Page 78 of Courting War
“Whose antagonist?” Theo steepled her fingers under her chin.
“Everyone’s.”
“No,” Theo said sharply.
Gallagher let out a huff. “Always with your nos.”
“Do try to be more specific.” The side of Theo’s mouth twitched with mischievous intent.
Gallagher tapped her fingers on her knees in thought. “The champions?”
“No.”
“No, be more specific. Orno,no?”
“You’re exasperating.”
“And you’re maddeningly unclear,” Gallagher grunted. “Can I at least be Cecile’s antagonist?” Gallagher’s voice was sweet, like frosting, but tinged with venom. “I won’t kill her because you’ve been frustratingly clear about her beingleft alive.” She said the last part in a mocking tone.
“What is your obsession with the girl?” Theo narrowed her eyes and ran a finger along her torc.
“Obsession.” Gallagher scoffed. “You told me to watch after her. So what is your obsession with her?”
“You know she has a War mark, Gallagher.”
“Your unwavering loyalty is so very irritating.”
“You don’t find it irritating when directed at you,” Theo said.
Gallagher scoffed again but as a show. The girl was ninety percent show and ten percent bite.
“So, you want me to be the War Judge, even though you’ve forbidden it for 536 years?” Gallagher played with her nails, picking at the dirt like she had no cares in the world.
“You’ve been counting?”
“Humph, you know how much fun I could get into at the games?”
“Yes.” Which was precisely why Theo outlawed it. “As to who you can be an antagonist for, I have some ideas.”
Gallagher lit up and sat like a feline waiting to be fed cream.
“The gods.”
Gallagher smiled, and although it dripped with sugar and ill intent, Theo was warmed by it.
“I want you to thwart them at every turn,” Theo added.
Gallagher bowed respectfully, and her body flaked away like ash on a battlefield.
“Wait,” Theo called in Theodic at Destruction’s disappearing form.
Piece by piece, Gallagher reformed herself.
“I need you to go to the gods and figure out the pattern of the games this time,” Theo said. “What the constraints are.”
Every Sacrifice had a different set of rules and objectives forthe gods. Each game, they tried to kill as many humans as possible, but some years they made it interesting by adding additional rules to the mix, like trying to kill all the champions in the last round or trying to kill them all in round one. Some years the gods aided multiple champions, and in others, they withheld aid altogether. The gods got bored, so for every Sacrifice, they switched the way they behaved. Therefore, it was always good practice never to trust a god even when they seemed to be offering help.
Beyond simply knowing the gods’ ground rules, it would also be good to understand what Kellyn needed.
