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Author's Note: Here's chapter 15 of book two of Apocalypse Dawn. I was hoping to have it posted earlier but I had some technical issues set me back. I hope you all enjoy. ~Amethyst.
 

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Chapter 15: War and Justice

The large foyer area that the elevator doors had opened into just outside of the restaurant was crowded and humming with the talking of people with cameras and other recording devices. Well, that answered one question, Robyn was already here. The paparazzi were buzzing around her like locusts and barely noticed us at first. That was a somewhat novel experience, given how much attention I had been drawing whenever I was without a glamour lately, and especially since gaining my newest aspects.

Then Robyn got a look at me through the crowd and her jaw dropped. I had told her that I had changed a bit with my new aspects but it seemed that it was still enough to surprise her. So at least the stunned look on her face was genuine when she spoke loud enough to be heard above the vultures circling her. “Oh, wow. You’re her, aren’t you? The one on the news, the one they say is some sort of Goddess.”

Instantly, heads and cameras swung around as the jackals with the cameras were cued into the presence of someone even more newsworthy than Robyn. Daenyss, bless her little Nymph heart, knew an opening when she saw one. She puffed herself up and gestured grandly toward me. “This is Her Imperial Majesty, Taelya nír Keshwaindyr: Chosen daughter of the Goddess Danu; Demigoddess of magick, the moon, the sea, nature, justice, love, sex, and doves; Empress of Varüus’kiel; ruler of all Fae; slayer of Tiamat the Dragon Queen; and Queen of the Heavens.”

A couple of the female hounds that were unaffected by my aura tried to get close enough to shove cameras and microphones at me while most of their fellows were too busy staring but they were quickly blocked by Harley, Nishalle, and Lissany while Pete watched my back. Nishalle had the intimidation turned up to twelve and they stopped in their tracks as she glared at them and then spoke. “Look, as long as Her Majesty doesn’t mind, you’re free to take pictures or ask questions but if anyone makes any moves that I even think might be threatening then we will defend her. You really don’t want that.”

“If she’s some sort of Goddess, why does she need protection?” one of them asked. I didn’t like the look of her or the way that she was looking at me. The woman was bleach blonde and she might have been pretty if she didn’t carry herself like a shark in a feeding frenzy.

“Oh, we’re not protecting her,” Nishalle said with a frightening grin, “our position is mostly ceremonial. The Queens of the Four Courts requested that she have an honor guard as our Empress. If she felt forced to defend herself… well, she’s not used to dealing with mere human threats anymore and could accidentally reduce you to your constituent atoms.”

“You’re actually probably safest if the big guy back there has to step in,” Harley pointed to Pete with a thumb and a grin of her own. “As a Human himself, he’s the least likely to accidentally kill you. We Beastkin are hella strong, Lissany there has fought toe to toe with creatures from your worst nightmares and she punches out dragons, think about what she could do to you. I may not look it, but I’m just as strong. Oh, and the one that you just tried to shove your way past, that’s Her Majesty’s sister, Nishalle. Also known as the Queen of the Underworld. She’s a Demigoddess of the earth, darkness, owls, and death. She’s very good at that last one.”

“Would you two please stop teasing the people with the cameras?” I said with a sigh.

The pushy lady had backed off a step and was watching Nishalle warily. She looked at me uncertainly, “You mean that she’s not…”

I managed not to laugh, keeping myself to only a smile as I shook my head, “Oh no, every word that they said was true but we’re not here to cause problems.”

“Why are you here then?” the second lady asked, pointing her video camera at my smiling face.

“Well, short-term, we’re here to eat dinner,” I replied, managing to keep myself calm and smiling for the cameras. “Long-term, we want to foster peace between Humans and non-humans, provide a safe homeland for the changed who are being persecuted for something beyond their control, and prevent humanity from being wiped off the face of the Earth.”

Robyn and Rob had managed to extract themselves from the crowd of paparazzi that were still trying to shake off my aura. Damn, it was a good thing that I saw Rob as off-limits because even without the aura affecting him he was looking a bit stunned as they approached. Robyn was too as she said, “You look… different than on the videos.”

