Chapter 13

Aria stared at the woman walking up the remains of the driveway toward them. She was clearly an angel, but she lacked wings. When she looked with her spiritual sight, it became apparent that the angel was using the same shapeshifting trick that Calypso used. She was at least a foot taller than Aria and walked with the carefree gate of someone who didn’t have anywhere to be. She wore contemporary clothing, just a t-shirt and jeans. Her fake image projected that of a thirty year old woman while her spiritual sight revealed the same eternal youth the rest of them had.

“Did you forget to pull your head out of your ass,” the imp snapped at the new arrival. “Or is that your natural way of walking now.”

“Your honeyed words are like music to my ears, Grodek,” the mystery angel declared magnanimously. “I’ve really missed your verbal abuse. The demons here just can’t seem to grasp the nuance of visually descriptive insults.”

“Who are you?” Clarice asked the woman warily.

“This is the jackass in charge of mismanaging this pigpen of a world,” the imp answered for her with a nasty laugh. “It’s been a long time since a Principality has fallen so low that even the weak ass demons on this world threaten her existence. You won’t find a bigger failure in all of this universe.”

“You just lack vision,” the woman murmured, her mouth smiling while her eyes remained as cold as an arctic gale. “There is a certain poetry to redeeming a world from complete and utter ruin.”

“Is that what you have convinced yourself that you are doing?” the imp snickered, shaking his head in disgust. “Whatever you have to tell yourself in order to look into the mirror without weeping.”

“The bar for failure has been set pretty low, as you may recall,” the woman retorted acidly. “The higher the fall and all that jazz.”

“Okay, who the hell are you?” Clarice asked, clearly losing her patience. She was scowling at the new arrival, which was an odd thing to see on such a beautiful face. “Are you seriously the one responsible for letting demons take over the world?”

“I know you,” Calypso whispered, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the woman with sudden recognition. “You were the one who saved me from the demons.”

“Well, isn’t this nice?” Grodek declared sarcastically. “A heartwarming reunion. You finally met your maker.”

“I remember…” Calypso stared at the woman, her eyes wide and filled with horror.

Aria stared at Calypso in concern as she began trembling violently. She closed her eyes and quicksilver tears began streaming down her face. Clarice moved forward quickly and pulled her into a hug, pouring all of her channeled love and comfort into the distraught angel. Aria quickly joined her, redirecting all of the positive energy from her meridians into Calypso. She moaned despairingly as she seemed to be undergoing some kind of full memory recall of a trauma too painful to survive. She felt their mother and Lexi join them in pouring their positive energy into Calypso. After several minutes that seemed to go on forever, Calypso slowly stopped shaking and began to calm down, drinking in the positive energy like a starving plant sucking in water.

“We’re here for you, Calypso,” Aria told her gently.

They stood holding Calypso for almost an hour as she continued to process her emotional turmoil. It ended with a brilliant flash as her entire body was seared by a ray of light that opened up from the sky above her. Aria and the others drew back from the brilliant flash. She instinctively knew that the power in that beam of light would destroy her angel body. As the light dimmed, Calypso stood up straight, her back no longer supporting one set of wings, but two. She smiled at them tremulously, her eyes filled with love as she stared at them gratefully.

“So, this is what the difference between angel and human feels like,” she murmured, her eyes wide with wonder. “No wonder you were all marveling so much at the change.”

“You remember now?” Aria asked her tentatively. “Being human?”

“Yes,” Calypso nodded sadly. “I was in the hands of demons from six months of age until I was five, when Carcelonia rescued me. She wiped my memory so that I wouldn’t have to spend eternity with those horrors in my mind.”

Aria turned to look at Carcelonia. She had been waiting patiently, a look of supreme satisfaction on her face. She had silky straight golden hair down to her waist. Her true eyes were a brilliant white, shining out like beams from a spotlight. The eyes that appeared on the shapeshifter façade were a light blue.

Aria had vaguely been aware of the moment when Grodek had vanished, shortly after Calypso’s breakdown. She had also noticed Jason finally getting antsy enough to come outside to find them. He was watching the group with concern as he witnessed Calypso’s meltdown.

“Thank you for saving Calypso,” Aria said gratefully, studying her closely. She had the impression that Carcelonia was extremely pleased with herself.

