“Here we are...” Doc said softly. “Sonya, I’m going to be up against Goodman, Suez, the sheriff, and likely even the church of Apoc. The people beside me are going to be in the crosshairs right along with me.”
“What if someone else wanted to be there beside you to help?”
Doc just sat there, looking at Sonya, and sighed. “Your mother was right. Fiala, too.”
Sonya’s head cocked to the side as she watched him.
“You won’t give up?”
Sonya just smiled as she scooped some water up and walked toward him. “Even if you reject me again, I won’t accept it easily. Besides, I can help you, if you’d just let me. First, drink some.”
Doc took the offered ladle and drank half of it before handing it back. Sonya’s eyes glittered as she drank the rest of it.
“The rite makes you an honorary member of the clan, but not a full member,” Sonya said as she went back to her seat.
Doc’s eyes trailed down her back to her ass. Her underwear clung to her backside, hiding it but giving a real idea as to what her firm, round butt looked like. Shaking his head, he took a deep breath.
“You know I’m in a relationship with Fiala. Why still push for it?”
“She accepts others being with you, does she not?”
“Yes,” Doc said slowly.
“There are old customs for bestials, elves, and dwarves where powerful people had multiple partners. Even humanity had such stories, but they were buried or dismissed when the church grew in power. Apoc declares all such relationships abominations. Then again, the church also says that sleeping with one of the ‘lesser’ races is a sin, as well.”
Doc snorted. “Same no matter where you go.”
“It makes me think that you don’t hold the same views.”
“I don’t.”
“The dryad... do you sleep with her?” Sonya asked.
Doc considered her request for a moment and thought maybe it would drive her off. “Yes, every time I go out. I force her to bend to my will.”
Sonya watched him carefully, a smile touching her lips. “Then you should have no objection to a dwarf.”
“You’d be sharing me with all of them, and possibly even more— elves and half-elves, at the very least.”
“If that’s what it requires to be able to stand beside you, I will do so willingly.”
Doc scrubbed at his face. “Why?”
“Why? Why does anyone want to spend time with another? How does one define an emotion? You find me attractive; I can see that for myself.”
Doc glanced down at his tented underwear and sighed. “I’ve said you’re beautiful. I’m not denying that, Sonya.”
Nodding, she undid her breast band and exhaled. “Then you won’t mind if I’m more comfortable.”
Coughing, Doc gave up and didn’t look away. “Damned perky, but the young are always gifted that way.”
“You keep calling me young, and yet you’re barely an adult,” Sonya said.
The clan is going to be told after this is over, Doc thought. Might as well see if it’ll back her off. “I’m forty-two, actually.”
Sonya’s eyes narrowed. “No. Humans who are that age have wrinkles near their eyes, at the very least, if not thinning or gray hair.”
“Who said I was human?”
Sonya went quiet for a long moment, taking another drink of water while she stared at him. “I can’t see anything that indicates you as anything but human.”
“How do you feel about half-bloods?” Doc asked, thinking he might have a new avenue.
“Your ears aren’t pointed... you’re not short nor stocky enough, nor do you have animal features. What could you possibly be a half-blood of?”
“Elf and dwarf.”
Sonya sat still and quiet again. “Those two races aren’t cross-fertile,” she said, but there was a hint of doubt to her words.
“I’m a half-breed— elf and dwarf,” Doc said. “There’s a reason I’m going to be hated by a lot of people, including some dwarves, I bet.”
Sonya nodded slowly. “Yes, some of the slower and more stupid ones might have a problem, but if you had a wife from a well-respected family beside you, even they would stay quiet.”
Doc felt like the trap just snapped shut on him, and he’d walked willingly into it. “You don’t care?”
“No. It just makes you even more special.” Sonya gave him a brilliant smile. “You’re favored by a god, are working with everyone who deserves it, and want to make the world a better place. I’m fine with everything. The question becomes are you okay with me?”
Doc stared into her eyes. “What if I treat you like mud, just using you for my own ends?”
“You won’t,” Sonya replied, her own gaze locked on him. “I’ve taken your measure, Doc. All I ask is that you let me do my best for you, for your loved ones, and for us.”
“Your parents will object,” Doc said, trying to play his last card.
Sonya laughed. “No. Mother wouldn’t, to begin with. Father has seen the error of his thinking, and I believe he even told you he regretted taking the blood oath from you.”
“I surrender, Sonya. I won’t agree to marriage, but we can talk and see if we have enough in common for a relationship to work.” Doc got up and moved to sit beside her. “Can I have some more water?”
“Of course,” Sonya grinned, her heart singing with happiness.
