by M. M. Perry
“Oshia!” she called after him, her voice breathy with longing.
Oshia turned, muttering some insult, but she was too swept up in the moment to give heed to what he said. She took a measured step forward, barely able to keep from running to him. She knew she mustn’t appear desperate, because Oshia would find that unattractive. When Oshia finally turned fully around and his eyes met hers, Issa felt her heart skip a beat. She clutched at her chest and willed herself to breathe evenly. She had been apart from her lover for too long. For reasons she still could not understand, shortly after Oshia had left her she’d begun to age incredibly swiftly, transforming from a maiden to a hag in less time than it took the seasons to turn. As she’d aged, her power had waned. In all the years from then to now, she’d been unable to determine what had happened to her, let alone how to reverse the process. Issa knew that Oshia was her only hope—having been her lover once, he could do naught but help her reclaim her godhood.
No, thought Issa, we are lovers still.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me like some mortal cow? What do you want?” Oshia said harshly, interrupting Issa’s thoughts.
Issa looked at Cass and glared. Cass returned the goddess’s now familiar glare unflinching and without a hint of shock or surprise. She’d known Inez’s true identity for some time. Selina had pulled Cass aside and revealed it to her the night they had stayed at Selina’s hut. Cass had been unable to bring herself to believe it, at least until she saw the goddess dancing with the young man at the ceremony in the Village of Light. Although she showed no outward signs of fear, Cass did stand very still. She knew Inez had wanted to get to the temple so very badly, and suspected she knew why as well. It behooved one, she knew, to keep oneself as far removed as possible from gods’ quarrels. Being unable to leave, however, she knew her next best option was to remain still and silent.
Cass at least comforted herself with the knowledge that her friends, for she had come to think of them all as such, were safe outside the temple. Whatever happened now would be between Issa and Oshia and, if she was unlucky, her. Now that Cass was trapped in Oshia’s temple, and Inez-cum-Issa was restored to her former godhood, there was little she could do to protect herself from the goddess’ wrath. If Issa decided Cass was an obstacle to whatever she was planning or, as was the wont of the gods, simply decided to squash her in a moment of pique, then there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Cass was in the unfortunate position of needing to rely on Oshia for protection. For the first time, Cass had a reason to be happy that the god of seduction was obsessed with her.
“I need your help,” Issa pleaded. “Something happened to me after you left. I began to grow weaker with every passing day. And then I aged. I aged Oshia, like a mortal.”
Oshia let out a short bark of laughter.
“Apart from getting a good chuckle out of it, why should I care? Age, die, crumble to dust. I care very little. Except that you go and do it somewhere else. I have celebrating to attend to, and you are delaying it.”
Issa clenched her fists, determined not to cry in the face of Oshia’s cruelty.
“I seduced him for you! Just like you asked. I stole the stone from my mother, just like you asked. I gave it to Natan, told him every lie you wanted me to. And I did it all for you! You said you loved me!”
“I did say that, didn’t I,” Oshia said tapping his chin as if he was remembering something from long ago. “Hmm. But I never swore to it, did I? Never made any oath to be with you, or true to you?”
Issa’s mouth dropped open in wordless mortification.
“No? I didn’t think so. Go on and say it. I know you want to. I’m a bit of a bastard, yes?”
“You lied to me?” Issa finally found her voice again. “Every night, for more than a thousand nights, every time we lay together you told me you loved me, that I was the only one who could make you happy. You cannot have lied all those times,” Issa said. “I would have been able to tell,” she finished, but was unable to feel conviction in her words as the claim sounded petulant and unconvincing, even to herself.
“That many times, truly? Well, I don’t recall them all, but… I do recall that you were a more than competent lover. I certainly did enjoy our nights together—that was no lie. And, truth be told, you did make me very, very happy in the end. Thanks to you my father and his ilk are frozen in time forevermore. And though I’d love to claim all the credit for myself, it was really all down to you. You’re the one that made it all possible,” Oshia said walking up to Issa.
