Please read the Disclaimer before continuing to remain in the site or reading the stories. These stories contain adult material with scenes of women loving women. Consider this story to have an R rating. If this is illegal in your state or you are underage, please go to a more appropriate site now.

This is a sequel to the Willow and Tara novel, Unexpected Consequences. If you haven’t read that first, you will be quite lost. It can be accessed at

http://www.quiknet.com/~lcountry/unexpected01.html

Unexpected Consequences: Milestones

By Lisa Countryman

© beginning July 2002

CHAPTER TWELVE

Willow tossed her saddle onto the floor in front of Dylan’s stall. The bay gelding heard the sound and wandered into the stall from his paddock outside. He nickered softly, happy to see one of his mistresses.

"Hey, Horsebert." Willow had to smile. Dylan was always happy to see someone coming to ride him. "You and I are gonna’ go fetch your mama, and then I am gonna’ give her a spanking." She grabbed his bridle from a peg next to the door and went into the stall. "She may be doing the whole moody-mage thing, but this is ridiculous."

"I’m sorry, Lady Willow, but you’re not going anywhere." Ceri closed the stall and flipped the lock into place.

"Ceridwen, open this door!" Willow ran to the door and shoved it, but the sturdy door only rattled. It was designed to contain horses more than ten times Willow’s weight.

"Nope." Ceri folded her arms over her chest. "You’re still getting over surgery, and no way I’m letting you run off and break your neck." She spun and trotted out of the barn.

"Ceridwen!" Willow rattled the stall door and pounded on it. She was furious. "Let me out!" She slammed her fist against the wood and felt her temper boiling over. "God damn it, someone let me out!" She kicked the door, wincing as she realized that wasn’t such a great idea. "Now I have a broken toe, too. Let me out!" Had she been calmer, she would have thought to exit through the door to the paddock. She could then easily jump the fence or simply use the gate at the back of the enclosure.

Ceridwen was perfectly calm. She went around the barn and then hopped over the white fence and stealthily went to the door at the back of the stall and closed it. "I’m sorry, Willow, but you are not going after her." She locked that door as well.

"You little bitch!" Willow spun, angry with Ceri, but furious with herself for not escaping while Ceri had been running around the barn. "Let me out, damn it," she whined. "Ceri…"

Dylan bumped Willow with his nose. He didn’t like his mistress screaming. He lowered his head so Willow could scratch behind his ears.

Willow let out a sigh and rubbed the nervous horse’s forehead. "Looks like Ceri gets a spanking too." She glanced toward the door. "I’m making a list, damn it!"

*****

Tara felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. "Your lucky day?" She narrowed her eyes and flexed her hands, calling her magic to the surface. It felt powerful, and her emotions surged along with the magic. "You have no idea how wrong you are." Tara’s hands were at her sides, much like a movie gunslinger, and after the day she’d already had, she was more than ready to unleash some serious Wiccan whup-ass.

The man frowned when he saw Tara’s body language shift, then his eyes widened. "Oh, my god, no." He backed up, almost tripping over his horse. "That sounded … no … I, no, I just meant, oh, man … I am so sorry." His face blushed crimson.

"What exactly did you mean?" Tara’s voice held a good dose of menace, and even though she wasn’t visibly armed, anyone with the slightest sense would give her a wide berth.

"Miss, I…" He held up his hands. "I just meant that I’ve been wanting to talk to you. I’m harmless, really." He swallowed with a gulp. "I teach grade school for god sakes." He nodded at Tara’s hands, which were now clinched into fists. "Please don’t kick my butt."

"You’ve been wanting to talk to me? How exactly do you even know me?" Tara’s instincts were telling her the man was harmless, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

"I’ve seen you on the trail," he said quickly. "You’re always with that big group of women, or with that older lady … I think she’s your mom." He blushed even redder. "I’m new to the area and I’ve been looking for someone to ride with, but it’s really hard to approach a big group and just butt in." He ran a hand through his pale blonde hair and smiled. "I just thought it was lucky to find you alone…" His eyes widened. "So I could see if you wanted to ride together," he quickly added. "Not because… well, I…"

"Okay," Tara said with a smirk. "I get it." She shook her head as she studied him. He was built like a Viking, but his expression made him look like a preschooler who had just been sent to the principle’s office. "You’re not an ax murderer." She tried to push the magic down, but her body hummed with energy and a rush of hormones. She felt almost manic.

"I’m not." He shook his head. "I teach second grade," he insisted. "They check for that sort of thing." He smiled. "I’m proud to say our school has a strict no ax murderer policy." He cleared his throat. "I’m Michael Anderson, and I’m really sorry if I scared you."

"I’m Tara Maclay." She nodded toward his horse. "And now that you mention it, I think I remember passing you on the trail." Actually, she remembered the tall, striking horse. The horse was coal black and at over 16 and a half hands, he was huge for an Arabian. Tara and Brent had both commented on the gelding … and ignored the male rider.

"So, I’d offer you a ride, but even if you were willing to ride with a possible ax murderer, Doofus doesn’t like being ridden double." Michael held out the reins. "But you’re welcome to take turns riding if you like."

The black horse bumped Michael’s arm and then playfully nipped at his sleeve.

