“They’re killing them,” Kyle said, breathing hard.
“We need to get to the altar,” she said. “Destroy it.”
“Easier said than done,” he muttered, fending off a dozen demons that appeared to have vacated their hosts. This time, he didn’t hesitate to use Mordas, slicing and dicing like he was the one possessed.
His body went numb as a pack of ugly pishachas appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and started feeding on the bodies of the kids that lay exposed and helpless on the ground. Bile rose in his throat. He had to do something!
Kyle pulled all his energy into him so brutally that the lights in the room flickered and popped. Wind rushed in his ears as the force filled him like a storm. That was more like it.
“No, Kyle!”
Darika’s warning came like a dull, slow echo from far away. The unexpected rush of power inside of him was heady and intoxicating. He’d never felt so potent before. His body strained with it as if his skin could barely keep it in. He would banish all of these monstrosities.
“I can do it,” he growled triumphantly. “I can banish them all.”
“That’s what they—”
But her voice faded into the background as he knelt, the roar in his brain obliterating everything but his single goal. His fist slammed to the basketball court, cracks fissuring outward from the force of it. The portal burst outward in a shimmering flare so bright that he had to close his eyes. Satisfaction filled him as demon after demon was sucked into the cloudy doorway of the portal.
“KYLE!”
Sera’s voice pierced through the haze holding him prisoner. Befuddled, he opened his eyes. He tried to smile, but as her face filled his vision, he registered the horrified look in her eyes. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen such eviscerating fear there. Why would she be scared? He was getting rid of the threat once and for all.
It was at that precise moment that he felt himself start to tumble forward, as something hooked into his forearms and burrowed deep. He recognized the barbed tips of an Ifricaius immediately. More whiplike stings followed, fastening to his hips, thighs, and his torso as they shot upward from the other side of the gateway.
White-hot streaks of agony lanced up his limbs as his body was yanked downward, hooked by the very demons he’d just banished. With an inhuman roar and a burst of raw strength, he fought and almost tore free of the chains, but a score of lingering demons rushed from the corners of the gym to land directly on top of him. Thrown off balance, he toppled into the opening.
The last thing he saw was Ra’al’s triumphant face staring at him from the base of the bleachers. A gratified grin stretched his mouth from ear to ear. His voice was a mocking echo.
“Time to learn that lesson, boy.”
GODDESS IMMORTAL
Sera pounded on the wooden floor through which Kyle had vanished until her nails cracked and her knuckles bled. Gentle but firm hands pulled her back.
“He’s gone,” Darika said. “They’re all gone.”
Sera’s gaze swept the space. The goddess was right. All the remaining demons had disappeared. Though it was far from over.
“We have to go after Kyle.”
Dev cleared his throat. “That may not be the best idea.”
“You’re wrong. They’re going to kill him or do something far worse if we don’t—”
But the rest of her words were strangled by the gasp that rose up from the depths of her chest as she followed the direction of his stare. The altar at the center of the gym had started to glow. Huge fissures rocked the floor, cracking through the boards of the basketball court and webbing up the concrete walls. The earth trembled beneath their feet and she clutched at Dev for support. Something was happening beneath them. Something they couldn’t see. A sulfuric stench filled the gymnasium, followed by a hot blast that notched the temperature up.
“What is that?” she whispered.
Dev inched forward and froze, his palms lifting upward. “The balance is shifting. Can you feel it?”
Sera concentrated, closing her eyes. It was true. She could feel the subtle change that Dev mentioned. It was a sensation that tugged at her whenever Kyle opened a portal, like a summoning. A tethering to other planes of existence. Only this one was far bigger than anything she’d ever sensed. It felt like the wards between the realms were collapsing.
“You can’t be here,” Darika said to Dev in an urgent voice, as if she’d come to an identical conclusion. “If the Mortal Realm falls, you must protect Illysia. Convene the Trimurtas. We will face whatever comes forth and figure out a way to obliterate it.”