He reached out and pinched her chin lightly, tilting her face up towards him. Her amber eyes were rimmed with tears threatening to spill over at any moment. Her deliciously pink lower lip trembled slightly as she waited mutely for him to say something else, wishing with every fiber of her being that he would ask her to come back to his bed.
Oshia considered her carefully. She truly was a vision. Issa’s eyebrows arched with hope. She could see that he was on the cusp, which made it all the more devastating when he let her chin drop, and sighed.
“I am sorry my dear. It’s a shame, really. You are achingly beautiful. But, I have this thing…” he looked deep into her eyes, “about not taking my father’s leavings. And he had you quite a few times if I remember correctly… No, no. I can’t really take you back after that, now can I? It would be far too gauche, don’t you think?”
He turned from Issa, heading towards Cass.
“You asked me to do it!” Issa screamed at him.
“I did mention how I’m a bit of a bastard, right?” Oshia called over his shoulder as he took Cass’ hand in his own, grinning widely as he made to lead her away from the fuming goddess.
“And you would choose her over me?” Issa screamed. “You don’t even know what she is!”
Oshia raised an eyebrow, looking at Cass questioningly. Cass remained silent. She had no idea what vitriol Issa was about to unleash, but knew it would not be to her benefit. Oshia had pushed all her buttons, and he had done it with relish.
“What, my dear, do you think you know that I do not?” Oshia asked, dropping Cass’ hand and turning around.
Issa looked from Cass to Oshia. Her fury welled up inside her like a pot boiling over, hot liquid anger lapping at her brain, pressure building until she was certain her mouth would burst open and she would say the thing that would shock Oshia to his core and doom Cassandra, perhaps even to death. When Issa met Cass’ eyes, Issa could see clearly that Cass had no idea of the secret she was on the cusp of revealing—that she and Cassandra were sisters. Issa remembered the story Cass had told about her abandonment, and how Callan had suggested the story hinted at her being the daughter of a god. Cass had seemed genuinely surprised, finding the idea outlandish. Now Issa was certain that reaction had not been feigned. For some reason their mother Timta had chosen not to reveal herself to Cass.
Issa felt her anger cooling, the pressure in her mind receding as she looked at Cass now. Cass had no love for Oshia. It was clear to Issa that she despised him. Cass had realized from the first moment she met Oshia what Issa had come to understand only now—Oshia was a manipulative sociopath with the blackest of hearts.
I will not betray you mother, Issa thought to herself, not again. Nor will I betray my sister. I will give Oshia nothing more of me this day.
Issa screwed up her face, letting her anger for Oshia show clear as day.
“She is nothing. Less than nothing. She’s a mortal!” she leavened the word with as much contempt as she could muster. “She doesn’t love you. She’ll never love you. But if you care so much for this mortal thing, you can have it and all the unhappiness it will bring into your miserable life!” Issa screamed.
With that she turned and exited the temple in a huff.
“Feisty,” Oshia chuckled, “not like when she was younger. Back then she was so deferential and timid.”
Cass was still staring after Issa, a strange expression on her face. Cass knew that wasn’t what Is
sa had been going to say when she started. She’d been around her enough, or at least around Inez enough, that she had noticed the sudden shift in her temper. That bit at the end had been a show. Yet Oshia hadn’t realized, too caught up in thinking about himself to give Issa more than a passing moment of his attention. Oshia took Cass by the elbow and led her into his chambers.
“Now, I’m turning out the lights and barring the door this time. I don’t want us to be interrupted again for a long, long time, my love,” Oshia said. As they left it behind, the archway began to seal itself up, the stone growing rapidly in on itself like a wound healing impossibly fast.
Issa stepped out into the sun. Almost instantly, she felt her body grow weak again. Her skin began to wrinkle with age and she felt her spine contorting, forcing her into the stooped position she’d been trapped in these long years since Oshia had left her. She sighed, resigning herself to return to her mortal life, but then the sun suddenly shone down on the valley with a strength the forgotten place had not seen in a long time. Its rays burned away the mist around the temple and bathed it in a warm, glowing light. As the rays of the sun bathed Issa, she felt her strength returning in full, more so even than when she had been in the temple. She stood up straight and flexed her hands, and was delighted to feel none of the pain of old weary bones.
