Jian felt hands lifting her from the cold.
Wet powder clung to her cheek.
She felt the rough grain of poorly sanded wood.
The floor rocked beneath her.
She opened her eyes.
A forest, coated white. A face, young and curious. A wooden wagon, no ceiling.
Above it all, blue sky.
She sighed.
She was so damn hungry.
***
Jian groaned and opened her eyes. Where was she? She didn’t recognize the ceiling.
“Oh, hey! You’re finally awake.”
Jian jolted into action. She melted into the shadow beneath her blanket and fell through the bed. She emerged in the shadow the frame cast, pressed against polished wood.
“Oh my! Madam Hero?” She saw the woman stand up from the chair beside her bed, the hem of her dress swirling around her ankles as she took a couple hesitant steps. “Where did you go?”
Jian took a deep breath. Perhaps she had overreacted. She could feel the woman’s qi and, while something about it felt odd, it was far too weak to threaten her. Not anymore. Besides, this woman had already had an opportunity to try to do her harm, and she hadn’t taken it.
She sank back into the shadow beneath the bed and rose behind the woman.
“Sorry about that.” Jian said. She was starting to be very glad she didn’t have a heartbeat, or she was sure her embarrassment would be showing on her face. As it was, she was aiming for ‘mysterious’.
The woman squeaked cutely and spun around, almost tripping over her own dress in the process, and Jian received a surprise.
She had feathers.
They poked out of her hair in several places, clearly growing from her head rather than being woven in. They were a gorgeous dappled brown, with a mix of both soft downy feathers and a few standout blades that poked down alongside a ponytail pulled in front of her shoulder.
For a moment, Jian tensed again, ready to fight or flee, but she forced herself to relax. Despite the physical changes, the woman clearly wasn’t an Immortal, her soul felt far too weak for that. The feathers had to have another explanation.
“Please don’t do that, madam Hero. My heart can’t take surprises.”
For a moment Jian just stared at her. She could smell the small jolt of fear the woman had felt, could feel it in the way her soul flickered. It triggered something in her, and she was struck by the memory of rich vellum and the sweet taste of a soul across her tongue. She breathed it in deeply. She was so hungry. There was nobody else around. She could eat this soul and be gone before anyone noticed. It wouldn’t even-
The smell of fear faded as the young woman’s surprise was replaced by a hesitant smile.
Jian’s thoughts ground to a halt. What was she thinking? She wasn’t a monster. She may be the Immortal of Hunger now, but she would control it, not be ruled by it.
Jian licked her lips and matched the woman’s smile.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you, I just wasn’t expecting to wake up with company.”
“Oh! Please don’t feel bad, I understand. We’re all a little on edge, and you must have had an awful time to be out in the snow like that! Here, I have-” She turned and looked around, jittery, before reaching down and picking up a plate by the side of the bed.
“Aha! Apples! Our host was kind enough to open his pantries to us, which has really been a tremendous help. We had no idea there was such a big town out here!. It really saved us. I’m not sure we would’ve been able to split our travel rations much further and- oh, I’m rambling. I’m so sorry. Please, have one. Have two!”
Jian laughed.
She picked up a slice of apple and held it up to the oddly white light coming from the ceiling fixture.
“Is this a rabbit?”
“Oh! I’m so sorry. My daughter loves when I cut them that way, so I must’ve done it by habit. That’s embarrassing.”
She had a daughter? Damn, she looked barely older than Jian did.
“Please, don’t worry about it.” Jian said, sliding the slice of fruit into her mouth. “It just shows you’re an artist.”
She bit down and-
Oh.
There was no taste.
Jian deliberately didn’t react. She kept her breath even. She didn’t freak out.
She wasn’t sure if she had destroyed her sense of taste, or if mortal food simply couldn’t compare to the divinity of a soul, but it didn’t matter. She could live with this. She had to live with this. There was no point in worrying about it.
“Delicious.” She lied. “Perhaps a little gamey for me? I’m not too used to the taste of rabbit meat.”
The young woman chuckled behind her hand. Jian smiled, this was going well, but it was time to start gathering information.
