Marriage is Murder

She had not come to sit in the greenhouse. She wanted to walk just a couple moments by herself. He had misread her gestures. She had not wanted to go to the greenhouse. She had not wanted an escort. She wanted a couple of moments of air. Just fresh air.

She got up, stepped over the dog, and left the greenhouse, closing the door so the dog could not follow. She walked with a quicker, more determined step now, wanting just a couple of minutes to walk, to clear her head. She did have to get better at ditching them, she resolved.

Back in the house, Robert laughed very softly as he saw, from a distance, what she was doing. "She thinks he's hovering," he laughed. "She's ditching him. I don't think she's going far. If she had, she'd have just apparated out and left him in there by himself. She's just walking. Hopefully, he leaves her a bit of distance."

Khaat wandered to the paved riding trails, liking the smell of the autumn leaves, even though most of them were off the trees now. She noticed Brian had put in small lights that she knew would go on when darkness set in and would go off in daylight. They were nice. She liked them. A night ride on the trails would be nice before the snow covered up the lights.

Her thoughts were interrupted. Something was, again, not right. She started to look around to see if there was anything unusual. It didn't take long for her to see a plain brown wild rabbit not far from her. But on second glance she saw it was an animagus. Not a rabbit at all. She gave a sharp whistle for Archangel.

Robert heard the whistle for the bird. It was a command whistle. Kate had programmed several whistle tones for the bird--but this one was a signal for the bird to come now. Straight away. Not games. Robert drew his wand but he waited. He saw the bird immediately respond to her call and fly off into the woods.

When Archangel arrived, she gave him another command, a fetch whistle, and pointed to the rabbit, which was already trying to outrun the enormous bald eagle. And Khaat knew that had been just plain stupidity. Archangel loved a hunt more than anything else. It was quick work to catch the rabbit in his talons. Khaat pointed for him to take the rabbit to her father--to the porch, not inside the house. She would let them deal with the intruding animagus.

Steven watched as Khaat stood up he watched her in the glass reflection leave the green house and he sighed. "Damn it got it wrong " he said softly he let her walk a little ways ahead and he opened the door for Shadow who walked quietly out then disappeared into the woods. Steven walked quietly some distance behind her but when he heard the whistle he drew his wand but staid back as he saw Archangel fly over him first one way then the other with a rabbit in his claws. He moved so he could see Khaat just ahead but he didn't go to her leaving her alone and knowing she was okay to continue her walk if she so wished.

"She surely didn't send him to play fetch, did she?" Brian asked.

"No," Robert said, accio'iing his coat. "She did most certainly not. Jack! Jim--lets go. she's brought us something we need to attend to. The rest of you on your guard. Lets' hope Steven has her in his sights. Brian accio'd his coat, put it on, and drew his wand. "Kate, get him to give it to me," Robert ordered.

"Of course," she said, picking up her own coat. She and Brian and Robert headed outside, as Angus drew his wand and waited at the ready.

Jack and Jim moved to Archangel and took the rabbit from him carrying it over to Robert . Jack headed out to Brian and Robert. " looks like an animus Rabbit, Robert , who it is I don't know" Jack told him as he too held his wand at the ready. Steven still staid well back but keeping her in his sight. Jim walked out the rabbit well in hand now locked in a cage that he carried.

" here he is?" Jim said holding up the cage to Robert " you think you know who it is?" he asked " if not Angus loves to make rabbit stew" he said winking to show he was merely trying to get who ever it was to show themselves.

"And how did you get that from him so quickly?" Robert frowned at Jim. "He never surrenders prey that easily. Thats why I brought Kate with me." Kate made a soft signal to Archangel to send him back to Khaat. The bird gladly flew off again to go be with his mistress.

Robert reached inside the cage and drew out the rabbit by the scruff of the neck and held it at arms length and Kate and Brian leveled their wands at it, ready to kill it instantly if it so much as blinked in the wrong direction. Robert cast a spell with his wand at the rabbit and found himself holding a thin, wiry woman by the scruff of her neck. By the looks of her and the smell of her, she'd been living on the streets a long time, dressed in rags, thin from a lack of resources. She clearly couldn't provide for herself as a human, and nobody in their right mind came to a property where it was public knowledge that a witch lived with an eagle. That was just utter stupidity.

