Aria stared at the potions as they rested on her dressing table. From her prone position, each one looked tinier than a fingertip. She could take them. She would fall in love with Achi, presumably. They could marry, live in this palace, run the world. Perhaps they would have children. She laughed at herself. More likely, it would fail because the potion did not work on ghosts.

She rolled out of bed and onto her feet. The potions were a backup plan. There was no need to consider them yet.

She shook her head and climbed out of bed. Outside, she completed her daily survey of her surroundings. There were still no visible cracks in the surface, something that filled her with hope. Perhaps Achi had made this realm more resilient. But it filled her with fear as well. To be trapped alone, forever, in a large world while everyone else died? He would not have given her such a gift.

Technically he only gave you about eighty years of energy.

Instinctively, she felt for the rings she was wearing. She had barely depleted them and they stored significantly more than eighty years of energy. Either someone found a way to save the world or she could be left with no choices but suicide or slow madness.

After her survey, she stopped at a gazebo and retrieved her books. Alogun was working on a plan and he was more intelligent than she was and just as motivated. He would find something. She let herself focus on her own duty: learning.

She picked up the first book in her new collection: How to make a God. It proved to be poorly named. Dull Recitation of the Histories of Various Deities would have been a better title. She learned facts from it, but slowly and painfully.

“Aria?”

Aria jumped. The voice had seemed to come from right beside her, but there was no one around.

She rose to her feet and allowed the book to fall onto her chair.

“Aria?” The voice came again. “My name is Lorik. I bring a message from Alogun, The Deep Mountain, God of Knowledge and Unending Sight.”

It was a tragedy, Aria thought, that she was too startled to appreciate the humor in that title.

“Where are you?” She asked.

“I am currently with The Deep Mountain. I can speak to you without being in your vicinity.”

And, apparently, he could hear her as well.

“What does Alogun want?” She asked. A pit was forming in her stomach. He had called for Aria, and she had answered.

“I want to congratulate you,” Alogun’s voice said. “You fooled me for four full days. That is a feat greater than anyone has ever achieved.”

Aria took a breath to steady herself. She was safe; she was hidden.

“I suppose there’s no point in denying it,” she said. “What gave me away?”

“Your mannerisms,” Alogun said. “And once I was no longer distracted, it seemed obvious that your only ability is teleportation. That is atypical for deities, but standard in ghosts.”

Aria bit her lip in frustration and worry.

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“I can find you, wherever you are hidden,” he said.

“I wish you luck, then. I am very well hidden.”

“But I don’t want to waste time,” he said. A grunt followed, then Alogun’s voice again. “Speak to your daughter.”

Aria froze. Another grunt sounded, then another, and then another.

“Father?” She asked, even though she knew.

“Aria,” her father’s voice came through clearly, as if he was right beside her, “don’t do anything they want.”

There was the sound of a blow, and another grunt.

“Garo is doing the honors,” Alogun said, “and very enthusiastically. I suspect he is still smarting from your humiliation.”

Aria applauded. Her terror was receding, her heartbeat was growing steadier. The situation was familiar, manageable, something she had trained for her whole life. A hostage situation, a negotiation, the threat of violence. It was so comforting, she had to fight a smile.

“How did you find them?” She asked.

“My title is not made of empty words,” Alogun said.

“Then why have you not found me?”

Silence followed that, punctuated only by blows and grunts.

Aria frowned. “Did you not find my mother? Or did she already kill herself?”

“She’s here,” Alogun said. He sounded confused now and that amused Aria.

“You’re wondering why I am not more concerned?” She returned to her seat, making sure to remove the book from it first and gripped the parts of the chair beside her.

“Papa -” She said. “I forgot. How many times did you cane me because I saved a friend rather than complete a mission?”

“More than enough, I hope,” his breathing was heavy.

“After all that effort, it would be a shame if I disregard your training, would it not?”

“I would never forgive you,” he said. “I’d threaten to cut your throat, but that works less often now that you’re an adult.”

This time, Aria failed to suppress a smile. “So brave. But don’t worry, they’ll release you.”

“And why do you say that?” Alogun asked.

“Because I’m going to count to sixty in my mind,” Aria said. “And while I’m doing that, you’re going to choose. You can return my parents to their hiding place and negotiate in a more intelligent manner or I can kill myself. Then, you can torture them for as long as it takes the world to fall apart.”

The response was a loud blow and an even louder grunt from her father.

“This is ironic,” Aria said. “Do you know how much they love you, Garo? You have your two most loyal followers right there, and you’re embarassing yourself. I won’t break.”

“We won’t fall for this,” Alogun said.

“That is fine,” Aria said. “I’ve reached sixteen.”

She continued counting silently, resolve growing with every count. Fear tried to rear its head, but she mastered it. Like the moment she touched her spear before a battle, she was committed.

“Stop this.” Chalik said. “Truly, you are all insane.”

There was a pause in the grunts.

“Aria,” Chalik said, “allow me to be frank with you. We need you. With your assistance, we can revive Achi, restore the world, and avoid Tivelo’s wrath but without you, our only choice is death. Between death and happy survival, we’ve chosen survival. Those two idiots cannot fathom obtaining your help without threats, but I am willing to make a fair deal with you. I typically employ Proiva for these things. You might not know her, but every deity you can ask will vouch for her. We use her to make binding agreements that no one can break.”

Aria considered that carefully. “And what will I be required to agree to?”

“We will help you revive Achi, and you will talk him into making his father pardon us,” Chalik said. “Everyone wins.”

Aria frowned. “If that is so sensible, you could have presented it before kidnapping my parents.”

“True,” Chalik said. “But, as you can imagine, the others wanted a backup plan.”

Aria fell silent as she made exhaustive mental calculations. She could not trust them; she knew that. But she did not believe they would free her parents without an agreement and she did not wish to sacrifice them unnecessarily.

“This is what we will do,” she said. “Any negotiations will require you to first release my parents. I will take thirty minutes to consider your proposal. After that, if they are secure, I might be willing to work with you.”

“No -” Garo said.

“That is fine,” Chalik said. “We will speak to you in thirty minutes. You may break the connection, Lorik.”