You didn’t think it was over, did you? The Shield Stands, but now what? Time for the second half of Book 1.

 

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters Universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

 

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Chapter 23: Fire and Ice

 

I woke slowly the following morning. The ceiling was unfamiliar, but it wasn’t the hospital. I was quite warm. There was a certain comfy kind of pressure all over me, especially around the arms and chest. On my right arm, tucked into the crook of my armpit, I could easily recognize the feel of Lucy’s sleeping form. The one I had woken up with nearly every day for so long. To my left, though, was a soft form. I could feel scales. Sarah?

 

On both hands I could feel faces of ladies spooned up behind Lucy and Sarah. Both had noticeable fur. Emily and Amber? At my legs and waist I could feel two firmer forms, their heads resting on my body, arms wrapped around my thighs. One was much smaller. The other had… feathers? Gloria and Whitney. 

 

Behind my head I could feel the softness I was leaning against, it was firm and soft, and much more comfortable than any pillow. Warmer, too, and now I could feel the breathing and heartbeat. Paige. I was resting in a nest of my ladies, my family. It was unbelievably soothing, feeling like my soul was being cleansed of the pain and stress of the past weeks and years. We were together. We were one. 

 

Memories drifted back through my head. Last night’s oath. The tears, the kisses and hugs. The celebratory bottle of champagne. The cuddles, the process of getting together on that bed. The fact that only cuddles had occurred. Let people say that sex is the height of intimacy. That snuggle pile beat it by a light year.

 

This is, of course, when someone’s alarm decided to go off. As everyone started to stir, I realized I was in the sleeping room. The beds had been pushed together to fit us all. The alarm kept beeping, and in a rush everyone started moving to get ready for the day. This was severely complicated by just exactly how entangled we all were. There were several thuds and people tripped and tumbled off the edges of the bed, thankfully accompanied by laughter. 

 

Emily managed to extract herself by transforming into a sparrow and flying over to the phone, turning off the alarm, then running to the shower to make sure she got a hot one. I was in entirely too good of a mood to grumble about her cheating. After all, her shift started first, but four more of us would need to get ready afterwards in order to do our part as well. The free day to recover from a demon attack was spent.

 

Paige got a crash course in mornings at the Guild House. I was giving out directions and goals as quickly as I could. “Whitney, try to assemble that workout plan we talked about if you get open time. Look around the office there for ideas if you need it, or for equipment access. You’ll need details from each of us, I know, but basics from what you’ve got and what you’ve seen from us. Lucy, your side of the plan needs some codifying as well. Get charging info from the others to get actual pacing and scheduling. I’d like to get the team fully synchronized as well if you can get that integrated. Paige, I know the morning isn’t the time for what you normally do, so your target today is Delver Licensing. Take Amber with you. Amber, make sure you have tools that help with paperwork, and cash for fees. Gloria, go with them so you can hit Immigration…”

 

And on it went. Random Thursdays are usually not frantically complex for most of the world. We are not most of the world. The chaotic flurry of activity that had become our norm was gaining a sense of order as we all got used to each other, but the addition of Paige to the mix this morning was throwing people back off no matter how helpful she was trying to be. I spotted Gloria and Amber pulling her to the side to explain some details of how things normally went, their tasks were not on hard timers so they would let the hospital team get out of the door and out of the way.

 

The hospital staff didn’t know what hit them. Whitney could help stress-test equipment meant for Ogres in physical therapy, and not to mention actually get such beings into position alone. Sarah’s rather charmingly direct way of quality testing enchantments meant she found more spots going stale than the previous three inspectors combined, and often preserved components. I had one (much easier) case at the Curse Annex, then started checking network maps.

 

Lucy… was Lucy. She would tell me later that working for eight uninterrupted hours with people who did not gaze upon her with lust was a new and rapturous experience. A bit of jealousy from the other staff at Pediatrics, but given her pure talent with getting kids to do what was needed this was discarded quickly. I got a dose of the same jealousy from the IT side when I had lunch with her. If they wanted to date an unbelievably talented, loving, powerful, and sexy woman, they could go find their own. 