“Well, I recently inherited some new aspects and got a bit of a power boost and it may have affected my physical form a little,” I replied as I tried to keep smiling. “You’re Robyn Reyes, right? My entourage and I are all big fans.”

“You listen to our music?” the pushy lady asked with a stunned expression.

“Of course I do, my sister and I were part Human originally and we grew up as Humans before we became fully Fae. Almost all of the ‘changed’ were Human before awakening when the Veil fell. Changes like that can be traumatic and now many are being persecuted on top of it. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that we were descended from Fae royalty. I went from a fairly average human to a Fae princess, and then to Empress of all Fae and a Demigoddess in a fairly short time, so I know how hard it is to deal with something like that. The changed need help adjusting to their new selves, not more trauma added on top,” I offered. I knew that that statement was probably loaded but I needed people to see me as an ally to both Humans and the other Races.

“Who were you before?” pushy-lady asked.

“Frankly, that’s not relevant. That is a private matter, and I’m no longer that person,” I stated flatly.

“Of course, it’s relevant! You could have been a serial killer or something!” she pressed.

“You will not slander our Empress,” Kinara suddenly interjected with a steely tone. “Some Human rulers think that they rule by divine right, but she actually does. She was chosen by the Goddess Danu, the creator of our people because she cares for all living things; Humans, Fae, and all of the other Races. Her ascension was witnessed by our people and representatives of all the races, including Humans. She was chosen because she wants peace for everyone and she is willing to fight the Gods themselves so that you Humans can have a second chance to help forge that peace and save yourselves.”

“Thank you for defending my honor, Countess Kinara,” I said, purposely using her official title. “Now, I believe that we have dinner reservations. Shall we go eat?” Then I put a pensive expression on my face for a moment before turning to Robyn and Rob. “I take it that you have reservations as well, Miss Reyes?”

“Yes, my agent suggested this place. I’m looking forward to it,” she said with a playful smile.

“Perhaps we could see if they can seat us together then? My people tell me that you have started a campaign for changed rights and I would like to discuss the topic with you. Would that be acceptable?” I asked the pop star sweetly.

“I would love to, I’m sure that you have a very unique perspective on the topic. This is my boyfriend and bodyguard, Roberto Cruz,” she replied, still smiling as she faked an introduction.

It felt weird doing introductions with them but we were still on camera and this was supposed to be our first meeting. “Allow me to introduce my entourage. The Kitsune is my fiancé, Rei and the pink-haired Yseil’dhraí who just defended my honor is Kinara nír Surínkäel, my apprentice and Countess of the Summer Court.” Since we were being all formal, I decided to use Kinara’s formal name. Although all Fae technically have one, only Yseil’dhraí ever really use them, usually in situations like this. I quickly went on to ‘introduce’ my sister and other companions as well and then gestured to the entrance to the restaurant. “Shall we, Miss Reyes?”

“Please, call me Robyn, Your Majesty” she offered with a smile as we all approached the door of the restaurant. A tall man with short black hair and a thin mustache was dressed in a tuxedo and waited behind a podium at the entrance and as soon as we entered we had his attention.

“Good evening,” I said with a smile, “I have a reservation for ten, under the name Taelya nír Keshwaindyr. I was wondering if it would be possible to be seated with the Robyn Reyes party of two. We just met and there is much that I would like to discuss with her.” I tried to keep smiling and keep my tone friendly, polite, and yet slightly authoritative.

The Maître D’ managed to tear his eyes off of me and hurried to look up my name. “Uh, yes, I see it. “I’ll check with the manager and see if we can manage to seat your parties together Miss... umm… Neerkeshwayndeer?” One good thing about my aura, people were usually eager to please, even if the men tended to walk funny. It probably wasn’t quite the reaction that Robyn was expecting though.

Uh oh. Daenyss did not look happy. “Excuse me, Sir. You are addressing the Empress of Varüus’kiel, you should address her as ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Your Imperial Majesty’.”

“Maybe I should have worn the crown,” I teased my Attendant.