"You really aren't very good at what you do, you know," he told her. "Try stealing a cake of soap once in awhile." She kicked him sharply in the shin with the spiked heel of her boot and Robert thrust his wand into her throat hard. "Do it again, and you'll be a dead rabbit. Now--who are you and who do you work for?" She glared hard at him, not intending to tell him anything.

Jim looked at Robert " I have my ways " he said softly and placed the cage down as Robert made the rabbit change to a rather smelly woman . Jim held his nose and moved up wind of her. Even Jack seem to cough at the strong odor she gave of. Jack wafted his hand in front of his face and stepped back.

" wow, I agree with the bar of soap" he said but kept an eye out around the grounds where they stood so nobody could sneak up on them. Steven staid stood leaning on a tree waiting for Khaat to ether return to the house or continue her walk.

The woman made a clear display of defiance and had no intention of ever talking.

"Angus," Robert called. "Summon your grandfather, please. I think this is more his forte than mine."

"At once," came the reply from the house.

"What are you going to do?" Kate asked.

"I think this is a matter for Edward to deal with, don't you?"

"That's a bit harsh, dont you think?" she asked.

"No. No, I don't," Robert said. The woman squirmed and fought and kicked Robert and finally bit him--hard enough to draw blood. To Kate's surprise, Robert never flinched. He backhanded her in the teeth with the back of his wand hand--hard enough to make her cry out and make her bleed.

"Problems?" Edward's deep baritone voice sounded as he walked casually outside. "What have you all caught?"

"A rabbit," Robert said.

"Really, now?" Edward said, interested. He walked over to the woman and turned her face to be able to look into her eyes. "So I see. Not playing nicely?"

"Just being a bit of a shrew," Robert replied.

"I like shrews. They're a good hobby for when I'm bored. Can I play with her?"

"I thought you'd like her. Be my guest," Robert said. Edward used magic to bind the woman and simply ported out with her. Kate was uneasy. "What?" Robert frowned at her. Kate drew his handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around the bleeding teethmarks on his arm.

"Clean that before you close it," Kate said quietly.

"You afraid she has rabies or something?" Robert laughed.

"Or something," Kate replied. "Will Edward leave her alive?"

"That's none of my business. Our eagle caught a rabbit. There's nothing more to it than that--unless Edward tells us so." Robert looked up at the others. "Am I making myself clear?" Robert was done being such a goody two shoes. He wasn't playing. He believed this was the werewolf pack and if they kept messing with his family, then more of them were going to die.

Jack and Jim looked at each other they had never heard Robert so stern before but knew he had his reasons both nodded and spoke in the same monotone voice " yes sir" they said " I'll walk the grounds" Jack said as Jim disposed of the cage glancing at Kate worried at Roberts change in mannerisms but he said not one word. Jim waked around the grounds double and even triple checking all the barriers and spells that were in place even the guards were checked everything was as it should be. Jim stayed with Kate and Robert his eyes on the look out while Steven still stood a little ways from Khaat.

"Now," Kate said to Robert, when most of them had gone, "Are you ready to explain yourself?"

"Do I honestly need to?" he frowned. "This business with werewolves has gone on just about long enough, has it not? What part of it should we keep repeating for all of eternity? She's an animagus that they paid to spy on us for some sort of information on Khaat and Michael. I'm not prepared to lose either of them again. I don't want to have to specialize in the more violent methods of information extraction. In my position, I can't afford to. I doubt that Edward will kill her, but he's not beyond it. If she doesn't cooperate with him. It would be his last resort, certainly, But, rather than us always just defending ourselves, its about time I took the war to the werewolves, don't you think? Or would you rather us having to watch every step we make for the rest of our lives?"

Jim stood listening to Robert he could not falter his words and so stayed quiet he knew where Robert was coming from. Jim looked over at Kate "To know thy enemy is to be stronger." he said softly, standing never more than a few steps away from them. He understood Roberts thinking to a fault as he'd been in something slimier in the rangers. Jack walked back around still seeing Robert and Kate out side still. He didn't get too close staying well enough away to be not underfoot but close enough should anything arise.