To Protect and Serve Ch. 01

'Screw him,' she thought. 'This is his fault, so he doesn't get a break.' She threw a punch as his too-damn-pretty-anyway face, but she missed by a country mile. He had moved so quickly that it was as if she had swung at him in deep water. Her next swing missed as well, as did her attempt to kick him in the knee.

"Fight me damn it," Shamira growled when she realized that Shane wouldn't fight back. She stood there for a moment, wanting badly for him to swing. She wanted him to hit her so hard that she didn't wake up again. She wanted anything but to feel the way that she did at that moment. "You should have just let me die. Why couldn't you just let me die?"

He sighed. "Because I saw someone I thought would be worth saving. I don't regret it. You saved an innocent life tonight. Doesn't that count in your mind?"

"I killed someone!" she hissed violently. "I don't even know what the hell I am. I don't get any of this, and I just was in a house full of people who are mourning MY death!" She thought she should be crying by now, but no actual tears fell. She sat down on a neighbor's front wall. "How am I supposed to feel when I want to comfort my sister who cried herself to sleep because she saw them put me in the ground? I couldn't let her see me like this. I'm a fucking monster!"

Shane stared at her. "You're a vampire," he replied. "You're no more or less a monster than you were a week ago. 'Monster' is a state of mind, not of body."

"Don't give me this philosophical bullshit," she said, putting her hands in front of her face. "You had no right to interfere."

"Did you?" he asked softly. "You died not because of me, but because you were shot."

"I was doing my damn job!"

"As am I. I am responsible for the Atlanta area and its magical community. Part of that responsibility is building a brood that can keep the peace, people that can enforce OUR laws, to keep us and the mortals around us safe from the real monsters." He sat on the wall next to her.

"I had a large family myself, you know. I was just a tavern owner back then. I did well, but I was never rich. I was never able to turn away a traveler, even if they didn't have the coin for a bed. One night, I entertained some guests who were more than they seemed. They saw that I took in anyone who needed a warm place to stay. One of them, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, seemed interested in me after that. She arranged to stay a while longer while her companions moved on."

"I'm assuming they were vampires?"

"Oh yes. Actually, they were the vampiric members of the Tribunal, the council of all creatures mystical. The most powerful undead in the world had been sitting in my humble inn. Had I known, I might not have watered the drinks so much."

Despite everything, Shamira laughed at that. "I guess they got over it. What was the woman's name?"

"I can't say. The names of the Tribunal's members are known only to . . . well, I guess you could say the 'elite' of the mystical world. Suffice to say, she and I enjoyed each other's company for a month or so."

"Did she . . . I mean, was it like at your House? With Renata?" Her dead heart beat once in her chest. Why had she asked that?

"Oh yes. Even then, I knew where my tastes lied, and she was a most compliant submissive."

"Wait, she's on this Tribunal, right? That means she's really damn old."

"About nine hundred years now."

"And you were able to make her bow and scrape and . . . what's so funny?"

"Make her?" Shane let out a loud laugh, and it took him a moment to compose himself. "I didn't 'make' her do anything. I had only played with prostitutes and such up until that point, and the idea of being with a woman like that terrified me. She was rather insistent." He was staring off into space, but he seemed to have an air of contentment and fondness about his face.

"And she was a magnificent teacher. A true dom learns from his sub as much as he teaches them. She had needs, and I met them. She came back several times over the years. She told me what she was . . . a vampire . . . and helped me understand what that meant. I'm sorry that I was unable to prepare you in such a way." His face darkened. "A plague came to our town, and it ran upon four legs and howled at the moon."

"Werewolves? Like Monique?"

"Werewolves yes, but not like Monique. Their alpha male was rabid. Yes, wolves can carry rabies, though it is exceedingly rare. The leader had gone mad, and every wolf that he created shared that madness. My inn was the only place of refuge for the surrounding villagers, so I let them in. I didn't know what I was dealing with. I knew what werewolves were of course, but not what a mad pack was capable of. They came and they killed everyone they could outside, then tried to come in. We fought them off with fire and pitchforks, but they were too strong and too numerous."

