Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CLEM.
A friendly-faced staff member with a long snout, spiky whiskers and grey fur covered in blue spots greets us at the door. I have no idea what monster species they are, and it would probably be rude to ask.
“Otis,” they exclaim with a grin, then cock their head in my direction, bright orange eyes curious. “And…?”
“Hi, I’m Clem.”
The creature’s cheeks bunch, its eyes widen, and bristly whiskers vibrate at the sides of their mouth. Their gaze drops to my neck and I know what they’re thinking. That I’m here of my own free-will.
“Clem is my assistant. She’s also Jax’s sister. Clem, this is Moe, they are the head carer here.”
“Ah, yes. Welcome, Clem.”
“Good to meet you, Moe.”
I seem to be accepted, judging from the beaming smile on the creature’s face.
“Clem helped me make a cake for Mom… and offered to join me,” Otis rumbles, and I open the container. “Fairy sponge with cream and fresh berries from the market.”
“Wow! You will be popular!” Moe says. “Give it to me and I’ll plate it up and bring it out to you. Your mom is in the garden, Otis.”
“Thanks Moe,” Otis says, and we make our way down corridors with rooms on either side.
It’s not unlike Otis’s house, but on a larger scale.
I guess there are only so many ways you can configure a cave dwelling.
Clearly, everyone knows Otis well here, as the staff we pass all greet him with big smiles.
Finally, we enter a spacious, brightly lit room with chairs and tables, and soft armchairs and sofas; a communal area. A couple of monsters look up. One is doing needlecraft, and the other is immersed in a crossword. A couple of other monsters are snoozing— and snoring quite loudly.
Otis leads me through double French doors at the end of the room, and out into a garden that is almost as bright as the daylight back in Sparkle.
It feels like warm afternoon sunshine is shining on us from the many soft lumen lights strung overhead.
Flowers bloom, huge pink and yellow blossoms, and soft, feathery ferns nestle into the rock walls.
Water trickles down the rocks into a large pond full of lily pads.
Dotted around the garden sit more monsters. Some appear very old, by the look of their wrinkled skin; others are clearly disabled in some way. One lizard creature has lost its back leg and sports a finely crafted stump. A small dragon has lost one wing.
But they all seem content as they smile at our arrival.
“There she is,” Otis says, and he bounds over to an orc female sitting by the edge of the pool, staring at the waterfall.
She is big-boned, and very thin, her green flesh hanging limply from her large frame.
She wears a patterned dress that has probably seen better days, and her dark green hair, streaked with gray, is tied in a bun on top of her head.
“Mom, it’s Otis.”
She looks up then, her eyes the same deep red as Otis’s, and it strikes me how alike they are. Their wide bone structure, their full mouth and strong jaw. Sally’s face is still beautiful, but gaunt now, and the sadness in her expression pierces my heart.
“Ah, eldest son of mine, there you are,” she sighs softly.
I realize she’s holding a photo, tattered and faded. I can’t see the image, but I sense it is cherished.
Otis crouches down beside her. “Mom, this is Clem.”
Slowly, she turns her head and looks at me. “Human,” she murmurs. “Pretty human.” Her lips shape a smile. “Is she your mate, Otis?”
Otis stutters and coughs.
“Um, no, she’s helping me with my work.”
“I think my boy is taken with this human, all the same,” she murmurs. Before Otis can become even more tongue-tied, I step forward.
“Hello, Mrs Cane.” I reach out my hand, and she takes it in her free one. Her hand is bigger than mine, bony and mapped with blue veins under the green of her skin. Surprisingly, her grasp is strong, and she strokes my hand and muses, “Such lovely soft pale skin.” Then, she holds out the photo.
“May I introduce you to my husband, Bradley. He’s had to go away on very important business, but he’ll be back soon.”
“Mom…” Otis remonstrates softly.
“I’m telling you, son of mine, he’ll be home soon.” There’s a sudden determined set to her mouth.
I take the photo from her and study it.
It’s a family shot, I realize. A big, handsome male orc smiles at the camera with his younglings around him. “I took that photo of Bradley and our orclings on a picnic at One Moonbeam Lake. It’s our favorite place to visit.”