"I’ll walk," Tara said, still a bit leery. She crinkled her brow. "Do you always call the poor thing Doofus? He seems sweet."

"That’s his name." Michael smiled and patted the horse’s neck. "He’s sweet, but clumsy like me." He nodded up the path. "You seem like you can handle yourself, but my mother would slap me if I left you on the trail alone. Do you mind if I walk with you?"

"Sure," Tara agreed. "So, where do you teach?" she asked as waited for him to lead Doofus up the trail in front of her. She could feel her remaining tension shifting to nervous energy. The handsome teacher was rather endearing in a helpless sort of way. She liked him.

"I just got hired over at Hillcrest. This will be my first semester, " he said over his shoulder and then promptly tripped over a tree root. He turned and gave Tara a sheepish grin and then continued on.

"My daughter starts kindergarten there in September." Tara had to smile. Michael looked like a football player but he certainly didn’t have the grace of an athlete.

"Did she go to our preschool?" he asked.

"Yep. She was in Mrs. Fisher’s class." Tara’s leg ached. She looked at Doofus and thought how nice it would be to be riding up the steep terrain instead of hiking.

"She’s really good." Michael paused along the path where the trail flattened out and widened. He waited for Tara to join him. "Will your horse be okay?" He nodded up the canyon. "The highway is only a few miles away."

"She’s not heading that way," Tara assured him. "Our barn backs up to the trail on the East side of the canyon. I’m sure Mercury is halfway home by now." She cringed, realizing that when the young mare showed up without her, the entire sanctuary would be on alert and they’d probably activate the National Guard to look for her.

"Well, as a member of the faculty, I consider it my duty to escort you home." He smiled crookedly. "Mrs. Fisher would not be happy if I left you alone out here."

"Brianna adores her," Tara said as they walked. "My daughter," Tara clarified. She winced as her leg continued throbbing.

"They talked about having Mrs. Fisher teach the kindergarten this year," he said. "But she loves the little ones."

"I know. I was one of the ones who wanted her to take the kindergarten." Tara studied him. He was handsome, kind, and charming, even if he was a bit clumsy. She smiled as a completely foreign idea came to her. "Michael, when we get back to the barn, would you join me for lunch?"

"Sure," he agreed with a huge grin.

Tara twisted her back, trying to relieve her tense muscles. She grimaced as the action made her swollen breasts ache even more.

"Tara, are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concern. "Did you hurt your back." He pulled his horse to a stop and faced her. "Maybe I should look you over…" His eyes widened and his blush returned. "For injuries!" he added. "Not in any lecherous way. I trained as a massage therapist before I decided to become a teacher and if you hurt your back, it could be serious. Maybe you should be riding Doofus." Concern filled his eyes. "Or not riding at all! I could ride to the top of the trail and call 911. Maybe you should lie down."

"I’m fine," she assured him. "I’m bruised and bumped, but that isn’t my biggest problem." It was her turn to blush. "My youngest daughter is three weeks old, and it’s well past her feeding time." She cleared her throat and looked at the trail.

It took him a moment to understand. "Oh!" His cheeks grew hot as he continued to blush. He stared at his boot laces. "Yeah, well, oh." He slowly lifted his head. "Three weeks old?" He tilted his head and studied Tara’s figure. "Wow, you look great." His brow furrowed. "Um, look, I don’t mean to be rude, but, well, about lunch? I thought that you and your husband were divorced or something and, well, if you have a three week old … I don’t, you know, get involved with married wom—"

Tara laughed and covered her mouth. "Oh, goddess, I am so sorry." She snickered and then coughed from laughing. "You thought?" She shook her head. "I don’t have a husband. I have a wife, and she just gave birth to our second daughter."

He gave her a confused look. "So lunch, you weren’t … um…"

"Actually I was," Tara admitted, then her eyes shot open wide. "But not for me! I’m happily married. Willow’s my everything. Willow, my wife… my wife who is the only one I could ever want. My one and only, my wifely wife…"

"Oh." He nodded his head. "Not for you, so this was a set up?"

"Yeah, sorry. I don’t usually do the whole setting people up thing." Tara began walking again. "We have a really good friend visiting and I just thought you two might, you know…"

"Well, this is a new one." He smiled as continued along beside her. "Since I arrived last month, the other teachers have been trying to set me up with single moms. You’re the first mom who’s tried to set me up."

"You up for it?" Tara asked. She took off her helmet and ran her hand through her hair, giving him a brief flash of the scar that was usually hidden beneath her blonde hair. She frowned when she noticed a huge crack on the helmet. The plastic had absorbed a serious impact and probably saved her life.

"Sure. What the heck." He smiled as they continued up the trail in silence. He didn’t mention the scar, but he did think it was odd. He’d seen two riders at the top of the trailhead, and both had similar scars. Of course, the two riders’ scars had been much more serious, disfiguring their faces from their eyebrows back into their hairlines. He looked around the trail at the trees. He supposed the low branches must have taken quite a few riders off guard. He’d have to pay close attention. With his clumsiness, a low branch would probably knock him off and not just cut his head.

*****

Brent was focused intently on the trail. She and Kaley were covering ground fast and recklessly, galloping along trails meant for walking.

