hapter 1~The Beginning:
King Odonario sitting on his throne listening to the report of the
last of the court healers shakes his he negatively in complete denial
about the information they were giving him.
Cianan watched as the King received yet another negative report
concerning his son. He could tell by the way the king's expression
froze that the news was not good.
After the healers had left the king remained unmoving almost statue
like for a long time while, then he started talking. Cianan unsure if
the king realized he was still there or not listened intently.
King Odonario starts his voice filled with sadness, "They all say that
he will not improve any further. The damage inflicted upon his head
and to his mind has caused him to be forever a child and the damage
inflicted upon his body has made him incapable of fathering a child."
Cianan still unsure as to whether he should speak asks gently, "Do you
wish to try human healers?"
Odonario replies his voice sounding even sadder if possible, "I have
already; they offered even less hope than the best and worst of our
healers. They all agree that he will live. They tell me to be happy
that he is alive even with the mind of a child for if the wound had
been even a half inch in any direction his brain would have perished.
The blade was coated with some form of liquid iron and has completely
disrupted the areas it infected."
"What can I do?"
Voice hardening with every protective instinct in him he states
harshly, "You must go to Virginia and collect my niece Princess Diana;
she must come home and take her place as my heir. She needs to be
protected as you don't know from where this attack came or why."
Cianan inquires gently, "What of Princess Berwyn? She we collect her
as well?"
"Yes I suppose you must. She has as much right to the throne as Diana.
I'll make it a contest I think… yes whom ever gets with child first
shall be queen!"
Chapter 2 ~ Return to Fairy:
When my father Prince Dracia died I was still very young. My
guardianship and custody were a major issue of both of the courts for
a bitwith both my uncles and my aunt arguing for the position. My
Uncle Odonario who is also the King of the Seelie Court eventually won
my custody it took him throwing his considerable weight and temper
into the battle but he won. I really wish that my Aunt Aelfwine hadn't
given up, it would have been nice growing up with a sister; but the
death threats against her daughter my cousin Berwyn were bad enough
she let me go.
My Uncle wasn't ever what you'd call loving except with his son
Merrett so I more or less did for myself what most children look to
their parents and guardians for... (Comfort, encouragement, etc).
I'd had a lot of battles with the various court nobles (of both
Seelie and Unseelie) over my right to exist; oddly enough I usually
managed one way or another despite being weaker to come through
alright. I mean they were always going to be stronger than me and heal
faster than me but I got in enough licks that I didn't consider it a
loss.
It really wasn't until I turned 16 that things started going very
wrong a lot. First King Odonario decided to beat me for looking too
human. Can I help it that the Goddess and Consort decided that I would
have curves instead of height. (Most Sidhe women are tall and rather
straight up and down with very small pert breasts. I am 5'2" tall with
measurements that are anything but flat and straight 38x26x36... Like
I said CURVES) I and my cousin Berwyn both have the misfortune of not
only looking mostly human but of being much closer to mortal than our
Sidhe brethren.
My blood looked like thick scarlet wine as it spread across the
sparkling white marble floor when the King beat me. I had barely
healed from the kings beating when one of his Seelie Nobles decided
that by turning down his sexual advances I'd insulted him... he
demanded a duel to sort out his honor. The bastard was shocked when I
beat the crap out of him. I may not be as strong as the average Seelie
I was definitely fast and sometimes speed makes up for brute strength.
Unfortunately I didn't get away unscathed... but a broken wrist,
sprained elbow and knee as well as a concussion weren't too much to
prove I'd not insulted him. It took ingenuity and sheer will but I
won... even if he was stronger I was only laid up for a month that
time healing. It's unfortunate that the healers were afraid to do full
healings on me and Berwyn but they feared burning out our magic
pathways so I had to do a lot of healing the regular normal way.
It was around this time that Aunt Aelfwine started shopping around
for a fiancé for Berwyn. This put the idea into the King's head for
me. Prince Merrett got the idea that one of his friends would be
perfect but unfortunately they were my main abusers and I wanted
absolutely NOTHING to do with any of them. The bastards would ambush
me whenever they got the chance. I handled most of these beat downs by
beating the crap out of at least one of them… but they would always
win; after all I am only one woman and they were all full Sidhe.
It was during this time that the Sithen stared giving me warnings as
to where they were and what they were up to. I didn't realize it until
it happened but the Sithen would repeat what it had heard in the very
voices that spoke the words. (Think tape recorder without the
mechanical devices)
What she told me was Merrett telling his toadies that the King had
given him permission to force the betrothal issue by letting his
friends take me till I quit fighting. In Sidhe terms this means sex
until pregnant which then means marriage to the one that impregnated
you. I decided it was time to leave Faerie… I've been gone now for 18
years. It's been a life time but I still remember the good things and
the bad about fairy like it was yesterday.
I've been making my way here in the human world by writing… I became a
fantasy author with leanings towards the erotic and paranormal. I
seldom do public appearances and when I do my glamour is strong.
I saw the big announcement in the papers last week. Princess Berwyn
has been found and taken back to Faery for some special occasion of
the King's that has yet to be announced. I feel for her in some ways;
after all she'd only been gone from home for 3 years so it was all
still very fresh in her mind. The worst was that the papers also
reminded the world that the other Faery Princess Diana ne`les Draca
was still lost and missing and that the King wanted her back home as
well. The picture they posted was a good one too. I knew in my heart
it wouldn't be long before the King sent some guards to collect me.
It's not like I've actually been hiding in actual fact since I
published my first work I'd been in the spotlight a few times and even
corresponded with a few friends from a couple of the other courts; so
I know they are aware of my location.
Chapter 3~Confrontation:
I had just stepped out the front gate to my home when I spotted him
initial panic set in…Oh Lord and Lady… It's the King's own Knight.
He's here, he found me. All the choices I'd hoped to make for myself
are simple illusions now. Then after the initial blast of fear I
realized I'd been expecting something like this for a week now and
there is no way in anyone's reality that the King's Chosen would hurt me.
Cianan, the King's own Knight, most feared of all his warriors stalked
slowly towards the small woman keeping his pace slow and even, his
expression blank. He didn't want to scare her but feared that was a
lost cause as the sight of him scared most.
"Princess Diana?"
Quickly deciding to do this right and not cowardly I work at putting
on my court face as I reply, "Yes? I take it that I am to return with
you to the King?"
"The King and Princess Berwyn both wish for you to return. I am your
protection and escort."
Looking around at the crowd that was gathering; and who could blame
them with at 7ft tall gorgeous man standing on this relatively quiet
street. I walk over and put my hand in the crook of his arm while
stating as I lead him back to the house I'd just left, "Cianan you
know the reasons I left. I won't return to more abuse or assassination
attempts. I just won't."
"The King gives you his protection Princess. I carry his mark and am
to give it unto you as soon as feasible. With his mark on your body
anyone who attacks you risks being at his mercy. Since the attack on
the prince I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone friend or foe; well
save those who reduced the prince to little more than a 900 year old
child."
I lead him into my house he looks started when he passes through the
wards, "What happened to Merrett? Merrett was never punished for all
the things he did or tried to do to me so forgive me if I am a little
hard on him He planned for me to be taken by force Doyle by all of his
friends; So that I'd be forced to marry someone of his choosing. I
left because of that and there is no way on this Earth that I will
return to the same situation."
He shakes his head and a frown creases his face, "I know nothing of
this. I know he approached the king with ideas of putting his friends
forth as prospects for your fiancé but he had other ideas for you. You
left before the King could implement these ideas. I though perhaps
you'd heard what he had planned and found it distasteful. I had no
knowledge of Prince Merrett's plan. How did you find out about it?"
"You know I have magic, not the Sidhe elements of power but magic right?"
When he nods she continues, "Well around the time the High King took
offense to my looks I started being able to converse with both of the
Sithen. Our Sithen has many interesting abilities one of which is to
mimic the actual voices of those it hears talking. She played back the
entire conversation he had with those he planned to attack me."
Looking a little shocked Cianan asks, "You're saying you can talk to
the Sithen and it talks with you?"
"Yeah, but doesn't everyone?"
"The Sithen only responds to the King's wishes and to my knowledge it
talks to no one. Do you know how the Kings and Queens use to be chosen?"
"Pulling the sword from the stone, or sitting upon the stone throne
and hearing its declaration."
"It's true those were used but even they weren't 100% conclusive, the
final decision was the Sithen. If the Sithen did not recognize you
then you were not a true King or queen. When we arrived from Europe
our King was not recognized and he was willing to step aside if the
Sithen did find someone but it didn't. The High Queen on the other
hand also wasn't recognized but when the Sithen recognized someone
else she banished him from the Unseelie court. And you are recognized
by both Sithen."
Taking another tactic since he could see the denial in her very
posture he starts, "Did you hear the reasons that the King wishes you
and Princess Berwyn back to court?"
Before I could formulate a reply he continues, "He has discovered that
he is infertile and since the attack Merrett is also unable to father
children. Plus with the damage to his brain the King knows that
Merrett is a poor choice to rule even if he could make babies. Faery
fails if the head isn't fruitful, he believes that this is the reason
that all of Faery is lessening. So since his own son is no longer a
viable candidate for heir he has decided that the first of you who
becomes with child becomes ruler. He is lifting the geas/binding on
his warriors for Berwyn and you alone. He wishes the two of you to
choose a variety of men and attempt to become Queen. He's states no
less and four and no more than 8. As you were his first choice for
heir he is giving your first choice of men."
Shaking my head in denial, "Cianan you know they will never accept me
as Queen. I have none of the Sidhe true powers. I have lots of magic
yes and have had it for a long time but without the powers they can
easily disqualify me. I believe the King has sent you on a fool's errand."
"Princess you are the ONLY one who has true conversation with the
Sithen; that ability is a gift and it alone in older times would have
made you Queen without contest. Not to forget that Princess Berwyn
only recently came into her own Sidhe powers. Yours could be the same.
Hers was brought on by a night with a Sidhe that she cared about. Well
he wasn't actually Sidhe but the potion she was exposed to allowed him
to be one for the night. If I saw things clearly she has another power
yet to come. Princess I believe you to be easily as powerful as Berwyn
if not more so, you just need the right circumstances in which to find
yourself. Please come back with me. Let the King give his boons,
choose your men, and let the circumstances find you."
Sighing heavily and shaking my head, "Cianan you could talk a drowning
man into buying water! Alright I'll go back with you but know this;
you are my first choice and if I don't get you I'll walk."
Cianan smiles at her, "Please pack what you'd like to take with you as
I don't know when you will be able to return."
Frowning slightly she answers, "I really hate that I have to leave my
home indefinitely. I do have many many protections on it and my wards
are strong. I see no reason why we must stay the entire time in Faery."
"I'll do all I can to make your trip back to Faery as pleasant and
comfortable as possible but I know of no way NOT to make the trip."
"It's ok Cianan I can do my work anywhere. I just dislike the
disruption to my routine. I've been content living my life here in the
hills of Virginia, writing my books and doing the few book signings I
agree to."
Cianan smiles that little boy smile that fools so many others into
believing him innocent and without motive, "Perhaps we'll be able to
help you add a new dimension or two to your works."
Chapter 4 ~ Berwyn's Desires
Berwyn makes sure her skirts are carefully arranged before entering
her Uncle's throne room. She knew she looked perfect and that was the
first step in getting exactly what she wants… like always.
The King gives Berwyn a gentle smile as he encourages her to approach
the throne, "Good afternoon my dear Berwyn what can I do for you today?"
Thinking quickly of her plan and how to start its implementation she
simpers to the King, "Oh Uncle I am so sorry about Merrett. If there
is anything I can do to help you please just let me know."
Wondering how stupid this girl really is and how dim-witted she thinks
him to be, "Thank you Berwyn but he is as good as he can be and his
guards now consist of those that I know I can trust. Did you have
anything else on your mind my dear?" while thinking to himself, `that
is if you have enough mind inside that simpering greedy body to carry
coherent thought for more than a few moments'.
Hoping to get exactly what she wants like her mother's always promised
she inquires prettily, "Well Uncle, I was hoping to get started on
this heir business. Can I start choosing my knights?"