I glance at Otis. There’s a fixed smile on his face, but his eyes are hollow.
It breaks my heart. I nod and smile, not sure what to say as I hand back the photo.
Luckily, Moe bursts through the doors at that moment, with the cake on a trolley piled with plates.
Suddenly all the residents raise their snouts, scenting the air.
“Cake time!” Moe calls out.
With quite a commotion they converge on the table, some swooping on wings, others hobbling on crutches, all chattering in their own languages.
“Come on, Mom.” Otis puts out a hand to Sally and gently helps her out of the chair. “Put Dad in your pocket for now, eh?”
Reluctantly, she puts the photo in the large pocket of her dress.
She’s weak, I realize. She stumbles with each step, and Otis steadies her with gentle care. “Shall I take your other arm?” I ask.
“Yes please, my dear.” Sally is a fair bit taller than me, but because she’s bent over, I don’t have to reach up far to take her hand.
We shuffle her over to the table and to my surprise, as she partakes of the cake, Sally starts chatting with the others, explaining how she taught Otis all her baking tips when he was a youngling.
“It’s all about how long you beat the batter for,” she explains to a beaked creature seated next to her.
“It has to be so light and airy it almost floats out of the bowl.”
Otis glances at me and I smile, remembering my arm lust watching him beat that cake.
Now all the monsters are voicing their approval, smacking their lips and grabbing more cake. Soon there’s nothing left but a few crumbs on a platter and the odd berry or two.
And yes, I had a piece, and it was divine. I can’t help thinking that’s because it was made with so much passion.
“We did a good job,” Otis says.
His eyes are gentle and warm as they rest on me, and I try to identify the emotion there.
It’s gratitude, I realize.
He’s grateful I’m here to share in his mom’s care. To alleviate the loneliness of it. I get it. I spent years looking after my own dad, bearing his sorrow and mine, and that shared suffering brings me and Otis even closer somehow.
“Yes,” I say, “we make a great baking team.”
But of course, I mean so much more than that.
OTIS.
When we finally take our leave of Mom, everyone’s stomachs are well and truly stuffed with cake.
We even had an impromptu sing-along, with me and Mom taking the lead in some traditional orc songs.
That hasn’t happened since Dad died, and my chest swells as all the monster voices join in with the chorus.
I even hear Clem managing a few words with her sweet soprano.
Then we walk Mom back to her room. She lies on her bed, takes the photo of Dad out of her pocket and rests it against her heart.
“Where he belongs,” she murmurs, patting it softly with her bony hand. She looks up at me with questioning eyes. “Will the twins be coming by next week?”
This is the part of the conversation I always dread. I skirt around the issue to keep her happy.
“I hope so, Mom.”
“And Amy?”
“Soon, I’m sure,” I answer.
If Mom thinks otherwise, she nods, and murmurs, “Soon.”
Except, soon never comes.
As we make our way out of the door, Clem glances at me. “Are your siblings really coming to visit?”
“Nope.” My lips are tight. “But I can’t bear to tell Mom that.”
“Could you contact them? Do you have their phone numbers?”
“Yeah, but I’ve given up trying.”
“Why?”
“Because they never come.”
“How can they not visit? She’s their mom.”
“I know, it’s shitty of them. But they can’t bear to see her like this. They’re a lot younger than me, they were hit harder by Dad’s death, and then seeing Mom not coping was too much for them. They’d always believed she was unshakable.”
“But to just not come at all, that’s unkind.”
I sigh. “They came at first, but then they started to make excuses. I had to chase them up the whole time. I got so busy, it was just too much effort to keep putting pressure on them, so I gave up calling. Amy phones Mom every now and then to check in, but even that’s hit and miss.”
“Maybe you should try again.”
“Maybe.” I huff a big breath. “Sometimes it feels easier to just keep doing it all myself.”
“That’s not okay. You need support,” Clem says firmly. “Families, huh? Don’t they drive you nuts?” I glance at her and she smiles ruefully.
“Yeah, don’t I know it.” I decide to brighten the mood. “Mom was the most communicative she’s been in a long time. I think it was because of you.”
