CHAPTER 7

Ventas watched the exchange in frozen anger. Unable to move, shout, or protest, he laid there like a slug, it being his only option.

Don’t go through with it yet you idiot! He thought desperately, He’s manipulating you!

He felt like if he screamed it loud enough in his mind that the message might break through. As if it would dissolve from within him, passing through his mental membrane into the physical world where she might pick it up.

But Ventas was not a divine, he wasn’t even an elf capable of wielding power or magic. And so the thoughts remained trapped inside his useless body, much like he was. Completely shut in as he watched Birdie accept the Blessing of Power and become engulfed in light.

Great! Just great! He’s getting everything he wants!

He watched in hateful resentment as the light began to fade around Birdie and Epictus, the ritual coming to completion. In the newfound clarity, Ventas could see the divine laying prone on the grass across from Birdie, his shoulders heaving as he struggled to recover. Before Ventas could comment on the strange sight, the being flickered out and reappeared standing, no sign of his struggle to be found. His white hair tousled perfectly, his silver clothes smooth and adorned with the glittering delicate chains and jewelry. He turned a gleaming eye to Ventas and winked, holding a finger over his lips in a command of silence.

If Ventas could have growled, he would have.

Birdie began to stir, her hand still outstretched where Epictus had dropped it. Her short bright hair was a mess from the wind and her fall, and Ventas could see smudges of dirt on her arm as she pulled it slowly to herself, propping herself up on her hands and knees.

“There we go now Birdie, upsie daisies! You can’t afford to laze around, we have things to do! Well, you two have things to do.”

She brought a knee to her chest, pushing herself up but wavering. Epictus blinked forward, offering her a hand of help, which she accepted without hesitation this time.

Ventas saw the wicked smile curl across the divine’s face as he pulled the girl to her feet, steadying her and brushing bits of dirt and grass from her shoulders.

“There we are! How do you feel?”

She gazed about the clearing wildly, her dark eyes as wide as the sky as she seemed to take in every detail for the first time.

“I- I don’t know…”

“It takes some getting used to, try not to overload your senses.”

“Nothing looks different, but…”

Epictus nodded, summoning from the air Ventas’s silver pendant which he swirled around his finger.

Give that back!

“Not yet, finder’s keepers. And yes Birdie, now that you’ve got a hand in the metaphorical well, you are going to experience reality in a very different way.”

“There is power everywhere,” she said in awe, turning to inspect the trees, and pillars, the flowers. Ventas’s heart skipped a beat as her eyes lingered for a moment on him. But her scrutiny passed, and moved onto the divine himself, who smiled, his teeth a dazzling white.

“You can feel it cant’t you? Oh good! That means our little exchange worked! Not that it wouldn’t, I had full confidence in my abilities.”

“How do I use it?” She asked, flexing her fingers and breathing deep, finally catching her breath.

“Ah yes, I am afraid I do not have time to explain.”

She looked up at him in horror, her mouth wide with fury.

“You can't send me away without telling me how to use it!” she yelled, “I'll be killed in the wilds!”

“Don’t worry! You won’t be making this journey alone. I am sending along a student teacher; someone to keep an eye on you and act as my representative.”

“Student teacher?” Birdie looked up at Epictus’s grinning face in confusion.

“Yes! Finally time for my hillock!”

Ventas felt a jolt of panic at the realization that he was about to be released. For reasons unbeknownst to him, he was less excited at the prospect of being freed, and more nervous at being seen in his useless state.

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She will think I’m pathetic!

Epictus ignored him, stepping aside and once again gesturing to the mound of earth under which Ventas was bound. He began wriggling, frantically sending signals from his mind to his toes to move. But the actions remained confined, and he couldn’t fight back as he watched Epicus wave his hand over the one-way layer of magic that hid him.

The dirt around him dissolved. Clumps of earth and grass tumbled to the ground and twinkled out of existence, until the entire hillock illusion fell away, leaving Ventas laying in clear view on the grass, his internal consciousness recoiling in embarrassment.

“Taa-daa!” Epictus shouted in dramatic glee.

“Wait, isn’t that-”

“The missing Hunter, yes! Isn’t this exciting?”

The wonder on her face slipped into annoyance as she turned to Epictus.

