionally conferred with her before answering a question of Maloney’s, but hadn’t required her to speak to the inspector directly, something she was grateful for.
Drying vegetables hung from the ceiling and boxes and bags were piled neatly in various locations. Nicodemus gestured around the room. “This is food storage for the pokegirls. We don’t have a lot of electricity here and definitely not enough for massive amounts of refrigeration, so we feed a lot of pokechow and dried vegetables. We also feed the youngsters mineral supplements as well as protein in the form of cheese.” He shrugged. “Ms. Stewart wants to feed them pokechow because it’s probably what they’ll eat when they leave here.”
“You disagree with her opinion.” It wasn’t a question. Dermot’s eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
“The way she’s doing things works, but I would have more fields and raise more crops to include in their diet. Pokechow, even in bulk, isn’t free, and it’s really not formulated for growing kits. It is designed more as a maintenance diet for already grown pokegirls. I’d have some fish ponds and some Kattle to provide meat, milk and cheese.”
“I feed my girls pokechow. Everyone does.”
“It’s your choice and I will, too, just not in the amounts that Ms Stewart does. I don’t feel that feeding growing pokegirls grains and crops is coddling, I think it is good business and in the long run it makes for healthier and stronger pokegirls.”
“Having too many crops will draw ferals and, no matter how often you run them off, they keep coming back.”
Nicodemus had noticed a tendency in almost all of the ranches he’d read about. They started off by catching and training ferals but, once they reached a certain size, they only sold their own stocks. He intended to keep catching ferals whenever they showed up. Not only would it keep the feral density low, it would provide him with pokegirls that he could sell with minimal expense. From what he could tell, it was mostly a pride thing that kept most ranches from utilizing the local ferals. Still, pride could be a powerful motivator.
“I’ll keep that in mind for my ranch.”
Dermot sneered. “You are not going to have a ranch, boy. How many pokegirls have you killed here?”
Nicodemus blinked. “None.”
“Oh? How many pokekits have you killed here?’
“I haven’t killed any pokegirls, kits or women here.”
Maloney pounced on his words. “So you killed them somewhere else? How many?”
“Sir, I have never killed any pokegirls, pokewomen, or pokekits.”
“All Tamers have at one time or another. Come on, confess.”
“Sir, I have not. I’ve always captured feral pokegirls and I’ve never killed one that belonged to someone else.”
“You would have killed Toni!”
“No, sir; I would not have. In fact, I gave specific instructions that, if Toni became an issue when I went over to teach Cecilia, she was not to be killed.”
“I don’t believe you,” Dermot stated flatly.
Nicodemus gave him an amused look. “Yes, I didn’t think you would.” He continued without missing a beat. “If we’re done here, the next thing you’ll see is the kitchen. We have one cook, and the pokegirls take turns cooking under his supervision. I can have him summoned if you have questions about the operation of the kitchen that I or Lucretia cannot answer.”
***
Nicodemus added some lettuce, closed up the sandwich and sliced it in half before offering the plate to Isabella. She smiled. “Thanks.” Quickly, he made three more, one for him, Lucretia and Kay. Once they were settled at their table, she took a quick bite. “Excellent. How did it go with Dermot?”
“He wants to make sure we don’t have a ranch.”
Lucretia swallowed a bite and gave him an incredulous look. “That’s putting it mildly, sir. I get the impression he’d like to put a stake through your heart and chop your head off.”
Isabella snorted. “Cecilia wants to take you to bed.”
Kay shook her head. “No, she doesn’t, mistress. She does not like men. She only wants to keep you off balance during the inspection.”
Isabella gave her a cool look. “Why am I just finding out about this now?” Kay blinked and looked away from the anger in her owner’s eyes.
“You taught her not to volunteer information, Isabella, that’s why.” Nicodemus put his sandwich down and shrugged when she gave him a glare. “It’s true enough. However, it’s not a fatal mistake and can be easily fixed.”
Isabella stared at him for a moment longer before speaking. “Kay, did I do that?’
