Destiny of a Good Deity

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mya pushed herself up on her elbows. The coldness of the marble floor seeped through her bare skin. The fabric that used to be her clothes was now tattered and soaked in blood—her blood.

Her long raven black hair was tangled like a poorly woven carpet and dangled down her shoulders, covering half of her face. She tucked the hair back behind her ear and looked at her reflection on the floor engraved with shiny gold floral etchings. She was lying in the middle of the Babylonian court—she was sure of it. She had spent endless days of her childhood polishing this floor.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She looked up. Ishtar, the Goddess of love and war, was sitting on her throne, tapping her long nails on the arm of the chair and looking down at her with a smile that an ordinary person would consider gracious.

But Mya knew a storm was coming her way.

“Well, now I can finally get on with my court and take care of important matters. I thought you would lie there forever.”

Mya scrambled up to her knees. “I beg your pardon, my Goddess.”

Ishtar picked up a golden scroll from a tray and rolled out a thin silk report. “You saved one thousand and five innocent souls at the cost of two thousand one hundred and six innocent deaths. In addition, you cost me an extra dose of immortal potion because you let the human kill you. What do you have to say?”

“Please forgive me, my Goddess. I deserve to die. But I beg you not to send me to Hell Gate.” Tears rolled down her face. There was no part of her body that was not aching at the moment. But the most painful part was the stench of blood that soaked the ground from those innocents she couldn’t save.

“Give me a reason not to. You are afraid to see those sinful souls you killed? Then you should not have killed them!” Ishtar raised her voice—a rare occurrence.

Mya knew Ishtar adored her. She had disappointed her Goddess.

“You know I am fond of you. That was the only reason I gave you a chance to redeem your unforgivable mistake. To give you that chance, I had to defend you in front of other Gods and Goddesses. I assured them you wouldn’t make a habit of this type of behavior. Maybe I was wrong. Your mistake can never be rectified.”

“No, you weren’t wrong. Please give me another chance. I’ll redeem myself.”

“You make one mistake after another. You give me no confidence in you at all. Give me a reason not to send you to Hell Gate.”

Mya cried. “You’re right. I deserve to go to Hell Gate, my Goddess.”

Ishtar straightened her already-straight posture and appeared to calm down. Her eyes softened a bit. But a chill still ran up and down Mya’s spine. She could never completely predict her Goddess’s temperament.

“I wager it’s natural that you chose to save one thousand innocent souls rather than kill one thousand sinful souls. Your choice reflects your good nature. But as you can see, the mission was not as easy as you thought. And I don’t have the time and the people to rescue you whenever you fail.”

“Give me another chance. Let me try. Please, my Goddess.”

“I have to get you out of my sight. I will now send you back to Earth. You will not come back to court until you fulfill your mission. You will not receive any help from me or from my court. You will not have any power except for your natural talent. And if you let yourself kill again, there will not be another immortal potion for you. You will die like a mortal.”

My natural talent? As far as she was concerned, she had only been good at two things in her life—she could run very fast, and she could scuffle. Were they considered talents? she wondered.

“Are you displeased?” Ishtar’s voice rang like bell down the seemingly endless steps from her throne.

“No, my Goddess. I just don’t know how to show my gratitude.”

Ishtar nodded. “Good. I like you, so here is how I can help. I will give you a list of those to save. If you stick to the list and save those one thousand innocent souls, then you will be back to court in no time at all. Leon will go with you as a liaison from court. I hope to see you back in my chamber soon.”

“Yes, of course, my Goddess. Thank you for your kindness.”