Chapter 57 #2
“The gods,” Odin said, grim. “I knew their creator was a god or goddess, and I feared which one.”
“The Blood Goddess.”
“That is a new name she has bestowed upon herself.” Odin leaned across the table.
“We called her the Mother of Darkness.” He settled back into his seat, eyes settling on the fire like the flames brought him to enough time.
“In the time before witches and werewolves, my equal amongst the gods was Morrígna. She shined bright in the day, and I at night. It was not just our powers but our hearts that were a match. The other gods looked to us to lead. Yet, Morrígna had wickedness to her, a dark part of herself that many of us feared. War, famine, death. Yet, there was also the light, too, and when Morrígna’s time was threatened in this realm, she devised a plan to rid herself of darkness completely.
She split herself into three, creating a tri-fold of what mortals call souls.
One became the Sun Goddess, the other the Mother of Darkness, and the third vanished, a shred of divine existence, a ghost on the wind. ”
Kade pinched the bridge of his nose. “If I understand this tale correctly, the Sun Goddess and the Blood Goddess are one and the same?”
Odin tilted his head. “Yes and no. They’re more like soul sisters.
Imagine a piece of silk spun from the same line, yet it is cut in two.
One piece is sewn while another is woven elsewhere.
The Sun Goddess and Blood Goddess, as you call her, are as similar as they are different.
A mirror of opposites, and the Mother of Darkness earned her name by the reflection she represented. ”
“The Sun Goddess created her greatest enemy within herself,” Kade said.
“Yes,” Odin said. “Morrígna failed to understand that there is no darkness without light, nor light without the dark. The moon shines brightest at night, no? Darkness exists, but with light there is balance. Morrígna fractured the balance. Without her fertility, light, and life, the Blood Goddess had nothing but darkness as her power. War ensued, but the Sun Goddess feared if we killed her, we destroyed her as well. Morrígna had been my mate, the mirror to my soul. Her rebirth had altered that, broken our bond, but I still could not destroy the Sun Goddess, knowing what she’d been to me once.
Instead, we banished the Mother of Darkness to Hel for a thousand years.
She was dormant, silent, waiting out her sentence until an accidental blood sacrifice and the cries of a heartbroken man reached her. ”
“Tovi’s father,” Kade whispered.
“Yes. With the curse, she’s been planting her darkness in your world for centuries. Though I can’t understand why, as her banishment ends in the next fifty years. There has been discussions to extend it, considering her transgressions against Sorin, but I fear we can’t contain her darkness.”
“If that is the case,” Kade said, “what have you been waiting for?”
“You,” Odin said. “Fate cursed me with Sight during my life as a witch, but with it, I’ve seen you defeat darkness, Kade. Aramis and Nadia Drengr are your parents. You are their son, but it is my power in your veins.”
Kade’s head swam with a thousand retorts, but he could only manage to blurt out, “Take it back. I don’t want it.”
Odin tsked. “You will need it in the fight to come.”
“I’ve done well enough without it.”
“Indeed, you are a fierce warrior, which is why I gifted it to you when the time was right—after you met Evelyn. You are the light that shines in the darkness, Kade, she is life. Together—”
Kade shot forward, crowding the god’s space. “Did you not hear me? Take it back.”
The Moon God barely blinked. “No.”
More anger, maybe fear, shot through Kade. “Call me ungrateful. Call me a coward. But I have seen what this power can do it. It is evil—”
“No!” The boom that echoed in the cottage shook not only the walls but also the forest outside. The ground trembled, like a quake in the foundation of the Otherworld. The power, the tone, it jogged Kade’s memory.
“You,” he breathed. “It’s been you in my dreams.”
“Driving away the darkness, yes.” Odin grunted. “Forgive me, this will hurt.”
Kade didn’t have time to prepare as the Moon God covered his face with his hand. Power radiated off his palm and stung Kade’s flesh. He fell to his knees, losing his eyesight as the pain sliced through him like a knife into the soft sponge of his mind.
“STOP!” he roared.
Mists, shadows, the darkness of the wasteland that had plagued his sleep for weeks flashed across his thoughts. Terror beat against his skull like a caged beast, frantic to be let loose. The wet slick of Evelyn’s blood coated his hands, the lifeless eyes of his friends stared back at him.
“Don’t fight me, Kade.”
The throbbing in his head traveled to his stomach.
It churned and flipped, nausea rolling through him.
Odin let go, taking a step back to give Kade a wide berth as he wretched, a blackish worm plopping onto the floor soaked in stomach bile.
It reared back, hissing and baring its tunnel of teeth, rows and rows of razor-sharp needles.
“Destroy it,” Odin said, expression hard.
Kade hurried, reaching for the empty mug beside his bowl of stew.
He tried to use it as a weapon, tried to smash the slithering beast with sheer force.
How, in the stars above, had that been in him?
Distrust for the god standing off to the side only worsened the cold sweat matting Kade’s forehead.
He wasn’t helping. He wasn’t doing anything as the worm scurried out of Kade’s reach.
