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“Our planet has changed a lot since the last time the old gods were awake. Some of them went to sleep in an entirely different climate and landscape and woke up in a strange place. The great lakes that appeared after the last ice age disappeared over centuries, leaving behind dry land. And some old gods found themselves stranded when they awoke. Long before that, our continent used to be separated by the Western Interior Seaway. But the old gods are not normal creatures. They’re unkillable and immortal. To them, it might just be a temporary inconvenience.”

Extract of A Study of the Old Gods, Albany Seyra, 2048.

Maeve is beautiful, in the way that a tiger is beautiful. Strong and deadly. She’s as tall as me, and almost as wide. She has long, dark hair and brown skin. Her eyes betray her origins. They’re an uncanny shade of yellow.

Marika stands behind her, in the midst of her small army. The hacker betrayed us. Jude’s disdain is palpable as he looks at his old friend.

“Sorry, Jude,” she says. “But this is my home now.”

He spits at her feet.

Maeve’s smile widens. She throws an arm over Marika’s small shoulders. “Marika is an important member of my family now. She’s not going anywhere, boys.” She caresses her cheek possessively.

And I understand how she began her empire. The foundations of mine were always fear and respect. Maeve uses fear, too, but she also aims for adoration. It’s something I’ve always failed at. I’m not exactly easy to love, as it has been proven time and time again.

“Come on now,” says Maeve, “trying to steal a member of my family in the dead of night isn’t very courteous. What should I even call you?”

Jude and I keep quiet.

A man pushes his way to the front of the small crowd of Maeve’s minions. He has long ginger hair tied in a ponytail and a nasty scar over his right eye.

“The slim one is my little brother, Jude,” he says with a crooked smile. Jude’s eyes turn even more murderous as they behold his sibling. And from the look they share, I know that there’s no love lost between them. “I don’t know about the other one.”

“It’s Oliver. A mutant from the south,” provides Marika. “He takes his DNA from Urara, a god who produces electricity. Don’t touch him.”

I have to admit, she knows the subject.

Maeve claps her hands. “Oh, family reunion! My brother and your brother are trying to stab us in the back! Delightful.” And she does look delighted. This is all fun and games for her. We’re the new toys she can play with. She snaps her fingers. “Bring them to the altar.”

I don’t like the sound of that. I share a glance with Jude. There are enough guns pointed at us that I would be dead in a heartbeat if I so much as produced a spark.

They force us through the door and onto the bridge connecting the two west towers to the rest of the dam. The water level is so high that it almost reaches the bottom of it. A few men and women pull at my limbs and clothes, even with Marika’s warning a few minutes ago. I’m one impulse away from frying them all; consequences be damned.

As Jude walks close to his brother, the man kicks him behind the knees, sending him to the floor. Jude hits the concrete with his hands first. Once he’s on the ground, the bastard kicks him in the ribs. My anger takes me by surprise. It rises to the surface like a creature from the abyss. I lurch forward, but Maeve is expecting it. Her gun appears over my forehead.

“Now—now. Let’s chill the fuck out,” she says with a grin. “We don’t want it to get messy.”

Jude rises to his feet. His hands are bloody. He gives me a strange look, that is difficult to read.

The creature dives back into the abyss, waiting for a better opportunity to strike. I can learn to tame my hate and rage, just like Jude does all the time. I can be smarter. Even with the smell of his blood threatening to send me into a rage.

They walk us over the bridge and back to the main structure. The sun is rising over the canyon. The night has already come and gone.

The dam curves through the Colorado. And it’s in the middle of the wide wall, in the center of the river, that we stop. The altar in question seems to be a wooden catwalk nailed to the concrete, and that goes over the water. There is no mistaking what it’s for. I’m not so sure about the two heavy bells hanging from a metal pole.

“Do you like them?” Maeve says, noticing my attention. “I brought them back from a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. They’re very loud.” When I fail to comment, she continues. “Well, this is what we like to call the altar.” She gestures at the catwalk. “It’s a joke among us because what we do here is close to religious. You’ll understand shortly. But first, I want to know where you’ve put your aircraft.”

Jude glares at Marika, who is hiding behind her new master.

“It won’t fly for you,” I say. “It only obeys my command.”

Maeve smiles. “Well, then. It’s a good thing that I would like to offer you the opportunity to join my little family. It appears that one of my commanders has failed to report lately. We think he might have met his end. Malcolm will be missed. But he leaves behind a spot for the taking. And I’ve heard about your special set of skills, brother. I wanted to offer another one of our siblings to join too, but he seems to be resisting me. The Devil of the Wastes is quite slippery.” I tense up and share a glance with Jude. Maeve’s smile turns predatory. “Oh, so you’ve met him.”

Helios…

“He won’t join you,” I say.

