Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 

                Isabella froze. “Nico, look.” She pointed with her chin at the woods on the west side of the ranch grounds. 

                An elf type pokegirl stood on the edge of the forest, watching them in the early morning light. Nicodemus eyed her cautiously as he slowly reached for his pokedex. A quick scan confirmed that it was indeed an elf. He slowly raised a hand and waved. The elf waved back before pulling up the hood on her green cloak and disappearing into the trees. He tried to track her with his eyes, but she vanished almost instantly from his view.

                Isabella touched Lily’s pokeball. “Want to catch her?”

                “She’s not feral. Feral elves are comatose. Either she belongs to someone or it’s very likely there’s a court somewhere around here. In either case, the answer is no.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “We don’t want to piss off someone who might be a neighbor. Besides, even with four fire pokegirls I’m not excited about facing an unknown number of elves. They can come in a wide assortment of types and can be a lot of trouble from what I’ve read. Also, I don’t have a lot of experience with magic, but my understanding is that it can be pretty nasty.”

                “What if they’re living on our land?”

                “Then we’ll deal with them. Hopefully, we can come to some kind of agreement and lease out elves to the farmers. They can do wonders for productivity.”

                “What if they don’t want to come to an agreement?”

                “They’ll either deal with us or with our pokegirls, once I get a good idea of their numbers and types.” He sighed and tucked his pokedex back into his belt. “There aren’t any organized groups of elf pokegirls around Montevideo that I’m aware of, so I never bothered to study them that extensively. I’ll have to correct that oversight.”

                “I’ll need to know about them, too.” Isabella checked her watch. “We meet with the mayor after lunch. What do you want to do until then?”

                “Mayors are notoriously hidebound. I suggest we head back to Killarney and clean up before our appointment.”

 

***

 

                The receptionist looked up and gave them a big professionally friendly smile as Nicodemus followed Isabella into the building. “Good day, madam, sir. How may I help you?”

                “I’m Isabella Azrael and this is Nicodemus. We have an appointment with mayor Tennant.”

                She glanced at the screen of her computer. “Your appointment is in fifteen minutes. Please have a seat and I’ll let the mayor know you are here.”

                Nicodemus and Isabella exchanged glances and settled down in some chairs. Nicodemus surreptitiously scanned the receptionist with his pokedex and his brow furrowed slightly when it returned “no data” for his pains. He settled back and reflected on the fact that human women needed jobs too. Isabella stayed quiet while using her pokedex to review some information.

                Finally, the receptionist looked up again.  “Mayor Tennant will see you now.”

                Edward Tennant was a spare man with thinning silvery hair through which liver spots gleamed darkly against his white skin. He smiled, revealing teeth yellowed by age and nicotine. His voice was surprisingly strong for his thin frame. “Good afternoon, I’m Mayor Tennant. Please sit.” He leaned back in his chair and gave them a friendly look. “I understand that you want to establish a ranch here in Killarney.”

                Nicodemus nodded. “I’m Nicodemus Azrael and this is my wife, Isabella. The old ranch site will require a lot of work to make livable, but I think it will do nicely, if it is available.”

                Tennant raised an eyebrow. “I believe you already know that it is. If you can actually beat the jinx and establish a functional ranch, I don’t see any reason where the land couldn’t be granted to you.”

                Isabella chuckled softly. “No, I think that the land should be deeded to us before we begin work on it; not after we’ve already gotten a ranch running and you can then decide to rent it to us instead.”

                The mayor’s eyes lost some of their friendly look. “We’ve had several people try to set up a ranch there and failed. I don’t see where you cannot prove to me that you’ll succeed before I give that land to you. The league charged me with protecting their interests and that land is one of them.”

                “If we fail, the land reverts back to the league anyways.” Isabella’s voice was firm. “You lose nothing by giving it to us in the meantime, and you get the usual taxes while we’re working it. If you retain possession while we’re developing it, we pay no taxes.”

                Tennant glanced at Nicodemus. “You always let her do your talking for you? You’re the accredited rancher.”

                “We each have our areas of expertise and this is one of hers.” It was true. A life spent growing up in a rich and powerful family had prepared Isabella well to traverse the halls of power, avoiding their pitfalls in her search for solutions. Even tiny halls such as were found in Killarney.

                “So what is your area of expertise, Mr. Azrael?”

                “I’m the rancher, and the practical one.”

                Tennant gave Isabella a slow nod. “I can have the contract drawn up for signing tomorrow. The land will be deeded to you and your husband at that time.”

                Isabella smiled prettily, but it never reached her eyes. “My knowledge of Blue League law is shaky at best, so I’d prefer that you give me a copy of the contract so I can look it over first. We can sign the contract later this week.”

                Tennant returned her smile. “I think that can be done. How long will you need to look it over?”

                She shrugged. “It should only take a few days, but that really depends on how long the lawyer has to look it over.”

                The mayor’s good humor returned suddenly. “That will be fine, Mrs. Azrael.” He rose and offered his hand to her. “I’ll have the contract waiting with Miss Toliver in the morning for you to pick up.”

                Isabella took his hand firmly. “Thank you.”

                Once outside, Nicodemus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That didn’t go quite as badly as you figured it would.”

                His wife took his arm and smiled. “That’s because he thinks I don’t know there aren’t any lawyers in Killarney beside himself. He probably figures that I’ll panic, look it over, and claim to have consulted with one.”

                “You aren’t?”

                “Nicodemus, contracts can be just as dangerous as widows. Once I have that contract, Kay and Naomi are going to teleport us to London where we will consult with the lawyer I put on retainer while you were drinking with those Irishmen.” She grinned without humor and squeezed his arm. “I’ll make sure we aren’t going to get screwed as much as I can. I can’t stop them completely, but I can at least make them work for it.”

 

***

 

                Naomi let her tamer go and grinned. “Sir, welcome to London. Well, just outside of London.”

                “That was strange.” Nicodemus frowned and shook his head to clear it. “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to the way teleportation feels.”

                “You will.” Isabella put Kay up and released Lily. “I’d recommend a low profile for our stay here.”

                Nicodemus nodded and released Lucretia before returning Naomi to her pokeball. “Where is this lawyer’s office?”

                Isabella opened her pokedex and pulled up a map. She turned while reading it and pointed. “Her office is that way about six kilometers. I called her last night and let her know we were coming.” She glanced at him. “You don’t have to come along, if you don’t want to.”

                He nodded. “I know, but I think I need to. You made an excellent decision when you decided to do this and I need to learn more about politics since we’re apparently suddenly neck deep in them. It was my lack of political knowledge that almost got us blacklisted.”

                “Nico, it was the fact that Toni was a bitch and Dermot was an ass.” She gave him an amused look. “It turned out for the best anyways; can you imagine us trying to last six months working for him? If you didn’t kill him, I probably would.”

                Lucretia blinked. “Mistress, I mean you no disrespect, but we’re the experts in that and you should let us deal with those issues.”

                Isabella smiled broadly. “You are absolutely correct and I will. Nicodemus, why don’t you let me deal with the lawyer? I’ll probably only be dropping off the contract for her to look at when she has time. Why don’t you go shopping for our supplies and I’ll meet you at the Red Mare. When she’s ready to discuss it in detail is when we both need to be there.”

                He eyed her for a moment before nodding. “Very well, since you’re the expert on legal matters, I’ll defer to your experience. Give me the list and I’ll take care of it.”

                Isabella kissed him on the cheek as she handed him a sheet of paper. “I’ll want to get cleaned up while we’re in London, but that will wait until tomorrow.”

                “Um, why can’t you do that at the inn tonight?”

                “I want to get my hair cut and my nails done. That’s what I meant by getting cleaned up. You need a trim too.” She winked. “You’re a businessman now, and you need to look the part.”

                He gave her an odd look and shrugged. “You’re the expert.”

 

***

 

                The bell on the door rang as Isabella opened it and stepped into the office. The Goth sitting at the desk smiled professionally. “Mrs. Azrael, it’s good to see you again. Miss Landry will be with you in just a moment.”

                “Thank you, Cecilia.” She gestured Lily to a chair and settled down to wait. 

                A couple of minutes later, a gentleman nodded to her as he left the lawyers office. A trim brunette followed him out and took Isabella’s hand. “I’m glad to see you, Isabella.”

                “I did have an appointment, Beverly, so hopefully my being here isn’t a complete surprise.” Isabella carefully didn’t let her satisfaction show. She’d chosen Beverly Landry to be her solicitor for a couple of reasons. First, Kay had determined that Beverly was an expert in business law by the simple and highly illegal expedient of scanning not only Beverly, but a couple of other lawyers that the tamer had visited afterwards. Second, Beverly was still establishing her business and was hungry for new clients, making her diligent in keeping the ones she did acquire. Sometimes established firms forgot the rule about not trampling old friends in the rush to make new ones. Finally, Ms. Landry was loyal, something else Kay had discovered during her investigation. “I have the contract I want you to look at. When do you think you might be able to go over it?”

                Landry led Isabella into her office and shut the door. “I’ll examine it in detail tonight and let you know about any potential pitfalls in the morning. Is there anything special I need to be aware of?”

                “Not that I know about, but you do know how these small town officials sometimes try to slip things into contracts because they’re contemptuous of the people they’re dealing with.” Isabella opened her satchel and pulled out the contract. “Here it is.”

                Beverly chuckled and laid the papers on her scrupulously clean desk. “That’s hardly limited to small towns, Isabella. Contempt is a universal failing of mankind and it can crop up in the strangest places. Lots of contracts have traps for the unwary, which is why we lawyers stay in business.” She touched the contract, lining it up with sides of her desk. “Will you want a counter proposal drawn up?”

                “Tell me what’s in it first and then I’ll decide. There isn’t really a time limit, so I’m willing to stay in London for a week or two to make sure this is done correctly.”

                The solicitor nodded. “Excellent. What about Mr. Azrael?”

                “Nicodemus trusts me to handle this and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’ll discuss anything major with him beforehand, but I’m hopeful there’s nothing that dire in the details.”

