Nature or Nurture Ch. 62-64

'Love you, too, pretty. Are you bored with the animals?'

He is the very best.

And though he doesn't want to do this at all, he accedes to Father Nicholas' plea.

'I will. And so will Adison, and Victor and his fiancée. I've found some extra fighting power as well. We're terribly short of mages, but I'm not going to risk my friends with your people watching everything we do. We will just have to take the risk that he has a mage at his beck and call after all.'

Father Nicholas looks very relieved.

'Thank you so much. It is worrying to have no mage at all, but I know the Master has no talent of his own, any magic he uses will have to come from someone he has hired.'

That is not true, and dad and Adison know it. Anyone can practise magic with stolen power, stored in amulets. The Master's connection to witches has been proven, though that young witch Hecate could have been in league with him without Mrs Poole knowing.

And how does he know that magic-users call their ability to manipulate magic power 'talent'? Catherine wishes she could ask him, but she is just two years old.

Mum is in doubt to ask, Catherine can see that, she doesn't quite trust Father Nicholas and she doesn't want to give him any more information than he already has. And Victor looks very distrustful as well. But saying any of it will not change the situation, dad refuses to put any of Lukas' friends in danger of the witch-hunters, so they will have to raid without their help.

They arrange to go in next Tuesday, the four of them, Lord Douglas and Father Nicholas.

'Do we dare take Mr Grey?' Victor asks, 'he hates his master but he is pretty much under his control. And I doubt he has any skills besides bewitching everyone he meets.'

'I think he needs to be there,' mum says, the first thing she has said all evening. She doesn't want to go either, of course she is afraid something will happen to daddy again, he always seems to get hurt on these excursions. And without Lukas to save him, who knows what might happen?

Catherine remembers mum is a priestess in her own way, though not of a particular faith. She clearly feels strongly about this, and daddy recognizes that instantly.

'There is your answer, Victor, Mr Grey comes with us. I'll cycle by his house one of these days, and give him our invitation. Do you have anything to add, Father Nicholas?'

'Actually, I do. The abandoned factory on the East-bank is watched, rumours were starting to circle in the neighbourhood. Anyone using it'd better leave it alone for at least six months. And there may be a dark presence settling in a middle class neighbourhood in the south of town, the people of the street are starting to avoid it, for too many of their number have disappeared in the middle of the night.

Will you one day tell me why evil magic users prey on the weak? Is that inherent to being evil? Or is there some other reason? We know so little about magic, we just recognize the talent and seek to destroy it. I really want that to stop.'

So he knows he is missing something, and cannot imagine something so horrible as the existence of blood-magic. Well, Catherine certainly isn't going to tell him, let mum and dad decide on that. But first things first, and somehow the coming raid on the Master is filling Catherine's heart with a feeling of dread.

'Well, the time for a normal coffee-visit is up, I'd better be going in case I'm watched by my own people. I'll be praying for a easy victory over the Master, I know you will have other ways to prepare. Thank you so much for hearing me out and helping me.'

And the Father gets up to take his leave.

Right at that moment, a knock sounds at the door, and Victor gets up to answer it. As Father Nicholas leaves, they meet Victor and their caller in the hall, and the Father exclaims, 'My hero, the young miracle-worker!'

Vincent cannot think of anything to say but, 'Father Nicholas, this is Lukas Hermeides, he is originally from Greece. I teach him martial arts, but I suppose he's come for his doctor's bag with creditable medicine. Lukas, this is Father Nicholas, but of course you knew his name already, he's famous in certain parts of the city.'

Shaking the father's hand, Lukas replies, 'Of course I knew Father Nicholas' name, but I'm glad to be finally introduced. You do good work, Father, thank you so much for caring.'

'Thank you, my dear boy,' the Father says, affected, 'I'm glad you're taking my advice, I assure you you will be safe from me and mine, but if a warning comes through your friends please heed it and stay off the streets for a while. You've saved so many people I know and love, and no doubt many more. Until we meet again, Lukas!'

And he moves towards the front door, Vincent following.

