A Claimed Soul

"Please. I'll do anything you ask. Just bring her back." Khalus looks up at his mother with a sincerity in his eyes she's never seen before.

The fiery goddess rises from her throne and guides her son to a nearby alter where she has him place Emily's limp body. She scans the girl's nude form with her smoldering eyes before looking to Khalus with great concern. "You pledged fealty to her? A mortal girl?" She shakes her head in disbelief, "You know that when a god pledges fealty to another of our kind a portion of their divinity is siphoned by the one they are pledged to. A mortal does not have the capacity for such power and their bodies will burn out, like so."

"I did this to her?" Khalus caresses Emily's lifeless face. "I am so sorry." He looks to his mother with desperation, "Please, fix my mistake. I love her will do anything to bring her back to me."

She places her hand on Emily's bare chest and a golden light pulses from her and through the girl's body. A look of worry crosses her face when Emily doesn't awaken. She closes her eyes for a moment and focuses before her eyes pop back open as she gasps. "The girl's soul has been claimed. I can not revive her."

"Claimed? By who?"

"Hel, Norse goddess of death. Her power is great and mine is....diminishing faster than I had anticipated. Our realm is too weak to risk antagonizing someone of her strength."

Khalus clenches his fist in frustration. "Then I will go to her realm, make a deal with this goddess, and bring Emily's soul back."

The god-queen shakes her head, "You can't. Our realm is faltering and you and your sister's unborn child is not enough to save us. We can not afford your likely demise. I have seen the worship you have garnered in the mortal realm and it may be enough to sustain us until our family grows larger."

The trickster stands there for a moment as he contemplates a plan. "I think I have a way for us all to get what we want. I will create a duplicate of myself to stay behind and be worshiped while I go to Helheim and save my love.....and if you allow it, I will plant my seed within you so that our pantheon can grow even in my absence."

The fiery goddess begrudgingly agrees. "If there is no convincing you to stay, then I suppose this is the way it must be done." She drops her glittering white dress from her shoulders and it falls to her ankles, revealing her curvaceous tan body. "Come. Let us save out family."