Chapter Eleven
Hell wasn't so bad. I'd forgotten that after the battle in Naraka, the souls had burst free from the poisoned pit Katila had dumped them in and vanished.
I assumed they had gone to the Void as souls were originally meant to.
The only ones exempt from this exodus had been the childless souls mourning their empty cradles in the first level of Naraka.
They were still there, but they were the only ones.
When Katila had ruled Naraka, he clapped his hands to transport us between the levels. Katila was dead, and Naraka's current god was gone, so we had to walk the length of each level. Or we would have, if there hadn't been that mountain.
The second level of Naraka was a mountain—an enormous mountain with two sides carved into deep waves.
The entire thing was like a water slide gone wrong.
Climbing it would take too long. So, those of us with wings, or who could summon wings, flew over it while the others stayed behind.
That meant—Odin, and me. Odin could shapeshift into anything, and I had a weredragon form with wings.
Re could have traveled over the mountain with sunbeams, but he wouldn’t be able to fly beside us, so he stayed behind.
Odin sprouted a pair of leathery wings while I half shifted—golden scales covered my skin, wings sprouted from my back, a tail slithered behind me, and horns crowned my head.
I removed my clothes before I shifted. In this form, I wouldn't fit them and didn't need them. The scales covered all my private bits.
“Be careful,” Trevor said.
“We're just going to fly over it.” I stretched out my wings. “Be back in a few.”
I launched myself into the air, flying over the lowest wave with the jump.
Odin joined me, the thuds of our wings becoming a drumbeat as we rose higher and higher.
The air didn't cool or grow thin, but stayed a moderate temperature as we surged over the smooth, stone dips of the mountainside.
Since the mountain was a level of Naraka, reaching the top meant we had gone halfway through the level.
The waves of stone continued down the other side of the mountain. But we weren't going down.
We flew over one last wave of stone and then came to an energy barrier that kept souls in their proper levels.
Since we were alive, Odin and I passed through the barrier without a problem.
Instantly, the sunlight vanished, leaving us in darkness.
Shivers ran over my skin, reminding me that this was the level of the Abandoned—a hell for evil souls.
It was empty, but the shadows still shifted, and the plants cringed in fear.
After that, we entered an even darker level of Naraka.
When I was there last, my magic had been bound, and the darkness had blinded me.
This time, my dragon sight took over, and I navigated across the level easily.
The tormenting darkness hovered below us, but didn't move to attack.
Its purpose was to torture souls, not the living. And there were no souls to be found.
The sky lightened as we entered a new level.
A disgusting swamp of bubbling ooze spread up to the next barrier.
It stank of decomposing things and gleamed with putrid colors.
I remembered how it had slithered up the bodies of my friends, trying to infect them with disease. Thankfully, gods can't get sick.
As soon as we were through the barrier and in the next section of Naraka, I sucked in great lungfuls of air. The stench of the swamp clung to me, but the air soon clawed it away. Gooseflesh rose in its place, horror invading me when I beheld the final level of Naraka—the pit.
Here lay the pit of sludge where my husbands and friends had almost died.
Not only did it claim those tossed into its sludge, but the black, oily evil also possessed a type of sentience and would snatch anyone nearby, on land or air, to pull into its thick grasp.
No one escaped the poison of the pit. Not without help.
The trickster had saved us. They pulled my friends and family out of the pit.
And they didn't stop there. Katila had made a horrible mistake.
He killed the Yamadutas—the guards of Naraka—consuming their power.
He thought he could control the territory alone, but even Lucifer himself needs underlings.
Katila couldn't control every level of Naraka.
Only the first level, the Childless, could be left untended.
He had to put the rest of the souls into the pit, trusting the poison to hold them. The trickster freed them too.
And it was the freed souls who killed Katila.
After that, the souls had vanished, and they were still gone. The pit lay silent, its black sludge still and glossy under a noon sun. The shore of the pit was empty as well. Nothing was—
“What's that?” I pointed to a black, huddled form and dove.
Odin followed me. We landed on the shore of the pit. There, walking across the level, was a soul shrouded in a black robe. It was one of the childless, but she wasn't crying. She was trying to leave.
