The Ghosts' Return [Were-Devils of Tasmania 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Simone Sinna

  Her hand went to the were-devil stones. “Jesse and Jarrod,” she whispered, and the amber streaks of the stones shone. She pushed them to the side. “Linc and Kael,” she whispered to the two remaining stones, but they remained still and cool. She tried again. “Lincoln and Lane.” But still they remained cool. “Mackenzie and Mitchell,” she said next, and this time the stones replied. She pushed them aside and now looked to the three opaque stones.

  “Becc,” she whispered. She had been uncertain, but her men had not been. The stone shimmered, and she pushed it to join with the stones that had answered for Jesse and Jarrod. “Gabriella,” Kate now murmured, and another stone replied and was pushed to join Mac and Mitch.

  Kate stared at the last stone, scared to say the name. When she did, Lena’s stone glowed, but hot and angry and with no were-devil stones to join it to. Kate’s hands were shaking. It was too hot to touch, and now her heart ached for Lincoln and Kael, and she muttered a spell to help them be strong.

  * * * *

  Zac sat on board the Lady Lena drinking beer. He was onto his second slab, having started with Wilson around eight hours earlier.

  “Fuck women,” he slurred.

  “Definitely all they’re good for,” Wilson agreed. He was as drunk as Zac and just as angry. Like Zac, as far as he was concerned, the were-devils had run off with his woman. They had already outlined a number of punishments and methods of slow death they wanted to inflict, on Mac and Mitch in Wilson’s case, and Kael and Lincoln in Zac’s, though both would be happy to help the other with whoever they found first.

  “We need to plan it,” said Wilson. “Can we rely on your brothers?”

  “Fuck yes,” Zac replied. “My dad, too. Your brothers?”

  “See if I can find ’em. If not how about my cousins?”

  They came up with lots of names, calming in the process of feeling they were doing something. But just what and when had yet to be determined.

  * * * *

  They gave Lena the antidote that night and then went out to celebrate. The power of positive thinking and hope, if nothing else, had Lena feeling stronger and optimistic.

  “We’ll know in a couple of days,” said Lincoln, squeezing Lena’s hand as Kael poured champagne.

  “To the future,” they all toasted, and Lena dared to believe that there just might be one.

  Later Lincoln asked her about what had happened with Tilman.

  Lena felt a wave of embarrassment. “At the time I was trying to prove I was all ghost.”

  She felt Lincoln still. “But,” she continued, “warrior I am not. I have to confess.”

  Her men stilled.

  “I fainted right onto him.”

  Lincoln kissed her gently.

  “You don’t have to treat me as though I’m going to break, you know,” said Lena. They had both been treating her like she was made of porcelain and, though they had been affectionate, this was the first time they’d been alone. She knew they were feeling as awkward as her.

  “You need to eat more,” said Kael, brushing her cheek.

  Lena started to laugh. “All my life I have been worried about men thinking I was too plump, and here I am worrying you won’t love me because I’m skin and bone!”

  “You know we’ll love you if you look like a sumo wrestler,” Lincoln said. “And besides, you know we love you skinny, too. We’re just worried about your health.”

  Lena frowned. “So you did come on board the boat.”

  “You called us,” Lincoln said simply.

  Lena felt a wave of contentment so strong it brought tears to her eyes. How could she ever have questioned how right it was to be with them?

  Lincoln licked her tear and then the top of her nose. Standing, he took one hand and Kael the other, and they led her to the bedroom.

  They were gentle with her, and she sensed that they were afraid they might hurt her, that the sickness cursing through her body might mean she wouldn’t have the stamina needed. But whatever the virus was doing to her, and it was true that she felt tired all the time, it was not affecting the nerve endings that now had her body tingling to the extent that she wondered if she was visibly shaking.

  They peeled her clothes off then their own, Kael moving to massage her head and shoulders, Lincoln her butt and legs.

  “Relax and enjoy,” they each said. “This is to help your body let go and allow the antidote to do its work.”

