Into the Fire
Twenty Four
Iain crashed to the ground and lay there gasping for breath. “Get up.” He groaned as he slowly clambered to his feet and turned to face Dominique. She smiled and beckoned invitingly with her hand. “Again.” He readied himself and carefully approached her. There was a quick flurry of blows and he was thrown to the ground once more, this time landing facedown with a loud grunt. Unlike the first time, Dominique didn’t relent, the Archmage following him and putting her dainty boot deep into his side where it snapped ribs and ruptured organs. She watched him for a moment, her face expressionless, before kneeling and healing him. Then she rolled him over and he spat bloody dirt as she checked his body for other injuries. Finding none, she sat back on her heels and regarded him with a neutral look. “Take a break, Iain.”
“No.” He forced himself to his knees and swayed for a second. “Our enemies won’t give me a break.”
Dominique grabbed the front of his shirt and rose, jerking him to his feet as she did. “Your enthusiasm is great, but you’re punch drunk and right now you won’t learn anything from fighting.” She shoved him towards a log where April was perched. “Take ten minutes and we’ll get back to the lessons.” She headed for the flat rock where they’d set up water and some snacks.
April patted him on the arm as he sat down beside her. “You’re doing better.”
He snorted. “So it’s taking longer for her to kick my ass. My ass is still getting kicked.” He rubbed his side thoughtfully. “It doesn’t hurt as much as some of the other things that have happened to me, but still.”
“She’s three hundred years old and a pokegirl. Do you really think she’s ever not going to be able to kick your ass?”
“I suppose you have a point there but I haven’t even connected with her once yet. It’s a bit humiliating.”
“Only a bit?” She chuckled at his tired glare. “I haven’t hit her either without using a technique. You could try ordering her not to hit you so hard.”
“That won’t work with her and you know it.” Iain used the bottom of his shirt to wipe off his face. “And since we all know the bad girls won’t pull their punches either it’s the right thing for her to hit me full bore. Granted, Dominique did take off her belt so she doesn’t kill me with every blow and the bad girls with enhanced strength won’t, but if I end up in melee and don’t get killed I will get punished. I need to be prepared for it.”
April nodded towards the rock where Eve had joined the Archmage. “I wonder what they’re talking about.”
“How pathetic I am, probably.”
Over at the rock, Eve handed Dominique the water bottle. “How is he doing?” When the Archmage gave her a look, she shrugged. “I’ve been too busy with Irena and Montsho to observe his progress.”
Dominique drank deeply before handing the bottle back. “He’s officially reached the stage where he knows just enough to be really dangerous to himself.” She flashed a smile. “It’s a lot like training a pokegirl. He’s a quick study and should improve quickly, although I do get the impression he’s focused too much on keeping himself from accidentally using his magic and that’s keeping him from focusing completely on fighting. If he’s got magic that can help, he should be trying to use it instead of hobbling himself without it.”
Eve shook her head. “Iain needs to control his magic before he tries to use it. He told me that and I’ve since found out he was right. Don’t push him to use any magic while sparring just yet. He’s done some wonderful things by accident, but I’m not sure a healing cycle would put you right if he inadvertently turns you inside out.”
Dominique’s eyes widened. “Is that even possible?”
“Consider this. Iain evolved April without any external support. He evolved us and kind of skipped several necessary steps while doing so. He de-evolved Aglaii without any external support and after that he killed Barbie by consuming the energy that made up her life.” Her eyes met Dominique’s. “Can you do any of that?”
“You did have to throw the very things I said to you to prove he could be dangerous back at me, didn’t you? Maybe, if I put together the right combination of spells I could have done what he did to Barbie, but as for the other things it’s doubtful.”
“I’ve been talking to Vanessa and Scheherazade. The reasoning behind what Sanctuary did in summoning the authors was that Sanctuary believes they have the power to rewrite reality on the macro scale and that Sanctuary wants to control that power to change the world into what they want it to be. Either Iain saw places and wrote about them or he created them by writing about them. The evidence suggests that he might have done the latter and he’s terrified of what he might do if his magic runs wild.” The Megami-sama rubbed her nose. “I’m kind of worried about it too.”
“What evidence?”
“His magic isn’t anything I’ve ever seen before. It isn’t anything that anyone has ever seen before. He can’t learn spells like we use, but then most humans can’t until they’ve undergone years of training. However, he can do magic, but not on an instinctive level like our techniques are.” Sea green eyes drifted over the man in question where he sat with April. “He says that if he’s what he thinks he is then his method of magic will be something that is so rare it doesn’t even have a name except amongst the people who practice it, and that they set up their magic to listen for that word so that using it could summon one of them. The ones that listen do so to stifle competition before it gets started, so whoever came is likely to kill Iain before leaving. Needless to say we’re not willing to test that theory.”
“Magdalene doesn’t want him dead and she’s supposed to do magic the way he does.”
Eve nodded. “I mentioned that to him. He said that she has an ulterior motive to keep him alive and that we can trust her only insomuch as that goal affects us. He also noted that it would be easier for her to achieve her goals if we, his living harem, were dead. He also said that if she no longer wanted him for her sister it’s likely she’d abandon us to our fate, whatever that is, if we gave her the slightest opportunity to do so.”
“Shit.”
“That was my response. He pointed out that he never said Magdalene was a good person, just that she was trustworthy.” She smiled briefly. “He also said if he had to do it all over again he’d have made several members of her family better people. After that he tried to reassure me that currently Magdalene didn’t have any reason to abandon us so we shouldn’t really worry about it.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling all that reassured.”
“I don’t feel all that good about it either, but he trusts Magdalene and we trust him. Unless you know how to get in touch with Magdalene so we can talk to her, that’s where we are. If you do, let me know because I’ve got some questions for her.”
Dominique rubbed her temples. “I’ve got a full plate already, but I’ll see what I can do.”
***
April draped herself backwards across the bed and grinned when his eyes flicked down to her bare breasts. “Like what you see?”
“Ever since the first time I saw it,” Iain chuckled, “when you flashed me from the bed in the pokegirl center where we met.”
“Just like now, I wanted to make sure I had your attention.”
“Since you’re in my harem and currently lazing about in my bed, it looks like it worked.” He folded his arms behind his head. “And since I know you know Eve will be in here in only a few minutes to make sure I’m up so she and Dominique can continue abusing me, I doubt you’re here for sex. You don’t like quickies.”
“Crap, I was hoping I might be able to talk you into something in the shower.” April pouted before rolling over for a kiss. “Since we can’t do that I wanted to renew a conversation we had about Milktits.”
He flashed a smile. “We talked about Milktits? Was I staring at your naked tits when we did so? That might explain why I don’t remember it.”
