I Married the Third Horseman (Paranormal Romance and Divorce) by Michael Angel Read Free Book Online Page A

“The one who would ask travelers a
riddle. If they couldn’t answer it, you’d…eat them.”
    “Very good,” came the reply. Her face lit up
in a dazzling, white smile. My face must have still shown some
fear, for she added, “Don’t worry, I quit the ‘eating people’ thing
a while ago. It’s unpopular with the folks I work around these
days.”
    I still felt a little leery. “So…no
‘riddle’?”
    She rubbed her forehead with one furry paw
and sighed. “Fine. What time is it when an elephant sits on your
Porsche Boxster?”
    I blinked, only slightly surprised by now
that she knew the make of my car. For all I knew, Dora had faxed
the Sphinx my birthdate and shoe size.
    “Ah…” I said cautiously, “time…to get a new
car?”
    “Got it in one. Now that you’re aware of ‘who
I am’, you need to know what this is all about.”
    With that, the Sphinx got up and paced over
to the office desk. Her lion’s tail flicked idly as she touched
several of the keys. Three monitors on the wall lit up in
high-definition color. A stunning, long-tressed brunette wearing a
bejeweled silver evening gown and glittering top hat graced the
first screen. The next displayed a trio of women in conservative
business attire, looking like three generations of the same family
of accountants. They looked vaguely familiar to me.
    A small group of people crowded into the
final screen. The Sphinx sat on the far left, decked out in a
dazzling red, blue, and gold Egyptian collar. On the right sat an
even larger creature – a lion-bodied being with the dimensions of a
small truck, with similar gray-and-white wings and a stern eagle’s
face. Between the two creatures stood…I let out a gasp of surprise
as I recognized the heads of four major studios.
    “I see you know a few of my friends,” the
Sphinx said, nodding towards the closest of the screens. “Allow me
to explain. All of the beings who’ve populated your ‘myths from
long ago’ still exist in the modern world. It’s only logical, when
you think about it – where else are we going to go?”
    “I can’t exactly argue with that,” I said
honestly.
    “But in this day and age, especially with
humans being so omnipresent in the world, creatures like me needed
a way to blend in. In short, we needed day jobs.”
    I considered. It did make sense. “So…you have
a day job? Here, in Burbank?”
    “Of course. I’ve put my riddling skills to
good use,” she said smugly, with a satisfied twitch of her tail.
“Who do you think writes the questions for all of your television
game shows, each and every day?”
    “I never really stopped and thought about it
before,” I admitted. I nodded towards the first screen. “And who is
your companion on the right?”
    “The griffin? He’s my executive producer. His
name’s Merv.” She smiled, grinning at her own private joke, and
then went on to the next screen. “These three ladies here are the Moirai , whom you call ‘The Fates’.”
    I thought for a moment. Realized why they
looked familiar – I’d seen them, at a distance, at the party at the
Thantos’ family ranch.
    “They’re the ones who decide how long someone
lives or dies,” I said.
    “Correct. They’re also the number one life
insurance saleswomen in the country. Trust me, they’ve never, ever lost money on a policy.” The Sphinx went on to the
final screen. “And this is Cee Cee. You might know her as Circe .”
    That name didn’t ring a bell with me. “I’m
afraid I don’t.”
    “Then do yourself a favor: go pick up a book
or something that can help you.” The Sphinx tapped two more keys.
The printer on her desk spit out a sheet of paper, which she nudged
in my direction. I picked it up as she added, “I’m giving you her
address in Las Vegas, and instructions on how to get in without her
security manhandling you.”
    “Thanks, I think…but why do I need this any
of this?”
    “Because of the reason Dora sent you to me.
You’re having