The Chronicles of Harold the Healer Ch. 07

"It's one of the things that the Veterinary School looks for in Healers," said Mark with a happy smile as he knelt, petted and scratched the fuzzball. "All Healers have to take the Intro to Veterinary Medicine and our performance in that, plus how the cats and dogs in the building react to us, lead to the Veterinarians making us offers that we can't refuse." Peanut decided that the human had been loved enough and trotted off to the water trough to delicately lap at what Benny had left. Said horse was now making short work of the snack that had been delivered.

"I've always preferred cats," he continued as a breeze rustled its way through the trees and the sounds of voices and dishes drifted from the open kitchen door. "People say that you can have more fun with dogs, but we learned how to play with cats." He got a look of pure mischief, which Dana and Leila would have said had been lifted straight from his father Harold's face when he was Up to Something, made a few motions and said a few words to cast the Mage Light, which he set to bright red and shrank to the size of a marble and moved it so that it was right in front of Peanut. The cat, who had just finished his drink, froze and stared at it. With little motions of his fingers, Mark made the red ball dart and twitch a little bit, and Peanut pounced. His paws went right through the light, which darted a foot away. What is this strange prey? I must try again! There was another, equally unsuccessful pounce.

Stella, Caroline, Marjorie, and Ted emerged from the kitchen holding mugs, drawn out by Sam's laughter as Peanut frantically tried to catch the red light, and they joined in. Five minutes later, Mark moved it in front of Benny, who snorted and stamped on it with his right front hoof, at which point the Mage in training allowed it to go out. Benny snorted again, as if to say to the cat "That's how it's done." The panting cat suddenly realized that he was the object of amusement of humans, and even that big oaf of a horse, and hastily began grooming his left side, as if to pretend that nothing had happened. They then heard a faint whinny from the pasture and Benny's ears perked up. He looked toward Ted, who waved him off, and he turned and trotted briskly towards where his mare Bessie and their new foal were waiting for him.

"It looks like we just lost our horse," said Ted dryly as Mark and Sam approached them and Peanut retreated with as much dignity as possible to the barn. "We made you guys some tea too." They all returned to the house and the mugs were accepted.

"Where did you learn to play with Peanut like that?" asked Marjorie. "I haven't seen so much activity from him since he was a kitten."

"Mmm, thank you for the tea," Mark replied, taking a careful sip. "We learned it in School from the older students and use it to play with the cats and dogs we keep in the School for rodent control and fuzz therapy for us when we get a little too stressed out."

"Is there something special about red, or did you pick it at random?" inquired Caroline.

"Believe it or not, one of the students did her major research project on it more than twenty years ago, testing various colours on several cats and dogs to see which got the best reaction, and red was the top. Her name was, um, Leila Parsons. She even got an article published in JAMS and got a small award for creativity." They looked blank, and he continued, "JAMS is the Journal of Applied Magical Sciences. It's one of the primary publications that we, as well as Mages from several other countries, use to publish our research." Stella looked surprised.

"Leila Parsons, as in our Healer Leila?" she asked.

"Really? Here?" Mark replied, equally surprised. "I vaguely remember her introducing herself to us when we first arrived," he added thoughtfully. He then got an odd expression.

"Is something wrong?" Stella asked, putting her left hand on his right shoulder.

"I feel Mom passing by in the distance," he replied. "And she isn't too happy about something." He quickly swallowed the rest of his tea, wincing because it was still a little too hot for comfort. The others did the same, not wanting to leave it unfinished in case something was brewing and they wouldn't be able to get back to it.

"Just leave them on the table," Marjorie said. "We can always wash the dishes after." They hastily decamped from the kitchen, with Ted closing the door behind them.

"Mark!" called a woman's voice from the direction of the road. They went around the edge of the house to see a large woman with blonde hair standing at the end of the driveway. There appeared to be a number of shimmering forms around her. Her son waved at her.

"What's going on?" he called back, starting to walk toward her, the others following.

"There's a big lot of ghosts from Argosy coming up the road here and they need some help!"

