In the Nyx of Time Read online

  In the Nyx of Time

  Amy Sumida

  Copyright © 2018 Amy Sumida

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN-10: 172497730X

  ISBN-13: 978-1724977304

  Legal Notice

  This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part of the content within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.

  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

  My Soul to Take

  As the Crow Flies

  Cry Werewolf

  Pride Before a Fall

  Monsoons and Monsters

  Blessed Death

  (In the Nyx of Time)

  Beyond the Godhunter

  A Darker Element

  Out of the Blue

  The Twilight Court Series

  Fairy-Struck

  Pixie-Led

  Raven-Mocking

  Here there be Dragons

  Witchbane

  Elf-Shot

  Fairy Rings and Dragon Kings

  Black-Market Magic

  Etched in Stone

  —Completed Series—

  The Spellsinger Series

  The Last Lullaby

  A Symphony of Sirens

  A Harmony of Hearts

  Primeval Prelude

  Ballad of Blood

  Fairy Tales

  Happily Harem After Vol. 1

  Including:

  The Four Clever Brothers

  Wild Wonderland

  Pan's Promise

  Beauty and the Beasts

  The Little Glass Slipper

  Other Books

  The Magic of Fabric

  Feeding the Lwas: A Vodou Cookbook

  There's a Goddess Too

  The Vampire-Werewolf Complex

  Enchantress

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  Pronunciation Guide at the back of the book.

  Chapter One

  I hadn't been home to Hawaii in a few months. After the rise and fall of Dvārakā—Krishna's golden, island city—neither I nor anyone in my family wanted to go anywhere near an island for awhile. But Trevor—my werewolf husband—and I owned a nightclub on Oahu, and we had left it in Ty's care for too long. We needed to check in on Trevor's younger brother and see how Moonshine was doing. It also happened to be date night for Trevor and me.

  I have five husbands and two boyfriends; don't judge. One of my husbands lives in the Faerie Realm with our twin sons, and my boyfriends each have their own homes, but my other four husbands live with me. We have a schedule for things like dates. Tonight was Trevor's night, but we decided to have our date at Moonshine so we could handle some business along with our pleasure.

  “I thought you were never coming back,” Ty joked when he saw us.

  “You mean; you hoped,” Trevor teased back before he hugged his brother. “How's it going here?”

  “Same old.” Ty shrugged. “How's it going with the God Squad? You guys recovered after sinking that city?”

  “All we did was ward the city,” I corrected. “Krishna is the one who destroyed it.”

  “And there's no recovering for him,” Trevor said grimly.

  “He did the right thing,” Ty said. “That city could have destroyed the human race.”

  “Possibly,” Trevor agreed. “But let's not talk about all that. Tonight is date night for Vervain and me. Let's get through whatever business needs my attention so she and I can get—”

  “Down to business?” Ty cut Trevor off with a chuckle. “Yeah; I gotcha. Come on back to the office; I'll show you the numbers from the past few months.”

  Trevor and Ty headed behind the bar while I got comfortable on a tree trunk bar stool; swinging side to side on it while I surveyed our club. I left the running of Moonshine to Trevor because I had other things to focus on; like the Mai Tai that was placed before me. The Froekn—aka werewolf—bartender winked at me before hurrying off to fill his orders. I grinned gratefully and took a long sip. Oh yeah; date night was off to a good start.

  Then the Goddess of Blessed Death sat on the stool beside me.

  “Hello, Vervain,” Macaria said calmly.

  I choked on my Mai Tai.

  Macaria was Hades' daughter. Her mother was Nyx; a winged Goddess of the Night. Both Macaria and her mother had assisted in the attempt to raise Dvārakā so they could get access to its Atlantean weaponry and machines. They had employed some pretty underhanded techniques to keep my friends and me out of their way. As Trevor and I had just been discussing with Ty; Krishna had destroyed the city with our help and spoiled their plans. Most of the gods who had conspired to raise Dvārakā had died, but Macaria and her mother had escaped. Wings come in handy for escaping exploding islands.

  I got up and punched the evil bitch in her smug face.

  Macaria flew back into the bar; causing the nearby patrons to pull away in shock. The bartender waved them even further back and then called our bouncers over to help. Meanwhile, Macaria recovered quickly; standing up and shaking off the hit. Her smirk had disappeared, but she didn't seem to be surprised by my reaction. And she shouldn't have been; in addition to betraying her own father, trying to raise Dvārakā, and ruining my drink, Macaria had also tried to seduce my husband, Azrael. Not because she desired Az, but because she wanted to distract the God Squad from investigating Dvārakā. The bitch was devious... and really dumb to walk into my club.

  To get into Moonshine, all supernaturals had to make an oath not to use their magic; no spells beyond a basic glamour. Glamour was sometimes necessary since Moonshine was also open to the human public. So, light magics like glamours were allowed, but nothing violent; Gods couldn't attack someone inside Moonshine.

