Goddess of War Read Free Page A

pocket. They couldn’t risk their fairy being seen by people that knew very little of fairies and magic.
    Preeti slid her hand in her pocket and closed it around the ball. Holding it gave her reassurance that their plan would work.
    A tall, bearded man in a long black cloak opened the wooden door. Standing almost a foot taller than them, his head was bald and smooth, and his eyes were wise. Preeti hoped they could trust him.
    “It’s late,” he said, looking them over. “Beggars can wait until morning to be fed.”
    Vineet held a hand out, stopping the monk from closing the door.
    “Wait,” he said.
    The monk looked annoyed, his thick eyebrows furrowing. “How dare you? Step aside before I set the dogs on you.”
    Preeti stepped in front of her brother. “Are you Errison?”
    The monk nodded. “I am. Who are you?”
    Nervously, she looked from side to side, and then lifted her shirt to just above her navel. The reveal of her mark of the gods, seemed to catch Errison off guard.
    Errison’s face morphed from anger to bewilderment. When his eyes rose to Preeti’s, there were tears in his eyes.
    Preeti bit her lip.
    Please work , she thought.
    She watched Errison examine her tattoos. When he reached a finger out to touch it, she pulled her shirt back down and wrapped her arms around her body. Now she knew what Vineet meant about the falling water making him cold.
    Her clothes became soaked, making her shiver.
    Preeti and Vineet waited in silence as Errison looked from one to the other, finally noticing all of the other tattoos going up and down the exposed skin on their arms, necks, and faces.
    “The Goddess of War,” he said looking to Preeti, then turned his gaze to Vineet. “And the God of Peace.”
    Vineet nodded.
    To their surprise, he fell to his knees, arms bent and head pressed to the ground at their feet.
    “Forgive me. I did not know who you were.”
    Errison looked up at them, his face gone pale.
    “I just haven’t seen another god in centuries.”

    The twins followed Errison into the torch-lit monastery. The air was quite close inside. Raina crossed her arms, hugging herself.
    Humans were around. She could sense their sleeping bodies, and it intrigued her along with everything else they had come to experience in the Abyss.
    “What was the falling water called out there?”
    “Rain,” the monk said.
    “Rain,” Preeti repeated. “It sounds beautiful.”
    “Why yes. I suppose it does,” he said. “Now, tell me what I can do to help you,” he said, motioning for them to sit down on the long wooden bench inside a large room with sculptures of all of the founding gods, and a fountain in the center.
    Preeti cleared her throat. She glanced at the sculpture of Litha, imagining her looking down at her with hate.
    “We need help hiding from—” Preeti lowered her voice to a whisper. “The Goddess of Law.”
    Errison raised his brows. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against a pillar. “Well, that is quite a task.”
    “I know,” Preeti said. “But we only have to hide until our Enlightenment. That’s only thirty years from now.”
    Errison stroked his beard. “That makes three human years.”
    “Oh,” Preeti said. “Even better.”
    Errison sighed. “Maybe, but what you’re asking me is dangerous work. Even three years of hiding fugitives can cause great harm to the work I’ve done in this world.”
    “We were told you could help us,” Vineet said. “Please don’t send us back out there.”
    “No need to worry,” Errison said. “I didn’t say that I wouldn’t help you.”
    Preeti reached for her brother’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
    Please let there be hope.
    The thought of returning to the Vault where Litha could do whatever she wanted to them turned Preeti’s stomach. The next time might not be a prison sentence.
    Death awaited if Litha found them.
    “Come now,” Errison said, leading them out of the room. “Pardon the meager accommodations. You two