Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Lindsey R. Loucks

  But everything came to a vote, and each vote carried a different weight. Queen’s vote was as heavy as the leader, as she was the eldest god. Coupling that with the fact that there were more major gods with her than against her, the opposition never got anywhere.

  The gods were still stupid enough to allow her to elect everyone, as she was the eldest. But she feared that comfort was soon coming close to an end, so she had to speed up her plans.

  Tonight was the night. The first time that a god would ever shed blood against another god. The leader of Ifor was going to fall and with it, the opposition.

  “Dammit, Queen, we never get anywhere. You have us on the council but we never get a say!”

  “Then I suggest you argue harder.”

  “This is me arguing, Queen. Even though you’re not the leader, you have more say than anybody else, more votes than half of us combined. I believe that your eldest god bullshit is really a power play.”

  “He created me first. I have more knowledge of the world than all of you combined. Who else’s word should we listen to, other than the very one who observed He the longest? Some country bumpkin? Or shall we get some human from the fields to guide us?”

  “It’s that stubbornness that will be your downfall, Queen.” There was a sudden stillness in his voice.

  Queen raised an eyebrow. “Was that a threat, Zakhehus?” Even though Zakhehus was powerful, he wasn’t strong enough to fight against all of them. The minor gods who followed him would barely be worth the lift of a finger.

  “You can see it however you want, Queen. The major gods tower over the minors and you revel in it. The wisest aren’t ruling, only the ones who paid you off.”

  Queen stood to her feet. “Baseless accusations!”

  Zakhehus laughed. “We all know it, Queen. I’m the only one who’s speaking up about it.”

  Before Queen called answer back, a bell dinged in the hall.

  “Crap,” Queen muttered under her breath. She cursed her own misdeeds. Once that bell rang, all Ifor discussions must come to an end.

  She had it implemented because the Ifor council’s discussions would go on for hours and hours, into nights and days. When there were two sides of egotistical gods arguing to try to get their way, no one ever backed down. So, an hour limit was set on the discussions. Unless it was a special case, which only she and the leader could call. Sadly, this wasn’t one of them.

  Zakhehus smiled as the echoes of the bell died down. She wasn’t about to extend this discussion.

  But Zakhehus had the final say, “The gods are growing less ignorant of your actions by the day, Queen. Don’t be surprised when you can’t control them anymore.”

  He and the other major gods with the opposition left. The gods remaining stared at Queen. Midas spoke up first, “He’s gotten cocky, the bastard.”

  Another major god, Sofia, the goddess of the ocean, said, “They need to be taken care of. As he continues to openly defy us, we will look weak to the other gods. We cannot allow that to happen.”

  As the god of the ocean, she had the most to lose if she lost her position, as she controlled the largest domain, the seas. She also had one of the largest mountains in the heavens because of it.

  Queen looked at them; because of these gods, she was still in the position she was. If she dissatisfied them to a certain extent, her rule would be cut short. All she needed now was one of the major gods under her to oppose her. As they all had the same goals, they would put someone else in power to get what they wanted. They were a fickle bunch. She hated working with them.

  Midas said, “We had an agreement when we agreed to not oppose you, Queen. You—”

  “And the agreement is still in order. The leader of the opposition will be gone by dawn.”

  They gave her a gutless look. They were all cowards. Nobody had killed a god before. Definitely, not another god. They wanted it done, yet they still shied away from talking about it. That’s why she was their leader, why she would be able to accomplish their goals.

  To usurp He from his throne and rule over humanity on their own terms.

  If He wasn’t going to speak with them, then He didn’t deserve their graces.

  Queen still sat in her seat in the hall. It was an hour after the discussions had ended. In a few hours, she would set her plans in motion.

  But first…

  “Omniscient Man?” She meant for it to be a shout but it came out as a whimper. Nobody answered.

  She was too late.

  “Yes?” A voice appeared to come from everywhere at once. A tear opened up above her. Inside of it, she could see the countless stars she’d seen before. He was here, but she couldn’t see him.

  “I agree to your terms,” Queen said, trying to figure out where he was.

  “Sorry, but you’re too late.”

  The hole above her closed and his voice disappeared.

  “Wait! Omniscient Man!” she screamed. She was too late? What did that mean?

  She screamed his name again and again, but he never showed up.

  Clouds thundered and clashed in the heavens. A storm of gray and steel amalgamated in the sky. The whooping and sudden crashing electrons in the sky spit out beams of blue lightning.

  The humans below fled from the sheer might of the storm, herding their livestock into their barns and cowering inside their stone huts.

  A young Svante sat on the side of a mountain, looking down at them. From that distance, the rain wouldn’t touch his naked skin, thanks to the Eye of the World.

  The sun was setting to his right, painting the sky orange, and the storm brewing to the left, steel blue. It provided a strange clarity. Everything seemed clearer to Svante.

  He loved watching thunderstorms, it calmed and excited him at the same time. It made electricity run through his veins. He could calm the storm, if needed. Not that he ever tried.

