by J. P. Rice
Since she didn’t really have fingers, she put her hand in front of her mouth. “Shhh. I was sent out with Sleepy Pete to find some information in New York. He got us a pie and told me about pizza culture even though we were supposed to focus solely on the mission, so don’t tell anyone. But I eat a lot of stuff. Red meat is my favorite,” she revealed.
“Raw red meat?”
Titania huffed. “No, silly. I’m a dragon, just like you. I like it charred on the outside and bloody red or purple in the middle.”
There was a style of cooking a steak around my city known as Pittsburgh Rare. Charred on the outside but still rare in the middle. It was friggin’ delicious.
I whispered, “Time for action. Lead the way, Titania.”
She nodded and flew into the opening. I had to turn sideways to get my shoulders through and ran my free hand along the wall as a guide. With the torch in front of me and Titania a few feet ahead, the path widened. I saw a guard sleeping on a stool with his back and head leaning against the wall. We passed Groggy Todd and went left at a fork in the path.
I followed my new friend down a straightaway that ended with the choice of going right or left. Sleepy Pete was passed out on the ground, blocking the escape route. My heart thumped as Titania led the way to the left. I stepped over the snoring guard and the path became even wider.
We continued the great escape, and I heard a commotion up ahead. Merlin? A burst of wind blew my hair back and a group of dark winged creatures flooded into the room. I assumed they were bats and grabbed Titania, clutching her to my breast and blocking her from attack by covering her with my forearms. As they closed in on us, I realized they were crows.
The murder surrounded us completely, creating an avian shield. Inside the wing-beating madness, in the eye of the storm, the crows left enough space for us to maneuver. I couldn’t tell if the birds were real or some sort of illusion spell. One thing was certain. The Morrigan had sent them, and they would protect us.
I released Titania and she flew in front of my face. She looked up at me, and her voice cracked as she said, “You were...you were going to save me?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “That’s what friends do. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. Look. But I can’t see through all the flapping wings of the dark mass. I’m not sure how this will help us.”
“I can see through. Allow me to lead the way,” she said proudly.
Titania started moving forward. I followed her as the murder of crows moved with us and acted like a mobile shield. I heard voices, and someone entered the room. I peered through a small clear sliver and saw the outside layer of crows peeling off and attacking the intruder. Screams of pain brought a smile to my face as I realized this could work.
We continued up to a closed door and I worried about being trapped in the Lair of Justice. Emboldened by her new magic, Titania forced her way through the sea of crows and rammed her thorax into the sensor for the door. A buzzer sounded, and the door slid open horizontally.
The diligent little dragonfly blasted her way back inside the protective crows and hovered in front of my face momentarily. She regained her bearings, and we went through the opening into the next room.
I heard someone scream, “Oh shit.”
Several layers of crows on the outside broke away from the shield and attacked our enemy. An eruption of cursing followed. I couldn’t see it, but it felt like more crows were taking the place of those who had gone on the attack. We remained fully insulated from outside forces. And if I knew the Morrigan, it shielded us from magic attacks trying to penetrate the crows. Sorry, Merlin.
“We just need to get to this room over here,” Titania announced over the beating wings, terrible squawking and muffled screams of pain.
She led the way over to another steel door and weaved her way through the flapping black wings and up to the door sensor. She head-butted the sensor, and the door slid open. Before returning to the eye of the storm, Titania flipped her body around and shot fire from her stinger. The area became engulfed from the strong stream of flames, disabling the sensor.
We rushed into a room full of portals. The crows flew away, receding into the background of the dark room. I looked around at about forty glowing portals lined up in a rectangle. Which one was going to Seattle?
Spaced about two feet apart, the rippling waves of energy left a spark of electricity in the air. A long table covered in papers sat inside the rectangle of portals.
I told Titania, “We need to get to Seattle to get my friend before we go back to Pittsburgh.”
Boom! Something battered the steel door, causing the screws with silver dollar-sized heads to loosen. Boom! The steel bowed in toward us, leaving a craterous indentation in the door. Boom!
