Alpha Goddess

by Amalie Howard

  “I don’t. But she does.” He glanced at Sera, who was nodding in slow agreement.

  “Absolutely not,” Sophia said in immediate denial. “If any of the Demon Lords get their hands on her … ”

  “No, Mom, Kyle’s right. I can help find Dev. This is the only way, and you know it. Dev comes first. If the Trimurtas are threatened in any way, then Illysia is open to attack.”

  “Sera—”

  “No, listen. None of you can go to Xibalba. Only Kyle and I can. If Nate’s there, too, we’re the only ones who can help them. Mom, please, you have to trust me.” Sera gripped her mother’s hand tightly, but it was Micah who came to her support.

  “Sophia, she’s right. She and this boy are our only hope,” he said. “Illysia will fall if we cannot locate the Protector, you know that.”

  Sophia slumped, and Micah caught her in his arms. “Micah,” she whispered. “She’s only a child. You’ve seen yourself what they do in the Dark Realms. I can’t send her there. Please, I’m begging you.”

  “Mom, I’m almost seventeen. I’m not a child.”

  Micah ignored Sera’s outburst, holding Sophia’s face in his hands. “Sophia, your daughter is the reincarnation of a powerful goddess. She is a powerful goddess in her own right! If she can’t help us, then no one can. Let her go. You and I both know that is what she came back for.”

  Sera brushed a strand of golden hair from her mother’s face and stared into her gray eyes. “Mom, let me do this. Let us do this. She will protect me, you know that she will. I’m strong. There’s so much of her in me, but there’s so much of you, too, and Dad. She is the thread that will bind us all together. Trust in that.”

  Sophia hugged Sera as if her life depended on it, kissing her on both her cheeks, and hugged her again. “Go then.” Her voice broke. “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  Sera watched as her mother rose and made her way back to her father. She looked like she’d aged fifty years just in the last ten minutes, and that was saying a lot for someone who was immortal.

  With a sigh, she turned to Kyle. “Thanks for going with me.”

  “I owe it to Dev for getting him into this mess,” Kyle said. “And to you.”

  “Kyle,” Sera said quietly. “I need to know that I can trust you, that you’re with me all the way.”

  “You can trust me, Ser. I’m with you.”

  Although Kyle’s words seemed sincere, a hollow feeling in her stomach was spreading by the second. What would Xibalba do to him, considering the precarious edge he was already teetering on? Was he strong enough to suppress its pull?

  Or would the darkest part of him undermine his best intentions?

  THE DARK REALMS

  They’d driven north to the secluded Rye Lake near the Kensico reservoir, and it was freezing. The remote area had been chosen so that no one would be in danger should something be unleashed by the portal. Sera looked at her parents and the four warriors with them. They believed in her, believed that she could somehow find the Protector and Nate. Sera glanced at the forest around them. Some of the Ne’feri were on silent guard there. Her gaze met her mother’s once more and she felt a strange sorrow at the helplessness she saw looking back at her. Sophia would have wanted nothing more than to take her place, but as Sanrak, she would not be able to survive long in Xibalba, not even in the first dimension. And the last place Sera had seen Azrath had been in the seventh. A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up her spine.

  Sophia had given Sera a silver pendant on a leather string with a marking similar to the one on her left palm, only without a shield and with three wings layered over one another.

  “This is my symbol. If you find Nate, give it to him. It will protect him with my strength,” she’d said, her voice breaking as she’d said Nate’s name.

  “I will,” Sera had promised. “I’ll find Dev, too. And we’ll come right back, I promise.” Sera smiled at her mother and took a deep breath.

  “Here goes,” she told Kyle. “Darwaaza Xibalba.” She raised her right arm, removing the black glove, and drew the sigil from her palm in the air.

  A hot hiss of steam erupted as the very fabric of the air tore open. The forked mark glowed red. Sera held her palm up toward it and watched as its edges flamed into a fiery burst, curling outward into a large circular shape—a shimmering red vertical body of water. She pulled her arm slowly back and stared at the glowing portal.

  The doorway to hell.