The soul spun toward us and backed away, speaking rapidly in another language. And yet, with the power of Naraka, I understood her. She said, “He said I could leave.”
I held up a hand. “It's all right. I know we look frightening, but we won’t hurt you. My name is Vervain, and this is my husband, Odin. Do you need help?”
Her thin hand hovered near her hood and then pulled it back. She revealed her gaunt face, sallow-skinned with hollow eyes. Black hair hung in stringing strands down her chest. “I want to leave. He said that if I crossed Naraka, I could leave and be reborn.”
“Who said that?” I stepped closer. “Did he have dark hair and blue eyes?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “He was so kind. The woman ignored me, but he helped me anyway.”
“A woman was with him?” I glanced at Odin. “Dark-skinned? Perhaps Nigerian?”
“Perhaps.” She shrugged. “She had dark skin and dark eyes. Beautiful. She wasn't cruel, but she didn't understand why he would try to comfort a soul.”
“You were in the first level? With the childless?”
“Yes, he walked among us with the woman.
I didn't notice him until he was right in front of me. He lifted my face and stroked my cheek. With his touch, it was as if I had woken up. I knew where I was. I knew I was punishing myself. Then he told me I could leave. He pointed me this way. So kind.” A tear came down her cheek.
“To find kindness in Naraka is a miracle.”
“That miracle is my brother. His name is Ty. The woman he was with tricked him into being with her. We're trying to find them.”
“She tricked him?”
I nodded. “Do you know where they went?”
She shook her head. “He wanted to help me cross Naraka, but she wouldn't let him. She said they had to get back to work. Then they vanished. He looked angry. He tried. So kind. But this was my test. If I can make it to the end, I can be reborn.”
I sighed and looked across the last level of Naraka. She had come so far, but there were still miles of desert for her to cross. I looked at Odin, and he nodded.
“I wish I had gotten here sooner. But I'm sure the journey has strengthened you.” I held out a hand. “I would like to honor my brother's kindness by flying you the rest of the way. Would you allow me to carry you?”
Eyes blinking back tears, she set her hand in mine. It was cool, but firm. “Thank you. I'm so tired.”
“It's my honor.” I drew her closer and then picked her up as if she were a child. She was so light, as if she were a feather. Cradling her to me, I looked at Odin.
“I'll wait here,” he said.
With a jump, I launched us into the air. The soul remained silent as we flew higher. Then she peered over my arm and smiled.
“This is wondrous,” she said.
“Soon, you will be in a new life.”
“I don't want to forget this.”
“You have to, but the wisdom and strength you have gained here will stay with you. Maybe, in your dreams, you will remember flying in the arms of the Goddess of Love.”
“Is that who you are?” She turned to look at me and then smiled brighter. “Yes, I see it now. Will you give me your blessing, Goddess? Love failed me in my last life.”
The butterflies of Love rose inside me, fluttering with joy. They were my guides, only rising for those who deserved their attention. Smiling down at her, I felt the magic shine through me. Her eyes widened, and her expression filled with wonder.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. Magic flowed through my lips into her, branding her soul as mine—touched by love.
“May love fill your heart and life. May it always come to you when you need it and be kind to you. May your next life have more laughter than tears, more peace than tragedy. I bless you to love and be loved throughout your next life and those to follow.”
“Thank you, Goddess.”
I landed before the shimmering border of Naraka. Just as it was in the Egyptian territory, the final border would release a soul, sending it into a fetus without a soul.
I set her down on the sand before the golden barrier. “You are worthy of love.”
“Please, what is your name, Goddess? I shall worship you in my next life.”
I took her hand and led her closer to the barrier. “Do not worship me. Honor me by honoring love. Be kind and generous, even in the face of cruelty. Give love wherever you can. Never betray it. That is what I want.”
She nodded and then lifted my hand to kiss the back of it. I let go, and she turned to the barrier. “Will it hurt?”
“No, it will feel like walking into sunshine.”
The soul my brother had helped, and I had blessed, stepped into the barrier of Naraka and vanished. A small piece of my magic went with her.