“Bym, this isn’t funny.”
She nodded and snorted with laughter. Wiping her eyes, she managed to get control of herself. “Why are they praying to me? I can’t do anything. It was day and night how many times today? How can they be afraid of a pathetic loser?”
“You aren’t pathetic. It will take time for you to grow into your powers.”
“What powers? What will I be able to do?” She started to get excited.
Deadpan, Drem said, “You will be able to stabilize time, the weather, and normalize our world. You’ve already returned magic to the Umbra.”
“Where was it before?”
“The Solis had most of it.”
“So selfish,” Bym said.
“I would ask of you not to alienate the Solis.”
“Why not? They chained me in a dungeon! I heard the screams of a woman they sacrificed!”
Calmly, Drem said, “A few in command did those things. The majority of them are innocent and afraid.”
She frowned and started feeling guilty. The three of them turned their heads toward the door and the rattling sound which they heard outside of it. “Hello?” Bym called.
“I’ve brought refreshments for… uh….” It was the innkeeper, and obviously he’d been eavesdropping and was afraid of mispronouncing her name or something.
“Come in,” she said to put an end to the awkwardness. After Guto had opened the door for the man whose bushy mustache proceeded him, she said, “I’m Bym.” She smiled.
The innkeeper gaped at her.
Drem stood and put away the chair upon which he’d been sitting beside her bed. The innkeeper looked from Drem to Guto, waiting for one of them to take over. When neither of them did, he placed the bed tray over her legs and backed out of the room.
“Thank you,” she said.
Seeing her expression, Drem said, “I don’t think you understand your importance. Perhaps, it is our fault for being too familiar with you.”
Bym pointed the corner of a jelly-filled pastry at him. “Don’t you dare start being weird with me.”
Someone tapped on the open door. It was Hopcyn. Leaning against the doorframe, he said, “After you feel recovered enough, I think you should take a walk through the town.”
“Why? Are there cookies?” She shoved the pastry into her mouth and bit it in half. “Yum… apple.” Finishing it off, she said, “If there are cookies involved, I’ll consider it.”
Turning on his heel in a swirl of black, Hopcyn left.
“What crawled up his ass?” she mumbled.
Guto and Drem each stole the other pastries from her plate, so she contented herself with a hot cup of tea.
Hopcyn was soon back at her door. “Look what I’ve got,” he sang. “Does Bym want a cookie? Come on, girl.” He left the doorway and went down the stairs.
Staring after him, she asked, “Seriously?”
Drem removed the bed tray while Guto helped her with her boots and cloak.
“Can’t we spend a quiet night in for once?” she grumbled.
Hopcyn was waiting for them on the inn’s porch. As soon as he saw her, he handed her a warm cookie from a cloth-covered basket. Cramming the whole thing into her mouth, she chewed and swallowed. “It’s too cold to go for a walk, we’ve been riding all day, and Guto and I got slammed to the ground,” she whined. Then, she shut her mouth when Hopcyn moved aside and she looked out over the innyard. Dozens of kneeling red-cloaked figures filled it. They were grossly outnumbered.
Chapter Fourteen
The Solis soldiers had her breathless with fear. Stumbling back, she clutched behind her for Guto’s hand. What were they to do? How would they escape?
“Goddess Bym, you have nothing to fear from us. We are your humble servants.”
She searched for the source of the voice and found it. At the forefront of the red cloaks was a Solis commander. She’d never before seen him.
Drem’s voice, amplified by magic, reached every ear. “Bym has been frightened by Solis soldiers at every turn. Only recently, she was chained in a dungeon by a commander such as yourself. If she is to trust that you and your men mean her no harm, it will take time.”
“News of the travesty reached us by eagle. We humbly beg forgiveness of the Goddess Bym.” He lifted his dimpled chin and gazed into her eyes.
She met Eurig’s eyes from across the yard. He and Gethim stood near the stables. “There is only one Solis whom I trust. He rescued me from the cruelty I endured and has sworn himself to me.” Her voice shook with nerves and the cold. Goblins were one thing, but brutal soldiers who’d been trained to kill were something entirely different.