This time the power flowing into her felt familiar, unlike the temporary reprieve she’d had in the temple, which although invigorating had felt foreign. This power she instantly recognized as her own, and it came from within. Issa looked up at the sun and smiled as it washed across her with a gentle, loving caress.
“Mother,” Issa said wrapping her arms around herself and looking unblinkingly into the brilliance that was blazing above her, “thank you. I will not disappoint you this time.”
Then the sun faded back from its divine incandescence to again become a normal, mundane globe of light. The persistent mist was already creeping back in around the temple from the valley. Issa, slowly recovering from the momentary divine bliss, became aware again of her surroundings. Her old travelling party was looking at her with a mix of wonder and apprehension.
She smiled at them.
“Hello, my friends,” Issa said as she approached them.
Nat was the first to speak.
“Are you Oshia?” he asked.
“You take that back, young man, or I will be forced to wash out your mouth with the vilest soap I can find. Don’t you recognize your old auntie?”
“Inez?” Viola asked distrustfully.
“Issa actually,” she said, “Inez was just the name I took while I was forced to wear a mortal form.”
“What?” Callan asked, looking Issa up and down.
“My mother has finally decided to forgive me for an old betrayal. I stole something of hers, you see. Something precious. But now I may have a chance to make it up to her. We shall see,” Issa said cryptically.
“So… you’re Inez… and you’re Issa… Does that mean that obnox... that wonderful tale you told us last night was true?” Callan asked.
Issa laughed. The sound, so light and joyful, like tiny silver bells tinkling, could not have been more different from Inez’s raspy, cough-inducing cackle.
“Oh my dears, never believe a god will tell you the truth, especially about themselves. Now, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to flex my powers, and I’m itching to give them a whirl again. And I must find some way to thank you for giving me the opportunity to reclaim my birthright. I think we can kill two birds with one stone here. I’ll make things a little easier on you. How about we get you home?”
Without waiting for a reply, Issa raised her hands. Nat felt a strange sensation overcome him. His legs felt suddenly unsteady beneath him, and for a moment it seemed like he was seeing two places at once. As he looked up, he could see both Oshia’s temple in front of him and the city of Faylendar in the distance. His eyes ached as they tried to focus on both images at once. He blinked and when that didn’t help, he tried to rub away the pain stabbing at his eyes. When he opened them the valley, the temple and the mountains were gone. Instead he found himself, along with all of his companions, and even their mounts and the wagon, standing in a field of grain just outside the great kingdom of Faylendar.
Issa, however, was not among them. Nat reached out and poked the nearby Gunnarr. Gunnarr looked down at Nat’s finger and the young man grinned up at him.
“Had to make sure you weren’t dreaming,” he said.
“Well, that’s the nicest thing that old woman has ever done for us,” Callan said looking at his home city gratefully. “Come to think of it, I think that may be the only thing she’s ever done for us. I cannot believe we were travelling with a god this whole time. Does that qualify as ironic? Go halfway across the land to chat with a god, only to find you’ve been with one the entire trip? Or is that poetic? Always had a devil of a time with distinguishing those.”
“Is that why your seers said she was supposed to come along? So we could get back here like that,” Viola asked confused.
“I’ve no idea,” Callan said smiling at his city, “and at the moment, I’m not really of a mindset to question it.”
Callan started off in the direction of his castle at a slow jog.
“He’s just gonna…” Viola began to say when it became clear he wasn’t waiting for them.
“Looks like it,” Nat said.
