‘I don’t see why not,’ Jassy answers for me. ‘She’s perfectly adept at fooling a family into thinking that everything’s as it should be. And as for the school, and Gillian’s move to London; well, as we saw with Iain, she’s got all the contacts to make it all sound feasible and legal.’
‘But Heddy,’ Gillian says worriedly. ‘When she grows up, do you really think they’ll be tempted to take her over too?’
‘You saw how both Zerriesta and Lamia lusted after possessing your body,’ I reply honestly, ‘so that’s why one of my terms was that she must be left alone.’
‘But will she keep her promise?’
‘Honestly? We don’t really know. We’ll have to see if there’s some way that we can keep an eye on her.’
‘I know I agreed earlier that you weren’t left with much choice in all this,’ Dave says. ‘But I’ve got to admit I also got a bit nervous when you tried to get Lamia to agree to go easy on her victims.’
‘Well, she did promise to only pick on those who deserve it,’ Jassy points out sagely. ‘Politicians, judges, police commissioners, high-ranking civil servants; as she said, all the people who’ve all fed off the people below for long enough.’
‘Yeah,’ Dave agrees, ‘as Steph pointed out to her, she almost made it sound like she was a boon to society!’
Yeah, I had said that to Lamia; and I laughed bitterly as I’d said it.
‘People like me,’ Lamia had replied imperiously, ‘only attract the ruthless and the crooked anyway dear.’
Ironically, it had been that easy, natural imperiousness that had worried me most of all.
Now that she was the proud owner of Gillian’s unbelievably beautiful form, what will Lamia be next time I see her?
Empress of the world, perhaps?
*
Chapter 26
For what seems like the first time in ages, I step outside and breathe in the fresh air.
Across the fields, the football match Iain had being taking part in has come to a sudden, unexpected halt.
Well, unexpected for them of course.
Not for me.
I slowly make my way across to the field, my heart breaking a little bit more with every step.
I don’t know why, but I want to hear how it happened.
I want to hear how he was doing, how well he was playing.
And what everyone thought when he’d suddenly vanished.
*
Chapter 27
‘What happened?’ I innocently ask one of the boys sitting on the side-lines.
He looks up, recognises me.
There are few couples at Heartache High.
And there’s only one that’s composed of people who loved each other in the real world.
‘Iain’s gone,’ he says blankly.
‘Yeah, I know,’ I reply, trying so hard to hold back the tears.
‘He’ll be back soon, he said.’
‘Back?’
How can he come back?
How could he have even had the chance to say he’ll be back?
‘Sure. He said he just felt a bit unwell. We thought it was unfair to carry on without him.’
‘Unwell? You mean…mean he didn’t, you know, disappear?’
‘Sure he disappeared. He disappeared off to the refectory, didn’t he?’
The refectory?
He’s gone off to the refectory?
Oh no!
Lamia!
That wicked, evil, old (well, incredibly young) cow!
She didn’t keep her side of the bargain after all!
*
‘Oh no, you’re wrong there; Lamia kept to her side of the bargain all right.’
I’d almost literally run into Iain as I’d rushed towards the refectory. He was on his way back to the match.
He was too angry with me, he’d explained, to bother trying to find me.
I didn’t have the right to make an agreement like that with Lamia. Especially not without checking with him that that’s what he wanted too.
‘So she was going to let you have your body back, as we’d agreed?’ I ask him hopefully.
‘As you’d agreed, not me. Ruined a perfectly good match too! I suddenly felt faint, then realised Lamia was talking to me! Telling she was preparing to move out of my body. And so I could have it back now, thank you very much!’
‘Then what are you still doing here? You could have escaped, got back to the real world! You could have left Heartache High!’
‘Yeah, but without you. And I’m not going anywhere without you!’
His eyes sparkle with forgiveness.
He puts his arms around me, draws me close.
‘Idiot!’ he snaps playfully. ‘Don’t go doing anything like that again!’
‘Wait!’ I pull back sharply. ‘But Lamia’s already moved out, moved into Gillian’s body!’
I grasp him tightly, reassuring myself that he’s still here. That he isn’t about to vanish as, back in the real world, his body dies.
‘You’re forgetting her son, right?’ he says with a chuckle.
‘Son? Oh, the incubus!’
‘That time you’d fought her, and you’d thought you’d killed her? It was her son who’d helped bring her body back to life by moving in with her, right?’
‘You make it all sound like everyone’s moving apartments!’
He grins, continues.
‘Well, he was more than pleased when I said he didn’t have to move into Gillian with his mother, right? I said he could stay behind and take over my body!’
‘What? You mean you’ve let an incubus have your bod–’
‘As opposed to the succubus who had it before, you mean? Or the succubus who you let take over Gillian? Or the succubus that inhabits your body and–’
‘Okay, okay; so I get it! We’re both totally wicked people who are helping Lamia take over the world!’
‘Totally wicked!’
He grins.
He pulls me close again.
He kisses me.
*
We wander across the lawns, hand in hand.
And it’s then when I spot her; Dedi.
I’ve never noticed her before.
Probably because I wasn’t looking out for her.
I didn’t know what she looked like, did I?
She’s taking part in a chaotic game of handball. A game that seems to comprise of three or four badly-matched teams.
Everyone’s laughing. It’s far from being a serious game.
Dedi’s good at it.
She’s throwing her wiry frame around the field.
Moving swiftly in between the other players.
The ‘monstrosity’ that Zerriesta had referred to transformed into an incredible, beautiful litheness.
She’s laughing, joking.
Not bullying.
Sometimes, Heartache High can bring out the best in you.
End
If you enjoyed reading this book, please remember to click that you liked it on the Kindle Rating icon.
You may also enjoy (or you may know someone else who might enjoy) these other books by Jon Jacks.
Heartache High (Vol I)
Heartache High: The Primer (Vol II)
The Caught
The Rules
Chapter One
The Changes
Sleeping Ugly
The Barking Detective Agency
The Healing
The Lost Fairy Tale
A Horse for a Kingdom
Charity
The Most Beautiful Things
The Last Train
The Dream Swallowers
Nyx; Granddaughter of the Night
Jonah and the Alligator
Glastonbury Sirens
Dr Jekyll’s Maid
The 500-Year Circus
P
The Endless Game
DoriaN A
Wyrd Girl
Coming Soon
Miss Terry Charm, Merr
y Kris Mouse & The Silver Egg
The Wicker Slippers
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