Kay’s voice was almost too low to be heard. “Mistress, you made it quite clear in Montevideo that you wanted me to do what I was told and nothing more.”
Isabella stared at her sandwich for several seconds. “I did,” she admitted. “Kay, I’ve seen how Lucretia helps to keep Nicodemus safe with her advice. I want you to do the same for me.”
“Yes, mistress.” Kay took a deep breath. “Cecilia did tell her grandfather the truth about what happened, but she suspects Toni told him a different tale. She’s interested in taming me and having sex with you.”
Nicodemus frowned. “Toni or Cecilia?”
“Toni is the dominant member in the relationship, but Cecilia is also interested in us both.” Her antenna shifted slightly. “Toni wants you dead, sir.”
Nicodemus gave her a dry smile. “She’ll have to get in line. Is she planning to kill me during the inspection?”
“I do not know, sir. Toni has not been out for me to scan during the morning, and in any case, she will be more wary around me if she suspects I’m actively looking for information. Everything I’ve picked up to this point was during the trip to Rosslare and was from leakage from her mind. She’s not used to having other psychics around and has a vastly overrated sense of her own capability.”
“What about Dermot?” Lucretia blinked as everyone looked at her. “Toni and Cecilia are a threat, sir, but one that we can deal with if they move against us. Dermot is the bigger problem considering his influence in the ranching community.”
Nicodemus grinned. “You see why I like having her around?” Isabella smiled as Lucretia blushed and avoided their eyes. “She helps me to keep focused on what is really important. We have a question, Kay, what about Dermot?”
Kay frowned. “Sir, I’m not sure how or why, but for some reason Dermot Maloney cannot stand you and has not liked you since you met. I don’t think you did anything to him. I have heard of love at first sight and this appears to be a case of hate at first site.”
“So he’ll keep opposing me being a rancher.”
“Yes, sir.” She cocked her head. “It may not be necessary to deal with him as you dealt with Murchison, but you may want to consider some contingency plans.”
Nicodemus nodded. “I already am. In the meantime, we’ll continue to be on guard. Isabella, do not let concern for the inspection or our future ranch make you hesitate to defend yourself.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I won’t.” She shook her head. “Perhaps you should have Naomi out so she can see what Dermot is up to.”
“He’s already unhappy with Lucretia. I can’t have two out and I’m not putting her up.” Nicodemus popped the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth. “He’s unlikely to try anything with me and, if he does, he just may find out he’s bitten off more than he should have.”
Lucretia growled in the back of her throat. “Yes, sir; he will.”
***
Tabitha whirled and kicked out with both hind legs, sending her dummy flying. She looked over the collection of Ponytaur pokekits and pointed at one. “You, come here. You do it.” The Ponytaur grinned at her friends and eagerly trotted forward.
Dermot watched with a scowl as he sat next to Nicodemus. “The league expects a pokegirl to have a standard repertoire of attacks. Why are you teaching them nonstandard ones?” A Bell Awesome stood next to him. Nicodemus was pretty sure it was Bell, the one he’d met at the Harvest Moon Ranch, but she’d not acknowledged his existence since being released.
“This group knows the standard attacks already; now we’re working to teach them new ones so they can be better battlers. There’s no rule against it.”
“It makes the other ranches that produce the same pokegirl look bad and that’s something that’s just not done.”
“I’m afraid that’s something you’ll have to take up with Ms. Stewart. She approves of the extra training.”
“Trust me, I will.” The Belle Awesome made an amused noise at her Tamer’s tone.
“If you’re teaching these pokegirls other attacks, what are you teaching the Ingénue and the Goths?”
“Tackle, quick, quick attack and dodge,” Nicodemus answered promptly. “All are useful techniques that will improve their versatility. Not all of them will learn everything new before they leave the ranch, but we do what we can.”
“You go too far.”
“Once again, you’ll have to take that up with Ms. Stewart.”
Dermot glared at him before nodding abruptly. “I’ve seen all I need to, here.”
