Kalona's Fall (House of Night Novellas #4)(19)

“Thank you, Erebus,” Nyx said, hugging him. “Your creation has pleased me. You easily passed this test.”

Still grinning, Erebus nodded at Kalona. “Your turn, brother.”

“Then follow me, and prepare to be impressed!” Before Erebus could protest, Kalona had scooped Nyx into his arms and leaped skyward, rocketing into the west. She peered over his broad shoulder to see Erebus following, with Mother Earth, who was clinging to him, but was also laughing uproariously.

“The Fey are going to have to scurry to catch up with us,” she said.

“Yes, and I was hoping so would Erebus, laden with Mother Earth.”

“Be kind,” she said, but tempered her disapproval by resting her head familiarly on his strong shoulder.

“She dislikes me.”

“Be kinder. You always seem so defensive around her.”

“Her gaze makes me uncomfortable,” he said.

“And still my advice remains the same. Be kind—to Mother Earth, to Erebus, to the mortals that inhabit this realm, and, most important, be kind to yourself.”

“You did not mention that I should be kind to you,” he said.

Nyx stroked his cheek. “I did not think I needed to.” She laid her head against his shoulder again and relaxed into his embrace, hoping silently that the outcome of this test would be very different from the last.

*   *   *

Kalona descended onto a verdant forest filled with the vibrant green of ancient trees. Boulders formed lovely little gorges, and the entire landscape was carpeted with ferns and moss. He came to ground, landing on a group of the largest of the mossy boulders, and gently released her. Before Erebus and Mother Earth had joined them, he kissed her quickly but thoroughly, and said, “Gaze upward.” Then he leaped off the boulder, his great wings carrying him aloft so that soon he disappeared into the canopy of green.

Erebus and Mother Earth arrived soon after, and not long after that, a few of the dryads materialized, chattering their displeasure at having been left behind.

“Where is he?” Mother Earth asked.

Nyx pointed upward. “He said to gaze there.”

“It is nothing but the side of a hill, littered with steep rocks, moss, and ferns. There aren’t even any deer trails leading up there. It is too rocky, too slick,” Mother Earth said, gazing upward.

“I wonder what my brother intends,” Erebus said.

Nyx smiled at him, noting that he seemed only curious and not envious at all. She linked her arm through his. “You are not mean-spirited at all.”

Erebus’s smile was sunshine bright. “Why would I waste my time being mean-spirited when being delighted and joyful is so much more fun?”

“An excellent question, young Erebus,” Mother Earth said, looking steadily at Nyx. “A wise Goddess would wonder why anyone would choose to be mean-spirited over joyful.”

Troubled, Nyx did not meet Mother Earth’s gaze. Instead she looked upward, seeking a glimpse of moonlight wings. She was rewarded by his silhouette, dark against the greenery. He was standing on the top ledge of the steep, rocky cliff. Below him, yet still above where Nyx and the rest of them stood, there was a lip of moss-covered rock that formed a basinlike ledge before the boulders opened and dropped down to the forest below.

Kalona raised one arm over his head, hand extended and open, and his voice echoed powerfully against the rocks.

With her beauty she has captured me,

Speared through heart and soul I shall always be.

The mortal realm should rejoice that she is true.

Forsaking her vow is something Nyx will never do.

So come to me ancient magick divine.

Take form in a weapon destined to be mine!

The air above Kalona seemed to shiver, and a long, onyx spear suddenly materialized. Kalona grasped it and commanded:

Water, heed the creation gift within my call.

Mirror her most favored headdress in a crystal, glistening fall!

Kalona drove the spear into the boulders at his feet, and water, answering his call, gushed up from within the break in the rock, cascading over the ledge in an ever-increasing powerful spill that widened, sparkling crystal and white, falling into the basin below in perfect mimicry of the glistening headdress of stars that decorated Nyx’s hair.

Nyx gasped in pleasure, clapping and laughing. Kalona dropped forward over the ledge to swoop down to her, catching her as she flung herself into his arms.

“Mother Earth! Kalona has re-created your gift that I love so dearly,” Nyx said, grinning at her friend when her feet were once more on the ground.

Mother Earth’s smile was guarded but genuine. “He has indeed. Well done, Kalona. This does decorate my forest wonderfully, and it will always remind me of the fondness I have for our faithful Goddess.”

The dryads trilled in agreement, dancing around the mossy boulders.

Erebus approached Kalona, extending his hand. “It is a thing of beauty, worthy of our Goddess.”

Kalona hesitated only a moment. Then he grasped Erebus’s hand. Smiling wryly, he said, “Thank you, brother. And this thing of beauty does not stink.”

Erebus threw back his head and laughed. “You win today, brother! And I freely admit it pleases me. You should show your sense of humor more often. I like this Kalona more than the dour, scowling one.”

Nyx went to them, and over their clasped hands, she placed her own. “Your brotherhood pleases me more than any test ever could. It is as if Water has filled me to overflowing with joy!”