David & 'Lyssa Ch. 05

David slipped an arm around the waist of each of the girls, and then carried them to the corridor as they

clung to his neck. David walked rapidly to where he had left Moira and Katherine, Much to his

surprise; Katherine was nearly recovered from her ordeal. "Who are they?" asked Moira, pointing

at the girls David still carried.

"I don't know, but if Lord Charnel wants them prisoners, then I want them free," replied David.

"Wrap your arms around me and hang on." David ordered. Moira and Katherine obeyed. David drew power from his artificial hand and teleported them all directly to the parlor of the mansion belonging to 'Lyssa and himself. Moira and Katherine let go of him and stepped back hurriedly. They glanced around in all directions. David sat the girls down in a couple of the chairs facing the TV. Then he turned around, what the hell was a TV doing here? Never mind, he scolded himself silently. He pulled the tasseled rope near the door to summon the servants. Shana appeared moments later. "Yes milord?" "Summon my wives and get a healer in here. I have two injured young women, burns on their feet." Shana sped off at a run.

"Please be seated." David told the nervous vampires. "You have my protection here. None will hurt you."

Moira placed her hand on Katherine's shoulder. "Relax, if he had meant us harm, he could have left you in the cell, and probably tossed me in there as well."

"We're just lucky that Lord Charnel has a big blind spot. He was thinking about another vampire trying to get out or make a rescue. He didn't consider a mere human worth worrying about."

'Lyssa and the others arrived within moments. David introduced the vampires to his family.

Lady Shadow entered the room about then and stopped dead in her tracks. "Werewolves." she said in a flat voice. The girls in the chairs twisted around to look at her. One of the werewolf girls said. "A cat." The other girl started a slow smile. "Here kitty kitty." "Enough of that!" snapped David. Lady Shadow's claws were sliding in and out of her fingertips. David glared at her and she calmed down with an effort.

Shana came back with a medic. He went immediately to the werewolves and knelt to examine their feet and ankles. The girls pulled their feet away and growled at the healer. "Behave! He's only trying to help take your pain away," said an exasperated David. The wolf girls settled down at once and allowed the examination to proceed.

Lady Shadow was introduced to Moira and Katherine. Jenny was nervous at first around the vampire women, but gradually warmed to them as they proved to be friendly and open. Lady Shadow and Moira got into a conversation about the troubles of running a domain. David relaxed further. Those two looked like they would be good friends.

Bitsy was having a trying day. Reed, the lizard man child was being his usual stubborn self. He was refusing to do his homework. Again. "I fail to see why I should listen to a soft skinned human female scarcely older than I am." Reed was saying with a sneer. That did it. Bitsy shifted to her dragon form. Reed found himself nose to nose with a pissed off reptile many times his size. "You will do the schoolwork because if you don't, I will personally fry your iguana ass and serve you up for lunch." said Staffet.

Reed wet his chair and babbled. "Yes ma'am. Right away ma'am."

Bitsy shifted back to human form. Tuck was sitting over along one wall, trying not to laugh too loudly. "Fry his iguana ass huh?" Tuck said to Bitsy, and then he broke up laughing. Bitsy shook her head. "Ok so he pissed me off once too often."

Tuck said kindly. "We have been here for a solid year subjective time. We can go home tonight."

David and the others were still in the parlor, and the werewolf girl's feet were bandaged and the pain largely gone. They were still arrogant little so-and-sos, but at the slightest look from David, they turned instantly docile, for a while anyway.

Bitsy came through the parlor door. "Hi Daddy. Hi Mommies. Tuck is sitting the children down in the dining room."

She made the rounds, hugging her parents and Lady Shadow. She stopped expectantly in front of the vampires and looked to her dad for an explanation.

"Staffet, This is Moira, Lady Deathmist. And her companion Katherine."

Bitsy bowed slightly and offered her hand to the women. Moira smiled and shook Bitsy's hand, as did Katherine. "You have trained your daughter well." Moira told David.

Bitsy walked over to the werewolf girls. She stuck out her hand to them. "Hi I'm Staffet. But you can call me Bitsy."

The wolf girls looked at each other. "A human." Said the one on the left. "Prey." Said the one on the right. "Lunch!" they said in unison. Both girls slipped from their chairs and writhed on the floor, changing into wolves. Bitsy stepped back a few paces. Lady Shadow started to say something, but David held up his hand to silence her. He wanted this to play out. The werewolf bitches needed a lesson in manners. And David knew Bitsy was just the one to teach them.

