Alpha Goddess

by Amalie Howard

  Kyle sighed. He’d spent most of the night and morning helping Carla to clean up the worst of the damage in the house. Carla had been devastated when she’d returned from her trip to discover that they’d been burgled. Surprisingly, she hadn’t blamed Kyle, even though some part of him had been expecting it. Afterward, he’d driven over to Sera’s. There was only one person he could go to for help, but he was hesitant. Even though Sera’s mother did not like him, he knew she was the only one who was strong enough to help him. He just hoped that Sera and Uri hadn’t told her what he’d done at the school.

  He got out of his car and walked up the curving driveway toward the house. There were two men—one tall and thin, the other burly—stationed out front whom he didn’t recognize. They tensed the minute they saw him.

  He pushed his senses out. Human, but Ne’feri.

  “I’m a friend,” he called out. “Kyle. I just want to see Mrs. Caelum.”

  They approached him and he could see the reflection of sunlight against the blades hidden in their hands. They weren’t taking any chances.

  “Show us your hands,” the tall one said.

  Kyle raised his hands, palms up toward him. The other man chanted something in a strange language, and Kyle felt something fall on him like powder—some kind of spell. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, as the one who’d spoken dropped into a low crouch, blade in hand.

  “Azura!” he snarled. The tall man whirled in a blur to step behind him in front of the flagstone path leading to the front door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another person approaching behind him. That last one was distinctly Daeva or higher. Already he could see the white glow of deifyre in its hands, a warrior then.

  “I’m a friend of Sera Caelum’s,” he said, careful not to make any sudden movements. “If you just let me take my phone out—”

  “Don’t move!” the burly man shouted. But Kyle was already reaching into his pocket. The tall man flew toward him, and Kyle spun to avoid the attack, flinging his left foot out as he turned, causing the man to tumble to the ground.

  “Listen to me, please. I am a friend!”

  “The Azura are no friend to the Daeva,” the burly man said, lunging with his knife. Kyle blocked the man’s arm and countered with a swift punch to the man’s face. Kyle’s body felt fluid, graceful even, as his fist tore through bone like tissue paper. The man staggered back, blood pouring from a broken nose.

  Kyle blinked. It was faster than he’d ever moved. Something dark uncurled inside of him as he spun to face the other man.

  “A friend?” the tall man scoffed, his face angry but also fearful.

  “What did you expect me to do? You attacked me!” Kyle shouted back. He dodged the deifyre arrow heading his way from the third person at the end of the driveway and tackled the tall man to the ground. He heard bone snap, and then something stung his arm. Kyle whirled as a second arrow grazed the top of his elbow. Kyle screamed—the barest touch of the deifyre on his skin was like flame scorching an open wound.

  Kyle stumbled back clutching his elbow, the pain radiating up through his bones. But the arrow had barely even touched him. Something wasn’t right!

  He sensed someone to his left and whirled, his hand flying toward its target. He froze at the last minute, belatedly recognizing Beth. He saw an answering flash of recognition in her eyes, but it was a second too late as a heavy-looking blunt instrument swung toward his head. And then the last thing he saw was darkness.

  When Kyle opened his eyes, he was lying in the Caelum’s living room. Sophia’s gray eyes swam into focus.

  “Kyle? It’s Sophia. Can you hear me?” she asked. She waved a hand slowly in front of his face. “Are you OK? Can you see my fingers?”

  He shook his head and wished he hadn’t, closing his eyes tightly.

  “I’m sure it looks worse than it is,” a small voice said. Kyle touched his temple and winced. He turned toward the voice.

  “You hit me,” he told Beth, whose face was stricken.

  “I’m sorry. I only saw the back of your head coming up the drive with all the tattoos and I panicked. Some demon guy named Marcus came to the house last night, so we’re all a little high strung.”

  “Marcus?” Kyle gasped, then started coughing. He sat up and blinked, feeling woozy. “What did you hit me with? A sledgehammer?”

  Beth nodded. “Sorry. You gave as good as you got. The other Ne’feri are seasoned fighters and you took them both out like they were first-timers. And with no weapons, too! That’s why I panicked. You just didn’t look like you—you were so fast.”

