Gamers and Gods: AES
Page 50
FLASH. Am-heh gazed about him as the glare faded, his clawed fingers still gripping Victor's arm tightly above the elbow. A huge snowcapped cone of a mountain in the distance rose over the forest they had appeared in. Ancient trees spread grasping fingers of roots over hard rocky terrain.
Am-heh lifted his hound's muzzle and sniffed the air. “There are many mortals here,” he remarked. He looked at Victor, who was squirming from the grip on his arm.
“I still can't believe you devoured him, just like that,” Victor moaned. “Howard was a real jerk when he wanted to be, but what did he ever do to you? Why did you eat him?”
“Because it pleased me to do so,” said Am-heh. “And because it increased my power. Which brings us to you.” He grinned that horrible manic maw of his.
Victor shuddered. “We weren't together anymore, but, really! You killed him without even trying to get to know him.”
“He is not dead,” Am-heh stated. “He is inside me. I am getting to know him. Maybe you should join your friend?”
“No!” said Victor quickly. “I mean, you could just let me go,” he amended.
“I do not think so,” said Am-heh. “Your usefulness is at an end. Your continued presence will only serve to slow me down. I can always find another mortal to take me to the next Realm.” And he began to open his jaws wider.
“Wait!” pleaded Victor. “I don't just know about Egypt. I did a minor in Eastern Studies, too. Whatever you're looking for, I can help you, maybe.”
Am-heh considered this. This mortal would only be a morsel, after all. And he could always eat him later. “Tell me more,” he ordered. “Where are we?”
Victor looked around and found the sun. Assuming it was afternoon here, the huge mountain was to their southeast. “That has to be Mt. Fuji,” he said. “We're seven or eight kilometers to its northwest.” He swallowed. “We're in Aokigahara Jyukai, the Sea of Trees.”
“An odd sort of sea,” commented Am-heh. “A forest on top of a lava field: frozen waves of roots. Yet it almost feels like home.”
“Maybe that's because legends say it's full of demons,” Victor told him. “Before W3 it used to be the second most popular place in the world to commit suicide.”
Am-heh sniffed again. Yes, many mortals. But he was not certain that one of them was the girl with two swords. And the other god was not among them. Still, a meal was a meal, and there were many to be collected.
Am-heh looked at Victor. How delicious the terror radiating off the man was; he was so easy to frighten. “Which direction is the closest group of mortals?” he asked the man. This was a test; he already knew the answer.
Victor swallowed nervously and pointed. “That way.”
“Very good,” Am-heh smiled. “I am going to release you now. Run in that direction. I will follow. If you do not start running immediately, or you slow down, or stop and try to leave this Realm, I shall devour you. Keep running, and I might find someone else first.”
Chapter 43: Darla: a mathematical digression