Page 82 of Jay's Silence

Gorm. I’d released a bloodthirsty god on the world, then forgotten.

Did I mention you’re an asshole?

Second, if Marduk gave me the answers, it might change my actions. So, whatever path I currently walked was the one Marduk thought would fix the Ley Lines.

So now we’re trusting a baby-stealing demon-mage?

In his own self-preservation. Yes.

I stepped through Marduk’s portal with Lux still supporting my weight. Although I got a nice shot of adrenaline while talking to my old nemesis, the moment it wore off, my mortality rushed back.

We were a very somber group who gathered in a wine cellar, which wasn’t much warmer than the caves. Only the silver-blue of Marduk’s portal lit the arched white stone ceilings. The smell of oak and aging wine grounded me until Tyson stepped through alone and last, filling the tight space with the scent of orc and spider guts.

The portal closed, and artificial lights sprang to life. Footfalls came from the room’s only exit. All of us tensed, ready for a fight. Instead, an older gentleman with dark skin and white hair burst into the room. The wide sleeves of his dark purple shirt fell to his elbow as he thrust his thin arms into the air. Something vaguely Arabic with a French influence tumbled out of his mouth while a spark of orange shot from his back into the wall behind him.

“Do you speak English?” Lux asked, releasing me to step to our front and put his hands out peacefully.

“Yes,” the man said. “My English is okay.”

“It’s better than my, um, whatever you were speaking,” Lux said.

The man relaxed a little. “Maltese.”

“Really?” Tyson laughed. “Did you just make that up?”

Ogden elbowed him. “At least we know Marduk sent us to the right place.”

The man grew tense before falling to his knees, babbling and bowing to us. I sighed, the tension draining out of me. Of course, Marduk sent us to one of his worshipers.

Lux got my attention and gestured to his scales. I assumed he asked if it was okay to drop them, and I nodded before swiveling to Tyson. “Not you.”

Og placed a hand on my elbow, and his healing energy seeped into me.

Tyson narrowed his eyes.

“All the crap on your scales will end up on the floor of this guy’s wine cellar.” I gestured to the concrete under our feet. “Have some respect.”

“Some respect?” Caoimhe scoffed. The fire nymph shook from fatigue, fear, anger, probably all of it.

I couldn’t look at her. I’d just spent more time defending this wine cellar’s floor than her unborn child. But, right now, there was nothing I could do about it. I could still save the floor from… I turned to Tyson, “How are you the only one covered in spider and orc entrails?”

Tyson smirked.

I turned back to the man, but Lux already knelt at his side, speaking to him in hushed tones. Another minute ticked by. My wounds ached less thanks to Og, but my energy drained. Finally, the man smiled. He touched his head to Lux’s hands and stood.

“If you make a reserve, two bottles of that as well,” Lux added, smiling encouragingly.

The man lit up with joy and repeatedly bowed at the waist. “Welcome to Malta. I am Cikku.” He spread his hands. “My humble winery, blessed by the gods themselves and run by true masters.” His skin went from burnt Carmel to completely translucent, with a network of cloudy white veins running through his human form.

I placed my hand on my heart and bowed. “It’s an honor to be at the home of a phantom, so obviously in love with his craft.”

Cikku’s corporal body returned. “When Babylon fell, the great god Marduk moved us here. Here, we cultivate his grapes.” He walked to a stack of barrels two high, opposite the portal, and brushed his fingers against the logo burnt into the side. A lion lay on its back, eating what appeared to be a bunch of grapes. Instead of having a lion head, Marduk’s took its place.

Caoimhe stiffened and looked like she wanted to throw up.

“She’s pregnant,” I said to Cikku. “It’s normal. She won’t be drinking anyways.”

Cikku nodded solemnly, like not drinking was a death sentence.

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