by Amy Sumida
“I'm your star,” I said again. “You may claim me as such in front of anyone you like. Because I will claim you, my vicious Viper. You are my consort; the chosen lover of the Supreme Goddess. Find satisfaction in that.” I let go of him to trail my hand down his throat, and he stared down at me intensely. “Find pleasure in that. For now, you are my only consort, but one day that will change. So, delight in these days as I will and take what I offer... what I can give you.”
“I'll take everything you are, Vervain,” Viper vowed as he angled his head down to mine. “You may have other lovers eventually—I've accepted that—but I will be your brightest star. I will be the light you keep closest to your heart. Do you understand me?”
I smiled and took his hand. “I think we understand each other perfectly. Come now, my consort, let's greet our guest.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Vervain.” Qaus got up from his seat at the dining table to meet me halfway across the room.
Snake and Storm, who had been waiting with him, stood up as well and moved to stand next to Viper.
“Qaus,” I said as I reached out to shake his hand, “it's good to see you. How have you been?”
“Well enough.” His gaze slid to the men and back to me in question.
“This is my consort, Viper, and his brothers; Snake and Storm. They are three of the Star Gods who lead my armies,” I introduced them. “Commanders, this is Qaus of the Arabs, God of Weather.”
The Star Gods nodded crisply to Qaus, but Qaus only frowned at Viper before looking back to me.
“Your consort?” Qaus cocked his head as if to get a better look at me. “Where are your husbands, Vervain?”
“I've left them. They didn't support me as they should.” I swept past Qaus to the dining table. “Good; I see that they've brought you food while you waited. Shall we dine together? Viper and I have yet to break our fast.”
“Break your fast?” Qaus followed me to the table. “Who the fuck are you? Where's the snarky, movie-quoting woman I met in the mirror?”
I paused behind a chair and then turned to face him. “She's still in here somewhere. But I need to be better now, Qaus. Stronger.”
“You've always been strong, Vervain,” Qaus said soberly as he took my hand. “The strongest woman I know. You've been through hell, and you cracked jokes the entire way. I love that about you.”
Viper made a low hiss, and Qaus looked over at him in surprise.
“I'm not interested in your...” Qaus looked back at me. “What are you to him; his girlfriend?”
“She's my star,” Viper said proudly. “And you will remove your hands from her immediately.”
Qaus lifted his hands in the universal, okay, I'm backing off gesture. Then widened his eyes at me. “Damn; this one's worse than your wolf.”
“Things have changed, Qaus.” I took my seat at the head of the table. “Sit down. Tell me why you're here.”
Viper took the chair on my right. He gave Qaus a look that said he'd better choose the chair beside him and not the one on my left. Qaus, the smart man that he is, took the chair next to Viper's, allowing my consort to sit between us. Snake and Storm took the seats to my left.
“Why do you think I'm here?” Qaus shot back. “The entire world is talking about you; the God Realm included. I came to find out exactly what you were up to and to see if there might be a place for me in your ranks.”
“You want to join me?” I asked in surprise.
“Why does that shock you?”
“The last time we spoke you told me that we weren't friends.”
“You weren't trying to rule the world then.” Qaus smirked. “Now, you have my attention.”
“And your friendship?” I countered.
“Tell me your plans, and I may give you something more valuable than my friendship,” Qaus declared. “I'll give you my allegiance.”
“I'm not going to spill my plans without first having that allegiance.” I grinned at him. “But I will tell you what my goal is.”
“And what's that?” Qaus lifted a champagne glass of orange juice and sipped it casually.
“World peace.”
Qaus choked on his juice. “Excuse me? What is this; the Ms. America Pageant? There is no such thing as world peace. Peace is bad for business.”
“There will be,” I vowed. “I've already brought peace to the Middle East; one of the most violent regions in the world. I'm going to put an end to war, Qaus.”
The Arabian god stared at me a few minutes, long enough that I gave up waiting on him and started to fill my plate. My commanders followed my lead; allowing our guest time to comport himself while we focused on food. It wasn't until I began to eat that Qaus finally spoke.
“You've let the god cat out of the bag, Vervain,” Qaus said grimly. “Humans know about us again. Honestly, most of us appreciate that. We've lived too long in the shadows. Now, people are praying to us again. They're even sacrificing to us. The Gods were secretly thanking you. But then reports of your activities started pouring in and those same gods started mockingly referring to you as the Death Star. That derision disappeared when they saw the proof of your power. Now, they whisper those words with fear.”
I chuckled. The old me especially loved the Star Wars reference. “The Death Star. I like it.”
“Be straight with me, Vervain. Do you really think you can force the world into peace?”
“You did see my Dragon Army on the way in, didn't you?” I lifted a brow at him.