The devil I’ve met is too strong and wild to obey someone like her. The same can be said for me. We mutants are all as territorial as the old gods we share our DNA with.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve started to gather,” Maeve says. “He has been killing my men for weeks now. But it’s okay; his machine will suffice. I want the bug. And I want you and your aircraft. I’m building something great here, and there is room for you.”

From the corner of my eye, I notice movement coming from Jude. He tried to step forward, but two men stopped him with a rope around his neck. His face is turning red, but his eyes are on me.

“Don’t you dare!” he shouts.

And I don’t know whether he’s talking to me or to Maeve and her plan to kill the Devil of the Wastes.

“Can we kill him now?” asks Jude’s brother, eyes riveted on his struggling sibling. “I’ve been dreaming about it since we were children.” He’s the one pulling on the rope. “He’s always been a snotty brat.”

I can’t look away from Jude’s angry face, even as it turns purple. I want to pull the rope away and burn his captors to a crisp.

Maeve looks at her commander and nods. “Yes. Let’s do a demonstration of what awaits you if you refuse to join my side,” she says to me. “A little demonstration of all the power that I wield.” She gestures to the bells.

A woman steps forward and rings them. Maeve was right; they’re loud. Unease slithers into my body as their song echoes over the river and into the canyon. Our captors turn their attention to the lake, and the feeling of unease turns into outright dread.

There’s no way—

Great spikes emerge from the lake and carve the water as the giant creature swims toward us. At this hour, the water is too dark to distinguish what lurks underneath, but a long tail breaks the surface. My brain struggles to remember all the old gods that dwell in North America. Helios used to be fascinated by them. I was happy to just let them be a part of the background of our lives.

“You know what’s funny?” says Maeve. “Thanks to climate change, the wastelands are growing larger every day. The desert is gaining ground in the Broken States. So, one would think that the river would soon run dry. But it’s actually the opposite.” She points toward the side of the canyon. “Since mankind stopped draining the river, the water level has actually risen. Especially with the recent rain up north. It now flows over the spillways they invented to prevent dangerous floods. And, thanks to the dam holding, Lake Mead is greater than ever. This place was perfect for Altamaha-ha to make his home. Of course, I had to lead him over two states, but we don’t regret the journey. The destination was worth it.” She smiles widely.

The old god—Altamaha-ha—reaches the dam, and his reptilian head surfaces. He looks like one of those underwater dinosaurs in old books, but scarier. He’s the kind of old god that makes you stop swimming in lakes forever.

“You tamed him?” I can’t help but ask.

Maeve laughs. “Tamed? Oh, no. He’s a wild creature, just like me. But I’ve found that he’s also lazy, and he enjoys when food is brought to him.” She nods, and the men holding Jude drag him to the catwalk. “I feed him three to ten people a day, depending on the harvest. It keeps him satisfied. Your friend will be his first meal of the day. It’s also a great way to get rid of unwanted visitors.” She winks at me. “Of course, you’re always welcome, brother mine.”

Her efforts at seducing me into submission are lost on me. I can’t take my eyes off Jude as they drag him to his death. If I act now, I could kill the men holding him, but then the others would put a bullet through both our brains.

His brother holds him over the void by the collar. “Think of me as you die, little brother,” he says before pushing Jude over.

Jude’s eyes find me one last time before he disappears below the catwalk and out of sight. I could read anger and fear in them. But also, regret.

Maeve and her men let me run to the edge. I scan the dark water below. The only trace of him are the ripples where he fell in the lake. The old god rears back with his powerful fins, looking for his breakfast.

“Ah,” says Maeve. “Altamaha-ha missed him on the way down. That’s rare. He likes to catch them.”

But I can’t register her words as I watch the water. This is my worst nightmare: a plunge into deep waters. A childhood trauma that has been built over for years. For a heartbeat, I can almost see the jellyfish floating just under the surface—colorful and deadly.

And yet, I throw myself headfirst into the emptiness beyond the catwalk, taking Jude’s brother along with me. The others shout behind us, but it’s too late. We’re already falling.

I must be going insane, I think as I dive for the water below and to the old god who awaits his next meal. I must be insane to plunge to my death for a man who hates me.

Maeve’s commander screams all the way down.

The water is a cold and brutal embrace as I dive. My gills immediately start working, and I open my eyes. The lake is dark, but I can see a massive body in front of me. Altamaha-ha. His two large fins thread water. But I can’t get distracted by our impending doom.

Jude is still alive, swimming underwater a few meters away from me. His brother is above us. He must have landed badly from the height. He might even be unconscious.

I kick my shoes off and dive. Even without training, I’m a powerful swimmer. It’s in my DNA.

