A Stitch in Time pt. 5
#8 of Patterns of the Grand Design
This story is a work of fiction. Because it is of an adult nature, all characters depected are over the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 is should access or read this story. All characters are copyright RAD.
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A STITCH IN TIME pt. 5
The cab pulled up in front of the brownstone just as the sun was setting. Gwen looked out of the window. "Teddy lives on the fifth floor," she told the two Zorrs. "He has two apartments there, one which he uses, and the other where his 'girls' live." The skunkette looked at her new friends. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Both Victor and Sapphire nodded. "If you're going to learn magic," the vixen said, "you'll need to break your ties with this bastard first. Fear can cloud your mind and color your enchantments in ways you have yet to imagine."
"Will this Teddy be there?" asked Victor.
"If he's not, it won't take him long to show up. His friends are always watching this place. They'll probably call him as soon as they see me."
"Well then, let's get this show started," the vixen replied.
Gwen led them through the building's foyer to a small elevator after Sapphire unlocked the front door with a spell. Arriving on the fifth floor the skunkette pointed to a door on the left.
"That's Teddy's apartment," she said simply. She looked at the djin. Instead of following the dancer's direction she was staring at the door across the hall. An odd feeling filled Gwen. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Someone's... dying, the vixen muttered. "A girl... young, very young... in pain." She went over to the door opposite Teddy's. "In here," she whispered. She touched the door and it opened. The apartment beyond appeared empty except for a light shining from beneath the bathroom door.
"Who would be here at this time of day?" Victor asked.
"Beth would," the skunkette replied, fear rising within her. "Sundays and Mondays are her days off from the club." Gwen's eyes suddenly widened. "Gods... If Teddy came over here looking for me and she was alone..." She pushed her way past the vixen and headed for the bathroom door.
* * * *
The first knock at the door was gentle and insistent, yet Beth ignored it. She was feeling far too tired, far too warm and comfortable to want to stir herself to answer it. Why bother... nothing mattered anymore. Nothing would ever matter again.
She had been gazing lazily into the warm bathwater for several minutes now, admiring how her fur seemed to gently float like long blades of grass in a field. True, the grass was gray and white, but that hardly marred the image she'd created in her mind.
She watched as a soft pink cloud had drifted into view. Defuse as first, it had thicken, darkening slowly to crimson.
The Feli continued to watch with a detached interest even as the knocking became more earnest, more determined. This time it was accompanied by a voice. "Beth... Beth, Please! Open the door."
The cat-girl paused for a moment in her thoughts. She thought she knew that voice, but who was it? Her mind did not want to focus on such trivialities. She wanted to escape the pain, the empty, hollow ache; the sense of absolute worthlessness that had been gnawing at her all day. Now at last, she had. The less focused she became, the less everything hurt. Thinking would only bring it back.
A face appeared, unbidden, in her mind... Gwen. The others must have found the skunkette and brought her home. Good! That was nice. One less thing she would ever have to worry about. Beth closed her eyes, allowing her mind to drift into an empty blackness.
Outside the door Gwen was becoming frantic. When knocking produced no response, she reached down and twisted the doorknob. It was locked from the inside. She tried to remember where the key was, or if there even was a key. She couldn't. Her rapidly growing sense of dread made it impossible. She pounded on the wooden barrier.
"BETH... OPEN THE DOOR... NOW!"
A hand gently reached up and touched Gwen's shoulder. The dancer looked behind her into the soft, blue-furred face of Sapphire. "Here," she said as her other hand moved to the door, "allow me." Her words calmed the skunkette and she stepped back slightly giving the vixen room to work. She whispered a word, stroking the lock lightly with her fingertips. A wave of blue-white sparkles washed across it producing an audible click. The door opened a few inches.
Gwen pushed it open further and looked beyond into the bathroom. A warm cloud of steam obscured everything, fogging the windows and mirrors and dimming the lights. The Lappe pushed her way farther into the room then froze at the sight of her deepest fears confirmed. Beth lay in the tub, silent and unmoving. One arm was draped languidly over the edge, resting against the floor. From it a thin trail of blood snaked its way across the tiles, soaking into the bathmat, staining it red. The cat-girl's head lay against the back of the tub, barely above the deep crimson water. A small, sharp paring knife sat unattended on the toilet seat cover, its short blade also bloodstained.
