Prince of Blood and Thunder_An Urban Fantasy Novel

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Um… yeah? Someone had to finish the mission.” He shook his head at me as we approached the Santa Monica pier. It sort of made me wonder what people would think of us landing atop a flying carpet, but I decided not to think about it. After all, it was magical. Even if there wasn’t some sort of visibility charm on the thing, most people would dismiss it.

  “We failed the mission,” I replied, shaking my head. It hurt a lot more than it should have, and from the way my tummy was rumbling, I knew I was going to need at least three cheeseburgers and a good eighteen hour power nap before I was back to speed.

  Still, my ribs felt a lot better, but that was probably because of the bandages wrapped around my torso. Thick, green sludge oozed from the edges, and as I tentatively touched it with one finger, it came away sticky and smelling of elderberries.

  “By failed, you mean succeeded right?” Gordon gave me a weird look before a smile creased his lips. “Wait, you didn’t know?” A laugh flitted from his throat, and I punched him.

  “What don’t I know?” I asked, raising my angry eyebrow at him. That only served to make him guffaw louder. It reminded me of the times Blair would trap us in a room of no doors in our D&D games and watch us poke and prod everything until we found some weird statue and yanked on its junk four times while reciting the pledge of allegiance in order to exit.

  “Try looking behind you,” Gordon said, gesturing at me with one hand as we zoomed by the solar-powered Ferris wheel. I’d never actually ridden the thing before, but I’d always wanted to because it seemed all sorts of fun, and by fun I mean, absolutely terrifying because it could collapse at any second with me at the top and plunge me to my doom.

  I turned slowly and learned two very surprising facts. First of all, the carpet was much longer than I’d thought. I was not sitting at the end. No, I was basically at the front. No, the middle front.

  Second, and more importantly, was the non-insignificant presence of the King of Wolves. He was lying flat on his back and was secured to the carpet with at least three rolls of duct tape. It was sort of funny because it was the Batman patterned tape and not the standard silver stuff, but at the same time, oh my fucking God. How was he here?

  “Wait, how…” I mumbled, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. I’d seen his hospital room explode.

  “When I landed on Muffy here,” Gordon said, patting the carpet affectionately, “I called Tina and told her it was time to change plans because Alabaster thought he was ten kinds of smart.” He grinned, showing his teeth. “So while I went back to help you beat the snot out of a werewolf, she went in the back way and got the King out. It was a good thing too because the place was wired to explode, which you probably recall.”

  “Why did you go in if you knew it was going to blow up?” I asked, peering curiously at him because it didn’t make any sense. Why go inside when he knew Tina was getting the King of Wolves out?

  “All part of the plan, but we were only able to pull it off because you beat the hell out of Alabaster. If you hadn’t he’d have just killed us all and went along on his day,” Gordon said, stretching. He yawned loudly and smirked. “Now Alabaster will think we failed and say we killed the King of Wolves who isn’t even mostly dead. Then when we march him and Justin out, well, he’ll have zero credibility.”

  “Is that why you didn’t die when you went inside?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying. My dumb brother had outsmarted Alabaster by having Tina go in the back way and then set off the trap to further cover his tracks? Was my brother really that smart? No… of course not. That’d make him cleverer than me, and that just wouldn’t stand.

  “Yeah. I was ready for the explosion.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I won’t lie. It hurt. A lot.” He shrugged. “Anyway, let’s get back to Atlantis. I need to eat my way through a buffet.”

  I glared at him, but before I could get too mad, he stuck his tongue out at me, and I’m not sure if it was nerves or because I’d just gotten my ass handed to me by a werewolf king, but I started laughing. I couldn’t help it.

  “Do you know how ridiculous this is?” I asked, wiping my tears away with the back of my hand. “I’m struggling here. Really, and—”

  My words were cut off as we hit the portal to Atlantis, and the familiar feeling of having my insides torn out my nose and then reassembled at space and time’s damned convenience filled every square nanometer of my being.