  Lena closed her eyes and let all of the pain of the last months ease away with each brush of the hand. She became aware of a strong, sweet smell and felt the oil dripping onto her back, cold at first then warming with Lincoln and Kael’s hands until her skin felt as if it was on fire. As time drifted the warmth went deeper, fingers pushing into the knots of her muscles, both oil and pressure willing any tension to evaporate.

  Kael began rubbing her temples as Lincoln went to her feet. She felt as if she was floating, barely aware of where she was. Gently they rolled her over and repeated their ministrations, one on each side, licking her ears, kissing her lips, then her nipples, running their tongues around the areola and gently pulling out her nipples. She was no longer sure who was doing what and was loathe to open her eyes, afraid that the spell would be broken. She felt more oil dripping down her sides as their hands caught the drips and brought them over her breasts.

  One of them moved to her hips, the other not far behind, moving hands over her thighs and allowing them to brush over her pubic hair and the inner most part of her thighs. They each took a leg and drew it up and toward them, opening her pussy up, which was now sure to be glistening with the juices she could feel.

  Lincoln, or at least she thought it was him, dripped the oil over her clit, and she felt the cool droplets course between her slit. A finger soon followed the drops, teasing at first, touching the golden hairs rather than her skin, making her hips thrust, desperate for more. A finger quickly dipped in, tantalizing but unfulfilling. She wriggled more.

  “Patience,” Kael whispered in her ear.

  “No,” Lena moaned.

  She heard them both “tut-tut,” but then their fingers returned, two at once, deeper, first one man then the next. She felt the brush of Kael’s clipped beard as he kissed her, their tongues linking, as Lincoln moved between her legs, three fingers now in her as his other hand rubbed over her clit.

  Increasingly Lena’s mind focused on the pleasures that seemed to radiate from her clit, but then when he pushed his fingers inside her it took the level of her pleasure even higher. When he withdrew the fingers she thought the feeling would disappear and she sank back, disappointed, only to find that it returned with greater force when Lincoln thrust his cock into her. She gasped, arching her back and wanting all she could have of him. She pulled her legs around his waist as they rocked in time, Kael still kissing her and pinching her nipples as she and Lincoln climaxed.

  “You up for a second one?” Kael whispered, biting her ear.

  Lena wasn’t sure she had the energy, but she was sure she wanted to try. As soon as Kael entered her she got a second wind, watching his face change and his body writhe with the increasing buildup of desire soon to be released and then crying out as her muscles clasped tight over him, sending a second orgasm through her just as his body relaxed and fully released.

  Lena lay back, satiated. With a man on either side of her she was asleep within minutes, certain all would be well.

  * * * *

  Tilman looked at the results column. Again. There was no way around it. He was going to have to see the ghost woman. Lena. He winced at the thought. Though Kael and Linc didn’t think she had bitten him, he could remember her against him as the last thing before catching a glimpse of Zac. He rubbed his neck. Nothing about the experience had been positive, and while he accepted that if the curse was to be broken forgiveness needed to be part of the mix, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be this close to the source. Forgiveness was easier in theory, and when you hadn’t watched your wife and two children di
e. Gabriella, to be fair, had been easy to like, but then she didn’t radiate ghost in the way Lena did.

  “The SMB isn’t responding like it should,” he told a distraught Lincoln. “It’s up but not enough. It’s still increasing in response to what we injected but…” He shook his head.

  “What?”

  “Her white cells aren’t doing anything. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Lincoln brought Lena back with him later the same day. Tilman eyed her warily. She exuded chill to him and wondered at his nephews not being put off by it. But then there was some story that maybe something his brother had given his boys had stopped her ability to sense them, so perhaps it worked in both directions.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Lena looked at Lincoln. She didn’t want to upset him, but she needed to speak the truth. “Not great.”

  “Tired?”

  “Exhausted. Like I don’t have the energy to breathe.” This had been a new development. She saw Linc’s look of alarm. Then she coughed.

  “Is that new?”

