Finding Retribution
BOOK ONE
A SOUL KEEPER TRILOGY
A REALMS OF THE OTHERWORLD SEQUEL
By
JANA LaPELLE
Jana LaPelle
FINDING RETRIBUTION
Copyright © Jana LaPelle 2020
All rights reserved
First published in 2020
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. Any references to historical events, real people, etc. are used fictitiously.
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the author.
Cover design: Burning Phoenix Covers, all rights reserved.
https://trishbeninato.com/burningphoenixcovers
For all those who persevere through the dark times.
Those that deserve mercy will find clemency and those that do not … Will find retribution.
– Lillie Joanna
1
Who Am I?
(Lillie Joanna Faerondarl)
Honestly? Life in the realms should come with a freakin’ manual. Why is it that I’m the only one living in the shadow of our parents? My twin brother, Lachlan, has been able to carve out his own little niche in Faerie, albeit, he is a jokester of epic proportions and everyone adores him, but he makes it seem so easy, and I envy him for that. I’ve always been the more serious of the two of us and maybe that’s my problem. Maybe, I just need to loosen up. Have some fun and let my hair down for once in my life.
I can’t help but feel that I’m just a little lost and can’t figure out where I fit in. Ever since finishing school and taking on my role as a Keeper. I have felt the need to getaway. The need to put some distance between me and my oh so perfect mother. It’s not like that. Don’t get me wrong. I love her beyond reason, she is my mother and she is so amazing. I could not have asked for a more loving and nurturing parent, but I’m floundering in the gigantic shadow that she cast. How the hell am I supposed to measure up to her and all she has accomplished in her short life? By the gods, she and Da together with the help of their many allies saved all The Realms from certain destruction almost twenty years ago. In doing so, they delivered the wicked phantom queen, The Morrígan, to the depths of hell once she became one of the Fallen. Why her fall from grace took so long, I have no idea. From the histories, as told by the Druids, she should have fallen long before the battle. It’s become an epic tale that has become legendary by now. Children all around this realm and the next, have grown up hearing how the Accords came to be and it’s all just a bit too much to live up to. That and the fact that my life has literally been planned out for me since long before my birth. I don’t even get a say in what my role is to be. Or, at least it feels that way. I’ll always be second fiddle to my mother as just a mere Keeper of souls in her order. Although, she has made it clear that I will be stepping into the role of her second, replacing Jasmine, but that doesn’t feel right to me. It never has.
The histories tell us that all the gods and goddesses that reside in either The Mortal Realm or in Faerie originally came into existence as angels born from angel fire in The Overworld. They were chosen by our creator to oversee the mortals in their early years as well as the creatures of Faerie. The one catch was that they would have to give up their wings and would be locked out of The Overworld to fulfill their mission. That is of course, with the exception of my parents, who were born demigods and then ascended to their current station as the God and Goddess of Life. That makes me the first-ever born of flesh female goddess in The Realms and I don’t even know what the hell I’m a goddess of! My nonna, Danu, is Mother Goddess to all The Realms. My Gigi, on my father’s side, is the Goddess of Healing and yet, here I sit, not knowing what my place is, other than a mere Keeper of souls. A Keeper that delivers more souls to The Underworld than The Overworld. How messed up is that? I know that I will always choose the light. Always. It burns bright within me. I am my mother’s daughter where that is concerned, so why, am I the one Keeper in the short history of Keepers that has delivered more souls to hell than anyone else in the order? Did I mention that I’ve only been ushering souls since I turned seventeen? Three short years.
Needing a distraction from all my serious contemplation, I look around the meadow, seeing all matter of bright colors. This place has an otherworldly beauty. I remember the first time Mama and Da brought us here. We were just wee little tykes. It was the first time for Mama to be there too. The four of us ran through the tall grass and multi-colored flowers, holding hands, giggling and laughing, only to discover that what looked like brightly colored blossoms were flower sprites. As we came upon them, they took flight all around us. Mama just spun in the middle of the field, her long caramel mane flowing around her, and her amber eyes sparkling in her joy and wonder. Caught up in memories past, her laughter is still contagious as I recall that amazing day. I’ll never forget the tinkling