                Beverly shook her head. “The details are where the devil usually hides, Isabella. I’ll look it over carefully and get back to you tomorrow.” She rose, clearly indicating that their meeting was over. “I’ll have Cecilia call you in the morning and set up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon, unless there’s an emergency.”

                “Is there likely to be one?”

                “I’ve got court in the morning to deal with a village that breached their contract with a tamer they hired to clear out some feral pokegirls. Sometimes those can drag out for a while.”

                “What happened?”

                “I really can’t discuss it, Isabella.” She eased her client towards the door of her office. “I’ll be in touch.”

                “Thank you, Beverly.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus looked around warily as he followed Isabella into Olivia’s Salon. She nodded to the ingénue behind the counter. “I’m Isabella Azrael and this is Nicodemus. We’ve got appointments.”

                The pokegirl nodded and made a notation on a computer screen with a stylus. “Mistress Azrael, it should only be a few minutes.” 

                “Did you find this last night?”

                Isabella smirked. “Actually, Margaret recommended it.”

                “Is there some secret club that women belong to where they distribute information?”

                She grinned. “Now you know our secret.” The smile faded. “We’re home now, so I didn’t think it would be a problem if we started putting down roots and making friends.”

                Nicodemus eyed her thoughtfully for a long moment until she began to look uncomfortable. Abruptly, he nodded. “You are right. I’ll be back in a minute.” 

                Isabella watched him disappear into the bathroom with a confused expression. It only grew when he reappeared and settled down next to her once more. “Nico,” she whispered as she leaned against his side, “you’ve forgotten something.”

                He shook his head slowly and gave her a wry look, his aquamarine eyes gleaming softly in the light. “No, you’re right. This is home and I’m done running.”

                She stared into his eyes. “They’re going to take some getting used to, but I like them. You’ve got beautiful eyes.” Taking his hand, she squeezed gently. “Thank you.”

                “For removing my contacts? You’re quite welcome.”

                “No, it’s for taking me into your life and making me happier than I’ve ever been. Nico, I ran from one prison straight to another one. For the first time I’m free, and it’s you who did this for me.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “You even let me become your wife without any fuss.”

                “Do you want a real wedding? I understand they can be important.”

                She shook her head without lifting it. “I’ve got what I want now. The ceremony isn’t what makes this so nice. This is.”

                He patted her awkwardly on the hand. “I’m glad.”

 

***

 

                Mayor Tennant waved them into chairs as he settled behind his desk. “I’d begun to wonder if you were ever going to come back.”

                Isabella smiled. “I told you I wanted some time to look over the contract you were offering.”

                “Yes, you did, but it’s been almost two weeks.” He nodded and light reflected off his pate as his head moved. “That’s a bit excessive.”

                “I’m sorry about that, but it turned out there was some research that needed to be done on the history of the ranch property we’re considering.” She opened her satchel and dropped the contract on Tennant’s desk. “Here’s the contract you gave me.” A second pile of paper landed on top of it. “And here is my counteroffer.”

                Tennant stared at it before glaring at Isabella. “Counteroffer? What nonsense is this?”

                “It’s not nonsense at all. My offer replaces the contract you put together with the standard league contract for a starting ranch. It also includes all of the real grant property, which is substantially more than you had in yours.” She gave him a gentle smile. “It turns out that the first ranch had a much larger grant than is given these days and league rules stipulate that a ranch cannot be broken up. It was established to keep ranchers from selling off parts of the ranch for profit; but, in this sort of case, it means that a grant is an all or nothing proposition.”

                “I didn’t know there was additional land available.” Tennant picked up the new contract and flipped through it. He blanched. “Goddess, there’s fifteen thousand acres in this grant.”

                Isabella nodded. “The entire ranch area will have to be resurveyed after we move in. It will, however, improve your tax base on the ranch. Practically all of it is wilderness, but we both know it’ll be taxed by the town if we own it, even if it’s undeveloped land.” She glanced at her husband, who was watching the proceedings with a bland expression she’d come to learn meant he was paying close attention.

                Nicodemus had been bored while she’d been working with the solicitor and, with his new security access as a rancher, he’d done some research into the previous ranches. That was when he’d discovered the law forbidding ranch breakups, as well as the large grant to the original ranch.

                Tennant looked thoughtful and pulled up a calculator function on his computer. He played with it for a few minutes and smiled suddenly. “That will be very useful for my plans to improve the town.” He looked up. “I think that will be perfectly acceptable. I’ll look over the contract tonight and, unless I find something objectionable, we’ll sign it tomorrow.”

                Isabella nodded and rose. “I don’t expect there will be any problems, so we’ll be back tomorrow at ten.”

                Once outside, she took a deep breath and let out the tension she’d been fighting not to show. “Nico, I’m very glad he was willing to be reasonable. I was hoping he’d look at the revenue he’d be getting and not fight us over the land.” She smiled warmly. “Barring anything unforeseen, tomorrow we’ll have a home.”

                Nicodemus chuckled. “That’s good, because we’ve already got a sale as soon as I catch some ladyba and tame them.”

                She gave him a surprised look. “Oh? Who?”

                “I had some free time while you were closeted with Landry and, while I was waiting, I went back to Olivia’s. I’d noticed that she had some empty chairs and wanted to offer some suggestions to help her out. It turns out her biggest problem is training her girls to do a job to the standards she requires. Usually they either quit or, after they’re trained, they go into business for themselves somewhere else. So I suggested that some ladyba, with their eidetic memories and four hands might be perfect replacements.” 

                It was nearly lunchtime, so he took Isabella’s hand and led her in the direction of the pub. “She’s not interested in becoming a pet owner, but I was able to get her to agree to lease the pokegirls for a couple of months and try them out. That sort of thing fits under the work-study programs that some of the smaller ranches use to teach their non-combat pokegirls useful trades before selling them. She gets trained pokegirls for her staff and we not only get the lease payments, but I’ll rotate them out, and you’ll get a group of trained cosmetologists for your use as well as for sale. Once we’ve got a couple of them, we can train pokegirls at the ranch and Olivia won’t have any down time while new pokegirls come up to speed.”

                Isabella’s eyes lit up with interest. “That’s wonderful. Maybe we can set up a business here in town for them, too.”

                He frowned. “I doubt we’ll be able to charge what she does in London, but we’ll definitely need every credit we can get.”

                “Trust me, if we set up a salon here, with pokegirls trained in the latest London fashions, we’ll have plenty of business.” She gave him a curious look. “When are you going to go hunting?”

                “I’ll have my harem start as soon as we get out to the ranch. There are probably some feral ladyba within the area just waiting for gainful employment and I’ll detail Lucretia to lead a team to gather them up while we’re cleaning the ranch.”

                “I was wondering if you’d use this as an excuse to start traveling the Ring of Kerry.”

                “I won’t do that until after the ranch defenses are in place and the local feral population is reduced to something I find comfortable.”

                “Good, I’d like my husband around for the setup.”

                “Don’t worry, I will be. You get into entirely too much trouble when left alone.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus looked around to make sure everyone was in position. “Ladies, ready?” He paused while four heads nodded. “Fire!” Four powerful jets of flame exploded over the pile of rubbish and heat hammered him from the backwash as smoke billowed skyward. He let them play their flamethrower attacks over the pile for almost ten seconds. “Halt! Hestia, you join Elena overhead. Jenny, Lily and Tabitha, as we find more garbage, you’ll be adding it to the fire.” He motioned his whorizard over as the three rapitaur spun and raced off, their hooves thundering over the temporary bridge spanning the moat. “This fire is going to draw ferals, so I want you and Elena paying close attention and capturing them before they get too close. Just remember not to capture any elf types unless they’re setting up to attack us.”

                Hestia nodded. “Yes, sir. My alpha told me the same thing and to contact her if we see a large number of pokegirls at once or something we might have problems catching, like a rock type.” She hesitated briefly. “What if we see some kattle?”

                Nicodemus chuckled. The fire pokegirl had developed a definite taste for kattle sweetmeats during their trip. Denise, Isabella’s surfmelon, was providing them with plenty of fish; but he knew what would happen if he simply forbade Hestia from going after something she really wanted. The trick was to channel her impulses in useful directions, but he knew how to do that. “Do not allow yourself to be distracted by your stomach, but note where you saw them so you and I can go hunting later today.” He favored her with a lazy smile. “Just the two of us should be able to catch a couple of them for roasting.”

                She grinned hungrily as she spread her wings with a snap. “Yes, sir!”

                Nicodemus watched her climb up to join Elena as the thundercunt orbited over the camp area; he then trotted for the moat. He stopped at the bridge and knelt, slapping the water twice with his palm. Green surged up towards him, becoming Denise with an armful of algae which she dumped onto the ground at the water’s edge as she surfaced. She gave him a toothy smile and dropped her head submissively. “Sir?”

                “I wanted to tell you to start throwing the gunk you’re getting out of the moat onto the fire since we’ve lit it.” He motioned towards the roaring fire. 

                She looked in that direction and turned back to him, watching carefully as her tail sculled lazily to keep her head above the surface of the water. “Put stuff on fire?” She’d been feralborne and Isabella was her first tamer. The language T2 he’d bought in Montevideo was once more proving its worth; but she still had a lot to learn about nonverbal cues and knew it, since her social group had mostly communicated nonverbally when underwater.

                He nodded slowly and deliberately. “Yes, put stuff on fire.”

                Denise whistled an affirmative and then blushed. “Sorry, sir. Yes, I do that.”

                He patted her gently on the head and smiled. “It’s ok. I know you’re working hard to be with us and you’re doing a good job.”

                She gave him a hesitant smile. “I do good?”

                “You do good.” He leaned over and licked her cheek and she grinned and surged out of the water to lick his in return before disappearing back into the depths of the moat.

                “Are you poaching one of my pokegirls?” Isabella gave him a wry look as she stepped into view. “I’d think you have enough of your own.”

                “Right.” He wiped off his cheek and headed over. “She’s yours and everyone knows it.”

                Isabella nodded absently while watching the fire. “That’ll help to get rid of the crap. What are we going to do about the mold growing on the walls?”

