Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Kelli screaming out for me to stop, pleading with me to come back to her, and I turned to see her there with three other women standing with her. I stood and faced them, dragging the worthless human, Matt, along as I moved forward to regard them all with slight interest. Matt's wordless groan of pain dragged my attention back from them, and I raised my fist to strike this human piece of trash once more and send him into the darkness. Then Kelli spoke to me.
"Myka, sweetie, you need to put Matt down and come here. You don't want to do that."
"Why not," I growled, and the anger I was feeling blasted out over our bond, causing Kelli to stagger a bit. "This worthless piece of human trash tried to kill you. Tried to take me! He deserves everything he gets!"
"He may deserve it Myka, but you need to stop this or you will never come back from it. You will be changed too much. You won't be who I fell in love with."
It was the tears in Kelli's eyes that made me pause, and I almost dropped Matt's now still form. My anger, however, had other ideas and I turned back to him and I moved to snap the worthless human's neck.
"He deserves this. I will never let him hurt anyone I love, ever, again!"
"Myka Ann Carlisle," Kelli called out to me as I reached down to kill this worthless animal, and the power in her voice made me stop and look up at her. "You will leave Matt alone, now! You will stop what it is you are doing and calm down, now! And you will come here and stand beside me, right now!"
I had no idea what it was in her voice that gave her such power over me. But it was there, and I was completely powerless to resist her commanding call. I let go of Matt's shirt and let his unconscious form slump to the damp earth, and I walked with a calm, cat like grace over to Kelli's side. Once I was near enough to her she pulled my naked body to hers in a crushing embrace, and as she did I felt that towering anger that had nearly caused me to kill Matt recede back into the dark recesses of my mind. The returning rush of my other emotions caused my legs to give out, and I sank to the ground with Kelli still holding me tight, and I wept into her lap for what I had almost let myself do.
I cried there on the ground, curled up in Kelli's arms, for more time than I could guess. I had almost killed someone, and the only emotions that I could remember feeling as I had tried to do it was amusement and anger. I needed some serious fucking help. Eventually I had calmed down enough to look up at who was with us and I blinked in surprise to see both Cassandra and Millicent standing near us. I also recognized the woman from the street fair who painted my face, and some things started to make more sense in my head.
"You painted our faces," I said to the strange woman when I felt my voice wouldn't crack. "You saved her."
"I did indeed paint you and your friend. I gave her a protection I knew she would need. To you, however, I gave a burden, and for that I am sorry."
"Burden? What burden," I asked, and Kelli stroked my face with her gentle fingers.
"You look like the Amazon cat-girl warrior again, sweetie," she replied, and with a word and a gesture she made a mirror like surface appear so that I could see the face paint was indeed back.
Cassandra gasped when Kelli cast the mirror spell, and I wondered what she was thinking.
"It seems that both of you have found hidden strengths," Millicent said, and she crouched down to caress my cheek with a familiar fondness. "It is good to see you in the flesh little one, though it should have been under much better circumstances. Oh, it appears you already know Penelope, which I must say surprises me."
"Oh you know I follow the whispers of the wind you old bag," the strange woman from the fair replied, and both she and Millicent cackled together like old mother hens. "I felt the need and made sure I was there to fill it. Now what are we going to do about him?"
"Mathias' powers will be bound," Millicent replied in a steely voice. "And then we will find out what else he knows before sealing him away, permanently. Which is better than he deserves for his actions this night."
Cassandra had been silent to this point, but now she came and knelt down beside Kelli and I while Millicent continued to confer with Penelope.
"I am so sorry I was not here to help you in time, dear Myka," she whispered to me, and reached out to hold both Kelli's and my hand. "I would have been at your side in moments had I known."
Cassandra sat with Kelli and me for a while, just holding us and providing comfort while Millicent and Penelope continued to discuss plans. It was a much needed comfort for the both of us after all that had transpired.
"Cassandra," Millicent called as she turned to the three of us. "Can you go back and help Aliara with securing the worst of the artifacts that Mathias was using, and check to see that that poor girl is not at her wit's end?"
