Kalona’s Fall (3 page)

Just then the sun lifted above the watery horizon, shining the yellow and pink of
dawn on the grassy ground before the grove. From over the stilled waves, a voice,
equally as deep and powerful, echoed.

The sun doth harken to Mother Earth’s call. What is it thee requires? The power of
sun shall fulfill your desires.

Mother Earth’s smile was as promising and fertile as a meadow in spring.

“Mighty moon and powerful sun, twin guardians of my sky, I ask a favor from each of
you.”

And what do I gain in return?
Both voices spoke at the same time.

Mother Earth’s smile did not dim. She lifted her face to the moon. “To you, mighty
moon, I give dominion over my oceans. After this day, the tides will follow your will.”

I accept your gift.
The moon’s voice rumbled, deepening with pleasure.

Mother Earth gazed fully on the rising sun. “To you, powerful sun, I give dominion
over my northernmost lands. For all of summer, you shall reign there supreme, and
never set.”

I accept your gift,
the sun agreed eagerly.

“You have each spoken vow to me—thus you are bound—so mote it be!” proclaimed Mother
Earth. “Know first that what I ask is not for myself, but for Nyx, the ever-faithful
Goddess who kept her vow and remained, the last of the children of the Divine.”

There was a ripple in the air as the moon transmitted surprise.
They are all gone? All of the Gods and Goddesses?

“All but this one,” Mother Earth said.

The air around the grove heated with the sun’s shock.
But it seems only yesterday that the Gods and Goddesses frolicked below and above.

“To me as well,” Mother Earth agreed. Then she turned, beckoning for the pale, silent
Goddess to stand beside her. Taking Nyx’s hand, she continued. “But for Nyx, known
by many names to my children, those days and nights have been long and empty.”

Were I not already bound by vow to aid, I would willingly reward this lone and lovely
Goddess,
said the moon.

Nyx’s smile was filled with shy delight. “Thank you, mighty moon. I have long relished
your ever-changing face and your pure silver light.”

I, too, am pleased to aid one so fair and faithful,
said the sun.

“And thank you, powerful sun. Your summer warmth has brought me countless days of
pleasure,” Nyx said, bowing to the east.

“Wonderful! Then let us make this dream so!” cried Mother Earth.

“How? I am sorry, but I do not understand,” said Nyx.

“Tell me, sweet Goddess, if you could have a companion, brought to life by the might
of the moon and the power of the sun, what would you have this companion be?”

With no hesitation, Nyx answered, “He would be warrior and lover, playmate and friend.”

“Very well then, that is what you shall have.” Mother Earth squeezed Nyx’s hand before
releasing it and returning her attention to the listening moon and sun.

She raised her arms again, and this time began to turn her hands gently, gracefully,
as if sifting through invisible threads around her.

“Once more, I use that which the Divine granted me. Power of Creation, I call thee
forth from the sky! Couple with the might of the moon and the power of the sun, and
bring forth immortal life as companion to my faithful Goddess!”

Mother Earth’s voice took on a rhythmic cadence as she spoke the spell:

I am She

Loved so well by

The Divine

Creation is my gift

I am She

Cherished so well by

The Divine

My call from Earth to Sky shall lift

I am she

Beloved so well by

The Divine

Moon! Sun! Sky! Join true—join sure—join swift!

Create warrior and lover, playmate and friend.

Do not leave my Goddess companionless, lonely with no end!

The sky above the grove came alive with currents of glistening magick ancient as the
Divine—unending Energy bound to obey the Earth’s command. It multiplied and divided,
pulsing with the light of creation so brightly that even Mother Earth and the Goddess
Nyx had to shield their eyes. Then the currents swept up, up, up to the fading moon,
and up, up, up to the rising sun. The moon and the sun blazed, pulsing with the joining
so beautifully that Mother Earth thought it seemed that the sky kissed first the moon,
and then the sun.

There was an explosion of light above and around Mother Earth and Nyx, and then all
was still.

The sun continued to rise, silently, distantly. The moon faded into the heavens.

Mother Earth had just begun to frown and was considering how she would penalize both
moon and sun for not fulfilling their vows when she heard Nyx’s surprised gasp.

Mother Earth shifted her gaze. She had been staring up, expecting a being to float
down from the sky. But her expectations had been incorrect. The beings were already
there, kneeling before Nyx.

In shock, Mother Earth watched as two godlings fashioned from the joining of the sky
and the moon, and the sun and the moon, lifted their faces and gazed with utter adoration
at their Goddess.

“They have wings!” Nyx exclaimed.

“And there are two of them,” Mother Earth said, furrowing her brow in consternation.
“Nyx, this did not go exactly as I had planned.”

“I think they are perfect!” said the Goddess.

3.

SHE WOULD BE A MIGHTY ENEMY …

Newly created,
Kalona opened his eyes. His first sight was that of Nyx. He didn’t know her name then.
All he knew was that her beauty arrowed into him and lodged somewhere so deeply that
it made him unable to speak.

She approached him first, though he was hardly aware of the other being kneeling beside
him. She held out her hand to him and said the first words he ever heard: “I am the
Goddess Nyx, and I welcome you with all of my heart.”

Her voice was sweet and musical and soothing. Kalona took her slender hand carefully
within his own much larger one, noticing the unique beauty of their contrasting skins—his
darker, burnished, rougher, while hers was soft and pale and utterly flawless.

Still, he couldn’t seem to speak. Her smile had his blood heating and his body feeling
flushed.

“And what is your name?” she asked him.

“Kalona,” he blurted.

“Kalona. What a beautiful name! Your wings are the silver of a full moon. You must
be the son of the moon,” she said.