She ran her hands down the side of the dress she was wearing. Her shadow-woven clothing had been replaced by something nearly identical to what the young woman was wearing, loose and exposing her shoulders. The hole in her chest was clearly visible behind the low folded neckline, so there was no hiding that.
“I am sorry though.” She continued. “I feel like we skipped a few steps in my confusion. Please, call me Jian. I think I owe you some thanks, but I’m not quite sure where we are or how we got here.”
“Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Alceste. My daughter found you collapsed by the side of the road. She’ll be dying to meet you. We might have even missed you if it wasn’t for her sharp eyes. She does us so proud, always looking to help. I believe Hero Erichthonius told us the name of the town is Hephaestia? I’ve always been terrible with names, and it wasn’t on any of our maps, but I think that was right. Oh you just have to meet the Hero, he’s been nothing but a gentleman to open his home to us.”
Jian listened to the warm stream of consciousness with one ear while she prodded her soul with the other. Her reserves of qi were lower than they should be. It felt like half of everything she was regenerating was being pulled into the hole in her chest. That was inconvenient, but maybe it wouldn’t be a problem. It was still far more power than she’d ever held in her life.
“Hero?” She asked. Hadn’t Alceste called her that earlier as well? She didn’t remember doing anything particularly heroic. It did tickle her memory though. “Does that mean we’re in Seirei?”
“Oh, yes! I didn’t realize you didn’t know. Well, I mean we did figure you were probably a foreigner, but we didn’t want to assume and be rude, you know? None of us had ever met a Hero until we found you, we all felt quite out of our depth. All the more reason for you to meet our host, I’m sure he’ll surely be much better informed than we are.”
Did they really call every Immortal a Hero in Seirei? That felt needlessly arrogant. Weren’t they also slaves to their patron gods, or some such nonsense? Jian didn’t really have any idea, she’d never paid much attention to foreigners beyond the stories of Conquest’s Folly.
Now, did she want to meet another Immortal so soon? Honestly no, she’d be much more comfortable surrounded by weaklings and children that couldn’t threaten her. However, she wasn’t sure she had much of a choice. Running would look suspicious, and the man had presumably not tried to kill her yet.
“Thank you, Alceste. I-”
A knock on the door cut her off and Jian flinched. Her hand jerked behind her back and into her shadow, fingers closing around the hilt of her sword. She narrowed her eyes on the door, focusing on the new colors of light she could see. Two blurs stood behind it, one much smaller than the other. Their qi was faint, weak.
She exhaled, letting her gaze snap back into a more comfortable spectrum and letting go of her sword. She needed to stop being so jumpy.
“Alceste? Is she awake?”
A man slightly older looking than Alceste opened the door. Jian was barely surprised to see long rabbit ears folded back against his head. Behind him was a small girl, no older than nine or ten, her owlish eyes peeking out from behind his knee. Her hair was an adorable mess of hair and downy brown feathers.
Did everyone have animal features in this country? Would it be rude to ask?
“Honey! Come in, come in. Striga, come meet Hero Jian. She doesn’t bite.”
That was objectively not true, but Jian didn’t correct her. She could control herself. She wasn’t going to bite the child, at least, and probably not Alceste either, now that she knew a husband was still in the picture. Oh well.
Apparently, permission was all the child was waiting for, because young Striga immediately jumped out from behind her father and dashed at Jian. She leapt and grabbed the front of Jian’s dress, swinging from it and making Jian grab the neckline to prevent it from slipping down.
“Hero Hero Hero!” She squealed. “What kind of Hero are you? Your fingers are spooky. Why don’t you look like any of the animals I know? What god chose you? I know all the gods cause daddy taught me cause he’s very smart and he said I’m very smart so I should be able to remember them all and I do. I know all of them, like Hera and Apollo and Artemis and Oceanus and Atlas and Prometheus and-”
Jian laughed. The word vomit was far too similar to her mother.
“Sorry kid, I’m from Ao’xian. We don’t get chosen by gods over there, we make our own.”
The kid looked at her suspiciously. “I don’t see how that could work. Are you sure you’re not just dumb?”
