Chapter 9

The baying of the hounds carried an otherworldly chill up the spines of those who heard it. There was a subtle, indefinable wrongness in it that said that the creatures making the noise were not normal hounds. Ahead of them, another creature looking very much like a fox ran for her life at an average speed of somewhat over 160 kilometers per hour. The lips of the hounds were still stained with the blood of her mother, whose pieces they had left behind without swallowing anything, and their unholy, red-glowing eyes focused laser-like on their next intended quarry. Behind the hounds, four subtly wrong-looking creatures in imitation of humans rode on ferociously-growling ATVs, which had pursued the fox-like being and her mother across a continent and a half without pause.

Coming to a road, the fox changed, its appearance now that of a nude, teenage, human girl with a fox's ears and tail. She crouched low, coiling powerful muscles, and sprang to the top of a truck's trailer. The hounds were still on her tail. She reverted to fox form and looked back, watching the unholy eyes bobbing up and down in the darkness. The driver, seeing those hellish eyes, accelerated. The fox-girl braced herself against the speed change, glad to see her pursuers beginning to recede into the distance. They sped up fiendishly. The fox-girl hooked her paws around a corner in the trailer as the driver increased his own speed, thankfully beyond what the hounds could achieve. She hunched down to reduce drag for whatever good that would do. When she could no longer see the eyes, she slid behind the roof fairing attachment and out of the wind. There, she allowed herself to rest and grieve. There was still such a long way to go before she got to Spain.

Camber August Lobo looked up at the adults surrounding his bassinet with big, blue eyes. He certainly had a healthy set of lungs, as he'd proven when the doctor had given him the traditional slap on the behind. He'd been born a couple of hours too late to actually have an August birthday (in which case, he would have shared a birthday with his cousin Akiko, whose party had been interrupted by Amelie's water breaking), but Charlie hadn't chosen his son's middle name for chronological reasons.

Nearby, Hato slept the sleep of the deeply ensorcelled. She would awaken when she was fully recovered, or if there was danger. An attempt on Charlie's life by members of Hato's own former clan had necessitated a trip to Japan to convince them, one way or another, that she wasn't being held against her will. Her will had simply been altered, but they didn't need to know that. She'd come home, jetlagged and tired, just in time to assign herself guard duty outside the delivery room, then Charlie and Amelie's hospital room. Seeing her condition, Charlie had had no choice but to dip into his sorcerous training and put her out for some much-needed rest.

Chelsea Smithe sat nearby with her litter in two twin strollers. One contained the single male, Felix, and one of his sisters, Hepzibah. The other contained two more daughters, Catherine and Katrina. Annemarie had seen to it that the doctors hadn't seen the young ones' feline characteristics--furry cat-ears on top of their heads and twitchy little furry tails coming from their backsides. The cat-woman's friends from the dorm were almost always in evidence--though Charlie suspected it was at least partially due to the fact that the dorm's air conditioner was broken. Chelsea Smith visited most frequently of all, but then, September was no fit month for pregnant woman. Smithe was quick to point out that she'd managed with the addition of a fur coat--of course, her fur was thin and fine enough that it didn't hold in much heat.

Camber made a gurgling noise that was answered by Felix, which soon set all the little ones off, much to the amusement of the adults. Akiko laughed as well, though whether she actually thought the noises were funny or was just laughing because everyone else was could not be determined.

That presence was back. Charlie had sensed it off and on for the past month and a half. Three floors down, standing on a lamp post dressed in clothing that looked like he'd mugged Piccolo and dyed everything black, a man with a penumbra of dark magic about him stood with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the hospital window as if by his very hatred he could smite Charlie from the earth. Whoever this guy was, he presented a threat Charlie wasn't going to countenance. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a life-sized plastic Japanese hornet. Amelie had made a golem of it a month ago. Since it didn't need to change sizes, it would last longer than army men or action figures. He activated it and sent it out the window to bug the turban-wearing pole-cat outside.

"Bad man?" Akiko asked softly. The watcher was desperately trying to stave off the golem's attack. The golem, for its part, followed its program to perfection, dodging each defensive move as if it could read its opponent's mind, stinging or biting when the opportunity presented itself, until the dark man disappeared through a portal of his own making. The golem returned, and Charlie deactivated it to save energy.

