“No, it’s gotten worse then. She must have given chase. While I was out for my nightly snack, she was overpowered. I tried to help her as much as I could.”
“Head over to see Peter and have him treat your wounds. You’ll recover. I will go—alone—in search of Leslie. They can’t be far, and I will attend to this matter without help.”
“You foolish, foolish man,” Gran grumbled. “You might make everyone else bow to your foolishness, but nothing will stop me from searching under every rock, in every cave, and behind every tree to find her. If you will not be man enough to be her hero, then you are not worthy of her. Now, get out of my way. My granddaughter needs me.”
Gran disappeared, and Killian stood there, holding his side.
“She’s right, you know. You’ve been filled with this illogical pride and prejudice of who you believe Leslie is supposed to be, that you are now unwilling to help. That woman has done nothing but try to help you to retain your leadership position, but you’ve fought her at every turn. You’ve demeaned her, and not treated her justly. Dear brother, if this was a romance novel, I dare say, you’d not be the hero after all.
Killian limped away, and still Alistair sat. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, searching for her. His mind’s clouded image took shape and the shadows revealed her location.
What good was a connection if he couldn’t find her without even moving?
He scanned the area, reaching for her essence.
With her destination in mind, he raced down to the depths of the castle, tossed off his clothes and dove into the water. Cold waves washed over him, and the deeper he dove, the more his body stretched, twisted and turned.
Hold on love, I’m coming!
The air hummed with his arrival. And his loud screech shook the cave walls.
Lloyd clapped. “What a wonderful day! Nessie has arrived too. Who would have thought it possible?” He moved towards a stainless-steel cabinet and opened it up. It housed enough weapons for an army to fight—automatic and semiautomatic weapons, along with grenades. He retrieved his harpoon and moved back towards the cave’s entrance.
If I didn’t get up, the ass would die, and I’d feel guilty about it. And since he saved me from true death, I had to try to do the same.
Focusing all of my energy and strength on the metal cuffs, they began to stretch enough for me to pull my hands free.
I quickly ripped them off of my feet, and grabbed one of the guns he’d left behind. Thank the gods for the citizens police academy; at least I knew how to use an automatic rifle. I loaded it, and rushed after Lloyd. Alistair, even with his dragon’s breath, might not be too much of a challenge against a sharp, modern-day harpoon.
It might end up being emasculating, but at least he’d be alive.
I moved forward and took aim. “Halt,” I yelled. “Don’t make me shoot you, Lloyd.”
“I can’t let Nessie slip away this time.”
“If you shoot that creature, I’m going to shoot you.”
“But I have your blood.” He held up the beaker, tilted his head back and drank it.
To me, it reminded me of those people that liked to fry pigs’ blood, or include the steak juices from the package into the pan.
He swallowed it and my face twisted in disgust. It dripped down his chin from the corners of his mouth, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. I waited for the true reaction—nausea, regurgitation, and possible death. It was like drinking a mixture from a corpse, and that’s exactly what I was. I mean, would you bring a straw to the funeral home and take a sip? Just yuck!
Alistair closed in, ready to blow fire, and as Lloyd took aim, so did I.
My vision allowed me to see every nuance of his motion, and before he could pull the trigger on the grenade harpoon, I fired off two rounds.
Crap. I missed,
And so, I fired two more.
I hit my target, and Lloyd screamed out in pain. The harpoon dropped from his hands, firing and striking Alistair square in the chest, only to bounce right off.
Guess he didn’t need my help after all.
And maybe I didn’t really need his, or him.
33
Leslie
When Rose entered the cave with her paranormal investigative team, I tried to be civil. She’d accused me of being the evil in their midst, not even wanting to look at any other suspects. She must have been a jealous woman to just want to alleviate a threat, even if that threat had nothing to do with the actual crime. There might have still been feelings between Alistair and Rose for all I knew, but their dysfunction wasn’t what I’d wanted, needed, or even desired to be around.
And with Alistair, I didn’t want to talk to him, let alone share a roof with him. This debacle was a palate cleanser. I could look at Alistair and see the potential in him, but I didn’t need a man who required fixing. There were too many issues of my own which now needed tending to.
Alistair walked over in full human mode; his dragon long gone. “So, is this where you tell me goodbye?”
“I hadn’t planned on telling you anything. Somehow or another, you still have a lot of growing up to do. How you can be centuries old and not know how to treat a woman is beyond me. I don’t have time for a fixer-upper project.”
“A project, is that what I am?”
I considered my words carefully. “You said that pressure makes diamonds, well, maybe you too need to be shined up a bit. I can’t give up my life for you. After a while, I’d end up hating you more than I already do for what you took from me. You gave me life, but you can’t just take away the life that I’ve been building for myself.”