Set on the course he's laid out already King Odonario states
emphatically, "You may make lists and ask questions of the men but you
do not get first choice, and no choices will be made until Diana is
present."
Disappointed and ready to throw a royal tantrum but knowing better
than to do it in front of the king she replies dejectedly, "OK Uncle I
am sure you know what's best."
After being quickly dismissed Berwyn heads directly to her quarters to
set about deciding exactly which of the Kings Knights would best suit
her and would be able to get her pregnant.
She grabs a piece of parchment and a pen and starts making a list of
the knights and what she knows about them:
• Cianan (captain) is one of the oldest of the knights, strong and
fierce, smart and protective… he'd be hard if not impossible to control.
• Llewellyn (lieutenant) is second to Cianan and is a very strong
leader. He's fierce and protective of those he thinks of his and is
very strong and sharp. Also very hard if not impossible to control
• Royce is one of the nicer ones and is said to have be one of the
last children of the Nuada's noble line. He'd be a good choice for
bloodline alone.
• Ogden is a good knight but a follower. He's a green man which means
he's born from fertility gods. He's a first choice after Royce.
• Adair is quick and friendly and also a green man he'll likely be
fertile and easier to get on my side than those warrior lords and
beast men.
• Ahern is one of those beast men. I`ve hear rumors that he can
actually become a horse and has had relations with some of those
horses in the stable. Definitely not on my list.
• Birkey has always been nice to me when I visited this court. I
consider him the closest thing to a friend that can be had by court
nobles. The fact that he's a green man doesn't hurt he's also on my list.
Writing a note to herself so that she can follow her own way of
thinking she adds: Beri (what she calls herself when she writes in her
journal)--… I think sticking strictly to green men may be our best bet.
So the list would be: Ogden, Adair, Birkey, Elder, and Lennox – Royce
isn't technically a green man but his breeding works for him; and Gair
as well. He's very quiet for a knight but very reliable and steady.
Yes those will be the ones I do my best to acquire. I do like this
idea of having a stable of men just think about it. If one starts to
bore you just tell him to go away and send another back in his place.
Tired of her plotting for now she sets her papers aside calls her
ladies maid and settles for the night.
Chapter 5:
After a long drawn out discussion with Cianan I pack while he makes
our travel arrangements. I am glad he's doing it since I hate that
kind of thing. I decide on a large travel trunk and fill it with
everything I think that I may want or need back in Faery including my
laptop which I had thankfully already shielded from magic a stack of
my favorite DVDs and my iPod.
I arrange for my mail to be held and empty out the fridge so that when
I do come home I don't have a living breathing mold monster living in
it. I call all the utilities paying them up and let my agent know that
I am on my way for an extended stay in Faery. I leave a cell number
for her where she can leave me voice mail that way I am not completely
out of touch.
I am amazed that there is something that Cianan is afraid of; not that
simple fear stops him from doing anything necessary. He's sitting here
beside me clutching the seat arms so tightly that I am surprised they
haven't bent under the pressure.
I decided to try to ease his fears or at least distract him a bit. I
reach over and pry the hand closest to me loose then pull his hand
over across into my lap as I lean into his shoulder.
He jumped a bit when I took his hand and stiffens when I start
cuddling it.
He states somewhat unsure and a bit stiffly, "I am sorry Princess I am
not at my best in the air unless I am flying under my own power. All
this metal it makes me uncomfortable."
She smiles in understanding, "It's ok Cianan, I don't like flying
either. I hope you don't mind me holding on to your though. I find
people more comforting than the seat or even a pillow: believe me I've
tried them all."
Happy for the distraction he asks, "You speak as if you fly often?"
"More often than I like; I have to make a few appearances a year to
promote my books. Most of the time I have enough notice that I can
drive wherever I need to go, but sometimes I have to fly; especially
if the appearance is on the west coast. It's just not feasible most of
the time to drive for a week to make a one day appearance then have to
drive for another week just to get back home."
Thinking thoughtfully and a little sad she adds, "It might be
different if I had company on the drives though someone to share the
sights with."
Not wanting to see her sad or upset he asks tensely due to turbulence,
"What do you do to relax on these flights?
"Well I've been known to work at my books on the laptop. If working
isn't distracting enough I'll try playing a game or watching a movie.
Sometimes I read and I always have my IPod to play music on. Sometimes
none of those things work though."
She looks up at him from under her eyelashes and hesitantly states,
"this being with you is actually more reassuring than all the other
things combined.
Confused at how his insecurity could make her feel better he asks, "How?"
She states simply, "Because I am not alone. You didn't push me away,
you haven't laughed at me and even though you have your own fears you
are still protective and comforting me."
He realizes after talking with her and listening to what she had to
say that she was right and this trip was bearable and almost pleasant
because of the conversation and the company. It didn't hurt that she
cuddled into the entire trip either.
Diana asks as the plane circles the airport, "So what's the plan once
we arrive?"
He frowns as he answers, "Unless the King has changed his plans, we
should be met by two guards and a car. He has arranged attire for you
to change into to be ready at the Sithen where we will also pick up
another pair of guards."
"Why on Earth will I need so many guards? Have there already been
threats made against me? Cianan this is why I left… I am so tired of
constant fighting."
Cianan shakes his head in denial as he attempt to reassure her, "No
Princess, there have been no overt threats, this is just a precaution.
When Princess Berwyn was brought home the threats didn't start
immediately but subtle attempts were made. If even one of them had
succeeded then threats would have been unnecessary as she would have
likely perished or been left in as bad a position as Prince Merrett."
As they head through the airport she asks, "Are Berwyn and I back for
the same reason? IS the king really going to make getting the throne a
contest between the two of us?"
Cianan blanks to court face as he answers, "To my knowledge that is
his plan but I do not know the mind of the King and his plans while
not as painful or as crazed as the High Queens they are still known to
change often and on a whim. All I can offer is that he has radical
mood swings try not to anger him and accept anything that he has to
offer you."
A playful voice from behind them interjects, "Welcome home Dee! I can
also tell you that as of my leaving to meet you, the king was in a
good mood and his plans were unchanged."
We spin around Cianan pushing me behind him and see a tall well
muscled man with flowing long chestnut colored hair and deep soulful
brown eyes that exactly matched the horse that I know he can turn into.
"Ahern you are looking wonderful."
With a sinful smile that does reach his eyes and promises much, "You
too Dee. I see the life of a write suits you."
Smiling at him eyes laughing, "Well I'd have to agree and its fun too."
A deep gravelly voice interjects, "can we take this to the auto. It's
not safe her in the open."
Glancing at the knight who was with Ahern I see one of my other
favorites. He isn't known for humor but is a true knight brave, smart
and valorous.
"Of course Llewellyn we should take this to a more secure location
although I should go on record here and tell you that you are also
looking wonderful. I haven't seen that light in your eyes since long
before I left."
"The Sithen has not been a happy place for any since you left. I am
much pleased that you are back even if it is only because it's the
King's wish and not your own.
Blushing from the compliment, "I am back because it's time to return.
I haven't been in hiding or trying to keep my position from being
known. I just didn't advertise it. I've often, especially of late,
thought of home the Sithen and all the people that I'd left behind."
Chapter 6 - The Car Ride:
After settling into the car against Cianan she looks across the seat
to the men sitting there and asks, "So what's been happening since
Cianan left to get me?"
Ahern looks at Cianan before answering and seeing his nod starts,
"Princess Berwyn has started her plotting. Yesterday she met with the
King and he was pleased to see her until she started her intrigue. She
wished permission to start claiming Knights early."
Llewellyn interjects, "She simpered, giggled, and primped like he was
one on the auction block! It was disgusting. She tried to play on his
grief by acting like she cared about Prince Merrett when all knows
that she's personally tried to assassinate him no less than 5 times in
the 3 years before she left."
Ahern continues, "The King was very abrupt with her after this point
telling her that none would be chosen till you arrived and that she
was not the first to choose."
The car is suddenly rocked by an explosion and comes to a sudden halt.
authors notes--
Who's who:
Characters:
Diana Hunter: stands 5 foot 2 inches tall and weighs in at 123 pounds.
Her measurements are 38x26x36. She has tri-colored eyes – outer ring
is a tawny gold, middle ring is a light brown and inner most ring is a
dark brown. Her hair is black with ruby highlight when the sun hits
it. She is quite powerful magically but has yet to develop any of the
major Sidhe powers.
King Odonario: High King of the Seelie Court older man looks about
50-55 silvering black hair very distinguished stands about 6'9 tall
and right at 200 pounds still rather muscular as he works out on a
regular basis. He has twin powers of Darkness and Light.
Queen Aelfwine: Queen of the Unseelie Court—very tall around 6'1"
tall. She weighs about 170 pounds is well muscled but more of a
swimmers muscles than a body builders. She has long strawberry blond
hair that has silver highlight down to her ankles. She has twin powers
of Air (wind) and Lightning
Berwyn Montague (dweller of the pointed hill): stands 5'4" tall weighs
about 128 pounds. Rather curvaceous with measurements of 36x24x36.
Tri-colored eyes outer- tan middle- medium brown, inner hazel (more
brown than green). Her hair is a light white blond that glitters with
highlights of silver. She has magic and has come into one of the major
Sidhe powers (controlling/using lightning). She's very spoiled having
been indulged by her mother Queen Aelfwine her entire life. She also
feels that she is the only option for Heir and any other options are
wrong is very haughty.
Cianan: (picture Ronan from SG Atlantis with straight long
hair)--Sidhe lord, looks about 28-30 years old- 295 pounds of pure
muscle stands at 7 foot 3 inches tall he has a very muscular build,
broad shoulders down to a slim swordsman's waist; strong muscular
legs. His hair is thick and flame red long to his knees its various
shades of red make it look like he has a head of living flame: Usually
worn in a club. He is good with magic, can shape shift into a full
dragon and his Sidhe power is control of flames. He has a dark toned
skin dusky like from the Mediterranean.
Prince Merrett: 6'2" 245lbs. he has his father's black hair and tri
colored blue eyes going from lightest(outermost ring) to darkest
indigo(inner most ring). He was smart and brilliant swordsman and just
a bit spoiled. His Major Sidhe power is over water. (He has never been
strong in this power so has little control once he gets things started.)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Th eHigh Lonessome Raod part 2
Chapter 2
As he is driving towards the ranch Conrad radios the station filing a quick verbal report on the situation promising to email a complete one as soon as he got the chance. He requests they run the tags, so he can find out who his guest is, and get back to him ASAP. Then he radios home, “Hey Lazy 8 got your ears on?” Chad answers right away, “ I’m here Conrad. What’s the situation? He answers, “I’ve got one female victim, she’s been knifed and beaten and is nearly frozen.” Chad relays the info to Chris who starts to his office and says “ bring her straight to his surgery.” Conrad agrees to his request. As he is approaching the turnoff to the ranch he hears a low moan followed by a yip and a soft whine come from the back of the truck. Looking in the rearview he sees the Great Dane he’s nicknamed Bigfoot enthusiastically licking washing the lady’s face, ignoring the lady’s weak protests. He says quietly, “Come on fella let your momma breath.” The words no sooner leave his mouth when he sees her eyes fly open in panic. He quickly brings the truck to a stop puts it in park and turns facing the back. In those few short seconds the lady’s panic had escalated and she managed to get into a sitting position with both the dogs between them. Staring at him with terror filled eyes she asks in a shaky voice, “Who are you, and where are you taking me?” “He remains calm and replies in that same soft voice he’d been using on the dogs to keep them calm, “Sheriff Langtree, Ma’am, Sheriff Conrad Langtree and we are headed to the Lazy 8 Ranch.” She asks, “ Langtree? Do you know Charles Langtree?”
