Chapter 16

Matt walked into the kitchen Sunday morning. Molly, Iris, and Duchess were working on preparing scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. “Morning. Smells wonderful. Where’s everyone else?”

Iris turned away from the stove and hugged Matt. “Megan and her toys are getting cleaned up. I sent Ruth to make sure Sam and Louise were up and invite them to breakfast. I also asked her to go out to the RV and see if Bob and Kyra were up and if they wanted to come in for breakfast.”

Matt looked at the Kitchen table which was relatively small. “We still have guests, so slaves can eat at the table today. Can we seat everyone at once?”

“Not in the kitchen, but the dining room table is large enough once we put the leaves in. Why don’t you go have a seat and we’ll direct everyone else there as they come in.”

Matt went into the dining room and sat at the head of the table.

Molly came into the dining room from the kitchen and with a stack of plates and silverware. She set to work setting the table.

Megan came in leading Brad and Brandi. She looked at the way Molly was setting the table. “Slaves eating at the table today?”

Matt responded. “Yes, we still have guests. How is school going?”

Megan sat at the far end of the table from Matt. Brad and Brandi sat to either side of her. “I’m doing okay. The only class I’m having any problems with is English Composition.”

“Oh, what problem are you having with English Composition?”

Megan giggled. “Too many cool, sexy stories floating around in my head that I don’t dare tell in a class assignment.”

Matt laughed. “I can see where that could be a problem.”

Sam walked in with Louise on a leash. He sat to Matt’s immediate right, and Louise sat to his right. “Morning.”

Bob, Kyra, and Ruth walked. in. Bob sat to Louis’s right and Kyra sat to his right. Ruth sat to Matt’s left, one seat down.

Molly finished setting the table and asked, “What would everyone like to drink? We have a pot of coffee, hot water for tea, orange juice, and milk.”

Sam and Bob wanted Coffee. Louise, and Megan asked for tea. Matt and Kyra asked for Milk. Brad and Brandi asked for orange juice.

Molly went back to the Kitchen.

Iris and Duchess started bringing serving bowls piled with scrambled eggs to the table along with platters of bacon, breakfast sausage links and toast.

Molly came back with the drinks on a serving tray, along with a small tray with a sugar bowl and a creamer. The two glasses of milk were separated on the tray, and one had a straw in it. Molly set the glass of milk with a straw in front of Matt and quickly distributed the rest of the drinks.

Molly, Iris and Duchess sat down at the table with Iris sitting next to Matt and Duchess taking the seat closest to Megan.

Matt Picked up a platter of bacon set in front of him, took a few pieces and passed the platter to Sam. Everyone started passing the platters and serving bowls around.

Matt took a sip of his milk. He recognized the taste as Iris’s breast milk. He looked at Iris and she blushed but didn’t say anything.

As they began to eat Matt asked, “Sam, could you call Stella and find out when she will be here?”

“Stella already called me. She’s an early riser. She should be here in around an hour.”

“Thanks Sam. Bob, did your Father and Uncle say when they would be here today?”

“Sometime between ten and eleven. What about the custom clothing people.”

Ruth responded, “Lizzy will be here with a small truck and a couple of helpers between 11 and noon. She said the truck is equipped with a sewing table and sewing machine so they can do prototypes and alterations on site.”

Matt, Bob, Sam and Megan were out front of the ranch house. Matt had drawn his short sword and was shadow fencing.

Bob asked, “ Do you really know how to use that thing?”

Matt responded without stopping his shadow fencing, “I know some basics for real combat, not competition, I really should learn more, but finding people to teach combat swordsmanship is not easy in this day and age”

Sam said, “I may know someone who can help with that. An old time US Marine Corps family. They’ve had family members in the Marines going back to the Revolutionary War. They’ve made a deliberate effort to preserve the skill of combat saber fencing. No points, no safe zones, how to kill with a saber.”

“Would they be willing to teach me?”

“I don’t know. The biggest problem is that they are out on the east coast. I’ll contact them and ask. It may take a few days to get an answer.”

Matt stopped shadow fencing as he saw a Chronos Ent. van coming down the ranch driveway.

The van came to a stop and Stella got out.

Matt turned to Bob. “Go get everyone else. I’ll introduce everyone who needs it to the new comer and then we can open presents.”

Bob went into the house. He came back a few minutes later with everyone else following.

Matt introduced Stella to his family and friends.

Stella approached Kyra. “Oh, you are so pretty. I’ve always loved tigers.”

