© Copyright 2011 by silli_artie@hotmail.com
This work may not be reposted or redistributed without the prior express written permission of the author.
A work of fiction, meant for adults. Read something else if you are not an adult, or are offended by stories with sexual content. Then
again, if all you’re looking for is in-out, in-out, in-out, you should probably read something else. I welcome constructive comments. Enjoy.
This is Part 11! You might want to read the
earlier parts first!
WARNING: Sharp Curves Ahead!
Training
I had a pretty good idea what they were trying to do; that was pretty simple. My questions were: (1) what, if anything, am I going to do about it, and (2) is there a reason why they’re doing it other than the obvious one?
The “what” is pretty simple -- Elna and her Andean Yeti friends were screwing my brains out, night after night, and it’s glorious!
That gets to the “why.” An obvious conclusion is that they’re doing this to train me, to condition me, so that at some time in the future they can rely on this conditioning -- but why? Just to have me manipulable and easy to handle? That’s the part I don’t understand.
After I go to bed at night, naked save for the friend on my ankle or wrist, one of them pops through the Portal and climbs into bed with me. That Portal is well protected, and only lets friendlies through. With the protection cast around each bedroom, and the bracelet I wear, simple hostility isn’t going to work. I think. No, I’m sure.
Oh, they do so much more than just climb into bed with me... It’s a formula, a routine, and it’s delicious. They get on the bed on all fours and lower themselves on me, my head between those delicious furry breasts. So gently, so softly, filling me with scent and softness, brushing my face, engulfing me, moving my head back and forth, not making a sound.
Those first nights, I moved to hold her, to bury myself in her, be smothered by her, but she’d pull away and whisper for me to relax and let her take care of me. When I relaxed back, she’d continue, moving gently, sliding her breasts over me, up and down, side to side, some strokes taking me deeper into her fur than others. I can’t tell what she’s going to do next -- glide over me, the touch of her fur so light and tantalizing, or slide me so deep between her breasts, engulfing me so deliciously.
Then a hand behind my head, cradling me. The first time she did that, I thought I was going to come! I expected, I hoped, I wanted her to pull me to a nipple. But when I moved my head for a nipple, she squeezed the back of my neck and told me once again to let her take care of me. Holding my head, moving over me, my head between her breasts, putting more weight on me, getting me so hard, so hot, so dizzy, yet so relaxed...
Pulling the covers off me that first time and letting herself down on me, that soft fur against my body, I was so close -- and she slid us together, keeping that same deliberate rhythm. I didn’t last long at all, and it was glorious, coming so strongly, so intensely, and she kept moving, holding my head, still so gentle. Rocking me to sleep in her embrace, then waking being smothered between her breasts, but returning to that soft gentle rhythm again, wiping me out, so dizzy and so hard, so relaxed, until she finished me off.
She finished me off, then rocked me to sleep again. Three times that first night?
From those first nights, it’s only gotten better. They’ve trained me better. After two weeks, I last a lot longer. Still starting with just my head, tantalizing me and relaxing me, holding my head, then sliding down the bed clothes. It wasn’t Elna, I think it was Brenda who did that the first time, sliding down the bedclothes and then that same deliberate rhythm, my head between her breasts, but brushing the rest of my body with her fur. So electric! So dizzying! The first few times as I’d get close she’d slide us together and finish me off. But later as I got close she’d smother my head between her breasts, smothering the rest of me as well, holding still until I’ve cooled off some.
Then it’s back to tantalizing me with her fur, that slow, deliberate motion. Some times she’ll lift up so it’s just the tips of her fur that touch me, such a light electrifying touch! She’ll press my face into the side of a breast, smothering me to one of those especially soft patches that holds her scent as she moves her body so lightly over my stomach and groin.
She slides us together, and keeping her hips still on mine, keeps moving my head back and forth between her breasts. Oh that does something so strong to both of us.
Thinking about it, remembering it, there are three of them, Elna, Brenda, and one other. Don’t know her name. The last part started with her. Holding my head, moving me between her breasts like that, I feel so hard, so full inside her. When she starts moving her whole body again, I could tell -- she had to work to keep the rhythm. And thinking about it, remembering it, they come around the same time I do. Oh, when I come, being held and rocked and teased like that, I lose it. I’m lost, and I love it. But thinking about it, so are they... And when I think about it, remember it, I also get a sense of amusement from my bracelet friend. Perhaps my friend and I are conditioning them as well? A strong sense of amusement. Okay, that makes sense; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right? Thinking about it, they did seem to be making more noise these days... Brenda last night, trembling as she held me? Yeah, a nice pattern.
