Chapter 38

Author’s note: This chapter presumes that you are familiar with Kelvin’s Choice’s stories, Tamers and Tamers II. It uses characters and situations from them with his permission. If you have not read these works, you really should remedy the situation immediately. It is well worth the time.

 

            Vanessa handed him a single pokeball. “Originally I was going to bring several pokegirls for you to interview, but after talking to Eve I decided that this was the least normal of the lot and figured you’d want to start here.”

            Iain managed to not glare at anyone. “Gee, thanks. How does this pokegirl feel about being considered the most abnormal?”

            “It’s her definition, not mine. I just happen to agree with it.”

            “Does she know what’s going on?”

            Vanessa nodded. “She knows she’s being considered for your harem and I told her just enough to make her curious about you.”

            He smiled slightly. “Just like you’re telling me things you hope will make me curious about her?”

            A wide grin was her only response.

            Iain sighed and triggered the pokeball’s release. The pokegirl who appeared in front of him was three meters tall and nearly a meter wide. Her entire body was the color of larvikite, a deep blue-gray that shone in the morning sunlight. She was trim, with shoulder length hair pulled back in a bun and an hourglass figure. The short sleeved crop she wore had been specially built for her four arms and her four breasts filled it nicely. Both it and her compression shorts were the same color as her skin. The black belt she wore around her waist was only thing not the same blue she was. From it hung a large combat knife on one side and a heavy looking leather tube that was sealed with a flap on the other.

            She shifted her head slightly and Iain realized with a start that she had antennae curled flat against her forehead. They’d been hidden by the simple fact that they were the same color as the rest of her. “Hello. I’m Iain.” Her antenna unfurled. “Uh, I wouldn’t do that.”

            “Vanessa told me you couldn’t be scanned. I want to see for myself if it’s true.” Her voice was deep, but not as deep as he would have expected. It was also sweetly and distinctly feminine. When she spoke again it was filled with surprise. “I can’t read you at all. It’s like you’re not there.”

            Iain watched blood begin to trickle from her nose. “Your nose is bleeding. You need to know that attempting to read my mind is a bad idea. It tends to kill those who try.”

            The strange pokegirl wiped at the blood with the back of her hand and looked at it curiously. “Vanessa warned me about that, too, but I didn’t believe her.” She licked the blood from her hand and regarded him solemnly. “But the fact that she was right is actually a good thing. I’m Canaan.”

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Iain frowned. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you?”

            Her sudden smile gave her dimples which softened the stern lines of her face. “You can’t tell? Vanessa said you could identify pokegirls on sight.”

            He shrugged. “To me you read as an Alaka-Wham and as an Amachamp, but not as a normal G-Splice. It’s like you’re some kind of off blend somehow. I guess I’d call you an Alaka-Champ if I had to call you anything.”

            Canaan’s eyes had widened as he spoke. “Vanessa is three for three, I see. I am an unnatural G-Splice and the reason I’m unnatural is because I was created with the G-stylus. Or I should say with a G-stylus since there are legends of more than one of the devices floating around. In my case I was captured by some idiots in Team uniforms who used it on the two pokegirls who ended up being me. We formed a new gestalt personality that has the memories of both individuals involved and became Canaan.” She shrugged, the two sets of shoulders moving at slightly different speeds. “It was very odd, mixing the genius mentality of a nineteen year old Alaka-Wham and the mind of a one hundred and fifty year old Hunter Amachamp who killed for fun into a new being. I was told by Vanessa that you’d probably know what being a Hunter meant. Do you?”

            “I know exactly what a Hunter is, Canaan.”

            “My memories tell me I should kill you for knowing what I am to protect myself, but I am not that Amachamp any more than I am still that Alaka-Wham.” She squared her shoulders. “I am here to audition for your harem. My requirements were a tamer that I couldn’t read and who seemed relatively intelligent, both of which you have met. What are your requirements? If I don’t meet them, I’ll change so I can.” Her eyes met his and he was shocked at the deep yearning in them. “I enjoy reading minds and I hate it. I can’t stop, even when I want to sleep. That’s why I spend so much time in a pokeball, because that’s the only place I can truly be alone. Vanessa thinks you might be able to make it so I can sleep without hearing the thoughts of others. Can you do that? I’ve tried magic and I’ve tried everything else I can think of and nothing works. I have strong psychic abilities and I’m also a very powerful fighter.” She hesitated and tapped the leather case on her belt. “And if you are interested, when I escaped from the Team, I killed everyone I could find and took the G-stylus they used on me. At least this way I know it can never be used on me again.”

            Iain tore his eyes away from the case. “You must really want to stay here if you are telling me about that thing.”

            “Vanessa has never lied to me and she says I might finally have a home here. She said being honest was the best way to proceed with you and your family.”

            The legendary smiled softly. “I knew her Amachamp part from the war. She came to me for help after she was spliced. And he knows I am Evangelion, Canaan.”

            Canaan laughed softly. “And I know some of what is in your head. You like being Vanessa more than you’ve ever liked being Evangelion.”

            “Stay out of my head.”

            “I can’t and you know it.”

            Eve folded her arms. “Let’s get back to the subject at hand. If you go to bed with him you will be in restraints.”

            The G-Spliced nodded. “Of course I will. I could crush him with an accidental flick of my finger.”

            Pandora suddenly looked shy. “Um, I don’t want to hurt Iain either. He uses paraspray with me. I would be willing to share with Canaan.”

            The splice’s eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t last all night. What about after it wears off?”

            The Fallen Angel flushed crimson. “I don’t sleep with it. I like to cuddle and most of the time he holds me instead of me him. If you do squeeze too hard in your sleep, he isn’t shy about letting you know.”

            Iain took Pandora’s hand and smiled when she didn’t try to pull away. “If nothing else works, I bite.”

            Canaan shook her head. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. If you’re willing to trust me with paraspray, I’d like to ask for someone to watch the first couple of times, just in case.” She pointed at Pandora. “And I want her to do it.”

            “Me?” Pandora almost squeaked. “Why me? I don’t want to watch you have sex with Iain.”

            “I didn’t think you did. That’s why I want you; because I know you’ll pay attention and make sure I don’t hurt him by accident.”

            Iain shrugged. “You don’t have to, Pandora. We’ll be fine.”

            The Fallen Angel squeezed his hand gently. “No, Iain, she has a right to ask for this if she’s worried about hurting you. She’d probably want me there even if the two of you were using restraints instead of paraspray and, while I’m not thrilled to do it, I will.”

            April frowned. “Can I ask a personal question, Canaan?”

            “What is it?”