“Which one goes to Seattle?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. There is a guide here on the table.” She zoomed over and took a peek.
Boom! The strained sound of metal bending harshly against itself returned.
“Hurry up,” I said, wondering how much time we had.
“I’m going as fast as I can. I don’t read Latin.” She turned to me, and I noticed her thorax and abdomen had changed from dull burgundy to glowing scarlet.
I rushed over to the table and checked out the guide. Titania said, “See this is in Latin up here.” She pointed at the top paragraph.
“Yeah, just look down here. Seattle isn’t in Latin and it says its number 3. That one over there is marked three,” I pointed at an emerald portal.
“Right you are, friend. Let’s do this,” she announced with gusto and zoomed over to the portal.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Before the door blew off the hinges, I cupped Titania’s body with my hand and pushed her in as I entered the rippling emerald portal. My body flipped upside down during the transfer and all the blood rushed to my head. I felt like I was about to pass out, when my body fell onto freshly fallen snow.
My body sank into the powder, the temperature shocking my system. It took a few moments to regain my balance and get to my feet. I looked around, wondering what happened to Titania. Why hadn’t she showed up with me?
With members of the magic council likely on my tail, I didn’t have time to figure this out. Magic didn’t always make sense. Okay, I needed to dust the snow off myself, find Owen and get the hell back to Pittsburgh.
I looked down to work my way out of the snow, which was up to my knees, when something caught my eye. An orange flash of fire sprang from the snow, creating a small tunnel. As I leaned over to check it out, Titania shot through the opening in a blur of bright blue and green, streaking ten feet into the air. She hovered, dusting the snow off her body, arms and legs.
As she lowered herself to my height, she screamed, “Whoa. I thought that was it. What’s the plan now, friend?”
“Your body keeps changing colors,” I pointed out.
She nodded. “My body acts like a mood ring and changes colors depending on how I’m feeling, and the weather has a slight impact on it. Red means I’m mad and blue is when I’m calm and cold. So, what’s the plan?”
I informed her, “We need to find my friend, Owen. He’s a cat.”
“Let me give it the old sniffaroo.” She audibly took in some winter air. “Sorry, no cat smells. I’m getting a weird odor like mothballs or something musty like that.”
My eyes widened. “Okay. We need to follow that smell. Take me to the mothball smell.”
“You got it, new friend.”
Titania shot ahead and then slowed down. It appeared she was still getting used to her powers. She guided us into the woods where the snow was only two-inches deep, and I jumped over a fallen tree trunk blocking my path.
She sped ahead into a clearing and said, “There it is. Hanging over there.”
Hanging over there? They hanged Owen? Terror plucked at my heartstrings as I shoved a tall Holly bush to the side and entered the clearing.
Titania hovered next to Owen’s trench coat. Hanging over a tree branch. W
here the hell was Owen? I scanned the area, hoping to find him somewhere. Anywhere.
Gloomy shades of white and brown were all I could find. Did the Bounty Huntress take the portal here and arrive in a different location? Did she get to Owen? I wanted to scream his name but thought better of it since I was on the run.
As I neared Owen’s coat, Titania said, “Oohh, I smell a fresh one. P U.”
“Wait. What do you smell?”
She waved her tiny hand in front of her nose. “Good old number two. Must be an animal around. They have no manners like you and me.”
I grabbed Owen’s coat. “Right. We need to find this smell.”
Titania moved closer to the coat for a sniff and turned away quickly from the off-putting smell. In an instant, she jetted away. I followed Titania through the clearing and down a path flanked by thorny leafless bushes and snow-covered Douglas-firs. A loud grunt came from ahead and we came to a halt.
I whispered, “Why don’t you go check it out?”
Titania’s compound eyes bugged out. “Me? How ‘bout you?”
“Your vision is better. You don’t have to get as close as I would.”
