The God Wheel Read online

  “Yes.”

  The queen backpedaled through the portal. Mnemon walked over to the rift and motioned for us to follow the villainess.

  Lorna and I stepped through together. My god followed.

  ****

  We emerged at the mouth of a cave.

  The Entropy Queen was already walking backwards down into the cave. I knew she would only take a few more steps before she stopped and turned around to face what would’ve been the doors of the museum. At that point she would gesture about as if still commanding her army outside.

  I had to move quickly. I said to Lorna, “Be right back in like a minute tops.”

  I summoned a portal and traveled to my god wheel.

  My past self was there.

  When he saw I was alone, he pulled out a no-go sphere.

  I held up my hands. “Wait, she’s okay. Came to take you to her, but first I need you to spin. We need Xexxer.”

  My past self said, “But won’t that send Mnemon away?”

  “I don’t think so. With two of us, we can each summon one, at least that’s the loophole Xexxer believes we can exploit.”

  He reached down to the wheel. “So you want Xexxer, then?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He spun, and the god appeared.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. It had actually worked. Well, maybe not. Mnemon wasn’t here for me to confirm.

  We rushed through my portal.

  Mnemon stood by the Entropy Queen. She had stopped and was moving her arms about as if still back at the Mall controlling her army.

  “How much time left?”

  Mnemon said, “Two minutes, maybe less.”

  I pointed at my past self. “We need to carry her the rest of the way.” I raced over to the queen.

  My time twin took the other side and together we awkwardly lifted the villainess. We shuffled forward.

  “Heavy,” I said.

  “Agreed,” my twin said.

  Lorna raced up beside me. “This is Herena’s cave.”

  “Right.”

  Xexxer and Mnemon moved ahead.

  I talked to Lorna and my twin. “Please have a sphere or two ready. When she starts moving forward in time, I’ll need you to trap her in a stasis bubble.”

  Lorna fetched her last two spheres.

  In less than a minute, we found ourselves in the cave proper.

  Herena in her dragon body greeted us. She looked much older than the projections she’d used before.

  We placed the queen in front of the dragon. I directed Lorna and my twin to hang back with their spheres at the ready.

  Xexxer unfurled the scroll.

  Herena sent her fellow deities a hopeful look. She broadcast her thoughts to all of us. Is that the contract?

  Xexxer smiled. “Yes.”

  I registered Lorna’s reaction to his scary face. She shivered and squinted but didn’t look away.

  The Entropy Queen froze and then glanced furtively all around, again aware of her surroundings. When she saw her former dragon body, she grimaced. “What is this? Why am I back here?”

  Lorna hit her with a no-go sphere. The stasis bubble swallowed her up. Like before, she could move around inside and still interact.

  Lorna and my past self were surprised to see the queen wasn’t completely paralyzed.

  I said, “Well, your eminence, we’re putting you in your rightful place.”

  She studied Herena, her lips curling upward. “I will not go back.”

  Xexxer said, “Ah, but you will.”

  She gave the hooded god a dismissive snort. “You don’t have the magic to force me back into that cursed dragon.”

  Xexxer said, “But we do, thanks to the magic of fine print.” He looked knowingly at Mnemon. “Fine print and time.”

  “What are you blathering about?” the Entropy Queen said. “There’s a subsection in there that says it is only to be honored if among my fellow kind. I am an elder god and Herena is not.”

  Xexxer read from the contract. “That’s subsection Q you’re talking about, and it says agreements among one’s own kind will be honored and dutifully followed to the letter.”

  The Entropy Queen said, “Then I’m afraid this was all just a waste of time.”

  Xexxer stepped closer to the queen and Herena. “Not so fast. Thanks to the delightful subsection W, you will indeed have to surrender your elven body back to Herena.” He looked down at the document and read it with a booming voice. “This contract will be nullified, no matter any previous stipulations, after a span of one thousand years and if, and only if, both parties convene in the original setting where the transfer of consciousnesses transpired.”

