"Of course she does," I proclaimed, skipping lightly over Thorn’s doubts. "Once you've found your bearings, you can find a place of your own. It's all settled, then! When Tracey’s better, we'll go to your house and help you move out. You're doing the right thing, Quina, I'm sure of it. Welcome back to normality."
"We'll see," she replied, unintentionally echoing Thorn’s doubts. "We'll see."
Chapter 28
Upon reaching the settlement, the hospital became our first stop was in order to visit Tracey. Despite Doctor Totil’s frowning disapproval of Zen's unsterilized presence, we arrived at Tracey's bedside and had a joyous reunion.
"How soon will you be out of here?" Trix asked.
"Tomorrow, I hope," Tracey said. "And I can't wait to go back home." She fixed her attention on Quina. "My Stephen told me that you'll be with us as well, Quina. Welcome to our extended family."
"Thank you," Quina murmured. "I appreciate your kindness. I hope I won't be too much of a bother."
"What's one more?" Tracey demurred. "We already have two sisters, two human/One Stephens, an adopted cogdommina daughter, one wolf and an occasional borgulessa visitor. Amongst all that lot, you'd hardly be seen to be out of place."
Quina smiled. "You're right," she agreed. "It's quite a mix. Unique, I should think. I'll gather some of my things tomorrow and bring them in. It'll be interesting to interface with people again. It'll be a little bit scary, too."
"You'll be fine," Nix encouraged. "Arugohumna and Traculimna are two of the nicest fairies I know, even if Arugohumna scores only two on the tail scale."
"Two?" Thorn raged. "You need your eyesight checked, you horrible beast. Not only are you ugly but now you can't even see properly into the bargain. You're falling apart bit by bit, my friend, although I can't say that I'm surprised. Getting blind drunk every night does that to a person. It's a wonder it didn't happen earlier."
"Would you listen to her?" Nix protested to everybody. "She's so deluded. It's painfully obvious that she’s disguising her lust for me under a veneer of exaggerations. As it so happens, I get blind drunk only every second night. That’s how much she knows. I don't understand why she doesn't just come out and admit how much she worships me. It's probably because she's such a softie and she doesn't want to destroy Stephen’s dreams. I can appreciate that. But still, Arugohumna, my darling, it's not a good idea to bottle up your passions like this. Confess your undying love for me and you'll feel better, believe me. Face your hidden yearnings and free yourself! My bedroom and I will be awaiting your knock on my door."
Thorn was struck speechless. Quina chuckled and Trix doubled over with laughter. Tracey had her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles. Finally, Thorn began to reply.
"Of all the harebrained, ridiculous, nonsensical, ………" she commenced, launching into a prolonged and truly inspired description of Nix, that lasted fully five minutes without a break or a single repetitious slander. Poor Quina! She didn't know what she was letting yourself in for by moving in with us. I hoped she wasn’t easily shocked.
END
Sample Chapters from ‘Retribution (8)’
Chapter One
Quina, the ex-doctor psychic healer, settled into our disparate household and added yet another exotic flavor to the already colorful mix of our diverse group. At first she seemed shy around us, which was quite understandable after her multiple years of solitude. She also grieved for the ‘second’ death of her sister and we’d occasionally find her sitting by herself, teary-eyed. In those times, one of us would sit by her side and hug her sympathetically. Although initially wary of those embraces, she soon came to revel in them because they provided her with the physical closeness she’d shunned for the majority of her life. Zen, Trix’s pet wolf, seemed intrigued by her, and would often come over and put his head in her lap and look up at her with beseeching eyes. Quina would then succumb to his pleading and scratch his ears and he’d go away satisfied. Until the next time, that is.
As part of her rehabilitation into society, we encouraged her to go shopping with us. At first she refused, saying that crowds made her panicky, but gradually that feeling disappeared and she ventured out of the house more and more. However, the one external activity she delighted in comprised of listening to the local choir. She loved music and would sit entranced for hours while the singers practised. What made it even more alluring, for all of us really, was that our very own Trix would often join the choir. Because of her extraordinary voice, Trix had a standing invitation to participate in the singing at any time she felt so inclined. You could always tell when she sang because her sweet, beguiling soprano would float above all the other voices, embellishing the harmonies and adding a crystal-clear sparkle to the notes. Her singing was truly remarkable and I believe it to be the one major event that finally persuaded Quina to blend in with our local society because, to listen to Trix, she had to leave the house and mingle with other listeners.
