“Okay. We’ve got to find Sekhmet and the seal,” Penelope said.
They began to run, heading back up the way they’d come in. It seemed to take so much longer this time, as if they were a mile beneath the desert sands. Hallways, chambers, more stairs. Up and up and up. The closer they got to the surface, the weaker Felicity’s connection to the earth became. Though she had another source of power, a pulse of heat against her left hip… the book from Sekhmet’s library, tucked away in her cloak.
They had almost reached the surface when she felt it.
It was like a block of dynamite exploding. For a moment Felicity thought it was the temple that shook, but then she realized the detonation was inside of her. A breaking apart, a fiery inferno, a rush of breathtaking energy.
Sekhmet had broken the fifth seal.
The other Riders felt it, too. Dynah clutched her chest, Willow doubled over, Penelope fell to one knee. Felicity leaned against the closest pillar, clinging to it as if it could save her from the inevitable. The destruction, the chaos, the death.
And then she felt Sekhmet in her mind, a burning torch. She could see out of her eyes. The goddess stood near the top of the pyramid on a high, flat terrace. Beneath her, thousands of jackal, hawk, and lion-headed warriors gathered. The purple sky hung overhead, the stretch of reeds beyond. They chanted her name, over and over again, fervent, lustful, full of fury.
She drank in the glory of the Apocalypse, satiated herself on their worship. The sky opened up above them and it began to rain. But this was no normal rain. It fell in viscous crimson sheets. Blood. Sekhmet opened her mouth and let it fall on her tongue. Beneath her, her warriors did the same, dancing, shaking in a berserker state.
She would not rest until the whole world ran with blood. The humans would fear her and they would worship her, as her warriors did. They would feel her vengeance and they would pray for death in the end. She would grant it, eventually. She would leave just a few alive so that they would remember. And they would believe.
Deep within Felicity, the Riders who had come before rushed toward the surface. They could feel the power of the seal unleashed on the earth, feel the Apocalypse moving one step closer to completion. This was their purpose. This was their zealous passion. Vengeance. Cleansing. Rebirth.
Rage welled up within her, and whether it was her rage, or the other Riders’ rage, or both, she didn’t know. She couldn’t fight it, and why should she try? Because she was this now. This fury. This power. It felt right and good, after being alone for so, so long. Alone and helpless.
They were risking their lives for humanity, when humanity couldn’t care less about them.
And Felicity surrendered to it, and the power took her.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dynah
Dynah felt the call of Sekhmet, of the Apocalypse, of the former Riders. Of ending, ending, ending… such a sweet beauty. To cast out and start anew. Like a phoenix from the ashes, a bright and furious phoenix…
She could see the others felt it, too. The bright fierceness in her sister’s eyes. The clench of Willow’s jaw. The way Felicity stood ramrod straight, her body rigid. And the power they had when they surrendered, when they let instinct take over, was so much stronger. She could taste it on her tongue, feel it running along her spine, through her veins. She remembered the day of their transformation, the deep magic, the limitlessness.
But she also felt something she hadn’t the first time, that fateful day in Hawk’s Hollow which seemed an eternity ago. She felt the part of her that was Dynah—Dynah the Rodeo Queen, Dynah the most coveted of all women, Dynah who always had the upper hand—get shoved aside by the rush of magic from the Riders who came before.
She could feel now the difference between her own magic, and the collective force of their magic… her memories and their memories. Her thoughts and their thoughts. And she realized that if she let them in, the increased power came with control. Because she wasn’t entirely her anymore. She wasn’t on top. Far from it.
And there was only room for one Queen.
Dynah shoved back hard against the pulsing power. It bucked against her, once, but that was something, as an equestrian, that she was quite familiar with. She kept a firm grip on the reins of her consciousness, and she rode it out. The Riders that had come before faded away, and what remained was her own magic.
She didn’t waste any time. She turned to Felicity, who was closest to her. Felicity’s pillar-straight posture had collapsed, her shoulders rounding forward, her breathing shallow, eyes wide. Dynah took her hand.
“Felicity,” she said softly, but in a voice laced with power. “You once reminded us all that we have a choice. Choose now. Come back to me.”
A ripple moved over Felicity’s body, and Dynah squeezed her hand. It was not a gentle squeeze. Felicity’s eyes widened even further, but this time they were wide with realization rather than fear.
She squeezed Dynah’s hand in return and smiled. “Thank you,” she said, her voice trembling.
Dynah nodded. “Of course.”
She turned to Penelope next, and rested one hand on her sister’s shoulder. Felicity laid a hand on the other one. And with that mere connection, Penelope blinked, as if waking from a dream, and came back to herself.
Thunder and lightning shook Sekhmet’s temple, and Dynah realized it was past time for them to get out of here. As soon as the goddess was done celebrating her destruction, she would come for them.
“Willow,” she called, and Penelope took her friend’s hand.
Willow shuddered, and she turned to look at them, but it was as if she didn’t quite see them.
“Don’t forget who you are, Willow,” Penelope said. “Never forget that.”
Willow’s lips moved as if she was trying to speak. When sound finally came out, it was a whisper. “I—I don’t—”
“Don’t what?” Felicity asked.