“More likely the delicious cake.”
“It wasn’t that. But I do have to say, that cake was fucking good. And the berries you bought were the best I’ve had all year.”
“They were yummy. I could literally have eaten a pound of them, straight.”
“Then you should.”
“We used them all up Otis, on the cake.”
“We can get more.” I have a sudden pleasant thought. “I could take you to the orchards and you eat berries to your heart’s content.”
“Oh goddess, I would love that,” Clem enthuses.
“Our orchards are a place where…” I hesitate, and only just stop myself from saying, “where lovers go and declare their mate bonds.” Instead, I finish lamely, “where you can get the freshest berries—obviously.”
Truth is, Mom’s reaction to Clem has made my sense we are mate-bonded even stronger. How did Mom sense my feelings for Clem immediately? Sometimes, she seems so absent, but then she says something like this and you realize she hasn’t missed a trick.
She came out of her shell today more than I’ve seen her do in the past three years. It was Clem’s presence by my side, I know it was. I’m sure Mom sensed our feelings for one another.
But I don’t say any of this, I just point out passing landmarks on the way home. A statue of a Phoenix holding up the book of our Constitution. The Town Hall and the small maze that represents freedom to roam the Labyrinth.
When we walk inside the house, I think about marching Clem into the bedroom and making love to her.
Then I peer into my study at the paperwork and devices and huff a silent sigh.
Our mission will need to commence very soon and I still have to do final checks to ensure everything is likely to connect when we get it above ground
Before I get down to work, I cook us a light dinner from scraps in the fridge. Afterward, we wash up together, kissing in between drying dishes, and then I say to Clem, “I have to get on with some coding.”
“Is it so urgent?” she says, a little wistfully.
“Yeah, we’re on a tight timeline.” I am not going to tell her how tight, or what dangers await.
“Oh, sure, I get it.” Her face falls a little, then she murmurs, “Maybe I’ll go to bed and wait for you…”
My huge grin says it all.
I work away at the coding until I finally I get the tiny bugging devices to read inside the portal elevators. That is one step closer to them reading in Sparkle when Jax places the bugging devices up there. I give the air a victory punch with my fist.
Tomorrow we will finalize the plan for Jax to disseminate these devices in Sparkle, first in the army barracks in the Periphery, then further afield, striking into the very heartlands of Sparkle City… even mayor Ronald DeVine’s golden tower itself.
We have to understand the true extent of the evil they are perpetrating.
Is it truly malediction? And if so, who the fuck is in charge?
I push the thought away. One step at a time. I don’t want to dwell on the dangers ahead. I have to remember there are good things happening too. Wonderful things.
Arlo and Sammy are expecting the first human/monster youngling in recorded history.
Clem and I are…
What are we exactly?
I can at least speak for myself. Yep, I’ve fallen for her, big time. Should I be cautious with my heart? After all, it got badly trampled on by Leanna. But somehow, I know I can trust Clem. I feel this deep affinity with her that goes beyond logic.
Logic.
For years, that’s how I’ve operated, the scientist in me taking the lead, but maybe it’s time to set logic aside and let my emotions come to the fore. I sigh and push back the chair. Stand, and stretch, then tidy up the scrawled papers so Clem won’t have too much mess to sort out tomorrow.
No more thinking. It’s time for bed. Even though I’m exhausted, I’m still certain that Clem’s beautiful body will turn me on. I tiptoe into the room and quietly call her name.
No answer.
The bedroom light is burning low, and I see her splayed out on the mattress, her little face a perfect heart shape, her long dark lashes sweeping her cheeks. I stare in awe. Glancing lower, I see one arm is slung over her head and a perfect nipple peeks out from the coverlet.
She’s breathing slow and steady, deeply asleep.
And although my cock obligingly hardens, I am not going to wake my princess from her slumber.
I climb gingerly in beside her and nuzzle into her neck. She lets out a little mewl of happiness, but doesn’t wake, so I spoon gently into her and tell my hard-on to take a hike.
Very soon, exhaustion engulfs me and I fall asleep with my little human in my arms.