"It may be too much to hope he takes the hint, but I'd say I've given him something to think about." he muttered.

It was late the next day when Hato awoke, stretching languidly. With all five of the children pronounced healthy enough, Charlie checked Amelie out, and Annemarie, in her pose as lesbian life-partner, did the same for Chelsea. The Sunfire and a rented Caravan each made their way to the separate addresses of the parents. The guy in the black Piccolo outfit was back, surrounded by an aura of brooding anger. Charlie sent the hornet after him again, this time outfitted with a small medallion engraved with the symbol on Charlie's back, just in case the man was ready with a spell. His father looked suspiciously at the man, but Charlie hurried everyone into the apartment and activated the strongest of his wards. Claudia was on the couch, looking like she was in need of assistance in getting up. Steve hadn't had the excuse of childbirth to get out of class.

"You'd think I was having twins." she grunted as the Harolds helped her up. Amelie put the baby in the crib, which was in the apartment's bedroom. The golem bumped its head a few times against the window, and Charlie let it in and deactivated it. He slipped through the wardrobe in the bedroom and handed the golem off to Sanna. Since there was still energy in it, Sanna would be able to read what it had seen. This guy, whoever he was, worried Charlie, and he wanted the opinion of a more experienced magic-user. He grabbed a onesie from a package in the new nursery and brought it back to the apartment. Amelie was feeding Camber when he got back. Akiko became an eager assistant when it came time to change diapers. Still, Charlie was glad for the generous support network awaiting him just a closet away.

The hounds were practically nipping at her heels as the fox-girl dove through the wards around the Spanish manor. Since the hounds were definitely hostile, the wards stopped them like transparent titanium. Finding an open window, she jumped inside, and was immediately immobilized by a spell to stop uninvited intruders. Her body automatically reverted to its fox-girl form, revealing her magical nature. Helpless, she hoped someone here released her before the hounds--or their handlers--found a way through the outer wards. An old man came out, peering at her, though she couldn't see him very well because of the position her eyes had been frozen in. The old man peered out the window at the hounds and immediately slammed the window shut so hard that the fox-girl was afraid the glass would break.

"You poor dear!" the old man said. He disappeared through a closet door and returned a few moments later by a young man of the Atlantean royal lines. The girl was lifted, stiff as a statue, and carried into a sorcerer's workroom. Four additional wards were placed around her, and she was left alone, the men discussing strategy as the well-warded door closed.

Hannity, Clement and Sanna walked out the front door, Clement taking point. A pack of hounds sniffed around the edge of the wards, baying in frustration. A few moments later, four creatures vaguely resembling humans on ATVs arrived.

"Give up the princess and your deaths will be quick and painless." one of the creatures said. Clement drew his sword. Sanna cast a spell which forced the creatures to return to their true forms. The hounds turned into something like a cross between a viper and a mangy greyhound, with teeth like spilled knife drawers. The creatures that had been disguised as humans became something like the hounds, only worse. Each of them stood on four taloned feet, with at least two arms up higher on the body. The smallest of this set had two, one had a pair in the process of bifurcating, starting with a single pair of shoulders but splitting into two at the elbow. Each of these creatures had a full suit of armored scales, a ridge of spikes down the back and a mane of scaly hairs. The vehicles transformed as well, turning into the misnamed "black tigers" that could only be tamed by the most ruthless, patient and powerful dark archmages. They were felines with terrible power, covered from head to toe in black hide like Kevlar. The red stripes along their backs and legs were, in fact, whip scars.

"Leave this place or die." Clement said. One of the faux-men pointed a crossbow at the wards, which shattered when the bolt struck them. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

Charlie saw Amelie stiffen while feeding the baby. She glanced toward the bedroom, but there was nothing that Charlie could see. He slipped through the wardrobe, and immediately heard the sounds of battle outside. Sanna and Hannity loudly shouted spells, while Clement simply roared a battle-cry as the raw force of the Sword of the Blood unleashed destruction on whoever else was out there. Cautiously, Charlie approached the front door. If someone or something had broken Amelie's wards, that could have alerted her to trouble from anywhere.