“Yes Ma’am I do know Charlie, he’s one of my brothers. How do you know Charlie?” ,he asks in return. She looks thoughtful for a few minutes then answers quietly, “he is the agent in charge of my situation. We were supposed to meet in Freedom yesterday at the library between 2 and 5 pm he never showed or called. I knew part of his plan so when he didn’t show I climbed into my truck and headed out towards your/his family’s ranch. As you can see I didn’t make it.” Thoughtfully Conrad turns back to the front and answers the squawking radio, “Hold on a minutes will you Cord, the lady is awake and not surprisingly a little anxious, she’d like to know who is giving her a ride and where that ride is going to… so sit there for a couple minutes in your nice warm truck will ya! At her questioning look he replies, “it’s the red truck behind us, my brothers Cord, Craig and Chase, they’ve got your truck, at least what’s left of it and your other two dogs. Anxiously she says, “Other two dogs? But I have five dogs.” He answers, “I only saw 4 dogs Ma’am these two that I’ve been referring to as Big Foot and Crazy Horse and the two in my brothers truck that I’ve been calling Night and Polar Bear.” He is startled when she looks at him with tears n her eyes, “that means my girl Banshee is missing.” He asks quietly, “What kind of dog is she, you’ve got quiet an unusual pack.” She answers softly, “Its funny you would word it that way, Banshee is half wolf and half bull mastiff and totally devoted to me.” He replies, “then she may be tracking your attackers. I doubt they would have gotten the upper hand at all if it hadn’t been for the mace and tranquilizer darts.” In a quivery voice, “tranquilizers and mace? They hurt my babies?” In reply he says, “I know Polar Bear got it in the eyes. I could see the irritation when he was leading me to some evidence.”
She gives him a little smile and says, “Polar Bear huh.. his name is actually Phantom but the smarty pants will answer to anything so long as it suits his plan, and don’t think that these guys are just dog either because they aren’t. They are over trained over intelligent monsters sometimes.”
“Let me get you to the ranch, Chris is waiting for you in his surgery.”
“Chris?” she asks quietly?
“He is another one of my brothers and the doctor in the family, I called him and reported your injuries and he is waiting to take care of you.”
She gives him another quiet smile and says, “I’ll come along quietly Sheriff.”
“Good, you just settle back we’ll be there in just a couple of minutes.” As he turns into the driveway and passes under the archway, “Welcome to the Lazy 8 Ranch Miss…?”
He hears faintly from the back, “Diana Hunter.”
He replies, “Welcome to the Lazy 8 Ranch Miss Hunter.” He pulls the truck around the side of the house up close to a door with a big ornate sign hanging over it that reads Dr. Christopher Langtree. He parks the truck as close to the door as he can and hops out of the truck, triggering the rear door remote as he neared the back of the truck. He reaches in and scoops her up into his arms as the door to office is opened, the man standing there looks at him quizzically then asks, “Is this my patient?” “Yes she is. Miss Hunter, my brother Dr. Chris Langtree.” He was surprised that I hadn’t struggled against him carrying me in, but after looking closely at my face he could tell it was taking every bit of my energy to just remain awake and coherent. “Conrad bring her back here to the surgery, I have everything ready.” As he leads the way to the large surgery at the back of his office we hear some of the others taking the dogs in another direction. She asks quietly, “Where are they taking my boys?” Conrad quietly replies, “ around behind the barn, that’s where my Brother Craig has his office, he’s a veterinarian, he wants to make sure they are ok. As we enter Chris, the doctor points to the exam table and says, “put her on the table and get me the scissors.” Conrad sets the lady down and turns slightly to get the shears, as he does she grabs his hand. He looks back at her quizzically and sees the fear and terror back on her face. He squeezes her hand gently and says, “I know he doesn’t look like much but Chris is a really good doctor, you don’t have to be afraid of him.”
In a sad scared voice she asks, “You aren’t leaving are you?” She implored, “You’ll stay right?!”
“Of course Ma’am if you want me to,” he replied, “but I do have to call the FBI and inform them that you are safe, see if they heard from Charlie.” With a sob she cries, “You can’t call the FBI, can’t you see they have a leak. Those men were waiting for me. Of the 6 men and 2 women that make up his team, the only one I trusted was Charlie. You can’t call them.”
“And as for you,” she says turning on Chris, “You are NOT cutting my clothes off me. I am awake and perfectly capable of undressing myself.” He tries to explain why he was going to cut them off, “Miss Hunter if we cut off these wet things we can treat your wounds quicker and without you moving around so much.”
Shaking her head emphatically she replies, “NO! You are not cutting up my things,” then insistently states, “you can help me undress or I will do it myself but you are NOT cutting up my clothes.”
A deep voice from the door, “I guess she told you.” followed by, “Sorry to interrupt Ma’am, I need to talk to Conrad for a minute.”
With a great deal of frustration she replies, “Stop that! I am not a Ma’am and No you can’t have him, he said he would stay with me. You want to talk with him come in and talk. Nothings happening in here anyhow cause I’m not letting them cut my clothes off.”
Chris steps closer after laying the scissors down and says with a heavy sigh, “Ok Miss Hunter we’ll do it your way. I’d like to fix you up before you bleed to completely out! Is there anything I can do to help you?” “Just help me get this stupid coat off, my right shoulder hurts so lets be gentle.” Chris reaches out and helps me to slid the coat off my good shoulder then steps around the table to help ease it off the sore one, noting that my jaw clenched tight at the slightest movement of that shoulder. He comments firmly, “This shirt needs to come off too so that I can see this shoulder and other wounds.” “Fine! Help me get my shirt off then but don’t expect me to be happy about it.” With a quirky grin Chris replies, “Ok be grumpy but you’ll feel much better after we close these knife wounds and fix up any other injuries.” While Chris had me occupied Conrad and his as yet unidentified brother move to the far corner of the room and talk quietly. Cord tells Conrad quietly, “ Cody and Chad got the dogs into Craig’s office and are helping him to flush their eyes and look for other injuries. What have you found out?” He answers, “She is one of Charlie’s special situations. Name is Diana Hunter. She was suppose to meet Charlie yesterday at the library in town. Charlie never showed. Apparently she learned a little bit about him and what he was planning to do for her. She was heading here to the ranch when she was ambushed. There is a leak in Charlie’s team and she doesn’t trust any of the rest of them. We found her but she still doesn’t know she can trust us either.” Looking back towards the two of us he says, “What's more she and Chris didn’t hit it off right away.” Cord following his gaze asks, “Chris do you need any help?” He answers tersely, “Yes Cord, I could use a hand.. she’s going to need a lot of sutures, her shoulder is dislocated and I’ll need you to help me put it back in place.” Cord looks at me and asks quietly, “Are you ok with me helping?” I study him intently for a few minutes and I see something unfathomable and just know that I this is one man that can be trusted anytime. I nod my head and reply quietly, “Yes, I’d appreciate your help, keep this doctor from pushing me and going around my wishes.” Chris and Cord work in tandem getting all the wounds cleaned and sutured in record time. Conrad watched the proceedings from the far side of the room noting that not one whimper or cry passed thru my lips, but the bleak look in my eyes worried him. After cleaning up all the cleaning and suturing materials Chris looks at me clears his throat and says, “There is no easy way to reseat your should no matter how we do it, its going to hurt.” I reply with obvious frustration, “Just do what you have to do!” They proceed with reseating my shoulder then step back giving me a chance to catch my breath before doing x-rays and wrapping the shoulder.
“Miss Hunter?” asked Chris, “how are you doing?”
Softly with doggedness I reply, “ Diana just call me Diana. I’m fine are we done now?”
Chris answers, “Not quite yet Miss Hunter we still need to do x-rays on your ribs, and check over the rest of you, just to be sure everything is alright.” Two hours later after he had gone over all the tests, wrapped my cracked ribs and given me some pain killers and a sling for my bad shoulder. I look up exhaustion in every move and breath and ask, “My dogs?” Cord answered, “Craig took them to his office, he was going to clean their faces up and check them for other injuries. You don’t have to worry Diana, he’s a good Vet.”
I look up at him intently and ask, “Did he tell you one of my dogs is still missing, and she isn’t your average run of the mill dog.”
He replies, “No!” and asks, “What breed is she?”
“Banshee is half wolf and half bull mastiff, nearly twice the size of your average wolf. So smart that she even amazes me sometimes. I would bet you any amount of money that right now she is tracking or has tracked my ambushers and has or is trying to locate me.”
He comments, “A wolf mix … they are some unpredictable creatures, most people don’t want them around.”
“Its true they aren’t for everyone and it helps to get them when they are young, I got Banshee before she was weaned. Her parents and most of her litter mates were killed by ranchers in Idaho, I beat them to her. When they challenged me for her, she tried to protect me, she wasn’t even 8 weeks old. She’s my baby girl.”
He shakes his head sadly, “Folks got to get along with the wild creatures the creator put here, greed gets to the brightest folks.”
I smile at him and say, “Thank you for that reassurance. You’re Cord right?”
“Yes Ma’am I am Cord,” he replied, oldest and best looking of the 8 Langtree brothers.”
In mock seriousness and preening like the cock of the walk, Conrad utters between snickers, “Best looking, don’t think so big bro, nope don’t think so.” He then looks over to Chris who was watching the banter and asks, “is it ok to take her up to the house now? I’m sure she’s got to be getting tired of the décor down here.”
Chris states emphatically, “ She can go to the house, no stress and nothing strenuous for at least 5 days, those aren’t minor bruises and those ribs and that shoulder are going to hurt like hell. She can talk, she can reminisce, she can explain what the hell is going on, so long as she does it sitting down, laying down would be better. Looking over to me he tells me earnestly, “Diana you getting rest is what’s important, your body has been through a lot of stress in a short time, to heal well you need rest and food.”
Cord takes my hand and asks kindly, “Are you up to walking?” With a determined look I reply, “ I’m fine Cord, this is really nothing. I’ve been hurt a lot worse than this and didn’t get treated half as well afterwards.” He picks up his long-rider and wraps it around me looking critically at the borrowed sweatpants and t-shirt I was wearing, “at least your shoes and socks dried out so your feet will be warm, but those clothes are no where near warm enough but I guess they’ll have to do, its only a short walk across to the house. With his arm wrapped secure about me he leads me out of the office and guides me through the heavy snow right into the comforting warmth of the kitchen. Cord takes his coat and introduces the rest of the brothers as he helps me to sit down, Diana this is the rest of the family. At your left there is Chase, the two sitting across from you looking almost like they could double mint twins are Cody and Chad. Chad has the scar above his left eye. The big dark looking fellow wielding the spatula is Craig. Boy’s this is Diana. “Craig, you’re the vet right?” at his nod I continue, “how are my boys?” He answers, ”I’ve got their faces all cleaned up, looks like they all got maced. Polar Bear has some bruising in his ribs. The Wolfhound has a human bite on his right shoulder that I need to keep an eye on. There’s nothing dirtier than the human mouth. The black one has some bruising on his right ear, I’d say he was hit. The Dane seems to be fine just suffering a little from the cold.”
I hesitantly ask, “Where are they now?”
He smiles and it changes his entire look, softening it, “I put them up in your room so they could rest. They’ve been fed and walked. I did leave water down for them. They may drink more than usual, it’s a common stress reaction for many animals. Don’t worry though I’ll be keeping an eye on them.” He then asks, “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I’ve got some nice hunter stew and biscuits for supper and lets see, ice tea hot tea coffee or ginger ale to go with it.” “I’d really appreciate a little of that hunter stew please, and maybe some of that hot tea you mentioned. Its been more than 20 hours since my last meal. I didn’t hang around town for dinner last night after Charlie didn’t show up.”
Conrad quietly questions, “You sure Charlie said September 8th?” I look at him sadly with fear back in my eyes and answer, “Yeah I am sure. We worked out the meeting place and time then drilled it till there was no way it could be forgotten. He told me to meet him in the local history section between the hours of 3 and 5. Then told me if he didn’t show to head out to the family ranch that his brothers would know what to do to keep me safe till he showed up. But there has to be a spy in his team because that ambush was well planned. Those men were waiting and they knew about my dogs. That scares me, he didn’t call and didn’t show. I honestly don’t know if they took him out first or not.” Chase asks, “What are you running from?” They see my shoulder slump and then I answer, “He really hasn’t called you guys at all has he?” Cord answers for all of them, “Honey he hasn’t called home in probably a month if not longer.” “Damn! I thought that he would have told you my situation, prepared you so you could help if he wasn’t able to be here.” Uncertainly, “Now I just don’t know.”
