Page 103 of Flame and Fury

Nyx shrugs and holds out her hand. Clutched in her palm is the amulet. “Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I'll ever be.” Initially, I was meant to do this on my own. While Nyx is one of the original Furies and in theory way more famous than I am, she's been in hiding for years. Except for the gods, people don't know what she looks like. Nathaniel and the gods have been spreading rumors that the Furies are decrepit hags for years. As much as it pains me to say, people know me. The games put my face on every TV. They made me a hero for the little guys. That recognition gives me power. Power I plan to use right now.

Plans have been shifting left and right, so what’s one more change? Having Nyx by my side feels right. She was there the first time the gods were put to sleep. She witnessed their hubris and carelessness and punished them for it. You’d think they would have learned their lesson, being forced to sleep for millennia. I guess some gods never learn.

I clap my hand over Nyx’s, grabbing hold of the large black diamond. My breath whooshes out of my lungs when I touch the stone. The sheer amount of power in this one piece of jewelry is astounding. It’s a little frightening.

Regardless of the riot happening in the crowd, the cameras are still rolling. Drones float overhead, capturing the action from above while other cameras are set not far from where Zeus beat me with my whip. For once, I’m happy to see them.

“I’ve spent my life in hiding simply because of how I was born.” My voice rises above the crowd, loud enough for the cameras to capture it. Although I’m sure most of the crowd can’t hear me. “The gods and clerics would have you believe that I’m the bad guy, but they’re the ones starving you. They’re the ones raiding your homes and ripping families apart for made up crimes. No more. I feel your fury and it’s time justice is finally served.” My wings spread to their full width. Nyx squeezes my hand, dipping her head until our foreheads nearly touch.

“Feel their rage and anger. Feel their pain and the injustices that have been perpetrated against them. There is power there even when they feel weak because of their circumstances. We will use it, funnel it into ourselves,” Nyx says, her voice humming with power.

I close my eyes, trusting Atlas and the others to keep us safe while the fight continues around us. I already felt the power in the amulet, but it’s steadily growing. Gathering the rage from everyone who has been wronged by the gods and the clerics over the years.

I let it travel from my fingertips up my arms. A gasp escapes when it hits my chest, swelling and burning like a wild flame. I feel them all, each individual wrong. The hopelessness and the anger from every persecuted person. It travels straight to my heart until it stokes the fire like one bomb after another being added to the flames.

I can’t catch my breath. The pain of so many emotions fills me. They stretch the confines of my body, rushing into my wings. Threading through each vein until my body burns with rage and heat.

“Wow,” Lark exclaims from somewhere nearby.

I open my eyes and am nearly blinded by a golden light coming from…me. My skin is glowing, and when I look over my shoulder, I see my wings pulsing with a divine light in time with each one of my rapid heartbeats.

“Now focus on those gods who are unworthy. Those gods who don’t deserve to lead. Push all that energy into them and put them to sleep,” Nyx murmurs the directions. She’s already repeated them a dozen times, but it’s a good thing because I’ve forgotten every damn thing she told me.

“Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Poseidon.” I whisper their names under my breath, focusing on every one of the wrongs that we collected in the amulet. Each one courses through my body in the direction of the wretched gods.

The crowd gasps when Poseidon collapses in the middle of a circle formed by Drake, Lark, and a dozen members of the Underground. Aphrodite is next, sinking to the ground in a graceful puddle of skirts. She’s even delicate when she’s being put into a punishing sleep. Bitch.

Hera fights the magic, going down with a screech that echoes over the crowd. She claws at the closest bodies around her to help her stay upright, but the power of the Fury is too much for her to fight. Her shrieks don’t stop until she hits the ground, asleep.

“You will regret this,” Zeus bellows, lightning cracking through the sky before his eyes roll back and he pitches backward.

I’m no longer glowing. All the rage and borrowed fury is sucked right out of me. I wobble on my feet, my wings sagging as I stumble to the side. Nyx is right there with me, having given me her energy as well. Atlas catches us both, his arms wrapping around my waist, while I clutch onto Nyx.

“We did it?” I gasp. The gods’ unconscious bodies are on the ground, but I need someone to confirm it.

“You did.” Atlas presses a kiss to the side of my head.

“Hey, yeah, congrats and all, but we still have a riot on our hands,” Greer points out as she punches a cleric in the nose. He falls to his knees and starts crying.

I look out at the rabid crowd. “How do we stop them?”

“You think you can stop them?” Nathaniel creeps out of the fucking woodwork. No! How did I forget about him? I’ll blame dying and being brought back to life. “You might have put a handful of gods to sleep, but it won’t last.”

No. Gods, no. I don’t have enough power left in me to put him to sleep.

That doesn’t mean I can’t reveal who he really is.

Nathaniel still has clerics at his back. At least those who haven’t run away. They look ready to throw themselves in front of a bomb for their High Priest.

“You’re all fools if you think the gods won’t punish you for your impudence,” Nathaniel shouts out over the crowd, but their angry cries nearly drown him out. The drones are still floating overhead, and his words are captured for the masses to hear.

“You need the gods, or this territory will be pure chaos.”

“We will hold elections. We will allow everyone's voice to be heard, not just those who hold favor with the gods or kiss the clerics’ asses.” I snarl back at him.

“The opinions of these people aren't worth listening to. They are ignorant, uneducated masses.”