Growling, the wolves advanced on Bitsy. Their eyes glowing orange. They crouched to spring at Bitsy. Bitsy smiled unpleasantly. She shifted to dragon form as fast as she could. Then SHE growled at the werewolves. Both bitches promptly crapped on the floor and fled to hide behind David's legs, cowering and shivering.

Moira and Katherine exchanged glances. Clearly, this was NOT a Family to underestimate.

Bitsy returned to human form again. She walked around her dad to crouch next to the wolves. She held out her hand to them again. Both wolves cringed and rolled over on their backs to show submission. Bitsy strolled and petted them until they calmed down. Finally, Bitsy stood up. "I think they'll behave now," she said.

Bitsy went over to the chairs again. The wolves looked up at David. Then he nodded, and they followed Bitsy. The wolves jumped up onto a couple of chairs and shifted back to human form. Their feet and ankles were much improved. "We're sorry." They said in unison. "I am Malinka." Said the taller of the two. "And I am Anna." said the other one.

David came over to talk to them. "Why did Lord Charnel have you locked up in that cell?"

Malinka looked mad. "He was using us as hostages to make our father do his bidding."

"And who is your father?" David asked.

"Our sire is Pierre LeRouge. He leads the main pack of were's."

"What would your father do if he knew you were safe?" David asked.

"He would turn all the were beasts against Lord Charnel for daring to force his will on the Free Folk." Said Anna proudly.

David smiled slightly. "Now all that is left is for you two to clean up the mess you made." He pointed at the twin piles of dung where Bitsy had scared them.

"But we are the daughters of a chief!" Malinka protested. "And as such we are above menial labor." stated Anna.

David stood up. "You are guests here who have acted like spoiled brats. Until you prove yourself worthy of the extra consideration, you will clean up your own messes."

Malinka and Anna bowed their heads. "Yes Pack Master." They said.

Shana brought them a whiskbroom and a dustpan. Then she handed them each a moist towel.

The wolf girls obediently cleaned the floor. When they were done. Bitsy asked if they wanted to meet the others. The girls brightened at that. Lady Shadow said. "I think it's time Mrow and I got re-acquainted."

Bitsy grinned and opened the door to the dining room. The rescued children were all sitting down, eating with a minimum of fuss and noise.

"A big improvement." "Lyssa told Bitsy. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Mom." Bitsy said and hugged 'Lyssa.

Moira and Katherine were talking with David. "We know this LeRouge." Moira said. "He is proud, and stubborn beyond belief. But he is extremely loyal to his family and his pack of were beasts."

"And where can we find him without giving away to Lord Charnel what happened to his hostages?" David asked.

"With your permission?" Moira asked. David nodded the go ahead. Moira's eyes glowed red and she chanted in a tongue that David could not understand. A wavering shape appeared before them. Moira instructed the ghost where to go and what message to take. Then sent the specter on its way.

"We should have a response in an hour or so. " Moira said confidently.

"Let's join the others." David said. "We might as well eat while we wait. The cook here is very good indeed."

*The adults joined the children at the table. The kids were well behaved and polite, something that David privately thought was a situation that couldn't last. He was right.

Anna and Malinka were seated across from Mrow and her mother. Both wolf girls eyed the cat people and growled. Mrow hissed back at them and started to rise up from her chair. Lady Shadow placed her hand on her daughter1s shoulder and pressed her back down.

Encouraged by what they considered to be a sign of cowardice, Anna and Malinka began slowly shifting to partial wolf form. Mrow giggled suddenly and gestured with one hand in the direction of the unruly werewolves. Abruptly the growls stopped. Malinka's eyes widened and she began scratching herself furiously. Then Anna started scratching as well.

Bitsy looked at Mrow questioningly. "Ghost fleas spell." smirked Mrow.

"We surrender!" yelped Malinka. Anna agreed hurriedly.

Mrow gestured again, and the awful itching stopped instantly.

The werewolf girls sighed in relief.

"Have you two learned your lesson yet? No bullying in this household." This came from Prism, a young stone Troll who outweighed the wolves by a huge factor.

The chastened weres nodded.

Bitsy stood and introduced the children to the adults.

Mrow: Felinoid female

Sonya: human female

Rone: Goblin male

Ch'nor: insectoid male

Dawnlight: Elven female

Oaker: Faun male

Breaker: giant male

Grunt: Sasquatch/Yeti Male

Brooke: Water Elf female

John: Crystalline male.

