“And did fire spring up around the edges?”
I frowned. “Well, no.”
“So maybe we should leave the fiery ones alone. Get a better feel for the place first. Test the magic in the room. I mean, none of these books have been affected by the moisture, or fire. There’s an idea…” He pointed at the shelf. “Cast a small bit of fire at it.”
I blinked. “Yeah, that’s like asking a pediatrician to kick a kid in the face.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just do it. Trust me.”
I sighed, but complied, casting a very weak bit of fire at an unimpressive book. The fire splashed onto the spine, and instantly splashed onto the entire shelf, causing me to panic. I was about to rip the air away, dousing the flames, when Death yanked my sleeve, pulling me back as he pointed at the shelf with his other hand.
The flames quickly died out. On their own.
And not a single mark marred the surface of the books or the shelves.
“That’s… not possible.”
“It doesn’t care that it’s not possible, apparently. How about something a little more… wild.”
And he flipped his keychain out of his pocket, the little scythe keychain dangling freely. A wall of green mist flew through the air between us and the shelves, hammering into it like a wave of water on the shore of the beach. Wails of agony, screams of despair, and maniacal laughter drifted out from the mist, but just as soon as the sounds were heard, the green mist evaporated, and the shelves were once again left unharmed.
“Who the hell laughs in hell?” I shivered, staring at the bookshelves, heart racing.
“Fucking Jared. I’ll have another talk with him,” Death responded coolly. I frowned at him, but realized he was being completely serious.
“Right. Talk to Jared. Again.”
“And perhaps warn us before you open a portal to the damned, if you please,” Carl grumbled.
I stared at the bookshelf, taking a few steps closer. No damage could be found. The shelves were truly protected. And I realized Death was right. We needed to test this out, because from the looks of it, this wasn’t just a library.
It was a magical bomb shelter.
But I suddenly had something else on my mind entirely. The letter on the desk from Castor Queen had mentioned both the word Grimm with a capital G, and the Hands of God. And the strange book Narnia had encouraged me to open suddenly became very clear. Deus Ex Machina. Roughly translated to mean Hand of God. Coincidence?
Not likely.
“I think we need to go have a chat with a girl about her box.”
Death groaned. “For once in your life, have some respect.”
I blinked, and then burst out laughing as I realized how I had phrased my statement. “It’s a gift. I don’t even try. I promise. I need to see if she knows anything about these Hands of God.”
Death sighed. “Just promise me you won’t do anything drastic.”
I winked at him, and slowly strode out of the cavern, the purple torches igniting ahead of me with faint pops and crackles. I might have glanced at the round table before I entered the hallway. Surely not…
Death and Carl followed me rather than risk being left behind in the dark. Or perhaps left behind entirely, judging by the odd disregard of spatial awareness and known physics. The cavern – by all practical purposes – had been on the outside of Chateau Falco, but also underground. Very far underground. But we hadn’t walked down. Or out.
I stopped, and rounded on the two. “I need you both to swear to never mention a thing you saw here today. Now.” I was deadly serious. Due to recent events, I was severely lacking in the trust department. Especially after realizing that everyone seemed to know something about Mallory that I only suspected.
They dipped their heads after a moment, and both swore. I wove them with magic, binding them to their oath. Then I nodded, gave them a weak smile, and resumed my exit.
I wondered how many other secrets the house had to share with me…
But this was an idle thought, trying to ignore my true fears.
The Syndicate drugging Tory. The Academy threatening war. But mostly, Indie and Ichabod.
And as I thought about it, I realized that I had more pressing matters to attend to before I met up with Pandora. The person I really needed to talk to was… different. One needed to tread carefully around him. For multiple reasons. I could see Pandora anytime, but this guy? You never knew what kind of mood he would be in. Not wanting to bother him late at night, I decided to handle him first thing in the morning, optimizing my chances of catching him in a good mood.
The Mad Hatter and his prisoner, Rumpelstiltskin.