            “You’re part Alaka-Wham and part Amachamp. Both of those are large breasted girls. Why aren’t you?”

            “Originally I was, but they got in my way so I used anti-bloom to reduce them. Why, is he a breast man?”

            April chuckled. “Oh, he likes them a lot, but he doesn’t have a size fetish. I was just curious.”

            “Are we done discussing me or should I go away so you ladies can talk?”

            Dominique grinned. “Iain, we’re never done talking about you. We just try not to do it where you can be embarrassed.”

            Canaan shook her head. “You are all very comfortable with him. I hope I can fit in.”

            Vanessa looked at Eve, who stepped forward. “You’ll be fine. We’re all a bit different and I really doubt you’ll have as much trouble as you might think. Let me take you around and while we’re looking the place over you and I can get to know each other a bit. You’ll spend tonight with Iain. You probably figured we’d just drag you off to bed now, but we’ve got a full schedule of training I want to go ahead and finish first.”

            “Why would Iain taming me right now interfere with that?”

            “He’s in that schedule too. He’ll probably never be as powerful as a pokegirl in hand to hand combat, but he insists on mastering as much as he can.”

            Canaan blinked. “That’s surprising. It’s also pleasing to hear.”

            “That’s good since later you’ll probably help to train him. He’s never faced an opponent with four arms and I’m sure he’ll want the novel experience.”

            “Me? Train him? That’s insane. I could kill him by accident.”

            The Megami-sama glanced at her husband. “Yeah, well, sanity has never been his strong point.”

 

***

 

            Iain shook his head, making drops of sweat spray around him. Ninhursag grinned as she watched April give him a speculative look. “You keep spreading those tasty pheromones around and you may start an orgy within your harem.”

            “Huh?” He looked around wearily. “Oh, sorry. I’m so tired I don’t think I could raise a smile, much less anything else.”

            “That’s what stamina XXX is for,” the Elfqueen teased.

            Iain groaned loudly. “You ladies are going to kill me and, contrary to popular opinion, there is not a good way to go.” He looked down at his sweat soaked clothing and then up at the sky. “I need a shower and it’s sundown, meaning another day of toil has come to an end.” He began trudging towards the house.

            Ninhursag fell in next to him as April took point. Even this close to the house they’d seen the odd feral and flying pokegirls could turn up anywhere. “I could teleport you to our home.”

            His reply was about what she’d expected. “My legs still work just fine.”

            “You know, I’m not sure if I’m more worried or happy that there’s no give in you, Iain.”

            He smiled slightly. “You’re proud you’ve got a tamer who’s tough. You wish he would realize he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was. I do know I’m not as tough as people think I think I am. However, only by pushing myself beyond whatever limits I have right now will I get any tougher.”

            “You’re not a pokegirl.”

            “No, but ninety nine and nine tenths percent of anyone likely to be chasing me will be a pokegirl, so I have to shoot for pokegirl standards in the hope I’ll stay ahead of any pursuers long enough for someone to rescue me.” He looked at the staff he carried and it sank into his skin. “And aiming for pokegirl standards means I will be hell on wheels for any humans dumb enough to attack me.”

            Iain, where are you? It was Eve.

            He glanced at Ninhursag, who shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on any more than you do.”

            “Which means we know nothing.” I’m almost to the house, why?

            Good. We’ll meet you there.

            “So, do you want that teleport now?”

            Iain glanced at her. “Did you hear the word emergency in there anywhere? Neither did I. We walk.”

            Ninhursag patted him on the back. “For a human and a male, you’re ok, you know that.”

            “Wow, damned with faint praise.”

            She blinked. “That did sound pretty pathetic, didn’t it?”

            April looked over her shoulder. “You think?”

            “I’m sorry, Iain.” Ninhursag was silent for a few seconds. “I’m very lucky that Eve recommended me to you and that you listened to her and went to meet me. I don’t think I could have found a better man for me.” She flashed a quick, oddly nervous smile. “In fact, I never did.”

            He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it firmly. “I like having you here and I don’t want you to leave.” Her smile warmed and she squeezed back.

            Everyone was assembled outside the house and Iain was surprised to see Lucifer standing among them. He started to make a joke about how much time she was spending with them when he saw her eyes. They were haunted, and something inside him jerked in pain when he realized her eyes looked shell shocked. It was the look of someone who’d just seen horror that she was still trying to comprehend. In the eyes of someone who had been fighting for three centuries it was scary to see.

            He stopped in front of her. “What is it and what can we do to help?”

            Gratitude and faint hope appeared on her face. “Thank you, Iain. The Daisy Mae received the Megami and Sama from the long term storage of the leagues, as they promised. What they didn’t tell us was the condition of some of them. A lot of them are feral and headed into the fading. They need care and I just hope you can help.” She hesitated. “Some are old and some are kits.”

            Iain looked around. “Eve, we’ll need our kitbags. April, when you’re in the bathroom getting the medical supplies we unpacked, turn on the shower for me. I’ll be along in a moment.”

            Everyone trooped past him and into the house. He looked at Vanessa. “You too, please.” She nodded and followed the others. He waited until they were inside before holding out his arms to Lucifer.

            She sighed gratefully and stepped into them, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. She stayed that way for a minute before pushing away. “Thank you.” He smiled and bowed, ushering her into the house in front of him.

            A quick shower and change of clothes later, he met the others outside, only to blink when a can of stamina XXX got shoved into one hand while a barbecued kattle sandwich was shoved into the other. “Uh, thanks for the sandwich. Do I really need the hard-on right now?”

            Dominique grinned. “We’ve all gone through healing, so we’re good. The stamina will give you extra energy even if you don’t fuck someone. You just finished a full day of training and you don’t want to collapse in front of everybody, now do you?”

            Lucifer blinked. “I forgot about the time difference. If you need to get some rest, please do.” She stared at him as he chugged the stamina XXX and then crammed a quarter of the sandwich into his mouth and began chewing vigorously. “Has anyone ever mentioned that you eat like a Snorlass?”

            Dominique suddenly grinned. “He wants you to know that he’s kind of in a hurry right now because someone came here hat in hand and begged his help and that if you ask any more silly questions he’ll answer you out loud and you can just pick bits of bread and lettuce out of your clothing.”

            April and Zareen giggled and even Lucy chuckled. “He has a point, although I would say in my defense that he volunteered before I could actually start begging.”

            Dominique eyes widened and she turned to look at Iain. “That was a very dirty thought and I am not going to pass that on.” His cheeks turned slightly pink. “Well, if I wasn’t supposed to pick up that thought maybe you shouldn’t be thinking it.” Now he glared at her. She snorted and turned back to Lucy. “Sorry about that.”