As he is driving towards the ranch Conrad radios the station filing a quick verbal report on the situation promising to email a complete one as soon as he got the chance. He requests they run the tags, so he can find out who his guest is, and get back to him ASAP. Then he radios home, “Hey Lazy 8 got your ears on?” Chad answers right away, “ I’m here Conrad. What’s the situation? He answers, “I’ve got one female victim, she’s been knifed and beaten and is nearly frozen.” Chad relays the info to Chris who starts to his office and says “ bring her straight to his surgery.” Conrad agrees to his request. As he is approaching the turnoff to the ranch he hears a low moan followed by a yip and a soft whine come from the back of the truck. Looking in the rearview he sees the Great Dane he’s nicknamed Bigfoot enthusiastically licking washing the lady’s face, ignoring the lady’s weak protests. He says quietly, “Come on fella let your momma breath.” The words no sooner leave his mouth when he sees her eyes fly open in panic. He quickly brings the truck to a stop puts it in park and turns facing the back. In those few short seconds the lady’s panic had escalated and she managed to get into a sitting position with both the dogs between them. Staring at him with terror filled eyes she asks in a shaky voice, “Who are you, and where are you taking me?” “He remains calm and replies in that same soft voice he’d been using on the dogs to keep them calm, “Sheriff Langtree, Ma’am, Sheriff Conrad Langtree and we are headed to the Lazy 8 Ranch.” She asks, “ Langtree? Do you know Charles Langtree?”
“Yes Ma’am I do know Charlie, he’s one of my brothers. How do you know Charlie?” ,he asks in return. She looks thoughtful for a few minutes then answers quietly, “he is the agent in charge of my situation. We were supposed to meet in Freedom yesterday at the library between 2 and 5 pm he never showed or called. I knew part of his plan so when he didn’t show I climbed into my truck and headed out towards your/his family’s ranch. As you can see I didn’t make it.” Thoughtfully Conrad turns back to the front and answers the squawking radio, “Hold on a minutes will you Cord, the lady is awake and not surprisingly a little anxious, she’d like to know who is giving her a ride and where that ride is going to… so sit there for a couple minutes in your nice warm truck will ya! At her questioning look he replies, “it’s the red truck behind us, my brothers Cord, Craig and Chase, they’ve got your truck, at least what’s left of it and your other two dogs. Anxiously she says, “Other two dogs? But I have five dogs.” He answers, “I only saw 4 dogs Ma’am these two that I’ve been referring to as Big Foot and Crazy Horse and the two in my brothers truck that I’ve been calling Night and Polar Bear.” He is startled when she looks at him with tears n her eyes, “that means my girl Banshee is missing.” He asks quietly, “What kind of dog is she, you’ve got quiet an unusual pack.” She answers softly, “Its funny you would word it that way, Banshee is half wolf and half bull mastiff and totally devoted to me.” He replies, “then she may be tracking your attackers. I doubt they would have gotten the upper hand at all if it hadn’t been for the mace and tranquilizer darts.” In a quivery voice, “tranquilizers and mace? They hurt my babies?” In reply he says, “I know Polar Bear got it in the eyes. I could see the irritation when he was leading me to some evidence.”
She gives him a little smile and says, “Polar Bear huh.. his name is actually Phantom but the smarty pants will answer to anything so long as it suits his plan, and don’t think that these guys are just dog either because they aren’t. They are over trained over intelligent monsters sometimes.”
“Let me get you to the ranch, Chris is waiting for you in his surgery.”
“Chris?” she asks quietly?
“He is another one of my brothers and the doctor in the family, I called him and reported your injuries and he is waiting to take care of you.”
She gives him another quiet smile and says, “I’ll come along quietly Sheriff.”
“Good, you just settle back we’ll be there in just a couple of minutes.” As he turns into the driveway and passes under the archway, “Welcome to the Lazy 8 Ranch Miss…?”
He hears faintly from the back, “Diana Hunter.”
He replies, “Welcome to the Lazy 8 Ranch Miss Hunter.” He pulls the truck around the side of the house up close to a door with a big ornate sign hanging over it that reads Dr. Christopher Langtree. He parks the truck as close to the door as he can and hops out of the truck, triggering the rear door remote as he neared the back of the truck. He reaches in and scoops her up into his arms as the door to office is opened, the man standing there looks at him quizzically then asks, “Is this my patient?” “Yes she is. Miss Hunter, my brother Dr. Chris Langtree.” He was surprised that I hadn’t struggled against him carrying me in, but after looking closely at my face he could tell it was taking every bit of my energy to just remain awake and coherent. “Conrad bring her back here to the surgery, I have everything ready.” As he leads the way to the large surgery at the back of his office we hear some of the others taking the dogs in another direction. She asks quietly, “Where are they taking my boys?” Conrad quietly replies, “ around behind the barn, that’s where my Brother Craig has his office, he’s a veterinarian, he wants to make sure they are ok. As we enter Chris, the doctor points to the exam table and says, “put her on the table and get me the scissors.” Conrad sets the lady down and turns slightly to get the shears, as he does she grabs his hand. He looks back at her quizzically and sees the fear and terror back on her face. He squeezes her hand gently and says, “I know he doesn’t look like much but Chris is a really good doctor, you don’t have to be afraid of him.”
In a sad scared voice she asks, “You aren’t leaving are you?” She implored, “You’ll stay right?!”
“Of course Ma’am if you want me to,” he replied, “but I do have to call the FBI and inform them that you are safe, see if they heard from Charlie.” With a sob she cries, “You can’t call the FBI, can’t you see they have a leak. Those men were waiting for me. Of the 6 men and 2 women that make up his team, the only one I trusted was Charlie. You can’t call them.”
“And as for you,” she says turning on Chris, “You are NOT cutting my clothes off me. I am awake and perfectly capable of undressing myself.” He tries to explain why he was going to cut them off, “Miss Hunter if we cut off these wet things we can treat your wounds quicker and without you moving around so much.”
Shaking her head emphatically she replies, “NO! You are not cutting up my things,” then insistently states, “you can help me undress or I will do it myself but you are NOT cutting up my clothes.”
A deep voice from the door, “I guess she told you.” followed by, “Sorry to interrupt Ma’am, I need to talk to Conrad for a minute.”
With a great deal of frustration she replies, “Stop that! I am not a Ma’am and No you can’t have him, he said he would stay with me. You want to talk with him come in and talk. Nothings happening in here anyhow cause I’m not letting them cut my clothes off.”
Chris steps closer after laying the scissors down and says with a heavy sigh, “Ok Miss Hunter we’ll do it your way. I’d like to fix you up before you bleed to completely out! Is there anything I can do to help you?” “Just help me get this stupid coat off, my right shoulder hurts so lets be gentle.” Chris reaches out and helps me to slid the coat off my good shoulder then steps around the table to help ease it off the sore one, noting that my jaw clenched tight at the slightest movement of that shoulder. He comments firmly, “This shirt needs to come off too so that I can see this shoulder and other wounds.” “Fine! Help me get my shirt off then but don’t expect me to be happy about it.” With a quirky grin Chris replies, “Ok be grumpy but you’ll feel much better after we close these knife wounds and fix up any other injuries.” While Chris had me occupied Conrad and his as yet unidentified brother move to the far corner of the room and talk quietly. Cord tells Conrad quietly, “ Cody and Chad got the dogs into Craig’s office and are helping him to flush their eyes and look for other injuries. What have you found out?” He answers, “She is one of Charlie’s special situations. Name is Diana Hunter. She was suppose to meet Charlie yesterday at the library in town. Charlie never showed. Apparently she learned a little bit about him and what he was planning to do for her. She was heading here to the ranch when she was ambushed. There is a leak in Charlie’s team and she doesn’t trust any of the rest of them. We found her but she still doesn’t know she can trust us either.” Looking back towards the two of us he says, “What's more she and Chris didn’t hit it off right away.” Cord following his gaze asks, “Chris do you need any help?” He answers tersely, “Yes Cord, I could use a hand.. she’s going to need a lot of sutures, her shoulder is dislocated and I’ll need you to help me put it back in place.” Cord looks at me and asks quietly, “Are you ok with me helping?” I study him intently for a few minutes and I see something unfathomable and just know that I this is one man that can be trusted anytime. I nod my head and reply quietly, “Yes, I’d appreciate your help, keep this doctor from pushing me and going around my wishes.” Chris and Cord work in tandem getting all the wounds cleaned and sutured in record time. Conrad watched the proceedings from the far side of the room noting that not one whimper or cry passed thru my lips, but the bleak look in my eyes worried him. After cleaning up all the cleaning and suturing materials Chris looks at me clears his throat and says, “There is no easy way to reseat your should no matter how we do it, its going to hurt.” I reply with obvious frustration, “Just do what you have to do!” They proceed with reseating my shoulder then step back giving me a chance to catch my breath before doing x-rays and wrapping the shoulder.
“Miss Hunter?” asked Chris, “how are you doing?”
Softly with doggedness I reply, “ Diana just call me Diana. I’m fine are we done now?”
Chris answers, “Not quite yet Miss Hunter we still need to do x-rays on your ribs, and check over the rest of you, just to be sure everything is alright.” Two hours later after he had gone over all the tests, wrapped my cracked ribs and given me some pain killers and a sling for my bad shoulder. I look up exhaustion in every move and breath and ask, “My dogs?” Cord answered, “Craig took them to his office, he was going to clean their faces up and check them for other injuries. You don’t have to worry Diana, he’s a good Vet.”
I look up at him intently and ask, “Did he tell you one of my dogs is still missing, and she isn’t your average run of the mill dog.”
He replies, “No!” and asks, “What breed is she?”
“Banshee is half wolf and half bull mastiff, nearly twice the size of your average wolf. So smart that she even amazes me sometimes. I would bet you any amount of money that right now she is tracking or has tracked my ambushers and has or is trying to locate me.”
He comments, “A wolf mix … they are some unpredictable creatures, most people don’t want them around.”
“Its true they aren’t for everyone and it helps to get them when they are young, I got Banshee before she was weaned. Her parents and most of her litter mates were killed by ranchers in Idaho, I beat them to her. When they challenged me for her, she tried to protect me, she wasn’t even 8 weeks old. She’s my baby girl.”
He shakes his head sadly, “Folks got to get along with the wild creatures the creator put here, greed gets to the brightest folks.”
I smile at him and say, “Thank you for that reassurance. You’re Cord right?”
“Yes Ma’am I am Cord,” he replied, oldest and best looking of the 8 Langtree brothers.”
In mock seriousness and preening like the cock of the walk, Conrad utters between snickers, “Best looking, don’t think so big bro, nope don’t think so.” He then looks over to Chris who was watching the banter and asks, “is it ok to take her up to the house now? I’m sure she’s got to be getting tired of the décor down here.”
Chris states emphatically, “ She can go to the house, no stress and nothing strenuous for at least 5 days, those aren’t minor bruises and those ribs and that shoulder are going to hurt like hell. She can talk, she can reminisce, she can explain what the hell is going on, so long as she does it sitting down, laying down would be better. Looking over to me he tells me earnestly, “Diana you getting rest is what’s important, your body has been through a lot of stress in a short time, to heal well you need rest and food.”
Cord takes my hand and asks kindly, “Are you up to walking?” With a determined look I reply, “ I’m fine Cord, this is really nothing. I’ve been hurt a lot worse than this and didn’t get treated half as well afterwards.” He picks up his long-rider and wraps it around me looking critically at the borrowed sweatpants and t-shirt I was wearing, “at least your shoes and socks dried out so your feet will be warm, but those clothes are no where near warm enough but I guess they’ll have to do, its only a short walk across to the house. With his arm wrapped secure about me he leads me out of the office and guides me through the heavy snow right into the comforting warmth of the kitchen. Cord takes his coat and introduces the rest of the brothers as he helps me to sit down, Diana this is the rest of the family. At your left there is Chase, the two sitting across from you looking almost like they could double mint twins are Cody and Chad. Chad has the scar above his left eye. The big dark looking fellow wielding the spatula is Craig. Boy’s this is Diana. “Craig, you’re the vet right?” at his nod I continue, “how are my boys?” He answers, ”I’ve got their faces all cleaned up, looks like they all got maced. Polar Bear has some bruising in his ribs. The Wolfhound has a human bite on his right shoulder that I need to keep an eye on. There’s nothing dirtier than the human mouth. The black one has some bruising on his right ear, I’d say he was hit. The Dane seems to be fine just suffering a little from the cold.”