“She’s right.” Sera nodded. “You have to go. Illysia will be the last stand if we fail here.”
He stared at her, concern in his honeyed gaze, and Sera struggled to keep her face impassive. “You won’t do anything foolish, will you? You have a bad habit of leaping first and thinking later.”
“Darika won’t let me do anything stupid, don’t worry.” Sera met the other goddess’s eyes and nearly burst out laughing at the dubious expression she wasn’t quick enough to hide. Dev’s stare moved between them, as if he had his own doubts, and she hurried to reassure him. “I promise I won’t do anything rash.”
“Sera—”
The altar glowed in a shower of sparks, cutting off what he was going to say and drawing their collective attention as each of the pillars transformed into blood-red crystals. Hot yellow markings scoured their edges and a wave of pungent heat rolled outward in an oily haze. It smelled like Xibalba.
“That’s what they needed Kyle for,” Sera said slowly. “He’s the conduit.”
“But how?” Mara asked. Sera’s gaze flicked to the Yoddha as she approached them. She was covered in demon gore and what looked like bright streaks of human blood. Sera flinched at what that meant—the loss of innocent human lives. And there would be more before this was over. She could feel it deep in her bones.
She blinked, sorting through her thoughts before answering Mara. “They wanted him to open the portal before. This whole thing was a trap. Just like the smaller portals that allowed demons to escape Xibalba. Only now they’re using Kyle to keep it open.” She glanced up. “With that altar.”
“Why?”
Dread filled her. “Isn’t it obvious? They’re sending something back.”
“Then we must destroy it.”
Mara and Dev surged forward. Sera frowned—why wasn’t he leaving? Mara was a few steps ahead of Dev, and Sera watched, rooted in horror, as the Yoddha’s body was sucked into a near invisible fog that extended out like a protective web. A scream tore from Mara’s throat as the runes of Xibalba did their worst, sinking into her deifyre in molten streaks. It was like the immortal had entered the Dark Realms and was being reduced to cinders.
Dev reached for the Yoddha, managing to grip her arm, and for a moment it looked as if he could pull her out of the demonic mire.
Darika’s shout cut through the gym as she barreled toward them. “Lord Devendra, no!”
“Stay back,” he commanded her.
Sera blanched as the goddess stopped dead several feet away, her normally unreadable face agitated. “Dev—” Sera began, unease wicking through her.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “I see it.”
Sera blinked, letting her senses take over as she studied the barrier holding Mara in place. It moved like something alive—like a blanketing undulation of heat. It was some kind of protective veil, she realized. One more step and Dev would be too close. And even as one of the most powerful gods, he would not be immune. Sera thought of the way her own rune had scorched Dev’s skin and shuddered.
“Let me help,” she said. “It won’t hurt me.”
“No, we can’t risk it,” he said. “Stay there.”
He grunted and pulled, using all of his immortal strength to try to extricate Mara from the demon shroud. Her shriek had turned into a whine of agony as her deifyre smoldered and flaked to ash. Half of her golden aura was bl
ackened as Dev inched backward, his arms straining. His deifyre flared impossibly bright, so bright that Sera and Darika couldn’t keep their own eyes open.
Then, with an inhuman roar, Dev stumbled backward, his light returning to normal, and collapsed on the gym floor. Sera rushed to his side as Darika knelt next to the wounded Yoddha. Mara was gasping for breath, half of her body a charred mass. She was alive, but barely. The scripts of the Dark Realms undulated along her body, eating through the parts of her that remained untouched. Sera could feel the rune of Xibalba on her right palm flaring in response and it sickened her. Balling her hand into a fist, she clenched her jaw.
“Is she—”
Dev shook his head. “She’s dying. But at least she will return to Illysia. If she had been taken . . .” He trailed off, but Sera knew what he meant. If her soul had been consumed by the veil, she would have been trapped in Xibalba. The Yoddha moaned as Sera stroked her hair.