Adison leads Lukas to the bedroom, where she has stowed her old bag back under the bed, for lack of a better space. She has carefully cleaned it, and stocked it with little bottles of medicine, all marked with written code or coloured bits of string or ribbon. The bottles are all different as well, and look very sturdy. The bag looks very professional, and Lukas' face lights up as Adison demonstrates how it has numerous pockets inside to keep the bottles whole. Several metal instruments complete the look.

'But you have to know what is in it, and how it works,' she admonishes her friend, 'or you'll never get away with it.'

She shows him a list of all the codes and colours, which medicine is in what bottle, and what it is used for.

'The bottles marked with ribbon and string are fake, coloured water with strong scents, it does nothing but make you look like a traditional doctor. The marked ones are real medicine, simple formulas to help cure certain symptoms. People know those cures and will tell their friends, and that will confirm you're not a miracle worker but an ordinary doctor handing out ordinary cures.'

Never has Adison seen Lukas laugh so happily, and so ravishingly sweet. Clearly on impulse, he jumps right in her arms and kisses her enthusiastically. Adison is not very large, nor very strong, but Lukas is not a big man and they're sitting on the bed.

His hearty, innocent kisses soon change into a really passionate one, and they really indulge in each other, until they suddenly realize what they are doing and break it off. Adison has real trouble staying focussed with Lukas' enticing musk enveloping her, strengthened by his evident excitement. But they are at work here, and Lukas exclaims, 'Thank you so much Adison, this is exactly what I need to pass for a normal doctor. And you did all the work yourself, and so skilfully! I wouldn't have thought of cures that people know, I'd think a doctor has to have stuff they don't know. But of course that makes it much more credible!'

But Adison is not done, yet.

'I need to demonstrate how these instruments work, Lukas, so you can use them as a doctor would. They may even help you in your work. This is a stethoscope, you use it to listen to a person's heartbeat, but it can also help to find aberrations in the bloodstream.'

'How can you give these to me, Adison?' Lukas asks, 'you need them yourself, don't you? These are valuable instruments, you cannot just give them away to someone who doesn't really use them, to me they're just a cover for what I really do.'

'No use of these instruments could be more important than keeping you out of the witch-hunters' clutches, Lukas.'

Adison's heart is really in this, he must understand how important his work is.

'I saw those captives in Mrs Poole's home, Lukas, Victor and I would have lost all five of them, you saved them. Consider the bag, the medicine, the instruments and any instruction you might want, my contribution to your work, which is more important than getting fat, rich women to lose weight. We make a good living, but our services are too expensive for a lot of people who need help, too, and the time has come for me to do my share to improve the lot of the less fortunate.

They're all older models, by the way, Victor always buys the latest innovations and I cannot bear to throw away the old ones, since they still function just fine. But don't you see, if you really use our instruments, maybe you can help improve them, being able to see what the problem with a patient really is. Improving medicine for all doctors saves more lives than you can ever manage on your own.'

'You see so clearly, I admire your vision. I will do as you ask. But please come with me, too, Adison, come and help me heal the homeless. I will teach you everything I know, and you can make it seem like ordinary medicine. Together we can make a real difference, and learn how to improve normal medicine.

But first, please demonstrate all these instruments, I'll be happy to use them and learn how they help find out what ails a patient.'

And Adison does as he asks, she explains the use of the stethoscope, the thermometer, the blood-pressure gauge, and demonstrates the stethoscope on Lukas' own bared chest. Lukas is barely half Vincent's breadth, but incredibly muscled, and because he is so skinny Adison can trace every single muscle from attachment to attachment.

'Do you know I've held every single one of these muscles in my hand?' she asks Lukas, as she indeed strokes every beautifully developed shape with her gentle fingers.

'I used to help Victor dissect bodies and prepare every muscle, then draw them minutely. Yours, I could draw like this, no need to prepare them first.'

Caught up in her memory, she is not precisely aware that she is touching Lukas rather intimately, until she can hear him take a sharp breath and swallow hard.

'I'm sorry, Lukas,' she observes, 'I didn't mean to talk about you as if you were a body to be studied.' She looks at him, and sees that is the last thing on his mind. His eyes are not their usual mild brown, they seem to shoot fire now, fixing her in a heated stare. He is not insulted by her unthinking talk of dissecting, he's incredibly excited by her touch.

'Will you please share your love with me, Adison? Tonight? Do I have your permission to ask Vincent if I may join the two of you tonight, after his show?'

