Twice as High, page 16
“If that’s the case, then why did he think I took it in the first place? If the damn thing has a homing device on it, why did he accuse Alistair and me?”
“It was the Order's responsibility to recover it.” Medusa interrupted. “My responsibility.”
I glared at her. I wasn’t afraid of snakes and had killed a few when I lived in the country. Feeling double-crossed made me want to throat punch someone. To be honest, I couldn’t trust anyone on this roof but my gran. They’d all double-crossed me for their own gain, manipulated me to justify my response.
“I don’t think I want to speak with you when you’re really a sleeper agent. This entire time you could have been helping me, but instead, you are a snake. I see why the myths talk about your head being returned to Athena to place on her shield.”
“Nothing that happened between Poseidon and me was my fault. In this time of #metoo, I thought you’d understand that.”
“I understand that you would use anything to get a certain revenge.”
“But that is the thing. If I wanted revenge, I could have taken that a million times over. The gods cursed me because I dared say no. They wanted to take my voice, and still, with that in mind, I work for the Order. I go out, scout for stolen relics of the gods to bring them back. Instead of accusing me of something, you need to learn who and what you are, and maybe accept it. Your conflict isn’t with anyone else, except your sire and yourself.” With that, she nodded her head and turned her attention to Alistair. “Forgive me for being out of line, dear Prince, but I will take my leave. There are more relics to round up, more rogues to hunt and track down. I don’t have time or a desire to waste my limited life on a squabble that could be settled with a simple apprenticeship.”
I now understood why I found Medusa to be so kickass, and also why she wasn’t in a rush to see Poseidon again. One: who wanted to be tormented by their rapist? And, two: it took Poseidon’s power away. He couldn’t lord anything over her, and three: she was more forgiving than me. I think I would have tried to find his mer-testicles and cut them off.
Freyja raised her hand, again commanding our attention. “I decree, that upon completion of this mission, and the returning of the trident to Poseidon, the necklace and fire to Hephaestus, that Leslie Love will be moved to a compound in Scotland. There she will be trained in the ways of the Order.”
We didn’t have time to deal with the issues of my overzealousness. That had been the longest fifteen minutes of my life. The winds grew more violent, and I saw in the distance the wall of waves coming our way.
“That’s great and all, but will someone please take me down to the beach? I love my city too much to let it be destroyed.”
“We have this under control,” Killian said. “For that is what the Order does. Let’s get the injured back to Sethos’s office.”
Freyja nodded, Alistair took my hand, and we jumped off the Empire State Building. I had enough faith left that he’d turn into a soaring dragon to get us there safely.
Chapter 27
Leslie
“Time is up, Leslie of the Order,” shouted Poseidon and moved toward the shoreline.
Heavy winds blew sand and water all around me. Gran stood next to me, still wearing her Captain gear, while Alistair had decided to wait in the wings, for only the Gods knew why.
“Can we stop with the theatrics? I’ve had a hard night.” I thrust out my arm to show him the trident. “But before I give this to you, I want my sister back, and we’ll end tonight with a ritual of thanks with wine.”
“Wine?” The winds calmed, and the large statue of a wall of water reduced to that of a handsome, imposing bare-chested man, dressed in fish-scale leather pants. “You used its power?”
“Yeah. Your tool is sharp and impressive.”
“I’ve heard that from many of mortal women.” He chuckled, and I wanted to throw a shoe at him. Now old Uncle Poseidon was trying to act all flirty and shit after declaring he’d destroy a city with millions.
“You’re forgetting something?” I raised a brow in irritation. “My sister?”
“She was a treat down in Atlantis.” He raised the waters, and a large bubble formed, and therein was Claudine, none the worse for wear. Claudine tentatively stepped onto the beach and collapsed onto the sand. “I’m never going back to the beach,” she declared.
“Atlantis?” I turned my attention back to Poseidon. “Is that why you sent the mermaid to me, to check on the trident’s status? That you put a hit out on me?”
Poseidon frowned. “Loverboy,” he said to Alistair. “Your mate has hit her head. I’ve sent no messenger to you or anyone else.”
If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I never would have believed it. Princess Amalia rose from the waters with armed mermen soldiers. They, too, had tridents, all aimed at Poseidon.
“Uh, this doesn’t look good,” Gran said.
“What’s happening?” I asked, and Poseidon turned around in a circle, wide-eyed.
“What are you doing here, Amalia?” Poseidon asked.
“I’ve come to place you under arrest.”
“Arrest? Under whose authority?”
“Zeus’s and the eternal circle. You shall be brought before them for your crimes against humanity.”
Without his trident, his mighty weapon, which I still held, he wasn’t up to spar with the soldiers.
“None of you have such authority. My brother would never allow this, considering he is the biggest sinner of them all.”
Just then, lightning sizzled across the sky again.
It had all been organized as a way to bring Poseidon to justice—the taking of the gods' tools to lure the predator out. Did Medusa know?
A bright light from above shone down, capturing Poseidon in its beam, and within a blink, Poseidon was gone.
