Chapter 48: Feast

Cora showed up not too long after, and did her best to patch Adriana up. With her shoulder much worse than she thought, the healing was slow, itched horribly, and the Deliana devotee couldn’t finish the job in one go. It irritated the hell out of her, but Cora swore it would heal cleaner with a mix of taking on some of the wound herself, traditional medicine and stitches, and then accelerated healing.

In short, Adriana would have to rest for a few days, but she’d managed to take out a monster that had plagued the island for years. But not alone, as she was quick to remind everyone.

“...and I couldn’t have done it without Iris coming in and saving my ass at the last second!” Adriana clapped the teen girl’s shoulder, rocking her. Then she took another bite of steak and practically moaned.

With the Adamean Lion defeated, the people of Kurtango were more than willing to accommodate Adriana’s dinner request. They ate outside under the stars on a long stone bench, next to the newly repaired fence, which contained the newly pacified man-eating red oxen. One of them had been slaughtered, and would feed them and almost everyone on the island for days.

They were given the best cuts of meat, seared over an open flame and seasoned with a mix the islanders had perfected. It was served alongside succulent fruits and savory vegetables cooked on the spit. The wine flowed, and a hard day’s work was well rewarded.

“It was nothing,” Iris said, although she was pleased to be acknowledged. “I’m just glad it worked. It was really funny, seeing the oxen run over the lion. It may not have hurt it, but it sure as hell surprised it! And Tobias, you had some great shots that were the best distraction.”

The archer flushed but grinned. “I needed to be saved a couple of times, but that’s what teamwork’s all about, right?”

Adriana took a long drink of wine and then pointed at Lucas. “Teamwork, right? And we did it with only half of us.”

Lucas wore a small, barely perceptible smile at her ribbing, but Eva took offense. “Some of us were doing real work instead of distracting cattle. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“I’d say slaying the lion counts as real work,” said Davos. He’d had more to drink than anyone, and his cheeks and nose glowed red. “A lot more exciting than moving logs back and forth and arguing over whether or not the fence was straight enough.”

“It wasn’t!” Eva snapped. “It would only collapse again easier if we went with your measurements.”

Adriana snorted. Her constant, stressed outraged amused her the more she saw it. Lucas met her eye, and they rolled their eyes together.

“That might be true,” said Lucas, “But they could’ve fixed any issues themselves after. Thanks to doing that work, we didn’t get there in time. Things could’ve gone much, much worse. Celebrate our success, and think hard on how to make it easier next time.”

Around the table, most of them nodded thoughtfully. Everyone except Cora, who burst out laughing. “Oh, get over yourself and let them have fun. Lecture tomorrow!”

For a second, the only sound was Cora’s laughter, and the distant mooing from some of the oxen that hadn’t yet gone to sleep. Then Adriana laughed, so did Lucas, and soon everyone joined in.

“I’m not that bad, am I?” Lucas grumbled good-naturedly.

“The stick up your ass is at least as big as your spear,” Adriana said before stabbing another hunk of steak and chomping it. “But you pick some good assignments.” It was easy to ignore the throbbing, hot pain in her shoulder with enough wine and good food.

“Easy for you to say,” Tobias said, “You get a magical lion pelt out of it. I’m not sure how we’re going to make use of it.”

“What’s this ‘we’ shit?” Adriana said, laughing once more.

Iris chimed in with, “If nothing else, it’ll make a wonderful rug for your room.”

It would, and the idea delighted her. With the bounty on the Adamean Lion and her weekly allowance, she’d be able to hire someone to make something good for her. It wasn’t raw Divinity, but power could be obtained in many ways. She was beginning to believe that it would be profitable to stay, and maybe even agreeable. Until Eva opened her mouth.

“How did you manage to kill it, anyway?” the blond asked. “You said that your Smoldersap was useless against it, and nothing could pierce its skin. And yet, inside the lion’s mouth was a bloody mess. Are you holding out on what you can do?”

Even if no one cared for Eva’s constant gripes and snipes, they couldn’t ignore the point she raised. All eyes were on Adriana. Davos shrugged and motioned for her to go for it. Whether or not he knew what she would go for was up for debate.

“Well, yeah,” said Adriana. “Up until now, I didn’t know if I was going to stick around or not. And it’s better to keep what I can do to myself. But you know what, Eva? You’re right. You all deserve to know what I can do. Wanna see?”

The mood changed immediately. Everyone but Davos and Cora left the table and headed to an open space a hundred yards away for safety. At her direction, they spread out in a circle and let her get to work. Underneath the stars and nearly full moon, there was more than enough light to see by.

Adriana took a deep breath and held up her hand. Smoldersap covered it, glowing dimly but still obviously aflame. He tossed it at the center of their circle, where it landed with a wet plop. “This seems to be the main ability from my True Divinity. This and the one I’ve held back. It sticks, burns slowly, and…”

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She poured some of her energy into a Flamespitter, just a little, to make it grow by about two feet. A dark red glow radiated warmth. “My Flamespitter can make it grow and get hotter.

Lucas cleared his throat. “I also have Flamespitter as one of my abilities. May I try?”

“Yeah, go for it,” said Adriana. “Everyone else should back up though. Just in case.”

They did as she asked, watching eagerly as Lucas stepped up. Rather than cupping his hands together, he just held out one and a smaller cone of fire burst outwards from it. When it touched the Smoldersap, it grew and bubbled, albeit at a much slower rate.