I did what I should have done much earlier -- I called Moira and started explaining things to her.
Only to be interrupted and told (requested, sorry) to go open the Portal in the old barn.
It was after dinner, so I went to the old barn and opened the Portal to friends.
Moira, Bin, and Val appeared almost immediately, and Moira was extremely upset!
As we walked to my office, Moira ranted loudly at high speed on how she’d been conned, again, that Elna had just mentioned thanking me, not this concerted... She peppered her tirade with questions, but didn’t give me any time to answer! After a few minutes of this, I took Val by the hands to the circular bed which still inhabited my office, and fell back pulling her on top of me. Much better!
What was I doing! Moira shouted, finally pausing, if only for a moment.
I buried my face between Val’s breasts once more, inhaling deeply, then moved her to the side. I sat up and addressed Moira, “Waiting for you to stop your tirade and be rational again.”
She took a breath, but didn’t say anything for a moment, and another moment, and finally sighed.
Bin wasn’t standing next to her? I felt someone coming through the Portal and started to get off the bed, but Val pulled me back.
Mika, the Yeti enchantress, came in.
Interesting -- Moira was highly agitated, that was clear, and understandable. But some of the terms she used describing “the short ones,” sounded quite pejorative. Not just in terms of reference, but how they can’t be trusted, up to their usual tricks, and more.
The Yeti have a term for what Elna and friends were doing; “domestication” is a rough fit. “Pussy whipping” is too coarse, but it is male sexual domestication and sexual conditioning.
Mika asked me a question, or rather, she tried, but Moira went off on a tirade again.
Val rolled her eyes and Mika nodded. They let Moira run on for a while, then asked her to step outside.
I flopped back on the bed. Bin tossed for Mika -- one specialist replaced with another. I chuckled; Mika was the only one I’d not knocked up -- yet. Hmmm, that’s an interesting thought... How do the Yeti practice contraception? Or do they? The Portal -- Moira leaving in a huff! Interesting! Val leaving as well!
I sat up and took off my boots.
Mika came back in. Not smiling, but not looking as pissed off as Moira was, either.
She pulled up a chair and started explaining. They felt that Moira was too closely involved; she agreed to go back. They agreed that Val should go back with her.
Mika had questions for me -- any interesting scents, were they wearing anything when they arrived, did they say anything, sing to me, suckle me?
I didn’t recall anything in terms of scents other than what I felt were their natural ones, or at least nothing I’d been exposed to, such as the little flowers. Other than telling me to relax and let them take care of me those first times, they didn’t say a word, or make a sound -- until we got close to climaxing. I woke most of the time when they arrived. Elna and Brenda arrived naked. The other one arrived wearing a white robe. Why?
Mika asked me to describe the experience. I invited her closer to help me remember. She laughed and told me I’d get my chance, not to worry... I told her how it had started, and how it evolved. At times I closed my eyes, remembering. Damn, it was so good! I told her how good it was, how quickly I relaxed and let go now, and yet they kept going longer and longer before finishing us off. Mika was particularly interested in that, especially when I described feeling them quiver around me, and the noises they made as we came. I was hard recounting it, and I could smell aroused Yeti.
Sitting up, I could see aroused Yeti. I asked Mika, what’s going on?
As she started, I got her to explain male Yeti sexual domestication.
There weren’t a lot of male Yeti, as I knew. Boys grew up big and strong, bigger and stronger than their mothers. She thought I was aware of female Yeti issues when they were in their most fertile times, occasionally injuring their mates -- a significant concern when a human male was involved. That was even more of a problem with male Yeti, the males causing injury. With females, they could use the little flowers to relax them. Unfortunately, those couldn’t be used on males, as they interfered with erection and ejaculation. The approach that had evolved was male domestication, starting at an early age. Yeti were breast fed for at least four years... I sighed, looking at her, seeing those delicious nipples, thinking of Val, Bin, Elna...
She shook her head, smirking again. When the males were about eight, domestication started, with unrelated females, specialists such as herself, doing the training. What I’d described and experienced was a combination of the early training, conditioning the male to relax when held, and later training for arousal and intercourse.
But there were things she didn’t understand -- particularly since I was fully grown. Why hadn’t they used drugs, some of the flowers, to wipe me out initially? And why hadn’t they brought in other aspects of the usual domestication process, enchantments, trance, and hypnosis?
I smiled and raised my right wrist; it was on my wrist again. I ventured that if they’d tried that, my friend would have objected. I started to mention some of my recent training sessions on that dream plain that had involved just that, female Yeti approaching me, arms outstretched and nipples visible, drawing me in, holding me -- and getting cut in half when they tried something. But my friend on my wrist tingled to let me know that would not be a good thing to say.
