Chapter 12
Leather creaked as Isabella shifted nervously in the saddle. She could feel how taut Lily’s muscles were under the leather and wood and forced herself to relax. The Rapitaur took her cues from her mistress and relaxed a bit as well. “What was that you said, sir?”
The redheaded man blocking the road smirked at her. “Missy, I don’t want to have to repeat myself again. The toll is one pokegirl. Pay and you can continue on. Refuse to pay and I’ll place you under arrest and take them all.” He leered at her.
Isabella kept her voice even. “I want to see your credentials.” She cocked her head and tried to strain her hearing listening for Nicodemus, who was only a couple of minutes behind her. Her eyes narrowed at a flash of purple in the underbrush. Naomi. She felt her stomach unclench.
The man blinked. “You want what?”
“I want to see your credentials. Prove to me that you are a legitimate member of a Blue League government either league, regional or municipal, or show me your land grant that gives you the right to levy taxes, and I’ll pay your toll.”
“Why the hell would you doubt me, missy?”
“There was a news update this morning that warned of Team Viper activity in the area,” she said with a smile. “A girl can’t be too careful.”
The guy grinned. “You’re right there. The news report was right.” He smirked. “Now, cough up all your pokegirls. I’ll even be nice and let you keep the Rapitaur. I don’t need one of those.” His hand strayed to his belt where two pokeballs rested. “And don’t think of trying anything, unless you want to get real chummy with me after we tangle.” His smile turned lascivious. “On the other hand, you go ahead and try something.”
Isabella fought to keep her face still as a shadow seemed to detach from the woods and drifted up behind the grinning man. Ruth clubbed him on the back of the head with her fist, smashing him to the ground. She grinned at Isabella. “Kill?”
For a pleasant moment she considered it and then gave a regretful shake of her head. “No. We’re not that far from a village, we’ll backtrack and dump him with the authorities. Bring me his balls.”
“Yes, mistress. What about his pokeballs?” Ruth managed to keep a straight face.
Isabella chuckled. “Just his pokeballs, I doubt he’s got any others.”
Nicodemus hove into view, Tabitha moving quietly behind him. “Nicely done. The distractions were perfect. Naomi has confirmed that he was with Team Viper before they fell apart and is still working with an offshoot of theirs. I must admit that I like the idea of turning him in. If we get a reputation for that, nobody will be looking for the ones we don’t.”
Isabella nodded. “Or suspect us if we get a bit sloppy.” She leaned down and accepted the pokeballs from the Umbrea. “Thanks, Ruth.” The pokegirl flashed a grin and bobbed her head in acknowledgement before dissolving in a red capture beam as Nicodemus put her up.
“You’re doing better with that,” Nicodemus observed quietly as Tabitha jerked the unconscious man from the ground and held him up for Nicodemus to secure with zip ties.
“I realized you were right when you pointed out that a little politeness didn’t cost me anything and could prove useful in the long run.” She scratched Lily’s back and the Rapitaur squirmed while making happy noises. “Right, Lily?”
“Yes, mistress; lower please, there.” She groaned quietly. Tabitha snickered and received a mild glare.
Nicodemus shook his head. “Tabitha, go get your gear.”
“Yes, sir.” The Rapitaur unceremoniously dumped their captive and disappeared into the woods.
***
As they rode away from the town after delivering their prisoner to a delighted sheriff, Isabella pulled out the pokeballs and scanned them with her dex. “Hm. A Weepingbutt and an Arachnae.”
“You need to expand your harem,” Nicodemus quietly pointed out.
“I don’t want any spiders.” Isabella shuddered. “Not with mandibles and all that.” She frowned and called up some information on her pokedex. “The Weepingbutt could be useful.” She glanced at him. “She’s a predator. Do you have a problem with her eating dead pokegirls?”
“As long as she remembers that Lucretia is off the menu, I don’t have a problem with her eating dead humans, as long as they’re not us and can’t be laid at our feet if she’s discovered.” He smiled slightly. “Before we sell the Arachnae, you’ll need to tame the Weepingbutt. If she hated the Arachnae, you can let her have the bug to help bond her to you.”