And so, gradually, Quina became a participant in her surroundings. She began to talk about opening a practice where she could employ her healing skills. We encouraged her in this, especially Thorn, who still harbored an abiding suspicion that Quina happened to be more than a little interested in my welfare – and by ‘me’, I mean Thorn's version of me. By scientific jiggery-pokery, I’d been downloaded into two fairy clones, which, by the way, I still hadn't fully adjusted to as yet. Hey, do you blame me? It was a bizarre and unnatural arrangement, but one that seemed to be the only solution to my dilemma of loving both Thorn and Tracey equally. I know what you're thinking here. ‘How greedy can you get? Two women? Most people get only one!’ I agree with that, and I also agree that I'd been unbelievably fortunate and mind-bogglingly lucky to have the reciprocal love of these two gorgeous females. But I certainly wasn't going to complain about my good fortune. I didn't want to jinx it because I felt supremely happy with the arrangement and, as far as I can tell, so were Thorn and Tracey. But it remained a peculiar feeling to be in two bodies instead of the usual single unit. Nonetheless, I found that to be a minor inconvenience compared to the overwhelming benefits it provided.
Our domestic harmony was shattered one night however, when we were woken in the early hours by Quina’s scream. I was jolted out of my sleep, still not comprehending what was going on.
"Are the Martians invading?" I croaked to both Tracey and Thorn, slipping into a single mindset due to my confusion.
"Martians?" Thorn questioned. I began to explain when a second scream brought me fully back to this reality.
"That's Quina!" I exclaimed, leaping out of bed and heading for the door. I was met in the corridor by my other self and a dishevelled Tracey. We were joined seconds later by Trix and Zen.
"What's going on?" Trix demanded, rubbing her eyes.
"Something’s wrong with Quina," I explained, striding towards her room.
"What?" she asked.
"We'll find out has soon as we get there," I told her, increasing my pace. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good."
Chapter 2
We reached Quina’s room in a rush and found her sitting bolt upright on her bed, arms wrapped protectively around herself and eyes wide with fear. She stared at us uncomprehendingly. I wasn't sure if she was even awake, so the both of me carefully sidled up to the bed, sat on either side of her and put arms around her trembling body.
"What's going on, sweetie?" I softly asked. "You're safe now. We have you." She blinked and I could almost see the consciousness reappearing in her eyes.
"It's horrible!" she whispered in a broken voice. "It's horrible!" she repeated, shuddering in every muscle.
"Take it easy, honey," I soothed, caressing the back of her head. "You're back home with us. Nothing can hurt you." I gave her a squeeze. "See, we're here for you. You're safe. You really are. It was a dream. Just a dream."
Quina shook her head in negation. "No," she maintained. "It was more than that. Much more!"
"It doesn't matter," I reas
sured her. "You're here with us now, safe and sound. Take some deep breaths and we'll sort it all out when you're ready. Take it easy. There's plenty of time." Quina accepted my suggestion and stopped panting. She inhaled forcefully a few times and her trembling stopped.
"Good girl," I praised, feeling her cramping muscles relax. "You're doing fine. Keep it up."
A few minutes later, as she calmed down, I felt that I could safely release her. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and murmured, "I'm sorry to wake you all like that," she apologised. "I didn't mean to."
"That's all right, sweetie," I reassured her. "Everyone has bad dreams, although yours seems to have been worse than most. Can you tell us about it? It usually helps."
Quina took a ragged breath. "It was ghastly," she began, "although it doesn't seem so bad now that I'm awake, but at the time I felt totally petrified!" She paused, her face taut with memories.
"Keep going," I encouraged.
"I was in a strange place," she continued. "I don't know where, but it wasn't anywhere here, I'm sure of it. And I'm also positive the spiritual realms were somehow involved. I was simply floating, not doing anything when this …….. this horrible thing appeared!" Her voice broke at that stage and her body started shaking, so I hastily hugged her again.
"Easy, sweetheart," I said, consolingly. "Take your time. There's no rush. Take some more deep breaths." She did so and calmed herself once again.
