Fatal Ties: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Everything about him felt wrong in a way that made me think we’d one day be enemies, but at the same time, this was Connor. He’d been about as dangerous as a teddy bear. “I’m going to allow it this one time.” I made myself loosen my hold on Isis. “Why are you here, and why are you dressed like Arthas from World of Warcraft?”
    “Because there must always be a Lich King.” He smiled at me. “I’m surprised you noticed.”
    “You’ll come to find I’m keenly aware of all things,” I said, wondering where he’d found time to make such an elaborate costume.
    “Yeah, well, you’re one of the only people who noticed.” He smirked. “Anyway, this is going to sound crazy, but Thes knows where your other sword is.” He gestured toward Isis with one hand. “He sent me to help you get it because you’ll need it if we’re going to help stop Ragnarok.”
    “Assuming I believe that, why didn’t Thes come himself?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at Connor. This seemed crazy and not in a good way. I remembered Thes, and as far as werewolves went, well, he’d been reasonably formidable. Not only that, but he’d been a genuinely good guy. He was one of those Captain America types. The kind who did the right thing even when no one else would, and while part of me hated him for it, most of me was secretly jealous.
    I wasn’t sure what had happened to him after he’d ventured into Ancient Egypt to recover Connor’s soul, but if it was anything like what happened to Connor, I was in for a world of surprise.
    “That’s the part you have trouble with?” Connor asked, and his dopey grin returned as he shook his head. “Seriously?”
    “Uh, yeah?” I replied, putting one fist on my hip. “I’m a member of a race of people trained from birth to fight monsters.” I let out a slow breath as I gestured at him with my magic katana. “So you’re going to say something like ‘we’re going to go rescue Set from a horde of monsters’ and I’m going to go with you and do that, but I’d like to know what Thes is doing right about now, funk soul brother.”
    “Well, yeah, okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Thes is leading the charge toward Yggdrasil. He’s trying to displace Loki’s forces so we can break inside.” Connor smiled conciliatorily, like he felt guilty for bringing it up. I mean, okay, what he’d said sounded odd, but I was reasonably familiar with Ragnarok because I was a monster hunter. It seemed logical a battle at Yggdrasil would happen, but I still wasn’t sure why Thes was there leading the charge. Was there truly no one else or was he just that strong now? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that question.
    If he was strong enough to have pulled the leadership position, it meant he’d really changed, and changes like that seldom happened for the positive. Thes was one of the good ones, and the idea of forcing him into that position, of handing him that much power, scared me on his behalf. On the other hand, if he was just as strong as before, did that mean no one else was able to take up the charge? If that was the case, I might be walking into an absolute slaughter, and I’d lost way too many friends, allies, and family to deal with that.
    “You know what,” I said, waving off his story with one hand because if I tried to understand it now, I was going to give myself an aneurysm. It was probably better to take things one step at a time, and first thing was first, I needed to find my sword. “Let’s just go get my sword.”
    “Just like that?” he asked, shock melting across his face as he looked me over. Evidently, he’d expected more resistance from me, and while I understood why, it was immediately obvious he didn’t understand me. I was Lillim Callina, and I had one method of solving problems. Punching it in the face until it stopped being one. Killing monsters and rescuing my sword was firmly within my wheelhouse.
    “Yeah,” I replied,