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Grey Chronicles
Seven
(09/22/06 1545 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
In groups averaging three thousand strong, over twenty million cattle were driven on the cattle trails over the heyday years of the cattle drive. In comparison, two hundred head of cattle weren’t that many, but when you’d spent a long, hot dry day rounding them up and keeping them in one place when they were determined to be anywhere but in that spot while you rounded up another small group or fleeing individual, it sure seemed like a lot of cows.
Raquel stripped sweat from her hair and wiped it on her equine shoulders, which were of course located where her human hips would have been in her human form. “Dominique should be here.”
Iain was counting the cattle again. It was his “job”, something he resented a lot but went along with, at least for the time being. He didn’t stop counting. “She’s busy with something important.”
“Yeah, but with her being away and Pandora guarding you, there’s two and a half percent more work that I have to do to make up for them not being involved in the roundup.” She grinned when Iain did look up at that point. “There’s nothing more important than reducing the amount of work I have to do.”
“To you,” Pandora said amusedly.
“Exactly,” the Rapitaur replied. “I get to find cows and herd them back here. That’s a lot of running around.”
“If you count our new employees, you have to do one percent more work,” Iain said sourly. He looked her up and down deliberately. “That, of course, presumes you’re working and not standing around bitching to me.”
Raquel’s grin widened. “Yeah, that it does. I’m on an April mandated break.” She shook her head slightly. “How can something so dumb be so damned sneaky?”
Pandora’s curiosity got the better of her as Iain returned to counting. “What do you mean?”
“Cows. Cows aren’t sentient, but herding them is a big pain in the ass.” She grinned again. “Ryan and Lynn are almost convinced that they have magical powers.”
“How so?”
The Rapitaur pointed at a bush a dozen meters from them. “See that bush? It doesn’t look big enough to hide a pokegirl but it seems like every time someone checks there’s a cow hidden in something that small. A stand of trees that should hide one cow always has three or so in it, or so it seems. And after you run them out of it, go back and check again because there’s usually one you missed. On top of that, it seems like they’re always doubling back when you look away.”
“That’s always a problem with herding,” Iain said. “Prey animals try to do everything they can to avoid being driven in a specific direction and these cows are almost all wild. Herding wild cows is a huge pain in the rump, but it’s got to be done.” He looked over at Raquel. “So get back to it.”
“Yessir.”
Pandora watched Raquel run off to rejoin the others. “How’s the count coming?”
“I’m working on it. There are some horses and goats out there that are mixing up my numbers.” He snickered. “And one very confused looking ostrich. We’ll separate them out later.”
“I haven’t seen any hogs yet.”
“You won’t. Feral hogs are smarter than cows or horses and they scatter when you try to herd them. When we decide to round them up, Raquel will remember today fondly by the time we’re done.”
“Are we likely to?”
He nodded. “Hogs are quick growing and good to eat, so we’ll either round them up or trap them. Honestly, we’ll be catching pretty much everything we run across.”
Pandora regarded the back of his head for a moment. “Can I have a cat?”
Iain glanced at her. “Where did that come from?”
“When I was alive before we met, I saw a couple of cats that were owned by some rich people. Ever since then I’ve wanted one but my tamers couldn’t afford one.” She snorted. “If they had, they wouldn’t have spent that money on a cat for their Seraph. There should be some wild cats too and I can catch some for the kittens.”
Iain opened his mouth, paused, and closed it without speaking. Finally he shrugged. “It’s your decision. If you want cats then it’s not my place to say no.”
“I take it you don’t want a cat?”
“I’m just not a cat person. I’m not really a dog person either.” He shrugged again. “I’m not really into pets at all. I do feel kind of sad about what’s going to happen to the horses, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before the Red Plague horses were dying out. Only a few people used them because of the proliferation of cars and other machinery. After the Red Plague and the collapse of civilization, the horse should have come into its own as something to be wanted again, but transport pokegirls are superior to horses in every way as well as being fuckable. Horses grow quickly enough to be used as meat animals, but Americans have an aversion to horsemeat. So it’s very likely they’re going to be relegated to being useless again.” He snorted. “Maybe the pure blood wannabees will forgo pokegirls entirely and use horses.”
“Iain, there’s very little meat right now. Horsemeat will be just as welcome as anything else in towns.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “I suppose you’re right.” He brightened. “That’ll help.”
Pandora chuckled. “You know, we have a lot of land and even if horses had no utility, if you wanted to keep some more useless creatures around besides Eve, we’d humor you.” She grinned when he gave her a sharp look.
“Why is it everyone seems to be picking on Eve right now?”
The Archangel shrugged. “Payback is a bitch? She’s been throwing around the whole ‘I’m Mrs. Grey’ bit more than usual recently where you can’t hear it. April’s your only other wife and she’s doesn’t flaunt it like Eve does.”
“Why would Eve do,” he broke off as he realized what the answer to his question must be. “Status.”
“Right in one, Iain. Pokegirls are always jockeying for status and being married to you is something very exclusive. She still misses being the maharani, you know.”
