David & 'Lyssa Ch. 02

David's weapons were useless to him without the use of his arms. He realized that he had royally screwed up. Instead of using his much more effective powers. He had equipped himself with his familiar old weapons, and when the crisis came, he had fallen back on old training and habits. And without the magical wards that he KNEW he should have set up, he had been ambushed like a rank amateur. And Garace had paid the price of his stupidity.

A quick scan of the area using magic revealed the ambushers locations. It took only a gesture and a snarled curse to turn the enemy into so many blazing torches.

A simple teleport spell got rid of the arrow in his back without further tissue damage. From there, healing was fairly straightforward and easy.

David turned his attention to the stricken dragon.

To his surprise, she was still breathing.

"How can I help you? Tell me what to do." David said to her.

"I am finished." Garace said in a hoarse whisper. "The poison has spread too far, and cannot be stopped now."

Garace took a shuddering breath. Bubbles of blood appeared at her nose and mouth.

"You must not let them have my baby. You have to keep her safe until she can fend for herself."

"I will. I swear it." Vowed David.

"Come close. Touch your head to mine." Garace rasped painfully.

David pressed his forehead against Garace's forehead. A stream of information rushed into him, leaving him dizzy and weak for a moment.

"When Staffet is ready. Pass her legacy on to her." Garace said in a faint voice.

She shuddered then, and was still.

Staffet was crying with the quiet sobs of the brokenhearted.

David raised his hands and chanted a brief incantation. There was a flare of light, and Garace's corpse was gone.

"Mommy," whimpered Staffet.

David sat down there in the road and drew the little dragon to him and sat there cradling her head as she cried bitter tears.

Eventually, David wiped the tears from Staffet's face. "You will be with me from now on." he told her. "I am going to adopt you."

"What does that mean?" asked Staffet.

"It means that you will be my daughter. And that I will take care of you always."

Staffet looked up and asked "How can you be my father if you are not a dragon?"

David was taken aback by the question.

"Well, ahh, I have a lot of dragon in me." he said.

Staffet looked dubious, but pressed her head against his chest and cried some more.

Finally, David stood and led Staffet back up the path toward the cliffs. They would shelter in one of the caves for the night, and any critter or person who objected would pay a horrific price.

David chose a cave a few meters above ground level and levitated them both up and in. Other than some easily evicted bats, the cave was a suitable campsite. Once David had swept it out, using simple housekeeping spells.

David placed magical barriers and traps at the entrance and about 30 yards into the cave. He amped them up until anything that approached the shields would awaken him. And anything that actually touched them would be vaporized on contact.

David conjured blankets and bedding for himself. Then he conjured a quilt big enough to cover the little dragon.

When David summoned firewood from the surrounding forest, Staffet said, "Let me! Let me!" And she opened her mouth wide and breathed a jet of fire onto the pile of branches.

As the fire blazed up, David praised the little dragon. "Nice job Sweetheart!" He said. "Umm, next time, could you wait until I get the wood arranged for a fire so we have some to add later?"

Staffet looked at him with a sheepish expression. "Ooopsie."

"No problem." Said David. And he promptly teleported more wood into the cave where he broke it into manageable pieces.

David lay down on the bedding.

Staffet curled up beside him on a blanket that he spread on the ground. David covered her with the extra long quilt and lay back against the pillows he had conjured.

Staffet put her head next to his and closed her eyes. David put his arm around her neck as best as he could, and they both dropped off into an uneasy slumber.

Staffet woke up crying several times that night. And each time, David sat up with her, cuddling and comforting the little dragon.

It was during one of these waking vigils that David had his wonderful idea. (Or so it seemed at the time)

In the morning, Staffet was very hungry and for that matter, so was David.

David summoned a wooden door complete with frame and stood it up in the middle of the cave.

"Come with me." David told the curious young dragon.

He opened the door and stepped through into familiar surroundings.

An instant later, Staffet bumped into his back as she came through the door.

David was back in the library. And this time, he had company.

~The ladies face a delay~

Black Eagle sat up with a jerk when he heard the horrible cussing going on in the living room.

