by J. P. Rice
Perhaps I wasn’t as terrible as everyone painted me. “You would have done it for me. Talking about that trip reminds me. I have some measurements for you on a very special job. I need you to put something together for our new friend.”
“I’m all ears,” he said with a grin.
Chapter 19
As I drove home, Zeus’s offer echoed inside my head. I could get enough muscle from him to crash the deal and steal the spear. Blunt force trauma was my specialty.
When I got home and cooled down, I realized that messy plan might not work. It sure would be fun, and at this point, it was my only option. I decided to watch a movie to clear my head. I grabbed the box of microwave popcorn from the cabinet and ripped it open.
My phone rang in my pocket. I threw the popcorn aside and plucked out my cell. In my angered state, I swiped the screen trying to answer the call, but it took me to my pictures for some reason. And, of course, it was the picture of Tyr’s girlfriend.
I went to press the delete button when an idea hit me. Hmmm. Arawn had instructed Tyr to bring his girl along for the deal. I could use her picture on my phone to shift and look exactly like her. I already had the annoying voice down too.
I grabbed a bag of popcorn out of the box, tossed it in the microwave and set the timer. How could I get rid of his girlfriend so that I could take her place and join him in attending the deal? I would need someone to detain her on the day of the deal.
The popcorn started popping, and it matched the kernels of thought blooming in my head. If I could shift into Luna, I had a few other resources at my disposal to upend the deal. A plan started to take shape in my head of how I could eventually return the spear to Lugh.
I would need some help from my friends. My true friends. Tyr’s betrayal caused me to question whom I could really count on. Jonathan was out, and so was Octavius. I had to go with the friends who’d never let me down before and hope for the best.
Using my thumb and forefinger, I pried open the skin on my wrist to expose the raven’s eye. I held my finger over the eye until the warmth caused it to turn bright red, sending the signal to the Morrigan.
I didn’t know when she would respond, so I grabbed my phone and dialed up Owen. He didn’t answer, so I left a brief message that I would need his assistance. My confidence grew by the nanosecond.
That left the third prong of my attack to set up. This would be the difficult part. I had to ask someone I didn’t trust completely for help. Not to mention I had been an asshole to him. I would have to swallow my pride and make the call.
Chapter 20
I opened my front door and let Mike Merlino in. The young man gave me a leery look as he entered, which I’d expected. I led him into the quaint kitchen comprised of a rectangular oak table with a few skylights above it, a silver stove, a fridge, a double sink and a hanging rack for pots and pans that I still needed to buy.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” I asked.
“Is it poisoned? I’d really like to know why you want to work together suddenly. But I’m game for a cup of joe, sans the poison,” he said, looking around my kitchen.
I grabbed a mug out of the cabinet. “After some detective work, I’ve figured out what is going on with Lugh’s Spear.”
“Then, of course, I’m willing to help.” He leaned back against my sink.
I poured some coffee into the mug with an image of Mjölnir on it and handed it to Mike. I pointed and said, “Spoons are in that drawer and sugar is on the counter. Do you need any cream?”
“Nope. Black as night is good with me. So what’s the deal?” he asked, extracting a spoon from the drawer and going for the sugar.
“Basically, we need to kidnap somebody so I can shift and look like her to disrupt the deal for the spear.” As the words spilled out of my mouth, the brazenness of the plan really took permanent shape. It had sounded much more innocent in my head.
Mike set his cup on the counter and rinsed his spoon. He picked up the washcloth and said, “Kidnapping a woman, huh? What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“It is for the greater good,” I pleaded, hoping to appeal to his honorable side.
“Do you have any dish soap?”
“It’s under the sink. What do you need dish soap for?” I wanted to know.
“I wanted to wash my spoon and set it on your drying rack,” he said, grabbing the cabinet door.
