A Stitch in Time pt. 6
#9 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. 6
"OH SHIT!"
Hearing the squeaking expletive, Gwen opened one eye. Victor had vanished! She looked around frantically, trying to spot the todd. Her eyes came to rest on the nine-inch tall dragon. She screamed in surprise and a bolt of green fire shot from the aura surrounding her. Striking a mirror, it bounced off and hit the bathroom door, sparking madly. Gwen's aura unexpectedly faded. On the other side of the portal one of the thugs was gripping the doorknob, rattling it as he tested the strength of the wood. He was abruptly hurled across the hall as if struck by green lightning. He slammed roughly into the far wall and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
Inside the bathroom the Zorr tried to calm the thoroughly frightened skunkette. "No! Wait... It's me! It's me... Victor!"
"Victor?" she exclaimed. "What... what happened to you?"
"You did," he replied. "Or at least your magic did."
"I don't understand."
The dragon shrugged. "Neither do I... not really." The door suddenly shook under someone's determined assault.
"OPEN THIS DOOR YOU FUCKING CUNT!" bellowed Teddy from the hall.
Victor looked up at Gwen. "You hold down the fort in here and try to wake up my mate. I'm going to see if I can distract them from breaking down the door."
"But how..."
"I don't know," the dragon hissed. "I'll make something up as I go!" With that, Victor launched himself toward the window. Once again instinct took over as he took flight. He glanced briefly at himself as he zoomed by the bathroom mirror. Not only was he much smaller, he was a lot more dragonesque in form and color than before. He flew through the window; a green and gold blur, and circled the building once, looking for another opening on the same floor. There was none.
Searching frantically, Victor spotted an open window two floors down on the same side of the building. He dove through the window and had to swerve sharply to avoid smashing head on into a large fish tank. Skirting the obstacle, he zoomed toward the partially opened front door. An elderly human with a walker stood half in and half out of the apartment. She was listening to the noise that came from two flights up. Having seen the neighborhood as they'd driven up, Victor was certain that anyone hearing the commotion upstairs would not bother calling the cops.
The dragon quickly rocketed out the door, lightly brushing against the aged tenant's hair. She yelped in surprise. Thinking the brownstone was now infested with bats she retreated into her flat and slammed the door behind her.
Pulling his wings in slightly, Victor quickly spiraled up the open stairway until he reached the fifth floor landing. Even within the confines of the building his dragon body was incredibly maneuverable and fast. He brought himself to a stop in front of Gwen and Beth's apartment, hovering as he took in the situation through the partially open door.
One of the thugs was standing at the bathroom door holding a crowbar. A second thug lay nearby, sprawled out in an overstuffed chair, unconscious. Teddy was sitting on the couch, watching as the anthrop horse wrapped his hand and wrist with a makeshift bandage made up of torn strips from a bed sheet. Looking over at his two henchmen Teddy frowned.
"What the hell are you waiting for?" he growled. "Break it down!"
Nodding to himself, the human with the crowbar jammed one end in between the door and frame just above the lock. He began levering it back and forth. Victor launched himself into the apartment. Razor sharp barbs extended themselves along his spine and tail and his claws grew even longer. The brownstone, being a much older building had high, vaulted ceilings of almost twelve feet. This, combined with his minute size, gave the dragon lots of maneuvering room.
Surrendering himself to instinct, Victor dove at the thug with the crowbar, striking him across the face with his barbed tail. The human yelled, dropping the crowbar and doubling over as he slapped his hands to his head. Blood trickled from between his fingers. The dragon tucked in his wings and slammed, feet first against one wall. He used his momentum to bounce off it, carom off the opposite side of the hallway then rebound off the thug's back, leaving four deep sets of dragon claw marks as a souvenir.
Startled by the sudden screams, Teddy rose from the couch then ducked frantically as a green and gold blur crossed his vision. "What the HELL?!" The dragon reached the far end of the apartment, then executed a perfect Immelman turn and swooped back at the pimp. Throwing himself to one side, the human avoided the barbed tail as Victor zoomed past. He snatched his gun off the table and aimed, firing off two quick shots, both of which missed.
The equine looked over at his boss. "What the FUCK is that thing?"
"How the hell should I know," yelled Teddy. "Just kill the sonofabitch!"
Nodding, the anthrop horse grabbed the large metal bat he had brought with him and swung wildly at the small dragon, breaking several objects but having no more success than his boss.
Victor hovered tauntingly above the hooligan, dodging his bat easily before perching on a small, overhead chandelier. Looking down he hissed defiantly at the two thugs. The equine pulled back for a roundhouse swing. As he did, the dragon bit through the support chain. The thug fanned the air, connecting with the delicate, faux crystal. In that same instant Victor launched himself backward, pushing on the chandelier. It came loose and crashed down into the equine's face, sending him staggering back and over the end of the couch.