Suddenly, Mara’s back arched and she clambered to her knees. Ashes fell like a shower of gray dust from her crumbling body. She stood tall, her skin writhing as if something was worming its way beneath its surface. Tremors rocked through her body as Sera, Dev, and Darika scrambled backward.
Mara’s eyes rolled back in her head. “You cannot stop what is coming.” Sera’s swords extended from her palms at the guttural threat, and the Yoddha laughed. “Not even you can stop us, Lady Serjana.”
“It’s not her,” Dev said, a massive blade appearing in his hands.
“Of course it’s not her,” the thing with Mara’s face mocked. “Her spirit was delicious. A taste of the feast to come.”
Dev raised his weapon, but Mara’s stolen body laughed again, an ugly, cacophonous sound, and flung itself into the undulant veil. The rest of her fizzled in a shower of sparks as Dev swung into empty air. The lack of a target threw him off balance, and he tumbled straight into the path of the barrier.
“No!”
The scream tore from the depths of Sera’s body as she dove toward him, shoving him out of the way with her palms at the same time that her back connected with the shield. The breath was knocked out of her as the veil ensnared her. Sparks licked across her skin, making the rune on her right palm awaken. But, as she’d guessed, the shroud had no adverse effect on her.
“Sera,” Dev panted, pushing upward to face her where she stood, half in and half out of the circle. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
He frowned, as if noticing her hesitation, and beckoned her forward. “Then come.”
“Wait.” Sera licked her dry lips. The void in the center of the altar was a portal, as Dev had suspected. Strangely, nothing was exiting it, but she could sense something terrible forming at its base. And right now, she was the only one who could find Kyle and break the two-way aperture he’d created between the realms.
“Sera, don’t do this.” Dev’s voice was a plea. He knelt before her.
She could feel the heavy stares from the other Yoddha. Dev was her consort, but he was also one of the most powerful gods in Illysia. Seeing him kneel to anyone was sobering. And soul-destroying. Indecision poured through her as she straddled the two realms.
“Please,” he said quietly, as if he could read her hesitation. “We can find another way to help Kyle.”
“How?” she whispered. “You know this is the only way.”
“I can’t lose you.”
A sob rose in her throat. “We’re together until the end of time, remember? Even if I die, you’ll find me again.”
He stood then, inches away from her, and reached for her left hand. Sera gave it to him, watching as he bent his head to the spot where his rune lay and pressed his lips to her skin. His touch seared her as he pushed upward to close the distance between them, his lips finding hers. The runes on both hands flared bright as their deifyres flickered and merged—scarlet flames bursting with sparks of hot, silvery-white light. She felt his strength filling her. Awareness bloomed along her veins as her goddess side grappled with the pull of Xibalba.
Dev broke the kiss, his eyes searching hers. His grip on her hand tightened. “You must reconsider.”
“I have made my choice,” she said. “I’ll come back, I promise, once I have Kyle.” He held her palm in an unbreakable grip and she stared down at their joined hands. “Let go, Dev.”
“I cannot.”
“You must.” Sera stepped back an inch, the motion taking the rest of her face and most of her body behind the glimmering contour. It hung like a toxic curtain between them. Darika jolted forward, anxiety written all over her face at the Protector’s proximity to a barrier that would not be merciful. The veil floated dangerously close to the tips of his fingers, but Dev showed no signs of releasing Sera.
Darika cleared her throat carefully. “Lord Devendra, I must caution you against touching that shield. The fate of Illysia is at stake, should anything happen to you. Please, my lord.”
“No,” he whispered.
Sera blinked at the catch in his voice. “Why, Dev?”
He swallowed hard, his fingers trembling against hers. “The vision your brother saw. The one I told you about, where someone close to him dies?”
“I remember.”
“It’s you,” he choked out. “You die. You will die if you go to Xibalba, Sera. That was what he saw. He saw your death.”
At his words, Sera felt the floor pitch beneath her feet. Fear took hold of her.
