Chapter Five #2
The man was lying there, and she sighed, tapping his forehead and fixing his limbs.
“You will need to be able to move so you can do so, but in two hours, you go flat and broken again, and I don’t think the coward that your cock spat out will pick you up and carry you. Now, go. The clock is ticking.”
He moved slowly and then got to his feet. His companion went with him, and his engraved scalp was shining in the sunlight.
She walked up and smiled at the clan chief. “So, Abel-ur, will you invite me in for some water and a sandwich. It’s been a long day, and if I am to torture someone publicly, I would like a snack.”
“Yes. Of course. How is Bella?”
“She’s recovering. I gave her cells a boost, and she only has a few more days in hospital. I can take care of her at home until she’s back on her feet.”
He blinked. “Please. Come inside. My housekeeper is inside. He will get you something suitable.”
She nodded and walked with him into the house. The housekeeper was a thickly muscled orc with a grey cast to his skin. “Tam-or, this is our guest, Navendar. Navendar, this is my housekeeper and bodyguard when I have need of one.”
“Oh, like a few minutes ago when the idiot was insisting you get his daughter free because a stupid weak human should never have touched your magnificence?”
Abel-ur’s face darkened. “Um. Yes.”
Tam-or nodded. “If either had made a move, I would have been there to assist, but it is rude to assist without him being seriously outnumbered.”
She looked at the housekeeper. “I didn’t see any of that. I am blind, after all.”
Abel-ur said, “How do you see?”
“Cora and I were raised together. When she figured out I couldn’t see, she devised a spell, and we worked out the ritual, and now we share senses. When she was shot, I was aware of it, and I share her vision. Literally.”
“What if someone breaks the spell?”
“They can’t. We consumed the materials. The spell is part of us.
It’s how I know that you have potential as a companion for her, but you need to put some more power into it.
She won’t break. She really won’t break.
She also isn’t a fan of delicate handling.
If there is a next time, cuff her to something, and go to town. ”
Abel-ur stared and then smiled. “I was off my game and defaulted to how I treat humans.”
“Yup. We know.”
He paused. “So, you feel what she feels?”
“I can. When she starts to get frisky, I tune her out. I keep alert for panic or pain. Mainly pain that is clear and uninterrupted.”
She took a seat at the kitchen table, and the housekeeper put a plate of sandwiches together with a glass of water on the side.
Abel-ur asked, “What clan are you shaman for?”
“Oh. None. I was summoned in a botched ritual when I was a toddler, and no one knows where Cora or I came from. A bunch of mages found a spell to summon power, so they did.” She did jazz hands as she said, “Ta-da!”
Abel-ur said with horror, “The spell identified two little girls as power?”
Never bit into the first sandwich and gave the housekeeper a thumbs-up.
He chuckled. “Easy audience.”
She grinned. “No comment.”
Abel-ur said softly, “Bella said that she is in heat all the time.”
“Yup.”
“And you two share senses.”
“You aren’t as slow as you look.”
“So, you are also interested in finding a mating partner.”
“Sure, but I can wait. Cora is going to figure out her own situation first.”
His eyes went wide. “What?”
“Yup. She’s waiting to find out. Your fellas have met her little lady, but now, she has to wait until they decide if they want to hang around so she can put them through college.”
He scowled. “If she is carrying for me, I will put the child through college.”
“She will carry for herself. If you are nearby, you will have the right to see the child, but this one is hers. She has a problem getting them to stick, so she’s been trying different races on for size, so to speak.
She avoided orcs because she initially said it would be too much like screwing me, but you look different enough from me that she was able to put that out of her mind. ”
He stared at her, stunned. “She wants a child?”
“Well, we are both far past the normal procreation ages for a shifter or orc.”
“How old are you?”
She reached for the last sandwich. “Sixty-two. We have had our careers and are good at our jobs, but family is the next step; it has just been a distance away and down a long hallway.”
She smiled and drank the water. “There. Better. Fed and hydrated. One hour and forty minutes on the clock. Oh, Chief, do you give permission for me to enact the right of revenge for family on your grounds?”
He said, “I do.”
“Excellent. Just wanted to make sure all of the niceties are adhered to.” She looked around. “Nice house. How many bedrooms?”
“Six, and Tam-or’s quarters on the main floor.”