She got up from sitting with Kelli and me, and immediately left for the bigger of the two stone rings. I could only assume that the poor girl that Millicent referred to was Jess, and I hoped that she was not hurt and overwhelmed by what had happened.
"And you two," Millicent said, indicating us. "Give Penny and me a moment to cast a binding on Mathias here and then we will all join the others."
"His real name is Mathias, not Matt or Matthew," I asked her.
"Oh, he has gone by both of those names, and many others, but he was first known as Mathias. Now Penny, please attend me and let's bind this foul man before he wakes up."
The woman from the fair nodded and stood with Millicent and began to speak in unison, chanting the words of what sounded like very complex magic. Moments after they began a circle appeared around Matt's unconscious form, or Mathias' really, and in a very short time it grew very bright. The look of anger and concern on Millicent's face, however, was startling.
"Oh no you don't," she cried out, and both she and Penny began to chant faster and I could feel the crackling of power that was flowing between them.
Within a few seconds, though, I watched Mathias' body grow slightly transparent, and a few seconds later he disappeared entirely. Suddenly Millicent swearing like a sailor, and it took more than a few minutes for Penny to calm her down.
"What happened," I asked when I could get a word in around Millicent's salty tongue, but it was Penny who answered.
"Someone must have been watching us here, and when Millie and I tried to bind him, they interrupted our spell and transported him away."
"What," Kelli and I cried in unison, but I was the one who continued. "So after all that, after he kills Jasmine, after everything he did, after I almost lost it completely, he still gets away?"
"I am afraid so child," Millicent answered, and her stern voice made me flinch. "But what's done is done. We will face him again, and he will face justice. Of that you can be sure."
"But..." I began to argue, wanting to somehow try and pursue him in some unknown way, but Millicent silenced me with a gesture.
"Leave it for now child, before it eats you alive. His time will come. Now, let us go and see to our friends."
And that ended the argument. Kelli seemed to be ok with this, but I was feeling a lot of frustration at having lost Mathias to whoever it was that had helped him. I may not have wanted to kill him now, but he still needed to pay for what he'd done. But Millicent was adamant that now was no longer the time nor the place, so we left to make our way to the larger ring of stones.
I was thinking about many things as we walked along using a small orb of light that Millicent had conjured, and after I had let go of my irritation I decided that I needed an answer to a question that was now nagging at my mind.
"Nana," I said to Millicent, using the familial name I had in our dream communications. "Is what Matt, umm, Mathias told me true?"
"That depends on what he told you child," she responded as we walked along.
"When he was trying to gain control of me, of my power, he said some things that have bothered me. He said that when a Neko bonds with their mate that it is the mate that gains complete control, and they are essentially a slave at worst, a pet at best. Is this what happens?"
At my question Millicent stopped walking and turned to face Kelli and me, and as she looked in our eyes she sighed.
"Yes. In some ways, what he said to you is true."
"Then why would any Neko ever agree to it," I cried in agitation. I had even stepped away from Kelli.
"Myka," Millicent admonished, and it carried more weight because of her use of my name. "Do you really believe that Kelli would use the influence she would gain over you to do you harm?"
I thought for a moment, and I saw the hurt look that Kelli was giving me. I realized that just my having to think about my answer was painful for her, because I knew in my heart that she would not knowingly do anything to hurt me. I finally shook my head in response to the question.
"Do you realize that she has already used this ability on you already," I was asked, and again I shook my head no.
"You must understand, Myka, that Neko are not human," Millicent said to me. "They don't think like us, and they don't understand human rules, morals, or norms sometimes. They are nature spirits, and their knowledge and experience makes them do things that most humans would find odd, or sometimes repulsive."
"Is that why when I was fighting with Mathias I was thinking of him as a filthy human, or a stupid human, or some other insult?"
"That is exactly why," she confirmed, and Penny nodded in agreement. "So when the first Neko came to our realm, our world, they tried to be helpful. It's in their nature. But sometimes they did mischievous things, or they were violent, or indifferent to suffering. It was a problem for those that wished to commune with them."