Jian laughed. “I suppose, if it makes you feel better, you could say we’re chosen by Gaia Below. She’s sleeping right now, but her power still bubbles up when she breathes. If you’re very lucky, you can grab one of those bubbles and eat it.” She gnashed her teeth, smiling to reveal her extended canines. “And then you’re basically like a really really tiny god already.”
The girl’s eyes glimmered. “I want one! Daddy, get me a bubble!”
“I’m so sorry.” He said, picking Striga up and seating her on his arm. “She’s a little too excitable.”
“Daddy! I’m not excitable! I’m smart!”
“It’s very impressive to be more than one thing.” Jian said, nodding.
“Daddy! You were right, I’m excitable.”
He sighed and gave her a weak smile, extending his free hand. “I’m Nikkos. Thank you for humoring her.”
“It’s no problem.” Jian said, shaking his hand. “Children are sweet.”
“That’s a third thing I am!” Yelled Striga.
“That’s right.” Alceste said, grabbing her daughter’s cheek. “But if you keep talking, you’ll end up being a secret fourth thing. Nobody wants to be the secret fourth thing.”
The child gasped and shut her mouth.
Jian smiled before turning back to Alceste. “If it isn’t too rude to ask, I’ve never actually met anyone with, um, feathers? If I’m putting my foot in my mouth, please ignore me.”
“Oh! Not at all! I forget how things are in the other nations sometimes.”
“Mommy’s a citizen!”
“That’s right, sweetheart. I’m only a 10th Tier Citizen though, the lowest you can really be, but I’m still thankful every day for the Sky Spirit that Chose me to be their home. My Citizenship has helped us immensely. Even if, in the end, it wasn’t-”
“It’s alright, honey.” Nikkos said, putting his free arm around Alceste and pulling Striga close enough to pat her mother’s cheek.
It took Jian a second to remember that foreigners considered “lower” to mean “worse”. It was likely since they were used to their Titan living so high above them, but it still sounded odd to her. Odder still was that, despite being the weakest step among Citizens, Alceste was still stronger than any Lithic Realm cultivator she’d met. She could probably pick up the bed next to them with one hand, maybe even with someone in it.
Still, Jian didn’t particularly want to pry on whatever drama the family had faced.
“So, being chosen by a Sky Spirit is what led to the feathers?” She asked.
“Oh, yes. Since the spirit preferred the form of a bird, I inherited some of its physical characteristics.”
“Me too!” Striga added, as her mother patted her head.
“And Nikkos?”
“My grandfather was a Citizen. The spirit that chose him-”
“-preferred being a rabbit?”
He coughed. “A hare, but yes.”
Alceste laughed, moving her hand from Striga’s head to her husbands to ruffle his hair and ears. “He always says that, but he reminds me of a bunny, personally.”
“Allie, please?”
“Alright, alright. I’ll stop.”
Jian turned just before the door knocked. She didn’t reach for her sword this time, but only because she had been preparing to catch herself. She almost reached for it anyway.
The person behind the door did not feel human.
They had qi, and it flowed through their body, but something about it was wrong. Too angular. Was their soul too small for the amount of qi in their bodies? She couldn’t tell without touching them.
The door swung open to reveal someone standing in the doorway.
They looked completely normal. Their clothing was slightly different from what the family wore, a single blockier layer rather than their more wrapped and asymmetric affair. A servant perhaps?
“Master Erichthonius would like to invite his guests to dine with him.”
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Alceste beamed. “Lavinda, thank you! We’d love to.”
“Will the Foreign Hero be joining us?”
“Oh, of course she will!” Alceste turned to Jian. “You will join us, yes?”
Jian’s smile was brittle, but she still smiled. “Of course.”
Something was wrong here. Jian could smell a trap, but it didn’t make any sense. Something was wrong with the servant, Lavinda, but Jian couldn’t tell what. She breathed too evenly. She stood too still. Something was beating through her heart, but it didn’t sing to Jian the way the others’ blood did.
Ah, that was it. Lavinda didn’t smell delicious enough to have a soul, even though she gave off the same strength as a normal mortal.