"Then one night, they simply vanished. I went out to look for them, but there was nothing left of them but tufts of fur and pools of blood. It seemed that my Lady had heard of this blight on the earth and had hurried to my aid. Our aid. It was so good for me to see her, but I was so angry. I hated feeling helpless in the face of that evil. She understood, and made me an offer."

"She was your . . . uhm . . . sire?" Shamira was still struggling a bit with the undead lingo.

"She brought me over, yes. I made an excuse for why I would have to be gone for a few days, and she took me to a secluded place and made me a vampire. I returned to my inn after that and went back to work. Over the years, I saw all those around me grow old, weak, sick, and finally die. This included every member of my family."

"Fledglings and shadows are unable to bring over new vampires, something about mother nature preventing us from getting all these shiny new powers and then immediately giving them to all of our friends. And I didn't age a day. The descendants of those villagers I had offered safe harbor to decided that I was the spawn of evil, and burned my inn to the ground."

"Fucktards!"

Shane grinned. "I've never heard that expression before."

"Try playing Halo 3 online."

"Oh no," he said, shaking his head. "Not another one. "Reaper plays that game all the time, and I never quite got the hang of it."

"Reaper? That assassin guy? I wonder what his gamertag is. I may have played him."

Shane actually looked incredibly embarrassed. "Evil Fluffy Kitten."

Shamira's eyes widened. "You're kidding?"

"No. He finds it amusing."

"He doesn't look like he has a sense of humor."

"Oh, he might surprise you about that." Shane noticed the girl seemed more comfortable. "So, what are you going to do now?" He looked towards the house. "You can tell them. But in our world, mortal ties can be used against us. Sometimes we do it, but --"

"But you put them at risk."

"Why did you live at home, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My dad has a heart condition, and my mother isn't really good at saying no to him. So he ignores his diet and doctor's warnings and she enables him. My brother wasn't responsible enough to look after anyone, and my sister is kind of busy." Thoughts of her sister brought back the ache in her soul. "She's fifty yards away, but I miss her so much."

"I'm sorry. It's unfair to spring all this on you with so little warning. I'm sorry that your coming over happened in such a way that prevents you from having more 'free' time with them. But they would have lost you that night, regardless of my interference. Now, you can look out for them forever. Them, their children, grandchildren, as long as you live. You must change your identity so that your enemies, and you will make them, can't connect you to them. No, I'm not saying that you're unlikable. Quite the contrary. It's just that ours is a brutal and treacherous world at times, and the good guys don't always win."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you so patient with me?"

"Because I'm still not good at turning away a beautiful woman who needs a safe place to lay her head."

Shamira blushed a little, or at least felt like she should be blushing. "I'm not beautiful."

"I, and every member of my house, beg to differ."

"Your house," she muttered. "I . . . I know what you guys like. I can't do that. I'm not like that."

He sighed again. "Shamira, I really hate to do this seeing as you just got calmed down, but I think you're more 'like that' than you'll admit." He waved off her forthcoming objection. "When I brought you over, I shared my blood and power with you. But for a moment, I also saw you . . . the real you. I saw all the compassion and pride and dedication I had already assumed. But I saw your desire as well. I saw a desire and passion so deep that you were almost drowning in it."

"You spied into my mind?!" Shamira felt numb. She was angry, and not only that he had seen those things, but that she was unable to deny anything.

"Yes. I am unable to avoid it during the process. Vampires are sexual creatures in the first place, and my line more so than most. So I felt your urges, and I also felt how you've denied yourself any of them. Why?"

"Why?! Because I'm not weak, that's why! I have to be strong!"

"All the time?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because if I don't, Jimmy Fisk dies!" She stopped, covering her mouth. She didn't know why she'd said his name. She didn't even like thinking it.

"Who --"

"None of your business," she said shortly.

He nodded. Let her keep that secret. He had already unloaded a lot on her. But he had to set at least one thing straight. "Being a sexual submissive . . . having desires of the sort that you do, it doesn't make you weak. Some of the toughest people I've ever known find pleasure at the end of the crop and the spur. It takes a strength that most cannot even imagine to place that kind of trust in someone else's hands. Submissives have more power than you can imagine."