~*~*~
The next few hours were interesting for Doc. Sonya didn’t even bat an eye when he told her the full story of how he came to be there. She had a lot of questions about his old world, getting excited about horseless carriages that didn’t involve souls.
Doc was just as excited to learn what she knew about spirit stones. Spirit stones were used when a judge pulled the soul out of someone. The souls were stored in the stones and then used to power various devices. The more evil or good a soul, the more power it would supply.
The soul from the cattle-thief that Wenn had brought in would power one of their trains for years, while a lesser soul could provide power for smaller things, like a vehicle or a home. Doc equated them to electricity, which brought them back to his world again.
Sonya also explained how she’d been hurt— her uncle, Abelard, was an eccentric inventor who’d been working on steam power, trying to displace the monopoly of soul power. His latest attempt at it had burst, collapsing the whole device. Unfortunately, Sonya had been helping him when the device exploded and while she’d been able to get mostly clear in time, a beam crushed her arm.
As they talked, they sipped water and sweated a lot. Doc had difficulties when Sonya would miss her lips and rivulets of water would run down her naked body. Doc had wondered if they were entirely accidental, but then caught a sly smirk on Sonya’s face after one.
Doc felt himself growing fatigued and used healing hands to replace his draining vitality. Sonya watched him closely when he did, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Did you know that when you heal someone, warmth infuses the area?” Sonya asked once he’d finished.
“No, I don’t feel it that way.”
“When you healed me, it was like being held by a loved one and soothed. Now that I think about it, that might be another reason I set my sights on you.”
“Good to know,” Doc said. “How’re you holding up?”
“Fine. This heat is nothing compared to the forges or my uncle’s workshop. By the end of this, I’ll be tired and maybe a little listless until I rest. I’m worried for you, though.”
“My energy will help my draining vitality,” Doc said. “I think I’ll be okay.” Looking at the door, he saw that five hours had passed. “Only nineteen hours to go.”
“More time for talking and getting to know each other,” Sonya said, pushing some damp hair behind her ear. “This has only made me even more interested in you, Doc.”
“Sonya, you’re an amazing woman. It’s been good getting to know more about the world and your family,
but what about you? What do you like? What do you want out of life?”
“I haven’t had as much freedom as you’ve had,” Sonya said. “I haven’t had a lot of chances to see what I’d like. If I was male, I could barber like my father. I used to help him as a child, but women can’t be barbers.”
“Stupid,” Doc snorted.
“I agree,” Sonya said. “That’s the law now, though. To be a barber, you have to have passed the official courses, and they won’t let women take them.”
“When idiots are in charge of laws, the country suffers,” Doc said.
“Agreed.”
“I’m going to be leaving town, and possibly the entire area. You know that, right?” Doc asked, changing the topic.
“I figured you would, to spread the word of Luck. I’m willing to be beside you the entire time. What of the others?”
“Not sure if Rosa can leave,” Doc admitted. “Fiala will be going with, at the very least. I’m not sure if anyone else will.”
“Are you going to set up a house of worship so you can heal openly? That’ll draw the ire of the church.”
“The Lily already is,” Doc replied. “I’m sure it will be coming out soon.”
“They would hate you, anyway,” Sonya snorted. “Openly cavorting with a bestial and undergoing the rite to be viewed as a dwarf? You are a very wicked man by their standards. If they knew you were half-dwarf and half-elf, they’d call you an abomination.”
“Sounds like things will get really interesting.”
“Why did you tell me? You could’ve kept it secret.”
“Because I believe that all relationships require three things: trust, honesty, and communication. I’m going to tell the elders after this. I dislike keeping secrets from the people who are going to stand beside me in conflict. That, and I thought it’d make you back off.”
Giggling, Sonya shook her head. “Nope. It didn’t work.”
“I know that, now,” Doc chuckled. “Not sure anything I could’ve said would.”
“Yes,” Sonya said softly, “there is one thing that would have.”
“That I hated you?”
Sonya nodded. “I would’ve been devastated, but it would’ve stopped me.”
“I couldn’t lie like that. I thought you were beautiful the moment I saw you, but I know what life is going to be for me and I didn’t want you to have to endure it.”
“And now?”
“Well, that depends on if I survive this,” Doc chuckled, “and if your dad tries to gut me.”
Sonya shook her head. “He won’t.”
“Then you’ll get to meet Fiala. I love her, and I agreed she’d have to approve of anyone being added.”
Sonya licked her lips. “Do you think you’ll be able to love me, too?”
Doc placed a hand on her knee. “Yes. It might take a bit, but I already find myself loving parts of you.”
“You can touch them, if you’d like,” Sonya said shyly.
