Prologue
Their Voices Console Me
Ihave had the same reoccurring dream for the past two weeks. I am asleep on the couch in our dorm room, wrapped up in a thick, green blanket that Sebastian usually keeps at the foot of his bed. The blanket cradles me as my eyes open to the sound of a coffee maker, and someone spooning sugar into a glass mug.
When my vision clears, I find Odysseus to be standing at the kitchen counter, rapidly mixing his morning brew. His shoulder length waves are loose around eyes, which have deep bags around them, as if he hasn’t slept in months. He brings the cup to his lips and takes a long sip, only for his nose to wrinkle, and he to set it down to add more sugar.
I move my lips to say his name, but no sound echoes across the room.
Instead, the walls began to melt, like a crayon under a hair dryer. The paint and concrete drip in glops all over the tile floor of our dormitory, morphing into grey piles all around me.I try to pull myself up from the couch but find my struggling pointless; I am cocooned inside the blanket.
Odysseus turns to where I am lying and stares at me with two eyes completely black, soulless, as if he were another spirit. His face pales dramatically before his bronze skin melts as well, spilling in sticky, gooey falls down his chest. His cheekbones peek through the melting flesh, and his eyes roll from his face before hitting the floor with a solid, tink, sound.
I want to throw up, to gag, to hide my face in the pillows and pray this will all end soon, but the blanket wraps tighter around my neck and forces me to watch my fiancé melt. His hair falls from his scalp and piles at his feet, and before long, the mug he was fixing crashes against the tile. The glass sprays everywhere; some even hits my cheeks as I wriggle and writhe. I scream his name over and over, desperate to save him from this agonizing end, but my voice is empty.
Odysseus smiles from ear to ear as he melts, as if he enjoys this, as if he enjoys me watching this.
The dream ends as the couch I am on collapses into a dark, black void. The blanket releases me so that I can freefall, and as I do, I scream emptily into the never-ending darkness. My voice radiates to fill the space, but the falling seems to never conclude.
I am one with the space around me, frozen in a loop of Gehenna as I wait to hit a bottom that never comes. The dorm room above closes on me, sucking out the light and leaving me in the empty black surrounding me, like I was back in the pits in Icheiris’s Layer.
I wait for hands to claw at me, and eventually, they do. They rise from the pit and swallow me in their grasp as their screams echo through my ears.
I bleed from the intense noise and scream with them until my lungs collapse.
And then… I wake up.
Chapter one
The Immortal Convocation
Nicodemus
Bellamy Hall had been converted into a grand ballroom for the Immortal Convocation. The glistening chandeliers were polished to perfection, dimmed to create mood lighting, but still liven up the elegant space around us. Six-foot vases of gold and white flowers consumed the room. Vines crawled down the sides of the vases and wrapped around the base of the stands, a special touch from Deveraux. The opulent curtains were pinned back to reveal the eclectic windows overlooking the academy, letting the light of the coming moon cascade through them and over our waiting guests.
Everything was perfect.
All that was needed was the Gods-to-be.
Galaxy took the microphone and calmed the buzzing conversations exploding around the room in hushed whispers. He gestured to the grand staircase that overlooked the room with a deep smile playing on his cheeks. “Welcome, ladies andgentlemen, to the Fourth Immortal Convocation Ceremony.” He paused to allow for claps and harmonious cheers from his excited crowd. “As you know, this ceremony is held when the Gods partake in the grand exchange, something rare yet exciting for all involved. This year, though, is incredibly special. Not only do we present the next set of Gods to grace our universe, but we present to you, high-ranking Elemental beings of this vast galaxy, the Successors of the Original Gods!” When he said this, the room erupted in gasps and whispers, as expected. Galaxy’s confidence brimmed at the raised energy in the room. “And who better to introduce their Successors than the Original Gods themselves, returned to us after so many centuries of slumber!”
Erasmus and Endymion crossed the stage like two ancient paintings jumped right from the canvas. They walked side-by-side but not hand-in-hand; Erasmus kept a smile on regardless of how close he was forced to be to Endymion. Endymion was cheerful despite all that had happened, despite the distance Erasmus forced between them, and nodded to the crowd of Elementals who gawked at he and his ex-husband in astonishment.
Erasmus took the microphone from Galaxy. “Thank you for such a warm welcome, not only to this incredible event, but to life once again. We are incredibly pleased to share this evening with you all tonight, to celebrate not only all we have accomplished as Gods and high-ranking Elementals, but to celebrate the birth of our beloved Successors. They have proven their strength and tenacity double-fold and are everything Endymion and I ever hoped for and more.”
Endymion spoke now. “We are incredibly proud to introduce your next Gods, if not your final Gods. This group of individuals are blessed with incredible power and strength even we are shocked they possessed, and it’s time we shared this with the world.” He gestured to the stairs to his left, where a spotlightmoved to cascade over the entrance. “To begin, please welcome Odysseus Levasseur, God of Life.”
The lights in the room dimmed.
The grand doors at the top of the staircase leading into the room split, and with that split, an incredible ray of light cascaded over the crowd. Stars began to emerge from this light and dance across the room. Some guests caught them in their fingertips with small coos of awe. Odysseus emerged from this ray of light, shimmering from his ultimate God form into the outfit he was given for the ceremony. His dense carob hair was pinned into a half-up half-down with golden flower pins, revealing his amber eyes. His bronze skin was adorned by white robes, with gold sashes that draped over his shoulder, leaving one bare. His sword hung powerfully at his hip, a weapon to match the glory of its owner. He looked like Adonis, a true God amongst us, as he floated down the steps and bowed to the crowd before taking his spot before Erasmus and Endymion.
“Next, please welcome Griffin Crawford, God of Electricity,” Endymion echoed.
Lightning crashed violently, exploding through the room before a roll of thunder followed it. Griffin took the steps carefully, yet confidently, electricity bubbling around his eyes and around his hands as he summoned his thunderous lightning storm around him. Guests whispered at the majesty of the lightning he summoned, which reached the air outside of the hall and made the sky illuminate around us. Griffin’s complacent demeanor was washed away by that of a true God-to-be, a man worthy to hold the title in every sense of the word as he stood beside Odysseus.
Praxis came next, entering the room balancing on two vibrant tornadoes. The wind from the storms took people’s breath away and made her long purple gown sway beautifully in the currents. Her beach-blonde locks danced with her element, revealing herastonishing lilac eyes that pierced the room around her. She blew small funnels across her fingertips that guests could catch and watch spin in their palms, smiling at everyone’s excitement as she, too, joined the line.
The three were patient as they waited for the rest of us but felt the pressure of the crowd.
