The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7)

by Sumida, Amy

  Torrent has decided to stay on with us at Pride Palace. He has money he'd hid in a Swiss bank account that he could use to buy his own place but he says he likes living with all the guys, that they're fun to be around. I think he's found kindred spirits in my lions, men who were abused as he was and who escaped their abuser. I think they're good for him and I think he's good for them too.

  The Thunderbirds, or Wakiya as I was later told is their original name, have kept in touch with us through Teharon and even come over for occasional barbeques. Several of my lions seem to have taken an interest in some of the bird women and I can't help but laugh over the whole cat chasing a bird thing. Mrs. E has stuck around as well so far, and seems to be healing but she's not exactly a talker and it's hard to tell sometimes.

  Thor's dating again, I haven't met her yet but I'm told she's a nice neutral goddess who doesn't want to kill me, so she can't be all that bad. If his mood is any indication, she must be something special because he's been a lot easier to be around. Of course that could just be the love magic working.

  Faerie has continued to speak to the High King and Queen and they in turn have brought the other royals into the fold. They're determined to give all fey the opportunity to converse with the land, partially in hopes that with so many people speaking to her, Faerie will never go silent again.

  The Wild Hunt haunts me no longer. I'm finally getting the knack of accepting all of myself, letting each side be itself without judgment from the others. My Nahual remains a combination of jaguar and dragon though, I know I must keep the dragon in check if I'm to hold onto my other beasts.

  Thanks to my father's ring, I'm now able to spend time with all of my lovers without leaving any one of them alone too long, or even at all, as is the case with Arach. I've figured out that a day in our realms equals about a month in Faerie, so I could actually stay with Arach for a little over two years before Trevor would start to die. It's a relief to know I don't have to worry about Trevor when I'm in Faerie, a huge weight off my shoulders.

  I'm finding a sense of balance, not only in my love life but with the different aspects of myself. I think I've finally got everything under control, if only I didn't have this strange feeling that I'm not yet complete.

  Keep reading for sneak peeks into the next two novels in the Godhunter Series:

  Harvest of the Gods

  &

  A Fey Harvest

  These two books are the beginning of a split series. They will be released simultaneously and will follow the Godhunter's adventures through the God and Human Realms in one book(Harvest of the Gods) and the Faerie Realm in the other(A Fey Harvest). You have the option of either reading these books together, hopping from one to the other as Vervain traces from one Realm to the other, or you may read them one after the other, although it's recommended that you start with Harvest of the Gods.

  Harvest of the Gods

  Chapter One

  A great roar filled my ears, my throat, my land, and it was all lion.

  I specify that it was lion because I now held three beasts within me and when I roared, I never knew what was going to come out. Today though, I ran with the Pride, seventy-three beautiful lions of differing color. We stalked through the tall grass at the far reaches of my territory, near the mountain range that defined my land.

  We'd already hunted and brought down 3 wild pigs for our supper, so now we were headed back, the pigs carried over the shoulders of three of my lions, who had changed back to their human forms to handle the meat. They were naked and wild looking with the carcasses over their shoulders. A few years ago I would have been embarrassed to see them like that but not any more.

  Now I was their Tima, their heart, Goddess of Love and Lions, as well as Rouva to the Froekn. Trevor, my alpha mate, was a Froekn Prince but when I hunted with my Intare, he stayed home, along with my other lovers. All except Kirill, my Ganza and sole black lion, who walked beside me as we headed home to Pride Palace.

  I breathed in deep, taking in the smell of the land and my lions. Earth, sweet grass, and the faint scent of moisture on the breeze fought with the masculine aromas of heated male flesh and lion fur. The ground beneath my paws was soft and I dug my claws into it as I walked, loving the feel of stretching them out. The taste of blood was still in my mouth and I savored it, knowing that soon the kill would be roasting over a fire and adding its delicious scent to the rest.

  We reached the edge of the lake and paused, all of us instinctively looking toward the spot that had become our graveyard. A little ways off from the lake, back under the shade of some delicate trees, stood six gravestones. The lions we'd lost ever since I'd become Tima. The wound was still fresh in all of us and a low mewling spread through the ranks before we moved on.

  Alfred, Rick, Hamish, George, Alan, and Noel. Their names were branded in me, each of them leaving a ragged tear where we'd once been connected. I don't understand how Nyavirezi could stand to kill her own men when she was their Goddess. How had she coped with the grief of it? Maybe she hadn't felt any, she was a cold-hearted bitch if ever I'd met one.

  Yeah, the last Goddess of the Intare had killed her own with a flippancy reserved for backwoods, inbred sociopaths, sometimes even forcing them to kill each other. Then they were even denied a proper burial, tossed into mass pits near the mountains behind the palace. We'd made the area into a garden, at the center of which we placed a large stone carved with all the names of the Intare buried there. I hadn't known those men but my lions had and I was happy to give them a memorial that hopefully brought the living lions some peace.

  I'd finally got over my guilt in the recent deaths, knowing now that my men were happy at last and that they'd all fought gladly beside me to protect that happiness, knowing that death was a possibility. Darius said the men who died since I'd taken over, died free and that each and every one of them would rather die like that than under the cruel thumb of their previous Tima. Having met and killed the woman, I agreed.