The Imbolc mounts were bred to be big and muscular, with stamina to burn. Guardians made sure each of the 30 Imbolc mounts were taken out for a 20-mile ride at least three times a week, and that was in addition to their regular training sessions in the arena. They were trained with the same graceful skills as Lipizzaners, except their skills were not used for dancing. The Lipizzaners had been war-horses many generations earlier. The Imbolc mounts still were. Had Brent and her guardians faced the Knights of Bezanthium, it would have been a slaughter. The Bezanthium horses were agile, but the deadly skills of the Imbolc mounts would have decimated the knights.

Brent’s instincts told her to ride toward the river, so they did, but they didn’t calmly walk down the steep terrain. The horses charged headlong down the trails, snorting as their strong hind legs flexed to keep them from sliding out of control down the sheer cliffs.

Several miles from the bottom of the canyon, Kaley noticed a horse approaching.

"Mistress!" Kaley pulled her horse to a sliding stop and pointed far down the trail.

"Mercury," Brent said with a sense of dread. She stopped her mount and jumped to the trail. "Titan, lavade," she ordered.

Titan took the command and shifted to a 45-degree angle and watched for danger. His position effectively blocked the trail, and if he saw any threat, he would tale lethal action.

"Easy," Brent said as Mercury slowed to a trot and pranced from side to side. Brent could see blood covering the pale grey horse’s front legs.

"Her reins are gone." Kaley pulled a rope from her saddle and joined Brent on the ground. "Lavade," she told her mount.

"Come on, girl." Brent grabbed the frightened mare’s bridle and pulled her to a stop.

Kaley was there to tie the rope in place of the reins as Brent checked the young horse. "Why would Tara leave the sanctuary?"

"Lady Tara hasn’t been herself." Brent stressed Tara’s title, then noticed the horse’s missing shoe and lifted Mercury’s hoof. It was chipped, but not too badly. "Easy," she said when the horse tried to pull away.

"Where do you think Lady Tara is?" Kaley asked. She rubbed Mercury’s sweat lathered neck and wondered if Tara had lost the horse before or after the shoe was thrown. She was frustrated. Her old sanctuary never would have let Tara wander off. "Why didn’t we know when the circle was broken?"

"Our circle is not a prison. It’s cast to keep our enemies out." Brent blamed herself. She trusted Tara’s judgment, and never considered needing to track Tara’s movements. The sanctuary had a spell that alerted her to any breech, unfortunately, magic was specific. The spell only activated if someone who didn’t belong tried to enter. Someone leaving hadn’t occurred to the guardians, and therefore, it didn’t trigger the alarm.

"We have a dual circle at the Kildare sanitary." Kaley scowled. "What do we do now?"

"Have the riders leaving now focus down here." Brent ran her hand down Mercury’s cheek and then removed Tara’s saddle and tossed it into the brush. "We can’t deal with Mercury right now." She removed the bridle and slapped Mercury on the behind. "Go on," she told the horse.

Brent knew taking off the tack would make the young mare’s journey home much safer. The bridle and saddle could get hung up on brush and injure her. "Go on. Go home," Brent said harshly.

Mercury trotted toward home, then turned back and looked at Brent. After her eventful day, she was hesitant to leave her mistress.

"Go!" Brent waved a hand at the horse and that was all the mare needed. Mercury galloped off toward the sanctuary and the safety of her barn.

Kaley vaulted into her saddle and kept her horse steady as she used her cell phone to call the sanctuary. "I’ll catch up," she told Brent.

The elder gave a terse nod and took off down the trail at a fast trot. She needed to move more slowly so she could check both sides of the trail for any sign of Tara.

*****

Emily walked up to Dylan’s stall and peered through the bars on the window. She smirked when she saw Willow sitting against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. The redheaded witch was sitting the cedar shavings having a good old-fashioned pout.

Willow wouldn’t have even seen Emily, but Dylan’s friendliness gave the mage away. The bay gelding perked his ears forward and then wandered over to see who had come to visit and to find out if they had a carrot.

"Emily! Thank the goddess." Willow leapt to her feet and ran to the stall door. "Let me out of here." She slapped the cedar shavings off the back of her pants as she waited.

"Why? So you can gallop off like a knight in shinning casual wear?" Emily rolled her eyes. "I don’t think so, dear."

"Ceridwen locked you up?" Anya smiled as she leaned against a stall across from Willow’s current prison. "Guardian bondage fun? Too bad she’s got that damn girlfriend." She leered at Ceri.

Ceri’s eyes widened and she squirmed. She was sitting on a bale of shavings near the last stall. She wanted to be out of Willow’s sight, because as long as Willow could see her, the redhead stayed in full rant mode, and her language was worse than when she had been in labor. Now Ceri wanted to be out of Anya’s sight as well.

"Let me out, damn it," Willow ordered. Her breasts ached and both sides of her chest had huge wet spots from her milk leaking. She decided to play the sympathy card. "I need to feed Megan," she said as she gave Emily her most pitiful pout.

"Uh huh." Emily smiled and leaned against the opposite wall next to Anya.

"Emily!" Willow rattled the door.

"Fine." Emily moved to the door and unlocked it and stepped back.

