Spirit Bound- Chapter Eighty by plainwalk < Submission

Keywords male 1251471, cub 298762, wolf 200860, gay 156299, magic 26703, series 4787, violence 4666, rottweiler 2325, akita 1763, barepawed 737, highschool 636

Chapter 80: Checking His Power

     Nathanial followed Conor numbly until they reached the front steps, before he sank down onto the stones and buried his head in his arms.  Conor sat to one side of him while Snow sat on his other, on the ground beside the stairs.  Nathanial felt Conor put his arm over his shoulder.  Nathanial sniffled as tears started to run down his muzzle.  “He knows, Daddy.  He knows about Geoff and me, and he hates me.”
     Conor rubbed Nathanial’s ears, “It sounds like he suspects something, but nothing more.  He was playing for more information, probably hoping to get something concrete he could use to make up his mind about.  He was trying to read your body language, but you were so terrified the whole time there wasn’t much to go on.”
     Nathanial felt someone approaching them.  A large Spirit that looked a lot like the Alpha and walked with the swagger Nathanial had learned in school, painfully, to recognise.  Nathanial quickly rubbed his eyes dry and stood up.
     The approaching Spirit kept walking forward, his reddish brown fur glittered under the faint light coming from the lamps lining the lane.  He called out, “Hey, brother.  Cut the leash of your bodyguard, have you?  Finally grown a pair of your own?”
     Nathanial growled slightly in his chest and stepped in front of Conor.  The Spirit didn’t seem to notice Snow sitting in the shadows.
     The Spirit laughed, “Oho!  Traded Dirk in for the younger model?  But I can’t help noticing it’s still the wrong make.”
     Conor’s voice sounded tired, “Rolph.  Is there something I can help you with?  I have to get back to work; there’s a meeting I have to attend and it starts in a half hour.”
     Rolph’s amber eyes glittered and he licked his chops and pinkish-red nose.  “Oh, there’s always things I want to take up with you, brother.  I’m the eldest, the strongest; I should be going to the meetings and standing at Da’s right paw.”
     Nathanial really didn’t like the tone, and his subconscious growls became louder, catching Rolph’s ears.
     “Your little puppy bodyguard was scared to tears by Da it looks like, but he thinks his little whimpering growls can scare me off?  Maybe seeing how a real Spirit looks when angry will show him who to fear.”  Rolph became manifest.  The light from the lamps flared momentarily and Rolph’s fur became the colour of a roaring campfire, while his eyes deepened to glowing red embers.  Nathanial could feel the air rise a couple of degrees, and saw flickers of flame dance across Rolph’s head fur, as well as smoke beginning to rise from his clothing.  He seemed pretty powerful, considering there wasn’t any actual fire around and it was a cool evening.
     Nathanial didn’t really consider that.  He was still scared from his meeting with the Alpha, upset that he was treated so rudely, angry that someone was being mean to Conor, who had been really nice to him from the beginning, and furious that the Alpha may try to keep him from Geoff.
     He drew on Snow’s Dark energy, and wrapped it around himself and the area, plunging it into a deep gloom.  “Rolph be nimble, Rolph be quick.  Rolph thinks he’s a candle stick.”  He giggled as he imagined dipping the arrogant wolf into a vat of molten wax.
     Rolph stepped back in surprise as Conor shouted, “Rolph!  Nathanial!  Stop this at once!”
     “He’s a fucking Dark Spirit!?”  Rolph yelled in surprise and fury.
     Nathanial skipped down the stairs, singing, “One, two, three, four.  Rolphy bugs us never more.”  He could feel frantic movement in the house behind and beside him.  The glowing light around Rolph just seemed to draw his eyes; dancing, flickering lights like stars in the night sky.  He wanted to extinguish it and them.  All of them.  He began gathering his magic and released it in a wide area Chill.  The temperature plunged; fog began forming along the ground as the water vapour began condensing, and he could feel Rolph’s power drop.
     Rolph growled, then roared as he released gouts of flame in all directions around him.  The small fence designed to help keep the sheep on the lawns instead of the lane caught on fire and began burning merrily.
     Nathanial sent out a blast of Chill encased in raw Darkness at the wall of fire heading at him, causing it to vanish in a puff of steam.  He grinned, then laughed aloud.  Here he was.  Rolph.  He was the one tormenting Geoff, making him have to hide who he was, the one keeping them apart.  The one who may force the Alpha to kill his own grandson.  He was the enemy.  The fog that began to gather with the drop in temperature was fading away in the heat of the fire, so Nathanial added to it.  Added a lot.