It wouldn’t have mattered, I don’t think Mika was listening. She was staring at my right wrist, her mouth open. She managed to gasp, “They didn’t tell me...”
“Explain!” I snapped, commanding.
Mika looked at me, shocked. She hadn’t been told I was an adept, a sorcerer in training, let alone one with... Yes, trying to bend my mind would ... fail. But she’d thought they’d avoided those approaches because of the enchantments she and her people had cast, and protection from the dwarves, but not...
I nodded. Why not suckle me, increase their control that way? The times I’d tried for their nipples, the protector on my wrist had not objected, and yet the Yeti kept me away.
She smiled, recovering. That was a deliberate part of domestication for a number of reasons. One was because the connection with a female’s milk was individual, and binding to a particular trainer was neither the goal nor advisable. Also, denial only increased desire, so that when that desire was finally slaked...
Okay, I get that part. But once again, I didn’t understand. It seemed like this whole domestication process produced a very controllable male who could be ridden safely and enjoyably by one or more females.
Yes, that’s correct.
I shook my head. That’s not what I’ve experienced with Val, Kal, or Bin, or even Elna early on.
Mika sighed and told me that was one of the things that was special, that made me all the more desirable, that I was such an active and thoughtful partner.
Okay, so what do we do about this? Continue to suffer through it?
Mika chortled and mentioned there wasn’t any harm in it.
How can we turn this against them, I mused to myself... Condition them to me... As Mika chortled, the thought hit me -- that incubus I’d eaten... If I thought about it, looking through his memories, his skills and training, yes, I could see how to arouse them even more, intensify things... And yes, my bracelet friend had been taking me down those paths... But I could do so much more. The feeding would be much better that way...
I looked to Mika. I liked the way she looked, and the smirk on her face.
“We thought it would be best to review what they have done, and go from there,” she whispered.
“As you tease me, please take me with your eyes?” I whispered back.
“You should undress,” she rumbled.
I took off my shirt and flopped back on the bed, undoing my pants. As I slipped them off, I had help.
She started as they had, brushing my face gently, some times smothering me momentarily. There were some differences, some changes.
One of the changes was that I wasn’t playing fair anymore. All I’d learned -- from my studying, from the incubus I’d eaten, from memories of what I’d done in bed with them -- all that came into focus.
So many small things... They are so sensitive to sound -- moaning, calling her name, sighing. Later as she smothered me between her breasts and was moving her hips so the tips of her fur just grazed me, oh so tantalizing, I barely touched the insides of her hips with my thumbs. Yet that elicited a moan and a snapping of her hips, moving more.
So good, but different from the others -- oh, she was fanning my flames and I was enjoying the experience, open and receptive. But I was putting more into fanning hers as well, doing those little things to increase her pleasure. I was getting help, directing me to hold her hips, to dig my fingers into her fur, to call her name as I pulled her closer, to press my thumbs on the insides of her hips just so...
Both of us dizzy and delirious with pleasure and oh so close. Our eyes connected and she looked at me with wonder, a look of concentration... My eyes half closed and I moaned as she did something that pushed me so much closer. A hand going to the back of my head as she leaned forward, engulfing me in softness as she drove on with her hips, both of us moaning and going over the edge. She quivered and quaked on top of me, smothering me in softness, suddenly pulling her hand from behind my head and starting to lift up off of me, but I managed to get my arms around her and hold her where she was.
She moaned and shook more, her weight coming down on me, feeling so good. My friend coached me to dig my fingers into her fur, holding her hips just so... She moaned and squeezed me, swirling her hips, draining me, holding me inside her.
It took her a couple of minutes, deliciously collapsed atop me, before she lifted up partially and resumed brushing my face with her fur, singing softly. Heaven!
Waking in the middle of the night to her moving on top of me, getting me so aroused and so dizzy, impaling herself on me. I responded, digging my thumbs into the insides of her pelvic girdle as I tried for a nipple. Her response was intense as she clamped me to her nipple and pressed into me with her hips, moving, moaning, shuddering around me. I was at the edge for so long, holding on, barely able to breathe and loving every moment of it. She let out a louder moan and shuddered more. That did it for me -- and as I filled her, she sighed, rolling her hips and moving my head around.
Once more she collapsed on top of me, so good. This time though as she recovered, she moved a little to one side, cradling me to her, and softly sang me to sleep.
I woke alone, knowing she’d just departed. I sat up. What a trip!