Swooping low, the dragon raked his back claws along the thug's upturned ass, tearing through cloth, fur and flesh with one swipe. The anthrop howled in pain and rolled over in an effort to dislodge his attacker. Victor grabbed a few strands of horsehair from the tail and launched himself skyward again, pulling it out by the roots.
"GEDHIMOFF! GEDHIMOFF!"
Teddy picked up an ashtray from the coffee table and hurled it at the dragon. Victor dodged easily, swinging into a wide arcing turn as the glass dish shattered against the far wall. He increased his speed and began circling the room. The enraged human grabbed several knickknacks from the table and threw them, one after another, at the dragon. By now Victor was circling so fast he was nearly impossible to hit. At least, that's what he thought.
Focusing on Teddy, he didn't see the first thug step out from the hallway and swing a huge iron skillet he'd grabbed from the kitchen. The dragon dodged but was only partially successful. The pan missed his head, connecting instead with the rest of his body. The blow sent him flying across the room and into a wall. Victor felt something in his shoulder snap. He slid down the wall, dazed. The large equine reached down and picked up the dragon in both hands, pinning his arms and wings. He screeched in pain as the anthrop took a firm grip on him, crushing the breath from his lungs and squeezing his broken wing more than a little.
"Look boss! I've got him!"
"Kill it you idiot," Teddy cursed.
Nodding, the thug shifted his grip intending to wring the smaller creature's neck. It gave Victor a chance to take a deep breath. He craned his neck and expelled the air straight into the equine's face, accompanied by a long gout of green and yellow flame. Seeing it, the dragon was reminded of the old trick where a kid would hold a lighted match in front of a can of hairspray. For the thug, the effect was less memorable and more painful. Panicked, he hurled the dragon away from him as he frantically tried to extinguish the torch that now doubled as his muzzle.
Once again, Victor felt himself tumbling through the air, but this time he stuck glass instead of plaster. It shattered and the dragon found himself falling several floors above the side alley. Desperately, he tried extending his wings, but only one worked, the other hung limply, unresponsive to his commands. Plummeting end over end he frantically worked his one wing, trying to slow his fall. Spotting an open dumpster, the dragon managed to steer himself so that he slammed into a pile of trash bags rather than the pavement of the alley. The dumpster shook under the sudden impact and the lid, which had been propped against the brownstone's outside wall came slamming down, sealing Victor inside.
The three thugs looked out from the window above. Teddy turned to the other human. "Get down there and finish the job."
"How?"
"I don't know...try setting the dumpster on fire. Cook the son of a bitch."
"Right!" He turned away from the window and abruptly stopped. "Uh oh!" The other two thugs turned and followed his gaze. A strange, blue-furred vixen stood at the end of the hallway, arms crossed as she glared at Teddy and his friends.
The equine, his muzzle still smoking slightly, glanced sideways at Teddy. "Uh...boss?" he muttered under his breath. "Who is that...and how come she's glowing?"
The vixen starred coldly at the three figures by the window. "I'm going to give you one chance, and one chance only." she growled threateningly.
"A chance for what, exactly?" the pimp asked.
"You can leave town, now, with what you have on you and never bother these girls or my mate again... or I will make you leave."
"I don't know what you're talking about, cunt," replied Teddy, "but there's no way I'm leaving or giving up my stable." He looked Sapphire up and down as he waved his gun in her direction. "How's this for a counter-offer. I make you a part of my collection, Blue Tits."
The vixen's eyes narrowed sharply. The glow surrounding her took on the appearance of a great, blue flame.
The other human looked over at his boss. "I don't think it's a good idea to piss her off," he whispered nervously.
"You should learn to listen to your friends, son of a camel turd! You might just live longer." Sapphire snarled. Teddy brought his gun up. The vixen threw both hands above her head. There was a white flash and the figures standing by the window vanished. All that remained of them were three piles of clothing and various weapons.
There was a long, silent pause then the vixen turned her head. "It's okay," she called, "they're gone."
Gwen stuck her head out of the bathroom then gently carried her friend, Beth, over to a nearby couch. "What did you do?" she asked.
"Victor says that travel broadens the mind," she replied, "so I sent our 'friends' on a little trip."
"Where?"
"Baghdad. Right about now they're standing in the central market plaza watching the sun come up. It really is beautiful there at this time of year; something most people would appreciate," she smiled wickedly. "Unless of course you happen to be stark naked."
"It sounds like Teddy and his friends aren't going to be a problem anymore," Gwen chuckled. Her smile disappeared as she heard a groan from behind her. Turning, the skunkette spotted the fourth and last thug laying in the large recliner near the corner of the room. "Looks like you missed one," she said.
Sapphire waved her hands casually. There was a sudden pop of imploding air and the last human vanished, leaving behind a pile of rumpled clothes.