Bob stepped between Stella and Kyra. “Kyra is spoken for.”

Kyra growled. ‘Bob, what are you doing? You think she is interested in me that way?’

Stella blushed and stepped back. “Crap! Now I’ve made everything awkward. I’m sorry.”

Matt put a hand on Stella’s shoulder. “It’s okay. No one here will judge your sexual preferences. But Kyra is an animal spark. She was born with four legs and she has been kept a little isolated until now, so there’s a lot she doesn’t understand about human culture.”

Matt turned to the rest of the group. “Stella comes bearing presents.” Matt explained again about the Armorer and Divinium weapons, in case anyone in his family had missed it yesterday. “He brought me a short sword at the warehouse. He said to send Stella and Sam looking for him and he gave them guns made with Divinium and was making additional items for each of them which he had delivered to the warehouse yesterday, along with extra packages for Molly and Kyra.”

Kyra jumped up and down. ‘He made something for me? How did he even know about me?’

“Yes. I don’t know how he knows about you. It’s apparently some aspect of his power, he knows what weapons he needs to make and for whom. He said he’d started making my short sword weeks before he even knew I existed.”

Duchess raised her hand. “So why didn’t you get a gun?”

“I’m not certain. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it. Sam did though. Apparently something about my power not being compatible with a projectile weapon.”

Megan stepped forward. “So who goes first?”

Stella stepped forward. “I will, my power is invulnerability, but I didn’t get any enhanced strength to go with it which kind of makes me useless in a fight against heavy hitters because I get tossed around. In addition to a .45 semi-auto pistol, I got a pair of combat boots with a steel and Divinium toe and a steel and Divinium shank and a pair of Divinium brass knuckles. Divinium that absorbs a lot of spark energy can develop odd and unique properties, but The Armorer has the ability to shape specific effects like the ability of all our weapons to hide themselves when sheathed/holstered. The boots will let me channel my invulnerability into the ground, anchoring me in place. The brass knuckles will channel any power they absorb into kinetic force, giving me a close in offensive capability.”

Matt opened the back of the delivery van, pulled out a box and handed it to Sam. “You go next.”

Sam opened the box. He pulled out a card, read it and pocketed the card, then he pulled out a knife with a foot long blade in a sheath. He handed the box back to Matt.

Sam drew the knife from it’s sheath, revealing a Damascus Bowie knife. “One hundred and twenty layer Damascus. Both steels laced with Divinium. No built in effects other than the hide when sheathed. Excellent balance.”

Sam put the sheath for the Bowie knife on his belt while Matt put the box for the Bowie back in the truck and pulled out another box 6x6x30 inches. He handed this box to Megan.

Megan set the box on the ground and pried the lid open. She pulled out a card, read it and handed the card to Brad. Then she pulled out a leather case, around three inches wide and around 28 inches long. The leather case had a shoulder strap.

She opened the case which contained two black metal rods. She pulled one out it was an inch in diameter and 26 inches long. She swung it experimentally. “Wow. These could really mess someone up. Heavier than I remember a regular fighting stick being, but lighter than it looks like it should be.”

Sam approached Megan. “The metal ones tend to be hollow, with end caps to make them look solid. Which is why it’s lighter than you’d think it should be. There are a couple of Kali martial arts schools in the Houston area. You won’t want to use the Divinium fighting sticks for regular sparing. I’ll get a couple of sets of regular sticks and padded training sticks and I’ll help you refresh your training and get signed up with a Kali school.”

Megan hugged Sam. “Thanks Sam.”

Matt got the last box from the van and set the 7 1/2 foot box on the ground at Kyra’s feet. “For you”.

Kyra opened the box. She pulled out a card with one hand and and a spear with the other. The spear was 6 foot 9 inches from the base of the shaft to the tip of the blade which was 18 inches long. Two metal crossbars protruded from the socket on either side parallel with the width of the blade.

Kyra looked at the card and tilted her head sideways. She handed the card to bob. ‘Read this for me, I don’t understand all of it.’

Bob took the card and and started to read it. Kyra touched the cross bar of the spear. ‘What’s this for?’

Matt responded, “It’s a boar spear. In theory, the cross bar is supposed to prevent a boar from charging up the spear if speared head on. I have no idea if it’s actually necessary.”

Bob laughed. “This is cool. There’s a couple of bits of important information. I’ll explain the rest later. First the spear is too big to hide by just making itself unseen the way the other weapons do. There should be a crystal embedded in the shaft near the middle. If you touch the crystal and think pen, the spear will shrink and be covered by an illusion that makes others see it as a pen.”

