Bloodline World Seven Book Bundle: 7 Books from the Bloodline Awakened Series and Scarlet Dragon Saga

by J. P. Rice

  The heart wrenching experience had also caused him to hate women. The misogynistic Warden had no problem killing women because he felt that they were all the same. Out to hurt him eventually.

  The king said, “This one better hope that the Dragon Horn story is nothing but a tale.”

  The Warden of the East spoke with his normal vigor for the first time since the king had entered, “It. Is. A. Tale. Those dragons are dead and...”

  The king screamed over him, “Don’t interrupt me before I finish. Now, what was I saying?”

  Sir West reminded the king of the topic. King Ballistar continued, “Right. If that Dragon Horn story is true, you will be the first person to die at my hand. And I will take great pleasure in it. You three, drop to one knee.”

  All the men except the Warden of the East kneeled before the king. “If those other dragons ever come back to Sleepy Willow, I want you to pledge that you will strike the Warden of the East dead on the spot.”

  Sir North pledged, “You have my word, your highness.”

  Sir South promised, “As well as mine, highness.”

  Sir West assured the king, “As you command, we shall follow.”

  The oaths didn’t bother the Warden of the East. He believed that his associates were just placating the crazy king. At least, he hoped that was the case.

  Chapter 13

  The werebear bouncer dressed in biker gear stared down at Alayna, and said, “Get this rag-tag crew the fuck outta here. They’ll be chewed up and shit out within an hour.”

  Jonathan said, “I believe the saying is ‘chewed up and spit out.’”

  The werebear named Primero wore a black jean jacket covered with various patches. I focused on a skull-and-crossbones over the pocket near his heart. He had the form of a hirsute human crossed with a black bear but leaning more toward human features. He wore tight black leather pants and a red bandanna on his head.

  He pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, stuffed it into his elongated mouth and lit it. He took a few drags and moved closer to us.

  As smoke poured out of his mouth and nose, Primero spoke, “What? Why the fuck you chew something up and not swallow it? Pretty asinine.”

  Jonathan shrugged and nodded, avoiding further confrontation.

  The bouncer’s short fingers had trouble keeping control of the cigarette and he struggled to get another hit. “Vampire, are you vouching for these...these fools?”

  Jonathan nodded slowly. Draped in a gray trench coat, Jonathan was hiding the entire group’s necessary items in various inside pockets.

  “You got your card?” the bouncer asked.

  Jonathan reached into the breast pocket of the jacket and produced a small laminated object similar to a driver’s license. He handed it to the bouncer.

  We waited for approval in the small shack that led into Sleepy Willow. The wooden, one-room check-in looked like a tiny country house in the woods. There was an oak table in the corner of the room. The room was stained with random burgundy splotches on the floor, walls and ceiling.

  We’d driven hours outside Pittsburgh into the hinterlands to get to the portal. The gate to this world was in a green valley surrounded by two mountains. We’d walked into the camouflaged portal and ended up on the doorstep of this cabin.

  The werebear tucked his lit cigarette behind his ear and gave Felix a quick pat down.

  The young mage had toned down his normally flamboyant attire. He wore a tight gray protection suit similar to mine. We’d both brought loose tracksuits to wear over our battle gear. I knew it was killing him to have to wear the same clothes for the entire trip.

  The bouncer moved on to me. He performed a cursory pat down of my black suit that clung to my body. It looked like a full-body spandex suit, but the material had been made with space-age polymers and the Celtic Gods had blessed it. It had stopped bullets before.

  Primero hit his smoke a few times and put it out on his tongue. The werebear flicked the butt into the corner of the room. He smiled at Alayna and patted her down. Dressed like a dominatrix, my faerie friend was wearing black leather from head to toe including her boots and the mask covering her face.

  The bouncer took his sweet time with Alayna, seemingly enjoying the process. The faerie stood still as a bronze statue while Primero cupped her buttocks.

  He finally finished fondling her and put his paw-like hands all over Burn.

