Chapter Five.
Jess/Loch Ness.
“I need a beautiful woman on my arm,” Leon insisted.
“And you don’t have one of your floozies to ask?” Jess asked, amused.
“Jess,” Leon growled out.
“What’s it for?”
“A fundraiser for the homeless. Some do-gooder wants to open a new hostel.”
“Why not give them the money and avoid the event?” Jess demanded.
“Because it’s been eight weeks and you’re Miss Droopy-Drawers. Hell, Jess, I think even your Sin is depressed,” Leon retorted.
“That’s because the murdering little bastard didn’t get to set a pandemic off again!” Jess snapped.
Leon laughed. “Well, if you miss the guy that much, I could…” he wriggled his fingers, and Jess slapped him hard. Leon was insinuating about turning Mitch into gold. “What? You could keep him in your bedroom.”
“Sometimes I hate you!” she scowled.
Leon chuckled. “Put on a pretty dress, we’ll leave from my apartment. Be ready in six,” he ordered and walked away.
Jess flipped him the bird and stomped out of the castle. Oh hell! Three babies crawled towards her at speed with their parents chasing after them. A fourth waddled behind them unsteadily. Crap! Amari was walking.
Jess warily eyed Amari, who was known to sink her teeth in when hungry.
The little girl held her arms up. Yeah, Jess wasn’t falling for that.
“Jess! Grab them!” Jase yelled as the four suddenly split in different directions. He grabbed Balius, who, as usual, was in his Uber-Merman form. Moments later, Jase received a slap in the face from Balius’s tentacles. Balius glared at Jase, clearly challenging his father, and Jase shifted.
Jess laughed as Balius’s jaw dropped open as he stared at the far bigger version of himself.
Amari changed direction and escaped Vladimir, who missed her by a finger’s breadth.
Amari raced towards Jase and sank her teeth into his calf.
Jase glanced down as Amari began spitting and hissing like a cat.
“Yeah, kidda, I don’t taste nice,” Jase gloated.
One of Jase’s tentacles held Balius aloft as the baby struggled to get free, and Jase searched for the missing pair. Duris and Raisa, who simultaneously attacked him, both shifted from Merforms to Uber-Merman. Raisa’s form looked more delicate but was just as tough.
She slapped her father hard, and when he picked her up with a tentacle, she sank her teeth in and gnawed. Raisa made little growling noises, which caused Jess to step back. That child wasn’t right. Duris hissed and spat like a scalded cat as Jase trapped him, too.
“Wow. Remind me to have my womb cut out,” Banshee said as she shifted into Liadun. Liadun shook her head in horror.
“I agree. They’d put anyone off having children,” Jess agreed.
Lanie and Mac appeared, Mac’s arm around her waist, and stopped. “Yeah, our kid won’t be like that!” Lanie stated.
Jess gaped at Lanie and began laughing. “Have you forgotten Calli’s early years? She was a freaking nightmare for the first century.”
“Wait, what?” Jase demanded.
“Well, it seems that all pregnancies are only for seven months, and the children until the age of two mature quickly. When they reach two, their ageing slows down, and it takes them about one hundred years to hit eighteen. If Callidora is a baseline, good luck,” Liadun said.
Lanie blanched. “Oh, crap!” She gazed at Mac with a wordless plea.
“It’ll be fine,” Mac soothed, rubbing her back.
Liadun began laughing hard. “Who are you fooling? Not only is that kid Lamia, but it’s also from a Saviour family. You two are screwed for the next hundred years!” Chortling her head off, Liadun walked away.
Jess looked at Lanie and Mac. “Yeah, you’re in trouble!” She was about to say more, but Drew chasing Shelley caught her attention.
“Baby, give me that,” he begged.
“I’m hungry,” Shelley snarled and ripped the loaf of bread away from Drew as he tried to take it from her.
“Sweetheart, you’re eating—”
“What!” Shelley shrieked as everyone around winced. “I’m eating what, Drew? It’s your bloody child that keeps giving me odd cravings, and it doesn’t cease munching! I’ll be the size of a whale!” Shelley broke down in tears, and Drew flapped his hands at her.
“Stop that!” he ordered, and Jess rolled her eyes alongside Lanie.
“He’s screwed,” Mac murmured, amused. Jase turned and shook his head, even as he held the four children aloft.
“She’s going to kill him,” Vladimir drawled happily. Drew sent them a scowl as he tried to calm Shelley down.
“You won’t love me anymore!” she wailed.
“Of course I will! I’ll always adore you, no matter what your size!” Drew exclaimed.
“Oh boy,” Jess began giggling as Shelley cried even harder.
“Is he really one of us? He’s as thick as a two-by-four.” Lanie chuckled. Mac shook his head.
“Look, I’ll get you whatever you want!” Drew tried bribing.
