by C G Gaudet
“Huh,” Willow says while lowering the staff. “I wasn’t sure that would work.”
Clapping echoes through the space and when we look for the source, weapons in hand, we find Kesarre lounging across the throne. He seems bigger than usual, though he’s still dwarfed by the enormity of the stone seat meant for a giant.
“Very nice teamwork,” he says as the group of us takes a collective sigh of relief. Except for Talie who keeps her sword pointed at the god until Willow convinces her to lower it. “I must admit I was a little worried there in the middle, but you pulled it together in the end. Very good.”
“And why didn’t you help?” I stomp my way over to him and instantly feel like a child having a tantrum when my head doesn’t even reach the top of the platform where the throne sits.
“I’ve told you, my dear, it’s against the rules.”
“That doesn’t stop you from talking inside my head every other moment,” I say.
He skips out of his seat and brushes past me, revealing he really has grown at least a couple of feet since I last saw him.
“Jameson, my boy.” He clasps the man on his shoulder and Jameson bows his head in return. “May I see?”
Jameson instinctually seems to know what the god is talking about and pulls the bottle with the shadow trapped within out of one of the many pockets he has over his body. Kesarre examines the bottle, tapping it once with a finger causing the shadow to slink away as far as possible within the enclosed space.
“Very nice,” he says. “I’m sure you’ll find a good use for this one.” There’s a sick glint in Jameson’s eye that makes me think he’s already got plenty of ideas of what to do with the shadow. “Slick work with the potion. What was in it anyway?”
I gulp at the mention of the liquid I drank. I’m both desperate to know what I put into my body and terrified my knowing will make me furiously ill.
“A tear of a goddess,” he admits a little shyly. “I was going to take it myself, but it seemed a more opportune moment to gift the lady with the ability to gain a level.”
“A tear,” Kesarre says as though it’s the most logical thing. “A shame we couldn’t have a few more of those. Though too many and it might start looking like we’re cheating. Luckily she was close enough to her level that no one should take notice.”
He moves to Willow who is awkwardly standing with her arms stretched out, the book in one hand and the staff in another.
“My dear Willow.” He places a hand on her cheek and she instantly turns a bright shade of pink.
“Wait a minute.” Talie turns to Jameson and places a hand on her hip. “A tear of a goddess? You don’t mean the Tear of Regine? One of our most valued possessions gifted to us by the goddess herself?”
“Willow,” Kesarre continues loudly as though that might distract the knight from the truth.
I’d feel bad about drinking her precious item if I wasn’t already feeling both disgusted and relieved at having done so. I wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t taken the potion, I’m sure of that.
“I’m so proud of you for figuring out the staff so quickly,” he says. “You really are the star of the day.”
I cross my arms and feel a pout form on my lips despite my best effort. It shouldn’t bother me she’s getting praise. She did save my life. All our lives if I’m being honest. Still, I feel like I should be getting at least a pat on the back for my part in the whole thing.
‘Don’t worry, love,’ Kesarre’s warm voice fills my mind, ‘You’re still my favorite.’ Phantom lips brush against my forehead that leaves my entire body tingling with a strange energy and wipe away any feelings of upset. ‘Just don’t tell the others.’
‘I bet you say that to all of your champions.’
He laughs in my mind, which, I might point out, is not denial.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alliance
“Might I show you a trick with your new toys,” Kesarre says to Willow while holding out his hands for the book and staff.
She passes them over without hesitation, making him smile widely.
“The lady Talie was correct when she claimed there is power within this book.” The cover flips open without Kesarre lifting a finger to do so, and the pages flip past until he finds the one he’s looking for. Leaning down he shows the page to Willow, and I catch a glimpse of an illustration of the staff he’s holding in his other hand. “For the weak willed, it can cause an obsession with gathering the items within the pages, driving them into madness when their obsession proves to be an impossible task.” He places the staff on top of the illustration and in a flash of light, it turns to liquid and seeps into the page of the book like ink on a pen. “For those with the will, it becomes a vessel of extreme power.”
Willow gasps at the magic and moves to grab the book, only stopping herself an instant before ripping it from his hands. She stops and looks to him, waiting for permission. He smiles again and nods.
Taking the book, she hesitantly places a hand over the illustration. Another flash of light and the staff is once again in her grasp.
“This is amazing.” She returns the staff to its page with a smile so wide it must be hurting her face. Her eyes turn greedy as they land on me. “Jenny, give me your scythe.”
It shifts back into a pillow as I clutch it to my chest. “Not a chance,” I tell her.
Kesarre laughs and places a hand on Willow’s shoulder. Her glare falls off me to turn an admiring look at Kesarre.
“Well,” Talie says stiffly. “I’m happy you have found use in some of the goddess’ items. She would be pleased to give them to each of you, I’m sure. But we really should leave this place before we’re met with any more surprises.”
Kesarre turns to the knight with raised eyebrows. “It seems you don’t quite understand what’s occurred here, so let me explain. These catacombs were one of the grounds of Latherty, god of the underworld. Only by clearing the space of his influence am I, the deity of balance, able to walk on this land.”
