27

The first thing Lyra noticed when she woke was the smell of peaches. The air was thick with it; she could almost taste them on her tongue. It wasn't until she opened her eyes and saw the sunlight streaming through the windows, painting golden light on the blossoms of the potted fruit trees that were flowering and fruiting at the same time, that she made the connection between the smell and where she was.

She only vaguely remembered the hellish walk back to Lokokami the day before. Everything hurt, and her wound had started bleeding again before they reached the village. All she had been able to do was focus on putting one foot after the other. Perra, Galin's mother, had stitched her up when they got back, and even with the numbing salve someone had provided, it had been an unpleasant experience. Then someone had helped her to the temple, and she had passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She felt somehow both better and worse this morning. Her muscles were sore and stiff from all the walking she had been doing, and her ribs throbbed something awful, but the bone-deep exhaustion had receded to simple tiredness.

She struggled to sit up, and a wave of dizziness came over her, but it faded quickly. She was no doctor, but she guessed the dizziness and the general weakness she was feeling had something to do with all the blood she had lost. Even if blood transfusions existed somewhere in this world, a village this tiny probably wouldn't have been able to do one, even if they were capable of figuring out her blood type.

And that was if her blood was even compatible with people from this world.

For the first time, she realized how lucky it was that there were humans here instead of some completely different, alien species. Had there been travel between this world and hers at some point in the past? Had humans evolved separately from each other twice?

She had no idea if anyone in either world knew the truth, and she certainly wasn't going to figure it out all by herself right that second, so she pushed the thought aside and looked around. Her eyes fixed on a glass of water sitting next to a peach on the bedside table.

Only when she saw the water did she realize how thirsty she was. She knew the likelihood of this water having been drawn from the well on the temple grounds was high, but her resolve not to drink from the well only lasted for a few seconds under the weight of her thirst. She reached for the glass, raised it to her lips, and gulped it down. The water was perfectly clear, and even though it was room temperature, it was one of the most refreshing things she had ever had to drink. That probably had more to do with the strength of her thirst rather than any special quality of the well's water... or so she hoped.

"I'm glad to see you have awoken, priestess."

The unexpected child's voice made her jump, but thankfully, she'd already drained the glass of water. She turned to see Saofoth standing in the corner, near one of the peach trees. The god was watching her with bright eyes. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment with an unexpected surge of fear as she remembered the feel of the lupine god Kel had driven back lapping up her blood, but Saofoth was nowhere near as terrifying and monstrous as it had been. The fear faded as quickly as it had come, though a certain wariness lingered – wariness she didn't think would ever fade completely when she was around a god.

"You startled me," she said. "How long was I out?"

"You returned yesterday evening, and it is early afternoon now. How do you feel? The others have been worried about you. Your paladin was angry when I wouldn't let him past even if he left his sword behind, but the boy is still frightened of him, so I refused to let him through the temple gate."

"I feel better than I did last night, but I still feel like crap," she said. "Galin is here? How is he doing?"

"He came to pray in the orchard last night and this morning. His sister as well; I know he did not intend for what happened to happen, but it is good to see her soul again. He has already asked me to reverse what the other god did, but that is not within my lιən. He is not happy, but now they will both live, so it is not something to grieve over for long."

"No, what happened to him and his sister is terrible," Lyra said. "But everyone agrees there's nothing we can do about it, so they're just going to have to figure out how to live with it." She pushed the blankets off and scooted her legs over to the edge of the bed as she prepared to stand up. Only then did she realize she was wearing a lightweight pair of cotton pants and a short-sleeved shirt made out of a similar material – definitely not what she had been wearing when they got back to the village last night. She couldn't remember if she had changed her clothes before passing out or if someone had done that for her.

"What happened to my tunic?" she asked, her heart leaping into her throat as she remembered how damaged it was. Sure, the tunic didn't make her a priestess, but it seemed like it was as good as armor in this world.

