Coiled Conjunctions: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: (Serpentine Solutions) (Misty Hollow Book 7) by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

Author:J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory [Rain, J.R. & Mallory, H.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2024-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Dory

It was nearing midnight by the time we reached Calista’s viewing chamber.

Violetta had the foresight to include an enchanted pocket watch among her standard gear, which gave us accurate time. Normally the defenses laid on the caves prevented most modern tech from working inside them. The guardians were used to keeping humans out, not other monsters. I imagined that was why Jason was aiming a gimlet glower at me as Fox and I approached the carved stone doors.

Jason was probably the only person I’d still liked by the time I left Spiti. He was a gorgon of middle age, just like me, and had been the closest thing I had to a friend. We’d grown up stealing our father’s hoplites to perform mock battles against each other. I had a scar on the small of my back to show for one skirmish. He had one running down the outside of one calf, so we were even. There’d never been anything romantic between us, because I suspected he preferred men, but if so, he’d never confided as much in me. His snakes reared in irritation as I came closer, holding my hands up in a pacifying gesture.

“I’m not here for a fight, Jason.”

“Oh yeah?” he demanded, shaking his head. “Why’d you throw Lukas down the mountain, then?”

“How did you...?” Fox began. He paused after a beat, rolled his eyes at his own lapse, and answered the question himself. “Ah yes. Your Mother Superior warned you.”

“My what?” Jason echoed.

I waved the words away and shot a look at Fox, urging him to be quiet. References to the outside world were only going to confuse and annoy Jason. He was surprisingly progressive for a gorgon male, not minding my penchant for fighting one bit. On the other hand, he was as wary of the outside as any of the rest of them. He’d told me I was insane for leaving. There were days I believed him.

“If Calista knew I was coming, she could have come to greet me herself.”

Jason gave me another hard look. “She can barely walk, Dory. She wasn’t in good health before you left. It’s worse now. Either you walk in under your own power, or I carry her out to you, but you know she isn’t moving under her own power.”

I suspected as much and hadn’t really expected the elderly gorgon to hobble out to greet me. Calista was the oldest oracle on record. The fumes, cramped living, and isolation drastically shortened our average lifespan. I was surprised that the old bat was still kicking. She also had a temper to rival that of Ares. I doubted Thanatos would be able to wrestle her from the mortal coil before she was ready to go. I knew all I was really doing was stalling the inevitable, and we didn’t have time for that.

“Fine. See us through.”

Jason shook his head and turned that impatient look on my companions instead. He looked mildly intrigued by Fox, lingering on the prince’s strikingly handsome face longer than any of the others.

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