Pain (Curse of the Gods Book 5)

by Jaymin Eve

  I swallowed, waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, I gently prodded him. “Until me?”

  “You were a child of a god and a dweller. Your energy was absorbing everything your mother had to give. She would have died, if I hadn’t smuggled her into Topia, where you might both survive the birth.”

  “We did,” I needlessly noted. “But I’m guessing you didn’t?”

  He smiled wryly. “Staviti sensed me even faster than the first time. I’ve since realised that the stronger I am, the faster he picks up on my energy. I am so far weakened in my current state that it will take him several sun-cycles to recognise the residue of my power within his realm.”

  “That’s why it’s different for you in here?” I asked. “Compared to the others? It’s because you’re connected to Topia, just like Staviti is?”

  He nodded. “For a long time, my connection to Topia sustained me. Even now, whatever insignificant amount of energy is leaking through has allowed me to retain my memories.”

  “So, you think we can still use the glass to return home? Even damaged?”

  Jakan frowned. “I don’t know with certainty. I haven’t been able to do it on my own in a very long time, but with Crowe’s weapons … it’s the best chance we have. This is the closest link to Topia.”

  “We have to hurry and try.” I pushed closer to the glass, almost touching the softly glowing surface. “Our home is about to fall apart and I have to save my family.”

  Jakan didn’t argue, he just reached out and placed his hand against the glass. He nodded for me to do the same. When we both touched it, he lifted his free hand and clasped the other end of the chain that I still held.

  “Do exactly what you did last time,” he said. “Follow the link back to Topia.”

  Closing my eyes, I focussed. My brain responded to my wants and needs so much faster these sun-cycles. It had been trained, in a way. There was a jerking motion, and I thought I heard cries starting up from behind us—the cries of the children—but we were gone before I could check to see why they had woken from their catatonic states.

  Jakan seized my hand as the glass slipped from beneath my fingers, his grip unwavering, and I had no worry of losing him on the journey back. He also didn’t scream, which I took as a great sign that I hadn’t torn his soul into pieces.

  When cool, damp air washed across my skin, I opened my eyes again and could have shouted in joy. Despite it being dark, I could see everything clearly. We were in the cave, standing across from the mortal glass.

  The other side. The side of beauty and light and colour.

  “I didn’t leave my body here,” I said, the thought hitting me suddenly. I started to pat along my arms and sides. I felt substantial, but maybe it was an illusion.

  A deep male voice, so much more vibrant than it had been in the imprisonment realm, interrupted my panic. “The glass returned it to you when we returned to this world.”

  Letting my arms fall, I turned to find Jakan at my side, grinning broadly. I almost gasped when I caught sight of him in full colour and vibrancy. He did have blond hair, just as I imagined the first time I saw him. Blond hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. His skin was tanned like mine, and he had a few more sunspots across his nose than me, but I could see myself in him … more than I had expected. Once the colour and life had returned to his skin, the resemblance was almost striking. He was staring at me as hard as I had been at him.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said softly. “You look so much like your mother. Like me.” His voice broke slightly, and he cleared his throat.

  I was feeling choked up as well, but managed to stop myself from turning into another teary mess.

  “I can’t believe we’re back,” I said softly. “What do we do now?”

  Jakan pulled himself together so quickly, I wondered if maybe I’d imagined his heavier emotions before. “Do you have any stort of plan in place to start stripping Staviti of his power?”

  I nodded, glad to be able to focus on the plan again. “Yes, we need to open the channels between the worlds. Staviti has been sucking the life from Minatsol and hoarding all the energy to himself somehow. The imbalance is throwing everything off.” I shivered a little as more cold air washed down the tunnel of the cave. “It’s snowing in Topia. For the first time ever.”

  The defined planes of Jakan’s face hardened, his brow furrowing. “The glass must have returned us to this spot for a reason. Otherwise we would have gone back to where you left your body. It wants to show us something.”

  I didn’t hesitate in turning to the glass. “Show me,” I said, placing my hand against it.

  The warmth of energy swirled inside me, and I could already feel the strength of it returning. I stepped back as images flickered along the surface of the glass. One after another, over and over. It showed us the same ten images.

  The first was the cave where the wraiths had been; I recognised the writing on the wall there. The next was a river, and it was familiar to me, but I didn’t realise why until Jakan spoke.

  “That’s where we were born—Staviti and I. It’s the main source of power for this world. When your mother went into labour, I brought her here, to the same waters that my mother gave birth to me in.”

  “The pantera told me that I received the water in a different way to Staviti,” I said slowly, my eyes lingering on the river.

  Jakan smiled. “Well, technically I was feeding your mother water the entire pregnancy, because I wasn’t sure of the strength she would require to birth a half-god. So your first experience with the water was not at birth. It was long before that.”

  Pulling my gaze from the glass, I blinked at him, processing that. “You were with mom all the way until I was born?”