                “If it’s only on the walls, we can use a poison to kill it, before scrubbing them down to remove the mold. If it’s growing inside the walls, we may have to rip out the interiors and rebuild them.” He shrugged. “Or we may just level the buildings and start from the foundations.”

                She winced. “I don’t think we have that kind of money available on top of every other expense.”

                “Me either, so we’ll do that only as a last resort.” He frowned. “I was also thinking that since most of the roofs need repaired or replaced, I might take one of the buildings with the worst leakage problem and have Tabitha use a quick pulse of flamethrower on the interior to see if that will clean it up.”

                “Is that even possible?”

                “I’m not sure,” he admitted, “but it’s worth a try to see if it can dry the interiors enough for repairs instead of replacement. It’s also free.”

                “Free is very good right now.” She glanced at him with an unhappy look. “I may have to send you hunting just to pay the bills.”

                “I know. Still, we’ll make it work somehow.”

 

***

 

                Camilla’s voice came quietly over the radio. “The last pokegirl is a queen and as soon as she sees me, she’s going to realize what’s going on and then I’m going to get attacked.” She sounded calm, like she was recounting the weather instead of mentioning that she was about to die if things went wrong.

                Nicodemus swept the area with his binoculars one last time. “Execute. Naomi, you take the queen.”

                Naomi reached deeply into the buzzqueen’s mind and touched her link with the subordinate buzzbreasts before unleashing her psychic attack. Every buzzbreast in the hive froze under the mental onslaught as their queen went into convulsions.

                The woods exploded with flame as Tabitha, Jenny and Lily threw off the coverings of the spider holes they’d been hiding in and cut loose with flamethrower. Energy sprayed across the sky as, overhead, Elena used feather shuriken and thunderbolt with wild abandon. Hestia went into a stall and vomited a sea of flame into her target area before recovering and diving into the fray.

                The idea was to stun the group and damage everyone with area attacks before picking out stronger individuals for additional attention before capture. Red light flashed intermittently as buzzbreasts began to be captured almost immediately. 

                Isabella’s voice buzzed in his ear. “Kay is out of the fight. I think she’s evolving.”

                Nicodemus ground his teeth at the timing. “Ana, cover Isabella. Ruth, release Lucretia and the two of you take Kay’s slot.” Lucretia had been kept in reserve because experimentation had proven that Camilla’s sweet scent tended to distract the ladyien at inopportune moments.

                “Ana, you help Ruth and Lucretia.” Isabella sounded pissed. “Denise is guarding me.”

                Brenda tapped him on the shoulder. “One buzzbreast is escaping, sir.” She pointed at a low flying form that was fleeing to the east.

                “Is that the one you tagged with the transmitter?”

                “No, she’s already gone, sir. That’s a different one. We’ll be able to track both of them to the hive. Neither of them is the queen.”

                “That’ll have to do, then.” He activated his radio. “Are you well, Camilla?”

                “Yes, sir, I am.” She sounded vaguely pleased, but then she’d been treated abysmally by the Team Viper goon who’d been her previous tamer and was always surprised when anyone seemed to care about her wellbeing. “I think more than the one you wanted to escaped, sir.”

                “If that’s all that gets away, I’ll be more than happy.” He continued scanning the area until the fighting died down. “Kay, are you there?”

                I am. There was a pause. “Sorry, sir, I know you don’t like it when I do that.”

                He concentrated and sent a feeling of approval in her general direction, receiving back a feeling of surprised pleasure. “Are you an alaka-wham now?”

                “I am.” The sideband compression didn’t manage to strip all of the joy from her voice.

                “Do you think you’re up to following our fleeing targets and locating the hive?”

                He felt a mental chuckle. I can feel them from here, so it should be very easy.

                “Then go after them, but be careful.”

                Mistress?

                “Do as he says, Kay. I’ll give you a special welcome back into my harem when you return.”

                Yes, mistress. 

                Nicodemus shivered at the hunger in that thought and found himself with a sudden erection. Beside him, Brenda gasped and shuddered. “Sir, she’s going to need to work hard to control her increased powers.”

                He nodded slowly. “I think that’s an understatement, but she could be lots of fun at parties.”

                The g-Poindexter gave him an amused look. “That’s a good attitude, sir, because you may descend from this tree to find that she’s already started one for your high libido pokegirls. If so, then they will probably want your company.”

                He sighed and nodded. “Let’s get down there and find out.”

                Apparently, it wasn’t quite as bad as Brenda had anticipated, but Nicodemus received several looks that promised him a busy evening when they returned to camp. None of his high libido pokegirls was really into sharing and he suspected that was all that prevented a common orgy from breaking out. That, and the slowly smoldering woods filled with widely scattered pokeballs.

                Isabella immediately put Denise to work putting out any fires or anything that even looked hot, which elicited annoyed yelps when she sprayed all three rapitaur with her water gun technique. From the look on Denise’s face, Nicodemus suspected it wasn’t an accident but rather an attempt at humor. Apparently, she wasn’t willing to be stupid to be funny, since she didn’t get a drop of water on the testy whorizard.

                Lucretia and Camilla collected pokeballs and deposited twenty two filled ones into Nicodemus’ hands. He quickly scanned them. “We’ve got one buzzqueen, eighteen buzzbreasts, one buzzkiller and two ladyba.” He gave the weepingbutt a wide smile. “That ability of yours to attract bug pokegirls is really remarkable.”

                Camilla flushed slightly with pleasure. “Thank you, sir.” She gave him a determined look. “I’ll do better next time.”

                “That sounds ominous. I’m not sure we can handle any more ferals at a time, even with a bunch of fire types. You did well.”

                “Thank you, sir.”

                I have located the hive. Kay’s thought touched his mind like a thunderbolt and he winced. Sorry. This time the mental touch was much lighter. His radio crackled. “I’m sending the coordinates to your pokedexes now, master and mistress.”

                “Sweep one more time for pokeballs,” Isabella instructed the combined harems. “Quickly now, since, if there’s a queen’s favorite at the hive, she’s probably evolving and we want to catch her while she’s still disorientated.”

                Soon they were on Tabitha and Lily and racing through the woods, while Hestia and Elena orbited lazily overhead. Slowing as they reached the area of the hive, they continued on until Kay appeared in front of them. She’d remained the same height, but her skin had deepened from a bright orange to a dusky rose in color. The Alaka-Wham grinned and pointed. “The hive is over there. There is a newly evolved queen trying to get her bearings and two active workers, one of whom is severely burned.” The smile wavered and fled. “There are also three filled cocoons.”

                The hive was an interesting construction, made with sun darkened wax stretching between trees and climbing overhead into the canopy. In places it had been daubed with mud and bits of foliage, perhaps as a primitive form of camouflage. It worked; despite its size, it blended well into the surrounding woods and would have been easy to miss in anything other than full sunlight. The entrance to the hive was out of sight somewhere to the right of where they were.

                Nicodemus exchanged a look with Isabella. “We considered that there might be some. If it comes down to it, I’ll dispatch the occupants quickly. If they seem salvageable, we’ll take them to London where they have the antidote in a ready supply.”

                Kay nodded slowly. “Thank you, sir.” She cocked her head and her antenna unfurled slowly. “The uninjured buzzbreast is heading out to patrol the area while the queen tries to heal the burned one.”

                Isabella looked at Lily. “We certainly don’t want that to happen.” She turned to her husband. “You’re the tactical director.”

                “Lily stays here with you and your harem as a reserve while I hit the hive. If Kay says I’m in trouble, come quickly. I really don’t want to have that antidote used on me or my pokegirls.” 

                Isabella nodded and started releasing the rest of her harem. “Be careful.”

                “I will.” He released Lucretia, Tabitha and Jenny. “We’ve got a buzzbreast heading out to patrol the area. I want Hestia and Elena to take her while we head into the hive for another buzzbreast and a new queen. There might be some stuff worth salvaging, so I don’t want to torch the entire hive if we can avoid it.”

                Lucretia glanced over as Isabella took her cue and began issuing instructions over the radio to Hestia and Elena about intercepting the lone buzzbreast. “Sir, do you want them alive?”

                “That would be nice and I’d prefer that, but not if there’s any chance of us getting hurt.”

                The ladyien met his eyes firmly. “With all due respect, sir, there would be a much smaller chance of that happening if you stayed outside where you’re in less danger.”

                Nicodemus stopped as he started to reply and looked into her eyes, noting her worry. “You are right; I’d just be a distraction. You lead the team.”

                “Thank you, sir.” She stood patiently for a moment. “Sir, you need guards.”

                He gave her a hard look which she returned unflinchingly. “Very well.” He released Brenda, Ruth and Naomi. “That’s all I have left.”

                A tiny smile flickered over her lips. “Then that will have to do, sir. I’ll need their pokeballs in case someone becomes injured.” 

                Nicodemus handed her the three pokeballs with a wry smile. “I’ll need to get another tamer’s belt for you if this keeps up.” He fished a handful of empty pokeballs from his pack and gave them to her as well. 

                She flashed a grin and bobbed her head before turning away; snapping orders to the pair of rapitaur before letting Tabitha lead them into the hive entrance and out of sight.

                Nicodemus sighed and glanced at Ruth as she leaned against his side. He scratched her behind an ear and she purred and leaned harder. “You’re not a cat, how do you do that?”

                Naomi chuckled and leaned against his other side, purring loudly enough to drown out her sister. “We’re better than any stupid cats, master.” He blinked when her mind touched his gently. Kay is more powerful now and she’s become much more so than I am. Will she be taking my place? That would only make sense. She didn’t seem worried about it, merely curious, giving him an odd sense of how much like a tamer a pokegirl might become over the course of their association.

                He glanced at the Alaka-Wham and shook his head slightly as he tried to only think at his espea. Just because she’s more powerful than you does not make her better than you. I’m keeping you.

                Naomi’s eyes widened for an instant before she lifted her head and rubbed her cheek against his, marking him with her scent. Ruth hissed quietly and copied the maneuver on his other side, glaring at her sister as she did so.

                Nicodemus just smiled and fought not to laugh.

