by Amy Sumida
Nepra: (Neh-prah)Egyptian Spirit of the Corn, lives in Re's territory.
Ninigi: (Nee-nee-gee) Niniginomikoto, Japanese Shinto God of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, the Central Land of the Reed Plains, also known as Izumo, Japan.
Nora: Phooka turned into first water phooka, engaged to King Guirmean. Daughter of Albion and Sonasag
Nuada: (New-ah-dah)Celtic God of Healing, has a silver arm.
Odin: AKA The Allfather, AKA Oathbreaker. Norse God of the Occult. Married to Sabine in the past, now married to Vervain. Father of Thor, Balder, Vidar, and Vali. Member of the God Squad. Has two ravens; Hugin and Munin, and two wolves; Geri and Freki.
Oran: (Ah-ran) Fire cat-sidhe.
Osiris: Egyptian God of the Afterlife. Married to Isis, father of Horus.
Pan: Greek God of Nature. Member of the God Squad.
Papa Gede: (Papa Geh-day) Vodou lwa, member of the Gede.
Pasithea: Greek Goddess of Relaxation. Married to Hypnos, mother of Morpheus, Phobetor, and Phantasus. Creator of Net.
Pele: Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano.
Persephone: (Per-sef-oh-knee) Greek Goddess of Spring. Married to Hades. Member of the God Squad. AKA Bunny-Nose.
Phantasus: (Fan-tah-sus)One of the three Oneiroi, Greek God of Illusion. Brother to Morpheus and Phobetor, son of Pasithea and Hypnos. Deceased.
Phobetor: (For-bet-tore) Greek God of Nightmares. One of the three Oneiroi. Son of Hypnos and Pasithea, brother to Morpheus and Phantasus.
Poseidon: Greek God of the Sea. Married to Amphitrite.
Ptah: (Pa-tah) Egyptian Creator God. Married to Sekhmet, father of Nefertem.
Qaus: (Kow-sus)Arabian Weather God associated with rainbows.
Rainieri: (Rain-nee-er-ree) AKA Rain, lead singer for Dark Horses, a Celtic horse-shifter.
Raphael: Archangel of Healing, Ruler of the 2nd Heaven.
Re: Egyptian God of the Sun. Vervain's boyfriend. Father of Sekhmet, Bastet, and Shu, was married to Lusaset (deceased).
Rebecca: Human sorceress and necromancer. Deceased.
Rhiannon: Celtic Goddess of Horses. Dated Constantin and Hanuman.
Rian: (Ree-an) Vervain and Arach's son, twin to Brevyn.
Rikshas: Hindu bear-shifters. Demi-gods.
Rind: (Rin-d) Norse Giantess, mother of Vali.
Roarke: (Roar-k) King of the Fire Cat-Sidhe, father to Hunter.
Rosemary: Dark-sidhe of Greed.
Rowan: King of the House of Darkness, married to Liatris, father of Sinnea and Baidhen.
Rue: Dark-sidhe of Hunger, father of Zinnia.
Sabine: Vervain's name in her past life when she was married to Odin.
Samael: Archangel of Death (Yes, there's more than one) and Ruler of the 5th Heaven.
Samantha: Froekn(werewolf) married to Fallon and one of Vervain's best friends. Mother of Zariel.
Samara: Future daughter of Vervain and Arach. Dragon-sidhe and Princess of Fire.
Samuel: AKA War, Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Sarama: Hindu Goddess of Dogs, Bitch of Heaven.
Sarasvati: (Sare-ras-vah-tee) AKA Sara. Hindu Goddess of Knowledge. Married to Brahma. Member of the God Squad.
Sekhmet: (Seck-met) Egyptian Warrior Goddess of Healing: Lioness-shifter, daughter of Lusaset and Re, twin of Bastet, mother of Nefertem.
Scotaidh: (Sco-tee) Imp.
Sebastian: Future angel son of Azrael and Vervain.
Senna: Dark-sidhe of Malice.
Silenus: Greek God of Prophecy. Drunkard. Companion to Dionysus.
Siuna: (Sh'ooh-nah) Female fire pixie dating Diarmad.
Snarl: Ellingran faerie male.
Sokar: (So-car) Egyptian God of the Buried. Brother to Ptah, resides in Aaru.
Suparnas: Hindu falcon-shifters.
Susanoo: (Soo-sah-no) Japanese Shinto God of Storms, Seas, and Summer.
Tagas: (Tah-gahs) Angel of Music.
Takamahara: (Tah-kah-mah-ha-rah) Japanese Heaven, reserved for gods alone.
Taog: (Took) Hidden-One who's married to Fionnaghal, father of Mini V, Deidre, and Daoir.
