In the Veil of Vengeance
Book Three, Lands of Gods Series
Kasondra Morin
with Nadia Blake & Logan Keys
Contents
Check out the Lands of Gods series:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination and as such, are not to be misconstrued as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Text copyright © 2018 Le Chat Publishing
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the publisher, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet without the publisher’s permission and is a violation of the International copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.
This book is licensed for personal enjoyment. Ebook copies may not be resold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Cover © Katzilla Designs
Edited and formatted by Pauline Creeden
Check out the Lands of Gods series:
In the Veil of Chaos, Nadia Blake
In the Veil of Shadows, Logan Keys
In the Veil of Vengeance, Kasondra Morin
In the Veil of Ruin, Nadia Blake and Logan Keys (coming soon)
Prologue
Artemis, goddess of the hunt, spread her fingers wide and smiled as blades of grass caressed her skin. She sighed and let her body relax under the warm sunlight. The energy from the bright rays soaked in the longer she lay in it.
She didn't require the sunshine, but it was the quickest way to recharge without much effort on her part. A leftover from the original Artemis and Zeus being family, she supposed. She secretly hated it. Yes, it made regaining strength after a battle easy enough, but she loathed anything that linked her to the Golden Zeus. In any case, she tried to spend time outside whenever possible.
A loud cry for help split the silence in her mind. She bolted upright into a sitting position with a gasp. There, again, a plaintive yell which pulled at her from within.
One of her Amazons was in trouble. Artemis squeezed her eyes shut and honed in on the voice. She felt strength, tenacity, and serious rage reverberate through her in answer. A meditative breath narrowed her focus while a sense of familiarity washed over her. Gaea! She leapt to her feet, ready to flash to her warrior’s aid when heat yanked firmly from the center of her chest.
Artemis growled and fought against the call coming from her brother, Ares. But the pull increased until…
The forest swirled around her. Sun turned to darkness, heat to cold, as she traveled between worlds.
A chill settled deep in her bones when she landed in the frigid underworld. She blinked as her balance stabilized. Standing before her was the Amazon who had cried for aid, but she wasn't alone. Thanatos, Death himself, had a naked Gaea in a grasp tight enough to bruise. Artemis fought against her initial urge to throttle Thanatos for treating Gaea with such brutality.
“Has someone summoned me?” Artemis raised an eyebrow at Thanatos' grip on the girl. The look in her eye told him it would be in his best interest to let the girl go.
Ares, his dark hair a perfect contrast to her blonde, came to stand next to her. “It's only fair if you were here as well, sister. One of your patrons demands justice.”
Artemis narrowed her eyes in confusion. Gaea had screamed for help, and her peril was obvious, but Artemis didn't understand why her presence was required past that until Gaea dropped to her knees in supplication, her tall limbs folding and hair the color of pitch brushing the floor where she dipped her head forward. “Goddess.”
Thanatos never left the Amazon's side, his darkness shadowed behind Gaea. Artemis shot him a warning glance at what she felt was a closeness too familiar. Until she figured out what exactly was happening she wouldn't stand for one of her women to be hurt.
“Sure,” Hades said in a snide voice. “To her you'll bow.”
Artemis rolled her eyes. She had a low tolerance for men and their egos, especially the men with more power than brains.
Speaking of ego...
The Golden Zeus was pacing closer, and her patience with him was already wearing thin. “Her brother was a patron. If what she says is true, you must repay what has been taken.”
Artemis could hear the men arguing in the background, but her focus remained on the Amazon crumpled at her feet. She helped Gaea stand. “I see no lies in this young one.” She wiped tears from Gaea's cheeks as her mind raced. Zeus wasn't creative enough for such discord. Egotistical and manipulative, yes. But madness of this magnitude could easily be traced back to his bed partner. The River Witch had a habit of stirring up controversy whenever she felt bored. “We know your Styx is behind all of this. What else is there but chaos wherever she goes?” She sighed and directed her next statement at Gaea. “I will see that your justice is taken care of.”
The men watched in momentary silence. Artemis cleared her throat. “Can someone give her clothing please?”
Thanatos met Artemis' eyes with a subtle nod. The band in her chest loosened a tad as she realized Death would do what he could to watch over the girl. His posture before had been in defense of her warrior. She sent him gratitude with her eyes without letting anyone else know that they were now in an accord.
She faced Zeus. “What happened?”
His gaze softened when their eyes met, and she barely suppressed the shudder that wracked her body. From the day they'd taken their positions, he'd coveted her. She'd never felt safe with him, and Artemis avoided being alone with him whenever possible. Even standing this close made her skin itch with the urge to back away.
