| Fantasy Fiction posted March 4, 2019 | Chapters: |
...10 11 -12- 13... 
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The next morning, at The Refuge
A chapter in the book Renaissance of Enchantment
Chapter Four, Part 2
by Y. M. Roger
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.
| Background While Geoffrey and Stephen are having breakfast in New York to discuss all of Stephen and Jinx's findings, the residents at The Refuge are discussing the current situation. |
“Th’ dark beetch’s right, ya kin?” Peadar speared each of them around the mid-morning breakfast table with his piercing emerald gaze and slipping Irish brogue. “Miss Rosemary’s wards wi’ begin te fade soon; ‘tis only nat’ral. Ten wha’?”
Koko smiled which made Lycaios growl her annoyance in his direction.
“They will not fade before tomorrow, Peadar.” His optimism radiated outward. “Our industrious Geoffrey left for New York just this morning to bring our yet-unknown Miss Marguerite here.”
“And what if she doesn’t want to come from New York to this pathetic little excuse for a town? What then?” This from the pessimistic Lycaois.
Freki rose from his reclining position near the back door, lumbered over to Lycaois, and laid his massive head on her lap. Peadar shook his head at Lyca’s comment but continued in the same vein.
“And was it no’ you” Peadar turned slightly to address Koko directly “tha’ told us Geoffrey said tis Marguerite is no’ even in the Order?”
Koko’s eyebrows rose and Lycaios shifted in her seat as they each began to reply at once.
“He didn’t have –”
“I thought he wasn’t –”
But they were both upstaged by Kato’s input from his mostly silent vigil at the other end of the table.
“Why are we even arguing about this?” Kato’s deep voice boomed around the kitchen as he placed his phone on the table top, his amber eyes lifting to each of them. “The bitch and her mongrel said they were after Demetrius. She didn’t say anything else about—”
Lyca shot to her feet and leaned toward him, her usual black eyes a glowing amber of their own as she dug into the table with her now-elongated nails.
“You spoiled bastard!” Freki rested his snout on the table, lifted his lip over his canines, and growled along with his mistress. “Do you really think they’d fuckin’ stop there?”
Kato stood to his full height, growling, and met her angry gaze across the table as Lyca continued.
“I’ve seen what they do to your kind, have you, pretty boy?”
Kato’s defiant countenance faltered as Koko rose to try to quell the building storm, but Peadar shook his head slightly to warn the usual peacemaker off. Peadar knew Kato needed for Lyca to finish.
“Do you relish the thought of being that whore’s pet, choker leash and all? As she tortures and uses you and…” Kato definitely relaxed his stance in response to that question as Lyca’s tattooed arms began to quake ever so slightly as she continued without finishing that statement.
Enough had been said such that the unsaid was horrible enough.
“I’ve been there, Kato.” The vehemence was gone from her voice, replaced by deep-seated fear? Regret? She grabbed Freki’s scruff, the enormous wolf’s snarl disappearing as he nuzzled Lyca’s side, allowing her to calm her breathing. Then she shook her head adamantly.
“No.” She took another deep breath and continued as Kato plopped back into his chair, maybe a bit more wide-eyed and a lot less confrontational than usual. “We’re in this together.”
They all seemed to nod momentarily until Peadar pushed the original issue again.
“But if she’s no’ o’ the Order, how kin she stan’ agin—”
Demetrius flowed silently into the kitchen, his mood projecting a somewhat lighter presence than last evening, though none would ever say Demetrius projected delight or even sunshine. He had donned his long topcoat over a perfectly fitted waistcoat and white linen shirt with a lace-edged jabot – the waistcoat seemed to have spatters of burgundy paint or something, although one might even miss such due to the dark colorations of the material. And, instead of the expected knee breeches and white knee-high hose to compliment the eighteenth-century garb, he wore a pair of worn and somewhat stained skin-tight leather riding pants with what appeared to be a riding crop strapped at his waist. He was ritualistically removing a pair of deeply mottled leather riding gloves as he strode toward the refrigerator.
Freki growled low in his throat as he cowered from the towering man who seemed to simply ignore the massive wolf.
“We do not wish for her to be of the Order.” Demetrius opened the swing-top from a re-purposed Guinness stout bottle and took a long swallow, his obvious enjoyment of the refreshment communicated in his face and quick-to-relax stance.
Lyca scrunched her nose and sneered at his actions while Kato simply shook his head and began browsing on his phone again.