 

***

 

                Lucretia lifted off and hovered, drifting behind Tabitha as they slowly moved deeper into the hive proper. Bug pokegirl wings had a particular sound due to their design and it was possible that the new queen would confusedly think she was the guard returning with new prey for conversion. Rebuilding the ranks of the buzzbreast would be a top priority considering their recent losses. Even if it didn’t work, it would make the ladyien much more maneuverable and able to respond to attacks from any direction.

                The hive was partially built into the ground and larger than it looked on the outside, but it stood to reason that the queen would be down the largest corridor. So, that’s the way they went, with Jenny watching their rear as they descended. 

                Abruptly, they stumbled into the main chamber. On the other side of the chamber, the buzzqueen and a single buzzbreast lifted off and raced to confront them. Tabitha hit them with flamethrower as Jenny sidled to the right to be able to assist if needed, while still keeping an eye on their rear. The flames washed over both oncoming pokegirls and partially melted the wall behind them. The wax smoldered, giving off heavy black smoke that began to slowly fill the room with acrid fumes.

                “Jenny, flame shot on the queen.” Lucretia drifted backwards as she gave the order. “I’ll watch our backs. Tabitha, do the same to the other.”

                The rapitaur responded almost instantly and the bolt of fire took the queen in the face. She made a muffled screeching sound and tumbled to the ground. Tabitha’s flame shot caught her target in the center of the chest and Lucretia hurled a pokeball when the insect pokegirl went limp and dropped heavily to the floor.

                The queen wobbled as she rose into the air, obviously still working to manage her new form. Two flame bolts center punched her and she then dissolved into a red mist as Lucretia hit her with another pokeball.

                Tabitha looked around as the pokeball rocked to the queen’s frantic attempts to escape. “The fire is out,” she announced carefully. “The smoke is headed upwards.” 

                Lucretia landed lightly. “You’re right.” She picked up the two quiescent pokeballs and sneezed violently.

                Jenny frowned and pointed at a pile of strange objects. “What are those?”

                “Cocoons.” Lucretia took a deep breath and started coughing. “Gather all three of them up and we’ll take them with us. I want to let the air clear a bit before we spend any more time in here.”

                “We could tear holes in the walls.”

                The ladyien shook her head. “No, Tabitha, that decision is up to our master, not us.”

                “Ok. That’s why he’s the boss.” The rapitaur scooped up two of the cocoons and motioned Jenny to grab the last one. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t like close spaces unless it’s the master’s bedroll.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus slipped out of the tent and looked around slowly. The horizon was turning that pale color that hinted as to the coming sunrise and a thin layer of fog blanketed the area. It was still, the night birds having settled down while the diurnal beasts hadn’t yet started stirring. 

                He moved slowly away from the camp and stopped at the moat to dip his fingers into the water and wipe the sleep from his face. The fog made sounds seem muted and distant, and laid a surreal glow on everything he could see. Everything looked fanciful and when the shadow detached from the wall and moved silently towards him, it fit so well into the musings flitting through his mind, that he felt no alarm. 

                She stopped in front of him and lowered her hood, revealing hair the color of aspen leaves in autumn and dark brown eyes. “Was their destruction necessary?”

                Somehow he knew immediately what she was asking about and nodded, careful not to break eye contact. “We rescued two pokegirls and a tamer who had come from the local village. His family would have eventually hired hunters who would have captured everything they found. The hive was a threat to everything in the area.” The captives been de-cocooned in London and, as soon as they knew the identity of the tamer, Isabella had contacted his family. They’d been given transport to London and were now with their son, who was recovering nicely, since he’d only been in the cocoon a week or so.

                The elf looked thoughtful for a moment. “You are correct. We must be safe as well. Since you are the master, one of us will have to join your harem. Do you have any special requirements?”

                He smiled slowly. “How about your ruler?”

                She blinked and grinned, suddenly looking much younger than before. “A wise choice. I will tell her of your request and see what her response is.” She pulled her hood back up. “We will return soon. Await our coming.” Generous lips curved in a smile. “We will be watching, so attempts to hunt us will fail.”

                “I will remember that.” He watched her vanish into the fog. For several minutes he stood silently, staring at the point where she’d disappeared. Suddenly the lassitude dropped away and he realized what had happened. “That was some kind of spell,” he muttered quietly, “to make me not realize that her being here was very, very wrong.” He turned and trotted for the tent, anxious to get to his pokeballs. 

                A short time later, Isabella pressed a mug of tea into his hands. Elena circled overhead while the rest of the two harems searched the ranch buildings. Denise was sweeping the moat and Kay stood guard nearby. 

                Nicodemus gave his wife a sour look and she shrugged. “I know they’re probably long gone, but that was frightening and this will reassure them. Is all magic like that?”

                “I really hope not.” Nicodemus shivered. “How do you resist something like that?”

                “You made a good start in requesting a high ranking member of the elves for your harem. Do you think there is a court here?”

                He gulped tea. “She was certainly no vagabond. Her clothing was of good quality and not badly worn. If there’s not a court, then I’m not sure what’s out there.” His sour look returned. “Of course, pokegirls are good at that. Just when you think you know them, something happens to prove we’ve only scratched the surface of what is out there.”

                She chuckled. “If that wasn’t true, we wouldn’t need the researchers or the watchers. Will we need help?”

                He shrugged. “I didn’t feel she was a threat, or at least not an active one.” He drained the cup. “I am not sure what they are, but I don’t think they’re a threat to us. They might be useful. Maybe they know why the other ranch attempts failed.”

                “Maybe they were the reason.”

                He blinked. “I don’t know. I got the distinct impression that my guest wasn’t stupid and she knew that if people disappeared, then hunters would soon follow.” A curious expression crossed his face. “I’ll ask the sheriff what he knows about them.”

                “So how do we deal with this?” She took the cup and refilled it.

                “One step at a time.”

 

***

 

                “Sir, we’ve got company.” Lucretia handed him her binoculars. “They’re coming up the road.”

                He managed not to sigh as he put them to his eyes. Since the elf had infiltrated the camp, he’d had a constant shadow, even when he went to take care of nature’s call. Isabella did too, but she was much more used to it than he was and, frankly, it was sometimes annoying. 

                The fact that it reassured his harem more than it did him was even more frustrating. Deep in his heart, he was fairly sure that with magic there could be elves inside the camp right now and they’d never know it.

                It was two human males, accompanied by a handful of heavy duty pokegirls. Nicodemus smiled slowly when he recognized them. He activated his radio. “Isabella, the Robertson brothers are here.”

                Her voice came back. “I’ll meet you at the moat. They don’t have any reason to be here unless they want to talk business.”

                “Are we going to be civil?”

                “After my last meeting with them, no, we’re not.”

                The older Robertson brother was in his early thirties and had the weather beaten look of a man who spent all of his time outside. His brother was obviously stamped from the same mold.

                The elder pulled his rhynodame to a halt just short of them but didn’t bother to dismount. “Mr. Azrael, Mrs. Azrael.” His brother just gave them a half glare as he continued. “I hear you’ve hired someone else to do the roofing here and I’ve come to find out who they are and why they’re taking my livelihood.”

                Isabella shrugged. “Mr. Robertson, as I’m sure you already know, since you were too busy to work on my property in a timely fashion I had no choice but to bring in a firm from London to do the work. I need my buildings roofed now, not when you can get around to it.” She knew he’d have heard about it, if only because she’d purchased supplies for the roofers in Killarney.

                Robertson chewed on his cheek while he thought. “Things have changed, Mrs. Azrael, and we’ll be available to start work on your roofs on Monday.”

                Isabella seemed to think it over. “I don’t want to steal your livelihood, Mr. Robertson, but understand me when I tell you that I have some buildings that must be roofed now. If you suddenly become unavailable again, I’ll have no choice but to bring them back and I won’t reconsider again.”

                He nodded. “I’ll guarantee that we’ll get the vital ones done now and work through the rest of them in a timely manner.”

                “I can live with that.” Isabella stepped forward and spat in her palm. “Done.”

                Robertson spat in his and leaned down to clasp hers. “And done. We’ll be here Monday at first light.” He turned his steed and headed away, followed by his brother and their team.

                Nicodemus glanced at his wife. “Is this a wise choice? If you send away the Londoners and then try to bring them back, they’ll probably hike up their prices in revenge.”

                Isabella watched the brothers depart and carefully wiped her hand on her pants once they were out of sight. Finally she turned to him. “I won’t be firing them since I only hired the Londoners to do the one building. We can’t afford their prices, so they can’t do the whole ranch. Since he’s been doing roofing without any competition for generations, I was counting on Robertson coming out here to protest that we were stealing food from the mouths of his family.” Her mouth thinned. “However, if he breaks his agreement, it’ll be a cold day in hell before he sets foot on my property again.”

                “I thought they were too busy with other jobs.”

                She nodded. “That’s what he told me, and I didn’t want to wait so I brought in the London team to give us at least one building with a solid roof, as well as to put a bit of pressure on Robertson and his family.”

                “We’ll need to make sure he never finds out you tricked him.”

                “He won’t.” She gave him an amused look. “We’re not going to tell him and nobody else knows.”

                “I suppose that’s true enough.” He stretched. “Well, back to work. I’ve got to get that field plowed today so we can get some crops in the ground before the weekend. We’ll be racing winter as it is.”

                She nodded. “We could really use the help of those elves. I wonder if there’s a way to contact them, short of hiking all over the place hoping to run across one of them.”

                He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Let me try a couple of ideas out.”

                “You’re the pokegirl expert.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus slipped from the tent and looked around cautiously before heading for the woods. He stopped at the edge of the forest and waited silently. While he expected an arrival, he never saw her and still jumped when she spoke.

                “What is the meaning of this?” She held out the rough green cloak he’d stitched together and hung from the tree before going to bed.

                He turned. This elf had hair the color of summer grass, a blend of dark and light green with hints of gold that glittered lightly dawn light. “I needed to talk to you. Winter is coming and we need help with the crops, if we’re going to harvest them.”

                “I am not the ruler and I cannot make those decisions.”

                “I offer trade.” He held out a small package. “This and a portion of the crops we successfully harvest.”

                The elf took the package and her eyes lit up. “Chocolate.” She sniffed it and made a happy noise. “For chocolate, I will help and I can get others to as well.”

