Book 3: Chapter 43
A/N: McDarrel’s Ba-da-ba-pa-pah, It’s food.
Somebody stop me, I’m having too much fun with this nonsense lol.
Tiffany
The makeshift victory party was in full swing while I worried for my husband, father in law, and Micael. His apprentice is too young to be of any real use yet. He’s still figuring things out, and hadn’t had combat training. We hadn’t had the time, taking for granted the false peace of the castle.
It was only partly real…. It seemed so long as humans betrayed, we weren’t. But how could we? It seemed like any time peace was close, it was Just out of reach….
“Cheer up.” Said Dr. Sampson… I remembered him from when I was a kid. “Still burning ants little one?” He petted my head, and sat next to me. This Dark Witch gave me and mom regular checkups.
He did that on his own, with the payment being random favors or specific sweets. I could only assume he was so rich that money didn’t matter, and he practiced more for the hell of it than anything else.
“Hi Dr. Sampson.” I said getting up and bowing. It got the attention of many others, but he nodded his head like someone familiar. He was in his usual uniform, though he had a giant ruby bolo tie, likely a gift from his wife. He speaks about Lilly a lot.
“There’s no need for that little one.” He said calmly.
“Respect for one so old is automatic sir.” I smiled. “How’s the pack? Have you visited mom?”
“Yes, she does well. I see you also do as well little one.” Dr. Sampson scratched his chin, and with magic he had one of the many glasses of wine being poured from a barrel. It was the cheap stuff, since no one wanted to piss off Alteer. They just wanted drink to accompany the roast elk and stewed potatoes, which the doctor had earlier..
“Are *you* doing well though? Do you need anything?” I asked.
He looked genuinely happy that I asked him, but even when I was little, he’d always kind of just been there. With a call, he was the one to attend any magical problems growing up. Physical too. I broke my arm falling off Ass-Blazen’ and he patched me right up. I think it only took 3 days to heal.
“All I want is my patient’s happiness.” He said gently. He looked a little sad a moment, but I would not ask.
“I am happy.” I said cheerfully. “I have a good family, a mate even though technically I’m not supposed to have one, and the master is free Below. There’s not much more I could want, nor anything to wish for other than the continuation of whatever peace I can have.”
…. If Zayde finds Alteer in trouble, that peace will be gone…. I hadn’t seen his mom in a while either.
“I can see the worry for your mate.” He commented.
“Aptherraam, can you fetch Dr. Sampson a plate of more food?” I half yelled, and I have to admit, I don’t think I’d ever seen that lazy cat hustle so fast. All this food must have given him zoomies.
“How’s progress on YellowMoon?” Said Dr. Sampson as a joke. He chuckled lightly, and I did give him a light smile.
“I found a new species of beastkin.” I beamed.
“Really?” He asked excitedly. “What do they look like? Oh, and do you know who made them?”
“They look like a strange combination of a parrot’s head, wings and feathers, a dog’s torso, and a goose’s neck. I called them pargeese. They’re an abandoned project of the Beast Prince… I WANT to tell him about them, but I… I’m kind of nervous to report to the young master’s second. He might be mad I didn’t extinguish them.” I mumbled.
“Contact the Horned One. Let them receive his blessings, and he will not harm his creations.” Said Dr. Sampson. I knew he was one of the original fae… so I would take his advice. The Horned One Did want me to summon him more.
“I will.” I said bowing my head, just a small, ceremonial dip.
“What else? It sounds like you’re having a bit of an adventure.” He asked.
“I have… I got the ritual room ready down there, and the barrier’s charged. We only have a few months to go before the castle is ready, and we have a truce with the local Church. Zayde went today to vow neutrality. So long as they don’t bother us, we’ll use the farm men.”
He rolled his eyes on hearing about the farm.
“Ugh.” Dr. Sampson grunted. “The blandest of all meat, with no passion nor flavor. No ambition and little hope. Nutritionally void. Invalid for consumption. Bleh. You may as well give him a bag of McDerrel’s. Actually… he might like that. I doubt anyone’s given him something so novel.”
That cheeky grin gave it away…. That was the Horned One.
Everyone around me froze, as it became suddenly silent.
“Shh.” He put his finger to his lips. “Let me have my fun….”
“Of course master.” I bowed my head. He tasked.