“It was when you were healing from being captured by Aglaii and Barbie. I wanted to get a Milktit for you and you said no, but to ask Eve. Then Eve said no, so I dropped the idea.”
“Oh, that.” Iain frowned slightly. “What’s changed since then?”
“A couple of things have. First, the people we’ve been getting milk from keep raising their prices and they’re the only dairy around. Vanessa’s consumption of milk has shot through the roof and it’s likely to only increase as her pregnancy progresses. And we have no idea how much she’ll end up drinking. Remember that nobody is sure how long she’s going to be pregnant or how many kits she may have. Also, I’d train the Milktit to handle the chores around the house so we can focus more on our combat training.” April visibly hesitated. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Tom Reed offered to tame me yesterday when I went to pick up the milk.” Tom Reed was the head of the Reed family, which owned the local dairy.
Iain’s eyes went flat and his frown smoothed away into nonexistence to leave his face empty. “I see. You were right to tell me, April, and I think Tom and I need to have a talk.”
“I know that tone, Iain. You can’t do anything to Tom.”
“Actually, what I think you’re trying to say is that you feel I shouldn’t do anything to Tom, not that I can’t. There is a whole bunch of things I can do to him.”
“Iain, Dingle is too small a town for you to do anything to Tom without getting caught.” She tried to keep him from sitting up and finally crawled into his lap to stare into his eyes as she held his arms. “Iain, please don’t do this.”
Eve opened the door and looked them over. “Yes, Iain, don’t do that. You need to get dressed instead. We’ve got a busy day planned out for today.”
April gave her a helpless look. “That’s not what we’re talking about.”
The Megami-sama looked amused. “Really? Enlighten me as to what you really are discussing while on top him and you both being nude that couldn’t be what I think you’re talking about.”
Iain gently pushed April off of his lap and slid out of bed. “April and I were discussing getting a Milktit again. Seems she has some new reasons for it. Among the other things she says that Tom Reed tried to tame her yesterday when she went for our daily milk ration.”
Eve blinked. “You too?”
Iain’s eyes narrowed. “Too? What the fuck do you mean too? Is this happening to everyone and I’m just not being kept in the loop?”
“It’s not really that big of a deal, Iain.”
Iain gave Eve a deceptively mild look as he quickly began dressing. His voice was oddly calm, in fact almost without inflection. “Who was it that he asked for sex in addition to April? Not that it matters at this point since I already know it’s happening, but I’m curious.”
“Iain,” Eve began quietly, “it doesn’t matter. Let it go.”
Iain pulled on his boots and stood, reaching for his gloves. “Eve, you should remember that when I met Tom and we made an agreement to buy milk from him, I specifically asked him not to pester any of you ladies. He said he wouldn’t. Now, if one of you had asked him for sex, all I could do about it is feel hurt since nobody told me I wasn’t doing right by you before you went looking for attention outside our group, but that’s not what happened. Because of the potential for bonding he is trying to steal every pokegirl he asks to tame with him. That’s why it’s really frowned on under Blue League law.” He looked at April as he finished tugging the gloves on. “Did he hint or say that if you laid with him the price of milk wouldn’t go up again?”
The Duelist blinked. “How’d you know that?”
“He was playing on your concern for me and our family. It’s a common enough tactic for bastards like that to use.”
Eve moved to block the doorway when he headed for it. “Don’t do this, Iain.”
He looked her up and down. “Right now I intend to walk to the dairy and cancel our milk contract with the Reed family, Eve. I’m not even taking any of my firearms with me. But if you make me call Scheherazade so I can leave this room despite you blocking my exit she and I will level the Reed place. If you manage to get her to agree not to take me and I have to call one of the Dragonesses, I will not only level the Reed place, I’ll follow that up by killing everything there that breathes.” He looked down at his forearms as he felt a pulse of eagerness from Sable and back up into Eve’s eyes. “Right now I don’t want to do that. However, you’re currently standing against me to protect Tom Reed. If you make me have to squarely face that fact I think I will have to reconsider what I do and don’t want in regards to him.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Are you one of the ones Tom asked?”
Eve shook her head. “Of course I’m not. Celestials don’t get asked for that sort of thing.”
“Then you can’t go. April can. You and I will go downstairs and I’ll have some tea while she gets dressed. April please hurry.” He motioned for Eve to get out of the doorway. “Let’s go.”
She preceded him down the stairs, speaking over her shoulder as she did. “Why can’t I go?”
“April can protect me and keep me from doing anything too stupid, Eve. She was justifiably unhappy at being propositioned, so she can watch me cancel our contract with the Reeds and hopefully that’ll help reinforce that while this sort of thing doesn’t happen to the celestials in our family, it’s not supposed to fucking happen to anyone in it. You telling her that I was pissed off at Reed will not have the same kind of emphasis as her seeing me be pissed at Reed for being such a dumbass will have.” He smiled at her sharp look at him as they headed into the kitchen. “And that without me killing anyone.”
“So why can’t I go too?”
“Showing up with one pokegirl is me keeping my ass safe on the walk there. Considering what I’m going there for, showing up with two or more is a threat.” He poured himself a cup of tea. “It’s not like you and everyone else aren’t more than a thought away if I need you.”
“I suppose that’s true enough. Are you mad at Reed?”
Iain looked at her over his teacup and shook his head. “I don’t get mad at the vermin in the world or I’d be mad all the time.”
“He’s not vermin. He’s just a man who has a wandering eye for pokegirls. You need to remember that there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“People like that are scum no matter who they are or where they happen to be, be it on this world or on any other one. I wouldn’t put up with someone trying to fuck my girlfriend or wife against her will back where I came from and I won’t put up with it here.” He shrugged. “However, I understand that here is not there and I won’t start out by making him swallow his teeth. I’ll try to talk to him instead.”
Eve blinked at him. “Swallow his teeth?”
“I haven’t really talked much about my past, Eve, but if you’re dealing with a Texas man you don’t fuck with the womenfolk in his life. If you do, you’re going to get hurt and not knowing she was some guy’s daughter or sister or girlfriend or wife or even a friend’s wife is not an excuse that will save you from a beating. After all, every woman is someone’s sister or daughter.” He smiled slightly. “Back before beatings became socially acceptable, people who fucked with womenfolk tended to end up shot or hung. That’s why I made it obvious to Reed that there was a line he shouldn’t cross since he was going to be seeing members of my harem on a daily basis. Tis a pity he didn’t listen to me.”
Eve’s response was forestalled when April came in. “Can I get some toast before we leave, Iain?”
“Sure.”
Eve put her hand on his arm. “No killing.”
“I don’t plan to kill anyone today, Eve.”