Willow started to pull Dylan out of the stall but when she tugged on the reins, the entire bridle magically evaporated. "What the?" She spun and glared at the white haired mage.

"I don’t think you’ll be needing a horse to feed Miss Megan." Emily smiled sweetly and rubbed her fingers together as magic tingled beneath the surface.

Willow leveled a look so angry and menacing that Anya jumped away from the wall and started to retreat.

"I know that look!" Anya said as she scrambled for safety. "It’s been a while, but that’s the dark magic Willow look."

"It is not!" Willow said as she sent the glare toward Anya.

"You can go feed Miss Megan, or you can go back into the stall," Emily said calmly. "The choice is yours."

"Fine." Willow stormed past Emily. "You’re on my spanking list too," she said under her breath. "And if anything happens to Tara, you’re all gonna’ answer to me."

*****

Brigan was almost to the top of the ridge when she saw two riders peering down the canyon with binoculars. She was Brent’s right hand at the sanctuary, and her years of experience made her take a second look at the men. She pulled her horse to a slow trot as she neared them. The hairs on her neck twitched. She glanced over at Bre and they pulled their reins and walked toward the strangers. Bre had grown as a warrior since she had joined the Imbolc guard, and Brigan felt secure with the young woman at her side.

"Good afternoon," Brigan said cheerfully.

The strangers didn’t acknowledge her. They continued staring over the side of the canyon.

"Nice day for a ride." Brigan dropped her reins to her mount’s neck and gave him a squeeze with her knees. The signal put the horse on alert and he arched his neck and waited for his mistress’ next leg signal. She needed her hands free.

The strangers nodded, but didn’t turn.

Bre reached under he coat and unsnapped the Glock nine millimeter she kept holstered there. She had no intention of dying the way Gandu had.

"We aren’t doing anything wrong," the closest man said calmly. He was balding, and much older than the second man. His head shined with sweat from hours in the sun. He lowered his binoculars and turned to face the guardians. The scar on the side of his face instantly identified him. "We haven’t approached her."

"Keepers," Brigan snarled. She pulled her sword from the sheath under her coat and used her heels to signal her horse. The massive gelding leapt forward and slammed into the older man’s horse and almost sent the horse and rider off the side of the cliff. Brigan wanted him off the horse where she could control his movements.

"We haven’t approached her!" the younger man insisted. He spun his horse away and backed up the trail as quickly as he could.

Even as Bre trained her gun on the men, she tapped the alarm beeper at her waist and then punched in the code to alert the other guardians.

"What part of ‘stay away from Lady Tara or die’ do you not understand?" Brigan asked. She squeezed with her heels, giving her horse another silent command. This time he didn’t just lunge into the other horse. The powerful gelding reared onto his hind legs and leaped forward, using his front hooves to strike the Keeper’s man and knock him from his horse. He fell onto the rocky ground and stood, managing to keep his composure.

The younger man was about to bolt. Bre used a quick knee signal to move her mount into action. Her horse spun and then performed a balletade. He jumped straight into the air and then kicked out with both hind legs. His hooves hit the man in the chest and knocked him five yards before he landed with a bone-crushing thud against a huge oak tree.

The younger man grunted and rolled onto his belly and collapsed, sending up a puff of dust that stuck to his lips.

Both Brigan and Bre jumped from their horses and moved toward the two men without losing a stride.

"Lavade," Brigan said as she kept her sword trained on the older man.

"Lavade." Bre gave the same command to her horse. She kept her glock pointed at the young Keeper sprawled on the ground.

Both Imbolc horses were vigilant. The command alerted the mounts to the danger, and each horse turned so they remained at a 45-degree angle to their mistresses and watched for any sign of danger.

"You shouldn’t be worried about us," the older Keeper said. He held his binoculars out as if they could shield him from Brigan. "I’d be more worried about that man down there. The one currently murdering your precious Lady Tara." He smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Brigan’s face remained unchanged, but she did flick her wrist. Her sword moved in a graceful arch, and the binoculars dropped to the trail. She reached down and picked them up, though first she had to pry the man’s severed hand from them.

"Ah!" he doubled over, gripping the stump at the end of his wrist. He wondered why the Daughters of the Flame seemed to have such a penchant for whacking off limbs. He stared down at his hand in the dirt. Blood pooled around the severed limb and he remembered the previous year when the Imbolc guard had exacted their revenge on the entire coven of the Keepers. Anyone who resisted either lost a hand or was killed outright.

The younger man watched in horror. He was hunched over, trying to support his upper body. Bre’s horse had kicked him squarely in the ribcage, shattering several ribs. He struggled to breathe, but he didn’t dare move because Bre had her gun trained on him. He had no doubt the young guardian would use the weapon.

Meanwhile, Brigan used the bloodied binoculars to scan the canyon. She was a trained observer, and her eyes quickly found a splash of color that didn’t blend in with the greens and golds of the wooded setting. She saw a black horse on one of the trails and then her pulse doubled. Several meters away from the horse a blonde woman was on the ground. Given the Keeper’s comment, she knew in her heart that it was Lady Tara. Brigan gripped the binoculars tightly. Lady Tara was pinned to the ground. A huge man was straddling her body and he had his hands around her throat.

