Page 9 of Insidious Monsters
She held up a hand. “Let me finish. We need to test the drug a little more before we can be confident it’s safe to use;however, we have managed to synthesize a drug to slow down your metamorphosis to give us more time.”
I sat up straighter. “You have?”
“Yes.” Her smile warmed her eyes.
“So the hunger I’m feeling will stop?”
Her smile dimmed. “No, dear, the drug will simply stop it from getting worse, prevent you from changing any more than you already have. The only way to fully reverse things is to unbind you from Telarion.”
She’d explained this before. “Okay, so let’s do this.”
“What about side effects,” Quentin asked.
“Lila?” Genevieve prompted.
“Oh, um… let’s see, flulike symptoms, aches and pains. Your arm might be sore and you may also have night sweats, but all short-lived.” She grinned. “Worth it to slow things down.”
“Totally. Jab me up, boss.” I held out my arm.
Lila held out a clipboard with a form attached. She winced. “Protocol.”
“Ah, the dreaded consent forms.” I scrawled my name on the dotted line. “Which reminds me, when do I get my new contract?”
Genevieve looked over her shoulder at Quentin. “I’ve given them to Quentin. The Order agrees to release you from duty once you are no longer bound to Telarion provided your aberrant appetites are gone.”
“Which they will be, right?” I looked from Genevieve to Lila.
“Yes,” Lila said. “That’s what the data suggests.”
“But we must account for the small chance that it may not go that way,” Genevieve continued.
They wanted to ensure they didn’t release a monster into society. Well, two monsters, because they’d be letting Telarion go. It made sense. I’d make the same call if I were her. If I did remain a monster, then being monitored by the Order would be the right thing to do.
“Okay. That works.”
“Well then.” Genevieve clasped her hands together. “All that remains is to administer the buffer.”
“I’ll be outside.” Quentin left the room while Lila prepared the jab.
I offered her my arm and popped the lolly back into my mouth.
* * *
A late Sundaylunch with the family was the highlight of the week. It had been too long since we’d all sat around the table for a meal like this. The potatoes were crispy and delicious, the chicken cooked to perfection, and the sauteed veggies Uncle Fred had cooked up with his special seasoning were to die for. He’d even made Yorkshire pudding from scratch.
Archie sat back in his seat with a belch that made Nandi jump.
“You’re such a pig.” She swatted him playfully.
“Oink me up, bitches. I need more of those potatoes.” He held out his plate and I added several potatoes to it.
As far as I was concerned, you could never have too many roasties at a roast dinner. I cooked them in goose fat sprinkled with salt, pepper, rosemary, and a little garlic powder. They came out divine every time.
“I’ll take some more piggies in blankets,” Nandi said.
“Me too,” Quentin added.
He’d quickly become part of the family, and it was hard to imagine him not being around. Working out in the dining room he’d converted to a gym; tapping away at his laptop in the drafty north wing, where he insisted on staying despite my numerous offers to move him into the east wing with the rest of us where it was warm and cozy; or just sitting with me in the lounge, which was actually liveable after Archie’s deep clean, to just chat about my day.