I hesitantly ask, “Where are they now?”
He smiles and it changes his entire look, softening it, “I put them up in your room so they could rest. They’ve been fed and walked. I did leave water down for them. They may drink more than usual, it’s a common stress reaction for many animals. Don’t worry though I’ll be keeping an eye on them.” He then asks, “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I’ve got some nice hunter stew and biscuits for supper and lets see, ice tea hot tea coffee or ginger ale to go with it.” “I’d really appreciate a little of that hunter stew please, and maybe some of that hot tea you mentioned. Its been more than 20 hours since my last meal. I didn’t hang around town for dinner last night after Charlie didn’t show up.”
Conrad quietly questions, “You sure Charlie said September 8th?” I look at him sadly with fear back in my eyes and answer, “Yeah I am sure. We worked out the meeting place and time then drilled it till there was no way it could be forgotten. He told me to meet him in the local history section between the hours of 3 and 5. Then told me if he didn’t show to head out to the family ranch that his brothers would know what to do to keep me safe till he showed up. But there has to be a spy in his team because that ambush was well planned. Those men were waiting and they knew about my dogs. That scares me, he didn’t call and didn’t show. I honestly don’t know if they took him out first or not.” Chase asks, “What are you running from?” They see my shoulder slump and then I answer, “He really hasn’t called you guys at all has he?” Cord answers for all of them, “Honey he hasn’t called home in probably a month if not longer.” “Damn! I thought that he would have told you my situation, prepared you so you could help if he wasn’t able to be here.” Uncertainly, “Now I just don’t know.”
Monday, October 27, 2008
Twilight Fanfic start --Kadjka Ika
Chapter 1 " Intro " Kadjka Ika
Billy Black yelled upstairs to his teenage son, “Jacob come down we
need to talk with you.”
“Yah Dad… you need me?” Jake asks as he bounds down the stairs rubbing
sleep out of his eyes. He was a little surprised to find Sam Uley
there with his Dad.
Billy start with, “Jake, son… I know you are still upset by the
choices the Swan girl made…”
Jake interrupts with just the barest hint of hostility in his voice,
“It’s OK Dad. I realized on my run that never cared for me the way I
did for her. She’ll always be my friend no matter how stupid her
decisions.”
Sam interjects, “We all hate seeing her throw her life away on that
lousy bloodsucker.”
Jake acknowledges their acceptance with a nod and asks, “Was there
something else?”
Billy signs heavily before continuing, “Darrell Moonhunter died in an
oil rig explosion two weeks ago.”
His face paling he demands quickly, “Is Dee alright? Is she going to
come home now?”
Sam takes over at the point, “that’s part of what we wanted your
opinion about. Delilah Moonhunter has officially applied to the tribal
council for help in returning to her homeland.”
“Why doesn’t she just come home? She knows she’ll always have a place
to stay.”
“Her step-mother Lorna has her tied up in court over his insurance
settlement and the settlement from the company he worked for. Her
father left papers with his lawyer though stating that in the event of
his untimely death she is to become a ward of the tribe with a council
appointed guardian as she has no close blood relatives,” Sam explains
what he knows.
“Who is she living with then? Cause her step-mother is of the evil
fairy tale variety same with the evil step twins.”
“I’ve gather that from some of the conversations I’ve had with her on
the phone. Billy was telling me you’ve stayed in touch with her can
you tell me what you know?”
Jake grabs a box of pop tarts and pours a large coffee then sits down
heavily at the table, “I know she’s very unhappy there and has been
since her Dad married the witch. She does everything possible to stay
out of the house and spends most weekends camping no matter what the
weather is. She won’t confirm or deny actual abuse but when I was
there a few weeks ago she had bruises and all she would say about them
was shit happens.”
Billy not realizing that Jake had visited when he was running asks,
“How long were you there Jacob?”
Jake gazes unseeing at the wall as he answers, “I kind of lost track
of time when I was running but I am pretty sure I was there with her
for about 2 weeks. She wouldn’t let me leave till I got my head back
on right no matter how nasty I was to her.”
Sam more than a little curious, “Where did you stay when you were there?”
“We camped out; there’s a wilderness area not far from the town she
lives in. She was already camping when I found her and since it was
summer it didn’t conflict with school or anything. It took a bit for
her to get me talking but she finally did… unfortunately I couldn’t
get her to talk to me in return. She was more worried about than
herself or her own situation.”
Billy states with a smile, “I always liked that girl. I am glad you
went to her Jake.”
Sam shakes his head in confusion, “I am glad she helped you too. What
I don’t understand is why they let her camp with someone they barely
know for two weeks alone.”
Embry who had been listening at the door not wanting to interrupt what
could have been an important discussion pushes the door open and
explains, “When her Dad is out on the rig her step-mother is in
charge. She absolutely hates Dee and mostly ignores her existence
except to have her be Cinderella.”
Billy asks confused, “Cinderella?”
Embry explains quietly, “Cook, clean, laundry, errands, grass,
gardening, dishes… you know all the chores it takes to run a house.
They treated her worse than a slave unless she left on one of her
camping trips which her Dad had given her open permission to do so
long as she didn’t miss school. I think the evil twins would use her
as a punching bag sometimes too but I’m not positive. She usually
clams up when that topic comes around. Since Darrell was away for
months at a time she spent a lot of time camping. The evil step-mom
and the terror twins are afraid of grass and trees so they never even
attempted to go.”
Jake asks curiously, “How do you know all this?”
Embry pulls out his little pay as you go cell phone and holds it up,
“I use this. I sent her one too. I talk to her at least once a week. I
was talking to her when she got word of her Dad… it was really bad. I
started to go to her but then we had the attack from that coven and I
couldn’t. IT was a hard decision and I honestly don’t know if I made
the right choice.”
Jake throws an arm around his best friends in comfort, “Dee wants to
come home.”
“What’s stopping her… if it’s the steps we should just go get her?”
Sam interjects, “She’s 16 and is tied up in court over the insurance
settlement and payoff from the oil company. Darrell left the bulk of
his life insurance to his one blood relation but Lorna seems to think
she should get it as his wife. He left a will so she’s going to have
to prove her claim.”
Embry asks, “You said bulk does that mean that there were other
beneficiaries?”
Billy answers, “Darrell left $10,000 to Lorna, $5,000 to Edgar and
$3,000 to Melissa and the rest to Delilah which is something in the
neighborhood of $850,000 and that is just the life insurance. The
settlement from the oil company is in the millions.”
Sam adds, “She needs a guardian before the Texas legal system will let
her come home; mostly because of her step-mother and the money. She’s
asked the elders to find someone for her.”
Sam looks worried as Embry gets that certain look in his eyes, “Sam
why don’t you and Emily do it? She isn’t a troublemaker she’s a
helpful giving person.”
Sam frowns at the suggestion, “I don’t think that’s a great idea Embry
what with our furry condition and the service we provide… she’d get
caught in the middle.”
Jake shakes his head laughing softly to himself before stating
emphatically, “There is no way to keep her out of the wolf business
Sam. She knows and has known about them for a while.”
Sam shocked demands, “What do you mean Jake? Explain…”
“She phased the first time when she was 13. Leeches are thick in Texas
for some reason.”
“Did she explain how it happened? How she handled it?”
Jake nods and passes a pop tart to Embry as he explains, “She was on
her way home from school it was very late and well after dark. She had
to pass through a horrible neighborhood, that’s where two leeches
attacked her. The way she describes it they hurt her pretty bad but
then started arguing over who would finish her off… between pain and
anger all she clearly remembers is exploding then having four legs;
really strong legs with sharp deadly claws and sharp teeth and strong
jaws. She tore them to bits. When there was nothing left she phased
back to human, stole some clothes off of a clothes line and called me.
At first she wouldn’t say much she just cried and cried. Remember Dad
that night she called at 10 or 11pm and was so hysterical you couldn’t
understand her. She kept asking about the legends and you ended up
telling them all to her over the speaker phone.”
“I wondered about that, I just thought she was going through a real
ruff bout of homesickness.”
“Ruff time yes, it would have been easier for her I think if she’d
been here when it happened.”
Sam refilling everyone’s coffee asks, “She figured out how to phase
back and forth quickly? And how to fight?”
Jake replies thoughtfully, “She phased back right after the fight
before going home. I’d forgotten about that she did it within hours
and right after a fight too. She can easily switch back and forth now
and without the huge explosion. She hardly ever destroys clothes. I
guess she uses instinct and experience to fight. She wins and they
die. When I was out there she showed me some of what she’s figured
out. The phasing without exploding is really hard but once you get the
concept down it’s as easy as breathing. One thing I figured out though
is she’s kind of like Sam.”
Surprised Sam asks, “Like me how?”
“When she flat out gives and order… you have no choice but to obey it.”
Embry asks curiously, “How did you figure this out Jake?”
Looking a little ashamed of his past behavior he explains, “When I ran
she heard everyone all the comments, suggestions, the begging, and
pleading. Then she heard Sam tell everyone to give me some space so
she tuned out everything closed off her thoughts and just listened to
mine. After a week or two of my destructive circular thinking she
ordered me to come to her. I really didn’t even think about how I
could be hearing her while in wolf form. She just kept talking to me
and talked me right into her camp. That’s when I realized that she was
a wolf too and that I was in big trouble.”
Sam demands harshly, “Why were you in trouble? Did she attack you?”
Looking more than a little bit sheepish, “I was in trouble because
she’d listened to all my thoughts and seen all my memories of what had
happened and she forced me to face the truth of the entire situation.
Under very different circumstances Bella and I could have been a
forever thing but not under ANY of the circumstances we’d experienced.
She’d basically imprinted on that leech Edward the minute she saw him
and after that there was really no saving her.”
After pausing to collect his thoughts and get some more food, “I
wanted to be her hero and in a way I was. I helped bring her back to
life after that bastard left her, she was dieing inside but that
wasn’t the basis for a long lasting relationship. Now that I am not
obsessed I just feel like I’ve lost a very close friend or maybe a
sister.”
He grinned, “Working it out was hard though and included a lot of
yelling and screaming. She forced me to learn control like you’ve
never seen before too. It was scary for me at how close she’d let me
get to ripping her face off before she’d lay me out; and believe me
she laid me out. She may not be big and scary as us but she’s damned
fast and strong without the huge musculature. She healed me like no
one else could have.”
Billy asks suddenly, “How did you when you were with her?”
“Being with her felt like being home and with family; it felt safe and
right.”
Billy thinking out loud says, “Your heart and soul were bleeding holes
and she healed you. She must be she has to be Kadjka Ika.”
Sam asks worried at Billy’s inattention, “Kadjka Ika? World Heart
what’s that?”
“It would mean she’s the Heart and Soul of the Pack or Medicine Woman
to use an old term maybe even a healer. When and if she imprints
she’ll likely have two mates. The histories say that most of them did.
In matters of tribe and life she’s equal to the pack leader and in
more than once case was often mated to him, but in matters of war she
is third.”
Jake a little frustrated, “Dad you’ve never mentioned a female leader
before in any of the legends.”
“Because there was no evidence of the Kadjka Ika existing; without her
I am forbidden from tell that part of the legends. Its part of being
the keeper Jake there are many legends that never get told expect to
the next keeper because the circumstances never arose. She should have
phased here had that happened Sam’s change and all of yours would have
been much easier. I’d forgotten her blood line.”
He reaches out to Sam, “We must go through all the histories again to
make sure no one is overlooked again. She has the blood of 3 wolf
lines and 2 Kadjka Ika. I should have known.”
Jake moves quickly to his Dad putting his arm around him, “Dad calm
down… its OK. She’s Ok. The entire situation was completely
unexpected. No one expected the pack to live again. The fact that we
were able to figure out anything and become as good as we are is
because of your dedication.”
Billy suddenly grabs Sam’s arm, “You must go get her tonight. You
can’t delay. The cold-one’s will start sensing her power they will try
to make her one of them so they can tame her magic. It won’t work it
will kill her or twist her into something truly terrifying and totally
evil. You must get her home she needs to be safely inside the boundary.”
Embry pushes a couple buttons on the phone then raises it to his ear,
“Dee… you sound strange are you Ok?”
