To Protect and Serve Ch. 05

"Clara!" the girl said, jumping up and down. Then she skipped over to the couch and gave the Native American beauty a big hug and kissed her on the side of the face. Clara's hands froze like claws that wanted to rip the girl's eyes out. But Shamira found herself warming to the girl already.

She'd known a few like this back in school, who just loved life and didn't hate anyone in it. The world could use more people with that attitude. And Shamira could see a little bit of the tiredness around the girl's eyes . . . eyes that she got from fighting an inevitable death. But Bunny was going to die on her own terms, and she was going to look fabulous when she did.

"You're touching me," Clara muttered. "We discussed this the last time you were here."

Bunny laughed. "Clara, you so crazy!" She then extended a hand over to Shamira. "Hi, I'm Bunny!"

"I guessed," the muscular woman replied, shaking Bunny's hand.

"Damn, you're strong! I wish I had arms like yours. You're really hot. Hey, are you going to be a . . . wait," she said, "you ARE a vamp right? I mean you've got the collar on so you're a member of the house though that could mean that you're a magic user or maybe a were or something equally cool but I'm betting you're a vampire and Oh I'm so damn jealous 'cause you're already undead but I'm not yet though Shane promised --"

"Slow down!" Clara said, grabbing the girl's face and trying a menacing glare. "Good grief girl, I'm undead and even I have to stop between sentences more often than that!"

Bunny looked at her, grinned, then kissed her on the forehead. "You're so cool, Clara. That's why I like you so much." She turned her attention back to Shamira. "Sorry, I didn't get your name. I haven't noticed if you noticed that I kind of run away at the mouth when I'm excited or nervous --"

"Or breathing," Clara muttered.

"Hi, I'm Shamira. Fledgling vampire as of three weeks ago."

Bunny's eyes opened wide. "You're THAT Shamira?! Shane told me all about you and how hot you are and how you got brought over and the two groovy Aspects you have --"

"Three," Shane said as she walked over. "Shamira has three Aspects now." He helped Bunny to her feet. "You are a breath of fresh air," he said, soaking in the girl's exuberance.

"I was thinking more of an F5 tornado, but hey," Clara added.

Shane brushed off the comment. He knew that Bunny and Clara would probably get along just fine once they established some boundaries and Bunny was made to actually concentrate on what they were. "How are you feeling?"

"Great!" the blond bubbled. "I decided to push back my chemo for the day and told my folks I wanted to go party with some friends . . . while I still could and all. They're so great," she said, sniffing a bit. "I hate to do this to them, but it'll be easier than making them suffer for months and months, ya know? And they wouldn't understand the whole vampire-and-drinking-blood thing anyway. They're kinda old-fashioned that way."

"Indeed." Shane was trying not to laugh as he saw Clara making childish faces at Bunny behind the girl's back. "Shamira here is going to be helping bring Tabitha and Pierre over. She used to be a police officer."

"Wait, I'm doing Pierre too? Don't tell me I just used the word 'doing.' I'm sounding like a bad mobster character now."

Shane nodded. "Yes, but his death won't be nearly as difficult to plan as Tabitha's was. Members of the intelligence community often meet with 'mysterious accidents,' or so I'm told."

"Hey, did we ever find out where the Dark Pools came from?"

Shane growled. "South. I'm sure that my adversary in Savannah sent them despite warnings from the Tribunal to desist his take-over attempts. I'm going to have to punish him, severely and soon. But he won't be sending any more demons this way anytime soon." Shane looked immensely proud when he said, "Dark Pools require a lot of energy and resources to summon, and your defeat of them will have seriously damaged my opponent's plans."

"You killed demons?" Bunny said, looking like a girl expecting a bedtime story.

"Boy, did she," Henry said, coming over and reciting the whole story, including the post-fight "festivities."

"You are the coolest person ever!" Bunny said, hugging Shamira tightly.

Clara was forced to bite off a scathing comment which, much to her own surprise, was tinged with jealousy. Renata had just walked in the front door.

"Shane Stapleton," she started formally, "Lord of Atlanta and chosen representative of the Tribunal, I present you these representatives of the were races, here to serve your will."

