Ch.14 Conversations With Your Patron Goddess
Kel opened the bathroom door ajar after toweling her hair dry and putting on a new set of clothes. She began to finger comb her slightly dripping hair and her forehead creased in thought as she pondered on how long it would take to get to the scene of the crime. Or in other words, how much longer it would take till they found their first clue. The two of them, Kel and Dom, had just entered Scanra and Kel was unsure of which hotel number this was, but she knew it was in double digits. She was extremely tired of hotels, and of having to switch from sleeping on a shitty bed to a decaying sofa.
She threw the towel in the tub behind her, as was required for it to be later washed, and stretched, her arms extending towards the ceiling. It looked as if she was trying to reach for the stars, she mused.
A faint smile touched her lips, that was until she saw a certain partner of hers. His eyebrows were in a deep scowl, and she could tell he was thinking. He was thinking about things that would only make him angrier. She sighed and took long strides over to the brooding man.
She rested a hand gently on his shoulder, pushing all thoughts of the warmness rising in her cheeks and within herself. "Dom…do you want talk about it?"
He jerked his shoulder from her grasp and leaned against the wall, bumping his head against the wall every so often. "Come on grumpy, talk, it'll make you feel better." She put her hands on her hips and raised a brow, waiting.
"Just leave it Kel," he grumbled.
"Talk, you'll feel better," she persisted and nudged his leg with her foot. "Come on," she drawled, sounding like Neal, "you know you want to."
He huffed, causing his now unruly hair to get off his face. "You already said that, and just leave it."
She smiled and sniffed, she was starting to get a cold from the Scanran winter, "You already said just leave it. And no I won't, you need help. So talk. If you think I'll make-"
"STOP nosing around in other people's business Kel," Dom roared, causing Kel to step back. "All you ever do is nag, are you trying to be everyone's Mother, because if you haven't noticed we're all adults here."
"Maybe I wouldn't bother you about it if you'd face your problems like a man and stop being such a downer all the time!"
He snorted, "What would you know about being a man, or is there something you've been hiding from everyone all along Keladry, if that is your name."
She frowned, "You're just trying to get the attention off of you and on me. Well it's not working mister. Just tell me what's wrong damn it!" She was beginning to lose her nerve, especially around this gloomy fellow officer.
"I said stop nosing in other people's business. Now leave me alone and find something useful to do for once."
"Excuse me," she said through gritted teeth. "What have I done that's not useful?"
"Ah, the question my dear is what have you done that is useful?" he questioned.
She frowned, "You're impossible. I'm leaving." She said while putting shoes and socks on. She heard him snort and begin a tirade of curses all involving her name at the end. Once that was done she flung the hotel door open and was about to leave when…
"FINE!" Dom burst, and a smug look crossed his handsome face, he'd gotten the last word. He won.
Kel gripped the handle of the hotel room door harder and lifted her chin up and slammed the door. She didn't have to waste her time with immature men, especially immature handsome…
"GAH!" could be heard as her feet pounded towards the stairs, it would take too long to get outside if she was to use the elevator, and stairs would do. As she ran down the two flights of stairs, she grabbed her damp hair and began to swing it up into a messy bun to keep it from whacking her in the face every so often.
Eventually she made it to the sidewalk in front of the hotel, the streets were deserted. It was quiet, too quiet. She cringed at the thought, but continued with her steady pace none the less. She met no other pedestrians as she past abandoned store after abandoned store. The sun had already set and her light came from the moon that showed clearly through the fading clouds.
She picked up her pace, feet barely having enough time to touch the gravel sidewalk, dead leaves crushing beneath her with every gentle touch. The more she thought about that man, the angrier she began. How dare he? She was just trying to help; she wasn't prying into his life. She just wanted her partner to be in everything one hundred and fifty percent. She wanted him to be back to normal, not some grouchy man that spent his time brooding over things he had no control over.
The further down the sidewalk she went, the more immersed in her thoughts she became. So immersed in her tirade she became that she didn't notice a figure jogging along beside her at the same exact pace. "As much as I'd just love to be out here on a nice stroll with you, I'd prefer that we actually run."
Kel turned her head. She saw the image of Liz she'd seen before. She wore a crown of various flowers atop her layers of auburn that fell to the small of her back. She wore a green silken toga and on her bare left shoulder was a tattoo of a blinking eye. Her feet were bare and she didn't even flinch as they ran over the gravel sidewalk. When the image of Liz saw her staring she gave a smirk, "Like what you see, eh? I was rather certain you liked your men blue eyed and a tidbit insane, but hey I'll take what I can get." She laughed, and tilted her head back, emitting cackles that at times sounded like a pack of hyenas during a hunt but then at the same time sounded like the purr of a large cat.
