Disclaimer: You know the drill everybody and everything belongs to someone else, except me of course. I don't even think I own me anymore. No money is being made of the story. It's just for your enjoyment only.
Warning: Bad language, violence, and sexual content.
Chapter 15
We stepped outside onto the deck, that surrounded the back of her house. We stood there looking out into the yard at the pard, who had formed a circle in the grass. I wasn't liking the way Elizabeth kept pacing back and forth and at the same time was worried about Anita. My mind had come to a decision to take its body back into the house. I turned and went back inside and started to pace the floor. Anita came back in and asked, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Do I need to tell you what's wrong?" I croaked.
She put her arms across her chest and glared at me. I stopped my pacing and went to stare out the glass door. I had no words to describe how I felt at that moment. All I could think about was a nice hot bath and a warm bed.
I stood there for some time before I looked over at her and asked, "What terms are you going to agree upon for the fight?"
"I don't know. We'll have to wait until we get outside into the circle," she answered.
"Lets go and find out so I know what to do," I replied.
"All right," she said.
We both stepped out into the star filled night for a battle of cat sized proportions.
Everyone was standing around talking until they saw us come back outside. They looked at us with extreme curiosity. The two of us made it through the circle of leopards and into the loop. We stood face to face with Elizabeth who just sneared at us. I really didn't like that woman.
Anita and the alley cat started to size each other up and down. Anita was the first to break the ice, "It's time to determine the conditions of the fight."
"Oh goody," Elizabeth smirked.
"Don't get cocky wench. Your not going to be allowed to shift," Anita stated.
Elizabeth snarled at that one and said, "If I can't change then you can't call upon your powers. You have to fight me like we were just two humans in a street fight."
"Done," Anita answered.
I knew what needed to be done and knew Anita wasn't going to like it.
"Anita may I speak to you in private for a second," I asked.
She glanced over at me and nodded her head. I turned to go toward the side of the house with Anita right behind me.
"Don't take too long. I can't wait to tear you apart, so don't make me come after you," Elizabeth said with an evil grin.
I walked towards the cars closer to the house, then turned to face her. "I know a way to help you without the knowledge of the pard members finding out, but your not going to like it," I whispered hoping the others don't hear me.
"Why won't I like it?" She questioned.
"I assume you are aware of The Traveler's abilities to take over other people's bodies," I replied.
"Yes I am. But what does that have to do with you helping me?" She asked.
"Are you also aware that he leaves his body in a safe place when he does it," I stated.
"I know what he can do. I've seen it when they were here and when Jean-Claude had to go to Paris to meet with the council, but I wasn't aware he had a body at all. What does this have to do with you helping me?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.
"I know a spell that works the same way," I answered.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.
"It's a spell that allows witches and wizards to have an out of body experience and for a certain amount of time we can also inhabit someone else's body. It was used during some of the wars in England during the sevententh century. Kings would allow their wizards to inhabit them to give them extra strength to win the battles," I stated.
"What would you need to do in order for this spell to work," She asked.
I gave her a long look before answering her question about my powers. "I will need a quiet place where no one can disturb me. Then I will make a protective circle to work the spell and where I can leave my body. Finally I will release my spirit to travel outside of the house to find you and when I find you my spirit will enter your body as extra strength. The others will not know that I'm helping you.
She stood there for a moment or two contemplating on what I said. Finally she looked at me and said, "I don't know if I want to do that, especially after hearing how Traveler used Jean-Claude for his purposes."
"It's your call. You don't have to worry about me pulling Traveler's tricks. I'll just be along for the ride in case you need me which I think you will because I don't trust Elizabeth to keep her word about changing," I told her.
She studied my face for sometime, trying to figure out if I was lying to her. When she decided I wasn't lying she said, "Let's do it."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes, that's my final answer" was her reply.
"Which room would be the best place to use?" I asked.
"The basement," She answered.
"Why the basement?" I asked.
"I don't think they will go down there. I'm hoping they will be too occupied with the fight to realize you are missing," She replied.
"If they realize that I'm gone, what will you tell them?" I asked.
"I don't know, but I'll think of something," she said.
We walked back toward the circle of leopards, when something hit me that I forgot to tell her.
"Oh yeah one more thing," I said.
"What's that?" She answered.
"I'm going to have to feed after I do this little stunt. When I do magic of great power, I tend to change a little. So I might have to leave after wards," I replied.
She stood there for a minute staring at me, then nodded her head in understanding. She took me back into the house and through the kitchen into the living room and stopped in front of a door on our right just outside the kitchen door.
"This is the basement door," she said before going back through the galley and outside. I hurried down the steps lighting my way with my wand or night stick as I liked to call it, while saying a few spells here and there illuminating the dark hole with floating candles. I started work immediately making a circle of power to work my magic and to keep anything out that might disturb the vessel. When the circle was finished, I opened it up and stepped into it closing the line behind me. I sat down in the middle crossing my legs in Indian style, trying to take slow breaths to ease the tension so my power could flow through the air with no strain. I arched my back bending my head to glare at the ceiling. Lifting my arms up into the air and outwards I dropped my shields and let the magic loose.
