Elinor stepped through the gateway she’d created with Thor and Ishtar, leaving her sons and daughter to handle the ceremony of the human teenagers; her sister’s jaw tightened with her fist as they were met by Ninatta and Kulitta, the twin musical goddesses who had taken their mother to see Sin, their father.
“My Queen.”
“Mistress.”
Ishtar looked around the empty, golden-hued temple that should have been filled with all the gods and goddesses of Anu. “Where is everyone?”
The twins glanced at one another with drawn lips before a gateway opened behind them to reveal her sister’s sukkal, Ninshubur, the attendant to Anu and the messenger of the assembly of the gods.
Elinor kept her peace since this was her younger sister’s domain, standing beside Thor as he observed the tense atmosphere, looking for this trap she’d spoken of. It’s true…
“Lady Inanna… it is lovely to see you have returned to—”
“You disrespect me by referring to me as a simple lady of heaven, Ninshubur…” her sister interrupted the dark-haired messenger as she stepped forward to meet her sukkal, radiant golden hair and narrowed turquoise irises fixated on her calm demeanor. “Whom do you serve?”
The twin goddesses of music nervously bowed their heads as heavenly rays of light surrounded Ishtar in her pointed question to the unflinching attendant of heaven; Ninshubur’s hands tightened against her front, but she didn’t blink in her response.
“I serve Anu, Lady Inanna… and because of your actions in opening the gate to the Great Dragon Mother, there is one awakening that you have yet to conquer… I am told that one who holds the keys of heaven you have yet to claim.”
Elinor’s grip against the Staff of the Dead firmed at the admission. She’d been correct, and, as she’d expected of her younger sister, Ishtar wasn’t going to accept it; it wasn’t her sphere of influence, yet it wasn’t as if she didn’t have a claim to be had in this new conflict, and she’d act when that time came.
Ishtar’s horned crown of gold flared to light from aurelian flames as she glared at the stalwart goddess that had served her since birth, now in rebellion. “Name who you serve.”
Ninatta and Kulitta surprised Elinor by walking around Ninshubur to stand beside her indigent sister, which spoke of their allegiances.
“Mistress, the heavens have become divided since the tremors shook Anu.”
“My Queen, the young gods and goddesses still venerate your glory… We venerate your glory.”
Ninshubur lifted a hand to call the Scepter of Heaven to her hand—the weapon entrusted to her by Ishtar—which had her authority over the weakened realm; a swell of holy energy surrounded them as the woman held up the light to the twin songstress’ disbelief.
“I only do as I am instructed, Lady Inanna.”
Elinor had to commend the ancient goddess of attendants, she had brass to pull something like this, yet this was a miscalculation on not understanding the full birthright of the golden-haired Queen of Heaven.
“Who do you think gave you that scepter?” Ninshubur froze as her sister lifted her palm to the brilliant skies; the staff in the goddess’ hand vanished for Ishtar’s fingers to fold around its shaft. “I am the Supreme Queen of Heaven, and it is in me that all power therein lies, or did you forget the birthright I was given?”
Kulitta glared at the goddess. “Our mistress has yet to be dethroned, yet you side with this usurper without hesitation…”
“Not only have you abandoned your station,” her twin growled, musical notes sharp as knives, “but you use the power granted to you against the very mistress you are sworn to serve?”
Ninshubur shook her head, somehow still retaining her composure after having the powers given to her withdrawn.
“As petulant as ever… Queen. You may hold the scepter of power as of now, yet your authority has been challenged by Heaven’s true High King that is waking; you were always a substitute until his return, and until you prove otherwise, I cannot support you…
“Anu, My Lord, awakens by releasing the first seal on the Great Dragon Mother… My Queen, you must deal with the consequences thereof.”
Ishtar’s tight expression loosened with a smile as she laughed, causing her former sukkal to grimace. “Sister?”
Elinor flipped her spear behind her back to grip both sides. “Hmm?”
“What did you get from that?”
