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.
Acknowledgements
This book never would have entered into existence if not for my husband and a little movie magic. During one of our fantastic date nights, we watched a superhero movie at our local theatre. As I watched the various scenes unfold, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be fun to write about the God of Thunder falling in love? Obviously, it couldn’t be Thor, who was already having major motion pictures made. When we left the theatre, I shared my musings with Jake, who immediately suggested Zeus. Boy, did I love that idea!
I ran lots of ideas past a lot of people, so I’d like to thank all of my family and friends in general. I’m sure I rambled on about Zeus quite a few times—you were all really helpful, even if you were listening to me talk to myself!
Thank you to everyone who helped watch my daughter while I worked. I would still be writing Zeus now if I hadn’t had your help!
And lastly, thank you to my editor, Irene. You helped make this what it is today, for which I am extremely grateful! You’ve taught me a lot and I plan on learning more from you in the future.
~ Kamery ~
About The Author
Kamery is not the person who grew up dreaming of the day that she would clutch her very own novel to her chest, tears brimming over the rims of her eyes as she thought about how she'd written it herself, finally! In fact, anything remotely like that didn't even happen until she was actually holding her first book in her hand, amazed that she'd written it and wondering how on Earth she'd managed to do it when it hadn't ever occurred to her to write one until months before. Surprisingly, though, it was just what she never realized she loved doing.
When starting out in life, Kamery had (and still has) big dreams to perform on Broadway. She loves music and acting very much, while she and dance have a love/hate relationship; she would love to do it and every form of dance decides it hates that about her, haha! The one constant she always had between the performing world and the book world were the stories, tales that transported her to other worlds and made her feel like she really could do anything. Finally, she decided she wanted to do that for someone else and sat down to write.
It's been a few years since she held that first book, realizing that she really liked writing and wanted to do more, but the love that blossomed in that moment has only grown. Currently, Kamery works from home in the White Mountains of Arizona, while taking care of her two adorable kids, a girl and a boy, and talking her sweet husband Jake's ear off about the insane amount of characters in her head who are ready to fight to the death for a chance at their own novels. She also gets together with other authors in the family and they all gab together, making up The Royal Court of the Queens of Romance. It truly is a wonderful life!
www.kamerysolomonbooks.com
Zeus (The God Chronicles #1) Page 25