            The Megami-sama gave Iain a curious look. “What was he saying?”

            The Archmage coolly appraised her. “No, I don’t think I’ll tell you. You might just want to act out what he was thinking.” She gave Lucifer a meaningful look and the Megami-sama suddenly turned bright red. “Yeah, whatever you’re thinking is probably something along the lines of his thoughts about how you could beg for his help, only your thoughts probably aren’t as filthy as his. He’s got a low and evil mind sometimes.”

            Iain choked down the huge bite. “That is enough of that, ladies.” He quickly bolted the rest of the sandwich. “Where are we going, Lucifer?”

            “The leagues put all of the celestials from long term storage in one place in Sunshine. I’ll take someone with me and the rest can follow.”

            Dominique took her hand. “You’ll take me.” Her tone was still cool.

            Lucifer’s eyebrows rose. “You don’t trust him with me?”

            “I trust you with his safety. You are still a pokegirl and you still have needs. When is the last time you got laid?”

            Lucifer’s mouth set and they vanished.

            April sighed. “Sorry about that. Before Canaan came along, last night was supposed to be her night with you, Iain. I think she had some special plans and she’s still pissed at getting bumped.”

            Canaan shrugged. “She’ll have other nights.”

            “There are eight of us now,” Ninhursag pointed out, “if you count Vanessa, which you should. She doesn’t want to share any more than she has to. Even though this might make Iain’s head swell, neither do I. However, I know why she’s so cranky. She had made some expensive reservations at a place she really wanted to eat and go dancing at. They were hard to get.”

            Eve blinked. “She didn’t say anything to me about it.”

            “I’d like to point out that Canaan wasn’t in any danger of going feral and you didn’t ask, did you?”

            “Crap. I’ll apologize to her.”

            “It might be more helpful if you bent a few morals and tried using your celestial wiles to get her some more reservations at a time of her choosing.”

            Eve nodded thoughtfully. “I will.” Behind her, Pandora looked shocked. Apparently Eve was aware of the Fallen Angel’s reaction without having to see her. “I know you’re not pleased with my decision, Pandora. I don’t have to justify my decisions to you, but you need to learn that world peace starts at home. You’re a part of this family and you will be expected to bend over backwards in order to keep everyone here working smoothly together. That is your top priority. If a few of your morals get in the way, I expect you to crush them ruthlessly like the obstacles they are.”

            “You have an interesting way of looking at things, Eve.”

            “No, Canaan, I have an intelligent way of looking at things. Part of it I brought with me and part of it came from Iain.” She looked around. “Now, let’s go before we get there to find Dominique and Lucifer squaring off in a duel. Remember, he’s Kerrik and not Iain until we return home or I say otherwise.”

            She gripped his hand. “April, you’ve got Pandora and Ninhursag has Canaan.” The scene shifted.

            It was midmorning again and Iain was standing on the crest of a small rise. Ahead he could see an orderly collection of old military tents with what looked like laundry lines hung between the tops of the tents. Every rock he could see larger than a fist had been whitewashed or painted white. Even the cook fires he could see on one side were laid out in precise lines. It looked to him like a bivouac that would cause an orgasm in the most anal martinet in the entire universe. “Now that looks like a Megami camp. It’s all order and not the tiniest bit of chaos.”

            Canaan took him by the shoulder and rotated him one hundred and eighty degrees. “Here’s the problem, Master Kerrik.”

            He was so shocked at what he saw that he didn’t even protest her use of master as he looked down the other side of the rise. There was a group of well dressed and well fed Megami sprinkled with a few Sama that were hesitantly approaching a second camp. Apparently the old women and the children had been segregated into this camp. It looked like they had been given tents, for he could still see them lying strewn randomly about as if someone had made an attempt to put them up. He wondered who, since none of the people he could see actually in the camp looked to be able to move much. “Put us on the other side of the camp. It’ll be the farthest from the helpers on this side and we can get to more of the needy.”

            Lucifer shook her head. “They’re from the other camp and aren’t really rested, even if they’re not feral. They’re not really dangerous to you, but you are male and human and they will feel your presence. Don’t count on them to be very useful. I’ve got a healer team on the way, but they can’t really help a lot with the ones who are fading.” She looked around. “I’ll check on them.” She vanished.

            “What is fading?” April was looking at the group worriedly.

            “Eve.” They shifted again, appearing on the back side of the camp. “Set up a perimeter watch. Local ferals may be drawn to the easy meal here.” He glanced around. “I want April, Ninhursag and Canaan for now, but everyone stay loose. There’s no telling how this might break. Old some of these ladies may be, but that just means they’ve had a lot longer to learn attacks that could turn me into splinters. If they get some wild idea that I’m an enemy they can take with them, I’m screwed, and not in a good way.”

            As the group split up, he glanced at April. “Megami and Sama eat food, but they also require something more to exist. Some people think they need cosmic energy. Maybe they do, but they also need love and compassion from humans.” Heads were turning in their direction, but he couldn’t see any movement towards them, at least not yet. “If they don’t get that, they’ll lose energy like a supernova will and eventually they cease to be. The fading is slow, but by most reports it is relatively painless. It’s also supposed to be hard to reverse, and children and the old are always weaker than people in their prime. It’s why the pokekits look feral, even though kids seldom are. Now we just have to figure out how to give them that energy.”

            Canaan’s antennas were twitching. “You’ll also have to do it slowly enough not to kill anyone. Like you said, these people are abysmally weak. I’m not picking up much coherent thought at all and even their animalistic thoughts are dim and slippery to grasp.”

            Iain was dredging through his memories. “I have always considered the sex between a human and a pokegirl as tantric in nature. Tantra magic or spirituality is the harnessing of the universal energy for specific ends, but in tantric sex you share that energy with your partner and partners. In effect, you share your own energy with them. This is important because energy comes in a positive and negative, or for Eastern philosophies, male and female. All humans have both in varying amounts, but pokegirls cannot generate their own male energy. They have to get it from humans.”

            April’s eyes widened as comprehension clicked. “Since all humans have male energy, that means women do too, so taming works for them.”

            Canaan nodded. “Can you share energy with others?”

            “There are nonsexual versions of tantra that allow for energy mingling through other ways, including sharing feelings. It’s less efficient, but it works. Love and compassion are emotions that Megami find particularly tasty and I have some facility channeling and transmitting feelings. It’ll take time, but I can probably help several of them.”

            Her antenna unfurled completely as she sampled their surroundings. “Transmitting, as in over a distance?”

            “Yeah.”

