Into the Fire
Forty Eight
Author’s note: This chapter presumes that you are familiar with Kelvin’s Choice’s story, Tamers and uses characters and situations from it with his permission. If you have not read it, you are very naughty and need to remedy the situation immediately. It is well worth the time.
***
My lord, Eirian would like to speak with you as soon as possible. Aurum’s mental touch was always so light as to be almost a whisper, as if it seemed like she was worried about hurting him somehow. It always made him wonder if something hadn’t happened to her during her life that had made her overcautious about the frailty of humans she positively interacted with. More than once he’d considered asking and then, each time, he’d decide to not invade her privacy since she might take his question as a command, which would compel her to obey whether she wanted to or not. He did, however, hope that someday she might volunteer an answer to the question he’d never asked.
Thank you, Aurum. I’ll get to her later today. He let Ninhursag’s hand go and stretched. The house and gardens were a happy sight to his eyes after everything that had happened recently. “It’s good to be back.”
“I wouldn’t get too relaxed about it.” The Elfqueen nodded in the direction of the tree and he looked to see Vanessa hurrying towards them. “She doesn’t look very happy.”
Vanessa swept Iain up in a hold so tight that he creaked before releasing him so abruptly that he almost fell. “Where is everyone else?” Her voice was tight.
“April and Dominique are off doing some research and Eve and the others are dropping off Lindsey Harris before coming home. What’s up?”
“Hild came here.”
Iain blinked. “Are you talking about Hild the legendary or a Hild the scut monkey pokegirl breed?”
“I know the difference between the two, Iain. The legendary Hild came here.”
His face hardened as his eyes flared brilliant blue. “What the fuck do I have to do in order to have some fucking privacy? I thought I couldn’t be found in the Blue League, but goddamn it if one more person shows up who isn’t supposed to know where we are this place is going to need a fucking bus station and a tour guide.”
Ninhursag tapped him on the forehead and solid blue eyes flicked up to hers. “If you’re done with your tantrum I’d like to know what another legendary was doing here. If you don’t mind, that is.”
Iain’s eyes became slits and the look he gave her made her take a step backwards from the heat in it. Then it vanished as he deliberately buried the emotion out of sight. His eyes faded to their normal blue and green. “For your edification, Ninhursag, if everyone else can find out where I’m living then the elements of Sanctuary that still want me dead can too and, once again, we need to find somewhere else to fucking live where I can’t be found unless I damned well want to be.” His voice sounded like millstones rubbing as he turned to Vanessa. “Why was Hild here?”
Vanessa was watching him warily and her caution could be heard in her words. “She came here seeking my help.”
When the paused extended for several seconds, Iain’s eyes flashed blue for a heartbeat. “Evangelion, how about you explain in detail so I don’t have to keep asking questions like ‘and then what happened’?” He dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged as he picked at the soil.
“Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not but I’ll get over it. Hild?”
“Kelvin was under attack by the Twau and Hild wanted my help to save him. She took me and Eirian to their stronghold so we could help her and we killed twenty one members of the coven in the attack.”
“Were you hurt?”
Vanessa shook her head. “They’re not much for physical combat and all that happened to me was one of my sleeves got ripped.”
“What about Hild?”
“Unharmed and she’s just as mouthy as ever. Her arrogance, commands and insults do start to wear after a time, but she’s never been a threat to me.”
“Why did she need your help with the Twau?”
“I got the impression she was distracted protecting Kelvin, who incidentally was not at the stronghold. The Twau like to attack psychically as a unit, so it’s likely the seven we didn’t find were acting as a focus for the group’s power in the assault. Killing the ones we did should have crippled the others.”
“Did you go find them too?”
“Hild didn’t want our help after we finished cleaning out the stronghold. I presume she felt she could deal with the others on her own.”
“Was Kelvin badly hurt?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to ask Eve to go to the Daisy Mae and find out. I’d go myself, but Hild is there and she doesn’t like me. From some of her comments she thinks I hate her.” When he looked at her curiously, she shrugged. “No, I don’t know why. I fight world spanning threats and, while she could be one, she’s always been too self- absorbed and paranoid to actually be an issue that I felt I had to deal with. If I dealt with every potential world threat, there would be a lot fewer legendaries and governments. Most of them never rise to their potential.”
Iain nodded. “Eirian” The shadow of a nearby tree elongated and the Silver Dragoness stepped out of it. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“It is, my lord. I claimed the bodies of the dead Twau and they are in the process of being converted into your dead harem.”
Iain’s mouth dropped. “I’m going to have legendaries in my dead harem?”
“They will not be legendaries anymore, my lord, although their magical knowledge and abilities will remain and should be impressive, especially after they are bonded and their minds awakened. They will be much more useful than the other three new additions.”
Ninhursag grinned suddenly. “You can use them to scare the crap out of anyone you want to. Individually, or as a group, the Twau are one of the nightmares of Sanctuary. They scare a lot of other people, too.”
Iain sighed and slowly pushed to his feet. “Eirian, send some of the dead harem to loot the Twau stronghold of anything of value. Strip it and bring anything that we can use here. Pack everything else for the move.”
“My lord, it shall be as you wish.” The Dragoness stepped into his shadow and sank into it.
Iain shivered as the Dragoness disappeared. “When Eve gets back I’ll ask her to drop by the Daisy Mae and check on Kelvin. Apparently he’s reconciled to Hild’s presence in his vicinity.”
“Hild called him her master.”
Iain blinked. “Now there’s a word stuffed to the gills with possible permutations. I wonder if it’s willing or if she’s being compelled.”
“I don’t think she could be compelled, Iain.”
“Yeah, well, we didn’t think you could get pregnant either. Rules seem to become rather flexible around us. I hope you’re right, though. Kelvin has never seemed to be the kind of fellow to force someone to call him master.” He smiled sardonically. “I wonder if she can find him a way home and if she’ll go with him if she does. I can picture Hild in Vegas, making Kelvin steadily win more than he loses while Eko glares but can’t do anything because there aren’t any rules against manipulating raw probability.” He snorted. “It would be easier to have her rob drug lords or find lost treasure. I thought about trying that here, but it seemed like way too much work without some idea of where to look. And then we stumbled across some lost treasure in Edinburgh of all places.” His head came around to look at an empty spot. Eve appeared in it a second later. “Did you have any problems with her majesty?”
Eve laughed. “If you don’t give her an opportunity to complain, the trips with Lindsey get a lot quieter. Hopefully that’s good riddance to bad rubbish.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Canaan and Pandora stopped off in Glasgow to pick up some food for dinner. The others, except for Sofia,” Eve pulled a pokeball from her pocket and activated it to release the Peekabu, “went with them to help decide what we are eating tonight. Didn’t Ninhursag tell you?”
Sofia looked around and headed for the garden, making a beeline for the ripe looking bell peppers. Vanessa frowned and followed after the mouse type to protect the vegetables from being completely decimated.
“No, I didn’t think it was important.” The Elfqueen cocked her head. “Should I have?”
“I’d have liked the chance to put in a request for pizza, but I’ve already let Pandora know what I’m voting for so it’s not important.”
“I’d have told him.”
Ninhursag smiled without warmth. “You tell him when you go to piss, too. He’s not a micromanager and doesn’t need a report every time one of us inhales.”