She still wasn’t sure what the trap itself was, but something about the interaction made Jian think the trap lay in saying ‘no’ rather than ‘yes.’ Maybe a social trap, rather than a physical one? She’d trust the bird’s lead for now.
“Then, please, follow me.” The servant said and turned, walking down the hall.
The family of three obediently followed, and Jian trailed after them.
She tried pushing her senses to their new maximums, something she should have done as soon as she woke up. The house they were in was much larger than she had thought. There were also far more shadows than there should be. Entire wings of the building were boarded up, completely empty. Abandoned or planned expansion? The entire place was eerily silent outside of a bustling hive of activity that Jian assumed was the kitchen by the clinking of ceramic.
She was so distracted looking for potential threats, that she almost didn’t notice when they passed through the central foyer. By chance, she turned her head at the right time, and slowed to a stop.
She could feel the others continue walking ahead of her. Doubtless they had already seen this a few times while she’d been asleep.
The central foyer was spread across two layers, with sweeping staircases connecting the two. Glass walls covered the front of the building, erected between giant fluted-marble pillars and creating an illusion that they had stepped outside. The ground layer was dominated by a garden, with artfully placed flowerbeds surrounding fragile looking trees. Stone paths meandered through the foyer turned courtyard, laying in a bed of finely raked stones. The soft afternoon glow flooded through the glass, lighting the wide space in gentle shades of yellow creeping closer to orange.
It was gorgeous.
And through the glass walls, she could see the rest of the city followed the same pattern. Raised wooden pathways connected marble homes with open courtyards and wide wooden patios. Bridges arced gently over thin streams of snow-melt running through marble channels, and under orange leaved maple trees burdened by a thin layer of ice. Over distant walls, she could see the swell of mountains in the north, and maybe a faint trail leading through it.
Jian had never had an eye for architecture, but the view alone was making her reconsider that. She was Immortal now. She would live forever, if she had anything to say about it, but she’d never actually considered what she would do with that eternity. Getting there had always been the highest priority, consuming every spare thought.
But this? This felt like how an Immortal should live, in decadence and beauty.
“Will the Foreign Hero be joining us?”
Jian turned. Lavinda stood- no, that wasn’t Lavinda. Jian stepped closer. This woman looked almost identical, but her soul smelled slightly different. A twin? She’d already made that mistake once, and the voice? Even the inflection had been identical.
“Of course.” She said. “Lead on.”
Something was wrong.
She was already at the door to the dining room when she realized there was something else she had missed. In that whole city, at least every walkway and park and home she could see, there hadn’t been a single person.
She almost turned to go look again, but then she saw the way the servant was looking at her. Expectantly.
Yes, something was wrong.
“Hero Jian, there you are.” Alceste bubbled. “I almost went looking for you, but of course Lavinda convinced me her sister was already taking care of it, and here you are!”
“Yes, it’s good to finally meet the Foreign Hero gracing my halls.” A new voice interrupted.
Jian stepped into the room. The dining table was a slab of marble long enough to seat twenty per side, and standing alone at the head of the table was their host.
He was the tallest man she’d ever met. Little Striga could stand on her father’s shoulders and still not quite meet his eyes, and Nikkos was already taller than Jian was. She was used to physiques that looked like they’d been chiseled out of marble, but the sculptor here had very clearly appreciated a different aesthetic than the two Immortal Elders she’d seen in the Abyssal Palace. While they had been thin and beautiful, with compact strength, this man was shaped more like a wide triangle. Even his chin was absurdly broad.
“I apologize for the delay, I was admiring the view of the city from the stairs. Your home is truly remarkable.” Jian said after a beat, giving him some face cost her nothing. “Has Alceste already introduced me?”
“She let it slip just a moment ago, but it’s good to do things properly.”
“Then, allow me. Jian, Immortal of Moonless Nights, graces your halls.”
Moonless Nights seemed like a reasonable lie. Based on Red’s warning, she couldn’t go announcing herself as the Immortal of Hunger.
“Be welcome, Immortal of Moonless Nights.” He said with a smile. “Erichthonius, the Hero of Forges, greets you under Hera’s Xenia, the Rules of Hospitality. Please, be seated.”
Interesting.
