Chapter 61

Sunday morning saw Roger and Phillip walking along the long, straight stretch of road below the house.

Roger had in one hand a long piece of PVC tubing he was using to gauge the heights of any bushes or shrubs that grew along the road's edge, anything tall enough to get clipped by a propeller would have to be cut down for the safety of the airplane.

At Phillip's questioning look he'd replied, "Propeller clearance, gotta make sure we don't trim any bushes with our propellers."

Phillip's grin was all the reply he needed.

About halfway along the road Roger tested the wind by wetting a finger in his mouth and holding it up.

"Does the wind always blow in this direction? He asked.

"Pretty much, the air rising off the plateau above the main house creates a steady breeze that's rather pleasant in the afternoon." replied Phillip, "I figure that's why they put the house right where it is."

"Makes sense." commented Roger.

He pushed his big straw hat back on his head and said,"The road's pretty smooth, all things considered. I'd land a plane on this in a pinch. If we create a wide place to turn a plane around at each end, we can land here and take off again."

Pointing at an area about halfway along the road, Roger said, "We'll put a wind sock right about there and at each end we can place a large fire extinguisher, in case of an engine fire."

"Are you anticipating one?"

"Yes, I am, "Replied Roger, "Though rare, they did happen and putting out an engine fire quickly can save an airplane, an irreplaceable airplane I might add."

"Are they that rare? Planes like the one you flew here in?"

"Out of the thirteen hundred plus they built, only three have survived, four if you count the one that's lying upside down under Lake Washington, near Seattle.

Those are all I know about, there may be another one or two hiding down in Latin America waiting to be found, but I haven't heard anything."

Roger smiled at Phillip, "We fly her rather gently, out of respect for her age."

Their idle chatter was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of large aircraft engines, many large aircraft engines.

They watched silently as a pair of B-25 Mitchell bombers flew overhead, next were three B-17's followed closely by a pair of B-24 Liberators, the only two flyable ones left out of the thousands that once existed.

A lone Avro Lancaster bomber represented the RAF's bomber command.

Behind them were the last two flyable B-29's, one was painted a silver grey while the other was highly polished, causing Phillip to comment, "I'd hate to be the guy that has to polish that!"

Roger nodded in agreement, the task would be almost Herculean in scope.

Capping off the parade of piston era bombers was the sole flyable Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber, a massive plane with six engines that culminated the era of piston engined bombers.

Everything since then, has been jet powered and far more lethal.

When it was quiet again, the two men resumed their task of marking out an area to be cleared at each end of the roadway, deemed to be suitable for landing on.

Taking a break from their labors about midday, the two men trudged back to the ranch house to get out of the sun.

"Have you seen any sign of Tom and Katherine yet?"

Phillip chuckled and replied, "She's probably still coiled around him...A lamia's first mating can go on for several days and is quite an experience for both man and woman."

He smiled, "A pregnancy almost always occurs during their first mating and doubtless, Ayesha is moving her things into their new house as we speak."

Roger smiled and remarked, "Is that why you're out here in the hot sun with me, instead of humping boxes and furniture?"

Phillip merely shrugged and replied,"That's why I have two son in laws now, let them enjoy the experience...I'll just spoil the child when she gets here."

Roger smiled and remarked, "Welp, it looks like the Army just got its first demihuman dependent spouse, I wonder how they'll react?"

Phillip only shrugged and replied, "We'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

Roger grinned, "I'm sure their first time at the PX is gonna be memorable, to say the least."

"I'm sure it will be, if our experience at the market was any indicator."

"And?"

"Stares mostly, a few comments and one fainting spell. The poor dear had a morbid fear of snakes and there they were, all of them at once, five adults and two kids...It made the news that day!"

Roger chuckled, "About the only reactions we get is people gaping at Freya's height, they just think she's really tall. She's not obviously a demihuman."

Phillip grinned and commented, "Wouldn't she be more like a demigoddess? She does look like a Norse goddess with all that reddish hair in those long braids. She could be in a Wagnerian opera as some sort of Brunhilde with her spear and shield at the ready."

Roger laughed and retorted, "Don't let her hear you saying that, she'll tell you what she thinks about the Norse and their 'wee gods'."

"That strong of an opinion, eh?"

"Well, they did flee for their lives and a lot of her people perished while crossing the Atlantic to get away from the 'Scandis' as they called the Norsemen."

"Is she angry about it, are they angry about it?"

"I don't think angry would be the right way to put it. Sad would be more the term I would use. I spoke to her grandmother about their history every chance I got, and sadness is the impression I mostly came away with."

"Sadness? About fleeing for their lives? The loss of lives?"

"Well, of course they're sad about the lives that were lost, whole families disappeared during the crossing. Induna's library supposedly has all their names written down on some scrolls...We just haven't found them yet and it'll likely take awhile.

"Induna's cottage was almost filled with her library, she really had only a little room that she lived in and her kitchen. The rest of her place was packed to the ceilings with her books."