  She was arrayed in her blue spandex outfit and jumped as the drooling bouncer prodded her backside. I worried about bringing Burn and hoped that our fun the other night wouldn’t complicate matters. I’d told her I thought it best if we just remained friends for now.

  Primero worked his way around to Burn’s front side and zeroed in on her perky breasts. He must have thought she was hiding something in her cleavage as his moist black nose kept inching closer.

  Jonathan waved his hands in the air and objected, “Primero, what do you think she has in there? We appreciate the sufficiency of your search, but it is pretty clear they are clean.”

  Primero growled and begrudgingly backed away from Burn. The bouncer walked over to a door and opened it. Dusky darkness flooded in as we exited the first checkpoint. We walked out onto a dirt path with forest surrounding it.

  Our quixotic quest to find the legendary Dragon Horn was officially underway.

  The downhill dirt path ended and a concrete one began as a headwind blew in our faces. Funky odors and small debris attacked us as we forged ahead. We moved to the edge of a hill and the city came into full view.

  It looked like a dystopian city with ravaged wooden buildings. No steel or metal structures. Only small parts of the city were lit up with electricity, even fewer with fire, and the rest of the city was shrouded in spooky darkness.

  We stopped for a moment and reclaimed our personal items from Jonathan. He opened his trench coat and eight hands started grabbing various items. None of us had brought very much, just the essentials.

  I made sure the others didn’t see me grabbing my flasks and animal skins of Jameson. I knew it was necessary for this long journey. Nobody else needed to know about it though.

  Jonathan handed me the hand-drawn map and closed his lightened trench coat. We dipped down into the valley and the nasty stench intensified. It was a musty smell dotted by the lingering odor of cat piss.

  As we strolled down a street with small wooden houses on either side, we saw beings urinating and defecating on the sides of the road.

  The sidhe citizens leered at us and I tried to stay alert and keep my magic at the surface, just in case.

  We turned right onto a side street that narrowed progressively. Jonathan pointed to a dilapidated white building with a red K painted above the front door. Flashing lights shone through the open windows as we approached the entrance of the Kaffeeklatsch.

  A freaky feeling centered in the pit of my stomach and knotted up my insides as Jonathan pushed the door open.

  Chapter 14

  A vampire, a faerie, a demon, a wizard and a mage walked into a bar. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this was my life. I certainly hoped it wasn’t the start of a tragedy as I peered around, fighting off the heavy stench and foul taste of cumin-scented body odor sprinkled with cigar smoke.

  Strobe lights pulsed, making it hard to recognize all the commingling creatures. Beings suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right next to me, when the lights flashed. No music played, except for a faint pan flute that I hadn’t yet located. The small room didn’t have a bar per se. It only had round tables scattered haphazardly around the room.

  Jonathan whispered into Alayna’s ear and then leaned in close. He said, “That’s him in the corner.”

  I nonchalantly turned my head and spotted the faun. He sat at a table by himself. I strained my eyes to see through the strobe lights and lingering cigar smoke. From my angle, I saw the form of the lower body of a goat, from his feet to his midsection. It blended into the hairless upper body of a human, ending in a shiny bald
head. He wasn’t wearing any clothes as far as I could tell.

  His ears looked like they had fallen into a diamond mine as they were completely covered in the sparkling rocks. Two spiked horns crusted with emeralds grew out of the top of his head. The expensive jewelry conspired with the strobe lights to create a blinding image.

  The faun held a pan flute in his right hand and sported an angry look on his wrinkled face. A voluptuous dark woman in tight burgundy robes stood next to him, gently undulating from side to side. She held a yellow cloth in her right hand and used it to dab the sweat off of the faun’s gleaming head.

  Jonathan leaned into our little huddle, and said, “Let’s go back outside for a minute.”

  The patrons glared at us as we followed Jonathan outside. I ignored them as we spilled out the front door and into the alley. There were a few wandering eyeballs in the area, so Jonathan led us into a deserted alley that intersected perpendicularly with the one we were in.