Chapter 13
After our adventures in the cavern, I had decided to get some sleep. Death had left to get a drink with Achilles, promising to bring the Myrmidon over the next day so we could go talk to Pandora. He’d said he needed the drink after our walk.
Before I had gone to sleep, I had properly reprimanded Carl for his failure during Indie’s break-in. After our talk, he had seemed motivated to make up for his failure, telling me he would spend the night checking every nook and cranny of the property to make sure we were secure. From his tone, I imagined he had been at it all night.
I had woken up to sunlight streaming through my window, feeling much better. Less stressed. I had eaten a quick snack before checking my phone, only to find that Raego and Tory had called multiple times throughout the night. I had called Raego back, only to be told that my presence was requested at his home. So, on my drive over, I had decided to call Tory back later.
Raego’s mansion – inherited from his father, Alaric Slate – loomed in the windshield before me. I climbed out of the car, staring at the oddest assortment of lawn ornaments I had ever seen.
Life-sized obsidian statues. I shivered, readjusting my sunglasses as I continued on to the door, which was held open by a hard-looking man with green eyes that I had never seen before. One of Raego’s dragons. Shifter. He smiled as I avoided looking at the decorations.
Because they weren’t just statues. They were people who had displeased Raego, the Obsidian Son, the King of the Dragons. He was one of those unbelievably rare black dragons, able to breathe a dark mist that turned things into shining black stone. I ignored the dragon holding the door as I stepped inside. The punk thought I was scared. I was really just disgusted at such a tasteless display of power, fear tactics, and theatrics.
Raego exited a hall, noticed me, and grunted, motioning me to a side room.
I heard Pop music blaring from one of the distant rooms, and smiled. The Reds, most likely.
Raego motioned me to a couch, as another dragon delivered me a glass of water. I frowned, but then remembered it was morning. Still, a Bloody Mary would have been nice.
I took a polite sip, arching my brow at Raego. “Well? What did you find out?”
“Just a moment,” he said, scrolling through his phone.
I waited, and then heard shouting in the main entryway by the door. I frowned, shooting a glance at Raego, but he simply watched me, tapping his lips with his phone.
“When the hell were you going to tell me about the high-speed-car-chase, Nate?” a voice shouted, stomping into the room with her ass-kicking boots ready to go. She wore jeans and a tee that bore the Shift logo on it. I shot a glare at Raego, who seemed quite amused. “Don’t you dare look at him. Look at me!” Tory continued, stomping closer. “You took my girls with you to pick a fight with weregorillas! After you told me that you were picking them up early for the Gala!” she shouted, eyes flickering with green light.
I winced. “Tory, let me explain. I’m sure—”
“Don’t bother lying. Alucard already told me the truth,” she warned as she sat opposite me, propping her forearms on her knees. I saw Alucard’s head duck out of the doorway where he had been listening to Tory’s tirade. He was going to pay for this. As was Raego. Setting me up for this without warning, first thing in the morning.
Raeg
o mimed pointing a gun at me, and then pulled the trigger with a hidden grin.
“Fine! I lied,” I admitted. “Last time I was teaching your kids, the weregorilla mentioned he was being watched, stalked. I did a little sleuthing and realized it was a local group of shifters, and they wanted him in their gang.” I frowned. “Or whatever you call a group of gorillas.”
“Troop,” Alucard called out from the other room. Raego chuckled.
I scowled at the doorway. “Come on in, Glampire. I’ve got—”
“He can’t,” Tory smiled dangerously.
I frowned at her, but she didn’t explain. “Okay, why can’t he?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “He’s just as guilty as I am.”
“Guilty… such an interesting word,” Tory smiled. Then she snapped her fingers.
Seeing motion by the doors, I looked up, and my sphincter tightened.
