Three Cursed Gods

06 : AN UNTOLD ENDING

McKayla exited the police building, wrapping her trench coat tighter around her. She was on her lunch break, and was heading to a nearby café, to order her regular sandwich and sparkling water. She was glad for the excuse to leave the office—being in close quarters with Cameron was making her antsy, and as soon as the clock had chimed twelve, she'd jumped up and nearly sprinted out of the room.

The weather wasn't any better than the day before—same dark clouds and biting wind—and McKayla hurried her steps. The restaurant was in a primarily Descendant area of the borough, with many magical businesses and stores run in that section. She'd just passed the first of the Descendant buildings, when—

"Argh, get off me!" McKayla whipped around, shaking off the person who had just grabbed her. It was a young Asian man, with a shock of dark hair and a cat-like smirk. He looked at her with reddish-brown eyes that seemed to shine in a way that was reminiscent of drug addicts.

Rhapsody. If this guy was a Descendant, then illegal possession of this drug could land him in prison for life. She inched slightly closer, trying to discern if those were sparks in his eyes—a tell-tale sign of the drug—or just the light reflecting off his irises. She was squinting when the guy lurched forward, grabbing at her arm again. "No—stop—who are you? What do you want?"

The guy let go of her suddenly, his smile widening, into something more wicked-looking. "What do I want?" he said, voice lilting on each word. "What I want...is for you to tell me if you know the story of the three cursed gods?" He spoke slowly enunciating every word, and when he finished, he gave her a knowing look.

"What—you mean the story of the old gods? Two fell in love, the other was a jealous bitch so she decided to murder her friend, then the other...disappeared, or something?"

"To spend the rest of eternity being hunted by the vengeful god," the man finished, a little put out by her...juvenile take on the sacred myth. She'd heard it when she'd joined the ORDER academy, told by other Descendant trainees. Everyone knew the gods had existed—how else had Descendants gotten their powers? —but people were more divided on the truth of their disappearance. There were those who believed feverishly in the myth, and worshiped the Third God for fear that she would strike them down too, performing absurd rites and ceremonies. But many were skeptical of the story, and thought the gods had just been bored, and left to create a new world.

"You know the myth, then," the guy said. "But do you know what happened after?"

"After?" McKayla echoed. She'd never heard anything more.

"Haven't you wondered whether the Destroyer was ever caught? Or if the Third God ever stopped? Haven't you ever wondered what happened when the gods returned?" At McKayla's disbelieving look, he let out a laugh, low and musical. "Oh, of course the gods returned. We are their creations. They are bound to us, just as we are bound to them."

McKayla swallowed, and stepped back a bit, as she stared at the man. "I..." She didn't know what to say.

The man grinned at her again. "The Destroyer died. They killed themselves—didn't want to live in a world without their lover. And the Third God..." He leaned back on his heels, chin tipping up to the sky as he thought, as if recalling some long-forgotten information. "...the Third God continued their razing of 'love', destroying relationships and bonds until finally, they burned up in a blaze of their own fury.

"But the thing is...the world cannot exist without the gods. They are the universe, they are science, they keep the world in its natural order. Without them..." He laughed darkly. "You'd be nothing more than ashes and history."

"But...they died," McKayla said, feeling slightly stupid for stating something so obvious. "The gods, I mean."

"Did you not listen? They didn't die—they can't die."