by Logan Jacobs
“You’re right, I couldn’t,” Eva gasped, and her hands covered her dainty mouth as her eyes widened with surprise. “This whole time you let me believe I had tricked you!”
“You can’t trick a god,” I pointed out in an amused tone.
“So… When you followed me last night…?” A blush crept up the blonde’s neck.
“I knew it was you the whole time,” I lied.
“I should have known.” Eva shook her head, and she cast her gray eyes to the ground. “Forgive me, Great One.”
“Nothing to forgive,” I replied cheerfully. “Now, if you fail to impress me today, that’s another story.”
“I will not fail you,” she insisted, and when she lifted her eyes to mine, they were full of fire.
“I’ll rouse the men,” Riondale said in an awkward tone, and I could tell he felt like he was intruding on something private.
I couldn’t blame the kid since I’d pretty much forgotten he existed while I looked into the smoky-gray depths of Evangeline’s eyes. Time lost all meaning when she was so close to me, and I waved goodbye to the lieutenant absentmindedly while I inhaled her aroma.
The duke’s daughter smelled of wildflowers and evergreen trees like she’d just finished rolling around in the woods, but that suited her nature well. Evangeline was wild and untamed, but there was a naivety about her I found highly appealing. I wanted to show her the world, but I didn’t want to risk the duke’s anger without a good reason to. I knew the duke wouldn’t publicly speak out against me since I was a god who’d saved his town, but my life would be much easier if the duke continued to see me as a savior instead of someone who’d killed his son and then kidnapped his daughter.
“Would you like some breakfast?” Eva asked with one raised eyebrow, and her words pulled me away from my thoughts.
“Sure.” I grinned, and my stomach rumbled at the thought of food. “I could always eat.”
“Good to know,” the blonde laughed, and she pushed herself up from the log and walked toward the horses.
I stared unabashedly at her ass as she departed until she shot a glance at me over her shoulder, and then I smirked as she caught my eye.
Eva smiled, and she wiggled her fingers before she slipped through the trees and out of my sight.
“There you are,” Mahini said as she came up from behind me.
“You woke up early,” Elissa observed when she joined us a moment later.
“Good morning,” I greeted my two lovely ladies with a broad smile. “Eva is fetching some food. Come sit with me. We’ll head out after we eat.”
“Of course,” Elissa said, and she sat to my left.
“She’s always hungry,” Mahini said with a sly smile as she took the place to my right.
Eva returned a short while later, and she brought enough to feed all of us. We ate a cold breakfast of fresh berries, nuts, and dried meat, but by the time we were done with our meager meal, the rest of the men had finished taking down our campsite.
I was impressed with the speed and efficiency of their work, and I wondered if it had anything to do with Riondale’s leadership. The young man was right in the thick of things, unfastening tent straps, loading horses, and lending a hand wherever it was needed.
The lieutenant appeared at my side a few moments later, and he snapped a salute before he sat down on one of the logs that circled the firepit.
“We are ready to depart at your command,” he informed me in a clipped voice, and his eyes flicked to Eva. “In whatever direction you choose.”
“We continue toward the king for now,” I replied, and I saw the duke’s daughter’s shoulders slump with relief.
“Yes, sir,” Riondale said, and he saluted again before he stood up. He barked out a few commands to the men standing nearby, and then they all mounted their horses.
Mahini, Elissa, Evangeline, and I did the same, and then our small party was ready to head out onto the road again. Eva and Elissa rode side by side and talked non-stop as we passed beneath humongous evergreen trees, and Mahini glanced over her shoulder at them every so often.
“I like her,” Mahini said in a conspiratorial tone.
“I know,” I laughed, but then I narrowed my eyes. “I hope she finds some way to prove herself.”
“She will,” Mahini insisted firmly. “She has to.”
We rode in silence for a while after that, and I lost myself in observation of my surroundings.
This was certainly a beautiful world.
The sun rose higher into the sky, and it began to warm up my neck and shoulders as we headed in a general north direction, so I guessed it was around ten in the morning. The trees reached over the top of the road, so the ground was layered in zigzags of shadows, and the air smelled fresh and clean. The path itself was made of a finely ground rock, and it was wide enough in this spot to ride three abreast, so we’d manage to travel a good distance already.
“Are you hungry, Great One?” Jorgen asked as he trotted his horse over beside Goliath.
My massive warhorse huffed and tossed his head at the proximity of what he considered a lesser horse, and I patted his neck comfortingly.
“Easy, boy,” I murmured to the steed before I replied to the proficient hunter of our group. “I could always eat.”
“The food the duke sent with us is trash,” the man snorted. “I wouldn’t think one as powerful as you should eat such things.”
“The venison last night was pretty good,” I pointed out.
“I agree,” Jorgen said with a nod. “I went hunting after I saw the rations we had. I wasn’t about to let you eat dried berries for dinner.”
“So, you don’t think it will last us a week?” I asked with a frown.
“Not unless we supplement with some fresh meat,” the avid hunter pointed out. “I was thinking you and I could hunt for a while, and then catch up to the group at sundown. What do you say?”