"Dear sweet Brigit," Brigan whispered. Her sword was useless, as was the gun in a holster at the small of her back. She was too far to even consider taking a shot. She could do nothing while the man pinned Lady Tara to ground.

"Brigan?" Bre glanced at the elder. She knew something was wrong, and since the Keeper had said someone was murdering Lady Tara, Bre was close to panicking. Her attention shifted toward Brigan for only an instant, but it was one instant too long.

That split second gave the younger Keeper the chance he was waiting for. He moved his hand from his injured ribs and reached under his jacket so he could retrieve his own gun.

Bre’s horse snorted and shifted his weight. It was all the warning Bre needed. She fired twice as she shifted her eyes back to him. Her shots hit the downed man in the chest, just to the left of center. He was dead before his body slumped to the ground.

The older Keeper pulled a gun with his left hand, determined to kill Bre. He backed away from Brigan to avoid her sword.

Bre saw him, and she fired off two mores rounds just as he fired. Her shots hit their mark and he dropped to the ground, joining his companion in death.

The gunfire echoed through the canyon, but Bre ignored it. She stared back and forth between the two men she had just killed. Her hand dropped to her side and her gun dangled next to her leg. She didn’t even notice the warm blood that dripped down her arm and splattered onto the dry ground. She had never killed before, and as a devoted Wiccan, the idea sickened her, no matter how justified the killings were.

Brigan seemed to take the men’s deaths in stride. She spun and used the binoculars to check on Tara.

Down on the trail, Tara had been stretched out on the ground, having agreed to let Michael help her. Her shoulder and neck were locked in spasms from the fall. He had graciously offered to massage the huge knots out of the muscles of her neck and upper back.

Michael was straddling Tara’s lower back. He was trying his best to keep his weight balanced over her, not wanting to touch her any more than necessary. He was so concerned with avoiding any inappropriate touching that he could barely work on her sore neck. He had almost managed to loosen one of the worst knots when he heard the first two gunshots. He looked up, trying to locate the source of sound when three more shots echoed through the canyon.

Tara’s entire body tensed.

Michael looked down, worried that he might have hurt her. That should have been the least of his worries, for just as the second set of gunshots reverberated up above, the sound of hooves on rocky soil echoed on the trail nearby. Brent and Kaley came galloping around a curve 25 yards down the trail.

Brent saw a huge man pinning Tara to the ground just as she heard the second salvo. Normally, in her agitated state, hearing gunshots in the canyon would have sent her adrenaline levels skyrocketing. Having that event occur just as she saw her beloved Lady apparently being strangled, crushed face down into the rocky ground, was too much for the elder. Brent was known throughout the Daughters of the Flame as one of the most levelheaded of the mistresses. Any rational thought, any tendency to take things slowly, flew out the window when she saw Tara being assaulted.

"No!" Brent spurred her horse into wild gallop as she charged toward the man she thought was killing her cherished Tara. When she neared the struggling pair, Brent yanked her horse’s bit, and the horse skidded to a sliding halt. Gravel was tossed into the air as Brent leapt from her horse’s back. "Get off her!" she yelled. Her dagger was in flight with a flick of her wrist. As soon as the blade left her hand she grabbed her sword and rushed forward, intent on hacking the man to bloody pieces.

Tara had heard the clamor of galloping horses. She struggled to twist her head toward the sound, but it was difficult with her stiff neck and a huge oaf of a man pinning her to the ground. As she fought to twist around, her struggles looked like she was fighting off an attacker. She twisted her head just in time to see Brent release the dagger.

"No!" Tara yelled. She sent out a wave of invisible energy and deflected the dagger. It whizzed past Michael’s head and imbedded to the hilt in the bark of an oak tree a few yards away.

"You bastard." Brent moved forward, ready to see the man’s blood covering the ground and her blade.

Michael scurried away and squealed like one of his second graders.

"Ballatade!" Brent said harshly. Her horse reared up on its hind legs and hopped toward Michael.

"No!" Tara yelled again. She climbed to her feet, ignoring the pain shooting through her leg and her back as she struggled to save Michael’s life. "I’m fine. I’m fine! He was helping me." Tara intercepted Brent.

Kaley was now on the ground, and she had a gun trained on the man. She liked the more modern weapon.

"Stay away from him, my Lady." Brent yanked Tara closer and then pushed the blonde behind her so she could guard Tara properly. She kept one hand gripping Tara’s upper arm and she pivoted to keep her sword pointed at Michael.

The second grade teacher was scrambling to stay far away from Brent’s sharp sword and her huge horse. The horse was balancing in place on his hind legs, but his front hooves were striking to keep Michael at bay.

"I’m fine," Tara insisted. "Call off Titan before he kills him. Now."

Brent was shaking, but she did as Tara instructed. "Titan, lavade," she told the massive grey horse. Titan dropped his front feet to the ground and spun into his protective stance next to Brent. His head twisted around so he could watch Michael.

"Whatever you do, don’t move," Tara told Michael.

He nodded his head and looked like he might wet his pants.

"Brent, I’m fine." Tara let out a frustrated breath. "Mercury fell in the creek and pulled a shoe. She got loose and ran off. Michael was helping me get back to the sanctuary."