Iain stepped between them as Eve opened her mouth to retort. “Ninhursag, please don’t. Eve, I’d like you to run an errand for me.”
“Really? What is it that I’d be doing?”
“Let’s take a walk. I need to fill you in on events that happened while we were away.” He held out his arm and she slipped hers through it before they walked down the slope towards the omega tree in the distance.
***
The deck of the Daisy Mae was bustling when Eve appeared on the fantail. Groups of underage Megami were sweeping the deck with stiff bristled brooms, pushing expended brass cartridges into piles for other kits to collect with dustpans for either disposal or reloading. Other Megami were dismounting the splinter shield from a 20mm anti-aircraft station. It had been pretty badly chewed up by something and needed repaired or replaced. Spare shields weren’t normally carried in supply and Eve suspected it would be taken down to the swimming area for the kits and magically recreated before being put back into place.
The Megami-sama looked around with a professional eye, noting the muzzle of every cannon she could see was stained sooty over the paint but that there was no major damage anywhere. Whatever had happened had mostly been kept at a distance, then.
“Mas’Chief!” One of the kits was pointing at her. “We have a visitor!” Everyone in sight stopped and looked at her interestedly.
An older Megami popped into view from a ladder well and approached at a quick walk. “I know you. You’re Eve. You’re one of the Wolf’s girls.” She glanced over her shoulder and scowled. “You lot get back to work. None of you lollygaggers will be going to chow until this is finished.” She turned back to Eve with a carefully hidden smile as, behind her the pokegirls and kits sprang back into action. “I wouldn’t keep the kits from eating, but they’ve been reading C. S. Forrester and want to be treated like sailors.” She shrugged. “So we all pretend they’ll be punished for not working hard enough.”
“What happened?”
“Someone decided to sink us. They almost succeeded, too. I’m Command Master Chief, but everybody calls me Mas’Chief.” She rocked back on her heels. “What brings you here?”
“I heard Kelvin was under attack and came by to inquire as to his health.” Eve looked around pointedly. “I didn’t know you’d been hit too. How bad was it?”
The Megami shrugged. “Let me put it this way. If it weren’t for Kelvin’s pokegirls you’d have teleported into the open ocean over wherever we’d sank. We think the bad guys were using nuclear tipped missiles. Defending the ship worked the majority of the crew to the bone, too. Knocked a number of them unconscious, it did. I’m tougher than most of the others, so I’m keeping the kits busy cleaning until more of the crew is back on their feet.”
Eve kept her shock at the mention of the use of such nasty forbidden technology carefully hidden. “This was the Alliance?”
“And their cat’s-paws. The scuttlebutt is that it was all only semi real, but that if it got us, we’d be completely dead.”
“I’m familiar with the technique.” Eve settled her shoulders. “It should mean that the Alliance won’t be able to do anything on that level of power for some time to come.”
“I hope not. It was a hellofa fight.”
“I’m glad you survived. Now, where can I find Kay?”
“She’ll be at his quarters. You’ll need an escort.” The Megami looked around and bellowed suddenly. “You! Midshipman Dawn!”
A young pokegirl wearing the officer’s version of the shipboard uniform jumped away from a 3”/50 gun mount that she’d been peering at. “I didn’t touch it!” Her skirt trembled nervously.
The Mas’Chief plastered a look of resigned politeness across her face. “Sir, please come here.” The larval officer almost ran over. “Eve, this is Midshipman Dawn. She’s training with the weapons department this week. Sir, would you show Eve to Mr. Choice’s quarters? She’s been here before, but we’ve got enough new faces I don’t want her bothered on the way.”
“Be glad to, Mas’Chief.”
The Command Master Chief nodded. “Eve, I’ll let the Captain know you’re here in case she wants to talk to you.” It was a formality and they both knew it. Unless Eve had a couple of tons of ammunition hidden under her dress the Captain would be too busy to visit with her.
“Thank you, Mas’Chief.” She remembered something Iain had mentioned about Navy Chiefs and how the Daisy Mae’s crew sometimes seemed to channel the ghosts which had held their posts. “When I get the chance, the first round will be on me.”
Approval glinted in the Master Chief’s eye. “Thank you, ma’am! I’ll remember that.”
As they headed down the companionway, Eve smiled at the young Megami. “Midshipman Dawn, how do you like it here?”
The midshipman grinned back at her. “It’s a lot of work but I knew it would be. You see, I was born here and this is all I’ve ever wanted to be.”
“It’s good to see someone accomplishing her goals.”
“Oh, I haven’t made my goals, yet. I want to be the Commanding Officer someday. Of course I’m just getting started and I’ve still got a long way to go.”
“Yes you do, but it is a noble aspiration.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Midshipman Dawn stopped in front of the hatch that Eve knew led to Kelvin’s quarters. “Here you go, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Dawn.” Eve tapped on the door gently with a knuckle as the young Megami almost trotted back towards her post.
A familiar brunette opened the door and stopped in surprise, her scowl dissipating when she recognized the visitor. “Eve?”
Her voice was low in that way that nurses had when their patients were resting and Eve replied in the same quiet tone. “Good morning, Kay. I just wanted to drop by and see if Kelvin was ok. We were worried about him after what we’d heard and Kerrik asked me to check up on things here.”
The Nursejoy’s eyes flicked past her and an eyebrow rose daintily. “He’s not with you?”
Eve shook her head. “Kerrik is not in the best humor right now and he didn’t think it would be fair to subject the people here to his bad mood.”
“That must be some bad mood.”
Considering the presence of so many telepathic and empathic pokegirls on the Des Moines, Eve very carefully did not think about just how fresh Iain’s anger was or his reasons for it. “Let’s just say that while I don’t necessarily agree with why he’s feeling the way he is right now I do agree that coming here at this particular moment in time might stir up some things that shouldn’t be disturbed.”
Kay shook her head and gave Eve a rueful smile. “It’s nice to know that our author isn’t the only one who is more than a tad screwed up.”
“I think they prefer ‘difficult to understand’ or ‘complicated’ to describe them.”
Kay snickered softly. “He is that.” Her smile faded. “He and some of the others pushed themselves to the limit and they’re exhausted. They’re all resting and I don’t want them disturbed for at least a week. It won’t last, but short of sedating him I’ll keep him in bed as long as I can before he gets up.”
“Does sedation still work on him?” When the Nursejoy’s eyes widened, Eve gave her a slight shrug. “Kerrik has learned how to neutralize toxins as fast as you administer them to him and hasn’t learned how to distinguish between which could be helpful or harmful to him. It means we can’t anesthetize him if he needs surgery.”
“I don’t think I’ll mention that to Kelvin. He might decide he needs to know how to do that too.” The Nursejoy folded her arms. “Right now I don’t want him disturbed, so you can’t see for yourself.”
“That’s ok, Kay. I don’t have any reason not to trust you and your word about his condition is more than enough for me. I’ll let Kerrik know when I get home.”
“Thank you, Eve. So, other than the anger issues, how is Kerrik doing?”
“We just had a bit of excitement involving the Blue League, but he’s fine. I don’t think it was as nearly as exciting as what happened here.”
Kay made a face. “I can live quite well without any more of that kind of excitement. I already know how I want to die and that wasn’t it.”