"Eventually, the binding spell was created and it had two purposes. First it allowed the Neko to stay in our world for as long as they were bound to a human. This meant that they did not have to return to their world after a time."
"They couldn't stay here all the time," Kelli asked.
"No. Their world and ours were probably different enough that they felt an irresistible pull to return after a while. Once bound, though, it gave them traits that were just human enough that they stopped feeling this pull. The power of command built into the bond just made sure that the human of the pair could stop the Neko from doing something irritating, bad, or even terrible if the need arose."
"And that was when Kelli shouted at me to leave Matt alone? I couldn't resist her. I mean, I just did everything she said without thinking."
"Yes," Millicent nodded. "She needed to stop you and she had brief access to that power. And as to what is probably your next question, yes. If you bond with Kelli, she will always and forever have that kind of power over you. But the bond is supposed to be a bond of love, and all of the Neko I have known eventually learned self-control and their mates no longer needed to invoke that power ever again."
"But Mathias. His bond mate chose not to bond with him. If it's a bond of love, why did she do that?"
"There are a lot of details to that story," Millicent began. "And I am not going to go over all of them. I knew Mathias long ago, when he was the potential mate to Anya. He was always hot headed and controlling, but she hoped that marriage might change him for the better. Then she became a Neko and was able to see into his heart."
Millicent sighed as she collected her thoughts, and I could see the weight of the knowledge she had pressing down on her shoulders.
"Despite all his faults, Anya truly loved Mathias. And in his own way he loved her. But he loved power more. She finally saw this and knew that his love of power would override his love for her. She refused the bond and ceased to be Neko."
"What happened after that," I asked.
"They both disappeared. She was a witch before becoming Neko, and still had witch powers afterwards. That was a bad time for witches, so she was probably killed. I just don't know. Mathias turned up from time to time, attempting to steal power and extend his life unnaturally. He's been fighting the Circle ever since."
Millicent resumed walking back to the others after that, and I let my mind mull over the things that I had heard. To be honest I was frightened. I remembered the loss of control, and the evil feeling I had in my dreams when Mathias forced the bond, and I did not want to risk that again. But it was Kelli I would bond to, and the love I felt for her forced me to really think about what I wanted.
"Sweetie," Kelli whispered to me as we walked along, and I leaned in to her body for comfort. "I know what you are probably thinking right now, so I want you to just listen ok?"
I nodded to her, and she gave me a kiss before she continued.
"I would never use the control I had tonight for anything that wasn't like what happened earlier. I don't regret what I did, because I was able to stop you from killing him and losing who you are. Those are the only reasons I would even think of that power. Your trust, and your love mean more to me than anything."
"I love you too," I replied, and I was happy that I made her giggle.
"So the choice is yours. If completing the bond scares you too much, and god knows it scares the hell out of me, then don't bond with me. I will still love you, I still want to live with you, to make a life with you. Whether you are a Neko or not, you are mine and I am yours. If you are ok with it, I promise you that I will never abuse your trust that I won't just outright control you. But the choice, whatever it is, is yours."
And Kelli kissed me one more time before she left me to my thoughts as we made our way back to the large ring. It was not terribly far, and in just a few minutes we were back in the large clearing where much of this night had started. I was grateful to see that Ali and Cassandra had covered Jasmine's body. Ali was sitting in the dirt against one of the large standing stones, and she cradled Jess' weeping body to herself, doing her best to comfort her friend, and Cassandra was tending to the Neko sisters, who were finally without their collars.
"Ok, I have called a friend who is a detective inspector for the surrounding region," Penny announced after we made it back to the circle. "He knows what I am, namely a witch, and he has participated once or twice in certain ceremonies, so he is aware of things. He will come and take statements, and present this as a case of one criminally insane young man acting on his own. That should get you back to your country with a minimum of questions, and give that girl's family some closure. He will be here in about an hour."
Penny then got Kelli and me a blanket from some supplies that she had brought along, and we sat by Ali so that we could talk and see how Jess was doing.
