Down Like a Goddess: Surprise Goddess Cozy Mystery, #2

By A.M. Canavan

Being a goddess isn't all fun and games.

Evangeline Lewis is capable of solving every problem that the Olympians bring to her. At least, that's what she hopes. She's currently struggling to find a balance between her personal life and her responsibility of saving the gods from themselves. That is, until someone steals a precious artifact from the gods and threatens to release an ancient enemy.

Her investigation takes her both down into the depths of the underworld and up into the peaks of Olympus. Armed with only her fledgling powers as a goddess and visions that sometimes show her the future, Eva must venture further than she ever thought possible.

When time runs out and all hope is gone, Eva has to make a hasty decision that could result in her losing everything she's come to love about Olympus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Canavan Novels LLC
• Release date: Jul 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393458265

Book preview

1

Evangeline Lewis was furious.

Four times, Hades. She stormed into his office in Three Kings Corporation, a company that catered to the Olympians. Four times this month you’ve called me saying that it was an emergency. I drove all the way across town. Do you even care how bad traffic gets in downtown Surprise? I left Leo and Ataro’s engagement party the first time, thinking that something important had happened.

Hades, the all-powerful god of the underworld, knew better than to say anything. Instead, he looked like a properly chastised child. She watched as he ran a careful hand through his dark beard. It didn’t matter that he was well over six feet tall or that he could destroy Eva without even trying. Nope. As she let herself rant at him, letting out all of the frustration she’d felt every time he called her to come across town for something ridiculous, Eva tried to ignore the way his tattoos made him look even more intimidating.

Eva was a goddess too, or so she kept getting told. The only powers she had, though, were the visions she had in her dreams, and when she cried meteor showers filled the sky. The only problem was that none of them, not a single one of the Olympians, knew which goddess Evangeline was the reincarnated version of. As a result, she didn’t truly believe she really was a goddess. On top of it, Hades kept summoning her for help with ridiculous things.

Eva, He started to say when she finally paused her tirade.

She stuck a hand up, effectively silencing him.

When she first moved to Surprise, there was no way she'd challenge any of the gods. Now, she had no problem with it, even telling one of the Big Three to zip it.

I'm not done, Hades.

In response, he nodded and started to twiddle his thumbs.

Eva rolled her eyes, losing a little bit of the momentum she'd worked up on the ride over. She looked anywhere, but at him, trying to compose herself. His office was larger than hers, decorated in shades of black and gray, everything neutral except for the random accents in dark red.

I'm not happy, she said, once she felt like she could continue. "Today, I was supposed to get to sleep in. My week is going to be very hectic. Leo needs a model for his first haircut, and I told him I would do it. So, on top of everything that you guys have asked me to do to help with your mortal interests, I’m now losing my only day off."

Hades scoffed. Seriously, you’re going to let Aphrodite's second son cut your hair? You'll end up bald. He stared at his hands in silence when Eva just glared at him in response.

Not another word, She pointed a finger at him and resumed her pacing about his office. I'm not your personal assistant. I'm a liaison for ALL of the Olympians, for matters in the human world. It's not my job to help you plan a prank on your wife. She ticked the offenses off on her fingers. It's also not my job to distract your wife so that you can perform a prank. Up went another finger. It's not my job to walk your dog ... Your three-headed hell hound. Her last finger went up. It's also not my job to make things easier for you to prank your wife by bringing her here.

See, there was always something happening with Hades and his wife. Neither one of them could let the other be, and they were constantly playing pranks on each other. Much to the consternation of the rest of the Olympians.

You helped her, he said petulantly.

Hades referred to Aphrodite's dinner party. Eva had carried a super soaker and paint packs into the house by hiding them in her purse for Persephone, the goddess of the underworld and the woman who was married to Hades.

That's not fair, she jumped out from the bushes at me and caught me off guard. Also, she didn't make me drive all the way across town on a Sunday morning. Do you know how many people are out right now driving to and from church or running errands?

When he didn't answer, Eva looked at him to make sure that he was paying attention. He was, otherwise she probably would have taken something from the oversized purse she was carrying and thrown it at him.

