Chapter Eight
Raya didn't even wait for Braim's response. Nor did she care to hear it. She marched straight into the crowd of godlings, her eyes fixed solely on Alira. The other participants—some of whom, she realized in the one part of her mind that wasn't consumed by rage, were also going to be in the Hollech Bracket—parted as she made her way through, as if her anger alone was generating enough force to move everyone out of her way.
About halfway across the room Raya realized that Carmaz was walking beside her. He was quite a bit taller than her, a fact that she had not realized when she first saw him, but she could not remember asking him to come with her. A quick glance at him showed that Carmaz was just as angry as she was. She had no idea what bracket he was in—she had stopped paying attention to everything when she read her card—but she found that she didn't care. Maybe he was even angry about her placement, though considering how rude Carmaz was, she doubted that greatly.
Alira didn't seem to notice either of the two coming toward her until they were halfway across the lobby, at which point Alira's cold, objective eyes looked down on both of them. To Raya's surprise, Alira's platform actually lowered down closer to them, but then it stopped several feet above their heads, although she didn't need to be face-to-face with Alira to make her displeasure known.
Raya and Carmaz stopped ten feet away from Alira's platform. Alira adjusted her glasses and, with a sigh, said, “What may I help you—”
Raya held up her card and said,”What is the meaning of this? Why am I in the Hollech Bracket? Do I look like a deceiver, thief, or equestrian to you? Is this some kind of joke?”
Carmaz raised his card as well and said, “How am I supposed to help my people now? What kind of power does the God of Humans have, anyway? What's the deal?”
Alira didn't look even slightly disturbed by Raya or Carmaz's harsh words and tone. She looked rather unimpressed, actually, as if they were nothing more than a couple of annoying brats that she was stuck babysitting.
“Well, I said that the results might surprise you,” said Alira. “Did not these results surprise you?”
“That's not what we're angry about,” Raya said. She waved her card in front of her. “What we're angry about is the fact that we were not placed into the brackets that we deserve, the one that we were destined to be placed in. This is righteous anger, the kind that Father always taught me was an appropriate response to injustice.”
“For once, I agree with silver spoon,” said Carmaz. “I only agreed to enter the Tournament under the belief that I would get a shot at becoming the God of Martir. This is not what I signed up for, not at all.”
Alira peered over the top of her glasses at Raya like she couldn't believe what she was saying. “Oh, so you two genuinely feel entitled to enter whatever bracket you want, rather than accepting what you were given. I now see why the gods tend to have a rather divided opinion over allowing the continued existence of humanity.”
“It's not entitlement, only logic,” Raya said. “As the Princess of Carnag, I am the most fit and qualified person for the position of Goddess of Martir, not for the position of Goddess of Deception, Thieves, and Horses. It offends me, as a Grinfian, to even be considered for that position, as deception and theft are both highly unjust actions.”
“I'm not entitled, either,” said Carmaz, folding his arms over his chest. “I want to help my people most of all, and the best way to do that would be as the God of Martir. I might be able to help as the God of Humans, but the truth of the matter is that I need more power than that to fix Ruwa.”
Much to Raya's surprise—and anger—Alira chuckled. “Humorous, the both of you. I see I must not have explained the Tournament clearly. You were not chosen for these brackets based on what you wanted, but instead based on what you are suitable for. And I believe that your current brackets are the most appropriate categories for you two. I do not believe either of you would make a good God or Goddess of Martir, in other words.”
“I am going to tell my parents,” Raya said. “And I will ask them to come here and make you change your mind.”
“Well, if that's the case, then I want out of this Tournament,” said Carmaz. He threw his card onto the floor and stepped on it. “I never really liked the gods anyway. I'd rather go home to Ruwa and continue to eek out an existence there than live in this city as a god who can't solve the problems of my people.”
“And now the two of you are throwing tantrums,” Alira said in a sardonic tone. “I suppose I must have also forgotten to tell you that when you enter the Tournament, you can't quit. You must either progress through the Tournament's brackets until you win or lose or break one of the rules and get disqualified. Quitting is not an option.”
Carmaz's card reappeared in his hand. He looked at it in surprise, though Raya ignored it. She just glared at Alira with all of the hate she could muster.
“This is not fair,” said Raya. “You don't even know me. How can you know that you put us in the right brackets?”
“I need not know you on a personal level to know what bracket each of you needs to be in,” said Alira. “It is a mixture of my own research and what the gods have told me regarding your character and abilities. Your own god, Raya—Grinf—was the one who recommended you for the Hollech Bracket, as he did not think you were an appropriate fit for any other.”
