by
Marc H. Wyman & Chris Bogues
XXVIII.
Confrontation
Haguen
was screaming and pounding against the walls of his prison.
Alyssa
smiled and prodded the tiny, translucent ball hovering next to her. “You
can’t get out, so don’t waste your strength, my dear,” she told the
god caught within the ball, quite visible through the shimmering walls.
Truth be told, she rather liked the powers she now possessed. Never before
could she have dreamed of doing this to Haguen who had been about her
equal.
Well,
she corrected herself, she had dreamed of this. Of course, should
she have voiced her previous thought, her brother would have been quick to
mention her various and quite varied fantasies about this.
“Shall
we?” Darawk asked and pointed at the dark tower of Decirius ahead of
them.
“Just
a moment, please,” Alyssa said. She looked around, took in the sight of
the vast city – all so very visible to her, every detail, every nook and
cranny, all at the same time. More than she had known before. And there,
there was the city wall, with Haguen’s blockade ensorceled into them.
Her smile intensified, then she waved at the wall and removed the
blockade. “No more boundaries,” she whispered. “Yes, brother of
mine, we shall.”
Darawk
nodded, then opened the door into the chief god’s home. The two of them
entered, the trapped Haguen trailing them inside his jail cell.
Alyssa
frowned when she saw the interior of the tower. It had always seemed so
foreboding, with the mists of darkness covering up the contents, with the
sense of constant change – like the furniture that seemed to change
place every now and then, perhaps all the time.
Now,
though, she perceived the tower as clearly as she did the City. The mists
were no hindrance at all anymore. Right away she saw Decirius, seated
behind his desk, scanning a few sheets of paper before him. The desk was
shrouded within a bank of clouds. She knew that at her old level of power,
she might have spent all day searching for the chief god without ever
finding him.
Now
she turned her face towards him right away. “Decirius, we will have
words with you.”
The
chief god looked up from his desk. His black eyes tightened, his pasty
face appeared to manage a yet whiter shade. He didn’t say anything, as
if secure that the newcomers could not see him.
Darawk
waved his hand. The mist vanished, and there was a clean line of sight
between them and the chief god. “Like my dear sister said,” the God of
Knowledge nodded, “we have to talk.”
“Indeed
we do,” Decirius slowly said and rose from his desk. “Darawk, did I
not warn you about disobeying me? I said that you would be cast out of
this abode.”
Alyssa
sensed her brother’s heartbeat quickening. His voice, though, was calm
when he answered, “Things have changed. We know about your plan.”
“Do
you?”
The
goddess reached out a hand and clasped her brother’s, just for a moment
before she stepped forward, to take over the conversation. “You are
endangering our peace. Casting sapients into the mortal world, turning
them into multiplying animals. For what? To raise your own grandeur?”
She
paused, giving the chief god a chance to answer. He did not take it.
“More
power for you, that’s it, right?” Alyssa shook her head. “Or perhaps
you think it’s just. What is just about bringing us to the brink
of war with other abodes? I nearly killed Lógrims, over a few dwarves and
harsnetts. There is no justice in this, Decirius. You’re failing your
own task.”
The
chief god slowly walked around his desk, towards Alyssa. His face was back
to its normal appearance, unperturbed. “Then do you challenge my
position?” he asked neutrally. “If you believe that you may easily
stir up trouble in your own abode, go ahead. But you need to be aware that
one cannot claim to be a peacemaker if that one does not care for peace
before her own doorstep.”
“Don’t
confound the issue!” Darawk muttered. “Explain yourself! You’re
threatening your own under-gods, you’re willfully endangering our peace.
Face the truth.”
“I
don’t have to,” Decirius shook his head. “I make decisions for the
abode. That is how it always was. There is good reason for this, one that
you no longer remember, yet it stands as firm as before. You will accept
my decisions.”
Alyssa
closed her eyes briefly, then she hurled a gust of wind at Decirius.
She
utterly enjoyed the shock on his face when the chief god found himself
thrown from his feet, carried back until he crashed into his desk. He was
back on his feet momentarily, studying with sudden interest the two
under-gods.
“Explain
yourself,” Alyssa repeated her brother’s words. “It’s about
time.”
Decirius
crooked his head. “You are right,” he nodded. “It is time.”
The
goddess became aware of power coalescing around the chief god.
Automatically she built a shield around herself, signaled Darawk to do the
same. What was Decirius trying to do? Attack them? The sibling gods were
powerful now, powerful enough to –
“It
is time to teach you a lesson,” Decirius continued calmly. “I do not
know where you have obtained this power. For your sakes, I will assume
that you did not steal it from slain deities. It does not matter. You have
challenged me, and I will respond to that challenge.”
He
grew, not only in size, quickly filling out the interminable heights of
his home, but also in strength and force, reaching a potential that Alyssa
had never realized – a magnitude that she had never suspected in the
chief god.
It
made her tremble, despite all the strength that the villagers’ worship
gave her.
“Learn
the lesson well. I will teach it only once.” The gargantuan god raised
one hand, and Alyssa felt herself shrink. Her size diminished, and walls
grew around her, outside her own shield that could not defend against the
outside force. A bubble formed around her, so very much like the
translucent ball in which Haguen was trapped.
“You
are no longer of this abode,” Decirius said in a voice that sounded like
two planets colliding. “Return to the village of which you are so fond.
See what lives you have left. You are still deities, but you no longer
have a home. That is my lesson. It is taught – and executed.”
Alyssa
lost her bearings. She felt herself tumble backwards, her mind and body
seemed torn in every direction at the same time. Everything blurred around
her. The only thing she could perceive was Decirius’ still face, his
black eyes consuming her awareness, his voice, and his determination.
Caltraya
leaped backwards when two shapes appeared before her, two people cringing
in pain. Her eyes widened when she recognized Darawk and Alyssa.
“Help
them,” Olmawi shouted, already by Darawk’s side and lending him a
hand.
Caltraya
swallowed her sudden fear, knelt by Alyssa and carefully grasped her
shoulders. “My lady, what –“
“It’s
over,” the sweet lady answered, slowly raising her head and directing
her beautiful gaze on Caltraya. “We’ve been cast out of the abode. It
isn’t our home anymore.”
The
villager woman didn’t understand. She only knew that Alyssa was hurting.
The goddess who had been so immensely powerful a few hours earlier, now
reduced to a weakened person too much like herself.
Next
to them, Darawk got to his feet, aided by Olmawi. “Thank you, old
man,” he said softly, panting lightly. “Decirius is stronger than we
thought. And more vengeful.”
“He
didn’t see reason?” Olmawi asked.
“He
didn’t even consider it,” Darawk responded drily. Alyssa rested her
head against Caltraya’s bosom. The villager woman slung her arms around
the goddess’ head, wondering what she could do to ease the deity’s
sorrow. The God of Knowledge loosened himself from Olmawi’s hands,
walked a few steps towards the window and gazed outside to the plaza with
the blue flame of worship. “Decirius said we are still gods, but we are
outcasts. The worships powers me still, so it isn’t all over.” He
smiled grimly, turned towards Olmawi. “You were right, after all. We
have joined you on the outside.”
“I
am sorry for that,” the third god said.
“Don’t
be,” Darawk shook his head. “It was our choice, and now we have to see
what we can make of it. There are…” He paused, looked back at the
plaza. “There are always possibilities. We will find them.”
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