《Volatile Gods》


 Prologue

    Prologue


    February 2024


    I remember when they first came. Came? Was that right? They claimed to have been here the entire time.


    I was watching the news, eyes still drying from a recent break-up, watching a murder happen on camera, not able to turn away. The man committing the crime looked seven feet tall with thin white hair and an expression that sent terror tremors up my spine.


    Gods.


    That¡¯s what they called themselves. They showed up in cities and towns, urban and suburban areas, any place that had people.


    They abducted people for their amusement. People that were never heard from again. At least that¡¯s what the news said.


    The government knew where these gods were, everyone knew where they were.


    They would find a house they liked and kill whoever lived there if the poor people didn¡¯t manage to run first.


    The army sent tanks, soldiers, airplanes, bombs. They sent everything. But all it accomplished was get a whole lot of people killed.


    The news became monotonous, though everyone remained glued to it. Images of


    American cities ravaged as if by war.


    War. Maybe that¡¯s what it was.


    They tried to nuke them once. Only once.


    Three gods walked into a small town in New Mexico, killed almost seventy people. So the government tried to act. They evacuated the town, and surrounding area, thankfully not much of a population in New Mexico.


    They taped the whole thing. A five star general smiling into the camera, ¡°This may be the last resort but we¡¯ll be rid of the creatures.¡±


    Satellite cameras broadcast the bomb¡¯s flight.


    Suddenly televisions lost the image. Static filled the screens only for a moment before another face appeared on them.


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    A young guy, I couldn¡¯t begin to guess his age. His hair short and platinum, his eyes completely white, no iris and no pupil, with the coldest expression I had ever seen.


    ¡°A nuclear bomb, you call it. An achievement of your science. I commend you on creating something that could kill so many, in such horrid ways. A true masterpiece.¡± The camera twitched again and we were viewing the bomb again. But his voice continued, ¡°However, it is just a chemical reaction.¡± We watched as something pulled itself out of the bomb.


    ¡°Is that the nuclear core?¡± someone in the coffee shop gasped.


    The bomb itself proceeded to crush itself until it was a giant metal ball that could no longer propel itself forward but plummeted to the ground.


    The core itself flew higher and higher. ¡°Do not worry,¡± the boy¡¯s voice said, ¡°I shall not release your weapon upon you but destroy it safely in space.¡± The core kept rising until it disappeared.


    A bright flash of light. Then stillness.


    Static filled the screens.


    Voices came on first, ¡°Do we have controls back?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how they controlled the satellite.¡±


    ¡°I want them dead.¡±


    ¡°Speakers are back on, visual in 3, 2, 1.¡±


    And the news crew came back onscreen, moving quickly on to other news until they could come up with something to say.


    Nothing changed, no matter what they tried. We came to learn the boy¡¯s name was The Prince and he led the gods. He came on the screen only once more, standing in the oval office, bodies littered around him. He held up the President¡¯s dead body, ¡°We are not here to take over your government, we do not care how you govern yourselves. But you do not govern us. Choose your next leader wisely.¡±


    I thought he didn¡¯t seem capable of amusement.


    The boy continued,  ¡°We do not wish to bring disorder but if your attacks do not stop, we will destroy all forms of government and let the rest of you wander amidst chaos.¡±


    Later that day we learned that a similar broadcast appeared in every country simultaneously. All the current world¡¯s leaders were killed to prove a point.


    Nothing could stop them.


    After that people went to seek out the gods, blessing them and their coming. We watched demonstrations on TV, afraid to go out. Most of them ended up in massacres. The most brutal people the gods ¡°blessed¡± with powers and called them Worshippers.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s better than calling them priests,¡± my roommate snickered.


    Time passed. People did what they do best--they adapted.


    I lived in New York, where the Prince and his entourage finally came to settle.


    They took over a skyscraper condominium in the Upper West Side. Let¡¯s just say the market values in the area plummeted. I could afford an apartment there now.


    It was a testament to New Yorkers that only ten percent of the population moved away. And none of the businesses.


    There was nowhere to run to anyway. Every major city had one now. No one knew how many wandered the world.


    I worked in a coffee shop, no, not Starbucks, in downtown Manhattan. The business district; I¡¯m not a complete idiot.


    You may be wondering why I am chronicling this event. I¡¯m not.


    This is my story. My life I want to write down. I need to write down. I certainly am not a natural born storyteller.

 Chapter 1

    I pushed past people with wings, funny colored skin and black eyes.


    ¡°Sam,¡± I yelled.


    I reached the center of the crowd, only to be knocked back by a wave of heat from a bonfire taller than me. Sam Woods stood in his boxers, his wiry frame revealing ribs and bony arms.


    ¡°Sam, don¡¯t,¡± I pushed through, no one stopped me, not yet.


    ¡°Emma? Stay back, the fire¡¯s hot.¡±


    No shit. But I didn¡¯t say that, fighting the urge to run from the heat. ¡°You can¡¯t do this, you shouldn¡¯t--¡±


    ¡°Become stronger? I¡¯m not going to die, Em,¡± he laughed but it felt forced.


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly think of stepping into that,¡± even as we watched the fire seemed to grow, become angrier.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been blessed by the gods,¡± we turned as one to look at the Prince on his throne. Six and a half feet tall, thin and otherworldly, his eyes didn¡¯t have visible pupils or irises. He watched us without emotion. His non-movement was the only reason the rest of the gods tolerated my involvement.


    ¡°Sam, please, you¡¯re my friend and I know you. This isn¡¯t you.¡±


    That was the wrong thing to say. I realized a second too late as his face contorted.


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t know me,¡± he snarled and jumped into the fire.


    I screamed but he screamed louder.


    I read somewhere that nerves die within thirty seconds when on fire. But Sam screamed and writhed and screamed.


    I turned to the Prince, ¡°Please stop this, please.¡±


    He didn¡¯t so much as look at me. I looked around but no one would help.


    Gods! Yeah, right!


    The screaming just went on and on. In the end all I could do was sit on the ground with my hands over my ears as my friend screamed and burned in the fire. And it was all my fault; tears streamed down my face.


    I forgot to be comforted that Sam was right; he didn¡¯t die.


    After what felt like hours, the thing in the fire looked nothing like my friend. A giant ball of fire stepped out of the flames. The Prince walked towards it, one hand reached out and touched the thing. The Prince didn¡¯t burn though, he didn¡¯t even seem to feel the heat radiating from the thing.


    At the Prince¡¯s touch the fire started to die down, forming into a man shape. He began to cool down, limbs and muscles formed out of the cooled heat, giving him an ashy skin. At last his face shaped out of¡­whatever that was; ears, nose, mouth, eyes. He opened his eyes and with a sinking feeling I knew Sam was gone. Red, angry eyes stared out of the obsidian shell.


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    ¡°You look well child,¡± the Prince said and the thing smiled, ¡°From this day forth, you are Ash, the first of my children.¡±


    The fire died down and extinguished on its own. The gods slowly turned and started walking away. I guess the show was over.


    The Prince and Ash turned towards me. I shuddered, why did I come? I couldn¡¯t save Sam, he had made up his mind before he came--was there anything of him left in there?


    ¡°Emma?¡± the thing rushed over and his voice¡­


    ¡°Sam?¡±


    Before he could hug me, the Prince pushed him back, ¡°No, you can¡¯t control it yet.¡± Then he turned to me, ¡°You should go to your room.¡±


    My room? Seriously? I¡¯m not a pet. I didn¡¯t say that though, I only turned around and walked away. My room was actually the Prince¡¯s room. But since he didn¡¯t sleep, he only used it for me.


    I¡¯ve been here for two weeks now. Two weeks of begging Sam not to turn himself into a monster; two weeks of him begging me to stay with him and the Prince.


    The longer I stayed the less I thought I had a choice to leave. I mean they had slaves for God¡¯s sakes.


    And they stopped asking me to stay.


    I curled up on the bed. The bedroom was as big as my entire apartment. How did I get myself into this mess?


    Six months ago I met a nice, human guy in the coffee shop where I worked. Yeah, he seemed a little na?ve, but I thought I was falling in love. And my roommate and best friend, Sam, seemed to hate him. Suddenly I found a bunch of Worshippers bowing to my nice, human boyfriend, only to realize he was not just a god but The Prince, the leader of the god-monsters. And my roommate not only knew about it, he helped cover it up so he could become a Worshipper.


    I buried my face in the pillow as sobs wracked me. The last thing I wanted was for them to hear me cry.


    And why me? Why would Nathan--ha, Nathan was a big fat lie--that was the Prince¡¯s name when he lied to me, why would he pick me? Three billion girls in the world and he walked into my coffee shop.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you feel I hurt you,¡± I didn¡¯t hear the Prince walk in.


    I bit down on my cheek to keep from sobbing. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I winced as my voice cracked.


    ¡°I could do the same for you, take you beyond fear and pain, make you second only to the gods,¡± there was as much emotion in his voice as I¡¯ve ever heard from a god, ¡°You could be mine forever.¡±


    I froze, picturing Sam jumping into that fire, screaming for hours.


    ¡°You could be my Princess,¡± I felt him crawl into the bed beside me. Why did I yearn to turn around and bury my face in his chest? After everything? God what is wrong with me?


    ¡°Was our time together not pleasurable for you?¡±


    ¡°It was a lie,¡± this time I did turn around, ¡°You really don¡¯t realize that? You pretended to be human, you wanted me to believe¡­¡± What? I never prodded him about his life, never questioned why he didn¡¯t know how to use a toothbrush or how he never tried coffee before. I never asked him what he did for a living or asked to see his house. In six months? Did he manipulate me?


    ¡°I wanted you to like me,¡± despite his appearance he still managed to look like a kid about to get grounded.


    I laughed feeling like I was going crazy, ¡°Why? Why me?¡±


    He shrugged, a gesture I taught him, ¡°You treated me like¡­a human.¡±


    I chocked on my next words. Why did he sound so¡­lonely?


    ¡°But you¡¯re the leader of the gods! You¡¯re always surrounded by them, worshipped by them.¡± That was no joke, sometimes I thought that gods had sex by sniffing each other. They would take these weird deep breaths every time they were around the Prince, like his scent is what sustained them, ¡°Why would you want to be treated like a human?¡±


    He rose and turned to me, holding out a hand, ¡°Come, the humans are having dinner, you should eat, it is essential for human life.¡±

 Chapter 2

    A week later, I was still there. Somehow every time I wanted to bring up the subject of me going home, something came up. The Prince never had time.


    Okay so he had a delegation of ten gods visiting, apparently a large number to show up at one time. And he actually showed Ash how to use his powers. And gods are so needy. At least as far as their Prince was concerned, they couldn¡¯t care less about each other.


    I would wake up in the middle of the night to see him lying beside me, not sleeping. At times he watched me sleep. It sent shivers up my spine.


    But every time I caught him, somehow I felt more sorry for him than anything else.


    Then I found Ash crying in the giant walk-in closet.


    ¡°Sam?¡± I moved towards him before realizing he wasn¡¯t Sam anymore.


    ¡°Em, I-I did something,¡± tears like drops of lava streamed down his face. He just didn¡¯t look human.


    I cringed, ¡°Wha-¡± how do I talk to him now? ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I-I killed someone.¡±


    I stared at him. My first instinct was to laugh, it had to be a joke, right?


    ¡°Emma?¡± He looked up, misery etched so deep in his voice I sat down on the ground beside him. I felt like I sat next to a giant. He looked like a mound of coal; he looked like a Worshipper. He smelled like a grill. And he wasn¡¯t joking.


    ¡°What happened?¡± I swallowed the big lump in my throat.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know,¡± he buried his face in his hands, ¡°I don¡¯t know what came over me¡­I saw this woman, pretty, blonde--my type¡­you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± it felt like winding up a jack-in-a-box.


    ¡°I walked up to her, started saying hi,¡± dun, dun, du-du-du-du-dun; the box was almost ready to pop, ¡°But all I could picture was her screaming as she burned alive. That¡¯s when I realized¡­I was burning her, actually¡­¡± he stared at the wall, his voice going monotone, ¡°burning her, right there in the middle of the street.¡±


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    Pop. Goes the weasel.


    I stared at him as the tears streamed down his face and I couldn¡¯t¡­I couldn¡¯t see my friend.


    ¡°Did she die?¡± no sympathy touched my voice.


    His face was buried in his hands. His head bobbed, yes.


    I continued to stare at him. How could I comfort this monster?


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± I got up to leave feeling sick.


    He grabbed my hand. ¡°Emma, please,¡± I suppose he was trying to give me puppy eyes, ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me. I¡¯m sorry,¡± the tears started anew, they should have burned him, ¡°I am so sorry, please¡­¡± his voice went up a decibel, ¡°I killed someone, Emma, what do I do?¡±


    His voice, Sam¡¯s voice, like an ice pick in my heart, the last shred of proof that my friend may still be in there.


    I looked at him, really looked at him.


    A giant hunk of a guy cowering in the corner of a walk-in closet, arms wrapped around his knees, crying like a little girl. What could I say?


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay.¡±


    He sprang to his knees so fast I didn¡¯t know what was happening until he wrapped his hands around my waist and buried his head in my stomach.


    Memories of Sam, my Sam, right after his mom finally succumbed to cancer, crying in a corner, hugging me so hard I could barely breathe. Oh God! What am I going to do?


    Suddenly a searing pain hit my stomach. I screamed, pushing him away. There was a hole in my shirt and my stomach was burned!


    ¡°Oh my God, Em, oh my God, I am so sorry,¡± Sam ran around the tiny closet in a panic.


    ¡°Sam,¡± I snapped, he didn¡¯t respond, ¡°Sam! Get some ice, some aloe, something!¡± it still burned but the searing stopped. The door opened and the Prince stood there taking both of us in.


    ¡°I burned her, I burned her,¡± Sam ran up to him.


    Without warning, without so much as looking at me, the pain was gone. I looked down, the wound healed like nothing happened.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you decided to stay,¡± he turned around and left.


    That¡¯s it? That couldn¡¯t be it.


    At first nothing changed, I came and went as I pleased. I couldn¡¯t eat with the slaves, none of them talked--I had never seen people so subjugated. It reminded me to be afraid and I just couldn¡¯t be scared all the time.


    How did they pick people? Which to kill, which to keep?


    I came back to my apartment one night, falling asleep in front of the TV.


    I woke to find the Prince sitting in the armchair across from me. So much for freedom, bitterness rose like bile.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I tried to smile.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t come back,¡± he didn¡¯t so much as twitch.


    ¡°Um, I fell asleep, humans sleep,¡± I snapped.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he rose. He leaned over me, I pulled back but there was nowhere to go, so when he kissed me I was entirely at his mercy. The desire that coursed through me wasn¡¯t my own but it didn¡¯t matter. I leaned into the kiss; I would have killed to keep kissing him.


    The sex was nothing like when he pretended to be Nathan.


    The only way I can describe it is¡­it was like the movies where a couple is so all over each other, there is no room for conscious thought. Desperate, clingy, passionate even. At least for me. Thankfully I was too far gone to see his expression.

 Chapter 3

    Not long after that; it happened. I woke, showered, dressed, and stepped out of the room only to find myself stepping back into the bedroom. I guess I¡¯m slow on the uptake because I tried walking out several more times before realizing the Prince must have done something to trap me here. I was officially a prisoner.


    Sam kept me company most days bringing me meals and snacks, a TV; staying with me and talking.


    He tried to tell me about his powers a couple of times. The horror of the first murder had disappeared. It was enough for me to realize he had become a murderer for them, for him. I told him to stop, he looked hurt. I couldn''t comprehend it. He asked, ¡°Is that why you won¡¯t let him change you?¡±


    I shuddered, ¡°Frankly, it hasn¡¯t come up, so I haven¡¯t had a chance to refuse.¡±


    ¡°The other gods want him to, they don¡¯t understand why he keeps you around,¡± Sam studied his feet.


    ¡°Neither do I,¡± I snarled feeling the walls closing in, ¡°Why does he just keep me prisoner. The few times he does show up, he just sits there and watches me. Sometimes he--¡±


    I stopped. Sam didn¡¯t need to know about those times when the Prince touched me and I wanted him so badly I would have clawed off my own skin to be near him.


    It wasn¡¯t until the following morning when I realized what happened. The humiliation of being made to want him and not being able to control my body or my mind. I usually cried until Sam showed up.


    One night, the Prince came in and he didn¡¯t even need to touch me, that horrifying need started in the pit of my stomach.


    I just wanted it to be over with so I got up, put my arms around his death white neck and kissed him. God, I just wanted to suck on him so hard it would permanently attach his lips to mine.


    I was so desperate I didn¡¯t even see him move. The stab felt like a pinprick turning into a fire of pain. I looked down to see a needle-like nail of his index finger inside my stomach, blood flowing over the stabbing finger onto his hand.


    For a moment reality reasserted itself and I screamed. But it lasted only a moment as he took even the pain away from me and transformed it into desire.


    Even as I leaned into the weapon, wishing he would stick the other four spindle-like nails into me, I felt tears well out of my eyes and run down my cheeks.


    The nights he came became more frequent; the things he did more horrifying. I wanted all of it. He always left at daybreak and he always healed me until not even a scratch remained.


    I would spend my days in terror of the nights. I slept only out of sheer exhaustion. Sam looked more and more worried when he came to feed me but he never asked. I could only guess that everyone knew what happened in here.


    Months passed, summer turned to fall, fall to winter. I knew I lost weight, and grew pale and sallow. The feeling that this is my life now, forever, overtook me and I knew why people committed suicide. I probably would have done it, if I didn¡¯t think the Prince would heal me in a heartbeat.


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    I could have dragged the TV to the bathtub, strung the bed sheets into a noose and hung it off the ceiling fan. Sam made sure to take all knives with him; I must have stared at them too long. After all slitting my wrists would probably be the easiest.


    On another day, Sam was still there when the Prince showed up, I couldn¡¯t hide the fear that came over me. And Sam did something I never foresaw, he stepped in front of the god he worshipped.


    ¡°Please give her time to recover, she¡¯s not well.¡±


    The Prince¡¯s expression never changed. He looked at Sam, he looked at me. He turned around and left.


    He didn¡¯t come back for a week. I knew it wouldn¡¯t last still¡­hope is a bitch.


    I woke to find him sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room, watching me. I moved to sit up but found I couldn¡¯t move.


    The door opened and Sam walked in with breakfast. He looked from the Prince to me and back, before setting the food down and turning to leave.


    ¡°Come back,¡± the Prince said.


    My heart dropped to my feet. I felt lightheaded, I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    ¡°I want you to make love to her,¡± the Prince¡¯s tone never changed.


    I felt bile rise up my throat and immediately dissipate as the Prince willed it away. Still I gagged on air.


    ¡°What?¡± Sam stood stock-still.


    The Prince looked at his Worshipper, ¡°Do I need to repeat myself?¡±


    My heart thundered, ¡°Sam, don¡¯t, you don¡¯t have to listen to him.¡±


    I don¡¯t know why I bothered. Sam didn¡¯t question his Master again, like a good dog he approached me.


    ¡°Sam I will never forgive you for this,¡± empty words they couldn¡¯t stop him as he climbed on top of me. He was shuddering as he leaned down to kiss my neck.


    ¡°NO!¡± The closest thing to irritation entered the Prince¡¯s voice, ¡°Not as Sam, as Ash.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what that meant. If I had the capacity for actual thought at that moment I probably could have figured it out, instead I said, ¡°What? What does that mean? Sam?¡±


    Sam was frozen above me, horror and disbelief written on his face. ¡°I would kill her,¡± the voice was a whisper.


    ¡°No you won¡¯t, now begin.¡±


    Tears rolled down my cheeks as my slow brain finally caught up, ¡°Sam, don¡¯t, please, you don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Em,¡± tears rolled down his face even as the fire beneath his skin came alive.


    Ash started tentatively like he was afraid to hurt me. What a laugh.


    He brushed his fingers down my arm leaving a trail of blisters. I shut my eyes and bit my lip to keep from crying out.


    He bent to kiss down my neck to my breasts; each touch came with a flinch of pain. I could hear my rasping pants as the pain grew unbearable.


    Ash pulled down his pants to reveal his...penis? I tried to scoot away again, forgetting I was stuck in place. The thing looked like a club.


    As if seeing my pain for the first time, Ash frowned, "I''ll make this quick, I promise."


    I didn''t know if I should laugh or cry.


    He posed to insert his...appendage while I trembled and shook my head no below him. But I didn''t feel it...at least I couldn''t distinguish that pain from the molten lava that was his lips as he kissed me. At least the kiss kept me from screaming.


    He may have meant to kill me quickly but the Prince had other ideas. I felt every layer of my skin go like I was an onion he peeled back.


    They say that once the nerves burn away, you¡¯re supposed to stop feeling. They lied.


    My salvation came when the Prince couldn¡¯t keep me conscious any longer.


    I don¡¯t know how long I slept, I dreamed of stupid, happy things; laughing about a movie Sam and I just saw, shopping with friends. I dreamed that my reality was a dream.


    I woke with a scream, but no one was there to hear it. Moonlight streamed in the window. I sat up, alone, and whole. Everything coming back to me as did tears and sobs. Sam wasn¡¯t Sam anymore, I had known that, why didn¡¯t I run away when I had the chance?


    I rocked on the bed, sobbing and not knowing what to do. I wondered what it felt like to actually die. It couldn¡¯t possible hurt more than everything I¡¯ve been through. The TV was probably too heavy, especially in my state to carry. I looked at the ceiling fan, I could reach it if I touched the bed, but that also meant that I would just touch the bed if I tried to hang myself.


    I curled into a ball and decided that tomorrow I would try harder to find a way.

 Chapter 4

    The Prince had other plans. In the morning he opened the door and said, ¡°Come with me,¡± without stepping into the room.


    The shock at actually leaving the room had me up.


    ¡°Clothes,¡± the Prince pointed at the closet.


    That¡¯s right, I looked down at myself, anger stirred uselessly, mine were burned away.


    The condominium building had an indoor pool the size of one of its floors. The Prince led me there. Chlorine filled my nostrils. The air felt clammy making my dress cling to my skin. The lights were only half on; darkness adding to the ominous atmosphere. The throne got moved to the end of the pool like a destination. Other gods and Worshippers stood around as if waiting for a spectacle.


    I stopped in the doorway. At first the Prince gently tugged on my hand. When I didn¡¯t budge he compelled me forward.


    We stood at the edge of the pool; the water looked murky in the dim lighting. The length of the pool stretched out in front of us, impossibly long.


    ¡°You will get your freedom,¡± the Prince said without looking at me, ¡°Only if you become mine.¡±


    I looked at the pool, uncomprehending as to what he could possibly want.


    ¡°You will walk through the pool to me,¡± he pointed at the throne.


    Walk? ¡°Do you mean swim?¡± I asked, it was impossible to hold your breath so long.


    ¡°Endurance is a sign of devotion.¡±


    I¡¯m not devoted to you! I¡¯m a prisoner, I wanted to scream. If I wasn¡¯t devoted, would I die? Maybe this was meant to be--forced suicide.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    The Prince turned to me, something like a smile passed over his lips. Then he vanished. I saw him sit on the throne, the act of sitting down I guessed meant this stupid thing was meant to begin.


    I stepped up to the steps, already barefoot. I shivered as the cool water touched warm skin. As all pools the water slowly got higher and higher, I fought not to shiver or pause to adjust to the temperature. The water slowly covered my knees, thighs, waist, chest, neck. As I immersed my head, I thought to take slow steps, ensure my own demise. But as my lungs realized I had no air, panic overtook me. I needed to breathe.


    My steps quickened. My lungs burned. I could see nothing under the water. What if I surfaced? What would happen? I was too scared to find out.


    I thought it would be easy to give up. Take a breath underwater, let water fill my lungs and die. Yet I couldn¡¯t. My lungs burned, my chest heaved, my heart pounding in my ears. Yet my nose refused to breathe and mouth to open.


    My vision grew fuzzy. Did I see the end or was I hallucinating?


    My foot hit a step, the pain jarring me from whatever half-consciousness had kept me moving. My leg weighed a ton but it lifted and moved up. By the third step my head broke the surface and I gasped. Inhaling lungful after lungful of air; sweet oxygen. I couldn¡¯t get enough, devolving into a coughing fit.


    Taking the final step out of the water I dropped to my knees out of sheer exhaustion. When I could finally breathe enough to realize I had passed the test I looked up. The Prince looked down at me from the height of his throne.


    ¡°From this day forth, you are Princess, the second of my children.¡±


    Murmurs went up around the room. The gods didn¡¯t leave as they had after Sam¡¯s transformation.


    Transformation? I panicked, did I look different? Did I have gills or fins or something? I stared down at my body but all I saw was soaked, near see-through clothing, hiding nothing but my goosebumps and shivers.


    ¡°Is that wise?¡± one of the gods, the Angel (don¡¯t let the name fool you, other than his white feathered wings there was nothing angelic about him), stepped out of the pack.


    The Prince had risen, holding out a hand to help me up. The look he turned on the Angel had me cringing. It was funny how, though the range of emotions gods showed was about two, when one spent so much time with them even the smallest changes were easy to spot.


    ¡°That is not a name for a Worshipper,¡± the Angel either couldn¡¯t tell he pissed the Prince off or he didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°It is done.¡± Even I knew the tone meant end of discussion.


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    By reflex I had taken the Prince¡¯s hand to rise, but he didn¡¯t let go once I was standing.


    The gods finally started to disperse.


    I could feel the Prince watching me, I turned to stare right back.


    ¡°You are now free to go where you want,¡± he didn¡¯t let go of my hand.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I didn¡¯t try to move.


    After a long moment the Prince finally shifted, ¡°Go, change your clothes. You will need to experience your new body.¡±


    I wondered if he would teach me like he did with Sam but he said, ¡°Ash will show¡ª¡°


    ¡°No!¡± I snapped, then whispered, ¡°Not Ash.¡±


    The Prince bent to look me in the eyes like he was searching for something.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take her,¡± a pale woman with angelic wings said, behind her was another woman with black wings, though hers looked more birdlike.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I was quick to agree, anything to get away from the Prince, especially with Ash boring a hole in the back of my head with his stare.


    The women chatted as I hurried to the bedroom to get changed. It finally sank in that I was going to leave this God-damned condo.


    I sorted through my memories of who-knows-how-long-ago for the names of the two women outside. The angelic one was Feather, Angel¡¯s Worshipper and the other was Black Swan, the Swan¡¯s Worshipper. I found pants and a t-shirt; and an actual bra. I wished I could have taken a shower but I guess the chlorine water would have to do.


    ¡°Ready?¡± Feather smiled but didn¡¯t wait for an answer as she grabbed me around the waist, ¡°Hang on.¡±


    Her wings spread to nearly cover the whole room with their breadth. With one flap, I felt like I had stuck my head out of a moving vehicle. And we flew out of the nearest window.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to have you on the team at last,¡± besides her pale complexion, almost as white as her wings, and her wings, of course, Feather looked human; a pretty, brunette woman in her twenties. ¡°The gods were getting worried.¡±


    ¡°Okay, first thing,¡± Black swan flew close, her eyes had neither pupils nor irises, ¡°You get to learn how durable you are.¡±


    Feather¡¯s smile widened.


    Right before she let go of me.


    Still flying a good ten stories off the ground.


    I screamed but it caught in my throat as the air whooshed past me and I picked up speed on my descent. The ground stopped my fall.


    Air escaped my lungs as I felt the impact jar through my body.


    I stared up at the two Worshippers still flying above me. Shocked to find I was fine.


    ¡°It hurts but your body will heal in a moment,¡± Black Swan landed beside me.


    Hurts? What hurts? I felt no pain. I tried to rise, looking down at myself. Bones poked out of my knees!


    I screamed.


    The two women stared down at me, similar perplexed expressions on their faces, ¡°Just pop it back in, it will heal.¡±


    I stared at my broken legs, realizing again that I felt no pain. I took deep breaths.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby,¡± Feather bent down, grabbed one leg and twisted the bone back under the skin before doing the same to the other leg.


    I drew breath to scream but no pain jarred my being. What the--?


    The two Worshippers exchanged glances.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t feel anything?¡± Black Swan asked slowly as if wondering how crazy she sounded.


    I shook my head. After months of pain I was as confused as they were.


    ¡°I¡¯d never heard of that gift before,¡± Feather said cautiously.


    ¡°He is the Prince?¡± Black Swan raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°But Ash¡ª¡° Feather trailed off.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just keep going, the whole point of this is to find out what you can do.¡± Black Swan seemed uncertain as she gave me a hand up.


    As we walked down one street after another, people turned and ran. The Worshippers¡¯ demeanors changed too; something manic entered their step and their expressions. Feather smiled and for the first time I saw insanity in it. Terror jarred me to the core. Would that happen to me? Then another thought rocked me.


    They were looking for someone to kill.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I yelled running in front of them, ¡°You know, I think I¡¯ve had my mind blown enough today¡­let¡¯s just go back.¡±


    Again that exchange of glances.


    ¡°But seeing how you can entertain your master is one of the most important gifts we get,¡± Feather said gleefully, her smile widening to unreal proportions.


    Then they spotted a man and a woman hiding behind a car¡ªwaiting to make a run for it. Stupid, why didn¡¯t they run earlier?


    Feather flapped her wings once and moved around me too fast for me to grab her.


