The Forgotten Gods, page 1
part #25 of The Network Series Series
THE FORGOTTEN GODS
KATIE CROSS
CONTENTS
List Of Alaysian Words
God Magic Amulets
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
The Returning
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Katie Cross
LIST OF ALAYSIAN WORDS
Amicala—Friend of the mortals.
Beelae—Family dinner, normally with gods and demigods. A formal event, with high attire, that typically lasts six to eight hours, extending through seven different courses of food. Entertainment is often provided.
Bua—No.
Giuseppeglacidonium—Gio’s full name.
Hatata lu Centray—Home of the bearers (Mothers).
Hatata lu Konzones—Kitchen, or home of the chef.
Hatata lu Monilary—Demigod home.
Ibarbelonbabellasaan—The Room of Great Power.
Monilay Rostina—Demigod castle.
Monilay mal—Bad demigod.
Nonnatusnevillatoputatazo—Island of the Amulets.
Rostina lu Lune—Castle in the sky.
Rostina—Castle, also a shortened version of Rostina lu Lune.
Sangessa—Allegiance. A deal made between a mortal and a demigod, where the demigod agrees to care for the mortal with magic and basic needs while the mortal is loyal to that demigod for the rest of their life.
Seema—Fruit native to Alaysia, with seeds and edible rind inside. Grows on a bush along the sand.
Tagata—Protector, friend, that’s often a family member. A tagata is assigned to a mortal or half-mortal child when they are young to help them learn about their role in Alaysia.
Tirra mora—Firm ground.
Umu—Ground-growing Alaysian fruit with juice inside.
GOD MAGIC AMULETS
IGNIS
Luppentonisa
Samthanruadanosa
Handuinolomolokaya
* * *
GELAS
Kibbukonialamonta
Nicomedianthekus
* * *
VENTIS
Oceanusorilianno
To Mike Thompson.
An epic metaphorical throat-puncher.
The world’s best Trivia Master.
My eternal friend.
* * *
Love ya, ya filthy #(@*#%(!)(@#$
INTRODUCTION
THE FORGOTTEN GODS takes place about a week or so after RISE OF THE DEMIGODS ends.
There are some novellas that I’ve released in between these two novels to help broaden your picture of Alaysia and Alkarra.
Of particular interest to you might be DEREK, the seventh novella in The Network Saga.
While Bianca is cavorting around Alaysia, Derek is in Alkarra dealing with his own set of issues. Both stories happen at the same time, but in the two different lands. For maximal reading enjoyment, I recommend you dive first into DEREK so you know more of what’s happening in Alkarra while Bianca is in Alaysia.
There are no spoilers in DEREK.
You don’t have to read it, but I highly recommend it.
You can buy it by going to this link right here to purchase in ebook or right here to purchase in audio.
It’s only available on my website in all formats (paperback included) at katiecrossbooks.com, and cannot be found on any retailers.
The ebook can be loaded to or read from any e-reader or device, and we have instructions and customer support on how to do so.
Let’s just say that you won’t regret it.
Derek Black is one witch that never disappoints.
* * *
—Katie
CHAPTER 1
A splash woke me from a deep sleep.
Midnight opened in dark, silky petals over my cottage, coating the forest in shadows. A gentle breeze sifted through branches overhead, twining through a canted window. The wind danced over my skin, sharply cool. I shivered. Dulled moonlight lingered in the wood, never making it to the forest floor. Patches of snow still lingered in the deepest root wells.
Another splash.
The hair on the back of my neck straightened. There should be no gathered water in the middle of my cottage, deep in the sprawling heart of Letum Wood.
I cast a spell to amplify sound and the quiet rang too loud. My heart pounded in painful slams. Priscilla had moved out. She lived in the old building for Miss Mabel’s School for Girls as she transformed it into Miss Priscilla’s School for Girls.
Was the noise real?
Had I imagined it?
A drip of water followed.
My body tightened. Not my imagination, then.
Had Ava come? No. She never visited at night. How would she get here? Besides, why would she make water sounds? The sinuous remnants of a dream, perhaps? A glint hovered over my bed, flashing in the low light.
Not a dream, either.
I threw my arm out to reach for my sword, Viveet, which hung on the wall to my left. Before my fingers snatched her metal hilt, a whip wrapped my ankle. The clammy grip tightened.
I screamed.
Everything disappeared.
Icy water surrounded me.
The shocking embrace forced me to close my mouth, hold my breath. Salt water burned my eyes when I opened them to see watery darkness. My arms flapped, attempting to find up. The pressure on my body, the utter disorientation, sent me into a panic. I suppressed a scream to save precious air.
A quick transportation spell yielded no change.
I paused, tried again.
No movement.
