by Unknown
Rain or Monkeyshine
Amy Sumida
Copyright © 2015 Amy Sumida
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10:1511843659
ISBN-13: 978-1511843652
DEDICATION
For Karmen “with a K”, for helping to bring me out of my own stasis.
More Books by Amy Sumida
The Godhunter Series(in order)
Godhunter
Of Gods and Wolves
Oathbreaker
Marked by Death
Green Tea and Black Death
A Taste for Blood
The Tainted Web
Series Split:
These books can be read together or separately
Harvest of the Gods & A Fey Harvest
Into the Void & Out of the Darkness
Perchance to Die
Tracing Thunder
Light as a Feather
(Rain or Monkeyshine)
Blood Bound
Eye of Re
Beyond the Godhunter
(a new spin off series)
A Darker Element
Other Books
The Twilight Court
Fairy Struck
Pixie-Led
Raven Mocking
The Magic of Fabric
Feeding the Lwas: A Vodou Cookbook
There's a Goddess Too
The Vampire-Werewolf Complex
Enchantress
Pronunciation Guide
A Thaisce(My Treasure): Ah-hash-keh
Aillidh: Ah-lee
Anjana: Ahn-juh-nah
Aodh: Ee
Aoife: Ee-fa
Arach: Air-roc
Bearach: BEH-ruck
Caitir: Kay-tir
Carus(Love): Care-us
Cian: Key-an
Craigor: Kraeg-or
Daoir: Daheer
Drachleen-sidhe: Druch-leen Shee
Eilidh: Ael-ee
Ellingran: El-ING-rawn
Estsanatlehi(Mrs E): Es-tan-AHT-lu-hee
Farinne-sidhe: Fare-nya Shee
Fionnuala: Finn-noo-lah
Fionnaghal: Fyoon-ghal-a
Froekn(Valiant): Fro-kin
Garuda: Gah-roo-dah
Gruach: Groo-ah
Hanuman: Hahn-new-mahn
Huitzilopochtli: Weet-seal-oh-POACHED-lee
Intare: In-tar-ay
Jambavant: Jom-bah-vahnt
Kirill: Key-reel
Leannan-sidhe: Lah-nan Shee
Minn Elska(My Love): Minh-L-skah
Meilyr: May-ler
Nephthys: Nep-th-es
Peig: Paeg
Raiseala: Rash-uh-lah
Sarasvati: Sare-rass-vah-tee
Scotaidh: SCO-tee
Shehaquim: Shah-ha-keem
Tairhail: Tah-vel
Taog: Took
Tima(Heart) Tee-mah
Tlaloc: T-la-lock
Tsohanoai(Mr. T): So-ha-noe-ayee
Chapter One
My life has been about change since the first day I killed a god but lately it seems like change has taken over completely.
I was sitting on the couch in my bedroom of Pride Palace, my gaze going back and forth between the new additions I'd made to the structure. At the front corners of the room, I'd added towers. They branched off from the bedroom, bracketing the balcony, with spiraling staircases that led up and out into the tower rooms. Each tower had two levels and each level had a large bedroom, four total. One for each of my lovers, with the exception of Arach of course.
Although Arach would be coming to visit more now. The men had all agreed that since he'd be sacrificing some time with me in the Faerie Realm so that he could visit me in the God Realm, they'd let him share my bed during his visits. Which meant he didn't need his own room.
Ever since Alaric, the consciousness of the Void, had revealed himself to me and warned me that trouble was coming, my men had become a little nervous. And a little annoying.
They'd insisted that all of them move into the palace, or at least have a place available for them to live in, so that they could better guard me. From what, none of us knew since Alaric wouldn't say, but they weren't taking any chances. So they'd convinced me to build the tower additions onto the castle. Now each of them had their own space, Kirill and Trevor in one tower while Odin and Azrael were in the other.
Azrael wouldn't be around as often as the other three but he was temporarily moving out of Shehaquim(aka the Third Heaven) and moving into his tower room here so that when he wasn't doing his job as the Angel of Death, he could help watch over me. This was a pretty big deal since Azrael actually ruled Shehaquim. He had to get Michael(that's the Archangel Michael) to look after it in his stead. I was told this had caused a bit of an uproar in all of the Heavens but Azrael didn't seem to care. For once, he was going to shirk some of his responsibilities and I think that kind of thrilled him. I was told Michael was tickled pink about it as well and had gleefully taken on the role of ruler.
The tower rooms had been Odin's idea. We were just going to have everyone move into the bedroom with me, Trevor, and Kirill but Odin had pointed out that it would be nice for each of them to have a place all of their own. They were all alpha type personalities after all and sharing a space with three other men could become stressful, even with my lioness magic bonding them and easing the way.
The other men had responded well to the idea, even Trevor and Kirill, who I hadn't thought would be so receptive to it. They said that although things worked well with the three of us in one bedroom, adding two more men to the mix would make things less comfortable. With them each having their own rooms, they could take turns sleeping in my bed.
