Page 20 of Capture of Capricorn (The Thirteenth Zodiac #3)

Just before the phone call…

The first inkling of trouble came in the form of a tremble that caused the bathwater to slop over the side of the tub.

Zora sat up, sending suds flying, and frowned.

Earthquake? Not a big one, but she had to wonder if it were a precursor to a larger event.

She held still, waiting to see if it would reoccur.

It didn’t. With her attempt to relax and take her mind off Capricorn failing, she rose from the tub and reached for a towel. She’d just wrapped it around her body when a loud knock at the apartment door startled.

“Coming!” Zora yelled, dashing out of the bathroom with slapping wet feet.

A panicked Sage barged in, shouting, “Zora, I need help. I think the baby’s coming.”

“What?” Zora barely held on to the towel as she ogled Sage, who clutched her rotund belly.

“I’m having contractions,” Sage stated, her expression pale.

“Oh shit. Is there, like, a doctor somewhere in the tower? Should I get you to a hospital? Have you called Aries?” Zora didn’t have the slightest clue what to do.

“I can’t call and distract him while he’s on a mission.”

“I’d say the fact his baby’s coming is a good reason.”

“Ungh.” Sage groaned and rocked on her heels before panting, “There’s no time. We have to hurry.”

“Pretty sure we’ve got a few hours before junior arrives.” While Zora might have limited knowledge when it came to giving birth, she remembered her mama talking about how she spent thirty-six hours in labor before Zora made an appearance.

“I’m not talking about the baby,” Sage huffed between her gritted teeth. “A vision hit me on the way to your room. We need to hide.”

“Why? What did you see?”

Sage stared at her with eyes that swirled freakishly and in a low monotone said, “Soon what was torn asunder shall be renewed. The fate of the world lies in the balance. Shall evil prevail, or will a champion sacrifice everything?”

The words sent a chill through Zora. “I don’t suppose you can repeat that in English.”

Sage’s expression cleared. “Danger. Here and now.”

“What kind? I thought Tower was like some super fortress no one could see?”

“Apparently, someone found a way. We have to hide until the warriors can return and deal with the threat.” Sage immediately strode for the door, whereas Zora eyed her toweled body.

“I’m gonna need a second to throw on some clothes. You get going and I’ll follow. Just tell me where to meet you.”

“Library. Given the knowledge within, it can transform into an impenetrable bunker in times of strife.”

“What strife? I thought Tower never had to deal with outsiders.”

Sage bit her lip. “The last time the library was sealed was to protect it from a peril within.”

“Hold on. Are you saying one of the warriors turned traitor?”

“I don’t know the full details.” Sage grimaced and sounded strained as she added, “Only that it had something to do with the thirteenth Zodiac.”

The floor rumbled, and items rattled as another tremor shook Tower.

“Um, maybe we should be exiting the building instead,” Zora suggested.

“We can’t. It’s too dangerous.” Sage’s head swiveled, and her voice took on an uncanny tone as she muttered, “They’re here.”

No point in asking who. Assuming bad guys kind of covered all the possibilities.

“I can’t go in a towel, but I don’t want you waiting to get your butt to the library. You go on ahead,” Zora ordered. “I’ll join you soon as I wedge my fat ass into some pants and put on a shirt.”

Sage looked undecided. “Maybe we should stay together.”

“I can catch up to your waddling butt easy,” Zora declared. And while some might have thought her comment rude, she knew the other woman well enough to know how she’d react.

Some of the panic eased as Sage snickered. “I can’t wait until I can ditch the penguin walk. Don’t take too long.”

“I won’t. Now, shoo. I’ll bet Tower’s got a nice warm blankie and one of those disgusting pickle milkshakes you’re so fond of waiting for you.”

“Mmm. With peanut butter.” Sage smacked her lips as she tottered out of the apartment.

Zora didn’t waste time snagging some pants and attempting to yank them over still-damp skin.

Anyone who’d dressed right after bathing understood the battle that involved much hopping and hauling before convincing the fabric to slide up and over her hips.

She eschewed a bra and threw her shirt straight on.

If she ran into some bad dudes, maybe they’d be distracted by her protruding nipples. It certainly worked on Capricorn.

Thinking of him had her wondering how long until he returned.

If Sage were right, then they could use a few warriors, assuming there was even a threat.