The glacial water closed in like a restricting glove. A blaze burned through my chest as I held onto the air. How long could I hold my breath? Not much longer, but perhaps enough. Batting aside questions of who—or what—wanted to kill me, I renewed my efforts to orient myself.
My next step was to find the surface . . . or die trying.
Pain assaulted my eyes when I forced them open. I lifted both hands to my face and released a trickle of air. Bubbles dribbled over my fingertips, moving up. That way to the top, then.
I paddled the same direction, dizzy. The urge to release all the air inside my lungs nearly drove me to do so. With great concentration, I let go of another thin stream. Bubbles slipped free, slowly. The exhale provided a reprieve as I worked my way up, up, up.
Tingles spread through my chest. I swam harder. My head grew thick, murky as the water. Darkness closed in as the last air escaped. Horror drove me faster.
The hunger intensified.
Papa, I thought. Papa.
The watery whip from earlier slipped around my left wrist and yanked. I jerked, shocked from the sensation. I raced higher and higher. Too long. It was still taking too long. A bucking sensation overcame my chest—my body wanted to breathe, but I wouldn’t let it.
Thoughts blurred.
Papa.
Fear ripped through me. Hot and bright and desperate to just breathe already.
I broke into the air.
The cord released me as I soared into the sky with a giant gasp. Equally frigid air assaulted me a second before I crashed back to the water. I recovered a single breath before a wall of water slammed into me from the left. The contact knocked me senseless. Head over feet, I tumbled through a wave.
My fractured thoughts recovered when I calmed. The frightening struggle stopped. Something had brought me here, then saved me at the last moment. Dare I wait to see if it would save me again?
Unlikely.
The top of the water found me on its own. I rose into the air, stole another breath, and shoved the hair out of my face. A second gasp followed, then a third. The anxiety dissipated as I gathered my bearings. A quick scan confirmed no incoming waves.
Also, no land.
Only bitter cold, sparkling sea.
Tremors wracked my body as I pulled my arms closer to my chest. My teeth clattered like old bones. Numbness spread through my fingers, toes. My cheeks hurt and eyes burned like coal. The sordid facts lay out in an obvious array now.
Nearly dead.
Dark ocean.
Midnight sky, speckled with stars.
“Prana!” I snapped. “What do you want?”
A low drawl rolled from behind me. “I should have let you drown.”
I swirled around with a weak sputter. A cloud moved away from the moon. Light raced across the ocean in a rippling line, right to a shadowy figure on top of the water.
Prana hovered a few paces away, her bare feet riding on top of a circular, constantly-rolling wave. A tenebrous, emerald gown moved like seaweed around petite ankles. It pasted to her squat figure, tight as skin. Water rose to her knees, then lowered, never higher than her waist.
Her wet-appearing hair tumbled to the side as she cocked her head. Malevolent dislike contorted her features.
Beyond her, waves agitated in a circle at least forty paces high. Any attempt to swim past them would be a death wish.
“Why didn’t you god magic your way to the top?” she asked.
Silently, I cursed myself. To admit to Prana that I’d forgotten would be embarrassing. God magic was still so new, so untested, that I tried to ignore it as much as possible.
“Lovely prison,” I muttered instead.
She brightened into a grim smile. Her slanted, glinting eyes appeared black in this light. Moonlight gave her skin a yellowish hue.
“We have much to discuss,” she said briskly. “I’d prefer to spend as little time in your presence as possible.”
“Th-the feeling is m-mutual.”
Frozen clumps of hair trembled around my head. My scalp prickled painfully from the sheer cold.
Prana rolled her eyes.
Deep in my stomach, a heavy tightness formed. The confrontation I’d been secretly dreading for months had finally come. All the stored words that I’d planned to say to her disappeared. The cold made it impossible to think and my near-drowning didn’t make me amenable to anything.
“While it’s l-lovely to see you, and I’d prefer b-being asked to tea, c-can you get it over with now?”
Prana snarled with bared teeth. A fin rose from the water behind her, skimming outside the cresting waves. I ignored it. Certainly, I didn’t imagine the graze of something on the bottom of my foot, however.
“You have failed to keep your end of our bargain, witch.”
“Not true.”
Prana leaned forward, fists on her ample hips. “Defend yourself.”
“The exact wording of m-my agreement stated that I would try to banish the demigods.”
She hissed. Water freckled the air around her, flailing in globules.
I ignored her ire.
“That I can amply prove, considering that I stopped an uprising, collected a few amulets, and rid Alkarra of the demigod pests.”
“Death of a few idiotic demigods is hardly dealing with the problem. More will come.”
“That was the agreement. The r-responsibility for the rest of this mess you’ve made is on you. Our agreement is fulfilled.”