Never glancing away from her eyes or even appearing to blink his pale-blue eyes, the Commander said, “As a show of goodwill, I formally assign Eurig Fernhollow to the service of Goddess Bym.”
She looked at Eurig and saw his shocked expression. For the Commander to know his surname when she hadn’t increased her fear.
The Commander said, “I’ll have his pay forwarded to his family.”
“Are they safe?” Bym asked with her hand inching up to her throat in fear. “I’ve seen what your soldiers can do to farmers and their families. If anything were to happen to them because of us….” Her voice shook in terror. Guto moved to stand at her side.
“The Fernhollow family is under my personal protection. Nothing will happen to them.” He used the voice one might use with a skittish horse.
“Do you mean to capture us with your men and force us away to one of your forts?”
“No.” His lips remained parted enough to show a hint of white teeth. Breaking eye contact, he stared at the ground, showing her the top of his sandy-brown hair.
Drem said, “If you will excuse us, Bym wanted to explore the town before dinner.” He took her other arm.
She realized that she had a death grip on Guto’s arm, but she didn’t loosen her hold. Instead, she tightened her grip on Drem and walked between them. As they moved across the innyard, following behind Hopcyn, the Solis remained perfectly still. When they stepped through the decorative gate of the inn’s log-fenced yard, she turned her head to look back. The soldiers stood. Many of them watched her but glanced away at her notice. The Commander, almost a foot taller and broader in the shoulders than Eurig, approached him. Terror seized her and shook all reason from her mind. She watched as if in slow motion as the Commander reached toward his belt.
“No!” Bym screamed as she ran to them. She threw herself between them, grabbed Eurig’s shoulders, and squeezed her eyes shut. Her throat constricted with fear. Lightning stabbed at the earth and thunder boomed. She clenched her teeth, expecting to feel a dagger slicing through her back. Instead, she heard the jingling of a coin pouch. She felt Eurig’s arms around her. Then, she felt his lips on her stubbly head.
“Bym, it’s okay. I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes. It’s okay.”
She swallowed at the lump in her throat and looked up into his brown eyes. “You’d better be okay.” Her face burned with embarrassment.
Gethim said, “I’m here with him.” He snorted. “Your farm boy is safer here in a yard full of Solis than he is alone with Hopcyn.” He reached over and rubbed her head which had the effect he’d wanted because she glared up at him. “Don’t be late for supper.”
She huffed at him. “How do I even know when it is? What time is it now?”
A sarcastic hairy-assed fucker held a cookie under her nose. “Come along, Goddess.” She tried to grab the cookie, but he moved away too fast. “This way.”
Ignoring Hopcyn, she looked from Gethim’s black-robed chest to Eurig’s. Lightning struck again. It was difficult for her to take those first few steps. Somehow, she managed it. Hopcyn handed her the basket, tucked her other hand under his arm, and escorted her back through the gate and along a cobbled path to where Drem and Guto waited. “I’m proud of you. I know how frightened you were, but you did it anyway. In addition to facing the Solis, jumping between a de
serter and a commander isn’t something which I ever again hope to witness. However, it did clarify certain things for everyone.”
She urged him to enter the first shop they saw. Putting her back to the wall, she closed her eyes and ate a cookie. “Want some?” She offered the basket to Guto and Drem.
Guto said, “It did clarify things. If he didn’t know you were in love with him before, he knows now.”
She gaped at him.
Hopcyn popped another cookie into his mouth. “Why do you look thusly? You threw yourself between him and what you mistakenly construed as an execution. Nothing says I love you like using your body as a human shield,” Hopcyn said.
Quietly, she said, “I love Guto.” Confused, she stared at the toes of her boots.
“I love you,” he said simply. “Is your heart so small as to only have room for me? That would be an injustice, like only putting one cookie into this basket.”