                “Will your queen be upset?”

                “No, she will want chocolate for her own.” Her eyes turned impish. “She has received your request and is amused by it. She is considering her answer.” He suppressed his surprise, but she saw it anyway and immediately knew its source. “You thought she would say no.”

                “I thought she would offer a lower rank member in her place.”

                “She has desires, too, and is weighing them against the needs of her people. She will make the right decision when the time comes.” She smiled slowly. “We all have needs. However, word has been given that until a decision is made, you are not to be asked by any of the people to have their needs met.”

                “You could ask my wife.”

                She nodded. “That has been discussed by the people. We wish to wait to see if we may be allowed a male first. Males are more fun.” Her eyes met his. “You are a male. Do you know why there are no males among the people?”

                “I think it was to tie your people and mine together.”

                She looked surprised. “That could be. You have some small wisdom. Perhaps you will be a good messenger.”

                A thought crossed his mind. “Were the others poor messengers?”

                She shook her head negatively. “There has never been a messenger before.”

                “What of the others who were here before us, who were also trying to build a ranch?”

                “They left. You will have to ask our ruler as to why, for I do not know.” She drifted backwards. “I will go.” She paused and stripped off her cloak before offering it to him. “If you wish to speak again, hang this one. The other was a rude gift and unworthy, but I forgive your insult.”

                Nicodemus blinked at her nude form and nodded. “I apologize for any insult, even if you forgive me for it. My next gift will be better.”

                She laughed softly. “We like silk.” Then she was gone.

                “I’ll remember that,” he muttered. 

 

***

 

                “I thought you were busy buying out the stores here in town. We don’t have anything to sell here.” Solomon Sadler grinned at Nicodemus and waved him towards a chair. “Want Kelly to make you some tea?”

                “That would be nice.” Nicodemus settled tiredly into the chair. “I’ve only been buying silk ribbons and some fabric.”

                Kelly smiled and headed for the tiny stove. “All of it?”

                Nicodemus nodded. “That’s true enough. Sheriff, I’ve got a couple of questions I’m hoping you can answer, or perhaps Kelly might be able to if you can’t.”

                Sadler’s eyes widened when Nicodemus produced a bottle of whiskey from his pack. “Well, now, you seem to have brought the password. Kelly, lay off the tea and pour us some of this.”

                “Can I have both, please? I like her tea.”

                Kelly stared at him for a moment. “You’re serious.”

                “I am. I like it strong.”

                The officerjenny almost beamed. “Then tea you will get, sir.”

                Sadler waited until he had his whiskey and Nicodemus had his tea. “You had a couple of questions for me, Nico?” He sipped his whiskey and a warm smile spread across his face.

                He nodded. “What do you know about the elves that live around here?”

                Sadler’s smile vanished. “Very little and that’s the way they’ve worked to keep it.” He stared at the tabletop for a long moment. “I know there are some out there, but they are very good at keeping out of sight. You only see them if they want you to and nobody has ever admitted to catching one.”

                Kelly poured herself a shot and settled down next to her tamer. “People try every once in a while, but I don’t know about anyone who’s succeeded. I take it you saw one?”

                Nicodemus decided that caution was in order. “Yeah, I saw one the day after we took the buzzbreast hive out. I was thinking maybe I could make contact with them.”

                “Good luck with that.” Sadler refilled his glass. 

                “Thanks.” Nicodemus sipped at his tea. “I guess that answers the rest of my questions since I was hoping someone had knowledge of them.”

                Kelly put her glass down. “Riccio might know more about them. I know he went looking for them once and was extremely closemouthed about what happened when he returned.”

                “Do you think he’d talk to me?”

                “He tends to take an interest in anyone involved with pokegirls on a professional basis and a ranch is certainly that.” Kelly smirked. “Would you like us to ask?”

                “No, I’ll try to contact him myself first. If you’re right, I need to build my own relationship with him and not rely on yours.” He smiled slightly. “If he ignores me or turns me down, then I’ll ask you to intercede on my behalf.”

                Sadler nodded. “That sounds pretty good, but what are we going to do when you no longer need us?” Kelly snickered.

                Nicodemus raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think I’d ignore someone as powerful as the only officerjenny or nursejoy in Killarney? That does mean I have to deal with their tamer, too; but I can live with that.”

                Kelly burst out laughing and Solomon started chuckling. “I guess that’ll have to do. I don’t suppose you know how to play cribbage?”

                “No, but I’m willing to learn. Maybe that’ll be the one sport I can do better than Isabella. I’d like something I can beat her in.”

 

***

 

                “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.” Guliano Riccio leaned back in his chair and waved Nicodemus to a seat. “Where is your pretty wife?”

                “It’s been rather busy since we took possession of the ranch. She’s watching the Robertson brothers and their pokegirls work.”

                “You don’t trust them?”

                “I don’t think she does. I hire people to do a job and get out of their way. If they don’t do it right, then I find out why.” He shrugged. “She likes to make sure they do it right the first time. I also think she’s a bit peeved about them claiming to have other commitments when they weren’t all that busy.”

                Riccio picked up a menu. “How’s the ranch?”

                “We’ve got roofs on the essential buildings and power to most of them as well.” Nicodemus scanned his menu and put it down. “There’s still a lot of work to do. Hopefully we’ll have a bit of spare time in a month or so. Isabella could use some rest.”

                “Not you?”

                “I don’t worry about me getting rest; I’ll get it when I need it. She’s been driving herself hard and needs a break, but she won’t take one until she thinks things are far enough along to do so.”

                The waitress came up and they spent a few minutes ordering before Riccio turned back to his host. “Since you’re so busy, you obviously needed to see me about something. What is it?”

                “Two things. First, I’d like you to invite Isabella to tour your gym. I know she’d like to see it and it would make her take a day off.”

                Riccio grinned. “Done. You’re not worried about me stealing her?”

                “You aren’t going to get her to do anything she doesn’t want to; if you force her, then she’ll go to Kelly.” She’d also come to Nicodemus, but he was done warning people about consequences. 

                “You’re a strange man, to be so young and yet so unworried about such a beautiful woman.”

                “I never said I wasn’t watching her, I said you can’t get her to do anything she doesn’t want to.”

                “Would you be jealous if I seduced her?”

                Nicodemus paused. “I don’t know. How about you don’t try and we don’t have to find out?”

                “You know, that might be the wisest course. What’s the other thing you wanted?”

                “What do you know about the local elves?”

                Riccio frowned. “They’re not elves or at least they don’t think of themselves as elves. According to the one I talked to, they’re Celts and they’ve always been there. Calling them an elf is a serious insult.”

                “That’s absurd, they’re pokegirls.”

                Riccio leaned forward with an interested look. “You’ve met one.”

                “Yes, I have, which is why I wanted to know what you knew about them. I think they’re living on my land.”

                “I only met with the one and she wasn’t the slightest bit friendly.” He leaned back and looked at the ceiling while he thought. “I’ve heard rumors about elves living in this area my whole life and about six years ago I decided to take a week or two and seriously look for them. An elf would be a good addition to my harem and I figured that since a wild one was free, that was the best course to take. If I ran across a court, I could always bargain for one instead of just catching one.”

                He sipped at his beer. “Instead of catching one, I became the prey. I got caught in some kind of net trap and when my dragoness came to rescue me, she got hit with some ice spell and taken out. I was relieved of all my weapons and pokeballs and spent two days with the elf who captured me. Her name was Aspen. I got the impression that they named themselves for the local flora.”

                He stared unseeingly at the beer he held as the memories washed over him. “She wasn’t the slightest bit interested in taming and only questioned me about the people and pokegirls in the area. When I refused to answer she cast some spell that made me want to tell her the things she wanted to know. On the last day, she told me that she would answer some of my questions as payment for the information I’d given her.”

                He grimaced. “I went back with a combat team of my most powerful pokegirls, but that’s when I realized that she’d done something to my memory. I can’t remember where I was when I was captured and not even a psychic pokegirl could help me to recover those memories.”

                “What questions did you ask?”

                “I asked who she was, which is when she told me that she was from the Celt tribe and was updating her knowledge of the village. I then asked how long she’d been around and she said that they’d always been there and always would. After that, I just asked when she’d let me go and that’s when she told me I could leave. The next thing I knew I was outside Killarney and it had gone from early morning to almost midnight. I think I was wandering the whole time.”

                “How was your dragoness?”

                “She’s fine. If you and I ever spar you’ll get to meet her. What was your encounter like?”

                “It was a lot shorter than yours. I offered her chocolate to help make my fields more fertile and she said she would.”

                Riccio blinked. “That sounds like an elf. Maybe you didn’t run into the Celts.”

                “Did your captor have a dark green cloak?”

                Riccio’s mouth dropped. “How did you know that?”

                “I think mine was a Celt, too.”

                “Has she been back?” Riccio eagerly asked the question.

                “No, she hasn’t but if she does, I’m not going to let you capture her. Why don’t you just buy an elf?”

                “After that little experience, I decided I could get by without one quite well. I just wanted proof that I wasn’t dreaming that whole experience.”

                “I’ll see about getting some video, if it doesn’t make them angry. Fair enough?”

                “Absolutely!”

 

***

 

                “Wait up!” At the yell, Nicodemus looked behind him to see a pink haired woman waving wildly at him.

                “Tabitha, turn around. Let’s find out what’s going on.” His errands done, he’d been leaving town and heading for the ranch.

                As the rapitaur trotted back, Nicodemus looked the woman over. Because she was wearing jeans and a heavy shirt, it was a moment before he belatedly realized that she was a nursejoy. He slipped out of the saddle, so as not to loom over her. “Hello, I don’t think we’ve met.”

                She smiled prettily. “No, we haven’t, although you’ve met my tamer and harem sister. I’m Leanne. Sir, do you have a moment?”

                Nicodemus chuckled. “I don’t think you’re used to calling people sir, are you? Yes, if you need to talk to me, I’ll make time.”

                Her smile warmed. “No, since I’ve got a certain position of power here, I don’t say sir to many people. I just wasn’t sure how you’d respond to not hearing it and, right now, I want you friendly to me.” She blinked when his eyebrows went up and raised her hands defensively. “Not that kind of friendly.”

