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

by J. P. Rice

  Zeus licked his sugary spoon and tossed it into the sink again. I rolled my eyes in disgust, as he said, “I bullshit you not about Octavius. This isn’t borne from ill will. I’ve heard it from several sources. Forget I even said it.”

  That would be impossible. I wouldn’t take Zeus’s word for it, but following up on it made perfect sense.

  Zeus left, and I immediately went to the sink and rinsed off the sugary spoons. I tossed them in the dishwasher as Titania entered the room.

  Turning to her, I said, “You heard everything, huh?”

  Her giant eyes and ears rocked up and down. I told her, “That stays between us. Friends have to keep secrets with each other, right?”

  “Of course, best friend. I would never betray you,” she promised.

  I had a strong feeling she was loyal to the extreme. “Why don’t we get you settled in.”

  “Okay. Let’s do it,” she said and followed me into the living room.

  After setting up the guest room for Titania, I made a series of phone calls. I found out that three other people and the Not Normal Agency had heard the rumor about Octavius. I needed to investigate further, but I also had to prepare. I didn’t want a repeat of my last visit to the Wolf House and knew a few techniques that would help greatly.

  Chapter 16

  I took the enchanted dagger my father had given me five hundred years ago and drove to the outskirts of Pittsburgh. I traveled east toward the mountains in search of someone I’d run into last week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t call ahead, so I wasn’t sure if he would be in his cave.

  Titania had stayed back at the house. She was already a handful to deal with. Her courage far outweighed her competency, and I feared for her safety. She had heightened senses, much stronger than mine, which could come in handy at some point. Even with all her annoying traits, I kind of liked having her around.

  I stepped out of the car and the sole of my boot crunched into some snow. I held out an upturned palm. The light drizzle had stopped, but it had coated the top of the snow, turning it into a sheet of ice. If only I had brought my cleats. Taking careful baby steps, I navigated across the icy plain and into the woods.

  My penguin march ended as I approached a small opening at the base of a hill. A giant moss-covered boulder covered the entrance. I crouched down and leaned my shoulder into the solid piece of granite. Using my legs, I shoved with all my might and the uneven boulder rolled a quarter turn to the left, settling back down immediately.

  I took a step back and saw that the opening was now big enough for me to squeeze into. When I heard the echo of snoring and smelled a funky trail of body odor, I knew I was in the right place. I crawled through the subterranean tunnel for about fifteen seconds until it opened into a dark room. The snoring grew louder as I shoved myself into the cave.

  I pulled the Zippo out of my pocket and lit it. There he was. Sleeping in a heap on the ground. I gently eased my hand onto my beltline, grabbing the handle of the dagger. I unsheathed it quietly, and moved closer to him. I found a torch sticking out of a wall sconce and lit it with my Zippo.

  As I hovered over the man, I kicked him gently to wake him up. The fool slapped at my leg and went back to sawing logs. I toed him with the point of my boot in the side of his head, right behind the ear.

  He yawned and exclaimed, “Who the hell is kicking me?”

  I said, “Junipher, you drunken fool.”

  “No, she’s not here. It’s me, Artoise.” He blinked, and his bloodshot eyes tried to fight through the heavy layers of inebriation. He peered around the room in a daze, as if he had been hibernating for the past six months.

  He sat up quickly, adjusting his plaid button-down shirt and burgundy pants. He had a necktie wrapped around his bald head, which he ripped off and threw aside so he could rub the spot that I had just kicked.

  He finally shook the cobwebs loose and a look of recognition came over his face. “What’s going on? You didn’t tell Mike you saw me, did you?”

  “No. Your secret is still safe with me. Mike has no clue you’re still in Pittsburgh. I need your help with something.”

  Artoise Saint Delacroix was Mike Merlino’s guardian angel. Too bad the Celtic Gods had never assigned me a guardian angel.

  The Morrigan and I had bumped into Artoise last week and she’d told me all about him. He was a self-proclaimed Frenchman, although that was up for dispute. His thick beard and mustache hid his dark skin and he sported a little fro. He’d always been clean-shaven, head and face, when I’d bumped into him at Clara Spiritus.