“Only because we’re best friends.” She zipped around a maple tree trunk with antler scrapings and soon disappeared. She returned in a few seconds and spoke over her giggling, “You won’t believe this. There is a man that looks like a cat or a cat that looks like a man taking a shit over there. Oh, my sides hurt.”
“I can believe it,” I told her and cupped my hands around my mouth. “Owen. It’s time to go home. Come over here when you are finished.”
Owen responded, embarrassed, “Right-eo. Be over in just a few moments.”
About a minute later, Owen climbed up over the small incline and nodded at us. He shivered and pulled his black suit jacket tighter over his chest.
“Are you all right?” I asked, running up to him with his trench coat. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him tight. Leaning in, I planted a kiss on his cheek, right above his whiskers.
We broke the embrace, and I handed him his trench coat. As he slid it on, he said, “As much as the Gods are willing it should seem.”
Once Owen had his coat on, I hugged him again. “I should have never asked you to come. I am so sorry.”
Owen stepped back and rubbed my upper arms. “I chose to come with you. As much as you may think it, you don’t control me.”
I said, “I don’t know about that. Owen. I’d like you to meet my new friend, Titania.”
Owen turned to the dragonfly and said, “Yes, well. Pleasure it is.”
Still riding high on the jolt of magic, she spoke rapidly, “The pleasure is all mine. I don’t know if you heard, but Junipher and I are friends.”
I straightened Owen’s overcoat and secured the top two buttons for him. He said, “Yes, well, perhaps we can all be friends.”
“I like friends,” Titania said.
My mind was a blur, not knowing what to discuss. I got down to business. “We need to get moving. Okay. So with what we found out inside the silo, it might be time to put some cat cams in action to see who is on the other end of the deal in Pittsburgh.”
As Owen led the way, he said, “I can do that.”
“What are the cat cams?” Titania asked.
I said, “I’ll explain later. We need to figure out this plan now. I’ll give you all the details when we get home.”
“As I was saying, I can get that started. I’ll send a dozen out to patrol the usual suspects. Is there anyone particular you would like surveilled?” he asked, staring at me in confusion.
As we began to move, I said, “No. We can make a proper list when we get back home. Even if one of the usual suspects lets something slip, we can move on to a new target.”
“Right you are. I have but one humble question. What on earth are you speaking of?” His look of confusion made sense now.
I needed to slow down my thoughts. The shock of the near-death experience hadn’t worn off. “Oh jeez. I forgot that you weren’t outside Arawn’s office with me. Speaking of which, what have you been doing?”
Owen replied, “For the past day and a half, I’ve been waiting for you and experiencing one hell of a snowstorm. I was starting to worry and about to head back to Pittsburgh before our new friend here spotted me. I’d love to get something to eat while you tell me what Arawn said.”
I came to the tree line and trudged into the deep snow. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get out of here and find the first place that serves food.”
“Yeah, let’s do it, friends,” Titania said energetically and zoomed ahead.
I reached into my pocket for reassurance. However, I’d forgotten that they had taken my gold locket. I felt naked without my material memory of Darabond.
“Oh, one other thing, Junipher,” said Owen, apparently jogging his memory. “I received a text message, and you aren’t going to believe this, but it seems that Hera is dead.”
Dread pumped into my heart. I tried to speak normally, but my voice squeaked, “Whaaaat? Did it say how it happened?”
Owen answered, “No details yet. I’d bet Zeus had her offed, so he didn’t have to put up with her nagging anymore. Then he could jam his erect penis into any female without repercussion.”
Owen’s odd phrasing didn’t even cause an internal giggle. I’d slipped away from certain demise in the Lair of Justice only to walk right into another death trap with Zeus. “Yeah, that’s probably what happened. If you hear anything else on this matter, let me know immediately.”
“Why are you so interested?” he asked, blinking his yellow eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight reflecting off the pure snow.
“I just have a feeling it might have to do with Lugh’s Spear is all.” I tried to play it down.