“I don’t want to give it up,” Willow finished.
Dynah and Penelope exchanged glances. “The power?” Dynah asked.
Willow nodded.
“Don’t give up your power. Give up their power. Their control.”
Willow stiffened, shook her head.
“Do you want the angels to own you?” Penelope asked.
Dynah winced at the harshness in her sister’s tone, as did Willow.
“No,” Willow finally said.
“It’s one or the other,” Penelope said. “Make your choice.”
The temple rumbled again, and Dynah felt Sekhmet’s power swelling, expanding. Willow seemed to feel it, too, and she shuddered again, and then her eyes were her own. Penelope patted her on the back, and Felicity offered a smile.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Dynah said. “Now.”
They made their way out the small entrance where they came in. No guards were posted along the exterior of the temple. They were all at the celebration. Dynah winced as the blood pelted down on her, quickly soaking her clothes. It ran in crimson ribbons down her pale skin, got into her eyes, her mouth.
The reed marsh was sopping with it, so they didn’t bother avoiding the puddles this time. Dynah felt a wave of relief when she spotted their horses. Moon had his head down, back tucked up. He was red like the blood, as was Penelope’s horse. But they’d have to worry about that later. For now, escape was the priority.
They mounted up, and Dynah realized she had no idea how to get back to their reality. They didn’t have an orb to lead them the opposite way. Moon snorted and began to paw the earth, and where his hoof struck, sparks flew up. The other horses followed suit, and a crack began to open beneath them. Dynah had only one fleeting moment to meet the eyes of the other Riders, and then the earth swallowed them whole.
The Riders fell, but this time it was straight down, pitch black. When they landed, abruptly, it was light again, the sun coming up gold on the horizon. No more reeds, only sand. The city rose outside the old temple. They were back in the real world. Except now bl
ood fell from the sky.
Dynah could hear the screams of those from the city, could feel their fear. It was as bright and palpable as the blood raining down. She wanted to do something to help them, here and now, but what Sekhmet had wrought could not be undone. There was only one way they were going to end this.
The horses moved skyward until they were above the clouds, the crimson deluge below them. Dynah breathed a sigh of relief. Within a short span of time, they flew out over the ocean again, but this time it was the Mediterranean. They moved through a storm cloud, normal rain that washed away the blood. The thunder shook her heart. The lightning cleansed her soul.
In barely more than the blink of an eye, they had crossed the narrow sea. When they reached land on the other side, Dynah guided Moon back toward the earth, circling slowly until she found a small inlet that seemed untouched by man. He landed softly in gray sand, snorting at the waves that lapped up around his ankles. The air smelled briny with salt; Dynah had never smelled anything like it before. A strong smell, but somehow also clean, purifying.
“Do you think we’re far enough? From her?” Felicity asked, surveying their surroundings.
The sun had fully risen now, and beams of light fell over the green waves.
“It’ll have to do,” Willow said. “I’m starving and exhausted.”
It was true. Dynah’s stomach growled hungrily, and she felt like she could sleep for a year. Fighting Sekhmet’s influence and the past Riders had taken its toll.
“These cliffs provide some coverage,” Penelope said, pointing at the jagged rock walls of the inlet. “They’re as good a hiding place as any.”
Dynah led Moon further inland, exploring the rocky shore. The ocean cut into the land here in a small bay shaped almost like an upside-down heart. The salty air swept down on them as she trudged through the sand, her boots sinking with each step. Moon lifted his feet high, prancing alongside her. She felt a wave of homesickness in this strange place, so far from the landlocked town she’d grown up in.
“Look here,” Felicity called from behind her.
Dynah turned to see Felicity disappear into a small hole in the side of the rock. She’d walked right on past it without noticing. Tugging at Moon’s reins, she did an about-face and followed Felicity into the crevice, Willow and Penelope taking up the rear. The tunnel did not go far. Just a short passage opening up into a tiny cave. A bit cramped for four horses and four women. But a dry place to rest out of sight. They took the saddles and bridles off the horses and hung their cloaks on rocks to dry out after the rain.
“I really wish I could conjure food like Indigo right now,” Willow said forlornly.
“We passed over a small town just to the east of here,” Dynah said. “I think we’ll just have to hike over there and find something.”
“With what money?” Penelope asked.
Silence fell for a long moment. “We can figure that out when we get there,” Dynah said at last. “I’ll go. No sense in everyone making the trek.”
“You’ll need help carrying things,” Felicity said. “I’ll go with you.”
“That leaves us on horse duty,” Willow said, pointing to Penelope. “Which is absolutely fine by me.”
Dynah nodded to Felicity and they headed back out into the cove. The wind flung her hair around her and rustled in her clothes.
“I think we can climb out over there,” Felicity said, pointing toward the back of the inlet and wrestling with the breeze in her own dark curls. “The rocks aren’t as steep.”
They walked along the edge of the shore, making their way to the rear of the cove. As Felicity had predicted, they found a place where they could climb out, up into the grassy hills beyond. As soon as they reached the top, they saw the rooftops of the nearby town in the distance.