Roger chuckled, "We spent almost half the summer flying back and forth, hauling her books down to Portland...In a way, this is our summer vacation."

Phillip grinned and quipped, "And here you are doing survey work in the hot Arizona sun."

Roger shrugged and replied, "No one has ever accused me of being overly sensible."

As they approached the ranch house, the double doors flew open and the twins came out with big grins on their faces, "Unca Roger! Grampa! Mommy sent us to get you, lunch is ready!" They cried.

There was a brief pause and Roger found himself with Sophie while Maria went with her grandfather as they got carried back to the house.

Mia had laid out an appetizing luncheon for the four of them and the girls coiled up on the lamian equivalent of a high chair while Mia sat on her own considerable coils.

As they ate, Roger asked,"So, where is everybody?"

"Don't you know?" asked Mia.

"Nope, she was gone when I got up this morning. Out with her friends I suppose."

Mia smiled,"Natalie said something about going down to Hidden Springs to see if it's clear...It seems my sister interrupted their swimming and booted them out?"

Roger chuckled and remarked,"Yes, she did and some of the girls were none too happy about it, at least Natalie wasn't. Freya's pretty easy most of the time."

He grinned at little Sophie and said, "And I heard this, little, squirm call her auntie Katy, a meanie."

Mia rolled her marvelous eyes and said cheerfully, "I can imagine her saying that, George and I get called meanies fairly often by this, little, squirm."

For emphasis, Mia's tail tip gently touched her daughter on the tip of her nose as she giggled.

"Speaking of George, where is the dear boy? I've hardly seen him the last couple of days." asked Roger.

"He's helping mom get Tom and Katherine's house together." replied Mia, "He helped with Brad and Rosalind's marriage and he'll likely help with Natalie when it's her turn."

She smiled, "He's become quite domesticated!"

Roger stifled a chuckle and commented drily, "Yes, marriage does suit him. Me? Been there, done that, twice. I couldn't tell you where either of my ex's went and I'm fine with that."

Mia's wonderful eyes twinkled and she said coyly, "Why would you care where they are when you've got Freya living with you? That girl will put them all to shame, she's already the best thing that ever happened to you!"

Roger sighed and said glumly, "You are your mother's daughter!"

Mia laughed, "It does run in the family, I can't help it!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Grumped Roger while Phillip merely smiled knowingly, after all, wasn't he Mia's father?

They heard the front door open, then little Rosie slithered in, a big smile on her cherubic face as she sinuated up to Phillip and happily declared, "Grampa! Mommy's fragrant, I'm gonna have a little sister!"

Rosalind was right behind her and she saw Rosie slipping into her grandfather's lap after her declaration.

Phillip grinned at his third oldest child and said cheerfully, "And here I thought she was talking about a perfume Brad had gotten you!"

Rosalind rolled her eyes and remarked, "You know what she meant dad, only she got her words mixed up."

He reached for her and they embraced fondly until Rosie squawked, "I can't breathe!"

Mia smiled as she came in for her own big hug and said, "Does mom know yet?"

Rosalind smiled at her older sibling and replied, "Not yet, she's been so preoccupied with getting Tom and Katherine settled in and I didn't want to distract her."

She grinned, "Besides, she'll likely put me to work like she did with poor Brad."

"Wise move." commented Mia.

After lunch the kids went out to play, with little Rosie yelling "Wait for me!" while in hot pursuit of her older cousins.

Mia smiled at the serpentine trio, rubbed her swollen abdomen and murmured,"It won't be long now little ones, soon you'll be playing with your cousins and older sisters."

She glanced at her father and said, "Did you ever wonder if you'd ever have grandchildren? I mean, all those years of just us."

Phillip smiled and replied softly, "I think your mother's greatest fear was that you girls would be the last of your kind. I couldn't tell you how many times I held her while she wept over that.

"George and Roger coming out of the desert like they did and you two becoming a couple so quickly really surprised all of us, especially your mom."

He chuckled, "It took her almost a month to stop pinching herself and asking where you were, Mia."

Mia laughed and said gaily, "In my own way, I was the same, finding myself living with George, here in this house, so far from home and family.

"George was a miracle worker, almost from the day we got here, he was badgering Rachel about getting the rest of you out of Algeria.

"When the Al Qaeda was really expanding into Mali, he was almost sick with worry until he met the vampire queen and told her about us. She threw her weight behind the rescue effort, providing a jet and financial backing.

"And here we are, reminiscing about it."

Roger smiled and remarked, "Once we had her support, everything happened so quickly and the timing couldn't have been more fortuitous. It was almost too easy as we were prepared for a real fight and were well armed.

"Having Helen with us made a real difference, as she took out a bunch of Jihadis before we even got to the oasis."

He said quietly, "I doubt they even knew what hit them. Her only comment was that they fell like ripened wheat before her blades."