Fire & Flood (Mythverse #1)

Book 3 Epilogue

Epilogue

I burst from the bowels of the earth with Mavis clutched in a talon.

Above, on steadier ground, Val and Cassie standby, wearing near identical expressions of concern. They don’t wait for me to shift back before throwing their arms around me and Mavis.

Needing to hug them all back, I shift.

Seconds later, I hear Fern say, “Group hug,” and then she and Marguerite join us.

We stay that way for a long time, all of our arms wrapped around one another. It’s the happiest and saddest moment of my life.

I have Mavis back. But lost Greg.

Zeus is dead. But I had to kill him.

And also, we maybe sorta broke the world.

I look at my friends. “Did I do the right thing?” my voice catches on that last word.

Val laces his fingers through mine and tugs me close. “You did what had to be done.”

I nod, feeling a little better.

Although...Val is my boyfriend so he has to say that. Also, he’s not exactly a softie himself. Plus, he didn’t exactly say I did the right thing. But I guess maybe what’s true is that I did the hard thing. The thing no one else could do.

I look over at Cassie and Fern, my moral compasses. They meet my eyes, straight on.

“The world isn’t ending,” Fern assures me. “It’s just shaking a bit.”

“No, it’s definitely the apocalypse,” Cassie says.

Fern elbows her and I can’t help but let a little moan of despair escape. “Oh gods!”

Realizing her mistake, Cassie quickly backtracks. “It’s okay, though. I mean, Zeus would’ve caused way worse stuff if you hadn’t stopped him. Apocalypse now or Apocalypse later, it’s sorta like ripping off a band-aid.”

“Oh, please,” Marguerite scoffs as she loops an arm around Fern’s shoulder. “Vampires have caused the end of civilization as we know it, countless times. Everyone gets all upset and then eventually they sort it out and civilization starts itself up again.”

I nod, feeling slightly better. “So probably by this time next year things will be back to normal?”

“Next year!” Marguerite laughs. “Not hardly! Maybe next cent—OOF!”

Fern’s sharp elbow finds her girlfriend’s spleen.

“Ouch, easy baby,” Marguerite throws a hurt look at Fern, who gives her a stern one in return. With a sigh, Marguerite turns to me. “Look, the world never had a dragon shifter on its side before. Who knows what you can make happen?”

“Especially with all of us at your side,” Fern quickly adds.

“Cassie!” Merilee runs toward us, leaping over wreckage with surprising athleticism. As she reaches Cassie, they fall into each other’s arms.

Quickly Cassie fills her mother in on what she missed—with an emphasis on Greg’s role.

“Oh, darling,” Merilee pulls Cassie closer. “I’m so sorry. If only someone had stopped him.” Realizing that Mavis and I are both nearby, Merilee quickly adds, “I mean, there must have been another way.”

“There wasn’t,” Mavis says. Stepping close to Cassie, she holds her hands out, almost as if in supplication. “I would never have accepted if I had a choice, but Greg made the deal with Hecate before I knew anything about it. A life for a life. If I hadn’t taken the offer to have mine returned, it would’ve gone to someone else.”

Cassie places both of her hands inside of Mavis’s. “I understand. Actually, I understood even before he did. Greg did what had to be done. For him. For you. For Edie. And for the world.”

Mavis’s eyes fill with tears. “But that because he switched me with me, Greg won’t be at Underworld Academy. I was…” She gulps and shudders. “Some giant worm thing ate me and was slowly digest—”

I gasp, and even though I want Cassie and Mavis to have this moment without getting involved, I can’t stop myself from pulling Mavis into a strangling hug.

“Greg isn’t being eaten by a worm,” Cassie assures both of us. “His family has been students at UWA for generations. All the bat shifters would riot if that happened to him.”

Mavis wipes her sleeve across her eyes as I release her. “And Hecate is known for having a soft spot for bat boys.” She rubs Cassie’s back. “You’re right. I’m sure he’s not getting the giant worm treatment.”

