To Protect and Serve Ch. 08

This story is a bit wordy and fairly long, so if you are looking for immediate gratification, you might want to look elsewhere.

The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between these character and events and any real person or events is strictly coincidental . . . and pretty darn impressive seeing as it is a science fiction story. Do not reproduce or copy this story without the consent of the author.

This story is based in an alternative universe, where history took a different course than the one we are used to. In this world, the creatures which we now believe to be legends have walked alongside man for the duration of our existence. Vampires, werewolves, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and a host of other beings share our world.

The following story contains, in one chapter or another, lesbian, homosexual, heterosexual, anal, group, sci-fi/fantasy, non-human, and BDSM sexual activity. There may be some erotic horror in there somewhere as well, but I haven't made up my mind.

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"Are you sure? Weren't we supposed to turn left back there? I REALLY thought --"

"Bunny, we're looking for a county road, not an interstate," Sebastian said, grinning and watching Shamira grip the steering wheel that she was wanting to strangle it. Sebastian had been the one to propose a quick trip down to Macon to investigate the faerie colonies and disappearance, since Shamira was still sort of in Shane's doghouse.

Shane had finally agreed, but had asked them to take Bunny along on her first enforcement mission. Before they left, Renata had chuckled and told Shamira that if Bunny didn't get out of the house for a bit, Clara was going to kill her. Clara could only handle so much of the overly perky new vampire, and that limit had been passed.

So the three of them were driving all over the Macon area, making contact with faerie colonies and asking about any disappearances. They were out looking for the last colony on their list and were having a bit of trouble finding it.

"Whoever heard of a county road that wasn't on any map?" Shamira growled, hoping like hell they found it soon or she'd have to explain to Shane why she'd killed Bunny a second time. The girl was actually very sweet, and it wasn't like that perfect cheerleader body was hard to look at, but she just LOVED to talk talk talk talk talk talk . . . it was driving Shamira batty. She'd suggested that Sebastian spend some quality time in the back seat, but he'd informed her that Bunny was apparently fond of noise during sex. By all accounts, she sounded like a porno movie. And she was a moaner. Sigh. And she was a backseat driver.

"But maybe the road intersects that road?" Bunny said, blowing a huge bubble and then giggling. Blowing bubbles with bubble gum was actually a trick when you had to remind yourself to inhale air first. Breathing was a hard habit to get used to again.

"County roads don't intersect highways without an actual exit, and we drove down . . . oh fuck it, I'm stopping and asking directions!"

Sebastian spoke up with, "And that's why I'm not driving. On the off chance we got lost, man rules dictate that I can't ask for directions."

Shamira glared at him, but then she smiled and shook her head. He really was just too damn charming. And sexy. Don't forget sexy. She knew she'd made progress with her phobia, because she could accept that he sometimes turned into a spider, have him be right next to her, and resist the urge to punch him. She thought she might even be ready to be dominated by him which, according to those who had tried, was quite an experience.

"Ask directions?" Bunny chipped in, "Where? Seriously, I don't know why --"

Shamira tuned the girl out and hit the button on the GPS unit that showed nearby points of interest. There wasn't jack . . . "Wait, there's a garage." She put her foot to the floor and got there in record time, if for no other reason than to get out of hearing range of the bubbly sex bomb in the backseat.

"Hold on," Sebastian said as they pulled into the parking lot, which was empty except for one tow truck off near the closed garage doors. The werespider was staring intently at the front door and the small wooden sign that hung above it. The lettering on the signed had long since faded, but . . . "I see wards. Some magical being owns this shop."

"Damn it, it doesn't even look open," Shamira muttered. There was a dim light around the front, but that could just be a night light. Apparently there were motion detectors near the garage doors, because flood lights came on. The three of them got out of the car and Sebastian headed to the front door.

Shamira looked over and had to accept that, annoying or not, Bunny was hot. She had on a pink mini-skirt that hid virtually nothing, strappy pink sandals, and a pink tubetop that clung to her sizable young breasts quite nicely. Actually, Shamira liked the girl, but the non-stop chatter just to fill time . . . that had to stop.

The door opened and they heard a bell, but that wasn't what caught their attention.