“Liar,” Raya said. “Lord Grinf would never recommend me for such an unjust bracket. He should know better than anyone that, with my royal training, I would make an excellent Goddess of Martir.”
“Actually, I believe it is because he knows you so well that he recommended I assign you to this one,” said Alira. “But please, if you have any complaints or issues with this decision, feel free to blaspheme Grinf. Of course, I have heard that he is not a particularly kind god, but I am sure he will patiently listen to your complaints and understand your anger.”
Raya gulped. The idea of complaining to Grinf … well, that was almost enough to defuse her anger completely. She remembered too many stories about how Grinf dealt with those who questioned his judgment to know that complaining to him was not a very wise move to make even for royalty such as herself.
Carmaz, on the other hand, said, “Then who recommended me for the Human God bracket? I demand to know so I can find that god and tell him what I think about his judgment.”
“That is not information you need to know,” said Alira. “I have no reason to tell any of you anything, anyway. You are supposed to accept the role that I have given you. You may not like it, but your own personal tastes about the bracket you were assigned do not matter in the long term.”
Raya shook her head to get herself to stop thinking about her fear of Grinf and said, “Can't you change it? If you are the one who actually assigned us to our brackets, then logically you should be able to change it, yes?”
“As Judge of the Tournament, when I make a decision, it is final,” Alira said, putting as much emphasis on the word final as if she were chanting a secret incantation. “Even if I could change it—which I cannot—I would by necessity be forced to reorganize all of the brackets. That would be far more work than is necessary. Besides, not everyone is whining about their placement in the Tournament, though I believe that would change if I submitted to your pathetic wishes.”
Raya looked over her shoulder, suddenly remembering all of the other godlings in the lobby. All of them were staring at Carmaz and her. Some of them looked annoyed at their argument with Alira, while others looked like they were happy that someone was standing up to her.
Then Raya looked at Alira again. She folded her arms across her chest and said, “What if I promised to give you all of the money you could possibly want? My father is the King of Carnag, after all. I can ask him for anything, and he will give it to me without question.”
“Your father has nothing that would interest me,” said Alira, though she sounded more confused than anything now. “Besides, I have no need of anything. I desire one thing
and one thing only: To ensure that the Tournament advances smoothly and that any rule breakers are promptly punished for their crimes. And that is all.”
At this point, even Raya could see that there was no point in arguing with Alira any further. There was something final and authoritative in the Judge's voice, like the authority that Raya had heard in the voices of some of the gods back in the Temple. Alira was not a god herself, but Raya now saw that the Judge clearly held at least as much authority as the gods, at least regarding the Tournament and its rules.
Raya looked at Carmaz pleadingly, hoping that he might somehow be able to come up with an argument to persuade Alira where Raya had failed.
But Carmaz—though he looked at least as angry about Alira's stubborn refusal to reconsider her decision as much as Raya was—nodded and said, “Very well, Judge. If you won't reconsider your decision, then maybe we just need to learn to make the best of a bad situation.”
“Learn to make the best of a bad situation?” Raya said. She slapped his arm, causing Carmaz to glare at her in annoyance. “Carmaz, I was counting on you to come up with a persuasive argument to make Alira rethink her decision, not for you to defer to Alira's judgment.”
Carmaz shook his head. “Just because I may not be royalty doesn't mean that I am one of your peasants to be bossed around. If you want something done, silver spoon, then I suggest you do it yourself.”
Raya's mouth fell open. She tried to come up with some sort of comeback, but Carmaz's sarcasm stabbed deep and nothing came out of her mouth.
Instead, she said, “Hmph!” and turned and walked away from Carmaz and Alira back into the crowd of godlings. As before, they parted to allow her through, but Raya barely paid them any attention. She just marched through the crowd to the back of the lobby, past Braim and Saia (who also parted as though they were afraid that she might bite their heads off), and out the doors into the city.
Far more time must have passed since Raya had entered the lobby than she had thought, because the sun was lower in the sky now and its dying rays were reflecting beautifully off the windows and surfaces of World's End's skyscrapers. Yet Raya hardly paid attention to that. Instead, she picked a random street in a random direction and marched down it, grumbling under her breath all the while.
Stupid Judge, Raya thought, scowling as she kicked at the street as she walked. Stupid Alira. She doesn't know me. And I doubt Grinf told her to put me in the Hollech Bracket anyway. She just said that to take the blame off herself for making a stupid decision.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, in the small part that was not touched by her anger, Raya was aware that she was probably going to get into trouble for just walking out of the Stadium lobby like that. She hadn't told anyone where she was going, when she was going to get back, or anything like that. She had simply left and had no particular idea of when she would return.