    Ash¡¯s stories rang in my head; people dying in such horrible ways.


    ¡°This is why we are here¡ªwhy we¡¯ve been created,¡± Black Swan looked at me with pity, ¡°No one expects to enjoy it¡ªbut they all do eventually.¡±


    Tears stung my eyes. I didn¡¯t want this. I don¡¯t want this! I refuse to be like the Worshippers who begged for their power.


    The woman¡¯s scream cut me to the core. I turned to see Feather had ripped out her arm like she was plucking wings off a fly.


    I screamed, watching blood gush from the open wound.


    I moved without realizing. One moment I was several feet away¡ªand the next I pushed Feather away from the woman.


    I don¡¯t know what shocked me more¡ªthat I moved so fast or that I actually pushed Feather into a car and dented it.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t done,¡± Feather screamed. Nothing of the woman who calmly reset my leg a moment ago remained.


    ¡°She will bleed to death soon anyway,¡± Black Swan frowned, ¡°You can¡¯t save them.¡±


    No. No one around to heal her just to torture her again.


    Anger made me shake. Red colored my vision. Months of torture to what? Turn around and either watch others get tortured or torture them myself?


    ¡°You were never human,¡± I spat and lunged at Black Swan.


    I¡ªI don¡¯t know what happened. I don¡¯t know how I knocked Black Swan out. I know Feather attacked me right after and I know I grabbed her hair, ripping chunks out as I swung her over my shoulder. She lay screaming in front of me.


    Still the anger didn¡¯t abate. I think I grabbed her by the throat to make her shut up and ripped out her voice box¡ªand everything else along with it.


    I stared down at her, panting. How long did I stare at that mangled body¡ªher head barely attached.


    I scanned the sky. No god had appeared. Not yet. But the Angel will come to avenge his Worshipper soon. I looked around. Black Swan was gone. To get reinforcements? To tattle on me to the Prince?


    Would he drag me back to that room?


    Terror seized me.


    I can¡¯t go back.


    The thought was like a bell in my head, echoing within my depths until I was running¡­running as fast as I could.

 Chapter 5

    I ran until I had nothing left. Then I tried to keep running. But I couldn¡¯t catch my breath, my heart hammered a million beats per minute.


    I stood heaving by the side of the highway. Six lanes of cars zoomed endlessly past me.


    I finally noticed that I was covered in blood; my hand still grasping pieces of Feather¡¯s throat.


    I screamed and jumped, flailing to try to get her off me. I needed to wash my hands¡­and shower¡­and bleach myself. But there wasn¡¯t a bathroom in sight. Hell, I had no clothes or money¡ªhow long could my new body survive without food?


    To my shock I saw a green sign telling me Washington D.C. was only five miles away.


    How? How fast did I run? How long did I run for?


    I didn¡¯t even know I had been heading south. I started walking, slowly this time, looking for other signs that would tell me I was near something.


    Relief washed over me when I saw a sign for a rest stop in one mile. The thought of washing the blood off propelled me to run again.


    The rest stop wasn¡¯t as packed as it would have been before the gods showed up. Most people chose to stay close to home where they knew their monsters and how to avoid them.


    Still I skidded to a stop in front of people having picnics and making bathroom runs.


    One look at me and people screamed and ran. For a moment I thought maybe I did undergo a transformation and just hadn¡¯t realized it. Then I remembered¡­I looked like I killed someone.


    At least the line at the bathroom suddenly disappeared.


    I walked to a sink and washed¡­and washed¡­and washed. The red seemed to have seeped into my skin. I felt the sob knot in my chest and slowly rise with my panic until I was crouching on the ground and sobbing.


    ¡°Are¡ªare you okay?¡± A girl¡¯s voice spoke softly behind me.


    I turned my bleary vision towards the voice. A pretty blonde girl stood in the bathroom doorway. She was likely my age, about twenty-three, wearing a black crop-top and grungy jeans. She looked nervous, sure, but not scared. Who in their right mind wasn¡¯t scared of a Worshipper?


    ¡°No,¡± I hoped she would leave me alone.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a monster,¡± the girl continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to kill anyone.¡±


    I spun around to face her, stumbling to my feet, ¡°What?¡±


    The girl took a step back. I don¡¯t know why I was happy to see fear. I hesitated; what if it was like Sam¡ªI¡¯d do something awful without even realizing it.


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    ¡°You should leave,¡± I said as coldly as I could.


    The girl didn¡¯t move. I turned back to the mirror. I could see, now that the panic attack died down, that the blood had washed off. My clothes still reeked of murder. I glanced at my reflection. My thin, dirty blonde hair hung in an oily mess around my head. My hazel eyes, which I¡¯d always thought my prettiest feature, were sunken in and large, dark circles ringed them. My whole body looked more bone than meat. I sighed, shutting my eyes.


    After a long silence, the girl spoke again, ¡°Frankly you¡¯re terrifying the people around here and you¡¯re covered in blood. How about you come back to my place and take a shower, get changed and relax.¡±


    I should¡¯ve questioned the generosity. Nobody was kind to a Worshiper. Yet, the thought of enveloping myself in a hot shower and clean clothes had me turn, face the girl and say, ¡°Okay.¡±


    I followed the girl to a beat-up, red Hyundai. It was the only car left in the rest stop. I sighed; what was life like before the Prince came into my life?


    She drove in silence. I didn¡¯t even know her name. I glanced at her and realized I didn¡¯t care to ask.


    It only took a few minutes to realize we weren¡¯t heading to the city. We turned off the interstate, then off the major street down a two-lane road, then onto a bumpy dirt road. My teeth chattered as we bounced up and down.


    ¡°Almost there,¡± the girl glanced at me before returning her eyes to the road.


    We stopped in front of a dirty, white, rundown mobile home on a giant plot of land.


    ¡°You live here?¡± I asked, feeling like something was wrong but unable to place exactly what.


    ¡°Y-yup,¡± the girl¡¯s tried to smile and failed, that fear that sent a shiver up my spine appeared back in her eyes.


    The house was neater inside than out. A very used but clean couch sat in the living room in front of a small TV. The kitchen was cramped but clean.


    The girl handed me a towel and a white shirt and jeans and pointed me to a shower.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I met her blue eyes. Again that feeling of missing something came over me. I shook it off, worse comes to worse, what could she do to a Worshiper anyway?


    I turned the shower on and then I heard it¡­the door opening and closing. Something clicked in my head.


    I ran to the door. Locked, of course.


    I thought about the strength it took to rip out Feather¡¯s throat. I can break this door down. I raised my leg like I¡¯d seen in so many movies, completely expecting it to fail. I kicked and the door flew off its hinges.


    I ran out.


    I screamed as the explosion that followed me broke my eardrums and burned my back. I ran until I reached the road where a beat-up, red Hyundai sat waiting for the smoke to clear. It wasn¡¯t alone, a black Jeep sat next to it with three men and one woman, all armed with machine guns.


    They spotted me. They were yelling something but my damaged eardrums couldn¡¯t hear them. My back didn¡¯t hurt but I felt the heat from the explosion.


    I didn¡¯t stop to think. Of course I could die how dumb to think I didn¡¯t need to worry¡­and even like this I still wanted to live.


    My body moved¡­running fast enough to grab the guns and throw them away. Avoided the man with a baton that tried to aim for my head. I punched another man in the face, breaking his nose. Finally I stopped in front of the blonde girl. She was shaking but still she pointed a gun at my chest.


    My eardrums had healed enough that I could hear the three people behind me regrouping. ¡°If I was anyone else, all of you would already be dead. I am going to leave and you¡¯re not going to stop me. You were right when you said I¡¯m not a monster and I have no intention of starting to be one now. Understand?¡±


    ¡°You¡­you did kill someone! You were covered in blood!¡± the girl yelled, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you kill us?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a Worshiper,¡± I whispered, ¡°I killed one.¡±


    I felt it more than saw. The three behind me were picking up more guns. I needed to run now. They were human¡­and I wasn¡¯t¡­not anymore.

 Chapter 6

    Running sucks.


    I never liked running, not even when I made those stupid New Year¡¯s resolutions to get in shape.


    I stopped at a gas station, ignoring those deer-in-headlights stares. I washed my face and changed in the bathroom. The clothes the girl handed me somehow made it out of the house intact. I took a donut, a hotdog and a bottle of water, nodded at the man behind the counter and walked out. This was how Worshipers lived. They took what they wanted and didn¡¯t ask for permission.


    I gave up on the idea of dying. Obviously I didn¡¯t want to. And it wasn¡¯t like I could just get a job. So, at least for now, I would live like a Worshiper.


    I sat at the picnic table beside the gas station and ate my stolen goods. I was already heading south. Gods were everywhere but the further I could get away from the Prince the better. Might as well see how far south I could get. I rose and stretched.


    I walked to the highway and grimaced. I didn¡¯t want to run all the way to Florida. I looked down at myself. I looked human and not like a serial killer anymore. May as well try to hitchhike.


    I walked with my thumb out. At least the baggy t-shirt and jeans didn¡¯t advertise hooker. Cars zoomed past; no one gave me a second look.


    I must have walked for hours before an old white Chevy pulled off the road ahead of me.


    An older man sat behind the wheel, ¡°Need a ride, young lady?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please,¡± I hesitated, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money though, I just need a ride as far south as you¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need money, can¡¯t just leave a young girl like you to wander by yourself. I¡¯ll take you as far as Raleigh, get in,¡±


    Raleigh. Raleigh. North Carolina, right? I scrounged my brain for geography information.


    The almost five hour drive was rather pleasant. The man had snacks in the car and shared freely. He attempted conversation for the first five minutes and then gave up.


    I told him to let me off on the highway and continued my hitchhiking south. To my surprise, people were friendlier than I expected and I got rides without having to walk more than a half-hour or so.


    I stayed up and hitchhiked through the night, arriving in Florida by next morning. Still I kept going south, not sure where to stop.


    ¡°Oh, you should see the beaches here, they¡¯re beautiful,¡± the twenty-something girl that picked me up was on a road trip with her two equally beautiful BFFs. I smiled wondering if I was ever that carefree.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re hitting Sarasota beach as our first stop. We¡¯re covering every beach down this coast and then returning north up the other coast,¡± her friend yelled as the wind carried her words away in the convertible.


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    And since I didn¡¯t have a better plan, I agreed to check out the beach.


    It had been years since I¡¯d seen the beach, not seeing the point of the hot sand and hot sun. And at first, both of those things made me think I had been right. But then I saw the ocean. The blue water and the bluer sky may as well have been a painting.


    ¡°Oh my God, it¡¯s gorgeous,¡± one of the girls squealed.


    The girls immediately started snapping pictures with their phones. I realized they were posting on social media, probably Instagram. Didn¡¯t I used to do that? I wondered if all my social media friends thought I was dead.


    I rolled up my pants and waded in the water. Compared to the scorching sand the water felt cool. I wished I had an extra set of clothes so I could dive in.


    ¡°You smell like him,¡± a shadow cast over me.


    The scent of decay and cotton candy assailed my nose just before I heard screams and people scrambling to run all around me. My heart hammered in my chest but I was too scared to look up at the god standing over me.


    ¡°Like rotting corpse and sunlight,¡± I felt the god get closer to take a sniff.


    ¡°Has he let you run free?¡± a strange giggle, ¡°No, I think not. Then I should return you and take my reward.¡±


    Of course he wouldn¡¯t kill me, he¡¯d take me back. Fear had me running. Running blindly with no course¡­just away. But I couldn¡¯t outrun a god.


    He appeared in front of me. I grunted as I realized I had run straight into a major thoroughfare.


    I had never seen this god. His appearance had me pause. He looked like a man in a peacock costume; complete with the colorful tail. I almost couldn¡¯t take it seriously.


    ¡°Come, little human, if you fight, these other little humans will die as collateral damage,¡± he had beady little eyes that blinked rapidly as he swept a hand to show the people running and hiding.


    ¡°I can-can¡¯t go back,¡± I stammered.


    The peacock cocked his head, ¡°The Prince has shown you such favor and you insult him thus?¡±


    Favor? I gagged.


    ¡°You shall go back, I just need you alive, not unharmed.¡±


    I stared in shock as he aimed his tail of all things and sharp feathers filled the air like arrows. Instinct kicked in and I dodged. But other people were not so lucky. Oh God, how many people will die because of me?


    I don¡¯t know what came over me when I attacked Feather, I barely remembered what I did. I tried to get angry, as angry as I had been but all I felt was fear and desperation.


    And then I heard a scream. Not an adult scream but a little girl. I turned in horror to see a girl younger than ten, with a feather/arrow in her leg crying over her dead mother. Something snapped.


    I don¡¯t mind dying if I take a god with me.


    I looked at the creature in front of me with new eyes. I wanted to rip his head off. Anger like nothing I¡¯d felt, anger at the motherless little girl, at the despair even the thought of New York now caused me, at all the Prince did to me.


    If I could run fast enough.


    I was running before I finished the thought.


    ¡°What are you doing, Worshiper?¡± but the Peacock seemed to have figured it out as he posed all his arrows at me, ¡°Killing you may get me punished.¡±


    I didn¡¯t stop.


    He let his arrows loose. But it was too late. I scaled walls by running up them; I didn¡¯t even think about it. I braced myself as I leapt at him. I didn¡¯t feel the arrows tearing me apart; maybe I have something to thank the Prince for after all. Somehow, I kept my arms attached long enough to grab the green, feathered head and pull with all my strength. I screamed as the head didn¡¯t want to separate. I kept pulling.


    With a sickening tear blood sprayed in my face.


    I was falling now. But I had his head. I smiled, satisfied.


    My body didn¡¯t go splat like I thought it would. No, it strangely bounced before settling. I tasted blood as I laughed.


    My vision grew dark. I hoped there was a heaven.

 Chapter 7

    It smelled like anesthetic, and underneath that like infected pus. Light filtered through the gauze covering my eyes. Pure, white light, is this what heaven looks like?


    ¡°The Princess wakes,¡± a woman¡¯s sneering voice still I jerked upright at the name.


    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, you aren¡¯t ready for that,¡± a man¡¯s voice and hands pushing me back down, ¡°That¡¯s enough Mercy, she killed a god, she¡¯s on our side.¡±


    Our side? My mind was still foggy.


    ¡°The Peacock was a nobody, how do we know it wasn¡¯t a ruse to infiltrate us?¡±


    Even without pain my body felt awkward like puzzle pieces that just won¡¯t click together. I had a lot of healing to do.


    ¡°Shadow, get her out of here,¡± another female voice and cursing as Mercy was led out.


    Quiet descended. I raised my hands to my bandages.


    ¡°It will come off in a couple of days,¡± the other woman said, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Toni, let her rest, you can see she¡¯s uncomfortable,¡± the man spoke then turned to me, ¡°We¡¯ll let you rest, Heala will come by later to feed you.¡±


    I nodded and two sets of footsteps walked out.


    I lay back and tried to relax. I had heard of rebels, calling themselves Warriors from the news, self-proclaimed revolutionaries against the gods and their Worshippers. Did I stumble into one of their branches?


    I sighed, I ran to get away from gods not befriend a bunch of nutcases that ran right towards them. I wondered if the Peacock was local or if he sent him after me. Hopefully the Prince thinks I died too.


    I took a deep breath and froze. Taking a few more sniffs, was it Toni? Her scent was not human.


    I shook my head at the improbability. Worshippers rarely deserted, none survived the desertion. I sighed again; these people had every right to be suspicious.


    Too much time alone with my own thoughts later the door opened and the scent hit me again.


    ¡°Good evening,¡± not Toni, this must be Heala, but she smelled like a Worshipper.


    ¡°G-good,¡± I had to clear my throat several times and it still came out raspy, ¡°good evening.¡±


    ¡°I have soup for you, I will sit to your left and feed you, all you have to do is keep opening your mouth,¡± her voice sounded young, mirth laced her words.


    I nodded.


    Heala liked to talk, ¡°The Peacock was a local menace, you did what we have failed to do since the gods¡¯ arrival. The best we managed was to keep the body count down,¡± she laughed lightly, ¡°But you¡¯re a Worshipper, how is it that you¡¯re on our side?¡±


    ¡°A funny thing to ask,¡± I gulped a spoonful of chicken broth, ¡°coming from you,¡± another spoonful, ¡°you were created by them too,¡± gulp. I opened my mouth for the next spoonful but nothing came.


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    ¡°I was not created by them,¡± the mirth was gone, her voice almost went shrill. The light in the room dimmed, I could tell even through the bandages.


    I swallowed my next words.


    A moment later she asked, ¡°Water?¡± the lightness returning to her voice as if nothing had happened.


    I nodded, took a few sips and sighed in relief when she left. Who are these people?


    I only had Heala for company until they removed my bandages and I made sure to stay far away from subjects of Worshippers.


    It seemed an army marched into my room on the day my bandages were cut.


    At first everything was blurry, nothing but fuzzy blobs. As I blinked they formed into six outlines plus whoever was unwrapping me. The first I noticed was Toni, not only could I tell by her smell but her appearance gave her away. From the neck down she wasn¡¯t human; except her hands and feet her body looked like metal ribbons entwined around each other to form arms, legs and torso. I smelled Heala too but she looked entirely human, a young brunette woman in a white dress.


    The doctor--they did have a doctor--finished my bandages, checked my wounds and said, ¡°She¡¯s all yours,¡± before leaving.


    ¡°Time for some answers,¡± I recognized Mercy¡¯s voice. She was also a brunette, pretty except for the sneer marring her face. She wore a skintight jumpsuit with weapons in every niche.


    ¡°Back off,¡± this from Toni.


    One of the men pulled up a chair and sat smiling across from me. I thought I recognized his voice, ¡°I¡¯m Brad, this is Heala, Toni, Mercy, the one in the back is Shadow,¡± he was covered head to toe, four guns from what I could see and four blades, ¡°And that¡¯s Lightning.¡± He had longer red hair and wore a white button down shirt and jeans. I took a deep breath and there too was a scent of otherness, though fainter than the other two. Lightning smiled at me, I nodded.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Brad asked. He was blond, blue eyed, 6¡¯3¡± built like a soldier. Unlike the others, though, he wasn''t armed.


    I almost gave him my other name, the name he gave me, but I stopped myself in time, ¡°Emma.¡±


    ¡°How human,¡± Mercy said.


    Brad frowned and I lost my patience.


    ¡°Look, I understand the lack of trust, I do, but if you¡¯re not willing to give me a chance, why save my life? I came down to help your fight--¡± I kept my voice steady on the lie.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, why move? Worshippers and gods are everywhere, you could have stayed where you were to fight the good fight.¡± Toni moved closer to the bed.


    ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t, I deserted for that they will hunt me down. They don¡¯t just give away powers you know.¡± I looked around again, maybe they did down here.


    Toni crossed her arms in front of her chest.


    ¡°Where are you from?¡± Brad asked.


    How much to tell them? How much will keep me alive? ¡°New York.¡±


    It was like they all took a simultaneous step back. New York was where all the major players lived.


    ¡°Who made you?¡± Mercy stalked forward.


    ¡°Who made them?¡± I retorted, ¡°I¡¯m tired of pretending I¡¯m the only non-human here, now how is it that you have the most,¡± I glanced at Heala, not wanting to piss her off before regaining my full strength, ¡°changed people I¡¯ve ever seen on the Warrior¡¯s side?¡± I didn¡¯t mention that this was the first time I had seen Warriors to begin with.


    They exchanged glances.


    Mercy opened her mouth but Brad spoke over her, ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re afraid of infiltration, if that secret got out it could bring the battle to our doorstep and whatever meager advantage we have would disappear.¡±


    I nodded not understanding. ¡°Fair enough, but you keep your secrets and I get to keep mine.¡±


    Mercy was shaking her head, Brad looked lost. It was Heala who spoke, ¡°She¡¯s still weak, let her meet Kitty, if Kitty finds something¡¯s wrong we¡¯ll have no problem killing her.¡±


    Brad turned to Toni, ¡°It¡¯s your decision.¡±


    ¡°She took on a god and won, when she regains her strength we¡¯ll be no match.¡±


    ¡°What about--¡± Lighting spoke for the first time to be interrupted.


    ¡°No!¡± Toni paced the whole of two feet left in the room, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it.¡±


    They decided to notice I was still there, ¡°Can you walk?¡±


    I had no idea but I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. For all of two seconds. Brad caught me and helped me sit on the bed. ¡°We¡¯ll get a wheelchair.¡±


    They rolled me down one white corridor after another, down a millions floors into a tenth level basement. This was Florida, wasn¡¯t it? How did we not run out of ground? We should be underwater right now.


    As we headed down the last corridor towards a door a new smell hit me and I hit on the brakes in a panic. Brad ¡®oomphed¡¯ into the back of the wheelchair and the rest glared at me.


    ¡°There¡¯s a god in there,¡± I squealed.

 Chapter 8

    ¡°Shhh,¡± Toni snapped and we continued on. Their ally was a god? My heart pounded; I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    The room we entered looked like a middle eastern harem den sprawling with fine carpets, silk pillows and a soft white couch where the god lay reclined.


    She appeared young, with short, black, spiky hair. Not too tall, thin as a reed, she looked entirely human except for her eyes, no irises or whites; her eyes were completely black.


    She took one look at me and moved faster than any eye could follow. Her face inches away from mine; I forgot to breathe, "You''re his?¡± her voice hissed like a steam engine.


    Of course she could smell him on me, just as I could now associate her smell with Toni.


    Again she moved too fast to see back to the sprawl on the couch. ¡°You don¡¯t want them to know he made you.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Mercy and Toni spoke at once.


    ¡°Though I don¡¯t know why,¡± Kitty ignored them, ¡°All the gods can smell him on you like--¡± her eyes glazed over.


    ¡°Like a rotting corpse and sunlight,¡± I finished for her.


    She refocused on me, ¡°Yessss.¡± It wasn¡¯t said with reverence like the other times I¡¯ve heard it but with hate. I started, was this why she was helping them?


    She stared at me, ¡°I have sworn to kill him but you--you¡¯re the first of his little toys I¡¯ve seen run away--¡± she leaned forward, ¡°how has he not caught you yet?¡±


    I swallowed hard, she could kill me with a finger snap, she might anyway if I told her the truth.


    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Mercy yelled.


    The god smiled daggers, ¡°Why the Prince himself, of course.¡±


    The others took an unconscious step away from me. Brad looked betrayed.


    ¡°You were made by The Prince? The leader of these monsters?¡± Mercy was in my face. Lightning whistled.


    ¡°You¡¯re being helped by them, a god on your side why are you still operating on such a small scale?¡± I snapped right back.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one,¡± Kitty smiled languid, stretching like her namesake, ¡°Though you¡¯re not likely to meet the other.¡±


    ¡°Should we kill her?¡± Heala asked, her voice never losing that child-like wistfulness.


    ¡°You have two gods?¡± I stared at them. Yes, Heala and Lightning would have been made by the same one.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t skimp on you either,¡± why was she still talking? Kitty was in my face again, pushing Mercy aside as if she were made of cotton, ¡°Superior strength and speed, heightened senses, huh,¡± her eyes narrowed, ¡°he gave you that too.¡± Anger flared for a moment.


    Suddenly she was subdued, the rest waited for her verdict, ¡°Oh she¡¯s a real deserter but be assured the Prince will come looking for her.¡±


    ¡°I say we kill her and save ourselves the trouble.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot Mercy,¡± Kitty laughed, ¡°You just had a gem fall in your laps and you want to destroy it,¡± the god gave me a hard look, ¡°with her you can take the fight to them.¡±


    ¡°Will you join the fight?¡± I asked.


    Kitty quirked an eyebrow, ¡°No, not until I can kill Prince.¡±


    They were dismissed. As they wheeled me out of the room I pushed on the brakes, ¡°Do you know any gods who will?¡± If there was one, there had to be more, right?


    Her laughter followed me down the hall.


    As they led me back to the room I could feel their questioning glances.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk more tomorrow,¡± Toni promised, ¡°Get some rest.¡±


    Brad was the last to leave, ¡°Good to have you on board.¡± He didn¡¯t meet my eyes.


    ¡°Thank you for vouching for me,¡± I realized he was probably the only reason I was still alive.


    He smiled; it looked so normal¡­human. I smiled back.


    He came for me that night. Pulling the blanket from me, I started awake.


    ¡°No,¡± I whispered as he crawled on top of me. All I could see was his silver hair moving up my body.


    ¡°Come back to me Princess,¡± his voice was hurt, a haunting whisper as he used a spindle-like claw to slice off my hospital gown, ¡°Come back to me.¡±


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    His lips trailed a hot line of kisses up my body. Everywhere his lips touched an undeniable desire blossomed. He kissed my throat and I felt like I was drowning.


    His claw trailed along my ribcage and blood welled. But I felt no pain--only pleasure burned in its spot.


    I closed my eyes--I didn¡¯t want to fight it anymore.


    ¡°Come back to me,¡± his voice so haunting before he sank razor sharp teeth into my neck.


    I woke with a start.


    A dream, nothing but a dream; I repeated to myself as I tried to reassure myself that I was whole.


    ¡°My, he really did a number on you.¡± Kitty walked out of the shadows. I almost hit the ceiling.


    I scooted up the bed, trying to put distance between us.


    ¡°You heal quickly,¡± she cocked her head.


    I looked down at myself, moving was hard this morning, now I shuffled easily around the bed, though I doubted my walking abilities improved.


    ¡°You know, when we bite,¡± suddenly her face was inches from mine, my breath hitched in my throat, ¡°humans don¡¯t generally moan,¡± she smiled and all I saw was razor sharp teeth again. Could she see my dreams? Then she was at the foot of the bed again, ¡°I didn¡¯t think he was capable of giving out that gift.¡±


    When I didn¡¯t respond she cocked her head, ¡°Not talking? Shall I make you talk?¡±


    There was a warning tilt in her voice that had me diving to the floor as a gash appeared in the bed where I had been.


    Was she trying to kill me?


    She glided closer to inspect her work, ¡°I guess I¡¯m angrier than I thought. I should probably cool down so I can interrogate you without killing you--right away.¡± She smiled again and vanished.


    I sat panting in the corner, drawing my knees to my chin. I went from one psychopathic god to another. I have to get out of here.


    The shaking came back, no matter how little pain I felt my body still reacted the same.


    Morning came without sleep. The door creaked open and I tensed, ready to dive out of the way again. Brad entered with a tray of food. He saw the bed first, his eyes widening. I had to admire the quick reflexes as he shoved the tray on the floor without dropping anything and rushed into the room.


    ¡°Emma,¡± his eyes finally landed on me and he skidded to his knees in front of me, ¡°Are you alright? Who did this?¡±


    I looked at the concern and saw another with a similar expression yet for whom loyalty came first. Loyalty will always come first.


    ¡°Nothing happened, I¡¯m fine, thank you.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± he pointed towards the bed.


    ¡°Had a bad dream, powers must have kicked in.¡± It could happen.


    ¡°Oh,¡± pity in his voice now, ¡°I guess it must happen a lot.¡±


    Bad dreams, yes but I didn¡¯t answer. He helped me up, ¡°We¡¯ll get a new mattress. Toni wants you dressed and ready to go in an hour. There¡¯s a bathroom--can you wash yourself or¡­¡±


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°A meeting, to decide¡­¡±he let it hang but I could fill in the blanks. Decide my fate. Right.


    I rose on shaky legs, ¡°I can handle it.¡±


    ¡°I can get Heala--¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    The bathroom was nothing but a sink, a toilet and a shower-- no window, no shower curtain either. Oh well, if this wasn¡¯t a hospital, at least it was a medical ward. There were handles for people who had trouble standing. Never thought I¡¯d have to use those.


    I took too long, I knew that but I was beyond caring. The water felt rejuvenating cascading down my back. How long had it been since I¡¯ve had a real shower?


    A fresh hospital gown lay on the bed but no Brad. Waiting outside? He didn¡¯t seem like a peeping Tom.


    Brad straightened as I walked out of the room, ¡°Do you want a wheelchair?¡±


    I shook my head. He didn¡¯t press.


    Again, corridor after corridor whirled by. This time no wheelchair held me up.


    ¡°Not much further,¡± Brad said, his hands dancing at his sides as if deciding whether I wanted help or not.


    I didn¡¯t enlighten him.


    Finally we reached the double doors, no smell of gods this time. I sighed in relief.


    The room had only a giant round table. The Warriors clustered on one side of it. Brad indicated a chair across from them for me to sit. I tried not to sigh as I sank into the cushioned seat.


    Toni leaned forward, ¡°You¡¯re a threat to us, even if you¡¯re a real deserter the Prince will come looking for you. We¡¯re better off taking you out ourselves and dumping your body where he will find it.¡±


    ¡°You want me to tell you why you should keep me alive?¡± I couldn¡¯t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.


    ¡°You killed a god to stay alive, but you can¡¯t give us one good reason?¡± Mercy snapped.


    All I could picture was Kitty putting a gash thicker than my body into the bed. I laughed, ¡°What¡¯s the point? You¡¯re all dead anyway, and I¡¯ll be as dead whether you keep me alive or kill me yourselves.¡±


    Eyebrows rose. Shadow drew a throwing knife. But I continued.


    ¡°You¡¯re all just as much of Worshippers as I ever was.¡± I was ready for the lights to flare, though the sparks surprised me. The table seared under Lighting¡¯s hands. Toni looked like her body uncoiled, the ribbons of metal wiggling beneath her clothes. I gagged.