“Heh. The same as you. We were only disposable tools to function as a recovery and restraining method while our forefathers restored their strength. Of course, we would be seen that way, considering we are tainted by Tiamat’s essence.”
She lifted an eyebrow at Ninshubu’s shiver at the spoken name, and the goddess took a step back, hugging herself as terror tightened her exposed belly. “Do not speak that monster’s name; you do not understand the terror she is!”
“No?” Ishtar mused, absently twisting her scepter around her fingers. “You archaic deities have been lurking in the shadows, feasting on the lifeblood of that monster to sustain your unstable creations as my existence held this domain together, yet she is the horror?”
“You know nothing you speak of, child!”
“Then let’s discover from your master’s lips,” Elinor interjected; she was done with this placation for a time. “Sister, should I open the gates to release them?”
Ninshubur held out her hands to stand before them, using her own divine powers to create a golden pyramid of spatial boundaries to lock them inside the space. “You cannot! It is not time yet…”
Do they think Ishtar is so weak? The Seeds she absorbed have restored most of the power she expended against me in our conflict, Elinor dryly thought, now pondering if the elder gods had orchestrated the conflict between her sister from the beginning to buy time.
Her sister lazily waved her staff, making the woman’s barrier—one that could trap most 12th-dimensional entities for decades—shatter without an ounce of effort on Ishtar’s part; Anu bent to Ishtar’s whims, much as Irkalla did for Elinor, and all entities within were brought to equal them by its immense power that drew its source from Tiamat’s ancient strength, it would seem.
Emerald silk weaved into reality from Ishtar’s desires, wrapping around Ninshubur as she was bound and gagged; Ishtar clearly had enough of being disrespected, and Elinor was surprised she’d been this patient in listening to the woman, yet she’d been almost like a mother to her sister since theirs had been locked to Irkalla.
“I’ve heard enough… Ninatta, lock Ninshubur in her chambers and watch to ensure she does not exit.”
The musical goddess bowed her head and hummed to generate a not-so-gentle magical twine to drag the former sukkal away.
“You are too kind, My Queen,” Kulitta whispered while watching her sister drag the traitor away.
“I tend to agree,” Elinor sighed, yet he could see the thoughtful nod in Thor’s expression that said he approved of the action. “If she betrayed you once, she will do it again.”
Ishtar gave her a side-long look while progressing up the temple steps to the opening doors of the grant hall. “You rule your way, Sister. I’ll rule my own… Kulitta.”
The goddess swiftly bowed her head. “I meant no disrespect, My Queen!”
“Hmm-hmm. I understand your opinion lines up with my sister’s, Kulitta… I’ve always favored you and your sister for your steadfast companionship; even when I forsook everything and refused your offer of servitude, you followed me nonetheless.”
“It has been our pleasure; we were born to bring you relief.”
“And you have. Gather all those still loyal to me and bring them to the Golden Hall.”
“At once!”
“Fair,” Elinor chuckled as the young goddess jogged away, glancing to her right at the god of thunder. “What are your thoughts so far, Odinson?”
Thor rolled around his neck. “As thou hath mentioned, these gods act more like parasites than that of noble keepers of balance and righteousness. I was met with refreshment and open arms by thy children, and of these, we are met with contempt and trickery.”
“Not a fan of trickery?” Ishtar queried with a light smirk at the man. “What of your brother; is he not a god of trickery?”
“Haha!” Elinor was glad to see the man’s rosy cheeks and laughter yet knew not to think he was not of a sharp mind.
“Loki is not the malicious trickster you believe him to be but enjoys his fun and games, much to the amusement of many in Asgard as he plays his wit against the other Primordial factions. He is steadfast in his support of our people, but, indeed, he occasionally finds himself in mischief.”
“I see…” Ishtar whispered, and they quieted down as two figures waited for them in the center of the large entryway of the temple. “Father…”
Elinor’s eyes narrowed upon seeing her mother beside the ancient lunar god. “Now, we discover the truth.”
