Read Online Legend of the Gypsy Queen Skull: The Devil's Triangle - Book 1 by otis duane - Free Book Online

the
branch’s needles, he gnawed off some of its bark as payback for the
unwelcomed thrill ride.
    ~*~
    A few miles further down the canyon, Zelia
spotted a beautiful waterfall in the distance. Its bottom was
obscured by a thick, lingering moisture cloud with a colorful
rainbow emanating up from it. Nearing it, she could hear the roar
of its cascading water growing louder by the moment.
    “Oh dear…” Zelia said in a sinking tone,
when she realized the branch was flying them straight up into the
dense cloud. Climbing up through it, she couldn’t see her hand in
front of her face as Muenster howled with his displeasure behind
her.
    Finally forging through it, they crested
over the top of the waterfall as Zelia flipped her wet hair back
and turned around.
    “You okay?”
    Soaking wet, Muenster looked up to her with
his ears pulled back as his tail swished back and forth.
    Unacceptable, he thought in his cat’s
mind.
    None-too-happy, he shook and wiggled to
expel the unwanted water from his coat and quickly began to power
groom his fur.
    ~*~
    As the flight wore on, and the further north
they headed, the more sense the journey began to make to Zelia.
    We must be heading to the home of the gods,
Mt. Olympus.
    It was said to be the heavenly place built
by Zeus, the father of all gods, and was home to not only him but
to a dozen other earthly gods. It was believed that no other human
had ever visited it, much less seen it, as the mountain’s peak had
always been hidden in the clouds.
    For the gods who had once dominated ancient
Greek life, they had all but fallen out of favor with the last few
generations. Nowadays their temples were abandoned and people
rarely paid homage to them anymore. Mankind had grown tired of
their pettiness and their meddlings in human affairs.
    ~*~
    Cresting over one last ridgeline, Zelia let
out a gasp of nervous excitement and said under her breath, “Mt.
Olympus.”
    Panning her eyes up the mythical mountain
she noticed a cloud bank was obscuring the peak’s summit. Turning
around, she asked Muenster, “Is this where you came from?” but he
simply replied with a meow, and began to purr. He was taking it all
in stride, sitting with his ears perked up and his paws curled up
underneath him.
    ~*~
    Minutes later, ascending ever higher up into
the dense cloud bank she cupped her hands together and blew warm
air into them and looked around. She couldn’t see a thing with the
visibility having now degraded down to only a few feet.
    I hope he knows where we’re going ,
she thought rubbing her rosy cheeks, working the feeling back into
them, when suddenly they broke through and came face-to-face with
an enormous white-columned Greek structure.
    “Temple of the Gods,” she mumbled to
herself.
    ~*~
    The temple was the epitome of classical
Greek architecture with its rows of tall marbled columns; each
supporting a section of the gold-leafed roof pediment, which was
filled with various godly sculptures. Encircling the roofline was
an endless series of crafted gold inlaid friezes. Most interesting
of all, the closer they came to the temple the more radiant it
seemed to glow.
    Entering into it, even the angelic music
score playing throughout the cavernous temple was enchantingly
tranquil. Its harmonious melody was so warm and rich it seemed to
soothe her very soul.
    There was no doubt in her mind now, this
truly was a temple built for the gods.
    But where were they?
    The sanctuary appeared to be vacant.
    Flying deeper into the heart of the temple,
they entered into an open-air courtyard and came to a stop. Panning
around, Zelia’s mouth dropped wide open. The grounds were rich with
lush green grass and perfectly manicured shrubs, while wispy vines
hung down from the many trees and lazily swayed in the crisp
breeze. All around were numerous marble statues of gods and
goddesses in various states of pose.
    One was of the muscle bound Hercules
wielding a broadsword high over his head. While another was