“What about the money we’d get for her? We need to collect all we can for the ranch.” She raised an eyebrow. “While you got a respectable fee for the Dragoness, we need more.”
He shook his head in amusement. “It was easier before the apprenticeship when we thought we had enough money. Still, there will be other pokegirls to sell. I really don’t think we’re going to run out of ferals anytime soon.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know, Nico, we’re pretty hard on them.”
“Trust me when I say they’ll be fine.”
***
“Are you ready Camilla?” Isabella watched her new pokegirl closely.
The Weepingbutt nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Miss Isabella.” Her vines began coiling out from under her yellow leaf skirt and assumed an attack posture similar to that of a snake preparing to strike.
Isabella glanced at Nicodemus, who stood watching with his entire harem. He nodded and she released the Arachnae.
The Weepingbutt struck while the Arachnae was still getting her bearings. Her vines surged forward and wrapped tightly around the hapless bug pokegirl. One vine threw several loops over her shoulders and wrapped tightly around her neck. When the Arachnae opened her mouth to gasp, the end drove into her mouth and down her throat. The spider pokegirl instinctively bit down with her mandibles and drove poison into the vine, an act which Camilla ignored completely.
The Weepingbutt threw several more loops over the Arachnae and the vines seemed to blur as hundreds of rootlets grew rapidly into Camilla’s victim. The Arachnae struggled briefly and then relaxed as the rootlets delivered a massive dose of neurotoxin, rendering her immobile as they shut down her voluntary muscles. Where they wrapped around the Arachnae, the vines turned pink as they sucked nutrients from her and conveyed them to her killer.
In less than a minute, the Arachnae looked partially deflated as her organs dissolved and the rootlets scavenged her skeleton for calcium. Soon, she was shapeless and seemed to quiver slightly as rootlets filled her from within while they drained her of everything useful.
Isabella turned green but continued to watch as Lucretia shivered against her Tamer. The Ladyien looked up at him and whispered, “Promise me that you’ll kill me before you’ll ever let that happen to me.”
“I swear it to you.” She nodded and pressed her face against his chest.
Camilla released the Arachnae and she fell in a sodden heap. Ruth paced forward and sniffed the remains. “Not food,” she muttered.
Isabella winced as Lily vomited. She helped the Rapitaur as Nicodemus turned to Hestia. “Take the remains away and incinerate them.” He glanced at Isabella. “You look like you’ve got your hands full. Do you want me to referee?”
She nodded as she motioned to Ana to pick Lily up. “Please. I’ll take care of Lily. Do you think we’ll want food?”
He watched Ruth lick her lips. “Probably, but we’ll use some of our pokechow. I don’t think you’ll want to smell anything cooking tonight.”
Isabella shook her head. “No, I need to get used to what happened. She’s my pokegirl now. I’ll get out some bread and cheese.”
Nicodemus turned to Kay. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.” The Ka-D-Bra squared her shoulders. “I’ve been in her mind. I either squash her now or I’ll have to do it later.”
He nodded. “Camilla, this is Kay. She’s Isabella’s alpha. Since you’ve fed and are at full power, she wants to settle who is going to be the alpha for the harem right now, so that there will be no misunderstandings in the future. Prepare to battle. This will not be to the death and if you try to kill Kay, Tabitha here will fry you.”
The Rapitaur grinned and raised a fist which burst into flames as she used ignite. Camilla retreated several steps before stopping with a sudden look of anger at her display of weakness. “I am ready to beat any who challenge me,” she snapped.
Lucretia flipped her mace from her belt. “You will call him master, master Nicodemus or sir, or you won’t get to fight Kay tonight. You’ll be healing from me.”
“No bug will defeat me,” Camilla snorted contemptuously.
She stiffened as something snuffled her back and whirled to confront Ruth, who favored her with a smile full of teeth. “Stupid pokegirl will have to fight harem before alpha. You won’t make it to alpha.”
“That is enough,” Nicodemus said firmly. “We’re here so Camilla can settle her place in the harem and not so you can beat her up.”
