Mine...Yours Pt. 03

Author's Note: I want to say thank you to End of Story for your patience at my terrible humor and tons of questions both applicable to the situation and inane. Also for helping me to better use punctuation marks. A thank you to patientlee who will probably never read this but helped me become more fragile. To lovecraft68, for making me look at different mindsets. Also to somebody who you all don't know and will never meet, though I wish you could. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for just being you., I wish I was more like you.

Chapter 9: Mother

That rough voice in that perfect face, those eyes and sharp teeth! I know there is a little Red Riding Hood joke somewhere if I could only...

"Gahk!" I gurgled as an arm shoved through the window screen and grabbed me by the throat! Sure way to stop an idle train of thought, go for the throat! I braced my feet against the window ledge grabbing Lucretia's arm at the same time. I used every single ounce of strength in my body and yanked as hard as I could. I figured with myself braced and being substantially heavier than her I could yank her through the window into my house, and closer to my weapons. Well weapon...a wood axe. Seems like a puny weapon to use on a creature like this; a porch railing worked out pretty good for me before though. Then a thought occurred to me. I am still pulling, and I am not going anywhere! In fact there was just enough play in her grip for me to twist a little and look out the front window.

Oh shit biscuits and mustard gravy! I am so boned!

The hand around my neck grew tight enough for a second so I could feel the pinpricks of manicured nails turn to claws. I had just enough time to see that beautiful pink skin begin to turn dark grey and those funny little sparkles start to show when I became airborne!

"Paybacks a bitch, GREG!" I heard as I sailed over my front walk way and nearly hit the large trunk of the locust tree in the middle of my lawn! I hit, and tumbled for a few paces and used the momentum to roll back to my feet. Then I got a good look to see how she had changed. Oh the basic characteristics were still there. She had the same color, horns, too long arms, claws, and cheekbones sharp enough to slice artisan bread. Before she looked kind of thin and anemic. She filled out, I could see muscle flexing underneath her skin, and actually get a good look at her since this time it wasn't dark out.

Her skin was dark gray, looked as cool as a rock in a creek bed, same color too. It looked like it would be cold to the touch, thinking back on it, her fingers were cold around my neck. The rest of her, well, before she was all skin and bones and wiry muscle. Now she must have replaced at least another thirty pounds spread all over her frame. Oh, and still taller than me. I had maybe, what 40 pounds on her weight wise...and she threw me this far? Now you know why I said I was boned. Couldn't let her know that though. Nope, definitely not made. She was formed. The lines of her body, the contours, she was a big girl yes but beautiful If only we weren't about to mix it up.

There is something I have learned about fights...you never know who is going to win. You can't ever look at a match and say, "Oh yeah! For sure this guy is going to win!" There are always pro's and con's things for or against each opponent. One person could slip, fall on their back and the fight goes the other way. Though in fighting Lucretia that would be a bad idea, getting her on her back. From what I can see five of her six ends are pointy when she's on the ground. Be like getting caught in an upside down lawnmower at full throttle! Her wings, damage those and she can't fly, but who knows what other tricks, she's got! I remember her saying she traded in spells, so she's got magic, and I have no idea what kind of stuff she can do in that area.

The pros and cons were being tallied and it looked like I was definitely boxing out of my weight class.

Just as Lucretia started forward a small white hand landed on her shoulder, rooting her to the front steps.

"Wait...I would speak with him. Remember why we are here." The speaker stepped into view and I saw an almost snow white woman, who seemed to have the same super power that Jemima had. I couldn't tell if she was a 20 year old or a 60 year old. How do women do that? Lucretia bowed her head.

"Yes Mother." She said through clenched teeth.

Mother? I am so beyond boned! I am now in the land of BOHICA! For those of you who don't know, that is an acronym for Bend Over Here It Comes Again. This is so miserably unfair! I go to a party, get into a fight not of my own making, now little wuss grey girl comes back as the Grey Hulk to rip me a new one. Hey, I am next door to the Gatewatch! Shouldn't alarms be going off in their house and they all mobilize to their cool car in skintight leather outfits like a supernatural Charlie's Angels? I mean I am next door for Pete's sake.

