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Oh no. Does this mean I have to deliver Dante to the afterlife as he requested?
Sensing another presence, I turn to see Death standing next to me in all his ominous glory.
“Tessa Maat, what is your choice?” Death asks.
“Are you going to offer Dante the same?” I ask instead of answering. “And what about Kurtis and Evan? None of the agents really belong to her.”
Another entity appears. As she materializes, I realize I know her all too well.
“Carmen?”
“Actually, the name is Karma…OriginalKarma.” She now looks more of East Asian descent than I remember, but her features are similar. She wears a beautiful, intricately embroidered gold sari.
This is all too much, and my morbid sense of humor cracks a joke. “The OG Karma.”
She grins, somewhat amused with me, just as she usually is with my sense of humor. “You are correct, Tessa. None of you belong to her.Instantis a misguided start-up and a petty god.” OG emphasizes the wordInstantlike it’s an insult.
Like a spoiled child, Instant Karma snaps, “I am not!”
Apparently, Instant is aware of their presence and chose to ignore Death and OG Karma until the insult.
“Well, she sounds mature enough to be a grown-up goddess…” I roll my eyes, feeling daring now that the other two gods are here to back me up.
“You are nothing but a worm!” Instant yells aggressively, but she slowly backs away from us.
OG Karma ignores Instant’s outburst as if she were irrelevant. Right now, with Death offering me a way out, she is. “But Carmen, why were you in my life growing up?”
“After Instant killed your mother, I was doing what I could to fix the imbalance she created.”
“Why are you here now?” I ask.
“To see that you are able to make your decision freely, knowing all the facts, with your karmic cycle back in your hands.”
“That was you!” Instant screeches. “Youmademe confess about her mother!”
OG Karma smirks. “Yes. It seemed fitting that you should experience some karma yourself. Tessa and her powers were never for us to control. They are in Death’s realm.”
“Seeing as you have encroached on my territory, I think it’s about time I put an end to it.” Death sounds downright cheerful with his usually flat voice. “Instant Karma is about to be no more.”
“What?” both Instant and I ask at the same time.
Death’s sickle appears in his hand. He sweeps out swiftly and slices Instant into two pieces. Her brightness cracks, and light ruptures from the split.
I flinch away but make myself watch as she dissolves and dissipates into thin air.
After a chilling, quiet moment, I ask, “Is she really gone?”
“Hopefully, for good.” Death shrugs then he turns to me. “Gods aren’t easy to kill if their believers stay true.”
“Wait a second! Why didn’t you strike her down before?” I ask.
“Because I needed a human to believe without any doubt that Karma wasn’t supposed to dole out instant karma as she does, especially when it comes to death. I needed a human who knows the truth about the gods. A human with the innate magic of karmic justice.”
“You were the chink in the armor that allowed him to cut her down,” OG Karma adds.
I’m completely floored that I was able to help bring down a goddess, but it makes sense that if gods are made with human’s beliefs, they can be destroyed the same way.
“As for you, Tessa, what do you want to do?” Death asks. “Would you want to use your talents for me?”