“I did not use my god-powers, Artemis,” Zeus said, his voice resembling a seductive purr.
Artemis shifted a step toward her safety net, Ares. If it weren't for their inseparability, the familial relationship wouldn't be obvious. The pair were twins, but Ares had a darkness where Artemis retained some of the golden light akin to the original Zeus.
This Zeus would never tell the entire truth if it meant incriminating himself. She couldn't trust any words from his viperous lips. The problem was, no one besides Zeus and Gaea knew what had happened in that arena.
Except the only other being to have direct contact with the dead man's soul.
A smug smile appeared on Artemis' face as she glanced at Thanatos. “We can ask the one who does know. Thanatos, you were there to collect Gaea's brother, Alastor the Great. Did you sense him killed by a human or...
”
The silence in the room became heavy as everyone held a collective breath.
Thanatos spoke clearly, firmly. “He was struck down by an immortal.”
The room erupted into chaos as the verdict sank in.
Gaea screamed curses and threats so full of vitriol, Artemis had to take another step backwards. Zeus stalked over to the inconsolable Amazon, his anger gathering into a storm that would cause any other mortal to cower. Gaea, however, seemed to revel in his fury and increased her volume as he got closer.
A small smile of pride quirked at Artemis' mouth as Ares threw his head back in laughter. He always had a soft spot for anyone brazen enough to challenge the Golden King, Zeus.
Artemis rushed into the fray, risking Zeus’ wrath when she touched Gaea to calm her. “No, not like this.” She faced Hades. “You must revive her brother. Death should not have come. It was not his time.”
She knew the answer before Hades spoke. Alastor had already been judged and placed in paradise. Even the King of the Underworld's hands were tied in the matter and it infuriated her further that Zeus had won once again. Hadn’t he always?
Zeus smiled, an expression that never led to anything good, before he suggested a trade: Gaea's life for Alastor’s. Artemis’ lips curled in disgust listening to his false promises and lies. She watched Zeus with a critical eye, his self-satisfied attitude bringing a red tinge into her vision.
She breathed a silent sigh when Hades waved Gaea away, the warrior disappearing, and the room fell still. Ares snarled at Zeus before spinning on his heel to leave. He was as sick of the preening displays and meddling that King Zeus so often had done.
“Not so fast,” Zeus called to Ares' retreating form.
The menacing tone of Zeus' voice sent a fresh chill skittering down Artemis' spine. In her lifetime of bearing witness to the Golden One's tantrums, she'd never heard him sound quite so hateful. The band of anxiety in her chest cinched tighter once more. If Ares pushed him too far…if either of them did, there would be more than Hades to pay.
“We are about justice today, are we not?” Zeus continued. “That is what you and Artemis did employ.”
The sound of her name on his lips made her stomach turn. His tone did not bode well, it was filled with more plotting.
“This was not justice,” Ares replied in disgust. “This was a pure abuse of power.”
“Did the girl not steal your bow somehow?” Zeus asked. “After all, a human not only got the weapon that could kill an immortal but she almost performed the act itself.” His voice was overly calm, the quiet before the storm.
Artemis snorted under her breath. The only immortal concerned with the death of Zeus at the moment was Zeus himself. She wouldn't have minded if she had arrived to find his dead body at her feet. How the Fates had not sought to extinguish him was a lack of mercy.
But Zeus wasn't finished. “There should be punishment. Don't you agree, Hades?”
“Punished?” Ares spat out. “Because your whore dared you to fight a human? Alastor did us a favor by almost killing you in human form.”
Artemis’ head whipped around at the use of “whore”. She knew the lines, and she’d never crossed them—Ares had never, either. They knew better, but she’d have his back no matter the cost. Even now she could feel the storm growing in Zeus. The hair on her arms stood up in warning.
“You were too much of a coward to accept the loss,” Ares continued. “You are weak, Zeus.”
The rest of his tirade was drowned out by the warning screaming in Artemis' head. She sensed a fury in Zeus she'd never felt before. She opened her mouth to interject and calm the situation, but she was too late.
Zeus flicked a wrist and sent Ares flying. “Your bow. Your powers. Since humans are what you pride more than your own, human you will be until you expire.”
Artemis gasped, her eyes wide in horror as the enormity of his words became clear. She rushed to her brother's side and skidded to a halt.
Ares gasped for breath as his now human lungs tried to take in what little air existed in the underworld. The color rushed from his skin, leaving him pallid. He felt in every way like a…a…mortal beneath her hands. Her body shook with the realization of it, the fact that her brother, someone she’d spent her whole life admiring, could be killed in a snap. Could be sent to eternity away from her with merely a thought of any of these who surrounded him. Even by another human! How could this monster bring her brother so low?
