Free Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10) by Amy Sumida Page B

Emma. “Thank you for coming.”
    “ I admit I think it's a rather silly holiday,” Fenrir shook his head as he gave Emma an indulgent look. “But Emma loves it.”
    “ Hello?” She slapped his chest. “It's an excuse to eat a lot of wonderful food and be lazy. You should love it too.”
    “ I don't like being lazy,” he lifted a thick dark brow at her. “There's no lamb for the lazy wolf.”
    “ But there's turkey,” I laughed and pointed him toward the front door. “It's all out there under the pavilion. We have so many people in our combined families that we had to take the celebration outside.”
    “ Don't worry about us,” Emma took Fenrir by the arm, “If there's food to be had, he'll inevitably find the straightest path to it.”
    “ Because I'm a good provider,” he griped as he escorted her down the hallway.
    I was standing with Kirill at the tracing wall, waiting to direct our guests outside. Trevor was outside, playing host to those who had already arrived, and Azrael had gone to fetch Krystal, Tristan, and Jackson, my human friends. We were expecting all the members of the God Squad, my sons, Loki, and the Froekn, so probably a little over two hundred people. The Intare had been cooking for three days to try and provide enough food for all of them. There was a hell of a spread and they were pretty proud of it.
    “Vervain,” Thor said after he traced in. “Thank you for inviting us.”
    “ Of course,” I hugged him and then gave my attention to his new girlfriend. “Welcome to our home, Brighid.”
    “ Thank you, Godhunter... oh shit,” she stammered, her pale cream cheeks turning pink. “I'm sorry, I meant Vervain.”
    “ It's fine,” I laughed, liking her for her awkwardness. I was familiar enough with being awkward myself. “It's not a title I'm ashamed of, as long as you don't call me a whore, we're good.”
    “ Why would I call you a whore?” She pushed her thick blonde curls back out of her eyes with a confused look.
    “ Oh, I like you,” I laughed. “Go on outside, everyone's gathering in the pavilion.”
    “ Okay, see you later,” Thor led Brighid out.
    “ But why would I call her a whore?” Brighid whispered to him and I giggled.
    “ She seems like nice person,” Kirill slipped an arm around my waist.
    “ Yeah,” I transferred my gaze to his deep blue one. “As long as she doesn't hurt Thor, I'll keep thinking of her that way.” I lifted my face for a kiss.
    “ I believe canoodling while waiting for guests is in bad form,” Horus announced.
    “ Happy Thanksgiving, Horus,” I reached over and hugged the Egyptian god before he could react. He melted into it for a second before tensing up and pulling away.
    “ Yes, well,” he cleared his throat and ran an elegant hand through his dark, shoulder-length hair. “I don't understand this American tradition but since everyone else was coming, I thought I might as well.”
    “ That was very thoughtful of you, Horus,” I beamed at him, totally throwing him off his game.
    “ Happy Zanksgiving, Horus,” Kirill saved him by extending a hand. Horus shook it gratefully and made a hasty retreat.
    “ You tease him badly,” Kirill shook his head at me.
    “ Someone needs to break through that spiky shell of his,” I shrugged.
    “ Da, zat's Pan's job.”
    “ Well, I want in on the fun too,” I pushed his shoulder. “Lay off.”
    “ Da, I vill lay off.”
    “ Vervain,” Mrs. E came out of the tracing wall and gave me a hug. “Thank you for having me. You know, I could bore you with all the details of the original Thanksgiving and why the modern day version is so very different, but I think I'll save us both the pain and just enjoy the food.”
    “ Yes thank you,” I giggled. “I'd appreciate that. Oh and I have some news about the Void. I've talked to Lucifer and he's told me how to reach it through astral projection. I'll need to learn to manipulate energy as well before I go but I think you've probably