He stepped through the open doorway from the kitchen and stared. All 3 girls were standing next to the fireplace looking mighty confused.

"What happened?" Asked Black Eagle.

"We don't know!" said a frustrated 'Lyssa. "We stepped into the mist, and came out hare in the living room again."

Black Eagle tossed a coin through the open door into the mist, only to see it appear out of thin air next to 'Lyssa.

"I need to find out what is going on." Said Black Eagle. "For now, stay put here in the house, and do NOT try to leave. It seems that someone or something wants you here and is determined to see that you stay."

He looked around and banished the mist with an irritable wave of his hand.

"I'll send someone to stay with you for a while and get you acquainted with how things work in this realm."

Black Eagle strode out the door, closing it behind him.

'Lyssa and Prissy and Jenny looked at each other.

"Well, this bites." Said Prissy.

She shrugged off her pack and walked on into the kitchen.

She opened the freezer door of the fridge and snagged the first things that caught her eye.

The other ladies came trooping in dejectedly.

"What have you got there?" Asked Jenny.

"Ice cream." came the answer.

"What's ice cream?" Jenny and 'Lyssa asked simultaneously. Then they looked at each other and broke into giggles.

"It is a treat here. The last time I was here, my date was going to take me out for some, but I had to cut my trip short."

Prissy opened up the three cartons and got some spoons from a drawer after a brief search.

Each girl chose a carton and spooned up a small taste.

Smiles of utter delight spread across their faces as they sat down and began to devour the wonderful food.

The trio made utter pigs of themselves. Sharing tastes of each other's flavors.

Prissy got out the phone book and called grocery stores until she found one that would deliver. "I would like to order some ice cream please." She said. "What flavor did you want?" Said the person at the store.

"How many flavors are there?" Asked Prissy.

Her mouth dropped open when the answer came. "Oh, 25 or 30 different flavors."

"We'll take two, no, three of each." She said. "How much will that be?"

"Around 120 to 140 dollars." Came the reply. "I'll need your credit card number and expiration date."

"Hold on a moment." Prissy said. She dug around in the pile of mail that David hadn't had a

chance to open yet. Finally she found what she was looking for.

A brand new Visa card.

Prissy read the number and expiration date from the card to the clerk at the store.

"Your order will arrive in about an hour. Thank you for shopping with us."

Prissy hung up the phone with a grin.

ICE CREAM!

This world might not be so bad after all.

~Father to a Dragon~

David led the way to the apartment at the center of the library. Surely there would be something in here about the care and raising of dragons.

At the very least, he should be able to find out where the hell he had been, and thus how to get home.

David opened the door and ushered Staffet into the room.

The little dragon looked around curiously. "There's not enough room in here for me." She said as her tail knocked over a lamp and a small table.

David stepped across the room and opened the door to the gym. Staffet entered the much larger space and relaxed with a sigh.

David had a sudden thought. Dragon or no, Staffet was a young child. And children had to piss and crap with distressing frequency. David hurried to create a sandbox in one corner of the gym and teleported in enough sand to fill it about 3 feet deep. He also conjured enough kitty litter to mix with the sand. This would, (he hoped) keep down the inevitable odor. He also set up a curtain to screen off the box to give Staffet a little privacy.

It suddenly hit David with a sinking sensation that he knew very little about dragons. And most certainly, most of what he thought that he knew was false, gained from fantasy books and bad movies.

Unfortunately for him, the information that Garace had given him as she died was not accessible to him. At least for now.

So it was back to the books.

Staffet headed straight for the sandbox.

David headed back into the living quarters. To his surprise, the room was now much larger, and contained a shelf next to his bed, sized for a young dragon with room to grow.

There was also a new refrigerator door set into one wall that turned out to be a walk in cooler full of sides of beef. Dragon chow.

David hoisted one of the huge hunks of meat off the hook that it hung on. And heaved it up and onto his shoulder. He staggered back out to the gym and placed the meat on a hastily summoned table. A quick spell heated the meat to blood temperature.

Staffet emerged from behind the curtain, looking much relieved.

"Hey FOOD!" She yelled and came galloping over to slide to a stop next to the table.

