Chapter 55

Zenobia had emerged by now and she was being hugged by Freya.

The young arachne had blossomed into quite the beauty and was nearly fully grown.

She now stood well over six feet tall and her eight spider's legs spanned nearly 14 feet when fully splayed.

While she was still quite shy, she was very happy to see Freya and her smile was radiant.

Childish voices crying "Unca Roger! Unca Roger!" interrupted his musings and he found himself nearly overwhelmed by George and Mia's twins clamoring for his attention.

The girls were now nearly four years old and growing like weeds, their pythonic tails

now stretching almost 14 feet in length.

They reared up on either side of him and glomped onto him fiercely, their amber eyes shining in their happiness.

Unca Roger was back!

Sophie, the more assertive of the two, was nuzzling her little cheek against his while Maria was chattering happily at him about the big old Gila monster that lived outside the front door and let them pet him.

Evidently, lamias were immune to snake bites, even if they did get bitten there was no danger of a reaction to the bite, as even the most virulent of snake venoms had no effect on any lamias.

Roger knew that lamias had folding fighting fangs that could deliver venom while fighting in self defense or their essence when mating for the first time.

George had related to Roger some of his experiences when he and Mia were together for the first time and how he had received Mia's wedding bite.

Between her clawed hands, powerful tail and venomous bite, Mia could easily defend herself against any single attacker.

Mia came to his rescue before the twins could overwhelm him with their affection. "Girls! Uncle Roger needs a little space right now. You can play with him later, after he's gotten settled in."

"Awww Mom!" Sophie cried as she uncoiled herself from around Roger and slithered off with her slightly younger twin sister.

Roger grinned at Mia and said, "Those two don't realize how strong they are, gawd help the boys they fall for when they are grown up."

Mia smiled at him as they hugged each other briefly and she said playfully, "They can't help it if they love you Rodge, your lap makes a great place for a baby's nappy time."

Roger rolled his eyes and commented drily, "Yes, I realized that some time ago. Our little wood elf loves to sit in my lap, she doesn't go for anyone else's lap, just mine."

Mia laughed and said teasingly, "And if I was little again, I'd be coiled up in your lap too!"

Roger smirked and retorted, "I think George'd have something to say about that!"

Mia smiled in reply, she knew Roger was right.

George would have something to say if she coiled up with another man besides himself.

Which was an impossibility, lamias mated for life, they were strictly one man women.

Seeing as how Freya was engaged in an animated conversation with both of her young friends, Roger took up their luggage and followed Mia's matronly form into their roomy house.

She smiled and said,"Your room is the same one you stayed in last time..."

She paused and asked,"Does Rachel know you guys're here?"

He grimaced and muttered, "I knew I was forgetting something! Um...No, she doesn't know we're here, in all the excitement I plum forgot!"

He frowned and muttered, "I hope this doesn't become a trend, me forgetting shit."

Entering the room indicated by Mia, he laid their luggage on the beds and smiled, Freya would likely wish to sleep with him in spite of the narrow beds provided.

Her own bed at home was enormous, it had once belonged to the retired circus giant and was large enough to accommodate her, for now.

It was 9 feet long by 5 feet wide and had raised some eyebrows when Roger had ordered a new mattress for it.

Shrugging, Roger turned to exit the room and saw Mia absentmindedly rubbing her protruding abdomen.

"How much longer?" he asked gently.

Mia smiled and murmured, "Five more weeks, give or take a few days."

She grinned toothily and quipped, "They'll get here when they are good and ready and we are not! Thank goodness my older girls will be able to help out some, they nearly drove us to distraction when they were born.

"Between them and my mother hovering about so anxiously...I needed a drink, or three!"

Roger chuckled and commented, "Be charitable Mia, your mom was so happy to have grandchildren at last, after despairing for so long. She really thought you girls would be the last of your kind. George and I turning up like we did was like a gift from the gods, for her."

Mia smiled and replied, "You two were, a gift from the gods, I truly believe that now. The changes in our lives ever since that day when I first saw George at the oasis.