As they walked, Dynah thought back to their escape from Sekhmet’s temple, to the book that Felicity had found. “I wonder why Sekhmet’s book called to you, when none of the rest of us heard it.”
Felicity was silent for a moment, though Dynah could tell by the way she cocked her head that she had heard her. “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s my blood. My mother always said we descended from gods and goddesses. I used to think it was just more of her attempts to be better than everyone else. But who knows?” Felicity shrugged. “Maybe there’s something to that.”
“That’s neat I suppose,” Dynah responded.
Felicity just shrugged again. “It could also be something else. I don’t know.”
Something else flickered in Dynah’s memories. From the first night after their transformation, when she felt, for just a moment, Felicity’s thoughts. Thoughts about her. Admiration, but also jealousy. It was not an emotion that Dynah was unfamiliar with. She’d often had other women trying to knock her down a peg (or five), and so she’d grown used to an ever-present threat from them.
“What are you thinking about?” Felicity asked her.
Dynah felt her cheeks flush. “You can’t tell?”
“No,” Felicity said. “Those first couple of days I could sometimes catch snatches of thoughts from you and the others, but mostly general feelings. And now, since we’ve pushed the other Riders back, it’s even less.”
“I see. Well,” Dynah said, and paused. “It’s just, after a certain age, I never had friends who were girls. It was like everyone was in a competition with me, wanting to see me fall.”
Felicity turned and watched her, the sun catching in her dark eyes.
“I was always a bit envious of Penelope and Willow’s friendship. And I realized, over the last few days, that I feel sort of a connection with… you.” She took a breath, darted a smile over at Felicity. “It’s nice.”
“Oh.” Felicity cast her a shy smile.
“I mean, like, more than just our connection as Riders.”
Felicity still didn’t say anything, and Dynah suddenly felt like maybe she’d just made a fool out of herself. Which was not something that typically happened to her.
She cleared her throat. “Is that…do you feel that, too? Or is it just me?”
“Y-yes, I do,” Felicity said slowly. “I know I told you before, but I didn’t have friends growing up. It never occurred to me that you didn’t, either. The most popular girl in town.”
A tense laugh escaped Dynah’s lips. “Yeah. Strange, I know. Alone in the middle of a sea of people.”
“Well, you don’t have to be alone anymore,” Felicity said, her voice soft as the breeze coming off the ocean. “Neither of us do.”
One of the gemstones from Dynah’s crown bought them an abundant spread of bread, cheese, meat, olives, and pastries, along with a sack of grain for the horses and a large waterskin. Plus, an ear-to-ear smile from the street merchant who knew he had by far gotten the better end of the deal.
When they returned to the cave, they found that Penelope and Willow had started a fire near the entrance while they were gone. They stripped down to their underwear to dry their remaining clothes in the heat, then sat with their toes in the sand and feasted until they could eat no more. And then they slept.
It was late afternoon by the time they woke. After finishing off the last of the food, the Riders fell silent, each thinking of what lay ahead.
“We need a plan,” Felicity said. “Sekhmet was bad, and the Norse gods aren’t to be taken lightly, either.”
“What can you tell us about them?” Dynah asked. “You said you had studied their lore, among others?”
Felicity nodded. “As far as Apocalypse tales go, theirs is one of the most frightening. If they break their seal, it’s going to make Sekhmet’s blood rain look like child’s play.”
Willow crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s have it, then.”
“The Apocalypse in Norse lore is called Ragnarök,” she began. “Giant wolves devour the sun, moon, and stars, and a sea serpent rises up from the depths to flood and poison the land. The great tree that holds the cosmos together shakes and causes mountains to fall to the gro
und. A ship of the dead sails forth, wreaking chaos on humanity. And finally, there will be a great battle between gods and monsters, resulting in the end of creation. It’s called the void—a nothingness, an undoing of everything that every was.”
Silence settled over the four of them as Felicity finished. She took a deep breath, her brown eyes looking at each of them in turn.
“So, you see, if we don’t stop the breaking of the sixth seal, I don’t think anything else will matter.”
Chapter Thirty
Willow
“If Ragnarök is so bad, I hate to think what the seventh seal does,” Willow said.
“That’s probably why Sassafras and Beziel can’t find it,” Penelope said. “Because it’s the most awful of them all. Though I can’t imagine something worse than a void of nothingness.”
“Me either,” Felicity said. “That’s why we can’t fail this time. No matter what happens.”
Dynah shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “How did we go from trying to compete in the Hawk’s Hollow rodeo to saving the world?”
“I think our lives ended the final day of the race,” Willow said. “We’re not the same, and we never will be again. There is no going back to the way things were.”
In her heart, Willow knew it was unlikely they’d make it out of this alive. She only wished that she could see her mother one more time. She’d taken her for granted all these years. Her mother had been the steadfast rock her whole life and she’d never realized it until now. Until it was too late.
“All I know is, we’re doing this on our terms. No angels or gods to control us,” Willow said. “We can’t go back, but we can choose our ending.”
“Our choice,” Dynah said.
“Our power,” Penelope added.
Felicity nodded. “I imagine the sixth seal is held at Asgard, the palace of the Norse gods. Like Sekhmet’s temple, it will not be on earth exactly.”
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