Everyone sat down at the table, Jian on the Hero’s left and the family of three opposite her.
“I admit, Miss Jian, I was very surprised when my guests informed me they had a Hero passed out in the back of their wagon. Did you run into anything dangerous in the area we should be aware of?”
Jian laughed. Only the damn Deicide herself.
She paused as the servants began placing food on the table. A wide variety of fruits, cheeses, vegetables, and bread began to be spread out on what felt like dozens of dishes.
“No, no.” She said instead. “It’s actually very embarrassing on my part. I was exploring a particularly large Dream and was shocked to find the other end exited into a void underground. I have to assume it was the place where the Prime Hell once stood.”
“Impossible!” Nikkos exclaimed, pausing with his hand on a loaf of bread. “You’ve been to Crumbled Acheron? Truly?”
“Truly.” Jian smiled. So that’s what it felt like to be on the other side of doing the impossible. It was nice.
Striga was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. Even Erichthonius paused for a moment at the claim.
“Quite a place to stumble into. Did you see the Astrologer?” The Hero asked.
“I’m not sure.” Jian shrugged. “I think I may have, but I was delirious at the time. Even existing down there is difficult. I don’t actually remember getting to the surface myself. I must have kept walking after I passed out.”
“I intend to go see him myself one day.” Erichthonius said. “Far too few heroes have, and giving him some company is the least one can do if they’re strong enough to make the journey. He gives much of himself to reprise such a dreadful burden. First the Celestial Sphere and now the World itself.”
“Seirei’s part of the world, at least.” Jian corrected.
The Hero snorted. “True enough, though I think Ao’Xian and Erwydd would notice if a third of the planet’s surface collapsed.”
“True enough.” Jian repeated.
“So, no hidden beasts or monsters stalking my borders then?”
“I can swear I know of no threat between here and Atlas.”
Alceste sighed. “I suppose we didn’t really rescue you then. I doubt a Hero can die from exposure.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. The fact that you stopped for a stranger like me genuinely warms my- soul,” she’d almost said ‘heart,’ that was amusing, “and you never know. I could’ve missed a beast or two. I wasn’t exactly paying much attention when I was unconscious. Not to mention missing out on this delicious food if you hadn’t brought me here.”
Jian placed another piece of fruit in her mouth and smiled. It had no taste, but if she just focused on the texture she could almost pretend it did.
“Oh yes!” Alceste exclaimed, turning back to their host. “How is it that we’ve never heard of such a gorgeous town, Hero Erichthonius? I never knew we had a Hero so close to our- well…”
Her smile began to crack, but the Hero took the hint.
“Oh, I’m not surprised you hadn’t heard of us yet. We only established the town a few weeks ago. It was an empty field before that.”
Impossible, Jian almost thought, but maybe not. She had to train herself to see new possibilities.
“Impossible!” Nikkos said.
“The Hero of Forges you said?” Jian asked instead.
“Exactly.” The Hero smiled. “My talents lie almost exclusively in crafting and creating things. I placed every building, every road, every tree, and every stone in this town. I dare say it was an exhausting endeavor, but quite worth it.”
“I can’t even imagine it!” Nikkos exclaimed.
“How long did you say you’ve been here, Hero?” Alceste asked. Jian’s eyes narrowed. It was subtle, but the woman’s voice was slightly strained, her smile slightly forced.
“Let me think back. Yes, I believe it was just before the turn of the last full moon.”
“I see. That is quite impressive indeed.”
Jian wondered how long ago the young family had left their home, and what had caused it. Something a Hero could have solved? If they’d only known he was here?
She didn’t mention it, but she assumed everyone else knew besides little Striga.
“I noticed your hand.” Jian said abruptly. “Is that something you forged as well?”
The large hero placed his left hand gently on the table.
“Yes. I’m afraid it’s something I’ll constantly be iterating on. I have all sorts of ideas, but deciding on a practical one is proving harder than anticipated.”
“Celestial Bronze?” She asked.
“Of course, almost entirely. Nothing else will channel my pneuma appropriately.”
“Pneuma? Ah, the foreign term for qi.”