Iain sighed and stared at the milling cattle for a moment. “Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to scream?”
“Not since I became an Archangel, but before? Yes. I was pretty much screaming in my head all the time when I wasn’t with you.”
“What did you to do deal with it?”
“I’d go find you.” She smiled when he frowned. “After killing my tamer my world fell apart. I failed him. Then I failed to even make my new status as a pariah mean something. Then I died. You let me come back to try again and you have kept your promise to me. People make promises all the time and keep few of them.”
“Not me.”
“That’s what makes you special, Iain, and what gave me peace where I had none. You made me a promise and then you kept it, even when I tried to release you from it. You gave me hope.” She laughed when he looked embarrassed. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m not that important,” he said softly. “I’m just a guy trying to make his way without causing too much trouble.”
“If that was ever true, Iain, it must have been when you were on your own world, because you have been a universe for a whole lot of pokegirls who’d given up on finding a place of their own. And here, by giving Daphne and her friends a home on their terms, you’re doing it again.”
He sighed. “Can we drop this?”
“Why does it bother you to know the good you’ve done?”
“I’m not a good person, Pandora. If I do something good, it’s probably by accident.”
She shook her head. “I refuse to let you downplay this, Iain.” She pointed out where Ryan was chasing an errant cow back into the herd. “You gave her a home and you didn’t require she fuck you to get it.”
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to, remember? We have an agreement.”
“You did not make a promise to us, Iain, and we would deny you nothing if you truly wanted it. Or her. That’s why April keeps reminding you about our so-called agreement. She’s hoping you keep thinking we have one. But the truth is that not even April would do more than grouse if you took all of them to your bed. Just as you don’t like denying us anything, we don’t like denying you anything. And if she made you happy, we’d be happy too. Eventually.” She touched his cheek gently. “This bothers you that much?”
“It does. If sometimes the things I do are good for some people, there’s still no reason to harp about it.”
Pandora folded her arms. “Is that some sort of celestial crack?”
“Huh?”
“Harping?”
He blinked and then slowly grinned. “I completely missed that. Sorry. No, it wasn’t a comment on celestials.”
Canaan appeared in front of them. “We’re ready to start branding.” She frowned at Pandora’s face, her antenna twitching. She blinked. “A spat? You two?” She looked at Iain. “She’s right, you know. I find quiet in your mind, quiet I can get nowhere else. I’d hold a pokegirl down for you if it meant I could keep that. The others all have their reasons to help and they would, too. Besides, we all know that no matter how many people you’re fucking you’ll still find time for each of us.”
“Enough.” Iain glared at both of them before stomping towards the branding station that Daphne and April were tending. The station was composed of them and a cubic meter sized furnace powered by a hydrogen bottle. Protruding from the open door of the furnace were nine long handles.
April took one look at his face and stopped what she was doing. “What’s wrong?”
He scowled. “I’ve been told that you and the other will give me anything I want. Is this true?”
“Yes,” she said slowly. A slightly worried look began to appear in her eyes.
“I want to not talk about it. Can I have that?”
The Duelist started to speak and broke off. “Of course you can, Iain, as long as you understand that I’ll ask again later.”
“I know.” He grabbed a handle and pulled one of the irons from the furnace. It was well made with a handle of nonconductive material. In the middle of the iron was a band of temperature sensitive material that turned blue when the brand was at the proper temperature. The other end held the brand they’d decided on. It was a 10-G and was read as the ten bar G.
Daphne eyed the brand. “What’s it for?”
“The ten bar G is for the ten Grey women who decided to share their lives with me and came to this world to settle.”
The Whorizard blinked and smiled. “That’s sweet.”
“That’s what we said when we came up with it,” April said. “He wanted something with a four leafed clover. But the truth is that the ten is for us and the G is for Iain. Ten bar I just looked silly and most people would have read it as ten bar one or something in binary.”
Iain shook his head and returned the iron to the furnace as Canaan and Pandora joined them. “Let’s get this done.”
“How are we going to do this?” Daphne was watching the mass of cattle. “If someone starts jerking them out of the herd they’re going to go crazy. And I don’t think anybody knows how to rope.”
“We’ve got a better way,” April said. “Canaan, you’re up.”
The Splice’s antenna lifted to their full extension and she stared at the herd. Two of the closest cows turned and headed for the branding station at a steady walk. They stopped in front of Daphne.
April pulled two brands out of the furnace and handed one of them to Daphne. “You take the first one and I’ll get the second. Quickly!” She pressed the brand against the side of her cow. It hissed and smoke rose as the brand burned its way into the cow’s hide. Daphne quickly followed suit on the other cow.
When they were done, April used her heal card on both of them to heal the tissue under the burns without removing them. Then the cows headed off a few yards before Canaan released them from thrall. The cows blinked, looked around and trotted off as April and Daphne put the brands back in the furnace to heat.
Daphne watched as two more cows left the group and headed for them. “Can she do that to humans?”
