"Ma rose d'acier, have you seen ma chanteuse?  I have searched the 
entire District and cannot find her," I inquired of my servant.  "Um, 
no...haven't seen her," Tamara replied.  I fixed her with a stern 
gaze, scenting the lie.  She had the grace to look nervous.  "Where 
is she?" I purred, advancing on the woman before me.  She backed up 
into the wall but otherwise did not try to escape me.  I knew through 
the marks we shared that these little games of cat-and-mouse excited 
her.  

"Where is who?" she smiled teasingly, raising a hand towards my 
face.  I refused to be distracted.  I grasped her wrist before she 
could touch me and squeezed gently.  A slight tightening around 
her eyes was all that betrayed her discomfort.  She knew now that I 
was not playing.  "Where IS she?" I repeated.

"I promised I wouldn't tell," Tamara stated.  She squirmed, trying to 
look away from me, but I would not release her eyes from mine.  I had 
a foreboding that Gigs was seeking once again to make some change to 
herself against my wishes.  WHY could she not accept the fact that I 
loved her just the way she was?  "Tamara...," I said, letting my 
concern show in my voice.  "What has she done?  Where is she?"  A 
single tear slid down my servant's face, her expression 
torn.  "Asher, I *promised*," she pled.

I pushed to open the marks and enter her mind.  Surprisingly, I met 
little resistance.  I *knew* ma rose d'acier was stronger than that.  
Then I sensed her relief.  She had *wanted* to tell, but didn't want 
to break her word to her friend.  She was not happy about what Gigs 
had planned to do.  Neither was I once I learned of it.

"Mon Dieu!  Has she gone *mad*?" I exclaimed in horror.  I clutched 
the now sobbing Tamara to me in comfort.  She was terrified for my 
lover and her friend.  I could not allow Gigs to risk herself like 
that.  I had to stop her before it was too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stood outside the tiger's open door, unable to enter without her 
permission.  "...even then there's no guarantee.  You might just 
die," she was telling my lover.  I breathed a sigh of relief that I 
had arrived in time to stop this.  My sigh was echoed by Tamara's 
mental one.  She had refused to let me close off our link, citing 
worry for Gigs' fate, so I'd let her observe through the marks.  

"I know.  It's a risk I'm willing to take, Christine," Gigs replied 
to the tiger.  It was time to make my presence known to her.  The 
tiger had been aware of me since I'd landed in her yard, and I 
aware of her, strangely enough.  'I *noticed* that,' Tamara 
commented.  "Well, I am not, ma chanteuse," I stated irritably to 
Gigs.

Christine, the were-tiger, eyed me warily.  I could do nothing out 
here.  I *willed* her to grant me entry.  A look of surprise flitted 
across her face, and she motioned me in.  'Well, now, *that* was 
interesting,' my servant noted.  Whatever strange connection there 
seemed to be between the tiger and myself strengthened as I crossed 
the threshold and entered the room.  I was as mystified by it as 
Tamara was, but I dismissed it for the time being.  I had more urgent 
matters to attend.

Gigs stood with her eyes closed and shoulders slumped in dismay as I 
approached her.  "I do not understand this insistence of yours to 
change yourself," I told her, clearly vexed.  "Have I not accepted 
you just as you are?  Loved you for just being yourself?  Why do you 
wish to change that which I adore now?"  I gently cupped her face in 
my hands, bringing her gaze to mine.  Here eyes were filled with 
desperate determination.  She swallowed, fighting the pull of my 
eyes, and placed her hands over mine.  I was careful to keep my power 
over her in check.  I wanted an answer from the woman I loved, not 
some puppet.

"Asher, it is the world you live in, my love.  I know how hard you 
work to protect me and my son, but there will someday come someone or 
something who does not abide by the rules of Dark Mirror.  They will 
seek to hurt you and right now I am your weak link," she tried to 
explain.  I wanted to protest that I would *always* protect her, but 
she forestalled me with a hand to my lips.  "Please, my love.  You 
have done so much, suffered so much," she begged me.  "Let me do this 
for you, for us."  I took her hand and kissed the fingertips then 
held it against my cheek.  Her pulse was racing and the smell 
of fear spiced her scent.  Normally, I would have found the 
combination enticing, but my own fear of losing her was too 
strong.  "But you are afraid, Amante de moi.  Even now I can smell 
your fear.  You do not truly want to do this," I used my most 
persuasive voice, short of rolling her mind or physically carrying 
her home, it was the most I could do to convince her to abandon this 
suicidal avenue.

