KALI

IF IT HADN'T BEEN for the molten flesh sticking her eyes shut, Kali would have arrived at the Guardian in time to shred those dimension-hopping imbeciles to pieces. For the first time in centuries, she thanked the gods for the one helpful ability they had passed down to her: quick regeneration.

Now, instead of sealed eyes and scorched limbs, she had shed her mutilated skin to become herself once again.

Rage boiled within her veins, fueling the storm that had bent to her every whim. Kali knew she wouldn't make it to the Guardian in time, but she had put on a show just to make the terror dance in Emrys' eyes. The inferno he used to blow a hole through the Barrier had consumed his horror before she could relish in it, but even the smallest taste of victory washed her tongue in delight.

Emrys knew he didn't stand a chance. Not with the Touch killing him from inside each time he called forth his borrowed flames. It was his drug of choice—no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to fight his instincts. It would lead to his own undoing.

What a sweet day that would be.

Sirens wailed in the distance, shrill tones slicing over her storm's rampage. Under the city's magic-induced blackout, flashing emergency lights flared from all directions. Their commotion was enough to drive one mad.

Kali closed her eyes. It was not a night for madness.

With the snap of her fingers, the city fell asleep.

Human life drained from the atmosphere as her deluge ceased, leaving behind stillness and dying sirens. The townspeople would be fine come morning, when light returned to their city and they woke with no memory of their sudden slumber, just as they had so many months before. It was a harmless spell, though Kali would undoubtedly have an angry goddess on her back once the magical pulse reached whatever Astraelan depths the ancient woman had holed up in.

She didn't care. Not anymore. The gods could have woken from their slumber to damn her to Hell and she would've welcomed it with open arms.

How long would it take them to notice if she acted upon her urge to snuff the life from each human, one by one? They would be forced to drag her home, across a Barrier that was impenetrable to a banished demigoddess such as herself.

But, of course, it would never be strong enough to hold back that damn Phoenix. If only the gods had thought of that flaw before taking their nap.

And in that moment, as her thumb pressed tightly against her middle finger with the urge to snap the first human's life away, she felt it.

Power.

Blissful, unlimited power humming in such a low frequency that the average human wouldn't have felt its presence, but enough to have sent nearby electronics into a fit if they hadn't already blown to bits from her storm.

Raw magic radiated from the Guardian, pulsing deep within its trunk and drawing her closer. As she approached the ancient tree, its energy enveloped her with a vibration that rattled the crevasse where her soul had once resided.

All her life, she had dreamed of wielding magic strong enough to release that amount of force. She had only felt its power twice before: once when exiled from her home, and the second when Emrys made his arrival so many centuries later. Both brief experiences, when the shattering Barrier released a fragment of its power to the surrounding area before it had been sealed off once again... which could have only meant one thing:

Emrys had forgotten to seal the Barrier.

Malevolent intent danced across Kali's lips in a snaking grin. She pressed her palm against the trunk until its intoxicating power ravaged her system, flowing to every portion of her body. The sensation made her weightless under its grasp, pulling her from Earth as the Barrier took hold of her consciousness.

"I'm coming home."

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