Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
“It would be my pleasure,” Shey replied. The prince had barely finished speaking when a crackle of electricity filled the air. The fine hairs on Tyche’s arms rose while thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Shit was about to get crazy.
Tyche clawed his way around the desk, ignoring Ruben as he gasped and wheezed a few more times before he fell silent at last. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shey and Adrian race for the doors to intercept the guards coming to kill them. Haru growled, low and deep, bringing a shiver out of Tyche. All his instincts screamed to say fuck the tablet, just run, but he didn’t. He jerked open the drawers of the desk and threw papers aside until he located the electronic device under the morning newspaper. He set that aside and kneeled beside Ruben. If the man was locked to his tablet for business, there was also a chance that he was locked to his phone in the same way all the humans were. He rifled through pockets with his fast fingers, shoving the corpse out of his way. He finally stumbled across the phone in the breast pocket of his suit jacket.
A loud crash and growl had Tyche jerking his head up to see Haru ripping an enormous painting off the wall. He tossed it aside with a bang, the heavy frame smashing to bits. Tyche’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of Haru’s eyes. They’d shifted so that the pupils were narrow vertical slits, but he didn’t notice Tyche. His gaze was locked on the front of a wall safe the painting had hidden. It had a small numbered keypad as a lock.
“I’ve got some good luck handy. You want me to try my hand at the passcode?” Tyche offered.
“No,” Haru growled. As he lifted his hands, they shifted from human to scaled and taloned dragon hands. He dug those razor-sharp talons into the door of the safe and ripped as if the metal was nothing more than room-temperature butter.
“Fuck.” Tyche exhaled. Good luck became far less valuable with a dragon ready to tear things apart.
Haru pulled out a long leather box and opened it to reveal a glittering red crystal. It hummed a sharp tone that left Tyche cringing. He didn’t recognize the magic, but he could feel that it was bad news. The humming became more intense, piercing his mind like an ice pick.
“Close the case!” he choked out.
The dragon instantly snapped it shut, and Tyche relaxed. “You can feel its residual magic?”
“Yes, and it’s bad.”
Tyche stood and snatched up the tablet from the desk before crossing to where Haru was peering into the safe. Outside the study, gunfire echoed through the house along with the screams of the dying. Lights flickered wildly, and the thunder grew louder. It seemed safe to say that Shey and Adrian were handling the security force, but they still needed to leave quickly.
Haru reached inside the safe and pulled out another flat box that appeared as if it were a jewel case. “This holds the rest of his collection of godstones.”
“Don’t open it!”
“These are much smaller,” Haru said with a smirk.
“Yeah, and I can feel a trickle of magic from all of them. Let’s leave them closed up so they don’t know I’m here.”
Did that make sense? No, but Tyche didn’t give a shit about logic right now. People were trying to kill them, and the magic that had locked up the major gods for centuries was currently attempting to make a grab for him.
“There are also some documents in here. They could be important,” Haru pointed out.
“Take them.” Tyche darted away and stopped, his eyes scouring the room until they finally lit on a fancy leather messenger bag. He snatched it up and was surprised to find that it already held a laptop. After he stuffed the tablet and phone into the bag, he hooked the long strap across his shoulder. He held the main pocket open as he approached Haru. The dragon didn’t need instructions. He added the godstones as well as all the documents from the safe. They’d sort it all out later when people weren’t shooting at them.
“Are all the items secure?” Haru inquired.
“Yes. We should—” A shocked yelp cut off Tyche’s words as Haru bent, scooped him up, and dropped him on his shoulder before proceeding to march out of the study.
“Forgive me, my new friend, but we need to move quickly to protect my Adrian. Also, I’m burning this place to the ground.”
Yeah, he saw that. Tyche watched as fire sprung up behind Haru from where he’d stepped. Those flames raced out like wild creatures, devouring everything they touched. Tyche giggled as he saw those flames cover Ruben’s corpse as they left the room. That death had been too good for him. He should have suffered more, but at least two of the people behind Yesuntei’s death were gone. They just needed to uncover the mastermind.