Free Kalona’s Fall by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast Page A

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