  He nodded. “Yes, it was the sun-cycle after your birth that Staviti came for me. I only just managed to hide you and Winnifred away before he attacked.”

  He trailed off but we all knew what had happened then: Staviti had thrown him through the mortal glass, tearing my mother’s soul to pieces, and leaving me basically alone in the world. The glass flickered again, showing me the same series of images again. Another was of the river of my birth again, only this time it was still and stagnant, the waters no longer flowing. The fifth image was that of a mountain with a waterfall cascading over it, only to be stopped halfway down instead of flowing into the creek below. The next images were also all of water, in differing locations.

  “I know what this is,” Jakan said suddenly. “The glass is showing you all the ways the sacred waters have been blocked from Minatsol. This is how we must return the balance.”

  “I freed the wraiths from the cave though,” I said, unsure.

  Jakan shook his head. “You freed the wraiths, but each of these images is focussing on the water. The water being stopped or redirected. That cave used to have water flowing through it … water that once upon a time flowed freely between the two worlds. When our parents named me their heir, it was my job to protect the sacred waters. Staviti was opposed to this from the start, but he had to follow my command.”

  “Until he got rid of you,” I added.

  His jaw clenched. “Yes, the moment he could, he tried to kill me, only to end up sending me to the imprisonment realm. I was the first one to ever land on the other side of the mortal glass.”

  “How?” I asked. “There was no Crowe or any weapons back then?”

  Jakan turned back to the glass. “We were here,” he said, “fighting in this cave. Staviti somehow pushed me through the glass. Before it was all scarred and broken, it was easier to step between the two places. I think I’m the only being to ever go across complete, with my body intact.”

  “That’s why you were so strong.” I sought confirmation. “You entered the imprisonment realm differently, your soul still intact. You were able to feed from the glass while it was still whole. To build up the energy over time that you needed to return.”

  “Correct. Eventually I had the strength to escape a
nd meet your mother, only to be thrown back in again before I got a chance to truly know my family.”

  So much of our lives had been lost because of one power-hungry god. So much suffering because of him.

  “I will free those children,” I choked out, their blank faces flashing across my mind.

  Jakan seemed to realise where we were then, and he too looked around the darkness. Maybe trying to sense them.

  “We have to save the worlds first,” he told me, reaching out to clasp my hand. “But as soon as we restore the balance, we will save the children.”

  I nodded, too choked up to speak. After a click, I pulled my hand from his and cleared my throat. “I need to get word to the Abcurses,” I said. “I have to tell them that I am back in the land of the living. They’re probably freaked out about my body just up and disappearing.” I paused briefly before continuing, “And I think I know someone who might be able to help. You said you could see Topia through the mortal glass? Did you mean all of Topia?”

  “All of it,” he confirmed. “It was simply the other side of the mirror.”

  “So … if I understand pockets right, you could take us through a pocket to anywhere in Topia? Because you’ve seen it all through the glass?”

  He nodded, a thoughtful look falling over his features. “In theory, that should work, but I haven’t been to where Abil’s sons are in person, and that might make a difference. But I will try.”

  He reached out, wrapping a hand around my mine again. He touched me with the ease familiarity usually brought. I did understand why this felt different for him—he had known me my entire life, had known that I was his daughter. I, on the other hand, had only met him once before this. And while I might have suspected he was my father, I’d only just had it confirmed.

  Before witnessing the way my mother cried out for him, I hadn’t even considered it a possibility that she had ever loved a man enough to have a child with him. I knew how pregnancy and childbirth worked, obviously … but I still thought of my conception as more of an accident, or a random, unimportant coincidence. My mother and I had never had a close relationship—certainly not close enough for me to comfortably ask her questions about my conception. Even though we hadn’t made an occasion of speaking about it, I’d still been raised under the impression that her becoming pregnant with me had been something equivalent to ‘surprise, here’s a baby.’

  “It’s not working,” Jakan muttered, reminding me that I should have been pulled through the darkness by now.

  I signed. “There might be another option. Can you try Terrance’s forest? It isn’t a secret cave in the middle of nowhere, it might be easier.”

  “That, I can do.” Jakan’s hand tightened around mine, and only a fraction of a click later, we were standing beneath a thick canopy of trees.

  The humidity in the air immediately clung to the exposed skin along the back of my neck, making the leather that still encased my body feel too thick and my hair feel too heavy.

  “It’s not snowing here,” I realised out loud.

  “His habitats have been enchanted for the comfort of his creations,” Jakan replied. He released my hand, striding forward again, though he pulled his cloak about his person more securely instead of shrugging it away from his shoulders to combat the oppressive heat. “Stay behind me,” he warned. “The enchantment covers more than just whatever threats the weather might present—it also protects the animals against other threats. That includes us.”

  I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me as I walked close behind him, trying to move as soundlessly as he was. I had definitely inherited my lack of grace from my mother, because he moved in an almost unnatural way, as though his feet weren’t even touching the ground.

