Poseidon (The God Chronicles)

by Solomon, Kamery

  “Don’t come any closer,” I begged, holding my hand out.

  Shock and hurt flashed across his face as he took a step forward.

  “Audrey, it’s not what you—”

  “It is exactly what I think,” I said stronger. “I’ve remembered everything from before and I saw you just now. Who are you?”

  “I’m who I told you I was,” he said raising his hands above his head as he inched forward. “I’m Sy—Poseidon."

  Praise for Poseidon

  “I loved Zeus but I loved this one more! Growing up I've always been into Greek Mythology, it's always been one of my favorite subjects and there's so many different versions about the myths out there and I do like a few, but Kamery's versions happen to be my favorite. Of course in this installment there were heart stopping moments, and times I wanted to bi*** slap (mainly the author) for putting my emotions in turmoil, but other than those little incidents I loved the book.”

  ~ Heather Andrews, A Crazy Vermonter’s Book Reviews

  “Has a lot of ups and down, twist and turns that had me not wanting to stop reading.”

  ~ Michael Auriemma

  Other books by Kamery Solomon

  Forever

  The God Chronicles

  Zeus

  Poseidon

  Hades-Coming Soon!

  Big Apple Dreams

  The God Chronicles

  Poseidon

  By

  Kamery Solomon

  Happily Ever After Publishing - Arizona

  Copyright © 2013 Kamery Solomon

  Edited by Book Peddler’s Editing

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Published by

  Happily Ever After Publishing

  Arizona

  Kindle Ebook Edition

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked 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.

  This book is available in print and ebook format.

  Dedication

  For my very own soul mate, Jake.

  Acknowledgments

  Once again, the support of my family and friends has resulted in the release of a book! It’s amazing how much work I didn’t do while writing Poseidon.

  First, I have to thank my husband Jake. He watched our little monkey of a daughter so much while I worked. He also let me talk his ear off and offered endless supplies of ideas when I was stuck. Thank you babe—I love you!

  Mom and Belinda, you both have inspired and cared for me. I never would have written anything if not for you. Thank you for all of your support and help!

  Lisa Markson, you wonderful woman you. Thank you for talking me down from the ledge and convincing me that what I had was good.

  There are so many more people who deserve to be thanked and acknowledged. Forgive me for making a blanket statement now in an attempt to keep from writing another novel. Thank you very, very much!

  Prologue

  Poseidon

  The storm beat against the tiny fishing boat, pushing men to their knees. Wind whipped the sails in every direction. Water poured over the sides and took the sailors to their deaths. The machinery on board swung around uncontrolled, with no one to call them to order.

  I commanded the din of course—he was here, on the ship. It was easy to board in the chaos without anyone noticing.

  Fury and hatred crashed within me, like the waves of the sea, driving me forward to the murderer hidden below deck.

  Many lifetimes had passed since Odysseus killed my son and I’d failed in returning the favor. He’d made it back home to his wife and his journey became legend.

  He didn’t deserve such praise.

  Eventually he died and came back a reincarnation of sorts. I didn’t know how, or what God had deemed to torment me with him, only that he was back.

  I killed him, along with every other reincarnation that tried to sneak past me.

  Amphitrite, the sea, had whispered to me when he was close this time. She was like a siren, using her powers to call me to arms again, to take down the murderer. I had more than death planned this time though.

  I walked, sure footed, across the deck, while the swell picked the crew away like the mighty Kraken. Their screams were lost to me, last utterances of terror and prayers to other Gods. It was unfortunate that they served as accessories to one man’s demise, but they simply didn’t matter to me in that moment.

  Using my foot, I bashed the cabin door in, sending shrapnel every direction.

  The coward was huddling in a corner, praying for his life.

  “No one’s listening,” I said smoothly, pulling the knife from my belt.

  “What?” He looked at me in confusion and fear, water dripping off the hood of his rain jacket and into his eyes.

  With victory so close, I triumphantly pulled a small glass vile from the pocket of the pants I wore and squatted down in front of him.

  “This is water from Mnemosyne’s well,” I began.

  “The Titan Goddess of memory?” He looked at me skeptically, apparently having forgotten the storm outside in his panic.

  “I see you found a brain this time,” I said smoothly. “Yes, memories. She was quite mad when she discovered I’d taken some, said something about making me pay or regret it, blah, blah, blah. This will be worth whatever she throws at me."

  My arm shot forward, grabbing the man’s jaw and forcing it open. His hands clawed at mine, a scream tearing from his throat, as I shoved the entire bottle into his mouth and forced it closed. Blood spilled from his lips as the sharp shards pierced into his skin.

