Chapter Eleven #2
“I managed to locate a maid who used to work on the planet Spiderus. In exchange for a free holiday, she answered my questions. And get this, she was there before Iseult left. She told me Iseult was shunned by her kin and forced to leave or face execution because she had an affair with her sister’s husband.
The maid remembered a huge fuss because not only did they have an affair, but her sister caught them having sex in spider form. For some reason, that’s a big no-no.”
“Not very honorable,” Leo agreed. “But why is that so taboo? The sex in spider form, I mean.”
“Because that’s the form in which they conceive,” Scarlett said. “According to the maid, the males of the Spiderus race are not very fertile. Iseult’s sister was furious and blamed Iseult for her husband’s misstep.”
Betrys sidled a little closer and tugged at her robe. “But Iseult doesn’t have any offspring.”
“No.” Scarlett radiated triumph. “The maid informed me it’s possible for the male to pass off his sperm and for the female to hold on to the fertilized egg for years. I think that somehow, Leo triggered something in Iseult, and she released her egg.”
“Ugh.” Leo shuddered. “Thank God you dug it out of me. The thing is dead, right?”
“Very dead.” Saber picked up the jar and studied the contents. “It’s not moving any longer. The vinegar has killed it.”
“I thought Ma was crazy wanting to bring the contents of her pantry and stocking up on bulky stuff.” Scarlett shrugged.
“I told her it was a waste of space when we could use my food replicator, but she’s saved our skins a few times.
Vinegar isn’t something I’d consider necessary to replicate later.
Burgers and fries, yes. Chocolate.” She sent Saber a rueful grin.
“I believed I’d packed the important things. ”
“Maybe Iseult senses her young.” Betrys tugged her robe again and darted quick glances at each of them.
“The tie between mother and child is strong in most races. Why should Iseult be any different? If what Scarlett says is right, then I don’t think Iseult knows or understands what is happening.
How old was she when she left Spiderus?”
“She was sixteen cycles, not much more than a child,” Scarlett said. “She was given an advisor to go with her.”
“The advisor died,” Betrys added. “That’s why she hired me.”
“So you’re saying Iseult is working on instinct rather than real knowledge.” Leo digested Scarlett’s research, but it didn’t change his poor opinion of Iseult.
“Iseult isn’t much older than Scarlett,” Saber said.
“That doesn’t give her a pass to kill men,” Betrys snapped, her hands fisting at her sides.
“She’s murdered every man I procured for her, apart from Leo.
She keeps Ricci locked away and grants me access to see him when it suits her purposes.
And look what she did to Leo. Don’t you dare feel sorry for her! ”
“She’s a murderer.” Saber met Betrys’s fury with a calm and level stare. “She will be punished.”
“How?” Betrys demanded. “How will she suffer? We can’t give those men back their lives. Dead is dead.”
“Steady, sweetheart.” Leo’s heart ached for her. While she was still alive, she’d suffered as much as the men who’d lost their lives. Every time she’d recruited a new lover for Iseult, she’d lost a little bit more of herself. “Saber is trying to help.”
“Sorry,” she whispered and kept her gaze on her feet.
“Look at me,” Leo said sharply, his heart drumming against his ribs until Betrys lifted her head. Something in him twisted on seeing her expression.
She reminded him of a dog he’d come across while he was playing by the river with his friend Craig.
It had cowered, mistrust shining in its eyes, even though hunger drove the creature close to snatch the food Leo held.
He and that dog had spent years together and had hours of fun.
Right from the start, he’d known he and the dog that he’d named James were meant to be a team.
And now he had the same gut feeling about Betrys.
“Betrys, we need to work together if we want to keep everyone, including you and Ricci, safe. We all have our part to play, but it’s a team effort.
No one blames you. Shit happens and we deal with the mess together.
That’s the Mitchell way.” Leo glanced away from Betrys to find Saber grinning at him and Scarlett gaping, her mouth open in an unattractive gawk.
Saber’s grin held a trace of smugness. “You listened to some of my team talks.”
“Hard not to absorb some of your ranting.” Leo felt his lips quirk up at the corners.
While he’d been in a bad place for months, and yeah, maybe some of it was Betrys’s fault, he now knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t just revenge.
It wasn’t just payback and the chance to punch Iseult in her arrogant nose.
He wanted Betrys.