     The door at the house next door swung open with a bang, creating swirls in the rapidly forming fog.  A manifest Dirk leapt out in fury, followed by Faelen and Geoff.  The younger Spirits stopped, stunned at the scene before them, but Dirk ran over to stand beside Nathanial and, more importantly, between the brothers.
     Dirk snarled at Rolph, “Back off Rolph, or you’ll have to deal with me.”
     Nathanial giggled, this was so perfect.  “Knight of Bone, bones at night.  ’Mancer’s friend, Fire’s fright.”  He could feel them, the bones, all around.  “Galleons sail the harb’r dark; cannons roar, rifles bark.”  He skipped forward, barely noticing everyone backing away and an ominous presence approaching the door behind him.  “Sail the sea, sail the sky, ships ahoy, now you die.”
     The fires covering the fence flared brighter and Rolph gathered them around himself, making it look like he was made out of pure flame.  Rolph smelt wonderful, such an enticing aroma of uncertainty and fear.
     He was taken by surprise when a globe of water suddenly surrounded him and another appeared around Rolph.  Conor growled at them both, the water rippled with the vibrations from his voice.  “Stop it, now!  Rolph, suppress your power.  Nathanial, stop channelling the Dark.”
     The door behind Conor burst off its hinges.  Nathanial caught it before it hit Conor.  A furious Alpha Luke dropped his fist and stood glaring out at the scene; his fur was a deep grey and he looked like an intricately carved statue.  His eyes were like black obsidian and glittered in the faint light of Rolph’s fire.
     Liam walked around the Alpha and stood there looking impassively at the frozen scene.  His voice was wry and thick with Lowell’s accent.  “Well, lad.  You do know doors can be opened by turning the knob, hmm?”
     Alpha Luke ignored him.  He was breathing heavily and his deep voice rumbled into the quiet evening, “What the fuck is going on!?  Who is that Spirit?  Rolph, Conor, why are you fighting?  Again?  I told you two to cut that shite out.  Suppress your powers, now!”
     Nathanial hissed in vexation.  He didn’t want to fight this Spirit, not yet.  Not until he decided if he was a threat to Geoff or his brothers.  He released the energy he had drawn from Snow, while all of the Spirits, except the Alpha, stopped manifesting.
     Alpha Luke’s jaw dropped.  “Nathanial?  Conor, you didn’t say the pup was a Spirit, you said he was Mage!  What’s going on?”
     Rolph looked confused and afraid, but quickly channelled his ‘weakness’ into anger.  “A Mage?  What are you playing at Conor?  Are you trying to sell us out to the Society, now, by putting this…impostor out as another Dark Spirit?  Is Geoff too… flawed to serve?”
     Nathanial growled and raised the door up over Conor in order to fling it at the loud mouthed Spirit.  A spear of rock shot up from the ground and impaled it, then spread out into a cap to cover the door and slammed it back onto the ground.  Nathanial was surprised; it happened so fast he didn’t have time to react.
     “Stop it.  Now.”  Luke glared at him, it was like a statue in a museum was walking around and talking.
     Nathanial wondered what the big wolf would look like in some of those poses he saw the ancient Greek statues in, naked.  The thought was rather funny, making Nathanial giggle and eye the Alpha, while he nibbled on the claw of his pinky.  “Such a large wolf; so angry, so loud.”  He clicked his tongue to make a chiding sound.  “Asking gets you much better results.”  He took a deep breath of the fear laden air, then staggered a half step when Snow bumped against him.
     *Alpha.  We think you should return to peace; the Ancient One is on edge and close to action.  The Dark One fears you, and we think you don’t like that.  Return to yourself.*
     Nathanial wasn’t sure what Snow meant by that, but he concentrated on gathering all of ‘him’ back into his body.
     He only half heard Alpha Luke say, “Nathanial?  Conor?  Is the pup… all right?”
     Conor just shook his head.  “Geoff, take Nathanial inside and make him drink some of Sensei’s tisane.  Sensei, go make sure he’s all right.  Da, we may as well go back to your office, or I can talk to you tomorrow.”