“Fuck,” Kade hissed as he got too close and the tiny beast bit his hand.
“Use your power,” Odin said.
“No.” The worm hurried closer to Kade, who scrambled back and kicked it away with his boot. “Help, damn it!”
“You don’t need my help. You are enough.”
Kade felt absolutely, positively ridiculous. He chased the demon-like beast around the cottage amidst an unbothered god. He turned over the sofa, knocked over vases and jars. Fuck this. Fuck the Otherworld. He should’ve been with Evelyn, by her side—
“This magic isn’t mine, it’s yours,” he said through gritted teeth, “and I don’t want it.”
Odin stepped in the path of the retreating worm, locking it between him and Kade. He bent down, grabbing it as it writhed in his grasp. “It’s not that you don’t want it, you’re afraid of what it’ll do.”
“Stop.”
Kade didn’t like hearing the truth, his heartbeat echoing in his ears.
“Our powers aren’t darkness, Kade. It’s what we do with them that makes them dark. Light and dark together create balance, we ourselves tip the scales with intent and malice,” he said. “There is nothing dark about your soul or your intentions. There never has been.”
“But . . .” Kade’s chest rose and fell, the fear coursing through him so horrific he didn’t have the ability to say the words out loud. Didn’t have the courage to ask.
Odin inspected the squirming worm. “You are not her son. One of her servants infiltrated your mind, made you believe it. Even if you were, there is far too much light in you. You’d outshine the darkest nights she created, no matter the thicket of shadows in your making.
” He threw the worm at Kade’s feet and leveled his indigo stare on him. “Destroy it.”
“I really don’t want to blow up your cottage,” Kade whispered.
Odin smirked, fangs glinting. “Then don’t.”
Kade rallied his breath, inhaling the truth of Odin’s words.
He hated to admit it, but he’d needed to hear who he truly was.
He brought his magic forth, and an odd sensation buzzed through him as a tantalizing blue glowed from his hand.
He’d always considered what he might do with his new power, but not once had he considered who he was.
You and your magic are one in the same.
Evelyn’s words whispered through his mind. His heart thumped, once, twice, a third time. With her teachings and the Moon God’s truth at the forefront of his mind, Kade became centered.
He and his power were one.
And Kade was light.
He twisted his fingers, the blue light sparking an inch higher.
He didn’t cast or thrust his power at the darkness slithering and hissing below.
Instead, he pulled his essence from the surrounding ether, feeling its presence in the air particles.
Like the gravity of the moon, it rose and lapped, pulling and tugging.
Twinkles of blue formed around the worm.
Its screeched louder, bending and twisting as Kade’s light overtook the darkness.
There was no violence. There was no fear.
Kade drew from within, understood the goodness, the light.
How he’d wield this power was his choice—not who gave it to him, not the foes they faced.
Him. His power destroyed the demon until there was nothing left, not even a shadow in its wake, and he left no scorch marks on the cottage’s floorboards, no evidence of his power.
He released a breath as he brought it back into himself, slowly, in control, his outstretched hand no longer glowing.
Kade’s wolf howled; his beastly strength, tracking ability, and magic danced together in his blood.
As one formidable power.
“Good,” Odin said, slumping into his chair. “That was good.”
Kade blinked, noticing the god’s face had gone paler, blond hair streaked with gray. A stone dropped in his belly.
“You didn’t gift me with a kernel of your power, you gave it all,” Kade whispered.
“Yes, indeed. My power now belongs to you,” Odin said with a sad smile. “There’s no one in this world I’d rather give it to.”
Kade shook his head. “Why not join the fight yourself?”
Odin’s gaze, all indigo with no silver, roamed Kade up and down. “Because I’ve fought the remnants of Morrígna before and lost. I’ve seen glimpses of the war, and it’s you with my sword in hand, leading the charge. That sword doesn’t answer to anything but my power.”
Kade inhaled and exhaled, trying to grapple with the unknowns on the horizon. “But why me?”
“Love is what beats in your heart, and it’s all around you. What better reflection of light is there than love?” Odin raised a brow, his tone sarcastic.
Kade swallowed, staring at the floorboards where the worm had been. His insides felt bruised, like too many days of a stomach illness.
“And speaking of love, I think it’s about time we find your mate.” Odin tipped his head.
Evelyn’s silvery gray eyes flashed in Kade’s mind—
“Is she in danger?”
“Oh, the Sun Goddess is dangerous, perhaps the most flippant of Morrígna, but I have a feeling your mate can take care of herself. Care to witness it with me?”
“Absolutely,” Kade breathed, hands itching to hold Evelyn once again.
Odin headed for the door, grasping a few weapons resting near it and sheathing them at his belt.
Curiosity nipped at Kade’s mind, and a missing piece of Odin’s story made him pause. “Wait, you never mentioned what happened to Matilda Moore. Did you find her again?”
“Ah.” Odin held up a finger. “Sadly, no. Though I searched for her. I believe, since Matilda had a mortal soul, she died when our fated mated bond was severed.”