"No, I'd rather you leave me be, so I'll just ignore you," Kel said and ran ahead. But the image of Liz caught up easily with one stride. Kel cursed and tried to speed up so much that she couldn't keep up, but it wasn't working.
"Didn't my mortal self tell you about how I was on the track team? You can't be the best at everything Protector," the image of Liz said.
Kel snorted, "You're still a mortal. But you're not real, you're a mirage."
"No, no, no. It's avatar. Well, my avatar body is…well I'm not sure. But I'm here because you needed me? At least your distress pulled me here. This will be hard to explain back there. I wonder, is this Liz girl quick on her feet."
"Some would say," Kel said, "but why are you speaking about yourself in third person. The correct grammatical term to state about you is I. Get it straight, Liz."
"Ha, ha, ha, really Kel, they told me you were a thinker. But I'm guessing I was sorely mistaken then.
"Did you just call me stupid?" Kel snapped.
"You implied it that way, I never said those words," the image of Liz said.
"Wha- who- who are you?" Kel stammered.
The image of Liz picked up a speed that Kel couldn't match; she twirled around and began to run backwards. Kel's eyes widened as the image of Liz curtsied while running backwards, that must have taken a while to learn, she thought. "Forgive me for dreadful manners, Mithros was never one for etiquette," she laughed and took a quick glimpse up at the sky, seeing something Kel could not. "I am Vidi, your patron Goddess," she cocked her head, obviously thinking Kel had heard of her.
Vidi frowned as Kel stopped and doubled over in laughter, "Sure…and I'm a Goddess as well."
Vidi stopped and folded her arms across her chest. "Is this how you thank me? All of the things I've done for you? Fine, you'll just have to kill Blayce, Stenmun, and Maggot on your own. No help whatsoever. I really thought-"
"Wait, I'm supposed to kill Maggot and his lot? That's rich," Kel laughed.
Vidi opened her mouth to say something, but closed it thinking better of it. Then she stomped her foot on the gravel and her voice shook the ground, "YOU WILL DO AS I SAY PROTECTOR, AND IF YOU NEED PROOF I'LL GIVE YOU PROOF!" By now, Kel was on the floor, her eyes wide in fright. Vidi smiled and grabbed Kel's hand, "To the Realm of the Dead we go!" Kel's eyes widened and she nearly felt her heart stop at the thought of a friendly visit with the Black God.
Kel felt as if she stood near an open stove, she was warm everywhere and she wished the Goddess would still hold onto her arm, because she was strangely cool. "Come, there's things you must see before he finds you." Kel followed quickly, knowing very well that he meant the Black God.
"Am I dead?" she asked, frightened.
The chuckle of hyenas escaped the Goddess' lips that looked to always been in a pout. "No, but you are in the Realm of the Dead…stop that!" she said and clawed at the ghosts that were trying to pull Kel towards them like a lazy panther. She growled and grabbed a hold of Kel's hand, "Honestly, they just get stupider each time I visit!"
Kel gave a nervous grin and followed the Goddess down the path. "How can it be so warm if everything's frozen?"
"Hmm? Oh, about that, it's just how your body reacts to the Realm of the Dead; I'm used to it of course. But I am a Goddess, so..."
Kel nodded and screamed as she felt the ground beneath her gone. She looked down and saw that they were falling down a cliff. She was tumbling to and fro, hitting the cliffs rocks while her companion, the Goddess, had her legs crossed and her arms behind her head, whistling a tune while she gently floated to the plain grassy slopes. Kel landed with a thud while the Goddess landed gently into a predator's stance. She dusted herself off and pointed towards the other end of the field, "Watch."
Kel looked and gasped. There were large metal creatures with appendages that held various weapons. These creatures were chopping and throttling people of a city, and she saw hundreds of Tortallan troupes dead, their blood in a pool around them. Kel saw the faces of fellow officers she'd befriended, all with various items skewered through them. Kel turned away and emptied her stomach; she felt the cool hands of the Goddess holding her hair back, as her bun had fallen loose during the fall. When Kel was done the Goddess stepped away from her, acting as if she'd never done this good dead.
