Neutral: A Curse of the Gods Novella (Book 4.5)

by Washington, Jane

  “What leverage indeed?” he asked, his voice a whisper.

  Emmy jumped, and then ground to a halt, her eyes riveted to the Bestiary God.

  “How long will you lord that over me?” Terrance continued, walking toward us, his feet bare against the grass. “It was a harmless little prank.”

  “If Staviti ever found out that you and Pica had sex, he would make it his mission to end you just as he’s made it his mission to end Rau,” I reminded him. Leverage was the currency of the gods.

  “I’m sorry,” Emmy spoke loudly, stepping forward and holding up her hands, before addressing Terrance. “You slept with ... Pica? Pica who loves Rau to the point of creepy obsession?”

  I could tell that she had paused to give Terrance a more thorough inspection, and I fought not to drag her back to my side. Especially when her eyes caught and lingered on his bare chest. Eventually she turned to me, her eyebrows arched.

  The question in them was clear: Pica had once diverted her attention from Rau? And she still didn’t want anything to do with Staviti, her own creator?

  “Pica is a complicated goddess,” Terrance drawled, coming to a stop a few feet away from Emmy. “She taught me everything I know about women.”

  “My congratulations to your lucky future partners,” Emmy muttered dryly.

  “We are not permitted partners,” he returned with a smile in her direction, though he glanced toward me at the last moment.

  The bastard already knew that I wanted her.

  “And yet Pica and Rau are together, and Abil and Adeline are together,” Emmy returned, completely missing the hidden meaning behind his words.

  “And countless others.” Terrance waved his hand dismissively in the air. “As much as he tries to stop it, love is an epidemic, no matter which world you live in. Try as you might to cure it, another strain of the disease will always emerge. It seems to evolve beyond us, always one step ahead. Don’t you think?”

  Emmy didn’t answer. Her jaw was set, her eyes hardened. It seemed he had already sensed something in her as well ... and she didn’t like it.

  Five

  Emmy

  Terrance was calm. His movements slow and smooth, his voice never rose above a certain octave. I figured this was because he created and lived with dangerous creatures for fun, but it was unnerving. I didn’t like the feelings he brought about in me. I didn’t like his words. They were a warning, clear and simple. He was warning me away from Cyrus, but Cyrus had already told me he wanted everything, so he clearly didn’t want to adhere to Staviti’s rule.

  Cyrus had been with other women, that much I knew. So this sudden warning from Terrance was something more. This was about more than just sex. In general, it went against every one of my instincts to not respect rules, but if they didn’t make sense—logically—my mind would rebel. What reason did Staviti have for banning partners? Was it because Pica refused to love him? Maybe he had created the ban to separate Pica from Rau, but it had backfired, causing Pica to resent him and pull even further away from him. That would explain why he didn’t explicitly try to enforce the rule. It had already backfired on him.

  So why not remove the rule altogether?

  I could only assume that if Staviti wasn’t allowed to be with the person he wanted, then nobody else was allowed to be either.

  “Don’t move,” Terrance suddenly whispered, and I found myself freezing to the spot, barely even allowing breath to wheeze out between my pursed lips. At first, I thought it was an attack of some sort. I waited for Staviti and his army to descend, but it didn’t happen. I should have known better: Cyrus was far too calm. Willa had told me in a rushed whisper earlier how he’d reacted when I had died. Part of me couldn’t quite believe he’d been so emotional, angry and vengeful. I wasn’t sure why he had done it, but it stood to reason that if Staviti was about to attack again, Cyrus wouldn’t be so casual.

  “Hello, pretty girl,” Terrance crooned—further confirming that Staviti wasn’t the one to disturb our meeting.

  My eyes widened as a creature shuffled into view, standing up high on huge back legs to forage in the trees before dropping down with a heavy thump again. Pretty girl? Okay, sure. I guess if you thought five eyes, twelve spindly tentacles protruding from around her face, and a huge rotund furry body were all ‘pretty,’ then … sure.

