“Is gonna need a lot more space than we can provide up here,” she said begrudgingly.
“Sir –” Clara started to say, actually looking a bit flustered.
“And I was going to send Clara with you as well, to bolster you magical defenses and . . . well, splitting her and Shamira up at this point might prove hazardous to my health.”
Clara grinned at him and took Shamira’s hand. “You are wise beyond your years.”
“Once Banshee is better established, I will call my household home so she can develop her own, though she is now and always will be my first child. Leaving home for the first time can be hard, but it can also be rewarding.”
Shamira glanced at the Representative, who was looking like a proud grandmother. A really, really hot, proud grandmother. Everyone in the house stepped forward to hug Banshee and congratulate her on her impromptu promotion. When Shamira hugged her, they held on for a little bit longer.
“So you aren’t going to be our . . . you know, vampire? Anymore?” Arthur asked when Shamira broke free of the mob.
“Crap! I didn’t even think –”
Banshee walked over. “Would you consider coming under my employ?” she asked. “You have already shown yourselves to be worthy and invaluable. If Shamira is still concerned with bringing you over herself, I would be most willing to induct you both.”
“Really?!” Kira asked excitedly, then looked confused. “Wait, what did you mean about Shamira still being concerned?”
Shane chose this most annoying opportunity to bring up a subject Shamira had been trying to avoid. “We believe that Shamira has skipped two stages at least in her evolution as a vampire. Blood witches have confirmed that her blood is that of a full vampire, capable of creating vampires of her own.”
“Really?”
“Wait a minute,” Shamira objected, “let’s not forget that this is all hypothetical. You yourself admitted that I’m kind of an odd case here.”
“But why not try?” Arthur asked.
“Because one of the steps to becoming a vampire is dying. If I try and fail, and –”
“I get it,” Kira muttered. “There’s no mulligan in that case is there?”
“No,” Shamira said, seeing how appealing the idea of being a vamp was on her friend’s face. “And I’m not willing to take that risk.”
“But –”
“I’m sorry, I just can’t. Hey, you guys seem to be doing better right? You’ll still be around in ten years, and that’ll give you time to figure out what you want to look like for eternity.”
Arthur and Kira looked dissatisfied, but they accepted Shamira’s logic. “I wish you hadn’t gotten them worked up like that,” Shamira said disapprovingly to her boss. “You know how I feel.”
“And you know how I feel as well. You’re right in saying that Kira and Arthur both have time now, thanks to your blood, but there are many who will wait and die in vain to be brought over simply because of those ancient laws that you’ve already demonstrated disdain for.” He relaxed his tense frame, then, “Shamira, the Tribunal is willing to suspend those laws for you when they would not for me. I will bring over a dozen more. You could save two more, of your choice.”
Shamira wrung her hands. “Shane, if I do this and they die, I’ll do more than blame myself. You KNOW I’ll be mad at you and the Tribunal for putting me through this.”
“And I am so confident in you and your power that I would risk the wrath of a dragon.”
Shamira walked over to where the Thorn-Tail was sitting, anxiously awaiting his alpha to comfort him some more. The two other pale things may smell like her and the little dragons could give comfort, but Shamira was the authority. Even when she was not communicating with its young mind, her presence was obviously calming and comforting. A weight seemed to be returning to Shamira’s shoulders.
“This is just so hard,” she said in a whisper, trying not to let the young one sense her distress. “Shane, I can barely take care of myself. Now I’ve got two babies that I barely understand that I’m responsible for, and you want me to try and make vampires? I know it’s a broken record, but I kind of suck at being a vampire.”
“I think you don’t give yourself enough credit,” he replied soothingly, placing his hands on those rippling shoulders and slowly massing some of her stress away. “At least consider it. I’ll work with Archimedes, and see if we can find ways to make things a little less hectic for you. Between your Renfields and the . . . Smaller Dragons,” he added, kissing Shamira’s neck lovingly, “we should be able to give you more time to catch up on other things. It will be a while before Banshee is ready to establish a permanent estate down in Savannah.”
