Alice Series Box Set

by Maria Dean

  "Come quickly," Astrid instructed Irene after giving them the address. She then ducked into the house, holding her nose as to not breathe in the foul odor. The alchemists' house was littered with stains of dog pee and poop on the floor. No one had come looking for Ronald Hope, which meant his poor dog was facing the consequences instead. "How did you survive?" Astrid asked aloud, treading carefully through the house until she got into the kitchen. A large bag of dog food answered her question, ripped in the bottom so the dog could eat whenever he wanted. As for water, Astrid stepped in a pool of groundwater and discovered one of the water pipes under the sink had burst. It was just enough to make a puddle the dog could drink.

  The dog trotted inside and began to butt at Astrid's legs. He looked up at her, his big brown puppy eyes begging for a pet. Astrid relented immediately. "You poor thing," she said, rubbing at the scruff of his neck. "You didn't deserve this."

  You're responsible, you know. That nasty, nagging voice in the back of her head had a point. Astrid's removal of Hope from their dimension left the dog alone in the house.

  As if the dog knew what she was thinking, he licked her palm and continued to butt his head against her legs. It's okay, the dog seemed to say. I survived.

  With a text from Irene saying she was on her way, Astrid felt a little better about leaving the dog alone for a minute. She still had a house to investigate for clues as to how this alchemist knew so much about dragons. The first floor was no use to her. The kitchen and dining room were destroyed, thanks to the poor, cooped up dog. Chairs had been torn apart in frustration, things were knocked over in dismay, it was evident the puppy needed an outlet for his anger. The living room was at the peak of destruction. The couch, which once was a shiny, velvet blue, was ripped straight down the middle and covered in pee. Nothing in the house was safe from his wrath.

  The dog followed her into the room to admire his handiwork, plopping down right in the middle of the couch and smiling up at Astrid. Tail thumping against the couch, he barked and rolled over, inviting her onto the couch.

  No thanks, she thought to herself. The dog might not mind the gross surroundings, but she did. Astrid turned to the stairs, which were significantly less dirty. The dog gate at the top gave her faith whatever Hope kept upstairs, it would've been preserved.

  The gate smoothly swung open. Just as she suspected, the top floor was pristine. As Astrid explored the hallway, a number of bizarre artifacts greeted her. Some looked like masks from different countries, while others were statues Astrid recognized as from the alchemist's dimension.

  The dog bounded upstairs, running past her and sniffing the various rooms. Astrid now understood why Hope kept the dog downstairs as there was a treasure trove of sacred items. The dog, though well meaning, would be a collector's worst nightmare.

  "Astrid?" Irene called out from the first floor. "You still here?"

  "Yeah," she replied, still focusing on the artifacts.

  The small Russo strode up the stairs and gasped. "Oh, what a sad little thing you are!" Barking, the dog scrambled over to them and began to beg for attention. Irene chuckled and bent down to pet him. "I'll take care of this guy, don't worry." They glanced over at a glass case on the wall. "Any reason you're here, surrounded by ancient alchemic texts?"

  "Where?" Astrid asked confused. She backed up to the case Irene was looking at. The case was lined with old books, each ornately wrapped in blue leather. "Shit dude," she muttered. "Didn't know this was here."

  Irene picked up one, dusted off the cover, and frowned. "Again, I ask," they said as they turned the cover so Astrid could read it, "why are you here?"

  Astrid blanched, shoving away the book titled Dragon Slaying for Beginners. "I have a source that claimed the alchemist who lived here knew about y'all. He had a list of every dragon in the cities. I had to find out for myself if that was true."

  Her companion went quiet. Then, "Was that how the slayers attacked Lorenzo? And how Christian got attacked by the alchemists?

  Astrid nodded, her heart heavy. "I thought if I could find the person behind it all, I could put a stop to it."

  "But they're gone?"

  "Worse," Astrid sighed. "I dropped him in another dimension."

  Irene stared at her, before bursting into laughter. "You did what?" She asked, regarding Astrid with a newfound fascination. "Why?"