  “A boband,” Cyrus explained to me, keeping his voice just as low as Terrance’s. “They’re very rare, living both on land and in water. They hold enough venom in one tentacle to kill twenty dwellers.”

  “Can they hurt a god?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me as I got over her crazy appearance.

  Terrance chuckled. It sounded oddly forced. “I would never allow my creatures to harm the gods, but … if Death were to collaborate on a project with me …” He trailed off, completely lost in thought as I grew increasingly more and more uncomfortable, until he finally blinked and returned to the original topic. “They can stay under water for fifty clicks without the need for air. Their poison will incapacitate a god for a short amount of time, but nothing on this world can actually kill a god. Except another god.”

  His eyes fluttered as he slowly turned to Cyrus. There was some sort of silent communication going on there, but I was too interested in the boband to pay close attention. The creature shuffled forward. It was on all four stocky legs now, its body almost as huge as the bridge beside Terrance. She lowered her face, the tentacles spreading out around her as she sniffed along the ground.

  “They eat berries and swimmers, mostly,” Terrance said, continuing his explanation. “And require a lot of food, so they’re always scavenging.”

  “Why did you create her?” I asked, wanting to understand what drove the Bestiary God to fashion such creatures. “Does she have a purpose?”

  Flashing eyes met mine. “All of my animals have a purpose, just because you cannot see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”

  “So, what’s her purpose?” I pushed, because he was giving me a half answer, and I didn’t like those.

  Terrance ignored me then, turning to face Cyrus. “Why are you here? What do you need from me?”

  Cyrus swept out an arm and before I knew it, he had drawn me closer, into his side. I tried not to feel all of the warmth and energy that surrounded him constantly. I also tried not to lean into him.

  I tried and failed, for the most part.

  “I need you to tell me what sort of god Emmanuelle is.” Cyrus got straight to the point.

  Terrance stilled. “You don’t know? Did Staviti not help you?”

  Tension shot through Cyrus. “You already know the answer to that.”

  He didn’t sound angry, but the other god was suddenly looking very wary, and he didn’t ask anymore prying questions. He just stepped forward, slowly, until he stood right before me.

  “Do I have permission to touch you?” he asked, staring intently into my eyes. The only sound in the clearing at that moment was the boband just snuffling along, sucking up berries as it foraged.

  I swallowed hard. “Touch me where?”

  You had to always clarify things with gods, they were sneaky bastards.

  Cyrus chuckled next to me, and I was pretty sure he said that’s my girl under his breath.

  “Nothing untoward at all,” Terrance assured me. “Just on your temples.”

  Since most of my brain was occupied with the possibility that Cyrus had called me his girl—why did that excite me so much?—I kind of lost focus and just nodded, giving Terrance the permission he sought.

  His touch was gentle, but the skin on his hands was rough, scraping across my cheek bones as he settled both palms on either side of my face. “This shouldn’t hurt,” he said, as his hands began to heat.

  “Those three words are in no way reassuring,” I told him dryly. “I hadn’t been expecting it to hurt, so now all you’ve done is make me worry that it will hurt.”

  Terrance chuckled. “You’re an unusual female, I’ll give you tha
t. I can see the appeal.”

  “Mine,” Cyrus ground out immediately, the word sounding like it had been forced from him. I blinked, twisting my head so I could see him better, because there was a guttural nature to that word.

  He was glowing, a white light shining from his eyes and around his body, like a shimmery field. Terrance noticed this as well, and from the corner of my eye, I thought he went very pale. “Noted,” he told Cyrus, voice rough. “I will say nothing more.”

  He was afraid of him, and suddenly I could understand why. Cyrus was in his Neutral state. The one everyone seemed to fear. But I refused to allow him to control me with fear.

  Shaking Terrance’s hands off, I spun toward Cyrus and elbowed him hard in the ribs. The impact caused my elbow to ache.

  The god turned his glowing eyes on me. “Did you just … hit me?” he asked, his voice still in that unnaturally low tone.