“Sure. Where did you find them? You go down into Hell again?”
“That's my point, Qaus,” I said smugly as I accepted a cup of coffee from Viper. “I didn't find them; I made them. As I made the Star Gods.”
Qaus gaped from me to the gods and back. “Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean; you made them?”
“I created the Dragons, they're soulless but alive. As for my star gods, I took their souls from the Void and formed new bodies for them to inhabit.” I shrugged. “Simple really, when the Void bows to your command.”
“The Void?” He whispered.
“Oh. Sorry. I forget that not all Gods know about the Void. It's the place where both God and human souls are born and where they go when their bodies die. That is, as long as no one gives them an alternate afterlife.”
“The Void,” Qaus murmured. “I've often wondered what death would hold for us. But... how do you have control over it?”
“I've always had a connection to the Void through my star. But the Star was bound by universal law. By fate, if you will. She has unlimited power. She connects me not only to the Void but also to the Nine Great Magics of Faerie. Previously, she would only fulfill requests that were in line with the greater good; the wishes that coincided with my destiny as well as that of the world.”
“Holy shit,” Qaus whispered as he cast another amazed look at the men. “And now?”
“Something freed me, Qaus.” I leaned forward to speak to him across Viper. “When I was a prisoner of the Finns, Vainamoinen used his device in front of me. I touched him while he was killing a god and something sparked between us. That jolt of power freed my star from fate. She has nothing holding her back now.”
“Hold on.” Qaus held up a hand. “You're talking about that death machine the Finns made to steal another god's power?”
My stars glanced at each other warily and then at me.
“That's the one,” I confirmed with a grin.
“And you think that Vainamoinen's creation freed you?” Qaus frowned. “Vervain, that thing was evil. He was evil. He sexually assaulted you. He tried to kill all of your husbands and your friends. Fuck, he probably would have gone after your children too.”
Viper inhaled sharply, his stare narrowing at me. “This man sexually assaulted you?”
“He's dead, honey; I killed him,” I took Viper's hand and pulled it into my lap.
“Where are your kids, by the way? Didn't you just have a baby recently?” Qaus went
on.
I hardened my stare and my voice, “ My children are fine and are none of your concern. And as far as Vainamoinen; I remember exactly what he did. But there are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Qaus.”
“Really? You go from quoting movies to quoting Shakespeare? You really have been touched by evil.” Qaus grimaced.
“I've always quoted Shakespeare. You just haven't known me long enough to hear it.” I rolled my eyes. “But what I'm trying to say is that the Universe is a magical place that doesn't hold a grudge. An evil mother can give birth to a good child. It all depends on the way the child is raised. Magic is like a child, Qaus; it can go either way depending on how you guide it.”
“You don't have that machine, do you, Vervain?” Qaus asked warily.
“She has no need of a machine,” Viper snarled. “My star can vaporize a god in an instant and take his magic for her own if she chooses to.”
“Fuck me in the ear,” Qaus whispered as he stared at me. “You are the machine.”
“I am not a death machine, Qaus!” I snapped in irritation.
“You're the Death Star. A different kind of death machine.” Qaus started to smile. “And I've always been a pragmatist. I think I'd best sign on with you, Darth Vader. Oh, excuse me, I mean; Darth Vervain.”
I laughed despite myself. “Welcome aboard the Death Star, Qaus.”
“She means that figuratively,” Viper added with a glare at Qaus. “Don't go getting any ideas.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Where to next?” Qaus asked as he bent over the world map we had spread across the council table in the war room.
I had called all of my Star Gods and Sin to meet with us, but I wasn't including the other gods who had joined me, not even Enki. They were soldiers, and soldiers go where their leaders tell them to. They didn't get to make decisions.
It turned out that Sin knew Qaus and had greeted him with surprised pleasure. Now, my general stood beside our new recruit, pointing out what we had accomplished so far.
“We're heading across Africa next,” Sin answered for me. “Once we have the continent under our control, we'll move up in the other direction and take Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia.”
“Then to the Far East?” Qaus asked eagerly. “Or will you head across the pond to America first?”
“We're saving America for last,” I said. “I'm hoping that once they see the other nations fall, they'll surrender.”
“You know Americans better than that, Vervain.” Qaus laughed. “You are one.”
“You're an American?” Viper asked me with interest.
“I was,” I admitted. “Now, I'm a woman of all lands.”
“Wherever you say you're from, you know as well as I do that America won't go down without a fight, no matter what happens to the other countries. They're stubborn like that.” Qaus shook his head.
“Stupid more like,” Sin grumbled.
“Americans are not stupid!” I slammed my fist down on the table and shocked everyone. “They can be brave and brash and yes, even stubborn, but I have faith that those in charge will do the right thing for their people. After all, I offer no harm to those who concede to my rule.”