“Sounds fun,” I replied in a thoughtful tone. I thought this over for a moment, and then I reached into one of my packs and pulled out the map the duke had given me. I unrolled the paper until I could see our current location, and then I traced the trajectory of the path ahead a little. It looked like the road curved around before it entered a valley, and it would be easy enough for us to cut across and still catch up to the group by sundown, so I gave Jorgen a decisive nod. “Let’s do it.”
We informed Riondale and my women of our plans, and then I pulled Goliath away from the road, and we entered the underbrush. We fought through the jungle-like growth for a while, and then it vanished and left only a forest floor bathed in pine needles. The smell was amazing, and I paused for a moment to breathe it in.
I made a new savepoint just in case I embarrassed myself in front of the skilled hunter, and then I pointed Goliath’s muzzle in the same direction Jorgen had urged his horse.
“Look,” Jorgen said in an excited voice. “Deer tracks already.”
He pointed to a spot on the forest floor where a stick had been broken by a passing hoof, and I grinned.
This was going to be easier than I thought.
We followed the deer trail for about half an hour as it veered west, then south, and then finally back to the north. I was almost ready to give up when Jorgen lifted his fist to signal a stop.
We both dismounted as quietly as we could, and I lashed Goliath’s reins to a tree before I inched over to Jorgen’s side.
“What is it?” I hissed in a low voice.
The hunter merely pointed to a spot between the trees, and I squinted to see what he’d indicated. About a hundred paces ahead of us stood a majestic stag with so many prongs on his antlers, I lost count.
Jorgen pulled his bow out, and he nocked an arrow to the string, but I held up my hand to stop him. He nodded silently, and then he stepped back a couple of paces to allow me to take his spot.
I crept forward, and then I stood up as quietly as I could so I could get the full range of my new bow. I nocked an arrow on the stri
ng and pulled back the string on the obsidian weapon until the feathers grazed against my cheek. Then I zeroed in on the buck, released my breath, and let the arrow fly.
The projectile zoomed between the trees, but the sound alerted the stag, and he bounded off through the woods. The arrow grazed his backside as he kicked out his legs, but the trickle of blood wouldn’t be enough to kill it.
Chime.
This time, I pointed out the deer trail to Jorgen, and the hunter’s eyes widened with surprise.
We followed the trail for about half an hour before I spotted the stag, and Jorgen was again impressed with my sight.
He jerked his chin to silently give me the go-ahead, and I dismounted Goliath as quietly as I could. Then I crept forward through the undergrowth, and I pulled my bow from my shoulders once I was about a hundred feet away from the stag.
Again, I loaded my obsidian bow and took aim. My arrow flew quieter this time, and it struck the buck on the front shoulder, but it wasn’t a lethal shot. Jorgen moved to my side as the stag bounded away, and he pointed to the trail of blood left behind.
“This will lead us straight to it,” he explained in a reassuring tone.
I didn’t want to have to track down my deer, though, so I reset to my savepoint to try again.
Chime.
I went through numerous attempts until my aim began to improve with my new bow, and my shots grew faster yet quieter. Shooting a live target was harder than motionless ones, and I was still getting accustomed to the feel of my obsidian bow in my hands, so while I had already gained some proficiency with the bow, I still needed several tries to get it right. It was hard work, and my shoulders ached from the motion of pulling the string taut.
I missed a lot, but as my shots improved, I landed more hits. After doing this for a while, I managed my first kill, but the buck still ran off before he collapsed. I wanted a one-hit kill through the eye, and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it.
Chime.
Chime.
Chime.
I practically darted through the trees to get to the deer’s location, and Jorgen struggled to keep up with me.
“This way,” I called over my shoulder after I’d hitched Goliath to a tree.
“How do you know?” he asked in an incredulous tone. “You barely even glanced at the tracks.”
“I know all things,” I replied in a godly voice.
Jorgen shook his head with wonder, and he followed obediently behind me. Once we reached the grove of trees where the stag always stood, I held a finger to my lips before I pointed it out to the hunter.
Then I nocked an arrow to my bow, and I aimed carefully for the animal’s eye before I released my breath. The projectile launched through the air with deadly velocity, and it landed with a thud right where I wanted it to, in the deer’s eye.
“Excellent shot, Great One!” Jorgen gasped as the massive stag instantly collapsed. “You are quite the master with a bow!”
I grinned, and I rested the butt end of the bow on the ground while I leaned against the shaft.
“Just another day of being a god,” I explained in a casual tone.
“I’ve never seen anything like that firsthand,” the hunter continued in an excited voice. “Just wait until the rest of the men hear about this, they’ll be begging you for lessons before the day is over.”
“Just as long as everyone is fed, I’m happy,” I replied as my smile broadened.
We quickly field-dressed the deer, and then we cut the carcass in half to distribute its weight evenly between both of our horses. The steeds didn’t flinch as we approached with the dead animal, and I supposed they were used to this sort of thing, but it was all still new to me. I’d never been hunting back in my old world, so I was glad I finally got a chance to take down a huge buck.