But Raya didn't see this as a big deal. She was rightfully angry, in her view, for being denied what she felt was her birthright. She just couldn't see how she could possibly make a good Goddess of Deception, Thieves, and Horses anyway. She never lied, certainly never stole (her takings didn't count), and she didn't even know how to ride horses anyway. It was the most unfair thing that had ever happened to her in her life and she just wasn't going to take it.
Not like I can leave World's End anyway, Raya thought, allowing her anger to simmer. Don't have a ship or an airship, can't teleport, can't ask any of the gods or katabans to take me away, and definitely can't swim all the way back to Carnag. I'm stuck on this stupid island until I win or lose the Tournament. Feels more like Rock Isle than World's End right now, if you ask me.
Still, Raya looked over her shoulder anyway, wondering if any of the other godlings or Alira were coming to fetch her. She saw no one. In fact, she didn't even see any katabans on the street that she walked upon. She wondered if the city's inhabitants had gone to sleep already, though she didn't care if they had or had not. Despite being part katabans herself, she didn't feel any real affinity with the katabans that lived in World's End.
I want to be alone right now anyway, Raya thought, scowling as she turned her attention back to the streets before her, though she wasn't really seeing where she was going, mostly because she was too distracted by her emotions and thoughts to focus on anything else. I don't want to be around other people. I don't even want to be around the gods. All I want to do is walk forever and ever.
A sudden rumbling in the sky caused her to look up. Dark clouds were moving in, which was odd, because no one had told Raya that it was going to rain tonight. In fact, Raya had thought that it couldn't rain on World's End at all. She had assumed that its position at the very end of the southern seas meant that it never rained here, yet there was no mistaking that rumble of thunder or those dark clouds rolling through the sky like an unfurled carpet.
And now it is going to rain, Raya thought as she turned a corner into a wide-open area. Bet it was the Rain God who did it. Probably trying to make me go back to the Stadium so I can participate in a bracket that is probably made up of a bunch of deceivers, thieves, and horse-lovers.
Then Raya bumped into something solid and fell backwards onto the streets on her behind. Shaking her head, Raya thought that she might have accidentally walked into a building before she looked up and saw that she had actually walked into a person.
She had never seen this being before. He towered above her, far taller than any human or aquarian she had ever seen, his entire body cloaked in shadow. Though humanoid in appearance, he had two extra arms sprouting from his shoulders, which made Raya think he had to be a katabans of sort. His mask resembled a baba raga's face, although Raya saw nothing but darkness through the eye holes. His overall appearance creeped Raya out. In fact, she was so creeped out by him that she thought that he shouldn't have existed at all.
But even Raya's creeped out feeling didn't stop her from rising to her feet, and poking him in the chest with one finger, scowling at him all the while. “Are you even going to apologize for not getting out of my way and knocking me over? And what's with your mask? Is this some sort of stupid katabans cultural practice that I am unaware of or are you just crazy?”
The figure said nothing. Above, thunder roared more ominously and Raya felt a few tiny raindrops fall on her hair, which caused her anger to dissipate almost instantly.
“Oh, dear,” said Raya, raising her hands above her head to protect her hair from the rain. “If it rains, it will mess up my gorgeous hair and my clothes. Sorry, stranger, but I have to return to the Stadium of the Gods.”
Again, the figure did not speak, did not even move, but Raya paid little attention to that, because the drops were coming in more frequently now and Raya could not afford to waste any more time on mute, rude idiots like this guy.
So Raya turned to leave, but then paused. She didn't recognize this part of the city at all. True, Raya was not a native of World's End, so it made sense that she didn't know every little nook and cranny as well as a native. Still, Raya had thought that she knew enough about its layout to be able to retrace her general path back to the Stadium at least.
The problem was that Raya just couldn't recognize any of it. She saw the tall, colorful buildings, the smooth white streets, the stoops leading up to the entrances of the skyscrapers, as well as cafes and restaurants that were currently closed, but it was like she had stepped into another world entirely. That it was starting to rain only heightened her confusion about this strange part of the city that she did not recognize, that she could not recognize, as if her mind was unable to comprehend what she was looking at.
Raya turned to face the stranger, saying as she did so, “Mister stranger, I—”
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Then Raya felt a creeping presence behind herself and turned around in time to see the stranger raising four blades above his head. The blades were thin and long, but looked sharp enough to dice Raya into tiny pieces with little effort on the part of their owne
r.
Raya could not help but scream when she saw the stranger and his swords, especially when he brought them down on her with frightening speed.
***
Gathering of the Chosen Page 8