Milo: Xavier’s Hatchlings ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Hello Mother, Father. What have you been up to?” They both turned to her and looked as shocked as he had hoped they would. “You tried to have me killed. But that’s not what I find the most disgusting about you. You also tried to have my sister killed. What were you going to do? Have a big happy reunion with us? Or did you care if I was joining in on the party? Very mean of you, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  Mom told Marie not to lie. When she turned back to Jamie, Marie looked like she was trying her best not to tell the truth. “Tell her your plans.”

  The compulsion was as strong as he’d ever felt from his mom when she was working with the dead. Sometimes she’d use it to get her point across, but right now, it had the desired effect. Marie started talking at the same time Patrick did.

  “You were nothing more than just a pain in the butt to us. Always wanting attention for this or that. Why do children have to be so flipping needy all the time? Then your sister came along, and there was no end to the crap she needed.” Patrick said it was the same stuff but triple for Missy. “You have no idea how many times I’d try and drown her when she was tiny, and you’d come into the room screaming at me. I was thrilled to death when she was in that home for kids. It was a wonderful feeling to have the house all to ourselves again.”

  “You told me you were taking care of her. Then I found out that not only did you put her in that nursing home she’s been living in, but you also made sure her insurance would run out, and the state or me would have to pay for her welfare. You did that on purpose.” Patrick said it had worked too. “How could you do that to her? Put her in the cheapest care facility you could find, then leave her there without money?”

  “It was easy, really. Had we known we were going to die early, we might well have done it sooner. Or not died at all. That was the plan, you see. We had it all set up to be changed into something forever and outlive you. Then some jackass T-boned us, and we were both killed in a stupid accident.” Patrick looked at Milo. “How do you like being saddled with Jamie? She’s nothing much to look at. Not like her mother, but she’ll pass. I’m assuming since the two of you aren’t married, you’ll be having her out on her butt in no time. Serves her right if you ask me.”

  “Since you know we were on our honeymoon when you tried to have us killed, I’m going to assume that you’re either stupider than I thought, or you have a way to work around my mom’s compulsion, to tell the truth.” He just smiled at her. “Jamie is going to have a child too. As soon as early next year. What do you think of that? I’ll tell you one thing. I’m so happy you’re both dead and out of our hair. I’d never allow you to see them even if you were alive and kicking.”

  “Good. I want nothing to do with them either. Christ, why people want to have children is beyond me.” Jamie asked her father why he’d had any. “Your grandmother made us. She said if we didn’t have any brats, she’d not leave us anything in her will. I hope she rots in her grave when she’s dead.”

  “I found her. Grandma is coming here to live with us as soon as I can make the arrangements. She’s thrilled to know you’re both dead too. Especially after you told her that both me and Missy had died.” Milo knew she was coming to live with them. It was one of the many things that had upset Jamie so much, knowing that all this time, her grandma had thought them dead. “But that’s neither here nor there. As the Death Slayer, I hereby sentence you to be nevermore. You’ll not have any chance of seeing anyone that should die after this day. Your name will be stricken from the books of the dead. Your markers will be magically enhanced so that any ghosts that come across your headstone will know that—”

  “Hold on a minute here. What do you mean, Death Slayer? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You’ve made that up to make yourself look better in your in-law’s eyes, haven’t you?” Marie looked at his mom. “She’s always been like this. Making herself out to be a great deal more than she could ever be.”

  “She’s a great deal more than any of us could have hoped for in a daughter-in-law.” Dad stood up as he continued. “Your lives will never be brought up again. Not in this world or the next. No one will mourn your passing either. You will be destroyed this day.”

  Milo reached up his hand, not having any idea why he needed to do so. When his hand filled with a blue sword, gems covered the pummel from tip to tip. He felt the power of it race over his body as he held it upright.

  “I, Jamie Manning, hereby destroy you both, Marie Darkhouse and Patrick Darkhouse, from this world and the one beyond.” The blade sliced through the air. If it hit them, Milo never felt the hesitation in the swing. “You are no longer a spectrum in either world.”

  Once they were gone, their screams being cut off immediately, the little boys from earlier appeared. The defiance and arrogance on their faces told him that they were trouble. Maybe not more than Jamie’s parents had been, but at least as bad.

  Mom addressed them both, calling them by their full names, as they were only children. “Stanley Fitzpatrick Black. David Earl Black. You have been summoned here by order of the Death Watcher. You will be—”

  “This is fucking bullshit. We’re just kids, you dumbasses. Why the hell do we have to be dead? I’ve told you this before, you’re to make sure you bring us back, or so help me, when I do find someone, I’m going to make sure I kill you right after I do my aunt. You fucking dumbasses.” Mom told Stanley that his mother was dead. “No she’s not. She would have come for us.”

  “She’s dead. You were told this before, I believe. I’ve also explained to you that there will be no bringing you back. Dead is dead. And if you ask me, you’re lucky to have made it to be as old as you are now.”

  He glared at his mom harder, then David started spouting off bullshit about how they were going to come back as bigger and stronger men.

