In the middle of the girl’s forehead a sapphire-colored crescent moon appeared. From it, spreading down either side of the girl’s face, grew an intricate series of filigreed swirls and mysterious signs that held symbols of each of the five elements, magickally mirroring the tattoos with which Nyx so often chose to decorate her own body.
The girl opened her eyes. “Great Goddess of Night, tell me your name so that I may worship you.”
“You may call me Nyx.”
Then the night around them exploded as Mother Earth materialized, followed by a crowd of trilling dryads who took one look at their Goddess and fell unusually silent.
“Ah, so, it is as I thought,” Mother Earth said. She shook her head sadly. “The test has been tainted. Kalona must fail.”
Erebus dropped from the sky, holding a woven basket. His sunlit smile faded as he took in the somber scene.
“I felt the test begin. I hurried to join you,” Erebus said.
“Daughter, sleep, and when you awaken you will forget the terror of your creation and remember only love, always love,” Nyx commanded the maiden, and brushed a hand down her face, causing the girl’s eyes to close. Then the Goddess moved her gently off her lap, and stood to face Erebus and Mother Earth.
“What happened here is my responsibility. The old man was confused and mistaken. He sacrificed this maiden to Kalona in a fit of madness. I commanded Kalona give me his creation gift and invoke Spirit, so that I might mix our magick and save her life. His actions have pleased me. I decree that Kalona has passed the third and final of his tests.” Nyx turned to Erebus. “You may complete your test now, as well.”
With none of the playfulness he usually exhibited, Erebus walked to Nyx and placed the basket on the ground between her and the sleeping maiden.
“I meant this as a gift for the Prairie People you love so well,” he told her. “It seems right that they now belong to your most favored mortal daughter.”
Erebus took the lid from the basket to reveal the five kittens Erebus had shown her earlier that evening. He spread his hands over the basket, and invoked:
Ancient Magick, borrowed creation, and the power of Spirit I call to thee.
Know my will and do as I command from the very heart of me.
Create joy from this night of confusion, death, and tears.
Comfort this daughter of Nyx with companionship during long years.
Familiars and friends and playmates they shall be in name and in heart.
Once chosen, by the might of the sun they will never be apart.
Erebus’s hands blazed with the orange glow of a setting sun, and when he lifted them from the top of the basket, Nyx saw that the wild tan and gray fur of the kittens had been changed to sunlight orange and cloudy cream. Erebus lifted one of the kittens from the basket, and instead of hissing and scratching, it began to purr, nuzzling him with its fluffy face. The winged immortal smiled. “Not me, sweet one. She has need of your friendship more than I.” He tucked the kitten beside the sleeping maiden, and then carried the other four to the girl, as well, so that they formed a warm circle against her. Then he turned back to Nyx.
The Goddess took his face in her hands and kissed him gently. “Your gift has pleased me greatly. You, too, have passed the last of the tests.” Then Nyx turned to face Mother Earth. “I did not plan what happened tonight.”
“And I planned too rigidly. I tried to control too much. Tonight I realize that there are some things that not even your great capacity to love or my gift for creation can forestall.”
“Are we still friends?”
“Always,” Mother Earth said. “But I think it is time I stopped meddling in your personal affairs.”
“I will never be able to thank you enough for that loving meddling. You ended my loneliness and now, with Kalona and Erebus, the Otherworld will be filled with life again.”
“You are more than welcome,” Mother Earth said. She walked to Erebus and embraced him warmly. “You will always be the memory of a perfect, sun-filled summer’s day to me. I have enjoyed being your mother.”
“And I enjoy being your son. Will we not continue our visits?”
“Perhaps, but I think you will find that you will be quite busy in the Otherworld, and I realize that I have become weary again. I need to sleep.” Mother Earth accepted Erebus’s kiss on her cheek, then she moved to stand before Kalona. “I have been hard on you, my moonlit son, but that is because of what I sense within you. Kalona, you are a different type of creation from your brother. You were born warrior and lover, and those two roles are not easy to bear side by side. I see within you a limitless capacity for good, as well as an equally limitless capacity for harm. Through the tests I meant for you to learn that with great power comes great responsibility. Only your future choices will show whether I succeeded in my lessons.”
“I do not intend harm,” Kalona said earnestly.
“Intent is a fickle friend,” Mother Earth said. “You did not intend for any mortals to die this night, did you?”
“No. I did not.”