We all share watery small and then go in for yet another group hug. It’s that kind of night, I guess.

Hepa joins us with Jordan’s arm slung over her shoulder. He looks a bit dazed.

“A building fell on my head, but I’m okay,” he says.

“He doesn’t use it often anyway,” Hepa says, though her voice carries a lot of affection. “Can we cut the group cheer short and start tending the wounded?” She demands as the earth trembles once more.

Mavis, having recovered from her tears, takes charge. “We’re also in the middle of a major seismic event and below sea level. Let’s start evacuating. Val and Marguerite, gather any remaining monsters and return through the same portal that brought you here. Fern and Hepa, identify the wounded, so we can get them out first.”

“I’ll help them,” I say, “In case anyone needs to be airlifted.”

“You’re among the injured,” Mavis counters, hands on her hips. “You need to find a safe spot, sit, and wait.”

“Not gonna happen,” I say.

Mavis’s eyes narrow in her ‘how dare you question my older sibling authority’ sort of way. Luckily, Themis appears and steps between us before we can get into a full-blown sister-on-sister argument.

“Mavis, I am glad you have returned from Hades. It was not the place for you. Yet.”

Even now Themis cannot admit how much she loves us, her onetime daughters. Mavis must know it too, because she throws her arms around the woman. After a moment, Themis extricates herself.

“Mount Olympus Academy is closed for the foreseeable future.” She holds out a handful of portal keys. “These should help with your evacuation plans.”

Mavis takes them. “What about you?”

“I will, of course, stay here,” Themis says as if it’s obvious.

“I’m staying with her,” Merilee adds. She pats Cassie, “But you will evacuate, daughter. The end of the world probably isn’t the best time for you to explore the gates beyond Mount Olympus, but there is nothing left her for you.”

“Except for you!” Cassie protests.

Merilee smiles. “You can still visit, darling. And I’ll come see you as well. And I’ll help you get settled. I’m sure Edie wouldn’t mind a roommate…”

“Cassie will have a home wherever I am,” I assure her.

“Oh! I forget…” Merilee fumbles through the many pockets of the long drapey sweater, finally extracting a scroll. “Themis came to me when the prophecy about Zee first surfaced. She wanted to be prepared in case the worst actually happened.”

“I’m standing right here,” I remind Merilee.

“Right! Sorry.” Merilee gives me an absent smile. “Sorry, Edie. I’m not saying, what you did was not the worst. Arguably, there are worse things than the end of the world.”

“Um, Mom,” Cassie interrupts, before this can get more depressing. “What’s on that scroll?”

Merilee looks down as if surprised to see it in her hand. “Oh yes. I came across this earlier today, right when I was getting ready to come to the trial. I didn’t want to miss your performance, Cassie.”

“Testimony,” Themis corrects dryly.

“I’m sure it got quite testy,” Merilee agrees, only half paying attention to everyone else as she unrolls the scroll. “Unfortunately, once I came across this beauty, all else was forgotten. It explains that when a god dies, their powers don’t die with them. Instead, they go out into the world and find a worthy soul. Well, one hopes the soul is worthy. That’s a bit worrisome, isn’t it?” Merilee’s brow furrows, but then she brightens again as she points at a different part of the scroll. “It also says, if a god is very powerful, like Zee, the powers can sometimes be divided among two or even three individuals.”

“They will need to be found,” Themis says, taking the scroll from Merilee. Or trying to. The pair engage in a brief tug of war before Themis wins. “Zee’s powers in the wrong hands, or even the right ones...we will have to find this person and train them, make sure they understand the grave responsibility they’ve inherited—”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “We need to find one, two, or maybe even three people who suddenly inherited Zeus’s powers?” Something else occurs to me, and I wonder if this might be the light at the end of the tunnel. “And then they can be the new Zeus and everything will be better?”

“Possibly,” Themis says, as she studies the scroll. “In the meantime, Merilee and I will look for more answers and watch over what’s left here at MOA. Especially the archives. It holds treasures that Zeus has guarded for centuries, without him here…”

“It’ll be open season,” I finish for her. “And what of the other gods?”