David reflected wryly that she at least had her priorities straight.

Staffet was a messy eater, and David had to fetch a damp towel to clean her face up a bit before showing the young dragon the new form of the living quarters.

"I like this!" Staffet said as she clambered up on the sleeping shelf. "It's comfortable." She said with a sigh of pleasure.

David smiled at her. She was a good kid.

"Do I call you daddy now?" Asked the little dragon.

David lost his grin. "Uh, sure, if you want to." He said. "And I will call you 'Bitsy', since you are a little bitty dragon girl."

Staffet thought about it and nodded. "All right daddy."

David sat back in his chair with a whoosh. This was going to take a while, and he was not at all sure that he was up to it.

David looked at the table next to the chair. There were a few children's primers, suitable for human children in the first years of school.

There was also a much thicker book titled "Raising Dragons For Dummies".

"Alright," David said to the air and whomever might be listening, "Enough with the jokes already if you please. OK?"

said an unseen someone.

David shook his head with a grin.

Just like old times.

Staffet seemed to have the resilience that the young of most species has, And was settling into her new home as well as could be expected.

David took up the primers and sat on his bed and held the first one up where Staffet, or Bitsy, could see it.

This was going to take a while.

But they had plenty of time.

~Too much ice cream~

Paul Black Eagle came back to David's house the day after the big Ice Cream Feast. And a good thing he came back when he did.

All three girls were sick as dogs from overindulgence in dessert.

When Black Eagle had soothed their tummies with various over the counter remedies, he went downstairs and let out with the best laugh he's had in centuries.

These gals needed someone to watch over them and keep them out of trouble.

He knew just the person.

His many times great granddaughter Monica.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number.

~Bitsy and David~

David was making great progress with Bitsy. He had the sneaking suspicion that she probably had more potential for learning than he did himself.

All well and good. But how do you keep a rein on a precocious youngster who outweighs you by half a ton and can chomp you in half with one bite?

The answer? Teach her to shape shift.

It took a couple of months, but Bitsy soon had a human (more or less) form. In her human guise, Bitsy appeared to a slim oriental girl of about 9 or 10.

This form had its advantages for both of them. It was much easier for her to hold her own books in this body, and David started truly thinking of her as his own child.

The bond between them was growing by the day, and Bitsy spent most of her time in human form, reverting to her true self just to sleep and to exercise her wings as David taught her how to fly.

Bitsy told David that dragons didn't fly on her home world; the wings were more or less vestigial and decorative these days.

David taught Bitsy how to fly using simple levitation. Her natural instincts to flap her wings etc. took over from there. Bitsy was soon soaring and gliding like an old pro.

Meanwhile, David was researching Bitsy's world and where it was in relationship to his own.

~The babysitter~

Black Eagle introduced Monica to the trio of otherworldly women.

Monica was a huge help, teaching the girls how to use the stove and other amenities.

Finally, after a week, Black Eagle returned.

"Hi Granpa!" squealed Monica when she answered the door.

Gather everyone in the living room." He told Monica. She scampered upstairs to get the girls.

"I can now send you on to Jenny's crystal realm." Black Eagle told them. "But you will not be able to return to this realm until you find out what is sealing the borders between the worlds and fix the problem. And further, once in the crystal realm, you might not be able to leave that realm either. And I cannot help you there."

"Lyssa spoke up. "We have to take the chance."

The girls packs had remained packed in the living room on the off chance that they might be able to travel soon. So it was easy to get the ready to leave.

Black Eagle handed each a small crystal. "Swallow them." He instructed the girls.

They swallowed the small clear crystals after only a slight hesitation. A curiously slick sensation flowed outward from each girl's belly.

"These will change your bodies into the living crystal that forms all life in the realm you are about to travel to. Thus you can eat and drink safely. You can be changed back by swallowing these." And he handed them each a black lean about the size of a peanut kernel.

As the girls tucked the beans away, Black Eagle drew a circle of colored sand around them as a group.

As the final grains of sand fell into place, a shimmering wall appeared. When it disappeared, the girls had vanished with it.

Black Eagle sat down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table.