Sin and Ningal stood side by side, their father folding his arms with a melancholy smile as they approached, and they didn’t speak until the three of them stood before the two, showing they still respected their stations.
“Mother… Father,” Ishtar muttered; her fingers were gripped tightly around her scepter. “Where do you stand?”
Their father spoke first, eyeing Thor for a moment with a frown before they softened when moving to Elinor; it had been the first time they’d seen each other since she was but a small child at the gates to Irkalla.
Taking a deep breath, Sin eased it out while stroking his trimmed, night-black beard. “It is a challenging question, High Queens… A troubling one.”
He turned to the left as a silvery sphere cut through Existence to display a vast, golden kingdom of decaying greenery and slight tarnish—Heaven—where eight of the nine grand gates were fractured and broken.
“Many have lost faith in your strength.”
Elinor could feel the needle prick her sister’s heart at seeing the state of her domain, yet its troubles were also connected to the elder gods draining its power over time as they allowed Ishtar to indulge in her oblivious, selfish desires to keep her distracted.
Thor grunted, pulling their gaze. “Thou callest thyselves gods, yet can ye do nothing without thy leader? If Asgard were in a state of trouble, my brethren and I would rise in arms to defend it with or without my father… We did. Yet, instead of protecting thy realm, thou sucks at its tit, draining it of sustenance in its time of peril?”
She wanted to laugh at the lifted eyebrow at the imagery the Champion of Asgard used, considering Ishtar technically was the heavenly realm, and it wasn’t lost on her sister and mother, invoking their amusement.
On the other hand, Sin’s eyes hardened before falling to the golden floor of the temple. “You… are not wrong, Warrior. I do not know where you are from, but I see you accompany my daughters. What is your purpose here?”
Ishtar’s arms folded under her bust as she scowled at the giant of a man that stood over a meter above them. “You haven’t answered me, Father. Are you bidding for time?”
“Yes,” their mother sadly responded, amusement dying at the straight expressions her daughters gave her. “Unfortunately, we have been tasked to try and delay your progress for the others to prepare.”
“At least you’re honest about it, as angering as it is to hear, Mother, ” Elinor sighed.
Their father’s hands moved to massage the back of his thick neck. “Haaa… Much of this was set forth long ago, My Queens,” and Elinor got the distinct impression he was speaking to all three of them. “I suppose it is time to make a decision, Ningal.”
Elinor knew her own internal fears were mirrored by her sister as their mother’s far smaller hand rose to hold their father’s, and the woman gave a somber nod.
“My daughters,” she smiled and turned to direct them toward another circular, moonlit gateway her husband created, “you will find those that serve Marduk, King of Gods, beyond.”
The air in her lungs exited with Ishtar as it came to the final revelation, and Thor gave them an approving nod; this hadn’t proven anything yet, but when they went through, it would set into motion a chain of events none of them could take back.
A trap or not, our parents have chosen their side in this action. What will it be?
Stepping into the golden hallway, their grips tightened around their weapons as they turned the next corner in the empty, colossal well-lit hallway; they were met by a small host of men and women Ishtar and Elinor knew through their many visions of their past.
The tight expressions of the elder gods met them in front of a black stone wall, carved with ancient lettering that resembled a Kudurru—a type of rock used as a boundary stone—and the words were colored in lapis lazuli, Elinor’s domain.
Enlil, the former King of Heaven, turned to glare at them with Ninlil, his wife, and Nergal’s mother; it wasn’t as if the god of pestilence and decay was in the best of relationships with his mother, seeing as he lived in Irkalla, but it did beg the question if they’d been in contact.
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As the former Queen of Heaven, Ninlil hated Ishtar for usurping her seat and putting her in the dirt in their trial by combat; Elinor had heard the delicious tale from her eldest son.
