Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods (8 page)

An entire day on horseback did not sound like my idea of a good time. I would have to tell the others my mission was going to take longer than expected. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I must use my power one last time before we begin our trip.”

It was impossible to miss the annoyance on Thana’s face as Sajin turned her toward the street.

I brought Kitaya’s image into my mind.

“
Hello, Jason.”
Her thoughts where warm.

“
How are you faring?”
I asked.

“
Tiko does not stay in one place for long. That makes it difficult.”

“
I’m experiencing some complications as well
.
I don’t have time to explain but it looks like I’ll have to finish my journey without using my powers, so it's going to take awhile.”

“
Oh that does not sound good.”

“
I know. If things get too hairy, I’ll use them but only as a last resort. --Well, I guess I have to go. --I look forward to seeing you again. I... It's nicer when you’re around.”

I felt her giggle.
“I miss you too.”
Her words were so light and innocent.
“Take care.”

“
Thanks. I’ll do my best. You take it easy on Tiko. Okay?”

“
Alright.”

As much as I hated to, I pushed her from my mind. I stood for a moment, letting her words wash over me. She missed me. I felt like a little kid.

Now to check on Corel.
“Corel?”

“
Yes, Jason?”

“
This is going to take more than a day to finish up. How are you and Armadon faring?”

“
Not sure. Armadon is very meticulous. Could take hours before we depart from here. Do the best you can, Jason. I will try to inform you if things change.”

“
Good luck then.”
I broke the link.

While Thana was out of sight, I took the opportunity to consider my situation. It was difficult enough trying to combat Gaza’s minions using the power of the web. Without it, it would be much more difficult-- if not impossible.

I needed a weapon.

I remembered my discussion with Armadon. I had asked him why his troops used primitive weapons such as bows and arrows and swords. He had replied that he didn’t know how to make a firing mechanism. He knew what a gun looked like and how to use one, but he didn't know how they functioned.

Fortunately for me, I did. It was odd how my memory was fragmented. I could remember intimate details of pistol firing mechanisms, but I had no idea who had taught me, or where I was when I’d learned it. I brought up the web and created the items I would need for my trip including a pistol and a holster, which I neatly hid under my shirt. Last of all I made a backpack in which to carry everything.

Oh yeah,
this
was going to be fun.

EXPELLING A DISTORTED MASK

001001011001110

Traveling by horseback would probably be on the bottom of my list of preferred transportation, if I had such a list. Horses simply lacked the speed and comfort of an automobile. By now I would have had the air conditioner on and the radio blaring. But instead, the sun was burning a hole through the back of my neck, and my inner thighs were becoming sufficiently tenderized.

Thana was doing an excellent job of ignoring me. I made several attempts to pull up beside her but each time she spurred her horse ahead. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with me, so I rode quietly behind her for several hours.

Finally I could stand it no longer and with difficulty managed to pull my horse up next to hers and keep pace. “Where’s the fire?” I joked.

Silence.

Somehow I had to get through to her. I wasn’t such a bad guy. If she could just take two seconds away from her grumpy schedule, she would see that. “Listen, what do you have against me anyway? You know, if we’re going to work together we are going to have to communicate. Our lives may depend on it.”

I felt the chill from her shoulder.

“Look, Thana, I feel greatly for your loss but
I’ve
done nothing to you.”

I must have touched a nerve because without warning the floodgates crashed open.
“What!
You think you’ve done
nothing?
All you people
do
is meddle! You have
no
respect for what we’ve worked for. You come here sticking your noses into everything without asking us what
we
think. We’ve been here for
centuries
. This planet is our
home!
We’ve put our sweat, tears, and memories into its construction, but that doesn’t seem to matter to your kind! You snap your fingers and a mountain is a valley. You wiggle your fanny and a lake is a dessert. Well it’s
wrong!
And thousands of my people have died senselessly in the faithful service of the
gods
. But their deaths have no meaning because the cause is
worthless
. Peace? Hope? You don’t seem to understand the meanings of the words that come from the very book that spoke of your intervention. You don’t
know
us! This isn’t your planet and...”

“Now wait a minute! You don’t know
me!”

She glared at me. “I know your
kind,
gods indeed!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “It’s amazing that the fabric of the universe should choose
you
as its supreme beings. You can scarcely see beyond your own noses. Life is not something you bend to suit your fancy. It’s hard and it’s rewarding, and it’s the journey that makes us who we are! But to the so-called
gods
nothing is sacred. There’s a quick fix for everything!”

“That’s
enough!”
I clenched my hand into a fist. “You have no right to judge me!”

“What are you going to do, destroy me? Silence me for the things I’ve said? That
is
how your kind deals with their problems isn’t it? If you don’t like it, change it. Well, go ahead! Snap your fingers and make me disappear. I don’t want to live if I have to live under the whim of
juveniles!”

I stopped my horse and enunciated through clenched teeth. “Listen closely,
Thana
for I swear to you on all that is precious if it were in my heart to do so I would destroy you where you sit for your ignorance. But I am not the monster you think I am. If anyone is short sighted it is
you
.
I
am working toward peace yet you don’t see that.
You
superimpose on me the sins of others.
I
am not
them
, and if you took a moment to get to know me, you would see that. I will be the first to admit, I’m not perfect, but I’m doing the best I can! So save your little
attitude
for someone who deserves it!” I pulled on the reins and turned away from her. She wasn’t worth the aggravation. There had to be another way to find Humphrey!