  With a deep breath, Sera grasped Kyle’s hand with her gloved hand, her face determined despite the tremor in her voice. “This is it. Are you ready?”

  Kyle checked his commando-style combat belt armed with an array of weapons—including some silver darts, several knives, a canteen, and a gun—and nodded. Sera met his gaze and said, “Where’d you get that gun?”

  “Not all of us have magical flaming swords,” Kyle said. “It’s Carla’s, and I soaked the bullets and all the rest of the ammo in holy water.” He patted the canteen. “I even have a little extra for good measure.”

  “Holy water? Does that work?”

  “Faith can destroy many things—demons are one of them,” Kyle said.

  Sera frowned. “Wouldn’t that have to be your own faith, not someone else’s?”

  “We are fighting for the human race so I’d say their faith is pretty important,” he pointed out. “And it can’t hurt, but if it doesn’t work, I have this.”

  Kyle pulled out a thick blade with jagged edges from a sheath on his back. It looked like black volcanic glass with a hot red spine traveling its length. Its tip angled into a reverse V at the end.

  Sera felt a shudder run through her body. The weapon was clearly evil. She could feel the malevolence radiating from it. Sera eyed Kyle warily.

  “Where’d you get that?”

  “Jude left it in the car. It’s Azrath’s. They used it to … never mind. It’s an Azura weapon, which means I can probably use it against demons.” He swung once with the blade slashing a low arc from left to right. Sera frowned at the practiced ease with which Kyle wielded the weapon and the way it seemed weightless in his hands. Something about it bothered her, but she shrugged it off.

  “Just keep that thing away from me,” she said. “Let’s go.”

  Sera pulled the shade that she’d crafted to conceal her goddess side closer. Without a backward glance, she pulled Kyle through the portal, feeling the familiar sucking sensation, and turning at the last minute to lock eyes with her father. She frowned. He was shouting her name and running at her, holding his ribs with one arm. He had a look of shock and betrayal on his face, his mouth open and hand outstretched toward her. He was looking at Kyle’s blade, at Kyle, and then her.

  And then they were gone as the darkness swallowed them.

  The portal spat them out, and they crashed into each other in the cramped, lightless space. Sera lay on top of Kyle and she froze, suddenly very aware of the feel of his entire body against hers. She pushed off of him immediately, only to have her head crack into the low ceiling. She cursed and banged her head into his.

  “Ouch!” Kyle muttered.

  “Sorry,” she whispered, edging her body nearer to one side of the small cave.

  “Where are we?” He was so close she could feel his breath against her cheek.

  “I think it’s the same nekomata’s cave from last time. Why would my portal bring me here?” she wondered aloud. Kyle shifted and his mouth grazed her cheek.

  “Sorry,” he murmured against it.

  Sera started inching out of the cave as she’d done the last time. She heard Kyle following her. It would be a much tighter fit for him. She reached the same cave and tunnel as before and hopped into it. Kyle slid out beside her.

  “It’s this way,” she said. “That’s where I found Azrath and Ra’al.”

  They walked farther down the hallway, not encountering a single creature. The silence was eerie—graveyard eerie—and Sera had the distinct s
ensation of being watched even though they seemed completely alone.

  It felt like they’d been walking for a few miles, the tunnel long and unending. Sera glanced at her watch and frowned. It had apparently stopped once they’d gone through the portal.

  “Wait a minute, something feels wrong,” she said. “I didn’t walk this far last time.” She glanced around her at the dark rock walls and the black earth beneath her feet. “Something’s not right. This isn’t the way.”

  “Sera, I’ve heard a lot about Xibalba,” Kyle warned uneasily. “It’s never the same. It changes constantly because it’s a living place that thrives on fear and confusion.”

  “But it all looks the same. It even feels the same.” Sera’s eyes narrowed and she looked back the way they’d come. “I think we’re being watched.”

  Kyle glanced around. “That wouldn’t surprise me.”

  Something that sounded like laughter snaked through the corridor. The ground beneath their feet rumbled and the sound of something unimaginable grew, coming toward them.

  “Run!” Sera screamed.