Gunnarr couldn’t even muster up indignation at the way Callan seemed to already have forgotten about the cost of his little adventure. Cass was gone and no amount of gold in his pocket would make him forget that. He looked out at the long docks that stretched out from one side of Faylendar far into the ocean. Gunnarr wondered if going back out to sea might make him feel better. He could lose himself out there, as he had before, drifting from port to port, letting the monotonous, hard labor of shipboard life drown out everything else. He might even be able to convince himself that Cass would be waiting for him where he next landed, a mug of ale in her hand and a warm kiss on her lips. The thought made his heart break all over again.
“Faylendar,” Viola said, a smile parting her lips. “Well, this is even further away from my village than Chulpe. They’ll never find me now. They wouldn’t even think to come looking here.”
Then Viola remembered that Cass, the only one in the party who’d understand what she was talking about, wasn’t there, and where she was.
“I wouldn’t have had this chance at freedom if Cass hadn’t allowed me to come with you guys. And I’ll never be able to properly thank her,” Viola said.
“Neither will I,” Nat said.
“You and Cass,” Nat said looking up at Gunnarr, “you’ve given me the best start a warrior could ever hope for. It doesn’t seem right, Cass being gone. I want to go back to that pub and see her there. I want to go out and get my own stories to bring back and tell her over a mug or twenty of ale.”
Gunnarr smiled at the lad and lass. Somehow, it was more difficult to brood about with the two youngsters there. He grabbed his pack and pulled out the jug he’d so carefully poured Cass’ and his own drinks back into in front of the Temple of Oshia. Then he fished around inside his tunic, and after a few moments of searching, pulled out the small, jeweled flask Cass had given him the night before.
“She told me it brought her luck,” Gunnarr said filling the flask from his jug.
It didn’t hold much ale, so Gunnarr downed what was left in the jug in one long, mighty pull before tossing it into the wagon. He closed up the little flask and held it up for Nat and Viola to see.
“Cass would look for us, if the situation was reversed. And she’d never stop looking till she found us. She’d take on a whole pack of ogres single-handed, and drink a whole bar full of djinn under the table if that’s what it took to get us back. It’s what she does. It’s what,” Gunnarr stopped and looked from Viola to Nat.
“It’s what we do,” he said finally including them with his words.
&nbs
p; Viola and Nat shared a pleased look. They both nodded up at Gunnarr. Satisfied, he tucked the little flask back away inside his tunic.
Callan, who had gotten a good distance away from them before he had realized none of them were following him, shouted at them from the edge of the field.
“Aren’t you coming? It’s getting on in the day, and I really want you to meet my wife before we start making plans to rescue that woman of yours. She makes a mean cup of tea. My wife, I mean, not Cass. I doubt Cass’ ever made a cup of tea in her life. I’ll even ask her if she might not be able to brew it with hard liquor, instead of water, just for you Gunnarr. She does love a challenge. Now come on,” Callan said gesturing for them to follow, “gods only know how long my councilors are going to have me holed up, working through a month’s worth of backlogged proclamations and decrees.”
Gunnarr looked at Callan, dumbfounded for a moment. Then he smiled, realizing that Callan hadn’t forgotten the cost after all.
“Don’t you want your horse, your highness,” Nat called out.
“Oh gods no,” Callan said rubbing his backside, “I think I’d rather walk.”
I know. I told you this wasn’t one of those dark stories. In my defense, there was really only a hint of darkness in it, at least in the grand scheme of things. And if you still think I lied to you, well, just remember, you should never trust a god to tell you the truth when talking about themselves.
But since you’ve been so attentive, I will leave you with this. Something to digest while you wait for me to come here again.
Selina tossed and turned in her bed. She was asleep, but she wasn’t dreaming. She was having a vision, a new strand of fate revealed to her through the powers of the gods.
She saw a girl, running through the woods. Her strides were powerful and long, her naked legs flashing impossibly fast as her bare feet beat the ground. As she pushed past a bush, its branches scratched her, and Selina saw that it wasn’t just her legs and feet that were bare—the girl was nude. The only thing covering her was a patina of dirt and mud, interspersed with thin red scratches. She was nude and she was running. The girl didn’t know what she was running from, just that she didn’t want to ever go back.