  Astrid flushed. "Well, he was trying to kill Gio. It was the first time I Aliced on my own." She'd been forced into it and passed out when it was over, but it still counted. "I think I'm going to collect the dangerous stuff in here and hide it so the other alchemists don't come and find it." She looked to the dog. "Take care of him, okay?"

  Irene nodded. "You might want to hold on to that one," she commented as she began to wrangle the dog. "Not all dragons are like my family. It might be grim, but you're going to have to be prepared in case you encounter one of them."

  Unsure whether they were joking, Astrid looked back at the slayer's guide. "Okay," she said, unconvinced.

  With another wave from Irene and a happy bark from the dog, the two were off, leaving Astrid alone in Ronald Hope's house. She set the guide back on the shelf and began to search his rooms for a bag. She wasn't lying when she said she wanted to get rid of the more dangerous artifacts. If the alchemists figured out something was wrong, she didn't want any of Hope's collection to fall into their hands. She did, however, neglect to inform Irene where the books would be going.

  "It's me," she said into her phone as she shoved a book about the Seal of Solomon into a bag. "I think I have something that will be of interest to you. A lot of things, actually. A lot of books I can..." The front door opened, and Astrid stopped talking. "Hold on."

  There was a shuffling downstairs, the footsteps too heavy to be Irene. "Hope?" Someone called out. The voice was familiar, like a face in an old photograph Astrid couldn't completely make out. Whoever it was, they were clearly an alchemist, but Astrid recognized it from somewhere else. "Hope, I'm coming up."

  That snapped her out of it. Astrid bolted into the bedroom, whipping her head around in search of a hiding place. Hope's bedroom was cluttered as all hell. Astrid leapt to the bed, buried her bag of books underneath it, and held her breath when the footsteps passed the bedroom door.

  "Hope?" The man called out again, this time much closer to her.

  Astrid's heart began to pound in her ears as the door creaked open. She was tucked under the bed, out of sight, yet every time the man stepped closer she felt at risk of being caught.

  "Where are you?" He called out, his voice dropping its serious tone. As he crept around the room and called out for his missing ally, it felt more like he was playing with a child. "I'm going to find you," he said standing far too close to the bed for Astrid's comfort.

  Her entire body buzzed. Astrid closed her eyes so tightly she saw stars. She pulled herself into a tight ball, hoping to disappear into the ether. Anything to get away from the man searching for her.

  "And..." The man stopped, right outside her hiding spot. "Got ya!"

  That's when Astrid started to fall.

  ***

  "She should've been there."

  His partner was silent. "I don't know what to tell you, Aaron. She's your kid."

  Aaron Pfeiffer crouched low so he could search the underside of the bed. Hope was a messy guy. Aaron wasn't shocked to find stacks of books piled under the alchemist's bags of clothes. What he was looking for, though, was his twenty-seven-year-old daughter, who should've been underneath the bed. "Do you see a shimmer there?"

  The alchemist with him was one of their only Alice allies. He shook his head, bending over to search the area. "Nothing. Are you sure she was here?"

  "She's my kid, Jasper," Aaron said sternly. "I just know these things."

  Jasper tutted, shaking his head. "You can't keep calling her a kid, Aaron. She's a grown woman now. If she wants to root around a dead man's business, it's her deal. She ain't hurting our operations."

&nbs
p; "But she could get hurt," Aaron replied, exasperated.

  The second alchemist rolled his eyes. "Come on. We need to call the cleaners. This place is a disaster zone. And do we have any idea what happened to the dog?" Aaron shook his head. "Right. Another mystery I'm going to have to solve. They don't pay me enough for this."

  Aaron bit back his reply they don't pay Jasper at all. He was more concerned with Astrid's adventures in alchemy. It was one thing to find out both the slayers, and the hunters were onto her. It was another thing entirely to review footage of a ritual gone wrong, only to discover his beloved daughter was right in the thick of it. Sure, Aaron knew she was an Alice. He might have used it as a threat against his ex-wife. But Astrid would always be his little girl, no matter what disasters she got herself into.

  He did what he could to protect her. The Russo family was just going to be another thing he removed to keep her safe.

