Shocked gasps now. Urgent whispers.
The second judge is outraged, as he always is. How dare Greg suggest that the Great Goddess would want them to welcome a temptress and a deserter into the camp on a special day like today, when the Goddess herself is prophesised to return? How dare some fornicator-with-outsiders suggest such a thing!
I know what Greg is doing. He is using their ‘faith’ against them.
He’s a genius. I am so completely glad he is here.
Once again he starts speaking their language. The Great Goddess and himself have a close relationship, he tells them.
More gasps. I roll my eyes. The people will be fainting soon if we don’t get them away from all this excitement.
The third judge speaks for the first time, “Are you trying to imply, boy, that you actually met our Great Goddess?”
Greg says that he has.
“What are you meaning to say, m’boy?” The third judge asks.
“I am meaning to say,” Greg pauses for dramatic effect. “The Great Goddess is standing right in front of you all, right now.”
They all look around franticly, as if to see something that wasn’t there before. I do the same. I don’t see anyone with blood red eyes and hair, that’s for sure.
The second judge, once again, accuses Greg of ‘outrageous’ folly. In the name of the Great Goddess, he thinks, we should both be cut up and fed to the virgins.
Well, at least we’ve moved up from being animal food.
Now that most people here have noticed that their Great Goddess doesn’t seem to be in front of them, as promised, they are baying for Greg’s blood again.
Judge three beckons them to be quiet.
Greg continues talking. He says that he got a message about the Great Goddess Ethereal in a dream, long ago. The gods told him that he was only to reveal this divine message to his people today.
Once again they are all listening.
Greg glances around. He seems to be enjoying the attention.
“The gods told me that the Great Goddess has come back to earth in human form,” he says.
The people are utterly taken back by this and are all waiting for more information. This would be a great compliment to the human race for her to take their form. The news is amazing some are saying. They are utterly shocked that their Goddess would reduce herself to a human form.
I have no idea if Greg is telling the truth or making this all up.
He carries on, “Not only that! The dream also told me that Ethereal was someone I already know.”
He glances around.
Then he gestures towards me, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Great Goddess.”
So much noise erupts around me. I am further dazed. Did my friend just introduce me as the reincarnation of an evil Greek goddess?
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what he just did.
Well, this is frickin weird.
He is a genius though. They won’t kill us now.
I look in Greg eye’s now and see something. His words weren’t part of a plan to appease the Cezers or keep us alive.
He believes what he just said, all of it.
I don’t know how to feel about this.
I do know, however, that in order to stay alive I must play along with it. My life hinges on making these people believe that I’m Ethereal incarnate.
The situation, as a whole, almost makes me smile. I never thought I’d have to ask myself this particular question.
So, what would an evil bitch goddess do?
Perhaps she’d make some diva-like commands.
No, surely she’d give out to them all for not recognising her.
They are all silent, looking at me now.
I’ll die if this isn’t convincing, it has to be mean. “Some of you skipped thanking me for your blessings this morning. This annoyed me. Go whip yourselves, I know who you are.”
A lot of the eyes of my apparent followers go a lot wider. Gasps, the guilty ones are wondering just how I knew that. The girl speaks the truth, they are thinking. Some leave to whip themselves, bowing down in front of me as they do so.
I didn’t expect them to actually go through with it. I feel terribly sorry for not thinking that through better.
Greg bows down, with his hand on his heart, and thanks me for the honour of being in his life.
It is very strange having people bow to me.
With him it’s especially strange.
Judge Two isn’t convinced of my credentials, however. The Great Goddess would not come in the form of such a frail looking maid, he thinks. This is all but a ruse. It is surely a test from the Great Goddess herself to see who could recognise this fraud.
A few of the people seem convinced by his words. It makes sense that she would send a test, they think.
My mind goes blank of evil goddess-like things to say. I don’t know much about this Ethereal girl that I’m supposed to be.
Judge Three argues his point firmly now. If this maid is the Great Goddess then Judge Two’s stupid words may cause punishment upon them all. Who is he to tell the Great Goddess what form she can or can’t come to the world in? He should think before he speaks lest he damn them all!
I tell Greg that he can stand up now if he wants. He’d rather venerate apparently and he stays on his knees.
Judge One stands up and joins the others in arguing. He thinks that I should be given some sort of test, to see whether I am really the Great Goddess. A lot of the audience seem to agree. The half that aren’t already kneeling mostly. I feel very tall here.
Judge Three seems shocked. How dare they, mere humans, suggest putting the Great Goddess to some human test! He suggests that they should all start thinking, lest they raise the ire of their glorious Goddess.
I really like Judge Three. Blind faith is exactly what I need right now, at least until I find some kind of plan to escape.
Judge Four still hasn’t spoken at all. The colour of his eyes have convinced me that we are related.
