"Still ……" Quina mused, her voice trailing away.
"I can't remember his name," Tracey continued, "but I certainly remember him! We met only a couple of times but he was so arrogant and pompous. He thought of himself as the answer to every female's prayer. What an ass! I still can't believe he’d go so far as wanting to kill me."
"It fits his personality type," I told her. "People like that can’t bear to be thwarted. They take every little setback as a personal insult."
"Anyway, it's all over now," Quina pronounced, "so we can all stop worrying."
"Maybe," I said, doubtfully.
"What do you mean?" Thorn asked. "Traculimna is well on the way to recovery and the baddie is under arrest. What else is there?"
"Just a niggling thought," I muttered. "I'm a tiny bit uneasy."
"You and your niggles," Thorn snorted. "What is it about this time?"
"It's something that our poisoning friend mentioned," I said, beginning to wander up and down distractedly.
"And that was?" Tracey asked patiently, watching me.
"When he was raving about how none of this was his fault," I commenced, "he let slip that someone gave him the poison and the idea of using it."
"So?" Thorn remarked. "I can't see how that matters. Who cares where it came from?"
"But don't you see?" I emphasised, stopping my roaming and facing everyone. "Poisoning Tracey wasn't initially our friend’s idea at all, so whose was it? Who is this mysterious third person and how did he know about Tracey? I don't like these untidy endings and I don't believe this is the finish of it. There's someone else involved in this and unless we find out who it is, what's to stop him from doing it again with another accomplice?"
"I see your point," Thorn agreed. "But finding him presents a host of difficulties, doesn't it? I mean, even Tracey's boyfriend admitted he didn't know who this person was."
"Don't call him my boyfriend!" Tracey snapped. "If anything, he was an anti-boyfriend – the exact opposite of everything a boyfriend should be."
"Nice one," I murmured. "Does that make me a pro-boyfriend? I hope so, anyway."
"Yes, you're a definite ‘pro’," Tracey told me, taking my hand and squeezing it. Then she gave me a sly grin. "So far."
"You cheeky little thing," I said, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go out and chase the nearest girl I can find while you're imprisoned here in this hospital."
She peered up at me with her mesmerising eyes and almost too beautiful face, giggled and whispered, "Because you love me madly, dear heart, and can't live without me, that's why."
"Okay, you win this round," I pronounced, giving her another kiss. "But just watch yourself! Just because you're on the upper scale of gorgeous, doesn't mean you can take my affections for granted, you know. Being sexy and wildly attractive may have benefits, but it's not everything. Luckily for you, I can overlook all these things and see the real you."
"And the real me is ………?" Tracey asked, grasping my other hand.
"Desirable beyond compare," I told her sincerely, becoming lost in her shockingly large, expressive eyes. "I can't imagine being with anyone else. Not now. Not ever."
"You two are amazing," I heard Quina says softly.
I looked around at her. "Believe me," I confirmed, "I feel the same way about Thorn as well. I can't believe how privileged I’ve been that they’ve allowed me into their lives. I don't deserve either of them but I'll fight anyone who tries to take them away from me, that's for sure. So, until they tell me to get lost, we’re going to be together, and that's the end of it."
Chapter 18
There followed an enforced silence after my emotional declaration until Trix broke the tableau by announcing, "What are we going to do about this third person then? I don't like the idea of my mother been under threat."
"Neither do I do," I declared, worriedly rubbing my hands together. "Of course, it's only a guess on my part."
"Your guesses always seem to end up as facts," Thorn said, "so we'd better do something about it. Any ideas, anyone?"
"Perhaps I could do something," Quina offered. "I may be able to pinpoint this third person's whereabouts from the spiritual realms. It'd be tricky, and not exactly precise, but it may be give us a clue."
"I'll take anything," I encouraged, eagerly. "How will you do it?"
"Well, I know where our poisonous friend is from my last visit," she explained, "and every action leaves an image that can be viewed by an outsider. So, if I go back to where I was before, I may, and I emphasise the ‘may’, be able to find our mystery interloper. It's worth a try, anyhow."
