11-22-2022, 02:08 AM
“You saw a flash of blue light?” Aiden asked seriously. Water had appeared in such a way; flowing ribbons of blue energy. Each of the five elements had an associated color. The first one that Aiden had been able to handle with any skill had been Fire. That one was obviously represented by the color red. He had thought that strange once he realized what he was doing. The fairy fire that used to appear above Aiden’s head had been blue. Neither he nor Nox could explain why that had been. Aiden just assumed it was due to his Irish heritage and the myths that came with it.
Dimitri was silent for a moment, his head still looking about the room. His shoulders slumped slightly and he all but dropped the Spear. Aiden wove filaments of Air and scooped the thing up from Dimitri’s loosening grip.
“Did you see that?” Aiden asked.
“See what? How you took the Spear? No. And there is no more blue light. I saw – I think I saw a flash of it in the corner of my eye,” Dimitri answered. A tinge of disappointment laced his tone, “It was probably light refreacting from the blasted gas lamps you insisted on installing.”
Aiden cocked an eyebrow, “The lamps are up high. The base of the gas flame might have some blue in it, yes, but-“
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Aiden,” Dimitri said flatly. He picked the cup back up and drank deeply. Aiden kept quiet as he moved the Spear back to its place in the corner of the room and tied off the filaments. He let his gaze linger on the weapon. Could the relic help discover whether or not one was a God? He really had no clue what it was capable of. For all he knew, it could have the potential to level a city block. That was ridiculous, of course. Still, one never did know the capabilities of a tool unless they practiced with it.
Dimitri cleared his throat before picking the over sized wallet back up, his index finger swiping away furiously. Aiden’s gaze returned to the man and he opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly over ridden, “Just what do you intend to do with your time if you insist on pushing back the tour? I needn’t remind you that you’ve been spending an awfully large portion of your fortune this last year. The residuals alone will not recover what you have lost and this manor house will only add so much to your networth. You need to keep working, Aiden.”
“Yes, I know that. Still. Three months won’t bleed me dry. If things get so dire, I can also take after my sister and turn my family home into a bed and breakfast,” Aiden replied casually. He took another sip of the iced whiskey, reclining back into his chair.
Dimitri scoffed, “The American economy is not doing nearly as well as the CCD’s. Tourists do not flock to New Orleans as they did in your childhood. Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival can only do so much to bolster the city. A bed and breakfast? The Garden District is full of them. Here? It’s a gimick your sister was wise to cash in on. Oh, it would help, but not enough to make a difference. Answer the question: what do you intend to do this winter?”
Aiden quietly looked over to the Spear.
Dimitri rolled his eyes so hard Aiden thought he could hear them. “Oh, do be serious. Weapon training?”
“There’s something about it, Dim,” Aiden said with a half smile, “I’ve been having these dreams about-“
“Dreams?” Dimitri asked flatly.
“Yeah. If you’d stop talking over me, I might be able to tell you about them,” Aiden replied with a glare. Dimitri buttoned his lip and sat staring at his employer.
“I was not in Ireland to research my book,” Aiden began before he found himself recounting the entirety of his adventure. Dimitri held the same placid expression throughout the entire tale. After about twenty minutes, Aiden finished and he lit another cigarette – the last having burnt out to ash in his fingers. “Since we got back, I’ve had these constant dreams of the Shinning One. It’s Lugh, Dim. I’m convinced of it. I think I’m him come again.”
Silence fell between them for what seemed to be an eternity. It was finally broken with peals of laughter from Dimitri. Aiden felt a little wounded at the reaction. He had not shared that with another soul – hell, he hadn’t even gotten to really talk about it with Sage since their return home. That had been Aiden’s fault, of course, but the point remained. Dimitri had been more than his assistant; he had been his first friend since transplanting here. If anyone was going to take this seriously…
“You’ve been taking DMT again, haven’t you?” Dimitri finally asked as the laughter subsided.
“What?” Aiden spluttered, “Hell no! I haven’t touched the stuff in years! I mean it, Dim! I am Lugh reborn! I am the King of Ireland come again!”
“Do you hear what you’re saying?” Dimitri asked as he wiped a tear from his eye, the laughter dying down to a soft chuckle. The man even had the audacity to clutch at his side. “Do you not hear the vanity and hubris of your words? I mean, man, I know they say you lot are Gods – but really? It’s a figure of speech. You are a human with a genetic gift that science has not yet fully come to understand. You are not a fictional king from the distant past any more than I am a mythological cup-bearer to the king of the Gods. You are Aiden Finnegan, an American rock star turned author. Surely you cannot believe this drivel?”
“I think our business is finished for the day,” Aiden replied grimly.
The chuckle died on Dimitri’s lips, “Aiden. Come now. Surely you do not believe this?”
“You are dismissed, Dimitri,” Aiden said as he downed the last of his whiskey and began to busy himself with the paperwork on his desk.
He did not look back up as his assistant rose from the easy chair. Footsteps sounded as the man made his way to the French doors at the opposite end of the room.
“If you really were Lugh,” Dimitri called back to him before pausing. Aiden still refused to look up. “Then that would mean there are even more terrible forces out there in the universe. That thought is terrifying.”