  We came through the portal like a bat out of Hell and crashed into the commons, much to the goats’ dismay. I wasn’t even sure how there were still goats because, you know, werewolf attack, but there were.

  I lay face down on the magic shag pile for a long while, trying to get my bearings when I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder.

  “You made it, Annie,” Sheev said, pulling me to my feet, and as he did, a guilty part of me reared its ugly head. I hated to admit it, but I’d really wanted to have Justin help me up. Instead as I stood, the only thing I saw was the calm face of my old master, and everything in me wanted to deck the serenity right off of his face.

  “Father!” Justin cried, kneeling next to his duct-tape-entombed father on the carpet and furiously ripping away the strands of tape like they weren’t designed to hold the whole of the world together. “He’s okay. Thank Heavens.”

  Tina sighed and got to her feet, dusting herself off as she approached. “Thanks for helping me up, by the by. Nice to see chivalry isn’t dead.” She glared at Gordon and sighed when he didn’t respond.

  “Come, let us take the King of Wolves to the hospital. I will see if what the Breaker has done can be undone. I can feel the darkness inside him like a festering tumor. With any luck, and a bit of faith, maybe our Lord will restore your father.” Sheev moved away from me then, heading toward Justin.

  “Wait!” I cried as Justin nodded and stood, lifting his father into the air like he was weightless.

  “Why?” Justin asked, glancing at me. I was a bit miffed that he hadn’t even asked if I was okay. It struck me as a bit odd, but I was willing to let it go.

  “Because the hospital didn’t do much good for you, and all he’ll do,” I gestured at Sheev, “is shake his crucifix and sprinkle some holy water around.”

  “Do you have another way of healing him?” Justin asked, and the tone of his voice let me know he didn’t think I could help his father. “Because I assume if you could do that, you would have already.”

  “No,” I replied, and as the traitorous word leapt from my lips, my brother slapped a hand on my shoulder.

  “Hey, Annie, why don’t we grab a bite,” he said, and as I turned toward him to tell him to fuck off, Justin began walking away with Sheev. It was like he hadn’t even seen me, but…

  “Something’s wrong,” I whispered, and as I said it, my brother pulled me toward him.

  “The only thing that’s wrong is you’re tired and hungry. Not a good combination.” He threw one huge arm around me, pulling me against his body, and engulfing me in his bulk. “Come on. My treat.” He glanced over his shoulder at Tina as he spoke. “Come on, Tina. I’ll pay for you too.”

  “How can I say no to an offer like that?” Tina replied, stomping toward us, and as she did, I couldn’t help but think something was wrong, and I should go after Justin. Only, was there really? After all, we’d just rescued his father, and maybe Sheev could help him. I wasn’t sure if that was true, but I didn’t really have another option. Still, maybe I should stay with them anyway.

  As I moved toward them, Gordon shook me, pulling me close so his breath was hot on my cheek as he spoke. “Annie, stop thinking about your wolf.”

  “Sorry if I still have the ability to feel things,” I growled, glancing at him. Justin and Sheev were already across the square now and leaving by the second, and from the grip Gordon had on me, I didn’t think he’d let me go easily.

  Before he could respond, I sighed and let him guide me away. All I could do was wait there, and if Justin had wanted me,
he’d have asked me to come along, right?

  But he hadn’t. It was weird, but maybe he just wanted space?

  A few minutes later, Tina stepped past us and threw open the door to the Midichlorian, a Star Wars themed restaurant in the middle of town that smelled like sugar and grease. It wasn’t enough to calm my nerves, but as Gordon frog marched me inside and sat my happy ass down at a golden table, I realized worrying wasn’t going to help and I’d already given up my shot to go with Justin. Sigh. I was a bad girlfriend, but in my defense, I had just saved his father.

  “What will you have? We’ve got fish, grilled, fried, or baked?” my brother asked.

  I marveled at how someone thought stylizing a bar after the worst of the prequels was a good idea, but then again, who was I to judge? People like what they like. Still, I hadn’t quite figured Star Wars would be popular in Atlantis, but then again, what I apparently knew could fit in a Dixie cup.