  Shock played across the queen’s face.

  Herena moved forward. Then let’s be done with this. I’ve lost so many years, far more than a thousand.

  “No!” The Entropy Queen thrashed and kicked at the stasis bubble.

  The dragon reached into the bubble and nicked the queen in the shoulder. Blood spilled out, seeping slowly down through the stasis field until it dripped from the bubble’s exterior, pattering on a flat stone.

  Lorna pointed at the blood-splattered rock. “No bowl this time. Hope that doesn’t matter.”

  Herena drew her own blood and dripped a healthy amount onto the stone. They mixed vigorously.

  Suddenly, the Entropy Queen’s spirit flew out of her stolen body. Herena’s elven form exited the dragon and funneled into her original body at the exact moment as the queen did the same.

  The spiritual transfer proved too much for the stasis bubble. It dissipated, and Herena flopped to the ground.

  Mnemon rushed over to assist the goddess. Herena bent over, cradling her head in her hands for a few seconds before standing up straight and sending a withering stare at the dragon.

  The Entropy Queen swatted at the air and scrambled backward.

  I will send my nightmares to your village night and day, elf.

  “Feel free, but it will achieve nothing. You will not get to inflict anymore suffering.”

  Why, because you think me out of practice? Weak from being imprisoned so long?

  “No, you’re plenty strong, but my village relocated. We’re nowhere near this cave.” She grinned. “And unlike my contract with you, the curse that binds you here lasts for all eternity.” Herena conjured a large portal and gestured for us all to head out. She nodded at all of us. “And if it’s fine with everyone, I can take us somewhere a little more relaxing.”

  The gateway appeared. This one actually afforded us a view of our destination—a beautiful beach. I looked at Lorna, wondering if saving the world warranted escaping to a tropical refuge for an afternoon. She smiled and leapt through the portal with added vim.

  We followed her enthusiastic lead.

  I left last, subjecting myself to the Entropy Queen’s screams as they echoed through her prison for almost a minute.

  Chapter 26

  Loose Ends

  As soon as we dropped onto the brown shag carpet and I spotted the floating glass desk, I knew we’d been redirected to Quinn’s office in the Dominion. Seeing Herena’s surprise at our destination only confirmed that our dimensional hop had been hijacked.

  The powers that be still wore his red jogging suit and stood in front of his desk, deeply focused on his tablet. He pushed his round glasses up on his nose and acknowledged our arrival. “You did it.”

  Herena waved her hand up and down in front of her black clothing. It transformed into a gauzy green dress with a wide yellow belt. She seemed to relax now that she was more herself in appearance.

  My twin and I shared a look. How weird it was to watch yourself move about.

  Xexxer and Mnemon motioned for both Lorna and me to approach Quinn. My twin joined us.

  Quinn noticed my past self. He glanced down at his tablet. “Ah, yes, you employed time travel. That’s a risky undertaking. Normally, that would carry with it a punishment.”

  Lorna said, “But s
ince we saved the world, I’m sure you’ll overlook it, right?”

  My past self issued her a proud smile. I knew how he felt. I loved how Lorna spoke up.

  Quinn put his tablet on his desk and walked up to us. “Well, tampering with the sanctity of the continuum is a major no-no, but as long as you two can square yourselves away I can look past it.” He pointed at my twin and me.

  “What do you mean by square away?” my past self asked.

  Mnemon rushed over to us, wagging a finger at me. “It’s a minor wrinkle. There can’t be two of you running around.”

  I stiffened. What did that mean? Did one of us face eradication, vaporization or any of the other equally undesirable -ations? Decimation? Liquidation?

  My past self pulled out a no-go sphere. “Not me.”

  Since we were one and the same, he’d obviously been down the same disturbing mental road.

  Lorna snatched the sphere from my twin’s hand. “Don’t be reckless. Hear him out.”

  Mnemon said, “Might I suggest a folding. The time difference between the two Felixes is only a few hours, making such quite doable.”