It took me an hour, Hades. An hour in traffic to get somewhere that usually takes me less than ten minutes. Okay, so Eva had a little bit of road rage at being stuck in a car and not getting to sleep in.

It was completely Hades' fault though.

I'm not sorry, Eva. I need help. Otherwise, she's going to win. I'm not ashamed to say that Persephone has really taken the cake this time, and I need to get ahead in this race.

It's not a race, Hades. Eva shook her head. This is your marriage, your life.

He just shrugged a shoulder and got up from the massive desk that he'd been sitting at. Call it whatever you want. We have fun.

Yes, that was definitely true. Out of all the Olympians that Eva had met since moving to Surprise, Hades and Persephone seemed the happiest; the most normal. They played practical jokes, and they acted like a young couple still on their honeymoon. When she first met them, she had no idea that Hades was over two hundred years old, and that he'd spent the first hundred years he'd been alive just waiting for the reincarnated version of Persephone to appear.

Hades, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. I'm going to go home. And go back to sleep. The next time you call me, if it isn't an emergency … I'll make you regret it. Think about everything I know. All of it. Then think about how much access I have to the rest of the Olympians. You don't want me to use what I know, do you?

The god of the underworld paled before her. You wouldn't.

Oh, Eva laughed evilly. I most definitely would.

With that, he sat down on the edge of his desk and looked at her with a mix of emotions that clearly said he was both terrified of and impressed by her.

He was scared, and he had every right to be. Egos were important to the gods, Eva had learned. And the last time he'd called her for help, she'd learned a lot.

Hades, during the hundred years that he was waiting for Persephone, had been a performer. Yeah, that's right. He'd abandoned Three Kings and had gone to live in Mississippi performing in nightclubs. The god of the underworld had been a lounge singer. For close to a hundred years, he'd sang the blues, and had lived among the mortals.

Persephone had caught Hades trying to drag Eva into one of his schemes and told Eva all about his singing life. She had absolutely no problem using it against him to get him to leave her alone, or to make sure that he stayed in line.

That information is irrelevant. No one cares.

Oh really, Eva snorted and called his bluff. I bet they absolutely would. Remember, I've met your brothers. And their wives. I know exactly what they'd find interesting. Plus, I'm from the mortal world, Hades. Did you think I wouldn't immediately find actual evidence of it?

With that, Eva rummaged around in her purse until she found her phone and started her music app. A few notes later, Hades was up off the desk and reaching for her phone.

Turn it off, he hissed. Someone might hear.

His voice echoed through his office, singing the hauntingly beautiful melody of a long lost love. Eva waited a few seconds, until her favorite part of the song was over, before she shut the app down and put the phone back into her purse.

You win, he conceded with a hung head. I can't believe that she told you.

Persephone loves you, Eva smiled at him and took a step toward the door. But that doesn't mean that she's always on your side.

Eva left him alone in his office, snickering to herself as she went. What she hadn't told Hades was that he had an amazing voice, and that no one would laugh or make fun of him for it. In fact, she'd played his music through the speakers in her own house for her roommates to hear.

Of course, they didn't know it was Hades who was singing to them, otherwise Eva would have lost the little bit of leverage that she had over him.

No, no one else would know. As long as Hades kept her out of the ongoing war between him and the love of his life.

She walked through the empty halls of Three Kings Corporation and wondered why he was there in the first place. He could very easily have planned a prank on Persephone at their house. A house that was on the outskirts of Surprise and only a five-minute walk from Eva's own house. She was still a little irate at having to drive through town, but the thought of curling up in her bed and falling back asleep had its merits.

As she stepped out into the Sunday morning light, Eva squinted her eyes and looked down. She'd even kept on her favorite pajamas when she'd rushed over. Blue, with purple whales on them, they were flannel and probably shouldn't be worn in the already warm Arizona sun. Eva had grown up in Texas, though. A little heat wouldn't bother her all that much.

Listening to the sounds of traffic off in the distance, she sighed and climbed into her new car.

A new car that she hadn't really wanted, but her baby had gotten totaled and Eva didn't get a choice in the matter.