"Argosy?" asked Sam as they all broke into a jog. "How the hell did they get here?" The driveway was long enough that it took them 45 seconds to reach its end, where there was a large number of ghosts in a variety of clothing and body builds, but with faces that looked different from those of the Westlanders. They were all clustered in the shade, avoiding the light where they could, and more were straggling in.

"There are two gods-damned Argosians in Macy's who told me that they brought a shipload of them. They got here last night and have been walking since then. They were supposed to be leading them here, but they obviously thought that their job was over once they'd reached the main road and left them behind! They didn't even consider what the sunlight would do to them!" It had been quite some time since Mark had seen his mother this angry. They could see that the ghosts were looking very tired and only faintly glowing. Only a few of them knew enough Kingdom Standard to get what she was saying and the rest were looking both resigned and nervous. Dana closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then opened them again and addressed the growing crowd in Argosian. To Mark and Stella's family, it sounded rather heavy on the vowels and waving arms and hands around seemed to be part of it.

"You need me to help you boost them," said Mark, getting a mildly surprised look. "I've already boosted a dozen of them by tapping into the thunderstorms that are coming. I didn't know that you could speak Argosian."

"It's something you'll learn in Seventh Year, and Carcosian in Eighth Year. I got plenty of practice in both when I was in Carcosa," she replied. "Are you folks OK with using your driveway as a staging area? There's lots of shade here for them."

"By all means, please do," said Ted.

"Whatever we can do to help," added Caroline with a friendly smile at the nearest ghosts, who looked hopeful and relieved that they were finally getting some help.

"OK, people, line up here and here," she spoke up to the crowd in Argosian. "My son and I will boost you, then go down there," she pointed down the driveway, "and wait until we're done." She and Mark closed their eyes, reached out, and carefully tapped into the storms, which were definitely closer. There were quiet murmurs as the ghosts lined up and two by two got much-needed boosts from the Mages. It took them twenty minutes to process the ghosts, who filled up the entire driveway almost to the house and were sitting and talking energetically, making a good deal of noise. All but Stella returned to the house during the time.

"Is that all of you?" Dana asked the last one tiredly. Both she and Mark were looking rather strained and frazzled from all the power that they had been channeling and delivering. "I counted 228."

"There are supposed to be 250 of us," she replied. "A bunch decided that they wanted to go the other way where the road forked to our south." Dana translated.

"That road also leads into town a few blocks east of here," said Stella. "Someone should be able to find them." She paused. "If they don't like sunlight, how will we get them to town? The road is open all the way." Mark grimaced.

"There are seven of us here. If we cast the Ward spell on each of us, shape them into a circle large enough to cover thirty-some ghosts, and make them opaque, we could do it."

"You may or may not know that when a non-Mage assumes the maintenance or control of a spell, it tends to make them horny," said Dana.

"Will your parents and grandparents be willing to deal with that?" Mark asked. "It's only about three-quarters of a mile, so it shouldn't be too bad."

"They're a bunch of horny old goats," his love replied briskly. "I'm sure they won't mind at all."

"We have an idea," said Dana in Argosian. "Sit and rest here. We'll be back in a few minutes." The three of them jogged back to the house, where Ted and Caroline were returning from the pasture.

"Benny isn't interested in going anywhere, so I let him into the pasture with Bessie and the foal," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But given that we have a horde of ghosts in our driveway, I think that the tour of the business can wait for another day." Sam and Marjorie joined them from the house.

"You look like you have a plan," said Caroline. Mark and Dana explained, emphasizing the side effects, and the four elders looked at each other and shrugged.

"They came all this way so that they could have the chance to cross over," Sam rumbled. "Aside from its being the right thing to do, if they don't cross over, they'll be wandering around here causing mischief. I'm in." The others murmured their assent.

"I've had my tea," Stella whispered into Mark's ear. "Don't worry about the side effects." He turned a few shades pinker and she giggled. It took a few minutes for Dana and Mark to cast the spells and transfer them to the others before casting them on themselves. Dana loudly announced the plan to the ghosts, who jumped to their feet and started chattering excitedly.