  The vampire said, “Ladies, fine sirs. Here is where I bid you adieu. Best of luck on your journey. I truly hope to see all of you again.” He bowed deeply.

  I pulled the magic mist out of my pocket. I broke the defense ward and unscrewed the lid to a vial the size of a pinky finger. “Hold out your hand, Jonathan.”

  Jonathan flexed his fingers in preparation. “I’m not quite sure if I trust this. I could end up in 1760s Italy for all you know. Although I suppose that wouldn’t be a horrible outcome.” He smiled unnaturally and revealed that his fangs had been ready to go.

  I’d never seen Jonathan skittish about anything. This seemed like an odd line to draw. I pleaded, “We need to make sure it works to get out of here, though.”

  “All right. For the sake of edification and magic.” He hesitated and finally held out his hand.

  I turned the bottle and a tiny squirt rushed out and hit Jonathan’s palm. He held up his hand and waved bye as his body faded. It started in his extremities and finished with his chest and face.

  I held out a pointer finger and poked the area where Jonathan had been standing. Just air. “Looks like it works. That’s a major plus.” I closed the vial and reset the ward. The vial transferred from my hand to Alayna’s, finishing the spell.

  Alayna closed her eyes in concentration and mumbled the spell under her breath. She opened her eyes, shoved the vial into her pocket, and said, “All right, let’s go back in there and walk right up to the faun. Let’s get this over with.”

  Felix and Burn nodded. They were nervous and so was I. Who knew what the man could demand? However, our goal seemed simple enough. We needed to strike a deal with a faun named Fencester the First to get a coin. The coin would gain us passage to cross Lake Geopold and get to the Dragon Horn.

  We re-entered the bar and received the same leery looks as when we had departed. More beings had shown up during our brief exit and we fought our way through a small crowd to get to Fencester’s corner.

  We approached and the woman in the rich carnelian robes held up an open hand. She said something in an unknown language.

  Alayna responded to the woman, “English. We want a coin to get across Lake Geopold.”

  Fencester eyeballed Burn and Alayna with lust-charged ferocity. The faun took a drink of his foamy ale from a handled clear mug, spilling it down his neck and smooth chest.

  The female translator whispered in Fencester’s ear. The faun grabbed his wooden panpipe from the table. He blew into one opening and a vibrating column of air rattled around the inside of the tube. A gentle melody emerged from the woodwind and into the air of the quiet bar.

  Fencester’s translator turned to us. “Him say that him want sex with the two female.” She pointed directly at Burn and Alayna. “At same time.”

  I should have known it. I stared at his old, scarred face and wondered if he had more demands. He nodded with his eyes bulging out and I figured out he was gesturing for us to look down.

  Whoa! Unnecessary. My neck jerked away, but the damage was done. Even with the unclear view from the strobe lights, he officially had the genitalia of a goat. It was a rock hard, hairy boner to be precise. Judging by the huge smile on his face, the faun was extremely proud of his manhood.

  My female companions didn’t seem impressed in the least. I shrugged my shoulders at the ladies and their dead stares and shaking heads indicated they weren’t on board with Fencester’s request.

  I said to the translator, “There has to be something else because that isn’t happening.”

  She whispered in Fencester’s ear again. His dark eyebrows arched in anger. He blew a stream of air into his panpipes and an angry tune followed.

  The translator looked at me, slightly distressed. “Him say that is what he want. Him want sex with two women at same time. Nothing else.”

  I teased her by showing her a few of the fake gold coins.

  The translator snorted, laughing at me. “Him have more gold than know what to do with. Two women or no lake coin.”

  I held my finger in the air. “We’ll get back to you.”

  We agreed to find a table and settled on one on the other side of the room. As soon as our asses hit the rickety wooden chairs, a female server approached. The lean, graceful brunette woman had to be sidhe. They glided around with cat-like movements and precision. She took our drink order with a big smile.