  He watched as another village prepared for the storm, as it was heading towards them.

  Pulling their cows and sheep into shelter, harvesting the last of their crops and boarding up their windows.

  He wondered how the humans could live the way they did. Without the direct words of He himself. To believe in the words of the gods without heed.

  Svante was barely holding on without his word and yet, they lived their lives never meeting him. That impressed him.

  The last time He spoke to Svante, Svante was feeling down. About who he was, what he was to become. His brother was the god of war, the most powerful god so far. Yet, he was charismatic, he was loved.

  Svante was worried he wouldn’t be able to live up to his name.

  When Svante told He this, He simply told him...

  “To become the light,” Svante muttered.

  That was the last time he had seen him. The last time He gave Svante his guidance. Svante pined to see He again. But with the way things were going, that was never going to happen.

  To become the light. He didn’t know how to do that.

  “And here I thought you left me behind,” a woman’s voice came from behind him. He turned to her. The woman’s naked skin glistened in the setting sun.

  “Why would I leave such a beautiful woman behind, Anja?”

  Anja sat next to him, looking out into the world. She laid her head on his shoulder. She was beautiful. Queen had designated her the god of lust. She could’ve made any man fall for her but she chose Svante. At least, for the meantime. She took the designation in stride. Even if her brother thought otherwise.

  She was as He made her.

  “Why are you staring out into the world so shortly after we made love? Did I blow your world that much?”

  “No, it just wasn’t what I was expecting from… you know, the god of lust.”

  “What!?” Anja almost fell off of the cliff. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?” Her green eyes pierced into his soul.

  “It was a joke, you were fine.”

  Anja slapped Svante and tried to shove him off of the mountainside.


  “Ow, come on, stop.” He grabbed her arms and brought them around her back, bringing his face an inch from hers. “It was just a joke.” He kissed her.

  She pulled back and smiled. “Ready again, already?”

  Svante sat back down. “Not yet,” he said with a smile.

  Anja sat beside him. “I’m still getting used to this god of lust label. My brother hates it but I know I’m not that dreadful.”

  “It wasn’t your choice to be labeled that. But I guess it could be seen as a compliment that you are the most alluring god there is.”

  “Oh, stop. I haven’t even mastered my power to charm yet.”

  “So? I haven’t mastered my powers yet.”

  “You’re the last god made from the Radiant, Svante. I was born from the union between two gods and you’re older. You don’t have an excuse.”

  “So?”

  “Is that all you’re going to say?”

  “…So?”

  “So! No other god will be born from the Radiant itself anymore, you were created directly by He, you have to become something more than us other gods, you’re the last representation of He.”

  Svante didn’t answer, he looked back out into the sky. The storm was eclipsing the horizon. He had always wondered why He made him when gods could’ve been born by natural birth. Anja noticed his mood.

  “Sorry… This is about He, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe.”

  Anja put an arm around him. “Well, He’s gone now, He stopped talking to us. We have to accept that. It’s been a hundred years. He abandoned us.”

  “He didn’t abandon us!”

  “He… believes we can live on without him. He believes we can, that means we are able to. So no more wallowing in self-pity. If the humans can live without him, so can we.”

  Svante looked at the stone huts below.

  “…You’re right. I don’t know why Queen named you the god of lust. You seem too smart for that.”

  “It makes me unassuming. I would rather have that, than have people expect something of me.”

  “Must be easy, then.”

  “Stop,” she said, as she planted her lips on his. She stood up, looking at the setting sun. “I better go before my brother gets worried.”

  She looked up the mountain; there was a gateway to heaven up there. She sighed.

  “Wait,” Svante said standing up, “I can get you home faster.”

  “No, my brother wouldn’t like it, plus I don’t want to have any rumors about us.”

  “Rumors that are true?”

  “Yep,” she said as she walked up the mountain, and she was gone.

  Svante looked up the mountain. What a tempting mistress.

  “Brother!” a voice came from his left. Zakhehus walked onto the cliff, holding clothes in his hand. “I brought you clothes.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I always knew about your excursions with Anja. I’m your brother, not some person with his head in the clouds.”

  Zakhehus, Svante’s brother. Both of them were made from the Wavering Radiant and not from the seed of another god. But He had told them that they were brothers. They looked similar enough and both were strong fighters.

  To Svante, Zakhehus looked like an older, sexier, more charming, charismatic version of himself. The god of war, god of fire, a major god and in the council of Ifor.

  He was everything Svante wanted to be.

  Svante grabbed his clothes from his brother and started to get dressed. “Please, don’t tell Chaos about this?”

  “Chaos? Don’t worry about him. Chaos isn’t even his real name, He named him Elazar. Don’t let him scare you.”

  “I’m not scared of him, I’m just lying with his younger sister and I don’t feel like having to deal with him.”

  Zakhehus tone became serious. “Ignore him and hurry up, we have a bigger problem to deal with. An emergency council meeting has been called.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Gorou is dead.”

  “What? The god of fortune?”