His casual approach was driving me crazy. I wanted an answer now. “Just rinse it and put it over there. I really need you on this. I’ll help you take her away and you’ll really just be storing her for a few hours until we release her again. I wouldn’t even call it a kidnapping, really.”
He smirked from behind the coffee mug and blew on the hot liquid. “Storing a body doesn’t sound much better. You can dance around it all you want. It’s still a kidnapping.”
I didn’t need a lecture from Peach Fuzz. “Well, if you aren’t willing to help, chug the rest of your coffee and don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
He took a sip of the black gold and smiled. “Relax for a sweet second. If you want me to help, you better start getting much more specific than you have been. I need to make sure my life isn’t being put in danger by this plan. I’m not letting you toss me a ticking time bomb.”
“Why don’t we sit down?” I offered, gesturing to my stained oak table.
Over a couple of cups of coffee, I told Mike my entire plan. Normally, I’d hold out some details, but I couldn’t chance this wizard turning me down. So I spilled the whole can of beans.
After I finished my spiel, he stared at me blankly. I couldn’t gauge his reaction, so I asked, “What do you think?”
He tossed his head from side to side in indecision. “Sounds like a solid plan. It’s nice to have friends that you can use in a situation like that. You probably know this, but you should run through the entire plan in your head. Then assume at every turn things will go wrong. You should have about thirty thousand backup contingencies ready to go too.”
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty quick on my toes. What did you think of the napping plan?” I was trying to make it sound less sinister, but couldn’t tell if it was working.
Mike leaned forward, set his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. “If you are positive she will be there, and you help me get her to my house, I think I can do you a solid.”
“Oh, what, you’ve never abducted a woman before,” I joked, and he shrugged his shoulders and turned away shyly.
Still staring at my stove on his right, he scratched his neck. “Funny you mention that. It’s kind of how I met my girl. Not my proudest moment, and I’m sure this won’t be a crowning achievement either, but I’ll help you so that you can get Lugh’s Spear back to its rightful owner.”
My chest heaved in and out in relief. “Thank you. I’ll make sure the Gods know you were involved in this.”
He waved an open hand in front of his chest. “Stop right there. I’d rather you didn’t tell them about my involvement with this plan. It doesn’t really cast me in the best light.”
I pantomimed that I was locking my lips and throwing away the key. “Then my lips shall remain sealed. When I talk about that part, your name will not be revealed. I’ll make up something, don’t worry.”
He lifted his right eyebrow inquisitively. “Are you sure it’s the real thing?”
For the first time, I questioned it. I hadn’t seen either half of the spear. I could feel its presence when I was standing outside Arawn’s office in Seattle, but I’d never seen Tyr’s half of the spear. Could it be another fake like the one at Octavius’s house?
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it is real,” I lied to him.
With the plan set, now it was time to execute it. First up, kidnapping Luna. Then onward to the deal. I had a few friends helping me, but I was going into the storm alone. I just needed to visit one more person before putting everything into motion.
Chapter 2
1
I went to the outskirts of Pittsburgh to see a guardian angel on the lam. Artoise could know something about the deal for the spear. It was a longshot, but worth the drive.
I got out of my beat-up Jeep and trudged through the snow toward his cave dwelling. Strained sunlight fought through the dark clouds to highlight the milky landscape. Staring straight ahead at the ivory abyss, a swirl of red and green captured my eyes.
After blinking rapidly, it came into focus. I was just as surprised as the first time I’d seen it. A lovely red rose growing out of the snow. With sweet whispers in the wind, it called me by name, and I walked toward it robotically. Finally, I could get to the bottom of how this object was thriving in these conditions.
I got closer and closer until I stood over the flower. Its beautiful defiance brought tears to my eyes. As I dropped to my knees to inspect it, the smell of flint filled my nose and my eyes watered from something in the air. I rubbed my eyelids to sooth my burning eyes, and when I opened them, everything was blurry.