Stupid Hypnos, the god of sleep, had decided to go absolutely bonkers. He'd kidnapped another one of the Olympians, the Sphinx, and Eva had saved her only for something bad to happen during the rescue. Eva's car had crashed, and she'd been left trying to figure out how to drive the new monstrosity that sat in front of her. Okay, it really wasn't all that bad. But she'd been driving a twenty-year-old car before and figuring out all the new bells and whistles was getting old. She'd accidentally turned on the butt warmer in her seats, and it had taken her a week to figure out why the leather was SO hot.

In the end, another one of the goddesses had been the one to figure it out for her. Eris had climbed into the passenger seat of her car and had immediately asked her why the seat heater was on. Ten seconds later, her butt was a lot cooler.

Well, she said to herself. Let's do this.

Eva drove home, thanking the powers that be for the hole she had found in the traffic pattern. It only took her twenty minutes to weave through traffic and pull onto the street where she lived.

She ignored everyone in her living room as she shuffled through. They were all there, talking, and Eva just wanted to go back to sleep. She hadn't even had coffee before Hades had called. The last thing she heard before she shut her door was Kai saying something about needing to talk to her later. She ignored him and crawled back into bed. Dragging her blankets over her head, she tried to fall back asleep—she really did.

Ten minutes later and deciding that she was about to have a terrible day, Eva kicked off the blankets and sat up when her phone started to ring.

I swear to the gods. She hit answer before she even looked at the caller ID. I'm going to kill you. Probably not the best way to answer the phone, but she didn't care at this point.

Well, Iris said into the phone. That's no way to talk to your best friend.

I'm tired, Iris. Eva pouted. Can I call you back after like six more hours of sleep?

Oh sweetie. It's like noon, already. Why are you still asleep? Did some bad boy break your heart? Should I murder him and bury the body in the desert? That was Iris, instantly on alert and willing to do anything for her.

That's why you're my best friend. For a minute, Eva thought about telling Iris about Hades. It would be funny to watch, but she didn't think Hades would appreciate a human girl going off on him, and Iris really would do it too.

What's going on, Banana? Is everything okay with Mom and Dad? Banana was a nickname that Eva had for her ever since they were little. Iris' parents had been Eva's foster parents growing up. They'd loved her even when Eva didn't think she was very lovable.

Yeah, they're fine. Iris giggled. They're talking about coming to visit this winter though, so you don't have much time.

Eva panicked for a minute, not wanting to expose their family to the gods and all the chaos that came with them.

Besides, she couldn't really take a vacation from the gods. After all, she lived with four of them.

Eva, Iris interrupted her thoughts. Are you paying attention?

No, Eva answered honestly. Iris knew she spaced out a lot on the phone.

I said I might be coming to visit a little sooner than our parents. Eva's heart started to race with how she'd go about keeping the gods away from her best friend, and then took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

When are you thinking?

I don't know, yet. I have to figure a few things out first. Iris faded off for a minute, and Eva wondered if maybe there was something else going on. Hey, look sweets I gotta run. I'll talk to you later and we can try and iron out the details.

Before Eva could say anything else, Iris had hung up.

Well, that was weird. There was no going back to bed now, and Eva knew it.

So, she got up and fixed the hair that had escaped from the messy bun she was wearing. She didn't care about putting regular clothes on. Grabbing the comforter from her bed, she decided that she'd get some coffee and have a lazy day just watching movies. It had always been her favorite thing to do when she was feeling grumpy. When she opened the door to her room, she decided that if any of her roommates upset her today, she'd find a way to make their lives miserable.

Thankfully, they had started to get used to her after living together for a few months.

When she got to the living room, no one said a word. Erie handed her a mug of coffee, her favorite mug too, and she could smell the vanilla in the steam.

You, She whispered to him. Are my favorite. Don't let anyone tell you different.

His bark of laughter had Kai raising his eyebrow in question, but Eva just squinted at him and plopped down next to Erie on the couch.

Everyone was sitting in their usual spot in the living room. Erie and Kai were on the couch, Apple and Boreas reclined across from them, and Skee was laying down on the floor with a pillow under his head. The only one that didn't live with them was Boreas, since he couldn't stand living with the rest of them.

They weren't actually brothers, just best friends and they were all gods of the wind.

She'd spent a lot of time watching them mess with each other, manipulating the winds and using their god powers to harass each other. It made