“I don’t know how I feel. I was starting to care for him, but he thought I was a boy. Then, I was almost ready to tell him the truth, but he left me.”
Guto rubbed at the spot on his chest where Eurig had stabbed him. “He came back for you with a vengeance.”
Her palms felt sweaty. It was difficult enough to find herself thrust into an alternate world. Not understanding her own heart made it even more confusing. “Isn’t all of this upsetting to you?”
“No, I’m honored to be one of your chosen mates.”
Clearing his throat, Drem glanced around the shop they’d entered. It sold broomsticks and mops. “Do you want one of these?”
“That depends. Can you cast a spell on one and make it fly?”
He looked at her as though she’d hit her head. “No.”
Guto handed her the basket. “Then, no,” she said to Drem.
Hopcyn clapped his hands. “Alright. Moving along. Thank you, kind sir.”
It was then when she noticed the shopkeeper, bowing to them as the soldiers had.
As they left, she admitted, “I feel badly. He was there the entire time. Shouldn’t we buy something?”
“We spoke freely in front of him, giving him the best gossip of anyone for miles around. He knows about the love life of the Goddess Bym.” Hopcyn leered at her.
Not in the mood for his theatrics, she looked inside of the basket. Moving the cloth aside, she found only crumbs. “The cookies are gone.”
Hopcyn took it from her. “I’ll return it to the baker.” He walked from them along the cobblestone street with his black cloak catching behind him in the wind.
Guto took her hand and led her inside of a shop which was lit by dozens of flickering candles.
“Guto, catch,” Drem said.
Lifting his free hand, he caught whatever it was that Drem had thrown and brought it down to his nose. “Yes,” he said as he took the item over to the shopkeeper.
Following him, Bym rolled her eyes. It was lavender soap. The lady behind the counter acted like Bym was a young Elvis. Overwhelmed by the attention, she was about to escape when Eurig entered. Turning to the shopkeeper, he calmly but firmly stated, “You’re making her nervous.”
Blinking like an owl, the woman asked, “Me?” She looked from one of them to the other.
Bym admitted, “I don’t know what to do.”
Incredulously, the woman said, “You don’t know what to do? I don’t know what to do! Now, do I? The Goddess herself walks into my shop of all shops!”
“Can’t we just pretend I’m normal?”
“Normal? Normal? How many normal women are bald and can control the world’s time? Huh? Now, tell me. No? Well, then. You’re taking these.” She started placing items in a basket. Then, she gave it to Drem with a toothy smile.
They had walked a few feet from the shop when the woman started yelling for all to hear. “Soaps! Get your soaps! The Goddess herself touched this one!”
Drem said, “We’re like breadcrumbs to which birds flock down.” He was right. People crowded into the soap and broom stores, and the gossip spread.
“Can we go back to the inn?” Bym asked.
Drem took her hand. “If you want to save female lives, this is the simplest way to accomplish it. Allowing yourself to be seen is also far less tiring than destroying temporal gates. We need those by the way.” He released her hand. “It will take the combined efforts of several sorcerers to repair it.”
“Repair it? It’s in millions of pieces!”
“Exactly.”
Relenting, she allowed them to guide her into a clothing shop. Those within took to their knees. It creeped Bym out and seemed fundamentally wrong. “I’m not a ruler or a sorceress. Please, stand up.”
Factually stating what everyone but Bym intrinsically understood, a little girl of no more than six explained, “You’re the Goddess.” She was dressed like a little doll.
However, there was a noticeable fashion distinction which jarred Bym out of her own troubled thoughts and emotions. The child had more bows in her hair than Bym would have thought possible. They were tied in tiny sections like a headband around her head and added a fullness to her hair which made her head look a little too big for her body. A quick scan of the store and the curious window shoppers outside attested to it being a trend.
“You don’t have no hair,” the girl said.
Bym crouched down in front of her. “I lost my hair, but it will grow back. It was almost as pretty as yours. Can you find me a bow to tie around my head so I can look like you?”