 

It wasn’t all roses… but given the kinds of thorns we had become used to, it might as well have been. Emily definitely grabbed me into a locked closet again, citing that her Hunger was full and she didn’t want to waste any. I was fairly sure she wasn’t maxed out from the look of things, but wasn’t complaining. We got home that afternoon to another mixed bag of news. Amber had gotten a call from her dad, who wanted to talk with her… and me, specifically. The next afternoon. Gloria had a temporary residence and work authorization card, now, along with a fresh Delver ID. Paige, too, had a Delver card. We’d be able to officially induct them soon, but Paige also had an interview… tonight. Emily and I resolved to be present for it. We each were able to go on short sleep for a day or two at need.

 

I got a message on my phone. A text, from the badge makers. “Where should I bring these? Your old address is wrecked.” Oops. I got a bit caught up in the moment when I was calling them. New address successfully provided, the next text read simply “knock, knock.” At the front door, when I opened it, was a small package. I again chose to not ponder it too closely, but resolved to tip extra when next I was at camp.

 

I brought the box in. The others got quiet fast. “Everyone, I want you to know what exactly these mean. At least, around here. Others may disagree. They are not us. Our Guild has no officer positions other than Leader, and that one only because there must be. These eight badges are identical. None stand above the others. I am no better than any of you. If you are outside of these walls and don’t have a good reason not to, you will wear yours at all times, at the left shoulder. We hunt the surface, those we protect need to know who we are.” I sighed.

 

“Like tonight. Paige, it is your option whether to wear your badge to go interview, and you wouldn’t onstage, but both Emily and I absolutely will be presenting it.” I took up one of the eight, and affixed it. These were not mere pins, they adhered with a minor magical force and would not let go unless removed with intent. Emily did so as well, and Paige followed suit. The others all tried theirs on to get used to wearing them. I rather liked the image.

 

Paige was significantly less apprehensive this time, though still insisted on bringing her whips. I also came with gauntlet and baton, while Emily settled for a shield charm. We weren’t expecting trouble, no. Thing is? Now, trouble expected us. The Shield stood. If trouble happened, we would need to be ready for it. Now, as the sun began to lower, we approached a place. One that was above ground. One that had a sign. One that, apparently, had standards.

 

The Hourglass was not the most subtly named gentleman’s club in Seattle. That wasn’t what they went for. Both Paige and I had looked them up, the majority of their working girls were there to satisfy various Race or Class requirements, but the owner was fairly decent by all counts. The place was not completely empty this early, but there were few customers. We parked around back, and entered the staff area. I could tell, immediately, that this was a good place. One fully-dressed (and quite attractive) girl, the transparent blue of a Slime, saw us come in and stopped us. “Who are you? Public bathrooms are at the front, not back here.” Her voice held an incongruous dose of a Southern accent, maybe central Texan? Rough place for a Slime, if so.

 

Paige stepped forward. “I’m here to interview and hopefully join you. These are my Guild Leader and good friend, here for moral support and in case proof or explanations are needed.”

 

The Slime looked at Emily and I. She didn’t have hair, but an eyebrow ridge raised. “We don’t get Delver types going for auditions too often. Schedules and such. Chris is in his office down the hall. Hope you’re ready to show off, he likes practicals.” She let us past. The door she had indicated wasn’t fancy, but had a plaque with the word “owner” on it.

 

Paige opened it. We entered behind her. The man at the desk was a somewhat heavyset Human, in casual attire. Slightly balding, slightly pale, an unremarkable person you’d not look at twice on the street. “Paige, I take it?” His voice indicated local.

 

“Yes. I’m here to try to get a dancer position.” She seemed more nervous now than usual. I mean, made sense. It wasn’t money she was trying to get, it was satisfying a direct need. 