  Tina plopped down beside me, evidently choosing to sit next to me instead of Gordon, which was likely because he took up nearly the entire side of the booth.

  “Beer,” Tina said, putting her head in her hands. “And French fries. In that order.”

  “Annie?” he asked, looking at me expectantly. “What would you like?”

  I sighed. I was here already, so there was no use crying over what might have been. No, the best thing to do would be to eat as quickly as possible and go find Justin. Besides, I was so hungry I’d have chewed the wallpaper off the walls. Maybe sitting down for a meal would help.

  “I’ll have the same as Tina, and something with mayonnaise.” I fixed him with a look that let him know I wasn’t dropping squat. He must have made his reflex save though because he gave me that same stupid smirk he did when we were kids, then turned on his heel and made his way toward the food counter, which struck me as odd since a waiter dressed like Qui Gon Jinn came walking over to us.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked, and I hurriedly glanced at the menu while Tina ordered for her and Gordon. I had no idea what was what since all the names were Star Wars themed.

  “And you miss?” the waiter asked, waiting for me with a bored look on his face.

  “Um… I’ll have an Anakin,” I said because it was the first thing my eyes fell upon.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, eyebrows snaking up on his forehead in disbelief as he looked up from the electronic tablet in his hands. “That has a higher alcohol content than even the Master Yoda.”

  15

  Gordon set the plastic tray full of steaming, battered fish down on the table in front of us and smiled. The center of the tray was heaped with two kinds of French fries. It had those thin shoestring ones fried to a delicious golden brown and those big steak fires that normally came with fish and chips.

  I wasn’t sure what the three separate piles of battered and fried fish were, but from the arrangement, I was guessing they were different types of fish because they all had two distinct dipping sauces, and did I mention one was covered in bacon. Because that’s what fish needs, a side of oink.

  I took a sip of my beer. It was cold and sort of nutty and dark enough to make Luke Cage blush for daring to be so damned pale.

  Gordon smiled widely as he sat down on the bench across from us. “I got the sampler. It has pretty much everything.” He reached out like he was going to explain what everything was, but before he could, Tina grabbed a massive handful of fries and shoved them, shoestring and steakhouse alike, into her gullet.

  The sound of chewing filled my ears, and as my head swiveled toward her to see her chewing with her mouth open, I damned near slapped the fries out of her mouth. I mean, what was she, a fucking savage?

  “Seriously? Don’t you know how to eat like a normal person?” I asked as she grabbed her beer and sucked down a huge gulp. The sight of it nearly made me lose my appetite, but my belly was rumbling so hard, I turned back toward the food and speared a piece of fried fish with my fork.

  “She’s an acquired taste.” Gordon smirked at me and sipped his own beer. It was yellow and sort of looked like foamy piss, which was probably what it was since real beer should be darker than one’s soul.

  I dunked the hunk of fish in a green cream sauce of some sort and took a bite. Flavor explosion didn’t even cover it. The fish. The sauce. And oh my God I was totes not sharing this.

  The next thing I knew the piece of fish was in my hands, and as I was leaning forward to shield the entire platter from them so they couldn’t steal my delicious food, the door to the place opened and a coterie of dark suited men and women wearing identical dark sunglasses came pouring in. In moments they had secured the perimeter.

  “Clear!” the one closest to the door said, and as the words left his mouth, a redheaded woman wearing a gilded crown stepped through the entryway. She sort of looked like Amber Heard if the actress had been drawn by Milo Manara. Her piercing blue eyes settled on me, and as they did, I felt my skin tingle and my cheeks flush.

  Was she looking at me? Seriously? I swallowed hard, trying to break her gaze, but found I couldn’t. My heart started to slam against my ribs as I forgot how to speak.

  She smiled. One of those warm, innocent smiles that I never remembered having, and came toward our tiny table.

  “Lady Morgan,” Gordon said, leaping to his feet and dropping into a low bow. As he did it, I tore my gaze from her and realized everyone else was bowing, kneeling, or curtsying. Who the heck was she?