As the landscape came back into focus, the rose had disappeared, but the odor of flint and the eye burning persisted. Where did the rose go? Frustrated, I dug into the snow to see if the rose had gone underground.
My fingertips smashed into something dense, and I shook them around to help with the pain. At the bottom of the holes my fingers had made, I saw shafts of glowing sapphire. Carefully, I dug into the snow again and the sapphire object got bigger.
I dusted some snow away and stared in awe at a glowing sapphire egg bigger than my hand. My inner dragon was doing backflips which gave me a strong indication of what kind of egg this was. How in the hell had dragon eggs ended up buried in snow in Pittsburgh?
My mind immediately returned to the day I’d gotten into a fight with Hera. The black dragons in the sky. But why were these eggs a brilliant sapphire? With no time to waste, I turned to take the egg to my car and hesitated. Was this the only one?
I dug into the snow again and another egg appeared. Then another. And another. By the time I’d finished, thirteen sapphire dragon eggs sat on the snow. I took off my long jacket and gathered all the eggs into it. With all the eggs inside, I carefully folded and pinched the jacket so the eggs wouldn’t fall out.
I held the jacket firmly and hustled back to my Jeep. A bone chilling squawk came from the sky, and I inclined my head in reaction. Two black dragons raced toward the earth as I scrambled to get my fob out of my pocket.
I set down my package and opened the door. With the dragons approaching, I gently placed the eggs on the passenger seat, closed the door and ran over to the driver’s side. I hopped in the car, started the ignition and jammed down the gas pedal.
The tires rotated in place, kicking mud and snow everywhere. A light wisp of smoke plumed up from the front tires, and I started to gain traction. We jetted forward, but the Jeep fishtailed violently. Like a worried mother, my hand shot over to the passenger seat to make sure none of the eggs fell to the floor.
From my rearview mirror, I saw the dragons land and start searching for the eggs, clawing frantically into the snow. A mighty scream that sounded like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park on steroids shook my soul and sent shock waves down my spine.
From the rearview mirror, I saw both dragons lift their heads and spit angry flames into the air. I kept the car steady and sped across the parking lot, then turned right onto the road. With pavement now under my tires, I jammed the gas even harder and it forced my head into the seat.
Being part dragon, I was ashamed that I didn’t know how to take care of a dragon egg or how to get them to hatch. As I drove toward my house, I wondered if they would be safe there. My life was so volatile, people could break into my house at any time. Zeus and Hera were prime examples.
When I went through a list of whom I could trust, there weren’t many names. But the individual that kept coming to the fore was Owen. He didn’t have nearly as many people coming after him and he knew a lot about science to shed light on the subject.
Instead of going to my house, I decided to take them to my feline friend’s house. It worked out perfectly since I had a key to Owen’s and could stop by whenever I wanted. My dragon sense urged me to keep the eggs close and not trust anyone, but I had to fight against it. The dragon inside always wanted me to hoard anything valuable.
I could barely contain myself during the ride because I wanted to jump up and down while screaming and yelling. Perhaps children of my own weren’t in the cards anymore, but I would be proud to raise a family of dragons.
I made it to Owen’s house in record time. We took the eggs into the basement and formed a plan. Owen offered to pick up an incubator to help with the hatching process. We also went over my strategy for saving the spear three times.
I stared at the eggs and felt like I was leaving a piece of my soul at Owen’s house. Despite wanting to tell everyone about the dragon eggs, I needed to keep my lips sealed on this one. Owen had sworn his secrecy, which was as good as gold. I knew he wouldn’t tell anyone. I was worried about myself.
I left Owen’s house and had enough time to stop at home for a few minutes. Then I had to help Mike kidnap Luna. More Cat Cam footage revealed that Tyr would be out most of the day. He had to pickup the spear from someone in Ohio. That gave us enough time to detain Luna and get her to Mike’s house.
Then I just had to shift to look like his girlfriend and crash the deal for the spear.