"If you could pull this off, Quina," I told her, "I'll love you forever."
"Really?" she asked, boldly peeking at me through coyly lowered eyelashes. "What would Thorn and Tracey have to say about that?"
"They wouldn't mind," I announced, waving a casual hand. "The more the merrier, you know. I’m positive they’d agree."
"Don't be so sure about that, Mister Flirty Flirt!" Thorn proclaimed, punching me on the arm. "Behave yourself! Speaking for myself and my sister, I can assure you that we’d skin you alive if we ever found you even looking at another female."
"You see what I have to live with around here?" I muttered to Quina, rubbing my arm. "Physical assault and verbal abuse is all I’m fed, day in and day out. Why do I put up with it, huh? Answer me that if you can."
"I'm sure I don't know," Quina replied, smothering a giggle. "Nobody else would. You're a martyr. Or crazy. Take your pick."
"I pick crazy," Trix butted in.
"Nobody asked you, munchkin," I told her in a mock-severe tone.
"Here we go again," Trix muttered. "What's a munchkin? And it had better be something good," she added, defiantly.
"Oh, it is," I confirmed. "I always thought the munchkins were ultra cute. They come from a famous classical movie called ‘The Wizard of Oz’ where these four characters are searching for a mysterious and hidden wizard. Just like us, really. And there's a dog in it as well, so Zen is included, too. Yes, it's very much like us right now."
"And I presume these munchkins were small?" Trix complained.
"Well, yes," I agreed. "That’s part of their charm."
"Are you saying that I'm small?" Trix demanded, looking up at me from her full height of just below my waist. "You’re too big, that’s the problem."
"No, you're a regular giant," I said, with gentle mockery. "Face it, Trix, you are who you are and you can't do anything about it."
"I don't have to put up with this," she announced, with a self-critical grin. "Zen, bite him!" Zen’s confusion manifested itself in a puzzled whine as his eyes travel backwards and forwards between his mistress and me.
"Don't tease Zen," Thorn commanded. "You're upsetting him."
"I'm sorry, my darling boy," Trix apologised, throwing her arms around Zen’s neck. "I didn't mean it. Don't listen to Mommy. She's just being silly."
"As usual," Thorn mocked.
"I've changed my mind," Trix whispered to Zen. "Bite her instead!"
"Enough of this nonsense," I decreed. "Quina, do you have to go anywhere special for this spiritual visit of yours?"
"No," she demurred. "I can do it anywhere. All I need is somewhere comfortable to lie down."
"Well, we’re surrounded by empty beds," I said looking around. "Take your pick."
"This one will do," she said, pointing to the one beside Tracey. She went over to it and lay down. "I shouldn't be long," she advised, stretching herself out. "Don't let anyone interrupt me, please. It's a bit traumatic to be suddenly jerked back to this reality."
"We know," I grinned. "You did that to us last time."
"For which I've already apologised, I believe," she smiled back up at me. "Okay, wish me luck." So saying, she closed her eyes and relaxed.
We grouped around Quina’s and Tracey's beds and waited.
"She's pretty, don't you think?" Thorn as
ked me nonchalantly, looking speculatively down at Quina. My mental defences immediately jumped to red alert. Did Thorn want the truth or was she simply testing me to see what I'd say? If I agreed with her, would she then castigate me for flirting? If I disagreed, would she criticise me for fibbing, and suspect I had an underlying motive? After all, there was her earlier joking comment of skinning me alive if I eyed other women. She couldn’t have been serious, but perhaps there might be a kernel of truth in what she said. Gods above, this was a definite no-win situation. But perhaps it was simply a casual observation with no agenda. Surely she knew me well enough by now to realise that she was the only one for me. Well, apart from Tracey, that is. With a touch of uncertainty, I decided on the truth.
"Yes, she is," I finally replied. "But she’s still very much an unknown quantity. We don't know her well enough to form any firm opinions as yet."
