Page 105 of Damned and Broken Gods
“Of course, but may we ask, why?”
Now that’s the kicker. I dunno why, not fa sure, only that when the thought popped into me head, the awful feeling in me belly stopped. “Just thought it might be nice, is all.”
They exchange glances.
“Look, will ya do it? Please? Me demigod, Leela…she’s been through a lot. I wanna give her something. This song.”
“The royal blood?”
“Yeah.”
Their backs straighten. “In that case, we would be honored.”
They have a gleam in their eyes now that I don’t get, but whateva. “Great. Thanks.”
I leave the song with ’em and head back out the ballroom, Seema fluttering close by.
Do you feel better now?she asks.
The knots in me belly have gone. The strange ache in me chest too. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Let’s go get some grub before bed. Tomorrow morning I’m gonna kiss the face off me Leela.”
Chapter 38
Fever Dreams And Riddles
ARAZ
Istand amidst the ruins of my homestead where the fires have been dimmed and bodies lie lifeless and bloody.
They will come for me now.
This is where they take me away.
“Ah, there you are. I wondered where you went.”
I look up at the figure, a man whose face is a blur. “This is awful,” he says. “It should not have happened. But you know that, don’t you?”
I nod.
“You couldn’t have stopped it, though. You know that also, right?”
“I should have tried.”
“I suppose you could have. They wouldn’t have killed you. Too valuable. But they would have hurt you.”
“They killed my mother. My sister…”
“Yes, and countless others, and they will kill countless more unless we stop them.”
“We?” I look down at myself, expecting to see a body of a boy on the verge of manhood, but instead I see the body of a man, and I no longer need look up to see my companion. He stands abreast of me, his face a blur, but his eyes are bright with flame as they bore into me.
“Yes, ‘we.’ We belong together, you and I. You feel it, don’t you?”
I feel something, a strange warmth in my head and in my chest. My stomach tightens.
This is a dream.
I’m dreaming, and this is a memory, but who is… “Who are you?”