Iain shook his head, but Canaan spoke before he could. “Control of a self aware sentient is very difficult. Usually it’s impossible except for some feral pokegirls. Even then it requires so much concentration that it’s not worth the return you get for it. Besides, only a few very powerful individual pokegirls have really ever been able to do it. It’s much easier to kill them or coerce them with threats.”
“How many cows can you control at a time?” Daphne pulled a brand from the furnace and trotted towards the closest cow.
“I think two at a time is more than enough right now,” Canaan replied. She glanced at Iain. “You still want a steer or young bull for slaughter at the end?”
He nodded. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I had a good, thick steak?”
“Is it longer than two and a half centuries?”
He blinked and shook his head. “No.”
The Splice grinned. “Then I win.”
April chuckled as she branded her cow and began coughing as she sucked in a lungful of smoke. “Damn,” she said as she finished hacking. “That’s awful.” She wiped her mouth. “Iain, I still have about three liters of your barbecue sauce in my pokepack.”
He blinked. “How’s that possible?”
“I kept it from the house warming party. The pokepack kept it fresh.”
He grinned. “All right, we’ll have a barbecue.”
***
(09/22/06 2355 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Iain stood with Ninhursag and watched as the transport approached over the trees and came to a silent hover in front of him. Technically, it was a shuttle, although it was three hundred meters long, forty meters wide and forty meters high. It was hard to think about something that big as being a shuttle. He frowned to himself. Theodora?
What is it, Iain?
I know that this is a shuttle because it’s one of the Theodora’s parasite ships but it’s the size of a bloody supertanker. When does a shuttle become something else instead? How big does it have to be?
He felt amusement from the AI. It’s not size that determines what a vessel is called; it’s the job that it performs. If it is carrying cargo from a larger ship to the surface or to a station, it is a transport. If it is carrying cargo between two ships, it is a lighter. The problem is that your frame of reference is for vessels made on Earth, not those constructed for space. Spaceships are not limited in size because of cost or materials since I manufacture my own parasites and raw material is very easy to find only a few hours away. This transport is too large just for the purpose of delivering your clanswoman’s house but it is also carrying a load of basalt material for repairs to the dam.
Iain nodded unconsciously. Why make two trips if you don’t have to?
Exactly. Have you changed your mind about where the building is to go?
No, I have not.
The transport drifted sideways. When it was in position, the nose of the ship unfolded like a flower opening, forming a flat bottomed tube that was an extension of the ship itself. Iain thought it was ingenious since it used the absolute minimum amount of space in front of the ship and thus kept the ship’s footprint as short as possible to increase the number of places it could land. Out of this tube floated the bunkhouse Iain had requested.
Ninhursag watched it slowly drop towards the ground. “How does it fly?”
“Each vertex has a drone with an antigravity unit attached to it,” Iain replied. “Once it’s in position they’ll return to the shuttle.”
“You know, having those things would make a lot of our work easier.”
He nodded. “I know, I know, but I want to encourage the Texans to build their own industrial base and there’s only so much we can explain away as technology belonging to Sukebe.” He jerked a thumb at the transport. “For example, Sukebe didn’t build those and some pokegirls will know that little fact.”
The Elfqueen nodded. “So when is the Grey University going to open?”
“What?”
“If the Texans are going to build their own technological base from the ground up, they’re going to need to know how to do so. That implies an educational system which has qualified engineers and such to teach them.” Ninhursag cocked her head. “So how many of those do you think are around that not only can teach but have the free time to do so? We both know that not everyone who knows something can teach it to someone else. Some people are just awful teachers. Eve is a good example of that.” She waved a hand at the shuttle. “Yes, you have Tirsuli teaching machines that can put knowledge directly into a human’s head just like a T2 can do for a pokegirl, but if you can do that, why would these people want to learn how to build an internal combustion engine if the knowledge to build fusion power plants and antigravity generators is available?”
Iain shrugged. “There are people with the necessary skill sets already here. They’re just too busy trying to survive to have the time to devote to reconstruction. That’s what our helping equip tamers and helping people with farms and such is going to do, give them the time they need. A lot more people died on the world we came here from than this one when Typhonna destroyed half the land masses of that world and it rebuilt without our help. This one will too. I intend to settle down and raise a family here, Ninhursag. I do not intend to become Iain Grey the Savior of Humanity.” He glanced at her. “But I do intend to point out to anyone who asks that Lucifer’s people, who will be living in Texas, have lots of construction and other engineers amongst their number and that they would be more than willing to consider people wishing to become apprentices.”
The bunkhouse settled down with a felt more than heard crunch and the eight drones disengaged to fly back into the transport. The construction of the anchors is beginning. When it is done, I’ll reprogram the weaver to begin excavating the basement.
The nose of the transport folded closed and it turned before heading southeast towards the dam. When it was out of sight, Ninhursag turned her attention to the bunkhouse. “How many rooms are there?”
“It’s set up dormitory style with two rooms using the same bathroom. Each room has a kitchenette and each floor has its own laundry. On the bottom floor is a cafeteria, gym, entertainment room and communal bathing area for group use. There are twenty single bedrooms for our people divided up on floors two through six.”