Nicodemus rose. “Then we’ll move on to the sanitary facilities.”
***
Nicodemus glanced at Isabella as she leaned against the wall next to him. The audit was over and they were waiting with Rowan for Dermot to give a preliminary report before returning to his ranch to write up the formal paperwork.
Finally, he and Cecilia entered the room and settled down across from Rowan. She took one look at his satisfied expression and paled slightly. “I’m afraid my report is going to reveal a great many problems that exist here,” he began with a note of sadness in his voice. “It’s a shame really, but some of the issues I’ve uncovered are quite serious and may result in your license being suspended until they are corrected. The Shamrock ranch has been around for over a century and, frankly, I’m shocked at what I found.” He gave Rowan a grave look. “I’ll expedite the paperwork so the review board can get started on it and we can get this stuff cleared up.”
Rowan shook her head slowly. “There is nothing wrong here, Dermot, and you know it. The review board’s findings will confirm that.”
He shrugged. “We will have to wait for their determination, Rowan, which could take a while.”
“You’re going to cripple my ranch because you’ve got some kind of vendetta against Nicodemus? What did he do to you that made you so hateful?”
Dermot glanced in the direction of the video camera in the corner of the room. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Rowan. While I admit that Nicodemus is a contributing factor in some of the problems that I’ve found here, I don’t have any sort personal feelings against the young man. I’m only doing this for the good of the pokegirls and other ranches across the Blue League. Surely you can understand that.” He checked his pokedex. “I’ve already transmitted my preliminary findings to the review board and I’ve been assured they’ll look into things quickly.”
“This isn’t over, Dermot.”
“Yes, Rowan, it is for you.” He gave her a sad smile and rose. “Cecilia and I will let ourselves out.”
Rowan raised an eyebrow. “Mary, show them out.” She slumped in her chair when they were gone. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find a message waiting for me from the board suspending my license. What did you do to him?”
“I’ve been told that he just doesn’t like me.”
“Wonderful. I’ll weather whatever he has planned, but it’s going to kill your chances of ever having a ranch. Not with the allegations he’s going to lay at your feet.” She sighed. “That’s a shame because you two are exemplary.”
Nicodemus was looking thoughtful. “I considered this possibility. There are a few things that I want to try. Do you mind?”
“What are they?” She suddenly waved a hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. You try what you want, but it’s not likely to have much effect. Dermot is very influential.”
“Then it won’t hurt.”
***
The Ladyien settled back in her chair and keyed up the console. She took a sip of her tea before pulling up the various email accounts that her Tamer had and began reading them. She’d gotten into the habit of checking his messages before he got up so she could be on top of any problems before anyone else. It was an hour later that she found an unusual one. It wasn’t to her Tamer by name; instead it had been sent to the information account and shunted to here by the expert system.
Curious, she popped a raspberry into her mouth and keyed up the message. A young man she’d never seen before appeared on the screen. “Hello,” he began quietly. “My name is Nicodemus Azrael and I’m sending this message because of a serious breach of the conflict of interest rules in the ranching program in the Blue League. An influential Breeder is using his power to suspend the license of the Shamrock Ranch in Kilkenny, Ireland because he has a personal vendetta against one of the personnel there. He appears to have the ranch review board under his influence and I’m asking that you look into the situation. I’ve attached all the pertinent raw video of the situation. I know you take your responsibility to the ranch situation seriously and I’m hoping that you will be able to assist in clearing the name of the Shamrock Ranch in a timely manner. Thank you very much for your time.”
The message ended and the pokegirl leaned back and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I dinna know how to handle this,” she finally muttered to herself. She sighed. “That’s why I’m learning how to do this, isn’t it?” She picked up her com and punched a button.
There was a brief tone and a click. The screen didn’t come on, indicating that the person she was contacting wasn’t sending video. “What is it,” a male voice asked tiredly.
“I think ye need to see a message that was sent to ye.”
“Now?” There was a sigh. “Of course, now. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“I’ll have some fresh tea waiting.”