  When we passed from beneath the canopy and snow was again dusting my shoulders, I started to relax and hurried to walk beside him. We were on a narrow path now, and Jakan began to walk faster. I appreciated his urgency. I wasn’t comfortable with the state I had left the Abcurses in. My body would have just disappeared, but I assumed that Pica’s body had remained. Hopefully they would still be able to feel my energy and would know that Pica hadn’t killed me in the imprisonment realm.

  The path eventually led to a footbridge that climbed over a gently flowing river. I glanced to the water as we passed to the other side, thinking about where it flowed to. If all water sources eventually poured into Minatsol, then there were several natural passageways existing between the two realms. It must have been normal practice, at one point in history, to simply travel between the two worlds with ease.

  I was distracted from my musings about the water when a cottage became visible down in the basin of a gully below. The path that we were on twisted lazily down the side of a hill, dotted by large cypress trees and smaller ferns. Birdhouses and ponds were also scattered about, and I realised that the trees lining the path were filled with the fluttering of wings and the chattering of birdsong. The sight filled me with mild relief, because Terrance’s birds were why I had decided to go there, after all.

  The God of Bestiary walked out his front door as we reached the front porch, and I gave his cottage a brief examination, appreciating that it wasn’t a marble rectangle like the houses of all the other gods.

  “Willa,” he greeted, his stare running from my head to my feet. “You appear unharmed. That is a surprise.”

  “It shouldn’t be,” I returned. “Did everyone get out of the garden safely?”

  “They did indeed.” He stepped away from the door and motioned for us to follow him inside. “And several of them are impatient to talk to you. Who is this you have brought?”

  I stared at his back as he retreated inside again. He was still only partially clothed, his long, knotted hair falling almost to his hips.

  “This is ... my ... Jakan,” I stumbled over the introduction, quickly making my way inside. “He is Staviti’s brother.”

  “Staviti does not have a brother,” a man countered.

  I stopped walking immediately, realising that several bodies were gathered inside. Four in total … and I didn’t recognise any of them.

  “You are the other Original Gods,” I blurted, looking between them. There were two men and two women, and the man on the far right—the one who had spoken—arched a brow. He was tall, and his robes were plain compared to what I had grown used to. The material was rougher than the long, draped silk of those beside him, and I could see plain brown sandals on his feet beneath the hem. The colour of the robe was a pale yellow, almost cream.

  “What an interesting thing to declare,” he muttered, meeting my eyes. His were a light brown, as was his hair. His features were youthful, and there was an odd kind of brightness that seemed to emanate from him. “Tell me, what gave us away?”

  “I can feel your powers,” I admitted. “It’s like a small current that runs between us. I can only feel that with the Original Gods, Abil’s sons, and Cyrus. I can’t sense it from the gods who have ascended to Topia.”

  The woman on the far left smiled, and my eyes were drawn to focus on her. She had her hands folded behind her back, and the silver of her robes clashed strikingly with her dark features and the ebony tone of her skin.

  “That is because those who ascend are not as close to Topia as we are,” she told me, her smile still in place. “I am Ciune, Goddess of Wisdom. This is Lorda,” she motioned to the woman beside her, “the Goddess of Obsession, and Gable.” She nodded to the man on her right. “God of Vice.”

  “And I am Haven,” the man in the cream robes added. “God of Nature. We gathered here to discuss you, Willa Knight … and now here you are. Which is just as well, as there’s something we must return to you.”

  I waited, passing my attention between them. Almost unconsciously, I took a step backwards, closer to Jakan. His hand landed on my shoulder, a reassuring weight. It suddenly didn’t seem to matter anymore that I was in an enclosed space with five extremely powerful and ancient beings, because I had him there. I had felt
the power of Creation, and I knew its strength. He was a good person to have watching my back.

  “What is it?” I prompted them after a moment.

  Gable moved to the back of the room, and I took the chance to examine him. His colour was olive—a deep, dark green. His eyes were also green, and his hair was pure blond, the strands straight and pulled back from his face. He was handsome, but there was a darkness in his eyes that seemed restless. It didn’t exactly make me uncomfortable, but it was enough that I wanted to be on guard around him. He opened a door to another room and muttered something to a person on the other side, stepping back to allow them entry. I blinked at the familiar face of the server from the garden—though he was almost unrecognisable now. His complexion had lost the waxy pallor and a short, dark fuzz of hair now covered his scalp. He was also dressed in robes of bright, happy yellow.

  “Why thank you,” he exclaimed to Gable, stepping past him. “What a polite way to open a door. What wonderful manners you have. You should be so proud of yourself.”

  He glanced around at the others, beaming at each of them, but his smile faltered when he saw me. For a moment, I thought he would cry, and then he was rushing at me.

  “My Creator!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms out.

  He had moved too fast for me to properly react, but Jakan pulled me back, stepping swiftly in front of me. He held a hand out, and the new god stopped dead in his tracks, swallowing at whatever expression was on Jakan’s face.