Doc started laughing, shaking his head. “Good gods, woman, that wasn’t what I meant! I meant I love how stubborn you are. I mean, not that your tits aren’t damned nice, too.”
Sonya blushed. “Oh.”
Doc bumped her with his shoulder. “I’d take you up on that, but it’d lead to other things, and strenuous exercise in here would kill me.”
Sonya went a deeper red, but she wore a smile. “I don’t want that… the death part, I mean.”
“We’ll do it proper, for your family, but I’m definitely not opposed to the idea,” Doc said.
“Okay.”
Chapter Ten
Doc wiped at his face as he waited. He had to walk out the door under his own power, as Sonya had explained to him. She stood behind him by a dozen feet, making sure no one could say she was supporting him when he exited.
The moment the rune stopped glowing, Doc pulled the door open, though it took him bracing his foot against the wall to manage it. Panting, covered in sweat, and head swimming, Doc staggered forward. Breathing hard, the cool air of the room hit him like a sledgehammer. Gasping as his skin suddenly had relief, Doc stumbled and fell to his knees.
Otto was next to him in an instant. “You made it!” Otto’s voice was part disbelief and part awe. “Here, drink this.” He shoved a small flask into Doc’s hand. “The salve, Greta! We need the salve! His skin is in poor shape.”
“I’m right here, husband,” Greta said as she moved to help. “I can… Sonya?”
“Mother, Father,” Sonya said, shivering a little as she walked out of the sauna. “Please tend to him. I’ll go hydrate and sleep.” She paused long enough to pull a loose dress on.
Otto was still mimicking a landed fish when his daughter left the room. Greta just shook her head and began to apply a salve to the red, inflamed parts of Doc’s body.
“I told you she’d be hard to refuse,” Greta said.
“I stopped trying,” Doc slurred. “She’s a determined lady.”
Otto took a deep breath and turned to Doc. “What happened?”
Doc blinked a few times, trying to figure out which of the three was the real Otto. “Blarmitfz?”
Otto glanced to Greta to help him understand, but Greta shrugged. “I don’t know, either.”
“Doc, what—?” Otto began, then grabbed the unconscious man when he slumped over.
~*~*~
Doc bolted upright, breathing fast as the nightmare faded. Wild-eyed, he found himself not in a burning building, but in a small room on a lightly swaying cot.
“You’re awake. That’s good,” Greta said. “We were worried when you passed out. A few have died like that... making it out the door only to die right afterward.”
Focusing on Greta, Doc croaked out a single word: “Water?”
Greta nodded and presented a small glass to him. “Sip it slowly.”
Taking it with shaky hands, Doc forced himself to sip the cool liquid. The welcome sensation helped him breathe easier. Once he’d finished the glass, he handed it back to her. “Thank you.” His throat still felt rough, but not sandpaper dry.
“Talking while in the sauna for a full day was not the smartest thing,” Greta told him as she refilled the glass. “You injured your throat.”
Doc blinked, willing his stats to appear in front of him.
Doc Holyday- 42
Half-Breed Elf/Dwarf
Voice of Luck
Energy: 14/20
Vitality: 3/20
Health: 8/15
Faith: 25 (75)
Racial Bonuses:
Natural affinity to nature magic, improved reflexes, keen hearing and sight, resistance to poisons, improved vitality, night vision, natural affinity to metal crafts
Goddess Gifts:
All In, Stand Down, Missed Me, Healing Hands, Cleansing, Energy Reserves
Wincing at what he saw, Doc focused on healing hands. When he saw them glowing, he reached up and touched his throat, willing the energy to heal him. Though his energy ticked away, his health returned to full and some of his vitality returned.
“Better...” Doc sighed.
“Why didn’t you do that before?” Greta asked sternly.
“Did, as often as I could,” Doc replied. “I was out of energy, my vitality was barely there, and my health was draining away when the time came. I almost failed to get the door open.”
“Sonya said as much,” Greta said. “She also said that you’ve decided to allow her to court you.”
“I told her that Fiala has to agree,” Doc explained, “but if that happens, then we’ll see about doing it correctly. I don’t know if her being in there with me changes anything.”
“It does,” Greta sighed. “It’s not as bad as you sleeping with her, but it still tarnishes her reputation some.”
“Stubborn and determined,” Doc said.
“Yes. I can’t fault her. I was just as mulish in my youth.”
“I need to speak with the elders still,” Doc said, but his stomach chose that mom
ent to loudly complain about being empty.
“Yes. First, some light soup. It’ll help hydrate you and give your stomach something to be happy with.”
Cashing In (Luck's Voice Book 2) Page 8
