Authors: M. R. Merrick
“Chase isn’t an air elemental; he only has fire and water.”
“Shows what you know, silly girl. Looks like your boyfriend is keeping secrets.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “How do you know any of this?”
“I’ve been around a while, hunter.” Grams made her way back to the stairwell.
“Wait. Since when are you an air elemental?” Rayna’s hands were on her hips and she looked unhappy.
“I’m not. I mean, I might be. I don’t know. It comes and goes.”
“You mean to tell me you nearly burnt down our house because Marcus kept a promise to your mother, and you’re the one hiding things?”
“That’s not how it is.”
“That’s exactly how it is. You’re a hypocrite and a liar!” Rayna stormed past Grams and out of the library.
“Ladies man.” Grams grinned, revealing brown nicotine stained teeth. “Well, I got what I came for.” She laughed and started down the stairs.
“Are you sure channeling my element will work?”
“Of course I’m sure, but good luck getting anything out of those assholes.” Grams pointed to the roof.
I looked at Tiki, who was still half asleep and not bothering to get up from the floor. He smiled and gave his usual shrug. I was really starting to miss Willy.
“It’s worth a try, I guess,” I said mostly to myself.
I closed my eyes and reached for the air within me. The image of trees swaying against the strong wind filled my head. The magic swirled, lifting my feet off the ground. The element was a strong and uncontrollable force, like I’d unleashed a tornado inside me. I focused on moving that tornado, directing it where I wanted it to go. The air moved through my veins and I pushed it all down one arm. I pictured the air as a visible force moving through me and into the ring.
Air broke through the surface and books flew off the shelves. Tiki winced as the wind cut past him, blowing his ruffled black hair over his face. He brought an arm up to cover his eyes as papers flew and the furniture began sliding across the floor.
The magic vibrated through my hand and the red gem came to life. The ring sucked more magic from my body and white power swirled inside the ruby. That energy grew until the gem was no longer red, but a solid white square. The light brightened, emanating from the ring until it burst through the room in a blinding wave.
Rai’s chirps rang out in a panic and she fluttered towards me, but wind rushed around the room and she was pushed back. More books flew off the shelves and Tiki jumped to his feet, nervousness clutching his features.
Grams stood halfway down the stairs, veiny arms wrapped around her newly acquired book. Thick locks of white hair flailed around her and she winced as the rush of wind and light flowed out of the ring.
Air tingled along my face and ran through my hair. It smelled fresh, like it had just rolled off a mountain and the cold would burn my skin. I closed my eyes as the light grew, swallowing the room and leaving a vibrating sensation strumming along my skin.
The ring pulled more magic from my body and the light exploded around me as my feet finally settled back onto something solid.
The light faded and revealed white marble columns rising endlessly into a cloudy sky. The matching floors reflected a blue light that hung on the air. It surrounded me, but came from nowhere, existing on its own, just like at the sanctuary. Air rushed through the spaces between the pillars, but it was warm and fresh, not the cold wind that bit at my skin. I looked over the edge between two pillars, but all I could see was light. It was bright, yet it didn’t hurt my eyes.
“I wondered when you’d arrive.” A soft voice moved around me.
A woman appeared in the middle of the room. Her hair was half pinned up with pearl tipped pins while the rest of the platinum strands hung near her lower back. Vibrant purple eyes carried both innocence and wisdom. Her skin was flawless, lightly tanned, and decorated in a purple dress, a single white ribbon tying it together in the back.
“Serephina?”
She smiled, showing perfect white teeth, and the sight of it filled me with warmth. It made me feel something I hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity: happiness. A soft white glow hung over her skin and her bare feet moved without touching the ground. She glided towards me, drapes of purple and white fabric drifting behind her and caressing the marble floor.
“I thought you’d come sooner.”
“I did the best I could. I wasn’t given much direction.”
“Such is our way.” Her voice was warm and comforting.
“I need your help.”
“I know, but I cannot help in the way you want me to.”
“You’re the goddess; you have to. My world…
your
world, it’s in danger.”
“I cannot alter that course.”
“But it’s your world.”
“My soul piece still powers it, yes. But it hasn’t been my world for some time.” Serephina shook her head.
“What does that mean?”
“After Ithreal’s Great War, the other gods and I made an oath never to return to the worlds of our own will. I could not come, even if I wished it. It belongs to the humans now.”
“So Ithreal gets to break free of his prison and you’ll just stand by and watch?”
“I’ve not stood by and watched yet, why should I start now?”
“I don’t understand.”
“I blessed your kind with the abilities to defeat him, but it’s up to you to use them. Why do you think I created the Mark?”
“But what
is
the Mark? What does it do?”
“The Mark was created for the Protector. The one who bears the Mark is the chosen one.”
“Chosen for what? Am I supposed to put Ithreal back in his cage?”
“Ithreal, in his true form, is not so easily released. He is trapped by the combined powers of the gods. Until that power is broken, he cannot be truly freed.” She spoke, and although her lips moved, her voice came from everywhere.
“So Riley can’t take his power?”
“Riley will be a vessel for Ithreal’s essence: a part of his soul, but Riley has much to do before he can complete the ritual. He’s completed the first step: he has the blood of the creature from both worlds.”
“What else does he need?”
“He must retrieve the ring that guided you here. That ring allows its wearer to communicate with any of the gods. Ithreal will lead Riley to the last part. He needs to obtain each of Ithreal’s soul pieces. I only know of one: Ithreal’s dagger, in the dimension of Theral.”
“So if I stop any of those things, he can’t finish it?”