  “Yes,” I said loudly—I had no idea why I was shouting, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Because you are so godsdamn annoying. Stop it. Right now. We are trying to figure out what sort of god I am, I don’t need you to scare off the only being who might be able to tell us.”

  Cyrus looked stunned. He even shook his head a few times, as if he were trying to make sure his ears weren’t malfunctioning. A bubble of laughter started to rise in my chest, and I tried to force it down, but he looked so damn confused. A snort escaped, and I bit my lip, but my chest was heaving as my amusement began to escape.

  “Are you sure she’s yours?” Terrance asked, his eyes locked on me. “Her spirit. It’s wild … like my creatures.”

  In the next click, Cyrus’s hand was wrapped around Terrance’s throat. “I’m not sure I can make myself any clearer,” he snarled, his white light reaching a new level of blinding. My humour dried up then, and I wondered where I should hit him this time. “Don’t even think about it,” Cyrus rumbled over his shoulder. “Some gods will only learn through force. Terrance is clearly one of them.”

  “Right … here,” Terrance gasped out. “Mess … message received.”

  “Can you just not kill him until we find out what sort of god I am?” I asked. “It’s driving me crazy not knowing.”

  It really was. The unknown wasn’t something I dealt well with.

  In a huff, Cyrus dropped the other god and took a step closer to me. “You have five clicks,” he said shortly.

  Terrance dragged himself up, looking a little more ruffled than before. He rubbed at his throat, and I could see the dark marks already marring his skin.

  “I have a pretty good idea already,” he said, swallowing hard. “Especially after both of our reactions to her, but I want to confirm.”

  What did he mean by that? Their reactions to me?

  This time, when his hands landed on my face, I locked my gaze on him. My eyes narrowed as I prepared myself for whatever pain was coming my way. The heat was immediate, and more intense than it had been last time. Clearly he was ready to get this over with so that we were no longer in his forest, irritating him … or trying to choke him.

  As his fingertips settled firmly against my skin, I heard the murmur of his voice. “Close your eyes, it will help you relax.”

  I thought that was bad advice, but I did it anyway, allowing my eyelids to close, my vision sinking into darkness.

  “Wildness,” Terrance muttered, louder this time. “It is in here, inherent, but also gifted. Some of it is unnatural. Her powers are raw—almost clumsy.”

  “Willa,” I said, the feeling of laughter bubbling up inside me. “Of course she did a clumsy job turning me into a god.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Terrance countered, and I felt the pressure of his hands increase, the surface of his skin vibrating with a low frequency of warm power. “Your gift has been clumsily given—not adhering to the usual precise pattern of Staviti’s companions, or even those that have ascended to god-hood.”

  Pretty much what I’d said, but he clearly needed the last word.

  “Am I not a proper god?” I asked suddenly, my voice growing faint. I could feel my invincibility and strength dribbling away already.

  “You are most certainly a proper god,” Terrance assured me. “Just as you are most certainly a different type of god. I would be interested to feel the mind of the other girl—the one who challenged Staviti, who brought you back to life. The birds carry whispers to me, you know.”

  “What whispers have they told you about Willa?” Cyrus asked.

  “They say that she is a storm, come to wash through this land. And those of us who live here will be raised by the waters, or we will drown.”

  “Do you believe that?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.

  “I always believe my animals,” he told me. “And you should, too. They are pure voices of the land—much purer than you or I.”

  “Even though you created them?” I asked.

  “I only fashioned them,” he explained. “My power can animate, but it is Topia that lends them magic. They absorb it from the land. You asked what their purpose is, and that is your answer. They are conduits of magic—receptacles of Topia, to do as Topia bids.”

  “It’s funny,” I muttered, almost to myself. “The gods all seem to have an element of creation. Pica creates obsession out of love; Abil and Siret create things out of thin air; Coen creates pain; Yael creates will, where a person might be inclined otherwise; Aros creates desire; Rome changes the physics of his environment to have physical dominion over everything; and Willa ... she has created a new life. If you think about it in that way, you are all Creators.”

