The earthquake had been a surprise. It was surreal to be up in the air and watch the world shake below you. Instinct had me up and flying as soon as the first rumble hit. Some of the others weren't so lucky.

We were doing flight practice outside under the careful eye of our handlers. Some of the air types still needed to be in the padded room. Crashlanding was still a very dangerous possibility. Those of us that had a bit more control were allowed outside, but not everyone had the same instincts or reflexes I had.

People fell into each other, crashing into each other as the earth heaved under them. Handlers and winged ones alike were all flung to the ground. A few, like me, managed to get airborne, but not many.

Once the shaking had stopped the handlers had to assess the damage. A few torn wings and what seemed like a broken wrist. Nothing major. For the ones outside at least.

The flight building was wrecked. An entire corner of the building had collapsed. It was just luck that there weren't any deaths. A few handlers had to be dug out of the rubble but with some healing they would eventually be fine. The most interesting injury for me was the fat man who's wing had been severed.

I wasn't certain how he'd sustained the injury but his wing had been sliced nearly off. It hung there attached by a small bit of that flexible skin that our wings were made of. Blood. There was more blood than I thought there would be. Perhaps our wings had a main artery similar to the ones on our necks and thighs?

Even more interesting was the way the wing began to reform. They'd healed around the cut to stop him from bleeding out, but had seemed at a loss as to how to reattach the wing. It turned out that they needn't have worried. Over the next few days you could see the change.

Fascinating. It was fascinating. His wing dried up like fall leaves and crumpled away. Then from the still living the part that remained attached to his back, his wing began to reform. Just a little at a time, maybe an inch of progress per day, but they were growing back.

The healers and researchers were in exsatic fits about this discovery. Rience himself came to look at the fat man's wings. The woman, Adrieane, was there as well. I'd finally discovered her role in the hierarchy. She was Rience's secretary. I'd been right when I'd guessed she was the professional tea fetcher. She was a researcher in her own right but mostly gave orders by throwing around Rience's name.

She was a different woman around Rience. It was obvious that she was madly in love with him and did her best to be at her best around him. When she wasn't by his side she was an insufferable pinch-faced harpy. Still, I judged her to be the best target. She was so confident in herself that she left herself vulnerable.

For a short while I'd considered cutting my own wings to get closer to her, but the day after the earthquake changed that.

I had been planning on summoning my Lady once I'd had the evidence I needed. Together we would have devastated this island. The god that appeared before me was not my Lady, but one from my distant past.

"Hello, Maize," the golden hair teenaged god greeted me. I nearly fell out of my tree in surprise. I glanced around. "The guards can't hear us and won't notice us for the time being. Your target won't notice us either. Smart centering in on her. She's certainly the weak link," Chance leaned back on his own branch and gazed up at the stars in the sky.

"Why?" I asked simply. Gods could read minds so I knew that I didn't have to ask all the dozens of questions I had.

"You already know of Maple and have guessed correctly in her deal with me. So I don't have to tell you about that. Just know that it was Maple who called me here. She's proposed a deal and to be honest with you I find it intriguing," he turned and glanced at me. "She wants to give up her luck and pass it on to Rille."

For the second time I nearly fell out of the tree. A transfer of a skill akin to a Blessing was never done lightly. I only knew this because I was technically a priestess of my Lady. But perhaps normal people didn't know this?

"You are a priestess, no technically about it. Just because Avedette doesn't have temples doesn't mean she isn't worshiped in other ways. Her followers are more in the know than many. You see the darker side of humanity and walk among them without losing your souls to the chaos. I have a great deal of respect for that. I'm glad I met you when I did. You're a chaotic good in this world."

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I didn't know how I should react to that. For the most part our work was looked down upon. To have it validated by another god left me feeling pride in my Lady.

"Even if you were to summon her here I don't think she'd be able to get through the barrier. Maybe, if the need for vengeance is strong enough, but if you were to do it now at this moment she wouldn't come."

"Barrier?"

"There is a barrier around this island that prevents the gods from seeing what is going on here," he paused a second, "or even noticing that it's here for that matter. You know what that means?"

