𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖋𝖆𝖍

Who knew the answer to world peace was killing the Gods?

It was hard enough to convince people to believe in them. They were considered 'new gods,' and to say their power was denied is an understatement. Until their temples began to pop up all over the world, arising from the dust and destroying all buildings in their path.

Seven temples for all the Seven Gods that demanded we bowed to them now. 

Ylphine, Goddess of Beasts and Witchcraft claimed Appalachian Mountains.

Tetelus, God of Earth and Nightmares took the Amazon Rainforest.

Devulla Goddess of War and Wisdom rose in Alexandria in Egypt.

Oxysus Goddess of Arts and Emotion stole the entire city of Ahmedabad.

Zixaris God of Chaos and Death built a temple somewhere in the middle of the Russian Tundra.

And Rhimos God of Water and Weather had an underwater temple at point Nemo.

The last one was a bit harder, after weeks of sinking cities and millions of dead people with buried homes we were sure the dust had settled, that we were all finally safe. Then the last God showed themself.

Everywhere all over the planet streets were beginning to turn gold. From dust roads to pavements lined in concrete, a metallic shiny substance began to slip through the cracks and create larger ones in its wake.

And it was everywhere.

This was Seotl, Ruler of Justice and Time, and this liquid was their blood—the blood of the Gods. And just as it was everywhere, so were they. It was comforting almost, in an age of blind faith and a lifetime filled with worshipping the unknown, that we now had Gods we could see, hear, and feel as easily as digging our nails into the dirt and pulling out our fingertips dipped in gold.

The Gods were alive.

Until they weren't.

I laughed at the look of horror that washed over her face as she was dragged away from me.

Her fingers clinged to mine but I loosened my grip on her hand allowing her to be completely taken off by the crowd of cheering people. Our classmates were relentless and before she knew it she was at the center being handed a shiny bottle of champagne.

I chanted her name along with the rest of them, my voice getting drowned out by all the others but it didn't matter. My best friend was getting blessed by the Gods tomorrow.

Big deal was not even the word.

None of us were meant to be here, curfew had ended about three hours ago but we were all excited, rich, and fifteen. I'd approached Curtis to help me plan the whole thing, one of the most well-liked people in our year and known to throw the best house parties.

And not for no reason. He had it all; parents who didn't care about him and a full stacked pantry filled with alcohol we all couldn't pronounce. In fact, I suspect he'd been sober for a total of fifteen minutes in his entire life. He didn't seem too keen in helping me put together the party but relented after I offered to pay for it all but honestly, I think he only let me do it because he knew if I wasn't coming neither was she.

The reason the party was being thrown in the first place. Cher Jawahir.

Even now I could see her frantically shaking her head and trying to pass the champagne off to someone else, a wide and nervous smile on her face. I could read her lips from here 'I don't know how' is what she kept trying to explain but no one seemed to be listening they kept chanting for her to pop the bottle and I found myself joining them.

A giggle left her lips as she began to fiddle with the lid, her black hair falling in her face. I'd helped her tie some golden tinsel in it so it caught every bit of light that came from the large orange bonfire in the middle. She pinched me when I made a joke about her going blonde, she still wasn't too keen about the change and believed she wouldn't be able to pull it off.

I thought she'd look good in anything.

"For you," A shot glass was pressed to my chest making my hands shoot out to catch it before it was dropped all over me.

"Oh I don't drink," I laughed trying to hand it back to them but when I looked up I frowned, "Hey do I know you?"

"Do I know you?" The tall tanned girl laughed in my face, "What is that a bad joke V?" I blinked in surprise at her saying my name, "Delilah? I'm in your literature class?" I eyed her up and down, there was absolutely no way this girl was in my English class, much less a chance that she was fifteen. She pushed the shot back towards me, "Take the shot loser, Curtis asked me to hand this round out for Golden Girl over there's bottle popping," She gestured to her empty tray before jutting her head in the direction of Cher.

I tried to make a genuine laugh rise out of my throat but I couldn't stop my mind from rejecting the idea that I knew her, "Yeah, I understand but you should probably give this to someone else," I argued, "I'm her ride home."

She jutted her hip out and put a sassy hand on it, "What you can't take one shot for your best friend's special night?" She scoffed and flipped her hair before sauntering away, "Someone's jealous."

The snide accusation struck a nerve in my body and I resisted the urge to follow her to defend myself. Instead, I turned my gaze back to my best friend who'd finally gotten the grip right and was now pointing the bottle away from her and the crowd.

It's just one shot anyway, right? Cher won't mind.

Without looking I took a deep breath and brought the small glass to my face before throwing the liquid into my mouth before I could think twice about it. A metallic taste filled my mouth and I gagged slightly, okay that wasn't that bad. "Can we have a countdown for Cher!?" A voice shouted over the crowd.

"Five!"

Is alcohol supposed to taste like that? It almost tastes like that time I wasn't watching where I was going in the third grade and fell down a flight of stairs breaking my front two teeth.

"Four!"

I brought my hand up to my lips, another gag rising up my throat. Well, I guess I'm never doing that again.

"Three!"

A dizzy feeling had my vision going blurry and I looked down at the shot glass that was still in my hand, a gasp leaving my throat as I examined the contents.

"Two!"

Not believing what I was seeing I removed my hands from my lips and examined my fingers and just as I'd seen on the inside of the shotglass was there too. Gold.

"One!"

A loud pop rang through the air but I wasn't paying attention, I'd hunched over into myself and before I could stop it all the contents of my stomach came rushing out of my mouth. The loud pop that followed left a ringing sound in my eyes, only worsening with the loud cheering that had me feeling like my brain was ricocheting around my skull.

I wiped furiously at my mouth, looking around to check if anyone had seen me but just as I thought they had all rushed to go get a glass of champagne from Cher who was still grinning from ear to ear. Looking down at the shot glass I'd dropped my bottom lip quivered at the gold liquid that was now dripping out of it onto the grass.

That is definitely not tequila.

Walking over to the crowd I put my hand on the first familiar face I saw and Bonnie one of the tallest girls in our grade smiled back at me, she leaned down to give me her ear and frowned when I asked her the question. "Delilah? Pretty sure there are no Delilahs in Mr Russo's class," She yelled over the music before giving me a once over, "You look like shit Mostafah, can't handle your liquor huh?"

I rolled my eyes, "I only had one drink, that crazy bitch Delilah just gave me a shot."

She shrugged, her shoulder bouncing again as she gravitated towards the party again, "Well if you find Delilah ask her how she managed to get more drinks," She laughed, "Because the alcohol finished like an hour ago."

I blinked at the revelation, looking around, and sure enough no one else was holding a shot glass. In fact everyone else was holding red solo cups, filled with the bubbly champagne that'd just been opened.

My thoughts were cut off by a body knocking into me, Cher was swift to lift me off the ground. She spun me a bit before setting me back on my feet, her hair plastered all over her face and a cheeksplitting smile on her face. She shouted something at me and I tried to hear it but I couldn't over the sound of everyone else at the party screaming along to a song that felt familiar but the lyrics didn't reach my ears either.

I found myself looking past her head and past the dancing teenagers to the stools I was sitting on, trying to catch sight of the small vial I'd thrown to the floor but it was nowhere to be found.