Serephina didn’t reply. She lowered her head in a gentle nod, beautiful purple eyes watching me with a curiosity I didn’t understand.
“I can hide the ring,” I said.
“Hiding it will not be enough. With the Brothers beside him, they will find it. You must destroy it.”
“But that will kill Elyas and weaken you.”
Serephina smiled and shook her head. “I’m not so foolish as to put a piece of myself into a small trinket so easily destroyed. The ring is not the soul piece. The soul piece is safe; that I assure you. You must destroy the ring with a godly item.”
“Ithreal’s Dagger.”
Serephina nodded, her lips curling into a gentle smile. “I’ve requested help from the other gods in hopes to find you an easier method, but they will not comply.”
“Where in Theral is it?”
“When you get there, you will know.”
I sighed and paced the white marble floor.
Serephina’s laughter echoed around me. “You are tense, Chase. You must relax.” Her power moved over me and warmth filled me. The energy calmed my nerves, making all my worries vanish. Her warm assurance told me everything would be fine, and I basked in the positive energy.
Serephina drifted around me. Even gliding, she held an indescribable grace. She moved in front of me and stared into my eyes. Her power overwhelmed me and the smell of sweet fruit encircled me. I pushed myself back and stepped away from her. Her power faded and I had to force myself to remember why I was here.
I stepped away and my thoughts rushed back to me. “I realize you’re
the
goddess, but how can you sit here and put all your faith in a single person? The Great War happened because of Ithreal, and Riley’s working overtime to bring him back. Aren’t you worried?”
“Before the war, Ithreal wanted to merge with me and bind my power. He knew he could not overcome me in a duel, and so he sought to steal it.”
“Merge? Like sex?”
“In a sense. To merge is to come together as one. This can be done by choice, and the more powerful god absorbs the other, or, the other god can overpower the other in a duel, in which case the winner absorbs the power.”
“So he tried to destroy Earth to weaken you?”
“It’s more complicated than that.” Serephina drifted back away from me, and a white lounger appeared on the air. She draped herself over it, the purple gown flowing over the white fabric as she settled in. “There are seven gods. We’ve existed this way for more time than you have a word for, but once, there were many of us. We created worlds, we made life, and lived among our people. Only seven gods remain now because the rest have merged with us, or their essence has been stolen. We keep it this way to ensure no one god gains too much power.”
“To keep the balance.”
“Yes.” Serephina smiled. “Once this law was put in place, it was not unlike us to merge with our creations, but because they could not bear witness to our true essence, we were forced to take on their forms. Over time, however, we grew tired of the restrictions those bodies forced upon us. We could not be at full power while in such a frail shell.”
Serephina tapped the spot next to her, but I ignored the motion. Her essence was pure seduction, power, and life. I felt like I couldn’t get enough. I was drowning in her perfection, even from a distance. I knew if I went closer, I might never leave. Her bright eyes locked with mine and their warmth filled me. A smile I couldn’t control came over my face and I turned away.
“This body you see before you is one I created just for you. Do you like it?”
“Of course I do. I love it. I just can’t focus when I’m close to it.”
“Such is our way as gods.” She smiled, pulling herself off the lounger and gliding towards me. “You are handsome. I regret having sworn my oath in this moment.” She lifted her hand and slid a finger down the side of my neck. Her touch was softer than anything I’d ever felt. “You remind me of the men I had when I lived among the humans. If that time was now, you would be chosen to lie beside me.”
I tried to pull away, but her touch filled me with warmth and passion. She rubbed her hands over my chest and the faint smell of fruit grew stronger. I never wanted to leave.
That realization startled me. I shook my head, trying to push the feeling away, but it wouldn’t fade. I reached up and tried to pull her hands off of me, but the moment my skin touched hers, my body grew weak.
Serephina giggled and pulled herself away. She broke the connection between us and glided back towards her lounger, glancing over a perfectly tanned shoulder as the distance separated us. “Your willpower is impressive. Most men would crumble, if not under my gaze, than by my touch. You are the perfect bearer for the Mark.”
I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my hair, watching her fall back into her chair. “Back to Ithreal…”
“As you wish.”
“Why did he invade earth?”
“Ithreal did not wish to destroy earth because of the men that inhabited it. He wanted to destroy Elyas. She is a piece of my soul. If a soul piece is destroyed, the world dies and that part of the god’s power is gone forever.”
“So, Ithreal wanted to weaken you?”
“Any god who has ever refused to merge with him has had their essence taken. Ithreal spent many thousands of years trying to match my power, and because I would not succumb to him, he wished to do the same with me. But he knew he could not defeat me so easily.”
“But you were more powerful, so why didn’t you just stop the war?”
“Because of the oath, I was forbidden to interfere. It is against our laws to harm a fellow god’s creations.”
“But Ithreal was killing your people and trying to harm you. He broke your laws.”
“Ithreal did not attack my people. He commanded his creatures to do so.”
“How is that any different?”
Serephina smiled. “There are ways around even the strictest rules. I did not harm Ithreal’s creatures directly either. I used my power and created the Circle of Light: the hunters, as you call them today. It was they who defeated Ithreal’s armies. It was they who cast Ithreal’s demons from their world. The Circle set up the barrier to keep the other worlds out. I simply gave them the power to do it.”
“Then what happened to Ithreal? Why isn’t he free?”
“When the Circle locked him out of their world, Ithreal was angry and tried to break the seal himself. Because he was directly trying to interfere, he had broken our laws. The other gods joined me and we banished him to his own dimension.”