  Kyle sprinted after her until they came, breathless, to a large open cavern holding a circular table. They stood on a ledge with a thin railing at its edge. There was no way to go but down. The rumbling behind them grew louder. They both turned and squinted into the darkness of the tunnel. It looked like the walls of the hallway were caving in.

  “What the hell is that?” Kyle said.

  “Demons, a lot of them.” Sera glanced behind her. The table was about ten feet down. Kyle stared at her and nodded once.

  “Jump!” he shouted. He was over the railing before she could think twice and she heard him thud onto the table below. “Sera, MOVE!”

  She held her breath and kicked her legs over the railing, jumping just as wind rushed at her back. She bent her knees as her legs hit the table, absorbing most of the impact, and crouched, looking over her shoulder at the hordes of whatever demonic creatures would be descending on top of them. But there was nothing—not even a sound—just phantom wind against her face.

  Her heartbeat was erratic, pounding hard in her chest as her lungs burned from the adrenaline. “What the f—”

  “They’re gone,” Kyle said.

  Sera jumped off the table and looked around the room, gesturing toward a black steel door at the far end. It seemed too convenient, too obvious. Instead, she looked around the cavern and saw an outcropping of rock that didn’t look quite the same as the rest of the room. Sure enough, the rock overlapped another section of wall in the room, hiding a narrow passageway. It was all but invisible unless someone was standing right next to it or knew where it was. She glanced at Kyle and he nodded.

  “This way,” Kyle said, walking toward it. Following Dev’s faint trail, they moved into the next room. It was one that she didn’t recognize, yet it also felt strangely familiar. Faded, horrific murals adorned the white walls, pictures of demons with horns and scales and ugly red eyes tearing at each other flowed into others showing human sacrifices tied to stakes and begging for mercy. The last mural nearest an arched doorway showed a huge red demon with curled tusks and black horns sitting on a throne and staring down upon the grotesque scene as other demons cavorted and flung themselves at his cloven feet.

  She caught up with Kyle, who stood hypnotized by the mural. “What’s the matter?” she asked him. “Why’d you stop?”

  “Can’t you see it?” Kyle said, his eyes wild. “Look at it. Look at the face.”

  She complied and froze, ice crawling into her veins. “It has—”

  “—my face.”

  Sera studied the mural. The beast was grotesque, but the features were definitely Kyle’s, there was no doubt of that. She felt something uncoil in her stomach as she stared at the mural.

  “It’s some other trick of this place,” she said slowly. “Don’t look at it, Kyle. Stay focused. We need to find Dev.” When he didn’t budge, Sera punched him in the shoulder, trying to force him out of his trance. “Focus!” she hissed. “I need you.”

  Slow laughter drew their attention. “Hello, again,” a cheerful girlish voice said. Sera recognized its owner as the dark-headed demon she’d seen the last time—the daughter of Ra’al. She smiled the same Cheshire cat smile, displaying several rows of needle-sharp fangs as she sauntered toward them.

  “Father is not pleased with you,” she told Sera, her scales reflecting light from an unknown source. “Someone killed Aziz. He was the oldest nekomata ever. Did you do it?” Sera remained silent. “He said I should watch you, but look at you, you’re nothing but a silly girl.”

  She glanced at Kyle. “Oh, a boy!” Her voice turned gleeful and she clapped her hands in delight. She stepped toward him, and Sera raised her hand in warning. She’d seen what that demon did to boys. She ate them.

  “Back off,” she said warningly and moved closer to Kyle.

  “Or what?” the girl taunted. “You’re my guest here. It’s the only reason you haven’t died yet. Father will be back soon, but for now, I’m the one in charge.”

  “Where is Ra’al?” Sera asked. The girl’s yellow eyes fastened on her, and then she smiled, flicking her head as if trying to get rid of a bothersome gnat.

  “With Uncle Az. They’ve been spending an awful lot of time together,” she added slyly.

  “But Ra’al can’t leave this dimension,” Sera blurted.

  “You’d be surprised.” Her voice sounded peevish, as if she’d been left out of something exciting that she wasn’t too happy about. “I’m done with you. I want him. He looks yummy!” she nodded at Kyle, who remained mute. He was staring at her with a strange mixture of disgust and fascination. The demon girl was voluptuous—and deadly. Sera punched him again.

