Chapter Ten.
Mitch
Jesus, it must have been a heck of a bender he’d been on.
There were empty bottles all over his study, and he’d lost two days.
Mitch had never indulged to that level before and wondered what the hell had got into him.
Actually, Mitch knew what had: Jess Mayhew.
He missed her a great deal. Jess had crawled under his defences and burrowed into him, and now Mitch required her as much as he needed oxygen.
Mitch picked himself up from the floor and sniffed himself in disgust. Christ. He reeked.
With a deep sigh, Mitch headed upstairs and into his bedroom.
He shucked his clothes and walked naked into his shower.
Mitch spent thirty minutes in there trying to ease the stiffness in his body and his headache.
He stepped out and wrapped a towel around himself. Movement made him jump, and Mitch turned and saw Diar standing there. He shook his head as Diar headed into the bedroom.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Diar demanded as Mitch followed.
“You’re meant to be in hiding,” Mitch said.
“When someone’s best friend goes AWOL for three days, a person panics. What happened?” Diar pressed.
“On a three-day bender, I think,” Mitch replied.
“You think? Did you count how many empty bottles there are? I’m considering running you to the hospital to get your liver checked,” Diar quipped.
Mitch snarled wordlessly as he entered his closet and yanked some clothes on. He walked back out and gazed at Diar.
“I’ll make coffee, you cook,” he ordered, and Diar smirked.
“Can you handle food?”
“For a three-day bender, I’m doing great. All I have is a headache,” Mitch said, leaving the bedroom with Diar on his heels.
“Seriously? You always got bad-tempered when you drank,” Diar replied.
“Yeah, just a headache. Not sure what that means, but I definitely don’t feel hungover. In fact, I could easily eat a full English,” Mitch stated.
Diar frowned. “That’s not normal for you. Actually, this whole thing is weird. You haven’t drunk to excess since you were twenty-one and certainly have never indulged in a three-day bender. Mitch, what happened when you saw Leon Ericks?” Diar demanded.
Mitch paused in the act of filling the kettle and faced Diar.
“Leon Ericks?” he asked, racking his brain. “Diar, I’ve not seen Leon Ericks. You do mean the crazy, reclusive billionaire?”
Diar turned to Mitch and frowned. “What are you talking about? You went to see Ericks to give him the flash drive, so Jess could learn who you really are.”
“I’ve no memory of seeing Leon Ericks,” Mitch said slowly. As he attempted to remember, a pain pierced his head, and Mitch let out a cry and grabbed his temples, bending over.
“What?” Diar exclaimed.
“I don’t recall anything about meeting him. I remember putting the flash drive in my pocket and then nothing. Everything is blank. Diar, what the hell happened to me? What did Ericks do?” Mitch demanded.
“Good question,” Diar said grimly. “Ericks’ fucked with your head somehow. Why? Is he a Sealgair Uilebheist that we don’t know about?”
“You need to leave. Being here puts you in more danger,” Mitch insisted as coldness swept through his body. His hands shook slightly, and deep down, Mitch realised something had happened, and he couldn’t remember it.
“I’m not leaving you,” Diar denied.
“You have to, Diar, you’re all the family I have left, and I won’t put you in harm’s way.” There was no way he’d risk Diar’s safety, especially if this were a dangerous plot by the Sealgair Uilebheist to get revenge on Mitch.
“Alexander was released on bail and is staying out of the limelight. However, Alfred is behind bars. That makes them unpredictable. I’m not leaving your side,” Diar refused.
Mitch went to argue, and a second piercing pain hit, and he staggered and fell to his knees.
“Shit! Mitch!” Diar cried, alarmed.
“There’s a memory, it’s just out of reach,” Mitch muttered.
Did he fight for it, or let it go and hope it came to him eventually?
No, Mitch had never quit before; this time would be no different.
He strained against the blockage, which he felt was what it was, and shoved hard.
Further pain lanced through him, but Mitch gritted his teeth.
He collapsed onto his backside, and his body began shaking.
“Mitch, what the hell?” Diar sobbed in alarm.
“My memories, I think I’ve been hypnotised, and badly so,” Mitch cried as he grasped his head.
Diar knelt beside him, but Mitch knew there was nothing that could be done.
Sealgair Uilebheist were trained to resist mind manipulation.
The Uile-bheist were alleged to control minds, and so it was part of their training.
The pain let Mitch know someone had screwed with him.
And Mitch had no doubt it was Ericks. Mitch screamed as he fought against the darkness, and a memory emerged.
A waif of a spirit who stared at him with hatred. She had a name. Banshee.