Chapter 22
I sat in the comfortable passenger seat of Tyr’s black Rolls Royce Wraith as we headed to the deal. The back half of the spear sat on my lap with my hand holding it in place. This one was real. I could feel the energy in the form of lightning pulsing through the object.
I was in the form of Luna and a spitting image at that. The projection app on my phone had worked perfectly. My only worry was that I would slip up on her whiny voice, so I had to focus. My anger toward Tyr was dominating my thoughts. My blood bubbled like a smoking cauldron above a bonfire. I wanted to Hulk Smash him in the nuts so bad that his children would feel it.
I slapped on the Long Island/Nanny accent and asked, “So what’s this all about? Why’dya need to bring me?”
Tyr stared into the rearview mirror as he pulled out onto the highway. “Damn, woman. Your memory is shit. I told you I need to make this deal for both of us. Soon, I’ll be Loki’s right-hand man and we will dwell in a palace in Asgard. The denizens will treat you like a queen. And I don’t know why they want you at the deal.”
Time to see what he really thought about me. “Is ‘at red head lady that stayed at our house gonna be there?”
He snapped, “My house. My house. And hell no. Why would you ask that?”
I rubbed the spear with my thumb. “Oh, I dunno. Cuz I been hearin’ things.”
Tyr passed a car from the right lane and weaved back to the left. He spoke over the roaring engine, “Things? What things have you heard?”
How could I put this that wouldn’t raise suspicion? “Just somethin’ about you rescuin’ her or somethin’ like that.”
“You need to quit snooping on my conversations,” he said and put his right hand on my thigh. “What did I tell you about that?” He squeezed, digging his thumb and fingers into my flesh. It was his lucky day that I didn’t stab him in the neck with the broken end of this spear.
The asshole removed his paw and blathered on, “Besides, I was just tricking her to keep her off the trail. And I didn’t rescue her. I traded a fake of half the spear to Octavius and he agreed to let her go. Stupid werewolf. I played them both. She has no idea either.” He turned his ugly mug to me and smiled.
My blood reached a boiling point. I had to remain calm and stay focused on the big picture. I could kill Tyr some other time. “Don’tcha feel bad about all that subversion?”
He sat up and smiled in the rearview mirror, using his thumbnail to pick something out of his teeth. His blatant disregard for the road made me tense. He kept scraping away and spoke in a mu
ffled tone, “Not at all. She’d do the same to me. The rare book business can present some strange opportunities like the one tonight.” Thankfully, he focused back on the road.
I held the spear up in front of my chest. “So why’s this spear broken in half?”
“Stupid Loki did that. I’m still not sure why. You know his motto. Midgard rotates without any help, but it is our responsibility to shake it up,” he uttered in a monotone.
What a stupid motto. “So, whatta ya tradin’ this for anyway?”
He growled, “Damn, woman. You ask too many questions. It’s becoming a bad habit that you need to kick. All you need to know is we are trading this half of the spear for a ticket back to Asgard. Be happy with that.”
“But what about that stupid jerk, Odin?” I asked and caught myself as I was veering into Edith Bunker territory, exaggerating each syllable too much. I had to get back to the Long Island style.
“After tonight, if all goes according to plan, I’ll never have to worry about Odin again. It’ll be glorious.” He kissed the fingertips of his right hand and extended his fingers toward me. Like a chef’s finger kiss.
I planned to do my best to prevent his happiness. It was as if every, single, thing about Tyr was an act. From top to bottom, the guy was a fraud. I couldn’t believe I ever had feelings for this scumbag.
“We have to make a quick stop first so that I can prepare for battle,” he said and checked his teeth again in the mirror.
“Battle. What’dya mean?” I asked as my palms dampened with sweat, and I wondered if he was on to me.
“Not real battle. I just have to look like a God for this deal.” He pulled into a church’s half-filled parking lot with about fifteen other cars. Tyr parked in the center and a group of men approached the car.