Cairo suddenly stands up from his kneeling position and asks the court’s permission to speak. As a thanks to the Great Goddess for appearing today he would like, very much, to burn himself alive as a sacrifice.
This time I am the one who gasps. He is far too pretty for that kind of thing. His grey eyes look almost silver now and there is such light in his features. He is far too young to go burning himself.
I protest, “Don’t do that, I . . . do not like the burnt flesh of humans. You have shown your honour in your suggestion. That which will be enough.”
I know I’ve said the wrong thing when I finish. The way they are looking at me changes.
I feel I’ve said something to give myself away.
Judge Two seems triumphant. The Great Goddess, the spirit leaders said, would never say no to a sacrifice in her honour. It is confirmed! I am simply a test from the Great Goddess. They are to take Greg and me to the chamber, to be burnt alive. This is the only way to show their great deity that they have not fallen for the ruse.
I curse myself. Now just how was I supposed to know what their spirit leaders told them?
Cairo. That boy! I look at him and wonder if he done it on purpose, to expose me. He may have always known.
There are others who still look unsure. They fear divine retribution if I am their great leader.
I very much don’t like the idea of being burnt.
I don’t have time to think about this. Non-believers grab me from the back and tie a rope around my wrists so that I’m helpless to fight back. This is done to Greg also.
He struggles but it’s obvious the men are too strong.
One of them holds a knife to his throat. They will slit his throat here, the tattooed man tells him, right now. They will do it because he is a deserter who dared work against the Great Goddess with his lies.
I am frightened again.
Then I begin to get angry. These men have no right to take my Greg from me. I’ve known him forever. He
sacrificed everything to let me escape.
They have no right to end this boy’s life.
I need him with me. I can’t lose him.
The man places the knife against Greg’s neck. My friend looks so scared now.
My voice changes.
It sounds like a hiss, so incredibly dark, but it’s mine all the same. “Get the fuck away from my friend you son of disgrace. Your mother will burn in flames for this . . . She will burn for years. The House of Ten Agonies awaits you, you most sorry mortal.”
The fear on his face almost shocks me. I’m a teenage girl; no one has ever had reason to be afraid of me before. He drops the knife instantly and falls to his knees.
Where had those words come from? That’s not the kind of thing I just say, yet it felt natural.
Where had that voice come from? It scared me just as much as them.
I seem to have convinced everyone.
I turn to Judge Two.
I don’t know what he sees in my face.
Whatever he sees makes him bow quickly.
They all bow. Every last one of them, even Tanya.
I can’t believe this turn of good luck. Relief fills me.
That was some welcome home.
Chapter Nine
They have prepared a feast in my honour. It consists of ten cows. This glorious dinner takes place in a dining hall filled with many wooden tables. Most run the length of the room. One table, made of marble, sits on a raised platform at the front of the hall, looking down upon all else. This is where they put me.
The judges sit with me at the long table. All except Judge Two, who has been begging my forgiveness all day. I forgave him quite quickly but the other judges still fear that his presence here might offend me. They ordered him to go whip himself to show his ‘true sorrow’ at his actions. The poor man is probably doing this right now.
Greg is here in the hall too, he is very special to them now. Some have written poems about him. He is now ‘the boy who went out and found the Great Goddess herself’. He is seated amongst his peers. I wish that he could be up here with me. I would love to speak with him now. I will have to do it later. He needs to know that I am not really Ethereal. I will tell him, privately, at the first opportunity. It pains me that he believes it in the first place. I would’ve thought he’d know me better than that.
Another person who should know me better is the man sitting right beside me now.
Riley.
I told him, confidentially, that I am not Ethereal. He just laughed and told me I don’t even know myself. He is sure I am Ethereal, he said. He sacrificed someone, long ago, so that Ethereal would be part of his own bloodline. It is me, he is sure.
I insisted that he was wrong.
He just smiled. My bad side will come out sometime soon, he assured me. Until then we wait.
I swore to him that I am not like him. My ‘bad-side’ will not be coming out.
He ignored me and changed the subject. He warned me that the food here is very different from that on the outside. It might take some getting used to, he said. These words come back to me now.
So far I’ve only gotten rather salty beef. I eat the last of it, thinking that my uncle was just trying to freak me out. Then I realise that there are platters of bugs being passed around the table. The first one consists of centipedes and locusts. They are still alive. I smile at the girl serving it to me and tell her that I’ve dined enough for the moment.
The next course is bear claws and lice. Again I confess myself quite full.
Riley is eating heartily. He is telling the judges stories about the ‘awful’ outside world. They look down on murderers and make sex out to be a sinful thing. They punish all sins except greed. They tend to reward people for that by giving them great jobs and more stuff.
One of the more stout men asks what a ‘job’ is and Riley laughs. He is so glad to be back here, where things make sense, he says.
I notice that there is a lot of ‘liquid fear’ being passed around. I try some but it is far too bitter for my taste. The men around me seem to love it. They take turns showing off and seeing who can drink the most without taking a breath.