Taraghlan: (Tare-ah-gawn) Air-sidhe.
Tawiskaron: (Tah-wisk-kah-ron) Mohawk Demon God of Darkness. Teharon's twin brother and son of Nayenezgani and Atahensic. Deceased.
Teharon: (Teh-hah-ron) Mohawk Creator God of Healing. Son of Naye and Atahensic, twin brother of Tawiskaron. Dating Karni-Mata. Member of the God Squad.
Tefnut: (Teff-newt) Egyptian Goddess of Moisture, wife of Shu, mother of Nut.
Tepu-yn: (Teh-poo-in) Egyptian Spirit of the Corn, resides in Re's territory.
Thaddeus: AKA Ted, Antichrist, Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Thor: Norse God of Storms. Son of Odin and Iord, brother to Vali, Vidar, and Balder. Prince and Guardian of Asgard. Member of the God Squad.
Thoth: (Toth) Egyptian God of Knowledge.
Thrud: Norse Goddess of War. Thor and Sif's daughter, brother to Ull.
Thunderbirds: Native American bird-shifters.
Tobadzistsini: AKA Toby. Navajo God of Darkness. Son of Mr T and Mrs E, twin brother of Naye.
Torrent: Demi-god creation of Iktomi. Made of god magic and Internet magic. Dating Artemis and member of the God Squad.
Trevor: AKA VéulfR, AKA Honey-Eyes. Froekn Prince and Heir Apparent. First born son of Fenrir. Married to Vervain.
Trillium: Dark-sidhe of Obsession.
TryggulfR: AKA Ty, Froekn(werewolf) 3rd son of Fenrir, Brother to Trevor and UnnúlfR.
Tsohanoai: (So-ha-noe-ayee) AKA Mr T. Navajo God of the Sun. Married to Mrs E, father to Naye and Toby. Member of the God Squad.
Ull: (uh-LL) Viking God of Justice. Son of Sif and stepson to Thor. Deceased.
Una: (Oooh-nah) Fire cat-sidhe.
UnnúlfR: Froekn (werewolf), 2nd son of Fenrir, brother to Trevor and Ty.
Vali: Norse God of Archery and Hunting. Son of Odin and Rind, adopted son of Sabine, brother to Vidar, Thor, and Balder.
Valkyries: Odin's warrior goddesses. They include Brynhildr (Brin-hill-da), Eir (Air), Herja (Her-yah), and Kara.
Vampires: This pertains mainly to the Aztec strain, children of Blue and Eztli. They include: Ajax, William, Alexandra, and Jason.
Vanaras: Hindu were-monkeys. Demi-gods.
Vayu: Hindu God of Air. Father of Hanuman.
Vero: Future son of Trevor and Vervain. God of Moon and Wolves, Froekn (werewolf).
Vervain: main character- the Godhunter. Also a Hidden-One child called Mini V for the sake of clarity, daughter of Taog and Fionnaghal.
Vidar: Norse God of Vengeance and Silence. Son of Odin and Sabine, brother to Vali, Thor, and Balder.
Vinata: Hindu Mother of Suparnas.
Violet: Dark-sidhe of Heartache.
Xi Wang Mu: (See-wang-moo) Chinese Mother Goddess. Dating Kuan-Ti.
Yarrow: Dark-sidhe of Exploitation.
Yemanja: (Yay-mahn-yah) Vodou lwa (low-ah) of the Sea. Also Santerian orisha (La Sirene) of the Sea.
Yominokuni: (Yo-me-no-coo-nee) Japanese Land of the Dead.
Zachariel: (Zah-care-ree-all) Archangel of Healing.
Zariel: First Intare (lion-shifter) ever born. Daughter of Fallon and Samantha.
Zeus: Greek God of the Sky. Married to Hera, father of Athena, Artemis, and Apollo.
Zinnia: Baby dark-sidhe born to Dahlia and Rue.
Chapter One
Was there anything better than immortal butterflies?
I shifted my stare from the shimmer of blue, butterfly wings to the deep sapphire eyes of my Intare husband. Yes, there was something better. A lot of somethings actually. I stretched languidly against Kirill, rolling my neck on the crook of his thickly muscled arm, and sighed in bliss. As it often did these days, his palm found its way to my rounded belly, and a growl of satisfaction rumbled in his chest.