Ninhursag chuckled. “You’re making them live in a bedsit?”
“I never promised them luxury, Ninhursag. If we decide to build them something better later, then we will. They have their own rooms instead of a barracks setup.”
“It’s not bad, Iain. It’ll be better than anything they’ve had before, assuming the rooms are big enough for Daphne.”
“That’s why there are so few rooms. They’re large enough for most winged pokegirls to stretch without hitting the wall in the sleeping area/kitchenette.”
“What was Theodora saying about a basement?”
He shrugged. “Some of the basement will be more rooms. Some pokegirls prefer to live in caves or below ground and some can tell the difference between a cave and a room on the fourth floor that resembles a cave. Also, eventually they’ll need a firing range and a place to do upkeep on their weapons.”
Ninhursag blinked and then grinned. “I wonder what kind of cannon Daphne will want to use.”
***
(09/23/06 0645 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
Iain followed Dominique out of his tent and blinked to see everyone standing in front of him. Off to one side he noticed the branding furnace was set up and hot with irons staged inside it. “What’s this about, ladies?”
“I asked for this meeting,” Daphne said. “I’ve been talking to your women and I have a request.”
“We have a request,” Ryan said firmly. “This is for all of us who aren’t in your family but are in the clan.” The others nodded.
Iain replied cautiously. “Without agreeing to your request at this point, I am willing to listen to what you want without judgment and I’ll try to make an impartial decision when you’re done.”
Eve grinned. “Well said.”
Daphne smirked at the others. “See, I told you he was smart.”
“Get on with it,” Winifred almost growled at the Whorizard.
Daphne’s lips thinned as she glared at the Rack. “There’s a lot I have to remember for this, bitch. Keep your feathers on.”
“Enough,” Chuck’s ears were flat. “This is more important than the squabble between you two.”
Iain took a deep breath. “If there’s a lot to this request, how about you give it to me in short pieces? That’ll make it easier to remember and easier to discuss.”
Ryan scowled. “We wrote it all down for her to memorize, but the problem is that she’s not literate.”
“Who wrote it down?”
“I did,” Lynn said. “I’m the only one of us who can read and write.”
“Why don’t you tell me then?”
Daphne scowled and the flame on her tail blazed brighter. “I’m the spokesperson! I’ll tell you!”
Lynn’s tail flicked. “That’s why,” she muttered.
Iain got the distinct impression that April was trying hard not to laugh out loud and suspected she wasn’t alone in that battle. “All right, Daphne, let’s puzzle this out. How about you tell me what you remember and we’ll go from there?”
“Ok. We want you to promise to come get us.” She paused. “We want you to promise to come get us no matter what.” She sighed and then growled softly. “Get up here, Lynn.”
The Growlie patted Daphne on the shoulder. “It’s ok, dear. You’re a fighter and so far nobody has seen fit to give you an education.”
“She’ll get one here,” Ninhursag said. “You all will.”
Lynn nodded. “That’s one of the reasons we want this promise. You see, we like it here. Iain watches us but we know he’s willing to leave us alone if we want. The guys over in Louisiana were chasing one of us every time we turned around. The food’s good and,” she gestured at the new shorts and t-shirt she wore, “so far you’re keeping to what you said you’d do.”
“It’s only been a day,” Vanessa pointed out.
“Two days,” Lynn replied. “But that’s beside the point. We’re not stupid and there’s no way all of you could keep up an act towards all of us for any length of time. If we were animals in your eyes we’d have already seen it.”
“What is it you want from Iain,” April demanded suddenly.
Her ears came up to point at Iain. “We want his promise, but it binds all of you. That is why we asked for all of you to be here now. What we want is choice. Because of that, we want your promise that you’ll look for and rescue us if we don’t return. Even if you find us and we claim that we’re happy with our new tamer, we want your promise to ignore us and bring us back here, break the alpha bond and see if we’re still enchanted with whoever it is. If we find someone we want to be with, in return we agree to tell you beforehand.”
Iain blinked. “Cute. Does Daphne also promise in return not to be pissed if we do as we promise and she did really want to be with this human? That goes for the rest of you, too.”
The Whorizard folded her arms and grinned. “I know myself too well to say that I won’t be pissed in a situation like that, but I promise that I won’t do anything more than yell about it. After all, you’re just doing what I wanted and if I was too dumb to tell you beforehand that I wanted to find a male, then I suspect you’ll do that crushing you mentioned before if I start to get out of hand. If it turns out I like the male then I’ll just tell you and get back together with him.”
“Assuming he’s in one piece and still breathing,” Canaan said. “If we think he’s got you attacking us then he’s dead meat.”
“Anyone who makes us attack you for this is probably not going to be someone we would want to stay with after we are free,” Chuck’s voice was soft. “If they’re the kind I’d want to stay with, they’d understand and come along to see I’m ok.”