Breaking free of her shock, Gwen crossed over to the tub and tried to lift Beth from the lukewarm water. She could not; the Feli's body was just so much dead weight. Once more a hand brushed Gwen's shoulder, this time it was covered with black and red fur. Victor reached passed the skunkette, wrapped both arms firmly about the cat-girl and lifted her from the tub. Sapphire waved her hands and a dozen or more towels leapt from their cupboards to form a nest on the bathroom floor. The todd set Beth on top of this, her head resting in Gwen's lap.
The djin quickly examined the Feli. Running her hand along Beth's wrists, she sealed the long ugly gashes she found there. The blood immediately ceased pumping from her body, though the inside of the girl's ears remained a pale pink tinged with blue. Her breath was rapid and shallow and her eyelids fluttered weakly as she hovered at the edge of life. Sapphire looked over at Gwen.
"I'm going to need your help."
"How can I..."
"Just do exactly as I tell you," the vixen ordered. Gwen nodded nervously.
"First, clasp her hands in yours... firmly, but not too tight."
Still cradling Beth's head in her lap, the Skunkette reached down and took the girl's hands.
"Now, I want you to start breathing, controlled and steady; in through your nose, hold it for two seconds, then out through the mouth. Focus on it. Concentrate on nothing else; in and out.
"How will it help?" she asked.
"FOCUS!" Sapphire snapped. She watched as Gwen started breathing as instructed. "I'll explain as we go." The dancer closed her eyes and quickly fell into a rhythm; deep breath, hold, then exhale. Nodding in satisfaction, the vixen gently placed her hands over the skunkette's. As Victor watched, a soft, blue glow enveloped the three females.
"Your friend has lost too much blood. In order to restore her to a live-sustaining level I have to replicate and enhance the blood still within her. Essentially, I'm creating something more from something less. Like transmutation or summoning this kind of spell takes a lot of manna. Because you are an apprentice sorceress I'm drawing off your magical energy as well as my own to cast the spell."
Sapphire's blue glow expanded, suffusing itself with a green aura that began radiating from Gwen. The girl continued to breathe deeply, calmly. The vixen smiled with satisfaction. "Good... Very good," she whispered soothingly. "You're doing well. Just keep breathing."
Concentrating, Gwen could actually feel something being drawn from her. It was hard to define, but whatever it was it seemed to be gently expanding outward from deep within her body. Focused as she was she could also feel the presence of the other two women. One's essence was incredibly strong and bright, the other sad and weak.
An image formed in the periphery of the dancer's mind. It resembled a silhouette of Beth, yet the form was tattered, frayed and stretched, like a flag left hanging too long in the wind; Recognizable, but beaten down. She touched it briefly with her mind.
Despair, like a hot knife, stabbed into her soul. The skunkette would have pulled back had she not heard the vixen's desperate command. "Breathe! Focus on that alone! Think of nothing else. BREATHE!"
Victor opened a nearby window to air out the steam then watched in rapt fascination as blue and green auras combined into a single turquoise glow. A thin ribbon of white sparks began drifting up and down the Feli's body. Slowly at first, it pulsed like a rhythmic heartbeat. The white ribbon moved faster and the pulsing beat increased in strength and speed. Beth drew in a deep breath of air... once, then twice. The inside of her ears took on a healthier color and the blue tinge faded completely. Sapphire let go of the skunkette and took a deep breath, drawing the last of the glowing manna into herself.
Beth's eyes fluttered open and she looked up vacantly into the smiling face of her friend. Her mind struggled for a moment, trying to focus; slowly coming to the realization that she was still alive. "Gwen?" she whispered gently. The Lappe nodded, her eyes misting with tears.
"Gwen?" she repeated... "What?" Then it all came rushing back down on her. She moaned as the full weight of her despair crushed her. "Oh Gods... Gwen. Why? Why didn't you let me go? I was free... I wasn't afraid anymore. It didn't hurt anymore." She began to cry. Deep, heart-wrenching sobs wracked the Feli to her very core. Gwen reached out and pulled her friend to her knees, wrapping her arms and tail around her. The girl leaned into the skunkette, her voice small and faint. "He hurt me," she softly cried. "He took everything I was and ruined it. I'm nothing... I'm empty and useless and broken... broken forever. I wanna die... Can't you just let me die?"