  “As Death Slayer, you piece of shit, it’s my pleasure to inform you that because of the trouble you’ve caused on both sides of the worlds you’ve been to, you’re going to be erased forever. You will—”

  “Blah, blah, blah. Whatever. I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you can blow that shit out your ass. I’m going home. And when I get there, I’m going to hunt up my dad and ask him why the hell he’s not dead too.” Milo told him his dad was dating and had a good job that he loved. “Bullshit. He was my father, and I think I’d know if he was capable of moving on after our mother killed herself. That’s just bullshit.”

  “You’re a little man with words too big for your britches.” He looked at Jamie. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for this to end with them.”

  The sword seemed to sing to him, a soft tune that was both comforting and soft. As he swung it around, like the first time, he felt it hesitate only for a second as it cut through them both. The sword came alive in his hand and became a small faerie.

  “Master Manning. You have done well today with these deaths. The evilness that I encountered was harsh and full of hatred. The worlds will be better served with all of them out of the world. I will be at your call and that of your wife for the rest of your lives.” He asked her if she had a name. “I do not unless you wish to call me something. I would enjoy that, I believe. You are the first of very few that have wielded my weight. I am happy and proud to be at your service.” Then she turned to Jamie. “I am sorry for your loss, my lady. I do hope you will not hold it against me that I took their lives. I made it as quick and as painful as I could for them.”

  Jamie laughed. So did his parents when he laughed as well. Gem, he decided to call his sword, told them they must rest and drink plenty of fluids. That juice would be better, but not necessary. Then she put her hand on Jamie’s flat belly.

  “A daughter grows here. She is like her parents, a wielder of the sword, as well as magical. She isn’t fully a dragon, but she will be able to shift into one because of th
e love you have for her. And the love of her grandparents.” Gem turned to Milo’s father. “Lord Manning, you are a good man to your family. Your wife as well. I will grant you one boon, one for the two of you. Let me know what it is that you wish, and it will be yours.”

  “We only wish for our families to continue to have good health and that the children brought here or born to us will also be healthy and happy.”

  Nodding, Gem turned to Milo again. “And your wish, my lord and lady?” Jamie said she wished for a way to make sure some way that her sisters, Pem and Rachel, could have a single child of their bodies.

  “Done. And you, sir? What is it you would wish for.” He told her. “Those are good wishes, my lord and lady. I think wishing that all your brothers, even the ones not yet with their mates, may have a single child of their bodies is a very good and unselfish thing. It is easy to grant those for them.”

  When she disappeared, Mom grabbed him into her arms and held him as she cried. It was more than she could have hoped for, she told him. More than even his brothers would have been able to have gotten any other way.

  Chapter 8

  George tried not to look at the webpage he was on. Instead, he focused on what was before him, whatever the hell it was. Laughing a little at his inability to keep himself occupied, he looked again at the time left. Forty-seven minutes and twelve seconds.

  “What are you doing?” He looked up to see Milo had entered the room at some point. “You’re very distracted. I asked you if you had the pictures that were on the table last night when I left.”

  “I’m bidding on something.” He looked at the time left, the only thing he could see of the auction. “There are still forty-six minutes left. Christ, I think my timer is broken.”

  “What are you bidding on?” Milo sat down but looked distracted too. “I came here to work out an issue I’m having with my story so far. Maybe you can distract me enough that I can figure it out on my own.”

  “It’s a bunch of teapots. Six of them, as a matter of fact. They’re very ugly if you only bought them for their beauty. But one of them is calling to me.” Milo asked him what it was saying. He knew his brother, this one anyway, would understand what he was saying. “It’s telling me I need to purchase it at any cost. Believe it or not, it then told me to be reasonable about it.”

  Milo came around to his side of the desk, asking for a view of them. Not wanting to know if he was winning or not, George pulled up the catalog to show them to him. Milo looked at the three pictures that were showing what was in the set.

  “They’re pretty ugly, George. Do you suppose it is something that just wants to be in a forever home?” George told him it would be if he paid his top dollar for it. “What is your top dollar for it? Since they’re listed as a single item, I’m assuming whatever you pay will be times one?”

  “No, six. They make that very clear in the description. My highest bid is fifty thousand. That seemed reasonable to me.” Milo whistled. “I know. It’s not reasonable at all, is it? I just need to see what it wants from me.”

  Again, Milo seemed to understand what he was saying. Glancing at the clock again, he would see that he’d used up ten minutes of his time. He told Milo how much time was left.

  “Can I stay with you while it’s going on? I won’t tell anyone about the price you have on it, but what’s the starting point for them?” He told him. “Okay, so best case scenario is that you pay sixty cents for them. Worst case, you pay fifty grand. How much time is left now?”

  “Twenty-nine minutes.” This was better. He should have asked Milo to come and keep him sane sooner. “I was looking through some of the catalogs I have for other auctions that are supposed to be for an old estate. The contents on this estate auction are supposed to have been around for seven generations. I wouldn’t have any idea about it, but the teapot asked me to come and bid on it. The other things, like a couple of large pieces from the Ming Dynasty, are in the collection as well. Teapots, even uglier ones than this one, go for big bucks online.”