  At least, she couldn't. Being owner had its privileges; I had made no such oath. I pulled back my fist to hit Macaria again, and she held up her hands to ward me off.

  “Okay!” Macaria growled. “I get it; you're pissed.”

  “I'm pissed?” I snarled at her. “No, I passed 'pissed' a long time ago; I'm furious—red-hot dragon furious—and I'm going to take my fury out on you.”

  “Boss, you okay?” Jared, one of the Froekn bouncers, asked. He had come up with three other guys. “You want us to throw her out?”

  “I got this, Jared,” Trevor said as he and Ty joined me. “Just watch over our patrons.”

  “On it,” Jared said as he motioned for the bouncers to spread out in front of the curious club-goers.

  “I only came to warn you,” Mac said as she dabbed at her bleeding nose.

  “Right.” I rolled my eyes. “You came here to do me a favor.”

  “It's not for you,” Macaria whispered as she lifted her chin.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Stay the fuck away from my
husband.”

  “Which one?” She shot back.

  “All of them,” I snarled as I started forward. “And that includes my boyfriends too, you traitorous Jezebel!”

  “Okay, back down, She-Ra,” Mac huffed. “I feel bad about what I did to Az. He's a good guy, and he didn't deserve to get played like that. In case you didn't know; Az never tried anything with me, I only made it look as if he had.”

  “I do know,” I said as I cracked my knuckles. “I know about everything.”

  “And you can stop calling Azrael by his nickname as if you're friends,” Trevor added, “because he—like the rest of us—hates you.”

  “It takes a lot for Azrael to hate someone,” I said. “But when he does; it's with every ounce of his being. In fact, I've changed my mind; please do attempt to speak with him. I'd love to see what he does to you.”

  “Look, I get that I'm the last person you guys would ever trust, but I had to try”—she sighed deeply—“for Azrael's sake and my father's.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” I leaned in toward her menacingly.

  “My mother is just as furious as you are, Godhunter,” Macaria said. “You and your friends ruined our chances of truly becoming gods again.”

  “You're really going to try to play the victim with me?” I gaped at her.

  “No; I'm telling you this so that you'll understand why Mom is targeting you and your family,” Macaria said. “She hates you now; all of you, but especially Dad. We both lost a lot of friends that day.”

  “And yet, here you are.” I looked her up and down. “Warning me for Azrael's sake. Oh, and Hades'.”

  “Dad won't even speak to me,” she said sadly. “So, I have to give you this warning. Please, do us all a favor and listen.”

  “Just say what you came to say and get the fuck out before I kill you in front of witnesses,” I snarled.

  “Dvārakā wasn't Mom's only play,” Macaria said; ignoring my bitterness. “She's got something big up her sleeve. She's in Tartarus; I'd confront her if I were you. At least then you'll have a fighting chance. Who knows? Maybe you could reason with her.”

  “You're not—nor will you ever be—me.” I set my stare firmly on her.

  “Fine.” She held up her hands in surrender. “I said my piece; you've been warned.”

  “A cryptic warning about a vague attack?” Trevor huffed. “Great. Thanks for that; we'll be sure to get right to it.”

  “I don't approve of Mom's actions this time,” Macaria said solemnly. “So, I'm going to give you as much as I know; she's working with a god of time who also has a bone to pick with you, Vervain.”

  “Time?” My face fell.

  “You thought that you were the only god who could travel through time?” Mac asked with a lifted brow. “Perhaps you are. I'm not sure what this god can do, but I am sure that you won't like it. Keep a close watch on those you love, as well as on your clocks, Godhunter. Time is running out for all of you.”

  Chapter Two

  We headed back to Pride Palace and called in the Squad.

  “How do we prevent this type of attack?” I asked them.

  The Gods looked at each other helplessly.

  “We kill Nyx,” Hades finally said in a low voice. “Macaria even hinted at it; she said we should confront her. That means that she believes it's the only way to stop Nyx.”

  Pan whistled and shook his head. “Kill a Primordial? That's gonna be hard.”

  “A Primordial?” I asked.

  “There are three types of Greek Gods,” Hekate explained. “Human myth describes them as three generations, although it's really their magic that's related.”

  “You mean one magic sprung from another?” I asked.

  “Yes, and it was all dished out at the whims of the humans,” Hekate said. “They were the ones who gave our magic its classifications, and it was they who determined that certain primordial things such as the Earth, Sky, Mountains, Time, Darkness, etcetera, were anthropomorphic. Thus, the Primordials received their power. From those primeval magics were born others, and here's where things get tricky. The humans created relationships between us that didn't exist; binding gods together through the generations of their magic.”

  “You're losing me,” I murmured.

  “Uranus, the Primordial God that embodies the Sky, and Gaia, the Primordial Goddess who embodies the Earth, are said to be the parents of the first twelve Titans. They are not, but their magic birthed the Titans' magic. Do you understand?”