    Only Brad remained motionless, frowning.


    I dived as electricity zagged through the light bulbs to electrocute me. I rolled from the throwing knives, to face right into the barrel of Mercy¡¯s gun.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Brad pulled her arm, the shot fired into the ceiling and I pressed myself to the wall where I could see everybody.


    Heala didn¡¯t get the message, the whole room shook as she drew power from the rest of the building to suffuse the power lines in the walls. My hair tried to rise to the ceiling from the static electricity. The room was about to become a giant electrocution chamber.


    The rest of them seemed to realize it at the same time. Toni stopped wiggling under her clothes to yell at Lightning, ¡°Stop her, she¡¯ll kill us all.¡±


    I shook my head, similar powers didn¡¯t mean the same. Lightning was not on the same level. I felt like a broken rag doll that never quite got stitched back together. Rising to my feet, I tried to remember the super speed, what it felt like to run faster than the wind.


    I ran right into her, knocking her to the floor and effectively cutting her concentration. Shadow was by me in seconds, injecting something into Heala¡¯s neck, I assumed a tranquilizer. The faint buzzing in the room faded, though my hair never quite de-frizzed.


    Quiet descended, like dust on a corpse.


    ¡°Get her out of here,¡± Toni snapped and suddenly reality reasserted itself. Shadow picked Heala up and carried her out, his head turned towards me but if there was an expression behind the mask I couldn¡¯t tell.


    I sat on the ground, my body too weak to move.


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡± Brad knelt by me.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s true,¡± I snapped, ¡°You think what? You can control your gods? That you¡¯re not at their mercy, following their whims? That they won¡¯t kill you when they¡¯re done with you?¡±


    Brad frowned, ¡°The bed¡­was that Kitty?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Toni walked up.


    ¡°There was a--¡±


    ¡°Do you truly believe the gods are here for you? That they¡¯re not using you just like they use every Worshipper they create?¡± I was getting tired, even my body couldn¡¯t take all this. ¡°How can you think they will help you eradicate their own race?¡± I could hear my voice going soft, my vision going black around the edges. I was passing out...again.

 Chapter 9

    I woke back in my room. Alone. My whole body throbbed, no pain though. I knew I reopened most of my wounds but this might be my only chance to escape this madhouse.


    I got up and stumbled to the door¡­only to have it open. Brad nearly ran into me.


    He took my arms and led me back to the bed. He still seemed concerned.


    I winced at having to drag him into this but he was my only hope. ¡°Brad, I need to get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Because of Kitty,¡± he wasn¡¯t surprised. He wasn¡¯t afraid either. Where was the fear that accompanied the mention of a god¡¯s name? Even most Worshippers whispered their Master¡¯s names.


    I scooted away from him, ¡°She really got to all of you, didn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°Look, if she¡¯s a danger to you--¡±


    ¡°What? You think you can protect me?¡±


    Brad frowned, ¡°No, I just¡­I meant Toni can talk to her. She¡¯s the one who wanted to keep you alive--¡±


    ¡°For her own reasons!¡± I threw my arms in the air.


    Brad sighed as if I was being unreasonable¡­like a child throwing a tantrum. I gaped back like a fish out of water--I would expect loyalty from Toni, Heala and Lightning but no human ever, ever sided with a god. What had Kitty done?


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay here.¡± I gaged that Brad was healthy, strong...at the peak of his physical abilities but even broken I should be able to¡­


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice,¡± Toni walked in with Shadow, ¡°Come on.¡±


    Damn. What was I supposed to do now?


    ¡°Come on, if you¡¯re not going to cooperate we might as well end it now,¡± Toni beckoned.


    I doubted that. If they wanted to kill me, they would have done it ages ago. No, they wanted something from me.


    Brad helped me up. As we made our way down the halls again I looked for an escape route.


    Nothing.


    We entered another chamber far below sea level. At least with the gods present it explained how they did it. This is probably the only way they were able to stay off of the Prince¡¯s radar. Below his notice? I laughed to myself, wanting to cry.


    I smelled Kitty before we entered, it was the other I had no indication of.


    She was white. Not peach or beige but white. I thought of all I¡¯ve seen in the last year and shrugged to myself. A little pastiness would be the least of the surprises.


    Heala buzzed around the god like a nervous mother, ¡°Do you need anything, water, a pillow¡­a jacket?¡±


    ¡°Sit down,¡± Mercy grabbed her arm and dragged her to a chair.


    The god looked at Heala with indulgent amusement. I chocked. Gods were anything but indulgent--yet here she was looking¡­kind?


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    When she turned to me her eyes were as white as the rest of her with no visible iris or pupil for me to focus on. She smiled and again it lacked that edge of cruelty every god possessed.


    Kitty looked bored, but beneath that she was squirming. What did it mean?


    ¡°The Prince¡¯s new Worshipper, you would be the reason for the changes in New York lately.¡± Her voice seemed to reverberate on itself, ¡°Please sit,¡± she motioned to a chair across from her, ¡°my children are overprotective of me--you see I¡¯m weak.¡±


    Kitty flinched at the words. The rest smiled indulgently. Was this why there was no fear of the gods?


    ¡°What are you?¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself.


    ¡°I am no more and no less than any of my kind. What you see of us is not all that there is to it,¡± she sighed, ¡°But that is a long story for another time.


    ¡°You see, my children try to protect me even when it is not in their best interest to do so. You asked Kitty why she¡¯s doing this--will you ask me the same?¡±


    I leaned back in my seat, they should have brought me to her in the first place. Kitty is too much like the other gods. This god, I realized I didn¡¯t know her name, was different.


    ¡°Will you tell me?¡± But was this real?


    She smiled, ¡°I want peace,¡± she paused as if she knew how hard that was to believe, ¡°As I said there is more to the story than you know and there doesn¡¯t have to be this fear.¡±


    ¡°How? How will you convince them?¡±


    She shook her head, ¡°First I want to reassure you of your safety.¡± She turned to Kitty, who rolled her eyes like a teenager.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for threatening to torture you for information.¡±


    I should have laughed--a god apologizing. But the laugh caught in my throat with a memory of another god--another apology--another lie. When I just found out that Nathan was the Prince, he apologized and promised nothing would change.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand--and I don¡¯t even know your name.¡± I tried not to sound as panicked as I felt.


    ¡°I am called Ethereal, but you may call me Ethel and I want you to stay, to help them clean up around here--I¡¯m not worried about anyone noticing, by that time we will be ready.¡±


    ¡°Ready for what?¡± A knot lodged in my throat.


    ¡°You asked Kitty if there were more gods who would help, will you ask me the same?¡±


    Or you could just tell me, but I didn¡¯t say that, ¡°Are there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I believe so, but they are scattered, I have to find them.¡±


    Always learn the alternative, ¡°And if I refuse?¡±


    Ethel¡¯s expression softened, not what I was expecting; not something I thought gods capable of. ¡°We¡¯re not all like that--like him.¡±


    I flinched, ¡°Some are worse.¡±


    ¡°What you went through, no other Worshipper ever passed--but you remain strong, focus on that, remember that.¡±


    I felt the tears start to burn, I sure as hell didn''t feel strong. To stall the tears I asked, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°To help them. Nothing more.¡±


    ¡°With what?¡±


    ¡°Making my people stop killing.¡±


    ¡°You want to kill your own kind?¡± I got up and started pacing.


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± if the others were surprised they didn¡¯t show it, ¡°But that may be all they¡¯ll understand, we have to make them realize humans aren¡¯t weak.¡±


    The only way to do that wasn¡¯t killing, I thought, it was going straight for the big players--like anything else--beat the biggest bully the rest will leave you alone.


    Ethel¡¯s smile widened, ¡°I see you understand, will you help?¡±


    Go back to the Prince? I stopped pacing, shaking my head.


    Kitty leaned forward, a sickening smile on her face, ¡°She¡¯s scared, she¡¯s too scared, she¡¯ll never do it. She¡¯d rather run for the rest of her life.¡± Her teeth turned razor sharp, ¡°Did he happen to mention that your life will be extraordinarily long.¡±


    I thought of all the times I should have died--was he prolonging my life beyond just healing or was it a side-effect of withstanding what I had.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Ethel lost the indulgent amusement, ¡°Those memories do not belong here.¡±


    Memories? So they can read minds.


    ¡°Not quite--¡± Kitty started.


    ¡°Are you with us?¡± Ethel looked directly into my eyes and I was transported to an abandoned city. Nothing but dust clouds and empty streets. The remains of skyscrapers filled the sky.


    The next moment I was back in the room with two gods, three Worshippers and humans that didn¡¯t know what they were getting themselves into.


    Was that the future? I stared at Kitty, did they all see that? Kitty''s eyes grew big, too big for her face even; her smile widened as I stared, it looked impossibly wide like it would split her face in two. She looked...evil.


    ¡°On one condition,¡± I looked back into Ethel¡¯s eyes, ¡°You tell them exactly what you plan to do--¡±

 Chapter 10

    ¡°You must think you¡¯re pretty powerful to make demands of gods,¡± Kitty snapped.


    ¡°Exactly what you both plan to do,¡± I snapped back.


    ¡°I plan,¡± Kitty rose like unfolding origami, ¡°to kill the Prince.¡±


    ¡°But that¡¯s impossible, so we¡¯re just aiming to change his mind," Ethel added.


    ¡°About what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Humanity.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying the only reason they¡¯re killing us like cattle is because the Prince wants them to?¡± Mercy jumped to her feet, ¡°I say we go with Kitty¡¯s plan and kill him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Ethel repeated.


    ¡°Not if you have someone to take his place,¡± Kitty drawled.


    I was starting to lose the thread of the conversation again.


    Ethel seemed to realize we were getting off topic, ¡°In order to change his views we must show them that humans are not weak and can stand up for their lives and the lives they create. To that end we have to get him alone, capture him and convince him.¡±


    ¡°And you think that will be more possible than killing him?¡± Toni gaped.


    ¡°I do now,¡± she looked right at me.


    Something about the way she said that had warning bells ringing in my head--but why?


    Instead I turned to Kitty, ¡°And you¡¯re okay with that?¡±


    She quirked an eyebrow, ¡°Ethel has nothing to worry about, if I can¡¯t kill him he will kill me and her plan can proceed uninterrupted.¡±


    Capture the Prince? I thought of all the time I¡¯ve spent with him. Except for what he did to me, I''ve never personally seen him hurt anyone.


    But this might be the only chance we get to end everything. I nodded my acceptance.


    After the meeting the suspicious looks stopped, no more smart-ass remarks or questions about my loyalty. I haven¡¯t seen this much obedience to gods among Worshippers; it nagged at me like a pin pricking the same spot over and over.


    A week later I could walk without discomfort. I found clothes on a chair by the bed and my door unlocked. Apparently I was free to go as I pleased.


    My first instinct was to run as far away from here as I could and never look back. Maybe Cuba, or Puerto Rico. As I walked down one hallway to another, I ticked off countries in my head. The ones with the highest populations had the highest number of gods. Islands were the best option. Or the Midwest, the only gods to come through there were nomadic and could be avoided.


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    I found a staircase that led up and followed it.


    Europe was in shambles; the death toll in China and India so high they stopped counting. Antarctica was always an option.


    How many floors have I passed? Where was this place?


    As I stood confused in front of a door, wondering if I should find a different staircase, the door opened and Mercy sneered at me. ¡°Did you think you would get out that easily?¡± She turned and started to walk away, ¡°Told you so,¡± she said to someone I couldn¡¯t see.


    Brad stood with a frown, ¡°You don¡¯t have to run away, if you¡¯re trying to leave we can point you to a door.¡±


    ¡°I want to leave,¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate.


    He led me to a door, it opened to a touch and sunlight flew in like a dream blinding me. I walked out onto a grassy field, where the heck was this place? Nothing around as far as I could see, except for green, green grass.


    I turned, half expecting for Mercy and Brad to be gone and be stuck in the middle of nowhere, by myself. The door to the compound was nothing but a shed stuck out of the ground.


    ¡°Ethel made this place for us, in case you¡¯re wondering how we live underground in Florida,¡± Brad smiled.


    Of course, I thought, a god¡¯s handiwork. I walked away from them, wondering if running away was an option.


    ¡°We¡¯re going down to practice,¡± Brad hesitated, ¡°will you be coming with us?¡±


    No amount of practice will make you stronger than a god, I thought, but I nodded again and followed them back into the compound.


    We went down an indeterminable number of floors again. This time we entered a large gymnasium--complete with bleachers and basketball hoops--but the walls were metal. At least it can take a beating.


    The rest of the team was already there--fully geared like a team of Marines about to go on mission. Toni handed Mercy and Brad an arsenal each. ¡°We¡¯re waiting on our opponent,¡± she said to me.


    Opponent? I looked around, all the Warriors were here. Did that mean¡­?


    My question was answered as Kitty walked through the door. Literally through the door like a ghost.


    I rolled my eyes at the theatrics but turned to Toni, ¡°You practice against a god?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡± Mercy snapped, ¡°That¡¯s who we¡¯re fighting out there,¡± she pointed vaguely at a wall.


    A chair drew itself behind Kitty so she could sit. ¡°Okay,¡± a magazine appeared in her hand, ¡°You can start anytime.¡±


    Toni attacked first, which was redundant considering Kitty could control her actions like a puppet on a string.


    Kitty didn¡¯t look up as Toni hit an invisible shield around the god. Of course the servant will never be stronger than the master.


    Heala sent electricity through the light bulbs trying to make an opening in the shield closely followed by Mercy and Brad with machine guns putting a tirade of bullets into the walls.


    The strategy may have accomplished something if Heala¡¯s charge made a dent in the shield. I looked at Heala--there was no anger--no motivation--she was doing the bare minimum, not trying to kill her opponent.


    Shadow came out with a rocket launcher. I glued myself to the wall.


    ¡°Really?¡± Kitty looked over the magazine.


    Oh God, Shadow fired. The rocket hit the shield, the building shook but thankfully Kitty of all people seemed to have neutralized the explosion so we were still alive. Needless to say Kitty''s shield remained intact.


    Kitty stood with hands on hips, ¡°Is that all?¡± she turned to me, ¡°You won¡¯t give it a try?¡±


    I wouldn¡¯t break through the shield, retaining it was a matter of pride for Kitty. No matter what she said about helping them train, she had no intention of losing.


    Still I peeled myself from the wall and walked around the shield. It was invisible.


    I reached out and touched it. My fingers tingled, no blood or wounds appeared on my fingers. So the shield was purely defensive.


    Kitty rolled her eyes, ¡°That¡¯s enough of that,¡± and flicked her fingers.


    ¡°Oomph,¡± I flew against the wall.


    One by one, she flicked each of the Warriors, ¡°You lose, again.¡± Before any of them could react, she walked through the wall and was gone.

 Chapter 11

    ¡°What good was she?¡± Mercy yelled pointing at me, ¡°I don¡¯t know how you killed the Peacock but I think you¡¯re full of shit.¡±


    No one said anything. I guess I can¡¯t keep waiting for someone to jump to my defense.


    ¡°Attacking on my own while she was at full defense would be pointless. The best chance any of us have is the element of surprise.¡±


    ¡°So you got lucky,¡± Mercy sneered.


    I, however, felt no shame, ¡°Yeah, I got lucky.¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Brad sat down, ¡°We attack her in the halls?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± I started, ¡°But you have to fight knowing you can¡¯t win. You need a realistic goal--¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡± Toni asked.


    I shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that you weren¡¯t fighting as a team. And you, Toni, weren¡¯t thinking of defeating her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± but the look in her eyes told me she already knew.


    ¡°Kitty can influence you, I know you know that. When you go first you cannot use your true force. You of all of us have to focus on surprising her.¡±


    Mercy turned on her, ¡°Is that true? You fought so you would lose?¡±


    Toni shook her head, ¡°Not at first, but I started to suspect it when I didn¡¯t change the strategy even when I was dead set on changing it.¡±


    ¡°You all need to forget that you were once human,¡± I glanced at Heala who was displaying more anger at my words than she did during the entire fight. ¡°You have to remember where your powers came from and those that gave them can take them away.¡±


    I stared at Heala, ¡°You are a Worshipper, whether you want to bel--¡± electricity zigzagged from the light bulb, I dived, ¡°believe it or not.¡±


    ¡°I am not! I would never--¡±


    ¡°Then maybe you want to show some of that anger and power when fighting a god,¡± I snapped, tired of having to dodge attacks.


    At least it stopped her from trying to electrocute me again.


    ¡°If you¡¯re so smart, then you come up with a strategy,¡± Lightning put his arms around Heala.


    I shook my head, ¡°I¡¯m not a strategist, before my escape I have never been in a fight, I am only telling you what I see and what I know.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, I have to think,¡± Toni stepped in, her face expressionless, ¡°I need time to think, training is over.¡±


    Mercy grabbed Brad, ¡°Let¡¯s hit the gym.¡±


    Brad gave me a look but followed without a word.


    Lightning led Heala away. Toni turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I squirmed at the idea of asking for anything, ¡°I was wondering, would it be possible for me to go into town, city, uh, whatever is close to here.¡±


    Toni raised an eyebrow but said, ¡°Sarasota, yeah, Shadow will take you.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I looked at the silent masked man, ¡°Are you sure--¡±


    But Shadow stepped up and beckoned me to the door.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I hung my head and followed. Why couldn¡¯t it have been someone--I looked at him from the corner of my eye--anyone else.


    We walked to a door. Shadow went in but before I could follow he slammed the door in my face.


    ¡°Oookay,¡± I rocked back on my heels. Looking around I had no idea where I was. So¡­knock, or take my chances of getting lost?


    As I rocked back and forth, the door reopened and a man stood in front of me. Shadow? No mask. Jeans, work boots and a brown leather jacket; he looked normal. Like Toni, he was in his late thirties, early forties. Sandy brown hair above observant brown eyes and a strong jaw.


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    I gapped. He quirked an eyebrow and jerked his head for me to follow.


    We came to another door, several floors higher. This time he opened the door and the last rays of the sun made me shut my eyes. He made me an ¡°after you¡± gesture and I walked out onto the grass.


    Goosebumps pimpled my arms as we left the air conditioning behind. I breathed in the warm, humid air, grateful to be alive.


    Shadow walked me to a barn some feet away from the main door. Inside cars stood in rows. Shadow walked to a green Jeep 4x4.


    My excitement at being outdoors wore off quickly as the heat seeped into my skin and sweat popped on my forehead even with the wind of going seventy miles per hour beating against it.


    Shadow appeared as cool as a cucumber. Hands barely touching the steering wheel, eyes lazy on the road.


    Damn Florida heat. I should have gone to California.


    As we entered the highway, cars appeared around us. Road noise filled the growing silence in the car.


    Was he mute? Pretending to be a monk? Just didn¡¯t like me? Ahhh!


    My inner dialog kept me on the edge of my seat.


    The city looked the same as when I first arrived. Main streets filled with plazas full of shops broken by side streets leading into a maze of houses.


    Now that we were here I had no idea where we were going. Did I want to come so I''d feel less like a prisoner? No chance of that, I thought as I glanced at my watchdog.


    We drove into the city center and at first everything looked fine. People walked more here, walking to the sub-shop around the corner from an office building. I felt like I haven¡¯t seen human beings in forever. I glanced, surprised, at a building with a chunk of the wall crumbling off the third floor. Another building was black and charred on one side.


    Something struck me as familiar. Was this where I fought the Peacock? I definitely didn''t remember buildings burning.


    I opened my mouth to ask but Shadow put a finger to his lips. He pulled over into a parking lot and pointed across the street.


    A man and woman stood there in bright peacock colored outfits. I inhaled deeply--Worshippers.


    Shadow pointed at me, then at them and made a slashing motion across his throat. Could I kill them?


    Somehow the concept of real premeditated murder--even of beings who were not entirely human and possible pure evil--didn¡¯t sink in till just that moment.


    ¡°Kill them?¡± I whispered unable to hide my shock.


    Shadow nodded, not looking so certain now.


    He took my arm and pulled me, doing that hand gesture of pointing two fingers at his eyes then at the Worshippers. Watch them, got it.


    I watched the Worshippers scale the charred building like skilled acrobats climbing a rope.


    They looked out at the people scurrying beneath them, trying not to look at them. Fear palpable in the air.


    The first time I saw Worshippers the feeling was the same, the fear so thick one could feel it on their skin. They weren¡¯t going to¡­were they?


    The attachments the two Worshippers wore to look like a peacock¡¯s tail looked fake, nothing but toys attached to their backs but the man lifted his and a feather short out like a dart.


    I was running before I could think. The man, an innocent passerby the dart was intended for stood frozen staring death in the face.


    Full speed, I should have made it. I should have saved him. But the female Worshipper ran down the wall to meet me and I hesitated. I watched the dart pierce the man¡¯s skull, his mouth open wide in shock. I skidded, trying to stop--the woman didn¡¯t, slamming into me full force.


    We went flying, limbs breaking in the process. Being on the bottom, both my arms broke in several places, my left leg broke at the knee. She managed to land in a way that only took out her left arm. Laughing at the pain, madness in her eyes, she twisted her arm back into place. She positioned her attachment to fire thinking she had the advantage. But where she would heal long after the fight, my bones were already knitting back together, my legs fully functional to dodge her darts. My arms felt like a ragdoll¡¯s for only a moment before the last of the breaks repaired themselves.


    I was faster than she could fire, faster than she could run away from.


    Behind her I snapped her neck with little effort. She¡¯ll probably heal from that too, I thought as she fell on the ground convulsing.


    I looked to see Shadow dodging darts. The Worshipper was throwing them faster and faster, no way Shadow will be able to keep up.


    I ran to him as he took a dart on the shoulder--what if it was poisoned? I blocked then next several darts but then the Worshipper saw his partner down on the ground. A yell of rage reached us. I took the opportunity to close the distance, not climbing the building nearly as elegantly as they had.


    The next thing I knew the man was falling off the building, smacking into the ground like a bug. At times like these my new instincts scared me. Do I even remember what I did?


    As I watched, Shadow stumbled to his feet, walked towards the male Worshipper, took out what looked like a machete and chopped the man¡¯s head off.


    I jerked back. Before I could call out to stop him, he made his way to the woman and repeated the action. I chocked on the bile rising up my throat.


    Shadow looked at me, blood sprayed all over his clothing and face. I understood that for most Warriors this was personal but his aggression was barbaric.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say. I stared at the dead bodies, though I¡¯ve watched several people die since I met the Prince, I haven¡¯t gotten used to it. I think it would scare me more if I did.


    Shadow nodded, I guess that meant ¡°I¡¯m fine¡±, as he looked around. I realized that people were gathering around us, watching silently. I froze beneath the stares, whispers sprang up like waves through the crowd. Shadow grabbed my arm and pulled me through the wall of people.


    ¡°Warriors¡­new¡­like a Worshipper,¡± random words floated to me. People under long duress, trying to make sense of the chaos.


    Shadow pushed me into the car. The tires squealed as he sped away from the scene, sirens audible in the distance.

 Chapter 12

    So much for a day in the city, I huffed as I leaned back in my seat. I glanced at Shadow, was that his plan from the beginning? Or did he just react when he saw them threaten the crowd?


    Worshippers were defined by their perversions, what defined the Warriors?


    We drove back in silence. I wanted to say something; I should have said something. What happened wasn¡¯t normal?


    At the compound he beckoned me to follow him. I guess this was big news because he dragged me in front of Toni and motioned for me to spill my beans.


    Her eyes were saucers as she stared at our blood soaked clothes, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Shadow did the throat cutting motion with his thumb again.


    ¡°You killed someone?¡± Toni¡¯s voice grew shrill, ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The Worshippers, the Peacock¡¯s Worshippers,¡± I said.


    Her jaw dropped, ¡°You killed them,¡± she stared from me to Shadow and back again, ¡°you¡¯re not even fully healed yet.¡±


    Shadow gave me a funny look, eyeing my injuries. I rolled my eyes, ¡°The wounds from the Peacock were different,¡± I answered his unspoken question. It was one thing to heal a broken bone; quite another to heal from something that should have torn me to shreds.


    ¡°What?¡± Toni looked confused.


    I waved it off, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, what matters is that they won¡¯t kill innocent people anymore.¡± It made me remember the madness in the female Worshipper¡¯s eyes, was that just Worshipper crazy? Or did losing their god drive them off the brink?


    I tried to think about the possibility of the Prince¡¯s death, it was like swimming an ocean of molasses; I found myself panting.


    Hands on my shoulders seemed to be simultaneously shaking me and holding me up, ¡°Emma, what¡¯s wrong? Are you okay?¡±


    I crouched on the ground, getting my breath back, ¡°Yeah,¡± I looked up at Toni, not sure if I could or should explain, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine, need a shower.¡± I tried to smile.


    I received identical frowns for that, I turned to go before realizing I had no idea how to get to my room, ¡°Um, a little help?¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    A few minutes later water beat down on me. If I closed my eyes I could see the events of the afternoon in slow motion. The perfectly round hole the dart left in the man¡¯s head. The feel of the woman slamming into me, bones snapping.


    I opened my eyes, hyperventilating against the shower wall.


    Nathan walked into the coffee shop at 11:45am like clockwork. I smiled at him, an unexplainable anxiety starting at the pit of my stomach.


    He smiled back, shy and kind. The only time I have seen him smile. I paused, why did I think that?


    He sat at the usual corner table waiting for me to have a free moment to sit with him.


    Finally the tide of faceless customers subsided. I made a cup of his favorite, a cinnamon, caramel latte, and sat across from him. He seemed sad.


    I took his hand, so perfectly smooth with long, elegant fingers, and tried to make eye contact, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°This is what you want?¡± He whispered, ¡°A job you loathe and a human man who will wait for you like a puppy?¡±


    What? I drew my hand back. Something nagged, I looked around at the faceless customers.


    Faceless!


    Oh God! They really were faceless.


    Before I could jump up, run--anything--the Prince grabbed my hand. Claws replaced his clean trimmed nails. I looked up at him, his eyes still seemed sad, ¡°Come back to me Princess.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I tugged on my arm.


    And the scene changed.


    We were in the bedroom I couldn¡¯t leave for a year. ¡°No,¡± I stumbled against the wall. The room was lavish with silk sheets on a king size bed, wide open spaces between the furniture. A large armoire, desk and plush chairs decorated the room. But the room might as well have been on fire, the panic that swept through me.


    The Prince was right in front of me, I cringed shutting my eyes. He brushed the hair off my face, his touch light as a feather.


    ¡°Fine, wake up,¡± he snapped his fingers.


    I sat up in my bed at the Warrior¡¯s safe house, heart pounding, fully alert. Oh God, I doubled over as tears threatened to overwhelm me. Why couldn¡¯t he just leave me alone?


    In the morning I was summoned back to the conference room. Toni headed off the round table practically vibrating with excitement.


    ¡°I have our next move. We are going to rid Florida of gods and their Worshippers.¡±


    By the looks of surprise on the others¡¯ faces, at least I wasn¡¯t the only one out of the loop.


    ¡°We can¡¯t even get close to Kitty in practice, how do you think we¡¯re going to kill gods on their own turf?¡± Mercy asked.


    ¡°Emma,¡± Toni turned triumphantly towards me, ¡°I understand what Kitty meant, we can take the fight to them with her.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°The Peacock was just luck--¡±


    ¡°Not just the Peacock, but now his Worshippers too. Enough. Just listen.¡± Toni pulled out files for each of us, ¡°Next would be the Blade in Miami, he has one Worshipper, Katana.¡± Photos spilled out of my file folder. I recognized him, the Blade; he made a pilgrimage to the Price during my transformation.


    He maintained an outward appearance of a Japanese Samurai, who knows why. His Worshipper was a woman of Asian descent, her face always impassive. I couldn¡¯t picture either of them killing indiscriminately but they were god and Worshipper, that was just what they did.


    Neither Kitty nor Ethel made an appearance, but if that meant they blessed the plan I had no idea.


    Toni laid out her plan and a week later we were ¡°ready¡± to go.

 Chapter 13

    Ocean Avenue was a shadow of its former glory. No lights came from the buildings making them look abandoned. The few people hurried down the street with heads lowered. I couldn¡¯t help marvel that for all the destruction the gods caused, they rarely destroyed buildings. The street was like some sort of movie set.


    Brad, Shadow and I were bait, walking down the street trying to attract attention. Toni figured if the Peacock recognized me so would the Blade. Mercy refused to be a moving target, big surprise.


    The rest were hiding to give them the element of surprise.


    I wasn¡¯t thrilled with the plan, nearly dying at the hands of one god was enough for a lifetime.


    ¡°How did you kill the Peacock?¡± Brad whispered, his fear well masked but a rapid heartbeat and excessive sweating gave him away.


    ¡°Cut off his head¡­I think,¡± I was still fuzzy about the details.


    They both turned to me, ¡°You think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain, but after becoming a Worshipper your instincts change, I don¡¯t remember much after the survival instincts take over.¡± I could hear both of their heartbeats elevate slightly. I hoped they were too disciplined to let that mess with their heads.


    It wasn¡¯t long before a black motorcycle drove up to us. A petite Asian woman in her twenties got off it, the only thing to distinguish her as a Worshipper were her eyes--her eyeballs were completely black.