Their hands were placed against the seal, the other elder gods beside them, yet it was clear who was at the helm of this ritual with Enlil in the center. Elinor made not of each pair that stood against them; every god or goddess was from the older generations:
Ninurta, a god of war, writing, law, hunting, farming, and healing, was beside Bau, his wife, a goddess of alchemy and the study of unifying celestial forces; it had likely been her that had been the one to craft the means to infuse Tiamat’s essence into the birth of Ishtar and her.
Hadad, cosmic weather or rain deity—not to be confused with the turbulent nature of storms—stood by his wife Shala, who shared in his duties as the drivers of Existence’s seasonal bringer of growth throughout the twelve dimensions in their dominion.
Ninhursag, another former ruler and Queen in Heaven who mainly went by Damkina, had fostered a small dynasty before Ishtar’s conquest brought her low, stood beside Enki, her husband, who Elinor thought would have been on their side, yet the defender god stood with his wife.
Yet, it was one underworldly couple that snatched Elinor’s stern gaze. “Geshtinanna, Ningishzida… How long has my Head Scribe and Gardener been working against me… since my birth?”
The white-haired goddess quivered at Elinor’s voice as her husband calmly turned to give her a reverent bow that the others hissed at.
“Geshtinanna and I only fulfill the duties given to us before your birth, High Queen; we accept whatever punishment is due upon our duty’s completion.”
“I apologize for our deception, High Queen,” his wife swiftly followed.
Ishtar’s focus was on Enki, though; the water god was a wellspring of wisdom that had helped them throughout their lives, and he was the one to convince her to take up her responsibilities again.
It was likely as difficult to accept as their parents’ lies for Ishtar, yet she tightened her face and strode forward with Elinor. Thor kept behind them, sizing up the gods and goddesses with a keen eye for combat; all of them were brought to the strength of a mortal while within Irkalla’s walls, having to play by her rules.
“Do you believe Marduk is stronger than I, Enki?”
The former King of Heaven chuckled at her honest question. “You cannot fathom the strength of the King of Gods, Inanna; who do you think Marduk’s father and mother are?”
“So,” Elinor hummed, seeing Enki’s conflicted eyes, “Marduk is your son, the former King of Gods?”
“Former?” Damkina scoffed. “You may have power via Tiamat’s lineage and essence, Ereshkigal, Inanna, yet you cannot fathom the perfection that is my son. Who do you think provided the means for Sarpanit to create the spark that Bau used to fuse your eggs with Tiamat’s skin, essence, and your parents’ blessing? You were made to heal our parents and children from Tiamat’s foul poison.”
Elinor laughed, drawing scowls as she walked forward without hesitation. “Tell me what you really think of me and my sister, Damkina… a necessary abomination to be subjugated by your son and made a slave to your whimsical desires. Weak… you’ve always been so weak.”
Frightened, the elder gods funneled the power they’d drained from the realm into the seal to hasten the restoration of their God-King, in a pitiful attempt to stop them; Elinor grinned with amusement as her sister’s emerald silk bound all ten deities.
Only one managed to slip the binding, showing he hadn’t lazed around like his other elder god counterparts—Enki—who summoned a trident to his side.
“You intend to stop and imprison us for treason, Inanna, Ereshkigal, and I don’t blame you… but I cannot allow myself to be defeated.”
Ishtar walked beside Elinor, having heard enough of Damkina’s babble. “I defeated you before, Enki, but you have it wrong.”
“Hmm?” The giant man glanced to the other elder gods and goddesses, attempting to free themselves from the wraps, yet it was useless as mortals, and they hadn’t the slightest idea how to fight when constricted to such a lower sphere, showing their complacency.
It’s no wonder none of them could so much as touch Tiamat—they needed to create some God-King to do all their heavy lifting… Useless.
Elinor smirked as she gave the answer Enki was looking for. “My sister was challenged for her throne; Ishtar wishes for me to open the gate to face said challenge before we are forced out of the heavens.”
