Nyx put her arms around Erebus and held him close. “Thank you is not enough, but those are the only words I have.”
“And they are the only words I have too,” said Kalona. “You gave me my life back. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.”
“Oh, it isn’t, big bro. But what is enough is you loving Nyx and filling this realm and our little family with joy and Light.”
“Now, I can do that,” Kalona said.
“Then that is thanks enough.”
Erebus unfurled his wings and lifted into the cerulean sky, leaving Nyx alone with her lover.
The Goddess looked up at Kalona. She touched his face intimately, cupping his cheek in her hand. “I can feel the lightness within you.”
His hand covered hers. “As can I. It’s as if, until now, I’ve not been able to draw a deep breath in all the centuries I have been alive.”
“But now you can breathe freely,” she whispered, tilting her head up invitingly.
“Yes, my beloved. Now and forevermore.” Kalona kissed her as he picked her up and carried her within to her curtained bed while outside the fey frolicked in Nyx’s lake, mirroring the joy that radiated from their Goddess and spread, like spring rain, throughout her realm.
4
Other Kalona
Years uncounted passed, lengthening to decades and then centuries—and joy ruled this realm of Nyx’s Otherworld. Kalona, Erebus, and Nyx were the best of friends—a family that wasn’t just content with one another. They were truly happy and enjoyed the company of one another.
Before Erebus gifted Kalona with joy, the son of the Moon had disdained Earth, especially avoiding the vampyres his mistake had created. And so, for many years Nyx’s vampyres saw only Erebus at their Goddess’s side. Naturally, they concluded that he was Nyx’s Consort and Warrior—and they named the best and most courageous of their Warriors the Sons of Erebus.
Erebus sought to correct that misperception quickly, but Kalona was adamant. “Brother, when I was self-absorbed and filled with anger I let our Goddess down, but you remained at her side, visiting her favorite children and supporting her. The bravest of the House of Night Warriors should carry your golden image and your name. I will not take that honor from you.”
Kalona could see that his acquiescence moved Erebus deeply, so he made certain that he often found excuses not to join Nyx and Erebus when they visited the growing number of House of Night groupings of vampyres. He understood his presence would only call into question Erebus’s place at the Goddess’s side—and now that there was no need for him to struggle with jealousy, he was glad to gift his brother and his lover special moments with Nyx’s vampyres.
When Kalona visited earth, he often did so alone. Not because he wanted to be away from Nyx or Erebus, but because he discovered how very much he enjoyed interacting with another group of Nyx’s special children—those who called themselves Tsalagi, and would eventually become known to the world as the seven tribes of the Cherokee peoples.
It began by accident—the way so many things in Kalona’s long life had begun. He’d come to earth to surprise Nyx by gathering a basket of her favorite spring berries and come upon a young Tsalagi hunter who was attempting to bring down a bison bull—by himself. The hunter was moments from being gored by the bull when Kalona swooped down from the sky, landing between the huge charging creature and the frightened, doomed youth. Kalona easily turned the bison aside, saving the boy.
He’d tried to fly away, but the youth had fallen to the ground, prostrating himself to the “Great Winged God.” With a sigh, Kalona told the boy to rise and then explained patiently to him that he wasn’t a god. He was only Kalona, the Consort of their Mother Goddess.
The young hunter had insisted that his father, who was chief of his tribe of the Tsalagi, must repay his kindness, so Kalona reluctantly went with the boy to his village.
Thus began one of the most satisfying relationships in Kalona’s existence. The tribe welcomed him, naming him Kalona of the Silver Wings. Though he did not allow them to worship him as a god, the Tsalagi revered the winged immortal and he often joined their storytelling circles. The artists of the tribe created images of him, and their homes, horses, and even the great headdresses of their warriors were decorated with silver-white wings and amber eyes. Kalona wasn’t their god, but any member of the tribe would say that Kalona of the Silver Wings was their beloved protector and friend.
And that made the mighty Kalona joyful.
The years passed peacefully for the three immortals. Erebus and Nyx appeared to vampyres frequently, encouraging them to establish their society as a matriarchal one that revered the arts and sciences and respected their Warrior protectors, who were trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat as well as ancient battle strategies—the best of whom were accepted into the ranks of the elite Sons of Erebus Warriors.
Kalona and the Cherokee tribes developed a close relationship. The winged immortal visited often, watching as the decades passed and one chief took over from another. He wept with the tribe when lives ended and celebrated with them when crops were plentiful and babies were born healthy and happy. And every time he visited the tribes, ravens flocked to him. It happened so often that the Cherokee celebrated when a flock of the intelligent black birds gathered, as they knew Kalona of the Silver Wings must be near.
All was well for many decades, and then Kalona realized something was wrong.
At first it was barely noticeable. Filled with joy and utterly content with his life, Kalona would not have recognized that anything was amiss if he had never known his own sadness—never kept his own secrets from Erebus and Nyx.
But Kalona had known sadness, anger, jealousy, and heartache—and so he recognized shadows of those old, base feelings beginning within his brother as Erebus slowly and quietly withdrew.
It didn’t happen when Nyx and Kalona were being overtly affectionate—kissing and laughing in each other’s arms—but rather in moments when either he or his Goddess lover were still.
The first time Kalona had to face the fact that there was something wrong with Erebus happened when Kalona had been watching Nyx as she swam with the water sprites in her crystal lake. The Goddess was as naked as the little sprites, and her loveliness shined so brightly that the magnificent fey looked like wan shadows beside her glory. The warm breeze lifted Nyx’s laughter up to the balcony the brothers reclined on as they sipped ambrosia and enjoyed the magickal view of their Goddess frolicking, childlike, with the sprites. Kalona remembered he had been staring at Nyx, thinking how very grateful he was to be her Consort, her lover, her friend. He’d turned to smile at his brother and thank him once again for sharing his joy—and he’d caught Erebus unawares. Kalona’s brother had turned away from the lake and was staring down at nothing in particular, but the look on his face stopped Kalona’s breath.