  I saw Trevor waiting on the wide veranda leading to the front door of the palace. He smiled when he saw us and Kirill and I broke free of the pride and ran the rest of the way to him. The scrape of thick claws on wood reminded me that I hadn't withdrawn them so I flexed my paws and padded the rest of the way silently. Trevor's hand stroked down the back of my head as I rubbed by him and through the door he held open for me.

  “How was the hunt?” His bright honey colored eyes gleamed at me.

  “Good,” answered Kirill and I glanced behind me to see that my black lion had returned to his glorious human body, which was now only clothes in his hair. Since his black hair hung to about mid-thigh on him, this was actually more of a cover-up than you'd imagine. He had a definite Lady Godiva thing going on. He grinned at me, noting my perusal and swinging back all that beautiful hair to give me a better luck. “Pork for dinner.”

  “Pigs huh?” Trevor followed me, barely even noticing my second lover's display, as I headed for the master bedroom we shared with Kirill.

  I waited till I was inside before I changed back to human, the lioness flowing away with a tingling rush. I shook out my long, dark hair(I could rock the Godiva look too) and looked back at Trevor with a grin.

  “Three little piggies,” I teased, “and you didn't even have to huff or puff, my big bad wolf.”

  “Damn,” he laughed and caught me up in a hug, “can't we still do a little huffing?”

  “That is about the least romantic thing you could possibly say to me,” I griped.

  “Now come on,” he set me down on the bed. “I'm sure I could think of something worse.”

  “Ridiculous,” Kirill shook his head and headed past us. “I go shower, you two have fun.”

  “Oh please,” Trevor rolled his eyes, “you get just as cheesy as I do and you know you're gonna come back out here in a few minutes to join in, so don't give me that shit.”

  “Don't get Tima too tired,” Kirill shot back with a smirk, “you know I last longer zan you.” He disap
peared through the bathroom door before Trevor could respond.

  “Hmph,” Trevor looked at me with a smirk. “We'll see about that.”

  A Fey Harvest

  Chapter One

  The Faerie King was right where I'd left him.

  I smiled at Arach and he smiled back indolently at me from where he slouched against the back of our massive bed. The sheets were stilled mussed from the last time I'd been there, which was all of two minutes for him. He was covered on with a sheet, the edge curling at his abdomen like it was beckoning me closer.

  “Miss me?” I joked.

  “Unbearably,” his grin grew and he crooked a finger at me. I crawled over the expanse of the bed to him and he pulled me against him like he was the one who'd gone without for so long. “What took you so long?”

  “What, was I a minute late?” I lifted my face for a kiss and he didn't disappoint, clutching me tighter as his mouth covered mine with a conqueror's dedication. When he finally pulled away, I was left shaken, my breath coming fast and my eyes fastened to his.

  “You were seconds late,” he growled and started pulling at my red dress. “Don't do it again.”

  I let him remove the dress but I stopped his roving hands before he could get to my underwear. I slid in beneath the sheet and pressed up against him, sliding my arms around his waist and dropping my cheek to his solid chest so I could listen to his heart.

  “Something's amiss,” he stated as if it were fact. Which, of course, it was.

  “I just found out the Froekn are suffering because of a decision that was influenced by me.”

  “The werewolves?” He frowned. “What kind of decision was this?”

  “One to switch professions,” I sighed. “The wolves used to kill for a living, they were the assassins of the gods but that didn't really sit well with me, so Trevor opened a nightclub and hired a lot of Froekn in an effort to make me more comfortable with my new family.”

  “Why were you uncomfortable?”

  “How did I know you were going to say that?” I shook my head and sat back up to look at him, the sheet sliding up around my hips and giving me a tantalizing glance at him. “Think about how I might view it, killing people for money.”

  “Ah,” his expression cleared, “indeed. Proceed.”

  “The Froekn took to the idea with gusto,” I smiled at the memory of first opening Moonshine. “They love the club Trevor made and even Fenrir was supportive.”

  “And the problem is?”

  “The Froekn aren't technically gods,” I stretched my neck to try to ease some of the tension that had been steadily accumulating. “It's why they were so good as assassins. Gods have trouble killing each other, something to do with the magic but since Froekn aren't really gods, they don't have a problem with it. They are magic though and immortal, both of which is inherited through Fenrir. What Trevor and I hadn't known was that Fenrir's magic is what sustains the Froekn, and the magic requires energy to keep going.”

  “Energy previously received from the slayings,” Arach nodded.

  “Yes, very good,” I huffed a laugh. Of course he would understand, he was more magical than any god could ever be. “So when they stopped killing...”

  “The magic lost potency,” he frowned. “Are the wolves dying?”

  “I...” my mouth dropped open. “Oh fuck, I hadn't thought of that. I wonder if they'll lose their immortality.”

  “Possibly,” Arach had a thoughtful look on his face, “but if they haven't started dying yet, it's unlikely. I believe a withdrawal that extreme would have immediate results. Magic wants to live, as all living things do, it would sooner conserve resources than cut off hosts in such a way.”