"It has been folded and placed on the desk along with your other belongings, priestess," Saofoth said. "The boy's mother mended it for you and returned it not long ago. However, there is no hurry to get dressed. You are still healing. Lay back, rest. The boy has brought you one of my finest peaches, which you may eat if you are hungry. Soon, he or his mother will come to check on you, and then they will bring you more filling food."

She hesitated, but now that she could see the tunic sitting on the desk against the temple's wall, some of her panic had subsided. She still felt weak, so she decided to take the god's advice and leaned back against the pillows instead of getting out of the bed.

"I'll rest until someone comes to check on me, but I can't stay here the entire time I heal. Kel and I will have to leave soon."

"Why leave? You would be welcome, priestess. Welcome, and much-needed. Everyone would be overjoyed if you stayed. You would be given all you need to be comfortable, and you would be safe. My temple might not be as luxurious as some, but if you were to become my temple priestess, I would do all that I could to ensure you wanted for nothing. I am certain the boy would be grateful as well, to have a priestess in the temple to guide him in his devotion to me."

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

"I can't," she said, trying to pretend that she wasn't sorely tempted. Maybe not to stay here forever, but for a few weeks while she healed? The thought of setting out on foot again, injured as she was, filled her with a sinking dread, as did the thought of what else she might encounter out there. This world wasn't a safe one, and her first true encounter with a blood god had left her terrified of experiencing something similar again. But she had a home to get back to. Lingering here, as tempting as it was, would only decrease her chances of getting her old life back. Maybe things hadn't been perfect, but at least at home, she had gone through her days without any real fear for her physical safety or encounters with supernatural beings. "I need to get home, but I'll make sure Galin is settled in here before I go. There's some sort of ritual I have to do, right?"

"Yes, but it will not be difficult. I will gladly walk you through it. You will need to do little but speak, and act as a mediator between myself and the boy. I am ever so glad he agreed to devote himself to me."

"What are the benefits for you? I know it will keep him safe from the Great God, but what do you get out of it?"

"His devotion will be a steady source of worship for me, and with his soul bound to me, I will be able to communicate with him when he is in a trance or a dreamlike state, though the communication will be more limited than the ease at which I can communicate with you, priestess. I will be aware of him, wherever he goes, and when he dies, his soul will return safely to me, no matter how far away he is. It may not be what he would have wished for were things different, but it is the best option for him to lead a happy and long life."

"It sounds like the only option if he doesn't want to die horribly."

She sat up a little more and eyed the peach. It looked good – really good. The apples she and Kel had picked at the orchard as they were leaving Kyokami had been some of the best she'd ever had, and she suspected this peach would be as well. She was still wary about eating anything a god provided, but she had already drunk the water, and it seemed like a lot of people ate these peaches, and they all seemed fine.

"Please, eat the fruit. It is one of my best. The boy picked it out for you; he spent a long time looking through the trees for the best one."

She reached for the peach. Its fuzzy skin was pink and red and orange and perfectly taut. It was a peach made with the help of a god, but at the same time, it was just a peach.

It smelled good, and she was hungry. She had been so tense and wary of everything for so long that throwing her hesitation to the wind and biting into the peach was a relief. As soon as her teeth pierced the skin, it flooded her mouth with sweet juice. She wasn't disappointed; it was the best peach she'd ever had. It was better than the best peach she could have imagined mere seconds ago. It was the sort of peach that put all the other peaches she'd ever had to shame.

She finished it quickly and was left with sticky fingers and a peach pit. The god told her to set the peach pit aside, and they would have the boy bring it down to the crypt later. She set it on her bedside table and got up, wanting to wash her hands. She felt a little stronger now that she had eaten something.

As soon as Saofoth learned what she wanted, they told her she was welcome to wash her hands in his well. She'd already drunk the water and eaten the peach, so she figured washing her hands in the temple's basin wouldn't be much more of a risk to take. Moving slowly, she went outside.