"Is that why he was crawling all over you?" Brent’s eyes remained pinned on Michael.

"I hurt my back," Tara explained. "He was trying to loosen the muscles."

Michael was nodding the entire time, but he didn’t dare say a word.

"Your back?" Brent plunged her sword into the ground, quite a feat considering the soil was hard and rocky. "Hold still." She spun toward Tara and began groping the blonde. "You shouldn’t have been moved. Where did you get hurt?" She poked and prodded Tara as she spoke.

"Ouch!" Tara said. She squirmed away from Brent’s rough examination. "Would you calm down?" She swatted away the elder’s hands.

"Don’t tell me to calm down," Brent snapped. The huge purple bruises on Tara’s shoulder gave silent testimony to the severity of the fall. "On the ground, now." She pointed to the hard rocky surface. "I need to check your back."

"Okay…" Tara had never seen Brent so completely unhinged. The elder was visibly trembling. "Fine," Tara grumbled as she sat on the ground. "Ouch."

"What?" Brent rushed closer.

"I sat a rock, okay?" Tara lifted one side of her butt and yanked a sharp rock out from under her.

"You shouldn’t have been moved." Brent glared at Michael.

Michael stopped nodding and shook his head, agreeing that Tara’s shouldn’t have been moved.

"He wasn’t even there." Tara glared at Brent as the elder probed her spine looking for any swelling. "He found me walking on the trail." She looked over at her younger guardian. "Kaley, take that gun off him. He’s harmless."

The alarm on Brent’s beeper went off. She used one hand to continue checking Tara for any injury as she used the other to check the beeper and read the code. "Kaley, you’ll have to stay here. I want Lady Tara back at the sanctuary."

"Brent, I am not in any danger." Tara rolled her eyes. "I wish you’d just calm down."

Brent started to yell, but stopped as she looked over at the terrified man. Instead of answering Tara, she shoved the beeper at her.

Tara’s eyes widened as she read the code. It meant that the Keeper or his forces had been encountered. "I heard guns shots," she whispered as she looked up at the rim of the canyon.

"Can you ride?" Brent asked. She had finished checking Tara and was satisfied that the blonde didn’t have any damage to her spine.

"Yeah," Tara whispered.

"Put your helmet on." Brent was furious, but her concern for Tara always came first.

Tara shot a dangerous glare at the younger guardian. "Kaley, stop waving your gun at him. He’s been a sweetie. I even invited him back to the sanctuary for lunch, though I wouldn’t blame him if he ran for the hills now." She started to climb onto Kaley’s horse, and Brent was instantly there to give her a leg up.

"Sanctuary?" Michael finally found his voice. "I thought you said your name was Maclay?" He knew from talking with the other teachers that a young diplomat’s child attended the school, and that she lived on a local sanctuary, but he also knew her name was Rosenberg. He’d been told to expect the bodyguards that patrolled the school grounds.

"It is," Tara said as she settled into the saddle.

"But…" Michael pointed at Brent. "I thought …the sanctuary and the bodyguards … shouldn’t your name be Rosenberg?"

Tara smiled. "My wife is Willow Rosenberg." She cleared her throat and blushed. "I’m really sorry about all this."

"You know, maybe I should pass on the whole lunch thing." Michael looked over at Doofus. The dark horse was grazing, oblivious to everything going on.

"You’re going to the sanctuary," Brent told him. "I need to make sure you are who you say you are."

He swallowed with a gulp and was about to decline when he caught Tara’s gaze.

"They won’t hurt you," Tara promised. "Isn’t that right, Kaley?"

The young guardian put her gun back into her holster and approached Michael. "I just want to make sure you’re not armed." She turned back to Tara. "Or did you already search him?"

"Um, uh…" Tara looked over at Brent.

The elder climbed onto Titan and glared at Tara.

"He’s a school teacher," Tara insisted.

Michael squirmed as Kaley finished searching him.

"He’s clean," Kaley said. "I’ll bring him to the grounds. We can verify his identify there."

"I’m really sorry," Tara told him.

"We need to get moving," Brent interrupted. "Now. This area isn’t secure."

Tara nodded and turned the horse back toward the sanctuary. She wasn’t as worried as she could have been. The code meant the Keeper’s people had been encountered, but it was not the code that would have indicated any breech of the actual grounds. Still, any sign of the Keepers was cause for alarm and gunshots were never a good sign.

Brent looked to Kaley. "Call the sanctuary and let them know what’s going on." She nodded toward the trail, signaling that she wanted Tara to take the lead.

Tara trotted down the trail, but her pace did not suit Brent.

"Move it," Brent yelled.

Tara sighed as she urged the horse into a full gallop. They traveled along at a breakneck pace, and every time Tara would begin to slow, Brent would urge her faster. Tara was in agony. Her muscles ached, and the pain in her breasts was maddening. She continued along the trail at a perilous gallop despite her body’s protest. She’d rather suffer a bit more pain than risk making Brent any angrier.

*****

Willow fed Megan, and the simple action of connecting with her youngest child calmed her frazzled nerves. Brianna sat nearby. They were all in the Imbolc guard barracks. It was the most secure location on the entire grounds and they had been taken there after the alert had been called when Tara went missing.