Meanwhile, the Maître D’ was awkwardly hurrying off to find the manager and blurting out, “Apologies, Your Majesty,” as he left. He returned a few moments later with a tall and willowy brunette woman with a really nice black dress and a severe case of resting bitch face syndrome.

Yeah, she did not look happy to see us. In fact, she completely ignored us and walked right up to Robyn and Rob, seemingly not caring about all the cameras still pointed in our direction. “Miss Reyes, how wonderful that you decided to dine with us tonight. I would be happy to take you to your table myself.”

Robyn visibly rolled her eyes before replying, “Actually, I was wondering if we could join Empress Taelya’s party. They have a reservation as well. She’s standing right there; you can’t miss her. Sexy, pointy ears, glows in the dark.”

The woman turned to give me and my party a look of disdain. “I’m afraid that we don’t serve their kind here.”

I slowly arched a single eyebrow. “What kind would that be? Empresses? Demigods? Intelligent beings?”

“Probably the latter,” Robyn agreed. “So I guess that I’m not welcome either.”

“This is a high-class establishment, not a place for filthy forest freaks or animals,” the woman practically snarled as she glared at me. “There is only one God, and you’re not Him.”

“And here I thought that we cleaned up nice, Daenyss,” I said with a shrug before turning back to the vile restaurant manager. “Funny that you should bring that up. There are plenty of Gods out there, and I have it on Higher authority that yours isn’t one of them. You worship a book of fiction, written by Man. Hell, most of the Gods want to wipe out mankind for attitudes just like yours, now that they’ve returned. I hope that your belief comforts you but the world is changing and I would suggest that you change with it. We‘ll find somewhere else to eat, someplace that doesn’t make me lose my appetite. Would you and Roberto care to join us, Robyn?”

“We’d love to,” Robyn responded with a sweeping bow toward the reception area and the elevators beyond. “And I’ll be sure to tell all my fans and fellow musicians about this place, and to avoid it.”

“You should just buy the place, and then fire her,” Nishalle grumbled.

“Not worth it, Sis. I would rather not have my name associated with a place that discriminates against non-Humans. I won’t use my power to get back at people for being assholes to me, whether that power is magick, money, or something else. If I do that I’m no better than them, or the Gods who want to wipe the slate clean,” I replied as I turned away from the woman and we made our way through the paparazzi and back to the elevators.

All twelve of us managed to squeeze into the elevator and thankfully that left no room for any of the camera jockeys on our tails. It was funny watching them rush en masse to the other elevator as the doors closed though. “You’re too nice sometimes, Tae,” Grell pointed out, “but that’s why we all love you. I would have done something to tweak her. Though the comment about her God was nice.”

“I was only telling her the truth,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, she’s going to have to face her demons sooner than she thinks, without any help from me. I thought that it might help her to do it with a more open mind.”

“What do you mean, Tae?” Venika asked from where she was resting on her daughter’s shoulder.

“That woman is so far in the broom closet, she can see Narnia,” I replied with a roll of my eyes before deciding to elaborate. “Magick is one of my aspects, I can see it, and those who are influenced by it. She’s awakening as a Witch but she’s subconsciously fighting it so it’s taking a while. I’m guessing that she’ll accidentally summon her Familiar within a week.”

“I hope it happens while she’s working,” Whisper muttered. “Maybe it will change her for the better though, I love Shadow. She’s more than just a pet or a conduit for my magick. I kinda feel bad that we had to leave her and the Wisps at home.”

“Well, the Wisps wouldn’t fit in these little clutch purses, let alone a ferret. I feel bad about it too though,” I agreed with a sigh.

“Now would probably be a good time to get us out of here, Tae,” Rob suggested, looking up from his phone. “We can ditch the cameras that way, at least until someone spots us and snaps a photo with their phone or something. Robyn hired a limo to get us here since we figured it would get the attention of the ‘razzi outside the gates of the house. I just texted the driver to wait for the sharks to show up in the garage and then drive around the city. We’ll text him again later for a ride home.”