“I understand completely. Well, thanks for taking the time to speak with me and please let Kelvin know that Kerrik is thinking of him.”
“Anytime, Eve.”
***
He tugged gently on the hock. “Leg.”
Raquel relaxed the muscles and leaned over to watch as Iain lifted her right foreleg and examined the hoof closely. “Is anything wrong?”
“Probably not. With pokeballs and healing I don’t really expect to find anything, but it’s still a good habit for me to check you regularly.” He frowned. “You could use a trim but it’s not bad enough to warrant me getting some farrier tools. I wonder if you could be shod and if it would do you any good if you could.”
“What’s that?”
“Horses can have shoes attached to the rim of their hooves. Primarily, shoeing is used to protect horse hooves from inclement climates and uneven wear.” He put the leg down carefully and stood. “Regular healing in a pokeball will do the same thing, which is good since I’m not trained as a farrier. So the only real benefit you could get from shoes is a more powerful kick and perhaps some better traction.”
“I’d like that. Every advantage is a good one when it comes time to fight.”
Zareen was also in her centaur form, waiting her turn to be checked over and brushed. She stomped a hoof irritably. “If she gets shoes I want them too.”
Iain picked up the brush and began running it down Raquel’s side, using short strokes going with the grain of her fur. “To be honest, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to shoe you, Zareen. Nightmares are split hoofed just like unicorns are and I don’t have any historical knowledge of shoeing anything cloven hoofed.”
Raquel frowned. “What’s the difference?”
He glanced up at her with a chuckle. “Horses were ridden for thousands of years and so techniques evolved for protecting their hooves from wear and climates that would soften the hoof and make it crack. There were no riding sized animals with split hooves that were ever domesticated in large numbers, so no protective practices developed for their feet. The best I might be able to think of for Zareen would be horse boots redesigned for her foot structure.” He paused for a second and looked thoughtful before resuming his work. “It could be one of the reasons that Unicorns, Pegasluts and Nightmares are much rarer than Ponytaur and Rapitaurs.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pokeball technology and healing machines have been around for a long time, but the PPHU is a relatively recent development. Even today, it’s not regularly found in tamer harems, although that has been changing over the years. That means, especially in the beginning, a lot of tamers and farmers or ranchers had to deal with things on their own and if you only have one steed pokegirl and she gets injured, you can’t just stuff her into a pokeball and walk back to town if it’s two weeks away. Farrier skills didn’t die out, but they had no idea how to care for the feet of Nightmares and such, so a lot of them didn’t make it due to infection or being crippled and getting taken down by a feral. Drop their numbers enough and it would take centuries of dedicated breeding by breed lovers to recover their numbers to anything close to those of the other equine breeds. Draft horses can have a lot of problems with their feet and knees too, which would explain the rarity of heavy breeds like the Clydesdame.”
“But they use rare stones and stuff to evolve. That should be a factor too.”
Iain nodded his agreement to Raquel’s statement. “That is true, but not to the extent that most people think. Evolution stones are a factor in pokegirl population numbers, but most pokegirls come about by breeding them. A dedicated breeder with a single Nightmare to start with could have dozens of offspring from that one Nightmare by the time the Nightmare becomes a pokewoman and retires from breeding. Average litter size is three kits and if you breed every other year to keep her healthy, in the twenty years she has between fifteen and thirty five you can produce an average of thirty kits. That doesn’t include the fact that most breeders would keep the first litter or two and breed them as soon as they came of age. That means the last five years the first litter would produce roughly twenty seven additional kits and the second litter would add another eighteen kits, for a grand total of seventy five kits from the one Nightmare who just became a pokewoman. If you factor in pokeballs and healing technology, if you don’t care about her being pregnant all the time you can puppy mill her and the others to produce,” he counted on his fingers, “a hundred and forty one young Nightmares.”
Zareen shuddered. “You aren’t doing that with me.”
“I didn’t have any plans to. Unless it happens by accident, you get to decide if you want to get pregnant or not and when.”
“What happens if there’s an accident?”
“You get to decide if you want to carry the litter to term. I’m not going to force anyone to be pregnant if they don’t want to.”
As he finished brushing her right side, Raquel turned around so he could do the left side too. “What if someone does want to be pregnant? Will you allow that?”
“You do with your body what you want to. If you want to be pregnant then, if for some reason I think it’s a bad idea, all I can do is try to talk you out of it. I won’t use force against you if you refuse to change your mind.” He looked up from the brushing and smiled briefly. “And since Ninhursag and I finally spent enough time together in dreamtime for her to learn the Earth Mother technique, anyone who wants to become pregnant will be able to do so when she’s ready.” He chuckled softly. “Of course, this means that April will probably be pregnant soon.”
Raquel eyed him curiously. “She wishes to become pregnant?”
“She’d like to have a litter of kits before she becomes a pokewoman.”
“You will allow that?”
“I think I already said that it’s not my decision to make.” He gave her flank one last stroke and lowered the brush. “You have a decision to make, too.”
“What is that?”
“Sadie Pokens is coming up. You, along with everyone else need to think about whether or not you want to attend. In your case, you also need to think about whether or not you want me to try and find Sean.”
“Sean?”
“I’m talking about finding your old master, Sean Dubroc. You might want to go back to him.”
Raquel’s face went slack in surprise before she looked away to stare in the direction of the omega tree. “Do you want me to leave,” she asked diffidently.
Iain ran his hands down her back, enjoying the feeling of the smoke grey fur slipping under his fingers. “No, I don’t.” He continued calmly as her head turned back just enough that she could watch him out of the corner of her eye. “I have accepted you into my life. I think your place is here, but I also remember that you were very proud of your loyalty to Dubroc and you have undoubtedly been in his harem a lot longer than you’ve been here.” Under his hands, he could feel suddenly tense muscles start to relax. “Ultimately, however, whether you stay or leave is your decision. That would be true anytime, but it is especially so during Sadie Pokens.”
“Will you attend the holiday?”
“I don’t have any intention of doing so. I’ve got nine ladies in my life right now and, to be honest, that’s eight more than I ever expected to have before I came here. My life is very blessed by all of your presence and I don’t think adding anyone else would make it any better.”
Raquel twisted her body away from him and moved forward. “It is now Zareen’s turn to be brushed.” Then she turned to face Iain. “I would like to learn how to brush Zareen. It is very pleasurable and sometimes you may be too busy to do this for us.” She changed to her human form and reached for the neatly folded skirt and tank top she’d started wearing after understanding that she could wear clothing if she wanted to. “I was proud of my loyalty to Master Dubroc. Now I am very proud to be loyal to you,” she took a deep breath, “Iain.”
***
“Why are we here?”
Iain smiled at April as he led her down the street. “It’s your hometown. Can’t we just come for a visit?”
“Dundalk is not my hometown. I was just living here when we met.” The Duelist gave him a suspicious look. “You’re up to something.”
“Of course I am. I’m always up to something.”
“What are you up to this time?”
“We’re getting married.”
She pulled him to a halt. “We’re what?”
“I have perfect recall now, April, so I know I didn’t stutter and I didn’t mumble. We are getting married as soon as I can get you to the church.”
“You’re married to Eve. She’s going to be pissed about this.”