  “Good thing I don’t want you,” Kyle choked out, moving until he was beside Sera. The demon’s face twisted into a grotesque snarl.

  “Fine, have it your way, then.” She waved her hand and scores of demons poured from every corner of the room like a dark wave.

  “Kyle!” Sera screamed. “Watch out.” She tried to conjure her deifyre, but nothing happened. She tried again, but didn’t feel anything sparking inside her.

  Kyle pulled the gun from his belt and shot into the oncoming black horde. Twelve of them fell before he snapped out the cartridge. Sera wondered where he’d learned to shoot, until a flying demon with a red beak and red talons leapt at her. She kicked it in the stomach and turned to find another of the same beast attacking from the left. Kyle shot at it wildly and tossed the empty gun to the ground.

  “The holy water kills them, but they’re still coming,” he gasped. “I don’t have many of these left.” He pulled the remaining darts from his belt and hurled them into the throng of demons. “What’s wrong?” he asked noticing her face.

  “It doesn’t work.” At his expression, she said, “Me, the deifyre.”

  “Does Sita know why?” he said, plunging a short knife into a demon’s eye. The thing sputtered and died. “In her memories, I mean?”

  “No, there’s nothing,” Sera said. She kicked another demon in the head and swung back toward Kyle. “Probably has to do with being the offspring of a Sanrak and an Azura Lord.”

  “So, that’s good, right?” Kyle said. “If anything, you should be more powerful than she ever was.” Six more demons dropped as he darted the last of the holy-water spikes into the throng.

  Sera tried again, frustrated. “It’s still not working.”

  Kyle kicked a creature that looked like half-monkey, half-fish and crushed it under his boot. “Sera, look to your Azura side. You’re in Xibalba, maybe that’s why. Whatever it is, figure it out. Fast.”

  Sera cursed as the simplicity of Kyle’s answer pierced through her—she’d been trying to call upon divine energy in hell. Releasing her shade, she touched the forked rune on her right palm and summoned its reverse into her. She gasped as her back arched. It was like being in the middle of a raging forest fire, wind and flames licking th
rough her.

  Hellfyre.

  The room burst into dark red light as Sera’s weapons extended from her hands like liquid flame. The hellfyre was blood red, nothing like the intertwined colors of gold, orange, and pink that marked her deifyre in the Mortal Realm.

  She swung the fire swords forward without thinking, the blades cleaving through the oncoming wave of demons like softened butter. She swung again and again, her eyes filled with blood and rage. A path cleared. Sera felt a sense of satisfaction as she saw the demon girl’s astonished expression through the remaining horde of hissing and growling bodies.

  The demon girl snarled, extending three rows of claws, and soared toward her.

  Sera deflected her attack easily. The girl spun back, her body lithe like a jungle cat, her claws barely missing Sera’s exposed shoulder, but wrapping themselves in Sera’s hair. The girl grinned, her teeth horrific and lethal, and yanked. Sera felt her head jerk back just as she jumped again. Her entire scalp shrieked from the pain of handfuls of hair being ripped out.

  The demon’s tail snaked out, caught Sera in the legs, and she went down, the air knocked out of her. She gasped, her weapons fading as she struggled for breath. The demon girl was on top of her in seconds, claws and teeth inches from her throat.

  “Who are you?” she hissed at Sera. “Tell me before you die.”

  “Screw you,” Sera spat.

  A long fetid tongue snaked out to lick Sera’s face and the demon giggled. “That’ll be my pleasure.”

  Her claws extended and Sera felt sharp pressure slashing into her skin, but suddenly, the demon went crashing into the nearest wall. Kyle had knocked the flat of the black blade into her head, just enough to stun her.

  “Thanks,” Sera mumbled, her hand touching her neck. She stood woozily, still gasping for breath, and stared into the now silent room. There wasn’t a demon left. “Nice work,” she told Kyle.

  They approached the girl together, and Sera summoned back her twin fiery swords, which flared red at her command. She placed one of the blades at the demon’s throat and nudged her with her boot.