“You know, we have these little things called glamours if you don’t want to be noticed,” Pete pointed out sarcastically.

“Oh we do want to be noticed, this is great publicity, but having the ‘razzi chasing their own tails is fun. I’m sure that later some excited teenager or another will post photos on Twitter or something, right girls?” Robyn said with a wink toward Lissany and Kinara. “Who knows, I might post something about these amazing new friends I made and getting to talk about changed rights with the Empress of Varüus’kiel.”

“Ooh we can be seen in public together now! Some of us should probably get a social media presence going anyway, it’d get people to see us as people,” Lissany said with a feline grin as I cast a teleportation spell to get us away before the elevator could hit the ground floor.

I wasn’t quite sure where we were going to eat so I just took us somewhere that I thought we might have some privacy while we decided. “Is this…?” Venika started to ask.

“Yeah, it’s the rooftop of the Pegasus Entertainment building,” I confirmed for the Sprite. “It has a nice view and I figured that we wouldn’t be interrupted here while we decide what to do for dinner.”

“Well, I have to go back down to that underground parking lot to get my bike. If we can decide where we want to eat, I can just drive there and text you when I arrive,” my sister suggested.

“I can teleport you there Nishalle, and if you change to your Lindwyrm-hide armor I can just ride along with you in one of your pouches,” Venika offered. “It’s not like anyone is going to see what you’re wearing under that glamour anyway until it’s dispelled or wears off.”

“Sure, sound like a plan. And you always said my bike was dangerous, I never thought I’d see the day where you’re riding along with me,” the Tokh’dhraí teased.

“Well, my perspective of danger had changed a lot lately. Hanging around with you and your sister will do that to a person,” Venika shot back with a laugh.

“Okay, now that that’s decided, where do we want to eat?” Rei asked thoughtfully.

“There’s this really great Chinese place in our old neighborhood, Robyn and I still go there like once or twice a month. The owners are a nice older couple and they practically adopted Robyn when they found out that she was living on her own,” Rob proposed. “I could text Nishalle directions on how to get there from the place where her bike is. We haven’t really checked in on them since getting out of the game and it would be nice to make sure they’re doing okay.”

“Chinese does sound good; I haven’t had that since before we entered the game,” I agreed.

Since everyone was on board with the plan, Venika absconded with Nishalle so the pair could retrieve my sister’s motorbike and make their way to the place that Robyn and Rob had in mind. While we were waiting, I produced the pair of magical fruit and offered them to the couple. “How about a little appetizer before we go eat?”

Rob looked at the fruit dubiously. “This will really…”

“Grant immortality?” I finished for him. “Yes, and it will make you immune to the auras of Gods. That doesn’t give you free rein to do something stupid though, you can still be killed, it’s just a bit harder. This immortality is in the form of not aging and being unable to die from natural causes. Any wounds that would be immediately fatal to a normal person will kill you too, so don’t ever get cocky.”

“Sweet,” Robyn said before she took a bite, and then the rest of the fruit turned into a brightly glowing golden mist that seeped into her body. “Oh, that was tasty. Still not sure about the immortality thing, but it’ll be nice not to freeze up if Danu or some other Gods decide to show up.”

Rob quickly followed suit. “Well, Babe, I guess I’m doing this too then. I did promise to protect you and stay by your side for as long as we both lived.”

We were all set to just sit, talk, and relax as friends and family again while we waited for my sister’s call but not long after we got as comfortable as we could on the rooftop Whisper frowned, “Oh, that can’t be good.”

I turned my head in the direction and saw her checking her phone. “What’s up, Whisper?” I asked, figuring that my quiet night with friends and family was about to go up in flames. Her answer was to show me her phone, which was showing live news coverage of a massive flock of Harpies attacking people. There must have been at least a hundred of them.

“That’s happening in South Van, near 49th and Fraser,” the petite blonde Witch explained. She didn’t have to tell me that though, I recognized the area because it was the neighborhood where Karin and I grew up and where our human mother lived until she died.