She shook her head.  "Asher," she began.  'Uh oh, that's her "Mommy" 
voice, mon cher,' Tamara warned.  'I don't think she's gonna budge on 
this.'  Gigs continued in her authoritative tone, "You are Master of 
the City of Orlando.  Your entourage should always be an impressive 
show of force worthy of that title.  It is my duty to strengthen your 
status when and where I am able.  I trust you with my life.  I trust 
you with my son.  I want you to be able to trust me with yours.  You 
have made me see I am worthy of your love, but I wish to be worthy of 
your trust now.  I want to be worthy of you."

We stared at each other in silence for a few moments.  Then I closed 
my eyes, not wanting her to see my agony.  'Ma rose d'acier,' I cried 
out mentally, 'what am I to do?  I cannot bear to lose her!'  'Nor I, 
mon cher, but you may not have to,' Tamara replied.  'You know of a 
way to dissuade her from this course of action?' I asked.  'N, Asher, 
I don't,' she said.  'But I've been thinking about Christine's 
reaction to you and what I'm sensing from her through you.  It could 
be that tigers are your animal to call.'

What?  'That is impossible, cherie,' I argued.  'I *have* no animal 
to call.'  'Don't be so sure, Asher,' Tamara argued in turn.  'Belle 
Morte can call *all* great cats, correct?'  'Oui,' I wondered where 
she was going with this.  'She is the master of your line and as such 
is capable of hiding your abilities from you...remember what you told 
me about Warrick?  You've been away from court for a few years 
now...away from Belle's influence.  Plus tigers are very rare among 
lycanthropes.  What were the odds of you even *encountering* your 
animal?'

She made a valid argument.  I had lost track of how often I'd seen 
other masters suppress the talents of their "children" out of fear 
that they would surpass them in power.  And my Dark Mistress' 
affinity with the great cats *would* make it easy for her to keep 
this from me.  I *did* feel a connection between myself and the 
tiger.  This had possibilities.

Slowly, I nodded my assent.  "If that is truly your wish, my 
beautiful songbird.  I cannot deny you."  I looked past Gigs to the 
tiger.  "Christine, I would consider it a favor if you would assist 
ma chanteuse in her efforts."  Gigs turned to face her as well, 
leaning back against me.  Christine locked eyes with me, a challenge 
of sorts.  I let my power flow out and find her, wrapping around her 
beast.  It felt *right* and so perfectly natural.  The were-tiger 
*was* mine to command...and I could tell she didn't like it one 
bit.  But my will was stronger, and she submitted, bowing to me.  Mon 
Dieu! but that felt *wonderful*!

"As I was telling her earlier," Christine spoke.  "This may not work, 
my lord Asher.  She could simply die from the damage inflicted."  I 
placed an arm around Gigs' shoulders, grasping her to me.  I sent a 
clear message to the lycanthrope that I would protect my 
lover.  "That is why I will remain," I told her, "to insure that does 
not happen."

Gigs struggled vainly to pull away from me.  "No, Asher, you 
shouldn't watch," she protested.  "I don't want you to see...." I 
quieted her objections by nuzzling just below her earlobe.  My beard 
lightly brushed the skin of her throat, eliciting a shudder from 
her.  "On that, I will not relent, chat.  I am staying and THAT is 
final," I said as I lifted my head.  She relaxed, ceasing her 
struggles.  "Besides, Tamara would kick my butt, as she so eloquently 
puts it, if I even contemplated otherwise," I added.  'Damn 
straight,' Tamara affirmed in her "tuff" voice.  I chuckled 
mentally.  'Stop that!' she gasped in my mind.

I felt Christine give another flare of willfulness.  "There are other 
considerations at hand," she told Gigs.  "You do not know if by being 
Asher's tiger in Orlando, you'll be entering another tiger's 
territory.  I am personally not aware of one in that area, but then I 
am not familiar with *all* of my kind."  This was beginning to get 
tedious...and we vampires were accused of dragging things out!  "That 
can be dealt with in due time," I stated.  The tiger looked at me as 
if I were a particularly stupid child.  "And there is the matter of a 
sponsor for her until she learns to control her *urges*," she 
continued, her voice holding a note of territoriality and menace.

"There is enough were interaction between my camp and Jean-Claude's 
that she will be well taken care of," I made sure that my own power 
and menace carried in the statement.  The tiger gave in and quit 
stalling.  Her power flared in preparation for the change.  She led 
us to what could only be described as a jungle room.  'I thought that 
was supposed to be at Graceland,' Tamara smarted off.  I ignored her.

Christine made her preparations and shifted.  Now before us stood a 
magnificent flame colored engine of destruction and grace.  A wave of 
terror washed over my lover, but it was too late to stop now.  The 
tiger paced back and forth in front of Gigs then uttered a roar that 
was deafening in the small confines of the room.  "Oh God," ma 
chanteuse whimpered, literally shaking with fear.  "Asher," she 
squeaked.  "Steady dearest.  It won't last much longer," I soothed.