“I’m sorry, Heroes.” Nikkos interrupted. “I’m afraid I’m lost. You mean Hero Erichthonius’s gauntlet?”
“It’s not a gauntlet, dear guest. It is my hand. I’m afraid I lost the original in my Choosing.”
He held it up for them to see more clearly. It truly did look like a gauntlet that began halfway up his forearm, but it was too thin, too tight to have anything inside of it. It whirred and clicked as he moved the joints of his fingers, the sound of tiny gears just audible beneath that to Jian’s ears. He moved the angle so they could see between a few of the bronze plates and catch hints of a small tube pushing his thumb open and closed.
“Oh Hera!” Alceste exclaimed. “Is it based off of Sir Daedalus’ work on his Bronze Man?”
“Ah, well, yes. Indeed. I certainly drew on some accounts of the Bronze Man as inspiration, but the design is my own.”
“Remarkable.”
“Momma, momma, can I ask now?” Striga whispered into her mother’s ear. She was visibly vibrating now. Her excitement had only built as the Hero had shown off his metal hand.
Alceste sighed. “Yes dear. You’ve been very good so far, just don’t pry if they don’t want to answer you.”
Jian was fairly certain the child hadn’t heard a single word after ‘yes.’
“Have you ever fought monsters!” The girl yelled, eyes shining.
Jian smiled, glancing at the Hero next to her before turning back to the girl.
“I’ve fought a few, and run from quite a few more.”
“Run!? No, Heroes have to slay the monsters!”
“I have to agree with the child.” The Hero at the table said. “It’s shameful for a Hero to flee from the call to arms.”
Jian snorted. “Good thing I’m not a Hero then, am I? I’m an Immortal, so making sure I live another day is my best strategy. I used to be no stronger than little Striga here at one point.” She turned back to the girl. “That said, I’m much stronger than I used to be back then, which means I can slay much stronger monsters too.”
“I guess that makes sense…” Striga said, but she looked disappointed. That wouldn’t do.
Jian swept her arm over her plate, making it disappear in the shadow her arm cast as it crossed over it. She pushed her palm down on the table for a moment and then pulled it up slowly, drawing a stream of blood up with her. She shaped it, flexing new spiritual muscles. It was a good opportunity for practice, and despite the novelty of it, she quickly sculpted it into the shape of the safest monster she could think of.
The four-armed lizard-gorilla thing she’d found chasing Elijah.
“I fought this beast deep in a forest of coral, where a thousand streams met and light flowed like water.”
“Oooooh!” The child exclaimed. “That’s so cool! Make another! Another!”
Jian laughed. Shiny toys worked every time when it came to kids.
She repeated the process, making the second sculpture into a giant boar standing twice as tall as the miniature gorilla. Its tusks branched and curled like antlers into four gleaming points.
“This one was a Nightmare Lord guarding a hidden treasure. It could breathe liquid fire, and even its blood would burn you. It was so strong that all we could do at the time was fight it until it ran away.”
“Wow.” Striga looked up at her, stars in her eyes. “Can I have it?”
“Oh. Um.” She glanced at the girl’s parents, but they were just looking at the statues askance. Crystallized blood was likely not a good material for a child’s toy. “Sorry, not one of these. I’ll make you one out of wood later?”
“No need.” The Hero interrupted. He’d pulled a ball of copper out of nowhere, holding it in his palm. He closed both hands over the ball and squeezed. Heat and steam bled from between his fingers, hot enough that the mortals leaned back a bit.
The Hero pulled his hands apart, twisting and pressing at the metal with a speed a dexterity that even impressed Jian. Within moments, he held an exact replica of the lizard creature’s statue Jian had made, identical down to the minute texture of scales down its sides. He held it up to his mouth and breathed in, sucking the heat away into his chest.
When he put it down on the table, it was as cool as their cutlery.
Striga squealed with delight and snatched it faster than her parents could stop her. They sighed in relief when they saw it wasn’t burning her, still partly in disbelief. Jian could sympathize.
“A remarkable display of skill.” She admitted.
“It is what I do.” He said with a shrug. “Now, I was curious if-”
“Wait!” Striga interrupted. “You haven’t told me about any monsters you’ve slain yet!”
