The shattered stones and ground around Star pulsed orange, scarlet and green. The air here was so full of arcane she itched.
“I said kill them, not marry them.” A female guris with long black rabbit ears said as she knelt over a dark form. “Why do men only think with their dick?”
Star could not help but laugh, which earned her a glare from the rabbit woman.
Rezu said, “Do you need my help?”
“I have a temporary telepad up. I will take the Second. Bring the Eleventh and Cinder to the lab. They are at these coordinates. Once you are done, get some rest. I don’t need any more patients. Be cautious, the treefolk seem angry.”
“Confirmed.” He said. “Star here is my claim.”
“I know. Klaus told me. Once she stopped laughing.”
“Star, I’ll be back in a few. Just stay out of the way.” Rezu disappeared.
Klaus was behind a chunk of stone, jumping up and down, while spewing the most colorful string of insults Star had ever heard.
She walked over to see what the little dryad was doing.
Klaus landed on the ground and started laughing and kicking a mound.
Star froze when Klaus noticed her.
Klaus giggled and kicked the mound again. “This is Gessil the Undying.” She laughed harder. “Well, what is left of her. The bitch is finally dead! WHO IS UNDYING NOW! YEA! I OUTLIVED YOU! YA NASTY CUNT!” Kick. Kick. Kick.
The name was unfamiliar but Star recognized the curled pearl horns in the moonlight. “I was a guard when the Lord went to meet her. She said she was the Queen of Hearts.”
“Don’t ever let Cinder hear you say that. I’m serious.” Klaus sounded like she meant it but a grin stuck to her face.
Star nodded.
Klaus sighed and plopped down on her butt. “I never thought I would see this day. I’m so happy, I could shit. This bitch killed me two, no three… or was it four times.” She scratched her chin.
“She kil…?”
Rezu appeared in front of her holding a pale susneran man. He staggered.
She caught them and took the pale man in her arms.
“Thanks.” Rezu was sweaty and panting. “Can you carry him?”
“Yes.” She followed Rezu to a green circle on the ground surrounded by clumps of gemstones.
With a green flash the world became a small room with stone walls and two metal men.
They put the pale man on a small floating bed. She stared as the strange thing carried him away.
Rezu tapped her on the shoulder then walked her through a maze of hallways and into ‘elevators’ and more halls then finally to a large bedroom. It was simple stone walls and basic looking metal furniture.
“Is this how the gods live?”
He shrugged. “I sleep here, sometimes. I live somewhere else, but I’m going to be needed here for a few days, so we came here. That thing on your neck is a drone. Say ‘drone bring me a meal’ and one will be brought to you.”
“Drone, bring me a meal.”
“Confirmed.” It said from under her shirt.
Rezu said, “If you don’t remember the exact words, just pull it up and talk to it. That one is pretty smart. You will learn the rest as you go.”
“Do the meals include people?”
“What?”
“Is there… people meat, in the meals?”
“Oh… No, that’s just Klaus, well and the ferals, I… Um…”
“I have to eat whatever you give me. Maybe it is better if I don’t know.”
Rezu shook his head. “No. The food is fish and plants.”
She gave a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
He touched her hand and all of their clothes disappeared.
She spun and scowled over her shoulder at him. “Can you at least give me a little warning before you strip me?”
“It’s been a long day. I need a shower, food and sleep. Complain to me later.” He guided her to the corner and into a little tiled room with a glass door.
She kept turned away from him. “I didn’t do anything to get dirty again. You don’t have to make excuses to touch me. I am good to my word, god.”
“That temple had a lot of mixed arcane. Places like that can cause minor effects or even spawn slimes. Running water helps disperse lingering arcane. I am just doing my duty to take care of you, as my claim.”
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She shuddered at the thought of slimes then nodded.
He turned away and bathed quickly. Then he leaned against the wall as the water washed over them. He had many faint stripes crossing his back, like long healed whip marks.
The only guris she had ever seen were all slaves. Now she was this one’s slave. She said, “Where are you from?”
“From a country, that no longer exists.”
“Where was it?”
“A large island far south of here. But we are now on the opposite side of the world from Red Rock Keep. I will show you a map later if you want.”
She didn’t understand how that was possible but he was a god. “Will you tell me about where you came from?”
“Why?”
“I want to know about you.”
“I am the God of Crafting and Trade and Fashion. I can make anything you can hold or wear. I can manipulate economies and fashion on a whim… And today… I failed in my most important duty.” He glowed cyan for a moment.
She had wrapped her arms around his chest and was holding him before she caught what she was doing. She almost pulled back but thought. I promised to marry him. I will honor my word. I will help him when he is obviously hurting. She kept her hips back.
He trembled, then spoke. “The land I came from was controlled by corrupt guanting. The economy was built around slavery, mostly guris. I was a servant to a minor lord. He would have me whipped for his amusement. A group of Chosen came and scanned people. This was before the Altar system was established. They took me with them. I screamed and spit and raged at them about not helping the other guris.”
“Like Pappy did to you today.”
He nodded. “When I ascended, I went back there. I killed the people in power and freed the slaves. The economy collapsed immediately. Many thousands died in civil wars and starvation as factions rose and fell. It took me centuries of work to get that one country to be stable again. It is now known as Archinius, the homeland of the guris.”