Arach was being just as overprotective as the others and as much as I liked having him more involved in my entire life, not just the life I lived in Faerie as his Queen, I wanted our time together to be about more than planning for a possible attack. He'd even invited all of us over to Faerie so that my other men could take a look at Castle Aithinne's security measures.
That was fun(insert eye roll here).
I frowned as the sounds of Azrael settling into his new bedroom drifted down to me. They were all so happy about the new living arrangements but it made me uncomfortable. I have no idea why. I just had this weird feeling in my gut that I couldn't shake. Maybe it was the whole taking turns thing, like I was a toy to be shared. Sigh. That was stupid. They all loved me and wanted to protect me. None of them thought of me as a toy. In fact, if you thought about it, I was the one who got the better end of the deal. So what was bothering me?
“Where do I go if I want to be alone?” I finally voiced the question that had been churning in my gut.
I'm an artist. Before all this godhunting began, I used to spend days alone in my studio, just me and Nick, my gray tabby cat, painting. I mean I would paint, not Nick, though he did like to get into my paints every once in awhile. I liked being alone. I needed to be alone. At least for a little while, every now and then. With everyone moving in, I wouldn't have that anymore.
“What's that, Minn Elska?” Trevor came in from my walk-in closet and drove my point home.
He was holding a box of his clothes which he was taking up to his new room. I think he was secretly happy just to have a non-girly place to put his stuff. I kind of got to decorate since it was my territory and I was the one with the magic to transform things in it. In my defense, I had built Trevor a massive cabin in the mountains.
“Nothing,” I sighed. “Do you like your room? I can change the furniture if you want?”
Having the ability to t
ransform objects in my own territory was probably the most convenient magic I had. It saved us a ton of money and labor. No carting beds up the stairs and no limit on how many we could have. Which is a good thing when you have just under eighty werelions in the house.
“No, it's perfect,” he grinned at me and ran up the stairs.
I was distracted from my melancholy for just a moment while I admired the breadth of his back and his well-formed rear end. I truly was a lucky woman, each of my men had stunning physiques. So why was I sitting there sulking?
It had been a month since I'd loved and lost, and then lost my love for Tobadzistsini, aka Toby, aka Mrs E's and Mr T's son. I wasn't mourning him. No, that was impossible since the ritual we'd undergone to separate our magics(long story), had removed our love for each other as well. So I wasn't heartbroken over him but I did still have the memory of our time together.
It was so strange to remember loving someone and not be able to feel that love. When I loved, it was forever. I could get over someone, learn to live without them, and move on, but I never stopped loving them. Thor was a prime example of that. I would go to my grave loving Thor but I'd accepted the fact that a relationship between us had become impossible. With Toby, it was a different situation entirely. For Toby, I felt nothing.
And that was what saddened me.
I knew I'd loved him and the lack of it made me upset, even though I wasn't actually sad over him. It was silly and useless, a complete waste of time. We were another impossible union and I knew that with every fiber of my being now. All three of my beings. Did I mention that I found out I have three souls? Well, two souls and one fey essence but whatever. At least now I knew why I had moments of wanting entirely different lives for myself.
I needed to learn to live just one life and honestly, it was a damn good life. I nodded to myself as Azrael came walking down the stairs and into the room. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans and nothing else. His dark hair was a little wild, he needed a haircut, but it looked good on him. His light blue eyes sparkled when the light streaming in from the balcony hit him and his black wings extended with a sharp whoosh of sound as he came free of the restrictions of the narrow staircase. Yep, a damn good life.
“I'm all settled in,” he announced as he plopped onto the couch beside me. He threw an arm and a wing around my shoulders and used them to pull me into his side.
“Good,” I settled in against his heart and closed my eyes. “I'm glad.”
And I was. Suddenly, I was glad he was there and living with us. He wouldn't be so far away anymore. At least when he wasn't off collecting souls. That was a good thing and I'd just needed him next to me to remember it. Funny how listening to someone's heartbeat can change your perspective.
“How about some lunch?” Az kissed my forehead.
“Sounds good to me,” it was Trevor who answered as he came down the stairs on the left side of the room.
So we all got up and headed down to the dining hall. Az and Trevor joked with each other the whole way. They were starting to even look a little alike, what with Az's wild hair, and I made a mental note to get Azrael to cut it back to his usual close crop. What's the point in having five lovers if they all looked the same?
“Did Ethan check on Sarah yet?” I asked Trevor.
Sarah was a Navajo woman I'd met through Toby. Toby and his brother Naye had been trying to help their people rise up from the position the US Government had placed them into, basically the bottom. They'd gone about it in a violent way that had ended up sending most of their followers into hiding. Sarah had escaped notice thankfully and I'd gone back to check on her after the dust had settled.
Together, we'd made a new plan for the Native Americans. A plan which involved private funding from anonymous donors(aka me) which would be used to provide loans to Native Americans who wanted to start their own businesses but who didn't have any collateral. We were also offering even better deals to those who opened businesses on the reservations, since this would provide jobs to even more Native Americans. It wasn't a huge change but it was a start.
“Yeah, he said the office is all set up and they've already had over fifty applicants,” Trevor grinned. “Sarah's really excited.”