“I’m sorry to have tricked you, Leslie, but it was the only way to make Poseidon powerless to react. Out of his territory and without his weapon, there was not much that he could do.”
“What will happen to him now?” I asked.
“That is up to the eternal circle, where the gods of the different pantheons will meet and decide. Over time, he has found ways to prey on many mortals and other beings. Whatever may come, we will be prepared. Do you still have the stone from Hephaestus, as well as the necklace?”
“Yes, here in my satchel.”
She manipulated a watch on her wrist, and an image of a bearded blacksmith appeared. “Dearest Leslie, I am Hephaestus, and I am grateful for your service. What someone meant as harm to you, has turned into your good. As your reward, the firestone is now yours. It will grant you immunity to fire when you carry it. The necklace, I ask that you give it to Amalia, who shall return it to my care.”
I turned to look at Alistair, and I received his curt nod. I guessed he was agreeing to my passing on the necklace to Amalia, although it seemed odd, and everything within me screamed that this was not the right thing to do. But what did I know? I’d just beheaded a dragon clothed as my favorite Hollywood star, saw Poseidon locked up by the godly powers that be, and now a hologram of Hephaestus.
Unceremoniously reaching into my bra, I passed it over to Amalia's waiting hand. She and her men did one last bow, and again entered the water, retreating out of view.
“I think that was a mistake,” Gran said. “I wanted to say something, but it was like I couldn’t.”
“Yeah, me too, but tonight, I don’t think I care. I’m just happy to have my family together, safe and sound.” I went over to hug Claudine, who was still hugging the ground. Her hair completely devastated by the water, tears streamed down her face. I wasn’t sure if it was thankfulness or trauma. I was just happy to have her back.
“Stay here with her, Gran,” I said and went over to where Alistair stood looking out at the water. The purple runes still covered his face, even in human form.
No, I didn’t like the jealousy that I felt when I saw the magical image of him kissing Rose. I now knew it wasn’t true, but the way I felt was. I’d been lying to myself. With him here next to me, I wanted to let him in if he’d let me.
“You look like a guy who just got the worst news, you know, about us.”
He turned to me, truly focused on me, and stared into my eyes. My heart skipped a beat. He took a step toward me. How could he look at me like that, when the blood of his brother had barely dried on my clothes? What could there be between us that was stronger than his bond with family?
“You are the craziest, most tiring, most exhilarating, loveliest, and dare I say, trying woman I’ve ever met. You are mine, and”—He licked his bottom lip—“I look forward to seeing what we can discover about each other.” Taking my hand, he intertwined his fingers with mine and pulled me into his embrace.
“This new phase is going to have us flying twice as high, Alistair.”
“You know, dearest Leslie, I’d fly anywhere if it meant sharing that with you.”
“Those are strong words coming from a water dragon.”
“Yeah, you make me do the impossible. Thank you for saving me, Leslie, my Leslie.”
There was so much I needed to say, to release into the wind. This fated mate stuff didn’t make it so we always took the right path. Heck, I was pretty sure no matter what this attraction was between us, we still needed to water it to help it grow. Crashing through a wall to save me didn’t erase the fact that I’d been unprepared this whole time, be it my stubbornness or his.
I felt Saga uncurl from around my neck and heard her comforting meow. I stretched out my arm, and she jumped down to then walk between our feet.
“Looks like I have a cat now, too. I hope there won’t be an issue with pets.”
I watched Alistair turn and stare at Gran and Claudine. “I think the upcoming move will include those two, as well.”
“Well, before you make promises, why don’t we grab a bite to eat? We’ve thwarted things for the night. Tomorrow is another day.”
Wrapped in his embrace, we stared out at the calm sea, together. The merry-go-round had finally stopped tonight, I hoped.
And when it should start to twirl again, it was good to know that I had a powerful dragon, a kickass ghostly gran, a shape-shifting magical cat, and my sister by my side.
Come hell or high water, we’d prepare to fight back whatever might come, from this world or beyond.
Epilogue
Freyja
Friday
Killian and his pack would do tonight’s clean-up, as required of the wolves. Alone on top of the Observation Deck, Freyja stared at the remains of her grandson, poor Ragnar. Her shoulders slumped. She’d wanted more for him, but now he had what he’d never had before: glory. With a whistle, her cat-drawn chariot arrived, and she lifted up his body, placing it into the carriage to transport back to Asgard.
She made her way to the mountains deep in the hills, where the dragons had once been shut away, toward the sacred space. She walked toward the belly of the cave and lifted the crumbled stones away to find the very human etched in runes on the boulders.
Then, gathering her grandson up into her embrace, she allowed one lone tear to fall on his face. She’d done all she could to save him, but life had run him down.
All roads led to this for him.
Help arrived too late, and although he mattered, nothing she’d ever done had helped. Sorrow and regret weren’t payment enough for the life snuffed out by loneliness and greed. He could have done so much more. He could have embraced the blessed princehood that belonged to him. There in the cave, she piled the wood high for the sacred pyre, lighting it, and placed his remains thereon.