April looked up from her toast. “Killing?”
“Eve’s worried I’ll do something rash to Tom Reed.”
The Duelist flashed him a grin. “You don’t do rash things, Iain. That’s part of what’s so scary. Most of what you do is premeditated.”
He glanced at Eve’s stony expression. “April, I’m not sure you’re helping.”
“Oh, sorry. What’s the plan?”
“We’re going to cancel our contract with Reed. I’m going so he can’t argue with us about it or try to cause trouble.”
She nodded. “Have you considered what you’re going to do if he does cause trouble?”
“I have.”
“See, you’re not doing anything rash. Does that mean we’re going to get a Milktit like I suggested?”
Eve sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Yes, it does. You take care of it but you make sure and get Iain’s input beforehand. Is she going to be part of the harem?”
April’s brown hair swirled over her face as she shook her head. “That’s not part of my plan. I want her to keep the house and cook so we can focus on Sanctuary.”
“Can Iain be that dispassionate?”
April looked at Iain. “Well, can you?”
“I’m glad someone is willing to acknowledge I’m standing right here.” He shrugged. “I’ll try, but if I bed her I doubt it. After all, up to this point my inability to be dispassionate with the ladies in my personal life has been something everyone here has greatly appreciated.”
Eve chuckled softly. “You have a point. April, can you find a Milktit that isn’t interested in fighting alongside the rest of us? If she’s part of the harem but doesn’t want to fight she can keep up with the domestic chores while we train.”
“That I’m pretty sure I can do.” She wiped off her hands. “Ok, Iain, I’m ready to go.”
They stepped outside and April raised her hand. Her Guardian Angel Joan appeared and took off to circle overhead. “Ok, our security is set for the journey.”
Iain frowned as they headed down the street. “I didn’t see your card when you did that.” He looked her over and smiled appreciatively. The Duelist was wearing tennis shoes, snug shorts and a floral shirt tight enough to show she was not bothering with a bra. “I like what I do see but I still don’t see your cards.”
She dimpled. “Dominique suggested that since I can summon my cards when they’re in my possession it should only be a small step to be able to activate them whether they’re in my pocket or not since it’s my magic that gives them life. It turns out she’s right, so now my cards stay safely in the regular pocket on my pokepack and I can use them without handling them.”
“That’s a neat trick.”
“It only works on the cards I can picture in my mind and wouldn’t work if they were your cards and you were just letting me use them. We tried that too, with the cards you own.”
Iain had bought some cards so that April could teach him to play competitively with her. So far he’d only learned how to lose graciously when she invariably crushed him. “That’s good to know. We’ll be sure not to get them mixed up.”
“I got you some custom card protectors that are different from mine so that won’t happen. Yours have naked pokegirls on them.” She looked around and dropped her voice. “I’m waiting for Eve to realize that the pokegirls on your card protectors are your harem, including her.”
“How did you get the pictures of Eve? I thought she had magic to prevent nude photos from begin taken of her.” He waved a hand. “Never mind, keep your secrets.”
She gave him a prim smile. “Thank you.”
The Reed Dairy was large enough to serve Dingle and still have enough extra capacity to make cheese and butter for shipping to other communities on a regular basis. A couple of Milktits were using hoes to weed an herb garden in a desultory fashion. As they approached the dairy, one of them handed her hoe to the other and came over. She bowed deeply to Iain. “Mr. Grey, sir.” Then she turned to his companion. “April.”
“Anna.”
Iain bobbed his head in return. “Good morning, Anna. I’m here to see Mr. Reed about our milk service agreement. Can you let him know I’m here?”
The Milktit blinked slowly. “Sir, I’ll go get him.” She walked towards the main building.
Iain shook his head. “I don’t know why, but to me they always seem drugged or something.”
“That’s what long term boredom does. It makes you listless. You either give up or get destructive and I’m sure Mr. Reed gets rid of the destructive ones immediately. It sometimes happens to the pokegirls who work in pokegirl centers.” She glanced at him. “Don’t worry; I’ll make sure our Milktit is never bored.”
“I wasn’t worried about it. We have too much that needs done and that won’t change when we finally settle down. Add that to the fact that all of our farm pokegirls will still take part in the monthly stuff I figure we’ll do to relax and boredom shouldn’t be an issue.”
“What monthly stuff?”
“I’m still working on that. I was thinking maybe some athletic games like volleyball and a big barbecue or a luau. We’ll always need some kind of down time no matter what’s going on in our lives.” He broke off as Anna reappeared with a muscular man wearing worn jeans and a kattle lined jacket.
The man stopped a little ways from them and winked at April. “Hi, April.” He turned to Iain and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Grey.”
Iain hesitated for a second and then shook with him. “Mr. Reed.”
Reed went into what was obviously a practiced speech. “Things have been rough, Mr. Grey, and I’ve done everything I can to keep costs down. Unfortunately I’ve finally reached the point where I have to raise my prices. I’m sure you’ll understand.”
Iain smiled slightly. “Mr. Reed, I’m not concerned about how high your prices go. The price of milk has always been a very minor issue when compared to other expenses and my income as a hunter. However, I am here to tell you that for other reasons we will no longer be buying milk from your dairy.”
Reed scowled. “So it’s not the price of the milk. And if that’s not it then why are you breaking our agreement?”
“Why? I’m no longer going to be giving you my custom because you lied to me. You assured me that you’d leave my pokegirls alone and yet you have been trying to get them to let you tame them. You even tried the old ‘I’ll keep the prices low for a bit of a tumble’ routine, which is of course yet another lie.”
“I wouldn’t do them any harm, man, so you come off your high horse, Grey.” He motioned towards April. “Face facts Grey, they are not humans. She and the others are just life support systems for pussy.”
Iain moved in a blur to punch him in the throat and Reed went down in a flurry of limbs. April grabbed him from behind as he stepped forward. “Let me go.”
“You can’t do this. It’s not right.”
Iain went still as he watched Reed grasp at his throat with both hands and silently flail. “You might want to heal him before he dies since I think I crushed his windpipe.” April gasped and rushed past him to kneel next to the dairyman. Golden light sprang from her hand and bathed Reed, who began breathing. Iain reached down and grabbed Reed by the shirt, pulling him up to look into his eyes. “No matter what I may think about pokegirls and what you think about them, in the eyes of the Blue League you tried to steal my property, you bastard, and you’re lucky that I don’t cripple you permanently for that. I know you’ve got witnesses to what just happened in your Milktits and if you think you’ll be lucky in court you feel free to take it up with the league. I have a recording of you swearing to leave my pokegirls alone and I bet I’ll find out my pokegirls aren’t the first ones you’ve tried to fuck.” He leaned forward, his eyes intent and his voice low. “Remember this, Tom, if you ever come near any of my pokegirls I will finish what I started today. I promise you I will make it look like ferals got you and they will never find your body.” He released Reed and stepped back. “Let’s go, April.”