            “You’re delta bonded with most of your harem, which means they all feel strongly about you. You could use them as an amplifier for those feelings and cover a wider area.” She knelt and began drawing in the dirt with a finger. “I calculate that if you put them like this, she put a dot in the middle of a group of radiating lines that ended at other dots, “with them on the perimeter while you’re in the center, you can use their feelings for you to blanket the interior of this circle without the energy loosing efficacy over the distance. In this configuration they’d act like reflectors and, to an extent, amplifiers for your emotions since they care for you back.” She looked up to see him watching closely and her cheeks turned dark as she flushed. “This formation is used sometimes in ceremonial magic in similar ways. I couldn’t help prying a little in the minds of your harem and, even without Ninhursag, between Dominique and Eve your harem knows more about magic than I’ve seen in any dozen master wizards. They’ll probably be able to vastly improve on the efficiency of my idea.”

            “That’s very good. “

            “I may be mixed with an Amachamp, but I still retain all of the intelligence of my Alaka-Wham side. If you’ll give me free reign to be as smart as I want, I’ll put all of that at your disposal, my master.”

            “Can you drop the master bit?”

            She nodded. “I know others don’t call you that, but I wasn’t sure if you might not want me to.”

            “I don’t. I’d much rather be your lover and friend than master. Canaan, get with April and figure out how things need to be set up.” Eve, I want you to collapse the perimeter back to here. We’ll put some of April’s constructs on patrol and use them as a tripwire. At the speed of thought, he repeated Canaan’s idea to them. Work with her and see if it’s feasible. Use dreamtime to speed the process along.

            A few minutes later Eve and Dominique came out of their conference with Canaan. The Archmage looked excited. “It’ll work. Any Megami or Sama inside the circle will be bathed in the energy and should soak it up like a sponge. Here’s the layout.” She sketched in the dirt, showing him where each person went.

            He looked it over and shook his head. “You’re missing Canaan, Vanessa and Pandora.”

            “They’re not delta bonded to you. Their presence won’t help anything. In fact, it may hurt.”

            “May hurt is not the same as will hurt. They’re part of our family and they get to participate too. You ladies put your heads together and figure it out.” He gestured to where the crowd was beginning to shift in their direction a little. It was like watching the tide begin to turn. “They’re like slow Zombabes, but they are going to come here and I don’t want to have to hurt them,” he leaned over and put his nose to hers. “But that is exactly what I will do to them if you three are still futzing around when they get here.”

            It took less than a minute more.

            “We’ve got it.” Dominique had a sheet of paper and showed him the diagram she’d sketched out.

            Iain didn’t look. He was busy watching the Megami. “You know how much I suck at formal magic. You’re the premier magic user in the harem. Make it happen and tell me where the fuck I’m supposed to go and what I’m supposed to do.”

            Instantly, Dominique began snapping out orders. Things quickly fell into place and Iain found himself standing at the center of a circle a hundred feet across as defined by the presence of his harem around him. Dominique’s mind touched his. You are the focus. You let us feel your feelings for us and at the same time release energy, like so. A diagram unfolded in his mind, showing him what to do. Incidentally, it showed she had a growing comprehension of how his truewizardry worked that he’d been completely unaware of.

            She picked up at least part of his surprise. Of course I’m studying you and your magic. You silly man, I love you and I envy what you can do. Now pay attention.

            Always, Dominique.

            As the focus, you need to keep the attention of the targets of your magic; in this case it’s the Megami who are inside the circle. If their attention wanders, the effectiveness goes way down.

            He turned his head to look in her direction. How do I do that? I know; you’ve rigged some kind of magical lure into the concept to trap their attention on me.

            He felt a wave of sudden annoyance from her. Now you suggest that. We’ll work on that for next time.

            Well, crap. If it’s not that, then how do I keep their attention?

            I don’t care. Dance, caper or even stand there and pick your nose if that works. However, do not, at any time, let them get your clothes off. That changes the energy entirely and it could be bad. There was a quick feeling of amused glee, which vanished. Potentially it could be crossing the streams bad.

            Good safety tip. Don’t do that. He thought quickly. He’d been a class clown in school and had kept that sense of humor for the rest of his life. It meant that he knew lots of ways to draw attention to himself. He also had to keep in mind that these girls were feral to one degree or another and so some things wouldn’t work.

            He blinked as his mind suddenly changed tack. In essence, the feral state could be considered the death of the conscious mind. His memory flashed back to the years he’d spent singing Christmas carols at retirement communities and hospices where the staff had even wheeled in the beds of the terminal that could still be moved so they could listen to the music. He knew he wasn’t a great singer, but those people had been grateful and so he’d kept singing.

            He was, however, a powerful singer, trained on warships where the engine room ambient sound level required the ability to be able shout and be heard across the compartment in the middle of bedlam. That had carried over to working with the medieval recreation group he’d been involved in since he could be heard across a field full of men in armor trying to kill each other with rattan and duct tape.

            A song flashed into his head and without considering it, he unlocked his power and sent it creeping towards his harem and through the flickering lives in between them and him. And he opened his mouth and sang.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Eve’s eyes went wide when she heard the words and she sighed and covered her hands with her face as, on the other side of the circle, Ninhursag collapsed with laughter.

 

***

 

            An hour later an exhausted Iain looked at the women sitting around him. He’d sung constantly and the only reason he could still speak was his own minor healing magic. Sometime during the time, he’d pulled his staff out of his arm and now he leaned heavily on it. He’d given his love and energy to them and it hadn’t been enough and so he’d taken from his harem too, pulling through the delta bonds and later through the alpha bonds he had with Pandora and Canaan.

            But color had filled the cheeks he could see and intelligence looked back at him. It also looked like he might have picked up a handful of strays from the Daisy Mae to listen along with some from the first camp. But such was the lure of magic and bad songs.

            He took a deep breath and wiped his forehead. “This is the last one. In the words of a great engineer, ‘she canna give na more, captain’. Now you all know the refrain.”

            “We know it! Sing!” a child’s voice called.

            So he sang.

 

 

            He paused and raised his hands and the pokegirls and pokekits yelled back. “And we'll drink, to the glory of adventure!”

 

 

            And the crowd yelled back. “And we'll drink, to the glory of adventure!”

 

 

            And the crowd yelled back. “And we'll drink, to the glory of adventure!”

 

 

            And the crowd yelled back. “And we'll drink, to the glory of adventure!”

            “Last one,” he called, “so make it good, girls!”

 

 

            This time they bellowed so loudly that he staggered from the tumult. “And we'll drink, to the glory of adventure!”