"I think she likes you though, Stephen," Thorn said, turning your head and peering at me.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I think she likes us as a group. She’s said so often enough."
"No, I think it's more than that," Thorn told me, thoughtfully. "I think she fancies you."
"Rubbish!" I exclaimed. "How on earth did you spring to that conclusion?"
Thorn shrugged. "It’s something I picked up," she said casually. "I just thought I'd warn you. After all, my darling, you're not very good at this sort of thing."
"I'm terrible at it," I confessed, with a smile. "Anyway, I don't believe you, sweetheart. I'm still amazed to have attracted two of the most beautiful Ones to my side, let alone three of you. That’d be stretching the boundary of coincidence way too far. I could never be that lucky." I suddenly realised how that last statement of mine might sound to Thorn and I hastened to clarify it.
"I didn't mean for that last sentence to sound the way it did," I profusely apologised.
"I know what you meant, silly," Thorn replied, slipping a shapely arm around my waist. "And I'm not worried about Quina. It was just a random thought. Forget about it."
As if I'm likely to do that now, I thought to myself. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, although I'd admit to being absurdly pleased that Thorn was being a little jealous on my behalf. That sort of thing panders to the ego. Unfortunate, but true.
Chapter 19
Quina suddenly stirred, blinked and opened her eyes. "Hello there," she said.
"Hello yourself," I told her. "Did you find anything?"
"A few things," she replied, stifling a yawn. "I couldn't find an exact location, but I have the general whereabouts. Funnily enough, it somewhere close to where I live."
"That'll do for starters," I commented, turning to Thorn. "Let's go and collect Nix."
"That'll be great!" she enthused. "I can't wait to see if he has any new insults for me. Not that his are ever very good," she sniffed disdainfully. "Mine always so much better."
"He insults you?" Quina asked, confused. "Who exactly is this Nix anyway?"
"He's a goblin," I answered, "and a friend of ours."
"A goblin?" Quina questioned.
"A borgulessa," Thorn clarified. "Stephen is word challenged. He has trouble with names, poor thing." She sighed with mock pity. "That's one of the reasons I have to be with him all the time. I don't dare let him out by himself."
"Don't listen to this ratbag, Quina," I told her. "I'm here to stop her from having fights with everyone she meets, although it’s true about being my being word challenged. I just can't seem to get my tongue around the sounds."
"I'd like to return to my original question," Quina said, shaking her head in bewilderment. "This Nix spends his spare time thinking up new insults?"
"Don't get those two wrong," I explained. "They’re really the best of friends, but they show it in a very odd way. Don't worry, the insults are mutual. Nix is the last member of our intrepid band and he's helped us through some very sticky situations in the past."
"What a amazingly diverse little group you have," Quina murmured.
"Stephen bought us all together," Thorn remarked. "If not for him, our races would still be at war or, at least, not speaking to each other. He changed all that and somehow our group just collected around him."
"Remarkable," Quina commented, staring at us. "I know I've said it before, but there’s something very odd about your alliance."
"Odd?" I questioned, with a slight smile.
"That's not the right word," Quina admitted, also smiling. "I think the old-fashioned word of ‘fey’ might be more appropriate. Without the death connotation, of course."
"What's ‘fey’ mean?" Trix wanted to know.
"It’s a word describing a ‘fate’ or a ‘destiny’," I answered, looking pensively down at Quina, "but it's usually reserved for those who have been marked to die."
"Not this time," she replied, confidently. "I don't get that feeling around you at all. But the destiny thing jumps out at me." Then she shook herself and climbed out of the bed. "But that's enough conjecture for now. Let's go and see this insulting Nix of yours."
We delivered our farewells to Tracey, leaving her, as usual, with her version of me.
"Be careful," she begged. "Whoever this other person is, he sounds extremely dangerous. Please don't take any unnecessary risks on my behalf."
"What, us?" I joked. "When have we ever done that?"
"All the time," she smiled, knowingly. "None of you can take a step outside the house without running into all sorts of life-threatening events. I worry about you all so much."