The former King of Heaven managed to fight past his gag, shouting, “No! He is not fully recovered…”
“And neither is Ishtar after all you have done to weaken her,” Elinor shot back, anger suddenly lighting in her chest at discovering the potential reason her sister could never challenge her was because of these leeches. “Stand aside, Enki, and allow the decency of a fair trial for the Crown of Heaven because Ishtar still wears it.”
Lips becoming a line, he nodded, and Ishtar held up her staff, creating rippling waves along the ceiling that displayed the events of this conflict across all of Anu, and Elinor did the same for Irkalla; this was a challenge for Heaven, yet if her sister lost, her own domain would be the next to be challenged.
Thor folded his muscular arms, stony gaze drifting between the opposing sides, and, by Asgardian customs, Elinor figured he knew the significance of this Rite By Combat. It would also affect the potential support he’d gain from Elinor and Ishtar, meaning he had a significant stake in this fight.
Only Ninlil, Enki, and Damkina seemed to still be resistant to the contest, but it wasn’t as if they could do anything about it, and Elinor walked past the water god to place a hand against the seal.
A great power beyond made her eyes narrow; Tiamat hadn’t been wrong. The deities inside were unlike the lazy, sluggard gods and goddesses they’d known since birth. Channeling her energy into the illuminated script, it shone with Irkalla’s colors before releasing a wave of power that billowed their clothing and hair back before opening inward.
Eight unknown deities exited, with one leading the way; each one radiated primal energy—Abzu’s—stolen from their murdered father or grandfather. Only one spoke upon seeing the bound elder gods—the one in the center—a dark-skinned man with ancient artistry of power, a spiked club, an ornate bow on his back, and a forked sword on his hip.
Dreadlocks fell to his lower back that shifted as he loosened up, and Marduk’s solid, glowing orange eyes appraised them with a frown while working his muscular frame; he was as tall as Thor and wore a necklace of teeth and feathers—from past battles, no doubt.
Showing his bare chest, Marduk wore skinned shorts infused with power; in fact, every piece of him radiated strength as his head shifted to each of them. After only a moment, he spoke in a deep, gravelly voice.
“I assume this is to be a contest for Heaven?”
Ishtar’s scepter transformed into a resplendent spear. “If you want my crown, take it from my head.”
He wasn’t smiling as he looked down at Enki, who was kneeling before him, the other high elder gods and goddesses spreading out with wry smirks at their bound children, still struggling to free themselves.
“I sense a great evil beyond the gates of Irkalla… The Heavens are broken, and something moves at the edges of our domain. No…” His intense gaze narrowed while settling on Elinor. “Our Existence… no longer exists. We are in a new space of chaos, with new entities and gods… Hmm.”
Seemingly perturbed by the state of affairs, Marduk cracked his neck left and right before returning his focus to Ishtar. “You are not weak, Daughters of Sin. To be clear, I do not care for your crown; a God-King does not need a crown to showcase his dominance, and it was never my intention to rule a kingdom with Tiamat as its foundation.”
“Tch,” Ishtar’s nose twisted with distaste. “So, you created a heaven and underworld out of your ancestor’s hide to heal after killing them… and never even planned to maintain it—what of the souls guided inside that you used as a weight to keep Tiamat imprisoned? Another tool to be disposed of, like my sister and me?”
Elinor’s own chest flared with indignation at the implication.
Marduk huffed. “I had no part in whatever plan this was. I fought and defeated Tiamat’s armies, skinning her as my last act before succumbing to her poison. Now, I will create my own place to inherit in whatever Existence we inhabit. That is all. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“Humph.” Elinor rolled her eyes. “After stealing Abzu’s power to do so and sentencing Tiamat to a tortured eternity in cramped isolation? Justice needs to be met.”
“Think what you will,” Marduk returned, swinging his club to test its weight again. “If you wish for a contest, then we fight as mortals.”
Elinor’s jaw tensed as Ishtar took the invitation, ripping the lower end of her dress at the thighs and darting forward to meet him. Her spear twisted around to deflect the man’s club; it left a resounding ring in the air as her sister’s hair whipped to the side while dodging his meteoric fist.