“Do you think they’ve made camp yet?” Jorgen asked as he eyed the sun. It was tilting toward the western horizon, but there were still hours remaining until it would get dark.
“No,” I laughed and shook my head. “They should know better after yesterday. They’ll ride until the sun goes down.”
“If you say so,” Jorgen chuckled.
I made a new savepoint before we left just in case we ran into any trouble on the road, but I didn’t expect any bandits this close to Castle Bullard. We hurriedly returned to the road, and then we raced at breakneck speed for a couple of hours. The sun threw orange rays toward the sky as it made its final descent, and I stopped to appreciate the view to the west for a moment.
Jorgen trotted his horse up beside me, and the hunter pulled his steed to a halt.
“There’s a town up ahead,” he informed me in a cautious tone. “I suppose the men stopped there for the night.”
“How do you know?” I asked as I turned to scan the road ahead.
“See those faint lights on the horizon?” Jorgen said as he pointed to the northeast. The direction he indicated was to the left of the road, and I’d been looking to the right since it seemed like it would keep going straight.
I finally noticed the distant haze, and I smelled the faint aroma of wood smoke in the air.
I didn’t want Jorgen to think I needed any assistance, though, so I took my new information, and I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
“Let’s hurry,” I said with a wide smile. “The others are stopping in a small town for the night.”
“How do you know that?” Jorgen asked as his jaw dropped.
“I know all things,” I replied with a wink, and then I clicked my heels against Goliath’s flanks to urge the warhorse into a run.
We rode down the road until the glow of the town grew brighter, and Jorgen shook his head in awe when the village came into view.
“You truly are amazing, Great One,” he said in a hushed whisper.
I grinned in response. It looked like I had another loyal follower. I would need to name my religion soon, but I wanted it to be called something awesome, so I planned on taking my time coming up with it.
Suddenly, I heard a name screamed in alarm coming from the village, and I urged Goliath to pick up the pace. The horses ran into the middle of the small town, but all I could see was the sobbing woman standing in the middle of the road holding a small teddy bear.
“Bella, where are you?” the woman wailed.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked as I pulled Goliath to a stop beside her.
“My daughter!” the woman exclaimed, and a fresh round of sobs wracked through her body. “S-She’s missing! I-I’ve been looking everywhere, but I just… I can’t find her.”
My heartbeat thudded inside my chest, and I felt the woman’s pain as my own. Something had happened to an innocent child, and her mother was distraught. It was up to me to save the day, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.
What else would the God of Time do?
Chapter Six
I took a swift glance around me to scope out the town. It hadn’t been listed on the maps the duke gave me, and I wondered why. It was quaint, with only a handful of businesses on the street that ran through the center of the small village, and they all looked newer. There weren’t very many signs of aging on the cedar planks the buildings were made of, and the road didn’t look very worn.
A few people were milling about on the street, but they’d all gathered around when the woman screamed. Their faces were dirty, and their eyes downcast, and I looked forward to seeing some smiles before we left.
The rest of my party ran out of a building to my right with a sign out front that advertised it as an inn, and Eva’s eyebrows furrowed as she approached me.
“What did she do to you?” she demanded as she glared hotly at the distraught mother. “Do you need me to handle the situation, Great One?”
“Not at all,” I said hurriedly. “Her daughter is missing. She needs our help.”
“Oh, my apologies,” the duke’s daughter murmured as she stepped back.
“Have no fear,” M
ahini said to the woman in a comforting tone. “The Great One will not rest until your daughter is found.”
“Bella’s been gone since this morning,” the woman said in a voice full of worry, and she wrung her hands together anxiously. “She’s only seven and never stays out past dark, and I’ve already looked around the entire town.”
“Well, then we’ll just have to expand our search radius,” I said in a decisive tone. “She’ll be found. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you so much for helping me find her,” the mother replied with earnest eyes. “She means the world to me.”
The rest of the guards had gathered around my horse at this point, and I raised my voice to address everyone nearby.
“We are going to form a search party,” I announced. “We’ll comb through the surrounding forest until we find the missing girl.”
“Yes, sir,” the guards said in unison with a crisp salute.
“We paid for some rooms in the inn already, but the inn only had three to spare,” Elissa informed me. “Riondale said his men could share a room so Evangeline could have her own.”
“That’s very kind of him,” I said with a smile. My respect for the young lieutenant grew stronger with each day. “Why don’t you stay here with the mother just in case the little girl comes back while we’re searching for her?”
“I can do that,” the tiny goddess replied in a cheerful tone. Then she wrapped her arms around the mother’s shoulders. “Let’s get a cup of tea, shall we?”
Now that I was satisfied the mother would be taken care of, I turned my attention to forming a search party. First, I directed one of the guards to take the deer meat from Goliath and Jorgen’s horse to get it cooked since I would be busy with the search for a while. Then I divided the men up equally into two groups, with Riondale leading the men who weren’t going with me, and I picked Mahini, Evangeline, and Jorgen for my own party. Then I gathered up enough torches for everyone and made sure the men all had some rations with them before we rode out of town at a brisk pace, but then I stopped before we split up in the woods.