After this they begin to pass around something they call ‘human-flesh-blend’. I don’t even have to ask to know that the name is probably literal. Nausea overtakes me when judge four, beside me, drinks it.
Note to self. Stay away from any unidentified drinks here.
I try not to show my disgust. My survival hinges on these people believing that I am Ethereal. She would surely be able to handle all of this.
Judge four is the one I talk to most. He is, as I suspected, my grandfather. The honour I have bestowed upon the family is beyond his wildest dreams, he tells me. Riley had already done wonders for it. I just came along and made it better.
I don’t answer this.
My grandmother left him when her son Jamie died. That whole incident sent her over the edge a bit. I remember this now.
He tells me that he has four other wives. They look after him but not like she did. You would not believe the detail he goes into to elaborate this point.
I am beginning to think that he has drank a little too much human flesh blend and politely put it on the other side of the table.
Unfortunately my grandfather, with his ramblings about his wives, has managed to change the subject at the table to sex. One of the judges asks Riley about ‘fornicating’ with a temptress. What is it like? Are they wild or just like the girls here?
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The ‘temptress’ Riley is being asked about here is my very own Mom.
To my horror my uncle begins to answer the question.
There is no polite way to put my hands over my ears. I turn away and talk loudly to the girl serving me about everything and anything.
A man, to my right, declares that he would just love to fornicate with a temptress some day if it wasn’t so shameful. He has to make do with his two sisters.
I find myself smiling again. Smiling works well when you hear something like this, it doesn’t betray your shock.
His sisters? Oh dear.
These are my people now. I have to get used to their ways in order to avoid giving myself away.
My lie will have to be maintained until I get away.
I still can’t believe that I have gotten away with it for this long.
I’ve gotten away with it or I am her truly.
I am being silly. Of course I am not her.
The meal ends and I am happily entertained by a little boy who sings songs about a divided nation. Then a teenage girl sings us a song about flowers and green fields. They are both dressed in white robes now. No part of the skin on their arms or legs is showing.
They let me dress how I like. I am wearing the shortest dress the ‘clothes-man’ would make me. It is black, and he encrusted lovely golden jewels onto it. He was all full of apologies, saying that he would make me a nicer one the next time. He seemed worried about the quality. I thanked him and assured him that I was delighted with the dress, as I was truly. He grinned, bashful, and admitted that I was a lot less fierce than he had been prepared for.
A ‘professional’ entertainer entertains me now by telling me, and everyone else, a story about how he cut down a ‘betrayer’ limb from limb before the awful man could destroy the blessings upon the land.
I thank him, trying to keep my smile intact.
A lot of the people here are not shocked by the entertainer’s tale. I’ve got a feeling that a lot of them have stories to tell like this, about how good they are at cutting people down in the name of belief. Stories seem to be part of their culture. I wouldn’t be surprised if I am asked to share one or two before long.
Then the trumpets sound and a tall girl, who looks about my age, steps forward. Her long black hair is in a ponytail. Her skin is pale and clear of blemishes. My first impression of her is that she is very neat.
She has an announcement to make.
/> It is, apparently, time for me to take a husband.
Now I can’t even hide my shock.
A husband? I wonder if I heard right.
Judge Four nods. Sixteen is rather late to leave it to get married, he comments. Still, it is better late than never.
I swallow. What age do these people get married at?
Our ponytail girl reveals that they have ten of their best boys prepared for marriage to me. I can choose one of them. If I so please I can have two.
I can take all ten if I think that they are good enough, she tells me.
Wow. The people around here sure do like to have a lot of partners.
They are all expecting me to go through with this. Ethereal would. I know by their faces.
I can’t be disloyal to Daniel.
I’m too young to get married to anyone!
I have no idea what to do.
Riley speaks for me, “I think you should show the boys to our Ethereal. Each boy will be given a chance, in turn, to proclaim their love. Then she will choose.”
There is nothing that can be done about it. The ten boys begin making their pledges in turn.
The first claims that he would kill the second for me. The second vows that he would kill the first one twice for me. The third says he will cut off the limbs of the other nine and drink them in my honour should I pick him. He has blue eyes, they remind me of Daniel.
The fourth boy, whose hair is shockingly long, demonstrates just how well he can dance. Number five can raise a barn in just four days and has gained much honour for his family by this.
Six has genuinely killed a hundred people. He ate the bones of a hundred and two.
Number seven has suspiciously disappeared.
Number eight would rather die than see me with any of the others. On second thoughts he’d rather see them die. He has a fork and he will stick it through their eyes! His love for me will survive ten deaths, ten!
He has yellow eyes with specks of blue in them. They are rather fascinating. If only he didn’t seem to prone to radical violence.
Number nine is the first one to catch my attention. I recognise him.
Elysium's Love Triangle Page 11