  Kyle started coughing again. Beth was right. He’d never moved that fast before. Something strange was definitely going on.

  When the coughing fit ended, he asked, “How long have I been out?”

  “Not very long,” Sophia said, glancing at his arm. “I cleaned and bandaged your arm. Maeve’s arrow just barely clipped you, so I was able to get most of it before it went too deep.” She examined his head. “This wound is healing already.”

  “Thanks,” Kyle repeated, touching his head and feeling the new skin under his fingertips. He looked up. The warrior goddess, Maeve, stood in the corner of the living room near a window. She was tall and Amazonian-looking with coffee-colored skin. She seemed fierce.

  “Where’s Sera? Is she OK? Why was Marcus here last night?”

  “Sera’s still sleeping,” Beth said. “She said last night that Marcus was a friend of Jude’s and that he was one of the Ifrit she’d seen at the portal.”

  “What did he want?”

  “Marcus said he came with a message from Azrath for Sam,” Sophia said flatly. “Things got heated, but he flew away before we could get any useful information out of him, like what Azrath has been planning. Maeve shot his wing, so he’s hurt but still escaped.” Kyle heard a strange tone in her voice. She wasn’t telling him everything.

  “Is Sam OK?”

  “He’s hanging in there. A little banged up. Mortals take longer to heal than we do.”

  “Where is he? Is he safe?”

  Sophia nodded.

  “Mrs. Caelum, I came over because I need your help. Azrath has asked to see me and I’m afraid that if I go to him, I will become the weak link in everything we are working toward. I don’t know what to do, how to keep him from possessing me or getting into my head.”

  Sophia looked surprised. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

  “Can you do anything so that I’m protected against Azrath? So that what I know remains hidden from him? I don’t want to put any of you in any jeopardy, but if I don’t go, he will suspect something and you’ll all be in danger.”

  “Kyle, I’m not sure that there’s anything I can do. Azrath is old and he is cunning. He’ll know that you’ve been shaded.”

  “But he never knew about Sera, so it can be done, right?” Kyle felt desperate. “I have to try something! Maybe if Micah—”

  Something clouded Sophia’s face for a brief moment. Maeve, the other deity, walked over, and Kyle flinched involuntarily as she drew close. She crouched down next to him and studied him. Her eyes were sharp.

  “What are you?” she said after a while, her voice like wind chimes.

  Kyle stared at his hands. “I … don’t know.”

  “You’re not Azura,” she said frowning. “At least, not all of you.”

  “My mother was Azura,” he said in a rush. Images of the night his mother died and the thing that had spoken with his mother’s voice flooded his mind.

  You belong to Xibalba.

  “No, there’s something else.” Maeve peered at the wound on his forehead, which was now only a reddened bruise. She shook her head and glanced at Sophia. “Even Azura don’t heal that fast from our weapons. Show me your arm,” she told him.

  She peeled away the white gauze bandage carefully. Behind her, Sophia gasped.

  Kyle stared down at his arm. The gash that had been there before was now closing before his eyes, s
tringy pieces of black gooey thread stretching across it as if it had been sewn. A fine coating of silver dust lay along its edges.

  “Curious,” Sophia whispered, moving to crouch beside Maeve. She touched the dust with her fingers and smelled it. “His blood is pushing the rest of the toxin from the deifyre out.”

  “That’s impossible,” Maeve said. Her face was determined. It scared him for a second until she took a silver blade from her pocket and dug it into his wound. It was nothing compared to the agony of the deifyre arrow, but he still bit his tongue to keep from shouting.

  Something black fizzled and congealed against the tip of the knife.

  “What is that?” he heard himself say.

  Both Sophia and Maeve were staring at him. Maeve lifted the blade to her nose and smelled it as Sophia had done with the silver dust. She frowned and flung herself to her feet, flaring deifyre as a bow appeared in her hands with its arrow notched. It pointed directly to Kyle’s heart.

  “Maeve!” Beth shrieked. “He’s a friend.”

  Sophia remained silent. Kyle was frozen, squinting against Maeve’s light until his Azura eyes adjusted to the brightness. The second he moved, the arrow would be released. He didn’t dare breathe.

  “He’s a demon,” Maeve said flatly.