"We are going to take you to the park, where there are lots of shady trees," said Dana. "I'll lead the way. Thirty-three of you come here." She lead the way, followed by Sam, Ted, Caroline, Marjorie, Stella, and Mark in the rear, each with a large opaque Ward above them that looked like it had been sliced off the top of a very large sphere. They set a relaxed pace, not wanting to tire the ghosts out too much. The sun was partially masked by a thin layer of altocumulus that had drifted in from the west, which helped a bit.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asked Stella over the noise of the ghosts' quiet chattering.

"It feels weird, all tingly and electric. But it's so strange to have all of these ghosts around. Until today, I'd never seen one. Now, they're all around me."

"There are forces at work in this world that are far bigger than us," said Marjorie, who had heard Stella's reply. "We have been given the chance to participate in an event that is spoken of in legends, and to help all these people, plus whoever is in town now, move on to the next stage of their existence."

"I feel motivated to start learning Argosian a little early," said Mark. "I hear them talking, and they hear us talking, and we can't understand each other. What could I learn from them and their lives?" It took nearly twenty minutes for the procession to make its way to the south end of the town, whose boundary was marked by the bridge over the river and the big City Park on the right. Its tall trees provided welcome shade from the sun, now well on its way down from its zenith, and still partly obscured by clouds.

"What the hell?" asked Dana in consternation. The park was teeming with ghosts and people, and then their ghosts hurried over to join them, making it even more confused. She and Mark cancelled the Ward spells, much to the relief of the people sheltering ghosts with them. Main Street was filled with townspeople and ghosts in the shaded areas on the west side, and doubtless there were more taking shelter inside the buildings.

"I feel Dad and Healer Lakash in there somewhere," shouted Mark over the noise. "And I think that Healer Leila is coming."

"Look at what the people are doing," Sam boomed. They all looked again, and a lot of people, including the schoolchildren, had notebooks or pads of paper, pens or pencils, and bottles of ink at their feet and they were listening as best they could while the ghosts tried to tell them things. "Marjorie and I will try to shelter in the veterinary clinic," he added. With Ted and Caroline in tow, they made their way as quickly as possible to the building, which was just across the street from the park.

"You're Dana Magnussen, of the Magic School?" asked a short, rotund man. He was John Martin, the Town Clerk, and was out of breath from his attempt to reach them. When she nodded, he continued. "Mayor Jaggers would like a word with you. She wants to know how much longer before the storm comes. We've set up a command centre of sorts in the gazebo. Please come with me."

"We'll catch up with you later, Mom," said Mark.

"The Dewdrop Inn is a few blocks north of here," said Stella, her face slightly flushed. "Your room has a bed in it. We will use that bed for fucking as soon as we get to it!" She was already all but dragging him down the street until he was able to regain his balance and go with her as fast as they could work their way through the milling crowds. "My parents and grandparents are undoubtedly now locked in examination rooms in the clinic and fucking each others' brains out as I speak." They hustled up the steps of the hotel, past a half dozen ghosts and three people who had notebooks and were talking to them on the verandah, and went in. The lobby was mercifully empty and they were soon at Mark's room's door, where he fumbled with the key, eventually opening it even as she was undoing his belt and pants buttons. In they went, with her closing the door and locking it firmly. "Off with the pants, Mister Mage. Blacksmith Girl needs your cock in her pussy, now!"

Mark had to sit on the edge of the bed to remove his boots, since his pants and underwear were already around his ankles, as Stella stripped off her boots, pants, and underwear. She gave him a gentle push so that he was on his back with his head on his pillow and she quickly scrambled on, positioned his cock, glowing with rapidly shifting patterns of turquoise and soft orange, and impaled herself on it with a moan of relief and a groan from him. Her expression of lust tempered with relief at that moment when she was sitting on him with his cock fully inside her stuck with him for the rest of his days, and he silently vowed to himself that he would do whatever he could to see that expression again as many times as was possible. As it turned out, he lived up to this vow many times.

"I have never needed a cock so badly as I do now. I didn't believe it when you said Magic makes non-Mages horny," she whispered as she raised and lowered herself, already starting to squeeze him as her orgasm was coming with the force of a landslide.