"Regardless, I will never ask you to give up who you are. You are a strong woman with a desire to protect the world, and would never dream of asking you to stop. But you have needs, Shamira. I'm willing to bet that no man, or woman, has ever met them. How could they, when you refuse to even admit them? Unanswered desire will eat away at you, and make you wonder at the end of days if you truly lived the life you wanted. I've seen it happen, and would hate to see it happen to you."

"Yeah, I bet you wouldn't."

He frowned. "Now you're just being difficult. So I'll say this once and once only, and hopefully you'll grow to believe and accept it. You are a beautiful and enticing woman, and everyone in my household agrees with me on that wholeheartedly. Yes, I want to see you in chains and bound in my dungeon. The very thought of it makes my blood boil in ways you can't imagine."

At that moment, Shamira COULD imagine. Oh, she could imagine very well.

Shane kept going. "I would make sure that every desire you had ever had would be fulfilled, and help you invent new ones. But I have never bribed, coerced, nor forced any man or woman into my chains or my bed, for that is indeed monstrous. If you chose to cut off that part of your life and your mind, I will not oppose you by force. You would not be able to live at the house, but I would still gladly ask that you be part of my organization. You have power, Shamira. That can't be taken away from you."

NP

He stood up. "I would like my keys back though. You stranded the others at Prometheus." He smiled, but she didn't smile back. She just handed over the keys. "I won't ask that you make your decision now. You haven't even really had a chance to get used to being a vampire yet, much less this other business. You are welcome to stay at the house while you figure things out. Talk to the others. They can help, and they want to. Clara has been sick with worry since you ran out." He raised his eyebrows and smirked. "And if you think that I have unusual designs for you and your body, then you might want to ask her what SHE'S been thinking." He got into his car and drove away.

Shamira shivered a bit, but not from the cold. Sure, Clara had made some "interesting" comments, but she had just assumed it was vampire freakiness. But she wanted Shamira too?

She took another look at her family home, then vanished into the shadows. She didn't know where she was going, but felt a need to keep moving. She spent some time playing with her new power. She kept trying to extend her reach, and it helped to visualize things like Google Earth. The further she moved, the longer it took for the shadows to come into focus, but once they had she could go anywhere in the world. Keeping track of where things were was difficult, so she decided not to vanish up to New York City just to see if she could. She didn't know if she'd be able to find her way back again.

And she did want to come back. For all its faults, Atlanta was her home. Her family was here. Her "maker" was here. She popped up to the top of the Bellsouth building and looked down on her city. Shane had been right about one thing. She could still protect them. Maybe she could stop the nightmares about Jimmy Fisk. She stretched her mind out and found Shane's house.

Apparently, using her power that much took a lot of energy, and it was the only place she could think of to go. Part of her admitted that she wanted to go there. As freaky as they were, it was nice to feel "wanted". But she couldn't see the shadows in that house. It was like there was some kind of barrier around the property that obscured her sight. So she appeared in the trees nearby and walked in. She encountered several members of Shane's human security, but none of them stopped her. She was about to put her hand on the front door when it came flying open and she was tackled by Clara Yellowtail. And the girl had one hell of a grip.

"You scared the crap out of me!" the Native American beauty said. She pulled back and gripped Shamira's shoulders. "Don't ever run off on me like that again!" She looked in the woman's eyes to make sure she didn't have a concussion or something. "What the hell was that? Whatever it was was really cool!" Then she pouted. This supposed badass domme was actually pouting. "It isn't fair! Shane and Banshee were the only two that had Aspects before, and now you have two?"

"I guess," Shamira said, a little confused but oddly happy at this reception, then shrugged.

"How did you do it?" Shane asked, approaching from his study. Several other residents approached, looking genuinely intrigued. Somehow they had all heard about what had happened at Prometheus. Shamira explained what is is that she had seen in that black-and-white world and how she had reached out to touch the dark parts.