                “That’s good.”

                She blinked. “What, you don’t want me?” Her voice turned coy.

                “Stop that. You don’t really want me to tame you and this doesn’t become you.”

                The nursejoy turned bright red and looked away. “Sorry, you’re right. I’m just not used to being refused, even in jest. Sir.”

                Nicodemus moved to look in her eyes. “I’m not upset and, hopefully, you aren’t either. What did you want to talk about?”

                She motioned to a bench. “Please, sit.” When he did, she took a deep breath. “I wanted to know if you had a nursejoy at your ranch. You’ll need medical care for your kits.”

                “No, but I’ve got Brenda. She’s a g-Poindexter who is studying medicine.”

                Leanne cocked her head. “She may be even better, with her memory. Does she know anything about obstetrics?” 

                He nodded as Tabitha moved behind the bench to use it to scratch her rump. “Yeah, she’s going to be the ranch’s physician.”

                “Can I use her here in town? I’m more of a combat specialist.”

                Nicodemus’ eyes narrowed. “I can’t give her work away for free. If I do, then not only will she not be appreciated, but she’ll be treating someone’s sniffles more than she’ll be at the ranch where she belongs.”

                Leanne nodded. “I have the same problem and I do charge a nominal fee for all my work. You should, too.”

                Nicodemus hesitated. “You’ll eventually find out that we also have a full healing and conditioning machine as well as a containment system. However, we are not going to be a pokegirl center. We’ve also got a transporter. None of them are running yet, but I’m hopeful I’ll get them going soon enough.”

                Her eyes widened. “I think I’ll keep that to myself, but would it be ok if I used it on occasion?” 

                “I’ll only charge a nominal fee and, unless it’s an emergency, we’ll only be available if it’s during working hours. Like I said, I don’t want tamers thinking I’m running a pokegirl center for their free use. Besides, there’s one at the gym.”

                “Other than gym battles, the gym healing machine is for emergencies only.” She nodded. “Once a pokegirl is in her pokeball, almost all emergencies can wait. Thanks for letting me know.”

                Nicodemus rose and smiled. “I didn’t just tell you, now, did I? I also told the sheriff and the police.”

                She nodded slowly. “Yes, you did. I’ll let them know you wanted them to be told. What about Mr. Riccio?”

                “Please, let him know, too. Otherwise, he might feel put out when he does find out.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus looked up when Jenny abruptly halted and twisted her torso so she could look at him. “Sir, I think you need to see this.”

                He glanced at Tabitha, who was carrying the plow until they got into the fields. “Put that down and let’s see what’s going on.”

                The rapitaur dropped to her knees and carefully rolled the plow off her back. She waited until he swung aboard before surging to her feet and galloping ahead to join her harem sister. Both pokegirls would pull the plow, but they took turns carrying it to the field each morning. It was too valuable to leave out where a feral could steal or destroy it.

                Tabitha pulled up short and turned slightly to allow her tamer a better view. Nicodemus blinked. They’d been working steadily at the plowing every day, which had been going very slowly since the fields had never been plowed before. The last time they’d tried to plow, which had been three days ago, they’d lost the entire day when the plow hit a buried iron pipe and was seriously damaged pulling it from the ground.

                Nicodemus stared at the fields. He’d been about halfway done with what he wanted to plow when he’d damaged the blade. Now, all the fields he’d marked out were plowed and tiny green shoots grew in straight lines. “What the…”

                Movement caught his eye as someone waved on the other side of the field. He realized it was a green cloaked figure. “Jenny, I want you to run back to the buildings just as fast as you can and get my pack. Do not stop to explain yourself or for any other reason and come back here immediately. Now.”

                The rapitaur blinked and then whirled away and was gone in a flurry of hooves and divots of earth.

                Tabitha hissed quietly. “She hesitated. She’s still not up to our standards.”

                “I guess that means your job is still safe.” Nicodemus dropped to the ground. “That’s an elf over there and I’m not going to talk to her until Jenny is back with my pack. All of the gifts are in there.”

                Tabitha peered in that direction. “There’s more than one of them. Should I get ready to fight, sir?”

                “Not just yet. Let’s not do anything provocative and I know if things change, you won’t hesitate when I give you an order.”

                “No, sir, I will not.” She held her head up proudly. 

                Jenny was back in less than five minutes and skidded to a halt in a spray of gravel. She held out the pack.  “Sir, I have to return to the ranch right away or mistress swears she will come out here to find out what’s going on. I didn’t think you wanted her out here.”

                “You’re right. Go back and explain that the elves are back.” He slipped the pack onto his shoulders.

                “Yes, sir.” The rapitaur spun and raced back once more.

                “Sir, I need to go with you.”

                Nicodemus glanced up at her looming form. “Yes, you do. Change to your human form.”

                “Sir, I’m more intimidating in this form.”

                “Yes, and it hurts my neck to look up at you. I don’t want to intimidate them, since I want them to help,” he glanced at the fields again, “especially if they can do that with the fields.”

                Tabitha shifted to her bipedal form and stepped out of the traces. “Sir, if I never have to plow again, they’re my friends.”

                “Will you share your tamer with them?”

                “I said friends, not bosom buddies, sir. They’ll have to do something pretty impressive to earn that right.” She flashed him a smile. “I wouldn’t share you with my herd, sir.”

                “That’s quite a compliment. Thank you.”

                The pokegirl who stepped forward was an even six feet tall and, between that and her bright golden hair, he pegged her as an elfqueen. “I am Lolly. I am the leader of this group.”

                He nodded and unslung the pack.  “Is that short for Loblolly?”

                She nodded and smiled. “Yes, it is.”

                “Then you are part of the Celtic tribe. I thought you were.”

                Her smile grew. “You have heard of us. This is good.” She accepted the bundle he offered her and slowly unwrapped it. “Silk and chocolate. This is a fine gift. I will also take your gift for my ruler.” She carefully took the larger bundle. “You are kind, messenger. Do you have a name?”

                “Don’t you already know it?”

                “I do. You are Nicodemus, the angel of death, known as Azrael, Azrail, Ezraeil, and Malaikat al-Maut. You will meet our ruler soon and, if you pass the test , you will become the messenger.”

                Nicodemus handed out gifts for the others, all chocolate wrapped in silk ribbons. “What is the test?”

                “You will find that out in good time, conqueror.” She smiled at his puzzled expression. “Were you not aware that Nicodemus means conqueror? We have planted half your fields in wheat and half in potatoes. Some will return to watch the fields and to assure the crops grow strong and healthy. You will be able to harvest both in a single cycle of the moon. We will take a fifth of each as our due.” She eyed him curiously. “Is that agreeable?”

                He thought fast. He’d originally marked out forty acres to plow, but never expected to get to them all this year. If they’d done all of them, the Celts would get four acres of potatoes and four of wheat, leaving them more than enough for the winter. In any case, he couldn’t really debate this with them, but he could afford to be gracious. “I want you to take a fourth instead of a fifth.”

                She inclined her head gracefully. “We accept your generous gift.” She made a quick motion with her hand and the elves faded into the woods. “We must go.” She waited until the others were gone and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “I hope she gives me to you.” A slow wink and she was gone.

                Tabitha’s eyes narrowed and heat actually radiated from her body. “She tries that again and I’ll fry me an elf.” She smiled when he glanced up at her. “That would be only with your permission, sir.”

                “Will you ask for it before or after she’s a charred cinder?”

                “I’ll try to remember to ask beforehand, but that is rather rude. She’s not a part of the harem, sir, and she has no right to try and claim you. Part of our job, sir, is to protect you from that sort of thing.”

                “Don’t forget to ask. You just might get the pleasure of hearing me say yes to your request.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus opened his eyes and listened to the wind outside the house. They didn’t get wind often and he lay still while he savored the sounds of it whistling through the trees. He wondered idly if it was a school day or if the weekend had finally come. School wasn’t difficult, but there were other things he really needed to do before he became old enough to take his tamers test and he resented the time it took away from his true goals.

                Deep inside his mind, a part of him realized there was something wrong with that last thought and began trying to sound an alarm, but it was far too soft to make him want to listen to it.

                A sudden urgency assailed him and he slipped out of his bed and dressed, completely ignoring Jenny as she silently rolled out the bed and headed outside, dropping the last of her restraints onto the floor as she left.

                The alarm grew slightly louder and tried to tell him that Jenny always talked to him and that, in addition, she had no place in his life when he was in school. Once more he brushed it away.

                He went outside as he strapped on his tamer’s belt and stepped past Isabella to join her in releasing all of his pokegirls. Naomi hissed and her ears went flat. “Master?” Then her eyes fogged and she straightened smoothly, her face now empty like the rest of his harem. 

                The alarm in his mind grew more strident and for the first time was loud enough to get his attention. Idly, he examined its concerns before dismissing them. They had no importance compared to the call that thrummed through him.

                As one, the pokegirls and humans turned and headed into the trees without hesitation. They traveled quickly as a group and even in the darkness none became caught by branches or the bushes that teemed on the forest floor.

                Soon they entered a clearing. Stone pillars bordered it and a soft glow emanated from the runes carved into them. Elves and other elf types filled the clearing and they turned to watch as the group moved to the center of the clearing, stopping in front of a low flat rock upon which a sliver chalice rested. In the background, a spring bubbled merrily. 

                A figure moved through the elves and stopped on the other side of the table. The runes brightened as she dropped the hood of her brown cloak and emerald eyes glowed softly from within as she smiled. “Messenger.”

                The lassitude dropped away and Nicodemus listened to the alarms that now thundered warnings. A glance revealed that only he appeared to be awake. Isabella and the harems stood as still as stone, their faces blank.

                The woman in front of him was no elf. Her hair was shaven into a queue which was bound in silver wire and ran down inside her cloak. Her skin was white and seemed to glow from within. She watched him closely before speaking. “I am Arbutus and I am the ruler of the Celts. You are Nicodemus and you are the messenger.” The air seemed to shiver at her words and a frisson of pleasure danced up his spine. “I have watched since the gods created us and prayed for this day, the day that we will no longer need to hide from the humans and their servants. Now you are here and that day is come, should you prove worthy of the burden you will bear.”