“I have heard tales of Archinius being a wondrous place, touched by the gods. But I never thought it existed.”
“I can show it to you one day… I took the name for myself, so I would always remember how many people suffered because of my mistakes.”
She held him tighter.
“I was so focused on making Archinius perfect that I neglected my duties as a god. Another country fell to a swarm, because I didn’t follow my orders. Zhaan was sent to get me. I ignored her. She froze half a city to get my attention. We almost killed each other that day. Only Karimere interfering stopped us. We were punished, severely.”
“What is a punishment for a god?”
A wave of disgust rippled through him, “It was bad.” He sighed. “What I am trying to say is that my experience with Archinius taught me how to work for effective change. I’ve tried to help mortal government grow and progress. But I never let that work distract me from my god duties again. Without a stable planet, no civilization will survive. The work of the gods must succeed.”
“I see what you mean.”
He trembled. “But today… I fucked up. I really, really fucked up. I don’t care if Karimere punishes me again. I deserve it. I followed my instincts to save a mortal and almost cost the entire mission.” He groaned. “By time I got back to Red Rock I wanted to raze it to the ground. I probably killed a hundred people before Klaus stopped me. I know some of them had to be innocent. I can’t save everyone. I have to complete the mission. I should have protected Zagreus. I should have spawned Mouse. I should have…” He punched the wall and screamed. “I was the trap! Gessil knew! She knew I would protect the mortal! THAT BITCH USED ME!”
There was nothing but the sound of water for a long time.
Star had imagined gods as powerful and wise. She had not dreamed of the burdens they must carry. She let him go.
He turned and caught her shoulders before she could turn away. He leaned in and whispered. “Don’t be so jumpy. I know you have a cock. It doesn’t bother me. I could tell before I moved you to the table.”
If felt like a weight was lifted. But she couldn’t stop her mouth. “So… That’s what you like? Do you plan to use me now?”
He laughed, “I’m not going to force myself on you. I have other plans.”
Other plans?
He got out of the shower without looking at her.
A towel and robe were waiting when she was done.
He was still nude, like it was normal thing to do. “Have a seat. The food will be here soon.”
She sat.
A flat metal case appeared in his hand. He opened it and pulled out a rolled cigarette, lit it with a strange metal fire maker, and took a deep drag. He stared at nothing as he held it out to her.
She knew the scent of smokeleaf. Anything to take the edge off today sounded good. She took it and inhaled deeply. It was smoothest she had ever had.
They puffed and passed in silence. The food soon came and they ate.
When she had finished she said, “What now?”
He touched her hand and soft clothes appeared on her.
“You like dressing me don’t you.”
He shrugged. “I am a god of fashion, and the way the corner of your mouth curls up when you get annoyed is just adorable.”
She had to stop herself from laughing at him. “Did you make these?”
“I made everything I have given you to wear. I make all the clothes for the gods. I will make some specifically for you soon.”
“Why are you doing all this? I thought I was going to be a star.”
“You said you would rather die. So I decided to find something else for you to do.”
“Like what?”
He looked her in the eyes. “Your grandfather will be able to live at The Fallen Fortress, with the Chosen. They will give him something to do and take care of him as he ages. If Cinder clears you as being loyal, I can allow you to work with Queen Gwenyr.”
“You want me to work with an infernal?”
“The Queen of Hearts is an infernal, so are most of the Chosen at the Fallen Fortress. I’m sure Pappy is making nice with them already. You are going to be around infernals for the rest of your life. You should get used to the idea.”
“I thought you wanted to marry me. Are you sending me away now?” She had spent the last few hours convincing herself she would marry a god. The idea the he didn’t want her ate at her more than she wanted to admit.
“Look.” He pointed under the table.
She looked and there was a faint line of cyan twisted around her ankle.
“I marked you. You knew you were facing death for being a heretic but you stopped to save a child. I gave you mercy as a shallow attempt to make up for my failures today. I saved you for my own selfish reasons. I had no plan of marrying you.”
She scowled at him. “That is why you wouldn’t make a deal.”
“Thanks for listening to me.” A small rolled up mattress appeared in his hand. He set it out on the floor. The lights dimmed as he lay down. “I’m going to sleep. You can take the bed. You will probably be alone for most of the next few days. Ask the drone if you need anything.”
“A god is going to sleep on the floor and let a heretic sleep in his bed?”
“Yes.” A blanket appeared over him.
She went to the bed. The lights went out. She sat and stared into the darkness. With him, she thought she would be treated well. But if she was sent somewhere else, anything could happen to her. She didn’t want to be sent away to live with a bunch of infernals, even if they were Chosen. “What if I want to marry you?”
He sighed. “It has been a long day. Give yourself some time to get your head straight. If you want to ask me on a date, in a week or so, I will accept.”
She took a deep breath and forced out. “I want a date.”
He laughed. “Ok. I‘ll take you on a date as soon as I have time. But I have important god business to take care of for a while. Stay in this room. If any of the other gods show up, tell them you are my claim. And don’t accept any deals from them.”
“Ok.” Star didn’t think she would be able to sleep, but the night took her the moment her head hit the pillow.