I attempted to analyze the whirlwind of recent events. The valuable information I’d obtained concerning the Spear seemed like three weeks ago. Arawn had half and a mystery person in Pittsburgh had the other half. They had a deal in place, and I had to find out the who, what, when and where. I had a pretty good idea of the why.
The clues helped, but they also created many more problems and the clock was ticking. The emotional toll of facing my victims in the Lair of Justice still had me shaken. As hard as it was to admit, the traumatic experience had rocked me to my core and melted the snow caps covering my heart.
How could you come to grips with the fact that you used to be a terrible person? Even though I was trying to better myself, it didn’t wipe out the cruel acts of my past. I’d escaped the Lair, but it wouldn’t stop the constant footsteps of the Bounty Huntress tracking after me or the haunting sounds and images I had encountered during my stay.
And I hadn’t even thrown the Hera situation into the mix. Fook my life. Her death could bring the force of the entire Greek pantheon down on me. If it came down to it, one thing was certain. I’d rather die than let Zeus have his way with me. I wouldn’t besmirch my honor or dishonor my husband by giving in to that.
Perhaps I could leave Pittsburgh for a while? Or stay with my father? Or Tyr?
I’d come back to Pittsburgh to find the spear. Unfortunately, my past—ancient and recent—had caught up to me. I wanted to concentrate on the spear, but kept getting sidetracked with the wolves, the vampires, the Greeks and the magic council. I’d lost track of my original goal of returning the spear to Lugh and securing my place in the pantheon of Celtic Gods.
My mind returned to my immediate safety in Pittsburgh. No offense to Owen, but he wasn’t the best bodyguard. Jonathan and Octavius were out because I couldn’t trust either of them. I found myself in quite the pickle.
Whom could I stay with?
Chapter 15
Owen dropped off Titania and me in front of my house. Thunder boomed in the distance. I gazed up at the sky and couldn’t find a single storm cloud.
I waited for Owen to leave and debated whether to go inside. Hera’s death had me on edge. Zeus could have a hit squad waiting
for me inside. But had Hera told him that I’d cut her? Had she even talked to Zeus or had she died on the way back to Mount Olympus?
I decided I needed to run in and grab some clothes and necessities. Plus, I needed to get out of this damn bra. Tyr was the only one I could confide in about this. If I stayed close to him until this blew over, he could keep me safe. I briefly entertained going to my father’s house, but I would kill his new family if I stayed there for an extended period.
After facing my past and taking responsibility for my transgressions in the Lair of Justice, I still held firm that the Hera situation wasn’t my fault. Zeus had chased after me on the cruise ship and Hera had followed it up by attacking me at my house. Had that fooker set me up? He had, hadn’t he?
With a heavily damaged house with boarded-up windows, I couldn’t tell if anything was amiss.
“Are we going in?” Titania asked. I’d nearly forgotten about her.
“Why don’t you stay out here. I can see my defense wards have been broken. There could be someone from the Lair of Justice inside. If you hear a commotion, feel free to bust in,” I told her.
“You got it,” she said and sailed across my small front lawn, landing on the mailbox.
I put my key in, turned it, and pushed the door. The first thing I smelled was coffee and burnt pita. Fook the Greeks.
I turned around and hightailed it down the walkway to my house. Zeus’s voice chased after me, “I’m not mad at you.”
His words stopped me in my tracks. I peered over my shoulder and saw Zeus standing outside my doorway with his hands out at his sides. The God of Thunder didn’t appear angry. In fact, he had a smug grin plastered to his face. Was this also a trick?
Titania flew off the mailbox over to me. “Are you all right?”
“Maybe,” I answered and rounded back to Zeus, who was about ten feet away. Titania landed on my shoulder, letting Zeus know that if he messed with me, he had to deal with her too.
From this distance, if he tried anything, I could dart away. As the sun crept out from behind a dark cloud, I noticed Zeus looked different. The gray notes in his beard were gone. Wearing jeans and a leather jacket, I’d never seen him sport that casual combination. It was always a suit or some form of dress attire.