"Your thought's are very confusing young one." That soft voice said. I did a double take at that. "It has been a long time since I walked this Plane, but I swear I only understand one word in four of your mind. It's like...a sandstorm with the grains flying every which way, but still moving in one specific direction. You are very...strange."

I blinked, "I'm strange? Really? You come to my house, ring my doorbell, and have your; I guess daughter rip me through my window and throw me on the lawn? Lady, you got your definitions really screwed uhHUUUF!" Yeah, Lucretia hit me. Right in the solar plexus, you know, the part of the body that lets the lungs work? I kept trying to breathe air back in, but she hit me hard. I choked for a second, only being able to breathe out before my muscles got over the shock and I took in a deep lungful of air. I glared at her; she only lifted an eyebrow and smirked.

"Show some respect! I don't have a weak body this time, Chjorzit!" Her mother gave her a look and she subsided, looking down and away in chagrin. Who were these people and what do they want...and what the hell did she just call me?

"To answer your questions before you come up with anymore, I brought Lucretia here. There was no ritual calling, or sundering of the veil. Therefore, the Gatewatch as they are called in this century have no reason to appear, in tight leather clothing. Is that how they garb themselves now? The picture's in your mind were not focused...your imagination? It must be." She smiled quietly.

"It has been so long, but still a shapely calf can turn the eyes of men!" She had a throaty laugh that was; well it wasn't really a sexual sounding laugh, just alien. Like someone tells a joke in a different language, and they all laugh, but you didn't get it at all. It was like that except I got the statement, it made sense...but her laugh was still, creepy.

Lucretia was still standing aside, and seemed to be staying put for the moment that gave me the chance to look over this, Mother creature. She had moved closer to me, so she was standing in the shade of my locust tree, and now...wow. She really is white. White skin like whole milk, hair the same color, even pearlescent white eyes! Heck, her hair and skin matched in color so much it was hard to tell where her scalp started and her hair began. Then I did something stupid, I turned on my Sight to View her.

You ever looked directly at the sun before? I have, you see spots for a long time after, and your eyes hate you for being an idiot. The sun is like 93 million miles away, and it still can wreak havoc on the optical nerve. Now imagine it was about 6 feet in front of you.

Ouch!

It hurt more than my last beating, than all the beatings I ever had together! I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, no that's not a her. That's a cosmic force! I couldn't tear my eyes away fast enough. I could feel tears leaking from the corners as the tear ducts tried to lubricate them again. It felt like I had dry sponges in my sockets!

I heard the being called Mother talking and soothing hands tried to touch me but I spun away, barely missing the tree trunk, "Hands off"! Then I felt large, clawed fingers grip my shoulders, holding me fast. "Go ahead Mother, I have him." That did it. Couldn't see, couldn't get away, utter strangers...no, enemies holding me so I could not get away, and I had no idea what the other one was going to do. Oh, and I am in pain. I heard the whispering voice in the back of my head, and though my door didn't open, I could feel warmth around the cracks. I felt the cold heat in the pit of my stomach, and a strength I remembered from just a couple nights ago. It pushed out from my body and Lucretia's hands lifted from on top of me. I could still feel the coolness of her body, but she was no longer touching, not making contact with me.

"What the..." she began, but I shut her up by twisting my hips and throwing a reverse elbow with my left arm to her chin! Her head tilted back, and I turned to give her three strong punches to what I estimated was her gut. Naturally a person will bend a little forward with this move, and I snapped my forehead into where I judged her head to be. I misjudged though. I practiced this move for humans, and remembered her horns too late to stop. We clacked together and she woozily stepped back but didn't fall. I didn't feel anything, at least, not pain from the contact. I felt the pressure on my forehead from her two horns, but it felt almost as if I had been wearing a helmet of sorts. Try it sometime. Put on a helmet and bop it with your fist. You will feel the pressure of the blow, and hear the noise, but no pain. It was something like that. I was so thunderstruck by this I didn't follow up the attack.

"Hold, both of you!" Mother said firmly. From her voice she was somewhere off to my left and behind me. "Maybe I should have let you fight earlier to answer my questions! Now hold still mage, while I heal your eyes. If I had known you had the gift of Vision, I would have warned you of Looking to closely at one such as I." I felt Mother's hands, both delicate and strong; move over my cheeks and nose and then my eyelids. The pain and burning began to dissipate and I opened them to see the white pearl-like eyes of the being, creature, whatever regarding me closely. I felt that power inside me shift and begin to swell.

