She nodded and walked with him into the house.The housekeeper was a thickly muscled orc with a grey cast to his skin.“Tam-or, this is our guest, Navendar.Navendar, this is my housekeeper and bodyguard when I have need of one.”
“Oh, like a few minutes ago when the idiot was insisting you get his daughter free because a stupid weak human should never have touched your magnificence?”
Abel-ur’s face darkened.“Um.Yes.”
Tam-or nodded.“If either had made a move, I would have been there to assist, but it is rude to assist without him being seriously outnumbered.”
She looked at the housekeeper.“I didn’t see any of that.I am blind, after all.”
Abel-ur said, “How do you see?”
“Cora and I were raised together.When she figured out I couldn’t see, she devised a spell, and we worked out the ritual, and now we share senses.When she was shot, I was aware of it, and I share her vision.Literally.”
“What if someone breaks the spell?”
“They can’t.We consumed the materials.The spell is part of us.It’s how I know that you have potential as a companion for her, but you need to put some more power into it.She won’t break.She really won’t break.She also isn’t a fan of delicate handling.If there is a next time, cuff her to something, and go to town.”
Abel-ur stared and then smiled.“I was off my game and defaulted to how I treat humans.”
“Yup.We know.”
He paused.“So, you feel what she feels?”
“I can.When she starts to get frisky, I tune her out.I keep alert for panic or pain.Mainly pain that is clear and uninterrupted.”
She took a seat at the kitchen table, and the housekeeper put a plate of sandwiches together with a glass of water on the side.
Abel-ur asked, “What clan are you shaman for?”
“Oh.None.I was summoned in a botched ritual when I was a toddler, and no one knows where Cora or I came from.A bunch of mages found a spell to summon power, so they did.”She did jazz hands as she said, “Ta-da!”
Abel-ur said with horror, “The spell identified two little girls as power?”
Never bit into the first sandwich and gave the housekeeper a thumbs-up.
He chuckled.“Easy audience.”
She grinned.“No comment.”
Abel-ur said softly, “Bella said that she is in heat all the time.”
“Yup.”
“And you two share senses.”
“You aren’t as slow as you look.”
“So, you are also interested in finding a mating partner.”
“Sure, but I can wait.Cora is going to figure out her own situation first.”
His eyes went wide.“What?”
“Yup.She’s waiting to find out.Your fellas have met her little lady, but now, she has to wait until they decide if they want to hang around so she can put them through college.”
He scowled.“If she is carrying for me, I will put the child through college.”
“She will carry for herself.If you are nearby, you will have the right to see the child, but this one is hers.She has a problem getting them to stick, so she’s been trying different races on for size, so to speak.She avoided orcs because she initially said it would be too much like screwing me, but you look different enough from me that she was able to put that out of her mind.”