Tonight, he’d burn, and finally be transported where his parents awaited in Helheim.
“May you now rest in peace, dear Ragnar.”
Death was not the end of it all, but Lady Hel would gladly welcome him, and Ragnar would find the connection he’d not been allowed. Perhaps his actions had been done selfishly, blindly so, but in the end, he would receive what he’d wanted: a connection with the parents he’d never gotten to know.
Tauris
Tauris rose from the rubble, rolled his shoulders, and popped his neck. Pain gripped him, as well as an unwelcomed emptiness. Where once the connection between he and Ragnar existed, it appeared severed. He stretched out his mind to his master only to hear nothing, feel nothing but darkness and decay.
How could that be? And who was responsible?
He wandered through the streets of the city, noticing the destruction, hearing the words of humans talking of vampires and dragons, while others declared it to be a movie production.
Reaching Time Square, he stared up at the jumbotron and saw the image of two dragons flying through the city—one of them was Ragnar. The ticker under the picture stated: “New Fantasy Movie films in NYC.” The rousing voices of the TV anchors confirmed this. “The city received what seemed like a real-life invasion of what appeared to be supernatural creatures taking over the city. But fear not, Manhattan, it is only Hollywood Magic. Beau Charming, of Charming Industries reports that the filming of his highly anticipated marketing material was filmed in the city. Of course, no one was truly harmed in any of this production. Back to you, Lashawn.”
“We’ve spoken to one eyewitness here, who was also shocked by the realistic imagery.”
Tauris tuned out the rest, and instead, quickly made his way back to the safe house. Maybe more than one vampire had returned. The numbers for the rogues would need time to again grow, but nothing and no one could replace the master he felt he’d lost.
Entering the warehouse, he bounded down the stairs in the industrial area. Instead of an overflowing den of vampires, he discovered a handful, and they were busy licking their wounds. What would they do without Ragnar to lead them?
As if on cue, Jenny appeared, fluffing her hair. “Dearest Tauris, I bear bad news. Your sire is dead, martyred, and now we can take our deadly revenge.”
That was not what he wished to hear.
“Be not dismayed, the true queen, Ásgeirr, has a plan.” Jenny walked over to the wall and drew on it with a large piece of chalk. She then drew a couple of glyphs which he did not understand. Saying a few words, the cinder wall cracked until a hazy portal materialized. And there a dragon’s silhouette appeared.
“Dear children.” Ásgeirr’s voice boomed in the room. All Tauris could concentrate on was her. Her words would comfort him. “We have lost a grand champion today. But he has not perished in vain. Our loss will fuel us. He was the one who never gave up on our cause despite his connection to the other side. He understood the cost of justice and what it could cost for us to find freedom. Now, let us rally on this path of our divine revenge.”
Revenge? The pain was too real. He’d spent hundreds of years with his master's venom in his body, an intoxicating drug, but now alone, how was he to survive? Who would guide him?
“Worry not, dear Tauris.” She called him to her and cuddled him to her bosom. “We shall make the Order pay.”
He nodded. Yes, they would all pay.
Regret wasn’t enough. Revenge was too easy. No, he wanted a reckoning! His gaze slid to Jenny, who’d not helped them.
“My Queen, we are burdened with incompetence.”
Ásgeirr laughed. “Are you our new champion?”
“I will lead this now. Your seer knows nothing.”
She clicked her tongue. “As you insist.”
“You heard the queen,” Tauris declared. He then moved to Jenny, grabbed her by her throat. “You’ve been a weakness to us.” Her feet swung out as she kicked and clawed at his hands. “Jenny, as a seer, you should have done better.” He then tossed her to the injured vampires.
“Eat up,” Tauris growled at his fellow vampires. “Get your sorry asses up. Find food to heal, and then we will raise the revenant.”
Only when the Order crumbled would he have any peace. And if he had none, then no one else would, either.
This is not the end.
Want to read an extra scene. Don’t miss the exclusive bonus content, created just for Twice as High, called Pink and Vampire Pretty.
Of course, continue the series with Alistair and Leslie with Three Little Words.
Find other fabulous stories written by Tina Glasneck and learn more about her dragons in The Dragons series.
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Want to Read A Bonus Scene?
Want to read an extra scene. Don’t miss the exclusive bonus content, created just for Twice as High, called Pink and Vampire Pretty.
Laugh a bit more with Alistair and Leslie!
With the latest adventure to a close, Alistair has grand ideas to ensure that Leslie can adjust to his Scottish castle. However, Killian, of course, has some sound advice for his uncle.
Meanwhile, Gran has a great surprise for Leslie, as the supernatural is concerned with her being prepared to fully be embraced by the dragon-shifter, Alistair.
* * *
Laugh a bit more with Alistair and Leslie in this exclusive bonus content!
Download your copy and keep reading.
Of course, continue the series with Alistair and Leslie with Three Little Words
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! Read More from Tina Glasneck at www.TinaGlasneck.com
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