The shaking hadn’t reoccurred, and she heard nothing untoward.

Then again, given her spot, one could erupt on the first few levels and she’d never know.

If they were about to be attacked, she assumed they’d have to enter through the main doors.

Perhaps she could ease Sage’s mind by taking a peek outside. Zora strode rapidly to the window and glanced to see the usual vista. Arid landscape. Scrubby brush. Agitated moat.

Wait a second. Since when did its waters—deadly according to Capricorn—undulate? The air remained still, so she couldn’t blame a breeze, yet no denying the roiling of the liquid. She wondered what agitated it until movement caught her eye and dropped her jaw.

A genuine mother fucking tank advanced toward the tower, its caterpillar tread easily humping over the uneven ground.

When it reached the moat, the hatch at the top opened, and a man dressed in dark combat gear, which included helmet and some fancy-ass goggles, popped out.

He knelt atop the tank, aiming some kind of tube-like contraption.

“Holy masked crusader,” Zora breathed as his device shot out a grappling hook that shot across the moat and hit the tower, anchoring itself.

The guy tethered the other end of the rope to the tank before clipping himself to the line he’d strung across.

He began to traverse, hand over hand, moving rapidly, his boots dangling a couple of feet above the moat.

What emerged from the liquid defied explanation. It wasn’t a creature, and yet the fluid that rose shaped itself into the snout of a crocodile and snapped its jaws around the man’s legs.

Zora could only imagine the scream as the moat monster yanked the guy from the tethered line and dragged him under. His buddy, who’d emerged to watch, also wearing strange goggles, waited his turn to cross, understandably shook his head and returned to sit in the safety of the tank.

Ha. Looked like the bad guys weren’t invading after?—

Boom ! Tower shuddered.

She’d mentally celebrated too soon. The muzzle of the cannon smoked. Fuckers were shooting at Tower.

The tank fired again.

The impact once more brought a shiver to the stone all around. Not good. Those bastards were going to bring Tower down with Zora and Sage inside. She had to find the seer. Forget the library. They should think about fleeing before…

Zora abruptly halted that train of thought. Was she really going to leave Tower alone to defend itself? She might not be some bad-ass warrior with superpowers, but she wasn’t some wilting lily, yellow-bellied coward either. Think. Surely, she could think of some kind of defense.

Which was when it hit her. She was inside a building that could do magical things.

“Tower, I don’t suppose you have a missile launcher?” Because not much else would destroy an armored vessel.

One didn’t appear, but suddenly huge ballistae fired from the very walls of Tower, giant metal harpoons that struck the tank, piercing its metal shell. While they didn’t destroy, one of the embedded lances knocked the tank’s cannon askew, and even better, it couldn’t swivel back to fire.

“Nice shot! Good thinking.”

The air around her warmed for a second as if expressing Tower’s pleasure.

“Guess I should go find Sage now and tell her we foiled the attack.” If the people in the tank couldn’t cross the moat or fire on Tower, then they should be safe.

A siren went off, and she could have groaned. “I spoke too soon, didn’t I? What’s happening now?”

Tower, of course, didn’t reply, but Zora, still standing by the window, noticed approaching dark specks in the sky. Birds? Nope. As they neared, she realized some assholes now attempted to paraglide over the moat.

“Holy shit. Take ’em down,” she hollered.

Tower tried. Arrows shot from the walls with unerring accuracy, tearing into the parasail fabric, sending those clinging to the contraption plummeting to the ground on the side near the tower, narrowly missing the deadly moat.

Even worse, most of those who landed rose immediately, unclipping from their harnesses and unstrapping guns.

“Oh fuck me. It’s a fucking invasion.” And they’d come prepared.

Luckily, Tower still had more tricks up its stone sleeves. Arrows continued to fire and would have nullified the threat if they’d managed to penetrate the body armor. However, most struck and fell harmlessly to the ground. A bullet might have done it, but Tower couldn’t wield technology.

“I don’t suppose you can open pits under their feet?” she suggested.

A second later, the ground did split open, swallowing those who’d landed, but this time, Zora didn’t cheer as quickly. Would there be a third wave?

The answer came in the form of a dust cloud that turned into a couple of revving UTVs aiming for the moat. They didn’t appear to notice—or care—about the tank rendered useless. They’d soon learn the peril.

“Get ’em, Tower.”