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This story is a work of fiction and contains adult situations. No character depected as engaging in sexual activity is under the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 should be reading past this disclaimer. All characters are copyright Radical Goper.

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PINS AND NEEDLES - Part XII

After explaining what had happened to Victor, Sapphire left both him and Gwen in the bedroom to rest while she returned to the living room. "I'm sorry for making you wait so long but..." She stopped when she looked at her two guests. She'd seen the kind of expressions they wore hundreds of times in the last twenty-seven centuries. It always surprised her how much that look still annoyed her, as if she should feel guilty about being who or what she was. Victor never made it, not even the first day she'd popped out of the lamp. It was yet another reason she loved him so deeply. He was never judgmental. Confused occasionally, sometimes even completely dazed, but never accusing.

The blue-furred vixen gracefully sat in the chair across from the two detectives and smiled pleasantly. "Okay... which question should I answer first?"

"You might start by explaining this," Pepper said, reaching into her purse and removing the still unconscious form of George Leonard. "We found him trying to sneak through the living room." She set the tiny human on the coffee table and spread a napkin over his lower body.

"I guess he escaped from his coffee can," Sapphire replied.

"Coffee can?"

"Yes. The one I put him in after we broke his transformation curse."

Who exactly is we?" asked Pepper.

"Gwen, Victor and myself."

"I don't get it. Why is he only three inches tall?" asked Saul.

"That's a side effect of the Black Rose pollen we used in the potion. But don't worry; he'll be back to normal size in about twenty-six hours. Then you can take him back to jail."

"Uh... Yeah!" muttered the detective. Pepper looked across at the djin. "If this was the cure, what was this transformation curse you mentioned?"

Sapphire chuckled. "Nothing really. He just managed to get himself turned into a dragon."

"A dragon?"

"Yes, about sixteen to twenty feet tall with black scales."

"I suppose it breathed fire," Pepper responded sarcastically.

"I really don't know," Sapphire replied. "We never gave him a chance to show us, though Victor did think he smelled sulfur on his breath, which means he probably was a fire breather."

Saul sat back and crossed his arms. "When and where did all of this allegedly take place?"

"Last night, in the field behind the police station."

"You mean where the underground gas explosion took place?"

"It wasn't a gas explosion," Sapphire assured them. "Your prisoner here caused all the damage when he changed into a dragon."

"Right," muttered Pepper. "And I suppose the whole local police force turned out to join you in your dragon fight."

"They might have... If they hadn't all been asleep at the time."

"Asleep?"

"Yes. Gwen put a sleep spell on everyone in the station so Victor could sneak in and give your friend there the cure. Unfortunately, he didn't get to him before he transformed."

"A sleep spell... What is this tenant of yours, a witch?" asked Saul

"No. An apprentice sorceress."

"I suppose she comes complete with her own broomstick and a black cat for her familiar."

"Heavens no," chuckled Sapphire. "Cats are way too annoying to be good familiars."

"They are, huh? So what does she use?"

"Victor."

"She uses my cousin as her cat?"

"No, she uses him as her familiar, but only when he transforms into his pseudo-dragon form."

Pepper looked down at George Leonard. "I thought you said he was the dragon."

"He was... but that was last night." Sapphire explained patiently. "Victor can change into a pseudo-dragon at will; though during the three nights of the full moon, the change is involuntary."

"That's funny," the red-furred detective responded. "I don't remember him doing anything like that when I was a kit."

"Oh, Victor is quiet talented when he has a chance to shine."

"I'm sure he is," Pepper replied. "Tell me... How did our suspect turn into a dragon in the first place?"

"Victor bit him."

"Bit him?"

"Yes," replied the djin, "while he was helping Gwen defend herself against this man and his associates."

"Gwen was the person he was accused of attacking?"

"Yes."

"So why didn't SHE turn him into a dragon if she's a sorceress."

"Well, she's not a sorceress yet; only an apprentice. Besides this was more a matter of lyncanthropy than sorcery."

"Lyncanthropy? Like in werewolves?"

"Exactly... but in this case more like were-dragons."

"Okay... Okay... Okay," muttered Saul in exasperation. "Let me see if I've got this straight so far. "Our suspect's a dragon..."

"Was a dragon," Sapphire corrected politely.

"Okay... WAS a dragon! Your tenant is an apprentice sorceress, and her cousin is another dragon?"

"A pseudo-dragon," the blue-furred vixen replied, smiling. "It's sort of like a wyvern, only smaller and sentient."

"A wyvern... right! So what does that make you exactly?"

"A djin."

"A GIN?"

"No... a DJIN," Sapphire replied. She was finding it difficult to suppress a laugh or two. This was becoming more fun by the moment.

Saul shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing a couple of fingers across the bridge of his nose. "I think I could use a drink about now to help cut through all of this bullshit."

"Certainly," Sapphire said, smiling. She waved her hand and several bottles floated across the room from a nearby liquor cabinet. They settled on the table in front of Saul and were joined by a pair of shot glasses. "You can have your choice... whiskey, vodka, brandy or gin. I'd join you, but I have to be careful now because I'm pregnant."