The tiger attacked, and Gigs screamed in pain and terror as the huge 
claws tore into her flesh.  The tiger took her by the throat.  "Asher 
stop this NOW,' Tamara screamed in my head.  'She's going to either 
suffocate her or snap her neck!'  I gathered all my power, and my 
servant threw hers behind me as well.  "STOP!" we commanded.  The 
tiger stood motionless, Gigs' throat still in her jaws.  She rolled 
her eyes at us with pure animal fury at being denied her prey.  She 
refused to let go.

We straddled her and grasped her jaws, prying them apart.  She was 
forced to release Gigs or have her jaw ripped from her body.  We 
picked her up in our fear and rage and threw her against the far 
wall.  The sound of her impact was a sickening wet thud.  We didn't 
care if she survived or not.

Tamara drew back from me some as I cradled my lover's broken form to 
me, weeping.  I wiped blood from Gigs' face and out of her 
eyes.  "Look at me, Chanteuse.  Look into me eyes.  Stay with me.  
Hold on to me," I pleaded.  I couldn't lose her...not now.  *Please* 
don't let me lose her!  Her eyes met mine.  "It's so cold," she 
whispered.  "Kiss me, Asher.  Let my last breath be yours."  I shook 
her as I kissed her.  I couldn't let her just give up like 
this!  "Non.  You fight.  You survive.  I need you," I begged, my 
mouth still touching hers.

"Take care of my son," her voice was so weak now!  "He will not want 
for anything, amante.  But you will see to that yourself.  Just hang 
on to me.  Fight!" I screamed the last.  Her eyes grew dull.  "Je 
t'aime," she breathed lifelessly.  "NO!"

'Asher!' Tamara called desperately to my grieving mind.  'Try 
stretching the marks to include her!'  'But you already carry all 
four, cherie,' I was confused.  She replied patiently, 'Our marks are 
still relatively young.  I've only been with you for a little over a 
year and a half.  If the lycanthropy took hold then she's a tiger 
now.  You can bind her to you since she'll be your animal to 
call.'  'You mean to form a triumvirate?' I asked, hope beginning to 
grow.  'Exactly, mon cher...quickly now, before she's too far gone!'

Vampire though I am, I prayed this would work.  Once again, Tamara 
merged her power with mine.  Together we shoved that power and life 
force into the woman in my arms.  Immediately, her wounds began 
closing themselves, shutting off the blood loss.  A mystical wind 
generated around us.  The ice blue fire of my eyes floated out from 
me and entered Gigs' glazed orbs.  A grey-green foxfire effect danced 
over her form, hovering especially over the worst of the wounds, 
speeding the healing.  Tamara's power.  Once the glow had settled, I 
adjusted my hold on her to bare her neck.  I brushed her lips with 
mine, then gently bit into the soft flesh of her throat.  I took only 
a minute amount of blood, not wanting to hinder the healing process.  

Suddenly, something went terribly wrong.  We screamed in agony as we 
felt a part of us begin to rip away.  We could feel Gigs' soul and 
will begin to surrender to a power far greater than ours would *ever* 
be.  We reached out to it, trying to pull her back to us.  Just as we 
touched her, I was engulfed in a searing burning pain, and Tamara's 
mind was forced from mine.  I could barely sense her back at the 
Circus...unconsious, but otherwise unharmed.  I had touched something 
holy.  

I could "see" Gigs looking back over her shoulder at me, floating 
against a wash of blinding light that was both beautiful and terrible 
to behold.  I cowered in my mind, unable to face such glory.  
Sobbing, I pleaded, "Please do not take her from me!"  I was 
enveloped by a wondrous Voice that made me weep at the beauty of 
it.  "She is My child...would you deny her the right to come home?"  
I shook my head, unable to speak for a moment.  Finally I 
whispered, "Non, the choice must be hers."  She started to turn 
away.  I screamed in anguish.

Once again, the glorious Voice spoke, "She has chosen you, Asher, for 
the time being.  But one day she will return to Me and come home...as 
will *you* my wayward child.  Though you have forgotten Me, I have 
not forgotten you.  I await your return patiently and with open 
arms."  

Then I was once again in my body, holding Gigs' still form in my 
arms.  Life returned to her eyes as I was biting into my own wrist.

"Asher?" she whispered weakly.  "Ma chanteuse, je t'aime.  Please, ma 
Coeur, say that you will stay with me always and never leave...for 
all eternity," I wept.  "Oh yes! Mon prince d'or, can it be really 
so?"  Her eyes begged me for the truth.  "Oui, ma belle chat," I 
smiled.  Her lips parted to accept my gift, as I pressed my bleeding 
wrist to her mouth.  She drank.  "Blood of my blood, flesh of my 
flesh, breath of my breath...one heart, one soul, one mind."

Fin