It was another hot day, and the small temple orchard was alive with insects that flew from blossom to blossom on the trees. The sky was cloudless, and she wondered what it would be like when it rained here. Would the rains be a steady drizzle, or a torrent?

With any luck, she wouldn't be here long enough to find out.

As she rinsed her hands and face in the cool water of the temple's well, the white cat leapt up onto the edge of the basin to butt its head against her chin. It didn't seem to mind that its feet got wet, or that her hands were damp when she paused to pet it.

"What's with all the cats?" she asked Saofoth. "Towr, the god in Kyokami, she had a temple cat too, and I saw more strays in town."

"It's considered a sin to harm those with the holy blood, and many people believe that means harming a cat would be a sin as well, since they can see us as well as you can, priestess. It has been lonely as fewer and fewer clergy come to visit the small temples out here, and many gods enjoy the company of cats. Caring for my temple cats is one of the many ways my people can worship me."

"Can other animals see you?" she asked as she ran her hand down the cat's spine. Even though this cat and Sofia were outdoor cats, they seemed healthy and well-cared for. She didn't see any fleas crawling in the cat's white fur, and its eyes were clear. It purred under her ministrations, clearly used to people.

"Not see, but many can sense our presence. Dogs can smell us, and some say they can follow the soul of their master to whichever god claims it after death. Bats can sense us as well, through hearing. But it is only cats that are considered holy, as you are, priestess."

That was one mystery, albeit a minor one, solved. She realized there was a part of her that was reluctant to learn more about this world, because putting the time and effort into learning about it seemed like an admission that she was going to be here for a long time. But it was clear now that not knowing things would only serve to get her killed.

Her ribs burned and the stitches pulled at her skin as she walked, but she stubbornly made her slow way to the temple gate, unwilling to go back to bed now that she was up. Kel and Galin were both standing on the other side of the gate, Kel leaning against a tree with his arms crossed as he watched the boy.

Galen was grooming a horse, which was tied with a rope to one of the pillars on either side of the gate. Neither he nor Kel seemed particularly comfortable with the other, but at least there were no swords involved this time.

Kel was the first to notice her. When he saw her, he pushed away from the tree he was leaning against. He had divested himself of his armor, but had his sword on his hip. He was wearing clean clothes, and his shirt was short-sleeved like hers was. She saw a bruise on his arm and a healing scrape on one cheek, and she assumed that he had more bruises under his clothing. It was a sour reminder that she wasn't the only one who had gotten hurt, and it was possibly, slightly her fault that he had been injured by the god in the cave.

"Galin was about to go check on you," Kel said. "Are you feeling well, priestess?" Before she could remind him not to call her that, he corrected himself. "My apologies, Lyra. Forgive me, but it is a hard habit to break."

"Thanks," she said, giving a weak smile. "I'm feeling less on death's door, at least, but everything's still pretty painful. How about you?"

"I will be stiff for a few days, but other than that, I am well. The boy has a gift which he insists on presenting to you directly." He gestured to Galin, who was standing nervously between her and the horse. He had a brush in one hand and was nervously drumming the fingers of the other against his thigh. When she turned to him, he gave her a stiff bow.

"Thank you for helping me, priestess," he said, looking at the ground rather than at her when he straightened. "I know how wrong what I did was, and I'm sorry you got hurt helping me. I know I owe my life to you and the Saofoth. While I'll spend the rest of it in devotion to Saofoth, Kel says you're on a journey that will take you far away and you may not ever return to Lokokami. There is little I can do to repay my debt to you, but my family and our neighbors wish to offer you something to aid you on your journey."

He turned to the side and gestured at the horse with his empty hand. Lyra blinked, confused. Somehow, she didn't get what he meant until he said, "We wish to give you one of our best horses, priestess. She will carry you to the city on the coast and beyond. I'll groom her until she shines, and my father is still cleaning the riding tack, but she is yours. She's the most we can spare and I hope she will help you on your journey."