  At her words, Kyle felt the world slipping away from him. They thought he was a demon? But it wasn’t possible. He was Azura. He remembered the thing that spoke through his mother’s mouth and felt a dark fear take hold in his gut.

  “No way,” Beth said, her voice trembling. “He’s with us.”

  “That is demon blood on that knife,” Maeve said. “I’ve killed enough of them to know.”

  “But Daeva can sense demons,” Beth said. “How come no one sensed him? You’re wrong! He’s no demon. He can’t be.”

  Sophia pulled herself to her feet, her gray eyes shaded. “Maeve’s right. The blood on that blade is demon’s blood. But you’re right, too, Beth. I, we, didn’t sense anything.”

  Kyle felt something jump-start inside of him, a powerful survival instinct, but he didn’t move. Instead he watched the two goddesses very carefully. He didn’t have a shot in hell with Maeve—she didn’t trust him one bit. And Sophia barely trusted him. He read the indecision on her face easily.

  Kyle knew he couldn’t attack them physically. The wound on his arm was a reminder of how vulnerable he was to deifyre. For a second he wondered at this disturbing change. He’d been able to touch the Yoddha, Aria, in the barn, and now, like the Ifrit, he could not, which meant he had already changed and was no longer human. His eyes flitted to the wound on his elbow, now completely healed. They were right—he was something else.

  Suddenly, Beth moved to stand behind the sofa where he sat. Neither Maeve’s eyes nor her arrow wavered from him, though.

  “Sophia? You can’t hurt him,” Beth said slowly. “Sera would never forgive you … us.”

  A flash of something that looked like doubt shadowed Sophia’s face. “I’ll take that risk if it means protecting her from—” She stared at Kyle. “I’m sorry, she’s too important for us to take chances and you … I just don’t know what … ”

  “Micah trusts me,” Kyle whispered. He saw her almost waver and he pressed on. “And you trust him, you always have. Sam did too, he told me so. They both knew more about me than anyone, and Sam said that I would choose as he did, not the other way around—”

  “Sophia,” Maeve said warningly. “Micah wouldn’t have known about this. You didn’t. If he were here, you know what he would do.” Her voice was hard. “This is a demon. You have to see that. Blood doesn’t lie.”

  Sophia blinked, staring at him with new wary eyes. “What did you just do?” she hissed.

  “Nothing, I didn’t—”

  She flared and he blinked against her light. Like Micahs, it was silvery white, unlike Maeve’s gold fire. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of the long spear in her hands. Behind him, Beth gripped the edge of the sofa with white hands.

  “You tried to compel me,” Sophia said. “A unique demon trait.”

  “No!” Kyle said. “I wouldn’t even know how—”

  But even as he said the words, he knew she was right. The low hypnotic voice had been his, and he’d felt her bend in response to it, especially when he mentioned both Micah and Sam. His mind was whirling. Maybe there was a way he could get out of this after all. He had to keep them talking.

  “Mrs. Caelum,” Kyle said in a normal voice. “I am not deceiving you. Micah and Sam both know that I am something else. Only I don’t know what that is. I swear it.”

  As he spoke, he focused his mind on Beth’s energy behind him, hoping that her newness to the Ne’feri would help him. Instead of just seeing and feeling her human energy, Kyle pushed himself into it and then swallowed as much of it as he could, holding her inside of him. It wasn’t violent, although he knew without a doubt that he could be if he wanted to. It was soft, gentle, compelling … like a hug.

  Beth, move closer. He saw her shift closer toward him. That’s it, move along the edge of the sofa. Closer. That’s it.

  “I told Sam when we went to find the portal to Xibalba,” he continued, speaking quietly, “the one that Sera went through.” The minute he said the words, Kyle realized that it had been a mistake. Putting Xibalba and Sera in the same sentence had been a gross miscalculation on his part. Sophia hissed.

  “You did that,” she snarled. “You sent her there. I don’t know what you are, but you’re never going to get that chance again!” She swung the spear up behind her in a low arc just as Beth took a final step toward him.

  With unearthly speed, Kyle spun over the back of the sofa, feeling the wind of Maeve’s arrow rush past his back as he twisted up and over, and saw it bury itself into the cushion. She had another notched in the space of a heartbeat. Beth gasped as Kyle grabbed her, holding her body like a shield in front of him. Sophia’s face was a frozen mask of rage.