 

“Alright. We need to be clear at the outset. The clientele are all kinds, but the workers here generally need either lust or attention to live. You mentioned you fall into this category?”

 

“Yes. I am a Pride demon, I need to have people watching me with strong emotion, especially admiration or worship.”

 

“I thought you a Succubus when you walked in, but that will make things easier. We get relatively few people paying for VIP rooms here, and a couple who need that on staff. So, we are all here to stay fed. Pay won’t be the greatest other than tips, but you probably knew that.” He looked at me. “I’m assuming you have that covered, though.”

 

I nodded. “Yes.”

 

“Alright. Let me know a week out if you plan a Delve so I can schedule things.” He looked back at Paige. “I see you’re armed, I’ll include security and protection in your pay if you agree to use them in our defense. Of course, if you pass the practical. I opened a gap in the lineup starting in about 30 minutes. Oh, one other thing. A lot of sex happens among the staff, myself included. Some is needed, some isn’t. You won’t be forced, but I can guarantee you that a lady as attractive as you will be asked. If that’s not okay, we can cut this short.”

 

Paige nodded. “Jay is more than enough of a lover for me, but I don’t mind. Probably going to turn them all down. Where’s the green room? I need to get ready.”

 

“Down the hall and to the left. Can’t miss it. Mind if I talk to your guildies while you do?” Paige nodded, then went to get ready. He looked at me. Sharply. “Alright, cut the BS. Marcus Graves loses his entire staff, and all of a sudden one shows up wanting a position with a Guild Leader Incubus hovering over her like an overprotective husband? I’m not going to ask why you roughed up his goons, Lord knows they all probably deserved it, but we both know I’m taking on a lot of risk hiring someone associated with you, in particular.”

 

I took a deep breath. “Then you should also know that my Guild is not one that Delves often. We specialize in the kinds of things that might affect this place. Paige, in particular, is one of our strongest members in every sense of the word. You will find her to be a good investment.”

 

“All well and good, but I wasn’t talking about that. I was talking about you, you and anyone else wearing that badge. I have a good thing going here, Jeremiah Kithkin.” Ouch. Okay, the price of fame. “I don’t get greedy with upkeep, the girls get paid and Fed, and I get the opportunity for frequent sex with people way outside the league of an overweight, balding, middle-aged divorcee. Any of you publicly appear in the front room, and get recognized, I can lose all of that. I’m willing to hire her if she’s all you say, but only on the condition that she leave the badge at home and you all stay away unless you’re here killing a monster.” He stood. “It’s almost time for her set. If you can hide who you are, come along. If not, you can wait in the chairs outside this room.”

 

I nodded, reaching up for my precious Shield icon. Focusing hard on Shapechange, I changed the distribution of my body, becoming a bit shorter and more squat, applying stony hints to my gray skin, giving it a rocky texture. I once again looked like the Gargoyle I used to so often pretend to be, and I put my badge in my pocket. Emily followed suit, and resembled a brainless blonde beach girl stereotype before hiding her own Shield.

 

I checked my Status. Though this was costing me MP faster than I was recovering it, I’d be able to hold the form for hours if need be. When I spoke, I made the effort to drop my tone a bit, coming out a grinding kind of rumble. “Good enough, sir?”

 

It was his turn to sigh. “Should have guessed. Follow me.” A couple of twists later, and we emerged from a door into the main room. It was dimly lit, but smelled much cleaner than the last such establishment I had seen. A few patrons were here early, ordering at the bar or chatting between dancers. One such working girl was bringing drink orders to patrons, chatting them up with a smile that didn’t feel as forced as one might think. She enjoyed her job.

 

The music changed, the DJ came on the speakers. “You all are in for a treat! Up on stage we have Diamond, and she’s trying out for a spot in our lineup! Your applause is gonna decide her grade, so let’s hear it!” There was some smattering of claps as Paige walked out on stage, some appreciative whistles. Even fully clothed for the beginning of her routine, she was a very attractive woman.