Spinning to the left, Elinor knew her sister was at a disadvantage in raw power as she retreated with a few hops, having tested the waters; Ishtar would need to win in finesse, yet he was surprisingly nimble for his muscle and stature, reminding Elinor of her battle with Thor.
The other gods and goddesses watched in silence; ironically, after all their boasting, the elder gods looked nervous while their thoughtful parents muttered to one another in secret as they followed the rapid contest.
Ishtar was on the defensive, but that went without saying with the difference in physical strength; still, she managed to barely keep his grasping hand away from her clothing and hair by maneuvering her spear to vital points if he pursued.
It was a battle of mortals, which meant no divine powers involved—Elinor couldn’t have used her chains—but a fight of pure prowess and skill.
Elinor followed every tiny action Marduk and Ishtar made, and, as if to show his diversity in weapons, the man launched backward, looping his spiked club on his belt; switching gears, he swung his bow around and notched an arrow.
Ishtar halted to oversee his aim; the amount of force this weapon would release would not be like regular ranged projectiles with his godly strength. He fired, and the tip sailed by her sister’s illuminated, turquoise irises to sever a lock of her hair as she took the spinning momentum to launch her spear like a javelin.
A second javelin met it in the air as a laughing woman threw her white-shafted weapon to meet her sister’s, teleporting through space to flip her spear around after deflecting the projectile. “My turn!”
“Lahamu!” Enki hissed at the interruption, yet the golden-haired goddess ignored his protest, darting toward Ishtar while flipping around her weapon as the other gods laughed.
Elinor was all for random interruptions, but this was a blatant tactic to give Marduk a chance to rest while keeping her sister on the defensive.
Thank you, Lahamu, Elinor internally cooed.
Ishtar recalled her weapon since the high elder goddess broke the rules of engagement, yet Lahamu barely made it two meters from her intervention point before a clap of thunder shook the room—Mjölnir meeting Marduk’s electrified club—the two massive gods stared at each other, both being wielders of lightning and thunder, their clash silencing all.
The echoing boom sent a rush of sonic force that threw Lahamu twisting back to tumble across the ground as Marduk countered the furious Nordic Primordial.
Elinor’s amusement rose upon seeing the gods in such a state of shock that they were drawn to inaction when Thor’s fist struck their God-King’s face, sending him back to shake out his numb arm and work around his jaw, sporting a cut lip.
“Doth thou have no honor in single combat!?” Thor roared, a clap of thunder following the blow that made Elinor smile and step forward; he certainly was a fast one. “If thou needest a companion to face a woman, then I shall be Lady Ishtar’s for this contest.”
Marduk’s bleeding lip curled into a smirk as he lifted his hand to flex his trembling fingers against his club. “Interesting… I haven’t felt a blow like that since Tiamat. You are no god.”
Lightning sparked around Thor and radiated from his eyes; he was not happy, seeing as the opponents had broken one of Asgard’s cardinal rules for single combat and disgraced the battle. “Will thy mouth ramble on like Ratatoskr, or wouldst thou redeem thy name?”
In Thor’s eyes, Ishtar had already won since the opposite side had been the first to intervene, and it disgraced Marduk’s name as a warrior. Of course, Elinor doubted their ancestors had such rules of combat; in fact, she would have had no problems with it if she’d been able to jump in to fight alongside her sister for once.
Ishtar was probably squealing inside at the prospect of using this to her advantage in seducing the Asgardian, but, on the surface, at least, her beaming, turquoise irises only showed innocence while twirling around her returned spear to motion at Lahamu to join them.
“Oh, you should have told me it would be a two-versus-two, Marduk. Shall we continue, and with a few of our abilities now? I’m game.”
“Hehe. Very interesting,” Marduk whispered, studying Thor’s runes of power and twirling weapon that generated black, electrified tornados to crash into the walls as the other gods watched the Primordial like a viper. “Hmm.”
