Author's Note: I want to say thank you to End of Story for your patience at my terrible humor and tons of questions both applicable to the situation and inane. Also for helping me to better use punctuation marks. A thank you to patientlee who will probably never read this but helped me become more fragile. To lovecraft68, for making me look at different mindsets. Also to somebody who you all don't know and will never meet, though I wish you could. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for just being you., I wish I was more like you.
Chapter 9: Mother
That rough voice in that perfect face, those eyes and sharp teeth! I know there is a little Red Riding Hood joke somewhere if I could only...
"Gahk!" I gurgled as an arm shoved through the window screen and grabbed me by the throat! Sure way to stop an idle train of thought, go for the throat! I braced my feet against the window ledge grabbing Lucretia's arm at the same time. I used every single ounce of strength in my body and yanked as hard as I could. I figured with myself braced and being substantially heavier than her I could yank her through the window into my house, and closer to my weapons. Well weapon...a wood axe. Seems like a puny weapon to use on a creature like this; a porch railing worked out pretty good for me before though. Then a thought occurred to me. I am still pulling, and I am not going anywhere! In fact there was just enough play in her grip for me to twist a little and look out the front window.
Oh shit biscuits and mustard gravy! I am so boned!
The hand around my neck grew tight enough for a second so I could feel the pinpricks of manicured nails turn to claws. I had just enough time to see that beautiful pink skin begin to turn dark grey and those funny little sparkles start to show when I became airborne!
"Paybacks a bitch, GREG!" I heard as I sailed over my front walk way and nearly hit the large trunk of the locust tree in the middle of my lawn! I hit, and tumbled for a few paces and used the momentum to roll back to my feet. Then I got a good look to see how she had changed. Oh the basic characteristics were still there. She had the same color, horns, too long arms, claws, and cheekbones sharp enough to slice artisan bread. Before she looked kind of thin and anemic. She filled out, I could see muscle flexing underneath her skin, and actually get a good look at her since this time it wasn't dark out.
Her skin was dark gray, looked as cool as a rock in a creek bed, same color too. It looked like it would be cold to the touch, thinking back on it, her fingers were cold around my neck. The rest of her, well, before she was all skin and bones and wiry muscle. Now she must have replaced at least another thirty pounds spread all over her frame. Oh, and still taller than me. I had maybe, what 40 pounds on her weight wise...and she threw me this far? Now you know why I said I was boned. Couldn't let her know that though. Nope, definitely not made. She was formed. The lines of her body, the contours, she was a big girl yes but beautiful If only we weren't about to mix it up.
There is something I have learned about fights...you never know who is going to win. You can't ever look at a match and say, "Oh yeah! For sure this guy is going to win!" There are always pro's and con's things for or against each opponent. One person could slip, fall on their back and the fight goes the other way. Though in fighting Lucretia that would be a bad idea, getting her on her back. From what I can see five of her six ends are pointy when she's on the ground. Be like getting caught in an upside down lawnmower at full throttle! Her wings, damage those and she can't fly, but who knows what other tricks, she's got! I remember her saying she traded in spells, so she's got magic, and I have no idea what kind of stuff she can do in that area.
The pros and cons were being tallied and it looked like I was definitely boxing out of my weight class.
Just as Lucretia started forward a small white hand landed on her shoulder, rooting her to the front steps.
"Wait...I would speak with him. Remember why we are here." The speaker stepped into view and I saw an almost snow white woman, who seemed to have the same super power that Jemima had. I couldn't tell if she was a 20 year old or a 60 year old. How do women do that? Lucretia bowed her head.
"Yes Mother." She said through clenched teeth.
Mother? I am so beyond boned! I am now in the land of BOHICA! For those of you who don't know, that is an acronym for Bend Over Here It Comes Again. This is so miserably unfair! I go to a party, get into a fight not of my own making, now little wuss grey girl comes back as the Grey Hulk to rip me a new one. Hey, I am next door to the Gatewatch! Shouldn't alarms be going off in their house and they all mobilize to their cool car in skintight leather outfits like a supernatural Charlie's Angels? I mean I am next door for Pete's sake.
"Your thought's are very confusing young one." That soft voice said. I did a double take at that. "It has been a long time since I walked this Plane, but I swear I only understand one word in four of your mind. It's like...a sandstorm with the grains flying every which way, but still moving in one specific direction. You are very...strange."
I blinked, "I'm strange? Really? You come to my house, ring my doorbell, and have your; I guess daughter rip me through my window and throw me on the lawn? Lady, you got your definitions really screwed uhHUUUF!" Yeah, Lucretia hit me. Right in the solar plexus, you know, the part of the body that lets the lungs work? I kept trying to breathe air back in, but she hit me hard. I choked for a second, only being able to breathe out before my muscles got over the shock and I took in a deep lungful of air. I glared at her; she only lifted an eyebrow and smirked.