“Yeah, I recognize it,” I said with a sigh. “Even odds that some God or another is waiting for me there.” It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that this was some sort of a trap or lure. I mean, a huge monster attack on the neighborhood that I grew up in with no warning signs? I even had a pretty good idea who it might be or at least whose lapdogs. The Harpies were a dead giveaway. Apparently, subtlety has had its day among the Greek pantheon, and that day was long past.

“You’re not planning on going, are you?” Robyn asked in concern.

“Somebody has to go help those people and at least I know that it’s probably a trap. If there are Gods there, they will just end up killing anyone that I send if I don’t go. If nobody goes then I lose my cred as a protector of the people,” I said with a sad shake of my head. “Whisper, I want you and Grell to take Robyn and Rob to the safehouse for now, they should be safe there and we can’t risk people seeing her use her Bard talents yet. Contact Venika and Nishalle and let them know what’s going on. Harley, you should probably go with them since you don’t have any armor or weapons yet.”

“Hell no! I’m your Guardian, I’m going with you. If I need a weapon, I’ll find one. Besides, you don’t have armor right now either, so you need us covering your back even more.” the unicorn Beastkin protested vehemently. There was no arguing the point with her and we really didn’t have the time anyway.

“Here, Tae, you should take the eye-cam with you. At least that way we can keep an eye on you and get some quality footage of you kicking ass,” Grell offered, putting the tiny artificed drone in my hand.

I waited until Whisper had teleported herself and the others to the safe house before I cast my own teleportation spell to a neighborhood that I had been trying to avoid since learning about the real cause of our human mother divorcing mine and Karin’s father and his eventual fate. I had mixed feelings about the woman who had originally raised us now, feelings that I would have rather ignored. This wasn’t about her though, this was about protecting people, some of whom I grew up knowing.

As soon as we appeared in front of the house that Karin and I grew up in, I took a quick look around. It was chaos with Harpies attacking anyone who hadn’t gotten to some kind of shelter. I quickly cast my Magick Armor and Energy Sheath spells with my free hand and by the time I was done the drone flew out of my other hand and seemed to vanish. It looked like Whisper had gone right to her laptop and the others had eyes on us now.

I could have cast my other defensive spells as well but Harpies don’t have any ranged or magick-based attacks, they’re mostly just annoying and swarm people. Whoever it was setting this up hadn’t shown themselves yet either, but they were probably nearby. If I used those spells now and went in with a big magick bubble on me, I’d be giving away that I knew this was a trap. Those two spells weren’t as powerful as my bubble spells but they weren’t as noticeable either and would provide a protective barrier along the surface of my body against both magick and physical attacks.

I turned to the others and put them on task. “Let’s go, everyone. Rei, take care of the injured while we deal with these abominations. Kinara, stick with him and keep both of you and the injured covered with defensive spells. Single target spells on anything that tries to attack either of you. Everyone else, try to keep each other covered until Nishalle and Venika can get here.” Then to start things off I began to speak the words and draw the sigils for my scattershot spell, targeting any Harpies in the air above us as everyone else but Harley summoned their armor and weapons and went about their tasks. “Tierre kiara tala-aeluine utaera!”

A barrage of basketball-sized blue flames erupted from my outstretched hand and into the air, briefly lighting up the night before a third of the Harpies hovering above fell from the sky trailing flames. It looked like I took out about thirty of them, which I hoped would make our job a bit easier. It would be my only shot at such an attack so I was glad to make the most of it. I couldn’t dare let off another offensive spell with this many innocent people around. I was still using too much power and I only got away with that one because I had aimed it upward.

The Harpies took my attack as a call to arms, ignoring the humans and coming straight at us. We were going to have our hands full since Kinara was our only other caster at the moment, and I had her covering Rei and the injured. The pair of them dashed off toward the nearest victim and I could already sense Kinara layering defensive spells. A Harpy swooped down toward the pair but Daenyss already had her Glock drawn and brought the creature down as Lissany tossed her sword toward Harley before drawing her war hammer. Pete already had his massive claymore drawn to meet the charge.

“Harley, catch!” Lissany called out to her fellow Guardian as the sword sailed toward her through the air.