     Rolph’s swagger had returned and he strolled up to his family as Nathanial was ushered away by Liam toward Geoff’s house.  “I think I want to hear about this.  It sounds like a security problem for the Clan, and as first born, it’s my duty to take care of this.”
     Dirk stayed between the brothers and glared at the Fire Spirit, but Conor just said, “Fuck off, Rolph, I’ve had enough of your crap for the week.  You don’t give a damn about your duties or the Clan.”
     “I said enough!”  Alpha Luke sounded close to exploding, again.  “Rolph, go home.  Conor, back to Nova Scotia.  Faeden, with me.”  Conor and Rolph glared at each other, but hastened off when their father shouted, “NOW!”
     Liam pushed Nathanial inside and down the hall to the kitchen.  Nathanial noticed Avery and Gwen were in the living room, both were manifest and Avery held Gwen close to her.  Gwen’s bear growled at him as he walked by the door.
     Faelen and Geoff were in front of them, and Faelen poured hot water into a teapot with a healthy dose of Liam’s tisane mix.  He quickly pulled a bubbling pot of sauce off the heat, before its contents burned.
     Liam moved around Nathanial and began checking him.  “What just occurred, Nathanial?  Why was the elder McDougal threatening his younger brother?”
     They were interrupted by Dirk’s voice, “What the hells was that, sir!?  Why were you outside without Da!?  Why didn’t you call before leaving if the Alpha wanted Da to stay with him?  Or just take the underground path, if you didn’t want to wait?  Are you looking to start a fight with Rolph?”
     Conor sounded placating, “I’m sorry, Dirk.  It was a mistake, I shouldn’t have done that.  I was concerned about Nathanial; Da was really cruel and said some things that worried me.  I wanted to get him home as fast as possible.  I was thinking about him, not my responsibility as a McDougal.  I’m sorry.”  The apology and concern over Nathanial seemed to take the wind out of Dirk’s sails, so Conor raised his voice, “Pups, the living room.  Bring the pot and more cups.”
     Dirk walked past them and into the kitchen, joining Faelen, while the other three moved to the living room.  Liam put the teapot on a trivet on the table, then spoke to the McDougals, “He is not seriously damaged, though he is more yang aligned than I care for him to be.  What occurred out there?  I did not expect him to go from such a distraught state to attempting to kill the Alpha’s eldest.”
     Geoff looked scared, whether out of concern for Nathanial, or because of him, he wasn’t sure.  “Nathanial?  You picked a fight with Uncle Rolph?  He’s as strong as Da!”
     Faelen brought out the tea cups and began serving the tisane.
     Conor grimaced.  “Not after dark, or when the weather turns cool like this.  Then again, he’s stronger than I am during most of the summer.  The fight was mutually picked.  Rolph was being his usual self and must’ve said something that set Nathanial off.”  Conor looked at the young akita.  “I’m not sure if this helped, or hurt, Da’s opinion of you.”
     “Helped.”  Liam sounded quite certain of it.  “Alpha McDougal was almost distressed at how… timid and frail Nathanial appeared, though he said not why he wished for an almost random Mage pup to be of stronger disposition.  I am quite convinced that he is aware of the relationship between Geoff and Nathanial, and would not disapprove if he believes Nathanial could withstand the trouble it would cause.  Or if Nathanial could fight to prove his right to claim Geoff.”
     Geoff blushed.  “Claim me?  What, am I some princess in a story?”
     Gwen frowned at her brother.  “Why can’t a princess fight for her prince?  I think Mulan could fight for her prince, if she wanted.  I like her, she’s much better than that sissy Snow White.”
     Liam smiled and chuckled.  “Indeed, she was most formidable.  Her sense of duty was admirable, she was fierce on the battlefield, possessed a rapier wit, and was a masterful tactician.  Yet she could be very kind and gentle when not on duty.”
     Gwen’s eyes grew huge and she whispered in awe, “You know Mulan?  The Disney princess?”
     Liam seemed surprised.  “No, of course not, I have never been to the Disney studios.  I was speaking of Hua Mulan, a member of the Chinese army I had met a long time ago.  I believe they share many similarities, including the same name, but are different.  Hua Mulan did have a dragon friend, but she, the dragon, did not breath fire.”  He shook his head.  “Regardless, you would likely have enjoyed her company; she was a great teacher of martial arts.”  He tapped his muzzle.  “I think you would enjoy studying Kung Fu.  If your parents consent, and you wish, I could arrange for your lessons.  On an aside,”  Gwen’s eyes lit up, the pale pink orbs seemed to dance in her stone-like face, as her bear began to caper on the carpet.  Liam looked amused and continued, “Conor-san, you must leave for your meeting.”