    Katana wore a black leather jumper and a katana strapped to her back. The latter remained sheathed as she walked up to us.


    The lack of violence had Brad and Shadow confused whether they should reach for their weapons. But she was studying me, wondering what the Prince gave me, how high in his favor I was.


    ¡°You are not like his other Worshipper,¡± she spoke with a lilt in her voice like she was younger or maybe more innocent than she appeared.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say; hi, nice to meet you too? Can we get on with killing each other?


    ¡°Runaways get killed, that¡¯s how it works but he hasn¡¯t issued a kill order, if you do not fight, Blade will not kill you, he will take you back.¡±


    Go back? I wanted to laugh, that was worse than death. ¡°I¡¯m not going back.¡± Now I was confused, Worshippers only cared about the thrill of the next kill, and gods didn¡¯t wait for orders.


    She cocked her head, ¡°But he made you, how can you walk away?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t expecting a rational conversation, neither did Brad or Shadow. The three of us stood dumbfounded, staring at her.


    She was waiting for a response. I sure as hell wasn¡¯t about to share my life story with her, ¡°What happened between me and the Prince is between us. Now why don¡¯t you call the Blade and we can get this over with.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s already here,¡± she pointed as the Blade walked out of an alley dragging Toni, Heala, Lightning, and Mercy behind him.


    Great! ¡°Are they dead?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Blade said, he looked like a six foot Asian man, his hair in the style of a Samurai, ¡°These belong to a god who still claims them.¡±


    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shadow take out two guns and point them at Blade but before he could shoot Katana was in front of him, her sword making an arc in the air. The gun barrels fell to the ground and the guns misfired.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    She lifted the sword again, if she succeeded, the whole thing would have been too fast for Shadow to realize what was happening. But some instinct I hadn¡¯t figured out yet had me there, wresting the blade from her hands. Before I could turn it around on her, the Blade pulled me away, shattering the bones in my hand in the process.


    Brad pulled out a shotgun, not that it mattered, Katana was too quick.


    ¡°Do not fight me,¡± Blade looked down on me. I ignored my hand and tackled him, landing on the ground as he moved away from me.


    Flashes of the fight with the Peacock came back to me. It was a suicide attack that killed him. He blasted me with the full force of whatever it was that came out of his feathers as I rushed him. I didn¡¯t feel my nerves die, I counted on that as I pulled his head off. I had the element of surprise.


    I also thought I¡¯d die with him.


    I shook off the thought as I looked at the Blade. How do I get close to him?


    ¡°Will you let them go if I go with you?¡±


    Katana¡¯s sword stopped inches from Brad¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Even Katana wishes it so, we have--¡± Blade looked down, my eyes followed, six metal spikes protruded from his chest, black blood spattered the floor.


    ¡°Now Heala,¡± Toni yelled, I realized it was spikes from her metal body as electricity coursed through the metal, electrocuting the Blade.


    Katana moved, I intercepted, knocking aside her sword at the expense of my arm, grabbing her ponytail and twisting her head. Shadow helped with a machete through her neck.


    When we turned the Blade was walking off the spikes even as he was being electrocuted. I took Katana¡¯s sword and chopped his head off.


    A long silence descended as we watched both bodies for signs of movement.


    ¡°That¡­wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± Toni said looking up, her metal curling back into the shape of her torso.


    ¡°If he hadn¡¯t wanted to chat, or didn¡¯t care that you were made by gods, we would all be dead,¡± Brad said disgusted.


    ¡°So¡­we got lucky,¡± Toni looked at me.


    I reattached my arm, trying not to think of how disturbing that action really was. Heala revived Mercy and Lightning with smelling salts. Mercy rejoiced like she decapitated the two herself.


    Brad and Shadow hung up posters that read, ¡°The Warriors were here and they slew the demons.¡± A Polaroid was taken of the bodies and attached to the posters. The buried the bodies in Miami, in a cemetery. The heads we buried by the compound.


    Mercy wanted to go out and celebrate. For the rest, the brush with death was just sinking in. It made me wonder what kind of contact with gods and Worshippers they actually had up till then.


    The next day I finally found the door to the outside on my own. I almost did a little jig on the grass. The sun warmed my skin and I wished I had some clothing of my own--this was perfect weather for tanning.


    I walked to the barn/garage, the door opened with a loud screech. I winced. The cars didn¡¯t look old or cheap--not that I was a good judge of either. I peeked inside a blue sedan, the keys hung from the ignition. Thoughts of stealing one and running again floated through my mind.


    Then I really would have every god looking for me.


    Two gods dead, who else could manage that. I didn¡¯t acknowledge that it was mostly an accident both times.


    ¡°Tempted?¡± Brad managed to sneak up on me.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± I turned around.


    ¡°Since my sister was taken by the monsters and I found what was left of her hanging from the roof of her office building¡­No I haven¡¯t wanted to run away.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I looked down at my feet feeling small.


    ¡°Everyone has a story, everyone has a reason for doing this. If you ask me, I don¡¯t think you, of all people, have a choice. No matter where you go, they¡¯ll actively look for you--so you might as well take a stand here, with us, where you have a chance.¡±


    A chance? A chance for what? Kill them all? But I remained silent. After two victories they were allowed to be hopeful. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your sister.¡±


    Brad shrugged, ¡°I was in the military, stationed in Hawaii. But after that happened, I realized that it was all for show--the military is insignificant. Here they barely show their face when the gods show up.¡±


    We sat on the grass, backs to the barn, the silence lengthening.


    ¡°What about the others?¡± I thought of Shadow¡¯s silence and that neither he nor Lightning used their real names.


    Brad shrugged again, ¡°Toni, I¡¯m not sure, I met her after,¡± he swept his hands over his torso, ¡°I don¡¯t now what would make a person choose that kind of life,¡± he glanced at me, ¡°No offense.¡±


    I shrugged too, ¡°None taken, I didn¡¯t choose this.¡±


    He opened his mouth as if to ask, then shut it, ¡°Mercy was a cop, one of the good ones, after her superiors told her nothing was to be done about god-crimes she quit. Shadow had his whole family annihilated, back when the gods first showed up.¡±


    ¡°Is he mute?¡±


    Brad nodded, ¡°As far as we know, he¡¯s never spoken--he only talks to Ethel,¡± he touched his head, ¡°telepathically, I guess.¡±


    I thought any more questions would be pushing it so we just sat in silence till the sun went down and our stomachs grumbled.

 Chapter 14

    Toni waited until we sat down to dinner before jumping up, ¡°Okay, two down, one more and Florida will be cleansed, just one--¡±


    ¡°And then what? We move on to Georgia? Alabama? Till we get to New York?¡± Mercy didn¡¯t sound angry. Looking around, everyone was tired, they¡¯ve been putting in extra hours training.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Toni''s face lit up with zeal, ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re all here, isn¡¯t it? To get rid of this menace no matter the cost!¡± Toni slammed her hands on the table far angrier than the simple question called for.


    I was still surprised Kitty and Ethel had nothing to say against this plan. Ethel had made it clear she didn¡¯t want to destroy her kind. So either she had another plan or we weren¡¯t meant to live through this.


    ¡°But we could use a break,¡± Heala didn¡¯t look high for the first time since I met her, eyes focused, her voice firm.


    ¡°Break? While innocents suffer and we have a real chance to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a break Toni,¡± Lighting chimed in, ¡°You obviously need one too.¡±


    ¡°We need a better plan too,¡± Brad spoke, ¡°The last one didn¡¯t exactly work out so well.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Toni stalked out of the room.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± I whispered to Brad who shrugged.


    Shadow passed me a napkin. I was about to refuse when I saw the writing on it. ¡°She is no longer helpless. It can be addictive.¡±


    Great, the only person who knew the whole story was mute. Well, that wasn¡¯t entirely true. I didn¡¯t know where to find Ethel but I could probably track down Kitty.


    After dinner everyone went their separate ways. I tried to trace the steps from my room to Kitty¡¯s but got lost after the second right turn.


    Great! What were the chances of me running into someone. I sat down on the cold metal floor, leaning against the cold metal walls. I guess I could spend the night here, hope someone finds me in the morning.


    ¡°I hear you¡¯re looking for me,¡± Kitty walked out of nowhere.


    To my credit, I didn¡¯t jump three feet off the ground this time. ¡°I was, got lost.¡±


    Kitty quirked an eyebrow, ¡°Do you expect me to ask as to why?¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Why did I feel stupid? She did just walk out of thin air; I was allowed to be caught off guard. ¡°I have questions, about how all this started.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Kitty snapped her fingers and we were standing in her rooms, where she flopped down on her couch, ¡°the popular theory is that there was a Big Bang and viola, the universe was born.¡±


    Any hope I had of getting answers deflated. ¡°Nevermind,¡± I turned to leave.


    ¡°You may have to be more specific,¡± Kitty called after me.


    I didn¡¯t feel like playing games but...I stopped mid-step, if there was a chance of getting answers¡­


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I turned around, ¡°What are you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± She smirked.


    ¡°All of you, the so-called gods.¡±


    She pouted, ¡°So-called? How do you know we aren¡¯t really gods?¡±


    ¡°Are you?¡± A game, this was all a game to her, ¡°Forget it.¡±


    Kitty laughed, ¡°For the love of--¡± suddenly her smile dropped replaced by a deep-seated rage, ¡°What did he see in you?¡±


    I backed away wondering if it would do any good to run.


    She smirked, ¡°At least you¡¯re afraid of us. Ethel made them forget.¡±


    ¡°Forget what?¡± I kept backing up till I hit the door.


    ¡°That you are here to live and die at our pleasure.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t gods supposed to care for their creations?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, you were created to keep us entertained, why would we care about each life as long as you keep reproducing.¡±


    ¡°So Ethel started this? Making Worshippers that fight for humanity?¡±


    Kitty rolled her eyes, ¡°You are no fun. Not like I can kill you anyway, Ethel would throw a hissy fit. To think I have to abide by her rules now.


    ¡°Yes this is Ethel¡¯s experiment, she has no love for the Prince herself.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re okay with killing your own kind?¡±


    Her face contorted with rage as she snarled, ¡°They deserve all the suffering you can bestow.¡±


    She unfolded herself off the couch, ¡°I can¡¯t touch them, but you,¡± she moved to stand right in front of me, brushing my face with a spindle-like forefinger, ¡°But you will be our greatest weapon--you can,¡± she smiled maniacally, ¡°hurt him where we cannot,¡± she laughed.


    I ran; blind panic and mind-numbing fear leading me. I could still hear Kitty¡¯s laughter following me. Fresh evening air hit me as I stepped outside. How did I get here?


    I didn¡¯t think as I threw the barn doors open and walked to the nearest car, a red Chevy. The door opened easily, the key ready to go in the ignition.


    I sped onto the nearest road, looking for signs for an interstate, any interstate. I breathed in relief as I passed the first sign for I-75. Maybe I will actually be allowed to leave.


    Ethel appeared beside me, ¡°Stop, Emma, turn around and go back to the compound.¡±


    I jerked the wheel in surprise, driving through the grass for several seconds before realizing what I was doing. Thank God, there was no one else on the road.


    ¡°Jesus, I¡¯m not a pawn, not a toy for you, I¡¯m done,¡± I yelled at her, wondering if I fell into the same trap as the others, trusting a god not to kill me.


    ¡°Of course you are, you are human so you were born a toy to them, and you became a pawn when the Prince doted on you,¡± her voice was soft, gentle as if resigning me to my fate.


    Helpless tears burned my eyes. I kept shaking my head though I couldn¡¯t say anything to deny her. I kept driving, the entrance to the interstate just up ahead. North or South? South was a dead end, North it is.


    Ethel kept looking around as if the shadows were ready to jump out at her, ¡°Where will you go? You can¡¯t hide. You know better than anyone the bond between a god and his Worshipper, you don¡¯t believe he doesn¡¯t know where you are.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care, or at least I didn¡¯t care right then. Scared, no I was terrified. Tears streamed down my face, the road turning blurry.


    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ethel fidget, looking behind us as if something was chasing her. ¡°Turn back now, Emma.¡±


    I shook my head, her behavior starting to penetrate the fog of my mind. Was she nervous? What would a god be afraid of?


    ¡°They will go after the Clown without you and die, is that what you want?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re your Worshippers, you help them,¡± her words settled like stones in the pit of my stomach. I got Toni¡¯s hope up. I made them believe they could win a war against gods. But that hadn¡¯t been my choice. Their choices weren¡¯t my responsibility.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help them, not yet,¡± Ethel¡¯s voice rose almost to a whine, ¡°Just one more, Emma, help them with the Clown and I will let you go.¡±


    Why hadn¡¯t she snapped her fingers and taken us back to the compound? What was she afraid of?


    I pulled off the road, ¡°One more and you let them go too.¡±


    She stopped fidgeting her eyes studying me, ¡°They chose this, to be changed to more than they are, to fight for their humanity.¡±


    ¡°But you can reverse it, right?¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to be weaker?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not weakness to want to be free.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± she turned away, ¡°if such a thing exists.¡±


    My heart slowed, I could feel the cage locking me in again. Perhaps I was not meant to be free.


    I turned the car around and started back.


    ¡°What happens after the Clown?¡±


    ¡°Everything changes.¡±

 Chapter 15

    ¡°What changes? You think the Prince will start protecting humans just because we killed three minor gods?¡±


    Ethel didn¡¯t reply, but she stopped being paranoid as we got closer to the compound.


    She actually escorted me all the way back to my room in complete silence. Maybe in her mind her job was done and she didn''t have to bother with me anymore. I scowled but let myself be led


    I started awake.


    The room was pitch black. I turned to check the clock: 3:00 am. I fumbled for the light switch.


    He sat on the corner of my bed, pale skin and platinum hair.


    My heart stopped.


    He turned around, those white eyes watching me even though there was no iris for me to focus on. My hands pulled themselves above my head. No, I tugged as hard as I could. No. They were bound to the headboard, even though there were no visible bonds.


    He rose, cocking his head. I shivered, my nipples hardening. I didn¡¯t need to look down to know I was nude. Tears burned, ¡°Please stop.¡±


    He raised a finger to his lips.


    I shook my head, ¡°No, please.¡±


    His fingers grew long¡­sharp. He raised his forefinger¡­and plunged it into my thigh, all the way to the bone. Then slowly, he began to cut down to my knee.


    Blood soaked the sheets. The pain took a second longer to take hold.


    I screamed.


    Pain radiated from my leg to encompass my whole being. Nothing but pain. I would have fainted if he let me.


    I grew aware that he was licking the wound. As his tongue passed over it, the skin knitted together and the pain subsided.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I lay gasping, sobbing. I heard myself say, ¡°Please,¡± over and over.


    He didn¡¯t stop licking as he moved past the wound, inching up my thigh. He didn¡¯t stop as he reached the apex. Parting the outer lips, his fingers human again, he plunged into me.


    I arched.


    Pain morphing, shifting into desire, uncontrollable need. No!


    But he didn¡¯t stop. His fingers continued in the rhythm as his tongue found my clit. Tears and moans came together as I tried to control it and couldn¡¯t.


    He took it to the end, continuing even as I spasmed through the climax.


    I woke gasping, tears streaming down my face. I couldn¡¯t seem to catch my breath. I understood the message though: he had asked nicely, now he let me know that he controlled my pain and my pleasure.


    I drew my knees to my chin, wrapping my hands around them, and sobbed. Please, please let Ethel¡¯s plan work. I don¡¯t know who I prayed to but I hoped someone heard it.


    A knock started me out of my misery. ¡°Emma? You awake?¡± Brad called through the door.


    I swiped at my eyes, ¡°Yeah,¡± my voice shook a little. I hoped he didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    I guess he did, ¡°Yeah, just woke up, sorry. Still groggy. You can come in.¡± But before he opened the door I dived for the bathroom.


    His footsteps approached the bathroom door, ¡°We were going to train, one last time, I don¡¯t think Toni¡¯s up for waiting any longer. Anyway it¡¯s just me, Shadow and Mercy, just us non-special humans, would you like to join us?¡±


    The way he said non-special humans; laughing, no shame or regret in it. I envied him.


    Fifteen minutes later, I walked out showered and dressed and dry-eyed.


    Mercy was not happy to see me but she remained silent for once, settling for scowling at me instead.


    Shadow came right over, making gestures at Brad. If it was real Sign Language, I didn¡¯t know.


    Brad smiled uncertainly. Shadow turned to me raising three fingers then indicating him, Mercy and Brad then pointing at me and raising one finger. I turned to Brad.


    ¡°He thinks we should do three against one.¡±


    I frowned, ¡°Um, sure.¡±


    They took positions in a semicircle in front of me. As they trained guns in my direction, panic started in my stomach. The panic of too much television and knowing that guns killed, period. Shouldn¡¯t I have gotten a bullet proof vest, or something?


    ¡°Are you scared?¡± Mercy smirked.


    I didn¡¯t get to reply as Shadow shot off fifty rounds with a machine gun. Mercy joined in, followed by Brad. Well guns didn¡¯t make elegant attackers, I thought as my body moved on its own. I was behind Shadow but he anticipated it, turning around even as I started to move. I managed not to get hit by sheer luck, grabbing the gun from him, feeling the difference in strength as I wrenched the gun away.


    My mistake was not thinking they would fight me like a real opponent. I only pushed Shadow to the ground before moving on to Mercy. Even as I took away her weapon and knocked her against a wall, Shadow cut at my knees with his machete. I was lucky he didn¡¯t sever my legs completely.


    I fell to the ground. Mercy pulled out a handgun and shot me in the neck.

 Chapter 16

    I came to with Brad and Shadow kneeling in front of me. Mercy had disappeared.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°You were stupid,¡± Brad scowled. Shadow nodded his agreement.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You accused us of not taking the training seriously but you, Godkiller, just got whooped by three humans.¡±


    ¡°I was taking--¡±


    Shadow put his hand on my mouth, shaking his head.


    He made motions with his hands, Brad translated, ¡°You didn¡¯t use your full speed. You didn¡¯t believe that we would kill you, even though you were afraid when we trained our guns on you.¡±


    ¡°I-I,¡± the defense mechanism hadn¡¯t kicked in. I tried to think what the difference was. ¡°I hadn¡¯t felt threatened.¡± The thought led to another, ¡°You know how people have a fight or flight reflex--I don¡¯t think Worshippers have a flight reflex.¡±


    Brad and Shadow exchanged looks, ¡°Well that makes sense, Worshippers are designed to fight for the gods, it would make sense to suppress fear.¡±


    Suppress fear? I didn¡¯t think that was right; I certainly didn¡¯t feel fearless.


    Shadow signed and Brad translated, ¡°He says you need to learn to control it. It can only be an asset if you can control it.¡±


    That night, Toni made the announcement that we were heading to Orlando in the morning.


    Which we did, piling into a van like a start-up band going on tour. Going to Miami, we had talked and laughed, even if it was strained with the possibility of dying soon. Now Toni¡¯s comments from the other night kept everyone¡¯s mouths shut.


    I could only be grateful that the drive was less than three hours.


    Orlando wasn¡¯t as obviously affected as Miami. Cars still filled the roads. The mini-mall parking lots that seemed to be on every corner were full; people consoling themselves with retail therapy and buyer¡¯s remorse. I watched them with envy; has it really been that long since I enjoyed a stroll through the mall, bought some shirt or dress I didn¡¯t need. Shoes! I really loved shoes. I used to wear heels every time I went out. With Nathan. The Prince.


    ¡°Hey, Earth to Emma,¡± Heala poked me, ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡±


    "There" being downtown Orlando. Downtowns were the same everywhere; tall skyscrapers, nothing but windows going all the way up, reflecting daylight like a thousand little suns.


    Toni decided that the reason Miami¡¯s plan didn¡¯t work was because gods could smell a Worshipper. Better have the humans make the surprise attack. There were plenty of people around so Brad, Shadow and Mercy could easily blend in.


    The rest of us parked. Heala had the brilliant idea to ask if anyone had seen Jester, the Clown¡¯s Worshipper.


    ¡°That¡¯s what all the traffic detours are, he¡¯s probably at his usual coffee shop,¡± a woman in a tight pencil skirt and blouse said.


    ¡°Dunkin Donuts on South Orange, he likes the girls behind the counter, poor girls,¡± her companion shook his head.


    We exchanged looks and thanked them. Heala texted the information to Brad; we continued on foot. Unfortunately this gave us a lot of unwanted attention. For one, Toni had to wear a trench coat to look normal--in the Florida heat. Second, even with the trench coat she looked¡­off.


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    Once we were in the abandoned streets, Toni took off the trench coat. Of course abandoned streets also killed Brad, Shadow and Mercy¡¯s covers. The businesses were still open though. We saw shopkeepers waiting behind registers, hoping Jester didn¡¯t decide to go shopping.


    People were still in the Dunkin Donuts, like hostages in a bank robbery they kept their heads down and eyes averted. The Jester was easy to spot, sitting by a window talking to one of the employees. She smiled, though I could see her fear from here.


    ¡°So how do we do this without killing them?¡± Lightning asked thrusting his chin to indicate the people in the shop.


    ¡°We call him out,¡± Toni walked to the door.


    Lightning and Heala exchanged glances. Whether real or just bravado, Toni walked without hesitation into the coffee shop. Seeing she was another Worshipper, people plastered themselves even closer to the windows. Jester looked up and smiled at her, then looked out the window and tipped one of his bells to us.


    ¡°We should go in too,¡± Lightning moved forward.


    ¡°No, we don¡¯t want to start any more of a panic than we already have, let Toni bring him out here,¡± I said.


    The Jester looked like a man in a clown costume, his clothes patches of dark green, blue and white. His face white with black ringed eyes and rosy cheeks. I wanted to believe it was paint but I knew it wasn¡¯t .


    As Toni talked the smile left his face. He rose and the jingle from the bells on his curled shoes could be heard outside. Suddenly I knew what he was about to do. I didn¡¯t question my instinct, didn¡¯t wonder how I knew; I just ran.


    He did a little tap step and the ringing from the bells, so loud that it broke over us in waves, shattered glass and most of the people¡¯s eardrums. I stopped in my tracks from the sound blast.


    Screams filled the air. Toni lay unmoving on the ground, the sound couldn¡¯t have reacted well with her metal body. The Jester laughed, continuing his little jig though the sound produced wasn¡¯t as lethal.


    I looked behind me, Lightning was down but Heala remained rigid, her face a mask of rage. Good, maybe she¡¯ll be some help this time.


    Lights flickered, I could feel the electricity through the power lines beneath my feet. Uh oh, she wasn¡¯t going to¡­


    I turned directions, she was about to electrocute everyone inside the coffee shop. ¡°Stop, Heala, stop.¡±


    Maybe some god was looking out for us. Jester walked out of the Dunkin Donuts and Heala electrocuted him and him alone.


    He screamed, but it turned into laughter, ¡°You can¡¯t kill me. The joke¡¯s on you.¡± He threw back his head and stomped his feet, all five bells, three on his hat and one on each foot, rang. I heard my ears pop but I didn¡¯t feel the pain nor the blood start flowing. As fast as I healed, my ears burst again.


    Yet I didn¡¯t feel pain only a pressure on my body to move backwards. Was this really what it meant to have no pain?


    I moved, trying to achieve my full speed. I managed to move forward. People were passed out; Heala had given in too. If I didn¡¯t move quicker they would all die.


    Suddenly I was behind him.


    ¡°Huh,¡± was all he said before I ripped his hat off his head. But it wasn¡¯t his hat, it was his head.


    I saw the blood and brains my action revealed and screamed. Oh God, what did I do? The noise stopped, his eyes rolled up in his head and slowly, so slowly, he sank to the ground. I stared at his corpse, seeing nothing but red. I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    ¡°Emma? Emma.¡± I don¡¯t know who took me by my shoulders, who took the scalp out of my hands, who led me away from what I¡¯ve done.


    ¡°Oh for the love of¡­snap out of it,¡± my head whipped to the side as someone slapped me.


    I slowly focused on Toni standing in front of me.


    ¡°Finally! Everyone¡¯s down, if the Clown shows up, we¡¯re dead, we have to get everyone back to the car and get out of here.¡±


    It took a long time for her words to sink in. She didn''t wait, she walked away. I watched as she lifted Heala on one shoulder and Lightning on the other. Ambulances drove past me, swerving to miss me. Toni walked past me, ¡°They¡¯ll take care of the others,¡± she indicated the paramedics getting out of the ambulances, ¡°I mean the others.¡± I finally understood she meant Brad, Shadow and Mercy. The humans won¡¯t rat them out for having weapons, and they weren¡¯t seen with us. They¡¯ll be safest with the paramedics. ¡°But you have to move your butt. Move¡± She yelled at me.


    Obey, I could do that.


    We didn¡¯t get very far. A clown got in our way. Bright colored, red nosed and big shoed; he looked like the evil clown from Twisted Metal.


    ¡°The Prince¡¯s traitor!¡±


    Toni dropped her luggage, ¡°We¡¯re screwed.¡±


    The Clown didn¡¯t waste his breath on talking; he sprang at me. I mean literally, he had springs on his feet. Toni pierced him with ten spikes, well she would have if he didn¡¯t spring over my head and they missed.


    My mind was still mostly mush. I couldn¡¯t think straight long enough to evade him as he landed behind me.


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    The voice could have frozen rushing rapids. It froze me in terror.

 Chapter 17

    The Clown paused. I looked up to see the Prince and two other gods, the Swan and the Veil; they were part of the six major gods.


    ¡°She is a traitor, why would you not want her dead?¡± the Veil was a woman with dark hair. She always wore black and a veil covered her face. Her voice was as expressionless as the veil made her face.


    ¡°She will live and die at my pleasure, do you deny me?¡± Was that irritation in his voice? I had never heard him show any emotion, at least not as The Prince.


    The Veil didn¡¯t respond.


    For a moment there was nothing but silence. Then the Prince turned away from me and focused on Toni, ¡°The Princess still lives?¡± He narrowed his eyes at Lightning and Heala, ¡°What is Ethereal¡¯s role in this?¡±


    We didn¡¯t get a chance to wonder what he meant because the Clown yelled, ¡°The traitor should die,¡± and leapt at me. I jerked back. But the attack never came as The Prince shifted behind him, grabbed the Clown by the shoulder and ripped his head off. I gasped as blood sprayed over my face and chest. The Prince stared at the severed head, ¡°I said no one was to touch her. Was I unclear?


    ¡°Ash, bury the head on the highest mountain, the body in the deepest ocean, should take him a few centuries to pull back together.¡±


    I suppose I should have stopped being able to be surprised at this point but my heart still ached as Ash came out of an alley to take the head.


    ¡°Or perhaps you love her,¡± a fog condensed into a form of a woman, taking shape into Ethel. Relief washed over me until Ethel walked behind me, a long knife appearing in her hand. It felt strange for a god to use such a mundane weapon. ¡°Do you not see history repeating? The dissent your concern for her has started?¡± I couldn¡¯t move as she pulled my head back and slashed my throat.


    No, not slashed, her thrust was meant to take my head right off.


    I shut my eyes, after a year with the Prince I learned not to scream.


    But her blade cut my neck and wouldn¡¯t go further.


    I opened my eyes to see Ash dropped the body, putting the head a ways away from it, staring at me as helpless as I felt. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered if the gods we ¡°killed¡± were just waiting to be reunited with their heads too.


    The Prince stepped forward, ¡°You would compare this with your tryst with a human?¡±


    ¡°Your judgment is clouded, my Prince,¡± I gasped as Kitty attacked the Prince from behind.


    ¡°No,¡± I thought the word more than said it.


    Toni was running to help Kitty and though Ethel stood back and my neck healed I couldn¡¯t move to help her. Ash headed Toni off, killing her with one blow to the head. Her face, what was left of her humanity, melted beneath his molten touch.


    I stared unable to comprehend how it all went so wrong.


    What was happening?


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    Kitty and the Prince were locked, almost equals in combat. How could she hold against him? And why were the Swan and the Veil doing nothing? He was their leader, wasn¡¯t he?


    I stepped forward--to what? Help him? Kill him?


    ¡°Stop, you can¡¯t help him now,¡± Ethel put a hand on my shoulder.


    ¡°This was your plan? Why?¡±


    She looked at me, her face pitying, ¡°He loves you, but loving a human is something he himself has denied the possibility of to the gods, forbidden it. By loving you he has broken the pact he had with the rest of the gods, his throne is up for grabs now. You may want to take them and warn the humans to evacuate far, far away. There may be no Florida after this.¡±


    Leave? I looked from one person to the next. People I¡¯ve cared about; people I¡¯ve come to care about. The Prince. If he died would I be better off? Or would I go insane like the Peacock¡¯s Worshippers? Were those gods dead? And even if nothing happened to me, would the rest of them hunt me down after all this was over?


    Ethel grabbed me by the throat, ¡°Run, human. Now.¡±


    I turned to find Lightning and Heala awake, staring at the chaos. ¡°We have to go,¡± I yelled at them, helping them up. They didn¡¯t have to be told twice.


    We ran the way we came. ¡°Toni is dead?¡± Lighting asked.


    I nodded, unable to say anything else, not sure I understood enough to explain anyway.


    We stopped at a police station long enough to tell them what was happening. The fighting was getting loud enough that we didn¡¯t have much convincing to do. They were used to evacuating for gods by now anyway.