“That’s *exactly* why I come in this getup. As a simple doctor, no one suspects me. You were comfortable and spoke with me as elder and child, not servant and master.” He complained. “I thought I was doing a good job.”
“For us who see you often master… it becomes obvious at your delight.” I said humbly. “I’ll pretend.” I said swallowing the initial fear. He was Just a man, an old one who wanted to see what his kids were up to. There’s no reason to fret.
“5 points for resilience.” He snapped his fingers, and not a moment after did Zayde appear with Micael in a cage, and his father’s head dangling on by a little meat…
I screamed and ran to my bleeding out, legless mate while the Jekels Rushed to Alteer’s side. They began the long, intricate resurrection incantation, while Zayde managed to barely cling to life…. His heartbeat was slow, but it was Micael that the Horned One examined.
He grabbed hold of the bars and bent them aside. It didn’t matter to him that he was being burned… I saw his skin bubble like any other witch to touch something so blessed, but I could only assume that it became extra blessed if only for the reason that Arviel’s greatest enemy held it.
“I will not allow this.” He said simply. The Horned One, or rather ‘Doctor Sampson’ glared, thinking of what to do for Micael. “Someone get me some black water.” He yelled.
Everyone scrambled and attended my mate and his father, though it rubbed me the wrong way that his apprentice would have been left there. I know he wasn’t in critical condition, but they could have At Least got him freed from the silver cage. Like damn….
“Darkest night of nights, give him strength. Open his eyes, and sharpen his teeth.” Said the Horned One.
He didn’t need to do the incantation, but he did anyway. No suspicion would have been drawn either… He was likely the most famous supernatural doctor on the planet, aside from his rival…. Dr. Solis….gods damn it….
Micael gasped once the bucket of black water was splashed on him. He was healed of the burns on his body, while others worked on getting my husband and father-in-law in stable enough condition to get to an operating room.
“What happened?” Asked the ‘Dr.’ impatiently.
“They spike stripped the road and ambushed us. Alteer killed quite a few… I got one too… but the Arlen guy was the one who led it. That man there, Father Parez tried to stop it all… They didn’t listen…. They tried to kill him too.”
“Then I will save the smelly wretch’s life. His reward for honoring his word.” The Horned One pulled out the unicorn horn sword… and his hand… it dissolved …”These will be his payment.” He didn’t flinch or anything. He encased it with dark magic… It began to change…
It began to glow red… then turned pitch black. He took the holstered one too… and handed them to me. The two swords were now black as night, and the sheathe each held an image of his symbol on them in the center in red.
“Give those to your mate. Go. Be swift as a dove, little one.” He leaned down. “Order them to honor your end.” He whispered.
“I must see to it that Zayde gets these.” I yelled, getting everyone’s attention. “The human Saved the lives of the lords, so in turn we must honor our end. Of all the mortals, he is the *only* one who did not break his oath, so it is only fair that we uphold our end.” I shouted.
“Yes, and I’ll go operate on Alteer first. He’s resurrected, but without my intervention, he’s going to die again.” Complained the Horned One. He sounded like he was a little kid told to do his homework, and get off a video game.
I ran to the teleportation pad.
I was glad that Tinzaa knew where the medical floor was, since I didn’t. In all this panic, I’d have just gotten lost. Zayde had a black IV pumping pure black energy into his veins, along with a blood transfusion. Dark witches all have the same blood type. Even I do, and I’m thankful for that. I put the blades on his lap, thinking that the new dark infused artifacts would do something….
They inertly sat there.
He looked like he was in so much pain…. They had him knocked out with heavy sedation, as he regrew body parts slowly… I could hear it. “Oh Zayde.” I cried on his chest. I stayed in there for 5 hours…
Alteer’s surgery was successful, and now that Zayde had a little color in his cheeks, Dr. Sampson would operate on him too. I don’t know what procedures he’d doo, but it would likely be some kind of ritual to regrow what he lost.
“My lady, Please take the blades and sit in the waiting room.” Said Dr. Sampson. I don’t know what it was about him that alerted my instincts, but I was under a lot of stress… I think I was just worried about if he’d do a good job or not.
That made no sense. I’d had him as my doctor since I was small. It would be weird for one that old and practiced that long to make a mistake…
What was it about him that I can’t remember? Why was I thinking about what kind of fae he was. He was just a random species of elf. Likely a mixture of multiple kinds.
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