Water surged over my head and shoved me down. I flailed, forced myself to calm, and resurfaced. When I shoved the damp hair out of my eyes—my face had gone strangely numb—Prana’s elegant dress smoldered in various shades of green, like an underwater coal. Her terrible majesty glowed against the dark sky. She glared down her thin nose.
The first time I met her, my annoyance had overridden my fear of Prana. With this strange glow to her skin, and the building power of magic lingering in the air, I finally understood why Sanako credited Prana as a foe worthy of fear. Desperate Prana had morphed into Livid Prana. I had reason to be afraid.
“The demigods have been tempered in Alkarra for now,” Prana hissed. She’d wrestled her tone back under control. “They have not been banished and witches still have a problem. While I cannot revoke your magic, you also cannot give up this fight.”
“I never said I would.”
“We need them gone for good.”
“What are you going to do?” I flung a half-frozen hand around us. “Do you plan to put up magical walls to keep the world out of Alkarra? I’d love to see that.”
The same whip-like tool yanked me back to the watery depths. It held me in place until my chest burned. The drive for air built slowly. Too slowly. The desire to sleep followed, made me fuzzy. When the surface returned, I gave a pitiful gasp. Water filled my throat, my nose.
I gagged.
“Why are you going to Alaysia?” she demanded.
Water streamed over my face. I reached up, shoving the hair out of my eyes with a growl.
“Stop trying to kill me!”
“There must be a reason you’re going to the land of the gods. What is it? What is your plan? Do you have an idea for keeping them out of Alkarra that this trip will satisfy? Tell me what’s in that worthless, witchy head of yours.”
“The god magic. I want to see if Ignis will take the magic out of me.”
She snorted. “Are you a fool? God magic is easier to use than goddess magic. It’s so simple that an idiot demigod could use it.”
“It’s not m-mine.”
“And goddess magic is?”
My response halted.
Unfortunately, she had a point. I just couldn’t quite grasp it through the slow-moving thoughts.
“What do you know about Deasylva?” she asked.
“N-nothing.”
“Worthless ingrate,” she muttered. Prana heaved a giant, dramatic sigh. Her pudgy shoulders lifted and fell with the movement. “You think you’ll survive? You are the witch to cause such an unexpected twist in magic? By the sisters, Deasylva adores her fools. You should just stay home. Do nothing.”
Her glittering gaze fixed on me. I vaguely registered the idea that she tested me. Perhaps told me not to do it so that I would.
Or did I imagine all of this?
My resolve to get rid of the god magic hardened, though it felt like my thoughts sifted through a narrowing tunnel. The frame of mind formed slowly. Vaguely, I registered that this wasn’t good. My lips were frozen and awkward. I commanded my hand to fold into a fist, but couldn’t be sure it obeyed. The violent shivers ached all the way into my ribs.
Prana mulled me over.
“I’m going. Unless,” I added, unable to help myself, “you take care of your own problems . . . for once.”
Prana thrust me back into the water.
When I finally came to the top again, my brain didn’t work. The cold slipped into a deadened darkness.
“Consider this your warning.” Prana towered over me, a shadow against darkness. “Go to Alaysia, do what you must. Fix this, obligation or not, so you don’t lose your forest. I don’t know what your magic will do over there. No witch has ever been to Alaysia and, like witches, magic changes. It evolves and grows. My sisters like to think we control magic, but we do not. We tame magic, we don’t make it. Magic belongs to itself. We channel it, and it gives us greater purpose. God magic has the same origins, but different paths, different loyalties. You’re putting yourself into a world you don’t understand.”
The implications of what she said rolled around my mind like pebbles. They shifted to and fro, lost in the greater machinations of a bid to survive. A distant part of my brain felt surprised by her shift in conversation.
Was she giving me advice moments after telling me not to go?
Confusion dissipated. I could hardly comprehend anything but keeping my head above water. Breath. Life. Vision. It required too much.
“You have been warned,” Prana snapped. “Don’t do anything stupid over there. Remember your forest, trust no one. Don’t come back until you’ve chosen your side and you might make it out of there alive.”
Water became a hard thud at my back.
The welcoming warmth of my cottage appeared all at once. I gasped, brought in another giant breath, and collapsed against the wooden floor. No fire crackled in the hearth. No light illuminated the space. With a spell, I started a fire. It blazed so hot it leapt out of the hearth, then settled back inside. The burst of heat drew my dazed mind out of its narrow focus.
Cold.
So cold.
Prana.
Dripping wet, I lay back and closed my eyes. Prana’s words rang through my mind. Remember your forest, trust no one. Don’t come back until you’ve chosen your side and you might make it out of there alive.
I gently banged my head against the floor with frustrated misery. One thought twirled around as I dismissed Prana from my mind, eager to get warm again.