"My mind simply boggles, trying to grasp all the good that has happened to us since then."

She gently caressed her swollen tummy, "Miriam and Ayesha will never know the loneliness we felt in our old home. Our wondering if we really were the last of our kind, and would the gods hear our prayers?"

Roger smiled and said, "I haven't seen any gods yet but I have seen a couple of women nearly as old as civilization itself, a 258 year old vampire of your acquaintance, a two foot tall wood elf and a village of giants. Who's to say I will never see a god?"

Mia grinned, "Stranger things have happened, right?"

She pointed down the hall , "Our house phone is in the kitchen...I suggest you call Rachel."

Roger grinned, "Yes, Ma'am!" and walked into the kitchen.

A few rings later, Rachel Thompson, his boss answered her phone, "Hi Mia! What's up?"

"Hello Rachel, it's been a while."

"Roger? Is that you? When did you get here and why didn't you let me know you were coming?" she demanded.

"Well, it's a little complicated...We were asked to bring the plane down to the Labor Day airshow in Phoenix. The promoter is covering the fuel costs round trip so we thought 'why not?'. George invited us to stay here and in all the excitement or confusion, whichever works for you. I plum forgot about you until Mia asked me if I had let you know we were coming down. Feel free to scold me now!" remarked Roger in reply.

A moment of silence later, Rachel remarked, "You brought the plane down here for the airshow? Is it on display or something? 'Cause I can't see any other reason why the promoter would cover the fuel costs."

"Uh, yes, it is on display, right next to the restored Martin Mariner that has all the military bits we traded to the flight museum for the work they did.

"I guess they wanted to show case their work in converting old warbirds for civilian use."

"Okaaay, you two are here until?"

"We're flying back this coming Tuesday morning along with the rest of the planes on display. We'll be here pretty much all weekend with a possible trip to the airshow to check out all the exhibits."

Rachel chuckled and commented, "Keith and I were planning on going to the airshow this Saturday, any way you guys could make it to the show?"

Roger 'hmphed' and replied, "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what George and Mia will be up to...Y'wanna hang on a minute while I scare up Mia and you guys can discuss this?"

"Sure, I'll wait."

He put the phone on hold and turned around to see Mia sitting on her coils, her tongue flicking in and out occasionally.

He had forgotten how quietly lamias could move and she startled him slightly.

"Damn girl, make some noise so I'll know you're there, you startled me!"

Mia grinned and said playfully, "Shall I wear a bell around my neck, like a cat? Only a bell won't work because I don't walk, I sinuate, bells don't tinkle for lamias."

"Yeah, yeah." grumped Roger, "Anyway, Rachel'd like to talk to you about the weekend plans."

He handed the phone off to Mia and beat a hasty retreat outside.

Outside he saw Freya sitting behind the wheel of Phillip's big truck.

It was a former military five ton 6X6 truck that had been converted to a 4X4 by removing the rear axle and shortening the frame and truck bed accordingly.

With 50 inch tall tires all around, it could roll over a two foot high boulder with ease and the 850 cubic inch turbocharged diesel engine made plenty of power.

In short, it was a beast and as Phillip blithely put it, "No one turns left in front of me!"

Roger had just rolled his eyes at his comment but he could see his point too. It looked like it could simply crush lesser vehicles in its path.

Phillip was sitting in the passenger seat and as Roger watched, Freya throttled it up and the heavy truck moved forward.

Grinning from ear to ear, Freya drove off down the road with Phillip coaching her as she drove, Roger could only watch as the heavy truck disappeared in a cloud of dust.

George came up beside him and commented, "He's taught all the girls how to drive and Mia has a driver's license now."

"How? How did they manage the pedals? I didn't see any special controls in your van." asked Roger.

George chuckled and replied,"Lamia tails are quite versatile, Mia's tail tip is almost like a finger in its sensitivity and no, I am not going to elaborate on all the things she can do with it!"

Roger grinned and commented, "Leave your personal life out of this! Seriously, how does she manage? You'd have to take the seat out for her to fit behind the wheel at least."