Without a backwards look they walked calmly towards town. They were about halfway home when Iain stopped and turned to look at her. He gave her a wry smile. “I know that you have to tell Eve what happened and if,” he broke off when April hugged him hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs with a grunt.
She whispered against his chest. “I’ve already told Eve about it and she agrees that you’re a wonderful man and that we should never let you be alone. She’s going to talk to the authorities if Reed makes it an issue and remind them that I can’t defend myself against a human so you have to do it for me. As a celestial her word will carry a lot of weight.”
Iain looked down at her. “Do you really think that’ll work?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think since Eve says it’ll work but if you want to know my opinion I don’t think you have much to worry about from Reed. Eve was watching everything through my eyes. We all know you started out trying to be reasonable to him. She does think that last threat was a bit over the top.” Her hazel eyes twinkled. “Me, I think it was perfect.”
“That wasn’t a threat. I don’t make threats. I was as serious as a heart attack.”
“I know. That’s what makes you so wonderful, Iain. I know you’ll make him disappear if he tries anything else with any of us.”
“I’ll make him more than disappear. I’ll make him dead.” He sighed and kissed April on the top of the head. “Let’s go home.”
When they got back to the house Eve was waiting in the entrance. Iain just looked at her for a long moment before she stepped forward and took his hand. “You didn’t kill anyone, so I’m happy.”
“I’m sorry I acted so, as April put it earlier, rashly. It’s just that he said what he did. I couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth and I reacted without thinking. It’s a good thing April stopped me or I think I might have accidentally murdered him.”
“You didn’t intend to kill him, did you?”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t have time to intend anything. I just responded.”
“How did you move so fast when you hit him?”
“I probably did something I shouldn’t have and used magic.”
Scheherazade looked at him over Eve’s head. “You were defending your women. That’s what a tamer is supposed to do and by reacting without warning Reed didn’t have a chance to defend himself.” Her ears flicked. “It’s a good thing you did since he’s got some kind of strength blood gift and would tear you in half if given the chance.”
“Shit. Is he going to turn up gunning for my blood?”
Eve shook her head. “I doubt it. Not every person with heroic blood traits is a hero, Iain. Reed was never a tamer and he’s a bully, not a fighter.”
“You investigated him?”
“I checked up on everyone in Dingle when we moved here.” She shrugged without letting go of his hand. “Considering our situation it was only prudent to verify that they were who they appeared to be.”
“It’s great to have a competent family.”
The Megami-sama chuckled. “Feel free to remind us of that as much as you’d like. And now we still get to go abuse you. Follow along, April.” They vanished.
***
Dominique started her timer. “Fifteen minutes, Iain.” She finished the spell and his world went black as it severed all sensory inputs to his mind from all contact with the outside world. He couldn’t see, hear, smell, taste or feel anything and he wondered if his heart rate was increasing due to rising panic.
If it was, he wouldn’t know.
That’s why this was so exceedingly dangerous and why Dominique was monitoring him from second to second. If he were attacked right now, he’d never know and might well die without ever realizing it.
The spell paralyzed his body so that he didn’t lose bowel control or flail around and put out an eye with an errant finger.
He focused his mind and began trying to modify himself to see the energy of the living things around him. Ginevra the Demoness from New Beginnings fed on life energy and had the ability to detect that life at a distance, ‘seeing’ it in some manner he’d never bothered to try to describe in detail. He reached into himself as he tried to create what she did inside him. It was difficult to focus and his mind kept getting distracted with errant thoughts and bits of memory that swirled together to drag his train of thought in new directions that changed from millisecond to millisecond.
In flashes like still photography he saw in his mind’s eye the variants of Ginevra’s sight he’d considered and discarded and then the different concepts he’d read about over the years that contributed to his considerations on vision and magic. One mental image appeared and grew as is intellect swooped towards it or it sped towards him. He was never sure which had taken place. The image wrapped itself around that which made him and melted, flowing to fill a void he’d never knew existed and then the void vanished as his being absorbed it.
And he could see.
It wasn’t like what he’d envisioned for Ginevra where the living creatures big enough to feed her their life energy were the focus of her vision and everything else was nebulous and indistinct. Instead he saw all around him just as if he were using his eyes, if those eyes had three hundred and sixty degrees of vision and allowed him to see in a sphere around him. He could still focus, but was aware of everything else around him when he did so.
When he did change the focus of his view, it wasn’t like turning his eyes or shifting his head to look; it was just that suddenly he was more aware of whatever he wanted to concentrate on, even if it was behind him.
Dominique was watching him with an attentive expression before glancing at the timer. A fly was crawling on a nearby tree, rubbing its wings together for a second before crossing under a branch heavy with leaves and flowers as he watched.
Iain gave a mental start when he realized that he could still see the fly even though now the branch was between them. He pulled back his attention and stopped when he saw a series of yellow tubes set in a bunch and surrounded by a white fleshy tube. He couldn’t identify it for a moment and shock shot through him when comprehension bloomed.
He was seeing inside one of the flowers and looking at the stamens and pistils. He shifted his attention to the branch itself and looked inside the bark and wood to see the xylem and phloem as they carried nutrients and food through the branch. Then he looked past it and behind the tree. He pulled back and focused on Dominique.
On her right hand, specifically. As his attention moved inward it was like the outer layers of her hand faded away, letting him see the flesh and muscles. Capillaries pulsed slowly as blood moved between them. Quickly he pulled his gaze back and went back to practicing his newfound sense of vision.
When the spell ended, Dominique joined him on the grassy patch he’d chosen. “How long do you think it’ll be before you make any significant progress?”
Iain was savoring the feeling of the breeze on his skin and leaned over to smell the sandalwood of her perfume. He sighed happily. “While not exactly what I was trying to do, I think I have made some progress. Now I’ll have to see if I can do it without being locked inside my head.”
“What did you do?” Her eyes widened as he explained. “That’s,” she paused, “scary as hell to be honest.”
“I think this will definitely stay within the harem, whether I can control it or not.”
Dominique wrapped her arms around him. Experience had shown he needed all the sensory input he could get right after the isolation ended or he tended to be jumpy for hours. It was like he needed the sensations to numb a mind made overactive by lack of input. “Iain, we need to keep this just between you and me for now. Explain it to Eve and Scheherazade if you must, but for the moment I need to you to not tell anyone else. If even a hint of this gets out we could have the Blue League and every free or free willed magic pokegirl who thinks she can cast a spell trying to find you. That would include the Celestial Alliance and the Order. If this can see through walls undetected, it would be a perfect method of surveillance even if you can’t hear anything. Any of them would pursue you to the ends of the earth to get this technique.” She smiled fondly and rested her cheek against his. “And I’d like to mention that if you were to teach me how to do this, I’d be very appreciative.”