                “What happens if I fail the test?”

                “If you are unworthy, then you were not meant to be the messenger and our wait will continue.” She smiled. “However, the portents are clear and it is very likely that you are the messenger, come to us at last. If it is true, then I will become one of your women and my people yours to command, second only to me.” She gave him an amused glance. “I am their druid and my word is paramount.” 

                Her eyes turned serious and for an instant, the pupils became slits. “You must consent to take the test. To refuse would be to prove that you are not the messenger.”

                “What does the messenger do?”

                She nodded as if he’d asked a very important question and the silent elves stirred like leaves in the wind. “Our numbers grow and soon we will have no choice but to seek paths that will make the humans more aware of our presence. We seek the ways of peace and the messenger will travel from us to the humans and back, being the bridge that allows all of us to live together in peace. The humans must understand that once they know of us, if they seek to treat us as their servants, we will make war upon them. We do not want such an event to transpire and you will help them to understand that we will never serve them.”

                Nicodemus could see no way out. “I will take the test.”

                Her eyes returned to normal. “The test is simple, you must prove that you understand our ways and are willing to follow them as much as you can. I understand that you are human and therefore with flaw, but still you must strive as best you can.” She motioned to the table. “It is the solstice and we must present gifts to the gods so that they will bring the spring. I will present a gift from my people and you will present a gift from yours.”

                Nicodemus nodded. “Very well.”

                Arbutus smile. “And done.” The air shivered again and Nicodemus fought down a gasp as his groin tightened.

                Arbutus looked to her left and a young pokegirl came forward. “This is my youngest daughter, Holly. She will be my gift to the gods.”

                Nicodemus froze. “What kind of gift is this to be?”

                “My life will show the gods our love as will the life of the gift you choose from your people,” Holly said simply. 

                “My harem may not be so willing to be sacrificed.”

                Arbutus nodded. “That has been what we have seen in the past, with those who were also tested. Or they refused to choose a gift, insulting the gods as well as us. However, your people are under my spell and will not resist your decision.”

                “These others who were tested, they were the other ranch owners.” It wasn’t a question.

                “Yes.”

                “And how is such an insult remedied?”

                Arbutus’s eyes glittered. “The gods demand two gifts each solstice and equinox. They are willing to take more than what we normally give. All became gifts to assure us that the gods were pleased.”

                “I don’t think you have that many daughters,” he pointed out.

                Holly smiled. “That is correct, but only in this case, when a messenger is to be tested, is such a valuable gift given. Usually the gifts are those who trespass our home or seek to injure us. Enemies taken in battle are acceptable to our gods. This is the only time you will be required to give such a valuable gift as well.”

                Arbutus held up a hand. “Time passes and the solstice grows close. Choose your gift.”

                Nicodemus looked over the enspelled women. “Her.”

                “You must name her and give her place in the world, to show her value to you.”

                He took a deep breath. “I offer Jenny, a rapitaur and a member of my harem as my gift to the gods.”

                Arbutus’s eyes widened. “You offer both fire and a horse. Your gift is indeed great and will be cherished by the gods.” She clapped her hands and Jenny smoothly stepped forward to stand next to Holly. “Now we must send our gifts to our gods, that they may be pleased with us and bring the spring.”

                “I’m unfamiliar with the way this is supposed to work, will you help?”

                Arbutus nodded. “I know that you do not know our ways yet, and this will be the start of your education. I am a druid and we have guarded the knowledge of the Celts since before the beginning of time. I will share that knowledge with you and your children after I become one of your women.” She smiled briefly at his expression of frustrated curiosity. “If it will help, your pokedex would name me as a shrine priestess. I minister to my people as well as lead them.” She opened her cloak and let it drop to the ground. Underneath it she wore a gold cotton shift, belted at the waist. From the belt hung the ribbons he’d sent as gifts to her.

                “Approach, Nicodemus, that we may offer our gifts to the gods.” She motioned and Holly picked up the chalice, turned, and handed it to her mother before lying down on the table. 

                The young shrine priestess tilted her head back and bared her neck. “I am ready.”

                Arbutus handed the chalice to Nicodemus. “You will catch the first blood until the chalice is full.” Her eyes met his and she spoke softly. “Do not waste my gift.” She struck in a blur, slashing Holly’s throat open.

                Nicodemus thrust the chalice forward and filled it with the spurting blood, moving the cup as the flow slowed. Once it was full, he stepped away, noticing that while he was covered in spatters of blood, Arbutus was as clean as she was when her daughter was still alive.

                The druid lifted the cup from his hands and drank deeply before offering it to him. He blanched slightly, but took a sip and swallowed the thick coppery warmth.

                An elfqueen, he thought she might be Lolly, next took the cup and drank before passing it on to the next. When the last had drunk, it returned and Arbutus poured it on the ground. Then she turned to Nicodemus. 

                When he held out his hands for the chalice she gave him the knife.

                Unknown hands lifted away Holly’s corpse and it vanished into the darkness. Jenny moved forward and lay down on the bloody table as Arbutus urged him forward. “Your strike must be sure and without hesitation, lest the god hesitate to bring the green of spring.”

                Nicodemus nodded and drew the knife smoothly over Jenny’s throat. Arbutus shouldered him aside in her eagerness to fill the chalice and he caught himself before he fell. Once it was full, she turned and offered it to him.

                He closed his eyes and took a mouthful of his pokegirl’s blood, fighting his stomach as it twisted unhappily.

                The smell of blood wafted over him as Arbutus leaned close and whispered to him. “You did well, Nicodemus. You are the messenger and I will become your woman during the spring equinox ceremony. As the year begins, so shall our time together.” He opened his eyes as she pressed her lips against his. “You are mine and I am yours.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus was sorting through the messages in his email when the computer chimed to indicate an incoming call. He shrugged and opened a window to accept it as he reached for his tea. He sipped, noting with pleasure that Lucretia had learned how to make tea like Kelly did.

                The com system finished going through its protocols and a face appeared in the window. Nicodemus froze when he saw who it was. The man smiled. “Hello, son.”

                He stared at Daniel Templeton for a heartbeat before recovering. “Father, this is an unexpected surprise.”

                “I thought it might be.” His father gave a slightly nervous smile. “When we got your message, I thought it would be best to contact you. You’ve traveled a long way, son.”

                Nicodemus’ eyes narrowed. “Shouldn’t you be on a dig right now? What happened? Did your bounty of dig sites dry up?”

                Daniel shook his head. “No, they’re still as plentiful as ever, but I wanted to see you again.”

                He blinked suddenly. “This is a real-time communication, father. Where are you?”

                Daniel nodded. “We’re in Rosslare. Yes, we. Your mother is with me.” He took a deep breath. “Your message said you were in Killarney, correct?”

                “Yes, I am. You can get directions in town or contact me and I’ll come get you.”

                Daniel paused briefly and his eyes flickered up before returning to meet his son’s. “That won’t be necessary; we’ll come out to see you. Why are you living outside of town?”

                “I’m starting a ranch, father. I don’t live too far out of town and anyone who works in the two stores in town will be able to give you directions. When should I expect you?”

                “We’re not traveling that quickly, so it shouldn’t be in less than a week. I’ve got to go, son, I’ll see you when we arrive.”

                “Yes, father. I’ll be here.” The communication cut and Nicodemus closed the window before leaning back and staring at the ceiling for a long moment. Finally, he rose and went in search of his wife.

                Isabella was overseeing the draining of the moat and was arms deep in tearing a reluctant water pump apart. “I’m glad to see you, grab a wrench.”

                Nicodemus did and soon the pump was running again while Denise kept the suction clear of algae. He wiped off his hands and gave his wife a wry look. “When did you contact my parents and what did you tell them?”

                She blinked and then smiled. “They wrote back? That’s wonderful. I didn’t mention me, but I wanted to let them know you were ok. I figured they’d be worried about you.”

                He nodded. “They’re in Rosslare and they’re coming here. They’re also in trouble.”

                Isabella’s mouth dropped. “Rosslare? Trouble? Maybe you should explain.”

                “Right before I came out here, I got a message from my father. He said that he and my mother are in Rosslare and that they’re coming here to see me.” He pulled out a knife and started picking gunk out from beneath his nails. “He also used a code phrase that lets me know he’s a hostage of some kind.”

                “What kind of code phrase?”

                “Understand that archaeologists can get into some pretty dangerous situations, not only with ferals, but with locals who want something or don’t want them to do something. So, my parents set up a code phrase to let each other know if they were being held against their will. The key words are bounty and plentiful. If one or more of them is used, they’re being held hostage.”

                “That’s insane. Who would be holding them hostage here in the Blue League?”

                “You’re making a serious assumption. My parents live for their digs. They don’t have any reason to leave the Silver River League and come here. I can think of someone who could make them, and that same person or group would have an axe to grind with us.”

                Isabella went white. “Team Zenith.”

                “That’s right. Father said that they would be arriving in about a week or so, but I figure that whoever it is will press as hard as they can to get here so we’ll be caught unaware. I want to station someone in Rosslare to watch for them, but we can’t talk to Sadler or he’ll get involved. And it’s likely that whoever Team Zenith sent has never broken any laws here.”

                She cocked her head. “Are you concerned about rescuing your parents?”

                “I take it you think I should be?” He sighed when she raised an eyebrow. “Very well, we’ll try to save them.”

                “Who do you want to use to watch?”

                “If they have my old records, they’ll know about Lucretia and Elena, but not that Elena is a thundercunt. Ruth and Naomi didn’t evolve until after we left and they, Hestia and Tabitha aren’t common knowledge.” He frowned. “The problem is that whoever they sent will probably recognize you, Kay and Ana as well, possibly along with Lily.” His mouth firmed. “Brenda and Naomi would be best. Naomi can alert me and evacuate her and Brenda to here. We can dress Brenda like a tamer, she wears normal clothes most of the time anyway and the villagers won’t think it out of the ordinary.”

                “What about me?”

