章 100: Fast cars and fallen tears
The car glided across the interstate as smoothly as a shark through water eating up the miles in a flash. It zipped around other vehicles as if they were standing still. Arei chuckled. In comparison they were. They simply blurred into the background of the signs, railing, and trees as it all became one jumbled streak against the horizon of his rearview mirror. None of it mattered. All his mind wanted to focus on was the road, the woman beside him, and getting as many miles between her and the mess they'd left behind.
The cold damp nose of the wolf's small head brushed Arei's arm. He glanced down to see that she'd rested her head on the arm rest beside Jos's sleeping form. He smiled down at the creature. "You must be Shelly. Jos has told me quite a lot about you." Big wide wolf eyes met his and he smiled wider. "She loves you guys, you know that right?" His hand involuntarily moved over to rest on Jos's bare thigh.
The wolf let out a low threatening growl and bared her fangs. Her angry eyes moved from his face to where his hand rested.
Arei let out a husky laugh. He gave Jos's thigh a light squeeze before releasing it and holding the hand up in front of the wolf's face in surrender. "Alright, alright." He arched a mischievous brow down at her. "You realize she and I have a history that spans back before you were even born right? Hell, before your grandparent, Nay, their grandparents were even born."
The wolf sat back in the seat on her hind legs and gave him a questioning stare through the rearview mirror.
Arei laughed, "What? don't believe me?" He laughed again when the wolf shook it's head. "It's true." He gave her a sideways grin. "You know it would be ten times easier to carry on a conversation if you were in human form, right?..." When the wolf gave a low growl, he laughed again. "Just saying..."
A low moan brought both their attentions to the passenger seat. Jos shifted in the seat but didn't wake up. Her already pale skin grew whiter and beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Arei reached across and placed his hand across her brow to check her temperature. A cold nose nudged his arm and the wolf whined. He frowned, "She's burning up." He moved his hand down to rest on her cheek then her chest. The wolf looked back and forth between Jos who let out another pained moan to Arei. He ran his hand down the length of Jos's exposed arm. "She has chill bumps here... It's a fever..." The words had barely left his lips when his cell phone in the compartment above the gear shifter rang. He glanced back at the wolf hesitating to take his hand away from Jos to answer it. The wolf nodded in understanding. He pressed the button to take the call as he watched her straddle the center console so that she could rest her head across Jos's shivering body. "Hello?"
[Arei?! Where are you right now?] Orion shouted from the bluetooth speaker of the car.
Arei glanced down at the built in GPS. "Just crossed over the Tennessee state line. The wolf's ears perked up and her head lifted to look at the map on the screen. Her head jerked back in surprise before she leaned over to look at the speedometer. Arei laughed as her wide, shocked eyes met his. He laughed harder when she gulped and turned back to Jos, pulling on the seat belt to lock it into place. "What about you? Shouldn't you be wearing one too?"
[Who are you talking to? Is Jos awake?] Orion asked concern heavy in his voice.
He turned his attention back to the call and the road. The smile on his face faded. "No, she's not doing too well right now... I think she has a fever." He said glancing over a Jos as she let out another moan.
[It's the water! She can't be too far away from the ocean!] Orion's shout filled the car.
Arei exchanged surprised glances with the wolf. "What do you mean?"
[She's not like other demi-gods. She's more like Calypso or one of Calypso's other creatures.] Orion tried to explain.
Arei's eyes widened as he shot Jos another glance. "Shit!" He started pressing buttons on the built in GPS. "Alright, I'm programing in the nearest hotel. I'll text you the address once we stop."
Orion hung up the phone and handed it back to Russ who was staring at him blankly. "What?"
"You... said she's not like OTHER demi-gods... She's..." Russ stumbled for words trying to put his own thoughts together as he thought back over the things he'd been told and the many strange things Jos herself had said over the years. He glanced over his shoulder to the back seat meeting Raven's guilty eyes. "She's a siren, right... or like a siren..."
Raven cleared her throat and turned away from Russ's questioning gaze. "I said she was like a siren..."