I was about to spur my horse when her voice interrupted me. “I’m sorry,” was all she said, and it sounded like the words tasted bad in her mouth. I still had my back turned when I heard her horse start back up along the path. I sat grumbling to myself for a few moments, then grudgingly followed.

She was so stubborn and
angry.
--But I guess I couldn’t blame her; she’d lost her entire family. That was a lot of pain for a young woman to carry. But she didn’t have to take it out on me! I had my own problems. At least she still
had
a home. The home I remembered was nothing more than a fragmented collection of jumbled images without a single personal memory to build from. I was lost in a strange world. Everyone I had ever known was gone. At least she had the memories to hold on to. But-- then again, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.

We traveled on in silence. The river we were following was beautiful, but I could barely appreciate it with everything filtering through my mind. The shadows were growing longer. I pulled up next to Thana. “Would you mind if we stop in that clearing up ahead? We don’t have much daylight left and I’d like to stretch my legs, if you don’t mind.”

She gave me an examining look.

She probably thought my suggestion was made out of selfishness so I added with annoyance, “I don’t require rest or sustenance but you’ve gone quite awhile without eating or drinking. Stopping will do us both some good. Then maybe we can start fresh, okay?”

She slowed her horse, and gave me a nod.

The clearing was surrounded by large maples and evergreens. Leaves rustled in the breeze and the sweet smell of pine filled my nostrils. I climbed down and looked about. The road behind us trailed off into the hills and the road ahead disappeared into a stand of pines. This was definitely a good place to stop. It was open and grassy and the river looked inviting.

I led my horse down to the water’s edge. She took a long drink then started grazing. I looked over my shoulder to see Thana rummaging through her pack, searching for something to eat no doubt. We had traveled a long way and she was probably famished. I still found it strange that I did not experience hunger. --Apparently I drew
my
energy from something other than hollow apples.

I pushed my face down into the crystal clear water. It was cool and refreshing after the long hot day. I removed my pack, sat back against one of the trees, and looked out over the water. There was a relaxing quality to this area, and for a moment I almost felt like I could put this nightmare out of my mind. But as I closed my eyes the eerie specters from the morning came back to haunt me. Scenes from the sinister ordeal paraded through my mind like a spooky picture show. I let out an involuntary shudder.

Thana’s voice interrupted my dark thoughts. “What is
that?”

I looked around. Up the river, silently drifting toward us, a ship of some kind penetrated the dim evening air; an ominous haunting figure, its shape dark against the setting sky. This did
not
look good.

I climbed back up the bank to where Thana was quickly putting her things into her pack. “Here, let me help you,” I said, kneeling down.

“No thanks.”

“Okay then I’ll keep an eye on the ship,” I said shortly. My patience with her was growing thin.

I got up and moved back to the edge of the bank where I could keep tabs on our dark guest. It wasn’t a large ship, but was heavily armored and rigged for combat. I was not looking forward to tangling with it. As I quietly watched its unearthly form creep toward us, fear welled up inside my chest. I hoped it would just pass by. But as my luck would have it, it stopped directly across from us. And just sat there. Defying nature. The current and the wind continued to apply their forces to the vessel, but it had ceased to pay any attention to their influence. They must have dropped anchor, but why here? Why now?

With a thunderous clank five large plates opened on the side of the ship. Startled, I jumped back. “Are they going to fire on us?” I asked with sudden urgency.

Thana had packed and untied her horse and was preparing to mount. I followed suit. As I lifted my leg over the horse’s back a shrieking noise cut through the air. My head snapped around to see balls of fire emerging from the side of the ship.

“
Ride!”
I yelled, spurring my horse. Thana’s feet snapped back and her steed bolted. Both horses dug in and we took off down the road. Nearing the turn that would bring us away from the river I looked back. The fireballs were following us. They swirled and weaved around each other in pursuit.
“Stay toward the water!”
I yelled.

Thana looked back, my terror reflecting in her eyes.

“If we’re going to survive without my power we’ll need the protection of the water!”

Her horse pulled to the right and followed the river’s edge. I checked behind. The fireballs were gaining ground. “We’ll have to jump in the water!” I yelled. But as soon as the words left my lips iron bars began shooting up out of the ground near the water’s edge, blocking us from its protection.

Gaza’s work, no doubt.

I spurred my horse faster, but the bars kept ahead of us. “Now what?” I looked behind again. The fireballs were getting dangerously near. “Can I use my power
now?”
I pleaded.

There was an opening in the rock wall to our left. We made a sharp turn and entered the rocky mouth. Behind us explosions could be heard. I turned hoping to see our pursuers burning at the entrance, but they had only scraped the edge coming in. We had made some headway but wouldn’t keep the distance for long. I could hear the crackling of fire echoing off the crevice walls behind us as we weaved in and out. Then without warning, our horses nearly sat down as they skidded to a halt. The crevice had ended, and so had our escape.

I leaped off the horse and faced the advancing demon fire. “Can I use the power
now?”
I called behind me.

“No! I am ready to
die,
if that is my destiny!” she screamed back.

Oh brother. Well
I
wasn’t ready to die. I raised my arms with the intent of applying the web, but the fireballs came to a sudden stop just before me. They were so close, I could feel the heat from their baleful flames. They hovered silently-- as if in contemplation of their next move. What were they
doing?
Why didn’t they just finish us? Abruptly, they began to change. Flames fell apart and sprinkled down toward the ground. In the spray, humanoid fire creatures began to take form. I looked on, more with curiosity than fear, and soon five fully formed lava creatures stood before us.