"We'll be careful," I promised, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "But we have to find this ringleader, otherwise we'll always be wondering, and you'll never be safe."
"I don't want any of you putting yourselves in danger because of me," Tracey protested.
"And I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't make sure that you were totally safe," Thorn announced, overriding Tracey’s objection. "I'll do whatever it takes to stop anyone from hurting you."
Tracey's eyes began to fill, and she wordlessly held out her arms. The two sisters hugged and Trix joined the embrace as well, saying, "And that goes for me, too." Zen cemented the union by putting a paw on Tracey's arm, causing Quina to glance at me in wonder.
"Emotional, aren't they?" she whispered.
"They have the strongest of family bonds," I assured her, "and I love being part of it. If all families were like this, the world would be much happier place."
"That's for sure," Quina agreed wholeheartedly.
Chapter 20
Having said our final goodbyes to Tracey, we set off to visit Nix. Quina slipped into her taciturn mood once again and that put a bit of a damper on our conversations, so we had to be content simply to stroll along and look at the scenery without speaking. We arrived at Nix's house and banged on the door.
Nix raised an inquisitive eyebrow at our mixed group when he emerged and, directing his attention to Thorn, declared, "Would you look at what’s crawled out of the rubbish bin! It's a nightmare on legs! Pretty legs, though," he added with a leer. "Shouldn't you be out scaring children or something? That sort of a thing sounds just right for you."
"Scaring children is your job," Thorn retaliated, sporting a wide grin. "You're a natural at it. Just look at those beady eyes, that horrible face and the ghastly hair. Face it, Nix, with inbuilt features like that, you'd make even adults hide under the bed."
"I award that exchange about even honours, wouldn't you?" I asked Quina.
"That sounds about right," she approved, smiling. "I can't believe they can say those things to each other without getting into a fight."
"They live for it," I confided. "They like to set new levels on the weirdness scale."
"I can see that," she agreed.
We were invited inside and introduced Quina to Nix's mother, who promptly sat us all down for tea and biscuits. Then I outlined what had happened to Tracey and what we were proposing to do about it, and asked Nix to join us. He consented without object
ion and we were soon on our way.
After a short interval, I asked Quina how specific our destination was.
"Not very specific at all, I’m afraid," she frowned. "All I could obtain was the general area. We'll have to wing it from there, and hope for the best. All I know is that it's not far away from where I live."
"That's okay," Nix interjected. "We're famous for winging it. We have medals for doing that very thing, you know. We'd be totally lost if we ever had any sort of a workable plan."
"Don't be a dinglebat all your life, Nix," Thorn pronounced. "The reason you’d get lost with a plan is that you can't read past the kindergarten level."
"What in blazes is a dinglebat?" Nix asked, scratching his head. "It has to be one of Stephen's, I imagine."
"Quite correct," Thorn replied, smugly. "And it suits you perfectly."
"Okay, Mister Murders-the-Language," Nix demanded, turning to me, "what's a dinglebat when it’s at home? I presume it's some sort of weird surface animal?"
"On the contrary," I told him. "It's amazingly clever and handsome, as well as being very lovable and cute with it."
"That's not what you told me!" Thorn yelled. "In fact, it’s the exact opposite! You said it was a totally repulsive, disgusting, smelly beast!"
"Well, to tell the truth," I confessed, "there's no such an animal as a dinglebat. It's a made-up word one of my friends uses. I just pretended it was real. I thought it was funny."
"You've ruined the whole thing," Thorn grumbled. "I’d built a whole line of remarks to Nix based on the dinglebat. I’ll have to start all over again now, thanks to you!"
"I'm sorry, dear heart," I apologised. "It did it for a bit of fun. I didn't know you're going to use it in a campaign against Nix."
"It wouldn't have worked anyway," Nix told Thorn. "I'm confident enough in my overwhelming masculinity and handsomeness to ignore any spiteful and jealous comments emanating from the gutters. I know unrestrained envy when I hear it. The only surprise is why you aren't begging me to move in with you."
Revenge (7) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 6