"Show some respect! I don't have a weak body this time, Chjorzit!" Her mother gave her a look and she subsided, looking down and away in chagrin. Who were these people and what do they want...and what the hell did she just call me?
"To answer your questions before you come up with anymore, I brought Lucretia here. There was no ritual calling, or sundering of the veil. Therefore, the Gatewatch as they are called in this century have no reason to appear, in tight leather clothing. Is that how they garb themselves now? The picture's in your mind were not focused...your imagination? It must be." She smiled quietly.
"It has been so long, but still a shapely calf can turn the eyes of men!" She had a throaty laugh that was; well it wasn't really a sexual sounding laugh, just alien. Like someone tells a joke in a different language, and they all laugh, but you didn't get it at all. It was like that except I got the statement, it made sense...but her laugh was still, creepy.
Lucretia was still standing aside, and seemed to be staying put for the moment that gave me the chance to look over this, Mother creature. She had moved closer to me, so she was standing in the shade of my locust tree, and now...wow. She really is white. White skin like whole milk, hair the same color, even pearlescent white eyes! Heck, her hair and skin matched in color so much it was hard to tell where her scalp started and her hair began. Then I did something stupid, I turned on my Sight to View her.
You ever looked directly at the sun before? I have, you see spots for a long time after, and your eyes hate you for being an idiot. The sun is like 93 million miles away, and it still can wreak havoc on the optical nerve. Now imagine it was about 6 feet in front of you.
Ouch!
It hurt more than my last beating, than all the beatings I ever had together! I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, no that's not a her. That's a cosmic force! I couldn't tear my eyes away fast enough. I could feel tears leaking from the corners as the tear ducts tried to lubricate them again. It felt like I had dry sponges in my sockets!
I heard the being called Mother talking and soothing hands tried to touch me but I spun away, barely missing the tree trunk, "Hands off"! Then I felt large, clawed fingers grip my shoulders, holding me fast. "Go ahead Mother, I have him." That did it. Couldn't see, couldn't get away, utter strangers...no, enemies holding me so I could not get away, and I had no idea what the other one was going to do. Oh, and I am in pain. I heard the whispering voice in the back of my head, and though my door didn't open, I could feel warmth around the cracks. I felt the cold heat in the pit of my stomach, and a strength I remembered from just a couple nights ago. It pushed out from my body and Lucretia's hands lifted from on top of me. I could still feel the coolness of her body, but she was no longer touching, not making contact with me.
"What the..." she began, but I shut her up by twisting my hips and throwing a reverse elbow with my left arm to her chin! Her head tilted back, and I turned to give her three strong punches to what I estimated was her gut. Naturally a person will bend a little forward with this move, and I snapped my forehead into where I judged her head to be. I misjudged though. I practiced this move for humans, and remembered her horns too late to stop. We clacked together and she woozily stepped back but didn't fall. I didn't feel anything, at least, not pain from the contact. I felt the pressure on my forehead from her two horns, but it felt almost as if I had been wearing a helmet of sorts. Try it sometime. Put on a helmet and bop it with your fist. You will feel the pressure of the blow, and hear the noise, but no pain. It was something like that. I was so thunderstruck by this I didn't follow up the attack.
"Hold, both of you!" Mother said firmly. From her voice she was somewhere off to my left and behind me. "Maybe I should have let you fight earlier to answer my questions! Now hold still mage, while I heal your eyes. If I had known you had the gift of Vision, I would have warned you of Looking to closely at one such as I." I felt Mother's hands, both delicate and strong; move over my cheeks and nose and then my eyelids. The pain and burning began to dissipate and I opened them to see the white pearl-like eyes of the being, creature, whatever regarding me closely. I felt that power inside me shift and begin to swell.
"Enough of that now." Mother spoke, and it sank back into me, dormant. I probably looked like a fool with my mouth open like that and staring.
"How did you do that?" I stammered.
"I am Queen."
Wait...Queen? Does that mean...
"Yes, young one. I am female. A she. Not a woman, though in form I am similar. Similarities are where the line is drawn, for I am not human. It is a bit much to think of me as a Cosmic Force, still...I thank you for the compliment."
I guess I can call her, her then. "What of Lucretia then? She is..."
"She is Succubae, though of a different kind than the stories told among you. We were not always seducers that prey on the seed of men. We once drew power similar to the ways of the Leech, what you now call Vampyre. We draw energy, they feed on the liquid of the heart."
I had always called Lucretia her, but had been undecided for a while if they actually were women, or not. I guess it was just easier to call them her, she or whatever than to call them it, seemed so disrespectful. I can already hear what you are thinking. Why worry about being disrespectful to something trying to kill you? Sorry, way I was raised. Being respectful costs nothing, and who knows...might help you out sometimes. Wait, one of those words sounded weird...
"Uh, do you mean vampire?"