  “What do you need from me?” he asked, his eyelids straining to stay open.

  “I need you to bless this for me.” I held up the knife.

  Artoise cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Me? Why me?”

  I explained, “Because you are an angel. I need an angel to bless my enchanted knife because I’m going into the Wolf House and I want proper protection.”

  He tried to button up his shirt, grew frustrated and quickly gave up. “I can’t do that. You know I’m not a real angel, right?”

  I sighed. “What is your title?”

  He shrugged. “Well, it’s guardian angel, but I don’t think that makes me...”

  I cut him off, “Luckily, I don’t care what you think. I know it’s a technicality, but I also know it should work. Now, unless you want me to talk to Mike, you better get up off your ass and help me.”

  Using a hold in the cave wall to brace himself, he stood up and wobbled back and forth for a few seconds. A yeasty musk emanated from his body due to his constant drinking.

  He opened his mouth to yawn, and I turned to the side to avoid the paint-peeling odor. Either he used dogshit-flavored toothpaste, or he hadn’t brushed his teeth in weeks.

  I inquired, “So what the hell have you been doing? Just getting drunk?”

  Artoise looked around the room and seemed unsure of what to say. “I’m having fun, all right? Doing the stuff I never get to do in Clara Spiritus. Leave me alone.”

  “I’m not judging you. You may do as you please...for the most part. Here,” I said, handing the dagger to him.

  Due to Artoise’s hangover, the procedure took three attempts because he could barely repeat the words I was feeding him to set the spell. When the blade took on a seraphic ivory glow, I knew we had achieved success. Now I could kill a werewolf with a single stroke of the blade. I could leave a little nick on a wolf’s baby toe and it would still be lethal. This knife had that much power.

  It was time to see Octavius and his pack now that I had the proper weaponry. His half of the spear was as good as mine.

  Chapter 17

  I stepped out of Owen’s car and buttoned my leather peacoat-style jacket, tapping the left side to make sure my enchanted dagger was still there. Check. Titania flew out of the car and hovered near my face. I waved to Owen as he drove away.

  “You lead the way this time,” the dragonfly said.

  A maze of pine trees sat in front of us, acting like a fortress for the Wolf House, which sat at the top of a hill. If memory served me right, they only had guards stationed outside the house last time. I hadn’t spotted anyone on the way up the driveway.

  This time, I was hoofing it, trying to stay away from the driveway to avoid detection. My plan was to use pure, brute force. After my lethal performance the last time I was here, they knew I wouldn’t hesitate to kill. With the knife in my possession, I planned to demand the spear and if anyone objected, bodies would start hitting the floor.

  Considering I was attempting to bring peace to the city, this brazen plan wouldn’t help in that matter. However, if Lugh’s Spear ended up in the wrong hands, the ramifications would be heard around the world. Not to mention the netherworlds. So, much like my deal for Merlin’s staff, I was committing a wrong to serve a noble goal.

  We started up the steep incline, disappearing into the pine trees and staying to the right of the driveway. Unimpeded, we quickly ascended the snowy hill a
nd arrived at a plateau where the house was located. Something behind the house caught my eye. I moved further to my right to check it out.

  I saw a large group of wolves dancing around a bonfire. My eyes died in the flames and my feet became glued to the ground. My thoughts, frozen in time.

  I pulled myself up out of my cave in the Red Cavern, liquid fire dripping from every inch of my body. Confused and throttled with pain, I searched frantically. My children. Where were my babies?

  My arm acted of its own volition and dove back into the bubbling magma, fishing around for any sign of my babies. Nothing.

  When the pain became unbearable, I kept my hand in the lava, praying that it would find them. Fearing my own death, I fled the cave and wondered how I was still alive. To call it agony would be a vast understatement. Was I dead?