"It's heading for the house!" Sanna exclaimed, and the door exploded as some kind of fang-faced snake-dog burst through it. The inner wards crackled on the creature's body, but if it noticed, it gave no indication. Charlie grabbed an axe off the wall. The snake-dog hissed and tried to bite him. He bounced the blade of the axe off its head, and when it tried to bite him again, he jammed the weapon into its mouth vertically. It shook its head trying to dislodge the axe. The handle snapped, and the monster spit out the pieces. It pounced, and Charlie rolled, mumbling a teleportation spell under his breath. He grabbed the creature from below just as he was finishing it. There was a sickening lurch as they shifted from one place to another, and then they were airborne. The mansion was a tiny thing far below, like a Monopoly house, dwarfed by the clash of magical fighting below. Charlie shifted back to the living room, bouncing off of his couch and landing hard on the floor. It took him precious time to regain his breath--time in which the monster crashed through the roof and almost landed on Charlie.

"Great, now it's mad." Charlie wheezed, wishing he'd thought to go somewhere other than straight up. He rolled to the side as the monster tried to slash him with its front claws, and those claws turned the couch into a sliced loaf of wood and stuffing. It pounced again, and Charlie rolled beneath it, avoiding a backwards kick and a tail-lashing through sheer luck. The creature screeched in frustration.

"Silence! I keel you!" Akiko's voice piped from the closet. Charlie ran to her, hoping to get her through the closet and break the spell before the monster arrived. Akiko screamed as the monster pounced on them. Charlie's right hand came up as the thing was coming down.

"NO!" he shouted. Power flowed throuch Charlie's body, pouring out through the Mark in his hand like the thrust of a Saturn V rocket. The force of it pressed Charlie against the closet door, and he could hear the wood cracking behind him. Holy crap! he thought. The creature was blown through the roof, making another hole. Exhausted, Charlie collapsed face-first to the floor.

"Booyah!" in Akiko's energetic little voice was the last thing he heard before consciousness abandoned him.

Charlie woke up feeling weak as a kitten. The master bedroom was crowded. His entire family, and his entire harem, and many of his friends, were all gathered around the bed. The children were being soothed in corners where possible. His father noticed that he was awake and let out a cry of joy.

"Who let Akiko watch Jeff Dunham?" Charlie asked. His older brother's eyes widened, and this head sank between his shoulders.

"We'll discuss that later." Kumoko hissed in her husband's ear, not quietly enough for Charlie to miss.

"What happened, son?" his father asked. "Akiko brought us through the wardrobe when you fell down and she couldn't get you to wake up. She was scared."

"Something got into the house. I tried to protect her, and then this power came out of my hand and blew the thing away."

"And better for it." Hannity said. "Soulhounds are nasty, tenacious creatures who will chase their quarry to the ends of creation, across the barriers between planes, until they've run it down. The only way to be safe from them is to destroy them. The one you fought was a larva."

"That was a larva?!" Charlie asked, sitting up. A sudden wave of dizziness let him know that that was not a good idea. He slumped back onto the pillows. Amelie put her arms around him.

"Considering your level of training, it's a wonder you survived." Hannity went on.

"You're not helping." Amelie said.

"That's not my job." Hannity responded wryly. "I think it's the Mark of Atlantis in your palm that saved you. You said the power came from your hand, yes? Was it the hand with the Mark?" Charlie nodded. "The Mark isn't well understood anymore. Maybe in ancient times it was thought of as too obvious to waste paper on. We do know, however, that it somehow is linked with the Crystal of Atlantis--only the Crystal can bestow it or take it away."

"The Crystal ... or what's left of it ... is in that box." Charlie said, pointing to a little box on the dresser. Ina opened it and picked up the thong, but the Crystal shard fell back into the box. Picking up the shard itself, she brought it to the bedside and gave it to Charlie. He instantly felt his energy returning. "Well, that feels better." he said.

"It's bigger than it was before." Ina remarked. "It must have broken the thong by expanding too much." Charlie held the shard in his hand. It was three times the size it had been before. No wonder the thing had broken its thong. There was, however, no sign that it had been assimilating matter from its local environment.