"Interesting," Shane said. He'd wanted to ask about that earlier, but defusing her volatile temperament had seemed more pressing at the time. "You're a Shadow Jumper AND a Shadow Healer. The dark is destined to be your friend it seems."

"Shadow Jumper? That's what they call it?"

"Indeed, and it's even more rare than Shadow Healing. You are connected to the world of shadows it seems. Normally vampires who are shadows, meaning at least two-hundred years old, don't have that kind of power. Actually, most full-fledge vampires are lucky to have developed two Aspects. Have you figured out how far you can travel yet?"

"I . . . I guess I can see shadows all over the world. I just can't always connect them to what they belong to."

"Bitch!" Monique said, leaning in a doorway. "You mean you could just pop off to Paris or Venice or the Bahamas just like that?" she asked, snapping her fingers.

"I guess. But I couldn't get in here though," Shamira replied.

"Okay, so the wards work against Shadow-jumpers," Clara muttered. "Lillian and I will make sure the wards . . . magical protections," she said by way of explanation, "recognize you. Hopefully that means you'll be able to come and go at will. Can you take things with you?"

Shamira shrugged. "I don't know. I just know it gets tiring, especially if I try and cross long distances."

Shane nodded. "With your permission, I'd like to run you through a set of drills this evening after you've gotten some rest. Strength, endurance – think of it as your physical at work. It will give us a chance to test some of the limits of your Aspects as well."

"Not the healing one, will we? I'd rather not have you shooting me just for the heck of it."

He smiled. "I think we can hold off on more serious tests of your healing abilities until you're a little more comfortable." He turned to Clara. "I think our guest might like to pick up some things. Take her shopping this evening, but get her back by ten p.m. or so." Monique and Lillian both raised their hands, causing Shane to sigh. "Yes, you can go too."

Not that they actually needed permission. They each had house credit cards. They just liked to give him warning that they were going to spend a large pile of his money. Oh well. It wasn't as if he didn't have plenty. He watched as Shamira shyly made her way back to the room where she would be staying. He thought it odd that she was handling becoming a vampire better than she was being around his cadre of BDSM employees.

He wondered what she would be like if she simply let herself go and experience those things she was afraid of, things she thought made her weak. If she did, then Shane would be there to bathe in the heat of her being. Deep in his bones and blood, he knew that Shamira Carswell was just touching the edges of everything that she could be. He only wished that she saw in herself what those around her had already identified.

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The next evening . . .

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Shamira had never been a big shopper before, much less closed down the mall. It seemed that her traveling companions were more than used to it. She learned some things about them, such as the fact that Lillian and Monique had both once been swimsuit models as well as lovers. Lillian had taken up the art of necromancy when she was younger, but kept it relatively in the background until the night that she and Monique had been attacked by a rogue werewolf while walking through the woods in Northern Georgia.

The wolf hadn't realized that necromancy was a potent magic, as Lillian had sucked the life energy right out of him before managing to kill him with the animated skeleton of a ten-point buck. But Monique had already been bitten, so Lillian had to keep her lover alive and help her adjust to the new world she had entered. Shane had heard of the incident and was impressed by Lillian's will and reserve and had brought them both on board.

Clara had been living on a reservation some 62 years earlier when she had caught Shane's attention. She'd been an orphan who was very vocally active in pursuing rights for Native Americans as well as homosexuals, and this at a time where just saying the word "gay" could get one lynched. She had actually been told about the world of magical beings by Shane and was then given a choice. Having no family to leave behind, she had embraced the offer, learning everything that Shane had to teach her.

The four women were sitting in the food court, each with a mountain of bags. Shamira was actually embarrassed at her foray into consumerism, as well as by some of the items in her bags. She had been somewhat overwhelmed by the other three, who had decided to give her a makeover.

Before even going to the mall, they had hit a high-class salon in downtown Atlanta, where Shamira was waxed, massaged, and generally pampered. It was good to know that massages felt good even when one was dead. This salon was apparently privy to the secrets of the night breeds. Then they had invaded the Mall of Georgia like a plague of locusts, devouring helpless salespeople alive in a purchasing frenzy.