  I released him, shoving him down to the ground, and waited. It didn’t take very long for the magic to do its job.

  “Poseidon.” Recognition finally flickered in his eyes as the storm raged around us. Calm overtook the fear on his face and he relaxed. “Haven’t we done this enough yet? How many more times must I die before you forgive me?”

  “I will never forgive you,” I snarled.

  The blade ripped across his throat easily. It was only a few moments more before he lay lifeless on the floor in front of me. After I tossed him into the near typhoon around me, I smiled to myself bitterly.

  They’d never find the body. They’d be lucky if they found the boat.

  Chapter One

  Audrey

  “Oh my gosh!”

  I clapped a hand over my mouth and fell back down onto the closed toilet in surprise. Laughter started bubbling up, breaking free as I placed my hands on my stomach.

  I looked at the test again. There was definitely a line there, faint, but there!

  “I’m pregnant,” I whispered to myself.

  It didn’t matter than I was only twenty, that I didn’t have an awesome job, or that I didn’t live in my dream house. John and I were going to have a baby!

  If only my husband were here to tell. He had gone to California a little over a month ago to work on a fishing boat. I’d laughed at him, loving John out on the ocean wrangling fish! He was a history teacher, newly hired at one of the high schools here in Mesa, Arizona. He was twenty-three
, barely out of school himself, but the kids loved him. We couldn’t afford for him to be out of work all summer though, so he decided to try out the fishing company. If he liked the job this year, he’d go back every summer. That decision might change when he found out that we were expecting though!

  I wished that there were cell phone reception where he was. He was going to be so excited! I could probably make it the three or four weeks until he was home without telling anyone else.

  I practically ran out of the bathroom, test in hand, my bare feet slapping against the tile floor of our apartment. When I reached my laptop, I threw it open and searched the Internet for when my due date was.

  February. How perfect.

  John and I had been high school sweethearts. However, we’d waited to get married until he was done with school. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so we didn’t have to do any waiting for me. Once he had his bachelor’s, and believe me it was a long time coming, he proposed.

  “Audrey,” he’d said. “I know I’m not perfect and that sometimes I annoy the crap out of you.”

  I’d laughed until he got down on one knee, right there in front of me.

  “But I really do love you,” he continued, pulling a ring box out of his pocket. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, making you happy, and being the happiest man on Earth. It would honor me greatly if you would accept this ring. Will you marry me?”

  That had been in February of last year. We’d been living our own happily ever after for almost a year now. He was going to be back from his summer job just in time for our anniversary at the beginning of August.

  The good news was that I didn’t think we were going to have to move to make room for the baby. Our home was tiny, but it already had two bedrooms. We would just move his office out of the second bedroom, probably into a corner of the living room. Or maybe we would move. First, I needed to tell him the good news!

  I got up from the couch, the test still in my hand, and walked the short distance back to the bathroom. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. Already, I felt like I could see the “pregnancy glow” coming off me. That might have just been my tan though. Summers in Arizona were usually excruciatingly hot. I expected them because I’d lived here my whole life, but I still went to the pool almost every day to help beat the heat.

  I surveyed my long black hair. It might need to be cut short, so that the baby wouldn’t yank it out of my head. I would decide later. I also hoped that it got John’s green eyes. I loved looking at them—it would be perfect for our child to share that trait with their father. Hopefully it would get its father’s height too!

  I started to get out of my pajamas to shower when the phone in the kitchen started ringing. Pulling my shirt back down, I went to answer it.

  The caller I.D. said that the call was coming from the fishing company John was working for this summer. Maybe it was him!

  “Hello?” I said excitedly, my stomach twisting in the hopes that his voice would come through the line.

  “Mrs. Willis?” Disappointment shot through me.

  “Yes, this is her.”

  The man said he worked for the company. As he started explaining why he called, my insides turned cold. He continued like nothing had happened, like he wasn’t ruining my entire world.

  The phone dropped to the floor, breaking apart on the tile. I couldn’t see anything—tears filled my eyes and all I could hear was what he had said to me. My knees started to give out and before I knew it, I had collapsed against the wall.

  I couldn’t think straight. Something was wrong, really wrong. What the man had said didn’t make sense.

  I felt bile rising up in the back of my mouth. Somehow I managed to pull myself across the floor and back into the bathroom. It was a miracle I made it to the toilet before I started heaving everything up.

  Every part of me shook while my breakfast came up. I cried and cried, making my nose run even worse.

  I got filth all over myself anyway. Once I was done throwing up, I peeled all of my clothes off and collapsed into the bathtub. A minute later, I found the strength to turn the shower on. I huddled in the fetal position at one end, letting the water just wash over me.