    The Commissioner was called, then the Governor. Evacuation plans were put into effect. ¡°Fastest way is to enact a statewide hurricane evacuation.¡±


    All the news channels were alerted. Every channel ran the emergency signal telling people of the gods battling in their midst. They told them to take what they could carry, and follow the hurricane evacuation routes out of the state.


    ¡°There will be panic,¡± cops murmured.


    ¡°You¡¯ll help with the evacuation, won¡¯t you?¡±


    We exchanged glances, ¡°We¡¯re on our way to the hospital, we¡¯ll start evacuating there.¡±


    Streets crowded quickly with cars. Traffic slowing to a crawl they couldn¡¯t afford to be in. People left work in a hurry, on cell phones with their loved ones.


    The smell of anesthetic, bleach and sickness hit us like a fist when we stepped into the hospital. The place was already in chaos from the Jester¡¯s eardrum blowing fiasco. Now more injured from the current gods¡¯ fighting were pouring in.


    Heala stopped in the doorway and wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Lightning tugged on her.


    ¡°No,¡± her face clear of any childlike wistfulness, ¡°I can help here, you find them.¡±


    Lightning wouldn¡¯t leave her side so I went on my own. Evacuation plans were starting to take effect here too.


    I hadn¡¯t taken full advantage of my Worshipper senses before, being a curse to feel, hear, see and taste more in the Prince¡¯s custody. Now I stopped in a corner, closed my eyes and listened.


    Ten minutes of feeling like the voices was a permanent ringing in my ears I found Brad¡®s voice, ¡°Lean on me, come on, it¡¯s just a little walk to the ambulance.¡± I couldn¡¯t go too fast with the unorganized crowds, tourneys and every other imaginable obstacle.


    I spotted Shadow¡¯s sandy hair, ¡°Shadow.¡± He didn¡¯t turn. I could have smacked my forehead, their eardrums burst only a couple of hours ago.


    I tapped him on the shoulder. He didn¡¯t jump, turning around, eyes widening. ¡°I¡¯m here to help,¡± I enunciated, he nodded.


    Outside it sounded like bombs were going off. Inside we worked tirelessly to fill ambulances and cars full of sick and injured. Doctors and nurses stayed to the last. A helicopter took several critical patients away.


    Several operations were still in progress. Family and nurses paced the halls biting their nails. Heala went into those rooms and suddenly they were done, the patients even awake.


    I don¡¯t know how long it took, minutes, hours, days. But after we were done, leaving with the last group, we heard screams, saw smoke and dust from toppling buildings. I looked back at the hospital, empty and abandoned. Those people would have nowhere to turn to now.


    Mercy hugged Heala, the first display of affection I¡¯d seen from her.


    We jumped into an abandoned car. Lightning jump-starting it by putting his finger by the ignition. That¡¯s a handy power.


    We took back roads at first but too many were blocked off or so destroyed we could never make it through. I was glad we didn¡¯t see any of the actual battle, if that was the right word for whatever was happening.


    We joined the rest of Florida on the crawling exodus out of state.

 Chapter 18

    The six of us squeezed into the compact car; Mercy practically on Shadow¡¯s lap. As the smoke from the fight got worse, the silence inside the car got heavier. We were running away, it made the air inside the car almost claustrophobic.


    The minutes felt like hours, driving ten miles per hour felt like ninety. Getting on I-95 we slowed again. Cars were piling onto the interstate from every direction.


    ¡°We¡¯re never going to get out of here,¡± Lightning murmured. Yet somehow the roads didn¡¯t cave; Florida didn¡¯t sink below the ocean. Somehow we all made it out of Florida, out of Georgia and into South Carolina.


    The roads finally cleared and we drove the speed limit. ¡°So where to?¡± Lightning asked.


    I didn¡¯t know anyone in South Carolina. I didn¡¯t know anyone anywhere.


    ¡°We should go to Hawaii or something. Sand, sun, sit back and wait for them to kill each other,¡± Mercy spoke some of her attitude coming back.


    Shadow made a motion, Brad interpreted, ¡°Shadow says we should pull over in a rest stop first.¡±


    At the rest stop we filled up on vending machine junk food. Ideas were presented and dismissed for our next move. Mercy finally said, ¡°North Carolina.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s in North Carolina?¡± Brad and Lightning asked at the same time.


    Mercy hesitated, ¡°I have family up there--they own a horse ranch. We can stay there while we figure out what to do next.¡±


    We agreed in a heartbeat. We needed a place to regroup, fill each other in. We needed to stop moving.


    Brad took over driving until we got close enough that Mercy had to take over. It was easier than giving directions, she pointed out.


    The ranch as we drove up to it was a two floor mansion spread over two acres of green grassland. A good fifteen miles from the nearest town. We parked by the three car garage, built separately from the house.


    ¡°This is your house?¡± Brad asked looking like he was going to tease Mercy until he saw the look on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a jackass,¡± she shoved him forward.


    When it came time to knock, Mercy stopped, her fist inches from the door.


    It didn¡¯t matter, the door swung open and a young man in his early to mid twenties stood there. ¡°Mercy?¡± surprise arched his eyebrows.


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    ¡°Hey Robbie,¡± her fist turned into a weak wave.


    ¡°We thought you were dead,¡± he blurted before realizing what he said and grimacing, ¡°I mean¡­come in.¡±


    We walked into a hallway, Mercy led us to the kitchen. The room sprawled out like kitchens on TV. The room was full and they all stopped and stared at Mercy when we walked in.


    Only for a moment though then tension broke as a woman, an older version of Mercy, broke into a smile and wrapped her daughter in a hug, ¡°Oh, welcome home, we were watching the news, we were so afraid¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on, Susan, let the girl breathe,¡± but the moment the woman pulled away, the man who spoke wrapped Mercy in a second hug. I couldn¡¯t see her face. I wanted to think she was happy; I certainly would be.


    After the hugs, Mercy made the introductions. Her parents, Susan and John; her younger brother, Robbie, her older brother, Michael, and his wife, Lisa and their children, Ruth and Josh, twelve and ten respectively.


    We smiled at each other like idiots before Susan clapped her hands, ¡°We were making lunch, why don¡¯t you guys wash your hands, Mercy will show you where everything is and we¡¯ll talk over a good meal. Ruth go set the table.¡±


    Mercy made no move to start talking once we sat down. Shadow nudged her. Brad gave her a look. Luckily, Heala took the initiative.


    She smiled, that wistful look back on her face. I was starting to wonder if it was all an act. ¡°Thank you for letting us into your home,¡± she began by telling them that she, Lightning and myself were changed by the gods. If any of Mercy¡¯s family was surprised, they didn¡¯t¡¯ show it. Heala went on to tell them of how they met Ethel. I perked up, since this was the first time I was hearing this too but the story was disappointing. Ethel found them and made them an offer, they had already joined together as Warriors so her offer only enhanced what they were already doing.


    She left Kitty and Toni out of the story entirely. She introduced me as a killer of gods, leaving the Prince out of the explanation as well. I fidgeted as she told of how they found me, that they recognized me as an ally right away and the plan was set in motion as if it were destiny.


    They listened without questions, though the kids seemed ready to jump in. Their parents shook their heads at them, stalling eager mouths.


    She told them about the Jester. I just said he died, without elaborating, still seeing the open scalp and brain in my mind''s eye. She told of how the Prince showed up to take his revenge for the death of two gods. I didn¡¯t add that I didn¡¯t think they were dead. She said that they seemed to start fighting amongst themselves for no reason, failing to mention that she was passed out for most of it. How Ethel, and I winced at the devotion still in her voice, protected us long enough for us to run away.


    Some of my guilt at not stopping Toni abated. She would give her life for Kitty over and over, nothing could have stopped her. Even now, Lighting and Heala would walk into the knife that killed them if Ethel told them too. Maybe that was just pessimistic, after all I disobeyed the Prince.


    When Heala was done, Susan sprang up asking if anyone wanted coffee and dessert. John shook his head at her, her smile slipped for the first time and she sat back down.


    ¡°So what are you planning to do now? Finally become a stable-hand?¡±


    Mercy shook her head, ¡°We need a place to crash until we figure out what happened in Florida. Once the dust clears they¡¯ll need our help, at least cleaning up. At worst¡­¡± she shrugged.


    ¡°What are the gods like?¡± Josh asked, the excitement in his voice made me shudder; Sam sounded like that too.


    ¡°They¡¯re vicious and dangerous, and they¡¯ll kill you the first chance they get,¡± Mercy scowled at him.

 Chapter 19

    Lightning and Heala shared a room; I must have been blind not to see it coming; he never left her side. Unfortunately, it left me to share with Mercy. She showed me into her childhood bedroom, still hanging with Metallica and Nirvana posters. Not exactly Goth dark but still¡­I couldn¡¯t judge though, my childhood room was filled with Justin Bieber and Theo James posters.


    Robbie brought in a cot for me to sleep on and bed sheets.


    Seeing Mercy staring at old photos I grabbed a towel and the clothes her mother left and went in search of the bathroom.


    I blindly walked into three rooms before stepping into a beach themed bathroom with a blue, vinyl shower curtain picturing a beach and seashells. The towels matched the curtain while a seashell toilet seat cover, toothbrush holder and soap dispenser competed the set. Everything was impeccably clean though.


    I zoomed in and started the shower. After two days in the car nothing felt better than hot water beating against me.


    I dressed and made my way downstairs. John and his sons went back to the stables. Susan was alone in the kitchen. I hesitated in the doorway.


    Susan looked up, smile in full bloom, ¡°Come in, child. You can help me start dinner.¡±


    I smiled back. She told me what to do. I hadn¡¯t cooked in almost two years, like riding a bicycle I hoped.


    Pork roast, potatoes, green beans, and a slew of other foods belonging in a 50¡¯s family TV show dinner. Well if anyone fit the description of a typical 50¡¯s family it would be¡­I realized I didn¡¯t know Mercy¡¯s last name.


    ¡°What about your family? Where are they?¡± Susan asked after a while.


    All I remembered were arguments and wanting to get away. ¡°Still in Andover, I assume,¡± I shrugged like it didn¡¯t mean anything to me, ¡°I haven¡¯t been back since moving to the city.¡±


    ¡°Why ever not?¡± Susan asked surprised.


    I shrugged again trying to think of a subject change.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they miss you, and knowing what was happening in New York City, I¡¯m sure they would like to know you¡¯re all right.¡±


    All right? Was that what I was? ¡°I doubt they care,¡± I said instead.


    Susan stopped what she was doing, waiting till I looked her in the face, ¡°They¡¯re your family, they love you, you need to contact them. They¡¯re worried, I should know. Not knowing whether my daughter was alive or dead, if she was hurt or in danger. No parent should live like that.¡±


    ¡°Not all parents are like you,¡± I said before I could stop myself.


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    Susan smiled, ¡°That¡¯s sweet but your parents are still your parents, I¡¯m sure you want to make sure they¡¯re okay too.¡±


    I fidgeted and the gang started piling in for dinner. Saved. Ruth and Lisa helped finish setting the table and I was glad conversation stayed far away from families.


    Susan and John found chores for all of us. Heala turned out to be a miracle at gardening, Lightning, of course, didn¡¯t leave her side. Mercy helped at the stables, already knowing what to do. Shadow, Brad and I ended up learning how to fix horseshoes and saddles, bail hay and other chores involving a bit more strength.


    Somehow the months that followed were¡­normal. Get up in the morning, eat, work, laugh, talk¡­it made things fade. The pain and loss, the fear and grief, all faded enough to feel like myself again. I thought I forgot what that was.


    Almost five months passed. We watched the news but the gods seemed to have disappeared taking their Worshippers with them. The government spoke of rebuilding, of things getting better, of the gods being gone once and for all. None of us believed them.


    Summer arrived with a rainbow of flowers and a heat that seeped into the bones the moment one stepped outside. We had gotten used to the chores, the early mornings, and the excellent home cooked meals. Why did Mercy ever leave?


    Tryon, the nearby town, may have been small but it had a Starbucks and a movie theatre, what else could we ask for? Weekly outings for the nearly latest movies became our tradition.


    We got to know one another: that Brad, against all likelihood, was afraid of horses; Shadow threw a tantrum if someone pretended not to understand him; Heala was actually a doctor before she was changed. And Lightning was bossy, he took over giving orders since Toni wasn¡¯t around. Sometime during those five months we had a ceremony for Toni, just us, in a circle with a short eulogy.


    I was even starting to enjoy having supernatural speed and strength. My chores got done faster. I learned that I liked reading, under the right circumstances.


    I sat on the porch swing, novel in hand. The breeze blew just hard enough for me to smell the hyacinths growing on the lawn. Movement caught my eye and I looked up from the book. I stopped breathing, frozen to the spot before my brain started to work again.


    ¡°Mercy!¡± I yelled as I ran inside the house, ¡°Get everyone out of here.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Susan came out of the kitchen. Similar questions came from all directions as everyone filed in.


    Lightning went straight to the window, ¡°The Prince.¡±


    They moved quickly, getting the family into the basement. John and the boys wanted to stay, Lightning tried to convince Brad, Shadow and Mercy to go down; neither got what they wanted.


    It didn¡¯t occur to me to wonder why it took so long for him to get to the house. That he may be purposefully giving us time to prepare. The Prince opened the door, another clue that something was off. Heala directed all the power from the area into him as he crossed the threshold. Lightning added his own powers to hers, I still hadn¡¯t figured out how his power worked.


    I stood frozen. I could no more lift a finger against him than I could attack myself. From where I stood I could only see the door and his shadow. The figure didn¡¯t move throughout the assault.


    When they ran out of energy to keep blasting him, Shadow ran to behead the Prince of the gods. A second later, Shadow flew into Brad and Mercy. The Prince continued into the room as if he just paused for breath.


    I jolted with surprise. It was like looking at a completely different person. Physically nothing changed but he walked differently, more relaxed, his back not so stiff.


    Shaking his head, he said, ¡°Put them away.¡± Heala¡¯s and Lightning¡¯s arms flattened to their sides, they couldn¡¯t seem to raise them again.


    He turned to look at me with solid white eyes, terror made my knees weak. His lips twitched as if he was about to smile.


    I didn¡¯t understand.

 Chapter 20

    "There¡¯s nothing for you here, leave,¡± Brad surprised us all, ¡°She¡¯s not going with you.¡±


    A heartbeat of silence. Then Mercy snapped, ¡°Kitty beat you, why are you alive?¡±


    The Prince¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave my face. ¡°We are not so easy to kill, I tried to kill her millenniums ago, it didn¡¯t work. Beheading is only a temporary solution, and not even that for some of us.¡±


    It confirmed my suspicions, but I could see the idea that the Peacock and Blade were alive never occurred to the others.


    He walked towards me, I took a step back. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± he said, his voice gentle, not nearly as expressionless as I was used to.


    ¡°Leave her alone,¡± Brad got up, lifting his shotgun like a club only to have his arms drop to his sides like Heala and Lightning. Mercy and Shadow were also unable to move on the floor.


    The Prince turned towards them, ¡°You have no reason to fight me. If I wished you dead, you know that no weapons or hiding would prevent me from taking your lives. Perhaps the smarter decision would be to ask me why I¡¯m here?¡±


    ¡°Okay, why are you here?¡± Mercy obliged.


    ¡°I thought you would like to know the outcome of your plan. The Princess now holds the gods, and soon the human race will cease to exist. She has already convinced them to kill all the Worshippers.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean cease to exist?¡± Brad asked.


    ¡°All the Worshippers?¡± I blurted.


    ¡°Ash is mine, he is safe.¡±


    I sighed in relief. The others started to move; the Prince had let go of his hold on them.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer the question, what do you mean cease to exist?¡± Lightning asked, standing up.


    The Prince raised an eyebrow, ¡°What? No more attempts to attack me?¡±


    Was he being playful? What had happened since the fight that changed him so much? The rest fidgeted, not sure how to answer.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I drew on all my courage, ¡°Can¡¯t be just to tell us Kitty is about to kill all the humans. And¡­and I¡¯m not going back.¡±


    He turned back to me, his eyebrow twitched as if trying to frown.


    Relaxed, that¡¯s definitely the word for the change in him. Before he looked to be weighed down by something, now that was gone.


    Instead of answering the Prince turned to Heala and Lightning, ¡°I came to find Ethereal, she has gotten good at hiding, you are my only leads. She can help me find the others who would side against the Princess.¡±


    Lightning and Heala exchanged glances, ¡°So things will go back to the way they were, gods killing humans indiscriminately? Ethel will never agree to that.¡±


    ¡°No, I suppose she wouldn¡¯t,¡± the Prince turned back to me, ¡°That¡¯s why I want to make you a deal. Come back to me and no god will harm humans for the duration of your lifetime.¡±


    My heart sank to my stomach. Return to that room and never leave? I couldn¡¯t do that.


    ¡°No,¡± Brad tried to come to my side but Lightning grabbed his arm.


    ¡°How long before she starts killing everyone?¡± Lightning asked.


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    It looked like the Prince was about to smile. Was he playing with us? ¡°She¡¯ll start slow, the slaves will be killed first, then the city.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Heala whined.


    The Prince shrugged. He shrugged. The only time I had seen him do anything so normal was when he was pretending to be human. ¡°That is the reason she sought the crown, no doubt she wouldn¡¯t tell that to the humans she was using to get it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so different,¡± I blurted.


    He looked at me, face blank again, studying me.


    ¡°You¡¯re not so stiff,¡± I could feel my face heat up. I tried looking down but my eyes wouldn¡®t leave his face.


    ¡°That is the nature of the anchor. The Prince or Princess of the gods is both a name and a title. But we are not their leaders, we are more than that, we are what anchors them to the earth, to each other, and to sanity. We are not a hive mind but,¡± he shrugged again, ¡°that is the closest reference you may understand.¡±


    We absorbed his words in silence. He leaned closer, his pupilless eyes taking up the entirety of my vision, ¡°You were the only thing I could keep for myself, the only part of myself that I didn¡¯t have to share with the rest of the gods. If not for you I would let her have the burden of the crown and watch humanity end.¡±


    My heart hammered in my chest. Not entirely coming from fear or disgust at his words. How could I still care about him after everything he did to me? My mind shied away from the possibility that I would break down; eventually I would do the stupid thing and go back to him. I would tell myself that it was for all humanity but it wouldn¡¯t be¡­


    I suddenly thought of Ethel in the car with me, the only time I¡¯ve seen a god panicked and terrified, ¡°She was running from you?¡±


    ¡°Ethereal? Of course, she broke the bond a long time ago, she survived but she was weak. A god is only a shadow of themselves without the rest, without the anchor.¡±


    ¡°You would kill her for that?¡± Heala shrieked.


    ¡°Yes, she shouldn¡¯t have survived the break in the first place.¡± His voice remained emotionless, his face blank.


    ¡°And you think we¡¯ll help you find her? So you can kill her?¡± Lightning yelled, ¡°Why do you need us at all?¡±


    The Prince turned to fully face the Warriors, cocking his head, ¡°Ethereal has learned to hide from all of us, you are a link to her she cannot hide. No, I will not kill her, she joined the Princess, so she has regained her full status.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Brad shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re not siding with Kitty, why aren¡¯t you weakened?¡±


    Something in the shift of his stance told me the Prince was running out of patience, ¡°I do not need a leader to anchor me, I am an anchor. Same with the Princess, she was not weakened by pulling away from me three thousand earth years ago.¡±


    Why didn¡¯t he just take the information he needed from them? I knew he didn¡¯t need their cooperation. He could make them do anything he wanted. Was it for me? Or was I completely delusional?


    Either way, whatever made him wait, he was losing his patience fast, and I could see they were going to ask more questions. I jumped up, ¡°We need to find Ethel, we have to try to stop Kitty and if Ethel has a resistance started we should help.¡±


    Whatever they were going to say, their jaws snapped shut. I could see the gears turning before Lightning nodded, ¡°Okay but you guys should stay behind,¡± he indicated Shadow, Brad and Mercy.


    ¡°Like hell!¡± Mercy yelled while the other two shook their heads.


    ¡°Let them come,¡± the Prince rose, ¡°They may yet prove useful.¡±


    At his words, they hesitated. Going now meant agreeing with the enemy. I injected again, starting to feel the urgency of the situation, ¡°We don¡¯t have time to waste, the longer we wait the more people will die.¡±


    Lightning nodded, ¡°Continuing to argue is pointless, pack up, we¡¯re leaving ASAP.¡±


    At the words, the front door burst open and Ash moved past everyone to envelop me in a bear hug.


    I flinched, expecting searing pain and melting flesh. But he pressed me closer, ¡°I am so sorry.¡±


    Anger, like a struck match, made me push him away. I realized that even though I still cared about him, I couldn¡¯t forgive him.


    ¡°He killed Toni!¡± Heala moved to get past Lightning.


    Lightning held her back, ¡°He was protecting the one he Worships, he didn¡¯t have a choice.¡± Heala turned on Lightning but he held onto her, ¡°Right now we have to look past our hatreds, we have something far bigger to protect.¡±


    She looked from Ash to Lightning and back, ¡°Fine, for now.¡±


    I marveled how people could act so different from moment to moment. I didn¡¯t think Heala capable of revenge. I took the moment of chaos to move away from Ash. He looked at me, hurt in his eyes. It only made me angrier, he didn¡¯t have a right to be hurt.


    The Prince managed to walk outside while we were fighting.


    Soon we were ready to once again move with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We took what weapons we still had left. The Prince replenished the ammo, though he said he didn''t see the point. Mercy ran to the basement to inform her family. They followed her upstairs, the children peeking from behind their parents¡¯ backs.


    ¡°They don¡¯t look so tough,¡± Josh said in a loud whisper.


    ¡°The dark one does, he looks like he¡¯s ready to explode,¡± Ruth replied.


    We watched for a reaction from the Prince, but he didn¡¯t seem to hear.

 Chapter 21

    Mercy''s family owned a relatively new Ford truck in cherry red that they were now loading up with weapons and supplies.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the Prince asked.


    Ash appeared to be trying to hide laughter. I tried to remember if I ever saw the Prince in a car, even when he was pretending to be human.


    ¡°Getting ready to go,¡± Brad snapped.


    ¡°A car will only slow us down.¡±


    Ash started laughing, ¡°Dibs on the grouchy girl.¡±


    The Prince turned to him, practically pouting!


    Ash laughed again, ¡°I am not carrying a bunch of dudes. People already thought I was gay when I was human.¡±


    My heart lurched at the reference to the misunderstanding when he first became my roommate. The others looked to me as if I knew what was happening. But the light-hearted exchange would have been impossible for the Prince and Ash that I knew.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to be carried like children,¡± Brad jumped into the truck bed. The others made to follow. The Prince cocked his head, I made to intercede but before anyone took another step the truck rose into the air.


    ¡°I suppose I could carry all of you.¡± The truck landed with a crash, practically throwing Brad out. I winced. Heala ran to him to make sure he was all right. ¡°Or we could stop playing around and get where we need to go,¡± the Prince beckoned Heala forward.


    We saw her struggle but move forward anyway. Lightning grabbed her arm but they only moved forward together.


    When she reached him, he put his hand on her face, no claws I was grateful. Heala let the electricity go from her body, attacking the Prince. He absorbed it all. A moment later he let her go. ¡°Good, now we can go.¡± He snapped his fingers and our surrounding grew fuzzy, then black to fuzzy before finally clearing up. We looked around to find ourselves in a wooded area.


    ¡°What the--?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°Did you really think we¡¯d drive?¡± Ash laughed, ¡°You¡¯ve been with gods, haven¡¯t you ever traveled with one?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the Prince answered for us, ¡°Those two wouldn¡¯t risk themselves for humans, not even Ethereal.¡±


    No one commented. The Prince stood away from us, looking around. As we watched the ground shook. I grabbed onto the nearest thing which happened to be Brad''s arm to steady myself. Dirt started to shoot into the air, digging itself out of the ground, until a hole appeared complete with a dirt staircase going down.


    I guess it figured. If Ethel could make a compound under the ocean; she¡¯d be able to make one underground.


    The Prince didn¡¯t wait for us to catch up before moving down. Ash grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Past the first layer of dirt, columns rose. Details of vines, spirals and floral patterns decorated the columns. The path led to an archway decorated in the same manner. She couldn¡¯t have done that at the compound, I thought, maybe I wouldn¡®t have been lost at every turn.


    The archway led to a giant chamber with a cathedral ceiling. I looked up half expecting to see stain-glass windows, but the room was lit by floating light bulbs. That¡¯s neat, I guess. It was like stepping into another world, something older and more beautiful than the square architecture of the last century.


    As we walked in music started playing. Beethoven, I think. And though there were no screens visible, images began to appear on the walls, famous artworks, most of which I couldn¡¯t name. No, wait, that''s the Mona Lisa. Ha, got one.


    ¡°Humans have quite a bit of value, their emotions have led to some fantastical inventions and creations, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Ethel walked out from the back of the room.


    Again I couldn¡¯t smell her. But as the others walked out behind her, gods, at least two dozens, none of which I¡¯d ever seen before, I was hit with an overwhelming menagerie of scents. Thick saltwater and dewy grass and God knows what else, all with an underlying scent of decay; I had to slap a hand over my nose and mouth and force myself to breathe from my mouth.


    ¡°Have you come to ask for my help? To get your crown back?¡± Ethel seemed different, more confident, she even looked more¡­substantial. Like she was a wraith before but now was a whole, solid person.


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    Behind the gods, I could smell them now, were Worshippers, at least as many as there were gods; all coming out like rats after a fire.


    The Prince looked around as he answered her, ¡°Words and insults? Is that what we are reduced to? How human.¡±


    She opened her mouth to reply but he interrupted her, ¡°I suppose it has been a long time, perhaps you don¡¯t remember--¡±


    ¡°I remember everything.¡±


    ¡°I remember when your name meant power,¡± he seemed not to hear her, ¡°Or have you been running for so long you only know how to be terrified of me?¡±


    I shivered, we would never leave this room alive without the Prince. Brad was beside me, he took my hand, ¡°Ethel wouldn¡¯t hurt us.¡±


    I turned to him, incredulous, such blind faith. Did the Worshippers think that before their makers slaughtered them?


    The Prince heard him, ¡°Ah, such blind faith from a human and he¡¯s not even a Worshipper.¡± I started at how closely my thoughts coincided with his, ¡°But that¡¯s not true is it? You¡¯ve got a taste of your old power, if the Princess asks, you will bring them like lambs to slaughter. That¡¯s why you abandoned them, you hoped they would hide.¡±


    Ethel''s eyes blinked, white on white, barely even visible. She wouldn''t look at Heala and Lightning.


    ¡°Enough of your theatrics, never knew you to be so melodramatic,¡± a woman in a pink dress sat in an armchair.


    ¡°Apparently I¡¯ve been corrupted by humans,¡± the Prince made his way to her.


    The¡­conversation continued but my attention strayed to the Blade, whole and alive, making his way through the crowd towards me.


    The Prince won¡¯t let him hurt me. I took a step back. Why did I think that? Was I as blind as the rest or was it instinctual?


    ¡°I would have brought you to him,¡± the Blade spoke close to my ear, the sharp scent of metal penetrated my nose, ¡°But you fought. Yet here you are by his side and where is my Katana?¡± His black eyes revealed a deep hurt, ¡°She is where you buried her.¡±


    ¡°Unlike all of you,¡± the Prince was behind the Blade, ¡°I do not turn my back on the lives I create.¡±


    The Blade backed away, still watching me.


    ¡°So you do want the crown back--¡± Ethel started to be interrupted by the Prince¡¯s laughter. Actual laughter. It echoed in the complete silence in the room. Identical looks of shock ran through Worshippers and gods.


    ¡°Want the crown? I am finally free,¡± he paced in front of her, ¡°but I will take it back if she agrees to stay with me,¡± suddenly everyone was looking at me. ¡°If she stays I will agree to never harm a human in her lifetime on the behalf of all gods. Without her, you can watch your precious toys be eradicated as you weigh your power versus their lives. You know, Ethereal, which you would choose if you had to do it over again?¡±


    They looked at each other as if some other communication passed between them. Ethel looked away first.


    I found myself backtracking out of the room. What would they do to ¡°convince¡± me?


    ¡°You can have her begging after you like a puppy with just a touch,¡± the woman in the pink dress dismissed the whole conversation with a flip of her hand.


    ¡°No, Wave,¡± the Prince turned to me, ¡°She will choose on her own.¡±


    He was resting everything on whether I willingly shackle myself to that room again. Ethel looked at me with pity as she approached, ¡°Will you make that sacrifice child? Or perhaps you will see your options?¡±


    She looked me in the eyes and we were moving through fog denser than the heaviest snowfall. On the other side was a house with a white picket fence.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be kind, this is your future should the Prince take the crown without you,¡± Ethel walked through the door, I followed.


    The house was full of light and smelled of sunshine. We were greeted by child¡¯s laughter and running footsteps. A child, no more than five, ran past us followed by¡­me? I stared at myself.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna get ya,¡± I said to the child, running after him.


    I smelled smoke, we turned to see a thick plume rising in the distance.


    ¡°The gods, of course, still ravage the earth,¡± Ethel said.


    The door opened, Brad walked in, ¡°Hon, I¡¯m home.¡± He limped on the left leg, had a cast on the right arm.