They all faintly hear a hoarse female voice, “No damn-it I am not
alright. I am absolutely horrible if you really want to know.”
“What happened?”
“The stupid freaking cold hearted bitch just had to do something even
stupider than usual. She became one of them Embers…the enemy. I left,
Oh tell Jake he can expect a few boxes by UPS probably tomorrow �" it’s
everything I own in the world.”
Jake grabs the phone, “Dee, Honey where are you right now?”
“Jakey is that you…”
Blushing a little at the nickname he demands, “Yes it’s me now tell me
where you are?”
She inquires cautiously, “What’s wrong Jake besides the obvious?”
He growls out again the rumble coming from deep in his chest, “Where
are you right now?”
With a heavy sign, “Owyhee.”
“IS that an actual place?”
“Yeah it’s on the Duck Valley Reservation. The town is in Nevada but
most of the reservation is in Idaho.”
Billy pulls an atlas off the book shelf and starts looking through it
then glances up at Sam point out where she was located. Sam thinks for
a moment calculating the amount of time it would take to run or drive
there.
“Jake you and Embry run and meet with her there.” He states as he
takes the phone from Jake.
Sam commands, “Delilah you are to stay on that reservation in a
populated place until Jake and Embry get there which at full speed
shouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 hours. Now tell me did you drive or
run there?”
She hesitantly answers a scared tremor in her voice, “I drove I
couldn’t leave my truck there it was the last thing Daddy ever gave
me. What’s wrong and who is this?”
She gets a little more hysterical and cries out, “Jake, Embry what’s
going on?”
Sam realizing that he’s scared her calms down and explains, “Delilah…
Dee it’s Sam. I’m sorry I scared you. We’ve figured out some things
about you that mean you are in even more danger than we originally
thought. Jake and Embry are already on their way there please just
wait for them and continue your drive here.”
“You ordered me Sam and for some reason I feel that I’ve got no choice
but to wait for them. I’m guessing by the feeling that I have that you
are my alpha in this situation. It’s a very unusual feeling for me as
I’ve never had anyone able to make me listen before.”
Sam smirks at the odd tone in my voice, “I’m going to amend those
orders a little just incase trouble finds you there. Stay and wait for
Embry and Jake but if you should come under attack by leeches leave
everything and run as fast and as hard as you can for La Push we’ll
meet you along the way. The Pack and I will be listening to make sure
you aren’t in trouble. How’s that sound?”
With a hesitant small laugh she replies, “I wasn’t exactly complaining
Sam. I was just worried about the possibility of an attack. This place
has a set boundary I can feel it but I don’t know if they have any
warriors to protect it. Just so you know for sure… I’ll wait. I could
use the rest anyhow since I’ve been driving straight for 17 hours.
Tell the guys that there is a small hotel here in Owyhee called the
Cougar’s Rest I’ll be there. They should ask for Dee Dee Hunter, not
Delilah and not Moonhunter.”
“Keep your phone handy and I’ll be sure to tell them. Don’t answer the
door for anyone but them. I know you can fight and aren’t weak but…”
“I understand Sam. You guys are the protectors and you feel the need
to be my big brother right now and protect me. I’m cool with that
really I am. I’ll be good I promise. Oh were you able to find someone
to be my guardian? I think they may need to contact the Texas child
services and police to let them know I’ve been relocated.”
“Yeah Billy and I are going to be your joint guardians.”
“Just as well I get use to listening to you then isn’t it? I’m glad
Sam. I trust Billy and I’ve come to like you from the conversations
we’ve had and the memories from Jake.”
“Go get some sleep Dee. I’ll be listening.”
A/N: This is my first Twilight based fan-fiction so tell me is it
good? bad? strange? Mediocre? I plan on continuing so don’t worry
about that but I am curious.
Kadjka Ika is a word I made up it means basically World Heart or Heart
of the World… in pack language it would mean Heart or Soul of the Pack
I am not and never will be a review whore but I do appreciate those
constructive and encouraging ones that I do get… so thanks in advance.
Billy Black yelled upstairs to his teenage son, “Jacob come down we
need to talk with you.”
“Yah Dad… you need me?” Jake asks as he bounds down the stairs rubbing
sleep out of his eyes. He was a little surprised to find Sam Uley
there with his Dad.
Billy start with, “Jake, son… I know you are still upset by the
choices the Swan girl made…”
Jake interrupts with just the barest hint of hostility in his voice,
“It’s OK Dad. I realized on my run that never cared for me the way I
did for her. She’ll always be my friend no matter how stupid her
decisions.”
Sam interjects, “We all hate seeing her throw her life away on that
lousy bloodsucker.”
Jake acknowledges their acceptance with a nod and asks, “Was there
something else?”
Billy signs heavily before continuing, “Darrell Moonhunter died in an
oil rig explosion two weeks ago.”
His face paling he demands quickly, “Is Dee alright? Is she going to
come home now?”
Sam takes over at the point, “that’s part of what we wanted your
opinion about. Delilah Moonhunter has officially applied to the tribal
council for help in returning to her homeland.”
“Why doesn’t she just come home? She knows she’ll always have a place
to stay.”
“Her step-mother Lorna has her tied up in court over his insurance
settlement and the settlement from the company he worked for. Her
father left papers with his lawyer though stating that in the event of
his untimely death she is to become a ward of the tribe with a council
appointed guardian as she has no close blood relatives,” Sam explains
what he knows.
“Who is she living with then? Cause her step-mother is of the evil
fairy tale variety same with the evil step twins.”
“I’ve gather that from some of the conversations I’ve had with her on
the phone. Billy was telling me you’ve stayed in touch with her can
you tell me what you know?”
Jake grabs a box of pop tarts and pours a large coffee then sits down
heavily at the table, “I know she’s very unhappy there and has been
since her Dad married the witch. She does everything possible to stay
out of the house and spends most weekends camping no matter what the
weather is. She won’t confirm or deny actual abuse but when I was
there a few weeks ago she had bruises and all she would say about them
was shit happens.”
Billy not realizing that Jake had visited when he was running asks,
“How long were you there Jacob?”
Jake gazes unseeing at the wall as he answers, “I kind of lost track
of time when I was running but I am pretty sure I was there with her
for about 2 weeks. She wouldn’t let me leave till I got my head back
on right no matter how nasty I was to her.”
Sam more than a little curious, “Where did you stay when you were there?”
“We camped out; there’s a wilderness area not far from the town she
lives in. She was already camping when I found her and since it was
summer it didn’t conflict with school or anything. It took a bit for
her to get me talking but she finally did… unfortunately I couldn’t
get her to talk to me in return. She was more worried about than
herself or her own situation.”
Billy states with a smile, “I always liked that girl. I am glad you
went to her Jake.”
Sam shakes his head in confusion, “I am glad she helped you too. What
I don’t understand is why they let her camp with someone they barely
know for two weeks alone.”
Embry who had been listening at the door not wanting to interrupt what
could have been an important discussion pushes the door open and
explains, “When her Dad is out on the rig her step-mother is in
charge. She absolutely hates Dee and mostly ignores her existence
except to have her be Cinderella.”
Billy asks confused, “Cinderella?”
Embry explains quietly, “Cook, clean, laundry, errands, grass,
gardening, dishes… you know all the chores it takes to run a house.
They treated her worse than a slave unless she left on one of her
camping trips which her Dad had given her open permission to do so
long as she didn’t miss school. I think the evil twins would use her
as a punching bag sometimes too but I’m not positive. She usually
clams up when that topic comes around. Since Darrell was away for
months at a time she spent a lot of time camping. The evil step-mom
and the terror twins are afraid of grass and trees so they never even
attempted to go.”
Jake asks curiously, “How do you know all this?”
Embry pulls out his little pay as you go cell phone and holds it up,
“I use this. I sent her one too. I talk to her at least once a week. I
was talking to her when she got word of her Dad… it was really bad. I
started to go to her but then we had the attack from that coven and I
couldn’t. IT was a hard decision and I honestly don’t know if I made
the right choice.”
Jake throws an arm around his best friends in comfort, “Dee wants to
come home.”
“What’s stopping her… if it’s the steps we should just go get her?”
Sam interjects, “She’s 16 and is tied up in court over the insurance
settlement and payoff from the oil company. Darrell left the bulk of
his life insurance to his one blood relation but Lorna seems to think
she should get it as his wife. He left a will so she’s going to have
to prove her claim.”
Embry asks, “You said bulk does that mean that there were other
beneficiaries?”
Billy answers, “Darrell left $10,000 to Lorna, $5,000 to Edgar and
$3,000 to Melissa and the rest to Delilah which is something in the
neighborhood of $850,000 and that is just the life insurance. The
settlement from the oil company is in the millions.”
Sam adds, “She needs a guardian before the Texas legal system will let
her come home; mostly because of her step-mother and the money. She’s
asked the elders to find someone for her.”
Sam looks worried as Embry gets that certain look in his eyes, “Sam
why don’t you and Emily do it? She isn’t a troublemaker she’s a
helpful giving person.”
Sam frowns at the suggestion, “I don’t think that’s a great idea Embry
what with our furry condition and the service we provide… she’d get
caught in the middle.”
Jake shakes his head laughing softly to himself before stating
emphatically, “There is no way to keep her out of the wolf business
Sam. She knows and has known about them for a while.”
Sam shocked demands, “What do you mean Jake? Explain…”
“She phased the first time when she was 13. Leeches are thick in Texas
for some reason.”
“Did she explain how it happened? How she handled it?”
Jake nods and passes a pop tart to Embry as he explains, “She was on
her way home from school it was very late and well after dark. She had
to pass through a horrible neighborhood, that’s where two leeches
attacked her. The way she describes it they hurt her pretty bad but
then started arguing over who would finish her off… between pain and
anger all she clearly remembers is exploding then having four legs;
really strong legs with sharp deadly claws and sharp teeth and strong
jaws. She tore them to bits. When there was nothing left she phased
back to human, stole some clothes off of a clothes line and called me.
At first she wouldn’t say much she just cried and cried. Remember Dad
that night she called at 10 or 11pm and was so hysterical you couldn’t
understand her. She kept asking about the legends and you ended up
telling them all to her over the speaker phone.”
“I wondered about that, I just thought she was going through a real
ruff bout of homesickness.”
“Ruff time yes, it would have been easier for her I think if she’d
been here when it happened.”
Sam refilling everyone’s coffee asks, “She figured out how to phase
back and forth quickly? And how to fight?”
Jake replies thoughtfully, “She phased back right after the fight
before going home. I’d forgotten about that she did it within hours
and right after a fight too. She can easily switch back and forth now
and without the huge explosion. She hardly ever destroys clothes. I
guess she uses instinct and experience to fight. She wins and they
die. When I was out there she showed me some of what she’s figured
out. The phasing without exploding is really hard but once you get the
concept down it’s as easy as breathing. One thing I figured out though
is she’s kind of like Sam.”
Surprised Sam asks, “Like me how?”
“When she flat out gives and order… you have no choice but to obey it.”
Embry asks curiously, “How did you figure this out Jake?”
Looking a little ashamed of his past behavior he explains, “When I ran
she heard everyone all the comments, suggestions, the begging, and
pleading. Then she heard Sam tell everyone to give me some space so
she tuned out everything closed off her thoughts and just listened to
mine. After a week or two of my destructive circular thinking she
ordered me to come to her. I really didn’t even think about how I
could be hearing her while in wolf form. She just kept talking to me
and talked me right into her camp. That’s when I realized that she was
a wolf too and that I was in big trouble.”
Sam demands harshly, “Why were you in trouble? Did she attack you?”
Looking more than a little bit sheepish, “I was in trouble because
she’d listened to all my thoughts and seen all my memories of what had
happened and she forced me to face the truth of the entire situation.
Under very different circumstances Bella and I could have been a
forever thing but not under ANY of the circumstances we’d experienced.
She’d basically imprinted on that leech Edward the minute she saw him
and after that there was really no saving her.”
After pausing to collect his thoughts and get some more food, “I
wanted to be her hero and in a way I was. I helped bring her back to
life after that bastard left her, she was dieing inside but that
wasn’t the basis for a long lasting relationship. Now that I am not
obsessed I just feel like I’ve lost a very close friend or maybe a
sister.”