  ***

  Falling was new. It wasn't like Alicing on purpose, when her entire body would tingle as the shimmer enveloped it. No, falling was terrifying. The world around her was a dark void, and Astrid couldn't see her hand if she put it in front of her face. She was paralyzed, hurtling through the darkness a million miles a minute. All she could think of was Nova, who surely would've known what to do. She had so many questions only her aunt could answer. What was happening? Where would she end up? Would she even land somewhere?

  Yes, she would. She landed on a black leather couch, her upper half sprawled out over something warm and distinctly human.

  "I was wondering when you'd show up on my doorstep. Though I have to say, I didn't expect this."

  Maybe 'distinctly human' wasn't the right phrase. Giovanni Russo looked down at her with a faint smirk, swirling a glass of scotch in his left hand. He'd grown a little scruffy since she'd last seen him. There was a heavy tiredness in his eyes Astrid recognized as the result of a long night of reviewing papers.

  "Astrid?" He called her attention back to him. She liked the way he said her name. It sounded smooth and warm, somewhere in between Lorenzo's constant disinterest and Christian's perpetual happiness. "Would you like to explain why you landed in my apartment?"

  So that's where they were. Astrid pulled herself up, steadying her still shaking body on the other side of the couch. Now she got a look around, it felt like Giovanni's home. Lorenzo's house was modest and colorful, reminiscent of the art that filled his life. Christian's house was extravagant on the inside, with little hints at his family history lining the walls. But Giovanni's apartment was nothing like his brothers. It was sleek, clean, and void of color. Everything there had a purpose, leaving no space for frivolous items like plants or dragon wall pieces.

  "Enjoying the view?" Giovanni asked, still examining her. "I've always been the odd one out when it came to interior design. I want my things to have a use. To be important."

  "It's a minimalist design," she replied, scrutinizing the mahogany desk across from her. "I get it."

  Giovanni nodded, setting his glass on an end table. "Now. How d'you get here?"

  She turned to him and found she couldn't speak. "I..." Astrid trailed off, unsure of herself. "I don't know." She had Aliced, obviously, but she'd never done such a thing without an established portal. "I think I just needed to escape."

  "So, you came here?" He replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You've never been here before. In fact, I haven't been able to see you much since my brothers decided to swoop you up."

  That's one way to put it, Astrid thought, her face burning at the memory of Christian's hands on her skin. "Lorenzo went off on his own," she said, looking away from him. "And Christian's off on some business trip." To his credit, the oldest Russo had offered to take her with him. He was ready to convince Tom to give her time off so they could gallivant across Europe together. Astrid only turned it down because she wasn't sure about making that commitment yet.

  "So naturally, your need for safety sent you to me." Giovanni sounded more amused than anything else. "Let me get you something to eat, hmm?" He rose and offered her his hand, pulling Astrid to her feet. She fell forward before stabilizing herself. "Oh, Astrid," Giovanni murmured as he held her close, "you're freezing."

  She hadn't even noticed. The shivering felt so natural she didn't know something was wrong.

  In moments, Giovanni swept her up into his arms. He carried her to the bathroom and set her down on the toilet seat. "I need time to cook," he was saying as she zoned back in. "Soak in the bath and warm yourself up, okay?" He turned on the hot water and let it run, grabbing her a large towel while the bath filled.

  His willingness to take care of her was alarming, but Astrid was too dazed to care. She stripped her clothes off without a second thought and nearly toppled into the bath. The heat kissed her skin and Astrid melted, letting go of the stress of the day as she fell apart in the tub. Giovanni was gone now, but she was sure he could hear her crying through the bathroom door.

  CHAPTER 2

  Stepping into the kitchen, glistening from the bath Astrid realized Giovanni cooked as well as his brothers. Just the smell of the of the pasta sauce on the stove made her drool.

  "My grandmother always insisted my brothers and I learn how to cook," he explained, beckoning over for her to take a seat at the counter. "If there was one thing she could pass on to us besides our draconic heritage, it was the ability to please a partner with food. Sex, she said, was only useful when you had an established connection. But good food is the key to anyone's heart."