"Enough of that now." Mother spoke, and it sank back into me, dormant. I probably looked like a fool with my mouth open like that and staring.

"How did you do that?" I stammered.

"I am Queen."

Wait...Queen? Does that mean...

"Yes, young one. I am female. A she. Not a woman, though in form I am similar. Similarities are where the line is drawn, for I am not human. It is a bit much to think of me as a Cosmic Force, still...I thank you for the compliment."

I guess I can call her, her then. "What of Lucretia then? She is..."

"She is Succubae, though of a different kind than the stories told among you. We were not always seducers that prey on the seed of men. We once drew power similar to the ways of the Leech, what you now call Vampyre. We draw energy, they feed on the liquid of the heart."

I had always called Lucretia her, but had been undecided for a while if they actually were women, or not. I guess it was just easier to call them her, she or whatever than to call them it, seemed so disrespectful. I can already hear what you are thinking. Why worry about being disrespectful to something trying to kill you? Sorry, way I was raised. Being respectful costs nothing, and who knows...might help you out sometimes. Wait, one of those words sounded weird...

"Uh, do you mean vampire?"

"As I said, vampyre."

Hmm. Probably a case of calling something tomatoes /tomato. Wonder if Will knows something about that? Not the tomato thing, the Vampyre/Vampire thing. Maybe its like an' Ye' olde' English type of talking? No, doubt that. This lady used some strange annunciation that had a different feel to it. Huh...definitely something to think about later, when I am not worried about my life!

"My daughter reported a failed contract in killing the Gatewatch, she told me how a human bested her in combat, threw off her charm, and damaged her form. I was curious how this was possible, so I journeyed here to you bringing her along since she knew the way." Her white eyes roamed me. "Now I have my answer. You are not whole. A broken thing cannot be made to work correctly until it has been repaired. Whole pieces of who you are have been removed, and placed..." Her voice trailed off, and her hand came close to my chest. I stepped back.

"Please don't..." I began.

"Hold still." Mother finished. I was held still. If I thought William or Hilda or anyone else was strong, it was nothing compared to how well her words held me in place. It was like being buried in wet sand up to my neck! She placed her hand on me and I felt...nothing. No seriously, I had been braced for just about everything from a tickle attack to a Temple of Doom heart removal! I waited for about thirty seconds and then cleared my throat. I waited for about ten more seconds and cleared it more loudly.

"Excuse me, uhm...Mother?" I said gently. Her eyes snapped open, and with a light frown on her lips I felt an unseen hand slap my face hard!

"I am not your Mother!" She said with a sharp tone. She looked about to launch into something scathing about my genetic history and jungle animals so I tried to head of the lecture and asked quickly.

"I don't know what to call you, what name should I use?" She seemed to think this over.

"Call me nothing then, I cannot think of what I should have you call me. You will probably be dead soon anyway. So it is of little import." I felt a cold sweat break out over my neck and face, and could see Lucretia grinning from ear to ear a little way beyond my captor.

Finally Mother took her hand from me, I still couldn't move though. "I have a thought on what we should do to remedy this situation that we find ourselves in, young one." She placed her fingers on her lips, tilting her head to the side, almost like a robin scoping out a worm in the grass before eating it. Eating... Something about eating...my toast!

"What is so important about...toast?" Mother asked.

"You interrupted me before I could have breakfast..." I replied. Then a thought hit me, might just buy me some time. "You all hungry?" I asked.

Lucretia's eyes widened in surprise, and Mother had a small grin that almost showed teeth. Then it hit me, yeah, ask a couple of succubae if they're hungry! If Lucretia's reaction to me when we first met was a good indicator I am like a three course meal with a nice cream sorbet dessert.

"I can whip you all up something to eat. Do you like hash browns?" Nice, do they even eat people food? I guess they are people, after a fashion. Mother considered this and finally nodded. "As I said before, it has been long since I have been here. I would like to try these...hash browns?" She saw me nod that she got the word right, and then I was released. I walked behind Mother as we went to my front door.