"I suppose we could ask our guest what she knows about the Mark," Hannity suggested, "since she also bears one."

"She does?" Charlie asked. He threw back the covers and got out of bed, against his family's protests. He was feeling better already, and there was no dizziness this time. Carrying the shard with him, he followed Hannity to the work room, where the naked fox-girl was still immobilized by the house wards. Charlie helped Amelie restore their guest's ability to move. Sure enough, a birthmark in the shape of the Mark of Atlantis decorated her forehead. The girl stretched and seated herself demurely.

"It's hard to believe I'm actually here." she said. "There were times when I didn't think I'd make it."

"What's your name?" Charlie asked.

"Loosely translated, it's Troublemaker-Who-Sets-the-Midwife-On-Fire." the girl responded. "That was her own fault, though, for grabbing me by the tail instead of the feet." Charlie laughed. He brushed her hair out of her eyes. When his skin touched hers, there was a shock. Her face blanked as the Mark on his hand and the one on her forehead both glowed. When the glowing stopped, the birthmark was the same silver color as the Mark on Charlie's palm. Expression returned to the girl's face, and she looked up at Charlie. Wow. she thought quietly.

Wait, am I hearing her thoughts? Charlie thought. Both of their eyes widened as they stared at each other.

Holy crap! they both thought together.

"What happened?" Sanna asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"All I did was touch her, and now all of a sudden I can hear her thoughts." Charlie said.

"And I can hear yours." the fox-girl said.

"This bears further research." Hannity muttered.

"The library scrolls should still be in my backpack." Charlie said.

"A few scrolls stuffed in a backpack?" his father asked. "What makes you think this is mentioned in one of those?"

"Pocket dimensions, Dad." Charlie replied gently. "That backpack makes the TARDIS look like a clown car."

"So how many scrolls are in there?" his father asked.

"As many as could be copied by a small army of scribes and priests in eight weeks." Charlie responded. It soon became apparent that the link was not an equal partnership. Though each knew the thoughts and feelings of the other, whatever Charlie wanted, Troublemaker-Who-Sets-the-Midwife-On-Fire was compelled to provide, as best she could.

I really need to think up a nickname for you. he thought at her.

Whatever you want to call me. she responded. She was presently wearing an oversized T-shirt with Faye Valentine on the front, and serving orange juice. I know this servant thing isn't much like me, but it feels right, somehow.

"What can you tell me about this Mark, other than the fact that you have a matching one on your forehead?" he asked aloud. "What does it do?"

"It's not so much what it does, as what it allows you to do." she said. "Most wizards or sorcerers can tap into energy around them, and are strongest when there's a lot, like in a forest full of life or at the edge of a volcano. Someone with the Mark, though, can tap into the power behind the Crystal."

"You mean, I can tap the Crystal's power?" Charlie asked--although tapping into the forces of nature around him was a lesson he hadn't gotten to yet.

"The Crystal's just a conduit. It's been growing recently because it's easier to get a lot of energy through a really big conduit. You can tap the Power from anywhere as long as there's a conduit in the same dimensional plane. You can control that Power, and anything created by it."

"Were you created by the Power?" Charlie asked.

"I'm not sure. My people may have been, long ago." she responded. "There are a lot of stories about the Mark."

"Do tell." Charlie said, handing her his glass so she could keep her throat moist.

"You have failed." said a soft, female voice from the shadows.

"Mistress, please, let me try again!" cried the dark man in the black Piccolo outfit.

"Silence, Todesfall!" the woman said angrily, her head snapping up. Her cowl fell away, revealing a face like an ivory doll framed by a floor-length mane of straight, white hair. Her crimson eyes flashed at her hapless underling. "You failed to kill the Princess, and now our enemy may be learning the powers of his Mark. Further, you failed to kill HIM and HIS CHILDREN. You were thwarted by a mere GOLEM!"

"Mistress, please!" Todesfall pleaded.