“I was beginning to think that she would never come into her own,” Carcelonia noted with a shake of her head. “I’ve waited a hundred years for her to find herself. I think it was worth the wait though.”

“Why did you leave her alone to find her own way?” Clarice asked pointedly. “You could have told her she was an angel from the moment she transformed. You could have been teaching her to evolve this entire time as well.”

“There were…complications,” Carcelonia answered with a sigh. “First of all, if she saw me it would have triggered an instant memory recall, which would have been very bad. Second, I had to lead an army of angry demons away from her. You think angels and demons are dichotomous entities, but nothing is ever that simple.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Clarice asked suspiciously. “Demons are monsters preying on the weak and vulnerable. Are you telling me angels aren’t that different?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Carcelonia confirmed with an unpleasant smile. “You think your friend Grodek is pure evil? Why do you tolerate him at all if you believe him to be an evil monster?”

Clarice scowled but didn’t answer.

“He doesn’t seem to be threatening,” Aria answered slowly. “And we’ve been able to get some useful information out of him.”

“Exactly,” Carcelonia smiled in satisfaction. “Not all angels are good, and not all demons are bad. If you try to exterminate every demon on earth, you’ll be destroying some demons that have more compassion than many angels. Demons are in charge of almost every government on this world, and yet you were living an oblivious life before you learned that they existed. Do you really think that life would be so cushy if demons were all malevolent creatures of pure evil?”

Aria shared a troubled look with her group. Could there really be such a thing as a good demon?

“Tell that to the forty kids we rescued who were being tortured by demons,” Clarice growled angrily. “Or tell that to Calypso, who you apparently saved from the same monsters.”

“There are certainly plenty of demons who are pure evil,” Carcelonia admitted with a frown. “But you are making broad judgements based on generalizations. Do you know where demons come from?”

“Biblically, they are fallen angels,” their mother replied, her violet eyes troubled.

“Any of you could become demons, under the wrong circumstances,” Carcelonia informed them levelly. “If you are ever captured by the demons running this world, you will become demons. With enough time, they can change the most virtuous angel into a demon.”

Aria blanched, sharing a worried look with Clarice. She remembered vividly the dark net the demons had shot at them in an attempt to capture them. They weren’t trying to kill them; they wanted them alive.

“What about the reverse?” their mother asked with a raised eyebrow. “Can demons become angels?”

“No, they cannot,” Carcelonia shook her head regretfully. “There has never been a case of a demon transforming back into an angel. If it were possible, there would be a lot less demons. Many angels who have been broken and consigned to the life of a demon are unwilling demons. Unfortunately, their will is not their own. They are forever bound to their demon lord. Their desires are altered and their personalities stripped. However, some of them contain a remnant of their former personalities. It is these demons who fight against their natural instincts and strive to retain their former code of ethics and morals.”

“And you’re saying that this world is run by these ‘moral and ethical’ demons?” Clarice asked doubtfully.

“To a degree, yes,” Carcelonia confirmed with a nod. “The more powerful demons dwell in other realms, where they oversee the harvest of agonite from entities with a stronger emotional capacity than humans have. Earth is a low yield world due to humans limited emotional development. However, the demons here are still beholden to their demon lord and are required to produce some yield.”

“What’s agonite?” Lexi inquired with a puzzled crease to her brow.

“It’s a drug for demons produced in the blood of sentient species when they are in agony,” Carcelonia answered grimly. “Unlike mortals, there are very few things that can alter the conscious state of an immortal. Agonite is one of them, allowing a demon to feel a temporary sense of power. Power is the core of what drives demons, so a drug that can simulate that experience is highly prized.”

“If I was forced to torture children due to a compulsion bond to a demon lord, I would prefer death,” Clarice declared coldly. “If these demons have no choice but to perform these dark deeds, they will need to be seen as collateral damage. If there is truly no way to redeem them and they are subject to a demon lord’s will, there is no other option but to destroy them. The alternative is to allow them to continue torturing children, and that is not going to happen.”