“That’s no good because you consider me fat!” Shelley hissed through her tears.
“No! I think you’ve got my baby and you’re growing it for me. I’m going to cook your favourites tonight,” Drew pleaded as he hugged Shelley.
“I want chocolate and pickles,” Shelley said, wiping her eyes.
Drew blanched alongside the rest of us, but Shelley smiled.
“Whatever you want, honey,” Drew promised.
“Pineapple and ham pizza?”
“If you insist,” Drew replied.
Jess laughed as Jase howled. “Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza!”
“I’m pregnant!” Shelley snapped.
“Don’t we all know it?” Jase retorted.
Shelley burst into tears again, and Jase looked horrified, while Drew became murderous.
“I’ll make it for you!” Jase promised as he waved the four kids at her. Raisa was still gnawing on his tentacle, and Balius was continuing to hiss and slap his father.
“Okay,” Shelley sobbed as Jase hurried away. Drew followed suit as Shelley wiped her eyes and beamed. She curtsied and grinned.
“That’s how you do it, ladies,” she said and skipped off.
“Wow, she’s got mad skills,” Lanie muttered. Mac eyed her worriedly.
“Damn good,” Jess agreed and headed to the gardens to find a quiet place.
◆◆◆
“You look amazing,” Lorelai said as Jess spun around. She smiled at the woman who carried the Sin of Rape and shifted into the monstrous Medusa.
“Considering I’m wearing a one-of-a-kind Lorelai, I should do,” Jess teased.
“Yes, this is one of my favourite creations,” Lorelai replied.
A knock banged on the door of Jess’s apartments and Leon walked in.
He was perfectly put together, as usual.
He wore a beautiful black tailcoat with steampunk baroque silver stitching on the cuffs, rising to his elbows.
His lapels, edging, and the bottom of his coat were similarly decorated.
It was topped off with a black shirt, a black ruffled cravat, and a heavy, round silver brooch. A black velvet waistcoat completed the look with silver buttons. Leon looked as handsome as ever.
“Stunning, Jess,” he said softly.
Jess smiled as she pulled on her jewellery. It was from a shop called Elysian Dreams. The diamonds shone at her throat, ears, and wrist. A solitaire painite gem hung from the necklace, making it even more valuable.
“Thanks. Shall we make a move?” she asked with little enthusiasm.
“Wow, I feel so special. At least try to smile, Jess,” Leon teased as they left her apartment.
He whirled his black walking cane with a silver handle as he gestured and spoke to her.
Jess shook her head; Leon could be so affected at times.
As they headed up to the tower, they passed several of their siblings who whistled at them.
Tonight would be the first time she’d left the castle since fleeing Loch Ness.
Deep inside, Jess knew she’d done the right thing, but it hurt.
And for eight weeks, she had moped about while Disease railed at her for not being able to infect anyone.
Disease was calmer now, sulking but still fed.
Luckily, it wouldn’t need feeding for a while longer.
Once this evening was over and done, Jess would return to licking her wounds.
She just hoped Mitch had forgotten her and moved on.
Mitch
He grimaced as Diar fussed with his bow tie. “Leave it alone!”
“I hate these things,” Diar complained as he yanked at his throat again.
“Don’t we all? Why are we attending this?” Mitch scowled.
“Because you’ve been holed up looking for your mermaid for eight weeks and basically being a grumpy, miserable bastard. I had to leave Inverness to sort your ass out after your PA threatened to quit on you,” Diar answered.
Mitch glared. The betrayal! Alice was enjoying a two-week vacation in Jamaica and no doubt sipping cocktails on the beach. He hoped she was having fun because he was planning revenge when she got back. How dare she reach out to Diar?
“Stop it now. You’ll terrify everyone with that scowl,” Diar ordered.
“Good. They can all keep a mile’s distance from me. I don’t like any of them,” Mitch retorted as he headed out to his vehicle. He’d not been able to drive the Bugatti since Jess had left. Tonight, he was driving an even more expensive car.
Diar whistled when he saw it.
“Pulling out the big guns?” Diar asked as he stared at the red Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail. “Such a beautiful colour.”
“Yeah. The family that commissioned them put them up for sale. I snatched this one,” Mitch said, running his hand over the bonnet. He climbed into the driver’s seat as Diar got in the passenger’s side.
“Drive on, Jeeves,” Diar teased, and Mitch scowled even further. “Damn, bro, give it a rest. There’ll be plenty of beautiful ladies tonight. Why not pull one—”
“Don’t go there, Diar. I will find Jess,” Mitch promised.
For eight weeks, he’d had three PIs trying to track her down, but Jess was a ghost. The film company she worked for had her Inverness address and communicated through emails, or Jess went to them and stayed in a hotel.
Jess earned eighty thousand a year, so Mitch had no idea how she could afford two houses and still stay in hotels.