  Quinn considered this.

  I exchanged nervous looks with my past self. Folding sounded better than an outright dirt nap for one of us, but it still might be painful. I just didn’t have a clue what folding entailed.

  Quinn pointed at me. “This one went back and saved the mortal girl, correct?”

  I answered, “Yes.”

  Quinn waved at my twin. “Then fold him.”

  My past self said, “Wait, what’s folding?”

  Mnemon walked over to my anxious twin. “We bring you two together, meld you in with Felix. You will become one, nobody ceases to exist.”

  “Couldn’t you fold him into me?” My past self looked ready to flee using his portal ring. He had it up by his chest and rubbed at the jewelry with a frazzled intensity.

  “That’s not possible. If we do that, then Lorna dies again and the Entropy Queen is free.”

  Lorna let out a gasp and sent me a frightened look.

  My past self cringed and darted his eyes from Lorna to me several times.

  She walked over and hugged him. She also whispered something into his ear, which made him smile. Lorna kissed my past self on the forehead and moved aside.

  My twin said, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

  Mnemon positioned us facing one another and then pressed our palms together. He addressed my twin. “I will bathe you both in chronal energy. When you feel your fingers slipping into his, step forward and fall into his mass. There will be slight resistance, but not much. Thank you, Felix.”

  My twin nodded at the god to proceed.

  Mnemon closed his eyes. Yellow and blue ropes of energy sprang from his hands and played all over us.

  We tensed but just as quickly relaxed when neither of us incurred any sort of shock or pain.

  I watched my twin’s hands sink into mine.

  He went wide-eyed at this.

  I almost expected him to pull away, but instead he met my gaze and nodded. “It’s been unreal. See you on the flip side, Felix.” He dove forward, his body folding into mine.

  It was over in seconds. The chronal energy around me briefly flared and danced about with added intensity before dissipating.

  The room spun, and I felt my body lurch backward. I slid my foot back to try to steady myself.

  Lorna raced over and grabbed my shoulders to keep me standing. “You okay?”

  I rubbed at my forehead. “Little achy, but otherwise just peachy.”

  Quinn said, “That had to be weird seeing yourself make such a bold sacrifice.”

  “I don’t feel different.”

  Quinn said, “No, you won’t, because you were further down the timeline than he was. If we’d gone the other way, he would’ve soaked up your additional experiences.”

  Feeling better, I stood up straighter.

  Lorna let go. “And, believe me, the minute this crazy ride stops, I want a complete account of my apparent death.”

  I nodded.

  Quinn said, “Prophecy fulfilled thanks to you two.” He waved his hand as if painting a broad stroke across an invisible canvas before him.

  A large shimmering rectangle appeared in front of us.

  Quinn poked at the air as if punching away at hidden buttons.

  An image of the National Mall appeared. Quite a few people lay on the ground. We watched as the ones crumpled on the grass stirred.

  I half expected those rising to their feet to have glowing eyes, but none did.

  “Smart thinking to make the connection to Herena’s plight.” Quinn waved a finger at Xexxer. “And finding that loophole in the contract was lovely.”

  My god of contracts said, “That was Felix’s idea. I just uncovered the flaw.”

  Truthfully, that had been a total stab in the dark, not that I was going to say such aloud to Quinn.

  “What happens now?” Lorna asked.

  She had a good point. While the Entropy Queen was again imprisoned, things were a mess on Earth. There had been deaths, not as many as there could’ve been, but still . . . And now people knew something was freaky with the world. There was no covering up that half the population had been zombified. And portals, how to explain that? And the exiled gods on display?

  Quinn shuffled through the carpet, seeming to draw enjoyment from dragging his bare feet through the thick fibers. “Well, there’s no hiding from this. We knew this day would eventually come. You’d be amazed at how many prophecies predict celestials being exposed. We’ve always managed to avoid that with some clever ploys that never negated the portents but did lead to quieter, discreet saves of the world. This one got out of hand. Fortunately, we do have a protocol in place to address this.”