  They talked about the food pantry, the one he was working on. “I went to a few of the businesses and started this contest for canned goods. The business that gets the most gets a dinner out for all their employees. Mom said not to make it pizza, but something along those lines. Dad said to make it a gift card with an amount on it. That way, they could decide on what it was they want to have for their meal.” He laughed a little. “The bank in town has only eight employees, and the insurance company had fifteen. But I bet the bank will win simply because they’ll be the underdog in this.”

  “I like that idea. Did you say what sort of canned goods we wanted? I mean, even boxed food like mac and cheese would be enough to fill a few bellies.” Milo said he’d revise it to include boxed things as well. “Also, tell them that they can have the public help them along by picking their favorite place to have people bring by something for the box. That would get the people on the streets involved as well.”

  Milo made notes, and George looked at the timer. He sighed heavily and looked at his brother, telling him the bidding for the teapots had ended. Being too scared and excited to look on his own, he asked Milo to have a look for him.

  It took a little longer than he wanted for Milo to figure out where the bidding prices were. Before he could get it pulled up, George’s phone rang. It was the auction house. Making his brother answer it, he wanted to brain him before he finally hung up.

  “What did you agree to? Bank draft for the amount. Mom is going to kill me, isn’t she? How much? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know either that I didn’t win—” Milo put his hand up, and George shut up. “Just fucking tell me.”

  “Mr. Daniels asked if we wanted to come by and pick it up. After finding out that it was only a few miles from here, I told him we would. Secondly, he wanted to know if you’d continue being a patron of his auction house. I guess you get a discount on the things you buy from them if you’re on their mailing list. I told them you’d do that when we were there.” George asked him how much again. “Less than we thought at thirty—”

  “Mom is going to kill me. I just hope I can appease her by the pot being worth some bucks. Or it tells me where I can take it to be sold to someone stupider than I am.” Milo laughed. “I don’t find this the least bit funny, Milo. I’m going to tell your wife you hit me. She loves me.”

  “She loves me more. And I get to sleep with her.” Milo smiled. “I didn’t say thirty grand, you moron. I was going to say thirty cents. You got them all for thirty cents because you’re going to become a patron of the place. The first time you use your new status, you can take fifty percent off items of less than a hundred dollars. So you got— Are you all right, George?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Thirty fucking cents? That’s all I paid for them?” Milo said he’d not paid for them yet, but when they went to get them, then he could— George cut his brother off. Again. “You fucking dick. If this is just a joke on your part, I’m not going to be responsible for what I do to you. It’s all on you.”

  “Pull up your email. They said they were sending you the invoice right away.” He was shaking so badly he had to put his password in three times before he got it to work. “Just breathe, George, before Winnie shows up and hurts me because you’re hyperventilating.”

  Taking a calm breath in and out, he nodded. Then he put in his password and waited for the connection. As soon as he was able to open his email, the invoice was there. He’d gotten them for less than a buck even with premium price added in, as well as taxes.

  “I don’t believe this.” Milo asked him if he was ready to go. “To pick them up? Of course. Just let me—you know what, we’ll go now. I was going to tell Mable that I was going out for a while, but I’ll just call her when we get on the road. Because you kept me from being insane, I’ll buy you dinner.”

  “Deal. Pem and Jamie were called into
the hospital to perform surgery on a kid that fell out of a tree. Neither one of them are buying that just so you know. But his leg is broken in two places, and his arm has been shattered. Jamie told me it looked like he’d been hit with a hammer a couple of times.” He asked who it was. “I don’t know. She doesn’t ask, so I don’t know until she finds out for me. But we’re going to be paying a visit to someone as soon as we find out. No one needs to beat up on a ten year old. Not like this.”

  They were on the highway in ten minutes. He’s forgotten to print off his invoice, but since he had it on his phone, George thought it would be all right. Even if it wasn’t, he was going to take them home, even if he had to steal them away. Laughing, he told Milo what he’d been thinking.

  “You do that, and I’m not going to protect you. You do realize that Mom and Dad are both living here now. They won’t care how old you are. Mom will make you feel terrible, and Dad will give you that look.” George asked him what look. “You know it. The one where he’s thinking that he needs to blame himself for your downfall. That he’d raised you better than that, and he’s simply a failure. You’ve seen it. I know I have.”

  “I remember it now. Sort of a cross between a basset hound and a sad sack.” They both laughed, then both of them looked around in the event one of their parents had heard them. “Milo, I have to tell you. All Mom or Dad have to do is say my name in that way they do, and I’m scrambling to find a solution to whatever it is I’ve done, without any thought to be being nearly three hundred years old. As well as a grown assed man.”

  “Me too. I don’t know where needing to feel sorry came from either. It’s like we’re ingrained with it from birth or something.” They were both still laughing as they pulled into the parking lot. “Are you all right? I’m going to go in with you to look around. I might get rid of some of the shit I’ve accumulated over the years. A lot of it is just furniture I bought old in the first place. So it’ll be ancient by now.”