Kyra looked at the spear. She found the crystal and put her thumb on it. ‘Pen.’ The spear shrank until it was just 7 inches long.

Kyra laughed. ‘How do I make it change back?’

“Hold the shaft so you are touching the crystal and think spear.”

Kyra held the tiny spear shaft in her fist. ‘Spear.’ The spear grew back to it’s full size. ‘Anything else?’

Bob walked over to the spear’s box and bent down. “Yes, there should be another smaller box.”

Bob pulled a smaller box out of the spear box. It was 5 inches by 5 inches by two inches. He opened the box. In side was a set of small metal tiger claws.

‘What is it?’

“Claw covers. You put them on over your claws. The attraction between the power of a spark and the Divinium will hold them in place so they don’t accidentally come off, but you will be able to take them off if you want to. They’ll blunt themselves when we are intimate so you don’t hurt me accidentally, but in a fight, if you need to fight with claws, once out they can grow to the size of a normal tiger’s claws and will become razor sharp. There’s enough for the claws on both your hands and feet.”

Bob held out the box. Kyra extended her claws on one hand and put the covers on that hand. ‘They fit perfectly’

“You should be able to retract your claws normally with the covers in the blunt mode.”

Kyra retracted the claws on the hand with the claw covers. She clapped and repeated the process with her other hand. ‘Do my feet Bobbie’.

Bob knelt down on one knee with his other leg bent in front of him. Kyra put one foot up on his leg and he put the covers on the claws of that foot. She put the other foot up and he repeated the process on her other foot.

Bob got a call that his Father and Uncle were almost there.

Matt addressed the group. “We have more guests coming. I don’t know what they’ve been told or what they can handle. I’d like everyone but myself, Bob, Kyra and Megan to go inside for now. I’ll send Megan in to adjust slave uniforms if necessary before we introduce Bob’s family to the rest of the group.”

An older Ford F150 pulled up to the ranch. Two men got out.

Bob waved them over to where he, Matt, Kyra and Megan were standing. “Matt, this is my Father Tom Reilly and my Uncle Gary Reilly. Dad, this is Matthew Murphy and his younger Sister Megan Murphy.”

Matt held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

Tom stepped up and shook Matt’s hand. “Likewise.”

Gary shook Matt’s hand. “Nice meeting you.”

Matt said. “Before we talk about Kyra, I don’t know how much Bob told you about us and what has been going on with out group. I don’t want to offend or upset you.”

Tom responded. “He said you are a Spark, that you and some of his other friends have gotten into the master and slave thing. We’ve tried not to expose Bob to it too much but we have our own kinks, we don’t judge.”

“Good to hear that, but it gets a bit more out there than just that. Before we get too much into details, part of what I can do is plant suggestions in people’s minds. I’d like your permission to do something that will keep you from revealing my secrets.”

Gary shrugged. “I get the impression that if we said no, and you wanted to do it anyway we couldn’t stop you.”

“I haven’t always asked, and no, you couldn’t stop me, you won’t even notice when it happens.”

Tom laughed. “Well, you’re being honest with us at least. Go ahead and do it. Just one question, why ask us?”

Matt stopped time briefly and whispered the loyalty script to Tom and Gary. “Because Bob is a friend and you are Bob’s family. It’s done. I don’t just have one slave, I have four, and two of them are my older Sister and my Mother. Most of the slaves are nude here. Can you handle that?”

Gary blushed. “We can handle it. We have gotten into some swinging, partner swapping, and even orgies, but we keep it in the clan.”

Bob’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “Dad!”

Tom shook his head. “Sorry Son. At first you were too young. Then we figured you had enough to deal with given your relationship with Kyra.”

“I’ll get used to it. We’re cool.”

Matt pointed over to the side of the house. “We have a patio area set up around the side of the house. We’ll be more comfortable there. Megan, go let everyone else know they can come out. Slaves stay in uniform.”

They went around to the patio, meeting everyone else there. Matt and Bob introduced Bob’s Father and Uncle to everyone else.

Matt, Bob, Kyra, Iris, Tom, and Gary sat around one of the Patio tables.

Matt Started the conversation. “I don’t think it’s healthy for Kyra in the long run for you to keep her as isolated as you have, and I think we can address most of your concerns.”

Gary responded, “She won’t wear clothing and she can’t go out in public nude.”