            Iain leaned on the staff. “And that concludes the entertainment for the afternoon. Please return your stewardess to her upright and locked position. Now, if you’ll look around, ladies, you’ll see some nice pokegirls wearing uniforms with short skirts and go-go, I mean knee high boots. They’re from the Daisy Mae and they’re here to help. Please let them do their jobs.” He smiled tiredly at Eve as she took his arm and draped it over her shoulder. “I think I’m going to sit now and it’s going to be right here.”

            She carefully lowered him to the ground as the others came up. April chuckled. “Look who I found, Kerrik. It’s Dr. Marilyn and Voltaire.”

            Dominique handed Iain the lemonade decanter. “It’s got water, sugar and electrolytes,” she murmured. “If you don’t drink right now, I’ll knock you out and find a nice Nursejoy to join your harem.”

            He took a long pull from the bottle as he waved a hand at the two pokegirls. “Good morning, ladies. I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but I received word about this and here I am. It’s good to see the two of you again. Can I hope this means that Dr. Carmen is around somewhere nearby?” The cold fluid pooled in his stomach and suddenly he was terribly thirsty. He tipped the bottle back, letting more of the lemonade pour down his throat.

            Voltaire nodded exaggeratedly. “Dr. Carmen on ship.”

            Dr. Marilyn was looking around with badly concealed curiosity. “How did you do this? This is incredible.”

            He put the decanter down. He liked Miguelito and his ladies, but was not going to explain in detail about the powers he was still learning about, especially to the nosy Alaka-Wham. “I don’t suppose you’d just let it go with music has power to soothe the savage beast?”

            Cunning eyes met his as Dr. Marilyn smiled. “If you believe that, isn’t it true? That’s what Janus says.”

            “I’ve found me a therapist, Dr. Marilyn. I don’t need you to analyze how I think.”

            She looked surprised. “Really? Who?”

            “Me.” The Alaka-Wham turned and found herself looking at a blue-gray chest. She looked up as Canaan smiled and twitched her antennae slightly. “I’m Canaan.”

            Iain watched the play of emotions across Dr. Marilyn’s face as she and Canaan communicated on a level far above what mere mortals were capable of. Finally the Alaka-Wham turned and nodded to Iain. “She’ll do.”

            Canaan’s amusement came across with her thought. Depending on how you count it, I am either three centuries or two centuries older than she is. And I’ll do? And we say tamers are arrogant.

            Iain blinked. I can hear you?

            You didn’t know? Somehow, during all of this, you delta bonded me and Pandora. I can’t access much of your mind and you can block me at will, but I can get in now and you do need therapy. Some of those songs were disturbing.

            Suddenly he realized that Dr. Marilyn had been speaking. He ran his fingers through his hair tiredly. “I’m sorry, Marilyn, but my mind wandered. Could you repeat that?”

            “I said I’d like more of an explanation, Kerrik, if you could.”

            “I used song to mingle my energy with theirs, giving them what they needed.”

            “You cured their ferality, Kerrik. That’s a miracle.”

            “It’s not a miracle and it’s not safe for most people to do. It draws upon the life energy of the user and if the user gives too much, they’ll die like a Duelist will if she overextends.” He smiled up at the psychic pokegirl. “Right now I can barely move.”

            Dr. Marilyn frowned. “Do you need medical attention?”

            “I don’t think so, but if I do, it’ll wait.” He motioned around them as the group began to disperse. “I’m not going to die and a lot of people here need whatever supplies we have a lot more than I do. Speaking of which, April has supplies we’ve brought to give to whoever is taking care of the injured.”

            Dr. Marilyn smiled. “We’re headed back to the ship and I’ll take her to the nurse’s station on the way. Kerrik, I’m sure Miguelito will want to talk to you later, but I don’t know if they’ll let him off the ship today. He’s not a tamer and the situation here would break his heart to see, so we’re keeping him safe on board. He might be able to talk to you tomorrow.” She looked at him closely. “You will be here tomorrow, right?”

            “I’ll be here for a while, at least.”

            Voltaire grunted. “We go.”

            Dr. Marilyn nodded. “Yes, it is time we got back to work. I’ll let Miguelito and Janus know you’re here, Kerrik. In the meantime, please get some rest. April, if you would come with us I’ll show you where the medical tent is.”

            Iain watched them go and sighed. “I’ll need another stamina potion, ladies. We’ve got a lot to do and the day is still young.”

            Dominique gave him an appalled look. “You’ve done enough already.”

            “Miles to go, remember? Get me that potion.” He looked around. “Eve, send someone back to the house for the kettles we used during the party for the construction crew. We can fill one with lemonade for them to dip out while someone goes to London and buys a lot of oatmeal for the other kettles. Every Megami can eat that. We’ll need cups, bowls and spoons, too.” He nodded towards the group of pokegirls. “Find out who is the most senior of the Daisy Mae crew you can see and have her commandeer the others to help you.”

            “What are you going to do?”

            He took the potion Ninhursag offered. “Thanks.” He opened it and swallowed the contents, shuddering as the energy burned through him. “What am I going to do, Eve? I’m going to do whatever needs done.”

 

***

 

            Eve made a soft protesting noise as Iain gently pushed her off of him, but didn’t wake up. Then he untangled himself from April. She was a clingy sleeper and didn’t usually want to let him go. Pandora still slept on the other side of the Duelist. She was cuddled up against April’s back in a way he thought was cute, but she probably would be embarrassed by.

            The Fallen Angel was also a very light sleeper and so he was careful to be quiet as he crawled out of the tent. He stood and scratched his stomach as he yawned. In mid-yawn he froze as he realized that a sea of eyes was looking at him. As his perception expanded he realized that the tent was surrounded on every side by Megami and Samas, all watching.

            He also noted that Canaan was on one side of the tent entrance while Ninhursag stood on the other. At the rear of the tent Dominique stood guard. The Elfqueen glanced at him, her eyes tight. “Is it wise to stand there nude?”

            “Uh, you know I don’t think it is.” He knelt and fished his pants out of the tent. Once his pants were on, he relaxed a bit. “What’s going on?”

            “Nobody knows yet.” Canaan spoke quietly, but without fear. “I can sense that it’s happening all over the camp wherever there are people who weren’t dropped off by the leagues. They crowd around people and stand, but there haven’t been any reports of violence.” She smiled slightly. “The instant there is a report of them attacking I’m going to kill every one of them in sight.”

            “I don’t think the Daisy Mae would appreciate us slaughtering their new crewmembers, so let’s try nonlethal methods first. We can fly and teleport to escape from them if need be. Only if that doesn’t work, then do we get to wade through organs. Why wasn’t I woken up when this started?”