“That’s so interesting,” Iris whispered. “Hey, do you think Tobias’ fire arrows would do the same thing?”

Tobias’ eyes lit up. “Yeah! Can I try?” He summoned his Spirit Bow and pulled the string back. Everyone took another few steps away. He loosed the arrow made of fire into the black goop. It didn’t heat up and spread like the others. Instead, when it connected, a small patch bubbled up and popped, splashing everywhere.

Everyone cheered, and Iris did a little dance. Even Lucas looked pleased. “This is fantastic,” he said. “If multiple of us can affect it, then that gives us a lot of opportunities in battle to make use of it. This could turn the tide and make us that much better a fighting team.”

His words made Adriana’s spirit soar. Her abilities might have been as random as a roll of the dice, but she had made them her own. It was nice to hear appreciation and acknowledgment that she brought a lot to the table. Things had never been like that with Synto, or any of the other groups they’d worked with before.

Standing in a circle around a five foot wide circle of glowing sap, she finally felt a sense of kinship and trust. Smiling, she said, “Just wait until you see my final ability, and what it does. This is how I killed the Adamean Lion. Step back even further, please.”

“You’re really winding us up,” said Eva with a roll of her eyes, but she did as she was told. Now there was ten feet between the pool and everyone else.

Adriana held her hand up, and drew on more of her reserves to produce Flashfire. The blue fire licked over her hand, rolling around in her palm. Her face glowed in the night, and she grinned. “This is Flashfire. It’s incredibly hot, and can burn clean through bodies and bones. But if it touches Smoldersap…”

She thought of warning them, but that wouldn’t be as much fun. She lobbed the ball of fire into the pool. It flashed, and for a split second, night became as bright as day. The pool glowed black and blue, and then blew up. Burning grass and dirt kicked up in all directions, and the shockwave from the blast knocked Iris on her ass.

When it was over, there was a small crater, and nearby grass burned where Smoldersap splashed and continued to burn. For several long seconds, no one said anything. And then Tobias screamed his approval, and Iris laughed with glee.

“That was incredible,” the archer screamed.

“Is that what happened?” Lucas asked, interested. “You blew up the lion’s insides? This makes so much sense. It explains the damage to the street. I thought it was just the monster’s. This is an incredible ability.”

“And dangerous,” Eva pointed out. She didn’t look as full of hate and disgust as usual. Instead, there was something like real fear layered on top of her clear dislike.

Adriana smiled. “That’s right. Super dangerous. But it’s a good thing I’m on your side, right? And I think I wil continue to be. I like working with you all, and so long as you pay me and help me become a God, then I’ll be a good one and protect and serve the people, or whatever you keep going on about.” She ended it with a wink.

Lucas beamed at her, and it made it all worth it. “I’m glad to hear it. Once you heal up from this, I’m going to make you regret it. I’m going to make you strong.”

“Get a room,” Tobias snorted. Iris laughed, but Eva scowled and headed back to their table.

As they watched her go, Lucas cleared his throat. “Would you two mind giving us some space? We’ll come back soon, I promise.”

Tobias looked back and forth between them, a knowing grin on his face. “Sure thing. I’ll go comfort Eva.”

Iris laughed and joined him as they walked off. Lucas set his jaw, and in the starlight, Adriana saw his cheeks darken. Soon it was just the two of them under a beautiful moon, with a crate of destruction nearby. She couldn’t think of anything more romantic.

“Got something you want to say to me?” Adriana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nothing bad,” said Lucas. “I just…”

“You’re even worse at this than I am,” she said. “This have anything to do with Eva? She’s been looking awfully clingy and defensive lately.”

“No,” Lucas said forcefully. “Nothing to do with her, exactly. I just wanted to point out that you’ve got more potential than you think. Leadership potential, I mean. With what I am seeing, we could center our team strategies around you. If me and Tobias can make your Smoldersap grow, then it’s possible that Eva’s Aura of Flame can also do it.

“If that’s true, then everyone but Iris and Davos will be able to contribute. We could center our entire monster hunting strategy on your combo. If we do this, then…” Lucas trailed off and looked up at the moon. Anywhere but at her.

“But what?” Adriana asked. She took a hesitant step for him, trying her best to read him. Despite how stoic he pretended to be, it wasn’t too hard. This felt like embarrassment.

“If we do this, then I think we have a chance to break away from the children of Stephanos, and form the most elite team in the world. With you as its leader, and our God of the sun. And eventually, I’ll run the temple and focus on training and keeping things together. We’ll have a real chance to turn the war and beat the Maw.”

Adriana considered him silently. “Is that what you want? For us both to be leaders, but me leading the team?”

“Yes,” he said. “I think I do. But only after you’re ready for it, and it won’t be the Hierophant who determines that. I plan on making you ready. If you’ll trust me every step of the way. I guess…that’s the big question. Will you trust me?”

There was more to the question than on the surface. Even Adriana could see that. It took something away for him to plan for his own replacement, and it didn’t take her enhanced sight to notice the weight of the world pressing down on him. She felt it too. Maybe together, they could shoulder it a little more easily.

“I will, if you’ll trust me,” she said. She held out her hand.

After a second, he took it. “I’ll trust you.”

“Then we’re good! Now, let’s go get some more steak before Davos eats it all. You won’t believe how much that bastard can put away.”

With a surprised laugh, Lucas tugged on her hand and they started back, where the feast and their friends waited for them.