"Oh mama, I need to bring my own car down here and rip the engine out," Bunny murmured, her face slipping into full-on sultry mode.

A man had come out, and oh what a man. He was about six feet tall and wearing a greasy sleeveless green jump suit, his arms were pale but nicely muscled, as was the hint of his chest that was showing. And that face . . . oh, that face could make a nun wet her granny panties. Smooth shaved, high cheekbones, firm full lips that were probably in a perpetual half-smile, and his eyes seemed to sparkle under a shock of blond hair.

"Sorry, but we're closed," the man said with a full, satisfying voice. Much to his credit, he met all three's eyes before scoping out the two women's bodies. "But I'll help you in any way that I . . . Hey, is that a Roadrunner?" he asked, now ignoring them all completely. "Sweet ride! What's wrong with her?" he said, turning and looking straight at Sebastian.

Shamira's libido was completely quenched. Bunny didn't seem to care, but Shamira HATED it when one guy assumed that no woman would possibly want or understand a car like this. She knew more about cars than her brother or father ever did.

"Actually, it belongs to this fine young woman," Sebastian said, smiling over at Shamira. "And the car is fine." The two men just stood there staring at each other for a minute, making the two women wonder what the hell was going on. The werespider cocked his head, staring at the side of the mechanic's head and the red bandanna that was helping keep his hair at bay.

Shamira was getting nervous and took a look a round with her shadow sight. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary except for the garage, which was like a great big blank spot to her. 'Well, Sebastian said there were wards up.'

"Were?" the mechanic asked.

"Yep. Elf," was the more confident response.

The man . . . elf was now looking at them more critically. "Okay, so what brings a were and two vamps down here to my neck of the woods with a perfectly functioning sweet ride?"

"Lookin' for county road 83, but we can't seem to find it."

"Shit, you need to head back down about twenty miles for Forsyth and hang a right through town. You'll run into 83 on the other side."

Shamira was on the verge of saying something, but Sebastian kept going. "Trying to get to Culloden."

"That little shithole?" the elf replied, his eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Going to see a man about a horse," Sebastian replied with a grin.

The mechanic smiled back, and Shamira could see Bunny's knees buckle. "In other words, mind my own damn business?"

"Well, I ran into a problem with these two's master up the coast. See, he was rather fond of his babies, and so was I. Turned out they were a lot more fond of me."

"But Culloden?"

"Friend has a trailer there where I can hole up," Sebastian finished, his hands sliding down to grip Shamira's and Bunny's asses.

Bunny giggled and actually said, "That's right, sugar bear!" She lifted one foot up and kissed the werespider in the sluttiest, sloppiest way possible.

'Damn, she looks good doing that!' Shamira thought. She was beginning to understand some of Bunny's charm. She knew they weren't supposed to reveal their mission to strangers, but she didn't know where this scenario of Sebastian's had come from. She wished that he had shared his ideas with the whole class before playing. So if Bunny was going to be his easy date --

"Trailer?" she growled. "You didn't say a damn thing about a trailer. You said a hotel with room service!"

Sebastian pushed an eager Bunny away for a moment. "Well, I paid 'im for the room. That kind of makes it a hotel." He grinned and kissed her neck, getting a very real tremble from Shamira. "And you will be getting the finest service imaginable," he finished.

"Y'all want me to get you a hose?" the elf said, finally offering his hand. "Name's Daniel. As I said, I'm closed up, but you can grab some coffee or drinks before you go," he said, eyeballing the two women.

"Babe, mind getting us some coffee for the road? You know how I like it," Sebastian said.

"The coffee is kind of like your plans for the night," Shamira replied before heading to the building, "you ain't getting any from me."

"Don't be like that!" Sebastian shouted after her as she turned away from him, trying really hard not to smile. This was more fun that she thought it would be. There was a pot of coffee just inside the door and it actually smelled pretty good. She picked the pot up . . . smelled fresh too. She filled up a styrofoam cup and dumped in a pack of sugar. She knew that Bunny liked Diet Sprite, but didn't see any in the free-standing cooler next to the counter. So she grabbed a bottle of water and was getting ready to put some money down on the counter when the bells jingled behind her.