"...or not," the skunkette observed. She glanced quickly around the apartment. "Where's Victor?"
The blue-furred vixen closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. "He's downstairs," she replied after a moment. "In the dumpster."
"Oh no! Is he alright?"
Sapphire smiled at the girl's concern. She could feel the warmth of its sincerity. She nodded. "Wait here and watch your friend. I'll be back in a moment. She vanished, then reappeared about two minutes later with the small dragon cradled in her arms. He was unconscious and one wind flopped loosely. Delicately, she set him down in the now vacant recliner and motioned Gwen over to her.
"Remember what you did in the bathroom?" The skunkette nodded. "Good! I want you do relax, close your eyes and breath again. We'll use your magic to heal him and put things right."
"I don't know how," the dancer objected.
Sapphire smiled. "Don't worry... I'll guide the spell, you just focus on providing the manna." Once more the skunkette began breathing rhythmically, her eyes closed in rapt concentration. The vixen stood directly behind her, letting the magical essence that flowed out Gwen envelop her. She shaped and guided it, weaving a spell to both heal and transform Victor. She felt a great deal of resistance to her magic and found herself intertwining a series of modified spells together. Despite these unforeseen complications, it wasn't long before a healthy, naked, male Zorr had replaced the small dragon.
Ending the spell, Sapphire drew the excess magic into herself, both to replenish her own reserves and to prevent it dissipating uselessly into the air. Like any who respected magic, the djin disliked the idea of letting manna go to waste. Looking down at quiet forms of Beth and her sleeping mate the vixen smiled. She bend down and retrieved a set of keys from Teddy's clothes. "Come on," she said turning towards the skunkette. "Let's pay a visit next door and wrap things up."
* * * *
Victor sat back on the couch, his feet up as Sapphire snuggled in tightly against him. "So, how many girls did this guy have working for him?"
"About thirty," the vixen replied, "not counting his new girl, Clarissa. He had them all pretty well cowed, except for Gwen and her friends. That's why he put them up in an apartment next to his; just to make sure they didn't cause any trouble with the others."
"I bet they were all happy to see the last of him."
Sapphire nodded. "I'll say. Without Mr. Simmons' influence, his few remaining... what did you say before? 'Bad boys' went their separate ways, especially after Gwen and the others beat the hell out of that one idiot who thought he'd just move in and take over. Add to that the thirty-five thousand each girl got from what we found in Teddy's wall safe and you have yourself a bunch of happy women."
Victor chuckled over the mental image. "That would have been worth seeing," he said. "Too bad I slept through it."
"Darling... You slept through the entire week."
"I know. I hope I still have a job come Monday."
"You do," Sapphire reassured him. "I called in sick for you."
"Thank-you." Victor rested his head on her shoulder and hugged her a little tighter. "Remind me to never mix my magics like that again."
"Well," she said, gently ruffling his hair, "You did invoke a rather powerful curse on yourself."
"I was going for a transformation spell, not a curse," the todd replied. "I thought you said wish fulfillment had a lot to do with magical outcomes."
"It does, silly fox... But when you combine an over generalized wish with magic from a wild wand, well there tends to be unintended side effects. Look at the bright side, as curses go, this is a relatively mild one."
"Mild?"
"Well... You didn't turn into a slobbering, mindless lycanthrope filled with rage, did you?"
"No," Victor admitted. "But it is going to be slightly inconvenient being a nine-inch tall dragon on the three nights of the new moon."
"I don't know," the vixen said. "You're rather cute in a fierce, cuddly sort of way. Besides, except for those three nights you can control the transformation at will."
"Why would I want to transform myself into a miniature dragon any other time?"
Sapphire smiled in a beautiful, slightly wicked way, "Well... Gwen is an apprentice sorceress. As such she'll need a magical creature to be her familiar while training. It will help stabilize her manna flow."
"You want me to be her familiar?"
"Why not? It makes perfect sense." She nuzzled her chin atop the todd's head. "It's either that or I go out and find something else, like a talking cat, and you know how annoying they can be."
"Actually, I don't. But I can imagine." Looking down, Victor could see Sapphire's cleavage jutting out from her robe. He smirked playfully. There was a sudden 'pop' and the Zorr vanished, leaving his clothes behind. The small dragon that had replaced him slithered down between the vixen's breasts, curling up and enjoying the warmth he found there.
Sapphire squealed in surprise, then laughed, hugging the dragon to herself. Victor smiled, thinking quietly as he sat ensconced between her soft orbs. Mate to a djin and familiar to a sorceress. Well, he certainly didn't lead a boring life, did he? Victor looked up into his mate's eyes. "Okay, I'll be Gwen's familiar... and if you have anything else to tell me, you'd better do it now while I'm in a good mood."
The vixen chuckled. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Victor replied closing his eyes and leaning back against her fur.
"I'm pregnant!" she whispered
"WHAT?"
The End?