Themis holds out both hands, indicating the chaotic amphitheater. Students are everywhere, panicked, crying, some cheering and reveling in the chaos. But there are no gods, our teachers, anywhere. “As you can see, they have left. They will all be forming new alliances and rivalries among themselves. Humans will suffer terribly.”

Cassie suddenly stumbles and her eyes go cloudy. “Things will be bad, but if closed hearts cannot open, they will be worse still. In time civilization can be set to rights or completely shattered.”

“Oh sweetheart,” Merilee pulls her daughter close as Cassie blinks her eyes back to normal.

Her prophecy is followed by the worst quake yet. The land rolls in waves. Smoke and dust fills the air as every structure around us crumbles. When the earth settles once more, everything has been flattened. The dorms, the amphitheater, even the archives. It looks like Themis and Merilee will be busy digging out all those precious treasures before they can start guarding them.

Cries of pain and others pleading for help, come from every direction. We jump into action. It takes hours to evacuate but at the end of it Val and I are the last ones left. The tremors have stopped for now.

Val pulls me close. “What now?” he asks.

“Well, you go back to Underworld Academy and keep an eye on Hades. And tell Greg…” I pause as I get choked up once more “Tell him I’m sorry and thank you and…” I shake my head. And look at Val, needing help. “Words seem so inadequate. Should I send him a cookie bouquet or something? How do I tell my friend, ‘thank you for trading your life for my sister’s?”

Val kisses the top of my head. “He did it for you, Edie. And for Mavis. But I think he did it for himself too. He needed to prove something. In the story of Zeus’s death, Greg is almost as legendary as you.”

“I don’t want to be legendary.”

The right side of Val’s mouth slides up into its customary smirk. “Too late. Tina’s already making you a t-shirt. Dragon, Slayer of Gods. And mine will say: I’m With Her.”

I laugh. “Can we go on a real date together someday and definitely not wear those?”

“What does one wear on a real date?”

I brush my hands down Val’s chest. “Well, I’d love to see you in a suit and tie. We could have a fancy dinner somewhere. There was this seafood place my parents used to—”

I stop. My parent’s loss bubbles up, the pain still surprisingly fresh. And then there’s another pain, the realization that the seafood place is probably gone. Along with most of the Florida coastline.

I swallow. “Maybe we should put the dinner plans on hold until I clean up the mess I created.”

We’ve reached the fountain portal and together step through. The icy coldness surrounds us and then we emerge onto a street in the middle of New York City. It’s not exactly the best place to be. Alarms sound from every corner. And ocean water surges up the street.

“You’re gonna need scuba gear to get down to UWA,” I say to Val, feeling overwhelmed by seeing firsthand the evidence of my actions.

Val takes my face in his hands, so I only see him. “You will find the new Zeus. I know it. And in the end, the whole world will be better off.”

I smile. “Do you have second sight now too?”

“No,” Val kisses my nose. “Just faith in you. Legendary, remember?”

“I love you, Val. Is it too soon to say that?”

He kisses me again, but this time his mouth meets mine. The whole broken world melts away for several long moments. He pulls away too soon. “If I wasn’t such a tough guy, I’d tell you that I love you too.”

“Maybe Tina can put that on a T-shirt for you too.” Val’s eyes light up and I groan. “You’re totally gonna have her do that, aren’t you?”

“I wear my heart on my sleeve,” Val says with his trademark smirk.

We share one more long kiss, before pulling apart.

“Time to unbreak the world,” I say.

Shifting into dragon mode, I launch into the sky, and then circle the city.

I came to Mount Olympus for revenge. And to find out who I am.

As it turns out, I’m more into rescue than revenge.

I swoop down, ready to fix what I can for now.

And then later, I’ll find new Zeus and repair the rest.

It’s just what us legendary heroes do.

THE END

Continue the series with the next book Struggle & Strife, Mythverse book 4!

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