  “Sit,” she said, and I swear to God I looked around to see if she’d summoned small woodland creatures.

  My brother sat almost mechanically as did every other person in the room in a weird simultaneous motion while Morgan kept walking toward us.

  “To what do we owe this honor, Lady Le Fay?” Tina asked, and her voice was uncharacteristically polite. And wait a second…

  “Are you Morgan Le Fay?” I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  She was near us now, and at my words she giggled, literally giggled, and touched my arm with one well-manicured hand. A surge of warmth that made me ten kinds of giddy surged through me, and I looked away to find my brother staring at her like a smitten schoolboy.

  “None other than,” she said, sliding onto the bench next to my brother. She smiled again and reached out to take a fry. “May I?” She raised a ruby eyebrow at us.

  “It would be an honor for you to break bread with us,” my brother said, voice formal. I’d never heard him talk like that before. Hell, I hadn’t even known he could talk like that.

  She smiled at him. He melted into a puddle of goo. She ate one of my French fries. The bitch. My tummy rumbled in jealousy as I reached out and took my own fry. I dipped it in the chipotle ketchup and shoved it in my mouth while keeping eye contact with her because come on she couldn’t be the actual Morgan Le Fay. She had lived centuries ago and mages typically had normal lifespans. So yeah, it had to be some kind of title.

  “To answer your question, yes, I am Morgan Le Fay.” She winked at me. “And here’s where you ask me twenty questions because I can’t possibly be her, but I assure you. I am.”

  “So you’re a liar or crazy, got it,” I replied, taking a piece of fish and munching on it. Man, this was good. Was it cornbread batter? I needed to get the recipe. Not that it’d matter since I had literally burned water before. Let’s just say, cooking and I don’t get along. I mean, I’d tried to learn a few times, but it always ended with smoke alarms going off and fire fighters showing up. Still, I had a signed calendar now so that was something.

  I wasn’t even trying to be rude, but I wasn’t sure why she had shown up and interrupted the one meal I’d had in who knew how long? I was starving. Like ten kinds of starving. I’d been beaten up, my not-boyfriend hated me, and I’d just had my ass handed to me by a werewolf king. I was not dealing with her shit. No, I was going to drink this beer, eat this fried food, and consider a second beer.

  “Be nice to Morgan,” Gordon said, g
laring at me from his perch beside her. “She’s been helping us.” I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but it sort of reminded me of the picture from the time I’d met James Marsters, the actor who had played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’d literally forgotten how to speak and could barely even giggle. Hell, Badger had done all the talking because all I could do was try to breathe next to him.

  “About that. Gordon, I’ve decided to withdraw my support from your plans,” Morgan said, watching me chew as she leaned against the back of the booth and exhaled. As she did, she seemed to deflate a touch, and I felt the tension in the air ratchet up a bit

  “Wait, what?” Gordon said, horror filling his features. “You can’t. We had a fucking deal!”

  “And now I’m breaking it,” Morgan said, and with that, her hand snaked across the table and seized Tina’s wrist. There was a flash of lavender light and Tina melted into an amorphous cloud of energy. As the cloud rose into the air, Morgan inhaled, sucking in all of Tina in the time it took me to swallow my fries.

  “What the fuck did you do?!” I cried, leaping to my feet. Tina hadn’t been especially nice to me, but I had no idea what she could have possibly done to get herself evaporated by Morgan.

  “I am recalling my doppelganger.” Morgan’s eyes met mine, and I realized I could see Tina in them. “Your brother bargained with me for my help, but now I have rescinded it, which means I get my doppelganger back.”

  “Wait, Tina was your doppelganger?” I replied, confusion filling my voice as my gaze shifted to Gordon. He looked like someone had kicked his favorite puppy.

  “Yes. Moving on,” Morgan said, putting one hand on the table palm up. As she did, a holographic building spilled into view in the space above her hand. Well, that was certainly new. “We have a problem. See, our defenses are not up to taking a siege by the werewolves. We barely held them off last time and that was only about a hundred of them.”