Nate had foreseen her death. She was going to die.
She’d seen so much of death, watched so many of her friends pass, but the thought of her own death was too much to bear. A terrified, selfish, and all-too-human part of her deflated with the knowledge. Normal girls didn’t have to worry about dying. Normal girls didn’t have to fight the worst kind of evil for the future of humanity.
You’re not normal.
So get over it.
Sera gulped in several breaths, steeling herself. She was a goddess, and people needed her. She could condemn Kyle to his fate and save her own life by stepping back outside the boundary. Or she could follow in his footsteps and die in the process. Neither was palatable, but there was only one choice she could live with. She could never let her friend die.
“Visions are not cast in stone,” she said, her voice shaking.
“Nor are they always accurate,” Darika added, and Sera met her eyes gratefully.
She wondered for a moment whether, if their positions were reversed, the goddess would choose to go after Kyle. Love was a strange thing, but so was duty. Darika was oath-bound to protect Illysia and, by extension, the Mortal Realm. Would she be swayed by her feelings for Kyle?
In that instant, Sera could see into the other goddess’s soul and found the answer to her question. Though not a surprise, the raw truth of it shook her.
No, Darika would leave Kyle to his fate.
So should you. The thought was Dev’s.
You know I can’t.
“Why?” His mouth shaped the word, but no sound emerged.
“Because I am bound to protect you and this world in which we live.” She drew a deep breath. “If it is my fate to die, then I die protecting the ones I love. Please, Dev, let me go.”
“Never.”
“I thought that’s what you would say. I love you, remember that.” She inched away, moving her hand ever so slowly backward. Darika’s gasp was loud as Dev’s fingers blistered red in response to the veil creeping closer along Sera’s wrist. It wasn’t even touching him, and already his skin was becoming singed.
Sera could feel him holding on and fought with every bit of power she possessed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He bent again, his lips grazing her knuckles before sealing themselves to the rune on the fleshy part of her palm—his rune, the shield and the wing. The veil pressed dangerously close to the skin of his face, making her breath seize in her chest as the brilliant deifyre there hissed and sizzled. His eyes met hers through the translucent red miasma. Shadowed pai
n haunted their golden depths. “Find me.”
“I will.”
Without another thought, she extracted her hand from his and withdrew completely behind the curtain. At the full claim of Xibalba, her blushing deifyre shimmered into crimson hellfyre, eliciting the stunned attention of every other deity in the gym.
No one but Kyle had ever seen her in this form. Not even Dev had ever seen her fully like this—like some demonic angel spawned from the darkest depths of hell.
Keeping her eyes downcast, she composed herself. She hated the way the hellfyre crept over her skin as if it were something alive. Coupled with the stares, it was too much to take. Sera turned and strode toward the glowing altar.
“Sera,” Darika called out. “Be careful.”
Sera nodded, risking a glance over her shoulder. The goddess was staring at her with compassion, not judgment. It was as if Darika understood the presence of a darker nature. She would, Sera realized, with an incarnation like Kira who was guided by far more destructive and bloody impulses. Sera refused to look at the boy at Darika’s side. The boy holding her heart in his hands.
“Take care of him,” she told the other goddess. “And if anything happens, keep my family safe, too.”
“Wait!”
The shout was from a male voice as a new form shuffled his way through the Daevas tending to the injured. Sera recognized him with a sinking heart. “Dad.”
He stopped at the edge of the veil, his hand rising to chest level. She raised hers to match on the other side. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.
She smiled through the sudden sheen of tears. “Says the man who wouldn’t back down from a fight with a demon if it killed him.”
“You’re not just going up against one demon, Ser-bear. You’re going up against all of them.”
“I know. Someone wise once told me that death and honor go hand in hand.”
“Where’d you get to be so stubborn?”
“I heard that genetics have a lot to do with it.” She smiled, pushing her hand through the curtain to lace her fingers through his. He gasped at the heat of the veil but held firm.
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