Intrigue: The Night Muse Trilogy Read online

Intrigue: The Night Muse Trilogy

  By Stacey Rychener

  Copyright 2011 Stacey Rychener

  Discover more about the Night Muse Trilogy at:

  https://www.nightmusetrilogy.com

  Prologue

  I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts. —Virgil

  My dad always said, “Wars are usually fought by the young and written in history books by the old.” So the world might not be ready for the history of a war to be written by a sixteen-year-old girl from Detroit, but my generation deserves to be recognized for the sacrifices we made. The only time society has taken a teenage girl’s thoughts seriously in times of war is the Diary of Anne Frank, and Anne died at a concentration camp at fifteen—long before her diary was ever published!

  In mythology, Calliope was the most powerful Muse in the Greek Pantheon. Muses provided the entertainment kinda like modern day soap operas with some musical numbers for the Greek gods and goddesses. I am the modern day Calliope, so it makes sense that I am the one that gets to tell you the tale of the battles, betrayal, intrigue, and some sappy love stuff during the War for Detroit. I have chronicled all the behind the scenes scoops and dirt that you never see or hear about in those dry old history books, and I even included field logs from an actual Greek god!

  I am writing this history in present day Detroit where the War has come to an end for now. But in the summer of 2007, I was drawn into the battle between the three most powerful Olympians in Greek Mythology—Apollo (God of Truth and Prophecy), Hermes (Messenger of the Gods and Protector of Humans), and Ares (God of Warfare and Bloodlust). And now I am giving you a front row seat to history.

  Battleground

  Most people think the crash of the American auto industry caused Detroit and its economy to come grinding to a halt. In the 1990’s, President Clinton gave 1.5 billion to the American auto industry (Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles). GM, Ford, and Chrysler all created cars that got over 70 mpg (GM: 80 mpg Precept, Ford: 72 mpg Prodigy, and Chrysler: 72 mpg ESX-3). The Big 3 chose not to make the cars because only granola eating hippies would buy them. Instead, they decided to make bigger, more gas guzzling SUVs--some of which couldn’t even fit into your average garage! So Japan beat Detroit to the market, oil became expensive, and the Big 3 and Detroit started their descent into chaos.

  In 2007, Detroit had over 80,000 abandoned lots and buildings that were the palaces, playgrounds, and cathedrals for its immortals. And its prey, humans, all the more accessible because these abandoned buildings had become the flame for its moths of ravers, vandals, scavengers, and urban explorers. You would think that the frontline in a war between the immortals and humans would happen in a place a lot more glamorous like Paris or vital like New York, but the chaos, gloom, and the indoor abandoned reality of Detroit was like a lodestone for these creatures…. kinda like an IMAX for immortals.

  Immortal Lore

  Most of what I thought I knew about immortals and vampires was learned through books and movies. So I am going to clarify some basic facts about immortals and vampyre (not vampire) before we get started.

  Several books and movies actually got a few detail right like:

  -Most immortals are hot and somewhat arrogant with a clique-like hierarchy.

  Sometimes they got details sorta right:

  -Vampyre do not need to kill to drink blood, usually they only need to take about 1 pint of blood about once a week.

  Sometimes they were way off:

  -Immortals and vampyre do not burn up in the sun; Their skills and entertainment are best cloaked in night so they generally like to sleep during the day, kinda like college students.

  The rest of what I have learned about the immortals will be shared through my narrative, so you are just going to have to read on.

  Hermes Field Log: July 2007

  I have been observing my new Aegis, Calli, for over a month now, and I am still unclear as to why Apollo wants me guarding her. Her father is a fireman; she has a black belt in karate; she has only engaged a one high-risk behavior that I have observed. She attended an Urban Underground Rave that our kind sponsors, which has to be where Apollo saw her. The chaos and strife in Detroit has dramatically increased since Ares has turned the abandoned Tiger Stadium into his own personal Coliseum. The body count for the young adults of Detroit is climbing and soon Detroit’s citizens will start to take notice. As the Protector of Humans, I have done all I can to shield them, but it has not been nearly enough with Ares as ruler. Apollo is the only one strong enough to stop the human wrecking ball that Ares has become. That is why I am granting him this personal favor and the only reason a god, such as myself, would follow around a red-haired teenage Siren. Luckily, I have only had to follow her to the mall once. My duty ends at being a mall cop. My sacred duty might be to protect her, but you can be sure it’s also to find out why she’s so important to Apollo. And determine if somehow, she can further my mission to protect all humans from Ares.