Blood Stone (11) (The Underground Kingdom) Read online

  Blood Stone (11)

  Steve Elliott

  Copyright © by Steve Elliott 2013.

  All rights reserved.

  This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  I felt that things were working out well. Tracey and Thorn, my two beautiful fairy lovers, appeared to be content with our living arrangements – that is to say, they hadn’t tried to poison me or to hit me over the head with a frying pan ( not yet, anyway) – and Rosewing, my spirited daughter, was fulfilling her incipient promise and blossoming into the stunning creature she had always promised to be. Of course, that bought other problems into our lives in the shape of would-be-boyfriends – myriads of them, in all shapes and sizes. All that attention from the opposite sex made me paranoid, but that was probably my father chromosomes talking. It really came down to a matter of trust in the end. Either I trusted my daughter to do the right thing or I didn’t. If I didn’t, then surely I could be blamed as a parent for not raising her properly. Faced with that decision, I decided to believe that my daughter could be trusted, but I still worried. After all, I remembered being a young male myself and I was fully aware of what occupied most of my mind while growing into adulthood. And that’s exactly why I remained nervous. I could trust my daughter all I liked, but could I trust her companions?

  But anyway, that counted as a mild ripple in the ocean of my domestic tranquillity. Trix, our adopted elf daughter, had met another elf and they were dating regularly. She had invited him around to meet us and he appeared to be quite presentable to everybody. His name was Niama and he worked with Phil, the bio-engineer responsible for the clones I presently resided in and called my own. However, the best criterion of Niama’s acceptance came from Zen, Trix’s pet wolf. He approved of the liaison and happily greeted Niama with wagging tail whenever he appeared. That was important. It may seem strange to outsiders, but our family held a deep respect for Zen’s intuitions. He always seemed able to discern motives and he possessed an almost magical ability to see past the externals. I very much doubted that Trix would have continued her relationship with Niama if Zen had betrayed any sort of a reluctance to tolerate his presence.

  To add to this relationship fermentation of our household, Quina, our live-in ex-doctor and spiritualist healer, had been ‘stepping out’ (to be old fashioned) with Doctor Totil, her childhood sweetheart. Romance began running rampant through our family. The only one who didn’t appear to be affected by Cupid’s arrow was Zen. As far as he was concerned, life went on as normal, although with a few more people around (which he felt was all to the good because that meant those extra people could be cajoled into giving him treats.)

  All in all, it became a blissful existence. Rosewing had grown out of her stubborn teenage ways, to some extent anyway, and had finally begun to appreciate her parents. That is to say, she didn’t automatically argue with everything we said, and occasionally even agreed with us. She didn’t appear to be ashamed to be seen with us in public anymore, and consented to walk by our side instead of the usual street length behind– a huge step forward indeed. Tracey and I both breathed a sigh of relief to be passed her contentious teenage years. Rosewing was growing up, much as we hated to admit it, and Tracey thought it the right time to plan her daughter’s future. In other words, she wanted to sit Rosewing down for a mother-daughter talk. I was graciously allowed to be present during this heart-to-heart as the second half of the parent committee, although I was subtly commanded by the first half of the committee not to say too much and to leave the talking to those who knew what they were talking about.

  “Yes, dear,” I submitted meekly, knowing from hard earned experience when to obey that particular tone of voice.

  “Well now, my darling,” Tracey crooned to Rosewing when the three of us were seated comfortably, “this is nice, isn’t it?”

  “I suppose,” Rosewing dubiously agreed, looking from Tracey to me. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on,” Tracey denied. “Can’t a mother and daughter get together occasionally?”

  “Not in this family,” Rosewing said, eyeing her mother distrustfully. “You’re up to something. What is it?”

  “You’re so suspicious,” Tracey proclaimed.

  “With good reason,” Rosewing averred. “This has all the hallmarks of a lecture. Have I done something wrong? This isn’t another talk about sex, is it? You’ve covered that topic umpteen times before, you know. Has something changed in that area I need to know about?”