Shane smiled like a kid at Christmas. "Present your comrades."

One by one, Renata spoke the names of the weres she had "collected" to the assembled members of the house. First was Valeska, a lovely and very slender brown-skinned weresnake (of the anaconda variety) from the jungles of South America. She moved with a fluid grace that Shamira envied, and was to become Shane's newest assassin and a sexual submissive.

Next was Bangaly, a werelion from the wilds of central Africa. He was a mountain of a black man, with shoulders of an ox and cunning eyes. This sexual dominant would be one of Shane's new enforcers. Bangaly was accompanied by two women that looked like track stars, both Caucasian werelions and sexual submissives. Clara quietly explained that werelionesses were quite often submissives, but not to let that fool Shamira. A werelioness, more than any other female were, determined when mating was going to occur. It came them a great deal of power over their men. The female cats, Kira and Barbara, would be on Shane's security force.

When the fifth newcomer walked in, Clara looked over to find that Shamira had vanished. Her friend was standing against the far wall, attempting to merge with it by shear force of will. The man who had just entered was Sebastian Cutler, the werespider. Sebastian was a hunka-hunka-drool-worthy manhood. From the symmetrical features to the just-rolled-out-of-bed hair to that v-shaped surfer body to the permanent five o'clock shadow, the werespider seemed born and bred to bring heterosexual women and gay men to their proverbial and literal knees.

"Oh my," Monique said from nearby. "Lillian," she whispered heatedly, then was cut off.

"As soon as Clara gives him her stamp of approval, you can play with him. Not before then." Lillian smiled as Monique started to pout. Even Lillian couldn't deny his appeal, though Shane would still be the only man who would be allowed to touch her.

But Renata had one more guest. "And now I present Yosyp Lagrouge, full vampire and loyal servant of the Tribunal, come to offer his services on behalf of that august body."

For the most part, vampires looked like normal people. Some went the eurotrash route, while others liked the black leather look. Yosyp just looked scary. Standing just over six feet tall, he had curly black hair and that fell wildly down past his shoulders. His face managed to look both strong and gaunt at the same time, with dark eyes looking out from beneath a menacing brow. His skin was pale bordering on white, and he carried a frame of lean muscle.

"Greetings Lord Stapleton," Yosyp said, his voice coming out somewhere between a hiss and a murmur. "The Tribunal sends its greetings." The man knelt before Shane.

"Rise, and be welcome in my house," Shane replied solemnly.

Clara wondered what this all meant. Yosyp was 250 years old and, being a full vampire, would normally be entitled to his own land and command. But he had been a servant of the Tribunal, which mean that he would remain an unlanded vampire. Banshee was the next oldest, being 190 years of age, so she would be the next to inherit. It was a strange situation, but Shane had a strange house.

The party began as each of the current members of the house mixed and mingled with the new additions as well as the two members slated to be brought over as vampires. For the night, there were no dominants or submissives . . . just comrades. Shane's house would soon be full. The only member-to-be that was missing was Tabitha, who was patiently going about her evening, waiting for Shamira to show up and kill her.

'Where'd Shamira go off to?' she wondered, then saw her in the far corner of the room talking with Shane and Pierre. Clara ventured over.

"-- think it's really necessary --" Shamira was saying.

"Shamira, we've been over this," Shane interrupted. "The reason you're killing Tabitha and why I want you to kill Pierre here is because you can get away with absolutely no trace. You're perfect for the job."

"Mademoiselle," Pierre added, "it would be an honor to die at your most capable hand." When he kissed Shamira's hand, it didn't even seem that cheesy. Not many guys could pull it off.

Shamira growled. "Listen, I'm sure you're a nice man and all, but --"

"I am a nice man with many enemies," he replied. "It does not take long for one in my profession to accumulate many such individuals, and they are not quite so noble as you or Shane. My death will allow me to be reborn, to serve the greater good, and to bring safety to my family. Being dead, there is no reason for some who have sought me to use my loved ones as leverage."

Clara tried not to smile. Hitting the protection angle and proposed nobility was going to win him serious brownie points with Shamira, even if he hadn't meant to. She watched Shamira's eyes soften and her muscles relax. She was about to respond when she was tapped on the shoulder.