"Sorry about that," she told us all. "It's just that going back to it ………. I've never been so terrified in my entire life. I don't know why. I'm not usually the type to panic."
"No, you're not," I agreed. "In normal circumstances, you're so cool we could use you as a refrigerator." My comment conjured a slight smile on her face.
"You're such a flatterer," she said. "And, as usual, your comment has hidden meanings. Are you implying that I'm frigid, full of food and my figure doesn't have any curves?"
"Heavens above, no," I joked, pleased to see that her sense of humor had still been retained, despite her being traumatised. "Your hotness cuts down on our heating bills," I complemented, grinning. "You eat less than a sparrow and your curves are a danger to any vehicle." She gently pushed me away and looked up at Thorn and Tracey.
"He's so outrageous," she declared. "How do you put up with him? Them, I mean."
"It isn't easy," Tracey commented, smiling. "Everything Stephen says is suspect. You can never take anything for granted with him." She reached out a hand and pulled me off the bed. Thorn did likewise and they both slipped arms around my waists. "But, despite all that," Tracey continued, "we keep him around because someone has to dispose of the spiders." She turned to Thorn. "Can you think of any other reason, Arugohumna?"
Thorn screwed up her face in thought. "Not really," she replied, dimples flashing. "I mean, it certainly can't be for his looks, that’s for sure, so I guess it has to be for some reason! Let me get back to you on that one."
"Very funny, ratbags," I said. "Now, since you're so good at this, can you think of any reason at all why I’d want to stay here with you two?"
"That's easy," Thorn pronounced. "Traculimna is gorgeous and dead sexy."
"And Arugohumna is great in bed!" Tracey announced, with a flourish.
"Traculimna!" Thorn exclaimed, turning a bright red. "You can't say things like that!"
"And why not?" Tracey asked, enquiringly. "It's true, isn't it? Hey, my room is just down the hall from yours, you know. And sometimes you become a little …….um, loud."
"I can vouch for what’s being said," I smirked, delighted to have the tables turned on one of my tormentors. "Why, there's many a time when I didn't think I was going to survive her predations. Let me tell you," I began, "of the time when she – and you're not going to believe this – she started to ……"
"Stephen!" Thorn interrupted, forcefully slapping my arm. "Don't you dare say another thing otherwise I'll never speak to you again!"
"Chance would be a fine thing," I muttered, rubbing my arm.
Books by Steve Elliott:
* The Snurglepuss Doorway
* Vampire? (Part 1)
* Alien? (Part 2)
* Timing It
* Hog Mama
* Thief
*Depression World
* Picture Perfect
* Society Tart
*Betrayal
* Earth Angel
* Double Trouble
*Multiples
‘Soul Mate’ Series:
* Childhood.1(a)
*Dreaming.1(b)
* Rescue.2
* Lioness.3
* Wedding Woes.4
* Crossroads.5
*Daughter.6
* Endings & Beginnings.7
*Grandchild.8
*Final Chapter.9
‘Underground Kingdom’ Series:
*Crystal Thief (1)
* Dangerous Desires (2)
* Trix (3)
* Zenith (4)
* Pitfall (5)
* The Vile (6)
* Revenge (7)
* Retribution (8)
* Rosewing (9)
* Night Things (10)
* Blood Stone (11)
‘Diama the Destroyer’ Series:
* Diama the Destroyer (Vol.1)
* Sacrifice (Vol.2)
* Wizard (Vol.3)
* Finders Keepers (Vol.4)
* Sword of Destiny (Vol.5)
* Known Strangers (Vol.6)
* Deception (Vol.7)
* Time After Time (Vol.8)
* Return (Vol.9)
* Friend or Foe? (Vol.10)
* The Missing Mayor (Vol.11)
* Jigsaw (Vol.12)
* A New Beginning (Vol.13)
‘Vampire Curse’ Series:
* Vampire Curse
* Vampire Friendly
* The Orb of Rule
* The Haunted Portal
* Seeking Petals
* Tiger Doorway
* Hidden Motives
*Sings the Morning
* The Cave
* Blossom
* The Dagger of Serios
* Sky
* Fractal Finality
‘Survival’ Series
* Survival
Revenge (7) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 9
