Page 3 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

She swallowed, her throat bobbing. “Yes, sir, but the fruit on the trees belong to the gods.”

“How generous of Zeus that he has the law that anyone can choose fruit that has fallen?” I said, and I snapped my fingers. Thud, thud, thud. Apricots fell from the branches, landing around the orchard like a hail storm.

The girl's eyes popped bluer than the sky. Her mouth parted, but words didn’t come.

I smiled. “Run along—get to it before the worms do.”

She bobbed her head and turned, her basket flying out behind her.

Her slight form weaved through the rows of trees. Her curls flowed in the breeze. She bit into the flesh of an apricot and sighed, flecks of the fruit smattering her chin.

A smirk touched my lips, and I continued down the path.

On the next turn, the village came into view. Hundreds of cream and tan houses lay tucked into the valley and undulations of the surrounding mountains. Wisps of smoke swept into the air from the ivory temple, the largest building in the town.

It was the weekly dedication day. Time for the villagers to pay tribute to the gods. Right.

I clenched my teeth.

The smoky smells turned my stomach.

But, wait, there was a way I could use this in my favor.

A smile edged up along my lips as I tapped into my power and changed my veil to that of an old man with worn, dark skin and a mop of gray hair. I pulled a gold sash out of my knapsack and tossed it on over my clothes. The perfect disguise.

The glow from the midday sun caused the ivory marble walls of the temple to gleam like a pearl. As I approached the steps, I raised my voice. “Oh hear me, fellow citizens!”

The crowd turned towards me, eyes bright.

“Hear what the gods have spoken to me.”

A woman near me with a mahogany tunic that rippled in the breeze gasped and pulled the bundle in her arms closer.

“Ares requires dedication today.”

A man with bushy, dark eyebrows cocked his head to the side. “Ares? Does he intend to declare war on us, wise man?”

I lowered my voice to a whisper. “He has considered it.” The crowd sucked in breaths. “He wants to see if you will heed his words and honor him.”

“Please tell us,” another woman with a sharp nose said, “what he desires, so we can honor his name.”

They bobbed their heads, and I had to fight a grin. “He wishes for a thimble of olive oil with six petals of lavender within it.”

Everyone froze for a moment. A man with thick arms lifted his chin. “Such a paltry offering, no blood or even wine? Are you sure, wise man, this is what Ares desires?”

I raised my hands. “May the gods strike me dead if I speak false.” If only I could be so lucky. “This is his desire. He longs to see if the people of your village are faithful.”

“Of course we are,” the first woman said. “We shall make this offering at once.”

I nodded and turned, exiting the town and heading into the foothills before I changed my veil again and burst into a bright laugh. Oh, now I truly had something to look forward to in seeing Ares.

The hills rolled like waves in a peaceful sea, their greens all blending in together. The sky spread out as blue and pure as Delphinium. And I didn’t care what anyone said—there was no scene as beautiful as this little unknown valley tucked in the middle of the continent, Olympus certainly included.

I stretched out onto a rock and drew my lyre out of my knapsack before tucking the bag behind my head as a pillow. I plucked my fingers and thumbs over the strings. The twangy, bright music danced through the spring air while fleecy clouds drifted across the sky. Sunshine sparkled off the boulders, casting the scene like the heavens it was.

Out there with the world unfolding around me as though I’d fallen into an oil painting, I could almost forget.

The sordid past stretching behind me, the ghosts whispering to me.