“I’ll bet you would.” They shared a smile together.
***
Dominique poked her head in the door. “Is Iain around?”
Eve looked up. “No, he, April and Irena are in Dublin doing some shopping.”
“Good. It took a while but I have a way to contact Magdalene.” The Megami-sama blinked and Dominique’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t think I could do it.”
“To be honest, no, I didn’t. Still, I’m grateful that you have a solution,” she smiled slightly, “if it works.”
“It will.”
“It’s good to see you being so confident. Very well, let me get Scheherazade and you can demonstrate your magical superiority.”
“What do you want her around for?”
“She’s one of Iain’s command staff, just like you and I are.”
“What about April?”
Eve shrugged. “She’s not here. While I probably wouldn’t mind her input, I do not want Iain around for this.”
“Why not?”
“I have a premonition.”
“Shit.”
Eve smiled. “My feeling is that the situation won’t be a problem as long as Iain is not around.”
“Does your premonition say anything about Magdalene killing us for summoning her without Iain’s knowledge?”
“We’ll be fine.” She looked to her right as Scheherazade appeared. “Now, where do we go for this?”
“We can do it anywhere, but I think we should do it in the woods away from the house, unless of course you want Vanessa sitting in on the conversation.”
“Not particularly.”
Scheherazade’s ears flicked. “We may want to accept the fact that we can not force her to leave. She might even turn out to be useful.” Her ears flicked. “I didn’t think Dominique would ever be anything more than a headache and now I like having her around.”
The Archmage gave her a hard look. “Bitch.”
The Dread Wolf’s tail swung fast enough to make a swishing noise. “Indeed I am, but that doesn’t change the fact that you surprised me. I was wrong and Iain was right to work against my wants in order to keep you with us. He hasn’t tried to remove Vanessa. It could be that is a tacit acknowledgement that she may belong here for the time being.”
“She’s not part of the harem.”
“No, but if Iain were to marry a human woman or take one as his girlfriend she would not be either and yet we would still have to suffer her presence.” Scheherazade cocked her head. “As we all know. He wouldn’t expect his human wife to receive any special treatment, but she might try to insist on it just as Vanessa has. All I am suggesting is that we accept the fact that she’s not going to go home anytime soon.” Her ears went flat for a heartbeat. “I am not suggesting that we accept her as one of us. She is not and uses every chance she gets to bring that up.”
Dominique stared at both of them in disbelief. “You do realize that we are talking about a legendary, right? This is so bizarre. We are living with Evangelion and everyone is just so blasé about her presence.”
Eve nodded slowly. “Iain treats her like she’s nobody special and I believe we are supposed to follow his lead. She’s accepted it and even seems to relish being treated like everyone else. I’m sure that if she had a problem with it we’d know by now.”
Scheherazade looked around. “What about Montsho?”
Eve blinked. “What about her?”
“She doesn’t take being alone well. We should take her with us and put her on watch.”
“I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. Let me get her and we’ll go.”
A short time later the four of them stood in a clearing several kilometers in the wilderness outside of Dingle. Eve turned to Montsho. “We’re going to be trying to contact someone. I want you to patrol the area for ferals and other problems. If you find anything I want you to report to so we can deal with it together.”
The Tyrannodame bobbed her head. “As you wish, Eve.” She lashed her tail and trotted off into the woods.
Eve leaned against a tree trunk. “Dominique, the floor is yours.”
The Archmage nodded and closed her eyes for several seconds. Her breathing became deeper and slowed. Finally she opened her eyes and spoke in a firm voice. “Magdalene Wolf, I summon you.”
Scheherazade’s ears flicked. “That’s it? That’s not a spell. You’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks and that’s all you could come up with?”
Dominique’s eyes narrowed. “Look, furball, I’ve been a bit busy with figuring out how to put paid to the High Council. I haven’t had that much free time to pursue other projects.” She gave Eve a slightly sheepish look. “I got that method from Iain’s mind while he was asleep.”
“That explains how you learned to call me, but I’m still curious as to why you decided to take matters into your own hands.” The three spun to see Magdalene standing just inside ring of trees around the clearing. She was wearing another Victorian gown, this one a rich scarlet with pink lace. Her multicolored eyes regarded them without emotion. “By doing so you have overstepped the bounds of the permission I gave to Kerrik, now known as Iain.”
Eve pushed away from the tree. “I’m sorry for that, but we need to talk to you about Iain.”
Magdalene looked at her for several seconds before speaking. “Proceed.”
“I’m worried about his magic and we don’t know anything about it. His magic is flaring up at unexpected times and without him trying to do anything with it.”
A folding stool appeared behind her and Magdalene smoothed her skirt before settling down on it. “Do these times of magical activity correspond with intense emotional states on Iain’s part?”
Dominique nodded. “They do.”
“It’s a shame that he is having problems controlling his emotions. I was hoping to marry him to one of my sisters even though Jehane has found a husband since he and I last spoke. He would have made a very interesting subject for study since none have had their powers appear while they were involved with pokegirls. You have my condolences on his impending death.”
Scheherazade’s ears went flat. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
Magdalene’s gaze shifted to the Dread Wolf. “Iain Grey is a fledgling truewizard and he has compassion for others. Truewizards such as he is who do not master their emotions do not survive to adulthood. They either destroy themselves in an emotion based accident or will their own destruction out of guilt after they hurt someone they care about.” Her lips twitched slightly. “Ones who do not care about others usually fare far better during this phase of their development since they will not guilt themselves to death. It’s a shame that he is going to die because we need more compassionate truewizards to stand against the others.”
“Could you help him?”
“Of course I could, Eve. However, I will not. He is not of my family and there is a tradition of allowing self discovered truewizards to succeed or fail on their own. I will prevent his destruction by other truewizards who hunt fledglings, but otherwise I will not violate that unwritten rule.”
“Can we help him?”
“You love him. You should try to prevent his destruction. With your help he may even beat the odds and not kill himself or those around him.”
Dominique raised a hand. “What’s a truewizard?”
“That’s an excellent question.” Magdalene shifted slightly on her stool. “Simply put, a truewizard is a very rare practitioner of magic who can change the very fabric of reality. How much or how little they affect reality is based entirely on their willpower and imagination.”
“Is that why he can’t learn spells from us?”
