Ivan stalked back into the house after a while, his hands looking bloody, walking in and heading straight for the kitchen.Running his bloodied fingers under the water, he rinsed off quietly. He had broken his promise of not taking the god form until he told Vera. But he could not help it, that needed to be dealt with, and he did just that.Slipping the ring back onto his fingers, he took back his human form.Tearing the shirt off his body, he threw the bloody material into the bin.On second thoughts, he took it out, shuffling through the bin and putting it at the very bottom.And fishing for bleach, he scrubbed at the sink to get rid of the smell of blood, Vera was very observant and would probably notice if he left things carelessly.He walked back upstairs after staring at his work and nodding his head in satisfaction.Vera was still curled up on the bed in a deep sleep, her hands around herself and one left outside the duvet.Ivan scooted her properly on the bed, throwing the co

Vera slowly opened her eyes to meet a dimly lit room, she tried to move but realized she was tied to a chair and, her back and her legs both fastened to the chair.She sat still and surveyed her environment, squinting her eyes to adjust to the darkness.She hoped her plans with the alarm had worked, so Ivan would get her out of here.Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, and she traced herself to whatever.The same men from earlier walked in, but this time they were not alone. Vera gasped at whom she saw behind them.“Artemis?” She called out in surprise “This can't be” Vera said, laughing.“It is being Vera,” Artemis said, walking to stand in front of Vera and crouching down to her level, ok the seat.“Is this some kind of joke?” Vera asked surprised.“No Vera, I wish it was, but it is not,” Artemis said in a strict tone.“Does Ivan know what you are up to?” Vera asked her.“I won't tell if you don't tell,” Artemis said, cocking her head to one side and staring up at her.“He is

“No!” Ivan yelled when he saw the dirty booth marks on the clean wooden floor.They were not Vera's, they were big and looked like they belonged to men about their size.“It's still a little wet.” Hermes pointed out, bending to inspect the marks properly.“They were here not too long ago, and they took Vera with them.” Ivan guessed.“Let's check outside the house,” Hermit suggested.“Okay,” Ivan said, following him. “How did they get in here,” Ivan mumbled to himself.“We will never know,” Hermes said, leading the way out of the house," only one way to find out.” “There are tire marks here,” Ivan said, squatting down to get a better look.“ Looks like it belongs to a van,” Hermes said, staring at the tire marks.“Where do we begin the search?” Hermit asked, “Should I call for backup?” He asked again.“No, not yet.” Ivan said, getting up and dusting himself, “Keep them on alert, though, we might need some backup.” He said walking to inspect other parts of the house.“We should involve

Vera sat on the floor, still and silent. She had stopped struggling to untie the ropes that held her feet and hands bound together, as it had proved futile despite her efforts.The world seemed to be tranquil the whole time she had been here, and time was something she had no knowledge of currently, so she could not decipher how long she had been in here.She surveyed her surroundings, her hand resting on her knee for support, she guessed it was almost evening already as it got colder.Her teeth clattered as she shivered from the cold that seeped into her body from the thin fabric of her pajama shorts and shirt, which originally was Ivan's.She could feel the onset of a migraine and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as the world spanned before her eyes, she was dizzy and lightheaded.Lulling her head back, she rested it on the wall, her eyes falling shut, and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.“We have other things to attend to,” Ivan said, getting tired of her gimmicks, “s

“What?” Ivan asked, surprised.“I am sorry, Ivan,” Hermes said repentantly. “ I should have told you earlier.” “What do you mean, Hermes,” Ivan asked again.“During the war, I, Artemis, and Hera were in the same faction, and during the fight Artemis was supposed to cover for Hera, but she did not, so Hera got hit and Sara tried to dive in to save her and got blasted herself.” Vera sat there clueless about what they were talking about, whole Ivan stared at Hermes like he had just developed horns.“Look, I'm sorry, man.”Hermes apologized. “ No number of apologies will suffice, but I was blinded, and I am sorry I let that happen.” “You kept that away from me all these years," Ivan asked.“Yes,” Hermes said truthfully.Ivan turned to look at Artemis who was now crouched on the floor in pain, With one swing of his hand she grunted even more, rolling until she tumbled onto the floor, crashing dead.Hermes shit his eyes, looking away from the sight, while Vera gasped in horror.Ivan turne