The girl’s smile reminded Bym of the stars. She took Bym’s hand and pulled her away to a display of bows. Then, she pointed out the ones which were meant to be tied at the base of the head. “Sit here.” She pointed to a stool in front of a mirror where Bym obediently sat. The girl reached for a red one. Cringing, Bym guided her to a deep-blue bow made of a two-inch-wide ribbon. Then, she held still while the girl, an expert at tying bows, centered it atop Bym’s head, secured it in the back, and adjusted the fall of the ribbons.
“Perfect! Thank you. I’m Bym. What’s your name?”
Blushing and playing with the ruffles on her skirt, she said, “I’m Genenene, but you can call me Genny. That will be one copper, please.” She held out her little hand.
Guto placed a gold coin onto it. “The Goddess is pleased by your bows. She will take these as well.” While he bought the others, which had been made to tie around the head, she wandered off.
She heard Genny saying, “Girls like it when boys buy them ribbons for their hair. I guess they like them even when they don’t have hair.”
Guto whispered, “I hope so. It’s my fault she’s bald.”
The little girl looked aghast.
Bym found a stack of pants and held a black pair up to her waist.
“If the Goddess desires it, I have dresses which would fit her although my skills with needle and thread are humble.”
Bym glanced from the seamstress to one of her seams. “Your sewing is excellent. These stitches are beautiful, but I need riding clothes. I know their intentions were good, but I’d rather not be in clothing like this if I’m going to be in the saddle for the next three days. I need warm, practical attire.”
“Pardon me, Goddess, but whose intentions?”
Not wanting to make things more awkward by talking about priestesses, she said, “The Umbra ladies.” She wasn’t lying. The Priestesses of the Temporal Locum were Umbra ladies.
The seamstress smiled, curtsied, and helped Bym find exactly what she wanted. Guto paid for those purchases as well.
Once they had left the shop, Drem said, “It would be best if you were to dress as your Priestesses have suggested.”
Hopcyn said, “He wants you to dress like a woman so no one tries to fight you.”
Stopping in the middle of the cobblestone street, she turned, stared into Hopcyn’s eyes, and pointed at her bow. Then, turning back around, she continued walking to where her ears were leading her, a swordsmith.
“Bym, no. Please. They
will be furious with us.”
She shrugged. “That sounds like a personal problem, Drem.” She couldn’t help it if he was afraid of his mommy.
A nervous young woman approached them. She tugged on Iago’s sleeve. He bent down to listen to her. Then, he nodded at whatever she’d said. “If you can spare me for a few hours, a woman is experiencing a difficult delivery. The midwife needs help.”
Drem said, “Go, by all means.”
Bym knew he was a healer, but the exchange surprised her. She watched as the two of them hurried away. Cringeworthy thoughts of having babies without the benefit of hospitals stayed with her. She tried to take her mind off of it by examining the swords which the blacksmith had for sale. All of them were too long and too heavy. She moved onto the daggers.
“Some help, please,” she called out.
The swordsmith had the look of a man who wants nothing more than to take a six-pack and hide out in the garage. He was a big man, but he’d been listening to the argument between the Goddess and her Umbra guards which had been ongoing since they’d entered. Seeing as how she was the Goddess, he mentally declared her the winner.
She asked, “Do you take trades?”
“What kind?”
Eurig, who had run back to the inn to please her, placed her stolen Solis sword, belt, and sheath atop the counter. Bym edged closer to the back of the shop where the furnace was putting out some blissful warmth. The Solis commander, who had been following them around town at a respectful distance for a stalker, finally approached and looked from the sword to Bym. She raised her eyebrows and dared him to open his mouth. He moved to lean against a support beam and crossed his arms over his chest. Bym looked at the dimple in his chin before returning her attention to the daggers.
“Which one would you like?” the swordsmith asked.
“None of these. They’re too big. I want one about this long.” She held up her hands. “It needs to be long enough and sharp enough to cut through goblins.”
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