“It is. Formal magic training is required for any would be mage who does not have an unusually strong natural affinity for magic. Iain does not and cannot learn to channel magic the way you do until he has the necessary basic foundation for magical use well in hand. I should also mention that right now he needs to focus on truewizard magic and trying to learn both styles at the same time could prove very dangerous to him as well as to you.” She folded her hands in her lap. “However, if he does manage to master his powers he would be able to easily mimic anything you can do outside of ceremonial spells. With a bit of practice he will be able to surpass all of you if he can imagine how to do it.”
Eve scowled. “Does he have to die or can we keep him from killing himself? His life is more important to me than my own and I would do anything to protect him.”
“You cannot protect Iain from himself but it is possible that you could limit some of the risk by helping him with his emotions as they occur and also by working to keep him on an even emotional keel. It is similar to what I do with my children while they are learning to control their powers.” She shrugged. “But in the end it is the truth when I say that he will live or die entirely on his own. You cannot stop his magic by conventional spells that limit or control magical use. He must learn to master his magic and himself at the same time or it will destroy him. That is presuming, of course, that he does not die from other things besides his magic. This world does have many other threats and you and your family must face some deadly ones in your quest for safety.” She glanced at each of them in turn. “If it will help, I suspect that once you get to Pokegirl One my husband will take an interest in Iain’s well being and will probably tutor him in some limited fashion. At that point I will help Iain as well, since an accident could take Kerrik from me for quite a long time and I am not interested in having to make the arrangements to keep his women from going feral.” She rose and the stool vanished. “I do not hate Raven and the others and I do not resent the other women in Kerrik’s life. However I must admit that the way these pokegirls of his hang all over him around me is very rude.” She smiled slightly. “If you could teach them some manners I would very much appreciate it.”
Eve smiled back. “If we get the chance I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.” Her gaze sharpened. “Eve, Dominique and Scheherazade, I do not see that it will be necessary for us to meet again before the time comes for me to take you to Pokegirl One. Do not attempt to contact me again.” She vanished.
***
April led Iain and an adult Irena down the crowded street, deftly weaving her way through the throng. “Just follow me this way, sir.” It was early afternoon and Dublin’s streets were heavy with pedestrians and the odd vehicle or pokegirl being ridden by a tamer and the rest of his harem.
Irena was watching around them as they walked. “Why are we here in Dublin?”
“We want to interview the potential Milktits, remember?” Iain pushed through the crowd as efficiently, if not as politely as April had. “The pokegirl center we’re going to is the best place to do that, at least according to our guide.” He motioned towards April.
They stopped in front of a large, two story pokegirl center. April held the door open. “Go to the elevator, sir.”
Iain frowned. “It’s a two story and they wasted money and space on a freaking elevator? What, are there crippled tamers who can’t climb a flight of stairs?”
April shrugged. “It was built before I was born, sir. If you’re offended by the presence of the elevator would you rather take the stairs?”
Iain stuck out his tongue. “Now that you mention it, I think I would prefer the stairs. You may take the elevator if you’d like.”
Irena gave him an odd look. “Sir, she can do that if she wants Eve to beat her half to death for leaving you alone with just me and my paltry combat skills.”
He instantly sobered. “Right. Sorry. We’ll take the elevator together.”
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. It’s just that for a second I’d managed to forget about things and it felt nice to kid around a bit. It won’t happen again.”
April looked into his eyes and gave him a sad smile. “Someday.”
“Sooner than later,” Irena said softly and then quirked a smile. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life on the run and you’re not getting any younger, sir.”
“That’s true. Lead us onwards, April.” Once they were in the elevator he laced his fingers together in front of him. “What should we expect?”
“I’ve assembled twenty Milktits for you to interview. All are confiscations that were in storage for years and have been condemned to pokepower or will be put up for sale. Hopefully that’ll eliminate any chance they’re delta bonded to someone who wants you dead or worse. They’ll all be in a viewing room with a one way mirror so you can see them for a preliminary cull based on your reaction to their physical appearance. The viewing room is usually used for preliminary observations before auctions to pet owners or tradesmen.” The elevator door opened and she led them into a hall. “Don’t pick any that you wouldn’t be willing to sleep with. After the visual cull we’ll get to the interviews.”
Irena shivered. “I hate pokepower.”
“I wasn’t too keen on it after I came up with the idea, but by then it had somehow been made canon.” Iain rubbed his eyes. “It’s cruel and evil which is why so many people thought the concept was wonderful. Of course, how it worked had more logic holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese.”
April nodded. “I don’t like it either, which is why I’ve already arranged for the girls we don’t pick to be transferred to a dairy ranch in Scotland that’s just getting started. It took a small bit of money, but it makes us majority, if silent, partners in the business and I expect a significant return on the investment. If it were in Ireland we wouldn’t need a Milktit of our own, but it isn’t.”
“I’m surprised the owner of the dairy didn’t already do what you’re doing and get some of these on his own.”
She opened a door and waved them in. “Sir, the truth is that most people aren’t aware of all the easy avenues for getting common and uncommon pokegirls really cheaply since tamers tend to focus exclusively on the rarer pokegirls. I know about them, but I’ve been involved with the system for a while now.”
“Can you get Ponytaur?”
The Duelist blinked. “Not today, sir. I’d need a few days to put them together, but I can. Why?”
“Before we leave we’ll have to think about what we’ll want to be doing and what resources we’ll need to make that job easier. Ponytaur and their evolutions would help with herding and defense if we decide to do any sort of livestock ranching.” He shrugged. “I’m just trying to think ahead.”
April smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re planning for our future. That’s a good sign.” She turned off all the lights except for a single very dim one and pulled a curtain open. “Behold the army of Milktits.”
Iain stared in fascination.
The room was filled with pokegirls standing around, all of whom were Milktits of various types. All were naked and each had a numbered tag around her neck that progressed from one to twenty. April pressed a button on a speaker. “We’re here. Stand on the yellow line and face the mirror.” The Milktits lined up and turned to face them. April waited for half a minute. “Turn to face to the right.” There was a brief display of confusion as some of the Milktits faced left, but it was soon straightened out. The Duelist shook her head. “Please don’t pick any of the stupid ones. I remember their numbers if you want to cut them out now.”
“I’m not sure that’s fair to them. They could just be nervous.”
“And they could be idiots. Do you want to take that chance with our cooking?” April gave him a curious look. “Or is one of the probably stupid ones so hot that you have to have her? If so, pick a smart one too and we’ll give the dumb one a mop so she can at least be useful.”
Irena cocked her head. “This is your plan, isn’t it April? I thought you definitely wanted him to get a Milktit. If that’s true, then why are you suddenly so hostile about the idea?”