Ruth flicked her ears and backed away, still keeping her attention on the Weepingbutt. “Yes, sir.”
He shook his head sadly. “Kay, are you ready to battle?”
“Yes, sir; I am.”
“Camilla, are you ready to battle?”
The Weepingbutt settled herself. “I am.” She was slammed forward as Ruth hit her and halted only because the Umbrea had a handful of her hair and jerked her to a halt.
“I am, sir,” the Umbrea growled into the plant pokegirl’s ear.
Camilla glared at her and froze at the sound of a pistol cocking. “She has a point. I’ve already put up with your rudeness once. This is the second time. I won’t do it a third. I doubt I’ll kill you with this tiny gun, but I can get my point across and then let Kay beat you while you are wounded.”
“I am sorry, sir.” The Weepingbutt turned back to face him, watching him warily. She relaxed slightly as he put the pistol away. “If I am not your pokegirl, why do you demand that I call you sir?”
“It’s a good policy, first of all, and second, your Tamer, Isabella, is my wife. I’ll be around most of the time and if you forget something that simple, Lucretia will remind you. She’s my alpha and the harem will cheerfully pound you into mulch on her say-so.” He glanced to his right. “Elena, overwatch.”
“Yessir.” The Thundercunt vaulted into the air and winged away.
“I don’t know what life was like in Team Viper and I don’t care. We have rules here and you will follow them, or you’ll pay and then you’ll follow them. It is your choice, but the first way keeps you from being beaten on a regular basis for a while.” He cocked his head. “Do you understand?”
Camilla nodded slowly. “Yes, sir; I do.”
“Are you ready to fight Kay?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, sir; I am.”
He watched her for a few seconds. “When I say ‘begin’, you will battle until one pokegirl either cannot continue or is unwilling to continue. When I stop this battle, it will stop right away. Any late shots on either side,” here he glanced at Kay, “will be dealt with firmly.”
Kay nodded. “That is as it should be, sir.”
Nicodemus backed up several meters. “Begin.”
Camilla instantly responded by opening things with vine whip. Using her telekinesis, Kay stopped the attack cold. Then she wrapped the vines around the Weepingbutt’s throat and began strangling her with them.
Lucretia chuckled. “That must hurt. Most of her attacks are vine based and she can’t do much from a distance.”
Suddenly, the vines loosened as Camilla used cry and Kay responded. The Ka-D-Bra walked up and patted the Weepingbutt on the shoulder as her vines began inching around Kay slowly.
“Are you ok?” Kay gave her a solicitous smile.
“I am now,” Camilla smiled sadly. Her vines began to lift.
“Good.” Kay’s eyes flashed red and the Weepingbutt screamed as the psychic attack blasted through her mind.
Naomi blinked and then slowly smiled. “She’ll have to show me how she did that. I’ve never been able to make it hurt that much.”
Fortunately for Camilla, her agony was brief as the attack battered her into unconsciousness. Kay smiled grimly as the Weepingbutt sagged and crumpled to the ground. She sneered at the prone form. “Thought you could trick me with cry? You are an idiot.” Using her telekinesis, the Ka-D-Bra tied Camilla’s vines into a series of bow knots. Several watching pokegirls began laughing at the sight.
“Do you really think that’s necessary?”
Kay looked up. “Sir, this is inter-harem business and I am exercising my prerogative as Mistress Isabella’s alpha.”
Nicodemus’ eyes narrowed for a heartbeat and then he nodded. “Carry on, then.”
***
“What town is this?” Isabella peered at the sign. “How do you pronounce that? Clownmeal?”
“Clonmel.”
“Is that a name or a bodily noise?” She snickered at his expression. “Fine, does this mean we are not lost?”
“We are not lost.” Nicodemus shifted in the saddle and pulled up a map on his pokedex. “Here is where we are.” He tossed the dex to his wife.
Isabella zoomed the display and grimaced. “I don’t see us.” Lily plastered her hands over her mouth but her laughter could still be heard.
Nicodemus sighed as he took the pokedex back. “On the other side of Clonmel is a road we can follow to Lismore. After that, we head due west and it’s a straight shot to Killarney.”