  “His good fortune ran out it seems. He was one of my best friends and he is dead. I know who killed him.”

  Svante stared at his brother in disbelief. Killed? No god was ever killed. “Wait, killed? Who could’ve done such a thing!?”

  “It will all become clear in the morning, let’s go.”

  Dusk filled the marble-laced window. Svante leaned on the window sill; from here he could see the entire city of the gods.

  It was getting dark around the mountain to his left, the orange fringes of the sun danced around its edges. Above, hundreds of small lights started to peek through the dark blue.

  Small stone huts made up Svante’s view. A large colosseum peeked on the edge. That was where gods could spar each other; they held tournaments so gods could test their might. It was how Svante learned that his strength was something special. Although his brother was always stronger and higher-ranking than him in the matches and won every fight he fought, while, Svante’s win-loss ratio wasn’t perfect. But he was still a force to be reckoned with.

  Svante watched as little children ran down the marble street, various shops closing up for the night.

  Not every god had a unique job. Some ruled small nations of humans on Earth, others ran stores that sold their wares from their travels.

  Svante wondered what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He had passed the age where most gods would have chosen their life’s duties.

  He knew he wasn’t fated to a life of mundanity, he couldn’t be a shop keeper, or allowed to simply walk the Earth… which was his true dream. To become a traveler, to experience the edges of the Earth.

  He was too powerful for that. They wouldn’t allow a god like himself to simply exist without a purpose.

  He had to become somebody. His brother said he would be the next god of war. A meaningless title, as the gods had never experienced a war, but it was still a prestigious title.

  A title he was going to have to fulfill eventually.

  Svante sighed as the streets quietly emptied.

  This was where the majority of gods lived. Most of the minor gods. The ones who didn’t have some great power or influence. Most of the major gods lived on their own mountains, if they didn’t have a large swath of land down on Earth. Isolated from the world. The rest were forced to live on Mount Olympus, the largest mountain in the world.

  Svante lived with his brother, who lived on Mount Olympus. He told Queen he didn’t want to own his own mountain but instead wanted to live with the people.

  Even still, his estate took a large part of the mountain.

  “Svante!”

  Svante jumped as his brother came up to him. “What is it, brother?”

  “Are you calling it a night?”

  “Maybe, I’m not sure yet. Ruslan and I might sleep on the edge of Mount Olympus.”

  “I need you to stay in tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “I can’t say for sure. But I need you to stay inside tonight. No matter what you hear outside.”

  “What? What’s going to happen tonight? Does it have to do with Gorou?”

  His brother’s demeanor got darker.

  “Just stay inside.”

  His brother turned to leave.

  “Wait! Where are you going?”

  “The emergency council meeting.”

  “Wait!”

  Svante grabbed his brother’s arm. His brother stopped. “I don’t like what you’re saying. Tell me what’s going on. What’s going to happen, brother?”

  “Nothing. Just what needs to happen.”

  He left. Svante stared at the door. He said he knew who killed Gorou. What was he going to do?

  Svante looked back out the window.

  He guessed he wouldn’t be going out.

  In the council hall, Queen stood over a dead body: Afin’s, the leader of Ifor. Afin’s neck had been sliced open, his blood splatter covered the
marble floor.

  His accusing eyes stared at Queen as she looked at him. Pitiful it had to come to this.

  A door slam echoed in the halls. Queen smiled. Right on time.

  Zakhehus walked into the hall, he froze as he saw Afin’s body. “You…you!”

  “Nice of you to join us, Zakhehus.”

  “Queen, what have you done?”

  “I haven’t done a thing. I just arrived.”

  “Bullshit, Queen! First, Gorou, and now our leader! I wouldn’t have expected you to stoop so low.”

  “So quick with your accusations, Zakhehus. Blaming me, when you killed the leader.”

  “What!”

  Soldiers ran into the hall and surrounded him, weapons out and at the ready.

  “I see now. You won’t get away with this.”

  “Oh, but I think I will, Zakhehus.”

  Zakhehus laughed. “That’s where you are mistaken.”

  Half of the soldiers turned their weapons on the other soldiers. Holding their blades and spears to their necks. A strange illumination materialized on their blades.

  The silver of their blades was studded with sparkling glitter. Each blade was a different color. From blue, red, pink, to green and yellow.

  Queen stared at the weapons with her mouth agape.

  Zakhehus said, “Your rule is coming to an end.”

  12

  The Eye of the World

  Lightning and thunder clouds clashed together in a near-silent embrace. Svante heard an ominous deep rumbling underneath the chaos.

  He floated in a dark abyss as the black clouds approached him. Blue electric sparks swirled within the clouds as it closed onto him.

  He allowed them to consume him, the electricity of it running through his body. This was his power. His source. The clouds grew brighter as the electricity pooled in front of Svante. It swelled brighter and brighter until—

  There was a screech that pierced through the clouds and the darkness around him.

  Svante jumped awake. He was lying in his bed, the morning sun peering through the window next to him.