I got half-dressed; it was a little before four in the morning. Walking back to the house, I paused to look at the stars. So clear and crisp! I love it out here, no streetlights to mess things up.
Undressing again getting into bed, I could still smell her. Damn but I loved to be wrapped up in them! And that last bit, waking, being taken on a fast, intense ride... The Andean one, Brenda, had done that to me a week or so earlier, arriving early that night, wiping me out the slow way, and then taking me on that fast, intense ride three times more before dawn. But that had been on a Friday night, and I got to sleep in Saturday! I’m looking at a Thursday, with probably a full day!
I crashed and slept well. Showered and went into a day full of the usual. Let’s hear it for the usual!
I had a break mid-afternoon. I’d no sooner planted my sorry ass in my office chair when, “Moira for you on line two,” came over the intercom. “Got it!”
I leaned back and picked up the phone. “How are you, Mother?” I asked her.
She was somewhat apologetic, more for losing her temper than anything else. Mika and Bin had spoken with her, as had Val and Kal. There wasn’t anything per se wrong with what they were doing, it was just... She asked if I was enjoying it... I told her I was, and it made me want her daughters all the more, as we shared something special. She told me that’s what Val told her; if I didn’t mind, Val and Kal would start visiting me as well. I would love that, particularly on the weekends when I could sleep in, and spend more time in bed with them. Tomorrow night, then, one of them would visit me. I thanked her once more for her beautiful daughters, and her patience. She sighed and thanked me.
That night after dinner I spent a quiet evening cleaning firearms. I changed the order of things in my shotgun -- I’d had two buckshot rounds followed by slugs. I reloaded with one buck and the rest slugs, all of them silver. I could probably get some silver buck made up, like a number six or so... I just felt better knowing things were loaded with silver. “Some things you just want to be sure they stay dead,” I muttered.
Friday night Val joined me just after dinner. It was so good to see her again! She was showing, and looked so beautiful! She apologized that she wouldn’t be able to train me really well because of that... But there were things she could do to make up for it.
Oh did she make up for it! Her breasts were fuller than before. Teasing me, taking me to incredible places, then sitting on me and riding us. Curled up at her side, holding her, filled with her scent and her fur, so good. Sitting up between her legs in the middle of the night, her legs around me, squeezing me, I didn’t want it to end. I ran my hands over her, touching, squeezing, calling her name, doing everything I could to increase her pleasure. Seeing, hearing, and feeling her respond was a turn-on by itself, and focusing on her held me off for a while longer. I came being squeezed by her legs, barely able to hold on. As I started to collapse, she pulled me up to her, attaching me where I belonged.
I woke up alone, just before ten in the morning -- that’s incredibly late for me! I showered then puttered, putting away a lot of enhanced Gatorade. About two in the afternoon I got a call -- Bin and Mika were coming for dinner and wanted tamales and beer!
I made a quick trip to Chavez Market for more tamales, sauce, and beer. I set up the steamer in the old barn, and a bucket of ice for the beer.
Then I actually sat down at my desk and studied, going through another section in the Book.
My head was swimming at the end of that; a little over an hour. I had a better idea how close that deal with the shape-shifter had been, dropping me inside the Circle. I’d also done the right thing with the pseudo-Judy and pseudo-cat; being lucky can be a big part of making it to the next sunrise...
I took a walk outside with a bottle of Gatorade. The sections of the Book were getting shorter, but more intense. I could handle one every few days; they took a while to settle in.
I sensed them around me -- my Tatzelwurm friends. I sat on a rock, looking at the growing shadows as day faded. One ran to my knee, another to my shoulder. I held out my hand, and the one on my shoulder ran down to my palm. I brought ... her closer to my face, looking in her eyes. I knew I was smiling; I could feel the pride and the attitude in her. “It’s good to have you on my side,” I told her. She hissed and moved her head side to side.
I felt the Portal...
I put my friends down. “Good hunting!” I told them.
One hissed and ran off. The one I’d picked up jumped for the cuff of my denim pants, bit down on the cloth and gave a shake or two, then let go. She looked at me, hissed, and took off into the brush.
Bin and Mika appeared in the Portal; I bid them enter. We hugged and kissed.
Not surprisingly, they wanted to talk, as well as eat!
Both were suspicious -- Val had returned glowing, so over the top... Mika thought about her experience... She talked to Bin, comparing notes. Was I doing something deliberately?
I smiled and told them I was now -- earlier, I’d been receiving cues from my friend, I showed the bracelet on my wrist. But now, it was indeed deliberate. They knew about the demon Tana and I had speared, the one who’d tried to get me to run off the end of a ramp? They’d heard of the incident. I gave them more detail -- it had been an Incubus, a shape shifter. Tana ate it, and I took in all its tricks. I was using what I’d learned from it.