"Don't bother, miss," Daniel said as he walked in, giving her a warming smile. "I figure I owe you for the slight outside."

Shamira gave him her 'I don't know what the hell you're talking about' face. "What slight?"

He leaned against the counter next to her and kept his eyes on hers rather than letting them fall to her tits. He at least got points for that. "For assuming the car was his. Ain't the first time I've made that mistake, so I know the look of a woman who knows about cars being treated like she don't know a tire from a wheel. You'd think that after all these years, people like me would understand that not everything's what it seems to be."

She smiled at him. "Smells like you just put this on," she said, taking a sip of coffee. "Thought you were closed."

"I don't take customers except for emergencies at this hour. I don't sleep much, so I get a lot of work done when the sun's down." Now he let his gaze fall more appreciatively down her body, though he spent more time on her arms and thighs than most men might. "Might I say, it's nice to finally see a Southern woman who isn't all delicate and the like."

"What makes you think I'm a Southern woman at all?" she asked.

"You've got an accent, though not much of one."

Shamira raised an eyebrow. Most people never picked up on that. "You got good ears."

He pulled away his bandanna to expose slightly pointed ears. "Thank you. My momma thought so too. So, if you're really unhappy with your ride, I could provide some company for the evening."

'He even managed to not sound sleazy,' she thought. 'But no one dominates me outside the house, and the only casual sex I have I'm saving for Clara.' Out loud, "You know, if this trip turns out to be the bust I'm expecting it to be, you might see me again really soon." Her voice had drifted off in a murmur as she imagined this dashing creature putting her up on blacks and giving her a tune up. "Real soon."

He grinned, then something passed over his eyes. "Listen, word of advice. There are some around here that get a bit . . . edgy . . . when unaffiliated folks like yourselves come through. Be careful who you talk to, and try not to draw attention to yourself."

Shamira wanted to ask him more, but she wasn't willing to break cover quite yet. "Thanks," she said, running one hand down his arm. Then she left, feeling quite proud of herself.

Once they were back in the car on on the highway, Bunny broke out laughing and even Shamira had to smile.

"Where'd you come up with that?" the blond babe asked when she got control of herself.

"In our world, you need to be able to think fast on your feet and faster on your back. You'll learn." Sebastian grinned, then looked at Bunny. "I didn't think we'd need a story, but you should always have one ready. You're gonna be an enforcer, right?"

Something came over Bunny, and Shamira could see why she'd excelled academically as well as socially and athletically. She knew when it was time to be serious. For the next twenty minutes, Sebastian gave a good, solid lecture on field behavior, back stories, and dealing with unknown factors such as gorgeous hunk elf mechanics. Say nothing of your mission or your house unless directed by Shane or unless you were sure it was necessary. And Shamira was told quite specifically by Shane before she left that she wasn't to discuss her aspects with anyone outside the house.

"But I just wanted to have sex with him for a little while," Bunny whined, slipping back into ditzy mode.

"We've got work to do," Shamira said as they pulled off the county road onto an old fire road. Ten minutes later, they were near the faerie colony of Golden Grass. This colony hadn't contacted Nature's Glory at all, so Shamira had a bad feeling about it. She stood back and let Sebastian do his thing, reaching out with his senses and his mystical web to try and --

"Don't . . . move," came a tiny but firm voice. The clearing around them started to glow more and more as they became surrounded by the hundreds and hundreds of little glowing people. None of them looked happy.

"We come in peace," Shamira said. "Okay, that sounded really corny."

"You have exactly fifteen seconds to explain why we shouldn't --"

It was Shamira's turn to talk. "We're here on behalf of Shane Stapleton, Lord of Atlanta, to investigate the morning star trade and this location was given to us by the King and Queen of Nature's Glory in hopes that you could aid in our attempt to destroy this evil practice."

The clearing was silent until one of the faeries said, "Damn. She said all of that in fourteen seconds."

"His Great and Royal Majesty the Most Illustrious Leader Frolthac of the Colony of Nature's Glory told me about the fifteen second rule that you all have," Shamira explained. "I practiced."

Two figures floated up from the ground, surrounded by guards. Unlike the faeries she was used to, these were wearing armor and brandishing small swords. No, not swords . . . wands.

