We Never Sleep: a Daughters of Nyx tale

By Jess Reece

A compromised Oracle.

A civil war.

An unlikely pair of heroines.

 

The Furies: Alekto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, are cosmic forces to be reckoned with. But when their patron goddess tasks them with saving one man to prevent a civil war, Tis suspects something is wrong.

 

To ensure justice is served upon the world of mortal men, Tis is forced to team up with an unlikely ally: Kitty Warne, the first female agent of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

 

In the end, both women will learn a harsh lesson. No one escapes the Fury of Fate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jess Reece
• Release date: May 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393213598

Jess Reece

Jess Reece was practically born with a pen in her hand. She wrote her first story, about a dog taking a ride on an alien spaceship to the moon, at four years old. As a teenager and young adult, she won various local writing awards for her poetry and short fiction. Jessica's goal is to draw her readers into worlds that are as real to them as they are to her, and have them fall in love with the characters that they get to know. She also writes nonfiction, using her skills to mentor adult survivors of childhood abuse and trauma - healing that pain, sometimes decades old, through creative writing and storytelling. Jessica also paints and designs her book covers, as well as finds time to relax with her husband, daughter, and motley crew of rescue animals.

Book preview

a Daughters of Nyx tale

By

Jess Reece

Copyright © 2020 by Jess Reece

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

To my friend Chelsea:

Thank you, not only your creative input, but for cheering me on when I lost faith in myself. 

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Tisiphone Vindicaré, you cannot be serious!

Oh, Allie, calm yourself, will you? We both know that this task is bigger than anything we’ve ever been asked to do before—stopping an entire war—and splitting up is the best way to achieve that. Besides, it’s only temporary. I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone, Tis said, smiling innocently at her oldest sister.

Tis— Meg tried.

Megaera, Tis interrupted, I know you mean well, but we all know that I’m the best when it comes to disguises. It just makes sense that I’m the one that heads south. I’ll infiltrate the groups we’re looking for while you and Allie head north to confirm the information we’re searching for.

Allie paced anxiously, weighing Tis’s proposal. The three of them had split up on occasion to complete the tasks set before them by Zeus’s daughter, though it was not common for them to do so. Something about this particular mission had set her teeth on edge right from the start. She was hesitant to give in to Tis this time, however. Meg remained silent, waiting to see what her older sister would decide. Not that it really mattered in the end. Not in all of their long, long lives had Tisiphone ever been obedient, and she certainly wouldn’t be likely to start now.

Fine, Allie sighed 

Great! Tis clapped her hands. I’ve already got the train ticket, and will be leaving at seven tomorrow morning.

You already bought the ticket? Allie said. You’re incorrigible.

I know, Tis chirped, skipping off to her room to pack.

Allie looked at Meg and sighed again. Tis always was headstrong, and on more than one occasion Allie wanted to throttle her. However, Tis was also keenly curious, deftly skilled, and her tenacity knew no bounds. When Tisiphone Vindicaré made up her mind, nothing in all of the cosmos could sway her from her goal.

We’re going to let her go, aren’t we? Meg asked, enjoying Allie squirm with frustration.

When it came to her sisters, Meg didn’t have a vindictive bone in her body, but it was still interesting—in truth, it was entertaining—to watch her older sister be unable to control their youngest sister. Meg certainly didn’t envy Allie’s responsibility as the head of their little household. The sound of Tis throwing items into her bag coming from the other room elicited a giggle that Meg hid behind her hand, pretending it was a cough as Allie’s scowl intensified.

So, Tis said, poking her head around the door frame, shall we go get something to eat?

"I swear on Athena’s staff, the day you’re not hungry, the world will come to an end," Meg chuckled.

Changing into their evening clothes, the sisters left their hotel room to visit the restaurant recommended by the hotel desk clerk. Tis was thrilled with the delectable choices on the menu, though Allie and Meg were more conservative with their meal selections. The meal was pleasant and the conversation even more so, despite the earlier tension between them. Once they had returned home, however, Allie continued pacing long after the other two had retired for the night, a terrible worry gnawing at her gut.

Making her way through the crowded train platform the next morning, Tis tried to ignore her irritation at having to navigate so many bodies so early in the morning. Brushing up against the random bits of bare skin here and there of the women and men was disorienting at best, and wildly painful at worst. Strange, fleeting images flowed through her mind, and she forced herself to concentrate on every step until she was settled at long last onto her bench seat.

She pulled her gloves up and tugged her sleeves down so that there were no further chances of inadvertently making contact with her fellow passengers. The train lurched forward, the shrill screech of the wheels upon the iron tracks soon drowned out by the massive coal-fueled engines. Casually looking around, she examined the people closest to her, reaching out with her special sense—a secondary gift from Athena so many millennia ago—ferreting out whether anyone near her held the secret she was on the hunt for.

With only a small valise at her feet and a dull brown traveling ensemble, Tis blended in almost to the point of invisibility, but for a gentleman or two that took a pointed interest in her blonde curls and light eyes, though she’d perfected a severe expression telling