I saw the looks on their faces...
And with Val, and with them, it would be to increase our joy, and because they deserved the best I could do for them.
We had a leisurely dinner, talking about some of the challenges. Everyone agreed Carol was a natural; the enchantments on her just drove the conclusion home a little more.
Mika very obliquely asked if I was studying...
I showed the taskmaster on my wrist again -- yes, I was studying, and training, and even learning a little. My taskmaster sparkled on my wrist; we laughed a bit, some praise.
After a while more, though, Bin grumbled about wanting to find out just what I’d learned...
I made a pit stop at the loo, and then in my lab, tooting some fairy dust; it was going to be a long night.
It was a long and glorious night, extending into Sunday morning. Held between them, double-teamed, doing my best, but they wore me out. Glorious! Mid-morning I managed to walk back to the house and open the small Portal in the hall. I cooked up two pounds of bacon, a dozen eggs, and turned half a loaf of bread into toast. We also polished off a good bit of fortified orange juice.
After that substantial brunch, they needed to leave -- after squeezing me, holding me, passing me between them for a while, and leaving me dazed on my bed...
I got up and cleaned the kitchen, then packed up rifle, shotgun, handgun, and ammo and went down to my range for some practice. I don’t practice with silver; that’s for special occasions. I did part of my obstacle course on the way back, carrying thirty pounds of kit; it felt good. I took a long hot shower; the new shower heads felt really good. I had an early supper, then went back to the old barn to read one more section of the Book. Two hours, and I took another shower afterwards -- I was covered in sweat. I crashed early -- a new week starting, like it or not.
Rough Transition
Tuesday afternoon mid-summer, I was heading back after making a delivery. Our friend was still insisting on bringing in oryx. He’d put up the fences, cleared land, and almost finished the rest of the prep. One suggestion he’d gotten from his oryx-raising buddy in Texas was to spray the boundary between the oryx and his horses and cattle with coyote or wolf urine; herbivores on both sides would keep clear of the boundary, and most other animals with a sense of smell would do the same! I’d delivered two 32-ounce bottles of the rankest concentrate you could imagine, and made him a gift of six Tyvek suits, complete with booties and hoods; he’d have to get the face masks on his own. I went over setting up a decon area and how to decontaminate the folks who did the spraying. I suggested giving them a bonus for the work, and figure on burying their clothes, the suits, and everything else they used!
I was enjoying the drive back. Things were going well, even with Carol showing up two weeks later than expected, but that’s because she’d completed her boards. And she was sure she passed, so the only thing left were residency requirements, and she was arguing about those! The house was great, too good for the likes of me. Carol and Maria were making me take time off, throwing me out of the office, things like that.
Still had visitors at night, mostly Yeti, from both sides, and the occasional Succubus. The Andean Yeti crowd were still training me, even though they were getting as good as they got. Val, Kal, Bin, and occasionally Mika, they were pure joy. The thing around my wrist was still training me; intense in its own way.
I chuckled -- I looked forward to my Succubus friend; nights with her were so soothing.
I love the area -- the heat, the sky... Didn’t care much for the politicians, but what else is new. Most of the time...
I was driving on one of the larger roads, two lanes each way with a narrow dirt median between them, no barrier. Even though I was in no hurry, I pulled into the left lane to pass a big, slow tractor - double tanker rig; the signs on the tanks said 1203 -- gasoline. I looked at my gas gauge, still above 3/4 full. Let’s hear it for big V8 engines -- put my right foot down a bit and I’m past the rear tank, about halfway past the front tank...
Shit! The thing on my right wrist is on fire! A huge rig coming the other way is crossing the dirt median headed right for me!
I was sitting on a wooden chair in a dimly lit hall, my right foot still stabbing at the brake, my hands still grasping the steering wheel that isn’t there. In front of me were long wooden tables. I stifled a gasp as my hands shook. The thing on my right wrist was barely tingling. That big rig had been less than twenty feet away, both of us going over 70 miles per hour...
Standing to my right was the Gatekeeper, a gauze wrap protecting me from his visage.
“Am I dead? What happened?” I asked, the shakes dissipating into cold, hard awareness. My voice echoed in the cool, dimly lit hall -- carved out of rock? An assortment of large and small passages leading off from the hall.
He moved to sitting on the edge of a nearby table. He didn’t walk, he just sort of was there, sitting. “We are here, my friend, and you are alive and breathing. Yet...”
