Harpy Redux
Ghost Hunters Mystery-Detective
Reeks: Ghost Hunters Mystery-Detective
S. H. Marpel
- An
- old
- enemy
- found
- me,
- and
- left
- me
- powerless
- -
- when
- I
- was
- only
- trying
- to
- help
- her.We'd
- met
- year
- ago,
- and
- she
- became
- trapped
- in
- the
- mystic
- world
- she'd
- created,
- on
- of
- evil
- and
- retribution
- for
- imagined
- offenses.I
- had
- my
- own
- problems
- at
- the
- time,
- so
- became
- the
- target
- of
- her
- wrath.When
- she
- disappeared,
- and
- became
- trapped
- for
- thousands
- of
- years,
- I
- had
- almost
- forgotten
- her.Meanwhile,
- life
- had
- changed.
- Lessons
- had
- been
- learned.
- People
- moved
- on.Then
- she
- showed
- up
- again
- -
- even
- more
- bitter
- and
- vile
- than
- ever.She
- left
- me
- to
- die.
- But
- karma
- was
- on
- my
- side.
- And
- payback,
- well...(Part
- 2
- of
- 3:
- contains
- cliffhanger
- ending...)Excerpt:One
- thing
- I
- knew.
- We
- had
- released
- an
- evil
- priestess
- to
- roam
- the
- earth
- after
- 12,000
- years
- secured
- in
- an
- underwater
- trap.OK,
- that's
- a
- bit
- thick
- for
- our
- day
- and
- age.
- She
- was
- in
- charge
- of
- worshiping
- old
- gods
- when
- she
- sank
- with
- Atlantis.
- And
- "evil"
- is
- always
- in
- question
- (particularly
- in
- our
- PC
- days,
- and
- what
- politicians
- think
- they
- can
- get
- away
- with
- -
- and
- often
- seem
- to.)
- Let's
- say
- "ethically-challenged".
- It
- just
- means
- we
- let
- someone
- loose
- who
- didn't
- have
- a
- lot
- of
- respect
- for
- the
- rights
- and
- beliefs
- of
- others.
- In
- a
- dangerous
- way.
- Like,
- might
- be
- on
- the
- side
- of
- terrorists
- if
- she
- gets
- a
- chance.So
- we
- needed
- to
- find
- her
- and
- somehow
- fix
- what
- we
- had
- done.
- How,
- I
- hadn't
- a
- clue.All
- I
- knew
- was
- that
- I
- was
- in
- the
- Ghost
- Hunters
- Library
- and
- everyone
- else
- had
- left
- to
- go
- research
- or
- hunt
- down
- our
- missing
- priestess.As
- much
- I
- wanted
- to
- go
- research,
- I
- only
- knew
- a
- handful
- of
- paths
- inside
- that
- maze
- of
- shelves.
- A
- few
- wrong
- turns
- and
- I'd
- be
- completely
- lost.
- And
- unable
- to
- get
- anyone
- to
- find
- me.For
- the
- moment
- I
- sat
- here.
- Comfortable
- dark
- leather
- cushions
- on
- this
- mission-style
- couch.
- Unfortunately,
- I
- was
- down
- to
- the
- last
- of
- the
- delicious
- brownies
- and
- a
- few
- swallows
- of
- spiced
- cocoa
- that
- Granger
- had
- left
- for
- us.And
- no
- books
- to
- read,
- not
- that
- I
- wanted
- to
- focus
- on
- anything
- besides
- the
- problem
- we
- had.
- Because
- I
- had
- helped
- to
- create
- that
- mess.
- That
- priestess
- had
- gotten
- into
- my
- dreams.How
- to
- find
- this
- priestess
- was
- the
- next
- question.
- Gaia
- was
- somewhere
- in
- the
- stacks
- doing
- research,
- Sal
- and
- Jude
- were
- already
- on
- the
- hunt
- -
- I
- didn't
- want
- to
- bother
- any
- of
- them.Then
- I
- thought
- of
- the
- other
- one
- person
- who
- had
- the
- power
- of
- a
- goddess
- and
- maybe
- even
- as
- long
- a
- history
- -
- Harpy.So
- I
- touched
- the
- turquoise
- stone
- on
- a
- lanyard
- around
- my
- neck
- and
- thought
- of
- her.One
- unexpected
- side
- effect,
- though.
- Instead
- of
- Harpy
- appearing
- before
- me,
- I
- began
- shimmering
- out
- of
- the
- Library...-
- -
- -
- -And
- found
- myself
- in
- a
- dark
- dungeon
- room,
- very
- close
- if
- not
- the
- same
- room
- as
- Harpy
- had
- originally
- brought
- me
- to.
- Dark,
- with
- a
- tall
- ceiling
- and
- vertical
- slits
- for
- windows,
- all
- in
- the
- dark
- gray
- hewn
- rocks.
- Thick
- columns
- rose
- to
- a
- ceiling
- far
- above,
- lost
- in
- the
- shadows
- there.
- Where
- the
- thin
- light
- was
- coming
- from,
- I
- still
- didn't
- know."Harpy?
- You
- there?"I
- heard
- a
- rustling
- over
- to
- my
- side."Harpy?"And
- a
- quiet
- whimper
- returned.
- Whatever
- that
- was,
- it
- wasn't
- in
- good
- shape.
- My
- humanity
- made
- me
- go
- to
- find
- out,
- for
- maybe
- it
- was
- something
- or
- someone
- in
- need.I
- kept
- calling
- and
- listening.
- Either
- whimper
- or
- rustling
- sounded
- in
- reply,
- or
- by
- just
- being
- quiet
- and
- listening.
- I
- closed
- the
- distance
- by
- trial
- and
- error.
- At
- last,
- rounding
- a
- corner,
- I
- found
- a
- huddled
- shape
- in
- a
- dark
- corner."Shhh.
- There,
- there.
- It's
- OK.
- I'm
- only
- here
- to
- help
- you.
- Can
- you
- show
- me
- your
- face?"And
- she
- did.
- Tears,
- blood,
- scratches
- and
- all.Shock
- was
- an
- understatement
- of
- how
- I
- felt.It
- was
- Harpy...Scroll
- Up
- and
- Get
- Your
- Copy Now.
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