He says his title much too grandly with his arms spread out like an actor, just as when I met him, though somehow it doesn’t seem as ridiculous with him being so tall now. I know he’s a god, but seeing him now, I can almost believe it to be true.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of claiming this dump as your own,” I grumble.
“No!” He sputters out the word a bit too forcefully. “Of course not. I mean, I maybe, but… Why? Don’t you like it?”
“You have to be kidding.”
I turn to take in the rotting furniture, moss, mold, and scattered bodies in hopes Kesarre will do the same and realize how foolish he’s being. It’s then I notice Jameson has strolled over to the throne and is rooting through a rotting chest sitting next to it. He notices me staring and waves, a handful of jewels in his hand as he does.
“Or maybe we can stay for a little while,” I say.
“I’m afraid you’re not the only one with a claim to these lands.”
An unfamiliar voice fills the room like a choir, reverberating off the walls in a perfect harmony despite it only being one person talking. I spin to find a woman as tall as the giant sleeping next to Kesarre. She shrinks before my eyes until she stands merely a few inches above him.
“Brother.” She holds out a hand to him, which he kisses while wearing a sardonic smile. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Its always a pleasure to see me, Regine,” he responds. “What are you doing here?”
The woman smiles kindly at Kesarre, though there’s a sadness in her eyes as though she feels pity toward him. There’s something about the look that makes me instantly hate her and want to move to protect Kesarre, though the reasonable part of me knows how stupid I’m being. She’s a goddess, and I’m much too short to block her view of anything.
“You seem to have forgotten that while your champions did a wonderful job clearing out the darkness that overwhelmed this place,” she says, “they did not do so alone. My dear chi
ld, Talie helped them considerably, and therefore, I have as much of a claim to this land as you do.”
Talie stares at her goddess with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. It was almost as though she was seeing her for the first time, as ridiculous as that sounds.
‘Not so ridiculous,” Kesarre corrects me. ‘Not all champions are as lucky as you to have been blessed by their deity directly. Many never meet their deity at all and are chosen for their work by other champions or by an inner drive they cannot explain.’
‘I wouldn’t consider myself lucky,’ I tell him.
I catch an edge of a smile and a twitch of his eye in my direction to let me know he’s not offended, though I suppose he should be. It’s becoming clear to me he really is what he claims. After all, I have no trouble believing the gorgeous woman who fills the room with her presence and feeling of love is a goddess, so why do I believe I can treat him with anything less than utmost respect.
I banish the thought as soon as I have it, afraid he might get ideas, and walk over to help Jameson empty out the giant king’s treasury.
“Being as my cathedral sits above this land,” the goddess continues, “and most of the people buried in these catacombs were once followers of mine, it seems only right for this space to fall under my jurisdiction.”
“Even the giant king?” I ask before my brain tells me to keep the deities attention off me.
She turns to stare at me with a necklace of pearls wrapped around my neck several times to keep it from dragging on the ground. A gold loop that might have been meant as a ring to the giant hangs loosely around my wrist.
“This room was buried by time and neglect in a different part of the world,” the goddess admits. “Latherty brought it here as part of these catacombs for reasons I will never understand.”
“He’s never been a particularly logical guy,” Kesarre nods. “I can’t imagine how much power he must have wasted moving around rooms which he could have used for better decorating.”
“It’s agreed then,” Regine says, focusing on Kesarre once more. “This land will be mine. Your group may of course take whatever items they find to be of use, as is their right. The staff itself should bring you more power than a bit of land like this could ever offer you.”
Kesarre appears to consider for a moment, turning his back on the goddess to look around the space. I make a face at him in case he’s not reading my mind currently to understand that I’m not spending another second down in this damp pit of despair whether it’s his land or not. He winks, though I can’t be sure if that means he understands or if he’s just taunting me.
“I suppose that sounds like an even enough deal,” Kesarre eventually says. “You may keep this land while my champions take their reward.”
The goddess smiles warmly, filling me with a sense of joy I desperately attempt to push out of my chest. She has no right making me feel anything with a single smile. I’m not her puppet.
“Excellent.”
She holds out her hand and just as Kesarre reaches out to take it, I see the glint in his eye that causes me to relax into my own grin. He’s up to something and I fully approve of whatever mischief it might be.
“Though, if you think about it,” he says with his hand firmly gripped on the goddess but keeping his hand still to prevent the agreeing shake from occurring, “I had three champions involved in this endeavour while you only provided one. So logically, it makes sense if I received a touch more in this deal than you. Especially given that you are supposedly the goddess of generosity.”
Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t release his hand or show any signs of anger. “What more do you ask of me, brother?”
“A simple request, really,” he says. “We’re in need of a white knight, and here you have a decent one that already has proven to work well with my champions.”
All eyes turn to Talie as the blood appears to drain from her already shocked expression.