  “The cough? Yes.” Lena bit her lip and fought tears. “Adam was coughing, too.”

  “Which isn’t a symptom of the were-devil curse,” said Linc slowly.

  “No,” agreed Tilman, “it’s not.”

  “Could it be,” said Lena, coughing again and then taking a deep breath, “Hendra?”

  Tilman and Lincoln exchanged glances.

  “You know I always thought that our virus, that spreads the were-devils’ curse, had properties similar to Hendra,” said Linc, talking to his uncle. “My theory was that it was the same and just affected us differently because of different blood response.”

  “And you know I told you it wasn’t.”

  “Yes,” Linc agreed. “And you are right. But there are some properties that are very similar. In particular, both viruses are carried by but do not infect…”

  Bats,” whispered Lena.

  “Yes,” said Linc, putting an arm around her. “The department has been working on the theory of finding a harmless mutation to develop a vaccine from.”

  “And have you?”

  “No, or at least I haven’t. But if whatever Lena has was a mutation, that might account for her SMB going up. She’s responding because she’s immune, but only to the original.”

  Tilman nodded thoughtfully. “It’s possible,” he finally said. “It would explain why the SMB attachment isn’t working as well. Melody responded well to the ghost blood we gave her, but she had the original were-devils’ curse virus. But it doesn’t help us if your department hasn’t found the vaccine for it.”

  That Hendra was fatal in most of the cases where humans got it went unsaid.

  “I’m not human, so perhaps I won’t do so badly,” said Lena.

  “Except that if the prophecy is to be believed your immunity expires after two generations. And you’re the third.”

  “Unless,” whispered Lena. “Love wins this time.” She squeezed Lincoln’s hand.

  “It’s going to take more than that,” Tilman said grimly. “If you don’t have a white cell count soon, you’ll…”

  “No,” said Linc. “I said I don’t have an answer, but it’s possible someone else has it.”

  Tilman and Lena looked at him.

  “My father.”

  Chapter Eight

  They argued for two hours, but in the end Lincoln made the decision and wouldn’t be swayed. Lena had caught the virus in Queensland, and her second cousin was on the war path. She was safer staying in Tasmania. Linc didn’t want to leave her, and given the feeling toward ghosts was still cool in the were-devil community, she needed protection. Mac and Mitch had Gabriella to worry about, and while Gabriella would be great support, Kael would stay to protect Lena. Linc didn’t like it, but at least his brother had shown himself capable of doing the job.

  Linc wouldn’t allow himself to consider the possibility that his father didn’t have the answer. He had immunized them against one virus. Lincoln had presumed it had been against the original virus Adam had brought from the Northern Hemisphere. But perhaps it had been the one that was now killing Lena. Tilman took some of his and Kael’s blood to see if in anyway their immunity might be harnessed. If the Hendra had mutated from that original one, then Torq’s vaccine would be a place to start. Trouble was it might take months to move from that to one for the Hendra and Lena didn’t have months. The cough was already worse by the time he had left. Linc hoped Torq already had the answer Lena needed.

  As he piloted the motorboat out to Torq’s island, it occurred to him he might have another problem. His father had clearly been living alone too long. At best he was unbalanced, at worst mad. Either way, there had been no sign he had in any way mellowed toward the ghosts whom he held responsible for the death of his wife and two of his children, Linc’s sisters. To convince him to hand over all he knew, Linc would have to lie, and lie convincingly. He would do his best for Lena, but an actor he wasn’t.

  As he moored the boat on the rickety jetty he immediately sensed something was wrong. The lingering scent of ghost confirmed his worst suspicions. Torq’s shed had been flattened and his belongings strewn everywhere. Most though appeared to have been heaped on a fire, the embers of which were still glowing. Linc looked around in dismay. His father was nowhere to be found, and any papers looked like they been used as fuel or blown away.

  * * * *

  When Lena had left for Tasmania, Zac’s sense of loss was only exceeded by rage, at first smoldering but then increasingly inflamed and focused. When he sobered up he thought he had to get smart. He had instinctively known that Lena’s men were were-devils even if they had no scent, and there must have been more where they came from. He meant to find the source. Lena had said Lincoln worked at the university. He decided to start there.