There was a god on the island. Mortal magic wouldn't be enough to keep out a god.

Cantrel. It had to be Cantrel.

"There are three forces here. Cantrel is one of them. The other two..." he trailed off with a frown. "One is a god, which one I don't know. The other is something I haven't come across before."

So I'd been right about Cantrel. I'd suspected that very first night on the ship, but it was obvious that he was trying to play human. Outing a god that was trying to play human was taboo, especially if I wasn't certain. A very minor god, Cantrel. Could a god so minor make a magic barrier strong enough to keep out other stronger gods?

"It's where the power lay. Cantrel may be a weak minor god, but he is the god of barriers. In this one thing, he is supreme above us all. He's the son of Vulcena. His craftsmen background really shows in his barriers," he sighed and shifted on his branch. "It's why I can't get out."

"Out?"

"I can't get out passed the barrier I am stuck here playing cat and mouse with Cantrel. So far, the others haven't bothered with me, but if that other god I feel steps in I may be in trouble. I think I can handle Cantrel in a one on one fight, but it wouldn't be one on one would it? There are the other two to factor in. The odds just aren't good enough. That' why I need you."

"Why?"

"You just need to keep doing what you're doing. Follow that woman. Learn her secrets. Learn the secrets of this island."

He could just tell me all I needed to know. There must be a reason why he didn't.

"There is more than one barrier on the island. Many of them are made by Cantrel and I can't pass through them. The people who know what I need to know have been given a mind-reading block from someone. That woman is one of them," he pointed at the window where the meeting was being held. Adrieane was giving her report about the regrowth of the fat man's wing.

"I'm going to gamble," he turned and looked at me. It was odd I was now older than him in appearance but he still made me feel like that little beat-up girl I'd been years ago. He'd said the same thing then. He was going to take a gamble on me.

"I'm giving Rille Luck Leech transferred from her mother. If my plan works then Rille's luck might be able to push events forward. If her mother joins the collective consciousness of the rooted ones Rille will gain all the luck every individual rooted one once had. It's a massive amount of luck. It should be enough to even take on a minor god like Cantrel. You understand?"

He really was making a gamble. Rille wouldn't know how to use her luck and a massive amount of it at that, or at least it would be eventually. As of now it was just what luck Maple had left. How many people had already rooted? There were more rooted everyday and the rooted ones were the majority of the survivors.

"You and Rille will tip the scale. I'm certain of it, but how far will we all fall is the question. I'll offer what help I can, but I'll be a bit busy trying to avoid Cantrel. You need to find information. I have a feeling that what they are hiding goes even deeper than some plague and a few altered humans. I don't mean to sound callous but it's the truth."

Gods were often like that. They cared about mortals only up to a point. They were immortal and to them we were like squirrels running up and down a tree. Busy, a distraction, but overall inconsequential to them.

"Underground, there are caves." I pointed below the tree. He knew what I meant instantly.

"Yes, the caves are interesting. There are huge sections blocked off by even more barriers. I've wandered around down there a bit, but you can't go very far without running into another barrier. The mental corruption cells...it's an abomination. What they've done here is an abomination. If I'm correct, then they won't escape justice."

Justice. Retribution was something I could easily get behind. If there was enough cause, then perhaps summoning her here wouldn't be impossible.

"You've got the idea. Now to protect you. I can't have the other gods reading your thoughts now can I?" He reached out and touched his hand to my head. My ears popped a bit and I felt some of the pressure in my sinus' give.

When I looked back up Chance was gone. I had my mission. It was the same goal I'd already had, but that didn't matter. There was more to this than I had suspected. Chance knew more than he let me know. He'd practically already confirmed my worst suspicions about the plague, but then he'd said that there was something else going on here. Something not even he could guess at.

I needed proof. I needed to know what I was doing was correct before I attempted my summoning. Bringing Avedette here to backup Chance was a long shot, but one he was willing to gamble on and if the God of Gambling was willing to take that risk the odds were better than most.