“Not to mention, being alpha bonded doesn’t mean you become an automaton,” Dominique pointed out. “You’ll be able to explain to this hypothetical nice person what’s going on before we turn them into kibble and you can refuse to fight.”
Iain looked at the five pokegirls in front of him. “All of you are sure about this?” He watched each pokegirl nod her agreement, smiling slightly at Rosemary’s vehemence. “Then you have my promise to come for you if you don’t come home. When and if you quit working here, I’ll rescind that promise so we can part peaceably.”
“Thank you,” Ryan said. “We understand that Dominique can find things with a spell that locates objects.”
“That’s right,” the Archmage said. “We discussed it last night along with Iain and promises.”
“Then there’s one other thing we need to do.” She motioned to Lynn and the Growlie pulled a brand from the furnace. It was a ten bar G brand and smaller than the ones they used on the cattle the day before. This brand was an inch across and tall. “If you’ll look closely, we replaced the bar with a cross. That’s so this brand can be distinguished from the brands the cattle have.”
Iain’s eyes widened as he realized where this was headed. “You’re kidding, right?”
The Ponytaur shook her head. “No, sir, we are not. An implant can be removed, a necklace can be removed. Once we’re branded and pokeballed, it’ll become part of our baseline scan and so we can always be found unless the brand is cut off without us being healed.”
“I can’t require this of people,” Iain began.
Daphne cut him off. “We know. It’s strictly voluntary. We couldn’t make it mandatory if we wanted to since we know you’ll come down like a ton of bricks on any of us who try just as soon as someone reports us.”
“If it’s voluntary, Iain, you can’t do anything to stop them,” Eve pointed out.
He just scowled for a moment. “I can’t forbid this. I wish I could, but I can’t. You’ll have to make sure these brands are segregated. We don’t want to accidentally brand any cows with it.” He looked at April. “Have the handles made a different color or something.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Sir?” It was Ryan. “I have one special request.”
His eyebrows rose. “What could be more special than this?”
“Will you brand me?” Raquel scowled suddenly as the Ponytaur shrugged. “I know you’re not going to be my tamer, but this is a non-taming way for you to make me yours.”
“Is that important to you?”
She nodded. “I want to belong, and I want to know that I belong.”
“Do it,” Pandora said in a murmur behind him. “I remember what that felt like.”
He didn’t look back at the Archangel. “All right, I’ll brand you.” He looked at the others. “Anyone else want me to do this to them?”
They all did.
***
(09/23/06 1000 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
“The other woman is here.” Pandora didn’t sound pleased.
Iain looked up from his truewizard book. “Other woman? There’s an other woman?” Pandora pointed to his right and he got up, tucking the book under his arm. A dozen meters away a familiar golden haired woman was walking towards them. “Magdalene? She’s the other woman?”
“I’ve read your stories, Iain. Whenever an unattached woman begins hanging around the main character, she quickly becomes involved with him.”
Iain’s eyes narrowed. “That shit’s not funny.”
“No, it isn’t. But it’s true, isn’t it?”
“It isn’t always true and I am not a character in my stories, Pandora.” Iain watched the Kirin as she moved towards them. “She’s pretty enough, I suppose, but I know she’s devoted to Kerrik in ways that remind me of your devotion to me. She might even sleep with me but she could never have serious feelings for me.” He looked at the Archangel. “And I have ten or so women who do have serious feelings for me. She can’t compete with that.”
“Is she smart enough to know she can’t?”
“She is more than smart enough.”
“Thank you, Iain.” Magdalene’s voice carried clearly. “I am not a wolf kami, but I still have excellent hearing. He is right, Pandora. I love one man and Iain is not him.” An odd expression crossed her face. “And daughters who might be interested in Iain probably would not understand if I slept with him before they became involved with him.” She stopped in front of him. “Good morning, Iain.”
“Good morning, Magdalene. What can I do for you?”
She didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “Kerrik wants to meet with you. I offered to carry his request since otherwise one of his harem members would arrive and summon you, probably in some imperious fashion. I’m aware of your typical response to that sort of high handedness and while watching them humbled at the hands of your harem would be of amusement, your women would most likely end up having to kill whoever it was unless it was Morwen that was the messenger. That would be an unfortunate way to begin your relationship with my husband.”
“It would be, wouldn’t it?” Iain smiled. “So, care for something to drink?”
“I would. Do you have any root beer?” She gave him a wry smile. “It’s a secret vice of mine.”
The synthesizer in the bunkhouse would make bottled root beer. “Let’s go to the cafeteria at the bunkroom. There’s root beer there.”
The cafeteria was large enough to feed thirty at four long tables if they were willing to be cozy. Iain and Magdalene settled down at the one closet to the door. She sipped at her bottle and smiled appreciatively. “This is excellent. What brand is it supposed to be?”
“It’s the formula for I.B.C. Root Beer. It’s always been my favorite.” He looked up at Pandora. “Oh, grab a drink and sit. She’s a friend. Besides, if Magdalene wanted me dead you’d already be weeping over my corpse.”
The Archangel made a face and headed for the dispenser. “No, I’d already be dead from trying to keep her from killing you or from attempting to avenge you afterwards.”