     Conor looked at the clock.  “Dirk!  We need to go!”  He jumped up.  “Nathanial, the portal, please.”
     Nathanial put his tea cup down.  He’d been wondering if Gwen was thinking he was the princess in Geoff’s and his relationship.  The thought didn’t really bother him; he quite liked the idea of Geoff charging in and saving him, then whisking him away to a fairy tale ending.  “Okay.  We should open it downstairs, it’s a little close here.  You know, just to be safe.”
     Conor leaned over and kissed Avery.  “See you tomorrow, dear.  Sleep well, honey.”  The second was said to Gwen as he kissed her forehead.
     “Bye bye, Da.”
     Dirk led Conor and Nathanial down to the room where Nathanial had opened the portal the first time.  Conor stopped and grabbed Nathanial by the shoulders as they entered the room.  “Nathanial, don’t go picking fights with Rolph, don’t leave Geoff’s side, and make sure Geoff stays close to Faelen or Kiera.”
     Nathanial looked at Conor with wide eyes, surprised at how emphatic he seemed.  “O-okay.”
     Conor hugged him.  “Be careful.”  Conor stepped back against the wall by the door.
     Nathanial focused his magic and held the image of Geoff’s basement in his mind.  He tried to fold up space, with fewer ‘folds’ between them so he’d have to punch through less, then opened the portal.  It was much harder to make space warp with larger amplitudes in the wave/fold, but he managed.  There were far fewer visible distortions when it opened, and it seemed to be… better, somehow, but he sagged against the wall, fatigued.
     Conor put a paw on his shoulder.  “Are you okay?”
     Nathanial nodded and pushed himself away from the wall.  “Yeah.  Let me check it out before you go through.”  He staggered slightly and walked through.  It felt perfectly normal, and there were no odd signs of movement.  He turned around and nodded.
     Dirk preceded Conor through.  He gave Nathanial a quick hug then jogged toward the stairs.
     Conor nodded at Nathanial and followed his servant, calling back over his shoulder, “Thanks, Son.  Be careful, and try to get some rest before doing anything.”
     Conor was halfway up the stairs by the time he finished, so Nathanial raised his voice slightly to answer him.  “I will, Daddy.  Call me when you’re done.”  He turned and stepped back across the Atlantic.  He closed the portal behind him with a smile and a head shake.  He crossed the Atlantic five times in less than an hour.  Five!
     He began humming Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ as he walked back upstairs.  He got to the locked door at the top and realized that they didn’t leave him any way to get back through.  It wasn’t like the door in the Halifax Airport’s tower, where it was only locked on one side, the code was needed on both.  He focused on the key pad and could detect the dead skin cells on the six buttons that needed to be pressed, but still couldn’t figure out the order.  He tapped his muzzle and went to pace, but lacked the space to.   It was a really intriguing puzzle.
     He sent his mind into the key pad and studied the circuitry; he could sense all of the wires and would be able to follow the electricity when he pressed the buttons, but it didn’t help.  Or did it?  He tapped one of the numbers and sensed the electric current go through.  Was that a correct number or wrong number?  He tried a second one, but it was the same.  He quickly tapped four more, then the ‘*’ button.  The door didn’t unlock.  Nathanial tried a different one to start and was rewarded with a different electrical movement.
     Faelen opened the door, making Nathanial jump.  The wolf looked at him curiously.  “You could’ve knocked, you know, or called, or used your telepathy spell.  What were you doing?”
     “Cracking the code.  I could tell which buttons were part of it, but I couldn’t tell the order, so I was trying to see if I could analyze the electrical currents produced as I entered random codes and figure it out that way.  I think I could.”  Nathanial stepped out of the stairwell as Faelen looked at him incredulously.  Nathanial shrugged.  “It was an interesting puzzle, but pointless.  If I had my magic I could just open a portal on the other side of a locked door, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to follow the electric currents.  So, really, it only sated my curiosity.”
     Faelen smiled and chuckled, “Sure, but it’s something Mam…ah, Avery would be interested in.  She can’t open portals, but can follow electricity.  She also has reason to want to break into places.”