“I'm glad it's going so well,” I was relieved that something positive had come out of that whole debacle.
“Vervain may be outdoing you with the charity work,” Az nudged Trevor's shoulder.
“Challenge accepted,” Trevor nodded.
I loved how well the men got along. For awhile there it had been touch and go with Odin but now that he'd spent a night among me and the other men, my lioness magic had asserted its influence and he was good with the whole sharing thing.
That alone was a huge relief, which I was reminded of by Trevor and Azrael's banter. So by the time we entered the massive dining hall, I was beginning to relax and enjoy the idea of having them all together. Even the possibility of Arach visiting again. I was just about to ask what they felt like having for lunch, when I heard the sound of running footsteps coming from behind us.
All three of us spun around to confront whatever was coming our way. I dropped into a fighting stance, Trevor let out a low growl, and Azrael spread his wings out behind us. We all relaxed immediately though when we saw who it was.
“Rain?” I dropped my arms as Az dropped his wings. “You shouldn't come up on people like that. And by people, I mean us.”
“What's wrong?” Trevor asked before Rain could say anything.
“It's Constantin,” Rain panted. “He's been abducted by a bunch of weremonkey worshiping Romani!”
Chapter Two
“Alright, am I the only one who needs an explanation for that statement?” I looked around and everyone else seemed to be as baffled as I felt. “What the hell are you talking about, Rainieri?”
“Gypsies have abducted Constantin!” Rain shouted.
“And we need your help to get him back,” Ilario came walking into the room with Adriano.
Together; Rain, Constantin, Ilario, and Adriano made up the Dark Horses, an all horse-shifter band that played at Moonshine. Rain sang lead, Constantin played the drums, and both Adriano and Ilario played guitar. They were very popular, known for their tribal sound and dark lyrics. Now it seemed that they were missing a member.
“You could have helped us get rid of the body before you took off,” Adriano grumbled to Rain.
“Wait,” I held up a hand. “Now there's a body?”
“Not any more,” Adriano huffed and gave Rain a dirty look.
“Whose body was it?” I narrowed my eyes on Adriano, whose face suddenly went blank. His blue eyes rounded.
“A Romani's,” Rain growled. “Haven't you been listening?”
“Evidently not because I'm still confused,” I transferred my hard look to Rain, “and I'm not feeling very helpful.”
“We were chillin' at home, playing some Assassin's Creed,” Ilario butted in before Rain said something even more stupid.
“Oh, I love that game,” Trevor grinned.
“Because you used to be an assassin,” I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
“Really?!” Rain nearly screeched. “We're going to discuss why your werewolf lover enjoys playing assassination games while one of my best friends is being pawed by monkeys?”
“Who's monkey-pawing Constantin?” I frowned.
“I'm trying to explain here,” Ilario, who, as usual, was the most patient of the horses, sighed. He had a green hoodie on with its hood up and he pushed it off his head with a frustrated movement.
“Sorry, Ilario,” Trevor gestured to him, “go on.”
“Okay, so we were in the living room playing the game while Constantin was in his bedroom-”
“Playing with Rhiannon,” Adriano chuckled.
“Who's Rhiannon?” I blinked, looking from one guitarist to the other.
“Constantin's girlfriend,” Adriano said as if it were obvious.
“Oh, of course,” I grima
ced. “Her.”
“Anyway,” Ilario gave Adriano a silencing look. “A whole pack of Romani came rushing into the house and grabbed Constantin and Rhiannon. We were taken by surprise and were only able to catch one of them.”
“One was all we needed though,” Adriano smirked. “He gave up the goods.”
“The goods?” I still wasn't quite following.
“The chant to get us past the wards and into weremonkey territory,” Rain rolled his eyes. “Can we go now?”
“No,” I turned and took a seat at the table. “I think we better hear the whole story before we go blindly following you into... what did you call it?”
“Weremonkey territory,” Rain sighed.
“Right,” I cleared my throat. “Weremonkey territory.”
“Hold on a sec,” Odin interrupted. “Do you mean the vanara?”
“Yeah, the weremonkeys,” Rain nodded. “At least someone is listening.”
“Who are the vanara?” I asked Odin.
“They're children of Hindu gods,” Odin explained. “They're monkey-shifters but strangely enough, they can also fly.”
“Shut up,” I said dryly. “They're flying monkeys? Where do they live, Oz?”
“Yes, very funny, Vervain,” Rain frowned at me. “Do you want to make another movie reference or can we go save Constantin now?”
“Vait,” Kirill said, “zis may be ze trouble Alaric varned Vervain about.”
“You're right,” Azrael agreed with a serious look. “I don't think you should go this time, Carus.”
“What do you mean she shouldn't go?” Rain was about to have a heart attack. His swarthy complexion was turning a lovely dark rose. “We need the Godhunter. Her name alone will help us defeat those simian shifters.”
“I'm not staying at home like a scaredy cat,” with perfect timing, my cat Nicholas came up and rubbed against my legs, purring. “Sorry, baby. I didn't mean you.”
“Vervain has been warned by a very... important person that she has trouble coming her way and she needs to protect herself,” Trevor tried to explain.