“I am,” he said, without stopping to wonder at how he knew it. “And I was fashioned
for you.”

Her smiled blazed, and Kalona could feel his heartbeat increase.

“Goddess Nyx, I am Erebus, son of the golden sun. Hence the reason my wings are
not
the color of moonlight. I, too, have been fashioned for you.” The other winged godling
stood. “Excuse me, brother, but I cannot allow you to keep the Goddess to yourself,”
he quipped as he stepped around Kalona, gently pulling Nyx’s hand from his before
Erebus bowed with a flourish of golden wings.

Nyx turned her luminous smile to Erebus and her delighted laughter seemed to sparkle
in the grove around them. “Erebus! I welcome the son of the sun with all of my heart
as well.”

“Lovely Goddess, have a care for how much of your heart you give away. You give Kalona
all—you give me all. Surely one of us will come up short?” Erebus’s golden eyes flashed
as mischievously as his smile.

Kalona frowned at Erebus and found himself having to grit his teeth against a feral
growl. He should not dare to speak to the Goddess thus! Kalona would have liked to
knock that cocky smile from the godling’s face!

“I do not think you should begin this relationship by admonishing your Goddess, young
Erebus, especially as I can see it incites your brother’s ire.” Kalona hadn’t even
noticed the other being until she began to speak, moving forward so that she positioned
herself between Nyx and himself and Erebus, almost as if she thought the Goddess needed
protection against them. Kalona narrowed his eyes at this lesser woman, ready to correct
her, to tell her that Nyx would never need protection against him! He would never—could
never—hurt her! But the woman’s eyes caught his before he could speak, and a warning
in their dark depths silenced him.

“Kalona, Erebus, please greet my friend, Mother Earth. You must thank her, as it is
she who enabled your creation!” Nyx said breathlessly.

Erebus’s smile was charming, his voice deep and gentle, as he bowed to her saying,
“Great Mother, I greet and thank you, and I ask that you forget my first, mistaken
attempt at humor. I assure you that my intention was not to admonish my Goddess, though
I admit to finding it amusing that I was able to so easily incite my brother’s ire.”

“Precocious, so precocious!” Mother Earth smiled at Erebus as she spoke, embracing
him gently and making it obvious that she liked the sun godling’s precociousness.

Kalona stood and bowed deeply, respectfully. “I greet you, Mother Earth, and thank
you for the role you played in my conception.”

“You are welcome, Kalona.” She embraced him as well, but Kalona thought it was with
much less warmth than she had embraced his brother. Mother Earth stepped back and
addressed the three of them. “So you each acknowledge that I do have a maternal responsibility
here,” said Mother Earth.

“Indeed you do, my friend,” Nyx responded readily. “And I shall eternally thank you
for it.”

“Eternity is such a long, long time,” Mother Earth said, studying Kalona and Erebus
in turn. “I suppose you will want to take them back to the Otherworld with you?”

Kalona’s gaze locked with Nyx’s. He saw that her cheeks had pinked alluringly, and
though her gaze did not leave his, her voice softened, seeming almost shy. “Yes, I
will.”

“Today?”

“Today!” Nyx said, nodding her head, still not looking away from Kalona.

“The Otherworld,” Kalona said, finding his voice. “Even the name sounds magickal.”

Nyx rewarded him with an intimate smile. “It is beautiful, much like this planet,
only it is filled with ancient, Divine magick and powers that are sometimes difficult
for even me to wield. Such powers can be exhausting,” she finished, suddenly sounding
older and tired.

“My Goddess, I will help you wield the powers that exhaust you,” Kalona said, taking
an eager step toward her.

“And yet it is not your place to wield the Old Magick of Nyx’s Otherworld,” Mother
Earth said, also taking a step closer.

Kalona felt the heat of Mother Earth’s power, and of her displeasure. Their gazes
met, hers even more unflinching than his.
She would be a mighty enemy …
The knowledge echoed through his mind.

Kalona backed down and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of Mother Earth’s
might.

Erebus seemed not to notice Mother Earth’s intense displeasure. His voice was as light
as his smile. “What would we want with Nyx’s magick? There is magick aplenty in the
Divine Ether that created us. Should we need power, we have but to call on it. It
must answer us, as that is our blood right as sons of the Divine. Great Mother, our
matriarch, I assure you, my brother and I have no desires other than to serve Nyx.”

“Remember, Mother Earth, the winged immortals were created
for
me and not
against
me,” Nyx said, agreeing with the golden-winged immortal.

“Yes, I know. They were created by me.” Mother Earth was not so easily placated. She
faced off against Kalona and Erebus. “You were created by me to serve Nyx; therefore,
it is
my
responsibility to see you are willing and able to fulfill your twin destinies as
warrior and lover, playmate and friend. Nyx, do you agree that this is my responsibility?”

“My gratitude is such that I will never debate responsibilities with you. Instead
I freely acknowledge that you are Mother and Creator of all of this.” Nyx paused,
sweeping her arm gracefully in a gesture that took in the whole of the earth, as well
as the two winged immortals. “Simply tell me how you propose to fulfill your maternal
responsibility. I shall not naysay you.”

Kalona felt his stomach tighten as Mother Earth continued to study them carefully,
as if searching for flaws.

“I take you at your word, Nyx. This is what I propose,” Mother Earth said, sending
Nyx a maternal and very satisfied-looking smile. “Under my supervision, your two winged
immortals must complete three tasks each for you, proving that they are powerful and
wise and loyal enough to be worthy of you.”

“That sounds delightful, doesn’t it?” Nyx said.

“Absolutely,” Erebus said.

“I look forward to proving my worth to you,” Kalona said.

“Delightful!” Nyx repeated, meeting Kalona’s gaze.