"You'll beg louder than that before I'm done with you." the woman said quietly. Black fire sprouted from Todesfall's body. The white woman in the black cloak watched, as did all of her underlings. Todesfall's screams ceased to have meaning after a while. Merely animal noises of mindless agony. Still the burning continued, until there was nothing left to burn. The ashes blew away on a breeze of the woman's making, swirling past the underlings' noses and making them sneeze before departing the lair entirely. A cruel smile played over the woman's lips. "Choose among yourselves who will be next to try their luck. I must concoct an even worse punishment for the next person to fail me." So saying, she vanished into darkness.

"Well, any ideas?" one of the females asked.

"Toady was a tard." one of the males remarked. "About the only thing he was good at was memorizing spells. This Charlie Lobo is just a beginner."

"A beginner who may be able to tap into Powers beyond our ability to counter."

"Let him tap all the power he wants, it won't do him any good." the male speaker responded, holding up a box and opening it. A medallion gleamed darkly in what little light there was in the room. "This little beauty was forged from the same meteorite as those three swords we gave the Catholic Church all those years ago."

"You mean, it was cast from the leftover slag." the female retorted.

"It doesn't matter. The effect is the same, and this little thing is easier to hide than a big, bulky broadsword."

"Fine, just remember that the Mistress won't give you the chance to go to Plan B."

"Who needs a Plan B?" the speaker retorted, closing the box to contain the jamming effect, and disappearing from the room.

"We'd better pick who goes next after him." the female speaker said. "He's far too sure of himself."

"Why don't you go next, Venna? You haven't run a mission yourself in nearly one hundred twenty-three years." one of the other females said. Venna pulled her hood back, revealing skin like dark chocolate framed by hair like a black velvet curtain. "I hope your powers don't atrophy with such long disuse."

"There's a difference between running missions for the Order M'rdread and serving one's own interests. Like eliminating potential rivals." Venna said to her critic. "Be careful, Sheena. I may just let slip to the Mistress some of your mumblings from two nights ago."

"You wouldn't!" Sheena gasped, her own cowl flapping loudly as it was removed. Venna smiled malevolently.

"Don't step out of line, Sheena. If anything unfortunate happens to me..." She let that hang in the air, looking significantly at the blonde woman and several others in the group.

"I'll go next." Sheena said. Venna smiled. Yes, the punishment for failure would be infinitely preferable to the punishment for treason.

"Alone at last, huh, pet?" Charlie asked, kissing Hato on one soft cheek. He had waited until she had finished taking care of her katanas, and the children were all asleep--for now, at least. "How're you feeling?"

"Much better, now that I'm rested." she said. "I should have realized I would be less than useless to you, as exhausted as I was. Something still troubles me, though."

"Oh?" he asked, seating himself in a nearby chair so she could kneel at his side.

"The ninjas who came to rescue me were acting normally, but when I got back home, the rest of the clan ... or the ones I found, anyway ... were ... someone had done something to them."

"Done something?" Charlie asked. Hato looked up at him.

"There was no mind in their actions, no skill behind their movements. Up close, I saw that their eyes were completely white. I sliced the head off of a former classmate, and his body kept coming at me."

"Damn." Charlie muttered, seeing the face of King Sade leering at him from the distant past. "You had to cut them into little, tiny pieces, didn't you?"

"Yes." Hato said. "I did not like doing it. It was an ignoble end for people I had trained with."

"What you did was a kindness, Hato-chan." Charlie said, kissing her lips. "Wherever their true selves were, it was nowhere near their bodies. I didn't know them, but I doubt they would want their bodies used in that way."

"No, Master." Hato said. "Domo arigato, Charlie-sama. I admit I felt very guilty." Charlie drew her up to her feet and led her from the little dojo. Sanna knelt in the wreck of the parlor and living room, a powerful ward-circle surrounding her, facing the gaping doorway. Across her lap was a saber with a gilded hilt, and a staff of white yew. He led Hato to the bedroom and closed the door behind them. He kissed her, undressing her slowly, caressing each part of her body as it was unveiled. He closed her eyes with his fingers, and she obediently kept them closed. He tied a robe belt over her eyes, and fastened a pair of Amelie's padded handcuffs on her hands. Hato shivered as she was gently placed in the bed, and her feet were shackled to the foot posts. She moaned, knowing what--and who--was to come. She opened her mouth as soon as the ball gag brushed her face. Charlie's finger brushed her clit, and she exploded in ecstasy, her back arching further than anyone else he knew could manage.