Carcelonia sighed and closed her eyes. After a long moment she opened her eyes. “The only reason Calypso is here today is because the demon in charge of torturing her smuggled me into the lab she was held in. There are loopholes in the chains they are bound to the demon lords by, and many of them have become adept at finding and exploiting them. Furthermore, if you go on a crusade to wipe out all of the demons on this world, it will draw the attention of a demon lord. Their power is beyond anything you can imagine. They will come here and destroy you, along with most of the world population.”

“That’s not actually true, you bungler,” Grodek’s voice spoke up from behind Carcelonia. “They could take on all of the demon lords, if they were prepared with the correct instruments.”

Carcelonia sighed again, this time in exasperation. “That’s a myth. There is no secret weapon for defeating demon lords.”

“You’ve done a great job of convincing yourself of that, you coward,” Grodek sneered derisively. “But your actions make me think you just might believe it after all. Why else would you have activated a Seraph? At the rate she’s progressing she’ll be able to challenge Dominions in under a week. She could already wipe the floor with archangels. If she had the instruments, she would snuff them all out like a candle. That’s what you’re really afraid of though, isn’t it? You’re afraid of what she’ll become and what that will mean for you.”

Carcelonia glared at the imp, her eyes full of hate and self-loathing. Aria blinked as she realized the imp seemed to be correct. This woman, whatever she was, seemed to be a coward at heart. She seemed to despise herself for it as well.

Grodek laughed grotesquely, his malevolent eyes filled with malice. “Yes, I know where she came from, you puckered pig sticker. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize one when I saw it? Even the ones she’s transformed are so far above the normal ranks that it will be impossible to hide what she is for much longer. You’ve backed yourself into a corner, like the whipped dog you are. That’s what you get for trusting demons, you jackass. Did you really think they gave you a Principality? I know angels are naïve, but you really take it to the next level.”

Carcelonia visibly flinched at Grodek’s words. The glare had been replaced by a look of anxiety as the angel stared at Calypso in sudden terror.

“What the flying fudge monkey is going on here?” Clarice demanded of Carcelonia harshly. “What have you done to Calypso? What is this Seraph he’s talking about?”

Carcelonia’s mouth moved but no sound came out as she stared at Clarice’s golden eyes in sudden recognition, her eyes filled with fear. Then she vanished.

Grodek laughed uproariously, rolling around in the air and pounding the imaginary ground. “What did I tell you? Biggest coward this universe has ever seen.”

The rest of them stared in disbelief at the space where Carcelonia had been standing. Had she really just scarpered out of there?

Aria mentally shook herself and looked at Grodek. “What are these instruments you were talking about?”

“Go see the Lore Boar if you want answers,” Grodek retorted disdainfully. “I’m done hand feeding you answers.”

He vanished, leaving a small popping sound with his absence.

“That little bastard,” Clarice fumed as she stared at the empty air. “How dare he come and tease us with tidbits and vanish when we want actual answers.”

“What on earth is a Lore Boar?” their mother asked in a puzzled voice.

“What’s a Seraphim seed?” Lexi asked, looking just as bewildered.

“Well, if it’s anything like the Seraphim, it is the highest order of angel,” their mother answered, gazing thoughtfully at Calypso. “They were the order of angels that were closest to god, surrounding his throne.”

“Why does a god need a throne?” Clarice asked with a snicker. “Does he get tired of standing?”

“It’s probably symbolic,” their mother explained with a shrug. “It represents authority.”

“So, Calypso is going to be a Seraph?” Aria asked hesitantly.

They all looked at Calypso, noting the second pair of nested wings in her back.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be a Seraph,” Calypso murmured, blushing under all of their gazes. “I can’t see myself hanging out around some god in a throne for all eternity.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“I’m pretty sure humans have anthropomorphized god into something they can understand,” their mother told Calypso reassuringly. “I would imagine your job would be more in line with maintaining cosmic balance in the name of a supreme law, rather than an actual person.”

“Do you mind if I ask a question?” Jason asked tentatively. He had been slowly edging closer to them as they talked.

“What’s on your mind?” Clarice asked him with a suggestive wink. “Are you going to teach us some more technical jargon?”

Jason blinked, then blushed furiously as he remembered their earlier discussion. “No, I just wanted to ask what the hell is going on?”

“Well get in line,” Clarice snorted a laugh. “Because we also want to know what the hell is going on.”

“Were you guys talking to a demon?” Jason asked uneasily. “That floating thing that looked like an imp.”