  He plated the Pasta Alfredo in front of her. Astrid's mouth watered. God. If he was just as good as Christian was at cooking, Astrid had to wonder if there were other things the twins had in common.

  "Red or white?" Giovanni asked, serving himself a plate of pasta.

  Looking up, Astrid registered his extensive alcohol collection. She then looked past it, narrowing her eyes and trying to make out the colorful box behind his wine. "The Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA," she replied. "If you have any left, that is."

  Giovanni regarded her with a cool amusement, chuckling as he turned to the package of beer. "Most women I bring back are the rosé kind," he said, selecting a bottle and putting it on the counter next to her. He handed her the bottle opener, adding, "though I must admit, I haven't brought a woman back here in a long time."

  Too transfixed by her meal, Astrid nodded along and finished opening the bottle. "I'm not disappointing you, am I?" She said after taking her first sip of the beer.

  "Not at all." After pouring himself a glass of white wine, Giovanni sat down across from her. "You could never disappoint me, Astrid."

  A flicker of annoyance flashed across Astrid's face. There they went again, treating her like a shiny new toy. The Russo family needed to get their act together when interacting with Alices. Or the less wealthy, for that matter.

  But the middle Russo brothers wasn't a fool. Straightening his back, he said, "Please, don't think I believe you're a fascinating new creature. I don't intend to tiptoe around you like an animal in the cage." He fixed his gaze on her, a fierce intensity that send a shiver down Astrid's spine. "You have an unwavering resolve. You know who you are, even in moments where you're unsure of yourself. And you're never afraid to tell one of us when we're being fools."

  Astrid's mouth was stuffed with pasta, and she hoped the sauce was not dripping down her chin. "Thanks," she mumbled through the food.

  "It's rare I find anyone, human or dragon, who could match my wit. Or Lorenzo's grim outlook. Or even someone who can tame Christian's naïveté." Giovanni selected a napkin from a grey metal holder next to the wall, reaching out with it to wipe the sauce off her chin. Had anyone else tried that, Astrid's death glare would've frozen them to the spot. But, maybe it was the beer, or her dazed state after the sudden portalling, Astrid found herself rooted to her seat. Giovanni's touch stirred something inside of her Astrid wasn't sure she'd felt in a long time.

  Romantic chemistry with Lorenzo? Great. Banter and fa
ntastic sex with Christian? Also great. But whatever the hell Giovanni was doing to her with a look and a single touch was electric.

  "So," Giovanni started, setting the napkin back down and returning to his meal, "why did you fall into my apartment? And from where?"

  "Right," Astrid said. "Right." She set her beer down and wiped the foam off her lips with her finger, licking it off subconsciously. An action that earned her another heated gaze from Giovanni. Brushing it off, Astrid said, "I was investigating the alchemist that followed us on our date. The one who forced me into Alicing for the first time." Giovanni nodded, gesturing for her to go on with his fork. "His house was filled with ancient artifacts and alchemic texts. I wanted to study some of them, see if I could learn anything about them."

  "You didn't arrive with any books, though," Giovanni pointed out.

  "No. An alchemist came and chased me down. He..." He sounded like my father, is what she wanted to say. But Astrid wasn't sure if Giovanni had learned of her family history yet. She'd have to tell him, but sitting at dinner, after a terrifying portalling, Astrid was too tired for anything like that. "I was hiding under the bed and curled up into a ball. I wanted to be safe." But why the magical portal took her to Giovanni's apartment, a place she'd never been to, Astrid wasn't sure. She said as much to him.

  "I understand," he replied. "It is strange. Why out of all of us, you ended up in my arms." Giovanni set down his empty wine glass on the counter. "Why you even ended up with a dragon in the first place. It's bizarre, given how much trouble we've caused you for the past few months."

  "You can say that again," Astrid grumbled. "I've had to risk my neck for you Russos. Three times now, and that's not even taking into account the fact my coworkers now know about my life. Oh and my family is falling apart." The little family she had left, anyhow. Astrid didn't want to appear bitter in front of Giovanni. The fact his family was indirectly responsible for her fight with Nova and discovering her parents' dark history, however, was a glaring mark against the Russos.