She spun to face Zeus, trying to keep her anger in hiding, knowing it might only fuel the fire. “Stop, please!” she begged. Maybe he would take pity because it was her who asked, and Artemis even sounded subdued. It hurt inside, but she’d do anything for her brother, even fall at Zeus’ feet. Maybe she could use his obsession to her advantage and save her brother's life.
Zeus stood firm, arms folded across his chest with obvious defiance. He would not be swayed by her pitiful pleas.
This would not stand. She couldn't allow this to happen. Enough playing it his way.
Artemis tapped into the power she'd gained from her time in the sun. Enormous wings unfurled behind her. Gold light emanated from the feathers as they spread wide in an unmistakable challenge. Her skin hardened, her hair bleached a brilliant white, and her eyes glowed with an unnatural light. She spread her arms, gathering energy into her body before aiming directly at Zeus.
Distantly, she heard Hades shouting his command but couldn't make out the words over the roar of her power. She’d unleash it all onto the King and hoped that when she came back to herself, there would be nothing but ash.
Blinding light and then nothing.
As the pandemonium died down, a loud crack split the air. Artemis heard a woman scream but felt confused because Gaea was gone and . . .
Another crack and she stumbled onto the ground her power extinguished. The conversation reduced to a buzz as she stared at the rocky ground. A patch of stone shimmered, and she was reminded of the coins given in her temple.
But the shiny expanse which caught her attention wasn't currency.
She touched her back in horror.
Her wings lay on the ground at her feet.
She raised her eyes to where Zeus stood. What had he done? She grasped Ares’ hand on instinct; even human, his presence was a comfort. But his grip was weak, reminding her that he was no longer her anchor in the swelling turmoil.
Artemis glared at Hades, her eyes shiny with tears of pain. “Stop him. This is your land. Do something.” But she knew he wouldn't. It wasn't his fight and getting involved would put all of the Lands in danger. A war between such powerful beings would cause an irreparable upset in the balance of power.
Artemis pushed to her feet, pure hatred urging her upward. She would kill Zeus with her hands if it came to it. She would defend her brother even if it meant her death. She owed Ares that much. She was ready to sacrifice it all if only to get a piece of him like he had her.
Hades reached out and took one of her hands in a tight grip. Before she could pull back, he whisked them away and then, she knew nothing more.
Chapter 1
Artemis coughed. Dirt coated the inside of her mouth and raked her throat with every breath. Gravel tore into her bare arms and scraped across her unusually sensitive skin. Her ears rang, making the world around her sound muffled and dull. She stayed on her stomach until the familiar noise of the forest came back. The recognizable hum of birds chirping and bees buzzing mingled with leaves rustling and small animals sneaking through the underbrush.
A figure, no more solid than the Shades of the underworld, loomed over her. “Hide,” it whispered.
“Hades?” she asked as she craned her neck to look up. But he disappeared before she received confirmation.
Her back felt like she'd taken Icarus' journey and flown too close to the burning sun only to plummet to the unforgiving earth. She shoved against the ground once again and pushed up with a forest-shaking scream. The trees rattled as flocks of birds
took flight in fear. She felt the blood dripping in small rivulets down her back, soaking the material of her once gorgeous dress. The pain spread through every nerve in her body like a devastating wildfire and made the world spin in a dizzying pattern. She had never felt such an overwhelming sensation. It threatened to consume her. She knew if she allowed it, the pain would swallow her whole and she'd never find her way out.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she smacked them away in surprise.
Tears? Pain?
What happened? She searched her mind for the last thing she remembered. Flashes of trauma flickered through her thoughts. Zeus had taken Ares' bow after her Amazon had tried to kill him. In retaliation, he’d turned Ares human, taken his powers, and then…
Grief overwhelmed her when the image of her wings on the underworld floor claimed her thoughts. Zeus had taken her wings, and Hades then dumped her in the forest clearing afterwards in his haste to keep the twins from more harm. “Ares,” she choked out. Why wasn't her brother here with her? She'd been holding him as tightly as her weakened hand would allow.
Fresh tears streamed in hot trails down her cheeks, creating a muddy pattern in the dust on her face. The combination made her skin itch and the sensation only served to create more tears. She wanted to curl up in the dirt and soft grass until Thanatos came to claim her as one of his own. Sleep, eternal sleep, called to her like a siren song.
Her stubbornness, however, prevailed. She hadn't survived this long to allow Zeus to bring her to heel. Ares had always warned her Zeus' obsession would turn violent. He'd been right all along. Zeus had finally snapped and subdued her in the worst way possible. She closed her eyes and drew power into her hands… but felt nothing.
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