Clarice looked around in bewilderment. “You guys? I don’t see any guys here.”

“He’s an imp, apparently named Grodek,” Aria answered Jason, shooting a reproachful glare at Clarice. “We tried killing him when we first met him, but he’s too fast for us to hit with anything we can fire. While he is extremely obnoxious, he has given us a lot of information that we didn’t have before.”

“Jason, do you want to have kids?” Calypso asked the young man curiously.

It took a while to restore order as Aria and Clarice began rolling on the ground laughing uproariously as Jason’s face turned bright red. He looked ready to faint as he stared back at Calypso like a fish out of water.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jason,” Calypso apologized quickly, her own lips quivering as she realized how her question had sounded. “What I meant was, do you plan to have kids someday?”

He let out a hysterical laugh filled with relief as his eyes darted around wildly. “Oh, um, yes? Someday?”

“We were discussing whether to offer you the option to transform into an angel,” Calypso explained, her lips still struggling to stop smiling. “We didn’t think that angels could have kids. Apparently, male angels can still have kids with human women though. Any children you have would be half human though and probably wouldn’t ever be capable of transforming into angels. Since you are planning to have children in the future, I would suggest you wait to take us up on this offer.”

“Me, an angel?” Jason breathed in amazement. “You think I would be responsible enough to be an angel?”

“We do,” Calypso nodded firmly.

“Wow, thank you for that vote of confidence,” Jason smiled, his eyes full of gratitude. “But I do think I would like to have a family first.”

“The offer will be there when you are ready for it,” Calypso informed him with a fond smile.

“Is there anything else we need to discuss, or any questions you have?” Clarice asked Jason, clearly signaling an end to their meeting.

“Just to sum up,” Jason began, holding up a finger. “First, my main priority is to get a hack in place to broadcast your channel so that we can destroy the nanobots in agency contractors. Second, hand off responsibility to some of the others to grow the network while I focus on number one. We ultimately plan to replace demons who are in influential positions of power with people from the network. Does that cover everything?”

“That’s about it,” Clarice nodded her agreement. “Let’s get you back to your apartment before anything else crazy happens over here.”

Calypso opened a gateway to Jason’s apartment in front of them. She gave him a parting embrace, charging his system with love and confidence. He was all smiles as he went back through the gateway, full of excited energy.”

“That went…pretty well,” Clarice noted with a wry smile. “He probably saw more than he should have with Grodek and Carcelonia, but I suppose we’ll just have to trust him to keep his mouth shut.”

“Do you really think we are a lot stronger than normal angels?” Aria asked them with a frown. “Grodek made it sound like normal angels aren’t very powerful.”

“Unless we ever meet another angel, it will be hard to answer that question,” their mother answered with a shrug. “I will say that I’ve noticed a power difference between the two of you and the rest of us. I think we are second generation angels, while you two were directly affected by Calypso’s tears. If she really is a Seraph, it would make sense that her tears would result in a more powerful angel than your tears. A new Seraph would probably result in a new hierarchy of angels, with the generation closer to Calypso being more powerful.”

“That would certainly explain why we have been able to destroy demons who are probably thousands of years old without any trouble,” Clarice noted with a pensive frown. “They would have been expecting far weaker angels than us. Maybe that’s why this Order of Saturn is worried. Maybe they realize the same thing Grodek has and suspect a higher order of angel. We’re basically like wrecking balls smashing through anything they throw at us.”

“I guess it’s not normal to be this powerful,” Aria let out a relieved breath. “I was wondering how the world was still standing if every angel started out as powerful as us and then just kept getting more powerful. I guess it explains how the demons managed to take over this world too.”

“There is more to it than you think,” their father told them with a troubled frown. He had blurred over to them as they spoke. “Seraphim sit above Cherubim. Any angel they make will become a Cherub, theoretically. Aria and Clarice are both Cherubim in the making. This is assuming any of the mythology we have in religious texts is accurate, of course.”

“You mean we’re going to turn into cute little naked baby’s?” Clarice asked, her face filled with mischief.

“That’s not what Cherubim are,” their father shook his head with a sigh. “You can thank Hallmark for that nonsense. Lucifer was supposedly a Cherub, before his fall. They probably came up with the image due to angels lacking facial hair. Before shaving was a thing, only younger boys didn’t have beards.”