Joining her children instantly calmed Willow. Ceri and Emily escorted her to the barracks and Brianna had sprinted to Willow and leapt into her arms. The young child was familiar with the routines of the sanctuary, and she knew something was wrong. Willow was still concerned for Tara, but Ceri promised that finding Mercury loose on the trail could mean nothing more than Tara had simply fallen off and was walking home.

‘Fallen off’ were not words that gave Willow any comfort. ‘Fallen off’ could mean that Tara was sprawled dead in a ditch. ‘Fallen off’ could mean that Tara was bleeding in that same ditch, dying as they sat in the comfortable barracks.

Ceri’s beeper went off, and she quickly checked it. Her entire body tensed. They were no longer simply looking Tara off on some joyride. The code told Ceri that the Keepers were in the area, and with Tara missing, that could mean many very ugly things. She looked over to Brigh, who had just finished checking her own beeper.

"Gather the Daughters and have them lock down the compound," Ceri said as she moved a bit closer to Brianna.

"What is it?" Willow asked.

"It’s nothing," Ceri said.

Willow’s eyes narrowed and her voice hardened. "That beeper doesn’t go off over nothing," she said angrily. She held Megan balanced in one arm as she yanked the beeper away from Ceri. "Nothing!" she yelled as she thrust the beeper back into Ceri’s hand. "This is what you call nothing?" She wrapped both arms around Megan and rocked the infant as she moved over to Brianna’s side. She needed to personally guard her children.

"Will?" Buffy edged closer to her best friend. "What is it?"

Willow started to answer, but stopped when she noticed the fear in Brianna’s eyes.

The future mantle of Brigit was staring up at Willow in search of answers. She was as confused as everyone else, but she trusted her mommy to make it all okay.

"It’s nothing," Willow told Buffy, though her eyes told a different story.

"Is it the bad men?" Brianna asked in a tiny voice. She was trying her best not to read her mommy’s lights, but they were so overwhelmingly bright that Brianna didn’t have any choice. As soon as her mommy had looked at Ceri’s beeper, her lights became blinding, and Brianna recognized the bright color as fear. It was the same fear Brianna had seen a long time earlier when her mama had been taken away by the bad men. "Mommy? They won’t hurt mama again, will they?" Brianna asked.

"We won’t let them," Ceri promised.

Buffy’s eyes widened. "Keepers?" she asked.

Willow nodded.

"Okay, um, Ceri, can you saddle up one of those horsies of yours?" Buffy asked. "Because I need to get my ass out there."

"Whatever’s gonna’ happen will be long over before you could ever get out there," Ceri said solemnly.

Buffy turned toward Willow. She could see the pain and fear in her best friend’s eyes. She knew she couldn’t help Tara, but she could help Willow. "Hey, Embrianna, wanna’ pony ride?" She knelt and held out her arms.

Brianna nodded and ran to Buffy and hugged the Slayer tightly. After a moment, Buffy hoisted Brianna onto her back and trotted around the barracks.

Seeing Buffy play with Brianna brought a weak smile to Willow’s lips. When the Slayer began leaping the narrow beds as if she were a horse in the Grand Nationals that smile became an actual grin. Brianna was concentrating intensely, leaning forward and trying to lift off of Buffy’s back at each jump, just as the young child had seen Brent do when she took a horse over a fence. The grin faded when Willow thought how much Tara would enjoy seeing Brianna acting like an Olympic equestrian with a blonde Slayer for a mount. ‘Please be safe, baby,’ Willow thought as she sat at the end of a bed and cradled Megan in her arms.

Sheila sat next to Willow, but she didn’t say a word. She had no idea what was going on, only that Willow and the others were worried sick about Tara. She rested her hand on Willow’s knee.

Willow smiled at her mother and put her hand over Sheila’s. She knew her mom was trying, and at the moment, she needed that support more than she could say. She shifted her weight. Her nervous energy was building.

"Give her to me," Sheila said as she reach for Megan. "You need to pace."

Willow blushed and did as she was told. She climbed to her feet and began pacing. Oddly enough, it helped. She wrapped her arms over her chest and continued walking back and forth at one end of the room.

The phone next to the door rang, and Willow rushed toward it. During any emergency, it was the official phone. She saw Ceri was going to beat her to the phone, but she wanted the news firsthand. "Put it on the speaker," Willow ordered. The redhead didn’t give many orders on the sanctuary, but her tone made it clear she would not take no for an answer.

Ceri hit the button. "Report," she said as she leaned closer, as if she could get the information just a split second faster.

"We have Tara," Kaley’s voice was a bit tinny, and there was an angry quality in her tone. "But we heard shots fired."

"Her status?" Ceri asked.

Willow scooted closer. She knew better than to interrupt the quick, terse, almost military pattern of speech.

Kaley made a disgusted sound, a cross between a bitter laugh and a snort. "Oh, she’s fine," her voice was full of anger. "We’re out here risking our lives and she’s on the ground going at it with some guy."

Willow’s eyes widened. Behind her, Sheila gasped.

"Kaley, watch your mouth," Ceri said harshly.

"The Keeper’s men have been spotted," Kaley replied. "We could have been killed just so she could meet her ‘sweetie’ for a quick fu—"

"Shut up," Ceri snapped. She clinched her hands into fists. "One more word against Lady Tara and I’ll shut your mouth myself."