Isabella nodded. “How far is it?”
“Around 150 kilometers. We’re not in any hurry, but it will take only a couple of days to get there.”
“Good. I want to have a place of my own.” She cocked her head. “Can we get lunch here in town?”
He turned and gave her an even look. “If you’re going to sample every restaurant between here and there, maybe it will take more than a couple of days.”
“That’s a yes, right?”
“We’re going to need to sell some pokegirls to pay your food bills.”
“It’s not that bad. We should only have to sell your pokepack.” She laughed at his grimace.
Clonmel was a tiny community of less than two hundred people, but Nicodemus had to agree that the sandwiches were excellent. He watched an older man come into the shop with a Growltit in tow. The woman behind the counter watched his pokegirl come in with a slight look of disgust and her lips thinned as he turned in her direction. He spoke quietly to the woman and Nicodemus blinked as she pointed at their table.
“We may have a problem.”
Isabella was chasing the last of her chips around the plate and didn’t look up. “What?”
“I think I’ve identified the sheriff and he is heading towards our table.”
Isabella lifted a spoon and peered at the reflection. “What makes you think he’s the sheriff?”
“He’s got a Growltit and Iris didn’t pitch the same fit she did when we came in with Lucretia and Kay.”
Isabella shifted her spoon slightly. “She does look pissed. I think you’re right. What should we do?”
“We haven’t done anything wrong. We wait.” He watched the man and his pokegirl approach them.
“Are you the Tamers who just came into town?” The man’s voice was deep with years of authority. Up close, Nicodemus could see he was older than first thought. Laugh lines creased his face around his green eyes and a thick beard covered his face.
“I’m a Coordinator.” Nicodemus gave him a polite smile. I’m Nicodemus Azrael and this is Isabella.”
The man’s lips twitched into a smile. “Sheriff Todd Dobson. I’m glad I caught you two before you left. I’ve got a problem and I want to hire you to take care of it for me.”
Isabella smiled. “Can we talk here, or do we need to go to your office?”
“Here is fine.”
“Then why don’t you and your pokegirl have a seat and you can buy us a cup of tea.”
Dobson exchanged a startled look with his Growltit. “Iris doesn’t like pokegirls in her shop. You don’t mind?”
“I wasn’t happy to have to put all of my pokegirls up,” Nicodemus muttered. He raised his voice slightly. “We don’t mind. Please, sit.” Looking around the sheriff, he gave Iris a smile. “We’re going to need some more tea here and two more sandwiches.”
“Three,” Isabella muttered. “I’m still hungry.”
“Um, three more sandwiches, please.” Iris gave him a look of loathing but moved to comply. He gave Isabella an odd look before turning back to the sheriff. “I hope you like the food here.”
Dobson smiled as he settled into a chair and glanced at the Growltit as she did so with a huge grin plastered on her face. “This is the best place in town, but since Nina isn’t welcome on the premises, I’ve never eaten here.”
Isabella shrugged. “Being out of towners, we were too intimidated by the local police force to protest when they insisted on sharing our meal with us. What’s a girl to do?”
Nina’s eyes went wide and she made a strangled noise as she fought not to laugh. Finally she took a deep breath. “Thank you, miss.”
Isabella’s eyes sparkled as she tipped her head slightly.
Nicodemus sipped at his tea. “What is this job?”
Dobson sobered. “Tipperary is out of power and, while they don’t have a pokegirl center, they do have a storage system and they’re worried about what will happen to the pokegirls in it. If nothing else, they can’t be retrieved if there’s a problem.” He picked up a biscuit and nibbled at it. “They don’t have any suitable pokegirls and we’ve got one they can use. I want to hire you to take her there and deliver her to Donna McGee. She’s the sheriff there.”
Nicodemus began using his pokedex. “Tipperary is 40 km from here. That’s a good day of travel. If we push, we can be there sometime tomorrow morning.” He glanced up. “I’m not willing to blindly charge forward at night, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
“I know it’s not much to you Tamers, but I’ll pay you 5000 SLC if you’ll do this. There’s only one thing you need to keep in mind: do not, under any circumstances, release this pokegirl. The sheriff will take care of her.”
