Raethon pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, the cold wind biting at his ears.  Aluma, Goddess of Autumn, had blessed the land with good harvest, but it seemed to most dwellers in Brigstone, Ulreus would bring winter early. The God of Winter's wind blew stronger and earlier than ever, frost glistening on the leaves before they even fell from the branches.

On this  night, Raethon could not sit still. He missed his sweet Avelyn—the dark cherry ringlets that fell down her back, the warmth of her kiss when she welcomed him home from his day in the fields, the serene truth in her voice when she said, "I love you."

He still saw her in his dreams, watching him suffer through her green eyes. The kind of green that revealed itself amongst the mounds of snow, a warm spring coming after the bitter winter. The kind of green that budded on bare branches, the same glimmering of the forest after it rained. The kind of green that brought hope to life.  Then her eyes closed forever.

During the first weeks of Avelyn's death, his heartache was like a wolf tearing at his chest. It threatened to consume him, devour his soul, leaving nothing but scraps behind. He vowed to avenge her, to fight off the wolf that clawed to his heart, but even now when he no longer weeped at night, he still did not have the strength to find the demon that drained her of blood.

Raethon knew finding the same demon in a world as vast as his would be nearly impossible, and in his grief he sunk to unbearable desperation and decided to call upon the Goddess Olena to ask for her mercy.

Calling upon the Gods and Godesses was an act of insolence, a sure way to condemn one's soul from entering the Afterlife—the land of paradise.  Raethon did not care, he only longed to see Avelyn once again, alive and breathing.

Raethon made his way along the edge of the fields and entered through the first row of towering trees in the Evyrglade forest, the night quieting around him. The trees that were once whispering in the wind stilled with Raethon's trudging through the brush echoing around him.

Raethon swore the trees sensed his presence, sensed his purpose for dwelling into the forest that night. He shook off the creeping feeling that slithered up his spine. He could feel the eyes of owls and other night creatures latching on to him.

Finally, Raethon reached the clearing in the middle of the wood, a perfect circle of trees edging the space.  The sky opened up above him, the stars shining upon him.

He stumbled to the middle of the sacred piece of land. His nerves tingled like lightning, his knees hitting the ground. He bent forward, and digging his hands into the browning grass, he prayed.

"Olena, oh Goddess, I ask you--", He took a shuddering breath. "--No, I beg you. Please grace me with your presence on this eve. Take this hole in my heart and mend its pain. Take it from me, please! Oh, Goddess of Mercy, grace me with your kindness, your pity and lighten my darkened soul."

"With this request, I give you blood." He straightened, unsheathing his knife. He held his palm in front of him. The steel was sharp against his skin, blood spilling out of the cut and onto the ground.

"With this request, I give you wine." Dropping his knife to the ground, he gripped the flask and popped off the knob. He poured the crimson liquid out onto the spilled blood.

A light flickered in the air before him, growing until he shielded his eyes from the might of it. Then the light was gone, plunging the world back to the darkness.

Raethon lowered his arm, suddenly afraid of what he had done, the possibility of damnation plaguing his thoughts.

In front of him stood a woman.  Her ivory shoulders were exposed, the thin white sheet of material loosely hanging from her skin. Soft honey hair blew in the wind, her silver eyes shining at him like one of the stars in the sky. The Goddess.  Her rose colored lips parted as she spoke his name. 

"Raethon," she breathed. Her voice was a song.

"Olena!" he gasped, bowing before her, his arms reaching as far in front of him as they would allow. "I am but a mortal. I am not worthy." He looked back at the impossible beauty before him. Tears lined his eyes. "But I had to see if it was possible. If there was some way you could bring back my wife, Avelyn. I have to see her again. My soul cannot bear her loss any longer. I have become but a shell of a man."

In the blink of an eye, the goddess knelt in front of him, her delicate fingers lifting his chin so that he looked into the depths of her eyes.

"Sweet child," she spoke, her voice relaxing every trembling limb in his body. "You come to me with sorrow heavy on your heart, your woes dragging you into the shadows. You know nothing but despair since her death, I can hear your soul screaming at me to spare you from your torment, from your guilt."

"My...my guilt?" He trembled beneath her gaze.

"Yes, child, your guilt. Underneath the despair and turmoil you find yourself responsible for Avelyn's death. If only you hadn't gone drinking with your friends that night. If only you had returned home for supper before the moon lit up the night. If you had been there, perhaps the demon wouldn't have fed on her and killed her. You think that you could have protected her, fought for her, died for her. But you are wrong, child." Her hand cupped his cheek, comforting as his mother used to. "Men are no match for the evil of demons. So banish the guilt from your heart."

"You are so kind, Olena," he said, a tear escaping down his cheek and onto her hand. "Tell me, what can I do?"

"Kiss me." Something different flickered in her eyes for just a moment as her warm breath blew across his face.

"Why?"

"To seal the deal, sweet child. One kiss, and your love will be back in your arms."

He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against hers as they kneeled in the clearing. She pressed against his lips with her tongue. Raethon parted his lips, sending the kiss into a whirlwind of passion. Fire coursed through him, scorching him, flaming his cheeks.

Olena pulled away, a smile curling at her lips. Raethon stayed kneeling on the ground in wonder as she slowly backed away from him, her dress swaying in the wind.

With a wave of her hand, a naked woman appeared before her on the ground, curling into herself like a child in sleep. Raethon crawled across the grass, his heavy breathing fogging.

"Avelyn," he whispered as he clutched the shoulder of the woman, spinning her onto her back. She looked back at him with the same green eyes that haunted him all those lonely miserable nights. She was there.

"Raethon," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

He lifted her from the ground, cradling her in his arms as sobs rocked through both of their bodies.

"Aw, isn't this sweet?" Olena said, her once eloquent voice lacing with venom.

Raethon glanced up from his wife, his eyes swollen as he looked upon the goddess.

She tilted her head back and laughed, the cackle echoing through the clearing, raising the hair on his arms. He clutched Avelyn tighter, her body shivering from the cold.

"You mortal men," she sneered. "You're all the same, you're all as dumb as swine."

"What is this?" Raethon asked, trying to keep fear from his voice.

"Blood and wine?" she asked. "Blood and wine does not summon Olena. Instead you summoned me."

Suddenly, the bottom of her dress was cast in flames, the fire running up her dress, leaving a black char against her skin.

"Who are you?" Raethon asked, standing to his feet with a trembling Avelyn in his arms.

"Isn't it obvious, mortal? I am Unehra, Goddess of Tricks."

For every step that Raethon took backwards, Unehra took two. Before another breath filled his lungs, she gripped his face with one hand, her fingernails digging into his cheeks.

"Drop her or I'll send her right back," Unehra threatened, clawing his cheeks. "You're coming with me."

Slowly, he lowered Avelyn to the ground. Her arms wrapped around his legs, holding on tight.

"You lied to me," Raethon said, spit flying from his mouth.

"Sweet child," She dropped her hand to her charred waist. "I never lied to you, you took the bait. Is Avelyn not alive? Was she not in your arms?"

The gravity of it hit Raethon like a wall of stone. He closed his eyes, letting one last tear fall down his cheek.

"Come with me to Hell," she whispered.

Raethon felt Unehra's lips upon his once again and then they were gone from the clearing, leaving Avelyn naked and alone in the night.