  When the woman left, I leaned into the table. “Come on, girls, he isn’t that bad.”

  Burn was the first to object. “Absolutely not.” Her eyes burned holes in me. “If you’re so enamored, you should go for it.”

  I joked, “If I had been lucky enough to be selected, I’d be doing it right now. You know, for the team.”

  Alayna said, “Cut the bullshit, chuckles. We need to figure out what we can do.”

  Felix peered around the strobe-lit room and whispered, “Can we kill him? There aren’t that many people in here that we couldn’t handle.”

  Alayna said, “No. You can’t kill anyone who has a position of authority. Due to the crop shortage here, most of the citizens depend on their masters for food. If we killed him, all his underlings would come after us because they wouldn’t know where their next meal was coming from.”

  Burn asked, “Does anyone have any ideas?”

  The sidhe server suddenly appeared next to our table with our drinks. Tricky lights. I popped the top off my bottled beer with slight apprehension. Jonathan had warned me about drugged drinks. As I looked around the table at my friends sipping their beverages, fuck it, I took a swig. Not bad. Nice and hoppy like an India Pale Ale.

  I felt a nice buzzing sensation in my chest and relaxed.

  Burn asked again, “Does anyone have any ideas?”

  The silence from the rest of the table didn’t bode well. At least we weren’t very far from the entrance.

  I wondered aloud, “Do we know what the coins look like? Could we fake one?”

  We debated that idea for a few minutes but it didn’t seem manageable. Two female sidhe in short black leather skirts and tight green tube tops approached our table. They leaned over and their enormous breasts almost spilled out of the tiny tops. The woman with black hair said, “Is anyone looking for a good time here?”

  Felix said, “No thanks. We have something to figure out.”

  I said, “Wait a minute now. Let’s not be hasty.”

  Alayna and Burn shot me dirty looks that I ignored. I had a plan. I turned to the working women. “So your offer is open to any partner?”

  The blond woman smacked her lips as she nodded seductively.

  I looked around the table, “Their offer is open to any partner.”

  “How much for that guy in the corner?” Alayna propositioned, pointing at Fencester the First.

  The dark-haired worker said, “His rate is one ounce of gold, sugar.”

  “Done.” I was a little freaked out that these women spoke like they were city dwellers from New York. I’d expected a different language and vernacular.

 
I did the honors and took the two workers over to Fencester with a smug smile glued to my face. I nodded to his translator and announced, “I think we have a deal. He said he wanted sex with two women. These two are more than happy to pleasure your friend.”

  She whispered in Fencester’s ear. The faun blew another angry tune through his pan flute.

  The translator said, “Him say that him already have these whores a hundred times over. Him want fresh meat.” She waited for him to finish. “Him say only two women he hasn’t yet sexed.”

  On the way back to the table, I tripped over two small animals scurrying around that I hadn’t seen because of the stupid strobe lights. I returned to my crew with my tail tucked firmly betwixt my legs.

  “He wouldn’t go for it. He wanted two women that he hasn’t sexed yet.” I reinforced the final two words with air quotes. Jonathan had warned me that this was a hedonistic society, consumed by pleasure seeking, and my early experience only reinforced that point.

  We drank a few more ales as the bar filled up with upright were-creatures, small animals on all fours and more of the graceful sidhe. Fencester’s pan flute could be heard over the murmur of conversation in the room.

  None of us could come up with a plan to get the coin from Fencester. It seemed like we had wasted our time and effort.

  Chapter 15

  Burn took a few sips of her fresh beer and handed it to me. I gladly accepted, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to get drunk if we were going home after this.

  The half-demon looked at Alayna and said, “I don’t want to, but I will do it if you will.”

  Alayna immediately shook her masked head. “I will not reduce myself to this. Not in this land. I just can’t do it.”

  Burn shifted back and forth in her chair. “It’s just that this is for a cause I believe in. I’m willing to help you even if that means doing something I don’t want to do.”