            “You’ve been working yourself ragged.” Dominique shrugged when he gave her a brief glare over his shoulder. “I made the call. You needed the rest and they weren’t an active threat. If you spank me, there’d better be makeup sex afterwards.”

            He fought not to smile and almost succeeded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Warn Vanessa and Zareen not to teleport here just yet.” They’d been going back to their home in Blue every night and returning in the morning. Tents moved and made noise and therefore Zareen hated them more than houses. Vanessa just wanted to make sure nobody moved into their house while they were gone.

            Iain had remembered that pregnant women often showed signs of nesting behavior and he figured that’s what was going on.

            Ninhursag chuckled softly. “That’s already done. They’re standing by as a ready reserve if needed. And they have a hot breakfast ready for us when they arrive.”

            “Now I’m conflicted about keeping them away.” Iain drummed the top of the tent lightly with two fingers. Pandora.

            Her thought was tinged with the joy of being delta bonded to him that he’d felt from her since it happened. Yes, Iain?

            Iain knew she was thinking his name instead of Kerrik, but the truth was that anyone who could tap a delta bond already knew all of their secrets and so it didn’t matter. I want you to very quietly wake up Eve and April. I need everyone dressed and ready to go. Do not leave the tent until I call for you. We have a situation out here that’s unsettling but not dangerous as of yet.

            I’m on it.

            Canaan kept her voice low but conversational. “They’re edging closer. What do we do if they continue coming? You’ve got the tent and the stuff inside it.”

            Dominique snorted as Iain shook his head slightly. “The only things in there that I can’t replace are the three ladies.”

            Five, actually. Eve’s mind touched his. I brought Vanessa and Zareen here. What is going on out there?

            This. Iain let her and the others tap into his perception through the delta bonds. He’d never tried this before and hoped it worked.

            A series of gasps from inside the tent suggested it had. Eve’s head popped out of the tent flap. “Iain, you stop looking inside their clothes this instant!” She blinked in surprise when Canaan clapped a hand over her mouth.

            Iain managed to not roll his eyes at her. I see what I see, Eve. They’re not women I want to have sex with, so they don’t really interest me in anything more than the abstract. You might also notice that I see inside their body to watch their muscles and organs. Now pay attention to the situation instead of how I perceive it.

            The Megami-sama slipped out of the tent and stood next to her husband. “I see our options as rather limited,” she said quietly.

            Canaan grinned toothily. “I’d like to point out that killing makes me horny.”

            “What?”

            “Eve, I kept the intelligence and powers of the Alaka-Wham part of me. I kept the powers and bloodlust of the Amachamp. Whether they’re helpless or a challenge, I enjoy taking lives and these look like they’d be easy kills.” She shivered slightly and they could hear the anticipation in her voice. “I could tear them apart with my bare hands.”

            “I said that was the last choice option,” Iain said firmly. “We will run first. Am. I. Clear?” He spoke each work distinctly.

            Canaan straightened at his tone. “Yes sir.” She spared a second to glance at him. “I know slaying them all is not the best choice and right now I’m really grateful for the pokegirl tendency to obey their human, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill and kill.”

            “Does that include us?”

            “Oddly enough, once you bedded me I lost any desire to kill you or your harem.”

            “That makes sense. We accepted you. That makes us your family now. Hunter pokegirls protect what’s theirs. It’s why they’re so aggressive about protecting their kits.”

            “I think you’re right. My Amachamp part remembers having two litters and how ferocious she was about keeping them safe.” Her antennae twitched. “Is it strange that I’m a little envious that you know more about part of me than I do?”

            Dominique laughed softly. “I do it too. His approach to magic is aggravating at best.”

            Eve frowned. “They’re getting closer. I want everyone to form a circle with Zareen at the center and you on her back. It’ll cost us another tent.”

            “Do it. You can take the crush of the crowd better than I can and I can’t teleport. Zareen can phase and that means on her back is probably the safest place for me right now.”

            “You can’t teleport yet.” Dominique shot him a quick smile and returned to watching the Megami behind the tent.

            Eve glanced around her quickly. “And go.” She turned around and slashed through the top of their tent. In seconds, Zareen had transformed to her centaur form and Iain had slipped onto her as the rest of the women pressed their backs tightly against the Nightmare.

            The motion seemed to spark something inside the crowd of Megami surrounding them and they moved forward quickly to close in around Iain’s group.

            “I don’t feel that they mean us any harm.” Vanessa kept her voice calm. “Kerrik, sometimes you know when things are going bad, how do you see the situation?”

            “I feel the same way,” Eve stood halfway down Zareen’s torso. “They mean us no harm.” She gave a quick laugh. “I wish I’d realized that before ruining the tent.”

            “It does mean I should get the rest of my clothes back,” Iain observed. “I don’t feel they’re dangerous either, but the question still remains as to what they do want.”

            Pandora turned her head slightly. “I think they want breakfast.”

            Ninhursag pointed west. “The galley is over there.”

            “I was talking about their other hunger. What is it that Megami want more than anything else in the universe?”

            “The sane ones want love, compassion and comfort.” Canaan didn’t look happy. “Kerrik isn’t recovered from the last session. He’s not ready to do that again.”

            “He may not have to.” Pandora’s tone was introspective. “All celestials want that to one degree or anther, even the Seraphim. It’s what I wanted while I was dead.” She gestured at the Megami. “What they suffered through was a lot like death. I think they’re drawn to the love Kerrik has, and perhaps to our feelings for him as well.”

            “Like moths?”

            “Exactly, although I am sure most Megami would not like the comparison. However, unlike moths, they are drawn because they have been alone for so long. The fact that some of them went feral shows that they were not in long term storage where time does not pass. Many of them may have just been put on a shelf somewhere and allowed to go feral. So not only were they feral, they were alone for all that time.”

            Eve gasped. “They’d have been better off if they’d been killed.”

            “Precisely,” Pandora said sadly. “By being alone and aware, they were being tortured the whole time they were in their pokeballs. There is no way that this happened by accident. The celestials who worked for the leagues would have told their masters what was happening to their brethren, even if they were not allowed to rescue them.”

            “What can we do for them?”

            Pandora shrugged. “Nothing. Only time will heal them.”

            Iain looked around. “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do. Zareen is going to use her mass and strength to slowly push through the crowd like a police horse does. Whoever is in the back will grab her tail and get pulled along with her. As we go by, catch the hand of the rearmost person and we’ll form a chain that Zareen will lead out of the crowd, hopefully without hurting anyone.” He yelped when Zareen reached back and smacked him on the thigh. “Hey!”

            “You’re being stupid. When the chain is complete, I will phase all of us and we will escape easily.”