Rainbow: Mountain Dwarf female

Koda: Ursinoid female

Sky Dancer: Winged Humanoid male

Prism: Stone Troll female

Mary: Android Female

Reed: Lizard man male

Changer: bog mimic male (He caused quite a stir when his race was revealed)

Zap: Centaur Male

Loper: Canine descended humanoid

Bob: humanoid with 4 arms

Batsy: Shape shifting demihuman.

David then stood and introduced the adults at the table to the kids.

Lady Shadow, Prissy, Jenny, 'Lyssa, Mad Tom, Moira, Katherine, and Shana.

Halfway through the meal, the ghostly messenger returned and floated over to Moira. The Vampire Lord appeared to be listening intently, although none of the others could hear anything. Then she waved the ghost over to Anna and Malinka. Hovering over the table in front of the girls, the specter turned transparent and shrank into a ball. A picture of a rugged, middle-aged man appeared in the ball.

"Father!" shouted the weres.

"I am relieved to know that you are safe and sound. I will be joining you within the week. In the meantime, you will remain where you are for your own safety. Obey Lord David and anyone he designates over you as you would me." Said the man in the globe. The picture blurred and vanished. The specter slid down through the table and on down through the floor, scaring the Hell out of one of the cooks who, at that moment, was rummaging through the pantry located just below the dining hall.

The were girls sat silently, trying not to cry as they stared at their food.

"What's wrong?" asked Koda.

"We're not hungry anymore." muttered Malinka.

"Bullcrap." Said David.

The young weres looked up at him in surprise. "You're just sad and homesick." Continued David "Now sit up and eat, you'll need the strength to keep up with my daughter."

The wolf girls picked up their forks and slowly began eating again.

David became aware that Bitsy was giving him a dirty look. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I need a rest," declared Bitsy. "I have been on the go for over a year, and I need to unwind a bit."

David was taken aback. "I didn't know that you were so tired. No problem Sweetie, take as much time as you need. We'll take care of everything on this end."

"Thanks Dad." said a relieved Bitsy.

The rest of the meal went fairly smoothly. The werewolves behaved themselves, and soon were eating with renewed appetite. They were getting into conversations with the other youngsters.

'Lyssa was whispering in Staffet's ear, making the girl laugh.

When the meal was over, 'Lyssa went to talk quietly with Moira, Katherine, and her co-wives. David was wondering what mischief his wife was planning. Whatever it was, he was sure he wasn't going to be too thrilled about it.

He was right.

Soon after everyone went back to the parlor, the women disappeared by ones and twos. David found himself and Tuck alone watching a horde of youngsters.

David walked over to Tuck. "I'll take them back to the library for a few hours. Why don't you go take care of stuff at home for a bit? But we need to sit down and talk later."

"Sounds great." Tuck said as he headed for the portal to his home. "I'll be back in a couple of days."

David herded the kids through a temporary gate to the library dimension. He led them to the gym and picked up a volleyball. "Have you kids ever heard of a game called 'Dodge Ball'?" The kids caught on to the game at once, each using their individual skills, (and occasionally a nice bit of levitation or magical deflection), they gleefully bounced the ball off each other and everything else in the room. Finally, all of the kids were exhausted but happy.

David put them all to bed, and then sat down in his old familiar easy chair. He closed his eyes for a moment...

David woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. He hadn't meant to go to sleep. He looked around. The kids were all still asleep. All was quiet.

So what the hell woke him up?

David stood up and moved outside the apartment, sealing the door behind him. Nothing in immediate sight, so he breathed a levitation spell under his breath. David rose into the air, trying for a better look from above. But as far as he could scan, he saw nothing.

Still vaguely bothered by a feeling that something was amiss, David landed and entered the apartment. He quietly woke the kids and hustled them out the door and into the mansion. David didn't stop at the parlor, but instead herded the kids through the portal into Tuck's realm.

Back in the mansion, David went back to the parlor in time to see a gate open on the fat wall. The missing women came staggering through, all thoroughly drunk. David caught Lady Shadow as she started to fall over. David did a quick count. All present and accounted for. Within moments, the women were all passed out on chairs, settees, and the floor. David shook his head and simply covered them with blankets. Finally, he noticed a couple of sleeping figures hovering horizontally about 3 feet off the ground. David would have had to step on someone to get over to them, so he just let well enough alone.