Harley was already in the fray. The svelte unicorn Beastkin had grabbed a swooping Harpy by the throat and kicked it in the chest so hard that I could hear the crack of the creature’s neck and ribs breaking. She dropped her first victim and gracefully snatched the sword out of the air and, seemingly in the same motion, lopped the head off of another approaching Harpy. “Thanks, Lissany!”

I was trying to stay close to my protectors and Daenyss as my Attendant and I used our guns to keep them from being overwhelmed. Thank Goddess I had learned physical skills like gymnastics, acrobatics, and kurinshal though because I was having to constantly stay in motion to avoid our opponents' strikes at me and take attacks of opportunity. It also saved my ass by helping me avoid a sword aimed at my throat while in the thick of the melee. My physical protection spell would have stopped it but still, that was alarming.

Shit! Whoever it was attacking me had most of the Harpies trying to overwhelm the others while the others kept me on the move to try and separate us. My protectors were trying to get to me but they would have to carve their way through dozens of Harpies to do so. I grimaced and turned to the woman who had attacked me, holstering my pistols and drawing my swords as I looked her over.

She had olive skin and long black hair tied back in a braid and she was dressed in Greek-style armor. She also had a sneer of disdain on her pretty face and a whip hanging from her belt. “You know,” I said conversationally, “generally, it’s considered polite to introduce yourself before you try to remove someone’s head.”

She didn’t take her eyes off of me for a second, carefully watching my movements. “I am Nemesis. You and your allies interfere in the plans of the Gods and mock us with your mere existence. I am here to deliver retribution for your hubris. Today you face justice.”

I would have rolled my eyes as we circled one another but I needed to keep my eyes on her. “Wow. Irony much? You’re lecturing me on hubris? I know all about justice. It happens to be one of my aspects and since you’re not exactly impartial, you can take your justice and shove it up whatever passes for your ass. Did you know that justice is blind?”

I launched forward as quickly as I could my right blade aiming for her left eye. As she moved to block it my other blade nearly managed to slice open her right side before she staggered back out of range and regarded me more warily. She had underestimated me but she was a warrior and I couldn’t be sure if I would get another opportunity like that. She was biding time, waiting, and I had a feeling that I knew what for.

I should have just used my wings and attacked from the air from the start, but if I tried to take to the skies those Harpies would have been all over me and I was worried about being separated from the others. Good going, Taelya, that happened anyway. And I knew that whoever Nemesis was partnered up with was probably waiting to put a blade in my back as soon as we were in the thick of battle. Two-on-one odds weren’t something that I was fond of, especially against me. “Great mother, where is Nishalle when I need her,” I thought in frustration.

~Your sister and Venika have been waylaid by a similar attack of Chimeras, and she is facing off against Thanatos. They have separated you in hopes of taking you both out of the picture. Nishalle is doing well for herself but you must focus on your own fight. You face two warriors with millennia of experience and they wield weapons meant to kill Gods. Even if they are weak Gods, those swords can kill you,~ Danu advised, the voice slipping into my thoughts as I watched my opponent, waiting for her to make her move.

~So, it is two-on-one, and one is just waiting to stab me in the back, I would guess. What should I do?~ I asked Her warily as I batted aside an initial lunge from my opponent.

~Without those swords they are extremely weak. Nemesis only has the justice aspect and Ares only has war and courage, and both have their flaws. Nemesis is arrogant and blinded by love, and Ares is not a God of War because of his intellect but rather because he is bloodthirsty and savage. Trust in your instincts and your loved ones.~ With that advice given, her presence faded from my mind.

She had given me more help than I was expecting there. For one thing, she had told me who my other opponent was, and for another, she had let me know that their swords could kill Gods. The thing is, that meant that I wasn’t the only one in this fight that they could kill. Trust in my loved ones? I had been thinking that this fight would end up as two-on-one, but that didn’t have to be the case.