I was cold, alert, and ready to tangle. I’d learned in the ‘stan; I get through adrenaline rushes quickly, quietly, and usually with a bad attitude. “Something tells me that was a close one?”
He shook his head. “Once again, others underestimate you. My friend, I struggle mightily with your knot, even challenging ... others ... to find better resolutions. We are in the best resolution available. Others made significant efforts to destroy you. To many, they have succeeded; a horrific collision and unidentifiable remains with many dead humans. To the human world you did not survive. Yet we are here, because you must be here; your path is still long.”
I nodded, looking around. That tingle of familiarity -- I’ve been here before, or would have been here before? Verb tenses and declensions get difficult when the Gatekeeper is involved. Memories -- I’m here with others -- Yeti, dwarves, vampires, and more. I stood and moved to a larger but simple wooden chair on a platform, the center of three chairs, thrones really. Touching the wood, I smiled. I could feel it, feel more of it. “Fiat Lux!” I called out, facing the hall. Nothing happened. I shrugged my shoulders and took a seat.
I looked around more. “How do I get some help cleaning this place? Dwarves?”
The Gatekeeper nodded, almost a bow. “Is that your wish, My Lord?”
Damn, never have liked command. Not a lot of choice here, it would seem...
I felt the smooth wood of the chair, the throne. The middle one of three, larger and taller than the ones on either side. How many hundreds of years had it been since someone sat here? Since a male sat here? Ever? “My friend,” I said clearly, speaking to the hall, “I ask you to be my counselor and advisor, as much as you are able.”
The Gatekeeper stood and bowed. “As much as I am able, Lord.”
I nodded. “It would seem... Triage rules: start where you stand. First order of business is securing the site, then cleanup, learn more of my recent almost demise, then selectively let others know the attempt has failed. I have a feeling Fanise was behind this... As counselor and advisor, I beg you to be clear and concise, and particularly when we are not in front of a crowd, do not be formal. What do you advise?”
“Open the Portal; I will invite representatives of the dwarves and shades to attend. The shades close to you are aware that something has happened, but they are unable to learn more, such are the protections cast upon this space. The Yeti do not know and should not be involved yet,” he advised.
I looked around again. A tingling ran through me. I stood and extended the friend on my wrist in the form of a blade up into the air. I held a glowing katana, its edge sharp enough to cut the Moon. “Fiat Lux!” I commanded.
The hall filled with warm silvery light, emanating somehow from the rock walls curving up into a high rock ceiling. “Et facta est Lux,” I muttered with a smile, the blade going to a bracelet once more. I looked around the Great Hall, oval in shape, half a dozen or so passages of differing sizes heading off. The platform I was on, raised stone with an intricately carved edge, was at one end. The three ceremonial thrones sat on the platform, with two or three meters clear around them. Off to my right was a smaller table with chairs for six, which also had a feeling to it... I felt the tingling again, letting the feelings grow. I could almost hear the murmur of many voices, feel the place vibrant and alive.
So it had been in the past; so it will be again.
“Where is the Portal?” I went with my feelings and pointed to my right. “Over there?”
The Gatekeeper started walking off to the left.
I chuckled to myself; don’t know everything, that’s for sure.
Out the Great Hall, through a series of lesser chambers, then to a passage leading to a small area carved out of solid rock, one small passage in and out. Other than the Portal, that is. Very defensible; I liked it. Using my blade once more, I traversed the Portal’s outline, commanding, “For allies, only with my knowledge and consent.” I looked to the Gatekeeper, who nodded. The inscriptions of the Portal revealed themselves, shining bright. With a flip of my wrist I completed the pattern, and the circles and inscriptions making the Portal flared briefly as it returned to life after many centuries laying dormant.
When I looked again, the Gatekeeper wasn’t there.
Albert and Klaus, two dwarf friends, arrived soon thereafter. It took a while to get them off the bowing and scraping routine. Yes, I’m still alive, much to the eventual dismay of somebody, but for now, I need your help getting this place into shape!
They quickly added another thirty or more, security and housekeeping. Oh, there was another Portal off to the right of the Great Hall, a larger one. I opened it for the dwarves to use; that chamber was also set up for their modes of transport.
Albert and I were sitting in the Great Hall talking when I felt... I stood up and headed to the smaller Portal, Albert following.
The Portal was unsure. I sensed what was going on and told it to allow my friends passage.
Sophira and Tana appeared, and Sophira was not happy!
“Welcome, my friends,” I greeted my fuming, hopping mad, vampire friends.
“I am going to...” Sophira fumed.
“Sit with us and discuss recent events in a calm and thoughtful manner?” I suggested, offering my hand.
