For The Love Of A God by Rosanna Leo (ebook reader for comics .txt) 📕

see how it would accomplish anything. It sounded as if Nemesis could only walk away unscathed, if a bit bruised perhaps. They were all so damn cryptic. Was this to be a fight to the death after all? Could any of them even die?

Could Eryx...?

No. She couldn't think about it. He'd asked her to trust him, and she'd sworn she would. If it was all she could do to help him in this bizarre quest, she'd do it wholeheartedly.

They stalked through the museum in some sort of crazy ancient battle formation, with Eryx at her side and the others clustered around them. Just watching the gods as their keen eyes darted around the dark hallways made her head spin. And the whole time, Eryx whispered sweet words of encouragement to her, making her feel even guiltier.

It was scary and surreal and gallant all at once, and Maia didn't know what to expect next.

She certainly hadn't expected a mummy to attack.

Maia recognized it first, her eyes growing wide. It was Princess Cleo, as museum staff had nicknamed her, and she was supposed to be slumbering forever, encased in glass in the Egyptian exhibit. In reality, the shriveled relic of the Egyptian princess seemed very much alive, and was shuffling toward them at an alarming speed. Her eyes, or rather the dead orbs which used to be her eyes, were white and focused on Maia. Her shrouded arms were outstretched, and a foul hiss emanated from her thin lips.

Artemis jumped in front of the little group, her elegant hand reaching behind for an arrow, Robin Hood-style. “Really, Nemesis?” she called into the dark hallway. “A mummy? How predictable. What's next? A T-Rex?"

The mummy reeled toward Maia, cursing and spitting through her ripped shroud. For a dead girl, she looked way too dangerous. She could only imagine what would happen if Cleo managed to get her stubby hands on her.

Luckily, Artemis was poised and ready. “Stand aside, boys,” the goddess murmured. “This old girl's mine."

She moved so quickly Maia didn't even see the arrow reach the bow. There was a zing as it flew through the air toward Princess Cleo, followed by several other lightning-like zings. The arrows thunked into the mummy, creating several puffs of dust. With a painful howl, she disintegrated before their eyes. Artemis then waved her hand, and her silver arrows flew back to her, like obedient boomerang puppies.

Maia could only stare. The old Maia would have been horrified at the extermination of the age-old mummy. The new Maia looked at Artemis in awe. She was one tall chick, and she called Maia “little” way too much, but that goddess was butch.

She was starting to wish she was a bit more like Artemis. Okay, a lot more.

Eryx leaned down and kissed her cheek, warming her with his unique flames of love. “Are you okay?"

"Better than the Egyptian curator is going to be tomorrow morning."

"War brings casualties,” sniffed Artemis, tucking an already-perfect strand of hair behind her perfect ear.

Once again, Maia marveled at the fact Eryx loved her at all. She felt like a three-toed sloth next to the silvery, shimmery goddess.

But she didn't have time to contemplate her resemblance to the hairy mammal for much longer. Down the hall, a shriek echoed. Then another and another.

"Something told me that was a little too easy,” grunted Eryx.

It sounded as if banshees had been let loose in the museum. Horrible, female screeches reverberated off every marble wall, deafening Maia. Even Eryx and the others had to cover their ears for a moment. Maia paled, wondering what on earth could make such an unholy sound.

Whatever it was, it was coming closer.

Eryx signaled Artemis and thrust Maia into the embrace of the goddess while the three men drew their weapons and raced forward.

"No!” Maia was shrieking now, reaching for Eryx. He couldn't leave her behind while he fought.

"Hush,” Artemis shouted over the din. “Let him concentrate."

"What is it? What's that noise?” Without wanting to, she turned and attempted to burrow against the silver chest armor of Artemis, but only succeeded in clunking her forehead against the cold metal.

"Furies. I haven't seen one in centuries. Nemesis has probably bred them just for this fine occasion."

"Please don't tell me they're immortal."

"Not really,” said Artemis. “But they can be hard to kill when they're flapping their wings in your face. A scratch from their talons might hurt someone like me, but the same scratch would kill someone like you."

The sound got nearer. And now the shrieks were accompanied by the sound of vicious flapping. They were around the corner, almost upon them. She could hear the swoosh of their massive wings from where she stood.

Before the furies could whip around the corner of the gallery, Apollo let loose a volley of his deadly golden arrows. As the monster-women flew around the turn, two of them flew right into the arrows. There were feathers and blood everywhere, and they fell to the ground as so much dead meat.

Which left about twenty furies behind. Angry ones.

They ripped through the air, aiming for the heads of the three male gods on the front line, great talons outstretched. Scratching, screaming bags of muscle and madness. Out to maim, out to kill.

Still covering her ears, Maia looked into the fray and tried to pick out Eryx's form. He was right in the thick of things, a shiny, powerful beast of a man. Swinging his sword and lopping off the heads of two furies at a time, stabbing into the blood-fouled air, and slicing through another. Grunting and growling, and fighting for her.

Dionysus was on the floor, grappling with a couple of massive she-birds. Apollo was surrounded, stabbing with his arrows.

For a moment, Maia wasn't sure her side was winning. There was so much blood.

"Can these ... things kill gods?” she called to Artemis.

"They can do us some damage, but that's not our concern. We need to keep them from you, little one,” Artemis replied, reaching for another arrow.

In the same split