"I can't hold it any longer," Mark groaned, his eyes locked on hers. "Kiss me, my love." The moment their lips made contact and their tongues thrust into each other's mouths, her vagina clamped hard on his cock, which immediately started squirting cum into her. They remained locked in each other's arms, with his softening cock still inside, for another minute before she finally rolled off onto her side of the bed with a squeaking of springs and a soft moan from her as his cock slipped out.

"If this is what happens when you share your life with a Mage, sign me up," said Stella, gently stroking the side of his face. "Weddings, ghost invasions, Wild Hunts... there hasn't been this much excitement in Magwitch for as long as I can remember."

"If we don't want to miss the Wild Hunt, we should get back outside," Mark said blurrily. "First, I have to remember how to sit up," which he managed on the third try. "Next, I have to Clean up the mess we made." He managed to do that too, getting a squeal from her and a "Yow!" from himself.

"Despite the chaos outside, I think that people would notice if we were walking around without our pants on," she said, standing up shakily and wobbling over to where hers had landed. "Ugh, a little help here?" she asked, holding her wet panties with thumb and forefinger. Mark obligingly Cleaned them too, and they managed to get their underwear, pants, and boots back on. She looked over her shoulder as she bent over to put her feet through her panties, making sure that he got a good look at her ass and pussy, and the look of devotion and lust on his face very nearly made her drop them, turn around, do whatever it took to re-harden that cock and spend the next several minutes fucking it until they were both utterly ruined. Then and there, she vowed to herself to see that expression again as many times as possible, and as things turned out, she did many times.

"Out we go," he said, managing to unlock the door. "You have filled a hole in my soul that I never knew that I had," he added, giving her a tender smooch.

"Any more of that," she said breathlessly, pushing him out the door and closing it, "and the only Wild Hunt we'll be involved with will be my pussy hunting for your cock. Which will not stop until we are both completely ruined." A hotter smooch followed. "And you have filled a hole in my soul that I didn't know that I had," she murmured, looking longingly at the closed door, and finally pulling him away.

"We have our lifetimes to make love, but probably only one chance to see the Wild Hunt," he said, moving with difficulty down the hallway towards the stairs. As they approached the lobby, the sounds of rhythmic grunting and moaning became more audible. They peeked around the corner from the hallway and saw two ghosts frantically going at it in the middle of the lobby.

"Pound me with that huge cock, Harry!" the woman was moaning loudly. "You're coming! I can feel it! Unggh!" They froze in place as he was clearly pumping a load into her hot and needy pussy.

"At last, after many tries and many interruptions today, I have finally come! Sally, I am finally ready to cross over." He had collapsed on top of her, leaving his ass exposed under his shirt tail.

"Um, excuse us," said Mark politely as he and Stella scooted past them. "Wild Hunt is coming soon. Be there or be square!"

"Did you just say that?" they heard Stella exclaim as the door closed.

"What happened to us? We were just hanging around here, hiding from the scary Mage woman, then boom, we're having the best fuck ever!" exclaimed Sally, managing to sit up.

"I felt a sudden rush of a warm, loving feeling, like I was being wrapped in a cozy robe," said Harry, also managing to set up. "Suddenly, my mighty cock was hard and your pussy was soaked and ready."

"I felt it too," she replied with a blissful smile. "And my pussy has never gotten super hot like that before. At least, not so quickly. Bring on the Wild Hunt. I'm ready. Let's go outside and wait."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After her highly unusual morning and relatively normal lunch, which was made slightly less normal by having to shoo her husband away so that he wouldn't interfere with her afternoon appointment, Leila had hoped that her afternoon would be more relaxing. "I should have known better," she muttered as she made her way down Main St, which was cluttered with people and ghosts in the shady parts, engaged in conversations. It had seemed normal at first.

"Hello, Brenda, it's good to see you again," she said upon opening the front door. On the step were Brenda Jaggers, the Town's Mayor, who was holding the baby to whom she had given birth at about this time yesterday in Leila's spare bedroom. Beside her stood her husband Fred with a bag holding baby-related paraphernalia over his left shoulder and a bassinet in his left hand and clearly looking nervous, despite his usually calm and collected personality. Their horse and buggy were in her driveway, with the horse helping itself to water from the trough. "Hi, Fred. You both look pretty tired after your first day as parents."