  “Conserve resources,” I grimaced, “as in preventing the birth of more Froekn who would create a greater draw on the power?”

  “Yes, precisely,” his brows came down over his slightly upward tilted eyes, making it look as if his face had lengthened and stretched down the center. “Is this what has happened?”

  “My friend Samantha is married to Fallon, one of my lions.”

  “Yes, I've met them both.”

  “Right, I forgot,” I gave him a sad smile. “They've been trying to have a baby and she just found out she's sterile.”

  “Ah,” he nodded, “I grieve for her. I know the pain of empty arms, a home empty of your child's laughter.”

  “Arach,” my heart clenched.

  He wanted a child badly, had in fact thought to never have one, since our race had been killed off by humans. My appearance had sparked hope for both him and his Kingdom. The possibility of an heir to the Throne of Fire and a new line of dragon-sidhe. He'd only recently won me over as a lover, even though we were married(long story), so I wasn't sure I was ready for children yet.

  The Ring of Remembrance which I'd inherited from my father, which allowed me to travel in time and made it possible for me to be with Arach practically continually without spending any time apart from my other lovers, also made children with Arach a possibility. I could actually have children in Faerie and my other men wouldn't ever even see me pregnant.

  It was a bit of a shock for me, who'd thought I'd never have children. I'd been happy with Vidar and Vali, my sons from another life. I had memories of raising them which fulfilled any urge I might have had to have a child. I wasn't sure if I wanted any in this life but I felt like I was being incredibly selfish if I didn't give Arach the child he'd been desiring for so long.

  “We have time,” he said as if in answer to my internal struggle. “Don't fret about our possible children now. It's your Froekn friend you're concerned with at the moment.”

  “Right,” I gave a relieved huff. The talk of dragon babies could wait for another day. “I was hoping there might be something in Faerie to help, some spell or fertility fey or something like that?”

  I could tell by his grim expression that the news would be bad.

  “A Thaisce, I thought you knew about our own issues with fertility. Don't you think we would have healed ourselves if we had anything like that?”

  “Oh, right,” I recalled suddenly a conversation I'd had with the High King, in which he'd told me how the fey had been reproducing less and less. It had been one of the considerations to opening the way between Faerie and the Human Realm once more. He'd thought that the fey might have better luck reproducing with humans.

  “Even if we possessed the magic to help you,” he touched my face and turned it toward his gently, “I would advise against the use of it in such a circumstance.”

  “But why?”

  “What do you think will happen if you force the magic to create another life it cannot sustain?”

  “It would have to...”

  “Yes,” his face was soft with sympathy. “It would have to take a life, possibly that of your Wolf Prince himself. Would you sacrifice Trevor's life for that of a hypothetical child?”

  “No, of course not,” I slumped back against him.

  “It's best to leave the magic alone,” his hand was stroking over my long hair, I'd left it to hang loose down my back for him. I knew he liked to play with it. “Tampering with the natural order of things always has a price.”

  “We were going to try to find a fertility goddess to help her,” I thought of my determination to kill Demeter and take her power so I could help Sam. Demeter needed to die anyway so it seemed like a perfect solution.

  “Please don't do this,” his forehead came down to touch mine. “As royalty we have to make hard decisions. Sometimes the hardest is when you decide to do nothing. It's the price we pay to rule. Sometimes the right thing to do is to do nothing. Leave this alone, let the magic work itself out.”

  “I can't give up on her so easily,” I pulled back to look at him, his deep red hair tousled, framing a lean face accented by red scales at the temples, and those bright dragon eyes staring at me in concern. “I'm going to keep looking for another way.”

  “Well,” he smiled, “if you do find a w
ay to bring back fertility, Faerie would benefit too. The few births we've had since the way to the Human world was closed, have been to lesser fey. There's been no sidhe births at all in over fifteen-thousand years.”

  “What?” I pulled back even further, to stare at him in shock. “I thought you only started having problems since the way was closed, that's only been about five-hundred years.”

  “Five-hundred human years,” Arach chided me as if I, above all other humans, should have known the difference between time in Faerie and time in the Human Realm. He was right of course. “That's around fifteen-thousand fairy years, give or take a few hundred,” he shrugged. “Time here is so flexible.”

  “So you've been waiting for a mate for-”

  “I've been waiting for you for fifteen-thousand years,” he nodded. “Now do you see why I was such an asshole?”

  “You've been spending time with Roarke,” I shook my head and smiled to hide my shock. I'd thought Odin had waited a long time for me. “You weren't so much of an asshole as a supreme egotistical bastard.”

  “Well, I feel so much better now,” he laughed and pulled me back against his side.

  “Why have there been no sidhe births in so long?” I whispered, like I thought the land could hear me and I didn't want to offend her. Probably because Faerie really could hear me.

  “We don't know,” he said and I felt his shrug beneath my cheek. “Now that you've given us back the power to speak to Faerie, we've all asked her but she doesn't respond. Or if she does, it's in riddles.”

  “Riddles?” I remembered the way she spoke to me and almost as if the memory called her, I felt her presence in my mind and her voice filled my head.