Aria shared a look with Clarice, her eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth. “Hello, your cherubimship, how do you do?”

“Not bad, your cherubimship, thanks for asking,” Clarice answered in a goofy formal British accent.

Their father facepalmed as he watched them. “Those two sitting at the top of the totem pole,” he breathed in disbelief. “This is going to be a wild ride.”

“That begs the question,” their mother spoke in a troubled voice. “Should we stop raising mortals to angels? If every time we raise someone they are going to be several orders above archangels, we should probably be even more picky about who we allow to become an angel.”

“I think we need to find this Lore Boar before we do anything else,” their father suggested with a thoughtful gaze at Calypso. “If that’s where we can find more answers, I think knowledge should be our primary focus. It sounds like things are even more political than we suspected with the demons and angels.”

“I wonder if there are any other angels on this world besides Carcelonia,” Clarice said, glancing at her father. “How is it that you and Mom are so knowledgeable about all of this religious mumbo jumbo?”

“You forget that we were children when religion was a lot more popular,” her father told her with a faint smile. “Before the internet existed and people could only get their information from books and churches. It was a lot easier to keep people indoctrinated when there weren’t easily accessible sources of information available. My spiritual journey started shortly after the advent of the internet when I really started digging into all of the doctrine of the different religions.”

“Your dad and I used to spend a lot of time discussing all of the disparities in religious doctrine and what the churches actually taught,” their mother added with an amused look. “There are a lot of apocryphal texts that used to be canon that were removed when they didn’t fit the current vision of the various religions. That’s where most of the information regarding angels exists. I would imagine the demons running this world are responsible for removing most of the real information about angels.”

“How are we going to find this lore boar thing?” Lexi asked doubtfully. “I’m not sure search engines are going to be much help with something like this.”

“Let’s just go grab a demon and grill them for information,” Clarice suggested with a wicked grin. “They’re probably going to have more information than anyone else at this point.”

“Just go grab a demon, huh?” Aria demanded, staring at her sister levelly.

“Why not?” Clarice asked with a shrug. “We have established that we are more powerful than the demons here. Let’s just go pick one up and shake it around until information starts falling out.”

“Where are we going to find a demon?” Aria asked dubiously. “Or should we just post a Google ad for demons wanted?”

“We know where they are,” Clarice reminded her patiently. “They are in positions of influence. We could just go to any media mogul or political office and sniff them out.”

“Oh yeah,” Aria chuckled ruefully, her golden eyes abashed. “That was pretty obvious, wasn’t it?”

“Being a genius has its moments,” Clarice declared airily, absently buffing her nails on her shirt.

“Smart ass,” Aria accused, smacking her playfully on the shoulder.

“My ass’s IQ is definitely in the high triple digits,” Clarice grinned at Aria impudently.

“When do you want to snatch this demon?” their mother asked with a raised eyebrow. “And where do you want to take it to question it? I’m assuming you don’t want to bring it here.”

“God no,” Clarice wrinkled her nose. “The stench would be awful. We’ll just portal over to an island somewhere.”

“Who do you want to go after?” their father asked curiously. “Capitol Hill?”

“I figured we could just start at the top,” Clarice answered with an evil smile. “We’ll just grab the President.”

They all stared at her disbelievingly as she grinned back at them.

“Clarice, that would be like kicking the hornet’s nest,” Aria told her anxiously.

“You’re saying they would start sending demons and the military after us?” Clarice asked dryly. “Which is different than what they’ve been doing…how?”

Their parent’s shared a thoughtful look.

“She’s got a point,” their mother admitted grudgingly. “It’s not like they are going to come after us harder than they already are.”

“Calypso could just open a portal behind him, and I could pull him through before he knew what was going on,” Aria noted, warming to the idea.

“She could just open a portal beneath him and drop him in front of us,” Clarice pointed out. “It doesn’t need to be in front or behind.”

Aria walked up close to her sister and put her head against Clarice’s head.

“What’re ya doin?” Clarice drawled curiously.

“I’m seeing if I can get smarter by osmosis,” Aria replied, shivering slightly as their meridians began exchanging energy.

