Men who care passionately for women attach themselves at least as much to the temple and to the accessories of the cult as to their goddess herself.
~Marguerite Yourcenar
? 1 ?
Kaliope
RUBBING THE SAND BETWEEN my swollen, bloodstained fingertips, I feel each grain, missing my home.
I don’t know when I’ll see Cavan again.
The setting sun casts Perinya in shades of dark blue and lavender, the horizon a deep plum, reminding me of the entrance to the Otherworld. It’s been nearly five months since my mismatched companions and I—some of which are the newly formed Nactue—escaped the underground realm. But I haven’t forgotten.
Anything.
The Cage, snapping with fiery currents and descending instruments of death, comes to me in nightmares, along with the face of every person taken during the bloody competition. When I’m lying in bed, chilly air mixed with the scent of mercury and damp earth invades my senses, making it impossible to find sleep.
Yet, there are also good memories. Ones that I’d never replace: Caben’s deep laugh echoing off the stone walls of the training facility, his warm breath caressing the back of my neck as he held me on the tiny cot. His leanly muscled yet giving body holding me in the illuminated pool of water in the cavern, whispering to me about his past, entrusting me with his secrets.
All these irreplaceable moments happened before he sacrificed himself in the Cage. For me. And he was possessed by the dark goddess of mayhem and madness, the moon goddess—Bale.
I close my eyes and focus on the good memories. Of Caben.
When I open them, I’m determined, filled with renewed purpose to guide his kingdom—to keep my promise. And to defend it…even against him.
I release the grains of sand. They slide through my fingers as I catch movement in my peripheral. A wail rips from my throat as I bring up my sword to block the advancing Otherworlder. Getting to my feet, I push against his blade with mine, forcing him back.
His matted dreads clink against his black armor, their beaded ends swaying. The sheen off his lens-covered eyes glints as he blinks. For one quick second, he resembles my new ally, Bax, and I wonder if they’re kin. I force the thought from my mind and meet his roar with another yell of my own.
His warrior sword swipes the air before me. I suck in my stomach, evading the attack. No, he’s nothing like Bax—an Otherworlder who used to be my league’s ring leader in the Cage fights, but who turned on his culture to save his family.
Once we defeated the Dark Priest, I thought the Otherworlders under Bale’s mind control would awaken and join us—or at least they wouldn’t rally alongside the dark goddess. Bax tried to explain what would happen many times, only I wouldn’t listen. My optimistic belief in the good in people blinded me to the certainty of what was taking place. The Otherworlders did awaken, but it was to a long sought-after reality.
Their goddess was finally here.
Just prior to the Reckoning—the ritual to summon Bale fueled by the bloody Cage fights—Bale had lost their faith. Years and years of serving her, waiting to be repaid for their loyal worship, had taken its toll on the Otherworlders, transforming them into hideous mutations of the people they once were. They turned against their deity. But she just needed their servitude to hold strong a while longer, until her opportunity to escape her imprisoned tomb within the earth would present itself. The Reckoning.
Bale used Bax’s own father, the Dark Priest, to place a mental hold over the Otherworlders until her moment could be realized. Once Bax and I freed them, I trusted the Otherworlders to see Bale for what she truly was. To side against the dark goddess.
But if you had devoted your life—if your ancestors before you had devoted and sacrificed their entire existence to a goddess—once you were finally given proof, would you turn on her? For the Otherworlders, it was a resounding no. They worship her more loyally now than ever before. And they plan to keep her to her promises forged in blood. In their blood.
I block another attack from my foe, trying to see him for what he is: my enemy.
As he growls and slashes at my face, I duck and strike out with my sword, keeping thoughts of Caben buried. I have to in order to stay focused. But they come anyway, unbidden.
The Otherworlders welcomed Prince Caben as their new leader. They follow his bloody trail through battles waged on our lands, seeking to garner the one thing that will finally set their goddess free. Where she can rule over them. Unstoppable. A living deity on earth.
And once she’s loosed on this plane…what will happen to Caben?
My mind clouds, fuzzy with unsure thoughts, and my foe takes advantage of my misstep. He nails the side of my head with his elbow. The blow sends me to the ground. Dirt fills my mouth as I suck air into my lungs, and memories of the Cage surface, covering my vision.
“I’ll get a nice reward for bringing your head to my Liege,” the Otherworlder snarls. “He wants to mount it, ya know.” He chuckles.
Anger wells in my chest, hot and biting, bringing me out of my daze. The mercury in my blood pounds against my veins, urging me to unleash its strength—but I suppress it. Instead, I locate my fallen sword a few feet away and grip a handful of sand. “Then he’ll have to face me himself, slime,” I say low, so that the Otherworlder has to crouch.
He kneels on one knee and yanks my head up by my hair. “Speak loud and have your say, above-worlder, before I sever that pretty little head.”
I smile and pitch the sand into his face, then roll toward my sword. He growls and stomps toward me, his warrior sword swinging. I grasp my sword handle and swipe the blade parallel to the ground, slashing his shin. He drives his sword down as he falls forward, his wounded leg giving out.
Rolling, I come up behind him and take out his tendon.
“Bale…” he shouts, but the rest of his prayer is lost as I cleave his head from his body.
My chest rises and falls with my heavy breaths, my gaze locked on the destroyed Otherworlder. Just hearing the moon goddess’s name sends my stomach into a nauseous tumble. I swallow down the rising bile.
A rumble sounds in the distance, and I glance at the dimming horizon.
Somewhere out there, Caben is lost in that darkness.
“I’ll find you,” I whisper to the dark. With my free hand, I touch the ring tucked beneath my uniform shirt. Then I wipe the blood from my blade on the Otherworlder’s back and sheath my sword before racing to catch up with the protectors ahead of the battle.
Every day, I hope it’s the day we see the end of this war.