  “Okay; go on,” I said.

  “The other Primordials had children too, of course; Macaria being one of them,” Hekate said. “But she is not a Titan.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Human whim,” Hekate said with a toss of her hand. “That's why I said it gets tricky. Then we have children of the Titans; some of whom are actual children born of the Titans—like my parents—and some of whom are magic-related and just given the title of son or daughter—like Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus; they aren't sons of Cronus and Rhea, but their magic stems from those titans' magic.”

  “Wait.” I sat forward. “You're a Titan?”

  “That's the next tricky part. Technically, I'm a minor Titan,” she said. “My parents are Titans, and I received my crossroads magic because of them; magic that allows me to open their gates.”

  “Makes sense,” Trevor said.

  “However, I'm also seen as an Olympian, because I come from that 'younger' generation of magic,” Hekate went on. “Just as Hades is an Olympian, even though he's also related to the Titans.”

  “I'm getting a headache,” I declared.

  “Yes; it got very confusing with all of us,” Pan said. “But what you need to focus on is that Nyx is a Primordial; she has a magic that is considered eternal; a part of the natural world.”

  “Nyx is the embodiment of the Night,” Hekate said. “How do you kill the Night?”

  “Are you telling me that we can't kill her because her magic is truly immortal?” Trevor asked.

  “Nyx can be killed,” Hades affirmed. “It just takes more to kill her than it does other gods. That is her greatest power; her resilience.”

  “The Primordials aren't stronger than us?” Artemis asked in surprise.

  “It depends on the Primordial,” Hades said. “Nyx has a great magic, but what can she actually do with it?”

  “She can become a veil of dark mist and drain the life out of people,” Hekate offered.

  “One person at a time,” Hades said. “Come at her with an army, and that magic becomes less significant.”

  “She can bring on the night,” Pan offered.

  “And she has those wings,” Artemis added. “Those are cool.”

  “Every angel has a set of wings,” Azrael huffed. “So, what? What else can her magic do?”

  “That's about it.” Hades smirked. “As I said; Nyx is hard to kill, but most of her actual power comes from resilience and her influence over other gods. A lot of Olympians hold the Primordials in high esteem; Nyx can use that to get other gods to act on her behalf.”

  “Like this god of time,” Thor pointed out. “So, if he or she is helping Nyx, we can assume that Nyx is using her influence over them.”

  “And we can conclude that this partner is another Greek god.” Odin nodded in approval to his son. “Well done.”

  “Thank you,” Thor smiled at his father.

  “Who is the Greek God of Time?” I asked.

  “There's Chronos; another Primordial,” Hekate said. “But Chronos isn't influenced by Nyx. In fact, I think he rather dislikes her.”

  “And Chronos doesn't interfere in petty quarrels,” Hades added. “He takes his position very seriously and guards time; he'd be the last person to twist it to give Nyx revenge.”

  “Then who?” Re asked. “Is there another Greek God of Time?”

  “There's the Moirai,” Hekate said. “But they don't have power over Time, only Fate.”

  “Are th
ey Primordials?” I asked.

  “No; they're the daughters Chronos and Ananke,” Persephone said. “And they, like their father, take their job very seriously.”

  “No kidding,” I said. “They've done a lot to help me in the past; I can't see them turning on me now.”

  “No; they would never. If for no other reason than they believe you are integral to the future,” Re, said. “It can't be them.”

  “There's the Titan Cronus,” Pan offered. “Similar sounding name as the Primordial, similar magic, but different spelling and different guy completely.”

  “His power over time is more esoteric,” Hekate said. “Cronus represents the all-devouring force of time. Frankly, I've never seen him use his time magic, and I don't even know if there is a practical use for it.”

  “Holy Hannibal Lecter!” Pan shouted as he stood up. “Aion! It's Aion!”

  “I don't know if you can call Hannibal holy,” Finn whispered to Teharon—who chuckled.

  “Who is Aion?” Huitzilopochtli, aka Blue, asked.

  “Like eons of time?” Blue's wife, Eztli added.

  “Precisely,” Hades said thoughtfully. “Aion is a god of time in the cyclical sense; eternity. He's also associated with the Zodiac and the Constellations.”

  “Stars,” Odin murmured as he stroked a hand through the strip of starlight in my hair. “Interesting.”

  “Hello? Is anyone listening to me?” Pan nearly screeched. “Aion is our guy. That jerk is just the type of god to use his magic for revenge.”

  “But he wouldn't use it to avenge Nyx,” Hekate pointed out. “Aion is too selfish for that.”

  “He wouldn't be doing it for Nyx,” Pan huffed. “What's wrong with you people? Don't you remember who his father is? Aion's real father; not just the father of his magic.”

  Hades' face fell into a horrified expression.

  “Who's his father?” I asked.

  “Well, it's not Darth Vader,” Pan said. “But he is your nemesis, at least in our pantheon.”