He shook his head. “It just so happens that she agrees with me and she’s waiting at the church. Everybody is.”
April’s voice was small and her eyes big. “Everyone?”
“Ok, not everyone on the planet, but everyone in the harem, Vanessa, the deputies Colleen and Sandra, Cheryl and the priest. Except for the priest, every one of the people that I know you happen to be friends with and might want to see me make an honest woman out of you is there.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Isn’t the fact that I love you and you love me enough?”
April started to nod and stopped, her eyes narrowing slightly. “No, it’s not. There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Iain smiled warmly. “There is something in addition, but the fact that’s true does not invalidate what I just said. I love you and want to marry you.”
“What’s this something in addition?”
His smile faded. “You told me once that you want to have children before you go through your maturation process and become a pokewoman. I’m not exactly sure how old you are and since I know you know that Ninhursag has learned the Earth Mother technique, I want to marry you now.”
“Iain, why is that important?”
“It’s important because I don’t think you’re going to wait long to become pregnant and any child you bear will be my child too. All of my children will be born with my name. They will be our daughters and not kits and I will take every step possible to make sure they are born and live their lives free. Growing up always having a last name will help them to understand that they should be free until they decide to tie their lives with someone else. In addition, we’ll get them tunable anti-capture chips so they can have their own pokeballs for healing without us having to worry that they’ll be stolen while at the bloody store. If nothing else, it’ll mean I won’t have to race you to hunt down and exterminate the kidnappers. I’ll win that race, by the bye.”
He broke off when April threw herself into his arms and held him tightly. Unshed tears glittered in her eyes when she finally let him go enough to look up at him. “Iain, you have no idea how it makes me feel to hear you say that. Happy doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“So you’ll stop arguing with me about getting married?”
She nodded fervently. “Oh, yes, I won’t argue with that any more. Do you want me to wait before getting pregnant?”
“Would it matter if I did?”
“It would, but it wouldn’t stop me. I’ve only got a couple of years before I become a pokewoman and if we decide we want a second litter after experiencing the first I need to get started soon.”
He chuckled. “I suspect Ninhursag would be willing to use the technique on you in lieu of spending money on a wedding gift.”
April took his hand and turned towards the small church. “If that’s her gift I think I’ll forgive her being a cheapskate this one time.”
St. Nicholas’ Church gleamed in the morning sun. It had stood sentinel over Dundalk for over five hundred years and had been renovated several times, but still it maintained that aura of dignified age that old, well loved and well used buildings gathered like the seasoning on properly cared for cast-iron. St. Patrick’s, an even older church, had been destroyed during the attacks of the Revenge War and never repaired, instead turned into an enduring memorial to the over twenty thousand Dundalk resident Irish who died as a result of the Red Plague and its aftermath.
April paused on the steps and looked at Iain. “I’m not Catholic.”
“Father Sweeney knows that neither of us is, but he still agreed to marry us. He also knows you’re a pokegirl.”
“Thank you, Iain. I respect him and wouldn’t have lied to him if he’d asked.”
The door opened and a spare man in his early sixties looked out at them. “I’m glad to hear you wouldn’t lie to me, but please do come inside since that’s where everyone else is waiting.” Bright blue eyes twinkled merrily beneath a thick shock of black hair that stubbornly refused to turn gray. “That is, presuming you would like to get married today.”
April flushed and tugged Iain through the door past the smiling priest. The pews were full, and Iain quickly realized that not only was his harem present, but that also it looked like a lot of the community had turned out to watch April become his wife.
Father Lucas Sweeney shut the door and led them to the altar, where he turned to face the congregation he’d ministered to for over forty years. “Now that the bride and groom have finally arrived, I would like to thank you all for coming to their wedding.”
April flushed a bright red that slowly faded during the rest of the ceremony in which she became April Grey.
***
“You’ve got mail. What the hell is that?” Ninhursag dropped the Drummond pokedex on Iain’s desk and looked curiously at the image floating in the air.
“That’s a real-time representation of the solar system.” Iain looked at the Drummond pokedex before pulling up the email and scanning the message. “It’s from Peony. We’re supposed to report ASAP, do not pass go and do not collect two hundred dollars beforehand.”
“I hope that makes sense to you,” The Elfqueen was still looking at the image of the solar system as she dropped into a chair. “Why are you interested in space?”
“It could be because in space no one can hear you scream, but it’s really because I’m looking for someplace strangers can’t drop in unexpectedly.”
“You’re still mad about Hild coming by? She’s on our side and she’s Hild.”
The twist of Iain’s mouth suggested that perhaps mad wasn’t quite the word to describe his current emotional state, but his voice was mild as he replied. “Hild is on Hild’s side and that’s it. In addition, contrary to popular belief, Hild is not a fucking goddess and is neither omniscient nor omnipotent.” Iain snorted. “Not even she is supposed to be able to find me but she did and, it turns out, she’s not the only one who has done so. We’ve had Megami from the Des Moines who have no business knowing where we are coming by. I certainly didn’t bring them here and neither did Eve. None of them knew where I was and they still dropped in, which means they can find us. Not being able to be found is supposed to be my one great defense against the forces marshaled against me and apparently it doesn’t fucking work. That means anyone can find me if they look, be they ostensible friend or foe. Personally I’m not excited about the idea of a Celestial Alliance strike team dropping in for tea and back when I let myself dream I had nightmares about Tyrannodames eating the people living with me in the middle of the night. Apparently that dream can come true since we can be located.” Blue flickered across his eyes and vanished. “The whole reason we’re out here in the first place is so we can’t be found and attacked. If that’s not the case we might as well live in London and put up billboards announcing our presence.”
Ninhursag watched him for several seconds before speaking. “What can we do?”
“We can give up and die. We can kill everyone who comes here who we didn’t specifically tell about where we live. I could sink the Daisy Mae and kill everyone on board, including Hild. And, finally, we could move. Again. This time we would have to move someplace that it’s too difficult to get to since I can’t count on being invisible.”
Ninhursag started to ask about whether he could do some of the things he’d listed and instead decided on the less disturbing question first. “Which are you more inclined towards?”
He smiled mirthlessly. “That is a good question. It scares me that I like the idea of just killing everyone I can get my hands on, so we’ll probably move again.” He touched the Drummond dex, lining up its edges with the edges of his desk. “But in the meantime we should probably go see what Kirabo wants. Maybe she’s got me an answer and maybe, just maybe she hasn’t and instead she’ll give me the chance to indulge my desire to kill something.” He noticed when Ninhursag twitched at the naked hunger in his voice and gave her a rueful look. “I know; I’ll work to keep it under control. In a couple of minutes I should have my anger back where it won’t make me want dark things that I shouldn’t.”
“I’m beginning to have more sympathy for Eve and how much she worries about you.” She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Do I,” she asked slowly, “Canaan and Pandora need to catch you some ferals to kill? Would that help you?”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. “That would be very considerate of you, but I think I want to resist my impulses, not indulge them.”
“I wasn’t sure, Iain. You sounded like it could go either way so I thought I’d ask.”
He tucked the dex into his belt as he pushed the chair back and stood. “I sound that way because I am. I am also in control of myself and I intend to stay that way. Now, let’s go see what Kirabo wants.”