Monica sat down next to him and tucked her feet up under her as she leaned over to place he head on his shoulder.

"Are you OK Granpa?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"I am fine little one," he said as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Just tired."

~Final night in the library~

David relaxed after a long day of reading old musty tomes. Finally he had the key he sought. Bitsy came skipping into the room. "Hi Daddy!" she called as she bounced into his lap.

David tousled her hair. "Get some rest tonight," he told her. "We will be leaving tomorrow."

Bitsy jumped off his lap and ran squealing with excitement to her bed, shifting shape as she climbed up onto the shelf.

David was inwardly very pleased with her progress. She hadn't been wakened by nightmares in months, and her control of magic rivaled his, even if it did lack subtlety. But subtle would come in time as she matured.

David wondered what 'Lyssa would make of their new daughter.

~The ladies journey begins at last~

'Lyssa had concerns of her own just then.

"I told you that you were going to marry Jason the master Farmer." Jenny's father was bellowing at her. "But you defied me by running away to who-knows-where and leaving me looking the fool. So why should I welcome you back into my house?"

"You need no aid in looking like a fool." interjected Prissy. "Your own daughter comes to you for aid, and you treat her worse than if she was a common beggar asking you for a handout."

"And who are you to tell me how to talk to my own flesh and blood?" Jenny1 s father rounded on Prissy.

"I am her co-wife," replied Prissy smugly.

Jenny's father's jaw dropped. "What in the 12th Hell is a co-wife?"

"She means," Said 'Lyssa, stepping up beside the other two. "That we are all mated to the same man."

"And where is this man who has wed all three of you? Or are there more of you that I haven't met yet?"

'Lyssa bristled. "We are on our way to join our beloved. All we ask of you is a single night's shelter before we leave at dawn."

"You can stay in the barn overnight." Jenny's father said grudgingly. "But do not approach the house at all. Jenny is no longer my daughter if she can indulge in an abomination such as a multiple marriage."

Without a word, Jenny spun on her heel and strode off to the barn, trailed by the other girls.

An hour later, a woman appeared at the barn door carrying a large iron kettle of stew and a basket of breads.

"Hello mother." Said Jenny softly.

"Mother to you no more." Said Jenny's mom. "And I'll thank you never to set foot around here again after you leave."

Jenny's voice grew cold as the polar winds. "Then I renounce you and yours as kin from this day forth. None of you shall exist for me except as mortal foes from the instant I step foot off the farm at dawn."

Jenny's mom jerked as if slapped with each of Jenny's words. As Jenny finished speaking, the woman gave a strangled sob and spun around, fleeing back into the night shrouded courtyard.

Prissy and 'Lyssa sat next to Jenny and comforted her as she cried with all the bitterness of a broken heart.

As the first light of the new day began to touch the surrounding hilltops, the three found themselves already a good mile from the gate of the farm where they had spent a miserable night.

"There is a town about 3 days travel from here on foot. From there, it is a journey of half a day to the gates between worlds. We can set up camp near the gates and wait for a chance to pass through if we cannot find help in town." Jenny said.

As the girls walked, they noticed that every time the copper tips of their walking staffs hit the ground; they got a small but definite boost of energy. This enabled them to travel much further and faster than they could have without the staffs.

That night as they set up camp, they stood the staffs upright in the ground about 3 feet apart. A blue beam sprang up between each of the staffs. Prissy cautiously tossed a stone that hit the blue beam between the staffs. It vanished in a blaze of light.

'Lyssa steeled herself and grasped her staff. It came up easily in her hand. The beam vanished.

"I wonder..." Said Prissy as she plucked up her staff. Jenny grabbed her staff as well.

They planted them in a triangle around their camp. As soon as they let go of the staffs, the beam sprang into place again.

The trio still stayed awake for most of the night. When they the flares of light as several dimly seen creatures hit the barrier and were destroyed, they finally relaxed enough to go to sleep.

In the morning, there were several scorched marks in the grass where the nighttime visitors had been vaporized.

They packed their blankets and gear before plucking their staffs and continuing their journey.

The extra speed and stamina provided by the staffs brought them to the town of Portalville just before dark on the second day of travel.