“Displaying your emotions doesn’t make you foolish,” I counselled Thorn. “In fact, I’m proud of you, sweetie. I know you have trouble expressing your feelings.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Stephen, honestly,” she declared. “Forget what I said. It was in the heat of the moment. I’m totally embarrassed about the whole episode.”
“No, Thorn,” I disagreed. “I don’t want to forget about it. Thank you for saying it. I’m flattered beyond words you would think that about me, and we’ll talk about it later, when you’re fit again. It’s not the sort of thing you want to cage up and neglect. If you do, it tends to go feral and ends up biting someone.”
“Let me get this straight,” Nix said, astonished. “You’re comparing a declaration of love to a wild animal?”
“Well, isn’t it?” I replied. “If you lock it away and suppress it, what do you think will happen then? It doesn’t simply vanish. It grows and grows and feeds on itself until it mutates into something totally weird. That’s where you get stalkers from, you know. No, it has to be released and allowed to roam around free in the open air. That way, you don’t lose perspective.”
“That’s the most extraordinary view I’ve ever heard,” Nix stated. He stared at me in amazement. “You humans are a very strange race.”
“You’re a human?” Max questioned, wide-eyed.
“It’s a long story,” I said, deflecting his curiosity. “Now, where the devil is that doctor?”
Chapter 23
Eventually, the doctor did arrive, and treated Thorn. He cleaned and stitched her wound and advised that we use a litter to carry her back home for recovery. Nix supervised the making of the litter while Fink and I interrogated the dwarf suspected of the killings. He was initially stubbornly reticent but, when I pointed out his hopeless situation, his practicality came to the fore, especially when I offered him an incentive for confessing.
“You can’t give him that!” Fink spluttered, after I dangled a five-year reduction in jail time in front of his nose in return for a full revelation.
“Yes, I can,” I disagreed. “Who’s going to stop me? This is a unique situation. How many killers have you had in custody before, huh? As I understand it, this is a first, so we can create any precedents we like. Besides, isn’t it worth it to hear the full story?”
After a bit of thought, Fink agreed with me, and we listened as our prisoner told us everything. We heard how Belleamunia’s father had been appalled at his daughter’s drug use and had contacted the dissident dwarf group to see if any of them would volunteer to restore his family’s honor. Our captive then admitted that he had undertaken the chore. In fact, in a sickening way, he seemed rather proud of his efforts. Then he outlined the most surprising fact of all. Apparently, Belleamunia’s father had then asked for Dugfingbux to be done away with also.
“But why?” Fink demanded. “What possible reason could he have had?”
“Two main reasons,” we were told. “I don’t quite follow the reasoning myself, but he wanted Dugfingbux killed because he had been supplying the drug to his daughter, but also because Dugfingbux had apparently been taking more than his fair share of the profits.”
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted, appalled. “Are you telling us that the father is behind the selling of the drugs?”
“That’s right,” I was informed.
“But that’s …….. that’s sick!” I cried, vehemently. “The man has his own daughter killed for using a drug – the very drugs that he himself sold! That’s monstrous! I’ve never heard of anything so vile! You can’t be serious!” I glanced at Fink. He appeared almost on the verge of throwing up.
“Yes, I was rather taken aback myself,” the dwarf told me.
“He must be insane,” I raged. “How dare he talk of family honor and commit such atrocities? It’s beyond comprehension!”
“What do we do now?” Fink asked faintly, his face tinged with green.
“You,” I commanded, pointing a finger at him, “are going to make sure this dwarf doesn’t escape and then you’re going to take some of your officers and arrest Belleamunia’s father by any means necessary.” I smiled grimly. “If we’re lucky,” I added maliciously, “he’ll try to resist arrest.”
“I think I follow your meaning,” Fink said, understandingly, “but I hope it doesn’t come to that. I still find violence repugnant. However, in this case ………” Then he shook his head. “No, I won’t give in to vengeance. The proper procedures will be followed.” I was moved by Fink’s dedication to duty. He had just shown me more character than I had originally given him credit for.