  “No, sweetheart,” Tracey denied, flushing slightly. “It’s not one of ….. those talks.”

  “But it is a talk, isn’t it?” Rosewing questioned. “I knew it! What’s it about this time?”

  Tracey reached out and took my hand. “Your father and I want to know what you want to do with your life. You’re old enough now to think about a career.”

  “And I want to make sure those boys you hang around with are behaving themselves,” I interjected.

  Tracey shushed me. “Not now, beloved,” she chided. “This isn’t the time for your paranoia.”

  “It isn’t paranoia,” I insisted, sulkily. “I know what boys are thinking.”

  “Later, Stephen,” Tracey commanded. “This is about our daughter’s future.” She turned back to Rosewing. “Do you have anything particular in mind, sweetie?”

  “I haven’t really thought about it much,” Rosewing shrugged, “but I wouldn’t mind having a few adventures.”

  “Adventures?” Tracey questioned, frowning. “What sort of adventures?”

  “You know,” Rosewing explained, “like the ones Aunt Arugohumna and Uncle Nix have had.”

  “You want to go out into the wilderness?” Tracey exclaimed, horrified. “It’s dangerous out there! Arugohumna and Nix are lucky to still be alive! Don’t you want to stay here and be safe?”

  “You did ask me, Mother,” Rosewing told her. “I’ve been told stories about their adventures ever since I can remember. It’s exciting! I want to be part of it!”

  “Stephen, say something to your daughter! Tell her she’s too young to be running around out there!”

  “Oh, now you want me to talk,” I grumbled.

  “Tell her!” Tracey insisted.

  I sighed resignedly, knowing myself to be trapped between Tracey’s motherly concern for the safety of her only offspring, and the offspring’s intransigence. No matter which way I turned I’d end up being criticised by one party or the other. I wondered how I could possibly weasel out of this dilemma. The problem being that they were both correct in their diverging opinions. It was dangerous in the wilderness. Thorn, Nix, Trix and I had barely escaped with our lives on several occasions while running around the countryside. But, on the other hand, it had been exciting in a weird way, and my daughter had obviously inherited our taste for adventure. Maybe it was genetic? Not that I had ever specifically sought out situations where my life hung in the balance. These things just seemed to happen whether I wanted them to or not.

  “Well?” Tracey asked, impatiently. “Tell her she can’t. Tell her the whole idea is ridiculous!”

  I took a deep breath and lay my life on the line once again. I pulled Tracey to my side and held on to her, imprisoning her arms to prevent any sudden movements. “We can’t forbid her to do anything, light of my life,” I soothed. “Since when has that ever worked? Besides, she’s an adult now and can do what she likes. In fact,” I said, screwing up my face, “she’s always done what she wants, even as a child. Talk about being pig-headed!”

  “Hey!” Rosewing objected.

  �
��Anyway,” I continued, grinning, “all I’m saying is that the best we can do is to channel this impulse of hers into a safer vein by judicious training.”

  “What the devil are you talking about?” Tracey demanded.

  “What I’m trying to say, dear heart, is that until our daughter chooses another path in life, we should maximise her chances of staying out of trouble by giving her all the skills we can. In other words, we should let our family members coach her in survival techniques. After all, we have the best of the best right here. Nix could train her in unarmed combat; Trix in tracking and how to live off the land; Thorn in swordplay and Quina in healing.”

  “And you?” Tracey ask, a trifle sarcastically. “What will you be teaching her?”

  “How to avoid trouble, I hope,” I declared. “I’m all about not fighting, you know that.”

  “No, I don’t,” Tracey said with a slight smile. “You get into mischief every time you step outside the house.”

  “That’s not my fault,” I disputed. “All I’ve ever wanted was a peaceful life to raise my beautiful daughter and to be with her gorgeous mother.” So saying, I added Rosewing to my embrace and cuddled the two most important people in my life.

  “Don’t think you can get around me with these obvious tactics,” Tracey muttered. “I can see right through your ploys. You can’t sweet talk your way out of everything.”