He grinned, “Working it out was hard though and included a lot of
yelling and screaming. She forced me to learn control like you’ve
never seen before too. It was scary for me at how close she’d let me
get to ripping her face off before she’d lay me out; and believe me
she laid me out. She may not be big and scary as us but she’s damned
fast and strong without the huge musculature. She healed me like no
one else could have.”
Billy asks suddenly, “How did you when you were with her?”
“Being with her felt like being home and with family; it felt safe and
right.”
Billy thinking out loud says, “Your heart and soul were bleeding holes
and she healed you. She must be she has to be Kadjka Ika.”
Sam asks worried at Billy’s inattention, “Kadjka Ika? World Heart
what’s that?”
“It would mean she’s the Heart and Soul of the Pack or Medicine Woman
to use an old term maybe even a healer. When and if she imprints
she’ll likely have two mates. The histories say that most of them did.
In matters of tribe and life she’s equal to the pack leader and in
more than once case was often mated to him, but in matters of war she
is third.”
Jake a little frustrated, “Dad you’ve never mentioned a female leader
before in any of the legends.”
“Because there was no evidence of the Kadjka Ika existing; without her
I am forbidden from tell that part of the legends. Its part of being
the keeper Jake there are many legends that never get told expect to
the next keeper because the circumstances never arose. She should have
phased here had that happened Sam’s change and all of yours would have
been much easier. I’d forgotten her blood line.”
He reaches out to Sam, “We must go through all the histories again to
make sure no one is overlooked again. She has the blood of 3 wolf
lines and 2 Kadjka Ika. I should have known.”
Jake moves quickly to his Dad putting his arm around him, “Dad calm
down… its OK. She’s Ok. The entire situation was completely
unexpected. No one expected the pack to live again. The fact that we
were able to figure out anything and become as good as we are is
because of your dedication.”
Billy suddenly grabs Sam’s arm, “You must go get her tonight. You
can’t delay. The cold-one’s will start sensing her power they will try
to make her one of them so they can tame her magic. It won’t work it
will kill her or twist her into something truly terrifying and totally
evil. You must get her home she needs to be safely inside the boundary.”
Embry pushes a couple buttons on the phone then raises it to his ear,
“Dee… you sound strange are you Ok?”
They all faintly hear a hoarse female voice, “No damn-it I am not
alright. I am absolutely horrible if you really want to know.”
“What happened?”
“The stupid freaking cold hearted bitch just had to do something even
stupider than usual. She became one of them Embers…the enemy. I left,
Oh tell Jake he can expect a few boxes by UPS probably tomorrow �" it’s
everything I own in the world.”
Jake grabs the phone, “Dee, Honey where are you right now?”
“Jakey is that you…”
Blushing a little at the nickname he demands, “Yes it’s me now tell me
where you are?”
She inquires cautiously, “What’s wrong Jake besides the obvious?”
He growls out again the rumble coming from deep in his chest, “Where
are you right now?”
With a heavy sign, “Owyhee.”
“IS that an actual place?”
“Yeah it’s on the Duck Valley Reservation. The town is in Nevada but
most of the reservation is in Idaho.”
Billy pulls an atlas off the book shelf and starts looking through it
then glances up at Sam point out where she was located. Sam thinks for
a moment calculating the amount of time it would take to run or drive
there.
“Jake you and Embry run and meet with her there.” He states as he
takes the phone from Jake.
Sam commands, “Delilah you are to stay on that reservation in a
populated place until Jake and Embry get there which at full speed
shouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 hours. Now tell me did you drive or
run there?”
She hesitantly answers a scared tremor in her voice, “I drove I
couldn’t leave my truck there it was the last thing Daddy ever gave
me. What’s wrong and who is this?”
She gets a little more hysterical and cries out, “Jake, Embry what’s
going on?”
Sam realizing that he’s scared her calms down and explains, “Delilah…
Dee it’s Sam. I’m sorry I scared you. We’ve figured out some things
about you that mean you are in even more danger than we originally
thought. Jake and Embry are already on their way there please just
wait for them and continue your drive here.”
“You ordered me Sam and for some reason I feel that I’ve got no choice
but to wait for them. I’m guessing by the feeling that I have that you
are my alpha in this situation. It’s a very unusual feeling for me as
I’ve never had anyone able to make me listen before.”
Sam smirks at the odd tone in my voice, “I’m going to amend those
orders a little just incase trouble finds you there. Stay and wait for
Embry and Jake but if you should come under attack by leeches leave
everything and run as fast and as hard as you can for La Push we’ll
meet you along the way. The Pack and I will be listening to make sure
you aren’t in trouble. How’s that sound?”
With a hesitant small laugh she replies, “I wasn’t exactly complaining
Sam. I was just worried about the possibility of an attack. This place
has a set boundary I can feel it but I don’t know if they have any
warriors to protect it. Just so you know for sure… I’ll wait. I could
use the rest anyhow since I’ve been driving straight for 17 hours.
Tell the guys that there is a small hotel here in Owyhee called the
Cougar’s Rest I’ll be there. They should ask for Dee Dee Hunter, not
Delilah and not Moonhunter.”
“Keep your phone handy and I’ll be sure to tell them. Don’t answer the
door for anyone but them. I know you can fight and aren’t weak but…”
“I understand Sam. You guys are the protectors and you feel the need
to be my big brother right now and protect me. I’m cool with that
really I am. I’ll be good I promise. Oh were you able to find someone
to be my guardian? I think they may need to contact the Texas child
services and police to let them know I’ve been relocated.”
“Yeah Billy and I are going to be your joint guardians.”
“Just as well I get use to listening to you then isn’t it? I’m glad
Sam. I trust Billy and I’ve come to like you from the conversations
we’ve had and the memories from Jake.”
“Go get some sleep Dee. I’ll be listening.”
A/N: This is my first Twilight based fan-fiction so tell me is it
good? bad? strange? Mediocre? I plan on continuing so don’t worry
about that but I am curious.
Kadjka Ika is a word I made up it means basically World Heart or Heart
of the World… in pack language it would mean Heart or Soul of the Pack
I am not and never will be a review whore but I do appreciate those
constructive and encouraging ones that I do get… so thanks in advance.
Friday, October 24, 2008
A New Story Idea
Harry Potter meets Anita Blake....
this one starts with the Vampire council paying another visit to Jean Claude and his group in St. Louis... unfortunately they didn't get approval for this visit and JC takes offense when they arrive suddenly out of the blue. There is a lot of hostility on both sides but before it erupts into complete and total violence JC calls in a favor...
"Hello you've reached Arbitration's Council and we are all out at the moment please leave your name and number and a small synopsys of the situation and as soon as one of us gets in we'll call you back!"
"I am Jean Claude, I am the Master of the City of St. Louis in America the Vampire Council have broken their own covenants and entered my city without prior approval as well as with increasing hositlity heading towards violence. I have no wish to declare war on the entire council... I request arbitration. my number is 314-257-1968. Thank You." click
Diana H.B. Astarri enters her office after a long week of dealing with egotistical politicians hoping for some time to possilby take a vacation... and see's the blinking light on the answering machine.
"Damn I guess I am not getting that time off after all."
She sets her purse and coffee down as she hits the replay button. Listens intently settles into her comfy chair then picks up the phone...
"Circus of the Damned - how may I direct your call?"
"I am returning the call of your master Jean Claude... please transfer me to him."
"who may I say is calling?"
"Diana Astarri Chairwoman of the Arbitration Council."
this one starts with the Vampire council paying another visit to Jean Claude and his group in St. Louis... unfortunately they didn't get approval for this visit and JC takes offense when they arrive suddenly out of the blue. There is a lot of hostility on both sides but before it erupts into complete and total violence JC calls in a favor...
"Hello you've reached Arbitration's Council and we are all out at the moment please leave your name and number and a small synopsys of the situation and as soon as one of us gets in we'll call you back!"
"I am Jean Claude, I am the Master of the City of St. Louis in America the Vampire Council have broken their own covenants and entered my city without prior approval as well as with increasing hositlity heading towards violence. I have no wish to declare war on the entire council... I request arbitration. my number is 314-257-1968. Thank You." click
Diana H.B. Astarri enters her office after a long week of dealing with egotistical politicians hoping for some time to possilby take a vacation... and see's the blinking light on the answering machine.
"Damn I guess I am not getting that time off after all."
She sets her purse and coffee down as she hits the replay button. Listens intently settles into her comfy chair then picks up the phone...
"Circus of the Damned - how may I direct your call?"
"I am returning the call of your master Jean Claude... please transfer me to him."
"who may I say is calling?"
"Diana Astarri Chairwoman of the Arbitration Council."
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Return of the Black Rose
I started the next chapter of ROTBR yesterday... its about a page now so it won't be too awful long before I have something to post.
I find all I want to do is sleep! is this normal? is it part of the grief process?
Friday, April 4, 2008
either a new idea or twist to the old one
Ok I've and idea for a story and it will either be part of my ROTBR or a new one I haven't decided yet. Well I haven't decided if I can make it work or not with the old one. I'll let you know soon though.
since Mom died I haven't felt a lot like writing but more ideas are starting to come to me now so you may get an update soon...
Return of the Black Rose
Well I was going to try and post each of the already finished chapters here so that everyone could see what's already gone down... BUT this program is so finiky it won't let me post even half of some of them so if you want to read them... Look on Fanfiction.net, HpFandom or my yahoo page they are all up to date. Anything else posted here will be NEW NEW NEW!!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
ROTBR Chapter 6 pt. 1
Chapter 6 - It Begins
-Home Life-
Petunia Dursley wrapped harshly on the door then released the numerous locks while demanding, “BOY! Go make breakfast and hurry. Vernon has to leave at 6:30 he has a very important meeting today. Do not dare burn ANYTHING or you will not eat!”
Harry sat up slowly at hearing the harsh voice of his aunt. It was only 5:30am and she’s already being bitchy. The day could only get worse. Then he remembered… today he was going to Gringotts; things were going to get better if he had to take a crowbar and force them to. He pulled on the only set of clothes that even halfway fit him before rushing downstairs to get breakfast on… he didn’t want to be late for his meeting and he only had so much time to prepare.
Vernon entered the room straightening the new tie to his expensive new Gucci suit and addressed Harry pompously, “Boy, you will do your chores today and help your Aunt. You will not complain or lay about and there will be none of your abnormality. IF I have to feed and house you the least you can do is pay for it in service and proper behavior.”
More than tired of taking his so called Uncle’s crap Harry responds in a derisively civil tone, “Sorry Uncle Vernon, I won’t be here today to do the maintenance of your house and grounds as I have to go to Diagon Alley on business. It’s unfortunate that you are too cheap to actually hire a real gardener or handyman. As for earning my keep, I understand from my banker that you receive a stipend for any expenses incurred for taking me in; which includes buying me new clothing, paying for food and other necessities like shampoo, soap, towels and bedding, school supplies and uniforms when I was younger: I’ve been paying for everything for Hogwarts. You’ve never spent a penny of this stipend on me; you’ve only ever given me Dudley’s old worn out clothing and notebooks that he’d messed up and had replaced; and that was only grudgingly and if I was lucky I got one meal a day. You better think long and hard about your treatment of me from here on out Sir as I’ve appointed a new banker to be in charge of that fund it would only take one word from me for it to be reduced or stopped entirely. I know you’ve received 1500 pounds a month for me for 14½ years; maybe you’ve spent 30 a week on me. I suggest you get an accountant or setup a budget; that way you can see where the drain on your finances truly is because you’ve a mountain of money being wasted somewhere.”
Vernon Dursley started turning red, then headed towards purple before he started speaking, “BOY How DARE YOU!!! This is my house and you only stay here with MY permission. You will get your unnatural things and get OUT. You will not darken my doorstep again!
Harry being infinitely polite, “If that is what you want Uncle Vernon, but that means you won’t get this months payment of 1500 pounds and there won’t be anymore either as they will stop the very minute that I leave. The goblins use magic you know to keep track of their clients and they’ll know without me even sending them a note. Did I mention that my Banker is a goblin?”