“Oh, me as well?”
“Yeah!”
“I’m sorry child, it’s not as fun a story. I’ve only heard the call once, and the beast I was called on to slay was a Revenant.”
Striga’s parents looked pained at the admission, but Striga didn’t notice.
“Was it strong?”
“Very strong.” He said sadly. “It started with the body of a First Tier Citizen, and only grew stronger as it fought. It had already destroyed more than half of my hometown when I stood against it. I was no stronger than your own father at the time, but luckily my bravery caught the eye of my patron, and I found myself swelled with the divine might to match my first Labour. I make an offering to the God Hephaestus every evening, as thanks for Choosing me that day.”
“What?” Striga said, thrown by the story. “But there’s no God named Hephaestus! I know all the Gods! Daddy taught me and he never mentioned a Hephaestus.”
“Oh? Are you calling me a liar child?”
Nikkos’s chair clattered against the floor as he leapt to his feet, laying a hand over his daughter’s mouth.
“Of course not, Hero Erichthonius.” He said it quickly, but it felt too slow to Jian. The sound droned, each syllable stretching as her perception of time sped up. She watched as the Hero stood up.
“Excellent.” The Hero said. “This actually works out well. Your daughter has saved me quite a bit of time, Nikkos.”
“I’m sorry, Hero, what do you-”
His words cut off into a scream.
Jian saw the sword gently arc through the man’s arm at the elbow, passing through flesh and bone as easily as air.
The arm landed on the table, between the grapes and the goat cheese.
It took a moment before Alceste and Striga started to scream. They had needed time to notice what had happened, and then more to comprehend it.
Jian didn’t. She watched, silently and unmoving. She could’ve stopped the blade, but she didn’t understand the situation enough to act.
The Hero turned to her, even as he continued speaking to Nikkos. His voice never changed. It stayed light. Affable even.
“Of course, as the man who raised her, you share responsibility for your daughter’s words, Nikkos. Truly, to call a man a liar in his home is a gross breach of hospitality.”
Was interfering the trap? If she stood up for this man she didn’t know, tried to save him, would she be making herself vulnerable somehow?
Jian stayed silent.
Erichthonius seemed disappointed. “Is this not yet enough to move you? Perhaps I should have expected no better from a self-professed coward.”
“Why?” She asked.
The mortals were still screaming.
“For you, of course.” The hero said.
Alceste had grabbed Striga, but they hadn’t moved from their chairs.
“What have I done to you? I am merely a guest.”
He laughed, sharp and derisive. “You dare play dumb? When you carry that mark on your cheek?”
Oh. Jian felt cold. She remembered a thumb stroking her cheek.
She’d been fucked from the beginning.
“You carry the mark of the Godsbane into my own halls! If I had seen your face before agreeing to these idiots’ pleas, you would never have survived crossing my threshold!”
“Yet I sit here, alive.”
“Yet you sit there. Even a Hero can’t flaunt Hera’s laws lightly.” He agreed. “Though if the father is not enough to move you. Perhaps the child will be?”
Jian snarled. “And you call yourself a Hero?”
“She has broken Xenia. It is a waste, but their lives are mine to do with as I please, and once I claim the glory of killing the first snake to leave that witch’s den in thirty years? No one will remember to ask about a single Citizen and her family. They will be too busy flocking to the city I've built. The whole world will praise the names Hephaestus and Erichthonius.”
Jian was silent.
The Hero’s gaze lingered on her a moment longer before he turned towards Striga. She and Alceste still hadn’t moved. They trembled, locked in place, like a deer facing a tiger.
Nikkos surged to his feet, his remaining hand slick with blood as he tried to hold back the flood from his stump. It was a valiant effort.
Erichthonius swiped him away with the back of his hand.
His head crunched as he slammed into the wall.
Jian clenched her fist.
Was she really going to sit and watch this happen? Wasn’t she supposed to be free? Wasn’t she supposed to be strong enough to make her own decisions instead of bowing to bastards like this?
The Hero loomed over the child.
No.
A spear of blood erupted from the Hero’s shadow.
He turned and caught it in his bronze fist.
“Finally.”