  “It’s OK, Beth, I won’t hurt you,” Kyle said into her ear.

  “You jerk!” she screamed struggling against his hold. “I was on your side.”

  “I’m sorry. They gave me no choice,” he said, his voice low. “Be still, Beth.”

  “That won’t work, demon,” Maeve snarled even as Beth stopped struggling. “She is an easy sacrifice to get to you. Don’t think I won’t do it.”

  Beth’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t worry, they won’t,” Kyle murmured to her. She nodded, but Kyle could feel her heart racing.

  He stared directly at Maeve. “I know you won’t, because she’s an innocent. You won’t hurt her to get to me.”

  Kyle backed away, holding Beth against his chest until he was a few feet from the sofa. He glanced at the doorway. There would be no way he would be able to get away without taking Beth with him. By the time he looked back at the two women, Sophia had moved around the sofa to stand at his left, spear still in hand. Her wings and eyes burned like silver fire. Maeve hadn’t moved.

  “You won’t hurt her either,” Sophia said.

  Kyle laughed, a sound full of despair. “Oh, you believe me now? But you wanted to kill me not ten seconds ago.”

  “Kyle, please,” Sophia said. “Just see it from my point of view. You tried to compel me even if you didn’t know what you were doing. What if there are other things you can do without knowing? You’re a danger to yourself, and to my daughter. Release Beth, and we can talk about it.”

  “Talk about what? You just said it yourself, I’m a danger to everyone around me.” His mother’s words came back to haunt him.

  You are cursed.

  He felt hot tears sting his eyes. “My mother said that, too, you know, just before she tried to kill me. I was five! Do you know what that does to a kid? It destroys him.” He’d reached the kitchen. He shoved Beth forward as he felt the tears break free. “You know what? Do your worst. I don’t care. I deserve to die.”

  Time slowed, and in the blink of an eye, he saw Ma
eve’s golden arrow release without hesitation just as Sophia lurched forward to grasp Beth. Kyle braced himself, his arms dropping to his side, and faced the streak of flame flying toward him. Maybe this was the best way for Sera to be protected. He locked eyes with Sophia’s. Beth’s face was horrified, her tears flowing as freely as his.

  “Tell Sera I’m sorry—”

  “No!” someone screamed. A fiery red blur whooshed past him into the path of the oncoming arrow, flinging an arm up and deflecting it into the opposite wall.

  “Get out of the way. He’s—” Maeve began. She had already strung another arrow.

  “I don’t care,” the glowing creature snapped. She turned to him. “Killing him is not the answer.”

  But Maeve had already released the arrow. Sophia shouted a delayed warning. “Maeve, no, it’s Sera.” Her eyes were wide, her hands clapped to her mouth. “Sera?” she whispered. “It is you, isn’t it?”

  This time Sera grasped the arrow in midair and crushed it between her fingers. They all stared as the rush of scarlet and gold flames receded, until it was just Sera standing in their midst, her arm held out wide. “Enough!”

  “Sera! Your deifyre … ” Beth whispered. “What happened?”

  “Xibalba happened,” Sera said wryly. Her face turned serious, but she still wouldn’t look at Kyle. He felt his heart sink. “Look, I don’t really want to know what caused all of this. I don’t care. We have bigger problems to worry about and right now, we need everyone who can help us. Including him.”

  “But Kyle—” Sophia began.

  “Mom, Nate’s gone.”

  SERA AND KYLE

  What do you mean, Nate’s gone?” her mother cried. “He’s in his room. I just saw him there!”

  “No, he’s not there. I looked.”

  “She’s right. He’s not here. I can’t feel him,” Kyle said, startling the others.

  “What did you do?” Maeve hissed through her teeth at Kyle, her bow raised.

  Sera stared coolly at Kyle, her face expressionless. She could see the remorse in his eyes but couldn’t quite bring herself to forgive him. “You should go,” she told him, then turned to Maeve, who still stood battle-stance ready. “I know you are here to protect my mother and me, but Kyle is not the enemy. Azrath is. Lay down your arms, Yoddhita.”