“Nice. Good space for a nursery when she visits.” She paused. “If she visits.”
“What could I do to bring her to me if she is pregnant?”
“Not to put too fine a point on it, but blow her fucking doors off.”
He blinked and smiled slowly. “I believe I can do that.”
“She is just as sturdy as I am, and I am about to demonstrate that I am very sturdy.”
He nodded. “You share senses.”
“Right, so screw her like she was a giant orc warrior. Well, a lady one. She doesn’t like alternative entrances right now. She’s on a mission.”
He blinked and smiled. “What?”
“If she’s in her doe form, pull her to her knees, grab her horns, and arch her head back. Ah. Now you are getting the idea. Looks like a lady, fucks like a beast.”
“But she’s so graceful.”
Never did something she rarely allowed herself.
“Oh, wow. When you get a second form, you have to master how it moves, how you turn, bend, etcetera. Her beast has horns. Large ones. She can’t wear them in a car, so she has to be human while driving.
That is why I need to engage in the vengeance.
If she ends up pregnant, her honour will carry to her child, and I am family, as is Uncle Matthias.
The orcs around here need to know that we mean business before he has to step in. ”
“The mayor?”
She chuckled. “Yes. That wouldn’t go over well.”
“I am teetering between arousal and terror.”
Never smiled. “That is the attitude you should take into sex with Cora.”
He got a message on his phone. “Holy shit. They are bringing her here.”
She got up and stretched. “Then, we had better find the battleground. Something suitable for a large audience.”
Abel-ur nodded. “Come with me. We have grounds for honour battles.”
“Ah, good. Show me the way.”
“Her father will warn her. He’s been obsessed with me becoming his son-in-law for years, and he has fed into her delusions.”
They left his home, and he walked with her down a block to the challenge grounds.
Tam-or came with them and looked larger in the bright light.
Guessing at lineage was rude, but she would guess that there was either a giant or a mountain troll zipping in his bloodstream.
Either one of his parents must have had a lot of fortitude.
He gave her a slight smile as he followed them.
She shook her head, and when they got to the challenge grounds, she found a spot to stand and said, “Wake me when they get here.”
Abel-ur stared. “What?”
“I am taking a power nap. Translate that as you will.” She stood in place and wrapped herself in power, taking energy from the surrounding orcs. That was what shamans did. They used the power of the clan to defend and protect. Never used it for whatever the hell she wanted.
The XIA vehicles drove onto the challenge ground, and an ambulance approached and stood at the ready.
She grinned as she came out of her meditation. “Ah, good. I am still going to have time to hit the taco truck tonight.”
The father came out, moving carefully. He waited as his daughter was extracted, and she was talking fast about it being a human and she had no right.
Never grinned and walked over to the agents, who had possession of the criminal. “I will take it from here, and this little bitch and I are going to have a chat.” Never grabbed the woman by the hair, bent her over, and hauled her to the challenge ground.
The woman flailed and stumbled as Never hauled her into the centre of the challenge ground.
“Now, you twisted little cunt, we are going to have a chat.” She casually pulled the woman upright and dismissed the cuffs. They fell to the ground.
She grabbed the jaw of the woman and lifted until they were eye to eye. The woman gasped. “You’re a shaman.”
“A shaman without a clan is a hunter. My bond-sister was shot today. No warning. Her assailant stalked her without notice or even encounter. Four shots struck her body, though six were fired. I am... upset.”
The woman started screaming. She babbled apologies, begged for forgiveness. She fought to get loose, but Never’s borrowed energy bound her.
“Well, now. It seems you are panicked. I will give you a chance that you did not offer my family. You can fight back. Hand to hand. If you win, you will simply be returned to the XIA and do your time. If I win, you will be mutilated and scarred for the rest of your life.”
She twisted her head, and her orc aspect became more apparent.
Her tusks came out, and her ears grew. Swirls appeared under her mint green skin.
Dark swirls of green moved across her. Her clothing changed to a leather band across her breasts and a hip wrap with draped leather to cover her lack of a thigh gap.
The leather boots were comfy and good for running in.
Never turned her to look. “Across the field are a whole bunch of weapons. You can run for them and try and use them, but you are not leaving the challenge field until this is done. I will wait.”
She let her go, and the girl staggered back.
Never watched her straighten, looking around at the gathering at the edge of the field. “Help me!”