    Me and Brad? The thought was bizarre.


    ¡°Your friends will continue to fight and die one by one.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t leave them to hide in the house,¡± I said, desperate to leave, for the illusion to fade.


    ¡°But you have a child to think of, do you think Brad, after the death of his whole family, will let the boy be an orphan?¡±


    We watched Brad and a smiling me hug and kiss. I shook my head, ¡°Stop.¡±


    Ethel turned, ¡°Then lets see what the future looks like without the Prince taking the crown.¡±


    The fog enveloped us, letting us go in an empty street. I recognized the coffee shop where I worked.


    I turned in a circle. No people. Everything looked the same, just empty.


    ¡°The Princess has no need to destroy what humans built, just the humans themselves.¡± The landscape shifted. It smelled of gunpowder and blood. There I was, fighting against gods, as in several, with Shadow and Heala.


    ¡°Your friends die one by one, the last pockets of resistance then the last pockets of humanity.¡± Ethel gave me a pointed look, ¡°You will live though, the Prince will never let you die.¡±


    Tears finally welled. The Wave, the woman in the pink dress, had her hands on Shadow. He appeared to be choking. Water spilled from his lips, he was drowning.


    ¡°Stop, take me back.¡±


    Ethel shook her head, ¡°One more, the future if you accept the Prince¡¯s terms.¡±


    Again the fog swirled and dissipated. The noise was overwhelming. People crowded the streets, cars honked, people yelled. It was as if the gods never came.


    ¡°You can¡¯t know that one choice and things will be perfect,¡± I yelled, ¡°nothing¡¯s perfect.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Ethel agreed, ¡°humans are still humans, they are far more cruel to each other than we¡¯ll ever be. And the gods will follow the Prince¡¯s edict to an extent but gods like to have playthings.¡± She swept a hand at the scene, ¡°But look around, there is no fear, people do not cower even though the gods are all around them.¡±


    The scene shifted, like a television screen readjusting the image. A man at the coffee shop was a god. A woman walking down the street was another.


    We moved and I knew where we were going, ¡°No, Ethel, please, I don¡¯t want to see.¡± And suddenly we were in that room, the golden sheets, the luxurious space. I shut my eyes, ¡°I get it, please.¡±

 Chapter 22

    I felt Ethel take my hand. I opened my eyes to see we were inside the fog again. And then back in the cathedral-cave.


    The fog dissipated to reveal every pair of eyes staring at me. With their expectant stares pressing in on me, I couldn''t think...I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    Gasping, I sat on the ground. Brad knelt by me, ¡°Let¡¯s go outside, she needs fresh air,¡± he added to someone behind him.


    I stumbled out of the cave. We exited into the woods, a true forest; I had no idea what kind of trees surrounded us but they grew tall enough to block out most of the sun. I shivered as wind swept over me. It felt good though, the chill filled my lungs and cleared my head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them, we can find another way,¡± Brad led me to a stump and sat down, pulling me down next to him.


    But there was no other way.


    I could be a hero.


    I laughed and couldn¡¯t stop. A hero. God, what an idiot. Tears streamed down my face. Brad looked at me like I lost the last of my marbles and then he disappeared.


    The Prince sat there in his place. ¡°We finally get a moment alone,¡± he brushed my face with his pallid fingers and a sense of calm washed over me. I could finally breathe.


    ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t going to manipulate me.¡±


    He shook his head, ¡°Giving you a moment of peace isn¡¯t manipulating.¡±


    For the first time since he came to the ranch, I could think clearly. The debilitating fear shifted to the back of my mind. ¡°You¡¯re different.¡±


    His lips stretched into an attempted smile, ¡°You already said that.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°No, you¡¯re acting more like¡­Nathan.¡±


    The Prince stretching his legs out in front of him, long legs that looked longer since we were so close to the ground. I thought any moment now I¡¯ll blink and he¡¯ll be Nathan and all this would be an awful, awful nightmare.


    ¡°Is that what you want?¡± he asked reading my mind.


    ¡°No,¡± I looked away, ¡°That was a lie, the Prince...you...are nothing like that.¡±


    His face went blank, ¡°Being an anchor is holding all the gods¡¯ desires, wants, hatred and cruelty. Even love. Most gods are solitary so all their love is focused on the anchor through the sharing of their desires.¡± He looked down as if studying his hands, ¡°You were the first thing I could enjoy as myself, for myself. Being Nathan allowed me a little selfishness and I got greedy. When you agreed to come to the condo, to stay with me¡­¡±


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    He looked up, into my eyes, and like with Ethel it felt like I fell into an abyss. But unlike with Ethel, we didn¡¯t go anywhere. The Prince continued, ¡°I am sorry about Ash. I have never felt jealousy before and coupled with the jealousy of the other gods towards you¡­¡±


    My eyes watered, the admission of knowing and regretting how much he hurt me felt like a physical ache in my chest. ¡°But if I return they won¡¯t just be jealous, they¡¯ll resent me for making you be kind to humans.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to return to being a single anchor as before,¡± his voice grew cold.


    I frowned, confused, how could he be an anchor without supporting the gods¡¯ emotions?


    ¡°I will amend our deal. If I return to anchor without Princess, you are free to leave. I want you with me but I wish you no harm and certainly no death.¡±


    Pupil-less eyes watched my reaction; it was my turn to look away. This was the best deal I was likely to get. I couldn¡¯t walk away knowing doing so could lead to billions of deaths. God, what was one life compared to eight billion. If it were anyone else I¡¯d tell them to suck it up, the sacrifice was worth it. Bunch of hypocrites, that¡¯s what humans were.


    ¡°Okay, but could you,¡± I felt like a coward for asking, ¡°give me another shot of calm before we tell them.¡±


    His eyes lit up, the pupils darkening to an almost blue, a genuine smile dancing around his lips. He cupped my cheek, leaned forward and kissed me.


    Soft, his lips cradled mine, and there was that calm, a peace I have never felt. As he pressed deeper there came a faint stirring in the pit of my stomach. Alarms barely registered behind the calm, was he causing the desire?


    No, this was slow, hesitant, wanting but not wanting. I knew the desire he generated, a bright, flaming passion. This wasn¡¯t it.


    Tears rolled down my cheeks, how could I still want him after everything he did?


    He pulled away. Trailing a finger down the path of a tear, the desire dissipated, ¡°I will wait,¡± replaced by calm.


    Were all the bad parts really because he was anchored to the other gods? This was like a completely different person.


    He rose, holding out a hand to help me up. We walked into the cave. I looked at Ethel, not willing to face the room. ¡°I agreed to the Prince¡¯s--¡±


    ¡°What did you do to her,¡± Brad tried to get at the Prince, Lightning held him back, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said, ¡°This is of my own free will, as long as the rest of the gods agree to never harm a human again.¡±


    ¡°All here agree to the terms,¡± Ethel spoke sweeping a hand at the room, ¡°Once the rest accept you as anchor, they will need to be convinced as well.¡±


    The Prince nodded, the rest of us I guess weren¡¯t meant to understand. The Prince looked at the three humans, ¡°The rest is not meant for human eyes or ears, you are free to go,¡± he waved his hand and Brad, Mercy and Shadow disappeared.


    Lightning pushed forward, ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Ethel put up a hand to stop him, ¡°They are back at Mercy¡¯s family¡¯s ranch, they are fine just confused. The Prince¡¯s oath starts now, he will not harm a human.¡±


    Heala looked uncertain, ¡°Then why are we still here?¡±


    ¡°Because you are not human,¡± Ethel looked at her with pity, ¡°You are a part of this, though if you wish not to be I can send you to the ranch as well.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lightning answered, ¡°We have to see this, someone has to represent humanity.¡± He stared pointedly at me as if I betrayed them all.


    ¡°Shall we go then?¡± Ethel asked the Prince.


    He nodded, taking my hand. Pulling me close as if for a hug, I only had time to gasp as we shifted places, That¡¯s the only way I could describe it, the floor moved from under us. The floor from the condominium building moved into its spot and suddenly we were there.


    The others appeared behind us, one by one. Kitty, the Princess, sat on the throne in front of us. Gods surrounded her, more than I¡¯d ever seen, more than Ethel had with her.

 Chapter 23

    Like the Prince, Kitty had changed. If she appeared unstable before, now she didn¡¯t even maintain a fa?ade of sanity, ¡°Welcome, O Prince, or shall I call you Nathan, a human name is fitting for what you¡¯ve become.


    ¡°Ethel, betraying me so soon?¡± the Princess rose off the throne, unfolding her legs like they belonged to a spider.


    ¡°Death of all humans, have you truly thought this through?¡± Ethel¡¯s voice remained soft as if speaking to a skittish cat.


    The Princess snarled before turning her focus back on the Prince, ¡°The majority is with me this time, I won¡¯t make the same mistake you did. I won¡¯t leave you alive.¡± Suddenly the Princess doubled over holding her head.


    The other gods twitched, looking disturbed but not surprised. Neither did the Prince, ¡°You haven¡¯t been an anchor for three thousand years and never on your own. The pressure of all those minds, can you even hear your own thoughts anymore.¡± He approached her.


    ¡°You would make a deal for one human,¡± the Swan stepped forward, getting in the Prince¡®s face. I had never seen any of them so confrontational, especially with the Prince. ¡°Humans are dangerous, they affect your state of mind, they should be eradicated but you would have us indulge them.¡±


    The Prince remained unmoved, ¡°You are devastated Black Swan is gone, I can see the pain of it in your soul. She was your creation, a part of you was in her,¡± at his words her mask slipped, a desperate sadness infused her face.


    The emotion lasted only a moment, ¡°The caring makes us weak, look at you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, look at me,¡± the Prince nodded, ¡°What has caring for a human done to me? Or was it what my charges did to me? I made a mistake with Ethereal, I will not repeat it. You can still replace your Worshipper, but if the Princess has her way, your only playthings will be the beasts.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± the Princess seemed to be over her headache as she lunged at the Prince, her fingers turned to claws she dug into his skin. I had never seen him bleed, but now red blood overflowed her fingers, up her arms.


    One hand in his cheek, the other digging into his throat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be anchor,¡± he said, trying to pull her hands away but he was no longer strong enough. I took a step forward.


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    ¡°You can¡¯t help him,¡± Ethel took my arm, ¡°None of us can help without tipping the balance.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you want,¡± I asked confused.


    ¡°No, the majority is an unconscious decision, they need to decide.¡±


    I remembered the Swan and the Veil doing nothing in Florida. Stupid rules.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie,¡± the Princess snarled pushing her fingers deeper into his neck. Blood gushed, practically pouring out of the wound. The wounds fought to close around her fingers.


    ¡°Do you remember,¡± his voice gurgled now, soon she will get his voice box and he wouldn¡¯t be able to talk anymore, ¡°when we anchored them as one.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed, ¡°Oh I remember,¡± she let him go, ripping out as much of his throat as she could grab.


    Suddenly she was right in front of me, a bloody hand grabbing me by the throat. ¡°I remember why we fought, I sided with Ethereal, thinking how could humans affect gods. Now I know better.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t breathe, panic made me thrash my arms and legs. I wondered if my powers would keep me from being asphyxiated.


    ¡°No,¡± the Prince lunged at her, his wounds closing slowly.


    The floor shifted beneath us and we moved¡­I would have gasped if I wasn¡¯t being choked. Greek columns rose above me, white and crumbling. Below us were more ruins and then a city? The scene seemed familiar...before it hit me. We were at the Parthenon, in Greece.


    ¡°You brought us here?¡± The Princess screamed throwing me away. The wind rose as if responding to her anger.


    ¡°Do you remember what else happened here?¡± The Prince stepped toward her as if the wind wasn¡¯t quickly turning into a tornado.


    I grabbed onto the nearest set of stones hoping the structure lasted this long, it wouldn¡¯t break now.


    ¡°You sided with the humans, even after your speech about how useless they are, how much their connections to us are detrimental. I remember you refused to turn any of them, now you run after this human," the Princess snarled, "It¡¯s their fault we have become cruel. We brought them civilization, steered them towards innovation. Do you remember what you said?"


    When the Prince remained silent, the Princess continued, "They are beasts that would sooner bite the hand that feeds them, and you were right, they repaid us with killing each other. Taking what we taught them to come up with new and worse ways to murder.¡±


    ¡°Not everyone is like that,¡± I heard myself yell over the wind.


    The Princess turned on me, ¡°No, there are those too poor to think of anything but survival and those so innocent that they love to watch the levels of depravity humans are capable of on their televisions.¡±


    I opened my mouth to argue but found I had no voice.


    ¡°Enough, Princess,¡± the Prince reached her, ¡°You can try to kill me or we can put everything behind us, be anchors together again. The humans will live but we will withdraw from their world.¡±


    ¡°Or I can kill the only reason you want to be anchor again,¡± she moved towards me too fast for me to react, even as I tried to stand in the unrelenting wind. The Prince moved too, blocking her from me.


    ¡°This is futile, we can be at this forever.¡±


    ¡°Or not,¡± the Princess jabbed her claws into him, the Prince fought to pull her away. Abruptly she moved, as the Prince took a second to recover she bypassed him, reached out and stabbed me in the neck. I gurgled in surprise. With one strong jerk she took my head right off.

 Chapter 24

    I wasn¡¯t dead.


    How?


    Why could I only see white?


    Was I in a hospital?


    Was this all a dream?


    My thoughts came disjointed, like fragments of glass trying to fit back into a whole window.


    Where was the Prince?


    Pain, like an itch started on my neck. The itch turned into a burn, I tried to raise my hands to see what was wrong but¡­I couldn¡¯t feel my hands. I couldn¡¯t feel anything but the pain slowly becoming worse.


    I screamed for help, my words seemed to die the minute they were out of my mouth.


    Screams turned to mushy, messy tears as the pain became excruciating. I gasped for breath.


    The pain took all my focus so I didn¡¯t hear it at first.


    Footsteps.


    Like dress shoes on a marble floor.


    ¡°My apologies, the pain is my fault, I pulled you at the brink of death, so the pain of your death stayed with you.¡± I looked up, why did I need to look up? I didn¡¯t feel like I was lying down.


    Above me stood a gorgeous brunette man in his early thirties. I looked into his eyes and knew he was a god. No iris or pupil colored his eyes.


    ¡°Come, let me help you up,¡± he held out a hand and suddenly I could feel my arms, my legs. I felt like jumping, I had never felt so energized just to be able to move around, instead I took his hand and letting him pull me up.


    I felt my throat, the pain was gone and nothing felt out of place. Like I never lost my head.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked looking around the white space. There appeared to be no walls or end to the space...just white in every direction.


    ¡°In Between,¡± he said like I should know what that meant. Seeing my expression he laughed, for a god he seemed to have a full range of emotion, ¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t know, most gods don¡¯t know about this place,¡± he cocked his head, ¡°Or of me for that matter.¡±


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    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, he had walked away and I had to jog to catch up with his long stride though where could we go here?


    He stopped, turned and smiled, ¡°My apologies, it has been a while since I¡¯ve had to introduce myself.¡± He bowed like they did on TV, even his clothes looked like they were from the 1700s. He put me in mind of a vampire, like some writer¡¯s wet dream.


    ¡°That¡¯s sweet,¡± he said, ¡°My name is Eternal.¡±


    Did he read my mind? Next time I saw the Prince I would find a way to block my thoughts, I promised myself.


    I started, ¡°Wait, did the Prince send you?¡±


    Eternal laughed, a musical sound yet not exactly pretty, ¡°The anchors have no power over me, with the chaos they¡¯re causing I¡¯d be surprised if they remember me at all.¡±


    Okay, that didn¡¯t explain anything, ¡°Look, I¡¯m sure you get your kicks from talking in circles, but, and this may be the near death experience talking, I have no clue who you are, where I am and why I¡¯m here. Would you please just tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±


    He laughed again, ¡°I can see why the Prince is attached to you.¡± He shrugged, which just seemed unnatural, ¡°I will explain, I am Eternal but the name most call me is Death,¡± he leaned close, ¡°Though I hate that name, so please call me Eternal.¡± Behind the light-hearted comment, was a vast anger, it terrified me just to glimpse it.


    ¡°You are In-Between, in between life and death, a place of my own devising since I am part of neither world, not truly. As for why you¡¯re here?¡± He paused before turning abruptly and walking away.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I yelled running after him. One step we were in white space, the next we were in an old-fashioned study. I skidded. Round-eyed I looked behind me. Nothing. No doors, no windows.


    Eternal sat at the desk, ¡°This is my world, I can make it into whatever I please.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± I looked at the detail, the books had real names on the spines, the statues had faces, the tapestry felt like one.


    ¡°I get the ideas from the souls that pass through here,¡± he said proudly.


    He was bragging. ¡°Um, it¡¯s amazing,¡± I smiled, not keen on actually seeing him angry.


    ¡°Have a seat,¡± he pointed to the chair across from him.


    I sat, ¡°You were going to tell me why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, but first tell me something,¡± he leaned forward, ¡°You ran away from him, he gave you a chance to make it permanent, you didn¡¯t, why would you go back to the monster?¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°I have my sources. Just because I¡¯m not a part of that world, doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know what happens. After all there has been an influx of Worshipper deaths.¡±


    ¡°I stayed for humanity, Kitty, the Princess, is going to kill everyone. If you can take me back, please.¡± Panic rose in my voice as I realized I didn''t know how it ended. Did the Prince decide not to fight now that I wasn¡¯t there to uphold our bargain? Or are they still trying to kill one another?


    Eternal ignored me, ¡°What if I killed him, would you mourn his passing?¡±


    I jerked back, kill the Prince? ¡°You can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I can, I¡¯m the only one who can. Why do you think I¡¯m here? So far away from them?¡±


    ¡°They put you here? But you¡¯re Death, don¡¯t you--¡±


    ¡°Belong here?¡± He rose slamming his hands on the desk, no trace of mirth on his face.


    I shrank in my seat, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think.¡±


    He sat back down. ¡°That¡¯s the problem with humans, you don¡¯t think.¡±


    I remained silent, watching him fume, like playing dead when a bear was around.


    ¡°The reason you¡¯re here is because a god prayed for me to save you. A god prayed!¡± He waved his arms for emphasis, ¡°And you even killed this god¡¯s lover in cold blood. So, naturally, I had to meet you.¡±

 Chapter 25

    Who would do that? I racked my brain. Then I remembered the Blade whispering, ¡°And where is my Katana?¡± They were lovers?


    ¡°Ah, I see the wheels start moving, you may not be as dense as you look.¡± I looked up to find him leaning across the desk, inches from my face. Instinctually, I leaned away.


    ¡°There are far more gods that take human lovers than you realize, most just do it for the power of being with someone they view as beneath them,¡± he rose to pace, ¡°Not Blade though, he was ''in love'', so is Prince,¡± he looked at me out of the corner of his eye, quirking an eyebrow, ¡°You see why I had to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Why would he pray for me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know!¡± Eternal threw his hands in the air and plopped back in his seat. ¡°She came through here, Katana, lovely girl. I could see why he fell for her, intelligent, beautiful, calm. You, on the other hand¡­¡±


    ¡°It must be because of the deal the Prince made. For all humanity.¡±


    ¡°But his human is dead, why would he care?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Hmm, he wants me to send you back.¡±


    ¡°Can you?¡±


    He exaggerated a sigh, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m the death god.¡±


    Hope sprang, ¡°Then hurry, please, the Prince could give up if he thought I was dead.¡±


    He smirked, ¡°I said I can, I didn¡¯t say I would. What do I get in return?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± I asked cautiously.


    His smile widened, ¡°I thought you would never ask. I want my freedom.¡±


    I could only gape at him.


    ¡°No you can¡¯t free me but the Prince can, if he becomes sole anchor and you can ensure that he does.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise that,¡± I squealed.


    ¡°You could move on to your afterlife,¡± he shrugged. The gesture was starting to really annoy me.


    The wall behind him moved to reveal a television screen. The picture was nothing but static at first, then cleared onto the Parthenon. The Prince was cradling my body, my head reattached.


    ¡°He can heal the physical, but he can¡¯t replace the soul. That¡¯s my department.¡±


    I rose walking to the screen. Grief stricken, that¡¯s how he looked. God, he really cared didn¡¯t he.


    The Princess stood behind him, arms crossed, tapping her foot.


    ¡°When was this?¡± I turned.


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    ¡°Still going on, he hasn¡¯t moved for hours,¡± Eternal¡¯s face went flat, I had come to recognize the lack of emotion to be a god¡¯s way of expressing emotion. What he felt watching the screen, though, I couldn¡¯t say.


    I couldn¡¯t leave things the way they were. I looked Eternal in the eyes, ¡°Fine, if you let me go back, I will do everything I can to set you free.¡±


    His eyes widened, turning red. I cringed. ¡°Done, we have a deal,¡± he said.


    I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    I grabbed my throat, staring at him. He simply looked back.


    I was dead, how was I asphyxiating now?


    As my vision started to go black, Eternal said, ¡°In death, we are all mortal, ironic really.¡±


    I woke with a gasp. My neck hurt¡­really hurt.


    My vision cleared and I looked into the Prince¡¯s colorless eyes. He stared at me for a moment, then scooted back dropping me in the process.


    Really?


    I slowly sat up, my body felt like lead, if metal could feel pain.


    ¡°How? I don¡¯t have the power to return the dead,¡± the Prince stood away from me as if I grew ten heads. Actually that probably wouldn¡¯t surprise him.


    The Princess walked up, ¡°The Ethereal?¡± Was that fear?


    ¡°No, she had forsaken that power when she agreed to anchor herself.¡± The two gods stared at each other before turning to stare at me.


    ¡°All right, if the Eternal has taken an interest in our fighting, I suppose it is time to end it. We will not kill nor support the humans, and we will be anchors together,¡± the Princess¡¯s eyes never left me.


    The Prince turned to stare at her, ¡°You¡¯re being rational.¡±


    She looked back at him, ¡°Well if you had to be exposed to this unceasing headache for the last three thousand years I suppose we¡¯re even.¡±


    Like magic, at her words the gods began to appear, by ones and twos and threes. Heala ran to me, ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    Lightning glowered from behind her. Ethel looked at me, her face expressionless. I think I was starting to figure out what that meant.


    I opened my mouth to reply, half afraid that having my throat torn out would make me mute. ¡°I think so, I think I died.¡±


    ¡°You did,¡± Lightning huffed, ¡°Ethel did her projection thing where we saw the whole thing.¡±


    ¡°How long was I dead?¡±


    He shrugged. God I hated that gesture. ¡°An hour, maybe a little more.¡±


    Eternal lied. What else did he lie about? I looked in the direction of the Prince and Princess, I couldn¡¯t see them because the gods made a giant wall around them. But I guess I lied too. The Prince will never be sole anchor again, and I certainly wasn¡¯t running into a crowd of gods to try to stop them.


    ¡°We should leave,¡± Heala said as she checked my injuries, ¡°We can get back to the ranch.¡±


    ¡°And put all of them in harm¡¯s way again,¡± Lightning shook his head.


    ¡°I promised to stay with him,¡± I said.


    ¡°That was before you died, doesn¡¯t death nullify all contracts?¡± Heala raised an eyebrow.


    Lighting laughed, ¡°I don¡¯t think it works like that.¡±


    ¡°But it made her human,¡± Heala applied her power to my wounds, which we all just realized hadn¡¯t healed.


    We stared at each other, my blood on Heala¡¯s hands.


    ¡°How--?¡±


    Lightning scrambled to help me up. ¡°Ethel won¡¯t rat us out, we should get out of here.¡± Heala kept applying her powers, for which I could kiss her, I had forgotten how painful pain was.


    ¡°Where would we go?¡± Heala asked.


    ¡°Somewhere remote, there will be fewer gods,¡± Lightning answered.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll be easier to find, we all look alike to them, we¡¯ll be safer in the crowds of a city,¡± I argued.


    ¡°Let¡¯s at least get back to the states before we argue,¡± Lightning snapped.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve always wanted to see Greece,¡± Heala grew wistful.


    ¡°How about Germany?¡± Lightning suggested, ¡°I know some people there, where we can hide while we figure things out.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Heala wasn¡¯t hard to convince, I rolled my eyes.


    We walked down the hill but the city seemed abandoned, we saw no cars or people. I guess they knew this was god central right now.


    ¡°How are we going to get past the border?¡±


    Lightning raised an eyebrow, ¡°We¡¯re Worshippers to them, you really think they¡¯re going to try to stop us?¡±


    Good point. Except me, I was no longer a Worshipper. I thought I¡¯d be happier.


    We borrowed the nearest parked car, Heala gave it a jolt and we drove down abandoned streets.


    ¡°Do you know where you¡¯re going?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, ooh, but I think this car has GPS,¡± Heala smiled, wistful and innocent again.

 Chapter 26

    Three Years Later


    I stood in the middle of a white room. Room may be an overstatement. It seemed more like a limitless white space.


    Click, click, click. Like dress shoes on marble.


    Heart hammering I whirled around; but there was no one there.


    I turned back, face almost hitting his chest. I gasped, stepping back and looking up.


    Eternal. The Death God.


    ¡°Good to see you too, Emma,¡± he smiled though it strangely kept his face expressionless, like the marble his shoes clicked on. At least he was still calm, ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t keep tabs on you, we did have a deal.¡±


    ¡°You said to try, but he didn¡¯t become sole anchor, the deal¡¯s over.¡± Please don¡¯t kill me. Could he even kill me here? Wherever here was.


    ¡°Yes, try. You didn¡¯t.¡± He paced around me, I turned to keep him in my line of sight, ¡°You ran away. I¡¯ve been following you for the last three years hoping that you were coming up with a plan of attack, but it looks like you were just¡­running away.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, he will never be sole anchor again, not even for me.¡±


    He cocked his head, studying me. His eyes felt like they would bore holes in my head.


    ¡°Say that you¡¯re right, if you¡¯re not willing to give that route a try then there is another way, this one¡¯s harder.¡±


    Harder than making the Prince, the co-ruler of the gods, wrest full control from the Princess, the other co-ruler, and take over a task he loathed for the last three thousand years? Great.


    ¡°How?¡±


    His eyebrows rose, ¡°Oh my! You¡¯re willing to give it a try? What inspired you¡± suddenly his nose was touching mine, ¡°the imminent threat to your life?¡±


    I swallowed, ¡°Just tell me.¡±


    ¡°Gods come in pairs, don¡¯t know why or how, most of us have forgotten much of everything before the appearance of humanity, but all gods are half of a whole. The Prince and the Princess, your friend the Blade has the Shield,¡± a television appeared over his shoulder, showing a Scandinavian woman walking down a street somewhere in Europe, that same blank stare every god had as a preset expression. ¡°She¡¯s in Europe so I doubt you¡¯ll be meeting anytime soon. I have the Ethereal, she--¡±


    ¡°Ethel? She¡¯s like you?¡±


    ¡°Not anymore, when the gods realized that we had the power to kill them they gave us a choice, give up that power and depend on them as our anchors or be banished¡­¡± he swept the area with his arms, ¡°here.¡±


    ¡°Ethel can kill a god?¡± my jaw must have hit the floor.


    A twitch appeared on his brow, ¡°Oh do you know this story or would you care to pay attention?"


    I smacked my mouth closed and took several steps back, not that it would help if he went crazy on me.


    ¡°Good,¡± the twitch subsided, ¡°She was like me but given the choice she decided to follow the herd and give up her power, while I was banished to¡­¡± he looked around, ¡°my own piece of paradise.


    ¡°She can take back her power and free me--your job is to convince her that she wants to.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± that was worse than dealing with the Prince. At least he liked me.


    ¡°Oh,¡± he closed the gap between us in two steps, ¡°in case you wonder how real my threat is,¡± he took a lock of my hair, running it between his fingers. I finally frosted the last three inches of my hair again a true blonde, ¡°I like this dye job, pretty,¡± and he pulled.


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    ¡°Ah,¡± I yelled and woke up.


    My head burned, I touched my scalp, it felt warm.


    I looked at my fingers, turning on the bedside lamp. Blood stained. Great. So much for being just a dream.


    At least I was learning to keep my nightmares to myself. Usually Heala would be running in trying to calm me down by now, with Lightning grumbling behind her.


    We were staying in adjoining rooms in the grand Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel in the sunny and very beautiful Los Angeles, California. Okay, technically Beverly Hills I guess.


    I lay back down, not shutting off the light, not like I was going to get any sleep anyway.


    Three years on the run. Germany, Haiti, Sahara Dessert (not an easy place for someone without superhuman healing powers), even New York City for a short two weeks.


    Still Ethel didn¡¯t betray Heala and Lightning to the others. The other gods replenished their shortage of Worshippers and, I assume, slaves. The only good news was the Prince did keep his promise of no human killing. People still hid and ran when they saw gods but even the fear was abating. Gods were treated more like celebrities than a threat.


    Morning bloomed over the L.A. skyline yet I was no closer to an answer to my new dilemma.


    A knock on my door and Lightning yelled, ¡°We¡¯re going down to breakfast, joining us?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, give me a minute.¡±


    I debated whether to tell them about Eternal all through my shower, the walk down and breakfast.


    How did we afford staying in a five-star hotel and eating out in one of the most expensive cities in the country? Heala did private healing, Lightning worked out a system and helped her. And I? To my embarrassment, I lived off them.