 

As she started her routine, slowly shedding layers, let one thing be said. Unlike most Dancers, Paige was not the most flexible or graceful person in the world. Certainly she had reach and was above average, but she wasn’t about to fold herself into pretzels to show off. What she had was a frankly excessive amount of raw power and sheer presence onstage. When she shed her coat, it was in the middle of a standing backflip. She kicked off shoes while holding herself up on the pole with one hand… casually. Bit by bit, in a dozen poses that the other girls probably had no hope to hold themselves in. Finally, fully nude, she flapped into the air for one last pose, showing herself off to a round of applause. Including my own.

 

I could also see that her mission was quite well accomplished. Her Aura was clearly gaining in charge, and rather rapidly given the paltry size of the audience. Unlike the audience, I had gotten to experience her firsthand (and first mouth, and first breast…), and even I was turned on by the display. She turned with a sexy sashay and started to retrieve her clothing, which I saw had all ended up in roughly the same location. Huh. Not a thing I would have thought to be sure of, but this wasn’t Paige’s first dance. She was also bending from the waist, well aware that her exit was as much a piece of the show as anything else, still drinking deep from the audience as the audience drank deep of the sight of her amazing behind. Emily and I, along with the owner, stood to begin heading back to the staff area when I saw a flicker in the corner of my eye. 

 

A vertical line of glowing red, on stage but off to the left, looking like it was a glitch on a television screen if I hadn’t been looking at it with my two eyes. A warning. I yelled “Portal!” and immediately released my transformation, pulling my enchanted baton out and getting ready. Emily was a four-tailed Kitsune again in the space between heartbeats, and Paige dove forward to where her whips were just out of sight of the front. Still quite nude, she was now armed and flapped over to us.

 

“Patrons, get clear! This area is no longer safe for the next 45 minutes!” My yelled warning had a lot of buffer on it. The longest Portal I’d ever heard of lasted for 28 minutes and change, add five or ten more if something nasty came out at the last second. Still, they were already rushing to get clear. Anyone who had lived in this town for more than a few months had either seen a Portal or knew someone who had, that line would soon spring into a doorway that would unleash at least two of the denizens of the Labyrinth. Only Delvers, or people who were particularly overconfident and foolhardy (if there was a difference), ever stuck around to try their luck. There was no way to know exactly which critters would be coming out of there until they did. 

 

It didn’t make sense. Portals just didn’t open inside of buildings. I mean, sure, it happened on occasion, but it was vanishingly rare. Less than one percent of known spawns. “Paige, you’re on the front line. I’ll be playing crowd control and goalie if anything gets past you. Emily, Need you to be adaptable. If a lot of small fry come out of there, I’ll need you up front. Couple of big nasties, and you’re going to be healing.” Both acknowledged, and at that moment the line snapped open into a flat disc of dusky red, which immediately disgorged its contents. 

 

The creature was small and radiated a weak Aura. Perhaps two feet tall, roughly humanoid with a flabby build, horns, fangs, and claws. Quasit. Make that Quasits, as five more immediately jumped out and dove at the closest people they could see. Us. “Don’t let them get to you! Most of those things are venomous!” I dialed in a Firebomb and dropped it on top of the portal. Though the fire itself would not be at its most effective against them, it would hurt and distract them as they came out. 

 

With a whistling crack, one of Paige’s whips struck the closest Quasit hard enough to blow it into dust, dropping bits of claw and fang along with a couple of silver coins. My own Lightning Net seized another until it crumbled as a third fell to Paige’s offhand strike. For each that fell, though, two more emerged. Emily closed her eyes in focus, and I witnessed as her fur glowed briefly with an inner light… twice. Opening her eyes once more, she transformed into her battle form, full of rippling muscle with dread claws and fangs of her own, and dove in. It took a severe effort of will to stay back with both of my ladies up front like that, but I was our only offensive caster. I had to keep an eye out. It was for that reason that I spotted it, a quartet of the things flew out on horrible little wings, evading the kill zone we had set up. My Lightning only caught one of them as they tried to sprint for the door. “Paige! Behind!”