“You’re a worthy law enforcer,” I praised. “I take back all the bad things I said about you.”
“You’ve been saying bad things about me?” he asked, his lips quirking into a smile.
“Well, not all that many,” I assured him.
“And I would have deserved them,” he admitted, waving a dismissive hand. “You’ve taught me so many things, Stephen. Thank you.”
“And thank you for being open minded enough to accept them,” I told him, sincerely. “I hope we can get along better in the future.”
“I’m sure of it,” Fink replied, shaking my hand. I returned to Thorn’s side as they were delicately loading her into the stretcher.
“They’ll be flying me home,” Thorn informed me. She reached out and took my hand. “You’ll come with me, won’t you, Stephen? I’d like to have you alongside.”
“Try and stop me,” I reassured her, patting her hand. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
“That’s nice,” Thorn sighed, closing her eyes wearily. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want you to be either.”
Chapter 24
Surrounded by a contingent of fairies, Thorn’s stretcher was carefully lifted aloft and vigilantly flown back home to be met by a frantic Tracey who fussed and fretted around until Thorn irritably told her to go away.
“Make me!” Tracey characteristically replied. “Arugohumna, you’re injured, and I’m going to look after you whether you like it or not, so stop being such a baby!”
And that started it. Thorn yelled at Tracey, and she yelled back at Thorn. I threw my hands up in the air and, leaving them to it, went searching for something to eat. Things had settled down when I returned, to the extent where they were hugging each other in remorse. So, the status quo prevailed. Fights and hugs. I wondered if that would ever change.
Tracey insisted on hearing the full story of the rescue and Thorn and I took turns in relating what had happened.
“You’re a hero,” Tracey proclaimed, smiling at me in admiration.
“Thorn’s the hero,” I disagreed. “She’s the one who saved me from being stabbed. If it hadn’t been for her bravery, then goodness knows what would have happened.”
“Yes, but it was your plan all along,” Tracey amended. “Don’t be so modest, Stephen. Without you, Cathlionum would never have been rescued. I think you’re wonderful!” She leaned across Thorn’s prostrate body, with the obvious intention of kissing me, but was stopped mid-way by Thorn’s hand forcefully gripping her chin.
“Not so fast, Missy,” Thorn grated.
“Arugohumna, what do you think you’re doing?” Tracey huffily demanded. “Let go of me!”
“I don’t think so,” Thorn replied.
“It’s lucky for you that you’re hurt,” Tracey sulked, slapping away Thorn’s hand and retreating to her original position, “otherwise I’d be teaching you a lesson and no mistake.”
“Hah!” Thorn snorted in derision. “Even if I had ten knife words, I’d still be able to beat you.”
“Oh, please,” Tracey sneered. “I think your wound has made you delirious. Stephen, go and get Arugohumna an ice pack, will you? She’s obviously feverish.”
“You’re such a comedian,” Thorn scoffed. “What you say might not be funny, but you sure look funny.”
I began to worry about the tensio
n building between the two of them. Enough static electricity was being generated to run a small town.
“Everybody calm down,” I announced. “We can’t afford to get Thorn upset. She should be resting, not fighting. Can’t you two be civil to each other for more than five minutes?” Both combatants lowered their eyes in shame.
“It’s you, Stephen,” Tracey muttered, shuffling her feet. “You bring out the worst in the both of us.”
“Believe me,” I says sincerely, “I don’t mean to. The last thing I want to see is both of you fighting. Over anything!”
“It’s not your fault,” Thorn affirmed. “You know how I feel about you. I’m afraid I made it all too clear when I thought I was dying. But I think the problem is that my sister feels something for you as well, and that’s causing a few difficulties.”
“Is that true?” I questioned, looking across at Tracey who blushed under my scrutiny.
“Maybe ….. Perhaps ….. It’s possible ….. Oh, I don’t know!” she wailed, running her fingers distractedly through her hair.
“Well, I’m glad that’s been cleared up,” I remarked, cynically.
“Don’t be mean, Stephen,” Thorn scolded, immediately leaping to Tracey’s defence. “Traculimna is searching for answers and I won’t have you being nasty to her, okay? You should be helping, not making fun of her.”
