Chapter 1
“…and that is how we ended up saving Tower and acquiring a thirteenth warrior.” Aries concluded his summary to a drop-jawed Taurus.
Apparently, the months Taurus spent hunting a misbehaving werewolf meant he missed a mega battle.
Bummer. He’d have much preferred to be pitting his skills against mercenaries than stalking the smelly canine that led him on a merry chase through the untamed forests of Hungary.
Even worse, in the end, he’d not even been the one to kill the rabid beast. That honor went to the werewolf’s wife, who’d invested in some silver bullets when she realized her husband had been the one killing all their neighbors.
When the hairy bastard brazenly returned home, he met his fatal end.
With the mission complete, Taurus returned to Tower for some R&R, where not only did he get to hear all about the epic fight he’d missed, but he also got to meet Aries and Sage’s baby girl.
Tiny little thing, kind of boring if you asked him, unlike Leo’s talkative—and spooky at times—daughter, Olivia.
A kid who suddenly looked at him from across the dining room table and said, “Uncy Taurus, you should shave.”
The comment led to Taurus stroking the splendid beard that had grown wild during his absence. “I thought you liked my beard.” Upon seeing it, Olivia had clapped her hands and demanded her daddy grow one just as bushy.
“I do, but the green lady won’t.” An announcement that drew the attention of everyone gathered to eat breakfast.
The usually gruff Leo used a pussy-soft voice to ask, “What green lady?”
Rather than reply to that query, Olivia held out her hand. “Can I have another piece of bacon, please?”
Sage snagged a strip and handed it over while cradling her newborn to her chest. “Olivia, can you tell us about the green lady?”
“She needs help.”
“What kind of help? Is she in trouble? Did you have a vision?” Sage used to be their only seer until Leo reunited with his missing daughter.
Turned out Olivia had the gift, too, but she’d yet to learn to control it and thus tended to blurt out the most random things, such as telling him he should be practicing his sword skills—as if he wasn’t a master with his weapon of choice already.
“I saw the green lady in my dream last night. Her and Uncy Taurus,” Olivia said in between chewing her strip of bacon.
“What were they doing?” Thankfully Sage possessed more patience than Taurus. He only held back from barking at the kid because doing so would likely lead to Leo pummeling his face to a pulp.
“They was arguing.”
“About what?” Sage kept doing her best to draw out answers.
“I don’t remember. Just that Uncy Taurus is gonna help because no one believes her.”
“Believes her about what?” Leo took over questioning since the baby began to fuss.
Olivia’s nose wrinkled. “Dunno. Couldn’t see that part. But I think you need to find something.”
“And you’re sure it’s me who helps her?” Taurus couldn’t help but sound dubious because he really didn’t seem like the right choice in a mission that required detective work. He tended to be more likely to lose things than find them.
“Yes, you. There’s gonna be monsters, so make sure you bring your sword,” Olivia exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.
Twice now she’d mentioned his favorite weapon, which prompted Taurus to ask, “Where do I find this green lady?”
“In the library.”
“Um, can you be more specific?” Leo queried. “There’s a lot of libraries in the world.”
“Ours, silly.” Olivia snickered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Wait, the green lady is inside Tower?” Taurus exclaimed, rising from his chair.
“Not yet. I gotta pee.” Olivia suddenly slid from her chair and raced away, leaving the adults to stare at each other in confusion.
“How is a random stranger going to end up in our library?” Aries mused aloud.
“You know Tower likes to collect strays,” Sage reminded as she rubbed the baby’s back.
The magical and sentient structure acted as a home and base for the Zodiac Warriors, but they weren’t the only inhabitants. Although, it should be noted, the warriors never ran into the others. Tower did an excellent job keeping them apart.
“Guess I’ll be camping out in the library until this green lady shows up.” Taurus grimaced. After months of sleeping on the hard ground, he’d been looking forward to snoozing in his bed.
“I don’t think we need to be that drastic. Olivia didn’t give a timeframe. Could be today, tomorrow, a month from now,” Aries noted, but he wore a frown.