“Why do we” Peadar clearly meant to emphasize the pronoun – “no’ wan her te be o’ the Order, Demetrius?”
Demetrius steeled his jaw, the muscles there protesting under the apparent pressure, as he closed the swing-top and returned the bottle to the refrigerator. He stood rigid, back to the four of them, his hand gripping the refrigerator handle such that his knuckles were almost without color. Then, within moments, his stance relaxed again, and he turned to face them as he closed the refrigerator. His sparkling black eyes took time to fall upon each of them before he spoke.
“The Order, such as they are” His disdain and more rode on every syllable – “were able to kill Rosemary because she had given a piece of herself to them when she took her vows.”
He took in the horror etched on the faces of Lyca and Koko. Kato sighed and let his chair fall forward back to four legs.
“Beeyatch last night admitted to the murder” Kato shrugged – “or some crap about Hecate having a hand in it.”
Peadar only nodded his head in affirmation as a long sigh escaped him.
But then Koko’s countenance suddenly transitioned from angry dark to hopeful light.
“And if our mysterious new Protectress Marguerite is not of the Order” Koko’s eyes lit once again with his usual joy – “they cannot harm her!”
Lyca reluctantly looked to Demetrius for confirmation of his statement as did Kato.
“But—”
Peadar was quickly interrupted by Demetrius who had turned to walk toward the stairs as his phone signaled an incoming message.
“As long as the niece is within the wards,” he paused as he opened his phone’s message app but then continued, a bit more distracted as he read, “they will draw strength from her DNA link to their designer until she can put new wards of her own design.”
Demetrius’ face lit with a feral delight in the message he read as he turned to take the stairs two at a time. His feet disappeared up the stairs about the same time Peadar’s phone rang out with his Uilleann pipes ringtone.
“Goo’day, Mr. Stal’son.”
All attention at the table was instantly focused on Peadar’s conversation.
“Aye, sir.” Peadar’s face looked a bit befuddled. “Well, there’s a sittin’ room attached te the Mistress’ boudoir.”
They all looked at each other with similar questioning faces as Peadar’s eyes grew wide.
“A boy, Mr. Stal’son?” Peadar almost couldn’t find his words, “Yes, sir. Eight years ol’, ye say? I see, sir.”
Lyca dramatically dropped her forehead to the table and mumbled in disgust, “Oh, gods. Another child.” She lifted her head slightly to glare across the table at Kato.
“Speaking of beeyatches…” Kato interjected as he barely glanced away from his phone in response to her remark and began rocking his chair on its back legs again.
Koko simply patted them both and looked thoughtful as Peadar continued.
“Aye, sir. We’ll have both rooms ready on the morrow.” Peadar looked up into the three faces intent on his conversation. “Aye, Mr. Stal’son.” Peadar actually tugged on his long red locks a bit as his eyes went from the initial surprise to resignation. “Aye, twill be, sir. Thank ye. Goo’day.”
Peadar ended the call, closed his eyes, and sighed.
“It seems tha’ Marguerite has a lil’ brother.” Peadar ran his fingers through his auburn beard as he returned his phone to his pocket. He paused as he glanced at the intense faces around the table.
“Twill be an adventure, Mr. Stal’son says…,” he trailed off, seeming to not really know where to go with that phrase of supposed reassurance. It certainly hadn’t sounded very reassuring either time to him, hearing it or saying it.
At first, no one spoke into the silence.
“Well, it will be good to have some energetic youth around here, yes? This place needs some laughter and sunshine! Just look at us sitting here and—”
Koko’s pep talk as well as Lyca’s acerbic response were abruptly interrupted by a knock and the familiar creaking of the front door as it slowly opened in the foyer.
“Hello? Is anyone home? Hell-l-lo-o-o?”
They all looked at each other at the sound of the angelic voice, even Kato dropped his chair back to all fours as he made to stand, although Lycaois was already headed toward the front, Freki at her heels.
Because they were expecting no one, and, whoever it was, had just walked right through Rosemary’s wards.
“Hell-l-lo-o? I’m here in respon—”
Just as Lyca made it to the kitchen door adjoining the foyer, she ran right into a beautifully built young woman with long, curly blonde hair who let out a slight squeal as she was knocked slightly backward by the collision.
Lycaois tried to catch her while chastising her at the same time.