 

She wasted less than no time. Before I’d even finished shouting the warning, she looked, saw, and suddenly was in two places at once. One of her stood fast, continuing to keep a lock on the flow of demons coming at us. The second dashed for the door with a thunderous wingbeat, and caught the trio as they struggled to open it. Seconds later, all three were dust, and the copy vanished with them. 

 

Huh. So that was Double Team. I could see where it would be useful.

 

“Jay, tag out!”

 

I dove in to take Paige’s place on the front line, renewing the flames there and clenching my fist to draw forth the Shield. I could feel her as she began to Dance. The power flowed out and seemed to lift me into the air, wiping the fatigue of this ongoing tide away. Emily, too, seemed to move more sharply again. I dropped more Lightning through the Portal as we tagged back out, but it turned out to be unnecessary. The angry disc flickered, and moments later ceased to be with an audible pop. “Paige, Emily, you two alright? I’m unmarked.”

 

“I got some cuts, but my magic is dealing with the poison now.” Emily had released her combat form, dedicating her reserves to recovery.

 

“I’m good. None of them got close enough to me to do anything.”

 

“Good. Paige, you can get dressed. I like the view, but it might distract your new boss when we give him the short version.”

 

The speaker sounded. The owner’s voice crackled over it. “So, first off, you’re hired. Second off, that was amazing, get your drops and my crew will clean up the rest. I’ll get you a copy of the security video if you want it.”

 

I raised my voice. “Yes, please! Need anything else from us today?”

 

“Nah, you’re good. Get some rest and I’ll see our newest hire on Monday.”

 

Three days a week would be more than enough for her to both sustain herself and contribute to my Pool. “Paige, sound good to you? I’m your Guild Leader, not your owner.”

 

She nodded, getting used to the feel of it. “Sounds good. What I got today will keep me until then with plenty to spare. Do you do pickup slots?”

 

“Yep. You’re on the access list already, and the DJ knows you now. Come to the back, Jeremiah, I do need to talk to you about one more detail.”

 

I looked over at the DJ’s booth, where a skinny, pale man with a mop of frizzy white hair was peeking over the edge of the table. He gave me a thumbs-up. My ladies and I walked briskly back to the office, where the owner was writing out a check. “Paige, we only go by stage names with customers. You can call me Chris when we’re in the backrooms. This is fair pay for the one dance plus time fighting. Jeremiah, for you, I have a different offer of compensation.”

 

“I was here to watch and support, I do not need to be paid for this.”

 

“Oh, it’s not money. Some of the women who work here leave without fulfilling their goals on occasion. If you want, you have free rein to take any of them home with you that are willing. I won’t charge you. This won’t work with my Demonesses unless they want to Feed you, obviously. I do know the deal with you Incubi. My Slimes and Beastfolk going into Heat, though? My Sensate running dry? Those are more like it.”

 

I shook my head. “The offer is quite generous, but absent life-and-death need I’m not going to take you up on it.” Emily and Paige reacted to this news as if I’d electrified them with my Nets instead of the Quasits. 

 

“You sure? It’s not every day you get an offer like that. Hundreds that you don’t have to pay, to hook up with possibly dozens of the hottest women in town, who will join in both happily and with notable skill.”

 

“That isn’t the point, sir. I am married, and devoted both to her and my Guild. I will not betray their trust and devotion for any price.”

 

He looked at Paige. “You are an incredibly lucky woman, you know that?”

 

“I’m not his wife. I just got onto the team two days ago, and I count myself lucky to be in that close ring.”

 

The owner… Chris… looked like he had whiplash. “Then welcome to the extended family, Paige, and I hope we are half as good to you as the one you’re already in.”