  “Wake up, wake up, wake up,” I muttered, over and over again until no sound came from my mouth and the water ran cold.

  Eventually, I turned the water off and stumbled into the bedroom, pulling my phone off the charger and laying down on the bed.

  It must have been hours before I finally called my mom. My hair had dried completely, tangled badly from not being combed.

  “Hey, Audrey! How are you today? I was worried when you didn’t stop by this morning like you said.”

  “Mommy?” My voice broke and tears started building up again.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked in a panic. “Do you need me to come over?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “Oh, Audrey.” The relief was apparent in her voice. “That’s a good thing sweetie. I thought you wanted to have a baby?”

  “The fishing company called this morning,” I said haltingly. “John. . .” I started crying again. “His boat got caught in a storm and was lost at sea. They think everyone is. . .” I was sobbing uncontrollably by then. It was a miracle that I even got the next part out.

  “John is dead.”

  Chapter Two

  I’d seen stories on the news of people missing at sea who turned up in tiny rafts. They were rushed to the hospital and recovered from every traumatic thing that had happened to them.

  I would have given anything to see John floating on a piece of driftwood.

  The Coast Guard searched for three weeks before they decided that there was no chance for any survivors. I was told that they had searched much longer than they thought it was possible for anyone to survive. They would keep looking until they found a body, but that was it.

  After all of my time spent on a boat, numb, helping to look for anything that could point us in the right direction, I was sent home a widow.

  I kept closing my eyes, praying that when I opened them I would awake from this hell. Staying with Mom helped some, but planning the funeral made it impossible to not think about my love.

  There was no one to say goodbye to at the service. I wanted him there with me—alive and well—the pain might have been eased if I’d been able to hold his hands in mine again, kiss his sweet lips softly, and tell him how much I loved him. Instead there was nothing but my favorite picture of John in place of a casket, surrounded by flowers. I’d already hated funerals, but this . . . this was a whole new level of loathing.

  The preacher said some nice things about the afterlife and how John was probably educating angels now. Some of his students got up and told stories as well. Even Mom shared a conversation that they’d had right before we were married.

  I couldn’t stand up and say anything. It was too painful. No one had known him like I did. I wasn’t ready to share our special moments together yet. It felt like I would be letting him go if I did. Everyone kept looking to me, sad smiles on their faces, as they dared to think they knew my agony.

  Mom was the only person who knew about the baby through all of it. I already had so many people asking if I needed anything to help me through—I didn’t want a bunch of belly touching women hounding me as well.

  Every dream I’d ever had was now as dead as the husband I was never going to see again. We would never get to grow old together. We would never plan out and build our dream home. He wouldn’t get to win all of those teaching awards that he so rightly deserved. Worst of all, we would never raise a family together. I knew I would love the baby I had inside of me with every fiber of my being. But I would never get to see John as a dad, which he would have been the best at. He’d never follow us to the park with a video camera to film the first time our child went down the slide. I’d never get to see his face when he held our baby for the first time. He wouldn’t be there to help me raise it, guide us through the years, o
r send him or her out into the world they were all grown.

  As the choir from his school sang a song about grief, I promised myself that I would never love anyone like this, risking my sanity, again. My heart couldn’t take anymore lose.

  I stayed with Mom until after the funeral things were done. I could almost imagine that I’d never moved out in the first place. By then, I was nine weeks pregnant and due for a visit to the doctor. Mom had called and explained why I hadn’t come right in. I was supposed to hear the heartbeat at my first appointment.

  I drove myself to the office, knowing that I needed to get back to my own home. The desire to pick up what was left of my life was starting to shine through. I wanted to be the best mother I could and knew it wasn’t possible in my current condition. John would have wanted me to be strong—to show everyone that I could still take care of myself—and I could fake that for him.

  Pulling into the parking lot, I took a deep breath. I still had the baby to hold on to. That alone was going to keep me going. It was just a quick walk through the heat before I was in the rather drab waiting room. After a short wait, I was lying on the uncomfortable bed with my stomach uncovered while the doctor tried to find the beat.

  “I’m not really finding anything yet, Audrey,” he told me, moving the fat, wand-like instrument slowly over my abdomen. Only static came from the speaker.

  “Is that bad?” My eyes started to tear up, a million fears racing through my mind.

  “No, not at all. Sometimes we can’t hear it until later, that’s all. You should be fine.” He smiled reassuringly at me, slipped his glasses out of his black hair and back onto his nose, and then scribbled some notes on a paper he’d pulled from his white lab coat.