  “Of course.” Cyrus was the one to answer me, and he sounded almost impressed. He was quiet for a moment more, before he spoke again. “Most of the gods are a product of Staviti, so their powers naturally take on a form that is in some way related to his magic. Those gods who ascended as he did have all gained lower forms of his Creation power, and that is probably because they are reaching Topia in the same way as he did. Frivolity, music, wine, fury, archery—there are many lesser forms of Creation, many lesser Gods, all manifesting their own creations in their own ways.”

  “And then there is you,” Terrance interrupted, drawing his hands away from my head.

  I blinked my eyes open, fixing them on him. He was staring at me, a slightly puzzled expression on his face.

  “I can sense wildness, life, love, desire, nurturing ... all of these things, but I do not know exactly what your power is. I cannot tell you what kind of God you are.”

  “Is there any other way I can find out?” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my tone, not wanting to be rude. He had tried to help.

  “Powers are often activated under duress.” He took several steps away, and then turned his back on us, walking over to the bridge. “I think Neutral will be far better at raising your emotions than I, so I will leave that task to him. Good luck, Sister of the Storm.”

  Six

  Cyrus

  Sister of the Storm? The fact that someone else had given her a nickname annoyed me, but I tried to keep the annoyance off my face as I gripped Emmy’s arms and pulled her into me. She didn’t have time to ask any of the many questions that were undoubtedly trying to spring from that busy mind of hers before we were standing in a clearing.

  “Have we left Beastiary’s forest?” she asked, quickly pushing away from me and turning on her heel to take in the space.

  “We are close to my home,” I replied. “I thought it would be better if we did this here, away from ... Donald.”

  “What is this?” she asked, immediately turning again, her eyes narrowing sharply. “You better not put me under any kind of duress, you Sacred Asshole—”

  “I won’t need to,” I said, quickly cutting her off. “You constantly put yourself under duress. I’m only going to sit here and witness it while I wait for something to happen.”

  With those words, I sized up a comfortable-looking boulder, settling back against it, folding my arms. Her mouth wa
s hanging open, her face falling into confusion.

  “You’re going to just ... wait until it happens?”

  “That’s right.” I grinned. “Neither of us is leaving this forest until something happens. There’s a cave just through the trees behind you. We can sleep there if the need arises, and a small stream just a few paces behind me if there’s need of privacy.”

  “You’re in need of a sanity check,” she mumbled, dropping to sit cross-legged on the grass. “This is never going to work, and it’s definitely not going to put me under duress.”

  “Then I also won’t speak to you.” My smile was growing. I couldn’t help it. “With nobody to talk to, nobody to answer your questions, and no way out of this forest, I believe you will very quickly lose your temper.”

  She spluttered out some more insults, before letting out a huff, getting to her feet, and storming off. I was powerful enough to feel her energy, even when she was out of sight. So I didn’t move. I let her go and she stomped around, no doubt trying to calm the cluttered mess her mind was in.

  My mind was troubled as well. Terrance had been less useful than I had expected, and far more frustrating. Seeing him touch Emmy shouldn’t have bothered me, but … it did. And it wasn’t just the touching but also his fascination with her. Terrance loved to collect things—his animal creations, the most beautiful parts of nature, and the strongest of allies.

  It was in his personality to build a secure nest and to fill it with all of his favourite things. I’d be damned if Emmy ended up as one of those things.

  “This isn’t going to work,” she announced, bursting back into the clearing. “I’m telling you right now, this sort of environment isn’t the right one for me discover a new power. I need books. Order. A quiet, tidy place to gather my thoughts.”

  I almost laughed, because that sounded exactly like my cave. We matched. Her energy drew me, and I stood so I could stalk closer to her. My focus remained locked on her like she was my prey. I didn’t do it because I wanted to scare her, but because I couldn’t look away. Her eyes grew very wide, and even though she didn’t seem to want to, she started to back up slowly. Something unfurled inside my chest—a need to pursue her until she submitted to me. Until she gave me exactly what I wanted.