Magdalene chuckled softly. “If you two can work out an arrangement, you and Kerrik should get along well. Your and his senses of humor are very similar.”
“I am going to try very hard to get along with Kerrik. I could learn a lot from him if he’d be willing to teach me.” Iain snorted. “I could learn a lot from you, too.”
Magdalene shook her head. “I have little to teach you, Iain. My husband is the one who has a history of taking fledgling truewizards that he’s not related to under his wing.”
He nodded. “That and everyone would be concerned that I’d try to seduce you eventually.”
“You probably would. While not truly mortal anymore, you’re of human stock and young. You’d probably be unable to resist the lure of being near one of the spirit folk even if I appeared uninterested. The same problem would affect the women of your family as well.” She shrugged. “It’s an occupational hazard of being kami and one of the reasons I don’t spend much time around mortals.” She smiled as Pandora made a disbelieving noise and leaned back in her chair. “Now, I believe we are supposed to engage in some drawn out negotiations about where you’d be willing to meet Kerrik and the conditions surrounding this meeting. But we’re friends, so tell me what you think would be best and we’ll go from there.”
Iain took a swig from his beer. He had never been a heavy drinker, but he’d also never seen a reason to subscribe to social conventions about when it was time to drink. He was willing to admit, though that Captain Crunch and beer were not a good combination. “I’m not going to try to draw this out and, frankly, I want to meet his entire harem and Autumn’s kits if I can. The kits don’t travel, so that means I’m willing to meet him at his place. Is tomorrow morning acceptable?”
The Kirin nodded. “It is.”
“Then tomorrow morning I’ll arrive at his place. I will insist on bringing security. I’m not a kami that’s almost indestructible.” His face went grim for a second. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I am now.”
“You’re Iain and we’re satisfied with that.” Pandora had a glass of tea. She’d discovered southern iced tea and it had immediately become her favorite drink.
Magdalene nodded. “I understand your desire for security and I don’t see a problem with it. It might be best if you didn’t take more pokegirls than Kerrik has. More would be seen as a threat by Raven and the others.”
“Me, Eve, Canaan, Ninhursag and Dominique are the ones you should take,” Pandora stated. “That gives you the same numbers as Kerrik and a harem that’s roughly equivalent, too. His pokegirls are stronger breed versions, but we’ve got years of battle experience they don’t.”
“I’m not trying for equivalency, Pandora. Besides, Kerrik has the other Elf pokegirls as well as Bishop’s group. I don’t want to look like I’m spoiling for a fight when I go there. I like the Wolf family and I’m not interested in starting a feud with them.” He took another drink. “That and I don’t want to get my ass kicked.”
“What were you considering, Iain?” Pandora was getting that sullen look he knew well.
“I was thinking you and Ninhursag could go with me.”
Magdalene looked surprised. “Why them?”
“Pandora is my primary bodyguard and is usually glued to my side unless someone else she trusts has taken her place. As for Ninhursag, she wants to meet Autumn.”
“She’s interested in meeting the great general? Like most great people, she’s remarkably ordinary in person.”
Iain shrugged. Liking Magdalene and confiding everything in her were two different things. “Yes, she’s interested in meeting Autumn.”
Magdalene smiled slightly. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Usually.”
“You’re making me want to be present for this meeting.” She finished her root beer and rose. “Do you agree not to have more than five pokegirls for this visit?”
“I do.”
“Then who you bring is immaterial for the negotiations. I think we’re done.” She smiled. “I look forward to seeing you again, Iain.”
“Thank you, Magdalene. I look forward to seeing you soon.” A thought struck him. “Please make sure Whisper is warned about scanning me. I don’t want to see her get hurt trying. I’m also afraid she may have to communicate to me through a surrogate since we’re not bonded.”
“I’ll make sure they understand the issue and realize that if something happens to her because she’s nosy that it’s not an attack or your fault.”
“Thank you.”
***
(09/23/06 1400 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
“You can’t prevent us from going along, Iain, and that’s the crux of the matter.” Eve’s arms were folded defiantly. “Too many of us can teleport.”
“I really need to reconsider a dictatorial harem setup, don’t I?” He sighed and looked around the room. Every member of the harem was present except Dominique and he suspected that was only because she was on the Theodora. “I told Magdalene I wouldn’t arrive with more pokegirls than are in Kerrik’s harem. He’s got five and I agreed not to go with more than that. If we can’t reach an agreement here, I’ll cancel and just not go.”
Raquel snorted and plopped down next to Iain. She gave Ninhursag a cross look. “You’re all being stupid. Iain has to go meet Kerrik and sending more pokegirls is not going to protect him.”
April scowled at the Rapitaur. “How are we being stupid, mare?”