Elinor huffed as Marduk put away his club and tilted his head toward his party. “I don’t care for your heaven, Ishtar, and you can keep the tattered mess. We’re leaving with those that wish to follow… or do you wish to run out your clock in the heavenly sphere?”
His taunting jab made Elinor’s teeth grind, yet he wasn’t wrong, and there were still things to be done; there would be a quest in the future to clash against those that had betrayed Ishtar and her, and there would be a reckoning.
“Ishtar.”
“Haaa. Fine, Sister… We’ll let you run with your tails between your legs, but don’t think we are through.”
Turning her indignant gaze to shimmering heaven—all occupants of both Anu and Irkalla watching—as Marduk gave her an amused smirk, Ishtar shouted for all to hear. “All gods and goddesses that wish to follow these cowards raise your fists. Do not expect to return.”
Lifting her spear, it returned to its scepter shape, ejecting all that raised their hands to the sky, and Elinor repeated the same, yet not one of her subordinates took the offer, showing the respect and fear they had toward her… unless some were spies, which she knew there would be in such a long con.
Marduk’s orange eyes last settled on her before he was expelled from Heaven to be sent outside Irkalla by Elinor’s relayed instruction to her realm.
“Hehe. I will return to claim what is mine.”
“Join us on the mortal plane… but you won’t,” Elinor liltingly returned. “Don’t die before I get a chance to put shackles around your throat.”
“You’re making me blush,” he snickered, directing her attention to a haughty-looking woman behind him. “I already have a wife, I’m afraid, and I’m the one that does the dominating.”
Ishtar smirked as she shook her head. “Whatever makes you sleep at night, but we all know you’re a beta by this retreat. Scamper along.”
He didn’t seem put off by their jabs as he departed with a laugh; once all those who had raised their hands were expelled, Ishtar and her focus settled on the four that had remained behind. Naturally, her scribe and gardener were willing to accept their punishment, yet two surprise additions stepped forward to kneel before Ishtar and her.
A young man and a young woman—likely less than a few decades old by their spiritual presence—they’d been inside the sealed recovery chamber with Marduk, sparking Elinor’s suspicion.
“And who are you two supposed to be?”
“Spies, no doubt,” Ishtar rolled her eyes. “Why would you even try?”
The man cleared his dry throat. “My name is Nabu, High Queens, and this is Tashmet, my wife… We seek asylum.”
Elinor rubbed her temple as Thor crossed his arms, definitely agitated by how their encounter ended. “We don’t have the time for your issues.”
“My Queen,” Geshtinanna whispered as her Head Scribe came up to bow. “Nabu is Marduk’s only son.”
“Hmm?” Interest piqued at the elder god’s confession, Elinor grinned. “Why didn’t you say so?!”
Even from their bowed positions, she could see the young man and woman give each other nervous glances; well, she had someone that could give her some information from the inside, and as to why they sought asylum, that would need to be handled by her children.
Elinor waved her hand for chains to shoot out of space to carry them out of Heaven and into the depths of Irkalla’s prison. “You’ll have your chance to plead your case in time. Enjoy your stay in Irkalla!”
“P-Please, High Que—”
The trembling girl and boy were pulled into their separate prisons to await judgment as she glanced at her sister. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”
“Mmgm… I don’t want to see if Ninshubur left or not. I will meet with my remaining host with what time I have left. Is that acceptable, Sister?”
Enjoying the way Ishtar was taking her new role, Elinor nodded. “Do as you please. Now, I must see how my God Touched has progressed. I will meet you in the mortal sphere, Sister; we have much to accomplish.”
“I’m sure.”
Elinor could tell Ishtar was discouraged by how many gods and goddesses had left her for Marduk, yet that was life, and they had to move forward.
A golden gate appeared, leading out of Heaven and back to Irkalla for Thor and her to take, and Elinor brought them back to her palace; Thor had a scowl on his face. She knew how to fix it—beer—lots and lots of heavenly beer.