                “I want you to set up the tent in the forest and set up shop there. Kay can keep an eye on me and she’ll know when I know something. Even if she misses my thoughts, I’ll call you just as soon as I get any information.”

                “How long do you think we have?”

                “A couple of days at the most. We’ll plan for them arriving tomorrow and so you move out today. You’ll also command Ruth, Hestia and Tabitha.”

                Isabella shook her head. “You keep Tabitha. A rapitaur isn’t going to be a surprise and she’s pretty tough and very determined to keep you safe. I’d feel better knowing she’s with you.”

                “I’ll have Lucretia and Elena.”

                “And I’d be willing to bet the next repair against dinner that your alpha will want Tabitha too.”

                He sighed. “That’s a sucker’s bet. I guess I’m keeping Tabitha.”

 

***

 

                Brenda sat on the bench, with Naomi curled up next to her. The espea’s head was in Brenda’s lap and the g-poindexter scratched her ears idly while she read. She glanced up when a shadow blocked her light. She smiled. “Sheriff Sadler.”

                Solomon gave her a curious look. “Why are you pretending to be a pet owner? I know there’s work to be done out at the ranch and Nico isn’t likely to let you just wander off.”

                Brenda had considered this possibility and consulted with her tamer beforehand, so she was ready to answer. “Sir, the ranch is technically outside your jurisdiction, right?”

                Solomon’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, technically it is; although since the pokepower plant is there, I could argue that the town has interests there. Continue.”

                “There will be some people coming to town looking for my master. Every tamer has a past, sir, and the past is coming to mine. These people will have done nothing wrong in the Blue League and therefore master Nicodemus didn’t want you to get involved.”

                Sadler nodded grimly. “So I don’t have any reason to arrest them. What’s going to happen when they get to the ranch?”

                “I do not know, sir, this predates me. However, my alpha says there will probably be a fight, which is also legal until a human gets hurt. I’m supposed to watch for them and let him know what I can find out about the opposition. I have seen pictures of some of the people we expect and know what to look for. Even if I don’t see the ones I’ve been shown, most tamers don’t travel in groups, so they’ll be relatively easy to identify.”

                Sadler chuckled. “You’d make a decent police pokegirl.”

                “Thank you, sir. Perhaps some of my daughters will be.” She smiled. “I, however, am happy with Nicodemus.”

                The sheriff nodded. “I’ll pass the word to leave you be and I’ll ask Kelly to warn some of the other pokegirls to be on the lookout for strangers.” He flashed a quick smile. “Nico and Isabella are our ranchers and, while you’re right about my hands being tied legally, there’s no reason I can’t still help.” 

                Brenda hesitated and then made a decision. “Sir, two of the people may be my master’s parents. They’re not involved in this, except for incidentally.”

                “Don’t forget to have Nico contact me if there’s anyone for me to arrest when this is over.”

                “I will, sir.”

 

***

 

                Nicodemus looked up from where he and Lucretia were putting the pump back together. “I swear this thing hates us. That’s the only reason I can think of for it to keep breaking.”

                The ladyien nodded. “You could be right, sir.” She glanced to the side and jumped to her feet. “Sir, Naomi and Brenda are here.”

                Nicodemus shot upright as Lucretia started giving commands to Elena over the radio. “They’re here? Is it Zenith?”

                “Yes, sir, it is.” Brenda turned to the espea. “Tell him.”

                Naomi nodded. “Sir, it is Malcolm Gambino. He’s traveling with your parents and they’re not happy to be with him.” Her ears flicked. “Sir, he’s alone except for his pokegirls. The sheriff questioned him briefly because he’s a newcomer and then came to talk to Brenda.”

                Brenda nodded. “The sheriff told me that he has two pokegirls, a shadetaura and an amazonwu.”

                “I want to keep my parents unharmed, but that’s good news.” He frowned. “Alison is the shadetaura. The amazonwu should be Dani.” 

                “Sir, I tried to read his mind, but I could not.” Naomi looked puzzled. “It was like he wasn’t there.”

                Kay’s mind touched his. Malcolm has the blank mind and mentally isolated blood traits. He cannot be read.

                “Great. It’s good to know who’s coming, even if we don’t know what plans they have. I guess it’ll have to be quick and dirty. Brenda, Naomi, good work.”

                His radio clicked and he heard Isabella’s voice. “Nico, I’ve got some ideas. Let’s have a quick talk.”

 

***

 

                Malcolm glared at Marcia Templeton. “I don’t give a shit what you do, but if you get between me and that little bastard, you’re going to get hurt. I said I’d let you go once I had your son in custody and I meant it.” He’d told the Templetons that he was a league agent sent to retrieve their son but that hadn’t lasted long, so now they were his prisoners. He’d kept them from alerting the authorities by the simple expedient of making sure that Marcia was within arms reach at all times. She even slept with him, which had been quite entertaining on occasion. It was a shame she was older than what he liked and couldn’t have any more children. 

                It didn’t matter; they were dead once he got his hands on the punk. His boss had made it quite clear when he’d demoted Gambino from the boss of Montevideo.  Come back with the punk and he’d be reinstated. Otherwise, they’d make him into the example they intended to make young Mr. Azrael.

                The really sad thing was that Malcolm knew that Nicodemus wasn’t involved in the theft of the art pieces. After all, even a new boss of Montevideo had debts to pay and the punk had been an easy mark to finger for the crime. He’d never thought it would result in him being exiled to this hellhole to bring back that bastard for interrogation. Besides, that crap had been ugly as hell and how was he to know it had only been on loan.

                Dr. Marcia Templeton glared back. “Don’t you hurt my son, or else I’ll see your ass in hell.”

                Malcolm bit back his normal response and tried a smile. “I don’t intend to hurt him; I just want to take him into custody without anyone getting hurt.”
                Daniel put his hand on his wife’s arm and she subsided before Alison could get involved. “When will we get our pokegirls back?”

                “When I release you, we’ll work something out so you can get them without having the chance to use them to hurt me. Until then, they stay in my backpack.” 

                Marcia glared at him once more. “They’ll all be feral by now; in any case, it’s not like we could use them right away.”

                “I suppose that’s right.” He glanced at Alison. “We’re almost to the ranch and I want you to stay close and be ready to catch him.”

                “Yes, sir.” The shadetaura grinned and flexed her claws. “I don’t hurt him too much, right?”

                “Don’t do anything permanent to him, but otherwise feel free to vent.”

                Marcia went white as Alison almost purred. “Thank you, boss.”

                Malcolm released his other pokegirl. “Dani, you stay close to the Templetons. If they set one foot out of line, break something small on the bitch. If they do it twice, kill her.”

                The amazonwu grinned and gave Marcia a pleased look. “You or your husband screw this up and I’ll hold you down and pull out your teeth one at a time with my fingers.”

                Marcia paled and tried to hide behind her husband. Two of the fingers on her right hand were misshapen and swollen from the amazonwu’s tender mercies.

                A sign appeared, indicating that the ranch lay only a kilometer ahead and an arrow on it pointed along a path that led off to the right.

                Suddenly, a red form appeared next to the Templetons and grabbed them before vanishing with the two archaeologists. Malcolm blinked and cursed until a familiar figure stepped from behind the sign. “Hello, boss. Long time no see.”

                “Alison!” The shadetaura surged ahead instantly and had almost reached Nicodemus when a huge form smashed into her from the side, sending both of them rolling across the ground. Malcolm cursed again. “Dani, get him!”

                The amazonwu reacted with blinding speed and throwing knives shot at Nicodemus. They halted in midair as Naomi bounced around the sign and shot back at the astonished pokegirl, who threw herself sideways to avoid being impaled.

                There was a loud snapping noise and Ana rose to her feet, dropping Alison’s body as she did so. The shadetaura’s spine was bent backwards almost double and blood poured from her mouth. “Hello, Gambino. Still fetching for your masters, are you?”

                Malcolm’s eyes went wide. “Ana? What the hell are you doing here?”

                The amachamp chuckled derisively. “You never figured out that Nicodemus killed Murchison? You are as dumb as Murchison thought you were, you moron.”

                “He what?” Malcolm stared at them in shock. “Boss Davies took credit for that kill, claiming that he was putting down a double agent.”

                Dani put herself between Malcolm and the amachamp. “Stay back, bitch.” She drew her sword with a steely rasp. “I can take you without working up a sweat, no matter what your master pulls.”

                Ana laughed again. “You take one step and Naomi will pull what brains you have out of your ears. Besides, he’s not my master; Isabella is.” Her eyes glittered with humor. “You’d know her as Tawny.”

                “She’s here?” Malcolm looked utterly bewildered. “I don’t believe it.”

                “I’m here, Malcolm.” Isabella came into view on the other side of the road. “And if Naomi has any problems with your pet, I’m sure that Kay would love to get some payback for the way you treated her. She’s an alaka-wham now and she hates your guts.”

                That’s not entirely correct. I hate all of him. The Templetons have been put to sleep until you can return home and try to reassure them that their ordeal is over.

                Nicodemus shook his head. “Naomi.” The espea screamed and Dani echoed the scream before going into convulsions. The espea’s ears flicked and two pokeballs shot from Malcolm’s belt and into Nicodemus’ hand. He activated them both and returned the amazonwu to her pokeball. 

                Malcolm glared at Nicodemus. “Are you going to kill me next?”

                “No, I’m not. Ana, tie him up.” The amachamp quickly bound Gambino until he looked like he would never move again.

                Isabella frowned. “What are we going to do with him? I thought you’d kill him out of hand.”

                Nicodemus smiled slightly. “The spring equinox is in three days and I think the gods have just sent us our gift.”

 

 

Arbutus unedo is the strawberry tree, native to Ireland and France

 

 

Nicodemus Azrael – Coordinator

Ladyien – Lucretia

Thundercunt – Elena

Umbrea – Ruth

Espea – Naomi

Whorizard – Hestia

Rapitaur – Tabitha

G-Poindexter – Brenda – Noncombatant

 

Isabella Maria Carmen de la Vega Azrael – Master Tamer

Alaka-Wham – Kay

Amachamp – Ana

Rapitaur – Lily

Weepingbut – Camilla

Surfmelon – Denise