Medusa's Dagger: A New Adult Urban Fantasy (Aya Harris Collection Book 1) by Lacy Andersen Page B
Authors: Lacy Andersen
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Johnny’s, who was sitting and shaking his head. He didn’t seem to be buying my brother’s innocent act either.
“So, you trained this Theo guy to murder?”
Nicky hissed, switching the knife to his right hand. “Not murder. I trained him to hunt down evil and exterminate it. There’s a difference.”
With Johnny on the other side of the roof and Nicky between us, I didn’t want to argue the point. “Okay, so you trained him. Are you saying he went off track and took the Yonas family?”
“Yes. He disappeared a month ago when we were tracking a pair of demons up in North Dakota. I thought they’d killed him. Imagine my surprise when I heard through the grapevine that he’d survived North Dakota. That he was going rogue, and harvesting powers for his own.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, disgust clouding his face. “I tracked him to Arcana when I heard about the single raven’s feather left at the scene. That was my calling card, not his. He didn’t have a right to use it.”
I had to admit, the snakes in my vision made more sense now. If Theo was a Gorgon, he was related to Medusa, the most famous Gorgon of them all. Greek myths described Medusa as having a head full of snakes. We had ancient pottery at the museum with Medusa’s head painted on them, snakes and all. But, I wasn’t convinced yet.
“How do you know it was him?” I asked. “Anyone could’ve copied that. Left a feather to pin it on you.”
With the pale light of the moon, I spotted a lead pipe in the shadows to my right. If I inched close enough, I could grab it.
A cocky grin spread across his face. “The SI keeps that fact under wraps. I know because I have my own contacts in their organization.”
It was true that I’d never read about the feather in the news blogs covering his crimes. The only reason I knew it was his calling card was because I saw it at his very first crime scene, lying next to Mrs. Beckett’s decapitated body.
“Why would Theo take that family? They never hurt a fly.”
Even by my brother’s faulty sense of justice, the Yonases were guiltless. They lived simple little lives.
Nicky’s face clouded over. His grin faded into a pained grimace. “Theo isn’t what I thought he was. He has no thirst for good or justice. He wanted to learn my methods for harvesting magic, and he used me. That family just happened to have a power he craved, so he took it. And he’s going to take all of it if I don’t kill him.”
I stopped inching toward the lead pipe and put all my attention on Nicky. “Are the other two alive? Do you know where he is?”
“Yes and I’m working on it. I’m closing in on him, I just know it. But, I need you to help me.”
Here it was – finally, the reason he’d called me out here alone.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Your museum has something I need.”
He held up the knife in front of his face, his dark blue eyes examining the shiny surface. I took the opportunity to take another step toward the pipe, and paused when he looked back at me.
“A dagger. Medusa’s personal weapon. Legend says it was imbued with venom from the snakes on Medusa’s head. It’s the only thing that’ll kill Theo.”
I wracked my brains, mentally scanning through all the weapons in the museum. I’d never heard of such a thing. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have your dagger.”
“Yes, you do. I dug it up in South America and sent it to your dinky little museum. It was the only way to get it safely out of the country.”
With a gasp, I realized what he was talking about. The dagger that arrived just yesterday, was the weapon Nicky needed to stop that monster. I’d just thrown it aside for examination, not realizing the very thing I held in my hand was the tool that could save my neighbors.
He grinned when he heard me gasp. “See? You do have it. Hand it over and I’ll take care of this.”
He wouldn’t even need to be a part of this if he’d just hand the
“So, you trained this Theo guy to murder?”
Nicky hissed, switching the knife to his right hand. “Not murder. I trained him to hunt down evil and exterminate it. There’s a difference.”
With Johnny on the other side of the roof and Nicky between us, I didn’t want to argue the point. “Okay, so you trained him. Are you saying he went off track and took the Yonas family?”
“Yes. He disappeared a month ago when we were tracking a pair of demons up in North Dakota. I thought they’d killed him. Imagine my surprise when I heard through the grapevine that he’d survived North Dakota. That he was going rogue, and harvesting powers for his own.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, disgust clouding his face. “I tracked him to Arcana when I heard about the single raven’s feather left at the scene. That was my calling card, not his. He didn’t have a right to use it.”
I had to admit, the snakes in my vision made more sense now. If Theo was a Gorgon, he was related to Medusa, the most famous Gorgon of them all. Greek myths described Medusa as having a head full of snakes. We had ancient pottery at the museum with Medusa’s head painted on them, snakes and all. But, I wasn’t convinced yet.
“How do you know it was him?” I asked. “Anyone could’ve copied that. Left a feather to pin it on you.”
With the pale light of the moon, I spotted a lead pipe in the shadows to my right. If I inched close enough, I could grab it.
A cocky grin spread across his face. “The SI keeps that fact under wraps. I know because I have my own contacts in their organization.”
It was true that I’d never read about the feather in the news blogs covering his crimes. The only reason I knew it was his calling card was because I saw it at his very first crime scene, lying next to Mrs. Beckett’s decapitated body.
“Why would Theo take that family? They never hurt a fly.”
Even by my brother’s faulty sense of justice, the Yonases were guiltless. They lived simple little lives.
Nicky’s face clouded over. His grin faded into a pained grimace. “Theo isn’t what I thought he was. He has no thirst for good or justice. He wanted to learn my methods for harvesting magic, and he used me. That family just happened to have a power he craved, so he took it. And he’s going to take all of it if I don’t kill him.”
I stopped inching toward the lead pipe and put all my attention on Nicky. “Are the other two alive? Do you know where he is?”
“Yes and I’m working on it. I’m closing in on him, I just know it. But, I need you to help me.”
Here it was – finally, the reason he’d called me out here alone.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Your museum has something I need.”
He held up the knife in front of his face, his dark blue eyes examining the shiny surface. I took the opportunity to take another step toward the pipe, and paused when he looked back at me.
“A dagger. Medusa’s personal weapon. Legend says it was imbued with venom from the snakes on Medusa’s head. It’s the only thing that’ll kill Theo.”
I wracked my brains, mentally scanning through all the weapons in the museum. I’d never heard of such a thing. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have your dagger.”
“Yes, you do. I dug it up in South America and sent it to your dinky little museum. It was the only way to get it safely out of the country.”
With a gasp, I realized what he was talking about. The dagger that arrived just yesterday, was the weapon Nicky needed to stop that monster. I’d just thrown it aside for examination, not realizing the very thing I held in my hand was the tool that could save my neighbors.
He grinned when he heard me gasp. “See? You do have it. Hand it over and I’ll take care of this.”
He wouldn’t even need to be a part of this if he’d just hand the
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