The gunshot staccato of the woman’s shoes rang out in the open space as she stalked toward Alice. In the few seconds it took for her to reach her, Alice thought that it seemed odd for a goddess to be wearing stiletto heels. Gods were always pictured with flowing robes and bare feet in the books and movies. This woman was nothing like those gods. She was decked out from head to foot, not a curl out of place, clad in the most expensive fabrics. When she came closer Alice could smell the light scent of lavender.

                This woman was clearly a diva. But a diva with incredible powers, and one who had it out for Alice. Wanted her dead.

                Dione’s power didn’t work here. Alice had to keep reminding herself of this as the goddess examined her coolly from head to toe, her eyes glittering with spite.

                “So you’re Alice Cunningham, not nearly as exciting as I thought.”

                “Well good, then maybe we can all go home.”

                Dione’s lips curved into a malicious smile. “Oh, I don’t think so. You’ve been a thorn in my side since the start, dear Alice. You’ve been turning the world of the gods upside down ever since you arrived in the magical community. If only you’d stayed where you are with the Regs, all of this unpleasantness could have been avoided.”

                “What do you want?” Alice crossed her arms over her chest, hoping the goddess couldn’t see her hands trembling. “What exactly is your problem?”

                Dione smirked. “Do you expect me to monologue for a half hour so that someone can come along and interrupt us? I don’t think so.”

                Alice shuffled backwards as the goddess advanced, alarm bells were ringing in the back of her mind. Dione looked utterly determined, her eyes fastened on Alice’s throat. “You don’t have magic here.”

                “Perhaps not, but I’m still physically stronger than you. It’s not elegant, but it’s a solution. What better time than now to take care of my problem?”

                “I’m a guest here,” Alice protested. Her back met the wall, and her shoulder bumped one of the tall pedestal along the edge of the room. There was a loud crash as the urn on top tipped over and shattered on the floor. “Gaia won’t like this.”

                “She’ll get over it fast.” Dione laughed. “She doesn’t care about much other than her perfect little paradise.”

                This was it. She needed to make her wish now before Dione could attack. Alice tried desperately to think of the right way to put it. Gaia was no better than the rest of them, she liked to play games. If Alice left room for a loop hole, then Gaia would exploit it.

                She took a deep breath. “I wish—”

                “No!” Dione launched herself forward, her hand connecting painfully with Alice’s lips and teeth, trying to silence her. Alice struck back, more out of surprise than anything, shoving Dione back, lashing out at her face. Her fist connected clumsily, and Dione staggered backwards with a shout of surprise. She clapped her hand to her mouth, blood welling up between her fingers. Her eyes went narrow and bright.

                Clearly she hadn’t expected Alice to fight back.

                “You’re lucky I don’t have my magic,” Dione mumbled through her fingers. “Although…I am going to enjoy strangling you with my bare hands.”

                Alice braced herself, fists up. She’d never been in a physical fight before, and Dione was both taller and stronger than her. When the goddess moved again, lunging for her, she ducked out of the way, whirling around and shoving Dione in the back, slamming the goddess into the wall.

                Dione coughed and sputtered, trying to regain her breath, and Alice jumped back. She should run while she had the chance. But when she started to turn away the goddess snaked out a hand, catching the collar of her tunic, yanking her back.

                Alice found herself wrapped in a tight embrace, her arms pinned to her sides. She opened her mouth to speak, to make her wish, and Dione jerked her roughly from side to side. “Don’t bother, there’s nothing you can say to make me stop hunting you. I don’t care what the prophetesses say, you will never be my downfall, Alice Cunningham. You will never win. I will always remember you, and I will always come after you.”

                Dione’s words were harsh and low, and her eyes were wide, showing the whites completely, and Alice realized in that moment that the goddess was well and truly scared. Frightened of her. It didn’t seem possible.

                I will always remember you.

                And that’s when it clicked. She knew what to wish for. Alice thrust her elbow back, connecting sharply with Dione’s stomach. Momentarily, she felt herself released, and opened her mouth to shout all in one breath, “Gaia, hear me! I wish that in exactly one minute you would resurrect me and bring me back to Threads. And my friends too, in the same condition they left in.”

                The words rang out in the room, and then it was silent for a second. Alice’s mind was racing. That hadn’t left any loop holes, had it? Gaia couldn’t bring her friends back as zombies or anything, and they wouldn’t wake up buried beneath the collapsed building. Had she thought of everything?

                Behind her there was a soft, throaty chuckle, and Alice whirled around to glare at Dione. “What?”

                “That was incredibly foolish.” She stepped closer, and Alice backed up. “One minute, and then you will be back at Threads. Back in the regular world, back in a world with magic.”

                The seconds were ticking by, and Alice clamped her lips shut and refused to say anything. She had to think of a proper way to phrase her second wish. It was hard to think things through carefully when Dione was advancing on her looking like she was about to wrap her hands around Alice’s throat.