  “I can try, can’t I?” I said, kissing her on the forehead. “Let’s face it, sweetheart, if our daughter has her heart set on being an explorer, the best we can do is to prepare her as much as we can. The rest is up to her. That’s what being a parent is all about.”

  “I know,” Tracey sighed in resignation. “I just don’t like the idea of my baby risking life and limb.”

  “It’s not something we can do much about I’m afraid,” I sympathised. “We’ll give her all the training we can and hope it’s enough. What else can we do?”

  “While you’ve both been waffling on,” Rosewing crossly remarked, “may I remind you that I’m right here. Stop talking about me as if I wasn’t present.”

  “Oh, are you?” I asked, pretending to be surprised and tweaking her ear. “How long have you been there?”

  Rosewing giggled at my weak joke. “I’m not a total lump,” she told us. “I realise you might not be happy about my choice, and the last thing in the world I want to do is to hurt you both, but I need to experience this. It’s a family tradition, after all. I promise I won’t go out of my way to do anything stupid, and I’ll never go out by myself.”

  “Okay, that makes me feel a little better,” Tracey confessed. “Just don’t be foolish, that’s all I ask. My heart was in my mouth every time Stephen and my sister went away on one of their little adventures. I don’t want to have to worry myself sick over you as well.”

  Chapter 2

  With Rosewing’s future career being tentatively settled, we advised the rest of the family of her decision. Frankly, I wasn’t sure that my daughter was a hundred percent serious about all of this. After all, who really knows what they were going to do with the rest of their lives at such an early age? I think she was merely experimenting with careers. As she said, all those stories we told her about our adventures must have had some effect in the area of imitation. Be that as it may, Trix immediately offered to take her into the wilderness for a camping trip and to teach the basics of tracking.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Tracey intervened. “My baby isn’t going alone. I want everybody else to go along as well.”

  “She’d hardly be alone if I was there with her, Mother,” Trix cheekily corrected.

  “That’s beside the point,” Tracey huffed. “My darling isn’t tramping around the wilderness by herself if I can help it. I want as many people as possible around her just in case there’s trouble.”

  “If you say so,” I sighed. “But honestly, dear heart, you worry over nothing. It’ll be only a short trip. What could possibly go wrong?”

  “I seem to recall you saying that before every adventure,” Tracey reminded me, “and just look at all the grey hairs I’ve accumulated over the years! They’re caused by all of you escaping death by a fraction time after time. You’re killing me bit by bit here. I’m ageing ten times faster than normal.”

  “You are not!” I scoffed, looking at her appraisingly. “You’re still the same dazzling beauty I met all those years ago. You haven’t changed a bit! In fact, if it wasn’t physically possible, I’d say that you’re even more beautiful than you were.”

  “Really?” Tracey simpered coyly, teasingly fluffing her hair. “I don’t believe you for a second, my friend. You’re such an outrageous liar.”

  “I never have to fib about your looks, my darling one,” I told her softly, taking her hands in mine. “Everything I say is the truth, believe you me. Words don’t do you justice and they never have. I know you’ve never seen it, but you’re the moonlight sparkling on the water; the sunlight dancing in a rain droplet; a rose petal floating in the breeze and the stars twinkling in a dark blue sky.”

  “Oh, Stephen,” Tracey breathed in wonder. “Do you really mean all those things?”

  “How could you doubt me for even a second?” I asked, kissing her fingers. “You mean everything to me and always will. Never think otherwise.”

  In response, Tracey hugged me ferociously, her eyes beginning to fill. I glanced around the room. Trix showed empathy by dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief and Rosewing smiled benignly, although a little uncomfortably, at our emotional display. Thorn had drawn closer to her me and had positioned my arm over her shoulders, unconsciously mimicking what she was seeing. Quina smiled to herself, her thoughts far away, probably partly with Totil, and Zen unconcernedly chewed on his front leg. Ah well, four sympathetic onlookers out of five wasn’t a bad score, I suppose.

