Immortals After Dark 03 - No Rest for the Wicked

a Valkyrie?” she asked.
    He realized Kaderin could hear them as well when she sat up straighter. The corners of his lips curled. He loved how small she was compared to him, how fine she was, and yet he’d been unable to express that to her. She was so elegantly built but stronger than he’d ever imagined a female could be.
    “They’re all small and fey. It’s a biological advantage,” the woman explained. “You never quite believe what they can bring to a fight. Until it’s quite too late.”

    In the past, sharpening her sword had been a kind of ritual to focus her thoughts. She’d begun now because she’d never been more confused in her life.
    Why was she feeling? Why him? Why now ?
    But there was no need to panic, she assured herself yet again. The blessing had to come back. As it had before. Certainly, it would. If the vampire’s presence acted as Kryptonite for her blessing, then she just needed to lose him.
    She spied him skulking from group to group. Of course, she heard them whispering about her down in the gallery. And Sebastian was listening to it all, unnoticed. He half-traced very easily, too much so. In that state, vampires were too insubstantial to be killed.
    Yes, he was learning about her, but then, no one knew enough to indicate weakness. Her history was shady. She worked to make it so. She saw him narrow his eyes to hear her called “Lady Kaderin.” “Lady” was the Lore creatures’ attempt at erring on the side of caution, and they were right to do so.
    Then Kaderin heard this little gem from a demoness: “For some reason, Kaderin has lost a lot of her humanity . She’s been existing on animal instinct for a while now.”
    She said this as if living by animal instinct were a bad thing. Just as Kaderin was about to drop down and go a-torturing, an elf in a robe crossed to the altar at the back of the gallery—the altar that was off-center. Kaderin recognized him as Riora’s scribe, aptly named Scribe.
    He scratched his head. “I say, where is everyone? My goddess will arrive shortly.”
    The beings went silent in anticipation. It wasn’t every day that one kept company with a goddess. That mouthy demoness licked her hand and smoothed her boy’s hair around his velvety new horns.
    When Riora appeared, Scribe announced, “The goddess Riora.” The newcomers and the less jaded immortals stared in wonderment. Scribe fell back, looking enormously proud to be a servant to such a divinity.
    Riora was resplendent, as goddesses tended to be, clad in a diaphanous gold robe, cinched tight under breasts so ample that many mistook her for a fertility goddess. Her wild raven hair flowed and waved as though in a constant swirling wind, and suddenly Kaderin wished Sebastian had never seen Riora.
    Feigning nonchalance, Kaderin tilted her sword and picked up his reflection. She wouldn’t care if he was staring slack-jawed like most of the other males. She wouldn’t at all.
    Yet, in the glow of one of the most ravishing female forms in this reality, Sebastian’s gaze was locked on Kaderin. She tucked her hair behind her ear, oddly flattered, then scowled at herself. Tucking her hair? That was a gesture she used to make—in antiquity—whenever she grew flustered. Who are you these days, Kad?
    “Greetings, Lore,” Riora began in her throaty voice. “Tonight commences the Talisman’s Hie, a contest that has not changed since its inception. The rules remain the same and are tedious to repeat”—she waved her hand dismissively and rolled her eyes—“every... single... two hundred and fifty years. So I’ll give you the lowdown.
    “You go all over the world and retrieve for me the talismans, charms, amulets, jewels, and other magickal gear that I want. Some of the tasks I’ve chosen have multiple items available at the end, and some have just one. All are designed in order to force you beings to fight. Which is fun. For me. I’m told not so much for you.”
    She frowned, shrugged, then said, “Each item is assigned a point value based on the difficulty in reaching it and the number available. When you reach a talisman, simply hold it steady above your heart, and it will find its way to me.”
    She raised her pale arm, and Kaderin thought for a moment she’d snap her fingers and drop her knuckles to her hip. “It was once observed to me that this mode of teleporting is amazing,” Riora mused, tapping her chin. “I do not find that so. What is amazing is that all of you actually