"So how did you guys get here so fast," I asked.
"Umm," and Ali gave us a slightly sheepish grin. "After Kelli sent me a mental message, which scared the shit out of me by the way, I got ahold of mom and Millicent and we used her improved transport spell to get here right away. Millicent knows Penelope, who lives here and knows this locus."
"Doesn't that mean you owe both of us a spa day," Kelli snickered.
"By the goddess, you would bring that up! Yes, I owe you both a spa day."
We laughed quietly about that for a moment, and then I looked to see how Jess was faring. We had not been there for that long, but it appeared that she had cried herself out and was now sleeping. That was probably best, and so the three of us just talked quietly for a few minutes. After some discussion of the night's events, and some surprised exclamations on Ali's part, I pulled my blanket around me and stood up, beckoning Kelli to follow.
"I just wanted you to know," I said once we were away from everyone else. "I am sorry for not giving you the trust you deserve. I know you would never use the power of the bond to hurt me in any way. I was just scared of what Matt had said, and, well..."
Kelli just hugged me and told me that it was ok, and that she understood, and that once I was back to normal that we could move on without any more issues. I was a bit confusing until I realized what she was thinking.
"Oh god. You silly woman," I chided her. "I like what I am now, and I want to stay this way. What I was trying to say is that you have my love, and my trust. Fully and completely, and I would love to share everything about me and you for a long, long time. I'm telling you that I will bond with you, if you'll still have me."
"Of course I will have you, and I will love you forever."
The audible click coming from the table that I had been fastened to pulled our attention, and I saw that Mathias had left some of our things there, including the box Kelli and I were given. I was confused for a moment, but I realized what had happened as she went to lift the lid to see what was inside. We both understood the bond, its responsibilities and its powers, and we had both agreed to it. The latch had opened, and we could now get to our totems of bonding.
I waited, breathless with anticipation as Kelli lifted the lid of the ornate box, exposing the dark velvet cloth that lined the interior. Sitting there in front of us was a collar and a bracelet, both made out of a bright silvery metal, linked by a long, thin silver chain.
"By the goddess it's about time," Millicent said from behind us, and we both jumped at her voice. "Well, we better get this over with before the inspector gets here. Penny, can you help me join these children as mates?"
"Of course I'll help," she said with unbridled glee. "I never thought I would get the chance to see this in my life time, much less assist. What do you need from me?"
Both of the women bustled about and set up two circles on the ground, and then talked together for a while so that they both were on the same page. Once they had themselves ready, Millicent took the opened box from the table, and instructed Kelli to stand in one circle, and myself in the other.
"The one good thing," Millicent quipped with a slight smile on her face. "Is that you are both already naked. No need to get you to get over any embarrassment. Get rid of those blankets and stand where you are. Again, I would have preferred this to happen under different circumstances, but it'"
Kelli and I did as asked, and stood facing each other in our respective circles. Millicent then instructed Kelli to take the collar portion of our totems, and for me to take the bracelet.
"I will be asking you both some questions, and you must answer them truthfully and from your heart. If you don't the magic will not work. When I indicate, Kelli you will fasten the collar around Myka's neck, and Myka will do the same with the bracelet, also when I indicate. Are you both ready?"
We nodded yes as we looked into each other's eyes, and an overwhelming sense of change crashed down on the both of us.
"This is kind of like a wedding, isn't it," I asked.
"Yes child, it is," Millicent replied with a wink. "But it is much more binding, and very far reaching. Now hush and let us work."
With that Millicent and Penny began chanting, and the circles we were standing in glowed with a purple orange light. Like Kelli when she had been casting, the words coming from the two older women were musical, and possessed a deep beauty if you listened carefully. And then Millicent looked into my eyes and spoke with a surge of power that surprised me.
"Myka. Neko of the Aspect of Love. Do you understand and accept the binding of yourself to Kelli, your mate, and all things that that entails? Knowing that acceptance of this binding is from now and for all of time, do you still accept Kelli as your bonded mate?"