  I looked at my charred, smoking arms as I fled down a tunnel, hoping the monsters weren’t following me. The light faded sharply as I plunged further into the dark abyss. When I thought my legs couldn’t carry me any further, a gleaming ray of hope appeared in the near distance.

  Energized by the prospect of safety, I forged on, the light growing brighter and bolder by the step. I came to an opening and dove through. My body hit a snowbank and my fiery skin reacted harshly with the temperature change, sizzling loudly and sending plumes of dark clouds into the air. Intense sunlight reflected off the snow-capped mountain and caused my eyes to water.

  Where was I? My eyes searched the area, longing for a clue, and landed on the impossible. I stared at the impossible. A single rose. Its verdant stem embedded in the ice. The glowing scarlet bud captivated me. I marveled at it. It made me completely forget about my son and daughter.

  How was the rose alive? It defied all odds. Completely out of its element, yet it survived. No. It thrived. The vibrant green stem stood erect, taunting the rules of nature. The gleaming bud started to form into a face. I took a few steps closer to make out the features.

  “Hey. Are you okay?” Titania’s words brought me out of my flashback. I tried to push those memories aside and focus on the task before me. As I got a closer look at the wolves, I watched Caesar chomp into an arm that had been cut off at the elbow and I gagged.

  “Gross,” exclaimed Titania.

  I turned to the side and dry heaved. I’d witnessed some gruesome deaths in my day, but I wasn’t down with cannibalism. The wolves were feasting on the vampires they had killed during my last visit. As disgusting as it was, their feast would afford me an easier mission. Octavius emerged from behind the flames of the bonfire with a bloody thigh in his hand.

  I knew it was time to strike, and we moved back around to get to the front of the house. Titania had to be a good luck charm because there weren’t any guards at the front door. They were closed for business to focus on the meal.

  As I scanned the driveway, I noticed my Jeep Wrangler parked outside the garage. Dented and dinged. Those sons-a-bitches had beaten the hell out of my beast. Now I didn’t feel bad about this mission. Fook these wolves.

  I walked up to the front door with Titania right behind me. I pointed to a tall rectangular window next to the door. “Look through there and see if anyone is in there.”

  Titania flew up to the window and smashed her face into the glass. She shook her head to get the cobwebs loose. “Coast is clear from here, my dear.”

  Expecting a locked door, I turned the handle, and much to my surprise, it twisted. The deadbolt wouldn’t be as easy, but when I put my weight against the door, it opened. Huh. I pushed open the massive wooden structure, and we entered the house.

  I whispered, “Can you smell anyone in here? Their magic ironically smells like burnt meat. A little gamey too.”

  Titania bobbed her head around before shaking it in silence. She whispered, “Just the nasty raw smells from out back.”

  We worked our way down the hallway and came to Octavius’s office. If he had the spear, I’d bet my life it was in here. I checked the door. Locked. I conjured up a glob of a gelatinous substance and jammed it into the keyhole.

  Once I filled the slot, I injected more magic into the substance, turning it into a solid. I turned my hand and heard the sweet click of the door unlocking. I twisted the knob, and we entered Octavius’s office.

  There were still signs of the flamethrower damage, but someone had cleaned up and redecorated the room with a new couch and coffee table. As I searched around, my eyes landed on the coffee table in front of his couch. Covered with hairpieces, I couldn’t believe Octavius was considering toupees.

  Instead of laughing like I wanted to do, I concentrated on finding the spear. Or half. Checking the windowsill for the spear, I found my car keys. Bonus. I snatched them up and kept looking for the spear.

  Titania announced, “Found it.”

  I turned toward her voice and raced over to meet her near the couch. She gestured with her head. “Right there in between those cushions.”

  I reached in and clutched the spear that looked like an exact match to the one I’d held all those years ago. It didn’t have the same magical burst as the first time I had handled it, but it was only half. Besides, I didn’t have time to worry about that now.

  “Nice find, my friend,” I said as I stood up. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “Let’s do it,” she said, her wings buzzing with excitement.

  We turned around to get out, and Octavius stood there in wolf form, shaking his head in disgust. “What do you got there, June?”