I reach Jude just as Altamaha-ha’s head reaches us, mouth full of teeth. I pull him under to avoid our instantaneous deaths. Jude’s brother isn’t as lucky. A cloud of blood spreads in the water as the old god devours him. He might have been a royal douchebag in life, but in death, he finds his use as a distraction.

I pull Jude under. He tries to resist and swim to the surface, but I’m stronger. I drag him around the west tower. He’s struggling against my grip, thinking that I must be trying to drown him. Once we are safe, behind the concrete wall, I grab his face and put my mouth over his. He struggles for a moment longer before understanding that I’m breathing air into his lungs. One, two, three breaths. The bubbles escape his nose and float to the surface of the lake.

Above us, his brother is being shredded apart by Altamaha-ha. Jude will be mad that, once again, he wasn’t the one to kill his asshole sibling. But I think even he never imagined such a nice way to end him.

But to be mad about it, we have to survive first.

Once I’m sure that he has enough oxygen, I let go and pull him toward the west side of the river. There are no shores in the canyon, and the spillways are our only chance to make it. I look behind us and realize with horror that Altamaha-ha has turned his attention to us. We’re to be the main course of his breakfast.

I could use my electricity in a face-off with the old god. After all, that’s what I was created for. But Jude is in the water too, and he would be dead instantly.

I kick my legs faster and free my arms. Jude keeps a hold of my Hawaiian shirt. The current is helping us. I reach for the surface. The water is overflowing into the spillway. I don’t know what awaits us, but we’ll take our chances. The unknown sounds better than being eaten alive by an old god.

Jude realizes what I’m aiming for, and he swims faster, too.

Altamaha-ha lunges, but we fall over the other side of the spillway a second before his jaw closes around us. I pull Jude into my arms as we fall. We slide over a giant concrete waterfall before being sucked through a dark tunnel as wide as the Firefly. We’re dragged underwater once again.

For the longest minute of my life, we’re taken away by the underground man-made river. All the while, I never let go of Jude. I hope that he had time to take one last breath before we got sucked under. I hold him tight as my back hits the concrete walls more than once.

When the tunnel finally releases us into the river, Jude is motionless in my arms. I swim to the surface as fast as I can to reach the shore. We traveled some distance with the current, leaving behind the structure.

I drag Jude to the rocky shore, where he lies unresponsive.

“Come back,” I order him.

When he fails to open his eyes, I slap him. To no avail. His chest doesn’t rise and fall.

He’s dead. Jude is dead. He has drowned.

“Don’t you fucking dare!” I scream. “If you were to die, it would be by my hands!”

I rip his shirt open and place my palm over his chest, focusing. I can’t mess this up. Too much, and I could kill him. I send an electric shock to restart his heart. He convulses for a second before opening his eyes. He vomits a copious amount of water to the side.

I feel like I can breathe again, too. I rub his back while he coughs and expels all the water from his lungs. When he finally settles down, I hold him in my arms.

“Did they…push you over…too?” Jude asks between raspy breaths.

“No,” I say.

His eyes find mine. They’re wide and unsettled.

“But—”

“Oh, your brother is dead,” I cut him off. “I might have taken him down with me. The old god made a meal of him.”

Jude’s laugh takes us both by surprise. “Bloody hell… I wanted to kill him even more than Malcolm. He was one of the worst ones growing up.”

“Sorry. Or, not really,” I say. “In the end, he had his use.”

Jude snorts. “So, you can breathe underwater?”

I nod. “I have gills behind my ears.”

“The more you know…” he wheezes.

The dam stands tall behind us, a behemoth of concrete and steel. The river on this side is much lower, and the canyon surrounds us as an insurmountable barrier.

I hold Jude a while longer before announcing, “We need to go before they send search parties. They must have seen us go over the spillway. The river is the best option. We’ll let the current take us.” Jude grimaces. “I’ll keep a hold on you. Don’t worry,” I say.

I was loathe to get back in the water as much as he was. But we’re out of options. And after our plunge through the dark spillway, the river seems almost easy.

Jude gets up on shaky legs and walks into the river. I pull him over my body, and we both let ourselves float downriver.

I was right. It’s fairly easy, which gives us time to relax and catch our breaths. His body fits perfectly in the curve of mine. I bury my nose in the wet hair at the back of his head and breathe in the smell of him mixed with the river.

“Why did you jump after me?” Jude asks at some point. His voice is rough from his close encounter with death.

I’m glad we can’t see each other’s faces in this position.

“I don’t know,” I say.

And it’s the fucking truth. Why did I risk my life to save my captor? I plunged to an almost certain death for him. I’ve been losing my mind since the day he dragged me out of Bunkertown.

Jude says nothing, but his hand finds mine in the water, and he squeezes it hard enough to hurt.

We let the Colorado take us far away.