The two detectives stared open mouthed at the brief bottle ballet, then looked at each other. Pepper was the first to speak. "I think I'd like a little gin please," she said weakly."

"Djin?"

No... Gin."

* * * *

Victor woke up a second time alone in the bed. He could distantly hear the sound of a shower and a voice softly humming. It was Gwen. Knowing how exhausted she had been following his 'birth,' he was a little surprised that she was already up and about. Then he remembered that Sapphire had used a healing sleep spell on her.

Rising, he pulled the covers off himself and put on the bathrobe his mate had laid out for him on a nearby chair. He smiled, knowing how lucky he was to have both the blue-furred vixen and the skunkette in his life. Maybe Sapphire was right. Maybe he should embrace the idea of having two mates. The idea of both she and Gwen living with him... sharing his bed was something he found less frightening and more comforting. He knew he cared about them and wanted to make both women happy.

Tightening the bathrobe's cord, Victor left the guest room and headed for the kitchen. Behind him there was a small snap of blue light and the bed began to make itself. He chuckled to himself. Too bad his mate couldn't bottle and sell her house-cleaning spell. They could make millions. But then, why did they need money? His job provided the basics and Sapphire supplied the comforts, in several ways.

Feeling a familiar, and somewhat urgent need, the todd headed for the front bathroom. He took a large, plastic, sterile cup from the medicine cabinet and filled it, then emptied the contents into the large mason jar next to the toilet. Only two more inches to go and they'd have enough urine to distill the dragon musk they traded for their Black Rose pollen.

Finishing, Victor went into the living room and suddenly stopped short. "Penelope?"

Both guests rose from the couch. The red-furred vixen strode up to him and gave him a big hug and a quick peck on the cheek ruff.. "Hi Vic... Miss me?" She pulled back, smiling and looked into his face. "You look twenty years younger! I guess being mated with a genie has its advantages."

"Djin," he corrected her, "Not genie..." He looked sharply up at Sapphire then back at Pepper. "Wait! You know about her?"

"Well," the vixen smiled, "I am a detective."

Saul glanced over at Sapphire and chuckled. "He looks like he was just run over by a truck."

"He gets that expression a lot these days."

"Don't let her bamboozle you Professor," the human said. "She had no more clue than I did, until we discovered your self cleaning couch."

"Hello Mr. Blackthorn. How are you doing?"

"Well enough. Though this whole magic thing you've got going here is a bit overwhelming. Oh, and by the way... call me Saul."

"Alright, Saul it is," the Zorr replied. Victor suddenly realized that his cousin was clinging a little too tightly to him and shivering. He looked down and noticed her eyes were slightly glazed. "Are you alright?" he whispered. She nodded stiffly. He glanced over at his mate. "I think Penelope could use a dab of vapor rub about now."

Sapphire stood and walked over to the vixen, peeling her off of Victor and leading her to the bathroom. "Back in a moment," she reassured them cheerily.

"Is she okay?" Saul asked, concern washing over his face.

The Zorr nodded. "How much did my mate tell you?"

"She pretty much cleared up everything and swore us to secrecy, not that it was necessary," the human chuckled. "After all... who could we tell about this without getting thrown in the booby hatch? Besides, just because we're detectives doesn't mean we don't know how to keep a secret."

"Point taken," Victor said. "I assume you've been told about my transformations?" Saul nodded. "Well, during the three days of the full moon I give off some rather powerful pheromones that put most females into heat."

The detective chuckled. "Sounds like something you could bottle and sell."

"You have no idea."

"I noticed you call your cousin Penelope," Saul observed. "If that's her real name, where did she get the name Pepper? That's all we ever call her at the station."

Victor smiled. "When she was eight years old she developed a taste for cayenne pepper. She used to put it on everything, including her breakfast cereal and desserts. It got so bad her father would joke that she was going to turn into a pepper someday. Well, somehow that got to the kids at school and they started calling her Pepper. She liked it, and it stuck."

"What stuck?" asked a voice from behind him. Both he and Saul turned and looked. There stood Gwen dressed in a comfortable loose fitting, silk shirt and relaxed jeans.

"I was just telling Saul here about my cousin's nickname," Victor replied. "How are you feeling?"

"A whole lot better," she replied. "That was the most rejuvenating sleep I've ever had. Sapphire has a fantastic bedside manner."

"I'd have to agree with you there," the todd replied. He glanced down at his own robe. "Seems I'm just a little under-dressed. Would you both excuse me for a moment." With that, he exited the room.

Saul had stood when the skunkette had entered the room. His eyes traveled away from Victor and focused on Gwen. She was staring wide-eyed at the detective. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry," she blushed. "I've never seen a human before as big as you... uh... I mean as tall as you." She squinted looking at his face. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. I'm not generally the kind of guy people forget." He held out his hand to the girl. "Detective Solomon Blackthorn, at your service."

The Lappe thought that shaking hands with him felt like putting on a very large boxing glove. " My name's Gwen... Gwen Carpenter." She paused for a moment. "Blackthorn?" Gwen's face suddenly lit up. "Of course, the football player. My foster dad was a fan of college football. He has a whole collection of 'The Best of...' vids. I remember watching a career highlights show that featured you and three other players who never went pro."