"She put the entire sanctuary on alert so she could go meet her lover," Kaley said. She was walking along the trail a few feet from Michael. Had she looked at him, she would have noticed his shocked expression at the mere suggestion of any wrongdoing.

"Report the situation, nothing more." Ceri’s tone was razor sharp. She grabbed the phone from the cradle and held it to her ear. "Then you can explain your theory to Mistress Brent."

There was an awkward pause before Kaley spoke. "Lady Tara is on her way back with Mistress Brent. I’m escorting Lady Tara’s gentlemen back to the sanctuary as we speak. We heard two sets of shots from the upper rim of the canyon. Bre was up there." She had a bit of a crush on the Bre actually, she’d asked the young guardian out and been refused, twice.

"Understood," Ceir said coldly. "And when you get back, you and I are going to spar. I want to make sure your hand to hand skills are up to par." She slammed the phone down and turned toward Willow. "She’s young. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about."

Willow’s face was a study in fury. Her jaw shook and one eye actually twitched. See was relieved that Tara was on her way back, and she knew Brent would keep her safe, but having someone sworn to protect Tara malign her was too much. "When Tara’s safely home, I want a private word with Kaley."

"She’s lying." Ira had been sitting at the desk across the room. "Tara adores you. She’d never look at anyone else." He climbed to his feet and started to move closer.

Buffy smirked as she paused next to one of the beds with Brianna on her back. She liked seeing Willow’s dad defend Tara’s honor.

"Who is this Kaley?" Sheila demanded. "How dare she talk about Tara that way? That girl worships you." Sheila went to Willow’s side and draped her arm around Willow’s shoulder as she balanced Megan to her chest. "Believe me, I should know," she whispered just loud enough for Willow to hear. "Kaley? Groisser potz!" she added a bit louder.

"Mother!" Willow whipped her head around and stared, slack jawed at her mother. Sheila had just called Kaley a ‘big dick’ in Yiddish.

"Well, she is," Sheila said primly. She took her arm off of Willow’s shoulder and hugged Megan and kissed the infant’s head. No one was going to talk about Sheila Rosenberg’s daughter-in-law.

Ceri overheard the comments. She fought the urge to laugh. "Lady Tara will be at the infirmary soon. I’ll escort you if you’d like to meet her there."

Willow nodded and turned to Brianna. "Honey, you’ll have to stay with aunt Fluffy, okay?"

Brianna frowned, not pleased at all.

"She’ll be fine," Buffy promised. She glanced at Sheila and decided she’d best keep Brianna away from her potty-mouthed grandmother. Enhanced Slayer hearing had its benefits, and even though Buffy didn’t speak Yiddish, she knew Sheila’s comment was definitely R rated.

"I wanna’ see mama," Brianna protested.

"Brianna…" Willow’s tone took on the universal ‘mother-tone.’

"Fine." Brianna wiggled and climbed down from Buffy’s back and then sat on one of the beds and folded her arms over her chest. Her bottom lip stuck out and she scrunched her brows together grouchily.

"She looks just like you when she pouts," Sheila told Willow. "All those years you sat in your room brooding and now God gives it back to you."

*****

Brigan felt relief wash over her when she saw Brent and Kaley arrive. She watched through the binoculars as the situation unfolded. Once she was sure Tara was safe and on her way back to the sanctuary, she called the ‘clean up crew’ at the main office. The clean up crew took care of certain ‘inconveniences’ … like disposing of dead members of the Keeper’s coven. She glanced back at Bre and could see how devastated the young guardian was. Bre was standing next to the younger Keeper and staring at him.

The guardian on the other end of the phone answered and Brigan quickly explained what she needed. The bodies would be picked up and delivered to the Keeper’s nearest headquarters. The message would be clear, "stay away from Lady Tara."

Bre was in shock. After Tara had been kidnapped, Bre had used her dagger to scar several of the Keeper’s men. She had even helped break a few arms, but she had not taken any lives. She had suspected at the time that the older guardians were shielding her, and she had resented the coddling. Now she understood it. Her soul hurt as she studied the men she had killed. She felt sick to her stomach, and more than a little dizzy. Her whole body felt heavy and numb and she felt disconnected from her surroundings.

"They’re on the way," Brigan said quietly.

Bre nodded without turning. Her eyes shifted to the gun in her hand and then down to the puddle of blood next to her foot. She wondered how the blood could have settled there, and then she noticed the steady trail of blood sliding down her hand and dripping onto the ground. She let out a bewildered laugh and turned to Brigan.

"I’m shot." Bre lifted her hand and then her legs buckled. Her gun bounced across the dirt as she landed on her knees.

"Bre!" Brigan rushed forward and dropped to the ground in front of her young friend. "Bre?" She grabbed Bre by the shoulders. The blood soaked fabric of Bre’s dark jacket squished as Brigan tried to hold her up.

"I can’t believe it…" Bre closed her eyes and she laughed weakly. "I’m shot," she repeated numbly. "Dawn’s gonna’ kill me," she whispered as her body went limp and she collapsed in Brigan’s arms.

End chapter tweleve

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