Actually, that would be very pleasant. Not that making love with Vincent is in any way boring, but there has been all this tension between Lukas and herself, and Lukas and Vincent, maybe it is time they do something to relieve it in a pleasant way. And it's not just about release, Adison knows Lukas' nickname is the 'master of love', and it's not just Melissa who calls him that, according to Vincent, Lord Douglas did, too, without ever having heard anyone else using this epithet. Frankly, she is very curious.

So she strokes his fabulous muscles a little longer, and relishes his enticing scent, imagining how it would feel to have this man touch her intimately, and to see him make her beloved buckle in ecstasy, for Vincent told her about that as well.

'I will, Lukas, and you have my permission. And I really want to join you on your healing excursions, I want to learn to heal people your way. Together we can perfect fooling everyone into thinking it's ordinary medicine. My reputation as Dr Frankenstein's partner will help as well. Everybody knows Dr Frankenstein is a sceptic and an unbeliever and would never choose magic over science.'

They seal that decision with a kiss, then carefully pack Lukas' new doctor's bag to keep the bottles safe. Lukas hands Adison a little bag with about twenty little glass bottles to replace the ones she's giving him, then picks up the battered leather badge of office.

'That's a hefty piece of equipment you doctors carry around all day!' he remarks.

'It is but a small price to pay for safety, Lukas,' says Vincent, having just come into the bedroom.

'I trust it's to your liking otherwise? Did Adison demonstrate all the instruments?'

Lukas nods, he doesn't even feel caught having been kissing this man's wife, there was no suggestion in Vincent's voice, he really meant that the way he said it, Vincent is not the jealous type.

'She did, but she had to explain why first. I didn't understand why it was important that I use common methods to examine my patients and common methods to cure them as well as more exotic ones. I get it now, and I'm very glad I have friends like you who care what happens to me.'

Vincent seems to feel Lukas' mood, and he takes the bag from his friend's slender hands, 'My, that is indeed heavy,' puts it on the ground, and takes him in his arms.

'We do indeed care for you, you wonderful creature, how could we not? Look at you, you're so cute I could eat you.'

As always, Lukas cannot resist love in any shape or form, and his cute face splits in a broad grin, making him look cheeky and irresistible at the same time. And just before Vincent gives him the inevitable kiss, that face just begs for it, Lukas looks him straight in the eye and asks, 'Will you share your love with me tonight, Vincent? Will you allow me to join the two of you in your four-poster? It's the size of a small country, plenty of space for one skinny foreigner.'

Vincent's face stops dead in its tracks towards Lukas', and he gives their skinny foreign friend a thorough lookover with his intense yellow gaze. The smaller man does not avert his gaze, instead Lukas shows his fire clearly, he really wants this, that much is clear.

'I can see you really want it, Lukas, and I've felt attracted to you ever since we met. So yes, I will share my love with you, wholeheartedly, but Adison needs to speak for herself, you know that, don't you?'

The cheeky, broad smile cannot grow any broader on Lukas' face, so it stays just as it is.

'She already did, big man, I'm so excited I'm going to start projecting any time now. If you're starting to get eager and a bit flushed, that's my feelings leaking to the two of you.'

Of course this gains him a few hugs and kisses, but by now, Vincent needs to dress to go to work, and Lukas unabashedly watches him strip to his underwear, then pick out a fancy shirt and put it on, and a pair of fashionable trousers.

Clothes do make a huge change in him, for he seems to grow a little taller and straighter immediately.

When he is done he kisses Adison, and Lukas, again and says, 'I'm going to look for Catherine, I suppose she's in the library or with Victor, she has this newly found fascination with his experiments. And then I'm off. See you both tonight!'

When he has closed the door behind him, Lukas asks, 'Do you have any patients tonight?'

Shaking her head, Adison observes, 'I'm free tonight, just two more patients in an hour or so, then dinner. They feed Vincent at St James', he says it's really good fare. And no cooking for him.'

'You dislike cooking, like Melissa? She loathes it, always tries to avoid her turn to cook, and rightfully so for she always spoils something. Paul and I have accepted she'd rather do another chore.'