"Guilty as charged," Saul chuckled.

"So why didn't you go pro?"

"I had other goals in life; other things I wanted to do," he said. "Football was fun, but it wasn't anything more than a game to me. In the pros, you have to treat it like the be all and end all of everything. I met some players who were wound so tight the only way they could relax was to get high. That wasn't for me."

"So you became a cop?"

Saul shrugged. "It seemed to come naturally for me. My dad was a cop and I always loved reading true crime stories. Police and detective work fascinated me. I figured it was one way I could make a difference in this world."

"You admired your father, didn't you?"

"Present tense... He's sixty-five and still a cop in Chicago. He keeps threatening to retire and move in with me. Claims the air out west will keep him going another forty years."

"So I've been told." Gwen replied.

"What do you do for a living? I mean aside from the apprentice sorceress thing?"

The skunkette's mouth dropped open. "You know...?"

"Sapphire kind of filled us in, after we found our suspect making like Allen Quartermain, trying to beat his way through the shag carpet to freedom." He looked down at the small figure as it emitted a squeaky groan. "Speaking of which, do you have anyplace we can stash him safely until your potion wears off tomorrow?"

The young Lappe rose and disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a very large porcelain cookie jar. "Here," she said, setting it on the table. "I took out the plastic lining so it's not air tight "

Saul gently picked up the miniature human and set him down in the cookie jar. He watched as Gwen put the lid in place. "Won't he need food and water while he's in there?"

She shook her head. "Sapphire put a spell on him that temporarily slows down his metabolism. He won't need to eat or drink for another day or two, by which time you'll be introducing him to jail food."

"Confusing though it may be... magic is damned convenient."

"That's a matter of opinion," said Pepper as she came back into the living room, followed closely by the djin.

"Feeling better?" Saul asked.

"Somewhat, though I still feel a bit randy," she admitted.

"That will pass," Sapphire assured her. She looked at the vixen. "Though you might want to do something about fixing your fur."

"I know," Pepper said. "I didn't have a chance to properly dry off after my encounter with the bathtub."

"Bathtub?" asked Saul.

"I'll explain later,"

Sapphire smiled. "Well, I think we can do something about that. Gwen?"

The skunkette nodded and stood facing Pepper. She closed her eyes and gently waved her hands. A cloud of green magic surrounded the vixen. When it dissipated, her fur and hair had been combed, conditioned and curried to perfection. Her clothes too had been cleaned and pressed. Unfortunately, they were sitting neatly folded on the couch next to Saul. Gwen opened her eyes and looked at Pepper. She was naked save for her shoulder holster and service pistol. Her nipples still stood out prominently from her brief contact with Victor's scent.

"Oops!" muttered the startled skunkette.

The detective looked down at herself. The inside of her ears blushed, but she remained outwardly calm. "Well... I can see why you're still an apprentice."

"Sorry," Gwen said.

Sapphire chuckled and snapped her fingers. The clothes instantly leapt from the couch and whirled around Pepper, sliding into place in the correct order and arrangement.

The Zorr looked over at Saul who was sitting back on the couch, a quirky smile on his face. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing... Just enjoying the view," he replied with a casual shrug.

Victor entered the room dressed in gray slacks, a polo shirt and shoes. "Sorry. It took me longer to dress than I thought."

"You mean someone around here dresses normally?" Pepper replied sardonically.

"Down fuzz-ball," Saul warned.

"Uh... Did I miss something?"

"No!" replied the three women in unison.

Victor looked over at his cousin. "I just thought of something. Have you checked into a motel yet?"

"No," she replied.

"Well... If you're interested we can put you up in our carriage house for a day or two until your suspect changes back to normal. That way we can spend some quality time together. It will give us a chance to really get to know each other."

Pepper looked up at Saul. "I don't know. What do you think?"

He shrugged. "It's up to you. Personally," he said, tapping the cookie jar, "I'd feel more comfortable keeping tabs on our suspect here rather than a motel where there might be some awkward questions if anyone sees him."

"You've got him in a cookie jar?"

As if in answer to the vixen's question there were a series of high pitched squeaks and frantic tapping on the inside of the jar. Saul lifted the lid and glanced in. "Be quiet you, we're talking." There was a shrill squeak then silence. Saul replaced the lid. "He fainted again."

"You should take that act on the road," laughed Gwen.

"So... What do you think?" asked Victor hopefully.

Pepper was silent for a moment or two then she shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"That's all well and good," said the skunkette, "but where do I stay tonight?"

Sapphire leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Gwen smiled and nodded. "I think I can live with that," she chuckled.

"Wonderful," the djin said. It will give Victor a chance to try out the barbeque pit out back. How does steak and salad sound for dinner?"

"Sounds fine," Pepper said, "but we don't want to put you to too much trouble."

"Trouble? Around here?" the blue furred vixen said sweetly. "We don't know the meaning of the word."

Gwen and Victor looked at each other and just laughed.

To be continued