Nicodemus exchanged a glance with Isabella. They needed every credit they could get and this sounded like easy money. “Sheriff, we’ll do it.” He smiled as Iris appeared with plates of food and a scowl. “Right after lunch.”
***
Isabella pulled up when Nicodemus fell. She bent over, sucking air into her lungs as he pushed himself back to his feet and began shrugging out of his pack. “Why do you wear that when we’re working out?”
He wiped his face with his already sodden shirt, grimaced and stripped it off before handing it and his pack to Tabitha. That left him in shorts and hiking shoes, along with his belt and gear. “The bad guys won’t give me a chance to take it off before they try to eat me, so I figure I might as well wear it for the first leg. Stop that. It’ll just get you horny and we’re not stopping until nightfall.” His last was aimed at the Rapitaur, who was busy rubbing his shirt against her face.
“Sir, you smell good.” She gave him a speculative look. “Very good.”
Isabella blinked. “She’s snogging your shirt.” A tired smile appeared when he gave her a quizzical look. “It’s a new word I learned. It means kissing.”
“Snogging? I’ll have to remember that one. Give me that.” He snatched the shirt from her and stuffed it into his pokepack. Tabitha snorted and adjusted the straps before hanging it from her saddle. “My dick is going to get worn off if I have to tame any more frequently, even with Stamina XXX.”
“I’d laugh at you two, but I still can’t breathe.” Isabella pushed herself upright. She was wearing a sports crop top and shorts with her hiking shoes. Her body gleamed with droplets of sweat in the morning sun as she slowly twisted her torso. “How much longer?”
“We agreed that we’d run until we can’t run any more.” He checked his watch. “It’s been five minutes. Break time is over.”
“Mistress, water.” Lily pushed the bottle into Isabella’s hand. She drank and spat before handing it back.
Nicodemus took a deep breath and fell into a jog once more. Isabella muttered something under her breath and fell in behind him.
***
Nicodemus poked the Whorizard lightly in the rump. “Hestia, tail.” She raised her head slightly to look at him and twitched her tail around in his direction. Flames erupted from the tip. Nicodemus gripped her tail well below the flames and pushed the burning end into the pile of wood. Within less than a minute the campfire started to smoke and flames licked out. He pulled her tail back out. “Thanks.”
She made a contented noise and settled down again as Isabella chuckled. “I’ll start dinner while you set up the tent.” She glanced at the sky. “I think we’re going to get some rain tonight.”
Nicodemus had pulled out the pokeball they were supposed to deliver. “I wonder if she’s valuable.”
“You’re backsliding again.” Isabella flashed him a grin. “She’s probably some kind of electric type. Scan her with your pokedex.”
Nicodemus pulled out his dex. “That’s odd. I’m getting a blank. It shows the pokeball is filled, but it’s shielded against pokedex scans.”
Isabella looked curious. “We’re not supposed to let her out. Do you want to chance it?”
“Let me try something first.” He plugged his pokedex into his pack and put the ball into storage. “This should tell us what she is. It has to get a much more detailed reading to convert the ball and the contents into energy.” He began shifting menus. Suddenly he stopped. “We are not letting her out.” He looked up. “In fact, she’s going to stay in storage for the rest of the trip.”
“Why the sudden caution? What is she?”
“A Panthress.”
Isabella’s jaw dropped. “How can that help with them not having any power?”
“I’m not sure, but I do intend to ask. I would have like to have known what she was so I could take steps if she got loose. Some pokegirls can get out without help. Her doing that would be bad.”
“Bad? It would be a disaster. Could we take a Panthress?”
“If she had surprise when she hit us, it would be very close. Too close to want to take any chances with her.” He frowned and looked up.
Elena came circling in. “Sir, there’s a very big fire up ahead. It’s a building of some kind. I thought I heard screaming when I made a close pass.”
Nicodemus exchanged a look with Isabella. “Hestia, bury the fire and catch up with us.” The fire pokegirl heaved herself to her feet with a groan as he released Tabitha.