***
“Katherine wasn’t sure if it could have waited and my instructions were that if she wasn’t sure, to call me. I’d rather be woken up unnecessarily then to find out later that I should have been and wasn’t.” The young man shoved a forkful of eggs into this mouth and chewed noisily.
“That’s gross, Devon. Please stop.”
He grinned and swallowed. “Sorry, I’ve still got road habits. It turns out it could have waited, but it was interesting nonetheless. It was a report of a violation of the conflict of interest rules in ranch accreditation.”
“Oh? Is there any credit to the report?”
“I’m not sure. There’s a lot of raw footage of some recordings attached to the message. I thought I’d go over them today and see what I could find.”
“Which ranch is it?”
“The Shamrock Ranch, Poppet.”
She frowned. “What has Rowan been accused of?”
“You know her?”
“Devon, I know every ranch owner and gym leader in the Blue League. I meet them when they take over the job.”
“Are you going to introduce me to them before you step down?”
“Yes, I will. What is Rowan accused of?”
“There’s only a preliminary report, but she’s being accused of negligence, improper treatment and training of her charges. The final report isn’t ready yet and the review board will be suspending her license until they get it and can investigate.”
Poppet looked surprised. “Rowan Stewart? She’d cut off her own leg before she’d abuse any pokegirl. Where is the report from, some ranch in the Blood league?”
“It’s from the Harvest Moon ranch in Rosslare.”
Poppet frowned. “Ranches don’t send auditors to other ranches in the same league. There’s too much of a chance for personal feelings to get involved.”
Devon nodded. “I made a couple of calls. Dermot Maloney made an accusation against the Shamrock Ranch and asked for an emergency inspection. In a case like that, any available ranch can be tasked to send an investigator. Somehow, he ended up doing the audit himself.”
Poppet put down her toast. “I don’t care how strapped the leagues are, the idea that the accuser gets to investigate the accused is ludicrous.”
“I agree. That’s why I’m going down there this afternoon to find out what’s going on.”
Poppet’s mouth firmed. “I’m going with you. This is nonsense and I’m going to put a stop to it.”
Devon hesitated. “You’re not trained as an auditor.”
“That has nothing to do with my looking into what’s going on. I don’t like people twisting the rules to suit themselves.” She smiled slightly as he cocked his head. “Very well, I don’t like it unless they’re family.”
He nodded. “Speaking of family, I thought I’d ask Branwyn to join me down there. She’s a lot more experienced then I am.”
“Let her be. She’s got enough problems with everything that’s going on at home.” She frowned. “I’d ask you to bring Ming Die, but I want her keeping an eye on things here while we’re gone.”
“So, no Branwyn and no Ming Die. Is there a powerful telepath we can bring?”
Poppet nodded. “I think so. Let me make a call.”
***
“MISTRESS WANTS YOU AT THE OFFICE RIGHT AWAY!” The Goth’s voice grew louder as she ran towards Nicodemus.
“Jenny, I guess we’re done for now.” The Rapitaur nodded and shifted to her bipedal form, the harness for the plow dropping away as she changed shape.
“Yes, sir. If it’s ok, I’ll help Tabitha with the youngsters.”
“Go ahead.” He turned to the Goth. “Are you Tammy or Mary?”
Her eyes twinkled. “Who do you think I am, sir?”
“Mary.”
She chuckled. “No, sir, I’m Tammy.”
“Simple chance would let me be right once in a while. I still think you two are playing games with me.”
“Sir, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. Do you have any idea why I need to go to the office?”
“We have some visitors and mistress Rowan wants you there to talk to them.”
“All right. I’m on my way.”
Tammy smiled. “Sir, I’m not going to run back to announce you. I’ll walk with you instead.”
“Smart girl.”