                “No matter what your second wish is, it won’t keep me from you. I’ve been living with this prophecy since you were born. A shame for me I didn’t find you earlier, since your aunt hid you so well, but she can’t help you now.” She laughed again. “She makes a lovely kitty cat, your aunt. Much less of a nuisance than she used to be.”

                Another point in Aunt Ruby’s favour. What Alice didn’t owe that woman…

                The phrase, the wish, was forming now. On the tip of her tongue. There had to be no room for error. No loopholes. And she hoped against hope that Gaia was listening, that the wishes worked that way. If she spoke them out loud they should work, shouldn’t they? Had it been a minute yet?

                “Tick tock.” Dione moved forward again. “Your time is up.” The goddess lurched forward, grasping the edge of Alice’s shirt, just as Alice blurted out, “Dione, hear me! I wish that every god would forget my face the moment they see it.”

                There was an odd spinning sensation, and the room blurred. A rushing began in Alice’s ears, growing louder and louder, turning into a roar. The last thing she heard before the ringing silence set in, was the sound of Dione’s enraged scream.

                There was only darkness all around her, and the feeling of someone holding tightly to her arms, and the roar of wind rushing past her, whipping her hair in her face. Alice shut her eyes tight and tried not to think about everything that could go wrong.

                She hadn’t asked Gaia not to drop her from a great height, she realized. She had never specified a gentle landing. Fear twisted in her stomach, and she struggled against the restraining arms around her, yanking at the bottle on the chain around her neck.

                She had come so close to using those threads more than once in Gaia’s palace, but she had stopped, telling herself she needed them for an emergency. Now certainly qualified.

                Hastily she wove the threads together, winding them around herself as best as she could while the wind tore at her clothing and the arms around her tightened. Dione was screeching endlessly, and right in Alice’s ear. God’s couldn’t die, so she wasn’t sure why the woman was carrying on like that, perhaps she was afraid of heights.

                The idea of a god who was afraid of heights was almost enough to make her laugh, but she had other things to think about. The threads lit up the spinning darkness around them, and Alice blinked furiously, trying to figure out what they were falling through. The answer was nothing. They were falling through endless space with no form or shape.

                But she could still breathe, she was still alive. So clearly Gaia didn’t wish her dead, at least, not at this point. The threads buzzed gently against her skin and clothing, sending off that pulsing electricity that was so familiar. It was comforting, both for the feeling, and the thought that if she landed she wouldn’t shatter all her bones. The impact would still hurt, but she’d survive.

                A wave of sickness rippled over her as she remembered the others. She hadn’t specified for them, had she? No, that wasn’t true, she had said to return to others in the same condition they’d been in before. That meant Gaia couldn’t drop them out of the sky like she’d done to Alice. They’d be fine.

                Dione was still screaming, and now she twisted her body towards Alice, hands reaching up for her face. Alice tried to push away from her, but the goddess was impossibly strong. The screaming cut off.

                “I still have time to kill you now,” Dione panted. The look on her face was wild, desperate even. “There’s no magic yet, she hasn’t done it yet.”

                Alice felt the woman’s hands around her throat, fingers pressing into her wind pipe, cutting off her air. She was going to die, throttled to death while dropping hundreds of feet through cold, impersonal space. This was not how she’d pictured her end.

                How had she pictured it then? Very old, probably, and with Altair. Hopefully in her sleep after a life full of adventures together. A strangely comforting scene, though it dealt with death.

                No, this was certainly not how she’d pictured it.

                Dione’s grip on her neck grew tighter the more she struggled ,and Alice began to see spots in front of her eyes, white light that looked like pin pricks of stars against the deep black space around her. Were there stars there, and she hadn’t noticed them before? Maybe not, maybe it just meant she was dying.

                And then, just as the surrounding blackness was creeping into her vision, dimming the light of the threads, the nothingness was gone. Suddenly there was everything. Lights, colour, sound. All impossibly bright and noisy and jarring. Something slammed into her back with considerable force, momentarily knocking the wind out of her.

                But she was alive.

                Alice gasped, trying to pull in as much air as she could, blinking as she stared up at the ceiling and concentrated on her body. Everything was intact, wasn’t it? She thought it was. Nothing felt broken. Above her, multicolored threads hung like banners to welcome her home, and the soft light bathing the insides of the shop might as well have been the glow from heaven’s gate. She was home. She was alive.

                A groan from beside her made her sit up so fast her head spun, and she squinted at the woman lying beside her, eyes slightly blurry. When Dione’s face came into focus she gave a yelp of alarm and slid backwards over the floor.

                Dione blinked, rubbing her hand over her face. Then she sat up with a gasp, face twisted in anger. “Cunningham!”

                Alice thought about running. The goddess had her magic back now. Threads or not, this wouldn’t end well.

                When Dione turned to look at her, the anger faded away. Her smooth forhead creased, and she studied Alice, clearly bewildered. “Have you….have you seen her?”