“And who has conceded peacefully so far?” Qaus asked mildly.
“Bahrain,” I said immediately.
“You took Bahrain in an instant,” Sin argued. “You didn't fight for it. All the other regions have gone to war with us.”
“You took Bahrain in an instant?” Qaus asked eagerly. “Why can't you do that with all of them?”
“I can, I just don't want to.” I crossed my arms petulantly.
Sin laughed and nudged Qaus' shoulder with his. “She wants to give everyone a chance to accept her of their own free will.”
“She also wants to give the Gods a chance to side with her instead of against her,” Viper reminded Sin. “She doesn't want to exterminate all of the Pantheons.”
That sobered Qaus and Sin both. Sin looked away from Qaus' anxious stare, and Qaus shifted it to me.
“I don't want war,” I said for the hundredth time. “I want peace. I want Gods to live peacefully with humans. They can't live peacefully if they're all dead.”
“Very true,” Qaus said softly and gave me a strange look.
“What?” I frowned at him.
“There is still a lot of the Godhunter in you, Dark Star,” Qaus murmured. “And I find myself relieved to see it.”
I cleared my throat. “I'll put you in charge of a regiment of humans, gods, and dragon warriors then send you into Egypt. That is, if you're up for it, Qaus.”
“Egypt?” Qaus grinned at me. “What will Re say?”
“If you have any problems, be they with gods or humans or even the head of the Egyptian Pantheon, let me know.” I lifted my chin. “I will take care of them.”
“You're going to fight your husband?” Qaus whispered in shock.
“He's not my husband anymore.”
Viper's hand slid into mine, and I looked up to find him smiling at me.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The sun shone on Egypt just as mercilessly as it did on Bahrain but most of my soldiers were used to the heat while my dragon warriors and I gloried in it. I basked in the sunlight at the head of my army, standing on one side of the Suez Canal while Egypt's forces held the other. Those forces included the entire Egyptian Pantheon and at the head of those proud gods stood my husband.
I mean; my ex-husband.
Even across the water, I could see the gleam of the golden God of the Sun. His pantheon spread out to either side of him, dressed in ancient armor, looking fierce and powerfully magical. Isis with her jewel-colored wings, Ma'at with her snowy hair shining like a pearl in the sunlight, Anubis as sleek and dark as his snarling jackals, it went on and on. Gods who I'd met at my wedding to Re, those who had been wary of me, and those who had loved me. All of them now waited to try their magic against mine. They waited for a chance to kill me.
Human soldiers stood around the Gods. I would have thought that they'd be both awed and reassured by the presence of the ancient deities but their eyes were focused on us. On my dragons and my gods, even on the other humans; conquered soldiers who now fought for me. Ironically, the humans of both armies stood at opposite sides of the Mubarak Peace Bridge, waiting for the signal to cross. Then again, maybe it wasn't so ironic. I was doing this for peace after all. I just hadn't expected to fight gods who I'd considered to be friends. I hadn't expected to fight Re.
“Are you really going to fight them?” Sin asked, mimicking my thoughts. “Just do that star thing so we can move on.”
“Re,” I whispered as our past threatened to overwhelm me.
Lying in Re's arms as the sun rose to warm our skin and turn his to molten gold. Laughing up at him as he teased me and called me Lala. His head laid in my lap, a lush garden surrounding us. But no; that last memory was from the future. A broken future. Still, we'd brought our love back in time with us. The future. The past. They all rolled together with Re. We'd fought for our love. Bled for it. And here we were; standing across a great divide, at war with each other. Could I kill him? Take his light from the world forever?
“Vervain,” Viper hissed in my ear, “take them down. Finish this. Or at least give us the command to do so for you.”
“Horus,” I gasped as I saw my friend standing near his grandfather. Beside Horus was his wife, Hekate, and behind them were the rest of the God Squad. My breath stopped; lodged in my throat. Emotions raged against each other inside me but one thing became clear. “Those are my friends. I can't fight them.”
“Not anymore, Dark Star,” Viper said grimly. “They stand against you. They seek to stop us. They are not your friends.”
“Finish them fast, Vervain,” Sin suggested. “They won't feel a thing.”
In an instant, Star promised. I can kill them in an instant. It will be painless.
“No!” I screamed and magic
poured out of me in an amethyst heatwave, rolling across the canal to hit my traitorous friends and ex-husband.
They vanished. The entire Egyptian Pantheon and the God Squad were simply gone. I gaped at the hole they'd left in the ranks as my army roared in approval and rushed over the bridge, taking my action as a signal to attack. The humans faltered under the disappearance of their greatest allies. Many turned and fled while my soldiers gave chase. It would be a slaughter.