Kirill was finally getting his wish. He was going to be a father. Our daughter, Lesya, was growing rapidly in my belly, a sparkling presence inside me. We already knew her name, and her
sex, because of my trip to the future. So I'd also been confident in my choice of soul for her, a god soul to match Kirill's magical contribution. My connection to the Void, as well as the Source, allowed me to choose souls or essences for my children. They could be fully one thing, as Lesya would be, or they could have dual souls, like my twins, Rian and Brevyn. I suppose I could have even figured out a way to give my children triple souls, like Brevyn had ended up with. Human, God, and Fey. I had three races inside me. Just as I had three magics, and three beasts. All ruled under, and bound together by, my nine-pointed star.
But I knew Lesya needed to be completely Intare, so she could rule the Pride in the unlikely, but always possible, event of my death. So I had made her a goddess of lions. She'd be my heir, Princess of the Intare, and I assumed she would receive a portion of my lioness magic when she was born. If I ever died, the rest of the Intare magic would rush immediately to her, an act of self-preservation on the magic's part. Magic wanted to live as much as anything else, and it would try to find a new home if its old one was destroyed.
Still, with all of these assumptions, and the things I already knew about my daughter from our brief time together in that tragic future I corrected, we weren't entirely sure what power she'd have. What she'd really be like in this timeline. I guess it didn't matter, as long as she was healthy and happy.
I could see my sentiments mirrored in Kirill's suede blue eyes. He would be happy even if Lesya was born without magic, just as long as she was born. Kirill's lips found mine, and his hip-length, dark hair fell to the side of us in a silky curtain, blocking us from the view of my other husbands, who were walking up the winding path of the butterfly garden.
“Hey, enough of that now,” Trevor teased as he plopped down in the grass beside us. “Look where it got us,” he waved a hand toward my stomach.
“Damage is done,” Kirill chuckled, and went on in his Russian accent, “Vervain can't get more pregnant.”
“No, but she can get more tired,” Odin took a seat with a bit more grace than Trevor had. “And I'd like some alone time with our wife tonight.”
“That sounds lovely,” I slid my arm out to Odin, and he took my hand. “Are we going out or staying in?”
“Staying in,” Azrael, my angelic husband (literally) strode up with a grim countenance. “I've just had a call from Cernunnos.”
“Cernunnos called you?” I sat up, easing Kirill back gently. “On what?”
“My phone,” Azrael frowned at me like he wasn't sure if I was messing with him or not.
“The Horned God has a phone?” I gaped at Az.
“Doesn't everyone?” Az shot back.
“Ha ha,” I grimaced.
Azrael was actually quoting me, back when I was first trying to get all of my god friends to be more connected. One of my tactics had been telling them that most humans, even the poorest, had cell phones. Gods didn't like to be outdone by humans. But I also knew that most gods hadn't upgraded to human means of communication yet, and Cernunnos in particular was a forest god, not exactly the type to give into technology.
“I gave him one when he got back from Faerie,” Az shrugged. “I figured you'd want to keep in touch with him.”
“Is there any news?” I went still.
The main reason I'd wanted to keep in touch with Cernunnos, despite him being an awesome guy who had saved my life, was that he was also a Celtic god. One of the few who hadn't involved himself in their latest civil war, that between the Tuatha Dé Dannan and the Formorians. Both groups were a sort of sub-class of the Celtic Pantheon.
Cernunnos, and our friend Lugh, had both sat out the Battle of Tara. In fact, they had both been together in Faerie at the time, an entirely different realm than the one the war was waged in. Cernunnos had just been visiting. Lugh, however, had moved to Faerie after I'd unwittingly divulged his true parentage.
Lugh had grown up thinking his father was a dead god, when in fact, he was very much alive, and also the High King of Faerie. Not a god at all. Now Lugh was a prince, a high prince (which is pretty much the best sort of prince you can be), and he was also one of the few dual-souled beings in existence. God souls can't mix with faerie essences. So when a faerie has a baby with a god, the child is born with both.
“Yes, and it's bad,” Azrael took a seat between Trevor and Odin.
Kirill sat up behind me, and laid his hand supportively against my back. I leaned into him without thinking.
“The Tuatha lost?” Odin asked.
“Yes,” Azrael said. “Horribly. The Celtic territory is under Formorian rule now, and the Tuatha have suffered great loses. The least of which was Tara itself.”
“Morrigan?” Trevor growled the name of my nemesis, and we all tensed. Morrigan was a Tuatha Dé Dannan.
“Lives,” Azrael shook his head. “That she would survive when so many others didn't... it's ironic to say the least.”
“That woman is a cockroach,” I growled, “disgustingly scary and really hard to kill.”
“Ve need big can of Raid,” Kirill huffed, and I gave him a little smile.
“Who died?” Odin asked, and I jerked my gaze back to Azrael.
“I'm so sorry, Odin,” Az laid his hand on Odin's arm sympathetically. “Nuada is dead.”