Alistair glanced down at his feet. “You’re right, Leslie. I didn’t treat you very well, and that had to do with me, not you.”
I nodded. “That doesn’t change anything. You could learn a lot from Killian. In fact, you should take a few lessons from him on how not to be a giant asshole.” I brushed passed him, thinking that at one time I believed we could have been something.
Yet, I heard the vampire within still say, “Mine.”
“Leslie!” Gran raced into the cave, giving everyone the stink eye. “Are you okay?” I could see her panic, and when she wrapped her arms around me—now that felt like home. I’d never been so relieved to fall into her arms. Tears began to well.
“Don’t you let them see you cry. They’ll take it for weakness, but you sure did have this old woman worried. I liked it better when I was just a ghost. I know I asked you to stay here, but I really think we were better off in Manhattan.”
The sun began to rise, and soon the castle, those nocturnal like me, would feel the need to sleep.
“Well, I did have enough of an adventure to start that next book,” I said.
Gran shook her head. “I’ll never understand where all of these characters come from.”
“Me either, but I’m sure the ideas are there.”
Slathered down in sun block, and covered with a long-sleeved shirt and a large hat, allowing almost no sun to peek through, I pulled on my sunglasses and cast one last glance at the castle. There was no sadness, just indifference. Nothing had given me reason to stay, and everything had forced me to go.
Once away from the enchanted castle and land, Gran returned to her ghostly form, and we both heaved a sigh of relief. I couldn’t escape that place fast enough—credit card balances and all be damned.
I caught the first plane back to New York, and with the press getting the news of my arrival, it seemed that it was good to return from the dead. The paparazzi swirled with their lights and cameras until I had to get security to catch a taxi home.
Claudine stood outside my door clutching newspapers to her side, as well as a large coffee.
“It’s the afternoon,” I said. “and I’m dead tired.”
“Well, you’re going to need to fix your face soon. Looks like the big guys have taken notice of your recent numbers. I’ve been able to schedule you for tomorrow morning’s news s
hows.
“Donovan was arrested and is awaiting his first court hearing, especially now that you’ve returned. I’m guessing the DA wants to make sure to get his case closed, and quickly.”
“It took long enough.”
“Sorry, that’s my fault.” She blushed. “Anger got the best of me.” That was putting it nicely. They’d both been escorted off of the ship, and taken to the magistrate for it all to be sorted out.
“If you weren’t my sister, I’d so fire you.”
“Got to get it in when you can.” She shrugged, then continued. “And Maurice called. He said that he’s taken a fresh look at your proposal and thinks he can sell it now.”
I gritted my teeth, and stretched out my hand again. “Taxi!”
“Where are you going?” Claudine asked.
“To take care of some final business.”
Wearing my still-wrinkled clothes from my too long of a flight, I bypassed security with a smile. I then caught the elevator up to the eleventh floor where Maurice’s private office was located—not where he’d meet clients.
The elevator doors slid open, and I pasted on the most perfect of smiles. Something had changed within me.
“Ma’am, you can’t go back there,” said the receptionist.
I leaned forward to where I was eye level, clutching the desk. “But I can, and you’re going to buzz me in.”
“Sure,” the receptionist said, and the glass door unlocked.
With his corner office, Maurice was supposed to be one of the best in the business. His view overlooked Central Park, a view that most would envy. Even with his expertise, he hadn’t performed. And it was time to cut those from my life who suffered from underperformance.
“Maurice,” I said, then stepped across the threshold into his office.
“Leslie, oh my, it’s good to see you. I’d heard you were lost at sea. What a miraculous return. I’ve been fielding so many calls for you. The press is loving your reappearance, as are your fans. I can’t wait to see what we’ll be able to make possible with your career now.”
I took a seat, leaned back into the chair, crossed my legs and stared at him… until an uncomfortable silence built up between us. He tugged at his collar.
He cleared his throat. The confidence in his voice evaporated like hot air. “I think I owe you an apology.”
“Oh no, what you owe me is a letter reverting my publishing rights back to me.”
“That’s not possible, Leslie.”
“But it is. You fired me, and with me goes my work.”
“Please, Leslie, you can’t do that. In the last couple of days, you’ve sold more books than any other author over the history of us taking numbers. We can’t keep up with the demand.”
“I guess that’s something you should have considered before you were so callous. Now, take out that paper and get to typing. I can wait.”
I waited patiently for my letter, where all of my books and ownership would be reverted back to me.