The Goddess began walking through the city, which Kel knew was in Tortall close to the border with Scanra. Kel jogged after her, not wanting to be lost. Vidi rubbed her chin in thought and stopped so suddenly that Kel fell into her and then fell backwards onto the floor. "Him," she said and pointed to a rotund man with a pimply face and beady eyes. He was sweating profusely and magic flowed from his fingers freely, he was unseen by all except the two watching this massacre.
"Um, why are you showing me this?" Kel asked with a face of disgust in the direction of the unsightly man.
"A gross little bugger isn't he? Just like his soul," commented the Goddess. "Oh, you must kill him."
"WHAT!" Kel yelped.
"Oh, come on, really, you've killed people before, you're an officer, now take on the role of assassin. You have to kill two others."
"I have to kill three, let me get this straight THREE INNOCENTS?" Kel gasped.
The Goddess doubled over with laughter, "Innocents…hahaha….don't you see what he's doing? He's controlling those creatures. He's trying to play the role of a God. You must stop him. You must kill him, and all of these things will die as well. They're connected with him. Now onto victim number two," she said and the image of the ruining city disappeared.
Kel stood still and blinked. "I don't…"
The Goddess whirled around, "You can and you will. You were born to do this. I will not wait another DAMN century for your ancestor, because they are not you. You are the Protector of the Small. He, Blayce, is your enemy. He is killing the small, therefore you must kill him. It's not that hard, it's only three people. You can do it. I will help, of course, as will Guarire and Occhio. You will meet them later of course. But you are my charge alone. I was punished for…let's not speak about that. But I was punished and to be able to enter my home, the Realm of the Gods, I must aid the Protector, that's you. Guarire and Occhio are helping because they got kicked out because of me. I will not be homeless because of a petty mortal! Do you hear me Protector; you will do as I say! I will guide you and show you, and then you will do it. And then I can finally go home. I want my lands back! My people need me! You will kill these three men because they are trying to destroy the mortal realms. If you do not exterminate them, then you will have no home and YOU will die. You are the Protector. I am the Watcher. I am your damn Guardian, and I don't care if you hate me, you were chosen for this task and you must accept. You can't be picky!"
Kel sat on the floor, eyes wide in fright for Vidi's eyes had turned black and she stood taller, more willowy, but she still looked quite strong. "Just one question," Kel squeaked.
"YES?"
"Well, actually two. Number one, by chance what lands do you own?"
The Goddess smiled, "They are not mine, my brother and sister took them from me, as part of my punishment. But I will have them back, as I will have my place in the Realm of the Gods back. The irony of it! My lands are what you mortals call Scanra, that is why they've always been in disarray, once you kill these three I will have my lands back. Once that happens I will be free from my Avatar body completely and I will be back home!"
Kel blinked. "Wait, so once this whole mess is over, Liz is going to die!"
Vidi shrugged, "It depends, maybe so maybe no."
"And you think I'll help you get everything back even if my friend dies?"
"YOU MUST PROTECTOR," she roared and then more quietly, "I will see what I can do with my avatar body. I'm afraid we must part, my brother is coming." She pointed with a freckled hand and Kel turned and saw the Black God, robe billowing as he came towards her. Kel felt the Goddess hold onto her forearm and when she blinked she was back on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. She kissed Kel on the forehead, "Do not fret for your friend, you must continue on your way towards those that have been captured. That is your first task. I will do what I can about the avatars."
"There's more of you?"
But the Goddess had disappeared, and Kel's ears rang with her laughter. Kel plopped to the ground with a thud, she rather wished she was the charge of a Goddess that she was absolutely positive was good.
Meanwhile in the room of nothingness…
Helen watched in fright as a figure that she was absolutely sure was the Goddess walked with a smirk on her face towards Liz. Liz was limp, she didn't breathe and she had no pulse, her face was dead white, and the man had tried healing her. Helen was still frightened when the man had said in a grave tone, "Her soul is gone."
The Goddess was laughing and she still was as she sank into Liz's body as a ghost would. Instantly Liz's eyes flew open and she began laughing with the voice of the Goddess.
When she stopped, she began gasping for breathe, as she had been practically dead until her soul came back. The man came over, his hands green from his magic and he touched her chest gently to clear her lungs, but at the moment of contact they all disappeared from the room of nothingness.
HAHAHAHAHA! That was a cliffy, sort of in my opinion. Next chapter will be called A Day with the Gods, and you'll find out more about Guarire and Occhio as well as Vidi (basically their past and personality). Thanks for reading! REVIEW! (that's a command, not a request, JK)
Much love,
redpheonix