            Using the back of his hand, Iain lightly slapped her between the shoulder blades. She twisted around to glare at him with gold eyes. “You haven’t been a Nightmare for that long and I doubt you can phase just the people you want to and not all the others who will be touching you at that point. I’m not interested in learning what happens if you only partially dematerialize some of our family. We do it the way I said.”

            “Very well,” she said sullenly. “I go.” With that, she began moving shoving her way through the crowd, her body forcing the pokegirls in front of her to the sides as she shifted direction slightly with each row to push where they joined together and shove them apart. Progress was slow, but eventually she broke through the back of the group. Once the group was entirely free, Iain turned Zareen so he could see the Megami mob. “The back of the group is peeling off and wandering away.” He frowned. “The front is following, but they’re moving at a walk. We can stay ahead of them. Eve, take Ninhursag and Vanessa and get everyone airborne. They can’t catch Zareen and me. Keep close and we’ll see if anyone needs rescued.”

            “I’m on it, Kerrik.”

 

***

 

            “So, Miguelito, do you have any idea why the Megami went all creepy the other day?” Iain slid off of Zareen’s back and stuck out his hand. “Oh, and I bid a good morning to you and Voltaire.” He flashed a grin that Voltaire returned automatically. “Eve wants me to work more on pretending to be human.”

            Zareen snorted and stomped a rear hoof lightly.

            Miguelito shook hands with Iain. “Well, Kerrik, Janus has a theory that the Megami were drawn to feelings of compassion and love as a food source. He thinks that the reason they didn’t do that as soon as we showed up was because they didn’t have enough energy to do so. So far the Megami have neither confirmed nor denied this idea. I don’t expect that they will, either. You know how they can be.”

            “Yeah. Megami inscrutability makes the Chinese look like pikers. It could also be that they don’t know.”

            “That is entirely possible, Kerrik, but they’ll never admit that.” Dr. Carmen watched some of the Megami in the distance as they moved around their camp. He and Iain were standing a few meters from the nurse’s tent. “However, in spite of what happened they’re coming along nicely and we think we can load the last of them onto the ship and get underway sometime this afternoon. The final evaluation is in progress as we speak.” He glanced at Iain. “You’re invited to come along with us, if you’d like.”

            “Yeah, I got the official notice yesterday from a very nice messenger from the Daisy Mae. I can’t stay, though and we’ll be leaving later today. If someone will keep me in the loop I’ll be back when you start working up the ships for the assault on the base, but until then I’ve got my own snakes to deal with.”

            “Sanctuary could have given up on you, Kerrik.”

            “I hate to burst your bubble but I have conclusive evidence that they’ve hired at least one professional to hunt me down and capture or kill me. As far as I know, those orders are still valid and so Sanctuary and I are still at war.”

            Carmen looked surprised. “I feel sorry for Sanctuary then.”

            “Don’t. Whatever I do to them they will have more than earned several times over. Honestly, Miguelito, I don’t enjoy hurting people. If I knew they’d leave me alone, I’d leave them be and start raising a family, but they won’t and so I have little choice but to hurt them until they or their successors learn their lesson.”

            Miguelito took a moment to absorb Iain’s words. “Do you have any specific plans yet?”

            “None that I’m at liberty to discuss.”

            “I thought that might be the case. Do you think you’ll have a chance to see Janus before you leave?”

            Iain shook his head. “We’ve both been too busy putting out brushfires here. While I regret that, it makes sense. If we did have time to meet, most likely we’d be taking time away from things that need our attention. You know that neither of us is the kind of person to let important things languish so we can indulge in being idle layabouts. We wouldn’t be who we were if we did.”

            “Both need rest.”

            Iain laughed softly. “Voltaire, now you sound like some of my harem.”

            The Francinestein gave him a grave stare. “We right.”

            “Maybe. But I still have miles to go before I sleep, Voltaire. I’ll rest when the work is done.”

            Zareen snorted again. “Your work will never be done.”

            “Ok, when the work becomes less frantic I’ll rest more.” He sighed. “Anyways, Miguelito, if I don’t see you again before I leave, you and the others be well. Please give my farewell to anyone who cares.”

            Carmen smiled warmly. “I think that number is higher than you think, Kerrik. Take care of him, Zareen.”

            The Nightmare’s gold tipped tail swung violently as she grunted sourly. “And how does one protect the tempest from itself, Dr. Carmen?”

            Carmen blinked. “That’s a very good question. I’m afraid I don’t know. Janus might be able to answer that question.”

            “Then I may ask him.” She turned sideways and nudged Iain with her equine torso hard enough to move him sideways.

            He chuckled. “That’s my cue to stop being a layabout. Good day, Dr. Carmen.”

            “Kerrik, there’s a final briefing this afternoon at two. Can you be there? We might have use of your insight into the situation.”

            Iain swung onto Zareen’s back. “I don’t see any reason to attend, Miguelito. To be honest, I really doubt there’s anything I could add. Y’all are the experts on this stuff.”

            Voltaire put her hand on his leg as Zareen started to turn away. “Please.”

            The Nightmare stopped instantly as Iain blinked in surprise and then patted the Francinestein’s hand awkwardly. “You two think this is that important?”

            Dr. Carmen nodded. “It is.”

            “Well, Voltaire’s a lot prettier than you and I’ve always had a hard time saying no to a pretty girl. You said it would be at fourteen hundred. Where?”

            Voltaire pulled her hand back and blushed as Carmen smiled brightly. “It’ll be in the mess hall. Thank you for coming.”

            He flashed a quick grin. “Hopefully you’ll still be grateful after the meeting, Miguelito.” He slipped his arms around Zareen’s waist and nudged his heels to her flanks. She bolted forward, her hooves throwing up divots as she instantly went from standing still to a full gallop.

 

***

 

            Iain took the packet Voltaire offered him and handed it to Canaan for the Splice to read. He was busy shamelessly rubbernecking and nodding to people he knew when they looked in his direction.

            “Do you see him?” Eve’s voice was low.

            He kept his voice low too. “Yeah, I saw Janus when he came in. He’s surrounded by more girl guards than I usually am. He looks tired. I won’t bother him right now. There’ll be time for that later, unless one of us gets killed again. I did notice he’s got a couple of new girls, I can see an Angel and a Penance that I didn’t see mourning him with the rest of his harem last time.”

            “I’m glad you don’t pick them up so quickly.”

            “I suspect I’m just not as loveable as he is. Besides, I still have seven and that’s without counting Vanessa.”

