Kalona's Fall (House of Night Novellas #4)(8)

The winged immortals murmured tandem assurances that they did, indeed, understand Mother Earth.

“Good! When you have gained enough knowledge and are ready, use Air to summon me. Nyx will accompany me. As your Goddess she has the right to judge your creations. I wish both of you luck in your endeavors,” Mother Earth said.

“And I look forward to welcoming both of you to the Otherworld when your tests have been completed,” Nyx said, smiling at Kalona and Erebus in turn.

Then, changing quickly from divine to girlish, the two women put their heads together, one as luminous as the full moon, the other as dark and mysterious as the ground on which they stood. Giggling and whispering, they disappeared into the verdant grove.

Kalona stared after his Goddess, wishing nothing so much as to rush to Nyx and pull her from Mother Earth—pull her away from anything and anyone who attempted to stand between them.

“She is exquisite, isn’t she, brother?”

Kalona moved his gaze from the grove to stare at Erebus. Refusing to speak to him of the Goddess, he said, “Air? Why would you choose such an intangible element to wield?”

Erebus shrugged his sun-kissed shoulders. Kalona noticed that his hair glowed with the same golden fire as did his wings. “My only answer is that which I already gave our Great Mother: it is from the air that we were born. It seemed logical that it should be the element we first command.”

“She is not my mother,” Kalona said, surprising himself.

Erebus’s golden brows raised. “I think our Goddess might disagree with you.”

Our Goddess. Kalona hated the sound of those words. “Spend your time thinking of what you will create,” Kalona told his brother sharply. “For I assure you, what I create will be worthy of her.”

“I do not believe these tests are meant to be a competition,” Erebus said.

“Well, brother, I think our Goddess might disagree with you.” With those words, Kalona took several strides toward the shoreline. He leaped up at its very edge, beating his wings powerfully and using invisible currents of energy to lift himself.

He could feel Nyx’s gaze on him and, just before he disappeared into the horizon, Kalona glanced back. She was standing at the edge of the grove, staring up at him and smiling with a warmth that he could feel against his skin. Kalona met her eyes and touched his lips with his hand. Almost as if they were mirrored beings, Nyx lifted her own hand to touch her lips.

She loves me best! The words in his mind matched the beat of his mighty wings as Kalona climbed into the sky, intent on creating that which would prove he was worthy of his Goddess’s favor.

4.

AT THAT MOMENT, KALONA WAS ABSOLUTELY CONTENT …

Kalona didn’t think much of the mortal earth. He crossed a great body of water to find a large, fertile continent. But much of it was too hot or too cold. Much of it was uninhabited, and that which was populated by Mother Earth’s human children was far from what Kalona’s predetermined consciousness considered civilized. He avoided them. Humans might have been created in Nyx’s image, but they seemed shallow and uninteresting when compared to the glory of his Goddess. Kalona roamed the vast continent, thinking of Nyx.

He finally came to rest near the center of the continent, drawn down by an expanse of wild grasses that seemed to stretch from below him all the way to the western horizon. He came to ground at the edge of the great prairie, near a sandy stream that rolled musically over smooth river rocks. Kalona drank from the clear, cold water, and then he sat back against the rough bark of a tree.

What could he create from invisible air and Divine power to please Nyx? He searched within and easily found the Divine power that hummed through his blood. Using it, he focused his consciousness outward, and up, far up above the edge of the prairie and the mortal earth. There he found currents of magick, divine trailings of raw and ancient power—the same power that coursed within his blood. Experimenting, Kalona snagged a fragment of ethereal power, pulling it down to him. Then he stood, readying himself, and called, somewhat tentatively, “Air?”

Instantly, the element responded, swirling around him.

“Show me what you can do.” Kalona felt foolish, speaking aloud to an invisible element. He pointed at an enormous tree that had somehow grown away from the timberline, proud and alone, well into the tall grasses of the prairie. “With the help of Divine power, I command Air to create that which can be seen from the Otherworld!”

Air rushed around him, capturing the strand of ethereal power, and with a mighty roar, it blew into the tree, which exploded into an enormous mushroom cloud of wood dust and splinters that shot up so far into the sky that Kalona lost sight of it. Large black birds, disturbed in their perches, croaked and circled, chiding him.

The immortal sighed. He did not think that the explosion of a tree, no matter how spectacular, was what—

Kalona’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden influx of power—something that poured into him, as if it were a backwash of energy from the destruction of the tree.

Kalona shook his head, clearing his thoughts. His body tingled briefly, but within seconds the sensation dissipated, leaving him feeling empty and confused. He frowned. He must remember that he was new to this world—new to the powers he had been born to wield. Perhaps he was meant to absorb the remnants of unused energy. Kalona ran his hand through his long, thick hair, speaking his frustration aloud. “How am I to know? It is unfortunate that Mother Earth couldn’t allow time for adaptation and understanding before she foisted tests upon me—especially tests that are meant to establish my worth.”