The door closed loudly and Aiden released a sigh.
“That is exactly what I was trying to tell you…” Aiden mumbled under his breath before pouring himself another glass of whiskey.
Dimitri was silent for a moment, his head still looking about the room. His shoulders slumped slightly and he all but dropped the Spear. Aiden wove filaments of Air and scooped the thing up from Dimitri’s loosening grip.
“Did you see that?” Aiden asked.
“See what? How you took the Spear? No. And there is no more blue light. I saw – I think I saw a flash of it in the corner of my eye,” Dimitri answered. A tinge of disappointment laced his tone, “It was probably light refreacting from the blasted gas lamps you insisted on installing.”
Aiden cocked an eyebrow, “The lamps are up high. The base of the gas flame might have some blue in it, yes, but-“
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore, Aiden,” Dimitri said flatly. He picked the cup back up and drank deeply. Aiden kept quiet as he moved the Spear back to its place in the corner of the room and tied off the filaments. He let his gaze linger on the weapon. Could the relic help discover whether or not one was a God? He really had no clue what it was capable of. For all he knew, it could have the potential to level a city block. That was ridiculous, of course. Still, one never did know the capabilities of a tool unless they practiced with it.
Dimitri cleared his throat before picking the over sized wallet back up, his index finger swiping away furiously. Aiden’s gaze returned to the man and he opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly over ridden, “Just what do you intend to do with your time if you insist on pushing back the tour? I needn’t remind you that you’ve been spending an awfully large portion of your fortune this last year. The residuals alone will not recover what you have lost and this manor house will only add so much to your networth. You need to keep working, Aiden.”
“Yes, I know that. Still. Three months won’t bleed me dry. If things get so dire, I can also take after my sister and turn my family home into a bed and breakfast,” Aiden replied casually. He took another sip of the iced whiskey, reclining back into his chair.
Dimitri scoffed, “The American economy is not doing nearly as well as the CCD’s. Tourists do not flock to New Orleans as they did in your childhood. Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival can only do so much to bolster the city. A bed and breakfast? The Garden District is full of them. Here? It’s a gimick your sister was wise to cash in on. Oh, it would help, but not enough to make a difference. Answer the question: what do you intend to do this winter?”
Aiden quietly looked over to the Spear.
Dimitri rolled his eyes so hard Aiden thought he could hear them. “Oh, do be serious. Weapon training?”
“There’s something about it, Dim,” Aiden said with a half smile, “I’ve been having these dreams about-“
“Dreams?” Dimitri asked flatly.
“Yeah. If you’d stop talking over me, I might be able to tell you about them,” Aiden replied with a glare. Dimitri buttoned his lip and sat staring at his employer.
“I was not in Ireland to research my book,” Aiden began before he found himself recounting the entirety of his adventure. Dimitri held the same placid expression throughout the entire tale. After about twenty minutes, Aiden finished and he lit another cigarette – the last having burnt out to ash in his fingers. “Since we got back, I’ve had these constant dreams of the Shinning One. It’s Lugh, Dim. I’m convinced of it. I think I’m him come again.”
Silence fell between them for what seemed to be an eternity. It was finally broken with peals of laughter from Dimitri. Aiden felt a little wounded at the reaction. He had not shared that with another soul – hell, he hadn’t even gotten to really talk about it with Sage since their return home. That had been Aiden’s fault, of course, but the point remained. Dimitri had been more than his assistant; he had been his first friend since transplanting here. If anyone was going to take this seriously…
“You’ve been taking DMT again, haven’t you?” Dimitri finally asked as the laughter subsided.
“What?” Aiden spluttered, “Hell no! I haven’t touched the stuff in years! I mean it, Dim! I am Lugh reborn! I am the King of Ireland come again!”
“Do you hear what you’re saying?” Dimitri asked as he wiped a tear from his eye, the laughter dying down to a soft chuckle. The man even had the audacity to clutch at his side. “Do you not hear the vanity and hubris of your words? I mean, man, I know they say you lot are Gods – but really? It’s a figure of speech. You are a human with a genetic gift that science has not yet fully come to understand. You are not a fictional king from the distant past any more than I am a mythological cup-bearer to the king of the Gods. You are Aiden Finnegan, an American rock star turned author. Surely you cannot believe this drivel?”
“I think our business is finished for the day,” Aiden replied grimly.
The chuckle died on Dimitri’s lips, “Aiden. Come now. Surely you do not believe this?”
“You are dismissed, Dimitri,” Aiden said as he downed the last of his whiskey and began to busy himself with the paperwork on his desk.
He did not look back up as his assistant rose from the easy chair. Footsteps sounded as the man made his way to the French doors at the opposite end of the room.
“If you really were Lugh,” Dimitri called back to him before pausing. Aiden still refused to look up. “Then that would mean there are even more terrible forces out there in the universe. That thought is terrifying.”
The door closed loudly and Aiden released a sigh.
“That is exactly what I was trying to tell you…” Aiden mumbled under his breath before pouring himself another glass of whiskey.
Russian Dolls and Broken Gods, a new Fantasy novel by best-selling author, Aiden Finnegan, out this December! Preorder online and instore today!