Chapter Fifteen
If Roxanne Dupree was surprised to see the three of us standing on her doorstep, she hid it well.
“Alan, and his friends. How lovely,” she said. Her smile was a little too gracious, a little too practiced. “Do come in. Alexia is in her room, reading. Let me get her for you.”
Roxanne, was as beautiful and radiant as ever. A flower had been placed in her hair. She reminded me of a smoky blues singer from the thirties or forties, gazing at us with her sultry eyes. The Nereid women certainly had style.
“Any more trouble out of that disgruntled relative?” I asked.
“Gracious, no,” she replied, her smile faltering for just a moment. “The glass in the door has been repaired. Thankfully, last night was event free.”
I glanced quickly at each of the guys. I told them before we left that I was certain both Alexia and Roxanne Dupree knew about the creature. I said I couldn’t tell them how I knew just yet, but to go along with whatever I said once we got there. They were both too stunned from watching the video to argue.
Roxanne left us parked on the living room sofa, and went down the hall to get Alexia. I gazed through the newly repaired sliding glass door and into the yard. An abundance of butterflies frolicked out on the deck. If it had been the springtime, in a garden full of flowers, all the butterflies might have made sense, but not here, in the middle of summer. My stomach began a slow churn.
“This is stupid!” Alan blurted. “What are we doing here?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I’m making it up as I go.”
“Please don’t ruin my relationship with Alexia. Okay?”
I started to say You don’t have a relationship with Alexia. She’s got you under some kind of spell. But then I thought of the music still playing in my head, and decided to keep my thoughts to myself.
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
“Alan!” Alexia chimed as she entered with her mother. “Did we have plans?”
“I, umm… No,” Alan said, his voice turning small. He gazed at me, hitting me with a stare that said Don’t mess this up for me.
“I encouraged Alan to stop by,” I said, coming to his rescue.
“I’ll go make some lemonade,” Roxanne said. She started from the room.
“Actually, Mrs. Dupree, this concerns you as well,” I called out.
“Oh?” she said, stopping. “Is something wrong, Alan?” she asked, not looking at me. She was trying to hold onto her smile, but that was a lost cause.
“Umm… Yeah,” he said, his voice a whisper.
“It’s about the creature in Alan’s swimming pool,” Conner said.
I hadn’t planned on springing it on them so suddenly, but it had to be done.
The women exchanged quick, concerned glances.
“Tell your friend to stop playing, Alan… baby,” Alexia said, turning on the charm. “He’s scaring me.”
“There is a creature in my pool,” Alan said, surprising me he was finally admitting it. “I… saw it with my own eyes.”
“And he’s there because of you,” I said, and then my gaze found Roxanne. “And you.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you boys to leave. I assume you’ve been drinking to play such a cruel joke on my daughter.” Roxanne fixed us with a chastising gaze and a furrowed brow. “Don’t make me call your parents.”
The threat was totally uncalled for. Her remark was a strong indication we’d struck a nerve.
“Alexia, the Lycorian in Alan’s pool attacked Conner. You were right there. It could have killed him,” I said raising my voice.
When I said Lycorian, Alexia’s eyes bulged.
“I want you three out of here, now!” Roxanne bellowed, “Or I swear, I will call your parents, or the authorities.”
I ignored her, moving closer to Alexia. “We leave here, and maybe the next time that Lycorian strikes it isn’t a dead coyote that winds up in somebody’s pool, it’s one of your neighbors. Is that what you want?”
“No,” Alexia blubbered, caving instantly. Tears sprang into her eyes.
“We caught it on video last night. It was coming for you when Alan’s Dad got up for a late night glass of water. If he hadn’t turned on the light in the kitchen, it would have struck again,” said Conner.
Alexia looked at her mother. There was a silent storm brewing in her eyes. “I told you we should move!” she screeched.
“Alexia, enough!” Roxanne said in a measured tone, attempting to suppress her daughter’s surfacing anger.
“You never listen to me! We need to go back to the compound. We need to go where we’re safe.”
“I want to make you safe,” Alan said in a small voice. He looked at Alexia with puppy dog eyes. “Don’t go. Tell us how to kill it.”
It didn’t take long for Roxanne to cave along with her daughter. She told us they had left the safety of the Applegate fortress because of the negative effect Eudora was having on Alexia.
“That’s not true, Mother, and you know it,” Alexia said in a low growl. You’re just jealous of Aunt Eudora. Admit it!”
Roxanne ignored Alexia and went on tell us that the Lycorian must have wandered into the neighborhood, caught their scent and hid in the pool drain of Alan’s pool, biding its time.
I’d already heard this from Lara, but the guys hadn’t heard any of it before.
“Caught your scent? You don’t smell any different than anyone else,” Alan said.
“Oh, Alan, I’ve been so afraid. I should have told you what was going on days ago. Thank you for rescuing us,” Alexia, said, making her voice go soft and helpless as if she were a child.
Alan, Conner and I were seated on the sofa. Alexia came over, sat on Alan’s lap, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Please forgive me.”
It was a diversionary tactic, a way to keep from bringing up that she and her mother were water nymphs, and indeed, very different from us.
The sliding glass door caught my eye. A dozen butterflies had alighted there. I wondered how much they could hear.
“Of course I forgive you. Don’t worry. We’re going to kill the creature,” Alan said in a soft, sweet voice I’d never heard him use before. He ran his hand through her hair.
“Is that possible?” I asked Roxanne.
“Yes,” she said. “It can be killed.”
“Lycorians can be defeated in water,” Alexia added, then she kissed the top of Alan’s head. “You need to lure the creature into the center of the pool, baby.”
“You will need a weapon to defeat it,” Roxanne said.
Alexia gazed at her mother and rolled her eyes.
“What kind of weapon?” Alan asked. He looked into Alexia’s big, blue eyes—the ones she’d just rolled. She looked away.
“An enchantment,” Roxanne replied. “The enchantment will slow the creature down and not allow it to use its speed to escape.”
“An enchantment? Where would we get something like that?” asked Conner.
Roxanne sighed, as if telling us how to kill the creature was an annoyance for her. “The Lycorian must be out of water and at his full size, only then should you apply the enchantment. Once he has been enchanted, you need to get him back into the pool. The water will slow him even more. Lycorians are not agile. Once he is enchanted and back in the water, he will be big and sluggish. He should be an easy kill.”
Conner rose from the sofa. “Excuse me, but that sounds fucking ridiculous!”
“Watch your mouth, Conner,” Alan called.
“An enchantment? Are we supposed to believe in fairytales now?”
“Conner!” Alan barked.
“What? Your mother’s next door, Alan. She can’t hear me fucking cursing all the way over here!”
“There are ladies present,” Alan said. He pushed Alexia off his lap, and got to his feet. His chivalry gene had been nicked. He balled his fists.
“You wanna fight me now?” Conner asked,
taking a step toward him.
“Whoa, fellas, calm down. We’re just worked up is all,” I said getting between them.
“You bet we’re worked up. Hey, bro, the next time you volunteer a friend to kill a creature, ask first!” Conner called around me. “You wanna know what you can do with your enchantment?”
“We’re going to need a time out,” I said to the ladies. I had a hand on each of the guy’s chests. “We’re going next door and get this sorted out,” I said. “Come on, guys. Let’s go outside and talk it over.”
Before we left, Alexia dove into Alan’s arms, and pulled him into a long hug. “Thank you so much, Alan. You’re my hero, you know that?” she crooned into his ear.
This time, Roxanne rolled her eyes.