     Avery called out from the living room, “Are you pups talking about me?”
     “Yes, Mama.”
     Nathanial’s mind had ‘spread out’ and he saw Avery smile with slightly misty eyes, but she just answered, “Well come here and talk to me rather than about me.”
     They went into the sitting room and sat down.  Liam passed Nathanial some oranges.  “You did not eat as directed, Nathanial.  Eat.”
     Nathanial pulled the peels off, telekinetically, and ate the segments as Avery asked, “So what were you saying?”
     Faelen smiled.  “Now, ma’am, that’s not nice.”  He continued before she could answer, “Nathanial figured out how to follow the electrical currents in the keypad on the door in order to help crack the code.”
     A slow smile crossed Avery’s face.  “Oh, really?  That sounds interesting… in a purely academic context, of course.”
     Liam stood.  “I beg your pardon, but it is getting late.  I would like to visit my family, if you please.  Kiera O’Conall is here, so we may go.”
     The doorbell rang, so Faelen ran out into the hall and opened it.  He escorted a young female wolf back into the room.  She was just a hair shorter than Faelen, but as slender as Avery.  She wore cream coloured leather pants and a tight red shirt under a cream coloured bomber style leather jacket.  Her fur was a very dark grey, with dark brown and black fur on the bridge of her muzzle and spread back over her head.  Nathanial was sure his dad would be very interested in her, despite her age.
     Her gold eyes quickly studied everything in the room before she spoke, “Hello, ma’am, sir.”  She nodded to Avery and Geoff.  “Good evening, Gwen.”  She glanced at Avery.
     Avery stood and gestured at Liam.  “This is Healer Liam Smith, commonly addressed as Smith-sensei or just Sensei.  This,” She gestured to Nathanial.  “Is Nathanial Marks, he’s here to look at the teleporter.  We have some reason to believe it’s not as safe as we’ve been told.”
     Kiera nodded.  “Faelen, you stand relieved.”  She stood just outside the door leading into the living room.
     Faelen nodded to Liam, then Geoff.  “Sir, I take my leave.”  He nodded to his aunt before leaving.  “Thank you.  Be careful, Rolph has already made trouble tonight.”  He led Liam toward the stairs down, glancing back at his aunt, who still stood in the hallway, watching for any who dare approach.

------

     Liam followed Faelen as he took the shortest route through the maze of underground hallways, descending three more flights of stairs, to reach the caves.  The new, to Liam, labyrinth of halls allowed the McDougals to reach the caves without going outside, while maintaining a secure route, as well as housed the majority of modern equipment that served the Clan.  Faelen said the first level of the basement was almost personal space for the McDougals, but the rest was frequently accessed by the Clan members who worked on the equipment.  Faelen led Liam past several of these Spirits, who looked askance at the rottweiler but let him be since he was in Faelen’s company.
     Once in the cave network, Liam slowed, and took several deep breaths.  Liam sighed, “I had not frequented the caves over much, yet they are still quite familiar.  I would be most interested in seeing the changes to the infrastructure; how the fresh water and sewage issues were addressed, how you ran the cables for electricity and telecommunications, how the hydroponics have been improved.  Such things were quite engaging when I was last here.”
     “Maybe I should have had Kiera bring you; she’s studying environmental engineering at the university in Cork to help with that before she takes on the role of being Gwen’s bodyguard.”  Faelen considered a moment.  “It’s not guaranteed she’ll get the job, but it’s pretty likely.  One of the other O’Conalls, one not descended from Lowell may get it.”  His stride faltered.  “I forgot to tell Poppy that we’re on our way.  He’ll want to be there for the meeting.”
     Liam kept walking, unconcerned.  He had already noticed that omission.  “I will stop to speak with Ciaran, first.  I wished to speak to him, privately, for a few minutes prior to seeing the remainder of my family.”
     “Aunt Muireann said he was your favourite.”
     Liam chuckled.  “They were all my favourite, in different areas.  Each had attributes that I valued, yet none possessed them all.”  Liam struggled to think of a way to tell Faelen he needed to speak to Ciaran alone, and that meant without Faelen present.
     “You said privately, and that includes me.  My remaining out, I mean.  I understand, Liam, I’m an O’Conall.  Some things remain secret, from everyone.”
