The God & The Shadow

Chapter 7

VERONICA

I don't like parties, but the drinks made it fun. It sounded quite depressing, but I was enjoying myself as I drank alone.

The bartender kept on giving me wary looks as she cleaned the shot glasses in front of her. Ignoring her, I threw up a shield around me. There. Nice and quiet.

The sounds of the party were muffled in my little barrier, but I felt satisfied with myself. I didn't even know I could do that. Either way, I didn't worry about it as I closed my eyes and rested my head on my hand as I basked in the peaceful reprieve.

Suddenly, something solid hit my shield. I was able to smell his scent, the smell my nose frowned at every time I was summoned into his office, reminding me of his bullshit.

I stopped and straightened, expecting to see Tarrin alone as I swiveled in the stool to see the three gods alongside him. I smiled at them all, my attention immediately on the God of Dicks and Debauchery.

Fucking asshole.

"Hello." I said innocently as my shield grew, surrounding them to keep the noise out and for them to hear me clearly.

"What are you doing, Veronica?" Tarrin asks with a concerning tone.

I kept my eyes on the dickhead, holding my smile. He wasted no time returning the smile, silently challenging me as to who would yield first.

"Okay, this is very creepy." Hermes whispers to Alec as he watches us.

Lore cuts off his gaze to study the shield. "Agreed" he says as he walks around, touching the invisible force that wrapped around us.

Standing on surprisingly steady feet, I take them in once more. They all looked alert, as if I were to attack them any moment and are ready to subdue mo before I could touch them, but I didn't care. They should feel that way around me just like everyone else is, even if they were gods.

I walked towards Tarrin who studied me closely. "State your terms."

It was something I always asked him after he explained my mission. It was another way for me to ask "What the hell do you want me to do and not do?"

"You'll be privy to whatever the gods have discovered about Demitricus' disappearance and you'll be working with them. You're the one person I would go to if I want someone hiding found, Veronica. I won't tell you to not kill for information if given the chance because I know you'd go against it anyway just to spite me, am I correct?"

I grinned at what he said. Of course I would do it to spite him, but now that he established that I would do it, it makes me not want to do it.

Reverse psychology bites me in the ass once again.

"Perfect, we'll begin tomorrow, if you and your friends can handle it." Alec says, smiling at my reaction.

I smiled at him, then slowly let down the shield. Noise poured in once more in my ears, giving me an unsettling emotion. I hate parties.

Hermes and Alec immediately joined the revelry, followed by Tarrin to probably look for Gideon to inform him of what had happened.