Lily materialized next to Isabella and she swung onto her Rapitaur’s back. “Elena, guide us.”
“Mistress.” The Thundercunt launched herself into the air and headed off as Tabitha and Lily raced after her.
A couple of kilometers ahead a bright light soon pointed the way. It was an old two story farmhouse and was engulfed in flames. The fire was so hot that the nearby outbuildings were in danger of igniting.
Isabella released Kay. “We think there are survivors in there. Find them.”
Meanwhile Nicodemus was talking to Naomi. “Start with the roof and work your way down.”
“Yes, sir.” The Espea’s eyes glowed as she began pulling the roof from the house in sections.
Kay’s antenna lifted and spread. Her eyes narrowed and then widened. “I’m sorry, mistress, but while I can feel brain activity, they’re already dead. We can’t save them.”
Isabella shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“I know what the dead feel like, mistress. Sometimes I can feel them for hours after they are gone. There is no one alive in that fire, not anymore.”
“Naomi?”
“She is right, mistress. I feel no living minds. Dead minds, yes. I think there is one man, three women and four children.”
Isabella blinked. “Children.” Suddenly she sat down heavily. “Children.”
“Get up.” She blinked at his flat tone. “We need to take the building apart. There may be filled pokeballs and they won’t survive the heat for long.” She stared at him blankly. “There may still be someone we can save. GET UP!”
Life filled her eyes again and she shot to her feet. “What’s the plan?”
“Start at the top and dismantle the house. We’ll put the fire out as we go and we’ll smother the rest with dirt. Then we’ll search the wreckage.”
Isabella nodded and began snapping orders to Kay and Lily.
***
The wreckage was still smoldering when the sun came up, but they began searching immediately. Hestia, Tabitha and Lily were busy still demolishing the building as they searched for any signs of life. Brenda was kept busy healing minor burns and cuts as Nicodemus and Isabella methodically moved through the ruins. They called off the search at noon; their only reward two destroyed pokeballs and no way to know if they’d been empty or filled at the time of the fire.
“You look like you’ve been through hell.”
Nicodemus looked down at himself. He was black from soot and ash. Sweat carved runnels through the dust and he stank of the fire. “I’ve looked better,” he admitted quietly. “We’ll backtrack to that stream and clean up.”
Isabella’s mouth firmed. “I don’t want to come back to here.”
He gave her a curious look and nodded. “We’ll detour around the farm. Lucretia, take Elena and Ruth and search the outbuildings. We know there’s no one in them, but I remember some jars of preserves and some sacks of grain.”
Isabella gave him a hard look as she swung onto Lily. “Must we loot here?”
“Why not? They don’t need it.”
“I want no part in this.” He gave her a confused look as she rode off.
“Sir,” Naomi touched his arm. She was as black as her sister. “She’s upset about the dead children.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “Should we not loot?”
Lucretia shrugged. “It might make her happy and we don’t need the supplies.”
“Then don’t. I’ve got to live with her and when she’s unhappy she’s very tiresome.”
***
“How’s this one pronounced?”
“Tipperary.”
“I wonder what their food is like. We could have lunch here.”
“Is that a real question or is that your subtle way of hinting that we’re going to find out?”
She smiled serenely at him.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. For such a small lass, you seem to eat a lot.”
“Lass? Are you trying to fit in?”
“Is it that bad?”
“You have to roll your R’s to sound more Irish.”
He gave her an odd look. “Lass does not have any R’s in it.”
“As far as I can tell, that doesn’t matter.” She chuckled. “Ok, that was a bit much.”
“Yeah, you really need to be careful not to say something like that where anyone but us could hear you.”
“I suppose you’re right. Still, it is around lunchtime.”
Nicodemus turned in his saddle to look at her. “Are you pregnant?”
Isabella and Lily both stared at him and then the Rapitaur twisted her torso to look at her mistress. Isabella shook her head slowly. “No, I’m still on my birth control and I check weekly. I’m not.” She licked her lips nervously. “Would you be upset if I were?”