     “Thank you.  I am sorry, Faelen.”  He was relieved and proud of his great-great grandson and boyfriend.
     “It’s not a problem.  I’ll visit Granny Lorena while I wait for you and Poppy Den.”
     Liam descended into thought, ‘Lorena.  She was a remarkable woman, my whole family was.  How has time changed them?  Who will have changed the most of them, of us?  Will I be the most unrecognisable, outward appearance excepted?’
     They reached the O’Conall ward.  Faelen led him to a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle; it was an newer addition, or was when Lowell first saw it.  The fountain had been the only source of fresh water for the homes off of the courtyard and had to be brought in by bucket.
     Liam stopped outside Ciaran’s door and nodded to Faelen.  Faelen walked off toward Lorie’s home, apparently unsurprised that Liam knew which door belonged to Ciaran.
     Liam could feel his son’s chi through the door; there was a charm, or ‘ofuda’ placed on the other side of the door that would detonate should he try to open it or step through the door.  Faelen was knocking on Lorena’s door, so Liam slipped to the side and used his chi to ‘step’ through the rock and into the room.
     Ciaran was hiding.  Liam hid a smile, he truly was expected.  There was a deep layer of dust coating everything in the room; to the untrained eye it would appear as if the room had been undisturbed for weeks, yet Liam saw subtle signs the dust was unnaturally placed.  It would give Ciaran a huge advantage, however, and it hid numerous traps beneath its fuzzy surface.  Liam was fighting with a handicap, not only was Lowell’s apprentice fighting on home turf, literally, and had ample time to plan and prepare for the meeting, but Liam was already at just over half of his proper level of chi and affected by his medication.  That did not mean he was prepared to forgo the game.
     Ciaran knew he was here, so there was no point in wasting chi on hiding his presence; he should either find his son, remove his advantage, or seek to turn Ciaran’s traps against him.  Which would cost the least chi for greatest advantage?  Finding Ciaran without locating the traps would lead to him stumbling into them, so that was not wise.  Removing the dust would expose the traps, but would take some doing.  He could blow it away, section by section, out into the courtyard, but that would cause much of it to be kicked up into the air and just serve Ciaran’s purpose.  It was likely poisoned and the Dust Spirit would have his powers boosted for free.  He could try to soak it, but there was most likely electrical traps under the dust in anticipation of that action.  The simplest, and best, plan that he could see was to find and convert the traps.
     All of the traps in this room were ofuda: strips of paper, cloth, wood, or metal with the proper characters drawn on them and infused with chi.  They were, in essence, enchanted items that would activate when the proper conditions were met.  The word ‘ofuda’ translated to roughly the same meaning as ‘charm’, but had nothing to do with the charms and enchantments Micah excelled at.
     Liam looked down at his hindpaws in surprise, which were resting in the thick blanket of dust.  The dust was laced with poison, he could feel it begin to affect his hindpaws.  It was quite a potent contact poison to be able to work through the thick skin of his pads.  He took a small step forward and used his chi to balance on the surface of the dust, then drove the poison out of his body.  He would have to work quickly.
     He moved to the door and sent a small sliver of chi into the strip of paper to deactivate it and release it from the door, then pulled his brush on ink out.  He added another character to the paper to change its conditions.  He quickly moved around the room and did the same for six more.  He really enjoyed the ‘lightening’ ones, partly because he was right that Ciaran did plan for him on soaking the dust to keep it from floating up, and also because he was taking away one of Ciaran’s biggest advantages with the traps.  All it took was a tiny sliver of chi and a bit of ink.  He sealed the ink bottle and put it and the brush away.  Ciaran’s ofuda work had improved drastically over the last hundred years; Liam was impressed.
     He set all but the explosive fire trap and another, before deciding he could no longer delay the confrontation, or he wouldn’t have enough chi to make a good showing.  He pondered how to best find his son, without exposing himself to higher risk.  He hid a smile as he retrieved his ink and brush, then a slip of paper.  He drew several characters on it, then threw it and the fire trap into the dust in the hallway.  His scroll gathered dust around itself and its partner, forming the shape of a rabbit, and set off to find a warm body.  Liam could follow the tracking symbol on it as the minor artefact hopped through the rooms.  It took a minute before it detected a warm body and hopped toward it.  Liam tapped his muzzle, a serpent may have been a better choice- far less visible.  He gave a mental shrug; it was also far less amusing.  He slipped to the side of the door and hid his presence.  The dust rabbit reached its target and exploded.  Traces of dust fell off the ceiling and the bookcases shook in the cave.  He could feel Faelen perk up in concern, so he did his best to send reassuring feelings over to his love.