Seeing his Aunt go very pale at the mention of goblins he asks, “Did you get to see the goblin’s at Gringotts Aunt Petunia when my Mom went to get her supplies? They are a bit scary looking all teeth and claws and they can be quite violent too. We’ve spent the past 3 years studying the Goblin Wars alone in History of Magic. Did you know that I’ve made friends with a couple of them? Other wizards seem to have a problem with them but I don’t. I think they are a remarkable race of people; a bit possessive and protective of those they favor. They really don’t appreciate their clients being mistreated especially ones that have goblin friends.”
Petunia turns to Vernon and states unequivocally, “He stays Vernon! We need that money and we don’t want trouble with those… those things. Lily said…” she had to stop and swallow hard to continue, “Lily said they eat their prey. That means they’d eat us Vernon. They’re not human, they have teeth like daggers and they’d rip the flesh from our bones with us still alive. The boy stays and you will leave him alone. He will eat meals when we eat and he will do whatever it is that his kind do during the day. He knows the rules of his kind and he won’t risk loosing his place in that society. You and Dudley will act as if he doesn’t exist.”
Vernon knowing there’s no dealing with her when her mind is made up finally agrees, “Very well Pet but if he gives youany trouble, he’s out. No more chances. I’m getting a big promotion today we don’t need his money that bad.”
As soon as Vernon was gone, Dudley went back up to bed; nothing was different in his little world so he didn’t care. Harry went back up to his room gathered up his things (robe, wand, and money pouch and invisibility cloak). Then he closes and locks his trunk then using wandless magic puts a Muggle repelling ward on it to keep his nosey cousin from getting anywhere near it.
Harry heads downstairs after putting on his robe and cloak then steps out into the backyard where he asks softly, “Ready to go Mooney?”
“Yes Harry whenever you are,” Remus said as he slid the cloak open so Harry could see where he was located. When he felt Harry grab hold of his arm he adds quietly, “Hold on tight Harry and think only of me you’ll feel the pull, then it will feel like you are being pulled through the head of a needle; whatever you do don’t let got of me!”
They promptly arrived in Diagon Alley within sight of the doors to Gringotts. Harry walked up the stairs and through the doors before taking off his invisibility cloak, Remus right at his heels. The guards on duty swarmed the doors right after his entrance flipping signs and lock-warding the doors before taking up guard positions.
Griphook steps forward, “Greetings Mr. Potter if you would come this way?”
Harry inquired energetically, “Hello Griphook. I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble. How did things go?”
chapter 5 part 2
After reading it through a second time he carries it to the Dark Lord after letting him read it he asks quietly, “What do you wish to do my lord?”<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Voldemort smiles (in many ways it’s even more terrifying than his old half snake appearance because his followers just didn’t know what to make of it),”It’s quite simple really Severus, we give him his oath. He is only trying to protect himself from both sides in this war before he makes a decision to which side he belongs.
“I <insert each individuals name> vow to keep private all information shared between Tom Riddle also known as Lord Voldemort, Severus Snape and Harry Potter will until permission is given by all to release or share it with others, will be kept secret and private. We are free to discuss it among the three of us but will keep it private to all others not even truth spells or veritaserum will pull it out of us… This I swear in truth and honesty. Take my magic from me if I lie!”
After taking the vow the rest of Potter’s letter appeared:
Thank you for your trust in me. I am quite glad actually and would like to learn more about my sister and what you wanted to speak with my parents about. Professor Snape if you could arrange a meeting between us I would greatly appreciate it. As you know the WBB is keeping me in Durskaban (1); perhaps you could arrange for the Dursley’s to be away and visit with me here. We all know that bull crap excuse of blood wards is nothing but crap. Tom used my blood to come back and in so doing nullified any effect those wards had and he can get through the other wards just by not intending me any harm. By the way I will not be staying here a lot longer. I have an appointment with my banker this week and will be moving to an unidentified residence soon after, without informing the WBB so you may want to prepare for the panic that will ensue. I hope that it can be ready by my meeting but I will not hold my breath; Dumbles has been mismanaging my accounts and estate since my parent’s death. I have little hope that any of the properties are immediately habitable.
Till I see you,
Harry Potter
Voldemort exclaims, “This is wonderful news Severus, arrange for a three day all expenses paid trip to that place where they wear those mouse ear hats for the Dursley’s. That will get them away from their residence for the weekend giving us plenty of time to talk with Mr. Potter. You will have to find out the schedule of his jailers for that weekend so that we can work around them. Write Mr. Potter back and tell him his guardians should be away for the entire weekend. We will visit on Saturday.”
Harry opens the note that ‘Sidian had brought him:
Harry, (I hope that you don’t mind)
We have arranged a three day trip to Euro Disney for your guardians and plan to visit you on Saturday. Fletcher starts his time at 8 a.m., and is suppose to finish up at 6p.m. to be replaced by Lupin from 6 p.m. until midnight. We will visit during this time period. Fletcher can be led a stray by the possibility of a lucrative but not so legal venture; I will speak to Lupin myself so he is aware of what’s occurring. I will assure him as best I can of your safety and that this was indeed your suggestion.
Severus Snape
I hope you know what you are doing Professor. Mooney can be a bit over protective of me, but I do hope he sees things our way. He’s the only family I have left and I definitely want him on my side; not Dumbledorks.
(1) Durskaban - I saw this on another story and loved it! I just wish I could remember the name of the story so I could thank the author for the idea and give credit where credit is due!
WBB - white bearded bastard
Chapter 5 ROTBR
Chapter 5 – Showdown<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
It’s precisely 9am when Dumbledore walks through the front door of Gringotts with one mission on his mind… keeping Harry Potter under his control. He stomps over to the first Goblin he sees, not caring really if it was the proper one for the situation and demands in an unrelenting very condescending tone, “Get me Gravelmouth right now. I don’t have all day to wait on you.”
The Goblin at the counter glances up at him and states in a Goblins most disrespectful tone, “Ahhh Mr. Dumbledore just the man we were expecting. Stonegrinder will be with you momentarily, please wait in chairs.” He turns to the next in line and states, “Next in line; how may I help you today?”
Not believing that the Goblin just dismissed him like he was a common nobody, Dumbledore decided to take a seat then make a complaint to the Goblin in charge.
A very young goblin steps into the waiting area and requests, “Dumbledore, Albus… Og’ Talmraz Stonegrinder will see you now; this way please.”
He’s led back deep into the labyrinth of offices to one that has a sign outside of that states in large ornate gold lettering:
Og’ Talmraz Stonegrinder
The Ancient House of Myrrlyn,
The Exalted and Ancient House of Astarii
The Noble and Ancient House of Black,
The Righteous and Ancient House of Potter (with Nar’ sinhg Griphook)
Dumbledore is puzzled as to why this Stonegrinder was suddenly handling the Potter and Black accounts but figured he’d discover the reason soon enough; especially as he was the one with magical guardianship to the only heir of the Potter line and he hadn’t authorized this change. He’d chosen Gravelmouth as the Manager because he was easy to handle and wasn’t above taking a gratuity to see things his way
Stonegrinder entered the room followed by two very well armed warrior goblins... He went around the desk and sat in his throne like chair where he proceeded to pull out a thick file of papers.
He finally couldn’t take being ignore any longer Dumbledore demanded, “What is this about Stonegrinder and where is Gravelmouth. He is the Goblin that is in charge of the Potter account.”
Stonegrinder looks over the top of the papers he was reviewing then starts speaking, his voice low and gravely, “Mr. Dumbledore I don’t think you really want to advertise your association with that sramstriz Gravelmouth. He was put to death last evening for crimes against Goblin law and embezzling funds and property from some of Gringotts most prestigious clients. Of course you should know that he implicated you in some of his thefts and that those allegations are being investigated; all findings will be sent directly to the Ministry Department of Law Enforcement.”
Being quick on his feet Dumbledore quickly responds, “What! I’ve never! Why would I need to steal? Do you realize who I am? I am Lord Albus Dumbledore, Head of the Noble and Illustrious House of Dumbledore. I do not need to steal!”
“Mr. Dumbledore, your brother Aberforth William Franklin Dumbledore the third of that name is the Lord and Head of the House of Dumbledore. He allows you to act in his stead with the Wizengamot and the House of Lords. That is his choice but it does not in any way make you the Lord. I also did not accuse you of any crimes I just informed you as to what occurred last evening and assured you that all steps are being taken to discover the truth and get justice for the victims of these crimes.”
“I demand to know who put you in charge of the Potter account. I am Mr. Potter’s guardian and…”
“Lord Potter was granted emancipation by his God-father and the Ministry therefore you no longer have any say about his accounts or business. His first step in assessing his assets was reclaiming all property and money illegally removed from his homes and accounts; this was done at midnight last night. All that were in possession of said property were notified by Gringotts as to the retrieval. As for who appointed me to this position: it was Lord Potter’s own agent Nar’ sinhg Griphook. He understood that while he was Mr. Potter’s choice he still has much to learn so requested my assistance. I do not assist anyone; so with this being understood and his own thirst for knowledge and experience I’ve gained a very intelligent and able apprentice.”
“Black could not have petitioned for emancipation of Harry; he was a wanted criminal, they’d have never listened to him.”
“That is a circumstantial misunderstanding that had to be overcome. Lord Black was able to verify his claims of 1. Not being the secret keeper to the Potter’s and 2. Not killing those Muggles and Mr. Peter Pettigrew. He was cleared of all charges but did not wish it known as he was sure that the one plotting against his God-Son would have either or both of them killed. I believe that he succeeded in his aim of freeing his ward by sending witnesses to testify as to his treatment in home and school, and his obvious lack of knowledge in regards to the Wizarding World and his own position in said society. The Board for the Welfare and Safety of Underage Wizards voted unanimously for his Emancipation.”
Dumbledore, fearing the loss of his weapon… that carefully trained tool, demands, “How could he prove that he didn’t kill Pettigrew? There was no body. The only thing left of him was his finger.”
Looking surprised that Dumbledore himself hasn’t figured it out already Stonegrinder simply states, “Why he asked us of course. Lord Black knew that he like James Potter and Remus Lupin were all mentioned in Mr. Peter Pettigrew’s will. He inquired as to what had happened at the will reading and was wonderfully pleased to learn that it had never been activated. You know Mr. Dumbledore that each person’s last will and testament automatically activates upon the death of its owner. We simply shared this information with the Department of Law Enforcement.”
With a very satisfied goblin smile, “Now Mr. Dumbledore I believe you have some keys for me.”
Dumbledore not wanting to be suspected for inappropriate behavior hands over a ring that contains 5 keys, “Here you go. These are the keys to the Potter vaults.”
“Mr. Dumbledore you know as well as I that there are 9 vaults in the Potter estate: 2 for galleons, 1 for sickles, 1 for knuts, 1 for gems, 1 for weapons and armor, 1 for jewelry and clothing, and 2 for furniture and other possessions. You’ve only given my 5 keys therefore you account is being charged for changing all the locks and wards on the Potter Vaults. We take the protection of our client’s property and interests very seriously. You will find as will any of your agents that come to try and get access to any of the Potter holdings which does include the inheritance vault will no longer have access and will be arrested. This is your only warning: IF you attempt to violate Gringotts law again you will find your own account emptied and all Dumbledore’s expelled from Gringotts clientele for your crimes.
Dumbledore paled to a very pale almost pasty white and leaves Gringotts quite shaken. He headed out into Diagon Alley trying to figure out what steps to take next; somehow his pawn had gotten the Goblins on his side, with allies like that he could become a very big problem. He finally hits the apparation point and heads back to Hogwarts with a whole lot of thinking to do.
RotBR – RotBR – RotBR – RotBR – RotBR – RotBR
Severus opens the note that ‘Sidian brought him and was pleasantly surprised by what he found:
Professor Snape,
I’ve recently discovered the duplicity of the WBB and have taken several steps to let him know that I am not to be played with. I am willing to discuss this and other matters with you and your leader if you both take an oath of secrecy that will prevent you from sharing information that we discuss with anyone else without all of our permission. (The majority will not rule here… it’s all or nothing. We all agree or disagree or the information can’t be shared.) IF you and your boss are willing to take this step do so and the rest of the message will appear. If you choose not to then I thank you for the information that you’ve shared with me and be assured that I will act upon it.
In Truth
Harry Potter
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