“She’s a loyal follower of mine,” Regine’s voice rings out a hint of a warning. “If you’re asking me to break the bond between us – ”
“Of course not,” Kesarre interrupts. “I wouldn’t dream of breaking your connection. She is and always will be your champion. I simply ask that you let us borrow her for a bit.” His eyebrows raise innocently as he looks at Talie. “Assuming, of course, she’s willing to travel with us for a time.”
Willow grabs Talie’s hand with both of her own, tucking her book under her elbow to do so. “Please come with us. It would be so much fun, and it would give me a chance to repay you for saving my life.”
Talie’s shock melts as she focuses on Willow’s face. A relaxed smile takes over, which we all accept as her answer, though she never manages to speak so much as a word in the goddess’ presence.
“Very well,” Regine agrees as the handshake is finally completed. “She may travel with you as long as she desires. But remember, dear.” Regine leans over to be eye level with Talie, turning the knight pale with awe once more. “If you ever find you’re needing my strength, all you must do is call me and I’ll do my best to come to you.”
Talie opens her mouth as though to respond, but nothing comes out. The goddess takes this as answer enough and turns back to Kesarre.
“What do you have planned, brother?” she asks. “This game has had greater consequence to you than it has most.”
I watch Kesarre’s face, wishing for the first time I could look inside his mind as easily as he does mine. Was her comment a simple insult, or was there more to her words than I was able to understand? She didn’t seem to intend it to be cruel, but what do I know about reading gods’ expressions?
He moves over to use my head as an arm rest, and I stop wishing to know anything more about him. Demi-god, titan, or peasant. I don’t care what happens to him.
“I don’t have any plans that might put excessive risk to your knight, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Kesarre’s arm has a weight to it I can’t escape. All I can do is stand there and be miserable as he chats away. Shame my scythe can’t hurt him. I wonder if he’d even notice if I punched him in the ribs.
“My dear Talie is quite capable of looking after herself,” Regine replies with just a hint of frustration, as though she realizes in the middle of her sentence that he’s avoiding her question. She tilts her head in a small bow that seems out of place from their ranks. “Keep your secrets then, brother. I will leave you to your game and wish you luck.”
She turns to smile once more at Talie, who looks about ready to faint if it wasn’t for Willow’s grip on her.
“Oh, and Kesarre,” she says over her shoulder. “Don’t get my knight killed.”
With a flash of light that leaves the room feeling warm and smelling of honey, she disappears as quickly as she arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Shopping Trip!
“Now that’s over,” Kesarre clasps his hands together, “who’s up for a bit of shopping?”
It’s hard not to get excited by the idea, especially when I’m draped in items I can easily sell off for some proper coin. I could likely buy a house with my own garden and maybe a guard dog to keep intruders out with the bracelet alone. I could have a bed. A real bed with proper shape and weight distribution and lifted off the floor to deter rats and bugs from nibbling on me throughout the night. I squeeze my pillow, already half asleep from the wonderous image in my mind.
“Will we go back to the bazaar?” Jameson asks. “I wouldn’t mind taking a little time to restock my potions from my house.”
“Why use such ordinary ingredients?” Kesarre gestures to the chest still stacked with treasure even after Jameson and I both stuffed our pockets. “You have the chance to purchase a nearly endless supply of unique items to create concoctions you couldn’t even imagine before.” He turns to Willow to add, “Forget the limited books you’ve seen in your village, imagine other tomes as magical as the one you hold. With your new ability to use magical items, you can
find all sorts of trinkets and books to do all kinds of fun tricks.”
He turns to Talie and clearly looks unsure how he’s going to convince her to go on a shopping spree when she has everything she could ever want waiting for her upstairs.
“I’m happy to help Willow look for magical items,” she says. “And perhaps I’ll find some new armor to replace what broke in the fights down here.”
Satisfied, he turns to me.
‘Don’t bother,’ I tell him through our mind connection. ‘It doesn’t matter what you say, I know you’ve already decided to take us somewhere particular. Don’t suppose you want to share your real reason for sending us there?’
He winks and turns back to the others. “Well then.” The walls melt away, leaving us standing in the middle of an extremely busy street with a chest the size of a wagon full of old jewels and coins sitting wide open next to us for all to see.
“Kesarre, this isn’t exactly…” I spin around to try to find him, thinking he might have walked off in triumph the moment he teleported us here, but he’s nowhere in sight. ‘Kesarre?’ I try in my mind to reach him but hear only my own thoughts of frustration. “Well, this is just great.”
I hurry over and slam the lid closed on the chest before any of the greedy eyes become sticky fingers.
“What are we going to do?” I ask, but the others are barely paying attention. They’re openly gawking at our surroundings as though they’ve never been in a city before.
I allow myself to glance away from the treasure and see what they’re so worked up about. A giant almost as tall as the skeleton we fought not an hour before steps over our group with a grunt. He keeps walking as though we’re nothing more than a few ants in his path and heads toward an enormous building I assume is a city hall or something of equal importance. When the door opens, it reveals to be a simple tavern, though everything inside, including the other patrons, are all giant. The door slams shut, breaking my stare and bringing me back to our surroundings.