“I expect it will happen eventually. I was concerned because we’re still on the road and if you are, and somebody finds out about it, they might try to detain you for your safety. Then, I’d have to rescue you and things would probably get messy.”
Isabella relaxed slightly. “We don’t want that. Let’s find the sheriff and then we can stop for lunch.”
“That sounds good. We’ll also want to sell the ferals we caught today.” They’d captured a couple of Buzzbreasts and Elena had bagged a Ladyba.
“The sheriff should know if we can post them for sale here.” He nudged Tabitha in the flanks with his heels and she trotted forward. “Let’s find her. We’ll start at the sheriff’s office.”
When Nicodemus stepped into the office, an attractive twenty-something brunette looked up from her desk where she’d been reading a book. “Can I help you?”
“Are you the sheriff? If not, can you tell me where she is?”
The brunette grinned suddenly. “You’re a smart one. Most people think I’m the secretary.” She leaned back in her chair. “I’m Sheriff McGee. How can I help you?”
The door opened and Isabella entered the office as Nicodemus nodded. “I’m Nicodemus and we’re here from Clonmel. This is Isabella, my wife.”
The sheriff watched him for a couple of seconds before frowning. “And?”
“Sheriff Dobson asked us to deliver a pokegirl.”
McGee’s eyes went wide and she sat upright. “You have the Panthress?”
“So, you do know it’s a Panthress.” Nicodemus exchanged a look with Isabella. “We weren’t sure how she could help your electrical shortage.”
McGee hopped to her feet. “It’s not a shortage. We’re completely out, except for the tiny bit we get from a wind generator.” She gave them a smile. “Under the law, we can’t just use any pokegirl.” She held out her hand. “I’ll take her now. I’ll explain after I get the power back.”
Nicodemus shrugged out of his pack and pulled out the pokeball. “We’re curious. Here you go.”
McGee eyed them briefly. “Come on then, and I’ll show you.”
She led them into the back of the office and into a hallway. Turning, she handed the pokeball to Isabella. “Hold this while I open the door.” She spun the combination on a tremendous vault door. Next to it was a small panel covered with a metal door. “Would you believe that the first ones had electrical touch pads and hydraulic locks? Needless to say, that was something that got changed the first time someone ran out of power.” She spun the locking handle and pulled the meter thick door open. “I’m glad they did a good job of rebalancing this door. A year ago I’d have had to use an extremely strong pokegirl to open it and the rules are quite explicit about no pokegirls being allowed in here.”
The interior of the vault was a cube four meters on a side. A handful of permalights cast a wan glow that dimly lit the room. Most of the room was taken up by a tremendous piece of electronics that ran from floor to just under the ceiling. A series of red lights glowed softly on its front, circling a depression in the face of the machine.
“Why is the ceiling different?” Isabella gave the sheriff a curious look. Nicodemus realized that while the walls and floor were made of steel, like the door, the ceiling was made of concrete.
The sheriff held out her hand. “Pokeball, please.” Her smile returned when she held the small orb once more. “The ceiling is different to protect the town in case of an accident. There’s never been one reported, but that is supposed to fail and save the town.”
She pressed the pokeball into the depression and pressed one of the red lights. The ball sank into the depression and a massive hatch slid up to cover it. “Let’s get out of here.”
Once in the hall, she pulled the vault door shut, waving Nicodemus off when he tried to help. “I have to do this when you’re not around, I might as well do it all the time.” She spun the locking handle until it stopped and moved to the panel. Lifting the hatch revealed two buttons, one red and the other black. She pressed the black button. A bright red light lit next to it. After a few seconds, it wavered to yellow and then flickered to green and steadied. “Everything is satisfactory,” she muttered before pushing the red button with a slight wince. She looked around and grinned. “I always hate that from a no power situation.”
She led them back to the office and pushed a button on her coffeepot, which began rasping. She settled down behind her desk and pointed at some chairs. “Sit.” Pulling a pokeball out of her desk, she released an OfficerJenny. “Marge, we have power again. Tell the others.”
Marge looked sad. “Was it the Panthress you mentioned?” When McGee nodded she shook her head. “That’s such a shame. I’ll let everyone know, sheriff.”