Three weregorillas strutted into the room, led by Alucard. Two males and a female, dressed in work clothes like they had just left their auto body shop. All dark-haired with tan skin. They were each thick with muscle, and looked rough, hardened by a life of work. Just like they had yesterday. I met Tory’s eyes, and she nodded slowly. “You’re going to help me make this right,” she murmured in a low, threatening tone.
I sighed, but got to my feet, warily approaching the sour-puss gorillas. They looked uncomfortable at their surroundings, used to less decadence and more grime. After my meeting yesterday, I didn’t trust them, but I extended my hand anyway, which they ignored. But they did take Tory’s hand with polite, reserved greetings, and brief, but well-concealed looks of caution at the tiny woman.
Because she was a Beast Master, and could make each of them her bitch, if she so chose.
Raego cleared his throat. “Please, take a seat. Welcome to my home. I thought this place would be more conducive to a peaceful discussion.”
The gorillas didn’t look pleased about it, but they did nod their agreement.
A male and female dragon entered, nude, asking if anyone desired refreshments. Worded just like that, drawing out desire as they smiled at the guests. This changed the mood quickly, the gorillas each grinning unashamedly.
I rolled my eyes. Stupid dragons and their ability to mess with minds. I wondered if the apes even knew they were being toyed with. Raego shot me a very discreet shake of his head, warning me silently, reading my thoughts easily. I sneered back as Tory spoke conversationally to the gorillas, all smiles. After the drinks came, and a few minutes of idle talk, Tory cleared her throat.
“I think we may have had a big misunderstanding yesterday…”
“I call pursuit with machine guns more than a misunderstanding,” I muttered.
“You broke my arm!” the bigger of the three gorillas, their leader, growled, idly rubbing his now healed arm. Shifters were like that.
I nodded. “After you threatened to teach me a lesson,” I reminded him. Tory shot me a look.
“Like I said, I think Master Temple handled this poorly. He had the best of intentions,” she shook her head slowly at the gorillas. “Our students have survived… a very trying ordeal.”
“He’s one of us. We can help him better than you, Beast Master,” the leader growled.
She slowly lifted her eyes to look at him, and I caught a faint flicker of green light. “Is that so…” she asked softly, still smiling. He grumbled under his breath, but did apologize. Which she accepted without an ounce of judgment. Booooooring, I thought to myself.
“Now, Master Temple was looking after my student’s best interests, against my knowledge, but still. He meant well. He heard…” she turned to me. “What, precisely, did you hear again?”
“That he was being watched. Followed. Stalked.” I folded my arms.
“Right.” She turned to the gorillas. “Is this true?” she asked sweetly.
After a long pause, they finally mumbled confirmation. “We just wanted to see him. Make sure he was okay. We had heard… about the circus,” the woman shivered.
Tory nodded sadly. “That’s the whole point of the school. To help with the trauma. While in captivity, they grew only to know – and fear – each other. I’m trying to keep their environment the same, let them discover – at their own pace – that none of their fellow captives are cruel, but that they were all victims. Forced to do unspeakable things. To kill each other.”
“By another Beast Master,” the leader argued.
Tory’s eyes were fire now. “Yes. By a Beast Master…” she let the silence grow. “That I helped kill.”
They hesitated. I smiled. “She is truly terrifying,” I offered helpfully.
Tory shot me a look. I ignored it to scowl at the traitorous vampire standing near the door.
“After our rehabilitation,” Tory continued, “if he decides to join you, I will not stop him.” They smiled eagerly. “After rehabilitation, and with no further contact from you until I say otherwise. Do I have your agreement?”
They looked at each other a few times, and then the leader leaned forward. “Master Temple attacked us. For that, we want him to pay.”
“I’m right here, Donkey Kong. Come collect,” I said in a low voice.
His shoulders bunched up, and I heard his knuckles popping, but the other male – who had been silent up until now – placed a hand on his forearm. “Dad, it’s okay. Let me talk.”
The father finally let out an angry nod, leaning back to fix me with a threatening glare.