She stroked her young charge’s scaled head, then looked for Archimedes. “Where do you think this guy came from?” she asked. “What part of the world?”
“Skeletal remains were found of similar species throughout what we now call Europe. The first were found near Scotland.”
“So maybe a Scottish name? What’s that old language of theirs?”
“Gaelic.”
“Yeah. Something Gaelic. And the Sea Serpent is from all over I’m taking it, so . . . hey, maybe name him after the Midgard Serpent? How did you pronounce that?”
“Jormungandr.” Archimedes smiled. “A fine name indeed.”
“Hey what’s the Gaelic word for fire?” she asked, watching a wisp of smoke unfurl from the young one’s snout.
“Aodh.”
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
“Maybe.
Shamira grinned. “Aodh and Jormungandr ,” she said again. At least she’d finally gotten around to naming them.
——- ——————–
That weekend . . .
——- ——————–
“So that’s pretty much been my life,” Shamira finished. She had just recounted her recent life-changes to an already shell-shocked sister, who every now and then just asked Shamira to stand back up just so she could assure herself that the paralysis was gone.
Samantha’s eyes drifted over to the the dragon Aodh, who seemed to just as curious about her as she was about him. He managed to be around constantly, so much “underfoot” that he was almost cat-like. He was obviously beginning to understand spoken words. “Don’t put your nose there,” was a phrase he had learned quickly, because Shamira thwacked him hard when he went sniffing people in inappropriate places. Katar had curtailed such admonishments a bit by reminding her that this was how dragons investigated things.
“He’s just so . . . big!” Samantha said happily, then walked over and let the dragon sniff. Aodh made a rumbling noise to indicate his happiness, which a mother like Samantha could detect instantly and was pleased by.
“I guess you smell enough like me that he knows we’re family,” Shamira said with a smile. Her sister was in her element in times like this. Okay, maybe the kid was a little bigger that Shamira’s nephews, but it was an intelligent life form and a child. Therefore, Samantha would dote on it.
“He’s just a big sweetie, yes him is!” the sister replied, rubbing her hands over his muzzle. “My God! Do dragons need vets?”
Shamira shook her head. “They’re smart or smarter than people and can live hundreds of years. I think they’ll need their own doctors, not veterinarians.” Samantha did not appear to be listening, as she had already begun a cursory investigation, checking the eyes and the teeth.
Aodh thought it was all great fun, as if he were being preened. “I think Jormungandr wants a turn,” she said, seeing that the Sea Serpent had poked his head over the edge of the pool and was making a clicking noise from his throat. Samantha moved over and reached her hand out to pet the watery serpent, and Jormungandr accepted the attention for a moment before retreating to the safety of the water.
“Can I go in there with him?”
“I don’t know. I guess it would be safe, though Aodh will probably want to go swimming as well.”
“Swimming sounds nice,” Clara said as she walked over to where the sisters were sitting. She had wanted to give the two a chance to catch up, but it seemed that things had settled down a bit. “Why not go out to the pond? It’s big enough for everyone.”
“Can he go out there?” Samantha asked, looking at the pool.
“He can breathe air just fine, and he’ll just slither on out there,” Shamira replied. “He’s done it before. He seems to like fresh water from time to time. We’ve added a ton of salt to the pool.”
“I’m for it. Anyone got suits?” Samantha asked.
Clara grinned. “Is clothing really necessary?”
“You’re not seriously suggesting we go skinny dipping?” Samantha laughed. “That’s so . . . high school!”
Shamira raised both eyebrows. “You’re not just trying to see my sister naked, are you?”
Clara grinned bigger and shrugged. “I promise to keep my hands off of her.” She kissed Shamira not-so-innocently on the lips. “For now.”
Samantha gave Shamira a questioning look. “She’s not serious, is she?”
“I don’t think she’d actually make a pass at you,” Shamira said. “At least not while she’s dating me.” She left out the fact that Samantha was not a submissive member of Shane’s house and that if she were, Shamira’s girlfriend might very well bang the crap out of her. Shamira just shook her head and headed outside.