    Easiest thing for me to do was let them get on with their lives. Heala could set up an actual practice, Lightning could run it, and Ethel would leave them alone. L.A. was perfect for them, full of rich people who could afford her kind of healing, not that Heala was so stuck up she would only heal the rich.


    I was the only reason they were still running.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t wake up screaming for once,¡± Lightning commented, ¡°Have a good dream?¡±


    I winced.


    If I wasn¡¯t so selfish, or keen on staying alive, I would let them go.


    Instead I smiled and said, ¡°Yeah, I met Prince Charming and we lived happily ever after, too bad it was just a dream.¡±


    Heala smiled, ¡°He¡¯s out there, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Yeah, I know. He¡¯s also a psychotic god who wants to make me his pet.


    Heala went to work after breakfast, I tagged along mostly not to feel like a complete leach.


    By the afternoon we hit the beach. And though it was crowded and noisy my muscles still melted under the burning sun. Lazy days.


    I stared at the cloudless sky and bright sun through my sunglasses. This is the life; no worries, no responsibilities.


    ¡°Good news. I haven¡¯t heard any rumors of gods or Worshippers following our trail. We may actually be able to settle down,¡± Lightning smiled. God, how long has it been since I¡¯ve actually seen him smile.


    No god but one; I felt like a snake. I should at least tell them the truth.


    Still I kept my mouth shut.


    We watched the sunset off The Pier, a new restaurant on the pier with one of the best sunset views in the city.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Lightning and Heala exchanged a look, ¡°We¡¯re going to go on ahead, the check¡¯s taken care of but they have directions to add whatever else you want to the bill,¡± he took Heala¡¯s hand and they left looking very much in love. Who wouldn¡¯t be jealous.


    My view was obscured but a three piece suit, an expensive suit, ¡°May I join you?¡±


    I looked up to find a familiar Asian man waiting for my answer. Where did I¡­?


    ¡°Emma, say that would be lovely.¡±


    The Blade?


    ¡°You¡¯ve met him,¡± he said sitting down and called over a waiter.


    ¡°Same tab?¡± the waiter asked.


    ¡°No, start a new tab for me, put the rest of her drinks on it.¡±


    My mind still whirled as I took in the exchange. The waiter walked away none the wiser.


    ¡°Emma?¡±


    ¡°That was pretty good. Na--The Prince never made a very good human,¡± I blurted.


    ¡°My Katana taught me. I found the disguise useful at times,¡± he watched me, ¡°Eternal, you¡¯ve met him.¡±


    ¡°I died, he¡¯s the only one who could bring me back. Why did you ask him to?¡±


    The Blade smiled, ¡°Because now, I believe humans say, you owe me.¡±


    I started, ¡°What can I possibly do for you?¡±


    The waiter brought our drinks, the Blade sipped, ¡°I¡¯ve never understood the attraction of alcohol, tastes like decay to me, but to be accepted as a human one must drink it,¡± he shrugged.


    I almost lost it. Did every god adopt that as their gesture of choice? ¡°Just tell me what you want,¡± I snapped.


    ¡°You convinced Eternal to bring you back, now I need you to convince him to bring my Katana back.¡±


    I realized what made him sound inhuman. His voice never changed. It wasn¡¯t just monotone, it was emotionless.


    I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. I will never be free, because one god took an interest, I will never be free of them. ¡°And how do you propose I do that?¡±


    He shrugged again, I wanted to rip my hair out. ¡°You¡¯ll think of something, you¡¯ve proved good at surviving.¡±


    ¡°And if I refuse?¡± I couldn¡¯t handle any more gods expecting things from me.


    He looked me in the eye, ¡°Prince has stopped looking for you, for your safety. Princess will not look for you to maintain the truce. Whatever happened at the Parthenon rattled both of them into playing nice. But if I were to return with you,¡± again that damn shrug.


    The Parthenon. They were scared. Maybe if I told the Blade the truth he would be scared too. Except that won¡¯t solve my Eternal problem. And what if he took me back so I couldn¡¯t try to free him.


    Ahh! I needed to scream. I looked around the restaurant, it was packed with people chatting and laughing. My vision clouded, stupid public place.


    ¡°And how am I supposed to ask him?¡± That was the wrong question, I knew it the moment it was out of my mouth.


    ¡°You die.¡±

 Chapter 27

    ¡°Um, what?¡± I croaked.


    ¡°That is the only way for anyone to speak to him, why do you think I need you.¡±


    Oh God. ¡°No, there has to be another way.¡±


    I must have been too loud, several people turned giving me curious looks.


    ¡°I do not know of one, do you?¡± Still not an inkling of emotion; did Katana even want to go back to him?


    ¡°I-I- just give me a couple of days, please,¡± I was starting to hyperventilate.


    He looked at me for a long moment, ¡°Two days, I do not recommend involving the Worshippers, this is between you and me.¡±


    The Blade rose, dropping a hundred on the table, ¡°You will be hearing from me.¡±


    I nodded. I had two days to dream contact Eternal and get Katana back. Great!


    I paced the length of my hotel room. I should just tell Heala and Lightning and ask for their help. Yes.


    I even went so far as to wait for them outside their hotel room. Only when I heard them laughing as they got off the elevator did I realize how cruel it would be to drag them into this with me.


    I scurried away like the rat I felt before they could see me.


    In my hotel room, I packed a bag, I actually had stuff to pack this time, wrote a note and went to bed. The sooner I could communicate with Eternal the better.


    I lay awake for hours thinking the dream would just come to me before I grew too tired and actually fell asleep.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Eternal paced in front of me as I sat on the ground.


    I looked around. Duh, I had to fall asleep.


    ¡°Emma, snap out of it,¡± I turned back almost colliding with Eternal¡¯s forehead.


    I scooted back. He moved away.


    ¡°The Blade wants his girl returned,¡± he shook his head, ¡°He should have prayed for that. He¡¯s out of luck now.¡± He shook his head returning to his pacing. ¡°But if he¡¯s watching you, it hampers your work and I can¡¯t help you from here.¡±


    I didn¡¯t rise, wrapping my arms around my knees, ¡°What do you plan to do when you come back?¡±


    He stopped, ¡°Worried about the humans or the gods?¡±


    I shrugged, not sure myself.


    ¡°I have no interest in the humans, actually they¡¯re the only company I¡¯ve had in this hell. I¡¯ve talked to religious fanatics, scientists, it¡¯s been¡­interesting. As for the gods, well, maybe just two to ensure I am not banished again.¡±


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    I didn¡¯t need to ask which two. I wanted to ask if there was another way but I knew what he would say. Focus, Emma, one issue at a time.


    ¡°What do you mean, he¡¯s out of luck?¡±


    He stopped pacing, watching me as if gaging how much he could tell me. ¡°I do not know what¡¯s on the other side. If I used to, I don¡¯t remember. So once a soul passes through, I have no way of retrieving it.¡±


    Great!


    ¡°So there¡¯s nothing you can do.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°What? Oh no, I was being sarcastic,¡± why couldn¡¯t these gods at least learn to speak human.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Eternal said without emotion.


    ¡°So what am I supposed to tell him? The truth?¡±


    Eternal shrugged.


    I took a deep breath. For three years I ran and everything was great. Now I had to think of a way to outwit one god, convince another of something they chose against at the beginning of time and keep a third from killing the one god I think I don''t want dead.


    Why me!


    ¡°What are the chances you forgot how to bring a soul back from the other side?¡±


    He shrugged again, ¡°Much from the beginning of time has been forgotten.¡±


    ¡°Could you try to remember?¡±


    He laughed at me. Actual, out loud, human-sounding laughter.


    I rose, ¡°Seriously? I¡¯m trying to help you but you have to help me.¡±


    ¡°If I could remember then I would be able to get myself out of here.¡±


    I put my hands on my hips, remembering my mother, ¡°How about you try and I stall.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully I succeed in convincing Ethel and you can talk to the Blade yourself.¡±


    Eternal''s mouth shifted into a fully bloomed smile, ¡°Ah such a clever human, there may be hope for you yet.¡±


    I scowled and woke up.


    Dawn flooded through the window. Crap, I gotta go before Heala and Lightning come to get me.


    I left a note at the front desk and called a cab. I had a little cash, how far would it get me? Instead of a cab, a private car stopped in front of me. The window rolled down and the Blade poked out his head, ¡°Get in.¡±


    Okay, here goes nothing.


    ¡°You are running, yet I am the only one who found you.¡±


    And now you¡¯re following me, ¡°I¡¯m giving my friends distance. I¡¯ve been thinking that I¡¯m the only reason they¡¯re running. You confirmed that.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°They may also notice you die.¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± I jolted, ¡°Actually, I already talked to Eternal¡­last night.¡±


    So, that¡¯s what a surprised god looks like. A little widening of the eyes, but otherwise as emotionless as ever.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± make it sound convincing, ¡°It seems, the way he explained it, we are connected sort of like god and Worshipper except I don¡¯t get any powers. When he saw you found me, he contacted me through my dreams.¡±


    The Blade frowned, ¡°He¡¯s not supposed to be able to do that.¡±


    ¡°When was the last time he brought someone back from the dead?¡± A gamble, but I thought it was a small one.


    The Blade nodded, ¡°Never.¡± I sighed in relief.


    ¡°Are you going to fixate on that or what I found out?¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°He needs her body, her whole body. I guess the soul has to go somewhere,¡± I shrugged like I wasn¡¯t sure what I was saying.


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll go to Miami, immediately.¡±


    Crap. ¡°Um, I¡¯m not going back to Florida.¡±


    ¡°Where will you stay? You have no money and no friends.¡±


    Crap. ¡°I¡­I have friends but I was thinking of seeing if my family was still alive.¡± I felt like I ran a marathon.


    ¡°Family?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± think Emma, ¡°If I¡¯m gonna be on the run on my own, I might as well start there.¡±


    ¡°It shall not take me long to retrieve the body. How long do you wish to have with your family before I find you again?¡±


    I gaped, he was giving me time? ¡°Two weeks,¡± can¡¯t be too greedy or he¡¯ll get suspicious.


    ¡°Here,¡± he pulled out a wad of cash, ¡°This shall ensure you do not starve.¡±


    ¡°Um, thanks,¡± now I was living off the generosity of a god. How low could I get? Still I took the money and let him drop me off at the airport.


    I walked into the airport lobby. I didn¡¯t even know where I was going, nor was I willing to test my new and rather fake ID.


    Stupid, Emma, I should have asked Eternal where Ethel was, he has to be keeping tabs on her.


    I waited the appropriate amount of time and walked out of the airport.


    I bought a bus ticket to New York. There was one person who still owed me, if I could find him without the gods finding me.

 Chapter 28

    Two nights in that uncomfortable seat and no Eternal. Did he want his freedom or just to torture me?


    The New York Greyhound station was as grey as all the other states. I stepped out, unnoticed, and hailed a cab.


    A long time ago, Sam promised to keep up payments for our apartment. I hoped he hadn¡¯t forgotten.


    The key still opened the front door.


    Everything was coated with dust but still there. A jolt of everything I had and lost ran through me. I walked the apartment slowly, looking at all the old photos and knickknacks, gifts from friends over time. Five years, that¡¯s all and yet the apartment felt like a figment of my imagination.


    Finally I took out my cell phone and called Sam. He picked up on the third ring, damn. I hung up.


    Two seconds later he rang back. I stared at it for a second before pressing talk and putting the phone to my ear.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he said.


    I remained silent.


    ¡°Em?¡± a whisper. He must be somewhere safe-ish to even say my name.


    Now that it came to it, what do I say?


    ¡°Be right there, don¡¯t leave,¡± and he hung up.


    Too late I realized I should have waited outside for him. Somewhere across the street where I could make sure he was alone. I¡¯ve watched enough movies to know that.


    Still, it only occurred to me when the key turned in the lock. Sam walked through the door. I gaped. Well he wasn¡¯t the wiry nerd I remembered but there was no ash skin and lava bubbling just under the surface either. He looked like himself, down to the glasses which I was sure he no longer needed but he stood well over six feet tall and had the shoulders of a linebacker. At least he didn''t smell like a sulfur geyser.


    ¡°Emma?¡± he rushed over to grab me in a hug, ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re all right. He wouldn¡¯t let me look for you.¡± He pulled me away before crushing me in another hug.


    ¡°Um, Sam?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he didn¡¯t let go.


    ¡°I¡¯m human¡­so you¡¯re hurting me.¡±


    He pushed me away, ¡°Oh God, I¡¯m so sorry, are you okay? Did I burn you? I thought that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen while I looked human.¡±


    ¡°No burns, just good old fashioned bruised ribs,¡± I tried to smile. Once I thought of him as my best friend, now all I could think of was his loyalty to the Prince.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here. Are you coming back to the Prince? He needs you.¡±


    I doubt that, but I was more distressed that he might have told the Prince I was here.


    He must have seen the fear on my face, ¡°Okay, okay, no gods, why are you here?¡±


    ¡°There is a god I need to find, Ethereal.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he took a step back, ¡°I thought you were with her Worshippers, they couldn¡¯t help you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to drag them back into it, I¡¯ve taken their help long enough. You still owe me Sam--¡±


    ¡°Owe you? That¡¯s why you came to me?¡± he snarled, his face at war between anger and sadness, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    My heart went out to my friend still stuck inside the Worshipper, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it would be risky if it wasn¡¯t important.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he wouldn¡¯t meet my eyes.


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    We stood in silence for a while.


    ¡°I can help you. I know exactly where she is. I can pass a message. Where do you want to meet her?¡±


    I looked around the apartment, ¡°I¡¯ll get a hotel room. The Days Inn a few blocks from here, I¡¯ll text you the room number.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± he turned to leave. His foot hung in the air between one step and the next, he turned around still looking at his shoes, ¡°I was hoping¡­I thought¡­that maybe¡­you¡­you had forgiven me.¡± As if embarrassed he turned sharply and ran for the door.


    Before I realized what I was doing I called after him, ¡°Sam.¡± He turned around. ¡°Do you¡­¡± have I forgiven him? ¡°want to hang out here for a bit? Catch up?¡±


    His face lit up. Well I had been avoiding him. And I thought I had a good reason. But here I was, all alone and he came...with one phone call where I didn''t even speak...he came.


    We stayed up all night. At first we were silent, channel surfing. The return to ourselves took hours; a shared laugh, random news about some celebrity¡¯s divorce, a long string of awkward moments. Yet somehow by morning we were talking and, dare I say it, having fun.


    We shared about our last three years. I told him about traveling across half the world. He told me he was teaching the Prince how to play video games. I couldn''t picture it.


    ¡°Jeez, it¡¯s already morning, I should go, Prince will notice,¡± he got up, shuffling his feet, ¡°I¡¯ll try to get the message to her as soon as I get back, but no promises.¡±


    We hugged. When he left I was still smiling. I had missed him, and my old life no matter how dull it had been.


    The cheap Days Inn hotel room smelled like bleach and mold, but I couldn¡¯t afford to be picky.


    I paced and worried. What was I going to say to her? What could I tell an ageless immortal to make her do something she doesn¡¯t want to do? How long would it even take Sam to get a message to her?


    Someone knocked on the door, I jumped three feet in the air. Calm down, Emma, no god uses a door.


    ¡°UberEats,¡± a young feminine voice called.


    Breakfast. I brought in the food and gave the girl a tip.


    The day passed, each minute crawling by like a snail running a hamster wheel. I didn¡¯t take a step out of the room hoping, hoping¡­ Lunch and dinner went by and I forgot to eat. That night I couldn¡¯t sleep.


    What happened? Was Sam not able to get to Ethel? Then why hasn¡¯t he called me or tried to contact me in some way? Did the Prince get suspicious, was Sam unable to get away? Did I miss my only opportunity?


    The next morning I debated whether to stay another day and hope for a miracle or try my luck at finding Ethel on my own. If Sam knew where I was there was a chance that the Prince could find me so I took my chances and checked out.


    After a day of wandering the streets of New York, realizing that Sam was probably not the only Worshipper disguising their ¡°otherness¡± I jumped at the slightest sound, avoiding public places. Finally I came to crash back in our apartment.


    Eternal didn¡¯t visit me with any brilliant plans.


    Morning dawned with Black Swan flying right outside my window, black wings flapping in a steady rhythm.


    I dived behind the bed, peeking over it, until Black Swan turned around and I realized it wasn¡¯t her. Just someone else with black feathery wings that spanned two basketball players around her. That¡¯s right, Kitty had all the old Worshippers killed.


    Somehow my relief was tainted by regret. So many people dead, yeah most of them were assholes and killers but still¡­


    Kitty would know where Ethel was. I frowned at my own line of thought.


    Kitty could bring Eternal back.


    What the hell am I thinking? Kitty is insane, even for a god.


    So if Kitty and Ethel were not options, the only one left was the Prince.


    He was the one I was running from for the last three years. I had gone back on my word to stay with him if he became co-anchor of the gods and promised not to hurt humans any more. He kept his end of the bargain.


    Maybe it was destiny or fate or something. I had to stay with the Prince.


    Before I even finished the thought I headed out of the apartment, my feet walking towards the condominium they still occupied.


    Inside the lobby were three Worshippers, one guy and two women, sitting in the lounge chairs, chatting as if being orange with wings and having, was that lizard skin, was perfectly normal.


    I didn¡¯t recognize any of them, sighing with relief I made to walk past them.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± the one that looked human moved faster than I could blink, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±


    ¡°Um, to see the Prince,¡± bells rang in my head. Who was insane enough to just walk into a god headquarters?


    Snake Skin sneered behind me, ¡°Did you have an appointment?¡±


    Crap. People who wanted to be Worshippers could beg for months just to be allowed to see one of the gods.


    But I wasn¡¯t one of those idiots. I had been a Worshipper, I had died and Eternal would just bring me back if I died again. At least I hoped.


    ¡°I have a message from Eternal for the Prince, if you don¡¯t know who that is then it¡¯s above your pay grade. Maybe you could get Ash for me and we won¡¯t have any problems.¡± My heart hammered. When all three Worshippers circled me I realized snooty was probably not the best way to go. I guess that only worked in movies.


    Orange looked me up and down, ¡°We were told no one goes up without clearance, per Angel, you know who that is, right?¡±


    The Angel was one of the six major gods, or was it seven now that the Princess was back? I looked at her wings and figured she must be the Angel¡¯s Worshipper.


    ¡°Feather kept more of her humanity, you must have really hated yourself,¡± ok, so antagonizing them was probably not my best option either but I had to prove that they knew me upstairs.

 Chapter 29

    ¡°You knew Feather?¡± Orange exchanged glances with the other two.


    ¡°I killed her,¡± my voice didn¡¯t shake anymore, did that mean I was hardening to the idea of death?


    ¡°A Worshipper killed her,¡± the human looking one took a deep breath, ¡°you don¡¯t smell like a Worshipper, at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, anymore,¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Eternal?¡± Snake Skin asked.


    ¡°The god of death.¡±


    Another silent exchange, maybe they could communicate with looks.


    ¡°Princess would have told me about a god of death,¡± the human looking one snarled.


    Realization dawned, I sputtered, ¡°You¡¯re Kitty¡¯s Worshipper?¡±


    She looked nothing like Toni. Toni had been thick, not just because she was mostly metal but like it carried over from her military days. This new Worshipper looked feminine, curvy with blonde hair and delicate features. There was something weird about her skin but I wasn¡¯t about to get close enough to her to see what.


    ¡°Kitty?¡± Snake Skin laughed.


    The human looking one gave him a look, ¡°She used to go by that, before she came to rule with Prince, how do you know that?¡±


    I sighed with relief, at least it looked like I was out of the weeds.


    Which of course meant I wasn¡®t as I heard Kitty¡®s voice, ¡°I thought I heard a familiar nuisance.¡±


    The three Worshippers jumped in surprise, backing away from me quickly.


    Behind Kitty walked the Angel. If there was one god who could pull off a human expression it was the Angel, and it was usually arrogance. He had white hair like the Prince but he was built like a football player; tall, thick and well muscled. He had a handsome face and piercing blue eyes, by piercing I mean literally, he did something when he looked you in the eyes. So I avoided looking at him.


    I found Kitty staring at me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t kill you, not without another upheaval but your presence is irritating, leave.¡±


    ¡°She said she had a message from Eternal,¡± Kitty¡¯s Worshipper said.


    ¡°He contacted you, without you dying?¡± the Angel managed incredulous pretty well too.


    I nodded.


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    ¡°Well,¡± Kitty cocked her head, ¡°Anything you can tell the Prince you can tell me, after all I am your god too.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯d rather not?¡± I took a step back.


    Kitty moved to stand an inch from my face, ¡°I insist,¡± and we shifted to stand just the three of us in the throne room. That was the only thing I could call the pool area now as there was a permanent throne at one end of the pool now. I was surprised she dragged the Angel along.


    ¡°Well you don¡¯t have a choice, the Prince isn¡¯t here,¡± she draped herself over the throne. ¡°We decided this city isn¡¯t big enough for the both of us. He volunteered to move overseas,¡± she stretched and twisted on the chair until her head was where her knees should be, her legs draped over the back of the chair.


    ¡°The Prince is gone?¡± My stomach sunk to my knees.


    ¡°It¡¯s just you and me,¡± she smiled reminding me of the Cheshire Cat.


    Oh yeah, that made me feel so much safer. ¡°So¡­¡±


    ¡°Sooo,¡± she echoed.


    I felt like a jester whose master was waiting to be dazzled.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored,¡± Kitty whined, ¡°So tell me about Eternal!¡±


    Again I got that look of ¡®dance, monkey, dance¡¯.


    I guess I wasn¡¯t leaving without telling her something, ¡°Do you know how I could release Eternal from that place?¡±


    I guess all the gods had that expressionless surprised look. Then she burst out laughing. Maniacally, it just went on and on.


    ¡°Sooo, I will just show myself out,¡± I started walking backwards to the door.


    ¡°You thought Prince would release Eternal because you asked? Seriously?¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°What makes you think he even remembers how?¡±


    ¡°Do you?¡± I kept backing up.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seriously think I¡¯d tell you?¡± Again that laughter, it would feel right at home coming from the Joker. Batman¡¯s Joker, not you know, another god.


    ¡°Why would I help release a god that may try to kill me?¡± Kitty apparently wasn¡¯t finished.


    ¡°I thought he couldn¡¯t kill the an--¡±


    ¡°And what makes you think he won¡¯t kill humans? His word?¡±


    ¡°I don--¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for you to die and keep from bringing that chaos back into the world?¡±


    Eternal was the chaos? Then what the hell were the rest of them? ¡°He¡¯d just find--,¡± I could feel a vein start to throb on my forehead as she interrupted again.


    ¡°Yes he could just find another human, enough of you die every day--or,¡± her eyes lit up, ¡°you could become my Worshipper and he couldn¡¯t touch you again.¡±


    I opened my mouth but nothing came out this time.


    ¡°Come on,¡± the Princess got in my face, ¡°Don¡¯t quit on me now.¡±


    Entertaining...she wanted me to be entertaining. Fine. ¡°Do you know what it feels like to spend all day shopping. Trying on dresses and shoes and not having a limit on what you can buy or how much you can spend? Just all day going, ¡®that¡¯s cute¡¯, trying it on and voila, it¡¯s yours?¡±


    Kitty sat back on the throne raising an eyebrow, at least she was letting me talk. ¡°Sounds spectacular.¡±


    ¡°My point is that for the first time in almost five years I had that in L.A. It was fantastic and I want it back.¡±


    ¡°I believe you called it mooching off your friends.¡±


    Did she read my mind? I didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°Why is it that you call us by our titles not our names?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The Prince, The Eternal, those are our titles in the status of our godhood. Prince, Eternal, etc. are our names.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Okay so I understood what she said but it didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Look, if we¡¯re done here, I should be on my way.¡± I turned to go.


    I didn¡¯t actually think she was going to let me go but the speed with which she grabbed the back of my shirt still surprised me.


    ¡°No, I think you¡¯re going to be¡­my guest,¡± she smiled, this time more American Psycho than the Cheshire Cat, ¡°Until we figure out what to do.¡±


    ¡°Um, you¡¯re not going to kill me?¡±


    Kitty shrugged, ¡°What for? I already killed you and look what happened. No, I think I very much need you alive.¡±


    She snapped her fingers and I fell backwards onto a bed. A bed? I looked around. This is¡­this is¡­

 Chapter 30

    I jumped up, running to the door, and tugged on the handle but nothing happened. Like a horror movie I turned around, looking around the room. I remembered the bed sheets, the armoire, the wall sized window on one wall. I had spent almost an entire year here; my heart pounded so hard I could hardly breathe. Oh God! My heartrate sped up, my breathing growing shallow. I looked wildly around the room for something to hyperventilate into finally making a pocket out of the bed sheets.


    This isn¡¯t happening.


    Why would she put me here of all places?


    To torment me, of course.


    I grew lightheaded. I closed my eyes, taking slow deep breaths. Calm down. Didn¡¯t I come here to reinforce the deal I made with the Prince; I mean Prince. What did I expect would happen?


    Once I got my breath back, I started to pace. What would Kitty do to me? And Prince was gone, why did that ring with regret? I shook my head, hoping Kitty didn¡¯t forget that humans needed to eat and drink to survive.


    Days passed. My only company would be whoever brought me meals. A couple of times it was a god, staring at me like a freak in a freak show. But gods don¡¯t find a lot fascinating for long and their Worshippers took over the task. I learned that Kitty¡¯s new Worshipper¡¯s name was Elizabeth, fitting for how pretty she was. I didn¡¯t know what her powers were and wasn¡¯t particularly anxious to find out.


    No sign of Ash or Prince. I had no reason to doubt Kitty¡¯s story.


    I paced. What next?


    I flopped backwards onto the bed, except I didn¡¯t stop falling. The ceiling fell away, the walls became white and I landed on my butt on the white floor.


    ¡°That was the brilliant plan?¡± Eternal sat on a stuffed armchair.


    ¡°What the--? How did I--?¡± I landed in Eternal¡¯s world?


    ¡°You are passed out on your bed, and I¡¯m getting a hang of manipulating my puppet,¡± Eternal seemed smug...yes actually smug. I found myself grateful that he was calm.


    ¡°I was supposed to talk to Prince,¡± I got up rubbing my lower back. Why is everything so damn painful.


    ¡°Because you thought he could protect you from me? Or that he would release me?¡±


    Angry and frustrated I snapped, ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know how to get you back, no one wants you back, I certainly don¡¯t have the power to persuade them. I don¡¯t know what else you want me to do.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Threat of death doesn¡¯t inspire you?¡±


    I wanted to scream, ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe death will be easier. At least I won¡¯t have to deal with any of you.¡±


    A look passed over his face. Was he sad for me? ¡°That place is worse, trust me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


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    He stood and started pacing, ¡°I took your advice. I tried to remember.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± That took me aback.


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly bits and pieces. This Other Side or afterlife it may be where everything started, the universe, us, etc.¡±


    ¡°Is that where Katana is? How do we get to her?¡±


    ¡°This place, my world, exists outside of your reality or that place. It exists outside mortality altogether so ¡¯we¡¯ can¡¯t go there,¡± he shrugged, ¡°If Ethereal had her full powers she may be able to find Katana,¡± he shrugged again, ¡°as it stands--¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m stuck with a bunch of stubborn, unchanging, immortal gods.¡±


    Eternal''s lips stretched into a smile, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°So I guess we¡¯re each other¡¯s only company,¡± as I said that I paused, ¡°Um, I didn¡¯t mean that.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he said and I woke with a start on the bed.


    The next day Blade showed up. At least he wasn¡¯t likely to try to kill me with Kitty being so against it. After our last conversation I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Eternal just let me go to that afterlife.


    He brought me food and sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡± His tone as emotionless as ever.


    So I did.


    He simply nodded and walked out.


    I didn¡¯t hear the result of that conversation for three days. Then Ash broke into the room and crushed me in a bear hug. He still looked like a beefed up version of Sam and not barely contained magma.


    At this point I was starting to believe that I would be stuck in this room for another year. Ash might as well have been an angel opening up a doorway to heaven.


    I hugged him back laughing.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he pulled away, ¡°They didn¡¯t¡¯ hurt you, did they?¡±


    I began to shake my head when I saw Prince behind him. The closest thing to fury on his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for you,¡± Ash whispered as if sensing that my heart stopped beating. Then he cocked his head, ¡°Well some of it is probably for you. Did you really want to free the Death god?¡±


    Prince just looked at me, turned around and walked away.


    I felt oxygen enter my lungs, ¡°Death god? That¡¯s what Prince told you?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, I heard it around. The gods are keeping their lips sealed.¡±


    ¡°Big surprise,¡± I sat back on the bed, ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Now? You can go, under the Prince¡¯s protection.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why you came here?¡± Ash frowned.


    ¡°I never asked you how you look like that,¡± I waved over his non-charcoal appearance.


    He shrugged looking uncomfortable, ¡°It¡¯s an illusion or something, just really solid.¡±


    ¡°I wanted Prince to bring Eternal back,¡± I answered his previous question, ¡°Being around other gods is not exactly protection from him.¡±


    Ash gave me a long stare, ¡°Has he--has he hurt you?¡±


    I thought about everything I¡¯ve been through and laughed, ¡°No, not exactly. Not your definition of hurt.¡±


    His face blazed red, ¡°No, I know I have no right to ask.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± crap, two steps forward, three steps back, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±


    Fortunately Prince came back just then. He looked at me. And I was walking towards him. What the--?