"Good girl." he whispered in her ear. She moaned in answer, her body radiating sexual heat. He made sure she could hear his clothes coming off, and she shivered each time an item hit the floor. She felt him climb into bed and straddle her. His fingers traced up and down her labia, gathering her moisture and using it to write his name on her breasts, the R nestled comfortably in the valley between them. He returned his fingers to her steaming center, writing his name, one letter at a time, on her clit until she exploded again. Then, he began teasing her with his cock, making her whimper around the gag. "I own you." he whispered in her ear. She moaned and nodded. "You like that?" She nodded again, shivering. "Show me how much." He shoved his cock in her, and she bit down on the gag, her vaginal walls squeezing on him as she rode out another orgasm. Charlie knew what Hato liked. He knew what each of his women liked--at least, the ones that had been with him long enough.

He was aware of Troublemaker-Who-Sets-the-Midwife-On-Fire in another room, responding to his desire. As he thrust into Hato, the fox-girl masturbated, lost in Charlie's lust. Hato was lost as well, lost in pleasure. She came again, and Charlie let himself erupt inside her for the extra little bit of joy it gave her to know she had indeed pleased him, before she passed out. He unbound her unconscious body and carried her to a fainting couch where a sleeping bag and a body pillow had been placed for just such a situation. He covered her with a throw blanket, then summoned Troublemaker. She burst into the bedroom, eyes hazy with mating frenzy. She threw the shirt she wore aside, leaving her naked again, and pounced, pinning Charlie against the bed as she kissed him with fiery passion. Charlie rolled over, suckling her breasts, perky and soft and silky-smooth.

"Master..." she moaned, the Mark on her forehead glowing brightly. He slid into her more gently than he had with Hato. She winced as her hymen broke, but her cries were those of passion. Her inexperienced body nevertheless learned quickly, hips moving with his thrusts to shove him deeper into her. She scratched his back as she climaxed. He pulled out and turned her over. Obligingly, she presented her ass for him and he re-entered her hot snatch from behind. Her tail wrapped around his waist, and she tried to keep him inside her, but he fucked her with all of his length, and she lost the capacity to do more than surrender and enjoy the ride. One more orgasm, another, another and another rocked her before Charlie bathed her insides with its first dose of semen. Like Hato before her, she lost consciousness, her body still shivering with after-shocks. She shivered as he pulled out of her. He curled up at the foot of the bed and went to sleep.

"What a miserable place this is." the dark-clad man remarked, striding into the sanctuary. Helmut Wolfgang, once a Cardinal, now a deacon of little consequence, glared. Who did this ... person ... think he was, coming into God's house in heathen dress?

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad without those shrouds of darkness you drape about yourself." Wolfgang said.

"Speaking of darkness, Herr Wolfgang, why don't we discuss a mutual enemy somewhere private?" the man said. Wolfgang, eyes narrowed, led the man to his cell by way of the kitchen, picking up four knives and putting three of them in the wooden block where the sharp ones were stored, keeping the fourth concealed in his sleeve.

"Which enemy in particular do we have in common, stranger?" he asked.

"Several, actually. Charlie Lobo, his wife, Amelie, and their son, to name but a few. Remember them?" the stranger responded. Irrational, sinful wrath welled up in Wolfgang. He kept his knife hidden in one sleeve of his deacon's robes with a monumental effort of self-control.

"How can I forget?" he demanded.

"I know that you were unable to stop him from disposing of your blessed sword, which protected righteous men, such as your ancestor, against the depredations of black magic." the stranger said. "I have something which I believe will interest you." Despite the warning voice in the back of his mind, he looked at the stranger as he pulled out a metallic box. The box opened, and a little medallion the same color as the lost sword gleamed in the light from the candles.

"What is that?"

"You recall that the Church once had three swords for slaying witches? All three were made from metal found in a blessed meteorite sent by the Lord. From the left-over metal, this medallion was cast as a protection for the head of the Church, but it was lost in the chaos following the fall of the Roman Empire ... until recently."