"I'm watching you Greg." Lucretia hissed as she fell into step beside me. She used her couple of inches of height on me to glare down her nose.

"Tell me something I don't know." I retorted.

"You will die before the sun sets!" She snapped.

"Like I said, tell me something I don't know...Lucy!" I chuckled. Oh, that got her hackles up! The fact that she wasn't getting a rise out of me, or that I shortenized her name, either way if she was a cartoon character steam would have been coming out of her ears!

By the way, yes...shortenized is not a real word. I made it up since it seemed applicable to the situation. No you may not use it, it's mine.

I thought I caught a hint of a smile from her mother as she walked through my door. As I passed through a thought occurred to me. "My doorbell doesn't ring, how did you use it?" I tried it and it rang a merry four-tone chime!

"I wanted it to work." Mother said simply. Right...hmmm. "What about my window, can you...want it to be fixed?" She looked at me with another simple smile, "I think I want it there as a reminder of how things are."

Gulp!

I lead them into the kitchen. My toast was burnt, but the coffee was still good. I poured them each a mug; Lucretia got the one that was chipped on three sides. Mother got one that was camouflage patterned and said, "Be all that you can be!" Got it for ten cents at Goodwill. She glanced at the coffee and then at her daughter. Lucretia was still frowning at me. "Drink, daughter! He has shown hospitality." It was so strange to see this diminutive looking person handing out orders and such to someone who was at least twice as big as her.

Lucretia glowered and took a sip. Then another. She blinked in surprise staring at the dark liquid. Then drained the mug! Yep, Starbucks now has a new member. I felt a little like a drug dealer. Mother looked down and took a sip, then crinkled her nose. I said, "I'd give you cream and sugar but I don't have any. I...sorry." Mother seemed to mouth the words to herself as if testing them. "I want cream and sugar for my, what is this called?"

"Coffee." I supplied. The words were hardly out of my mouth before both a little pour pot of cream and a small bowl of sugar with what looked to be a small ceramic teaspoon appeared in front of her. I was astounded, but then my own mother's training kicked in and I picked up the sugar bowl and spoon. "May I serve you?" She blinked at me, and it was hard to gauge her expression. Solid white eyes will do that. Wonder how good she would be at poker?

"You may." I put in one scoop and looked to her, she nodded for another. I gently stirred the coffee, and began to pour in the cream, watching again for her nod out of the corner of my eye. Finished, I stood back, waiting for her to take a sip. She never looked at the mug, but kept staring at me.

"Please, drink your coffee. I will start on the meal."

I was, and yet wasn't surprised on how calm I felt. When I was first put in jail, all you feel is fear, and all those other negative emotions. The human body and mind cannot keep that up forever. Eventually you become accustomed to it. This situation was no different. Well, it was, but follow my logic here. Eventually, Mother is going to either turn Lucretia loose on me, or do me in herself. At least that is how I understand the situation. In the meantime, she can't be doing all the ordering my death or killing herself if she is eating and waiting for a meal. I heard wings rustling behind me; I glanced over and saw Lucretia shifting in her seat. Being six feet tall, 200 pounds and with an impressive wingspan of at least twenty feet she looked miserable trying to comfortably sit in a kitchen chair I got from work.

Oh yeah, my kitchen table is a folding table that I got where? In a dumpster. This may or may not surprise you, but do you have ANY idea of the stuff that people throw away? I got stories that would surprise you, but that will be for another time.

"Hey, Lucy. If you change to your other Barbie doll form you can sit more easily." I said, while pulling out some potatoes and ham.

"What form?" She asked.

"You know, the funny looking one I saw you in outside my house, and at the Halloween party." I replied.

"Funny looking? It is not funny looking!" It is a mix of all things I see men look at. When I walk among people here I get stared at a lot, I feel their lust."

Sigh, clueless! I started peeling the potatoes and talked with glances back at the table.

"Of course they're gonna stare at you, you do look gorgeous, but that's the problem isn't it? You're too gorgeous! No one wants to talk to you or get to know you, they're just going to want to stick something in something wet. Not to mention, no real women looks like that. You stand out, and some people will pick up on that. I sure as heck did."