Orion shook his head. "Let me get this straight... Not only did you move everyone in together like a big ol' happy family, but even after they started fucking around you didn't think it important to tell the boy what she actually was?" He glared at her from the rearview mirror. "It didn't cross your mind at all to maybe warn him that, when irritated, she tends to shift into a man-eating monster???" His eyes shifted to Russ. "I'm curious, exactly what has your 'guardian' told you about Jos?" Raven went to say something, but he raised his hand to silence her. "I asked the boy, not you."
Russ glanced back at Raven. She looked frustrated and slightly nervous. He moved his attention back to Orion as he thought over everything he'd been told over the past several years. "I've known since before my parents died that she was a creature of the sea. I have flashes of the day they died... I remember Jos was there..." He strained against his earliest memories to recall exactly what she'd looked like the day she'd helped Raven rescue him and his sister from the vampires that had attacked their island. "She always appeared to us as a young girl... around nine or ten... I guess... She changed her appearance often, once we moved to the U.S."
"She wanted to be able to protect you without shifting... without violence." Raven answered quietly from the back seat, her gaze still trained out the window.
Orion tightened his grip on the wheel. "Go on, what else were you told."
Russ knitted his brow. "Not too much more, I guess. I never really bothered to ask. She never shifted around me and she hated talking about her parents." Russ answered.
"Her mother is Calypso and her father was Odysseus. Unfortunately for Jos, on the day Calypso was forced to release him, Calypso's rage and grief got the better of her and instead of a normal demi-god child-like Jos's other siblings, a cursed creature was born. In grief of her husband and then the daughter she'd hoped would bring him back some day, she tossed the creature aside." He glanced back at Raven in the rearview mirror. "True she was raised by sirens... until Calypso discovered the child's abilities and usefulness... then Jos was used as a weapon by the goddess... until the day the wrong ship was sunk and Calypso cast her away once again."
Russ cleared his throat. "I've heard enough. I think this is something Jos should tell me... not you." He sent Raven a glance. "I need to hear it from Jos, herself."
"That's understandable." Orion replied not looking away from the road. He glanced down at the speedometer. "So how fast will this thing go anyways? If we don't pick up the pace, we'll not catch up with them until morning."
Russ smiled for the first time in what felt like weeks. "Pull over, let me show you how it's done."
Orion chuckled, "Alright pup... Show me how it's done." He pulled over and quickly switched seats with Russ.
The back tires spun up gravel as Russ shifted into first gear and laid on the gas. Within eight seconds the car was already up to sixty and still climbing as Russ skillfully shifted through the gears. "Just answer me this... You said earlier, Jos isn't like you... that you and Arei were created... What did you mean by that?"
Orion reclined the seat and crossed his hands over his hard stomach. "Not all children of the gods are born, some... several... were created. Jos, though cursed, was born in the traditional sense of the word. Arei and I were not. We were crafted by Poseidon and Gaia from the earth itself. That's why it's so easy for us to be on land or water. Our forms automatically adapt to either."
"Ah I see..." Russ said not taking his eyes off the road. "Do you think she'll be alright?" Russ asked worry seeping into his voice.
Orion arched his brows. "After seeing your reaction earlier, I wasn't sure if you'd care either way what happened to her, honestly."
Russ shrugged. "It was a surprise for sure, but it doesn't change the way I feel about her. I still love her. I still want to spend my life with her no matter what she may be." He glanced into the mirror catching Raven's tender eyes. "I plan on fighting for her... making the council and my people accept her as my wife... If she'll have me."
Orion let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that." He smiled when Russ turned surprised eyes to him.
"But you just said..." Russ stammered.
Orion let out another heavy sigh. "I've seen how people treat her. It's going to be hard to make anyone see her as more than a monster, especially if this gets out." He reached across the car and patted Russ's shoulder. "But I'm glad to see you're not giving up on her. I almost did once, and it was the greatest regret of my life."
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Jacquia_comics
Jacquia_comics I hope you guys like the new book cover! I thought It was about time to update my art. If you are interested in other art relating to Strange Love Check out my Instagram or Patreon. I'm easy to find on both, simply search Jacqui A!
edited 8/9/20
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