“I’m thinking it won’t be long, since Olivia advised me to shave,” Taurus remarked, stroking his beard. Should he remove it? Nah, he’d grown attached, and it was much too epic to toss by the wayside. Besides, why should he care if this green lady would hate it?
“I say the sooner, the better. That bird’s nest on your chin is hideous.”
“Hey!” Taurus glared at Capricorn, who shrugged.
“Just saying it like it is. Right, Zora?” Capricorn glanced at the woman who’d been sitting quietly beside him.
Lots had changed since Taurus left for his mission.
Capricorn now had a girlfriend, but not just anyone.
During Aries’ summary of events while he’d been gone, Taurus learned Zora was a Zodiac Warrior.
Kind of shocking considering they’d never realized a thirteenth ever existed.
Even more astonishing, she was the first female one.
Zora shook her head. “Don’t you dare drag me into this.”
“Actually, I want to know. I mean, you’re a woman. Is my splendid beard really that bad?” Taurus gave her his most winsome smile.
Zora shrugged. “Not up to me if I like it or not.”
Before Taurus could continue to pester her, one of the other new residents spoke up. “I will say, personally, I prefer clean shaven.” Dr. Ruth Warmstone’s lips curved into a smile. She side-eyed her paramour, Leo, before adding, “Less chin burn.”
The comment led to Leo’s face turning beet red. “I’m going to check on Olivia.” The man sprang from his chair and sprinted out of the dining room to Ruth’s snickers.
“That was naughty of you,” Sage chided with a smile.
“I can’t resist,” Ruth replied with a laugh.
Zora stood. “I do believe it’s time for my next training lesson also known as my daily ass whooping.”
“Soon, you’ll be the one kicking my butt,” Capricorn promised as they left.
“Guess that’s my cue that I should get to work, too.” Aries stood, and Sage held out the baby.
“Mind taking Little Bean? I’m going to try for a nap.”
“Sure thing.” Aries glanced at Taurus. “Keep me in the loop about the green lady.”
“Will-do, boss.”
“Hold up, Sage, I’ll walk you to our suite.” Aries cradled the baby to his chest and waited for his wife.
“Go ahead. I’m going to chat with Taurus for a minute before heading up.” She waved Aries away and then proceeded to stare at Taurus. He fidgeted under the intent scrutiny.
Sage sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m too exhausted to see anything. Little Bean’s been waking every two hours at night for feeding.”
“Don’t worry about it. At least Olivia offered some warning, and I’m sure Tower will give me a nudge when I need to deal with the intruder.”
“Don’t be so sure of that,” Sage countered. “Could be Tower welcomes her inside.”
“In that case, guess I’ll be spending some time in the library.” Which sounded like loads of fun. NOT! “Since you’re tired, want me to run you up the stairs?” The steep and winding steps could be arduous.
Sage shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but no need. Tower will transport me. It’s been most helpful in my recovery.”
“Wish it would do the same for me after leg day,” he muttered. Nothing like walking numerous flights of stairs with burning thighs.
Sage left, and Taurus sat a moment longer, drumming his fingers on the table.
“Guess you won’t be getting any time to relax,” Ruth remarked.
“Ah, I’ve never been one to remain idle for long,” he replied to the psychologist before instantly regretting it.
He’d like to skip over a session of psychoanalysis.
He was much more suited to action, hence his preference for spending his spare time in the gym honing his skills and bulking his muscles, instead of loitering in the library, a place he’d not visited in ages.
He’d never been a fan of reading, mostly because it involved sitting still and looking at words—so many words.
Speaking of which… He stood from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to reacquaint myself with the repository of books up there.” The library sat one level above the dining hall and took only seconds to reach since Taurus bounded up the steps three at a time.
He entered the space and immediately grimaced at the sight of all the books. Made him wonder what the green lady would be looking for. Probably something rare or out of print but not so scarce Tower wouldn’t have a copy.