Tana smiled and bowed. Sophira made do with a curt nod.
I had to tell the Portal to let them out!
We embraced briefly and returned to the Great Hall. We sat at the small wooden table off to the side of the dais. I offered chairs to Sophira and Tana, but caught on that they wouldn’t sit until I did.
They felt something happen, but weren’t sure just what, other than I had been targeted. Sophira rushed to the scene, and while mortals had indeed perished, she could tell that I had not been one of them. Tana showed up just as a dark-side looky-loo appeared to check on things. Bad timing -- instantly skewered by Tana and interrogated by Sophira and Tana both -- very bad timing. Tana pulled in backup to watch the site and take care of anyone (anything) else stopping by.
Five hours had passed since the incident; Henry, one of the local sheriffs, broke the news to Maria and Carol. Both were understandably shattered. Joe, being a magical beast and my familiar, knew something was up, but didn’t know what, and wouldn’t let on.
We assumed Yeti the didn’t know yet. In due time we’d bring them in.
My plans?
I looked around the hall. I could feel memories, even though they hadn’t happened yet. “We will fill this Mountain once more with life and with light,” I called out I could almost hear the echoes of laughing children. I looked to Albert. “We still have a few months to make ready.”
Tana broke into a fierce smile. A slight smile broke through Sophira’s rage.
“All my children will be born here, and live here,” I announced to the Hall.
I looked to Sophira. “It was Fanise?”
She nodded. “It was Fanise, in concert with others. With your permission, Lord...”
I held out my hand. Sophira placed hers in mine. “Thank you, Mistress. I will need your help. We must plan carefully; I will not have unwanted casualties. Even if it’s only for a fraction of a second, I want Fanise to know that I am alive and that she’s pissed me off... Fanise is mine; once she is taken care of, the others...” I shrugged.
Now Sophira smiled...
“Mistress, a request?” I addressed her.
“My Lord?” she replied.
I shook my head. “When we are close, like this, please, no formalities -- keep reminding me that I am a mortal, short-lived, and ignorant.”
Sophira smiled and replied, “As you wish.” Tana was grinning.
“Does Johnny know?” I asked.
Tana spoke up. “He knows you’re not dead, as does Joe, but they can’t find you -- this place is too well protected.”
I nodded. “My requests of you -- if possible, I would like an advisor to represent you, and to sit at my table. I suggest, I request, Tana.”
Tana’s eyebrows went up. Sophira glanced to her, then to me, “A wise choice, Lord.”
Tana added, “I am honored, My Lord.”
I gave her my left hand, which she took. “Being my advisor means telling me when I’m being stupid, and don’t be polite about it!”
“As you wish,” she told me with a lilt and slight bow.
I looked to Sophira once more. “My other request -- I understand that to the human world I am dead, and particularly to the human world, I must stay that way. I want Johnny and Joe to watch over Carol. I don’t want her or others close to me hurt.”
Sophira’s gaze was fierce. “None will harm her,” she intoned.
“Just like with me?” I reminded softly.
Her head dropped forward.
“Thank you for everything you have done, and will continue to do, Mistress,” I told her quietly, holding her cool hand. “We need all the help we can get.”
I turned to Albert, feeling my stomach grumble. “Do we have a kitchen staff?”
“We most certainly do! They are in the kitchen, where they belong!” he replied enthusiastically.
Sophira departed to talk to Johnny, and take care of other business, I suspected. Albert, Tana, and I toured more of my domain. I knew we were in the Rockies, down deep in solid rock. I had a set of rooms both public and private, quite a setup. Large bedroom, and it had a bed in it already! Ah, but it was going to be lonely for a while... Looked quite sturdy though, and like it could hold three comfortably. Loo with running water (how did we get hot water? Something dwarfish about that). Close-by suites that would make a good harem and nursery. The whole place was cool, bordering on cold -- just right for Yeti, undoubtedly.
The kitchen was indeed staffed, and in operation!
I would have been perfectly happy to eat at the little staff table off the kitchen, but Tana, Albert, and the other dwarves wouldn’t stand for that! I had to sit in the Great Hall.
Only if Albert and Tana would sit with me.
Chilled white wine in crystal, silver serving pieces and utensils, plates that were a ceramic or china or something -- way too good for me, once more. The food was good. No, the food was great.
Albert explained it to me; unless I ate privately, I had to sit at either the large center table we occupied, or at the smaller table for six. The “get used to it,” was unstated but clearly conveyed. He also informed me they would be providing me with suitable clothing, including armor. A house crest was needed, if I had ideas. I thanked them both, and hoped I didn’t try their patience too much...