Kyra huffed. ‘Human clothing is too uncomfortable.’

Matt nodded. “It’s her anatomy, it’s not quite human. Off the rack clothing made for human women will never fit right, and with her fur, a lot of it will be too warm. We know someone whose family is in the business of making and selling custom clothing for a wide variety of purposes. She’s agreed to come out to the ranch today and see if they can come up with something that will work for Kyra.”

Tom said, “She’s an animal spark. How will people react to that? What if someone tries to kidnap her to use for research?”

“Who needs to know? I’d bet she can learn to lip sync to the voice projection well enough that most people won’t notice and will assume she’s a human who transformed the other way. Even most who do notice something won’t figure out why.”

“But if someone does and they kidnap her, to do experiments on her?”

“If she were to travel abroad, there are probably some countries where that could be a real risk, but have you ever heard of anything like that happening to a human Spark in the US?”

“No, but...”

“If it were to happen, she’s not helpless. Her transformation might have weakened her natural weapons, but there are other options, and she is no longer alone. I am a Spark, I have the power to manipulate time. Sam is a Spark, power of stealth. Stella is invulnerable. My sister Megan has the power of command and leadership. Louise has a gift of knowledge. My dog Hercules is another animal spark. He transforms to the size of a bull and has three heads.”

“Other options, you mean weapons. But will that help against another Spark?”

“Have you heard of a Spark called The Armorer?”

Gary laughed. “That old urban legend?”

Matt drew his short sword and set it on the table. “The Armorer is no urban legend.”

“Where did that come from?”

Matt explained about The Armorer and Divinium. “The Armorer can build certain effects in the the things he creates. My sword can make itself unseen, it’s not true invisibility, when it’s in it’s scabbard.”

“So how does Kyra find this Armorer?”

“She doesn’t need to. He made the short sword specifically for me before he even knew who I was. His ability somehow includes knowing what to make and for whom. He was making additional weapons for Sam and Stella and when they were delivered, he included something for Kyra.”

Matt looked at Kyra. “Show off your new magic tricks.”

Kyra stood up. ‘Bobby, can I have my new pen back?’

Bob pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Kyra.

Kyra stepped back from the table and held the pen out in one fist. The pen exploded into a nearly seven foot spear.

Tom jumped. “Wow! Why the transformation into a pen?”

Matt responded, “At it’s normal size it’s to big to hide by being unseen. It doesn’t really transform into a pen. It just shrinks to the size of a pen. The pen itself is an illusion.”

“What if the spear is taken from her?”

“It’s harder to take a Divinium weapon from a Spark than you think. As the Divinium absorbs energy from a Spark it becomes attuned to that particular Spark to the exclusion of all others. The Armorer has said that when such a weapon becomes sufficiently attuned it will come when it’s owner calls for it. But even if she does lose the spear, Kyra, show them your new claws.”

Kyra shrank the spear and handed it back to Bob. She walked around the table and held one hand in between Tom and Gary. She extended her claws on that hand.

Gary leaned in to look closer. “Nice, that will make things safer for you and Bob, but how does that help in a fight?”

‘Lean back keep your hands away from mine.’ Kyra concentrated. The metal claw covers glowed and expanded to the size of a normal tiger’s claws. ‘I have proper claws again.’ The claws shrank back down to the blunt caps and she retracted her claws.

“What the...”

Matt laughed. “From what I understand, those will be almost impossible to remove against her will. Also she has the same for the claws on her feet.”

Tom laughed. “Looks like she won’t have any problems hunting feral hogs once she learns how to properly use that spear.

Lizzy and three assistants arrived at the ranch.

Matt greeted Lizzy. “Hello Lizzy, thanks for coming all the way out here on a Sunday.”

“No problem, I can understand that it would be difficult for Kyra to come to the shop. Ruth also mentioned you have another slave you have no clothes for at all. If you don’t mind me asking, how could you afford this place?”

“It’s complicated. I have secrets I need to protect. I’m a spark. I can manipulate time. As a side effect, I have a sort of mind control ability that’s akin to hypnosis. Would you mind if I do something so you can’t pass on my secrets?”

“I ... okay, fine.”

“Thanks.” Matt stopped time and used the loyalty script on Lizzy and her assistants.

“Well do it already.”

“It’s already done. I can ... well from my perspective it seems like time stops for everything else. In that state, anything I say to someone acts like a post hypnotic suggestion.” Matt explained about the bank robbery, the Jade Dragon, and the Matriarchy.