“I’ll gather everyone and we’ll be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”
He shook his head. “On our end there’s no real hurry and the last couple of times we went to see Kirabo we got to cool our heels for several hours. I’ll send a reply to Peony and then I think we’ll eat lunch at the regular time before we leave.”
***
Eve appeared and let Iain go and she looked around as Ninhursag raised a hand and pointed towards the city. “What is that?” She was pointing at a new construction that loomed over the tallest buildings in the city. It gleamed whitely in the sunlight. “I’ve got Pandora overhead on watch. That thing looks like it is in the same area as the High Council complex.”
Iain frowned. “That looks like a pile of bones, but they’d have to be huge.” He looked closer, his eyes prickling as they moved beyond the limits of human eyesight. “Those are bones.”
“Could those be whale bones?” Eve was shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. “Or maybe they could be Leviathaness.”
“They’re not.” Iain’s sounded completely certain. “I don’t know how they got here, but those are Typhonna’s bones.”
Dominique’s eyes widened for a second. “Right. That would be an obvious choice if Typhonna were dead, but according to the site rip she’s asleep in Indigo.”
“Evangelion killed her while we were futzing around with Lindsey and Cherry. It was before she went off with Hild to fight the Twau.”
The Archmage’s bright red eyes became as big as saucers. “Could you repeat that with some detail and please add why we weren’t told?”
“She didn’t see any reason to make an announcement about it and I agreed. As to what happened, she took that singularity technique she taught herself and destroyed Typhonna’s head with it, killing her.” He pointed with his chin towards the gleaming structure in the distance. “There won’t be any bones from her skull in that pile.”
Eve frowned. “Why did she do it?”
“Evangelion came here to fight the world spanning threats, remember? She didn’t feel it would be right to leave with us while Typhonna was still alive, so she rectified the situation.”
Ninhursag chuckled suddenly. “She’s been spending too much time around you, Iain. Murdering Typhonna in cold blood is what you’d advocate.”
His eyebrows rose. “Would I,” he asked mildly.
“Don’t try playing innocent with me.”
“Ok, I won’t.” He slipped up onto Zareen’s back. “But if I can’t play innocent, then we need to be moving on. Besides, we are going to be headed straight for that pile of bones. The closer we get, the more we’ll be able to see.”
Ninhursag exchanged a look with Eve. “You and Dominique take point. April, you have Iain’s security with Zareen, Raquel and Canaan. Sofia, stay close to me.”
Iain looked around. “Eve, don’t forget you’re the sergeant and Ninhursag isn’t if we’re stopped by anyone.”
The Megami-sama nodded. “Ninhursag and I discussed it before we left. April will still command anyone we leave outside and Ninhursag is going to be your personal bodyguard so she can go with us to Kirabo’s office.”
Iain looked from one woman to the other and scratched idly at the beard Austin Drummond had. “Did you just tell me that I have been suckered into having my own private retinue?”
Eve flashed a grin at Ninhursag. “I told you he’d catch that part immediately.”
“You did. Is it anything he thinks restricts his personal freedom or is there some other criteria?”
“No, you figured it out. He’s quick to recognize anything that limits his personal freedom and almost as quick to catch anything that would limit our personal freedom.”
Iain shook his head. “I don’t mean to interrupt your gloating, ladies, but can we get moving?”
They’d appeared a couple of miles outside of the city proper and Iain watched alertly as they approached. He frowned and looked up, seeking the black wings of his Fallen Angel overhead. Pandora, things look rather quiet. What do you see?
I don’t know what is normal here, but I only see a handful of people in any area, and they remind me of refugees. I can also see what looks like checkpoints at the intersections of major thoroughfares. I was about to let Ninhursag know that you will come to one in about five minutes.
“Zareen, stop.” Iain twisted on her back as the Nightmare halted. “Pandora says the streets are almost deserted and there are checkpoints scattered at intersections. We’ve got one up ahead of us.”
Ninhursag didn’t hesitate. “Eve, Dominique, range ahead and make contact with the checkpoint. Find out what’s going on. Raquel will move up to take point and Pandora will join her.” She glanced at Iain as the Megami-sama took to the air, followed by the Archmage. “It means we won’t have any air cover, but she was going to have to land before we entered the city anyways so we don’t look as threatening.” Her eyes flicked up as Pandora folded her wings and dove towards them. At the last instant, she snapped her wings open and flared into a stall just above the ground before trotting up to join the Rapitaur. “I see I’m going to have to work on communication within the harem.”
“Eve didn’t run the harem as a formal military unit. What do you think happened here?” Iain nodded towards the buildings coming into sight as they went on. “They don’t look right.” Some of them leaned drunkenly or sloped like pieces had fallen off of them while gaps showed others were missing entirely.
“I once visited Edo after they’d had an earthquake. Some of the damage looked a lot like this.”
Iain waved away a fly that tried to settle on his face. “As far as I know, this place isn’t prone to earthquakes. Hopefully Eve can find out what happened at the checkpoint.”
***
The checkpoint had been set up so the people standing watch here had clear lines of sight down the roads and the sentries alertly monitored their surroundings. Eve and Dominique landed a dozen meters away from the small group of Dameosaurs and moved to meet them. As they approached, the Megami-sama produced her badge. “I am Sergeant Eve of the shujaa. We were summoned to the city by our patron. What is going on?”
The lead Dameosaur checked the badge closely without touching it. “Most of the people fled when the city was attacked by Typhonna and we were stationed to keep an eye out for looters. There are regular checkpoints and random patrols for that very reason, sergeant, but as long as you have official business here you shouldn’t be bothered.”
Attacked by Typhonna? What the hell is going on here? Dominique exchanged a look with Eve. “According to legend, Typhonna doesn’t attack places, she destroys them. Shouldn’t this part of the continent be missing?”
The Dameosaur shrugged. “When one is given providence, one does not wonder why one is still alive and instead merely enjoys the reprieve.” Her eyes grew distant. “But I saw Typhonna myself when she attacked. She was so huge she blotted out the sky and her very cry shattered stone and knocked people to the ground.” Her gaze sharpened. “Many of the side streets are choked with debris so I would suggest you stick to the main thoroughfares. Because the mess is so difficult to travel through the patrols covering the side streets tend to be very suspicious of anyone they find there.”
Eve bobbed her head in a bow. “Thank you for the information, and I’ll be sure to convey everything you told us back to my captain.” She and Dominique lifted off and raced back to their group.
Iain and the others had been following the meeting through the delta bonds and April watched Eve land. “They have got to be out of their minds. Historical information about Typhonna says she left a path of devastation wherever she went.”
Iain shifted on Zareen’s back. “That’s not always true. Most of the time you’re right, but sometimes Typhonna passed through an area causing minimal damage. Her footsteps were known to cause concussive fracturing if she walked close enough to something.”
“How close?” Canaan’s antenna twitched and she blinked. “According to the girls in that checkpoint Typhonna skirted around the other side of the city and attacked some structures someplace inside the High Council complex.”
Dominique snorted. “Then we’re back to the fact that all of this should be crater. Typhonna’s attacks were not to be resisted. I never saw her in action but I did pass through a couple of areas after she had. In places she did enough damage to the crust to crack open magma chambers. Even where she didn’t, ebony void made great swaths of everything she came near vanish into nothingness. Just the noise from what she was doing could be heard hundreds of kilometers away.”