  It had been ridiculously easy. Academics, Zac decided, might be geniuses in their field but were totally gullible. No one ever thought to query anything Zac and Wilson told them. That he had known Linc had left the state helped, the concerned look about the “family problems” the icing on the cake. But the lab manager had gone one better.

  “Linc’s a good researcher,” he had said. “Not brilliant like his dad but more stable. He’s dropping in sometime this week he told me.”

  “Ah, yes, that’s right,” said Zac exchanging a glance with Wilson. “We thought he might be here. His dad caused difficulties, didn’t he?”

  Seymour shook his head with a sigh. “Brilliant man, truly brilliant. But very troubled. Had a bee in his bonnet and wouldn’t let it go.”

  Wilson had a moment of inspired brilliance. “You mean the virus?”

  “Yes,” Seymour replied. “Had it in his head that someone had deliberately introduced this virus that bats carried, supposedly to knock off one group of ’em and not the rest. Remember this was pre-Hendra. We were examining the bat ecology. Don’t get me wrong, but we were pretty sure that the mining companies were to blame for the declining population.”

  “But the Hendra doesn’t affect bats,” said Zac frowning. He’d never been strong on science, and he had never really understood what his grandfather and Angel went on about.

  “Exactly,” said Seymour. “But just before we shifted to start looking at Hendra, Torq got very excited and was in the lab all hours of day and night. Using our reagents, not telling us…Well, we let him go. He told us he didn’t care because he knew about Hendra than us anyway. Whatever that meant.”

  “So,” Zac asked Wilson after they left. “Any idea what it did mean?”

  Wilson shrugged. “Not really, but the lab guy places the father here twenty years ago. Hendra was discovered in 1994, two years later.”

  Zac knew this had to be significant but couldn’t work out how. Wilson at least had taken biology at school.

  “Maybe,” said Wilson, “he engineered it.”

  “Yeah? Why?”

  Wilson rolled his eyes. “To get rid of us.”

&nb
sp; “But bats are carriers,” said Zac.

  “Flying foxes are carriers,” said Wilson. “We are related to ghost bats, and they’re the ones on the endangered species list, not flying foxes.”

  Realization dawned. “Let’s fucking find him and rip him apart.”

  * * * *

  Lena was trying her best to look as if she was feeling stronger than she was. Kael wouldn’t leave her alone for a second. He’d sung her his entire repertoire of songs he’d written, including two he’d written in the months they’d been apart which had made her burst into tears. He’d been so agitated at her response that now he would only play happy songs. She was getting very sick of James Blunt’s “I’ll Be Your Man” and Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.” Particularly as he sang them with such a mournful expression that it rather belied the intent.

  She knew it was Lincoln on the phone as soon as it rang. She watched Kael’s expressions and closed her eyes and went into his mind. He wasn’t thinking to block his thoughts, too worried and engrossed with what his brother was telling him.

  “You have to find him,” she heard Kael say, knowing he was referring to Torq.

  He seemed to have been under attack, but he must have gotten away.

  “Where would I go if I was him?” Kael asked. “Easy. Home.”

  But Tasmania hadn’t been home to Torq for twenty years.

  “I’ll ask in Tarrabah,” said Kael doubtfully. “And ask Tilman.”

  His expression as he hung up said it all. They clung to each other, and he kissed her gently on the top of her head as they both wondered how they would ever find someone who had already once successfully disappeared.

  * * * *

  Zac and Wilson found the island by a mix of chance and detective work. They had long thought a were-devil was in the region and the original scent had been in Cairns, which would have been at the university. But they had also, when Adam had first fired them up and Zac and Lena had taken on the charter business five years earlier, caught the scent in the small group of uninhabited islands. They knew the Tremain boys had a motorboat and had used it a couple of times for relatively short trips. They joined the two dots together and made again for the island group.