Read Online The Moonstone and Miss Jones by Jillian Stone - Free Book Online

meant the storm was surely coming.
    A second blast of whispers and shrieks swept drinks off tables and rocked a few stragglers out of their chairs. Phaeton lunged forward to rescue a rolling whiskey bottle.
    Amid fearful shrieks and a jostle of retreating customers, balls of light—a swarm of them—flew through the pub’s doors and into the hall. As the hovering globes traveled farther inside, the orbs appeared to grow tentacles. The elongated, rope-like snakes crawled over and under tables, stopping now and then to examine a bleary-eyed rummy.
    Mesmerized, America observed a number of delicate filaments—feelers of sorts, stretched out from the ends of each serpentine appendage. The slightest twitch from the slender threads caused a vibration in the air already crackling with the aether of the supernatural.
    Phaeton took a last swig and tossed the empty bottle.
    A worm-like tentacle slithered across a vingt-et-un table, stretching its antennae in Phaeton’s direction. The closer the appendage came, the farther he withdrew.
    Fay-ton.
    America distinctly heard Qadesh speak. Fay-ton you have returned my husband to me. She recalled a strangely beautiful goddess with blood red lips and kohl black eyes. The troublesome goddess had wreaked havoc all over London before Phaeton and Exeter had restored Anubis and reunited the love-starved couple. Yes, she was quite sure the voice was the Egyptian consort of Anubis. But that was impossible. All this had happened months ago. Phaeton and Doctor Exeter had seen the two powerful gods safely ensconced in their roomy stone sarcophagus for an eternity. The coffin had been buried under the sands outside Alexandria. Phaeton had seen to the services, personally.
    “Do you hear her?” America whispered.
    Both Phaeton and Exeter nodded.
    What was this strange voice of Qadesh that they all heard in their head? I leave you a gift, Fay-ton. Entrust its power only to those who would never abuse it.
    An orb of pulsating light floated into the gambling hall. Like shadows on the moon, shapes formed inside the globe—the face of the Gorgon. Beautiful—but for the eyes, which had been cruelly sewn shut. The freshly stitched eyelids dripped red stains over pale cheeks.
    Instinctively, Phaeton pushed her behind him. “I don’t wish to alarm, but she’s headed our way.”
    The she-devil’s pale lips opened and she gasped for breath, as if she was being born into the world.
    “Don’t let her get too close. These vicious females have sharp fangs and the tentacles may be venomous.” Exeter kept his voice low. “Gorgons predate the written myths of Greece; they are the protectors of the most arcane rituals and secrets.”
    “Exactly what’s needed at a moment like this—a refresher course in ancient mythology.” Phaeton picked up a chair and pointed its legs out at the creature. “Stay where you are,” he ordered, distancing himself from her and the doctor. He skirted the room, taking refuge behind a tipped-over table. The luminous sphere tracked with him. Phaeton winked in their direction. “She wants me.”
    The Gorgon spoke. “Those who have stolen that which you call Moonstone will now seek its protector.” More glowing orbs joined their sister. Maidenly heads marred by unseeing eyes encircled Phaeton.
    He lowered the chair. “Surely, you can’t mean me?”
    There was something smug about the way Exeter lifted a brow. “As previously discussed, you’re the stone’s appointed guardian.”
    “More than a protector—Phaeton is the spark,” the Medusa hissed softly. “The power of the pithos must be returned, or this world will end. Gods and myths exist because—” The beautiful grotesque visage sighed.
    “Because humans exist.” Phaeton swept back his frock coat, resting his hands on his hips. “Tragic indeed. If we go who will be left for the gods to rule over?”
    Tentacles slashed about the globe. “We do not rule—we serve.”
    A wistful smile tugged at Phaeton’s