I chanted words of the ancient world, a language long forgotten and released my soul into the air. It flew upwards and out through the ceiling. The spirit of my being floated through the house towards the back yard. I found Anita and Elizabeth already in battle. Elizabeth had the upper hand, while Anita bleed from a gash on her arm. My soul took flight and merged with Anita's giving her the strength she needed to win this fight. Anita turned back towards Elizabeth and I could she through her eyes what she saw. Elizabeth had a huge smile across her face and I noted to my comrade it's time to wipe it off. Elizabeth glanced around the loop at the pard, all the while smiling her full head off. Then as quickly as the smile was there it was gone. She looked around in a frantic motion. 'I bet she's trying to figure out where I ran off to.' I mentally commented to Anita. She noticed it to and asked, "What's the matter Elizabeth?"
She stalked over to Anita and demanded, "Where is she?"
"Where's who?" Anita answered.
"You know exactly who. Don't play dumb with me," she screeched.
"Oh you mean Alexandral. She's not part of the pard so I made her stay inside," Anita replied. I could feel the edges of her mouth tug into a smile.
This made Elizabeth mad and she lunged for Anita. Using my combat skills I moved Anita's body out of the way faster than Elizabeth could lunge. I stuck Anita's foot out at the same time, causing my opponent to trip and fall on her face. There was snickering from the crowd which infuriated her that much more. She came for the body in front of her with a fist. We dodged her blow while simultaneously grabbing her fist, pulling it behind her back with enough force to cause her to scream out. She went down on her knees and leaned forward trying to put her other hand on the ground. Wrapping our other arm around her neck while forcing our knee into her back, I had Anita pulling her spinal area backwards. It was sort of a wrestling move I've seen done on pro wrestling. She screamed in pain while Anita pulled backwards harder. There was a loud snap and I knew that we had broken her back. I had Anita let go, throwing Elizabeth's broken body on the ground. Elizabeth was yelling and carrying on, but if she didn't stop struggling her back was going to get worse. She was using every curse word in the book. It was enough to make a nun blush in shame. She finally stopped moving and laid motion less on the ground, crying, not able to move.
Anita walked up to her and kneeled down. She grabbed a handful of Elizabeth's hair and yanked her head backwards. That movement caused Elizabeth to scream out in pain. Anita stared her in the face and said, "Are you going to defy me again, Elizabeth?"
She shook her head and said very low, "No."
"What was that? I can't hear you," Anita replied pulling harder on Elizabeth's hair. It caused her to suck in breath in silent agony.
"Now I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you going to defy me again?" Anita asked.
"No," Elizabeth moaned as tears of excrutiating pain slid down her face.
"Good, cause if you do next time I'm going to kill you. This is you last and final warning," she stated.
She let go of Elizabeth and turned on the other members of the pard. She walked around glancing at each one of them, before returning to the center of the circle.
"I am your Nimer-Ra and Micah is your Nimer-Raj. We are your leaders, you will obey us. If not, we will see to it that you are punished. I'm getting tired of the trouble some of you make amongst the others and it's going to stop here and now," she announced, all the while looking at Caleb and Elizabeth. She continued with her little sermon while I waited for my command to leave, "If you don't like me being in charge then leave. Go somewhere else cause I'm not stepping down.
If you acknowledge me as your Nimer-Ra come and do so, if you don't then pack up and leave now."
Micah came over and stood by her side showing the rest of them that she was his mate. It wasn't long after that the rest of the pard joined him. They got on hands and knees crawling over to Anita, rubbing up against her body to show their loyalties to her, even Caleb bowed down to her. When the necessities were over, Anita turned to Zane and Noah, "Zane, I want you and Noah take Elizabeth to the hospital. I don't know how much damage I've done to her. The sooner she gets there the sooner Dr. Lillian can get her spine back together.
They nodded their heads and went over to where Elizabeth lay. She had long ago passed out from the pain. I asked Anita, "So can I leave know or do you need me to stick around for a while?"
"You can leave, but be in the living room when we get inside," she replied.
"Don't worry. I'll be there," I said flying out of her, causing her to stumble slightly after leaving her body, and back to the basement. I entered my still form and came out of my trance. The world started to spin and I could feel the change begin. I laid down in the circle and closed my eyes, letting the change to vampire form take me. I felt my ears start to point, while my fangs started to extract and soon felt better, but I was extremely hungry. My sences were three times greater than a normal person's. I rose from the ground to stand, while opening the circle. I left it and destroyed the loop so it couldn't be used again. Plus I needed to make sure no one knew I had been down here except for Anita. I finished cleaning up and headed back up the stairs extinguishing the candles as I bounded up the steps and through the door. Hearing voices coming from the kitchen, I immediately ran for the couch. I had just made it when everyone came through the door followed by Noah with a still form in his arms. He and Zane both passed me on the way out the door with Elizabeth's unconscious body.
Anita glanced over at me and mouthed the word�thank you.' I smiled and mouthed back�your welcome.' Things were looking up, just don't know how long they would last. I had to leave shortly in order to find something or someone to eat. I stopped at that thought and shivered. I was grossing myself out and that's when my stomach started to growl. Everyone glanced over at me and all I could do was roll my eyes while whistling. I thought I heard someone smother a laugh, but couldn't be for sure because my body decided at that moment to pass out.