“Betrys is right,” Saber said. “We’ve moved ahead, but we haven’t decided what we’re going to do once we have Ricci. We need a plan because we can’t have Iseult preying on our family or employees. Or other unwary men either.”
Scarlett shot a glance at the jar and shuddered. “We can warn our employees. We should inform them.”
“We don’t want to run the risk of Iseult hearing rumors.” Leo understood the sentiment, but there was too much at stake here. “Or suspecting a trap.”
“But you can’t let Iseult snatch one of your employees either. She expects me to get a man to sign her contract. What am I going to do?”
Saber began prowling around the bedroom. Leo knew his older brother found it easier to think while in motion. He came to an abrupt halt and turned to face them. “Reiterate to her that you’re having trouble because the employees are well-paid here. And happy in their work.”
“But what if she approaches someone?” Leo asked.
Betrys shook her head. “She won’t. At least she hasn’t before. I’ll know more once I meet her tomorrow morning, but she doesn’t recruit the men she feeds off.”
“She didn’t want to see you earlier?” Scarlett inquired. “Wouldn’t she want to castigate you in your failure in finding new prey?”
Betrys sat on the corner of Leo’s bed, her robe a swish of white around her slender frame. She pulled a small box from a pocket and turned it around and around in her hands. “Normally, she would, but I told you she’s been strange. Unpredictable.”
Scarlett chuckled, her amusement billowing out like a fountain.
“Tell our employees Iseult has the clap—an alien disease transmitted during sex that will make their willies drop off. Tell them Leo has caught the disease, and authorities have asked us to make sure Iseult isn’t able to pass on the disease while they work on extradition orders.
Tell them they mustn’t discuss the matter with any of the guests. ”
“Hey!” His sister’s impish wink made Leo want to laugh.
“That’s too complicated.” Saber rejected the idea.
“I’ll call a meeting with the staff and tell them Iseult refused to have the standard shots to prevent disease and conception, and as such, she may enjoy the facilities but will not be given the freedom to have sex with our employees.
I’ll tell everyone it’s a matter of safety. ”
“They’ll gossip,” Scarlett warned.
“I’ll tell them anyone who is caught discussing the matter will be sacked.” Saber’s voice hardened. “They’ll believe me.”
Betrys hummed at the back of her throat before raising her head.
“What about if I tell Iseult I have a selection of possibilities?” she asked, appearing to think aloud.
“I could tell her I’d arrange a meeting with each male for her to choose the one she prefers best, then I’ll do the negotiations to secure a contract. ”
“What if she decides to jump the man she’s interviewing?” Scarlett asked.
“I don’t think she will. She might kill the men she feeds off, but she never touches them or even sees them before I have a signed contract in hand. I had to sign a contract with her too. She is big on getting the terms and remuneration signed off in writing before she acts.”
“That might work, and it would allow us all to meet her too. Leo, you can go along in your feline form.” Saber’s words held an edge of challenge.
“I’ll do it.” Somehow he’d pull himself together and shift to feline form. “But then what? We can’t turn her in to the authorities on Dalcon because that would implicate Betrys. And what’s to stop her from grabbing any one of us and not bothering about her precious contract?”
“All I can tell you is that she has never done that before. She insists on a signed contract first. I don’t know why, and I haven’t pushed because of her threats regarding Ricci.
” She turned the box in her hands before looking up and scanning faces.
“What if we reported her to her own people? Would they do something to stop rumors from spreading about their race? In fact, there’s nothing to stop us contacting them now and putting things in motion. ”
“I can do that,” Scarlett agreed. “I’ll contact the maid and find out who we should approach.”
“Done.” Saber headed for the door. “I’ll call a meeting. Get some rest, Leo. I’ll get the kitchen to send you a meal.”
“Thanks,” Leo said.
Everyone filed out of his room until only he and Betrys remained.
“I hope this works.” Leo cautiously shifted to find a more comfortable spot and to release some of the tension left behind.
“If contacting the Spiderus people doesn’t work, I’ll report Iseult to the authorities on Dalcon myself. She can’t be allowed to feed on and kill men any longer.”
“Or we could just kill her.” Leo indicated her box of cards with a jerk of his head. “Let’s see what your cards say.”
Betrys woke early, before the light of the solar star pierced the darkness of the night. For a time, she attempted to drop back to the state of slumber, but her mind ran a busy path and refused to settle.
“If you can’t sleep, we can do other things,” Leo said.