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Reader Guide & Author Note posted below.

In a realm where the stars won’t guide you home…

Every month, the dawn after a full moon, people flock to my temple. Bright eyes, tired eyes, thick robes and weathered. They come seeking the blessing of the goddess of luck and good fortune. 

They bow their heads and mumble hopeful words in front of a bronze statue cast in the likeness of a beautiful woman. They flick coppers in the shallow pool below my feet. 

But they have it all wrong. 

There is no such thing as cold. There is only a lack of heat. I am much the same. I don’t bestow happy endings, I inflict curses. 

Of all the temples across the desert, this city decided to paint cactus blossoms on the ceiling and stock pretty fish in the pool. Even when they had nothing, they did not drink from my waters. 

And so, their caravans did not fall under attack. Their livestock did not carry diseases. And their children did not starve. 

“You grow too fond of this city, Callista,” my brother murmured. His horned lizard form climbed the open sandstone arches and looked down at the growing crowd below. 

His flat, round body was beige along his underbelly and blended into a grayish tan on his spiky back. Five brown horns formed a crown at the base of his head and lighter, smaller horns lined his jaw and neck. 

“Is that envy, Taq? People only visit the god of death when they need something,” I cooed back. 

As usual, my elf owl form was tucked high in the corner. Deep brown and light cream spotted feathers encased my small frame. The rising sun was already too bright for my yellow eyes, but my attention remained on the young boy with frizzy yellow hair. 

Blonde was unique in the desert, but it was what he did that caught my interest. While his father tossed in a copper, the boy plucked an eyelash and let it float on the surface of the pool. How odd. 

“You cannot withhold your power just as I cannot withhold mine. Misfortune must befall these people, or Fate will be unbalanced,” Taq said. 

“And what of our cousin?” I hissed. “War can wipe out entire civilizations and Fate does not care. This is one city. One niche in the middle of nowhere. Let them be happy. Let me be happy.” 

Taq followed my gaze. “We need to be balanced, sister.” 

“They have their mishaps,” I argued. “Wells run dry. The sun takes the weak. Equipment breaks.” 

“You and I are siblings for a reason. If you continue as you are, I’ll have to compensate for your lack of motivation.” Taq skittered down the column and disappeared into the sand before I could respond. 

My focus returned to my faithful followers. Coppers splashed into the pool. Dreams and prayers blurred into a hopeful hymn. When the boy left, I took to the sky and disappeared into the sky. 

Despite my brother’s lecture, I decided to enjoy my haven a little longer. I should have listened. I should have done something. Anything. 

The people whispered about a broken rope. About the sun that made a light-haired boy dizzy and fall into a well. His body was found hours later, but it was too late. 

A well. The sun. Snapped rope. 

The next day, a dust storm buried a caravan. Within a month most of the livestock had succumbed to the plague. The next year, locusts swarmed the crops. 

I destroyed my once plentiful city with my own hand. If too long passed between misfortune, another child fell into a well. My brother made me pay back years of happiness with years of strife. 

Hope dwindled. As the seasons cycled, my fish died, my water dried up, and my mural peeled. Bandits stole my offerings. Only a few loyal souls visited me now. The father of the unfortunate boy was always among them. 

One day, he brought another blonde baby. 

I couldn’t take my gaze away from her upturned nose and cowlicked eyebrow. An idea blazed in my head. I couldn’t save the city, but maybe I could hide this family from my brother. 

One could say I was doing it to spite Taq. They’d be right. But we were equal, and he had been forcing my hand for too long. 

My temple was a withering ruin. I abandoned it and took over a burrow in a cactus near the child’s home. To distract my brother, I led rebels to the town and fed my cousin a tribal dispute. 

The girl quickly became a pillar of light in my life. I rarely traveled to the other cities for fear Taq would drown her while I was away. 

In no time at all, Shieryn had grown up and married a nice boy. His farm somehow managed to survive the worst of the storms. But that’s where I messed up. 

In the dead of night, Shieryn snuck out of her home. She left her husband and ran through the dark streets. 

I followed from above. 

She fell to her knees on the sand covered stone and rested her forehead on the cracked pool ledge. Tears wet the stone. 

“Please,” the woman whispered. She wiped her cheek and placed a shed eyelash on the sand covered floor. “Please take care of him when I am gone.” 

I landed beside her. Curiosity and nerves battled in my heart. “What’s wrong, child?” 

Shieryn started and scrambled back. “W-what… who are you?” 

“You called.” My yellow eyes studied her face. “I came.” 

“Callista?” 

I nodded. “What do you mean when you are gone?” 

Shieryn drew her knees to her chest and sniffled. “I’ve been with him for four years and I’ve lost nine children. They never live long enough for me to show. There are no bodies to mourn.” 

Rage blazed through my blood. Taq knew all along. He was playing with me. 

“My husband will shun me. I’ll be an outcast and he’ll find a wife that can give him an heir,” Shieryn whispered. “All I want is to be reunited with my babies.” 

“Do you know who I am?” I stepped forward. My talons clicked on the floor. 

“Goddess of good fortune,” Shieryn replied. 

“No,” I said. “I am the goddess of curses. Do you know what omens are?”

Uncertainty crossed the woman’s face. “Signs of bad luck?” 

I nodded. “They’re the flash of lighting before the rumble of thunder. I can offer you a choice. Take your life and be reunited with your unborn children.” 

“Or…?” 

I hopped onto her knee and peered into her eyes. “Stay by my side, become my Omen. Spite the god who ripped your babies from your womb. Perhaps I can even sway my Father to grant you access to your children from time to time. He rules the dead.” 

Shieryn’s tears dried. A glint of determination sparked in her eyes. “What’s the catch?” 

“You’ll travel the lands with me. Appear to people before my curses take effect. We’ll leave this town behind. Your husband. Your home. You’ll become a stray.” 

“I don’t care. What do I have to do?” she demanded. I lifted a talon. Shieryn pricked her finger and a drop of blood welled. 

“Meet me outside when you’re ready.” I flew out of the temple and perched on a nearby cactus while I waited. A horned lizard joined me. 

“You took a life that was rightfully mine,” Taq growled. “She’d be among Father’s flock had you not interfered.” 

“You took her brother. You took her children. You will not take her life,” I said. “We are equals, Taq. I will continue to steal your deaths and make them my Omens until everywhere you look, you’ll be reminded of me.”  

His eyes squinted with anger, but it was too late. 

Shieryn was no longer human. No, she was much, much more. A black cat slunk down the steps of my temple and approached us. 

“Oh, look,” I said. “This Omen is for you. Your reign of terror is over. Mine has merely begun.” 

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Reader Guide

Callista | Ca – liss – ta

Taq | Tock

Shieryn | Shear – in

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