Medusa's Dagger (Aya Harris Collection 1)

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 reins over to Gideon and Agent Silva. We already had the weapon.

“Why don’t you just tell the SI where he’s at and let them take care of it?”

“It’s personal.” Nicky leaned back against the heater. “I’m going to see this thing through. No one crosses me. Theo needs to pay for his evil deeds and I’m going to be the one to dole out the punishment.”

“Nicky, there are innocent lives at stake. You can’t fool around.”

All this talk about Theo and getting justice was making me nervous. It was like Nicky didn’t care about the victims at all, only about getting his revenge.

“This is my mess to clean up. I’m not leaving it to amateurs.”

As my brother plucked at his fingernails with the tip of the knife, Johnny made a run for it. He sprinted toward me, hands still bound together. At the same time, I sprung for the lead pipe, snatching it off the rooftop. Nicky jumped off the heater and dove into Johnny, side tackling him to the ground. They landed hard, each scrambling to get their footing.

“No, Nicky don’t!”

I rushed forward with the lead pipe over my shoulder, like a bat. Nicky still had the knife clutched tightly in his right hand. If I didn’t do something soon, he was going to use it on one of my best friends.

“Get back,” Nicky yelled.

He raised his left hand toward me, his right hand clasping the pendant. A cloud of flames and scorching heat swirled up in front of me, throwing me to the ground. I felt the lead pipe roll out of my hand as the world dissolved to black.

Chapter Nine

I struggled against the dark, reaching out for something to pull me back. Nicky still had Johnny trussed up like a calf. There was no telling what he’d do to him. I had to regain my footing. I had to save him.

Blinking away the haze, little by little, I pushed myself up into a sitting position. Nicky was busy tying Johnny to the heating unit. My lead pipe had rolled a good three yards away.

If I could knock my brother out with it, I wouldn’t have to worry about his knife. As useful as my talons were, I didn’t relish the idea of getting close enough to Nicky for him to use his weapon on me. I began to crawl toward the pipe, intent on making no noise.