The god in white satin let Sparrow’s hand fall to the side of the cloud, ‘There… all better.’

A single breath reanimated Sparrow’s entire body. His eyes fluttered open and he found he was in a sort of medical heaven.

Around him hundreds of gods - some with feathers, others with scales lay on clouds resting, sipping ambrosia, or talking with one of the hundreds of silken demigods that attended them.

The god who’d just finished healing Sparrow gave him a smile that seemed to warm him from the inside out, ‘Quite the commotion out there isn’t it?’

Sparrow nodded.

‘Oh yeah!’ Piggy shouted, ruining the quiet ambience of the hospital, he gave Sparrow a massive hug, ‘It’s good to see you, buddy.’

‘We’re, we’re….’ Sparrow started.

‘We’re in the house of the God of Healing and let me tell you buddy, they have the BEST ambrosia… this one’s got manuka honey and goats milk and every spoonful is like liquid sunrise and…’

‘I missed you too buddy.’ Sparrow said, patting his friend on the back, ‘Rhino-xi?’

‘I’m here Sparrow.’

‘How does it look out there.’

‘It looks like the gods are getting their lifeforce beat out of them. I mean, how many spare beds do you have in here Aruthma?’

‘None, we ran out hours ago,’ the god of healing said, ‘We’ve got gods lying on chairs, or the floor, even in the baths until we can see them.’

She walked to the bed beside Sparrow where a single toe lay. She placed a single finger on the toe and in moments it became a foot, then a leg, then a body with a head.

‘Cheers doc!’ A grinning red-haired woman said, getting off the bed, ‘See you in about half an hour when I get my head chopped off by the horde.’

‘See you then Crissy.’ the God of Healing said.

Sparrow got off his cloud-bed and stared around, all most gods in the hospital were simply a limb, a piece of nose, one was even a pair of earlobes.

‘Now you’re a god you don’t die.’ The God of Healing told Sparrow, ‘At least… as long as you have followers who still believe in you.’

‘So why haven’t the gods stopped the horde on earth? Why allow the horde to keep killing as they have been?’

The God of Healing bit the inside of her lip, ‘There are certain gods who rather like and benefit from the killing.’

Sparrow sighed, ‘Would you help me fight them? I came here to try to get their creator to take responsibility…. But you can see how that turned out. Maybe if we could rally a few gods we could-’

‘I’m sorry Sparrow - I can heal all I want, but I cannot kill - that is just my nature - across the road is a brute who might just be able to help you. You came to the wrong god Sparrow.’

At that moment a sword sliced through the marble wall of the god’s palace.

Marble blocks tipped patients from their chairs, crushed demigods, and caused one silken healer to cry out in pain.

‘Ahh, AHHHH, MY LEGS. MY LEGS! MY-’

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The screaming was cut off as the sword which dripped with golden blood pierced the demigod’s chest.

The God of Healing cast out her palm, healing the point where the sword had entered.

‘How dare you! In my house too!’ she shouted at the large, armoured god with a necklace of mini-swords around his neck. The god gave a belly-laugh and thrust his sword back into the squashed healer’s chest over and over again, nearly killing the assistant every time her god revived her.

Rhino-Xi walked up to the massive God, climbed onto the boulder that crushed the healer and then slapped the massive God across the face.

The room fell silent. So silent you could hear the healer still trapped under the marbled block crying, ‘My leg! My leg!’

‘Boy! Noone slaps the God of War!’ The massive God yelled.

Rhino-xi shook his hand which felt like it had just slapped a boulder, then gritted his teeth and slapped the God across the other side of his face.

‘You weak, puny…’ Rhino-Xi began, but didn’t have enough time to finish.

A fist The size and shape of a lion seized his head and began to squeeze. Rhino-xi panted and groaned and…

‘Let him go.’

Sparrow’s arm was wrapped underneath the God of War’s jaw. A short scalpel was pressed against the god’s throat already it drew blood.

‘Not fighting in here!’ The God of Healing said.

‘Too late,’ Sparrow said, ‘he started it.’

The God of War let Rhino-Xi drop to the floor, ‘So… it is the God of the Vagrants… pressing a blade against my throat. Have you not yet learnt that we cannot be killed, boy?’

‘I know that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t feel pain.’

‘Oh, I feel pain, I love it. I crave it. Pain fuels me, Sparrow.’

Sparrow pressed the blade deeper and the god only chuckled.

He ripped Sparrow from his back and threw him to the ground in front of him.

Sparrow’s back hit the marble and cracked sending ripples of heat and needles down his spine.

‘Aren’t you worried?’ Piggy said, standing on a cloud-bed that also contained part of a femur, ‘The horde is too powerful. Sure they might not kill all the gods, but if they kill all of us stupid humans then you’ll be left with noone to believe and devote themselves to you then the horde will come and kill you - properly this time.’

The God of War pointed outside, ‘This… this is good for me.’

‘Your worshippers are being slaughtered.’

‘Are they?’ He drew his sword, ‘I’ve reached a unique position as a god - yes there are people who will sacrifice lambs to me, or whatever. But my bones are kept strong, my sword kept sharp by the blood that spills in battle.’

He held his sword above Sparrow, sizing him up.

‘I’m not sure you understand just how powerful the horde is,’ Piggy said, ‘They’re not just going to destroy a few countries. They’re going to destroy everything.’

‘And I will grow in power with each that falls.’

‘But when this earth is ransacked. When not a single living thing moves on its surface, what then? The horde is so good at war, so good at winning it that they’re going to end war below forever.’

The god’s face changed. His upper lip stuck out, the smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. Even the sword seemed to wobble in his hands.

‘No more war?’

‘On our planet anyway.’

His tongue slid across his lips, ‘Hmm… even though I love their work, and their unrelenting ability to kill… I had thought about what it would take to bring the Horde down and I know in my heart that I couldn’t do it… not with my current abilities anyway. I’d kill hundreds, perhaps even thousands but eventually they’d get me. I wouldn’t die, but my healing time would be so slow they’d be able to keep me a chopped up mess while they expanded and conquered. Even if I were to help you it would still not be enough.’

Sparrow scrambled to his feet, his back still ached from the hit he’d taken but… he had an idea.

‘So healing’s your weakness?’

‘I have no weakness. It's just how I would defeat me if I were them.’

Sparrow smiled and turned to the God of Healing, ‘I guess I came to the right place after all.’

The God of Healing shook her head, ‘No! Him and I fighting together? It’d never work. We’re opposites. He destroys, I heal.’

‘And opposites coming together are the most powerful thing in the world.’ Sparrow said, ‘Join us. Please.’

‘I don’t kill. I never want to kill.’

‘You won’t have to,’ the God of War said, ‘That’s my job. All you have to do is keep me upright. Keep me fighting.’

The God of Healing sighed, ‘Okay. I will heal those here, then we go to battle.’

****