"Bingo!" cried George, "Once the seat's taken out Mia can operate the pedals with her tail surprisingly well. Of course a stick shift is out of the question, but most cars have automatics these days. Even that monster truck of Phillip's has an automatic and power steering."

Roger looked at George for a moment, then asked, "So Mia is out driving now? By herself? And you're okay with that?"

George shrugged and replied,"DoI have a choice? Mia is an adult and I trust her judgement. She drives fairly regularly and hasn't had too many problems. Just gawkers mostly, people who haven't seen a lamia before."

"Which makes up the bulk of humanity," Roger muttered, "And most of them are pretty ignorant!"

George remarked quietly, "I imagine you two have a much easier time of it when you're out and about. Except for her size, Freya looks much like any other 13 year old girl."

"Yes, for the most part. Though I have had occasion to confront men who take a little too much interest in her, and not in a good way. I'm afraid as she matures, she is going to become even more eye catching."

George said flatly, "You'll just have to get used to standing out in public, I had to. Freya at least looks human, Mia and her people don't, especially with their tails in view. Even with her tail not in view, her exotic features still stand out. Her amber eyes with slitted pupils, her pointed ears, the fine scales on her cheeks, that whole python goddess aspect of hers."

Roger chuckled and said drily, "I noticed you left out her 'other assets', her weapons of mass distraction."

George rolled his eyes and muttered, "Now you're just being droll."

"Who's being droll?" came Mia's voice from behind them as she sinuated up to them, her ample hips swaying as she slithered.

Roger grinned and said gleefully, "I just figured out how to put a bell on you!"

Mia blinked and blurted out, "What does a bell have to do with someone being droll?"

George chimed in with, "What's this about a bell, what am I missing here?"

Roger laughed and said, "A little while ago, Mia startled me and when I commented about putting a bell on her. She said bells wouldn't work on her because she doesn't walk, she sinuates."

George raised one eyebrow, "Annnd, where is this going?"

Grinning hugely, Roger declared, "Lamias are very alluring when they sinuate because of the swaying of their hips, only a blind man would fail to be entranced by the motion. Putting a bell on Mia's hips would make the bell jingle, no more sneaking up on spooky old Roger."

Mia coiled up her massive tail and sat on her coils before she folded her shapely arms across her substantial bosom, raised one eyebrow and said, " You've given this some thought...Seriously?"

George chortled and said gleefully, "Roger's gonna geddit!"

He gestured, "Go on, we're listening!"

Roger just grinned.

"I haven't given it any thought at all, if that's what you're so concerned about. It just flashed on me about lamian hips and bells, or even one of those tinkly bustiers Ayesha loves to wear."

Mia rolled her slit pupilled, amber eyes and exclaimed, "George, do something with him!"

George hid his growing smirk and asked, "What would you like me to do with him, dear?"

"I don't know, drop him down one of those old mine shafts lying about the place!" retorted Mia.

Roger smiled, "If Georgie dropped me down a hole, what would you tell Freya?"

Mia shrugged, "Don't you worry, I'll think of something!"

Roger laughed,"You do realize I'm just messing with you...I hope!"

Mia's retort was cut off by the arrival of her sister Rosalind who smiled at Roger and said, "Hello stranger! Nice to see you again."

Roger grinned at her as they shook hands and said, "Nice to see you too! You're looking well..."

He paused a moment, "You married the forest ranger, right?"

Rosalind, like Mia was a striking beauty with light brown skin, amber eyes, high cheek bones and pointed ears. Her chestnut hair was confined in a voluminous ponytail and a fine sprinkling of scales adorned her cheeks.

Rosalind smiled, "Yep, almost three years now and Rosie's almost 2 now or will be in another month or so."

She smiled and rubbed her taut stomach, "I may be pregnant again, I missed my last month's cycle and was sick this morning after Brad left for work."

Mia squealed in delight and hugged her sister fiercely, "I'm gonna be an auntie again!"

Mia asked breathlessly, "Does Brad know?"