A crest flared in my vision -- like a Caduceus, like my old Army medical corps insignia, but with the snakes surrounding Airborne wings and a Katana central blade. I turned, looking at the head of the hall. I extended my right hand, palm out, fingers spread. I did something, and the crest sprang into view, shimmering, glowing in the air.
It felt almost right. I did something, and the edges intensified, the wings and snakes taking on more attitude. I dropped my hand, but the image remained. A tingling at my wrist, and I understood. “May you shine for a long, long time.” My crest -- it would be there as long as I breathed.
“As you wish, My Lord,” Albert announced.
I turned once more to the empty hall. Empty, yet I could feel it, I could feel it full of life.
I turned to Tana, offering my hand. “Walk with me?” I asked.
She placed her cool hand in mine.
Walking with Tana and Albert, dwarves bustling about. We’d hear the occasional muffled “boom!” as they brought in yet another load of stuff to bring the place back to life. Hearing them working, talking, swearing at each other -- it was filling with life already!
The ones making noise were the housekeeping - cleanup crews. The security crew were silent.
Walking around, overhearing the dwarves, I got the idea some of them might not be too sure about the new Lord -- the human? What, are you nuts?
A dwarf approached Albert -- they needed the refuse/disposal Portal opened. I asked him (in his own tongue) to lead us to it. The look of shock and disbelief on his face -- his eyebrows practically touched, the way he wrinkled his brow. Albert got him moving by yelling at him, asking if he wanted to sleep in the garbage, or get rid of it!
A very practical arrangement off to one side of the kitchen, a meter-wide opening in the rock about half a meter off the floor, curving down to half a meter below the floor. When the Portal was open, a dwarf would command it as they tossed something inside, and it would disappear.
I learned this by walking up to it, extending the friend at my wrist into a blade, and speaking to the Portal in dwarvish, commanding it to reveal itself. The inscriptions lit up. Surprising amount, for a garbage chute, until I started reading them. Hadn’t thought of that... I gave it my blessing and told it to open. The inscriptions flared brighter momentarily and faded out. My friend returned to bracelet form around my wrist. I asked Albert if there was anything else. He answered formally that there wasn’t at this time. Most of the other dwarves in the area chimed in with his, “Thank you, Lord.”
We continued on our tour.
The lighting was dwarvish and bordering on sentient, getting brighter or dimmer as needed.
And I was getting tired. What does tomorrow bring? Not patients, at least not for a while! What was that Walter Matthau movie? Hopscotch? For a while at least, I need to stay dead.
I felt a rumbling, a questioning from the small Portal. With a smile I told Tana and Albert I’d take this one personally; a friend was arriving, and I’d see them in the morning. Albert raised an eyebrow; Tana smiled and bowed.
Arriving at the Portal, an interesting sensation, almost a scent... I bid the Portal to let her enter.
I opened my arms and my Succubus friend stepped into them, embracing me.
“Oh, I am so glad you are still with us...” she whispered, holding me.
I nuzzled her neck, taking in her softness and scent. But then I stepped back. In one sense, I knew why she was here... “What brings you here, my Lady?” I asked, holding her hands.
She went down on one knee, still holding my hands, bowing her head momentarily, then looking up at me, giving me a breathtaking view of her bosom. “Sophira suggested, My Lord, that we make a representative available, to offer what counsel we can. I hope that my service may be acceptable.”
I pulled her to her feet, and pulled us together again. “Your advice, counsel, and comfort,” I whispered. “At least until my wives arrive!”
She chuckled as well, jiggling me closer in her embrace. “I’m sure we will be able to work out some accommodation.”
In my bedchamber a while later, taking off my watch and putting it on the nightstand adjacent the bed -- how old were these pieces of furniture? Centuries at least! My head was spinning; less than twelve hours since I saw that truck coming at me across the median.
She dimmed the lights, leaving us with a replica starry sky. In bed I held her, closing my eyes, my head still buzzing, spinning.
I couldn’t help it; I laughed.
“What is it?” she asked, kissing me on the forehead.
I’d been thinking about her, and her as part of the household. She needed a name I could use in public, and I’d become all too familiar with the issues surrounding the True Name of a magical being... “May I call you Vera?” I asked, whispering.
She gave me a gentle squeeze and another kiss on the forehead. “That sounds very nice.”
“Vera,” I pleaded, “Hold me, please.”
She held me. Even with her skill, it took a while for her to get my mind out of the way. But she did, and soon had me calling out her name.
END of Part 11
Rev 2011/10/11
On to Part 12!
Open Clinic 11
By silli_artie@hotmail.com
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www