  Lorna said, “What, some global amnesia spell? That won’t work. It doesn’t account for those the queen killed outright and the rest who died when so many fell into comas. No telling how large the death toll would end up being. So many crashed planes and other horrible accidents from the forced comas.”

  I cringed. It made sense for her to be so caught up in the deaths around us; she’d just casually found out she’d died in another . . . what? Timeline? Alternate reality? My head hurt thinking about the whole mess.

  “And, sadly, we cannot undo the loss of life.” Quinn paused for a moment, appearing mournful. “I know you met the exiles and are aware of their agenda. When they were sent away for their radical thinking, I was one of the few powers that be who voted against their banishment.”

  That surprised me. Quinn seemed so tied to towing the line.

  “Over the centuries, more of us became comfortable with the idea. This event, well, it forced us to make changes. I just got back from a very monumental vote. The exiles will get their wish. We are doing away with the internal god wheels and allowing celestials, and magicals also, to reside out in the open on Earth.” He looked at Lorna and me. “Do you think mortals will have us?”

  Lorna hugged me, squeezing hard. “The more, the merrier.”

  I tilted my head, resting my chin on her soft curls. Our adventure had drawn us closer.

  And I didn’t need a dusty prophecy to tell me we had a future together.

  Epilogue

  Celestial assimilation took more than two years. It helped that the gods arrived to aid mankind in recovering from the queen’s attack. The world changed irrevocably on the day when the divine came down to roost on terra firma.

  While there were trust issues, and some resistance from a few religious circles who took issue with the proof of divine beings—especially ones who wanted to toil alongside us rather than exist in some aloof nirvana beyond—most came around without feeling their spiritual perspective had been discredited.

  The sheer number of celestials who relocated to Earth would’ve been a hardship if not for the powers that be allowing migration to the Dominion. Quite a few intrepid mortals wound up with a divine zip code.

>   There were incidents of hatred and prejudice toward the celestials and magicals, but that ugliness faded as the world was ushered into a golden age.

  The celestials shared portal magic with the world, which drastically improved transportation and made traffic jams, and roads for that matter, obsolete. Air and rail travel still managed to stick around, but those industries knew their days were numbered.

  There were so many changes for the better; chief among them was the one we were enlisting at the moment. The advances to the medical field with the inclusion of deities associated with health and wellness being brought on staff at hospitals over the world was groundbreaking. Most cancer and other diseases were all but eradicated.

  Trivaluyya, the goddess of smooth transition, was our midwife. She smiled at us and imparted magic from her crown to ease my wife through childbirth.

  Labor lasted a grand total of three minutes. The nurse held up our son as a pixie flew all around the newborn, magically cleaning off the new arrival.

  I pulled down my mask and looked into Lorna’s eyes. She was crying.

  “He’s a handsome devil,” I said. “Must take after his father.”

  Lorna didn’t miss a beat. “He does. I’ll be sure to mention that to him next time I see the deadbeat.”

  I winked at her.

  I gazed at our son, knowing he would soon be the recipient of numerous lickings from Marty. The retriever would welcome him into the family with open paws. My dad would too, minus the paws, of course. He’d cradle him in his never-cleaned-a-fish hands instead. I sighed, happy that he and Lorna’s sister had survived being the Entropy Queen’s puppets without coming to any real harm. Dad had a nasty cut along his right forearm, but a few stitches had made him whole and well, not that his grumbling about the injury didn’t say otherwise. Even months after it had healed up, it was still his go-to conversation starter on most first dates. As tempting as it had been to use the scratcher winnings to fund the overhaul of my second bedroom to a nursery, Lorna and I had decided to donate the winnings to a local homeless shelter.

  Trivaluyya said, “Have you a name selected for the child?”

  Lorna said, “We do, one that got a clean bill of health from the Ministry of Prescience.”