“You’re right, of course,” I agreed. “Tracey, I humbly apologise. What can I do to make it up to you?”
Tracey smiled at me invitingly. “You can start by kissing me,” she tempted, leaning over Thorn once more.
“Traculimna!” Thorn bellowed.
“Listen, you two ratbags,” I proclaimed, “as much as I’d like to stay and watch the next fight, I really have to go. I’ve been away from my body for ages. My eight hours must be well and truly up.” I captured Thorn’s hand and kissed her fingers. “Thorn, honey, I hate to leave you when you’re hurt, but I have no other choice. I’d like nothing better than to stay with you, but it’s impossible. I’ll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, look after yourself. If you want to know any more about the outcome of all this, I’m sure that Fink would be only too happy to explain.”
“Hurry back,” Thorn begged, her eyes filling. “I’ll be counting the days.”
“I will be, too,” Tracey smiled, winking at me, much to Thorn’s chagrin.
“Man, I’m so out of here!” I remarked, grinning. I gave Thorn an awkward hug, because of her prone position, then I stepped around and hugged Tracey, trying desperately to make both hugs exactly the same to prevent further conflict. And I then hurried out the door, pausing only to wave a final goodbye to them both.
Chapter 25
I hastened to Phil, and he obliged by attaching his magic electrodes to me and zapping me back into my real body. I stretched, loosening tight muscles, and headed for the kitchen because I felt thirsty and hungry in equal amounts. So much for that little adventure. But the problem of Thorn and Tracey still remained. What on earth was I going to do about it? I couldn’t see any solution whatsoever and any step I made in any direction would be sure to aggravate the situation. What a shambles! My heart ached for Thorn, the poor little thing. Actually, she didn’t really need my pity at all. She was proud, independent and quite capable of looking after herself. Tracey seemed to know her own mind as well. The problem was, of course, that they needed to pity me. I had no idea of where to go or what direction to turn. I’d parked my car in the middle of Confusion Central. Oh well, maybe it would all sort itself out over time. I could only hope. For my sake, as well as theirs. Anyway, I couldn’t wait for my next visit.
END
Sample Chapters from ‘Trix (3)’
Chapter 1
A few anxious weeks went by, coupled with my worrying about Thorn’s health. She’d been injured on my last visit – a knife wound to the side during our rescue of Max’s kidnapped sister. I badly wanted to return to see how she fared, but I assumed that everything was fine otherwise I’m sure that Phil would have come and told me otherwise. Besides, I did have a life, such as it was, in the human world, so I went back to work as a casual computer networking geek in order to earn some money. Visiting Thorn’s fairyland might be all well and good, but it didn’t pay the bills. Maybe I should be on commission? Perhaps penalty pay rates for nearly getting killed? The Council of Elders had been overwhelmingly grateful and everything, but maybe I should have asked for monetary compensation instead of simply their gratitude. I smiled to myself. Mercenary, Stephen, mercenary! Very tacky.
I happened to be sleeping – a habit I’d become addicted to during the night – when I found myself awoken by an insistent tugging on my ear. Because I’d been brought back from the world of dreams in a similar manner a few times before, my synaptic pathways recognised this signal as a prelude to a fairy visit, so I didn’t swot irritably at the author of the tugging. Instead, I opened my eyes and discovered that I had been correct in my surmise. Standing on my pillow, grinning broadly at me, was Phil. Also, to my unbounded delight, I beheld the delectable Thorn, looking as pretty as always.
“Thorn! Phil!” I exclaimed, joyfully. “It’s lovely to see you both!”
“You too,” Phil replied, clasping his hands over his ears, “but dial it back a bit, please.”
“Sorry,” I contritely whispered.
“Hello, Stephen,” Thorn announced, shyly. “How have you been?”
“All the better for seeing you, Thorn,” I told her, sincerely. She blushed and looked down at her feet. “So you’re all better, then?” I asked. “I’ve been worrying about you for weeks.”