Clarice snorted a laugh as her parents and Lexi chuckled. Calypso watched the two of them fondly, her swirling eyes full of affection.

They all turned and watched as they heard Devon walking Tamra back toward the gateway to her house. They were holding hands as they walked slowly down the path.

“So how did it go?” Clarice asked Calypso curiously.

“I would have to say that it was a resounding success,” Calypso replied with a happy smile. “They are both highly attracted to each other.”

“I’m glad he’s going to get his wish to have a family,” their mother commented with a pleased smile. “He’s had a rough lot in life with all of this contractor nonsense.”

“I’ve certainly seen the longing in his eyes during holiday visits,” their father said with a wistful expression. “He used to love watching Clarice and Aria banter during Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“Who wouldn’t want to watch that?” Clarice asked flippantly. “We could probably charge admission, and people would line up to watch.”

“We need to make a grocery run soon,” their mother said, ignoring Clarice. “I think I still pass as close enough to human that I could make the trip, if I wear sunglasses.”

Clarice walked up to their mother and whispered into her ear so quietly that even Aria’s super hearing didn’t pick it up. Their mother smiled faintly and nodded. Aria was struck again by how similar the two of them looked now.

“Secrets, Clarice?” their father asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ve been married long enough to know that a girl has to have her secrets,” Clarice responded with a sweet smile.

He stared at her levelly, but she just smirked back at him. He shook his head ruefully. “I’m the man of the house. Aren’t you supposed to do what I say?”

“Actually, Devon’s the man of the house,” Clarice reminded him with a wink. “Nice try though, Dad.”

“Where’s the respect?” he asked the sky, throwing his hand upward.

“Probably hiding with your manhood,” Clarice suggested maliciously.

“You should know better than to cross words with Clarice,” their mother told him with an amused smile. “Just stop now before your ego is totally crushed.”

Calypso and Lexi wore mirror expressions of fond contentment. They had both missed out on having loving parents for most of their lives, and they seemed to enjoy soaking up the positive energy as the small family bantered playfully with each other.

“Calypso, would you mind opening a portal to a grocery store for me?” their mother asked politely. “I’m going to get a pretty large stock of food in case we end up with additional refugees. Let’s open it in the kitchen though. That should save some back and forth.”

“Of course,” Calypso smiled warmly. She walked with their mother back up to the cabin while the rest of them watched Calypso go.

Her double layered wings were much different than those of the other angels, gossamer thin and shimmery. The energy she normally exuded had changed subtly since the return of her human memories. There was an undercurrent of potential that accompanied her usual love and compassion, as if the embryo of a sun were growing inside of her. Aria shivered as she thought of the future that lay ahead of them. If she and Clarice were really budding Cherubim, they were probably going to be involved in angel politics on a grander scale at some point.

“Grodek mentioned other realms,” Clarice murmured contemplatively as she idly played with a long dark strand of her hair. “Do you think realms are just other universes? If so, why call them realms?”

“Perhaps our idea of what the universe consists of is flawed,” their father suggested with a frown. “You three can fly in zero gravity. You should go do some exploring and see how far you can go. Maybe you’ll find some answers up there. How fast can you fly? Have you pushed yourself to your limits yet?”

Aria shared a hungry look with Clarice. “Dad, that is one of the best ideas you’ve ever had.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he objected plaintively.

“We better take Calypso with us,” Aria warned Clarice with a smile. “She’d never forgive us if we went to space without her.”

“She probably would,” Clarice disagreed with a wry smile. “But I get your point.”

“Can I go too?” Lexi asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.

“One of us will need to hang on to you,” Clarice replied with a calculating look in her eyes. “You haven’t evolved to be unaffected by gravity yet.”

“What do I need to do to evolve for that ability?” Lexi asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

Aria shared a look with Clarice. Clarice lost it first, her face splitting into a grin as she began giggling. That triggered Aria, who began giggling madly as she tried to figure out how they were going to upgrade Lexi without…smooching...her.

Lexi squinted at them suspiciously as they tried to stop giggling. Their father just shrugged at Lexi with an amused expression.

“Paper, rock, scissors?” Aria suggested to Clarice with a raised eyebrow.

“Not with your luck,” Clarice declared with a shake of her head. “We’ll have to find a different method.”