"Not yet and don't you dare spoil my surprise with your big mouth, sister mine!"

Mia grinned, "My lips are sealed!"

Roger chuckled and remarked teasingly, "Any bets on how long it'll be before Mia blabs?"

Mia squawked,"That's just mean! I'm not a blabbermouth!"

Rosalind smiled knowingly at her older sister, "If you say so, sis."

"George!" Mia cried, "Take him somewhere, he's teasing me again!"

George grinned and said,"Be nice to Mia, Roger. She's in a delicate condition right now."

"Sure thing, bro." Replied Roger with a grin.

"So..." He asked,"Where is your little one, Rosalind?"

Rosalind rolled her marvelous amber eyes and said, "Probably being led astray by Mia's two scamps. Those three get into mischief, that's for sure."

Roger grinned and remarked, "I think every parent in history has said the very same thing."

She smiled at him and asked, "And how is that big girl of yours, Freya wasn't it? How is she doing?"

Mia smiled as he replied, "Right now, she's out with your dad, driving his truck. We flew down here and she did most of the piloting while I mostly kept an eye on things."

"Freya's a pilot now and she's how old?"

"Freya's 13 now and she first soloed when she was barely 12, she got her multiple engine certification a few months after that."

Rosalind whistled softly and said,"Wow, I'm impressed and she's out with my dad and that truck of his? They'll be gone for hours, he'll have her driving that truck all over the place."

Roger shrugged and remarked, "And when we get back home, she'll start bugging me about a truck of her own. Fortunately, she's only 13 and won't be allowed to drive for another three years or so. Unfortunately, she's only 13 and will have to wait another three years and I'll have to live with her pining for a truck."

Mia smiled brightly and chirruped, "You two can always come down here and Freya can drive daddy's truck as much as she wants!"

Roger grinned, "If George can get that long straight, stretch of road smoothed out and widened at one end, so we can turn it around again. We can land our plane there and save Georgie a trip into town."

"George has to drive into town anyway when we go grocery shopping at the ware house club." Chimed in Mia.

"How do they react when they see you?"

Mia shrugged, "It was nearly a riot the first time we went, lamias have that effect on people at first."

Roger chuckled and she continued, "There were a few idiots who overdid things, there always will be those idiots and there isn't much we can do about them except keep an eye out for them."

She smiled, "Now we're treated much like any other customers and the store manager makes it a point to say hello!"

Roger grinned, "We have our own version of a bulk warehouse where I get dog food for Sasha by the case and the 50 pound bag. To keep a long story short, they had a 'Bring in your doggie day', I briefly thought about taking Sasha just to be clever but changed my mind. One lady got real pissed because she was expecting her 'purebred Great Dane' to win the prize, which was a 50 pound bag of the store brand kibble. Sasha would have been far larger than her dog who she could barely control, he got so unruly that the store manager asked her to take him out of the store at once, as he was becoming a danger to others."

Roger chuckled, "Sasha would have made a lot of friends that day by simply being herself, a kid magnet. The kids and smaller dogs in our neighborhood flock around her as if seeing a pony sized wolf is an everyday thing."

"Then again, Sasha isn't a lamia." said Mia with a grin, "We go into town fairly regularly now and the good people of Phoenix, Arizona have gotten used to us."

Rosalind chimed in, "Brad and I will visit his friends and co-workers and we'll go to the movies together, he usually sits next to a wheelchair spot and I coil up next to him."

She grinned, "Last month we all came into town to see the latest 'Space Wars' movie, we took up most of the wheelchair spots and had a blast!"

"All of you?"

"Yup, even mom and dad came along and you know mom, she had every guy there eating out of her hand within minutes."

Roger laughed and commented, "Yes, she is a force of nature, your mom. That theater is probably still recovering from the experience."

Rosalind giggled and said airily, "That theater can't complain, they got all kinds of free advertising via social media. By the time the movie was over, they had sold out every seat in the place, and the lobby was packed with people wanting a glimpse of us."

"And of course you obliged them."

"Of course!"