Odin tensed, his jaw clenching, and I crawled across the space separating us, to hug him. He fell against me, his face settling into my neck, and shuddered. But he didn't shed a single tear. Odin just stayed there a few minutes to gain his composure before he let go of me.
“Are you alright?” I asked him.
“I need to tell Thor,” Odin gave me a quick kiss, and got to his feet, abruptly striding out of the garden as we all gaped after him.
“Okay,” I blinked in surprise.
“I guess he didn't want to hear about the others,” Azrael sighed.
“What others?” I asked. “Who else died?”
“Dagda,” Azrael said solemnly.
“Their king?” I made a disbelieving sound. “Wow, that must have been a heavy blow for them.”
“Dagda held them together,” Azrael nodded. “Now the Tuatha have scattered, and are rumored to be hiding in the Human Realm.”
“Hiding?” Trevor's voice was a mix of sympathy and scorn. He'd had to hide once too, and had vowed to never do so again.
“They have nowhere else to go,” Azrael shrugged. “The entire Celtic territory is controlled by the Formorians now. The only free zone left is Cernunnos' forest.”
“He's good at remaining neutral,” I offered.
“Yeah, he said King Elatha likes him,” Azrael huffed.
“Oh no, what about Nuada's dogs?” I asked suddenly. “They'll be waiting for him on his island. Who's going to take care of them now?”
“They're fine,” Azrael assured me. “Cernunnos went to fetch them, and he took the dogs back to Faerie. Lugh has them now.”
“Oh, that's good,” I relaxed. “The poor things. They're probably missing Nuada.”
“Cernunnos said he would have kept the dogs himself, but with everything as it is, he felt they'd be safer in Faerie,” Az went on. “Plus, they are fey creatures. Faerie is their home.”
“Safer?” I lifted a brow. “I thought he said Elatha liked him?”
“He also said Elatha could be fickle,” Azrael grimaced.
“I still don't know where I stand on that whole situation,” I said honestly. “Elatha seemed nice enough to me, and frankly, I'd demolish anyone who tried to keep my people in an underground prison, like the Tuatha did to the Formorians.”
“But remember what they were like before the Tuatha put them there,” Trevor shook his head. “The Tuatha didn't feel as if they had a choice.”
“I can't remember,” I sighed. “That's the point. I wasn't there, and I have a feeling that there's a lot we weren't told. I can only judge the Formorians on how they behave now. If they start using their magic to harm the Human Realm or the humans who live there, then I'll have a problem with them. A
s it is, I say we just leave them be.”
“I agree,” Kirill nodded, replacing his hand on my belly. “Ve need to focus on our own family now. Let zem deal vith zeir problems.”
“Sounds good to me,” Trevor laid back in the grass. “Dad always said, 'Don't go borrowing trouble'. Wait,” Trevor made a face. “No, that was Ty. Dad always said, 'Wolves are a source of trouble, not the afflicted.' But I think we'll go with Ty on this one.”
“So be it,” Azrael nodded, and stretched out in the grass too.
I snuggled back among my men happily, thoughts of war receding to the feel of strong arms, and the scent of lion, wolf, and angel. We'd had enough drama lately, it was time to let trouble pass us by.
But as I looked up at the glimmering butterflies fluttering above us, I knew that this serenity wouldn't last. Someone would cry wolf, and I would go running to help them defend their sheep. I'm a softy like that. Or maybe it was just mommy hormones.
Chapter Two
“Holy hellhounds!” Azrael exclaimed as he came through the door,
“What now?” I rolled my eyes as I rolled my body over in bed. My face landed in Kirill's side, and he maneuvered me up onto his chest. Still, my voice came out muffled when I continued, “No more bad news, Az.”
“This isn't bad,” Azrael sat down near my hip, and slipped a hand beneath the sheet. “I promise.”
“What are you promising?” I perked up as his hand eased between my thighs.
“Hey,” Kirill growled, “I vas here first.”
Both Azrael and I looked at Kirill in surprise, but the Russian werelion just pulled my body across his chest, away from Azrael's reach, and went back to sleep. I blinked down at Kirill, then gave Azrael wide eyes. Kirill didn't usually balk at sharing.
“O-kay,” Azrael drew out the word, and then laid a newspaper down beside me. “So I guess you don't want to see this?”
I rolled off Kirill, much to his consternation, and swatted at the hands that tried to pull me back. Sitting up, I scooped the newspaper off the mattress, and perused its front page. It was one of those high end papers, like you find in New York or London, except this one wasn't made by humans. It was the Hermes Herald, published by Pan's father, Hermes. I grimaced at the name of the newspaper. Of course Hermes had named it after himself.