  Bowing to Tracey’s wishes, we set off to collect Nix. Quina elected to stay behind because she had an appointment at the hospital the next day to assist Doctor Totil. However, first of all, our group had to make a detour to find Niama because Trix insisted that he accompany us as well.

  “The more, the merrier,” Trix told us. “After all, it’s what Traculimna wanted, isn’t it?” We dragooned Niama into our midst and set off in the direction of Nix’s house.

  “Why don’t we invite the whole settlement?” Thorn grumbled. “That sister of mine worries over nothing. It’s just a simple little camping trip into the wilderness, for heaven’s sake. It’s not as if we’re going to fight a dragon or anything.”

  “Let’s keep her happy,” I murmured. “She cares about our safety, that’s all. Don’t upset her because the other me has to live with the consequences if you do.”

  “Serves you right,” Thorn smirked at me. “That’ll teach you to take up with her. I warned you to stop at me, but nooo ….! You had to go and chase her as well, so it’s ultimately all your fault anyway. You won’t get any sympathy from me.”

  “Let me correct you right there, you impertinent little snip,” I scolded. “First of all, she chased me. I happened to be merely an innocent bystander in all of this. There I was, minding my own business, when suddenly, out of the mist, these two sisters appeared, with growling lust and gnashing teeth, plotting dastardly mischief against a blameless and inoffensive visitor who had absolutely no idea the depths to which they could both sink to achieve their sordid aims.”

  “Growling and gnashing teeth? Sordid aims?” Thorn queried, quirking an eyebrow upwards. “You wouldn’t care to rephrase those phrases upon more sober reflection, would you? I’d strongly advise you to, by the way.”

  “Perhaps you’re right,” I admitted. “Somehow, I suddenly seem to remember it differently.”

  “I’m listening,” Thorn said, decisively folding her arms. Trix vainly tried stifling a giggle behind her hand while Niama, being a relative newcomer to our ways, simply looked perplexed.

  “It’s all coming back to me now,” I continued. “Out of the mist emerged these
two angels of loveliness, beautiful beyond description, with welcoming smiles and flashing eyes.”

  “Now we’re getting closer to the truth,” Thorn declared. “Go on. What happened next?”

  “Without a word, they rubbed themselves up against me in a thoroughly wanton and shameless fashion and began to rip off their clothes,” I announced, winking at Trix.

  “What!” Thorn yelled, outraged.

  “Did they really?” Niama asked in wide-eyed fascination.

  “Of course not,” Thorn snorted derisively. “Stephen only wishes we did.”

  “Oh!” Niama said in a disappointed voice.

  “Let me tell you what really happened,” Thorn proclaimed. “This clueless and naïve individual wandered into our house, knowing absolutely nothing about females …..”

  “….. and who still doesn’t …. I interjected.

  “…… wandered in,” Thorn continued with a grin, “sat himself down on the couch, demanded to be fed and then refused to leave. Naturally, my sister and I took pity on this homeless vagabond and allowed him to stay. And that’s the full story.”

  “And you tell it so beautifully, too,” I praised, kissing her cheek. “It’s a real tear-jerker and a totally unbiased and truthful account.”

  “They can’t be serious, can they?” Niama whispered to Trix.

  “Don’t lose any sleep over it,” Trix advised. “They’re all as mad as each other. I’m the only sane one in that household.”

  “You don’t say,” Niama said thoughtfully, peering doubtfully at Trix. “Why doesn’t that statement inspire me with confidence?”

  “I have absolutely no idea,” Trix replied, grinning at him. “Get used to it, my friend, because it can only get weirder.”

  Chapter 3

  We congregated outside the door to Nix’s house and were greeted by his mother, Edwinex.

  “Well, well,” she intoned, “and what have we here?” She hugged each of us in turn and then held Rosewing at arm’s length. “As I live and breathe,” she exclaimed, “would you look at this! My dear girl, you’ve grown so much! I remember when I could hold you in the palm of one hand. You’re as radiant as your mother.” Rosewing blushed prettily and kissed Edwinex on the forehead.