The Rise of Fortune and Fury (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 5)

When the fae comes toe to toe with me, he glares down. His lips peel back in a sinister grin and he rasps, “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

And then to my shock, his face begins to distort and melt, until I realize I’m watching a glamour receding.

A powerful glamour I could not see under.

Rune stands before me, and I know I’m dead.

“You can’t,” I try to argue because the gods are not to interfere. But deep in my heart, I know that Rune has never played by the rules, nor does he care for them.

“I can,” he replies coldly. “I can stop your attempts to thwart Kymaris, kill you now, and then stand by and watch as Carrick finds your dead body. I can’t wait to hear his howls of pain.”

Without dwelling too much on how demented this god is, I try to keep him talking because every word we exchange will forestall my death. “Why do you care if Kymaris wins? I thought the gods didn’t care about outcomes, only how the game is played.”

Rune laughs, and it’s the evil kind heard in the movies. Deep and taunting. His voice bubbles with superiority. “I am the god of Life, which means I am the god of Death. The Underworld and all of its inherent evil have always been more precious to me than the Earth realm.”

“Or you’ve struck some kind of deal with Kymaris,” I allege condescendingly. I don’t actually believe that at all, as Rune has no true need of Kymaris. It’s a stall tactic, no more.

I can see the idea of him stooping to strike a deal with anyone offends him, but before he can retort or smite me, something comes flying at Rune.

It’s a blur, so fast I can’t make out the details, but, in my heart, I know it’s Carrick.

He crashes into Rune so hard there’s a tiny pop as the magic he had surrounded me with releases. Hurriedly, I suck in a huge breath as my lungs start to fill.

I scramble up just as Rune and Carrick go rolling over and over on the ground. When they stop, they both jump apart and ready themselves to battle.

“You stay the fuck away from her,” Carrick snarls, and the ground actually shakes from the volume of his fury.

“Careful, demi-god,” Rune sneers. “I can kill you both with the snap of my finger.”

Carrick doesn’t give him a chance to act, merely charges.

Actually bends distance since, in a flash, he’s before Rune, throwing an uppercut to Rune’s jaw that is so powerful, the god goes flying upward a few feet before crashing to the ground.

But Rune is infinitely stronger than Carrick and he disappears, only to reappear with his hand around Carrick’s throat. He squeezes, lifting my love off his feet, and blood starts trickling out of the corner of Carrick’s mouth.

“Yes,” Rune taunts with a laugh. “I can kill you with a snap of my finger, but I’d rather draw it out.”

“No,” I scream so loudly I can feel my throat shredding with the vehemence in my voice.

I run for Rune, intent on attacking him, but also knowing it will be futile. I make it no more than one step when there is a massive boom and a flash of white light that blinds me and I’m knocked backward off my feet. Once again, I land on my back as the breath is knocked out of me.

Sitting up, I shake my head, which is fuzzy, and blink my eyes to focus on what that was.

And before me stands four of the five gods… Veda, Circe, Onyx, and Cato. But they are different. Not in casual clothing or with serene smiles of good luck on their faces like they had mere hours ago.

All four are dressed in shining plates of battle armor over buttery leather pants and shirts. They are glowing so brightly I have to put my hand up to shield my eyes.

All four are glaring with rage at Rune, who, to my surprise, is on his knees with a golden sphere of a cage around him. It has webbing that covers the entire circumference, and it doesn’t provide a large enough hole for him to escape. However, the thing vibrates with such power, I can tell he couldn’t escape it if he wanted to.

Rune roars with fury and demands, “Let me out of here.”

I try to stand, but I’m dizzy, and it’s not from having been knocked around a few times. The amount of power and vengeful emotion radiating from the gods is disorienting. But then hands are under my arms and Carrick lifts me, eventually supporting me with an arm around my waist. He pulls me backward several feet away from The Council as they face off.

“You didn’t think you could keep your perfidy from us, did you?” Cato asks with fury, and a booming rumble of thunder is heard in the distance.