“Holy hells, woman!” Lyca pulled the lighter, fairer female to a stable position. “Do your feet not touch the floor while you wal—”
The platinum beauty’s eyes went from surprise to resentfulness as a slight blush crept up her cheeks. She forcefully shrugged off Lycaois’ hold and held up a parchment to the much larger, much darker female’s face.
“I am here in response to this” She shook the parchment in emphasis – an action which immediately brought Peadar to his feet – “most urgent advertisement for an auberge factotum...”
The blonde wore not a stitch of makeup, yet her face glowed with a radiance all its own, the heat from her blush notwithstanding. And that radiance never faltered as she continued.
Peadar now stood beside Lyca, staring at the vision of loveliness before them who was now more than a bit agitated.
“Placed by one” she pulled the parchment close to her face so that she could focus on the page “Rosemary Fenna, Proprietor of The Refuge.” She dropped her hand to glare once again at Lyca. “That is the name of this establishment, is it no—”
It was at that instant that she caught sight of Peadar.
All discontent left her face and a genuine smile appeared across her now beaming countenance. She raised her hand holding the parchment to her chest and bent reverently to greet Peadar.
“Ahhh.” The female’s entire countenance changed. “My apologies, distinguished sir. I had no idea that The Refuge actually was True Sanctuary.” She gracefully tucked her long locks behind her pointed ear before holding out her hand in greeting to him. “I am Memphis. And you are?”
To be continued…
Koko smiled which made Lycaios growl her annoyance in his direction.
“They will not fade before tomorrow, Peadar.” His optimism radiated outward. “Our industrious Geoffrey left for New York just this morning to bring our yet-unknown Miss Marguerite here.”
“And what if she doesn’t want to come from New York to this pathetic little excuse for a town? What then?” This from the pessimistic Lycaois.
Freki rose from his reclining position near the back door, lumbered over to Lycaois, and laid his massive head on her lap. Peadar shook his head at Lyca’s comment but continued in the same vein.
“And was it no’ you” Peadar turned slightly to address Koko directly “tha’ told us Geoffrey said tis Marguerite is no’ even in the Order?”
Koko’s eyebrows rose and Lycaios shifted in her seat as they each began to reply at once.
“He didn’t have –”
“I thought he wasn’t –”
But they were both upstaged by Kato’s input from his mostly silent vigil at the other end of the table.
“Why are we even arguing about this?” Kato’s deep voice boomed around the kitchen as he placed his phone on the table top, his amber eyes lifting to each of them. “The bitch and her mongrel said they were after Demetrius. She didn’t say anything else about—”
Lyca shot to her feet and leaned toward him, her usual black eyes a glowing amber of their own as she dug into the table with her now-elongated nails.
“You spoiled bastard!” Freki rested his snout on the table, lifted his lip over his canines, and growled along with his mistress. “Do you really think they’d fuckin’ stop there?”
Kato stood to his full height, growling, and met her angry gaze across the table as Lyca continued.
“I’ve seen what they do to your kind, have you, pretty boy?”
Kato’s defiant countenance faltered as Koko rose to try to quell the building storm, but Peadar shook his head slightly to warn the usual peacemaker off. Peadar knew Kato needed for Lyca to finish.
“Do you relish the thought of being that whore’s pet, choker leash and all? As she tortures and uses you and…” Kato definitely relaxed his stance in response to that question as Lyca’s tattooed arms began to quake ever so slightly as she continued without finishing that statement.
Enough had been said such that the unsaid was horrible enough.
“I’ve been there, Kato.” The vehemence was gone from her voice, replaced by deep-seated fear? Regret? She grabbed Freki’s scruff, the enormous wolf’s snarl disappearing as he nuzzled Lyca’s side, allowing her to calm her breathing. Then she shook her head adamantly.
“No.” She took another deep breath and continued as Kato plopped back into his chair, maybe a bit more wide-eyed and a lot less confrontational than usual. “We’re in this together.”
They all seemed to nod momentarily until Peadar pushed the original issue again.
“But if she’s no’ o’ the Order, how kin she stan’ agin—”
Demetrius flowed silently into the kitchen, his mood projecting a somewhat lighter presence than last evening, though none would ever say Demetrius projected delight or even sunshine. He had donned his long topcoat over a perfectly fitted waistcoat and white linen shirt with a lace-edged jabot – the waistcoat seemed to have spatters of burgundy paint or something, although one might even miss such due to the dark colorations of the material. And, instead of the expected knee breeches and white knee-high hose to compliment the eighteenth-century garb, he wore a pair of worn and somewhat stained skin-tight leather riding pants with what appeared to be a riding crop strapped at his waist. He was ritualistically removing a pair of deeply mottled leather riding gloves as he strode toward the refrigerator.