“Everyone has read Bhavacakara, right?” Heads nodded and she sneered at them. Her Noir accent was thicker, but that happened when she was aggravated. “Well, for this, the important story is New Beginnings. Bhavacakra starts with Kerrik deliberately limiting his powers and you can’t see that we could send us and Lucifer’s army along with every pokegirl we’ve ever met and it wouldn’t matter. Among other things that he did in New Beginnings, Kerrik threw Typhonna and the rest of the big legendaries into the maudit sun. How can we compete with that?” People gaped at her. “We should be tres belle to Kerrik,” she concluded firmly.
Sofia’s ears flicked. “Tres belle?”
“It means very nice,” Eve supplied.
“Why didn’t she say that?” The Peekabu glared briefly at the Rapitaur. “Speak English.”
“Raquel has a good point,” April rubbed her eyes. “So who goes and who stays?” She gave everyone an angry stare. “I know, I know. I’m the beta and I get to stay.” She fixed Iain with the glare. “This is your fault, you know.”
“You demanded the post,” Eve said. “And you got it. I got fired and you don’t hear me whining. So shut up your bitching and soldier, soldier.”
“Only the deaf don’t hear you whining,” someone muttered. It sounded suspiciously like Vanessa.
“I am not a fucking doll!” Iain shot to his feet, forestalling Eve’s angry response. “I am sick and tired of everyone acting like I turned into glass since we arrived on this fucking planet!” He took a deep breath and got a firm grip on his temper as everyone stared at him. “And while Raquel is right and Kerrik could turn us all into free atoms without trying, he won’t unless we give him a damned good reason. He’s not capricious and I’m not in danger going to visit him.” He shook his head. “I could just take the Dragonesses. There are five of them and they don’t pretend I’m not here.”
“Iain,” April began.
He held up a finger. “Unless that is a heartfelt apology, you’d better not say another word.” Frustration bubbled up inside him and for once he didn’t try to force it back down out of sight. “I am sick and tired of being coddled, protected or whatever the fuck you want to call it. We moved here so we could all have a better life without the constant stress of being on guard against overwhelming attack twenty four hours a day.” His glare swept the room. “So far it’s been a dandy place for you. As for me, I could have stayed in Blue for all the difference it’s meant.” He snarled loudly enough that Raquel jumped. “This shit is going to change and it is going to change right the fuck now!”
Sofia got to her feet and walked slowly towards him. “Iain, you are frightening me. Please stop.” She stopped and leaned forward slightly, peering up at his face. Her ears went flat. “Why have you changed the color of your eyes?”
He didn’t want to scare Sofia and wondered if she was using this as a weapon to try and defuse his anger. He didn’t think she was that devious, but she was still growing into herself and nothing about her was sure. Besides, Canaan was a telepath and she was that devious. “Are they blue again?”
April joined the Peekabu. “No, this time they’re solid black.” She took his wrist and felt his pulse. “Your heart rate is normal, if not a little slow.”
Iain took a deep breath and locked his anger away. “I’m also not bleeding out my eyes this time.”
“It was your nose,” April muttered, “and fortunately no, you’re not.”
“Why can’t I get to have a tantrum just like everyone else?” He sighed. “I’m whining, aren’t I?”
“Only a lot,” Ninhursag put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “But you’re also right. We’ve been treating you like you’re the Azure Dancer.”
He blinked. “The what?”
“You’ve never heard of the Azure Dancer? It’s one of the most famous pieces of pokegirl made art in the world. Well, the other world. An Ingénue named Gretchen became famous making porcelain statuary and the Azure Dancer is the piece she’s most famous for. It’s so thin you can shine the light of a candle through it long ways and it’s kept on a special levitating stand to prevent any vibration from ever reaching it.”
“Why is it called the Azure Dancer?”
“The sculpture is of one of Gretchen’s daughters performing ballet and the porcelain has a bluish cast to it. That and Gretchen was from the Azure League. I’d show you a picture of it when we return to Blue, but pictures don’t do it credit.”
“Who’d have thought you liked art,” Raquel marveled.
Ninhursag gave her a lofty look. “I was a mercenary, not a barbarian. When you’re three hundred years old you tend to pick up hobbies and gain an appreciation for beauty.” Her grip tightened slightly. “Will you accept three of us on this trip?” When he merely looked up at her she smiled. “Me, Eve and April. Pandora will be in charge here.”
“Why me,” April asked curiously.
“You’re the only native born Blue in the harem. I’m hoping you can make friends with Morwen, who is also a native born Blue. On top of that, you’re pregnant and that will give you an edge with Raven, Misery and Whisper. It won’t stop them from killing you, but then we’re not going because we want to fight.” Ninhursag looked at Pandora. “And as for you, as an Archangel it’s time you started exercising some command authority and others started protecting Iain.”
The Archangel didn’t look happy but nodded in acceptance. “I will come if he’s in trouble. We all will.”
“I know. Iain?”
He took a deep breath. “Fine, you’ve forced me to relax and stop my tirade. Have my eyes returned to their normal color?”
“No,” Sofia’s voice was a sibilant hiss.