“You’re ruining my life.” He reached in his desk and pulled out a paper bag and began to blow in and out.
“Oh, but I’m sure your life can change too with a horrible cruise. Even more, with the publisher losing so much money, there’s no telling what sort of cruise it might be. Anyway, I hate to just demand and dash, but I have a couple of interviews to get to.”
I held on tightly to that letter. Never again would anyone walk all over me. That was the great things about now being a vampire—confidence.
I might still have a lot to learn, and there would be a great learning curve too, but at least I wouldn’t have to stop being Leslie Love to do it.
“Ms. Love?” the receptionist called after me. “You forgot your check.”
I smiled. Enough numbers to start all over.
Who knew that once bitten, I’d get exactly what I wanted? To be me.
If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.
Thanks for reading!
Epilogue
Leslie
I’d found a way to keep my hunger at bay. Nothing like sushi for that, and back in our apartment, Gran and I reverted to our usual routine.
It felt good to be home.
“Have you heard anything from him?” Gran asked.
She didn’t need to name him; we both knew who she meant: Alistair. Even thousands of miles away, something inside of me still called out to him—every night, every second of every day—as if a part of me was missing.
I squashed that thought by stuffing myself with more sushi, and working on the next Ewan Macleod book. With all of that historical fodder, I had to do something with it.
I shook my head.
“You know, though, dear, I’ve been thinking about something, something that isn’t quite clear. Lloyd was using magic, right?”
“Yes,” I said, still punching the keys to accomplish my daily word count.
“Magic, really? There’s just something that is bothering me here with what he did. Besides the whole serial killer thing.”
“Well, not a serial killer, but more of a spree killer.” She ignored me and continued to talk.
“There are rules to magic, a system even. It is not just used willy-nilly.”
I paused. When I was there in that cave, I’d thought of the same thing. For someone who was interested in the occult and its practices, he sure wasn’t well versed in all of it.
Was he born of magic? Blessed by the gods, or did someone give him something that might make him more magical?
“So, how did he cast the spells?” Gran asked.
“The sigils.” I stopped typing, lost in thought.
“If he wasn’t magical, how did he cast the spells?” I asked at a near whisper. Gran stepped in front of me, concern marring her face.
We stared at each other.
Lloyd might have been involved, but he wasn’t the top of the maleficence there, like what I’d felt in the forest. There was something else, someone else, and they were indeed powerful if they wished to attack a community filled with supernatural beings. As the seer, I would soon be called on to fight a battle I wasn’t sure I could win. After all, I was just a romance writer who loved hot men in kilts, Vikings, and maybe even dragons. But even more, as a vampire connected to Alistair, I knew I had to help. He could not go this alone. I wouldn’t let him. “Oh my god. Oh my goddess.” I started to hyperventilate.
“Calm down. It’s not like we know anything. It’s all just speculation.” Gran pulled another cigarette from thin air and began to pace.
“This means that they are still in trouble. The entire village. The entire castle.” Numerous faces drifted through my mind.
And that’s when my phone rang.
I picked it up on the second ring. “Leslie, this is Killian. I hate to bother you, but this is about Alistair.”
“Oh no, what’s happened?”
“He’s disappeared.” I’d have to be stronger than I ever thought I could be, and save the man I was tied to for the good of us all, or go down trying.
“I’ll go start the packing,” Gran said, and put her cigarette out.
“This time we’re flying.”
The End
Find other fabulous stories by USA Today bestselling author Tina Glasneck, and learn more about her dragons in The Dragons series.
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About the Author
TINA GLASNECK enjoys creating stories that combine history, mythology, Norse Gods, and dragons. Someday she might just fancy a trip to Asgard too, and find out what all the fuss is about!
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The Moonstone Prophecy
Carly Fall
Moonstone Prophecy © 2017 Carly Fall
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onal and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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The Moonstone Prophecy
When an astrological event opens up the seams of the universe, paranormal entities swarm the town of Saint’s Grove, some for noble reasons, others with evil intent.
In the sleepy town of Saints Grove, Virginia, Eric never expected to find anything but a good sandwich, friendly people, and a little rest and relaxation while trying to put his life back together.
When the seams of the universe open and Eric is attacked by a demon, Tirvu promptly saves him. He immediately recognizes her as the same woman who has been torturing him in his dreams by showing him images of death and destruction while begging him to follow her.
Tirvu is a dragon-shifter from another realm. The disappearance of a religious symbol from her world, the Moonstone, has caused a long war among her people. She’s taken it upon herself to recover it and return it, which will end the hundreds of years of fighting. However, she can’t do it without Eric’s help.
Sirens and Scales Page 236