“You have?” she asked, peering coyly at me through her eyelashes.
“Definitely,” I assured her. “I’ve hardly thought of anything else.”
“Really?” she questioned, excitedly.
“Cross my heart,” I solemnly told her.
Phil interrupted at this stage. “I can see this sparkling wordplay could go on for hours,” he derisively announced, “but unfortunately, I have to be back in my laboratory by next year, so how about we speed up proceedings, eh?”
“Phillymunna, you don’t have a speck of romance anywhere in your makeup, do you?” Thorn rebuked. “I haven’t seen Stephen for weeks! Surely we deserve a little time together?”
“Possibly, possibly,” Phil remarked. “Incidentally, I’d be more likely to agree if you and Stephen had, shall we say, a somewhat more …… binding union.”
“Stop doing that!” scolded Thorn.
“What?” Phil asked, innocently.
“Trying to force us into a relationship,” Thorn answered. “You’re always doing it.”
“No, I’m not,” Phil strenuously denied. Thorn glared at him, accusingly. “Okay, maybe I am,” he relented, “but I’m only doing it for your own good. Arugohumna, you need someone in your life and Stephen is ideal. He’s kind and clever and, despite your temper, I think he likes you. And I know for a fact that you think the world of him. Hey, it’s a no-brainer. Case closed.”
I was taken aback by Phil’s impulsive little speech, but it did make me think. What exactly did I think about Thorn? There could be no denying that I felt something for her. She was sassy, sexy and brave. True, she might be calmness-challenged, but I believed she was gradually overcoming that trait. However, the fly in the ointment, the elephant in the cereal, the hippopotamus in the milk, the polar bear it in the butter, etcetera, ……. happened to be her sister, Tracey. I had feelings for her, as well. Feelings that made me go weak at the knees, wobbly in the elbows and feeble in the toes. Tracey was absolutely, stupendously, unbelievably, utterly and completely gorgeous. Every time I saw her, my heart skipped a beat, jumped up and down and did five laps around the block. I mean, she looked stunning! Okay, so superficiality attracted me. Pardon me for living. It attracted just about everybody else in this country as well. I mean, that’s why we invented Hollywood, for crying out loud.
Meantime, Thorn spluttered incoherently,
searching desperately for a reply to Phil’s outrageous suggestion. But was it so outrageous? I’d never had much success with women. I was too shy, for a start. To me, women were mysterious and wondrous creatures, to be approached with the utmost caution and trepidation. Where I had obtained this weird concept from, I had no idea. I knew it couldn’t be right, because just about everyone I knew was paired up with one, or sometimes even two, women. Hell, throughout the world, ninety-nine percent of people had a partner. Why did I have to be the one who missed out? Surely there must be one woman left over, or did the whole equation balance out so exactly that there were no unpaired females remaining? It remained an unsolved conundrum. Maybe I was too picky. That might be an answer if I’d ever been asked to pick, that is. Or had a queue to pick from! But here stood Thorn, apparently willing to start a queue. A human/fairy combination, though? Was it even feasible? How would the logistics work? I had a life in the human world. Not much of a life, granted, but at least it existed. I’d have to spend my time popping in and out of fairy clones. It’d be a ridiculous way to live. Or would it? I found the fairy realms intriguing, and I harbored a secret satisfaction at being one of the few humans to have experienced it. I could plausibly divide my time between here and there, experiencing both worlds.
Thorn, by this time, had recovered sufficiently to wave a warning finger under Phil’s nose.
“No more, do you hear me?” she stormed. “I don’t want to hear another word from you about me and Stephen, okay?”
Phil held up his hands in defence. “Fine,” he calmly agreed. “You won’t hear another thing from me. I won’t say one more word about how your friendless days will stretch out before you, and how you’ll toss and turn in your lonely bed with no companionship to see you through the darkest nights. You won’t hear anything about any of that from me.”
“Why, you …… you ….. utter ratbag!” stammered Thorn, hopping up and down in agitation and fluttering her wings. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing! Stephen and I are none of your business! Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
Dangerous Desires (2) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 9