The Duelist scowled and then looked away. “I don’t like the way his eyes lit up when he saw them. He didn’t look at me that way when we met.”
Iain stepped closer to the mirror. “I’m just fascinated at all the variations on a theme, April. There are girls out there that look like humans with real cow heads stuck on them, complete to runny noses and cud chewing, while on the other end of the spectrum are human looking girls with tiny horn buds and huge boobs. Trust me, it’s scientific curiosity and not some surge of lust. There are some really ugly pokegirls in there.”
“So there’s no lust in your heart for any of them?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t say that. There are a couple of cute ones, but none of them are you.” He slipped his arm around April and pulled her against him. She resisted for an instant before leaning against his body. “You are a permanent part of my life, my pretty Duelist, and you will be until we die.” He kissed her on the cheek. “If you’ve changed your mind about this we can just leave and Vanessa will have to get by without us having a private Milktit. I’m sure it’ll work out even if I’ve burned the bridge leading to the Reed dairy. I’d do it again even if we didn’t have any other options for milk.”
“Hey.” Irena bumped her hip against his other side. “There’s a cold pokegirl here and you’ve got a free arm.” She pulled his other arm around her waist and leaned against him. “There, now we’re both warmer.”
April glanced up at him. “No, I haven’t changed my mind.” She jerked her head in Irena’s direction. “I’ll always have to live with others competing for your attention. I just got worried after you told me about this Helen and now your reaction when you saw the Milktits I found for us.”
“Even if we ever meet Helen, she’s completely in love with Shikarou and I know it. She wouldn’t notice me at all and that’s perfectly fine. Up until I came here, she was just a figment of my imagination. In fact, as far as I know, she still is. You’re real and you have always been that way.”
“Thank you. I needed to hear that.” April pulled his head around and kissed him soundly before she gently pulled away to activate the speaker again. “Face the wall, girls.” The Milktits turned to the wall, some of them putting their hands on it and leaning forward to put their asses on display. She looked back at Iain. “Do you want me to have them spread their legs and show off their pussies?”
Iain gave her a wry look. “That’s not necessary. I was pretty familiar with female genital anatomy before I came here and I’ve had a lot of refreshers since.” He pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket. “They can face front now so I can read their numbers.”
April activated the speaker again. “Turn around and get back on the line, girls, and make sure your numbers are visible.” She glanced at him as they obediently complied with her command. “You’re not upset at the meat market?”
He glanced up from where he was jotting numbers down on the notepad. “They’re not in my bubble and, yes, I am disturbed by this. It’s a slave market and I abhor slavery. I even made sure it didn’t exist in Tirsuli society. It’s also the best way to get us a Milktit, so I’m working hard to rationalize my presence here. I got lucky with the ladies in my harem even with random chance, but I also suspect that Eve and perhaps Scheherazade helped it to be not quite so random, Irena here being a case in point.”
Irena smirked. “I know Eve led you to me. I can’t be anything but grateful about that since it also led me to you and I don’t think I would have been happier with anyone else.”
“I know,” Iain said absently. “April’s helping now and I hope it leads us to a Milktit who will do everything we want and nothing that we don’t.”
“Are you saying I’m acting like a celestial?”
“You’re acting like you, April. You’ve always had my best interests at heart and I regularly bless my fortune in catching your eye.” He handed her the pad. “Done.”
She looked at it and her mouth opened in an O. “That’s a lot of girls. The interviews could easily take the whole day and then some.”
Iain looked puzzled for a second. “Oh no, those are the culls, not the ones I want to interview. There are only four that I want to talk to. Six, ten, fourteen and eighteen are it.”
She blinked. “That makes things easy, but you should have just listed the ones you want.”
Iain shrugged. “I worked the other way and listed them as I went, from least desirable to acceptable. Perhaps I should have made a special list for the four I want to talk to. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let me put the girls up and then take you to the interview room so I can bring you the ones you want to meet.” She slipped out of the room.
Iain sighed softly. “The crap everyone gets used to.” When Irena looked at him curiously he motioned at the mirror. “Sex lineups are freaky enough but the scariest thing was what April so glibly mentioned about them all.” He shuddered. “Condemned. I know the genre is supposed to be dark and gritty, but there’s a difference between pretending about a fictional place and knowing that if April hadn’t purchased them for a pittance they’d be executed for electricity. And on top of that, there are lots of pokegirls that we can’t rescue who will suffer the same fate.”
“I thought there wasn’t a lot of room in your bubble for people.” Irena watched as the door to the observation room opened and a Ladyba and April waved the Milktits out of the room.
“Just because I don’t run around trying to save everyone on the planet doesn’t mean I happen to like what’s going on. The way thresholds are treated, pokepower, Sadie Pokens, there’s a long list of things that came about fairly logically and I understand but they are still horrid to me.”
“You don’t like Sadie Pokens?”
“It’s all about pokegirls as property, not about choice. Oh, they’re given the chance to make a decision for a change, but they’re limited to guessing about the tamers who happen to at that particular event and having it once a fucking year is pathetic. It’s not like abusive tamers are only abusive for the week leading up to the event, is it? They can torture, rape, mentally abuse, sell, give away and even kill their pokegirls year round and the girls have to put up with it.” He snorted. “You’ll also notice that they limit it to active tamers because tradesmen are older and tend to treat their pokegirls better. If tradesmen were allowed to attend Sadie Pokens pretty soon a lot of tamers would have no pokegirls at all and the tradesmen would have more than they knew what to do with.”
The door opened and April stopped in the doorway. “Please come with me, sir and we can get started on the interviews.” Iain and Irena followed her to a comfortable looking room with several overstuffed chairs scattered around and a couch against one wall. A tray with a pitcher of iced water and some paper cups was set up next to a chair in the corner farthest from the door. “I know you don’t like having your back to doors and thought you’d prefer this chair.”
“That’s perfect, April.” He glanced around. “What about surveillance?”
“The camera in this room has been broken for months, sir. I’m sorry, but there won’t be any records of what transpires in here.” She carefully shut the door and locked it. “Now Tianna, that nosy Ladyba, can’t drop by to see what’s going on.” She dug four pokeballs out of her pocket and handed them to Iain. “Here you go. I used a grease pencil to number them for you.”
“Do they know what’s going on?”
“No. They wouldn’t normally be briefed and probably figure a tamer who is the son or daughter of someone important wants a Milktit and is getting special treatment.” Her eyes sparkled with humor. “That’s pretty much what’s happening, isn’t it? You’re special to me and so we’re doing this. They also don’t know they were confiscated by the league either. For some reason it’s considered counterproductive for pokegirls slated for death to know about it. Fortunately that’s not going to happen now.” She frowned slightly. “You don’t mind that I went ahead and did that, do you? It didn’t really cost that much and I felt kind of responsible for them after picking them out for you.”