April stroked Iain’s calf to get his attention. “You know,” she said quietly, “Kirabo probably has a much better idea of the situation than some pokegirls detailed for security teams. If nothing else, we still need to find her and discover why she summoned you, even,” she waved a hand in the direction of the city, “if this is probably a lot of it.”
“You’re right. Ladies, April has a point. We came here to find Kirabo and we need to do that first. In any case, she’ll probably have a better idea of the big picture, so our plans have not changed. We’re going to the council complex. Ninhursag, get things moving.”
As they traveled, Iain noted that buildings everywhere showed some kind of damage. If they’d had glass windows, they didn’t anymore. Some had cornices broken off and pockets of rubble could be seen everywhere from pieces of building that had crashed to the ground during recent events. It must have been indirect damage from Typhonna’s passage, but it looked like the place had recently undergone a serious earthquake.
There was more activity than first impressions had led him to believe. Small groups of people could be seen collecting the wreckage into piles for disposal. In addition to the residents, periodically they’d see patrols of DCWS personnel showing their presence to keep order and helping with rescues as they came across people injured by still more falling debris during the cleanup. As soon as each patrol had realized there was a sizable organized group moving through their sector, they’d been intercepted and interrogated, but so far Iain’s rank and the fact that almost everyone in the group had shujaa badges had gained them free passage.
The damage grew slightly more extensive as they approached the council area but still was not the utter devastation that Iain would expect of a visit from the legendary of legendary pokegirls.
A blur streaking in their direction caught his attention. Eve and Dominique saw it at the same time he did and they stopped to wait for the Dameosaur to come to them. The dinosaur pokegirl pulled up just in front of the group to reveal her uniform was torn and dirty. “You there, this is a restricted area. The council buildings aren’t stable and nobody is going in until an engineering team can verify it’s safe.”
Eve showed her badge once more. “I am Sergeant Eve. This is my captain and he and we have been summoned by Peony, the aide to Councilor Kirabo.”
The Dameosaur’s eyes flicked sideways to stare at the figure on Zareen’s back. “He? I know better than to ask.” She pointed down the street. “Go about half a kilometer and turn right. You’ll find a building there that some of the councilors have moved into for the time being. Peony is staying there along with her mistress.”
Iain smiled sweetly. “What’s your name and rank, soldier?”
The Dameosaur pulled herself up proudly. “I am Corporal Anise, mistress.”
Iain figured that the form of address was like some militaries calling all officers sir regardless of gender and dismissed it. “Well, corporal, how about you escort Raquel to the building and then you can return to your duties.”
“I have my orders, mistress.”
“Well, if you’re going to say no, then I think I’m going to have to make it a direct order, corporal.” Iain’s eyes hardened as the Dameosaur stared at him in surprise. “Chain of command and all that. It won’t take long if you go now.”
Anise gave him a sullen half glare. “Yes, mistress. Which one of your group is Raquel?”
The Rapitaur stepped forward haughtily. “I am she. Do not worry, lizard, for I will not hold you back.”
Anise’s eyes bulged slightly and she bared razor sharp teeth. “Lizard? Lizard? Listen closely, food. If you insult me again, I shall,” she broke off when Pandora pressed the tip of the shotgun’s bayonet against the base of her skull and clicked off the safety.
The Fallen Angel’s voice was soft. “Less bitching and more obeying my captain or I’ll blow your brains all over Raquel and we’ll find ourselves another guide. She is new here and meant you no insult, so how about you don’t take any.”
Iain cocked his head and spoke to Pandora reproachfully. “Please put that away. I’m sure the corporal wasn’t going to finish threatening one of my ladies. Councilor Kirabo would probably reassign someone that stupid to Tyrannodame combat training as a practice dummy.”
The Dameosaur blinked. “Mistress, you know the councilor?”
“Yes, I do. I’m reporting to Peony because Kirabo has seen fit to summon me again.” Iain waved dismissively. “So you run along and show Raquel where we’re supposed to go. You’ve argued long enough that you could have gone and returned already.”
The dinosaur pokegirl bobbed her head. “Yes, mistress.” She turned and darted away in a blur, followed by Raquel.
The Rapitaur was back in less than a minute, sliding to a halt in front of Zareen. She chuckled loudly. “The corporal declined to come back with me and ran off to another part of her patrol area. I think she was worried you’d have more orders for her, but I know where we are going and will lead you there.”
Iain had expected that the building would have been obvious anyway with posted security outside, but to his surprise there weren’t any guards and they might well have missed the place entirely. He slid off of Zareen’s back as Ninhursag spoke quietly to April and Eve. The Duelist moved off with the rest of the harem while the other two ladies joined him. Eve straightened his collar. “Are you ready?”
“If I say no, can we go home?”
“I’d let you if you’d let me take you back. I’ll take the point.” Eve led them inside.
The interior was dark and a Dameosaur stood silent sentry in the anteroom with a pair of very young looking Growltits sitting on benches near a door. The dinosaur cocked her head. “Why are you here,” she asked in a bored tone.
“I am Sergeant Eve of the shujaa and this is Captain Drummond. We have been summoned by Peony and Councilor Kirabo.”
The Dameosaur snapped her fingers and one of the Growltits jumped to her feet. “Find Peony and let her know that Sergeant Eve and Captain Drummond are here.” The Dameosaur bobbed her head to Ninhursag as the Growltit opened the door to reveal a set of stairs and bounded inside. “Captain, it is very possible that the people you came to see are busy so you can sit on those benches or you can wait outside on the veranda.”
The Elfqueen smiled without trying to correct the mistaken identification. “The benches will be fine.”
The three of them had only been sitting for a few minutes before the Growltit returned. Peony exited the stairwell behind her and came over to stand in front of them. “Captain Drummond, I’m glad you responded to your summons so quickly.”
“I am, as always, at the councilor’s command, Peony.”
The Dameosaur bared her teeth in a grin. “My mistress will be pleased to hear that, Austin. She’ll be down in a minute and then we can leave.” Her eyes moved to his left. “This one is new. Who is she?”
“I’m Ninhursag and I’m the captain’s bodyguard.”
“That’s good. I’ve heard he needs someone like that.” Peony broke off as Kirabo exited the stairwell and swept outside without a word to them. “Let’s go, captain.”
Kirabo stood in the street and watched April watch her as Iain joined her. “Are those yours, captain?”
“Why, hello councilor. I’m doing well. And how are you?”
The Sanctuary Goth snorted. “We were attacked by Typhonna, who unearthed, recorded and destroyed our records archives and nothing else, leaving us with a cathedral of bone and with the question of what actually happened. Put your harem away, captain. I want to take you someplace where we can talk privately.” She pulled a pokeball from a pouch and Peony stepped into the capture beam to vanish.
Be watching, ladies. Iain recovered the women in his harem one at a time, Eve last. As soon as the last was in her pokeball, Kirabo took his arm and the terrain changed.
Instantly, he released Eve again.
Kirabo glared at him. “I did not permit you to do that.”
He tossed his belt at the Megami-sama. “Secure the area.” He turned to face Kirabo as Eve began releasing the rest of his ladies. “No, you didn’t. Should we part ways now?”