Once Mitch breached the dam with Banshee, it was like a cascade.
Fragments of images burst like a waterfall, piecing together, and Mitch gasped as he tried to catch his breath.
Mitch was vaguely aware of Diar supporting him as he struggled against the tide.
So many different creatures, and they all hated Mitch, but none harmed him.
He’d fought for Jess to be safe, and now, as his memories were restored, he realised they’d exploited her.
None had actively said they were interested in Jess. No, they used Jess as a weapon to gather information. The files he’d meant to give to her were in their hands. Mitch wasn’t too bothered, except he still had no way to contact Jess. He could almost sob. How the hell would he locate her?
“Give me your mobile,” Mitch demanded of Diar as he slumped in Diar’s arms. Diar hesitated and then passed it over. Mitch punched in Ericks’ number.
“I know what you did. Your hypnosis didn’t work. I was bred stronger than that. Now you owe me, asshole. Send those files to Jess,” Mitch ordered and cut the call. He collapsed back against Diar as he succumbed to a migraine.
Poseidon/Jase
He dived deep; he had an inkling that Ness would be hiding in the lake’s deepest part. There were crevices and caves down here, and if Ness wanted, she’d be hard to find despite her size.
“What do you want?” Ness suddenly snapped in his head.
“Come out now,” he replied.
“Is that an order, King of the Seas?” Ness demanded.
“Nessie, don’t make me come in after you,” Poseidon warned.
Ness snorted disrespectfully, and Jase smiled as she threatened him. “I’ll squish you.”
“Doubt it. We had a guest, and I thought you might want to know. He brought you a gift.” Poseidon waited and felt Ness’s curiosity.
“You can’t help but meddle,” she hissed angrily.
“Oh, but it was such a beautiful present, you wouldn’t have wanted us to say no,” Poseidon taunted, and Ness growled.
“What was it?”
“Come home and find out.”
“I’m happy down here,” Ness stated, but Poseidon knew she wasn’t.
“Don’t make me drag you out by your ear, madam!” Poseidon threatened.
“What ear?” Ness demanded as she surged upwards from the rocky bottom of the lake.
Damn, she’d blended in so well Poseidon hadn’t seen her.
Ness sent him spinning away, and Poseidon reached out and slapped her hind as she passed him.
She gracefully spun and tackled him, wrapping her long neck around him.
Loch Ness stared at Poseidon face-to-face and opened her maws in a smile.
“Too slow, fatherhood has made you soft,” Ness teased.
Poseidon chuckled and shifted onto Uber-Merman. He slipped free of her loops and slapped Ness’s flippers with his tentacles before diving under her. Ness laughed and dived after him.
For ten minutes, they played, sending great water spurts into the air and creating whirlpools.
When they rose to the surface, several others had come down to watch, smiling.
Ness shifted, and Jess jumped on Uber-Merman’s back and dunked him.
He grabbed Jess with a tentacle and flung her across the surface.
Jess shifted into the Loch Ness Monster and landed with a huge splash, drenching those on the shore.
As Uber-Merman approached, Ness shifted again, and Jess allowed Uber-Merman to drag her to the shoreline.
“Feel better?” Jase asked as he shifted.
“Yes. I needed a release, not to sulk and grieve at the bottom of the lake. What were you trying to tell me?” Jess demanded.
“Mitch visited Leon and handed him a flash drive. It literally contained everything on the Hunters. Mitch gave it to you, why?” Jase demanded.
“He wanted to prove that he was different from his family. Mitch kept repeating that he wasn’t like them. He thought I was a Saviour. But I couldn’t tell if Mitch knew I was a Shifter or not,” Jess replied.
“I don’t think he did. Leon knocked Mitch out and brought him here,” Jase said. He noticed Jess jolt and then settle. Whatever she was feeling, Jase watched her bury it.
“Is he alive?” Jess whispered.
“Yes. We put Mitch through some tests, and no matter what we did, his story stayed the same.”
“Tests, Jase?” Jess folded her arms and stared at him.
“Ghoul, Banshee, Medusa, and others may have played a part,” Jase stated. He remarked. Jess’s brows descended, and Jase refused to let her intimidate him. His concern for her well-being outweighed any tantrum Jess might throw.
“What happened during these tests?” Jess demanded.
“We attempted to discover his real persona. All he was concerned about was you, Jess. He had no idea who you were apart from the woman he loved.”
Jess stalked back and forth again. Those who’d come to watch had disappeared when they exited the water. Jase waited patiently as Jess worked through her issues. She was always one of the more cautious Shifters because of the Sin she carried.
“What do I do, Jase?”
“You love him?”