“Well, it’ll happen.” He dropped back into his seat and draped an arm around Raquel. “Ninhursag, Eve and April will go with me as Ninhursag suggested. Pandora, you’re to continue with rounding up everything that moves. Cattle, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, chickens, geese and anything else you can find.” He squeezed Raquel and stood. “Now, why is everyone standing around when there’s work to be done?”
***
(09/24/06 0430 Grey Ranch, Texas League)
“Iain?” Dominique’s voice was soft and questioning. “Do you want some company?” When he didn’t answer she settled down on the rock next to him. He was staring off into the distance, looking at the stars.
It was a good half hour later when she heard his voice. It was soft and she could hear a faint tremor. “I’m scared.”
“Why?”
“This is Kerrik Wolf we’re going to visit. I’ve lived in his head long enough to know that if he decides we need to die, we will.” He snorted. “If he thinks maybe we should die, we will.”
Dominique rested her head against his shoulder. “So you know him pretty well?”
“Like I know myself. Back when I thought he was fictional sometimes I wondered where he ended and I began.”
“Then you have a good idea of whether or not he’ll decide we need killed. Will he?”
His silence was profound. “Fuck me, you’re right.”
“So think your way through it, Iain, and tell me what he’s going to decide. Take your time. I’ll be here.”
Iain was silent as the sky started to lighten. Finally he stirred. “We’re a threat, but with Magdalene to speak for us he’ll wait to see if the threat actually jells before moving against us. He can understand and respect her desire to add my truewizard blood to the family. With the time that’ll give us we can convince him that we’re not a threat to his existence. We should live through this as long as we’re careful.”
“Then there’s no reason to be scared of Kerrik, is there?”
He glanced at her. “Is that logic I hear?”
“I learned to use it from my tamer.”
Iain chuckled. “It sounds like you’ve got a good man there.”
Her teeth gleamed whitely in the predawn. “I like to think he is. Most of the time he is, at least.”
“Well, you’re right. There’s no reason to be scared of Kerrik.” He took a deep breath and sat a little straighter as he glanced at her. “How’s the lab coming?”
“It’s great, Iain. I love what Theodora’s setting up for me.” She gave him a sideways look. “I can’t wait to show it to you. It’s got lots of flat surfaces for us to play on.”
He blinked. “You want to play? In your lab?”
She grinned impishly at him. “This lab has lots of room and I think it would be fun.”
He smiled back. “Who am I to argue with my mistress of magic?”
Dominique snickered. “I am not Hild.”
“I said my mistress of magic.”
“Oh, then it’s ok.” She crawled into his lap and settled herself comfortably, sighing in pleasure when he wrapped his arms around her. When he chuckled, she gave him a curious look. “What?”
“I’m just remembering our time together in the ruins of Edinburgh and how much our relationship has changed since then.”
“I was terrified. Some nutcase who I’d been ordered to spy on had turned me into an Archmage without so much as a single taming, Evangelion was involved and everyone there hated me. It’s a wonder Scheherazade didn’t slit my throat when you weren’t looking.”
“She asked me if she could and I told her no.”
“While I’m glad you were concerned about my welfare, she’s the sort to arrange accidents and you know it.”
“Well, she didn’t and now you’re here in my lap where you can tell I’m not unhappy to have you here, either.”
Dominique was silent for a time. “I miss her sometimes,” she said softly.
Iain missed her every day. She’d had his heart and taken a piece of it with her when she’d died. “Me too.”
Her hand cupped his cheek. “You look so sad, Iain.”
“Scheherazade died doing what pokegirls are supposed to do.” His voice was bitter. “She was saving our lives. It’s probably how she would have wanted to die.” His eyes closed. “But that’s not how a woman I love is supposed to die.” He sighed. “She was supposed to die of old age in the bed our children were conceived and born in.”
“That’s so romantic,” Dominique kissed him gently. “I volunteer to die that way in three hundred years or so if we haven’t found a way to make me immortal by then.” She rested against him for a moment. “I have to go.”
“I know. So do I.” He carefully lifted her out his lap and stood, putting her down on her feet. “I’ll be safe if you will.”
She laughed and climbed back into his arms. “I love you, Iain.”
“I love you, Dominique.”
***
Iain Grey
Living Harem
Ninhursag - Elfqueen & maharani
Eve Grey - Megami Sama
April Grey - Duelist & beta
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
Pandora - Fiendish Fallen Angel/ Fiendish Archangel
Canaan - G Splice (Hunter Amachamp & Alaka-Wham)
Zareen - Nightmare
Raquel - Fiendish Rapitaur
Sofia - Peekabu
Vanessa - Evangelion
Dead Harem
Eirian - Silver Dragoness
Aurum - Gold Dragoness
Skye - Blue Dragoness
Emerald - Green Dragoness
Beryl - Red Dragoness
Julia - human
Ling - Cheetit
Matilda - White Tigress
Twau
Armsmistress
Blazicunt
Ranch employees
Daphne - Whorizard
Lynn - Growlie
Chuck - Doggirl
Ryan - Ponytaur
Winifred - Rack (German)
Rosemary - Kitten (Uruguayan)
You can review at Kerrik Wolf’s Review Page.