'I don't mind cooking, and I'm not too bad at it. And of course there's four of us, and Mina often offers to cook, though she never learned at home, being from a noble family.

Did you know she cannot taste any of it? Eating normal food makes her sick. But she has learned quickly and asks one of us to taste when in doubt.

Is there something you wanted to do together tonight?'

Picking up the bag, Lukas explains.

'I was wondering whether you'd like to go out on the streets with me tonight, test the bag, help me get used to the new instruments.'

'I do, but let's take Mina as well, she wants to, and we'll be safer with her watching our backs.'

Chapter 64

And so they take to the streets after dinner, Mina, Lukas and Adison. Victor watches over Catherine, not a boring task for she wants to learn to do research in a scientific way, take notes, make drawings, though it is rather difficult for her to write and draw with her tiny chubby hands and fingers. But Victor finds he truly enjoys teaching such a smart girl, no matter how small she is, and of course Catherine seizes this chance to wrap Victor around her finger a little further, hugs and kisses always welcome when delivered with innocent charm.

Lukas knows exactly where he wants to go, there is a very unpleasant neighbourhood almost adjacent to their own middle class one, and he proposes to leave the bicycles in their shed where they are safe and walk there. Mina is carrying a sword, and Adison her gun, both well-concealed beneath their long winter coats.

Wrapped up in a long, furry parka instead of his usual short coat, Lukas looks like he is on an expedition to one of the poles, which may actually be true for him, since he grew up in a very hot country.

He does not carry any weapons, but both Adison and Mina know he really doesn't need any, with his rock-hard hoofs and his martial arts skills he is a weapon all by himself. When they first started training, Adison remembers Lukas telling them he has a very hard head that he can break limbs and skulls with, which is very difficult to believe since he has such a cute face, but quite logical at the same time since he used to have horns.

His skull would need to be strong to carry their weight. Contemplating his horns, Adison is starting to wonder a little what it will be like to make love to a man who is in reality an alien creature.

That doesn't frighten her, though, she would dare to say she is used to some weird things with her beloved, who can still totally overwhelm her with his wild side by way of surprise. Lukas will love that, witnessing Vincent's creature in a dangerous rage excited Lukas rather than frighten him.

They have reached the run-down neighbourhood already, and it is truly bad. Adison has cycled through it sometimes, but usually they circle around, it is hard going in there with the roads in disrepair and mud and refuse everywhere. And those poor destitute children and families, it is so hard to be confronted with their suffering, unable to improve their lives. But that is going to change for Mina and Adison, tonight.

Apparently, Lukas already knows where he is going, for he proceeds straight into the maze of narrow, dark streets, until they run into a gang of rough men.

They all take a defensive stance, but of course from their appearance no-one can tell this little group of people can take care of themselves quite easily, they will have to prove it a few times. Mina has her hand on her sword, and Adison has a firm grip on her gun. These guys look like mean ones, but they don't want to wound or kill anyone if they can avoid it, they are here to help.

'I'm sorry, Adison, Mina, when I'm alone I am very difficult to spot, and with the others I always work by day, I didn't expect a gang. I guess we'll have to prove our mettle a few times before we can pass through without anyone trying to rob us. Better show them you're armed and strong.'

Lukas clearly isn't worried, just careful, and he speaks aloud so their assailants can hear they're not afraid.

Mina draws her sword with a distinct ring, and Adison follows her example, getting out the gun but not aiming it, yet.

A jeering voice says, 'That guy need his ladies to defend him!'

'He don't deserve a lady, let alone two. Why don't you let us have them ladies, mister, and whatever valuables you have in that heavy bag!'

One thug comes in to take it from Lukas, and without dropping the bag or moving very much at all, Lukas has him on the ground, groaning and clutching his leg. He is really fast, Adison didn't even see him execute a kick, he moves much like Mina when she is in a hurry or fighting.

'There is nothing in that bag that could be of value to you, not unless you know how to use it. Next person within reach breaks his leg instead of just bruising it like your whimpering pal here.'

This is a side of Lukas they have rarely seen, he is dead serious and very authoritative. Adison can see the thugs, some of them are still boys, really, and they certainly aren't jeering anymore. They are muttering among themselves and Adison can hear 'damned fast' and 'dangerous' in their conversation.