    Only after I stepped out of the room did I realize he hadn¡¯t stepped a foot back in the room where we--spent-- a year. I stopped when I was within his reach. He raised his hand, his eyes making contact with mine. A shiver passed over me. God what was wrong with me, why did I want to bury my head in his chest? His hand came within inches of my hair but he didn¡¯t touch me.


    His hand dropped back to his side.


    ¡°Come, you do not need to remain here.¡±


    ¡°She was here of her own choice,¡± Kitty stood in front of us.


    ¡°Locked in that room?¡± Prince¡¯s back grew stiff in front of me. Where was the fear that used to rattle me when I thought of him? Was three years really enough to make all the bad fade away into a dream? If I could forgive Sam, could I forgive Prince?


    Okay, I am totally missing this conversation. I refocused on the two gods in front of me. Time later to sort through my feelings, I hoped.


    ¡°She wants to free Eternal,¡± Kitty pointed out.


    There was a silence, ¡°She is human, how will she accomplish that?¡±


    Kitty shrugged, ¡°By Eternal torturing her until you cave and release him.¡±


    I could feel all the blood drain from my head. I hadn¡¯t thought of that. Eternal probably hadn¡¯t thought of that until Kitty just gave him the idea. There was no way he wasn¡¯t paying attention to this conversation.


    ¡°All he had to do was wait for her to find you since you are no longer connected as Worshipper and god,¡± why was Kitty still talking?


    Again silence. Apparently Prince hadn¡¯t thought of that either.


    ¡°Then I guess it is time to release The Eternal.¡±

 Chapter 31

    ¡°Then I guess it is time to release The Eternal.¡± The words seemed to echo in the open ¡°throne room¡±. The gods present went into panic mode, even Blade for whom it could mean the return of his girlfriend (could I call her that?) didn¡¯t seem happy. Okay, I know gods don¡¯t really show emotion, but if anyone has learned to read between the lines, it¡¯s me.


    Kitty, for once, seemed speechless.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it alone, I am no longer sole anchor.¡±


    ¡°No, absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re bored,¡± was that me?


    Kitty focused on me, eyes boring pinpricks into my skull, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    Prince left me alone the rest of the day. Has he really given up on me? Was I really sad about that?


    ¡°Come on,¡± Sam led me to the room he slept in, ¡°You can stay here for now.¡±


    I would have preferred to go back to the apartment but I figured that would be pushing my luck. And yes I checked to make sure the door wasn¡¯t locked when Sam left. His room was smaller. A queen bed, a nightstand, desk, chair and a small bookcase, crammed with books, barely left room to move.


    I pulled one of Sam¡¯s t-shirts out of his closet, now a 2XL where he used to wear Mediums. It came down to my knees, at least it was perfect for sleeping.


    I lay down, closed my eyes and heard breathing. I started awake looking into the darkness. Why was it so dark? Moonlight had streamed through the window when I lay down.


    ¡°You must be a lucky charm,¡± a voice came out of the dark.


    I screamed but my voice cut short. The light came back on, Kitty stood in a corner of the room.


    ¡°Everyone around you gets what they want. The Prince got companionship and ended his time as sole anchor--¡±


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± I protested happy my voice was back.


    ¡°I got what I wanted, my position back.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Now even Eternal, unchanging for a hundred thousand years, shall be released from his prison because of you.¡±


    ¡°I didn--¡± I started.


    ¡°Ethereal will receive her full powers back, the list just goes on,¡± Kitty spoke over me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do ANYTHING,¡± I yelled.


    Kitty sat on the bed beside me, raising her legs into a cross-legged position, ¡°Yet nothing had changed before you came along,¡± she draped an arm around my shoulders, ¡°You¡¯re a lucky charm. I think I want you as my own pet.¡±


    Great. ¡°No,¡± I tried to make it sound final.


    ¡°Come on, you¡¯ll have to choose anyway, otherwise Eternal will want you for his own, Prince will protest and then¡­you know what happens.¡±


    There was a hole in this logic, ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want Eternal released.¡±


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    Her eyes gleamed, ¡°I changed my mind. If they fight over you imagine the excitement. One of them may die,¡± she laughed, ¡°I won¡¯t be bored.¡±


    I was right. Somehow that wasn¡¯t comforting at all.


    Still I suppose this was as much of a victory as I was going to get. At least Eternal wouldn¡¯t torture me now.


    Kitty still waited for my response. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I said just to get her out.


    She smiled that maniacal grin that threatened to split her face in two and disappeared.


    Five minutes later Sam burst through the door, ¡°It¡¯s happening, we¡¯re going to Mount Everest tomorrow morning. Princess changed her mind.¡±


    I fell back on the bed. My life is never going to change, is it?


    I woke in the white room, for once I didn¡¯t land on the floor but sat on an armchair. Eternal sat across from me, all traces of humanity gone from his features.


    Oh God, I squeezed the armchair handles till I felt my fingers would break.


    ¡°Your fear is natural,¡± his tone remained flat, his eyes staring into mine, ¡°I am a god, a human life to me is the length of a fly¡¯s to you.¡± The words echoed into silence.


    He looked down, ¡°I see where the confusion comes from. Because I threatened your life and am a god you think I am like them.¡±


    Like them? My grip on the handles eased a bit, so he¡¯s not going to torture me?


    ¡°I have no need to hurt you,¡± he answered my unspoken question, ¡°Prince is determined and Princess is too bored to care. They may not remember why they went into hibernation 3000 years ago but I do.¡±


    ¡°Um, ok,¡± I didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Then why am I here?¡±


    He looked up, ¡°I could say as a final threat to make sure Prince keeps his end of the bargain but that isn¡¯t why.¡±


    I waited for him to continue but we just stared at each other.


    ¡°Soooo,¡± I said, trying to keep my sarcasm and impatience in check.


    ¡°You said we were stuck with each other,¡± Eternal locked eyes with me, ¡°I simply believed you.¡± For a moment I fell into the depths of the darkness that stared into my eyes. His gaze felt infinite.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I blinked and looked away, ¡°wait, what do you mean?¡±


    Eternal sighed, that was new--exasperation. I was teaching these gods all sorts of new emotions. ¡°You could have kept me company here,¡± he waved his hand to indicate the room.


    ¡°Oh,¡± I said again starting to panic.


    ¡°I am not going to kill you, calm down.¡± Gee, good thing his face never showed emotion, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t get the pleasure of not knowing when he was serious. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now anyway,¡± he continued, ¡°we shall soon meet in the real world.¡±


    My eyes snapped open. I felt a weight next to me and jumped, barely stopping myself from screaming. Sam lay beside me, still asleep.


    Of course he was. This was his room.


    I forced my eyes to close.


    Morning came, my limbs felt like lead, sinking into the bed. My eyelids too heavy to even lift.


    ¡°Wake up!¡±


    I snapped awake, Kitty¡¯s face floated inches above mine. I screamed, waking Sam who jerked awake and rose flailing his arms all at the same time.


    Kitty moved out of the way while I got backhanded across the nose.


    ¡°Ow.¡±


    ¡°What the--Em?¡± Now actually awake he looked at me, ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m so sorry, are you okay?¡±


    Kitty started laughing, still floating, like the Cheshire cat.


    ¡°Princess?¡± Sam looked from her to me in confusion.


    Am I the only one not surprised by the levels of her insanity? I swung my legs over the side of the bed and walked past the still laughing god.


    ¡°I am not bored,¡± Kitty yelled after me in a singsong voice. Silence followed so I knew she left.


    Sam stood in the bathroom doorway, ¡°What was that about?¡±


    I had the toothbrush in my mouth; not sure how to even begin to explain, I shrugged.


    In the lobby it began to look like an actual expedition. The gods stood unchanging as always, the Worshippers coming with us packed supplies and rations. Ash was back in his charcoal duds, talking to Elizabeth. Something about the body language between the two made me smile. Maybe he¡¯ll find happiness here after all.


    I turned to find Prince beside me.


    ¡°You have forgiven him,¡± he stated.


    I swallowed, ¡°He wasn¡¯t entirely at fault.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I gave the order, it is unforgivable.¡±


    I opened my mouth--to what? Protest? Disagree? But he was gone.


    Ash came up to me still smiling. He had this sulfur smell whenever he looked like an active volcano.


    ¡°She¡¯s cute,¡± I said.


    His smile widened, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to ask her out?¡±


    ¡°So apparently we¡¯re going to the peak of Mount Everest for this,¡± he ignored me, ¡°Since you¡¯re human again and we don¡¯t have the proper equipment you will need to hold my hand at all times. I will transfer heat to you so you don¡¯t freeze.¡±


    I suppose it should have worried me more to put my life in danger, again. But all I said was, ¡°Ok.¡±


    Ash shook his head still smiling, ¡°The old Emma would have at least asked why she had to be there at all.¡±


    Would I have? I¡¯m not sure I could remember the pre-god Emma anymore.

 Chapter 32

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Prince announced. Everyone circled him and Princess.


    ¡°Here we go,¡± Ash smiled and held out his hand. I could see the hot liquid moving under his skin making him glow. I hesitated and then we were shifting through space and Ash¡¯s smile turned to alarm. Just as we took our first step into knee-high snow I grabbed Ash¡¯s hand.


    The wind hit me so hard it probably left slap marks all over my face. It would have carried me straight off the edge if Ash didn¡¯t wrap me in a full body hug.


    At least I wasn¡¯t cold. Ash was like a radiator, keeping me at a warm seventy-nine degrees. Well I don¡¯t actually know the temperature but it was definitely not minus whatever degrees that was making the other Worshippers look so uncomfortable.


    I did see something remarkable among the gods. No, they weren¡¯t cold. But the wind whipped them around so long hair was sucked into their heads, loose clothing became skin tight. Prince¡¯s long coat shortened into a waist-length, blue zippered jacket that hugged his torso.


    So not even the gods controlled the weather, they adjusted for it.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re all going to squirm the entire time, we might as well send you back,¡± Princess walked around in leggings and a form-fitting sleeveless top. I saw Elizabeth, though wearing a close-fitting hoodie to keep off the wind, seemed unperturbed. She smiled at me when she caught me looking and again I thought how different she was from Toni.


    All in all there were seven gods and six Worshippers.


    ¡°Or we could forget about this and go home,¡± Angel said his wings wrapped around him, the feathers looked fake by the lack of rustling in the wind.


    ¡°And do what for the rest of eternity?¡± Kitty demanded. ¡°Prey on the pretty young humans? Even you have to get bored of that sometime, Angel.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t trust the word of one human girl. He¡¯s been locked in that world for over one hundred thousand years, surely his anger knows no bounds,¡± Veil¡¯s voice actually shook.


    A hundred thousand years, someone else told me that, still I started at the number.


    ¡°It caused the Ice Age,¡± Ethel appeared next to me. Her billowy gown replaced by white pants and jacket.


    Ash gave me a wide-eyed stare, mouthing, ¡°Holy shit.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be his counterpart, do you think he just wants revenge?¡± I asked.


    Ethel shrugged. Her too? ¡°By now you know him better than I do.¡±


    Was that why he was acting so weird, saying we¡¯re stuck together? My stomach sank to my knees, hoping Kitty¡¯s premonition won¡¯t come true.


    Prince and Princess stood in the center of our circle facing each other. Without moving, they began to sink into the snow. They sank past their knees and kept sinking. They were imbedded to their hips, their chests, their necks!


    Sam and I moved forward but Ethel put out a hand to stop us, ¡°Wait.¡±


    The two gods were completely submerged.


    Nothing happened. I looked at Ethel, she shrugged. I took a deep breath, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to suffocate.


    So we stood in the knee-high snow and waited.


    At least a god never did anything subtly.


    Five minutes later the snow stopped. Literally. Snowflakes stopped midair, frozen in place. Like a gear reversed somewhere, the snow began to fall up, back into the sky. The snow beneath us came down to our calves, then our ankles until we actually stood on the mountain, rather than a mountain of snow. The snowflakes picked up speed until just in front of us they formed into a solid white wall.


    So high I couldn¡¯t see the top.


    At that moment the sun moved into the perfect position, sending its light on the tower of ice. The ice magnified the light into a brightness that made me shut my eyes.


    When I could see again the tower of ice was gone, turned back into a pile of snowflakes. On top of the pile stood the Prince and the Princess, still facing each other, and between them stood Eternal. It worked!


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    I know I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised but after so long of nothing going my way I wasn¡¯t expecting it to start now.


    The three of them blinked at each other and took a quick step away. Like lifelong enemies caught hugging.


    Eternal scanned the crowd, the god expression of blankness firmly in place. Until he spotted me. Bursting into a smile, he ripped me out of Ash¡¯s arms.


    I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    The wind felt like a million razors cutting me at the same time.


    Fortunately I wasn¡¯t conscious long enough to feel the freezing weather.


    I woke miraculously with all my fingers and toes. Yes I checked.


    Sam, back in his human skin, sat across from me dividing anxious glances between me and the door to the room.


    He rushed over when he saw my eyes were open.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re awake,¡± he smiled, taking my hand, ¡°How do you feel? We all thought you died there for a minute.¡±


    Died?


    Suddenly I was glad I wasn¡¯t conscious for any of it.


    Wait. I sat up with a jerk, ¡°Where is everyone?¡±


    Sam eyed the door again, ¡°Weeeell, Prince and Eternal are fighting,¡± he glanced back at me, ¡°Not physically, some mental plane thing, I didn¡¯t really get the whole story. Princess went to watch and the rest are sort of ¡­pacing.¡±


    I wondered if I could sigh with relief, after all they weren¡¯t destroying something.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t wish for it to get ugly out there I recommend you make your recovery known,¡± Ethel appeared in the room but she looked¡­I gasped¡­she was practically glowing.


    ¡°Yeah, apparently releasing Eternal did that too,¡± Sam whispered.


    ¡°Do not forget our bargain,¡± Blade appeared beside her.


    ¡°But you don¡¯t need me anymore, Eternal¡¯s here, you can talk to him yourself,¡± I tore my eyes off Ethel.


    Blade shook his head, ¡°I have learned of the human heart and a god¡¯s heart is not so different. Eternal won¡¯t refuse you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± was that English?


    Blade shrugged, I almost threw something at him, ¡°I made a plea to Eternal on your behalf. Now you must make a plea on my behalf.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± I grumbled.


    We came out to the oddest scene I have seen yet. And that¡¯s saying something.


    Prince and Eternal seemed to be locked in some sort of staring contest while Princess sat on the throne laughing¡­and laughing. Creepy.


    The rest of the gods circled the scene watching, expressionless like moving statues. It reminded me of a picture of clay soldiers guarding the tomb of a king in China I¡¯d seen in high school.


    Sam nudged me from behind. They wanted me to get in there?


    ¡°Go on,¡± Ethel said.


    I looked back at them, ¡°They¡¯re just staring at each other, how much damage can they do?¡±


    ¡°Well, princess is still alive,¡± Kitty turned towards me, moving her entire upper body instead of her neck, like the Terminator, ¡°come save your dashing prince, or is it princes?¡± She cocked her head before turning to Elizabeth, ¡°That was the correct reference?¡±


    Elizabeth gave a weak smile and nod and I stopped paying attention. Save them? From what? What were they even doing? I got close passing a hand over their eyes. No movement.


    I poked first one then the other. Nothing. I suppose this would be a good time to find out if gods were ticklish, but I quickly dismissed that thought.


    I could hear the shuffling from the other gods change, like they were waking from a long sleep, paying attention to my every move. I could feel my face redden from so many staring eyes.


    Quickest way to get this over with. I kicked Eternal in the back of the knee. Pain jolted up my foot; it was like hitting a concrete wall.


    ¡°Oh, did hitting me hurt,¡± Eternal turned towards me, actually managing sarcasm quite well, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    The pain went as quickly as it came. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± guess Prince was awake too.


    Yay, it worked. I rolled my eyes. ¡°All right, now if Eternal can bring back Katana we can all go our separate ways.¡±


    ¡°Katana? Who¡¯s Katana?¡± Eternal gave me his best perplexed look. Not even close.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I snapped.


    He shook his head, ¡°I believe you humans call that joking.¡±


    Prince looked at Blade, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but not yet. The Eternal and the anchors must talk.¡±


    As if on cue, Kitty rose and the three of them disappeared. I looked to see Ethel was gone too.


    The gods shuffled and disappeared in twos and threes. Only Veil, Angel, Swan, Blade and another, she looked like a little girl of twelve, remained.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just make a new Katana? I replaced Feather, quite easily,¡± Angel¡¯s anger, yes actual emotion anger, suggested he was still mad that I had killed his Worshipper.


    ¡°You would have killed her when Kitty told you to anyway, get over it,¡± I said. I¡¯m sure she haunts me enough for the both of us.


    ¡°Enough, Angel,¡± Veil spoke, ¡°You have traveled among humans more than the rest of us, you have picked up too many habits.¡±


    Emotions were bad habits? Sam and I exchanged a glance. It made sense, those gods that spent time with people learned a greater range of emotion. Even Prince had come so far from when I met him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± wait, why am I talking? ¡°You¡¯re all trembling like Eternal coming back is going to change anything. Change what? Your lives are boring, I can¡¯t blame Kitty for going crazy. At least her anger at Prince gave her something to do for¡­however long this took.¡±


    Sam nudged me with an elbow, giving me the ¡°shut up¡± look. But did I listen? No, of course not.


    ¡°Humans may be weak and short-lived but at least we try things. We just went to Mount Everest and back, for some people that¡¯s a life-long goal that they prepare for years to do. What do you care about? If anything? Is there anything you want to learn, to know--you¡¯re not restricted by a lifetime. You literally have forever.¡±


    My speech was met by every odd eye in the room, my heart pounded so hard I thought I would suffocate.


    ¡°Well said,¡± Angel laughed. No one else moved. I wondered how long I would have lived after that if the four most powerful gods wouldn¡¯t have been pissed.


    Someone put a hand on my shoulder, I jumped and yelped.


    ¡°Calm down,¡± it was Eternal, he didn¡¯t look happy. ¡°In order to bring Katana back I will need your help,¡± suddenly he smiled, ¡°If you thought Everest was fun wait till you see where we¡¯re going next.¡±


    Crap, why do I open my mouth.

 Chapter 33

    The next thing I know we¡¯re standing on the top of Mauna Loa, an active volcano. How did I know that? Well there was no bubbling lava but I could feel the heat emanating like a steam room.


    We are going into that?


    ¡°Why do I have to go with you?¡± I squealed.


    ¡°Because I can¡¯t go into the afterlife, at least not if I want to return. So I send you in, pull you out once you have Katana.¡±


    He made it sound so easy, ¡°Oh and don¡¯t leave my side, my protection only extends so far. If you stray you will overheat and suffocate.¡±


    Great!


    I stared into the hardened lava, ¡°So, how do we do this?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, like this,¡± Eternal pushed me over the edge.


    Suddenly the overpowering heat enveloped me as the ground grew closer by the second. I screamed, flailing my arms.


    Eternal appeared below me, looking up at me.


    I noticed I started slowing down, it felt more like floating than falling now. Screaming seemed silly as I landed on my feet, unharmed.


    ¡°Come,¡± Eternal draped an arm across my shoulders and we began to sink, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll take it slow.¡±


    I tried to take deep breaths to calm my panic as we sank through the crust. It felt like vices clamped on every part of my body as it got enveloped. I had to keep filling my lungs to convince myself I wasn¡¯t suffocating.


    Eternal looked at me, ¡°Are you suffocating?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m,¡± deep breath, ¡°okay,¡± deep breath.


    Eternal gave me another look. ¡°You can only belong to one god, you know¡± Eternal spoke as if it was the most normal thing in the world.


    And to them I guess it would be--humans would always be objects to belong to someone. We came through the crust into what looked like a cavern. It seemed to lead down and Eternal started walking.


    ¡°Right,¡± I said instead of arguing, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we can talk about this when we get out of here.¡± Plus I thought as a river of magma flowed below us, pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t survive down here on my own.


    ¡°You¡¯re not scared of me¡­anymore, while being around Prince still freezes your limbs. Who would you rather spend eternity with?¡±


    I froze, eternity? That has to be a turn of phrase, right? He kept walking. The further apart we got the harder it was to fill my lungs. Focus, Emma, I chided myself.


    ¡°You know what I¡¯ve never seen gods do? Dance,¡± I ran up to him.


    He only spared me a glance, ¡°I¡¯ve watched humans dance, there is something entrancing about a physical expression of emotion.¡±


    Yeah, couldn¡¯t have said it better myself. ¡°And you guys don¡¯t express any emotion, so¡­dancing, see?¡±


    ¡°Oh we show plenty of emotion, humans can only read anger because it is the emotion we learned from them.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t remember anything before people. How do you know there was no anger? Plus if you¡¯re saying you created human--¡±


    ¡°Never claimed that, I¡¯m a firm believer of evolution. Humans were an accident, a bi-product of everything else we created.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± I suppose a smarter person would have dragged that sentence into a thesis paper but I just wanted to stop talking.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? Do you believe the subject is so thoroughly changed that you can stop there?¡±


    ¡°Well what are you going to do now that you¡¯re free anyway?¡± I didn¡¯t skip a beat.


    ¡°I suppose travel and see the world that I could only glimpse through my televisions,¡± he shrugged, ¡°Then I think I¡¯d like to explore this idea of outer space.¡±


    ¡°You guys didn¡¯t create that?¡± I tried not to sound mocking. I still only half believed he wouldn¡¯t leave me here to die at the drop of a hat.


    Another shrug, ¡°Remember, it was a long time ago, we don¡¯t remember,¡± okay that sounded too convenient. He was still talking though, ¡°But if humans could evolve on their own, what else could exist out there. Plus there may be more gods, ones that remember the Beginning.¡±


    ¡°You mean that¡¯s not just another god¡¯s name,¡± I laughed but the look he gave me had me murmuring, ¡°just kidding,¡± under my breath.


    ¡°Perhaps there is, one god who started this whole mess, it would explain why none of us remember it.¡±


    ¡°So, do you think¡­¡±


    ¡°That one of us is sitting on a throne listening to all of humanity¡¯s problems? Only if that is his amusement every morning.¡±


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    ¡°But--¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know, yes, yes. Still if it were even true in bits and pieces, where are we in the mythology?¡±


    I shut up, no way I would win this argument. Not like I ever had a concrete belief in God myself.


    We finished out descend, arriving at a pool of magma. ¡°We have to go in,¡± Eternal held out his hand.


    ¡°Um, what?¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t let go and you¡¯ll be fine,¡± he took my hand and squeezed.


    A god trying to reassure me? This was just not going to get any less weird.


    The magma bubbled, Eternal stepped into it looking as if he was about to take a bath in a hot spring.


    In the next moment, we were fully immersed. A tingling sensation played over my skin, quickly growing unbearable.


    ¡°Why are we down here?¡± I wanted to itch everywhere.


    That got me another glance, ¡°Just wait.¡±


    It was pretty the way the magma shifted colors from deep red orange and blazing yellow. Almost pretty enough to forget that one touch would incinerate whatever went into it.


    Unless you¡¯re an indestructible god; I glanced at Eternal.


    This trip was silent. I found myself fidgeting, trying to think of something to say.


    Finally we hit the Earth¡¯s mantle. But we didn¡¯t stop, we passed through like ghosts through walls.


    I started hyperventilating, the thick tar-like material pressing around me. Eternal squeezed my hand, ¡°You were fine going through liquid fire but this bothers you?¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I snapped, attempting to squeeze his fingers till the meat squirted out like toothpaste out of a tube. It didn¡¯t work. Drats.


    ¡°It will take a little more than that,¡± was that a half-smile, half-smirk? How did he start acting so human?


    ¡°Why are you so irritating? Is it on purpose, or is it a god-trait that¡¯s just inherent?¡±


    Eternal smiled, pulled me closer, moving his hand from mine to my waist. And before I could even blink, planted his lips on mine.


    What the--?


    I expected the same manipulative desire to course through me that I associated with kissing Prince. But, no, it was just lips on top of mine. Soft...tangible...normal. Not to say that was all it took to make me passionately involved in the kiss, but it did distract me from the fact that we were encased in solid rock.


    When he pulled away, I noticed we either were lip-locked for a really long time or we had sped up. We were through the mantle and inside the liquid metal outer core.


    ¡°Feel better?¡± his hand didn¡¯t leave my waist.


    Don¡¯t you dare blush, I screamed at myself, ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡±


    He leaned close, ¡°You know, I can hear your mind when you scream like that.¡±


    I grunted, ¡°Fine, then why would you kiss me, it¡¯s not like you feel attraction.¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Because it¡¯s fun to see you uncomfortable. Even gods are capable of enjoying themselves.¡±


    We made it through the liquid outer core and stopped at the solid iron core. Eternal looked beneath us as if he could penetrate the solid metal just by staring at it. Hey, I don¡¯t know, maybe he could.


    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± I asked again.


    ¡°The Earth started at the center, it stands to reason that if there was any place on earth that connected to the afterlife, it would be here.¡±


    ¡°Why am I here then?¡± I snapped.


    ¡°Because,¡± he took me by the arms, ¡°I can send you where I can¡¯t go,¡± and he flung me into the iron ground.


    I screamed. Until I realized I was not inside a solid metal ball. I was hanging above another white room, well more of a hallway. Somehow I knew this one wasn¡¯t the same as Eternal¡¯s world.


    I looked down to the ground. People, the room was filled with people dressed in white practically blending into the walls. They shuffled like zombies.


    How am I supposed to find Katana in this?


    Then I saw her, running towards me. She wore all black, sticking out like a sore thumb. There was something chasing her¡­


    My arms were starting to feel like they were going to pop out of their sockets.


    She was getting closer. I tried to pull myself up, taking the pressure off my arms. I really should have worked out more in the last three years.


    I looked down again. Katana¡¯s pursuers were catching up. What¡­is¡­that? I strained to see them clearly but no matter how close they got they still appeared¡­fuzzy.


    Is this really the afterlife? Death seemed like a joke now. I could see the strain on Katana¡¯s face now.


    What would happen if those things caught her? Or worse yet, caught us?


    Katana leapt at me, grunting. Her weight added to my own and I was sure Eternal was going to drop us.


    Instead his hands clamped down on my arms like vices. The things following Katana leapt at the same time.


    I screamed.


    ¡°Pull up,¡± Katana yelled.


    Eternal jerked up and the things missed us by inches. He caught us, somehow managing to change holds by wrapping an arm around each of our waists.


    ¡°Hold on,¡± he said, making the best Superman impression as we practically flew out of the center of the earth. He didn¡¯t take it slow to let me adjust this time, through liquid metal, semi-solid plastic and stone, magma and through the volcano. We popped out of the earth like newborn babes. Okay, never mind, that image was disgusting.


    Blade stood waiting, grabbing Katana out of Eternal¡¯s arms.


    ¡°No gratitude required,¡± Eternal griped. I laughed, I will need so much therapy after this.


    Then it hit me.


    It¡¯s over!


    Eternal got his freedom. Blade got his girlfriend and Prince¡­


    Oh.


    ¡°Come,¡± Eternal grabbed me by the back of my neck dragging me away from the scene.


    ¡°No, Eternal, you will let her go, just as I have,¡± Prince appeared in front of us.


    He let me go?


    Why did I feel disappointed?


    I looked from Eternal to Prince and back. They seemed to have entered some kind of staring contest.


    ¡°Hey guys?¡± I nudged Eternal.


    Neither moved.


    ¡°They¡¯re having a private conversation,¡± Princess tugged me out of Eternal¡¯s arms, ¡°Come on, before they wake. I have a job for you.¡±


    ¡°Job?¡± I kept watching the two for signs of movement.


    ¡°You fear them more than me?¡± Princess smiled reminding me of the Cheshire cat, no wonder she called herself Kitty.


    ¡°What job?¡± I said.


    ¡°A liaison position,¡± she rolled her eyes, ¡°Well, that is putting it nicely, I need a lackey between us, the gods, and the humans. You are human without powers yet with a strong connection to us. I¡¯ve been watching¡­television,¡± she seemed to gag, ¡°And I believe we need some good PR, they called it.¡±


    Not what I expected, ¡°And what do I get?¡± Yes, I said it.


    Again that smile, ¡°Not to be a burden on others.¡±


    I felt my face blaze.


    ¡°And not be their toy, there is one--a yoyo, I believe it¡¯s called.¡±


    I guess it would be too much to ask for them to just leave me alone. But¡­I looked around, if I was really honest with myself--where would I go back to? Would I be able to just be the coffee shop girl after getting superpowers, dying and going to the center of the earth. I mean I know for a fact that there is an afterlife.


    ¡°Can I--¡± be firm Emma, ¡°As long as you all follow my ground rules.¡±


    Apparently the raised eyebrow was about to become Princess¡¯s favorite human expression.


    ¡°What will you demand of the gods?¡±


    Ah! She is so annoying! ¡°Well, for starters, how about not worrying about that,¡± I pointed to Prince and Eternal coming out of whatever it was they were doing.


    She cocked her head, ¡°That I find as annoying as you, so agreed.¡±


    ¡°And no more threatening my life.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°And--and--and,¡± I know there was more.


    ¡°How about you tell me when you think of it,¡± she put an arm across my shoulders and led me away.