  I put my hand holding the spear and my keys behind my back. I extended the dagger, the point aimed right at his chest. “Do you mean this enchanted knife that’s been blessed by an angel?”

  Towering over me, he stared down at the glowing blade and replied, “Nonsense. You know what I mean. Now stop lying about your knife and give me the spear before I have to kill you.”

  “Did you just threaten to kill my friend?” Titania shot across the room and smashed into Octavius’s hairy shoulder. “Wrong choice of words, sir. Now apologize this instant,” she demanded, flailing away at his chest with her miniscule fists.

  Octavius casually swatted her away with the back of his hand as he said, “Get the fuck outta here.”

  The fire of friendship burned inside me, and the flames danced in my vision.

  Within a blink and with no conscious effort, I was standing in front of Octavius, the blade of the knife held steady above my head, within an inch of his throat. “You move and you’re dead. In fact, you’re lucky I don’t kill you for putting your hands on my friend.” The blessed blade had already caused a red rash on his neck, clearly visible under the hair.

  “You all right, Titania?” I asked, not moving the blade a centimeter.

  “I will be.” She groaned and did a pushup to get back on her feet.

  I turned back to Octavius. “You feel that burn, big boy. Move one muscle and the pack will need a new alpha. We are going to leave in peace and you aren’t going to do anything about it.”

  Octavius swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bulged. He inched backward with his hands up. “I can’t just let you take the spear.”

  I turned the dagger and lowered it to his chest. I had made my point. He realized that I could end his life at any time, so it wasn’t necessary to keep the blade near his neck.

  I said, “You can. And you will let me take it. Besides, it’s only half. Unless, of course, you want me to start telling everyone about your little secret over there.” I thumbed in the direction of the coffee table full of toupees.

  He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, sighing in disgust through his nose. “Well played, you fucking bitch. You’re lucky that object didn’t really cost me anything.”

  I laughed. “I’m the lucky one?”

  I gripped the knife tighter and turned to my friend, floating near my shoulder. “You hear that Titania?” I faced Octavius again. “Oh no, I think you are the lucky one. I don’t even have to hit you with the sharpened edge of the blade
. I could tap you with the flat and that would be all she wrote.”

  “You’re playing a dangerous game, June.”

  I cocked my head to the side and spoke in an English accent, “Danger is my middle name.”

  Octavius squinted in confusion. None of my associates got my amazing movie references. Their loss. He said, “What the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s a dangerous game, June. Half my guys are terrified of you and the other half wants to tear you to pieces.”

  “Oh yeah, which camp are you bunking with?” I asked.

  “Which one you think? You don’t want to play a game where the pack is your enemy,” he threatened.

  “Ooohhh, I’m so scared. I know the business I’m involved in is supposedly a man’s game. You all look in the mirror and see testosterone-filled giants, not realizing that the reflection is only that of a scared little boy pissing in his pants. I guess it’s a good thing I always beat the guys then.”

  Octavius pursed his lips and nodded as he spoke, “It’s easy when you’re playing with a stacked deck. But there will be a time when the cards aren’t all aces for you. I never should’ve let you out of that cell.”

  “You didn’t let me out. Tyr rescued me. You could take notes from a real man,” I reminded him. He was lucky Tyr hadn’t killed him in my honor.

  “Sure. He let you out. Keep telling yourself that. You better hope we don’t meet again when the chips are down for you,” he threatened. Enough with all the gambling references already.

  I smirked and tried to remember how many men had threatened me over the years. Countless. And here I stood, about to put another tough guy in his place. “You know, you’re a real sweet talker. Keep talking pretty like that and you just might end up dead.”

  “Maybe we should split, BFF,” Titania reminded me. I’d almost forgotten about her.

  Titania’s words were the slap I needed to get back on track and stop the trash talking session. “It was nice seeing you again, Octavius. Tell the family I said hi and I’ll see them at the next get together,” I joked and stepped back, pulling the dagger down near my hip, tempting him to make a move.