Colorful spines that spanned an entire shelf caught his eye, and he hunched to read the titles. Legend of Scorpio. Sins of Leo. Capture of Capricorn.
Snort. While he’d heard of the books that detailed each Zodiac sigil’s exploits, he’d never checked them out before. His gaze hit the one labelled Taurus’ Quest. Well damn. Could have sworn his used to have a different title.
Having never bothered reading it, he suddenly decided, why not take a peek?
Only the book refused to slide out from its tightly wedged spot.
He pulled harder, but it wouldn’t budge.
Ah, well. He didn’t need to read about how great the previous Taurus used to be, and he well remembered his own successful adventures.
Getting to his feet, he glanced around to refresh himself on the layout.
The outer wall held a single window covered in a heavy curtain.
When he pulled it aside for a glance, he noticed no easy way of entering unless someone could somehow scale smooth stone.
The only other entrance was the door he’d entered.
To reach the library, this green lady would have to first enter Tower, which led to the question, how would she arrive in the first place?
Only those with the Zodiac blessing could find Tower, let alone see it.
Forget getting here by normal means, AKA by car or on foot.
A journey via land involved trekking through some harsh terrain lacking roads, but it wasn’t impossible.
Aries said the mercenaries who’d recently attacked had managed the trip using UTVs.
Technically, a helicopter would make for an easy journey, but that would require a pilot not flying blindly past. Tower protected against intruders by encircling itself with a camouflage that few could penetrate, which led to him contemplating what Aries claimed about the recent invasion.
Apparently, some dude had found a way to bring down Tower’s shield.
While those mercenaries had been defeated, Taurus had to wonder if the Tower had returned to being as impenetrable as before.
The most common way folks entered Tower was via the portal room.
That magical space contained daises inscribed with the sigils of the Zodiac, which allowed the warriors the ability to quickly return home.
Apart from the daises, there were also some arches that led to several locations around the world.
Could be this woman would intentionally, or accidentally, step through one.
Unlikely, given they weren’t accessible to the public.
A few even had guards, like the one Libra watched over.
However, the teleporting arches remained the most likely point of entry for an intruder. Maybe he should camp out by the portal room so he could waylay this green lady before she infiltrated too far.
First, though, a workout, followed by a shower and then a flop onto his comfy, king-sized bed where’d he enjoy a twelve… No, make that sixteen-hour sleep. Might as well squeeze one in before the lady arrived.
The workout left his body sore, but in a good way.
Sweaty, too. He skipped Olivia’s shaving advice and jumped right into a hot shower which did much to ease his muscles.
He’d only begun rinsing the suds from his flesh when the water abruptly ceased flowing.
He glanced at the showerhead, frowned, wiggled the taps. Nothing. What the hell?
“Tower, mind turning the water back on?”
No reply. Tower didn’t really speak in words, but it had ways of communicating.
Not in this instance, though. Taurus sighed as he wrapped a towel around his hips before hitting the hall outside his room in the hopes someone else’s apartment had a working shower.
Only the moment he stepped outside his place, he found himself staring at blank walls.
As in, no doors. Not even his own.
Still clutching his damp towel around his hips, Taurus glared at the smooth wall. “Not funny, Tower. Let me back in.”
Nothing changed, so he sighed. “Okay, Tower, what do you need from me?”
A shove from behind had him whirling to see the hall behind had disappeared. The new wall in its place nudged him toward the stairs.
“Subtle, Tower, real subtle,” Taurus grumbled as he began heading down.
And down.
The landings for the floors beneath his apartment had disappeared, leaving only the winding stairs that ended, no surprise, on the library level. Guess their guest had arrived—and at a most inopportune moment.
“Dude,” he groaned. “Can’t I at least put on some pants first?”
None appeared.
Guess he’d be meeting the green lady a little more naked than usual—and he didn’t mean just lacking clothes. No gun, sword, not even his pocketknife.
Sigh. “If I die, I hope it’s bloody and takes you forever to clean the mess,” he grumbled before stalking into the library.