Veil Us in Gold

Veil Us in Gold Shepard DiStasio Veil Us in Gold is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 Shepard DiStasio No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. No part of this novel may be used to train Artificial Intelligence programs. All rights reserved. Contact: shepwrites.net Editor and Cover Design: Kimmy Mar (https://kimmymar.com/about) Formatting: Quinton Li (https://www.quintonli.com/) ASIN: B0BX5W7PVL Contents Dedication Content Warnings Map Articles of Peace 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12. Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 22. Chapter 22 23. Chapter 23 24. Chapter 24 25. Chapter 25 26. Chapter 26 27. Chapter 27 28. Chapter 28 29. Chapter 29 30. Chapter 30 31. Chapter 31 32. Chapter 32 33. Chapter 33 34. Chapter 34 35. Chapter 35 36. Chapter 36 Acknowledgements About the Author To Kimmy. For all the 3am nights sitting in your car thinking about this silly world, I love you. And to all the blue butterflies of the world. Content Warnings To protect yourself during your reading experience, please note the following themes and events both referenced off and on the page in this novel: panic attacks, OCD stims, religious trauma, child death, fantasy discrimination, mass death, verbal and emotional and physical abuse, homophobia, assassinations, prostitution, assault, addiction, and drug and alcohol use. Articles of Peace of the Ozirath Council between His Sovereign Majesty Dizayeh Başa of Delphinusia, Magnus Valens Antonius of Tārāmen, Grand Tsar Dmitriy Shyskavich of Pecula, Lord of the Three Lands Xsayarsa of Amo, Raja Yash Mahto III. of Octānsum, High King Willem de Bahain VI. of Youza, Sultan Assad al-Sarin of Kti, His Majesty Choi Hanwool of Vona in Thammen, and Ambassador Therapon Olyssos Georgios of Ἀílos. Concluded at Tolos, the 13th day of the third month, 950 years after Tó Skhistón. In the Names of all that are Holy and our Sarei. Blessed Be Thee. Be it known to all who it does or may in any way concern… Article XIII That any persons who are suspected of harboring sympathy for the Theós family or the Old Regime of Ἀílos can and will be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law. Chapter one Blood always carried a certain scent of rusted metal pipes when it dried on rotting bodies, but when it was hot and fresh, Drake thought it reeked of gunpowder and guilt. They holstered their revolver with a click and wiped the hot liquid from their face with a flick of their wrist, grimacing at the red stains that now speckled the black leather. Drake’s eyes darted to the young girl’s body that lay in a puddle of blood. Blood freckled her paling cheeks as if gifted by the sun itself and not a bullet hole between her eyes. Sucking in a deep breath, Drake stepped carefully over the body and scanned the shingled rooftops of the brick buildings. Dark clouds rolled across the night sky, and Drake whistled quietly. They could taste the rain that was bound to fall and every hair on the back of their neck was standing at attention as their fingers twitched in anticipation. Grappling was difficult as it was, but in the rain? They removed the grappler from their belt and rolled their shoulders, spinning it around their finger. A section of brick at the roof’s edge crumbled beneath their boots. Thunder clapped across the sky. Drake dared one last glance to the girl with clouded eyes, and they frowned. Even the rains wouldn’t be strong enough to wash her clean. Clearing their throat and turning back to the expanse of buildings, Drake shut their eyes to search for the center of their soul that always glowed a fiery blue. And the moment they found it, it flooded through them. The first drops of rain plummeted to the derelict streets below as Drake stepped off of the roof. Time slowed around their falling body. The icy wind that should’ve scratched their cheeks and burned their nose only caressed wisps of black hair out of their eyes. Blue tinted their vision and enveloped their body, burning brightly as their soul’s core sang with freedom. Drake aimed the grappler for the brick edifice to their right and pressed the top trigger. Steel cable shot out of the gun, and the anchor sunk its formidable teeth into rain-stained brick. Drake grunted as their body was yanked towards the wall, and with another burst of the blue fires that ate at their muscles, they twisted midair and braced their legs for impact. Pulling the bottom trigger of the grappler, they released the anchor and shot it at the opposite building. Their jaw popped as their knees shook from the impact and numb shockwaves reverberated through their body. Drake ricocheted between the buildings until they came to the end of the alleyway and they pushed off of the building, sending the blue fires down into the soles of their feet, rocketing into the air up and over the slanted roof of the building blocking their way. Grinding their teeth, they scoured the streets below for the bridge that connected the eastern and western sides of the Sixth Ward. Rain splashed against their coat as the world returned to its normal speed. Time was running out. Their eyes darted between every building, crevice, and street, searching, searching, searching for that damned bridge— Northeast. With a pleased grin, Drake shot the grappler at a gable roof, and the shingles