Page 96 of Broken Veil
Carys nodded. “You’re talking about deification of… what? Modernity? Science?”
Jibril walked to the right and opened another gate, stepping up a path through a lush cottage garden. “Humans will deify anything, given enough time and popularity. There are gods of the internet and gods of greed. Gods of beauty that are never satisfied, and gods of the mind that do nothing but lie.”
“So the moment that enough people start worshipping an idea or a… pop culture phenomenon even… a god is formed?”
Jibril shrugged. “Of course.”
“I’ve never thought about gods like that,” Carys muttered.
Jibril frowned. “Why not?”
“I study mythology, so I mostly think about gods that have existed for a long time, but I guess anything could be a god if it’s worshipped enough.”
“A hero who is a scholar. The Builder would appreciate you.” Jibril set two loaves of bread on a small table near the front porch and knocked on the door. “Mrs. Havers does not eat honey, so I bring her extra bread.”
An old woman quickly opened the door and waved at them. “Thank you, Jibril.”
“You are very welcome, Margaret. This is my friend Carys.”
“Oh hello, dear.” Mrs. Havers took the bread and disappeared inside.
“She lost her husband last year.” Jibril’s voice was soft. “A sacrifice to one of my least favorite deities. Despair.”
Carys felt her heart sink. She was familiar with despair. “Despair is a god?”
“Of a sort. Despair is a god of the mind. Its worship takes many forms.” Jibril turned to Carys and took the basket from her arm. “Now that we have made our deliveries, do you think you can help my bees?”
“I have no idea,” Carys said. “But I can try.”
The apiary Jibriltended was in the middle of a clearing in the forest, and Duncan, Naida, Laura, and Lachlan were happy to join Carys when she went to watch it that night.
Cadell waited back at Jibril’s spacious house. The beekeeper had forbidden the dragon from approaching his hives as more than one queen had fled a hive when a dragon came too near.
“Did you know that?” Laura asked from her perch on a fallen log. “About dragons and bees?”
Carys shook her head. “That would be yet another topic that was not covered in my world mythology curriculum.”
“Maybe they’re afraid that dragons might steal their honey.” Duncan was leaning against a tree, his eyes scanning the dark forest. “It is gold, after all.”
Lachlan frowned at Duncan. “Dragons don’t hoard gold; that’s a myth.”
“Have a sense of humor, for God’s sake.” Duncan sighed.
“Which god?” Laura asked.
“What?” Duncan asked.
She turned to him. “You said, ‘for God’s sake,’ and I was just wondering which one.”
He shrugged. “Fair question these days.”
“Oh my god, it’s you.”
“Which god are you talking about?”
In the silence of the forest, Carys debated how much she should tell Lachlan about Seren and her dream. Would it make him more reckless? More angry? She should have asked Cadell, but it was almost impossible to get the dragon alone.
Cadell?Carys reached out for the dragon.Can you hear me?She heard nothing in response.