The Sanctuary Goth’s lips drew back in a snarl and then she closed her eyes for a second, visibly relaxed and opened her eyes again. “You are right.” She released Peony. “Stay close to me,” she instructed her Dameosaur. “Kerrik, do you know what happened to my city?”
“No, I don’t. At least I don’t yet. However, I am going to try to find out who was masquerading as Typhonna and why. How would be nice, too, but I already have a couple of ideas as to the methodology behind how a reproduction of Typhonna might have been done.”
“I saw it myself, Wolf. It was Typhonna.”
“Kirabo, recently Typhonna was killed by Evangelion. Those are Typhonna’s bones that were piled up in the council complex to make the bone cathedral. So, unless she has a twin that nobody knew about who has a tendency towards the bizarre, somebody else did this. Since they knew where Typhonna died, the list is pretty small, and the list of people who could pull something like this off is even smaller.” He looked around. “Is this why you contacted me?”
“No, it wasn’t. Peony sent the message for you to report to me before this happened. I have the answer ready that you asked me for.”
Iain nodded. “Do you want to get Desiree first?”
Kirabo blinked. “How do you know what my answer will be? Are you spying on me?”
“No, I’m not. It’s just that there is only one decision that makes sense and you are a sensible woman.”
“There is nothing reasonable in betraying everything that Sanctuary stands for, Kerrik.”
Iain carefully did not smile. “It’s not betrayal. You are instead choosing to bring Sanctuary, kicking and screaming, into conforming to what Sanctuary has claimed to stand for since its inception and never really has.”
Ninhursag’s mind touched his. The area is secure and I’m sending Pandora and Eve up to keep an eye on things. I’ll be back with you momentarily. Eve suggests that I not reveal I can teleport unless necessary.
That’s a good idea. “I’ve been informed that the area is clear, so we can talk freely whether you want Desiree here or not. What have you decided?”
“Damn your eyes! Peony, keep an eye on him while I go get Desiree.” She vanished.
Iain sighed. “I hope I haven’t made her mad, Peony.”
“My mistress will do as she wills, Wolf.”
Canaan’s laughter echoed in his skull. Neither Kirabo nor Peony is mad at you, Iain. Kirabo is unhappy because you are so perceptive and can divine her intent even as she seeks to hide it from you. It pricks her pride because she’s built a reputation of being hard to read. She even has magic wrapped around her in order to prevent her mind or emotions from being read. I can penetrate her mind and tell you all of this because she’s never encountered anyone like me and her spells are of little use against my power. Ninhursag wants me to keep out of sight, but rest assured my only duty right now is to help you with any negotiations or killing, depending on what you decide to do with them.
Kirabo reappeared with another Sanctuary Goth. The newcomer was shorter and delicately built, with solid black eyes that glowed softly with power. A Tyrannodame in human form appeared behind them as the newcomer released Kirabo’s hand and stepped forward. “I am Desiree, Mistress of the High Council of Sanctuary.” Her eyes searched his and she frowned. “You do not look like Kerrik Wolf.”
“Give me a moment and I will.” Kirabo hadn’t seen Iain change himself and her gasp was almost as loud as Desiree’s when Iain used his magic to assume his true form. Echoes suggested that Peony and the Tyrannodame were as surprised as the others. “I think you’ll find that now I look like the photographs you have of me. Do we need any other demonstration that I am who I say I am?”
Desiree shook her head as Ninhursag showed up and stood next to Iain. “You look like you are supposed to look and some of the pokegirls I see match the known composition of your harem. I accept that you are indeed Kerrik Wolf.” She folded her arms. “Kirabo tells me that you wish to aid us reshape Sanctuary. How am I to believe that you want to help anything involving us?”
“I have two options, Desiree. The first is that I can help you transform Sanctuary into something that won’t try to kill me or my family. The second is that I can destroy Sanctuary utterly. Past experience has proven that there isn’t really any middle ground with the current administration.” He watched the Tyrannodame bristle slightly. “Is there a problem?”
She looked surprised at being addressed directly. “Master Wolf, I would request that you treat my mistress with the respect that her rank deserves.”
“What is your name?”
The surprise reappeared on her face. “I am Tina, Master Wolf.”
Iain glanced at Desiree and saw only curiosity on her face. “Tina, I am not disrespecting Desiree in the slightest. She’s not the leader of my country and she’s not my friend yet, so the best I am willing to do is treat her as an equal. She has been polite, if a bit distant, and so I will treat her with politeness back.” He smiled slightly. “Just as I am treating you politely since you addressed me politely. Believe it or not, I try to start out presuming that everyone involved is worthy of respect until they show me that they are not. However, I will not let people around me get the impression that I think they are better than I am by acknowledging titles that I have not accepted myself.”
Desiree chuckled. “Wolf, egalitarianism is not something that is tolerated in Sanctuary. Everything and everyone has their place.”
Iain nodded. “I know. That presumption as to where the place of the various authors lies within the society Sanctuary has created is what brought us to this. That attempt to force us into a mold of your making has resulted in the facts that the Blue League is lost to you for now, your capital city is badly damaged and the bones of Typhonna are stacked neatly in the heart of your power.”
“You believe that what happened to us was caused by an author?”
He shrugged. “I don’t have any proof and I haven’t had the chance to ask around, but most of the really fucked up things that have happened recently were because of us. This was pretty fucked up, considering that I know Typhonna is dead and that she died before she came here.”
“That’s an interesting chain of logic. Why do you want to help us?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “The truth is I don’t want to kill anyone I don’t have to. If I can help you make Sanctuary less dangerous to me I’ll risk a lot for it. If, at the same time we can make Sanctuary a better place for the residents, I’ll be even happier.” He looked at all four of the pokegirls in front of him. “I suppose I presume that nobody here thinks Sanctuary is perfect as it is.” He waited for a second to give someone a chance to object before continuing. “How about I show you what I think Sanctuary could be?”
Kirabo’s eyebrows rose. “How do you suggest doing that?”
“I have an Alaka-Wham with dreamtime and she should be able to let me show how I would have created Sanctuary in much better detail and a lot faster than I could possibly explain it.”
“Give us a moment.” Kirabo and Desiree moved away a short distance to speak quietly.
While they were talking, Iain turned to Ninhursag. “Please ask Canaan to come here. Also, I don’t know if we want to set up camp just yet, but some hot tea and snacks might be useful. Sometimes it’s hard for people to fight more than verbally if they’re eating.” Can you hear the discussion?
“I’ll put April and Sofia on it.” I can hear them perfectly well. From here they might as well be standing next to me. They have already decided to let you proceed and are busy taking down the spells they use to protect themselves from psychic assaults. “Canaan is on her way.”
The Splice flew up and landed next to Iain on the side opposite Ninhursag. “This is going to be fun. Who do you want in on this?” She winked at Peony and Tina, who were staring at her. The Tyrannodame is delta bonded to her mistress.
Thanks for the information. It might prove useful later. “Me, Kirabo, Desiree, Peony, Tina and Ninhursag need to be there. Later, when Ninhursag says it’s safe, you can do a repeat for the rest of the harem.”
Canaan smiled broadly. “You want me to reproduce this from memory for the others? I’ll be sure and take good notes then.”