Freki growled low in his throat as he cowered from the towering man who seemed to simply ignore the massive wolf.
“We do not wish for her to be of the Order.” Demetrius opened the swing-top from a re-purposed Guinness stout bottle and took a long swallow, his obvious enjoyment of the refreshment communicated in his face and quick-to-relax stance.
Lyca scrunched her nose and sneered at his actions while Kato simply shook his head and began browsing on his phone again.
“Why do we” Peadar clearly meant to emphasize the pronoun – “no’ wan her te be o’ the Order, Demetrius?”
Demetrius steeled his jaw, the muscles there protesting under the apparent pressure, as he closed the swing-top and returned the bottle to the refrigerator. He stood rigid, back to the four of them, his hand gripping the refrigerator handle such that his knuckles were almost without color. Then, within moments, his stance relaxed again, and he turned to face them as he closed the refrigerator. His sparkling black eyes took time to fall upon each of them before he spoke.
“The Order, such as they are” His disdain and more rode on every syllable – “were able to kill Rosemary because she had given a piece of herself to them when she took her vows.”
He took in the horror etched on the faces of Lyca and Koko. Kato sighed and let his chair fall forward back to four legs.
“Beeyatch last night admitted to the murder” Kato shrugged – “or some crap about Hecate having a hand in it.”
Peadar only nodded his head in affirmation as a long sigh escaped him.
But then Koko’s countenance suddenly transitioned from angry dark to hopeful light.
“And if our mysterious new Protectress Marguerite is not of the Order” Koko’s eyes lit once again with his usual joy – “they cannot harm her!”
Lyca reluctantly looked to Demetrius for confirmation of his statement as did Kato.
“But—”
Peadar was quickly interrupted by Demetrius who had turned to walk toward the stairs as his phone signaled an incoming message.
“As long as the niece is within the wards,” he paused as he opened his phone’s message app but then continued, a bit more distracted as he read, “they will draw strength from her DNA link to their designer until she can put new wards of her own design.”
Demetrius’ face lit with a feral delight in the message he read as he turned to take the stairs two at a time. His feet disappeared up the stairs about the same time Peadar’s phone rang out with his Uilleann pipes ringtone.
“Goo’day, Mr. Stal’son.”
All attention at the table was instantly focused on Peadar’s conversation.
“Aye, sir.” Peadar’s face looked a bit befuddled. “Well, there’s a sittin’ room attached te the Mistress’ boudoir.”
They all looked at each other with similar questioning faces as Peadar’s eyes grew wide.
“A boy, Mr. Stal’son?” Peadar almost couldn’t find his words, “Yes, sir. Eight years ol’, ye say? I see, sir.”
Lyca dramatically dropped her forehead to the table and mumbled in disgust, “Oh, gods. Another child.” She lifted her head slightly to glare across the table at Kato.
“Speaking of beeyatches…” Kato interjected as he barely glanced away from his phone in response to her remark and began rocking his chair on its back legs again.
Koko simply patted them both and looked thoughtful as Peadar continued.
“Aye, sir. We’ll have both rooms ready on the morrow.” Peadar looked up into the three faces intent on his conversation. “Aye, Mr. Stal’son.” Peadar actually tugged on his long red locks a bit as his eyes went from the initial surprise to resignation. “Aye, twill be, sir. Thank ye. Goo’day.”
Peadar ended the call, closed his eyes, and sighed.
“It seems tha’ Marguerite has a lil’ brother.” Peadar ran his fingers through his auburn beard as he returned his phone to his pocket. He paused as he glanced at the intense faces around the table.
“Twill be an adventure, Mr. Stal’son says…,” he trailed off, seeming to not really know where to go with that phrase of supposed reassurance. It certainly hadn’t sounded very reassuring either time to him, hearing it or saying it.
At first, no one spoke into the silence.
“Well, it will be good to have some energetic youth around here, yes? This place needs some laughter and sunshine! Just look at us sitting here and—”
Koko’s pep talk as well as Lyca’s acerbic response were abruptly interrupted by a knock and the familiar creaking of the front door as it slowly opened in the foyer.
“Hello? Is anyone home? Hell-l-lo-o-o?”