“So…winner does the honors?” Aria asked suggestively.

“Winner does the honors,” Clarice agreed with a nod, her lips quivering with the effort of not smiling.

“What are we talking about?” Lexi asked, her eyes burning with curiosity.

“That’s for us to know, and you to find out,” Clarice told her impishly.

“Okay, who’s got a coin on them?” Aria asked, looking at their father.

He rummaged in his pockets and fished out a quarter.

“Flip it, Dad, and we’ll call it in the air,” Aria instructed him. She looked at Clarice suspiciously, remembering Calypso’s ability with dice. “But turn your back to us so that we can’t see it.”

“You got it, pumpkin,” he snarked, turning away from them. “Call it.”

“Heads,” Clarice called out at the same time as Aria.

“Just one of us calls it, you ninny,” Aria told her in exasperation.

“I know. Me,” Clarice retorted with a grin.

“Fine,” Aria sighed in resignation. “One more time, Dad.”

“Call it,” he said, flipping the coin.

“Tales,” Clarice called out, eyeing Aria challengingly.

“Tales it is,” their father informed them, turning back to face them. “I’m going to have to mark this day on the calendar. Clarice actually beat Aria at a luck game.”

Aria was staring at Clarice triumphantly while the others watched them in growing confusion. Clarice was trying to glare a hole into her head.

“If I ever meet the gods, and it seems like I might, I’m going to slap them silly,” Clarice declared viciously.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be doing something else with them,” Aria disagreed with an arch look, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m going to see if your mom and Calypso need any help unloading the groceries,” their father announced as he seemed to finally realize what they were competing over. He cast one last amused glance back at Clarice as he walked away.

“Are you going to explain what’s going on yet?” Lexi asked plaintively. “What does it have to do-.”

She cut off in shock as she was suddenly wrapped in Clarice’s arms. She opened her mouth to ask Clarice what was going on just in time for Clarice’s lips to connect with hers. Her eyes widened in shock. After a moment, her eyes softened and she leaned into the kiss, letting out a soft moan as her whole body quivered with sudden desire. Aria was pretty sure that Clarice was a much better kisser than her, so Lexi probably lucked out with her sister winning the coin toss.

After almost a minute of passion, they both began levitating off of the ground. Clarice finally pulled back from Lexi with a grin.

“There, you have the antigravity ability now,” Clarice told her with a wink.

Lexi blinked, looking down at the ground below them in surprise. “This is how you get the ability?” she demanded, blushing furiously.

“That’s the only way we know how to get it,” Clarice confirmed with a small smile.

“I didn’t think I would ever enjoy a kiss,” Lexi admitted quietly. “I kind of thought I was going to hate intimacy for the rest of my life.”

“It makes a big difference who the intimacy is with,” Clarice told her softly. “You’re not broken. By my estimation, you are one hundred percent functional.”

Lexi smiled shyly, not meeting their eyes. “That’s a relief. I was kind of worried about that.”

“We have eternity in front of us now,” Clarice told her with an encouraging smile. “They didn’t break your will. You just need some time to heal, and you’ll have plenty of it.”

Lexi pulled Clarice back into a hug, her eyes wet with quicksilver tears. “I know I’ve said this a lot, but I’m so glad that you found me.”

Clarice stroked her hair affectionately as she hugged her back, her own eyes filling with tears. “I’m so glad that we found you too.”

Clarice moved her cheek so that the tears running down it touched the tears on Lexi’s cheek. There was a golden glow that suffused the air around them, accompanied by an influx of energy. As Clarice pulled back from Lexi, she smiled as she saw the golden eyes looking back at her.

“My eyes feel hot,” Lexi murmured quietly.

“Welcome to the golden eyes club,” Clarice told her cheerfully.

“Really?” Lexi squealed excitedly. “I have golden eyes now too? This is so freaking awesome!”

“Who’s ready to go to space?” Aria asked as she heard her mother return in the cabin with the groceries.

“I’m so ready to go to space,” Lexi exclaimed exuberantly.

“You’re going to space?” Calypso asked intently, appearing right in front of them.

“We were just waiting for you,” Clarice told her with an excited grin. “Let’s go see what’s out there.”

The four of them launched into the air and streaked into the sky, disappearing in less than a second.