McGee watched her go before turning back to her guests. “The coffee will be ready in a minute. What do you know about pokepower?”
“I’ve never heard about it.” Nicodemus glanced at his wife, who shook her head as well. “What is it?”
“A lot of people don’t think about how isolated communities get their power. Most people think it’s wind or solar but the truth is that most places don’t have the weather conditions for reliable power generation and solar isn’t that efficient.” The sheriff glanced at the coffeepot. “Ah, it’s ready.” She served them and settled back behind her desk, pressing the power button on her computer.
“When a pokegirl is put into a pokeball, she’s converted into energy and stored. Pokeballs use a tiny bit of that energy to maintain the integrity of the containment field and over several years a pokegirl inside a continuously sealed pokeball will actually lose mass because of it. Not much, but if you’ve got one of the ‘cute series of pokegirls, it can be a noticeable loss.” She peered at them over her cup. “That much, I hope you already understand.”
Isabella nodded. “We do, it is part of the basic Tamer education course.”
McGee blinked. “You must have taken that course somewhere else, because I teach basic Tamer here and it’s not part of the coursework.”
Isabella paled slightly and Nicodemus cleared his throat. “We’re immigrants from the Sunshine League.”
“Oh. What are you doing here?”
“Actually, I want to start a ranch around Killarney.”
“That would be nice. Ranches often offer classes for Tamers in their area and you can help to expand the curriculum.” McGee frowned. “Now, where was I?”
“Pokeballs and maintenance power.”
“That’s right.” She stared at the ceiling for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. “Pokepower takes that to its logical conclusion. We take a condemned pokegirl,” She gestured in the direction of the vault, “like that Panthress, put her into a pokeball and drain off all the energy she has become. Death is instantaneous and she never feels a thing.”
Nicodemus looked at Isabella for a long moment as she stared back at him. Finally, he turned back to the sheriff. “I can understand why your OfficerJenny was a bit nonplussed about this.”
“She doesn’t really like it, but since we’re following the law, she can’t stop me. It’s easier if I keep her up during recharges.”
“How often do you have to do this?” Isabella shook her head. “For some reason this makes me uncomfortable.”
McGee nodded. “That’s exactly the reason that while this isn’t a secret, it isn’t broadcast either. We can’t maintain power plants in every city, there are just not enough people. So we use pokepower wherever we can. Storage can use a lot of power, so we have to recharge the system at least once a month. This time it caught us by surprise and we didn’t have a condemned pokegirl on hand. I’ll get another one next week so this won’t happen again.”
Nicodemus blinked. “It’s a blast shield.”
McGee frowned. “What?”
“The concrete ceiling is a vent for the vault. If something goes wrong, it’s supposed to channel all that energy straight up and away from the town. The concrete will give long before the steel walls of the vault.”
“Isabella, dear, you did catch a smart one. Hopefully, he’s not too smart.”
Isabella cocked her head. “What’s the story behind the Panthress?”
“Is it important?”
“It is to me. I want to know.”
McGee reached for her keyboard. “Just a moment. Her name was Tabby and she belonged to a Tamer named Seamus Powers. She lost her final battle during a pokebattle between him and another Tamer and when she started evolving he managed to recall her to her pokeball.” She frowned. “The creep was going to leave with her when his opponent contacted the local police and they confiscated her. That was in Glasgow. They didn’t need her and she was sent to Clonmel for disposal.”
“What happened to Powers?” Isabella didn’t look pleased.
“Just a moment. For causing his Tigress to become a Panthress he was stripped of his Tamer’s license, all of his property was confiscated by the league and he was placed into some kind of rehabilitation program.” She shrugged. “I don’t have any details, but I do know that his license is permanently revoked. No matter what this program is, he’s never getting it back.”
“Good.” She gave Nicodemus a look that told him what would happen to Seamus if they ever crossed paths.
He raised an eyebrow and nodded.
***
Nicodemus Azrael – Coordinator
Ladyien – Lucretia
Thundercunt – 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
Weepingbutt – Camilla