Kirabo and Desiree returned. “I am not familiar with this breed of pokegirl,” the taller Sanctuary Goth said as she looked Canaan up and down. “What is she?”
“Kirabo, you would have never met anyone like me before since I am an original G-Splice of Alaka-Wham and Amachamp and unique.”
“I see. Have you tried to reproduce?”
Canaan’s antenna went still. “I have not. I have been promised the opportunity to have children once things are quieter in our life.” I have heard of the discussions you’ve had with others. I can, right?
I would be honored to be the father to our children. The sudden surge of joy he received in reply almost made him dizzy and he closed his eyes for a second to savor it. “Are you willing to do this, ladies?”
“I came here because my friend convinced me that you can help us remake Sanctuary into something better,” Desiree said confidently. “It would be best if we knew that everyone agreed on what this better Sanctuary should be. What do you want us to do?”
Canaan’s antenna twitched and Iain knew what needed to be done. “Please sit down, ladies. We will be in dreamtime for only a short time in reality, but I still don’t want anyone falling over during the trip.” He settled to the ground with Ninhursag and Canaan. When the two dinosaur pokegirls remained standing, he looked at Kirabo. “My ideal Sanctuary would be a home for more than just Sanctuary Goths. I think that Tina and Peony should also enter dreamtime with us so they can see what we will be working towards. My harem has been instructed to protect everyone should we be attacked while in dreamtime. Canaan will keep an eye on our surroundings and bring us out instantly if anything happens.” He saw Desiree hesitate and smiled. “I’ll want her in the fighting too much to waste her time keeping you four locked in dreamtime.”
“I was more concerned that you’d use this as an excuse to kill us, Kerrik.”
Kirabo gave her friend an amused smile. “Desiree, if he wanted us dead, don’t you think we’d already be dead? Peony is a great fighter, but she couldn’t take two shiploads of pirates at the same time and they did. She couldn’t stop them and I suspect that neither could Tina.”
Desiree spread her hands in front of her. “I know we agreed to trust him, but considering the things he’s done it’s only reasonable if I find it hard to do in practice.”
Iain looked at both of them. “You have, I presume, had access to the site rips that have been floating around since we authors arrived?”
Kirabo glanced at Desiree. “We have.”
“Have you read the stories about Kerrik Wolf and his various family members?”
“Again, we have.”
“Will you trust me if I give you my word that for this encounter none of you are in danger unless we have to defend ourselves from you?” Beside him Ninhursag went very still.
Again the two Sanctuary Goths looked at each other. Kirabo nodded. “We will.”
“I give you my word that for the duration of this visit or twenty four hours from now, whichever comes first, that Kirabo, Desiree, Peony and Tina are under my protection as if they were my family. We will not attack you unless it is in defense of an attack on your part and if you are attacked during that time we will defend you as if you were one of us.”
Ninhursag relaxed minutely. That was well done.
“I have no further worries, then, Kerrik. Tina, Peony, sit down too.” Desiree patted the ground next to her. “If nothing else, Tina, I can snuggle against you so I don’t fall over.”
“Yes mistress.” Tina tried not to beam happily as she quickly joined Desiree as Peony settled down more sedately next to her mistress.
Iain has given his word that our guests will be treated as family for the next twenty four hours or until they leave, whichever comes first. Even as she broadcast the message across the bonds, Ninhursag looked over at Canaan. “Let everyone know what Kerrik did.”
The Splice gave her a droll look. “Already done.”
“Kerrik, why is this Elfqueen giving orders instead of Sergeant Eve?”
Iain shrugged. “Peony, Eve is still Austin Drummond’s sergeant, but Ninhursag is my alpha and here we’re not pretending I’m Austin right now.”
The Dameosaur blinked. “Your life must get confusing sometimes.”
“Yeah, sometimes it does. Canaan, are you ready?” His eyes snapped shut along with everyone else’s as the Splice took them into dreamtime.
Ten seconds later their breathing was still steadying out when Canaan released them and they opened their eyes. Desiree took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This will take more than the years we have remaining, but the basics can be done before we die. Many of the council died when they fled to a safe point because it was deliberately targeted by Typhonna. Even with consolidating some responsibilities and regions we will have to replace several of them.”
Iain nodded. “Find people who agree with what you are planning to do and make sure as many of them as possible have longevity so that your ideals will have a lasting presence on the council until it is too late.”
Kirabo stirred. “What about you?”
“I am one of the monsters of Sanctuary. My role in all of this should be as small as possible.”
“Some worship you as the Running Wolf.”
His face set. “There aren’t that many of them. I’m used to scare children, Kirabo. ‘Be good or the Wolf will get you.’” He grimaced. “And an author living in Sanctuary would be a lighting rod for the disaffected and a target for the people you’re about to royally piss off. You want the same things I want for Sanctuary and it’ll be best for everyone involved if you do this without me. So, what’s the first step?”
Desiree didn’t hesitate. “The first step is we stop pursuing any of the authors. We need to seek our future without trying to capture or coerce any of them. We also need to do a headcount to find out who survived Typhonna and who we will need to kill in the coming purge. I think most of the ones who would openly oppose this change died, but we need to make sure. Our hand will be revealed as soon as the first non Goth is appointed to the High Council.”
“How fortuitous as to who died and who lived,” Kirabo murmured. “Maybe I’ll take a closer look at the provenance of the Running Wolf if more coincidences begin to pile up.”
Iain gave her a half hearted glare that she ignored.
Desiree continued. “Tina and Peony will help us consolidate the units who lost patrons into our own commands. With the added forces and a few weeks of training we can be ready to destroy all of the Limbec Pirate elements within Sanctuary. After that we’ll carry the fight to the islands they inhabit off of our coast.” She looked at Iain. “I have two things to ask of you.”
“What are they?”
“First, I’ll give you all of the information we have on the Limbec bases around the world. Will you get them to Blue as a gesture of goodwill from us and see if you can get them to disseminate them to the other leagues along with the truth that it came from us?”
“I think I can do that. What’s the second thing?”
“Would you act as an emissary to Sexmet? I don’t care about peace with her, but an attack from her forces, as weak as they are, could be a rallying point for those who will oppose us. They’d argue that the changes we’re implementing are making Sanctuary weak to predation from our old enemies. If you can convince her just to give us an armistice, you can assure her that our punitive expeditions into her lands will end as long as her retaliatory strikes do so as well. I have to ask you because she’ll kill anyone else that I get to do this.” Desiree sighed. “I can’t rebuild the Cheetit populations with a wave of my hand and, truth be told, Sexmet got mad because we were slaughtering ferals in our lands, something that is not going to stop anytime soon. Ferals are as much of a threat to us as they are to anyone else.”
Iain let out a long sigh as his head went back and he looked up at the sky while he thought. Finally he spoke without looking back down. “No promises, but I’ll talk to her.”
***
Iain Grey - Tradesman
Living Harem
Ninhursag - Elfqueen (maharani)
Eve - Megami-sama
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
April - Duelist
Zareen - Nightmare
Pandora - Fiendish Fallen Angel
Canaan - G-Splice (Amachamp Hunter/Alaka-Wham)
Sofia - Peekabu
Raquel - Rapitaur
Dead Harem
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit
Matilda - White Tigress
21x Twau