     ‘A little overdone, Ciaran?  This is just a game, after all.’  Liam thought, as he readied himself.  He heard muffled coughing in the hall, then struck as the greyish-brown Spirit staggered into the room.  He went to pull back just before he struck, but it was too late; he had set off Ciaran’s counter-trap.  The doppelganger his son made collapsed into a pile of softly falling soot and Liam was forced to roll backward to avoid an expertly thrown dagger.  A burning sensation spread on the bottom of his muzzle as the poison entered his bloodstream, and a few drops of blood splattered onto his shirt and the floor.
     Liam did not care for the use of most weapons, excepting his sword, but Ciaran was quite different.  He excelled at all thrown weapons and revelled in their use.   Liam rolled farther back as two more daggers thudded into the floor where he’d been.  Liam sprang up and forward, grabbing another dagger in mid-air, then threw it back before the ofuda on it could explode.  Ciaran sprang out of the way, and landed in the living room; his body sent a burst of dust up into the air.  The dagger exploded in the hallway, making the cave shudder again.  Liam darted forward and threw a punch, starting in on the basic Kung Fu forms, while hoping that no one would investigate the noise.
     Ciaran smiled and countered, then moved into the next form.  They traded forms, back and forth, for a few minutes before Ciaran dropped down and attempted a leg sweep.  Liam jumped up and away, going far enough back to avoid the poisoned dust that was thrown into the air.  He intentionally landed on the former location of one of Ciaran’s traps, but kept his face impassive as he watched the momentary flicker of triumph, then confusion, and finally horror that crossed the wolf’s face.  Liam threw the second trap he’d held back at the door leading into Ciaran’s hallway.  He activated it as it reached the opening, and it formed a web of electricity across the doorway.
     Ciaran recognised his charm and shook his head.  “I intentionally put as much work on those as I could so they couldn’t be modified, Da.”
     Liam was calm and answered while he waited for some of the dust to settle, “I am an artificer, Ciaran, if you have not forgotten.  I can add far more to ofuda than you.  Do you not remember the one we made and placed on the boat belonging to that captain in the Knights?  Ah, that was a beautiful sight; the explosion it created when it reached the open water of the Atlantic was heard in London.”
     Ciaran lunged; his paw stabbed at Liam’s throat, while his other paw began gathering large quantities of chi.  Liam slipped to the side and blocked Ciaran’s strike, while he quickly gathered chi around his own paw.  As expected, Ciaran jumped back and put both his paws together and pushed out, sending a swirling ball of chi at Liam.  Liam smiled and stabbed it the ball his chi enwrapped paw.
     The ball of chi split then burst, passing harmlessly over Liam’s arm, though it did kick up a huge swirl of dust.  Ciaran must have expected that counter, or at least anticipated some form of counter, because he didn’t hesitate but instead lunged forward and tried to push Liam back into the dust cloud.
     Liam caught Ciaran’s arm and aimed a kick at his son’s knee.  Ciaran flipped up sideways, cart wheeling over Liam’s head, while stabbing at him with another knife.  Liam dropped onto one paw and kicked up Ciaran, but he didn’t completely avoid the knife.  Some more blood splattered onto the floor, this time from his shoulder.  His hindpaw connected, hitting Ciaran on his small ribs, and cracked two of them.  His son made no noise as his flip was knocked askew and he fell to the ground, creating a second dust cloud.
     Both combatants took a second to recover; Liam jumped back, away from the dust, and purged himself of the poison, while Ciaran faded into the dust to regenerate.  Liam waved slightly at his son and activated the lightening trap.  He jumped up as the arcs of electricity ran through all of the dust; the static charge it caused had the pleasant side effect of drawing it all together into a ball, changing its nature from ‘dust’ to ‘dirt’.  Ciaran was forced out of the cloud and back into a solid form.  He fell to his knees, stunned.
     Liam went to move toward him, to win the game, but driving out the poison took too much chi.  His vision momentarily faded to black, and he collapsed.
     Ciaran caught him before he hit the ground.  His son smiled at him, and said,  “I win.”
     Liam chuckled, “That you do.  Well played.”

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