Shamira looked over and found herself face to face with Sebastian, the werespider. In order, Shamira screamed, stomped on his foot, head-butted him, and then kneed him in the gut before jumping away and standing on a chair.

"Well," Shane said, torn between amusement and annoyance, "that could have gone better."

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Downtown Atlanta . . .

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"He's never going to let me back in the house," Shamira muttered as she paced the alleyway. "I can't believe I decked him.

Tabitha was chuckling. Technically, she should have been dead ten minutes earlier, but Shamira had stopped to rant about knocking out a werespider and the look of disapproval she had gotten from Shane. Tabitha had never met her would-be assassin before in a one-on-one capacity, but found her to be refreshingly human. After getting pulled into the alley, Tabitha was still waiting to get a bullet through the heart.

"I think he'll forgive you," Tabitha replied. "We may not have talked before, but he told me plenty about you. He wouldn't trust you with killing me if he was going to kick you out. Are you really that afraid of spiders?"

"Just thinking about them makes me jumpy," the bigger woman said. "If he hadn't surprised me, I probably just would've screamed like a little girl. But noooooooooo, I have to knock out the new enforcer in front of the boss." Shamira stomped her foot. "He got a nose bleed . . . bled on my skirt and everything. Ugh!"

Tabitha hugged the woman. "Listen, I've known Shane a long time. Yeah, he can be a taskmaster," she said with a knowing grin, "but he's surrounded himself with people that he trusts. Despite movie villain theory, sometimes people are more loyal if their boss isn't a complete psychopath. Now if you'd hit Shane, then it might be a different." She leaned against a dumpster. "So is the adjustment really that hard?"

"I think you'll be fine," Shamira replied tiredly. "You knew what vampires were. You knew what you were . . . you know, sexually. You had some kinda plan. Look at me?" Shamira said, waving the untraceable gun she had brought with her. "I'm freaking out in front of the woman who's patiently waiting for me to shoot her in the chest! I suck at this! I can't even bring myself to drink blood!" Shamira started pacing again.

"You've never drank blood? I know you don't need to, but --"

"Well, I drank it once."

"Anyone I know?" Tabitha teased.

Shamira grinned shyly. "Clara."

Tabitha smiled outright. "I thought you might have found a regular donor. You can live on food, but you need blood sometime, right?"

"That's what they tell me."

"So, was it nice?"

"What?"

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Drinking from Clara? Did you go for the neck or . . . something else."

"Neck, and . . . and it was pretty damn spectacular. She'd just drank, so I got a bit of fresh stuff. She's trying to get me to scan the donor database and find someone, but I'm just not sure I'm ready for that kind of relationship."

"You live with a bunch of people that chain or tie you up and then fuck you senseless. How can ANY kind of relationship still freak you out?"

"You've missed the whole part about me being an unstable basketcase, haven't you?"

Tabitha placed an arm across those broad muscular shoulders. "I think you're just shy. Shane said that you still get weirded out when you're told how absolutely gorgeous you are or how many people really want to play with you. And if it weren't for the fact it would cast suspicion on my murder, I'd let you feed from me right here and now."

"Really?"

"Really. When I saw you at dinner that one night, I was SO hoping you'd be a dominant." Tabitha actually blushed. "I've never been . . . you know, with a girl."

"Really? You seem so . . . wow," Shamira sat down. "Strangely, that was one of the only things that didn't bother me."

"Your time with Clara?"

"Yeah and I kind of . . . well, Renata did some stuff when she was a jaguar --"

Tabitha's eyes shot open. "You're shitting me?!"

"Nope. Cats have rough tongues."

Tabitha was so looking forward to being a vampire. "I am very much looking forward to joining the team," she said dreamily.

"Everyone is looking forward to having you," Shamira said. "I mean that they're looking forward to you joining . . . well, I guess the ARE looking forward to having you in the lustful sense too." Shamira stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Thanks for listening."

Tabitha smiled. "No sweat. It's been great talking to you."

"Thanks." Shamira aimed her gun and squeezed the trigger.

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To be continued . . .