“Hunters are not allowed to interact with the divine. Why is he here?”

“In typical circumstances, yes. It is written in the law of my existence that I am forbidden from taking unprovoked action for or against the Hunters. But luckily for Ventas, there are some specific loopholes and conditions to this law. See, Ventas and I,”

Ventas felt a warm rush as Epictus held a hand over him. Like a flame sparking to life, he suddenly felt the command of his body return.

“We have been friends for a long time.”

He smiled in cruel knowing at Ventas as he pulled himself to his feet, his body feeling achy and stiff all over from nearly twenty four hours of inactivity.

As he straightened up, Ventas glowered at the divine, feeling his chest fill with white hot hate for the being. He opened his mouth to shout, curse, berate him, but he found his tongue unwilling to form his hateful thoughts into words. Instead he just stood there mute.

“A long time?” Birdie looked in angry confusion between the two of them, her hands slowly balling into fists of challenge.

“You’re sending him with me? How am I supposed to learn how to wield power from a Hunter?”

Ventas scowled at her, not appreciating the look of disgust she was giving him, as if he were actually some slug she’d just been charged with keeping in her pocket.

Epictus appeared by Ventas’s side, draping an arm across his hunched shoulders and speaking in tones dripping in melodrama.

“Ventas and I are very close, practically brothers at this point! Because of our close mutual bond, I can send instructions through him. True he cannot use magic, but he has my protection and can work as my mouth piece. So take good care of him! I would be torn to pieces if anything were to happen to him!”

“Get off of me!” Ventas grumbled, going to shrug the divine away but finding him missing, standing instead by the stairs several feet away.

“You tricked me!” Birdie challenged, stomping towards the divine, who shrugged mischievously.

“I told you that I might send someone else along for the trek! You already agreed to the terms so there is nothing you can really do about it.”

Epictus looked over Birdie into Ventas’s eyes and shot him another wink.

“Don’t worry. He will behave himself. I think you’ll find that you two have a lot in common once you get over your horrendous people skills.”

Ventas didn’t bother pointing out their history to the divine. For the past day, the being had taken free range through Ventas’s head and likely knew exactly what situation he was putting them in. All he could do was scowl at the being, who was taking immense joy from the toxic atmosphere he had created in the clearing.

“Now I am afraid it is time for you two to hit the stairs. My little band of Champions could really use your help.”

Birdie wrung her hands and looked, for the first time this evening, a tad helpless.

“Is it Gabriel?” she asked.

“You guessed it! Here.”

he held his hand out, and into it a gleaming silver sword appeared. It matched the make and fashion of the weapons carried by the other Champions.

“You’ll be needing this my dear,” he offered it to Birdie, but she shook her head in distaste.

“No. I’m not killing anyone.”

The divine shrugged, “Suit yourself!”

With a snap of his fingers, the weapon disappeared, and in the same instant, Ventas felt a weight tug at his side. He looked down to see the sword strapped to his hip, the scabbard fused with his drab leather belt as it hid beneath his coat.

“I don’t want it either!” Ventas protested,

“I don’t even know how to use a sword!”

“Then be a good pack mule and carry it for her until she changes her mind,” Epictus said brightly.

“Now go. Once you leave I will hide my shrine, and you will not be able to return until you’ve accomplished your tasks.”

Birdie whipped her head around, the gold in her irises flashing bright with magic.

“You are abandoning your Champions?”

“Not at all! But unless I lay low for a while, your little boyfriend might just hunt me down and finish the job he started. If I die you die my dear. Simple as that.”

Birdie gawked, “He's not my boyfriend! And that wasn’t in the contract! What do you mean, 'if you die i die'?”

“Read between the lines next time dearie, you're good at that. It really is pretty obvious what I mean. Now go on.”

He waved his hand, and the world around Ventas began to swirl and change. Streams of black mixed with the distorted colors from the shrine, until darkness overtook all.

Ventas staggered, trying not to give in to the disorienting nausea, when the voice of Epictus whispered in his ear.

“Remember the task I have given you, and know that I am always watching.”

“Give me back my pendant!” He shouted into the darkness.

The voice laughed in his ear.

“Not until you bring her back.”