The kid looked at me, much more collected than his father. “We have heard of a… Fight Club in the city, but we can’t find anything concrete about it. We heard you formed it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, face blank.
“We heard about that, too. That no one is allowed to talk about it.”
I grunted, neither confirming nor denying, but if they had heard that much, they knew it was real, so there was no point in me continuing to lie. “And?”
“We want to join.”
Tory was studying me, waiting. “I’ll have to check.” Their faces began to grow angry. I held up my hands, frustrated. “It’s not just up to me. I started it, but I don’t run it.”
The room was silent for a while. “Do this, and we agree to your terms,” the leader said.
I nodded slowly. “I’ll try.”
The gorilla shrugged, turning to Tory. “Maybe we will try to leave the kid alone.”
Tory nodded, tight-lipped. Then she rounded on me. “I’m sure Master Temple will try very hard to get you access,” she warned, voice laced with venom. She politely escorted them from the room, leaving me with Raego and Alucard. They were both going to pay for this.
Chapter 14
But before I could yell at the two of them for collaborating with Tory and selling me out, Yahn entered the room, dressed in skinny red pants and a too-tight graphic tee of some band I didn’t recognize. There was a lot of glitter on it. I stared, completely caught off-guard.
“Master Temple!” he squealed in delight, hurrying my way with a relieved look on his face.
“Hey, Yahn. What are you doing here?”
“Thees one told me he needed to, like, check my scratches and stuff,” Yahn complained, shooting a very comedic-looking angry glare at Raego. I could tell that his heart was in the look. He just wasn’t any good at it.
Tory entered the room, and seeing Yahn, she paused for a moment. Then she flashed me a very satisfied smile as she folded her arms, turning to look at Raego.
I found the dragon king glaring at me. “He’s here for protection. Kept running off.”
“Hees goons kept following me!” his thick Swedish accent was jarring to hear, drawing out every soft vowel sound as if purposely trying to make you gouge out your ears.
Raego nodded. “For your own good, boy.”
“Master Temple, please tell him I’m fine and stuff. Geez, it was just a scratch!”
As if on cue, two red dragons silently prowled into the room.
Yahn followed Raego’s look to see the dragons standing in the corner.
And he squealed like a stuck pig, darting behind me. “Grab yer magic balls and stuff!” he shouted in my ear, clutching the back of my shirt like I was his savior.
Raego let out a stunned laugh at the sunny Swede’s words.
“Yahn. Yahn!” I shouted as he began frantically checking my back pocket. “Stop! Look!”
He did, peering over my shoulder. With a purr, the red dragons shifted into their human forms, revealing Sonya and Aria, utterly nude.
“Ah! Boobies!” he ducked back behind me in an instant. Then he stilled, as if just having registered that maybe their boobies hadn’t been the point of the display.
“No way,” Alucard stammered, shaking his head in disbelief. “Where did you find this guy?” Tory shot him a look, reprimanding him as she quickly handed the girls blankets to cover up.
“No more boobies, Yahn, but I think you missed the point,” I spoke softly, trying to pry his fingers off my shirt and step to the side.
He stood there, shaking, as he stared at the Reds. They smiled, waving back innocently.
He turned to look at me, and then Raego. “Are you, like, saying I can do that, too?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It’s possible. They’re weredragons. They accidentally scratched you.” I held up a finger to Raego and Tory. “While trying to save his life, I might add,” I said, defending them.
The Reds shot me relieved looks.
“Because you put them all in danger,” Tory growled.
“I had his sack of magic balls and stuff! He needed them bac—”
“Satchel!” I hissed quickly. “I got this, Yahn.” I quickly interrupted, scowling as Tory fought a huge grin, trying to keep her face serious. Alucard actually left the room, coughing with laughter. I ignored them, turning to Yahn. “You might be infected.”
“Ah! I don’t feel sick! Are you toe-tah-lee sure?” he shrieked, pawing at his chest.
Tiny Gods: A Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Book 6 (The Temple Chronicles) Page 8