They all looked at each other at the sound of the angelic voice, even Kato dropped his chair back to all fours as he made to stand, although Lycaois was already headed toward the front, Freki at her heels.
Because they were expecting no one, and, whoever it was, had just walked right through Rosemary’s wards.
“Hell-l-lo-o? I’m here in respon—”
Just as Lyca made it to the kitchen door adjoining the foyer, she ran right into a beautifully built young woman with long, curly blonde hair who let out a slight squeal as she was knocked slightly backward by the collision.
Lycaois tried to catch her while chastising her at the same time.
“Holy hells, woman!” Lyca pulled the lighter, fairer female to a stable position. “Do your feet not touch the floor while you wal—”
The platinum beauty’s eyes went from surprise to resentfulness as a slight blush crept up her cheeks. She forcefully shrugged off Lycaois’ hold and held up a parchment to the much larger, much darker female’s face.
“I am here in response to this” She shook the parchment in emphasis – an action which immediately brought Peadar to his feet – “most urgent advertisement for an auberge factotum...”
The blonde wore not a stitch of makeup, yet her face glowed with a radiance all its own, the heat from her blush notwithstanding. And that radiance never faltered as she continued.
Peadar now stood beside Lyca, staring at the vision of loveliness before them who was now more than a bit agitated.
“Placed by one” she pulled the parchment close to her face so that she could focus on the page “Rosemary Fenna, Proprietor of The Refuge.” She dropped her hand to glare once again at Lyca. “That is the name of this establishment, is it no—”
It was at that instant that she caught sight of Peadar.
All discontent left her face and a genuine smile appeared across her now beaming countenance. She raised her hand holding the parchment to her chest and bent reverently to greet Peadar.
“Ahhh.” The female’s entire countenance changed. “My apologies, distinguished sir. I had no idea that The Refuge actually was True Sanctuary.” She gracefully tucked her long locks behind her pointed ear before holding out her hand in greeting to him. “I am Memphis. And you are?”
To be continued…
 Recognized |
As always, thank you for reading! :)
Rosemary - (deceased) Rosemary Fenna, Sister of the World Wide Hecate Order and Guardian Protectress of The Refuge
Geoffrey Staltson - Rosemary's lawyer and friend to the residents at The Refuge
Demetrius - tall, mysterious male resident of The Refuge, does not seem to socialize with the others
Peadar - Irish male resident of The Refuge, helped Rosemary with upkeep
Lycaois - (aka Lyca) Goth, warrior-looking female resident of The Refuge
Koko - Native American male resident of The Refuge, has unending optimism and warmth about him...most of the time
Kato - large male resident who wears the clothes of a teenager
Charlise Staltson - Geoffrey's wife (they have a three-way marriage - Geoffrey, Gary, and Charlie)
Gary Staltson - Geoffrey's husband
Freki - Lyca's over-sized pet 'dog'
Stephen - private investigator employed by Geoffrey
Jinx - computer hack/whiz working with Stephen, handles all the tech-forensics for investigations.
Maggie - Marguerite B. Atkinson
Addison (Addy) Westmorland - little boy with Maggie, being raised by her
Dorothy Westmorland - Addy's mother (deceased)
Image of 'Delightful Southern House Plans' at The Image Fixer [theimagefixer.com]
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Rosemary - (deceased) Rosemary Fenna, Sister of the World Wide Hecate Order and Guardian Protectress of The Refuge
Geoffrey Staltson - Rosemary's lawyer and friend to the residents at The Refuge
Demetrius - tall, mysterious male resident of The Refuge, does not seem to socialize with the others
Peadar - Irish male resident of The Refuge, helped Rosemary with upkeep
Lycaois - (aka Lyca) Goth, warrior-looking female resident of The Refuge
Koko - Native American male resident of The Refuge, has unending optimism and warmth about him...most of the time
Kato - large male resident who wears the clothes of a teenager
Charlise Staltson - Geoffrey's wife (they have a three-way marriage - Geoffrey, Gary, and Charlie)
Gary Staltson - Geoffrey's husband
Freki - Lyca's over-sized pet 'dog'
Stephen - private investigator employed by Geoffrey
Jinx - computer hack/whiz working with Stephen, handles all the tech-forensics for investigations.
Maggie - Marguerite B. Atkinson
Addison (Addy) Westmorland - little boy with Maggie, being raised by her
Dorothy Westmorland - Addy's mother (deceased)
Image of 'Delightful Southern House Plans' at The Image Fixer [theimagefixer.com]
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