“Come with me,” I told Kenna. I turned and I felt her following closely on my heels. I leaped onto the stone of the altar and stood squarely in the middle, my bare feet cooled by the stone. Kenna walked quietly to my side.
“What would you like for me to do?” she asked. She was no longer arrogant or brash, she was simply matter-of-fact.
“Do you realize that your magic comes from my mother herself?” I asked her. “As a mortal, all you can do is channel the magic of the gods. You do not have such magic of your own. And do you believe that my mother would allow more magic to flow through you than me in this situation?”
For the first time, Kenna looked unsure of herself. “I doubt it, princess,” she finally answered. “When I made those boasts, I was not thinking that I would ever be facing you in a challenge. Certainly in this situation, the outcome will be different.”
“Certainly,” I answered, smiling slightly at the girl. A little of her arrogance had seeped away and I felt a surprising amount of satisfaction from that.
“Empusa,” Brennan cautioned again. But this time, I didn’t check my thoughts. In this situation, I was right to feel the way I did. This girl had been arrogant.
“You must learn that you can never foresee situations that you might find yourself in,” I told Kenna. “This situation will serve as a lesson for you.”
Pointing my finger at her, I summoned goddess strength from deep within and channeled it out of me. It erupted in a rush, directed at Kenna. Kenna flew from the altar and crashed into the side of a nearby tree. She slid to the ground, but she was unharmed and quickly got to her feet. Her face was red and a vein thrummed in the side of her temple. She was embarrassed and angry.
Pointing back at me, a thin stream of light shot from her fingers and shattered the stillness of the night. But the light itself served as a warning. I saw it coming and deflected it back to her- forming a shield in my mind and hurling it at her. My magic smashed into hers, blocking it and reflecting it back to her. It collided into her and once again, she was thrown into the trees, this time by her own magic.
“Your magic is good,” I called to her. “I’ve never seen a mortal channel such power. But you will not beat me. Do you wish to continue?”
I was confident and slightly annoyed that this girl still had the arrogant spirit that she had when she started. Her eyes spit fire as she once again climbed from the ground. Her braid was coming apart now, her clothing torn and dirty, her hands smudged. Meeting my gaze determinedly, she raised her hand once more.
And then quickly turned it toward Brennan. Her power coursed from her fingers into Brennan, ripping a hole in his chest. He flung backward and fell, his arms and legs splayed unnaturally around him, his eyes widened in surprise.
I gasped and before I could stop myself, I killed the girl with one blow. One single thick thread of energy left my fingers in an instant and sliced cleanly through Kenna, ripping her apart. I heard a sickening, loud pop as her rib-cage cracked. She slid to the ground, her eyes staring sightlessly at me. I had done it without thinking, in a quick reaction to her attack on Brennan. She had attacked the man I loved and I had killed her for it.
Divine justice had been served.
As I rushed to Brennan, I glanced at Circes and she nodded, releasing an inky black raven from her hands. It flew screaming into the trees and into the night beyond. She nodded once more to me and I knew.
I had passed this first test.
Chapter Five
Brennan got quickly to his feet and I stared in surprise before I remembered. One of his gifts was healing more quickly than normal. It was a gift he had inherited from Apollo. Even now, the gaping hole in his chest was closing up as though the wound had never happened at all. I expelled a long breath of relief as I rushed into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I hurried to tell him. “I wasn’t expecting that. I had no idea she would turn on you like that. I was focused on what she would try to do to me. I didn’t know she would be ruthless.”
“You must think more like a god,” Circes interjected firmly. “A god wouldn’t have hesitated to use any advantage, something that Kenna was inclined to do as well. Never let your guard down, princess.”
I nodded. “It has been hard-learned, but I will remember that.”
Branwyn was kneeling at Kenna’s lifeless body and I rushed to her, laying my hand on her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Branwyn. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I truly did not.”
She turned to look at me, her eyes filled with pain.
“What do you mean, Empusa? Of course you had no choice. She attacked Brennan. I still weep for her, however. Aside from her arrogance, she was a good girl.”
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat as I watched her fold Kenna’s arms over her torso. She stepped back as Brennan bent and picked the girl up.
“Tell me where to take her,” he instructed Branwyn.
If Branwyn looked surprised that Brennan would carry the girl who had just tried to kill him, she didn’t show it. She simply led the way out of the clearing and back toward the village. Brennan strode behind her, his shoulders wide and strong. I stayed with Circes.
“Circes,” I began uncertainly. “Can we win this?”
Circes looked at me with her unnerving eyes.
“I know not,” she said quietly. “Your mother also does not know. But you must try, princess.”
“Have you not seen the outcome?”I asked in disbelief. “Nor my mother?”
Circes shook her head slowly. “No. The outcome is darkened to us. We cannot see it. We have seen many different outcomes, but we cannot tell which is the true ending to this story. Perhaps because it has not yet been written. It is entirely dependent on you.”
“And Brennan,” I added. “He plays a role as well.”
“Yes, he certainly does,” Circes acknowledged. “And never forget what I saw awhile ago, princess.”
“You saw that Brennan would be a threat to me- that his very existence would threaten me and that I would risk everything for him.”
“Yes,” she answered simply. “Remember that.”