Argentum
#13 of The Moonrise Chronicles
Verona was looking at my box of family mementoes. It was sparsely filled, because most of those things had been at my parent's house. They were now ash long settled into the ground. She held up a photo of my parents. "They make a handsome couple. I wonder how old they were in this photo." "That was before I was born. So that was taken around 1980." "Oh, you're just a youngster, aren't you?" I knew she was teasing me. "No, but I haven't aged as well as you have." She blushed. "Thanks." She rooted through the box, pulling bits and pieces of my childhood out and setting it on the table. Maggie was watching intently too. She was curious what a normal child collected. There were a few photos of me as a kid, some ticket stubs to sports events, old coins, a feather, and other miscellaneous junk. I picked up one of the coins and held it out to show her. "This is a 1900 Barber dime. My Dad got it for me as a replacement for the one my grandpa gave me. I lost it after I got hit. I used to keep it with me for good luck." "And do you believe in luck?" asked Maggie. "No, not any more. A coin can't affect your life unless you're flipping it for heads or tails. But I was upset by its loss. When I was able to walk again, I went back and looked for it, but I never found it. " "We all will lose something dear to us at some point in our lives. I'm sure the loss of your parents was worse?" I sucked in a breath. "Worse? Of course it was worse. But I think the hardest part is not having closure. If nothing else, I wish I knew what happened to them. Even a burned corpse would have been something." Verona smiled in a sympathetic way. Then the smile vanished. "Yes, closure is important. Sometimes it can be very important. We must look into your situation more vigorously if we are to get to the bottom of things." She had a sudden urgency to her voice. I was immediately suspicious. "What are you thinking?"
"I don't want to say right now. I have an idea. I was wrong before about things and I don't want to be wrong twice. It would be unfair to you. So give me some time to figure this one out." I leaned back on the couch. "Do I have a choice? I seem to be stuck now between being human and being something more. I can't go back and I can't go forward. If you can fix this mess, then more power to you." "I might. Do you still trust me?" That was an excellent question. "Yes, I guess I do. I don't trust your judgment necessarily, but I do trust your motives." "Thanks." She answered sarcastically. "I'm telling you the truth. I feel like I'm a guinea pig here." "I guess you have a right to be angry. But what if I told you that I might finally know why you're having so much trouble?" "I'd tell you to spit it out and quit being a tease with your information!" "That's just it. I don't have information yet. Would you care to try an experiment?" I didn't like the sound of that. "Doing what?" "It involves getting naked again..." Maggie jumped up. "Oh goody!" Verona gave her the evil eye. "Not you, not this time. It may be dangerous." "But he's mine! I found him first!" "And I'm not trying to take him away. I'm trying to make him reach his full potential." My head hurt from all this talk. "Whatever. I don't see how sex is going to help, but let's do this before my head implodes. Listening to you two argue gives me a headache." We walked into the bedroom and closed the door. I looked at this woman and wondered what she was up to. I was beginning to think she was just yanking my chain. It had occurred to me that maybe we should see her parents, who might have greater knowledge over things like this. She had demurred, claiming that they might kill me as being a human with sensitive knowledge. She wanted me to meet them once I could transform. I tiredly undressed and lay down in the bed. She remained clothed. "Hey, what's the big idea?" "For what I have in mind, I don't need to be naked. Trust me, you'll enjoy every minute of it. " She was right. I had no idea what the purpose of her "experiment was supposed to be, but it felt really, really nice. She gave me the blowjob of the century. Maybe it was payback for the tongue lashing I had bestowed upon her, but whatever the reason, I soon forgot there was supposed to even be a reason. She stroked my sides as she engulfed my cock, having more to handle now than before. Her hands played little circles over my skin, like eddies from a stream. Her strong fingers massaged my hips until I half expected her fingers to break through to the joints below. Her suction on my cock was incredible, and I wondered how many other guys she had practiced on to be this good. As my knot grew, she left off of my hips and did a two handed stroke to the engorged bulb. I should have blown right then, but she did something that forced the load back into the firing chamber. I didn't know such a thing was possible! When she finally let me unload, I fired a shot straight to the ceiling. That was going to be hard to explain to housekeeping! I spouted off for a full thirty seconds before my load tapered off to a dribble. I was panting hard, and she had a look of triumphant victory on her face. I found my voice after a few minutes. "So what did you learn, besides not to be in my line of fire?" "I found out that you need to visit a friend of mine. I think that he might be able to clear up this mystery." "About my parents?" "No. Why you're stuck between forms." "So who is this guy? Some sort of mystical healer?" "No stupid, but you're in the right ball park." "Then what exactly is he?" "He's a dentist." I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even argue. This just kept getting weirder and weirder. I doubt that this guy had any interest in my teeth, and even less so if I were to change into a set of werewolf ones. His name was Harold Becker, D.D.S., and his receptionist called him out into the lobby right away. Somewhere down the line Verona had some hold over this guy; that much was certain. "My dear, my dear, it has been a long time! And I see that you have hardly aged a day! And who is this young lady? Not your daughter!?" "No, not mine. His. And she's adopted. She is the ward of this gentleman." He stuck his hand into mine. "I'm so glad to meet you. Any friend of Miss Hardwick is a friend of mine." It was the first I had heard someone use her last name. "Thanks?" I was a little lost in what we were doing here. I hope I didn't come across as rude. "So, what can I do for you? Someone has a bad tooth?" Verona smiled. "I think it's more like a bad filling." "Oh, that's a shame. Which of you is it?" Verona pointed to me. "Him." I was confused. The look on my face was obvious. "But my teeth are fine!" She told Maggie to sit down and she dragged me to the back. "Doc, this is what I'd like you to do." There was a brief consultation, after which the dentist looked as confused as I did. But he was nothing if not a sport about it and did as he was told. So was I. When we left the office, I was no more aware of what that had been about then when the idea had first been suggested. All Verona left with was an oversize manila envelope. Maggie kept trying to grab it. "Leave off girl. This is something that needs to be discussed in private." We went back to her place for the day. She made some tea, and curiously enough, pulled out some cookies. Maggie sniffed one, and gingerly taking a bite, came away amazed. "These taste good! What's in them?" "None of your business little one. My mother holds the recipe, and you'll find that there are foods besides human flesh to feast upon." I tried one and found it unusual, but good. I opted to ask no more questions regarding anything else until I had my answer. "What did the x-ray show?" She smiled. "It struck me when you talked about your past. It dawned on me that the problem may have been a pebble in the gears." Maggie smiled around her cookie. "You mean he has a clock work in his head?" I knew she was joking and besides, I sat through the x-ray. My head had nothing to do with it. "I don't get it." She pulled out the film and held it to the light. It showed the bone and soft tissue clearly. But there was something else; something that showed white against the variable shades of gray on the plastic film. It was large enough to make quite an impression even on us, being non-medical people." Maggie was staring at it. "What the hell is that thing? And why is this picture not of his teeth?" I was staring in disbelief. I had lost that coin so many years ago, but all this time I still had it. It had been in my pocket that fateful day. Apparently the force of the trauma had embedded it into the laceration and the doctor never noticed it. My lucky coin was buried inside me! I spoke as if in a trance. "It's my original coin, the one my grandfather gave me. It was in the cut when they sewed it up!" Verona patted my leg. "And what's that coin made of Edward?" "Silver!"