When Stars Collide

Chapter 20- Afterlife - Maia

They say that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I saw a blinding light so bright, I couldn’t see anything, but I heard a plea. It came from… Leo. He was praying for me. Goddess, I must be truly dead if I hear him praying for me. When I open my eyes, I find the Harbinger sitting on a cloud and my emerald dress is still looking flawless. He yawns and looks at me. 

“I-I’m dead?”

“A goddess never truly dies, Maia. You should know that by now. They live forever in our memories,”

“Says the traitor who killed my mom.” I glare at him and he smiles at me softly.

“Well, you see… I’m not the one who killed your mother. I actually owed your mother a favor, but she died,” he sighs and he clears a patch of clouds.

“Then… what am I?” He laughs and points at me.

“You are hope for these mortals. You are the light they desperately need. You are the next supreme goddess whether you like it or not. Lida already bogged all the answers from me. I’m not the traitor you’re looking for.”

“Don’t hurt Lida, please!” I beg him and he chuckles evilly.

“Who said I’d hurt her? What, my reputation said that? How sad,” he scoffs.

“My brother is a lot closer to the truth now. If he gets Eris to squawk, he’ll find everything he needs,”

“It can’t be true, right?” I ask him and he shakes his head.

“Yes. Magelion is my brother. You’ve been in love with a son of darkness for nearly 2,000 years. What’s it like? To love darkness, but to never embrace it? I truly wonder how boring it must have been for him. To be a goody two shoes while I wreaked havoc in hell and in the mortal world,” he smirks at me and I walk close to him.

“Don’t make fun of him.” I feel the lightning coursing in my body and he frowns.

“Maia. Lida and Magelion are very close. If you want to bite a clue, then find out what Evangeline Abreu is doing in the mortal world. Also, take care of the forest eyes and the blue eyed atheist. He’s a real catch,” he winks at me and I slap him with my Wind.

“Leo doesn’t care about me. Why should I?”

“Because said mortal is currently trying to bring you back to life. He looks like he’s about to cry. I have had my eyes on you, Maia. Be careful with who you trust. Scarlet works for Evangeline. Now that you killed your lead, you’ll have to hope that Skylar knows what she’s doing.”

“Skylar knows more than you and she’s not a murderer.”

“She’s not. She’s a vigilante, thirstier for blood than me. She’s not a murderer you say? Yes, you’re right. Because she’s lustful for blood and she’s got her eyes on your forest eyes. He’s your biggest ally so far, but can become your biggest enemy too.” he throws a coin at me.

“What’s this for?”

“Consider it protection and a reward for amusing me while I’m here,”

“I don’t need a petty prize.”

“Even if you can see Magelion and talk to him from there?” I gasp and look at him.

“It’s my encanta. I got mine extracted and turned into a coin. It allows for two visits within 2 minutes each. Use it wisely, Maia.” he says and before he leaves I call out his name and he turns around, glancing at me.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t underestimate the mortals… or me, Maia. They’re a lot more clever than you think,” and with that warning he pushes me back and the clouds fade.

 I hear a distorted noise and when my eyes finally fly open, I’m coughing up water. Leo pushes me to the side and I can’t stop coughing and shivering. Goddess, the water is cold. When I try to orient where I am, Leo looks at me and he looks so surprised. I look at him and he crushes me in a hug. I stay there awkwardly and I hug him back, unsure why me coming back elicited this reaction from him. I still thought he was annoying. 

But maybe he wasn’t that bad.

“How was your beauty sleep, your majesty?” he says weakly and I glare at him.

Nevermind. He’s still an asshole.

“Great, thanks for asking. Are you done hugging me, or did you lose your life in the attempt of jumping off the cliff?” I retort and he chuckles, sending a chill down my spine.

I shouldn’t be feeling that. Not when my heart belonged to someone else. Not when this guy had annoyed me for the majority of my trip.

“You saved me,” he said truthfully, looking at me and I roll my eyes, trying to get up, but I stumble and he helps me up.

“Obviously I did. Did you just remember that? You’re pretty forgetful then,”

“Yeah, well… it’s been a while since someone has done that for me,” he says awkwardly and I feel a thank you coming, but it never does.

 I huff angrily and keep walking slowly. He holds the mirror pouch and hands it to me, without asking anything and when we walk back up to the cliff where I had jumped from, I look over it again. The sight was truly beautiful, even if the cliff almost warranted my death.

“Hey, you better not have a death wish!” he yells after me and I turn to glare at him.

“Do you ever shut up?” I ask him honestly and he laughs.

“You know what, pumpkin? I don’t think I ever do, but that’s the best part. You’ll never get tired of me,” he says and he passes me the veil I got from Zoraya. I clutch it close to my heart and wrap it around me and when he stares at the motorcycle he tries to make it work, but it still sputters like before. He looks at me sheepishly.

“Can you make it move again?” I nod and I conjure my Wind to make it move. He helps me sit on the motorcycle and he pulls it along for support. We walk quietly and I stare at the scratches and cuts on his body. His shirt is torn, so I can see more of the muscles gleaming, but I avert my eyes because goddess knows I’d probably end up swooning over my mother’s creation.

“Where’s the rest of the group?” I ask him and he shrugs.

“Ioannis and Estella will be okay. Skylar is the grim reaper. I don’t trust her, but I’m sure it’ll go well for them. At least hopefully better than us,” he says and I can only pray that he’s right. 

YAY!
Maia's alive and now... let's hope the rest of our little group are okay.
Sandyfrogy