            “True, and I’ll accept any number more that we need to protect you.” She smiled. “If you can convince Vanessa to drop her high and mighty attitude, you can convince any pokegirl to do the same.”

            “Little pitchers have big ears,” he said softly.

            “You have the strangest idioms, Kerrik. Besides, you and I both know he watched us while he was dead. I’m sure he already knows.”

            “I’m the strangest idiot?” He smiled when she smacked him on the arm. “It looks like Miguelito is getting ready to speak.”

            “Better him than you two with your banter,” Canaan muttered as her antennae extended to full length.

            “Remember not to try to scan Janus,” he whispered.

            I remember. I have noted, also, that the Penance has some psychic powers. Power level is currently unknown, but I don’t think she can detect me.

            Iain gave her a look. Please leave them be.

            “At the risk of being accused of being loveless,” Miguelito paused as several people, including Iain, chuckled. “This has been a fascinating problem to study, and very useful.”
            The Captain of the Des Moines gave the crowd a look that proclaimed her right to speak first. “How, doctor?”

            “There was no malice involved in any of this. The leagues housed these pokegirl prisoners as they always had, letting them out of long-term storage into heavily shielded rooms, with guards who would not be swayed by any apparent distress of the occupants. Most were put through healing and first level taming cycles prior to release. Most pokegirls released with other pokegirls will deal with the ferality question rather straightforwardly and immediately. That these simply sat, perhaps exchanged a few words, and just sat was attributed to it being a non-issue. They were returned with no incidents, and placed back into storage. Because of the slow onset, and the periods in the storage banks, the Megami and Megami-Sama themselves never realized what was killing them, or that they were dying. They were just ‘lonely’. I’ve heard that description over and over.”

            Canaan hissed softly. “So they were stupid but not malicious. Oh, that’s just makes everything completely without blame, doesn’t it.”

            Eve shushed her as Dr. Marilyn started speaking. “It’s been known for a long time that Megami require emotions, like a Succubus requires sex energy, although to nowhere near the same degree. What hasn’t been known is that below a certain point, Megami quit radiating this emotional energy for others of their breed to feed on. Like a dehydrated body stops sweating, Megami and Megami-Sama stop being -”

            The XO interrupted her. “Call them Megs and Sammies. Time is more important than politeness.”

            “Very well,” Miguelito said as he took up the discussion. “The Megs and Sammies were isolated, for long periods of time, and when they were let out, received no emotional support. As other politicals were rotated into their groups, they were essentially thrown into a barren wasteland. They provided some food for the others, but their reserves soon dried up and they entered the Fading. While some of this could be inferred, without hard data, none of it could be proven. Most Megami avoid researchers, and these captive populations were primarily political prisoners. Keeping them isolated from everyone, including researchers, was government policy, even a government mandate. Any Meg or Sammy who voiced complaints was treated as trouble making prisoners, which they already were.”
            “Step out of line and, wham, they got crushed even more than they already were,” Eve whispered angrily. She scowled when Canaan shushed her back.

            “And none could analyze well enough to make a logical argument.”

            “Why let them out now?”
            “Because the governments examined their causes, and they are either mainstream now, or so hopelessly outdated that they offer no threat to the current administrations,” Commander Genek explained. “They are no longer a threat.”

            Miguelito continued. “Again, at the risk of seeming heartless, it actually works in our favor. Those 1800 who were starved, are making a fast recovery . . . as long as they learn to learn. The - well, Stugs, Megs and Sammies, who are teaching them, are a veritable feast, as long as they don’t try the emotional blackmail that has become most Megami’s stock in trade. If they cry or wail, the teacher closes off emotionally. In the Stugs’ case, it’s to avoid being angry, since anger at idiotic superiors would be severely punished. The newcomers suddenly have the food cut off so abruptly, that they can’t help but make the connection. They quickly learn that knuckling down and getting the job done is the best way to have the praise and affection keep coming. They also get pressure from the others to quit cutting off the banquet. The 600 who were far more healthy, are a bit more trying.”

            “You can say that again.”
            “Stubborn is the word.”

            Canaan grinned predatorily. That’s easy to fix.

            “Agreed, but let’s deal with who we can,” Doctor Marilyn said, “We have the trump card, sole access to humans. Like Taming out of Ferality is a Human only ability, a Human produces a - more diverse - set of emotions. Leave them among just each other, and they’ll get to notice the soup’s grown a bit thin. Play ball, and you get the whole bouquet or banquet of human emotions.”
            “And other things.”
            There was some laughter about that. Miguelito looked resigned to it, but it made sense, pokegirls being who they were. “True, some of us can do other things of value.”

            Apparently that ended the briefing and people began drifting for the doors to the galley. Iain looked, but Janus was already gone, whisked away by his harem.

            Canaan saw where he was looking. “I saw them head for the door when it looked like they were starting to wrap up the lecture. Protective, aren’t they?”

            “It makes sense. He did die once and they probably don’t want that to happen again. He gets a sniffle and they drag Kay in to care for him.” Iain snickered. “I’m sure she fights the whole way, too. I remember Kelvin’s stories. One of these days I may just have you switch Kay’s and Eko’s hats in front of him.” His grinned widened. “Just before we teleport far, far away.” He frowned. “I wonder what would happen if they both got French Maid hats instead. You’d probably need your heart checked beforehand, just in case.”

            “Is this where I should say that it makes sense then?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Ah. Well, I guess that makes sense then.” She frowned. “Why don’t you look as worn out as he does?”

            Eve was watching the crowd for threats. Even here she took his protection seriously. “He cheats.”

            “Who, Janus? He cheats so he’s more tired than Kerrik?”

            “Ha ha. After April used her cards to refresh him a few times, Kerrik figured out how to do it to himself. That and you’ve seen him guzzling the stamina potions for a boost.”

            “Hey, it’s better than Red Bull.”

            Eve put her hand on Canaan’s arm as her mouth opened. “Don’t ask. It just encourages him.”

            Iain grinned. “I need encouragement?”

            Canaan’s antenna twitched. “April’s done with the packing.” She glanced at Iain. So making jokes with people is better than killing them?

            His eyes met hers and for a second his smile was sinister. Then it vanished entirely as Eve reached for his hand. That really depends on the people involved.

 

***

 

 

Iain Grey - Tradesman

Eve - Megami-sama (maharani)

Dominique - Blessed Archmage

April - Duelist

Ninhursag - Elfqueen

Zareen - Nightmare

Pandora - Fiendish Fallen Angel

Canaan - G-Splice (Amachamp Hunter - Alaka-Wham)

 

Dragonesses

Eirian - Silver

Skye - Blue

Emerald - Green

Aurum - Gold

Beryl - Red