I kept my eyes on Nemesis and smiled at her as I calmly sheathed one of my swords and said, “Daenyss.” Her brief confusion was enough. Even as my Attendant appeared beside me and started unloading her clip into the Goddess I lunged forward. The bullets might not hurt her, they didn’t even penetrate her skin, but that wasn’t why she was shooting. I closed the distance in a blink and got inside her guard to knock her sword aside and send it skittering across the pavement.

We both leaped for the blade but I had her on her heels and it gave me enough of an edge that I was the one who came up with the God-killer sword in my free hand. Nemesis looked pissed as she drew her whip and snapped, “Dammit, Ares, you’re supposed to be helping me here!”

A masculine voice emerged from the shadows between two nearby houses behind me. “And you’re supposed to be giving me an opening. Just because you’re fucking my father doesn’t mean that you’re in charge here. I came here for one reason, to kill that bitch and take her essence and aspects.”

Keeping one eye on Nemesis, I took stock of the situation. Daenyss had de-summoned her Glock so she was probably switching weapons. Ares was behind me somewhere and Nemesis was regarding me more cautiously now. My protectors were still fighting a couple of dozen Harpies, but Lissany had made her way to the edge of the flock and she had that determined gait that said nothing was going to stand between her and me and live to tell the tale.

“Geez, Ares,” I called out to taunt the shadows behind me. “I guess the rotten fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. You shame yourself, the God of War and Courage hiding in the shadows.”

Holy shit, I could actually feel his anger and bloodlust coming at me from behind, that is until the sound of a sickening crunch when his face was intercepted by Lissany’s war hammer. I may have laid out a good taunt just now, but Lissany was the champ. “Wow, for a God of War, you suck. The big bad God of War and Courage was going to try to kill a girl from behind while she’s in honorable combat? Epic fail, dude. You’re all the same, so I know what you’re thinking; ‘I am a God, puny mortal, no man can defeat me, yada yada, ad nauseum’.”

While she was making him more and more furious with her words it sounded like she was pounding the crap out of him with her hammer as well. She had gotten the drop on him in his anger and I was hoping that she could keep him occupied until I finished off Nemesis. I had to trust in my Guardian, I had my own fight for now and my opponent’s whip had just lashed out to ensnare my arm holding the God-killer.

I held my position, pulling hard against her whip. Daenyss had summoned her AK-47 and was letting Nemesis have it, firing her entire clip into the Goddess’s face. It was like so many mosquitos to her but she instinctively brought up her free arm to shield her face. When I stopped pulling at her whip and lunged forward she lost her balance, giving me the precious few seconds that I needed to thrust the sword into her heart.

Nemesis collapsed and, even as we fell to the ground, I felt her essence joining my own. Since she only had one aspect and it was one that I shared I wouldn’t get any of those from her but I didn’t care about that and I was more concerned over Lissany at the moment. She had managed to keep Ares on his heels but he was starting to shake off her blows and his sword cut clean through her chest piece and caused her to hiss in pain even as she landed a blow to his head with her hammer that staggered him. I couldn’t let her take another close call like that.

I wrenched the sword from Nemesis’s corpse and tossed it to my Guardian. “Liss, catch!”

Ares was still shaking off her blow as Lissany dropped her war hammer on his foot and caught the blade with all the grace and balance of a feline to cut his head clean off. Even from where I was standing I could see she had a Cheshire cat’s grin on her face as she said, “I am no man.” As his body hit the pavement, Lissany stumbled, the sword falling from her hand as she wobbled a bit.

Daenyss and I both rushed to my first Guardian, grabbing her by the shoulders to steady her. “Liss! Are you okay kiddo?” I asked, my heart racing in worry.

She shook her head as if to clear it, taking off her helmet. She smiled to try and reassure me but her bright green feline eyes were glowing with pale emerald light as she said, “Whoa, that was a rush. I’m fine… I think. My regeneration has already healed the little cut he gave me, I just got a little dizzy there. Good thing that I’m getting new armor soon. We should help the others finish up those… Harpies?”

She trailed off and was staring up at the sky where thousands of winged figures were descending from the darkened night sky, so many that they blocked the light of the moon. Daenyss gasped beside me and said in a hushed tone, “Mistress? I think they just got reinforcements.”