Rowan was waiting in her office with a blue haired human male, an Alaka-Wham wearing a business suit and a pokegirl that Nicodemus wasn’t quite sure he could identify who was wearing a blue dress and had golden hair that fell to her feet. At first he thought she was a Godiva, at least until he saw her horn. He frowned slightly. Unicorns had waist length hair as part of their type, but he knew that the pokedex entries were generalizations at best.
He came to attention. “You wanted to see me, Miss Stewart?”
“Sit down, Nicodemus.” She nodded to her guests. “This is Devon Harris and the Unicorn is Poppet.”
Nicodemus stuck out his hand. “Nicodemus Azrael.” Devon and Poppet shook it, muttering their greetings.
He offered his hand to the Alaka-Wham next, who looked surprised as she took it. “I am Stardust.”
He settled down into the indicated chair. “How may I help you, Miss Stewart?”
Devon gave him an odd look. “We’re from the Harris Conservatory. We received your request,
Mr. Azrael and we’ve come to see what was going on.”
Rowan frowned. “What request?”
“I asked them to look into what Dermot is trying to get away with.”
“You did what?” She shook her head and offered Poppet an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry he bothered you, Poppet. He’s new.”
Devon grinned. “He may be new but, if he’s right, Mr. Maloney is out of line.” He leaned back in the chair. “Poppet has gone on at length in the past about how it’s the Conservatory’s job to help police the other ranches in the Blue League, if unofficially.” The Unicorn gave him a look. “You have.”
“I didn’t realize you were actually listening.” She gave him an affectionate smile, which faded as she turned to Nicodemus. “Now, Mr. Azrael, what would make Dermot want to punish Rowan for taking you on as an apprentice?”
“I thought it was because I seriously injured a pokegirl belonging to his niece and she lied to him about it, but now I’m not sure.” He grimaced. “I’ve been told that perhaps it was a case of hatred at first sight, but I’m not sure such a thing can exist.”
The Alaka-Wham stirred. “Yes, it can. I’ve seen it before.” Her antenna twitched. “I would speak with Kay so I can see her memories of what she scanned.” She looked at Devon. “I will also want to meet this Dermot Maloney.”
Nicodemus froze. “You read my mind?”
A smile appeared. “Mr. Azrael, I’m more skilled than anyone you’ve previously had to deal with. I’m not interested in your secrets, so they are safe.”
“I understand you intend to open a ranch around Killarney.” Poppet gave him a friendly smile that never quite reached her eyes. It made him wary.
“Yes, I do, assuming my wife and I can beat the jinx.”
“If you do, we’ll be meeting again.” She rose. “Since Stardust wants to meet her, where is this Kay?”
“She’s with my wife, Isabella. They’re overseeing some repair work on the outer wall.”
Poppet nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Azrael.” She turned to Miss Stewart. “Rowan, I’ve already had a word with the review board and, while there is still going to be an investigation, I’ve been reassured that your license will not be suspended while they get around to it.” She glanced at Devon, who stood. “If it turns out that Dermot acted rashly, I’ll see to it that the accusations are completely quashed.”
“Thank you, Poppet.”
“There’s no need to thank me, Rowan. Your family has run a good ranch for over a century and I always look out for the Blue League’s best interests.”
She turned to Nicodemus. “Mr. Azrael, if you are right, then I shall ensure that Mr. Maloney does not harass you any further with whatever power he has left after this debacle comes to light.”
“Thank you, um,” he frowned, “do you have a last name?”
Poppet gave him a genuine smile of pleasure as Rowan looked shocked. Devon and Stardust suddenly looked amused. “Urufu.” Somehow, Rowan looked even more shocked.
“Then, thank you, Miss Urufu.”
***
Nicodemus Azrael – Coordinator
Ladyien – Lucretia
Thundrix – Elena
Umbrea – Ruth
Espea – Naomi
Whorizard – Hestia
Rapitaur – Tabitha
G-Poindexter – Brenda – Noncombatant
Rapitaur – Jenny
Isabella Maria Carmen de la Vega Azrael – Master Tamer
Ka–D–Bra – Kay
Amachamp – Ana
Rapitaur – Lily