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

materialized on the
     ridge overlooking the geyser and was greeted by Erebus’s exclamation of “My Goddess!
     What a lovely surprise it is to see you! I admit that I had been thinking of you and
     wishing for your opinion on my discovery. So, you appearing here is, indeed, fortuitous.”
    “Merry meet, Erebus.” Nyx quickly recovered her composure. Had L’ota actually said
     which winged one had called for her? “What is this discovery of yours?”
    “Come with me.” Smiling, he held his hand out to her. “I found them in a den made
     within the roots of an old tree, just there.” He pointed into the tree line above
     them, helping Nyx to climb over the rocky outcroppings. “Careful,” he said, lifting
     her over a cluster of brambles.
    He led Nyx to a fragrant cedar tree. Pressing his finger against his lips, he carefully
     pulled back the frond of a fern to reveal a neat little den nestled within the tree’s
     massive roots. Within the den were five plump, furry creatures.
    “Kittens!” Nyx exclaimed, causing the babies to wake and blink at her with bright,
     curious eyes.
    “So, she was right. The wildcats do please you,” Erebus said, sounding satisfied with
     himself. “They aren’t frightened of you, though they do not thus favor anyone else.”
     At the sound of his voice, the kittens had bowed their backs and made hissing, spitting
     noises at him.
    Nyx laughed and stroked them, calming their miniature fury. “Of course they are not
     frightened of me. They recognize their Goddess. And they do please me, very much!
     So much so that I have actually secreted one away to the Otherworld with me.” Nyx
     glanced at Erebus. “She?”
    Erebus’s grin made him look boyishly adorable. “Mother Earth, of course.”
    “Of course. There’s little that can be kept secret from the Great Mother.”
    “Does that bother you?”
    “No, not at all. I cherish her friendship and the affection she has for me. Does it
     bother you?”
    “No! I love the Great Mother and the mortal realm. There are such interesting creatures
     that populate it. And, I owe her a vast debt—that of my creation.”
    “You are truly kind and generous, Erebus.”
    “Thank you, my Goddess. Would you sit with me awhile and wait for your geyser to erupt
     so that we might watch it together?”
    “I would love to,” Nyx assured him. Before he closed the den with the frond, she gave
     the kittens one last, lingering look. “Did Mother Earth happen to mention to you if
     she would mind if I secreted away a few more wildcats?”
    Erebus laughed. “No, she did not, though I will ask it of her when next she and I
     visit.”
    “So you visit her regularly?” Nyx asked as they made their way back to the ridge overlooking
     the geyser.
    “Yes. I enjoy her company, though I do not understand her obsession with the Fey.”
    “I would warn you to get used to them, but they seem to prefer the mortal realm to
     that of the Otherworld. Even my skeeaed has been temperamental lately.”
    “Skeeaed. Is that the little pink-colored Fey who is so often in your shadow?”
    “Yes, L’ota. Did you not speak with her today?”
    “No, I haven’t seen the creature since the last test,” Erebus said. Then he stopped
     and lifted her off her feet. “Goddess, there are brambles everywhere and the rocks
     are sharply edged. The next time you visit me here, I would ask that you remember
     to wear shoes.”
    “I’ll do that,” she said. “But until then I will appreciate your gallantry.”
    When they reached the ridge, Erebus put her gently down on a smooth-sided boulder
     that made a perfect chair. He sat on the rocky ground beside her, and they faced the
     geyser. Neither of them spoke, but the silence between them was not uncomfortable.
     Nyx was thinking how pleasant and peaceful it was there, and how the rank smell hardly
     reached the ridge, when the earth began to growl and then whooshing waves announced
     the coming water and the column