"This happens a lot," Parry mused absently as he browsed Baronston's market square. Everything had been closed yesterday in honor of some local pre-harvest festival.

"What, shopping?" The cat was perched on the boy's shoulder, amusing the local vendors who fruitlessly offered it treats.

"Yes, actually, but I meant irony. Here I am making a Divine Heart after all, for completely different reasons."

"The lie you told your father."

Parry shrugged. "It's become a half-truth. I hadn't received any vision, of course, that was a convenience designed to get me out into the world. Ironically, I do plan on sacrificing it to a being of power from another plane. That's you."

The cat snorted. "I've never consumed a sacred item--such things are not available in the Third Hell."

"I have to make it first. The procedure isn't that difficult once I secure all the ingredients."

"Instead of braving the wild dangers of the world, you're shopping for them."

"Ironic, eh?"

"Stop saying that."

Back in their room an hour later, Parry had several precursors in hand. Still, he frowned. "I'll need a few more things."

Styak played with a length of string, looking very fierce indeed. "What is a 'Divine Heart,' then?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"It's an offering of a type pilgrims and penitents have been making for ages. They're basically receptacles for a bit of your soul. Most gods will accept them and in exchange bless you in some useful way or purge you of some sin or stain. It's an uncommon devotion, but many sects use them. Holy warriors sometimes need to build one and sacrifice it simply to rise in level. Academy-trained mages, crafters and artists see them as cheating, so Pharryl's reaction didn't surprise me."

"Power is power," noted the demon.

The boy looked at the items on the small table before him: a quartz crystal near the size of his thumb, a bundle of dried blossoms and the claw of a reptile. "It's trading away a piece of your soul, which some find distasteful. Strange how many gods who claim to be 'good' or 'holy' take them, whereas I've never heard of the more odious powers accepting one."

Styak looked up. "You plan to feed me a fragment of your soul?"

That brought out a grin. "It's a safer bet. Drop a Divine Heart on an altar and it'll vanish, but there's no guarantee you'll receive a blessing or lost knowledge. Most of the ones I've made got me nothing in return but the approval of my head priest or the congregation. I never learned what the gods get out of them--maybe nourishment, like you, or perhaps it's currency in heaven?"

He put the items into a small pouch and stored them in his windbag. "I doubt sacrificing a tiny scrap of my soul will make much difference, since we're already spiritually and magically tied together. I'm more interested in what you'll gain from eating something sacred."

For the second time, the demon said, "Power is power."

Parry sat back. "Yes. And I suppose this is another power play from me. The Lord of Wings raked me over the coals for just this sort of hypocrisy. Maybe it's the wrong move?"

"You've promised me a delicious meal, I expect you to deliver."

"We're missing the most important ingredient anyway, and there's no shopping for it. We'll head out hunting tomorrow morning."

"For...?"

"For the thing that makes it sacred. There are plenty of options, but around here, our best bet is a unicorn."