"I am the Exalted Lord High Majesty, King Timan of the Colony of Golden Grass," one said. "And this," is said, the word "this" coming across as highly acidic, "is my wife."

The faerie in question, without even looking, extended her hand and punched the King in the face. "I'm Falora," the Queen said.

"Just . . . Falora?" Shamira said. "Sorry, it's a beautiful name, but --"

"Yeah yeah yeah," the little woman said, waving her hand dismissively. "Us damn faeries waste so much time giving our titles when we COULD be doing something more interesting."

The King turned around and nailed the Queen in the shins with his wand. She started bouncing up and down in midair, grabbing her leg while the King spoke again. "Royalty should behave as such. Anyway, what are you doing here? You said something about investigating the morning star trade?"

"Yes sir. We had hoped that you had gotten King Frolthac's message about our search."

"We got a message, but . . . Owh! That's it!" The King was reacting to being nailed in the back by his wife, and the two of them began to scuffle, poking, punching, kicking, and pulling hair like it was going out of style. While they scuffled, a new faerie floated over, flanked by two guards. It was a young woman wearing a tiara, and she was possibly possible the cutest woman that Shamira had seen in a long time. She had a slight bit more flesh to her than other faeries, but she could hardly be considered overweight. She just looked . . . soft. And touchable. And if she were human-sized, those breasts would probably lower most men's IQ levels by half.

"I apologize for my parents' behavior," the girl said sweetly. "They're . . . well, they're idiots. I'm Princess Coramen."

"Greeting, Princess," Shamira replied, offering her tongue.

The Princess flitted forward to accept the offering, but her guards tried to block her path. That lasted for about one glare before they split, looking quite well chastised.

'Good for you, girl,' Shamira thought approvingly as Coramen touched her tongue.

"We did get a message," the Princess explained, but it was somewhat garbled by the time it got through our wards. If it hadn't been such a powerful message, it wouldn't have gotten through at all." Coramen floated backward. "There has been a shadow cast over this corner of the world, so we are forced into certain precautions. I would like to take your word about what you're doing, but --"

"All we're trying to do is find out what colonies have faeries that have gone missing." She quickly outlined her beliefs and how she hoped they might lead her to find the producers of the heinous drug. "I understand that you should be cautious. Is there any way you could contact Nature's Glory? My name is Shamira, and the King and Queen could both . . . what are you doing?"

As soon as Shamira had mentioned her name, the faeries' eyes had opened wide. "The Sex Goddess? In part of the message that got through, Frolthac said that a Goddess named Shamira overcame the conduit and . . . and that's never been done. How can you prove that you are who you say you are?"

"I don't know? How can I? Besides a repeat performance, which I'm REALLY not up to." She felt a little flushed when the Princess looked disappointed. "Listen, I think it's pretty obvious that the people that we're after and whatever has got you spooked are connected. That means that if we were the bad guys, there'd be no reason for us to pretend to have stumbled onto you. We'd already know where you are, and we'd probably have already done stuff."

"True, but caution is still warranted." She looked at her still spatting parents and rolled her eyes, then floated close to Shamira's ear. "If we help you, will you get me the hell out of here?" she whispered. "Seriously, if I have to stay here with them for another year . . . hell, another day, I'm going to go out of my mind."

"So . . . this isn't an act for them? They don't secretly love each other?" Shamira whispered back.

"Oh no. Arranged marriage. They can't stand each other, and I'm constantly in the middle of it. Seriously, I'm a good sorceress! I could help you and your lord. Please?"

"I can speak with my master, but I can't make any promises. I might be able to arrange a conversation, but I don't want to insult your parents or your people by saying anything else here."

"I understand." The Princess looked around, then back to the three interlopers. "Okay, a month or so ago, we had a rash of disappearances. We felt a presence pushing at our wards, but nothing tried to penetrate. Then, we had some of our people disappear when they were out collecting food or . . . frolicking. Faeries don't breed quickly, so any loss is very important to us, and we lost a dozen in the course of a few weeks. Finally, we just put up the strongest wards that we could and withdrew to . . . to a hidden place within our territory."

'Good girl,' Shamira thought. 'Still being cautious.' "Have you felt the presences since then?"