Yodassa Williams - The Goddess Twins: A Novel

Praise for
THE GODDESS TWINS

The Goddess Twins is a fantastic ride, viewed through the eyes of girls on the verge of adulthood Twins Arden and Aurora are at once teenagers tackling contemporary issues and immortals in training, learning to harness their supernatural gifts in the face of adversity. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and cant wait for it to reach its readers!

DEVI S. LASKAR, award-winning author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues

If you are ready to claim the superpowers you know have always been within you, Arden and AuroraThe Goddess Twinsare here to light your way! Dont be scared if you experience some flashes of The Matrix subway scene; spaces in Sense8; channel a bit of Octavia Butler as well as Zadie Smithmaybe even Riot Baby, too.

VALERIE HAYNES PERRY, author and motivational writing coach of valeriehaynesperry.com and motivationalwriting.com

The Goddess Twins is an addictive YA novel that will live on in the minds of readers long after the final page. Williams weaves characters so real they leap out of the story and into your imagination A spellbinding tale rich with enchantment and lore. Girl-power meets modern magic. Unforgettable.

ALEXIS MARIE CHUTE, award-winning author of The 8th Island Trilogy

THE GODDESS TWINS

Copyright 2020 Yodassa Williams

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

Published by SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint,
A division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC
Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 85007
www.gosparkpress.com

Published 2020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-68463-032-5 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-68463-033-2 (e-bk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019954595

Book design by Stacey Aaronson

All company and/or product names may be trade names, logos, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks and are the property of their respective owners.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

As a child, I knew that writers are magicians.

I quietly craved but feared to believe that Ismall, brown,
awkward mecould harness the power to weave worlds
and stir emotions from markings on a page.

This novel is dedicated to her, my inner child, who knew
this story needed to exist and always dreamed she would
become an alchemist of words.

Also: for Channelle.

A s Ezekiel paces the length of the bare room, the eyes of his son and grandson remain fixed on him. He had barely aged over the centuries of his eternal life, but Ezekiels muscular frame and handsome features grew colder each year, sharpened by his dark thoughts for vengeance against The Fates and his goddess wife, Ghani. After wiping a band of sweat from his dusky brown forehead, he continues to tread the wooden floor of their rented farmhouse. It is nearly midnight on a balmy summer evening in Kingston, Jamaica; the year is 2020. In this year, Ezekiels granddaughters will turn eighteen. And Ezekiels seemingly endless decades of plotting will turn into action.

As his long legs command the space like a panther in a cage, Ezekiel huffs dismissively at his weak son, Teresh. Also blessed with eternal life, Teresh resembles a young man in his thirtiesbut his slight physique and propensity for shortness of breath exasperates Ezekiel, reminding him all too much of past failures. Ezekiel smiles with pride as he passes the brawny form of his grandson, who has lived over a hundred human years but appears a decade younger than Teresh. His grandson is the key to his revenge, the solution to Ezekiels quest for power. The time has finally come to move him into position.

That very morning, after their usual silent breakfast of cornmeal porridge and freshly picked fruit, Ezekiel told the two men he had an announcement to deliver after dinner. Ezekiel then spent most of the day in town, arranging for their international travel and lodging. Arranging for the abduction. Everything was going according to the plan he had begun to hatch exactly one hundred years ago. After hours of farm chores, physical training, and recitations of Ezekiels manifesto, the three men ate their typical end-of-day meal with heads lowered, and then gathered in the small living room of the farmhouse. As Ezekiel stands before his son and grandson now, still wearing one of his best suits from a busy day of taking action, he feels a moment of pride that hes dressed so appropriately to deliver this historic announcement.

It is our duty to reclaim the world the goddesses have allowed destroyed, is it not? He pauses and faces his kin, waiting for affirmation of their shared mission.

Yes, it is, they reply, nodding in unison. Ezekiel gazes past them, then plows forward as if they had not spoken.

Since Ghani and her daughters received their powers two centuries ago, all we have seen is the destruction of our world and the subjugation of our people of color! Our men, our black kings, have no power in this world. The goddesses have squandered their power, using it for vanity in the face of the suffering. It is up to us to make things right, is it not? Ezekiels voice booms, echoing on the tin roof.

Yes, it is! the men reply, louder than the first time, with more urgency. Ezekiel continues his pacing, then stops abruptly.

For so long, he hisses, for an entire century, all we had was a plan. An idea of how to set the balance right. We have had to hide and lay in wait for the perfect time to seize the power we need to reshape the world in our image. GrandsonI have formed you into the perfect weapon and warrior against the goddesses. The time for action is upon us. Are you ready?

Of course, Grandfather. You can trust that I am more than ready, his grandson replies, standing taller in reaction to the announcement. Ezekiel had told him that since before his birth, he had been primed for a special purpose. Over the last century, one of Ezekiels main focuses was to show his grandson how the world really worked. How white supremacy controlled wealth, justice, health, opportunity, and every other aspect of society. How the constant corruption and suppression of the black man stemmed from racism, hatred, and fear. And how all the goddesses just stood by, hoarding their powers, doing nothing as the world fell apart.

Ezekiel places his hand on his grandsons shoulder and squeezes the hardened muscle. He could not be any more proud; his grandson had been a perfect student in every way. Out of the corner of his eye, Ezekiel catches Teresh tighten his jaw and swallow thickly. He can practically feel the bitterness radiating off of him and knows he is frustrated over his insignificant role in the master plan. But this is no time to address his sons resentment. And Ezekiel knows that Teresh will remain loyal; he has nowhere else to go.

Clearing his throat, Ezekiel resumes his heavy steps across the hardwood floor. He watches a pair of mosquitos fly in front of the light before speaking. I have set into motion the events that will lead you to your ascension, Grandson, Ezekiel proclaims. Tonight we leave Jamaica to begin preparations in London. The power that is to be yours is ripe for taking. The twins will be eighteen in less than a week. Once you gain their powers of telepathy and telekinesis, there will be nothing and no one that can stop us from setting the Earth the way it should be. Ezekiel feels his face slowly break into a smile as he considers the days events.