“I think you did a great thing. It’s a shame we can’t save everyone, but what you did for these girls was what I would have done, too.” He dropped into the chair and waved at the room. “Make yourselves comfortable, ladies.” He blinked when April took up station next to his chair while Irena returned to her chibi form and climbed into his lap. “Ladies, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
Irena giggled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Then you should say what you mean. Next time, that is. I’m already comfortable.”
“Shit.” Iain picked up the ball marked six and activated it. The Milktit who coalesced from the beam was as tall as he was, with a short muzzle and floppy ears. She was gorgeous, a solid white so bright that it glowed in the light. She gave him a hesitant smile that firmed up when he smiled back. “What’s your name?”
“I won’t have a name until you give me one, master,” she said in a high, nasal tone. “What do you want to call me?”
Irena triggered the pokeball and the Milktit disappeared into it. She turned around to straddle Iain’s lap and stare into his eyes. “I don’t care how pretty she is, you bring her home and I’ll kill her just for that voice.” She shuddered. “All I need is to hear that begging for you to stick it in her and she’s dead.”
April giggled. “That was horrible, wasn’t it? Now we know why she was dumped. As pretty as she is, that voice is hard to get past. Unless you liked the way she sounds, Iain?”
“No, I’ll pass.” He handed the ball over his shoulder to April and picked up number ten. “Let’s see what’s wrong with this one.”
This Milktit was a honey color with large expressive eyes and tiny horns. “Master,” she asked hopefully.
“That still remains to be seen. What is your name?”
“My name is Matilda, master.”
Iain started to ask another question and broke off as a terrible stench hit him in the face. His eyes started to water as Irena gagged.
Matilda’s head dropped as she looked at his feet. “I’m sorry, master. It’s my fault. I have gas and it smells bad to a lot of people.”
Iain triggered the pokeball, waiting until she was gone before speaking. “Smells bad? That fart would fucking peel paint. I haven’t smelled anything that bad since boot camp.”
April ran to the door and pressed a button on a panel next to it. Louvers built into the base of the walls and in the ceiling opened and fans roared loudly as they sucked the room clean. She waited for ten seconds and turned the system off. “There.”
“What the hell was that?” Iain began peeling Irena off of him from where she’d clamped on when the air started moving. “It was like being inside an air handling system.”
“It’s for quickly removing smoke and other stuff from the room. A lot of pokegirl techniques have residuals that make it hard to breathe or stink. I know about it because I’ve subbed here from time to time when I needed some extra money.”
Iain shook his head. “Well, on the plus side this is going faster than I thought it would. However, half of my first cut have turned out to be,” he broke off and grimaced. “Unacceptable,” he finally finished.
“You’ve still got two to go. Who is next?” April reached over and took the two rejected pokeballs, putting them in her pocket for later.
“Fourteen.” Iain picked up the pokeball and rolled it around in his palm. “Well, here goes nothing.” He pressed the release.
She was smaller than the others but full figured in a way that reminded Iain of the pinups he’d seen that were painted by Lorenzo Di Mauro and Peter Driben. Like all four of the ones he’d picked she had a short muzzle although this one’s ears canted sideways instead of drooping completely. Her skin and tail were speckled black and white and her eyes were a soulful brown. Her shoulder length hair was composed of individual black and white strands that would look gray from a distance and matched the tuft on her tail. But it was her horns that had grabbed Iain’s attention when she’d been standing in line. They were solid black on their needle tips and lightened to brown as they approached her skull, but what made them stand out was that each horn was easily seventy five centimeters long, giving her a span of over a meter and a half. In fact her horns looked to be nearly as wide as the Milktit was tall.
The Milktit looked at him warily before her eyes flicked to April and Irena. “You won’t want me, sir.” She sounded like she’d given up hope. “Nobody does once they try to tame me.”
“What’s your name?”
“My last attempted tamer called me Bess. The last time I had a name for any length of time was before I thresholded, sir. Then my name was Claire. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now, sir.”
Iain cocked his head. “Well, if I do keep you, Bess won’t work. Why is it that nobody wants you?”
“It’s my horns, sir. I tend to hurt people who aren’t careful around me because my horns are so big and sharp. I’ve impaled people in crowds and gotten my tamers some heavy fines plus medical expenses. They’ve cut my horns but they grow back in a week or immediately if I’m run through a healing cycle. Nobody knows why.”
“What does that have to do with taming?”
A faint hint of humor appeared in her eyes. “I’m active during sex and tend to accidentally slip out of restraints, no matter how tightly bound I am in them. People have gotten stabbed or clubbed in bed with me.”
April bent forward and looked into Iain’s face. “Shit. I can see it in your eyes. Don’t do this. Eve will kill me if you do.”
Iain met her gaze. “It’s my decision and no, she won’t. I won’t let her.” He returned to the Milktit. “Are you interested in fighting?”
She looked astonished. “With all due respect, sir, if I’m never in another fight I’ll be perfectly happy. The one time I was in a battle some Amachamp used my horns as a handle to bash my body over and over into the ground.” She shivered. “I almost died and I’m not interested in ever doing that again. If you want me as a combatant of any sort you should look for someone else. I’ll throw every fight before I’ll let that happen to me again.”
“You didn’t become a Minotaura?”
“Sir, for some strange reason I can’t evolve. I think it’s because my mother, who was a Milktit, worked with my father in researching and casting his magic spells. She got caught in some really strong magical fields that made all of my sisters into chibi and me unable to evolve.”
Iain handed the pokeball with the number eighteen on it to April. She held it tightly and gave him an annoyed look. “You’re not even going to meet her, are you?”
“Nope. Each and every one of my harem is special in some way and I’d be dumber than shit to ignore this lass.”
“What about her horns?”
“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. In the meantime I’ve got lots of pokegirls with healing skills.”
The Milktit was watching them with growing amazement. “You’re actually going to try to keep me?”
“I am.”
“Sir, I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“If it makes you feel better you’re not alone in that thought.” April put the last pokeball in her pocket with the others. “It’s not his first and it won’t be his last. So have you decided on a name for her?”
Iain nodded and got up to take the Milktit’s hand. “Your name is now Hathor.”
***
Iain Grey - Tradesman
Eve - Megami-sama (maharani)
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
Scheherazade - Dread Wolf
Irena- Chibi Sanctuary Goth
April - Duelist
Montsho - Tyrannodame
Hathor - Milktit
Dragonesses
Eirian - Silver
Skye - Blue
Emerald - Green
Sable - Black
Aurum - Gold
Beryl - Red