A pair of hands gently touched the Feli on both temples. A familiar blue glow enveloped the girl's head. Her weeping ceased, her eyes closed and her chin slowly dipped until it pressed itself against Gwen's bosom. The Lappe looked sharply up at Sapphire.
"What did you do?" she asked, her voice aching with concern for Beth.
"She is tired and weak from the healing," the vixen explained. "I've cast a spell called 'The Healing Sleep' on her. Her mind can now rest, free of fear and pain. She will have deep, soothing dreams; happy ones from which she will awaken with a restored spirit and sense of peace."
Gwen looked down at the smaller cat-girl and gently brushed the hair away from her face. "Thank you," she whispered.
Sapphire looked at the two girls, sensing a shared bond between them. They were two souls thrown together into stormy seas, each clinging desperately to one another to survive. She quietly wondered how deep the bond went.
"I hate to be the one to break-up this quiet moment," Victor said worriedly, "but if Gwen is right, we can expect that prick, Teddy, to put in an appearance any time now."
"...Funny you should think of that," growled a heavy voice, "especially now."
The Zorr whirled to face the bathroom door. There, blocking the exit was the same human he'd confronted in the alley only the night before. Behind him stood three equally large thugs, two human and one anthrop.
Sapphire, who was closest to the door, quickly rose and brought her hands up, intending to cast a spell but Teddy was too fast. A massive hand caught her on the side of the head hurling her into the bathroom wall. Despite all her power the djin was still semi-mortal and the blow effectively stunned her. The human smiled cruelly as she slid down the wall. He looked at Victor, recognition flashing through his eyes. "YOU!" He backpedaled, pushing into the thugs behind him and reached under his coat.
The Zorr could smell his fear. Taking a gamble, he leapt at Teddy, slamming into him as hard as he could. He bit down furiously on the human's wrist, ripping his teeth across it. A coppery taste filled his mouth and the pimp howled in pain. Dropping the gun he'd been reaching for, he fell over backwards clearing the doorway.
Victor pushed the human away from himself. He tried to scoop up the pistol but it was kicked away from him. He ducked under someone's wild swing and retreated into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.
The todd reached over to Sapphire, gently shaking her and patting at her cheek. The vixen groaned but was still too stunned to do anything. A shot crashed through the door and Gwen screamed.
"Idiot," yelled Teddy from beyond the door. "No guns... I want them alive. Someone fucking get me a dishrag or something." A pair of heavy feet strode off heading for the kitchen. Other voices began arguing with the pimp. The Zorr figured they had maybe a minute or two before the thugs were beating down the door.
Victor thought frantically. What had Sapphire said this morning... something about unfocused magic combined with wish fulfillment? Desperately he looked over at the skunkette.
"I need you to focus, like you did for my mate."
"I don't know if I can... I'm scared"
"I know you are," Victor replied, trying to keep his voice as composed as possible. "Just try closing your eyes and breathing the way Sapphire told you. It should help calm you down."
The girl gulped, nodded and closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing, drawing herself inward. She took a breath, paused then exhaled, forcing herself to breathe slowly. First one, then a second and a third; her breathing became less forced, more natural. Victor watched as a soft green cloud of energy surrounded the skunkette.
A voice called through the door. "Ophelia! I'm giving you and your friends just thirty seconds to unlock this door and come out, otherwise there'll be hell to pay." There was silence for a few seconds then the doorknob rattled.
"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR BITCH!"
Gwen squeezed her eyes tight, shutting out Teddy's hate-filled voice. She continued her breathing and the aura expanded.
Victor squeezed his own eyes shut and focused desperately on his mate and the two girls with him. "Dragon!" he whispered silently to himself. "Dragon! Dragon... I wish I were a dragon! Dragon! Dragon! Dragon! DRAGON! DRAGON! A GAWDAMN FUCKING DRAGON!"
There was a flash of green flame and Victor's body suddenly felt as if it were melting away, being reformed, molded into something else... something powerful.
"YES!"
He opened his eyes. It had worked! He was a dragon again. Victor looked over and up at the skunkette, grinning wickedly. The smile faded. Gwen, Sapphire and Beth all towered over him and the bathroom had suddenly taken on the dimensions on of a cathedral. Yes, he was indeed a dragon... a very small one!
"Oh Shit..."
TO BE CONTINUED...