Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (40 page)

“These gifts must be something to aid this individual through life. The gifts cannot be love or wealth, or give this being the power to control the free will of others. Again, Mosley, I’m sorry for stealing your mortal free will, but there are actions that you must accomplish, my friend. You must do this to ensure the safety of Bassorine’s secrets. Your actions are key to ensuring a better future. Search your mind, Mosley. I’ve given you everything you were meant to know. The Peak grows short. Now go.”

The Book disappeared, leaving Mosley to teleport wherever he wanted. Eventually, Mosley spoke, but there was no one around to listen, other than a few blades of grass that were beginning to wake up and moan.

“I don’t want to be a god,” he confessed. “You should’ve asked me first. I want to spend the remainder of my Peaks on Grayham.” His head dropped and sadness filled his tone. “I didn’t want to know that there wasn’t a Heaven, or that my wife’s soul was placed inside a book ... even if the book does have a soul. How can I rid myself of this pain?” The wolf lifted his head to the sky and howled. “I don’t wish to mourn my wife again! Can someone talk to me ... please?”

A long, silent period of moments passed before the wolf howled again. “What a way to become a god! Steam rises from a pile of garesh with more pomp and circumstance than my supposed exaltation!”

Mosley continued to search his mind for anything that would provide comfort. The longer he thought, the more he realized that he had always aspired to be like Bassorine. He eventually realized the power he now held. He could command the feelings of loss for his wife to hide from the forefront of his mind. He could choose his moments to mourn, and he would be able to deal with his emotions later.

As soon as the pain subsided, Mosley thought.
Hmmmm! This god thing may come in handy.
The wolf looked around the garden. A sinister smile appeared.
I bet I can mark all my territories at once from the highest of heights now. I wonder ... how accurate would I be?

Mosley lifted his leg and shot out a spurt over 100 paces, and it hit the trunk of a tree just like he wanted it to. The tree uprooted and rotated like it was turning to face him. The gestures its limbs made were clearly filled with curses.

The wolf smiled, and then he lifted his leg again. During this moment, his stream arced across the garden and hit the limbs of one of the bushes that was still in the process of waking up. The wolf grinned as the bush uprooted just like the tree, but rather than curse at him by flailing its limbs about, it chose to move farther away to escape being hit again. As it rustled away at a rapid pace, it shook its leaves to rid itself of the moisture. It was clearly just as annoyed as the tree had been.

As much as he wanted to stay and play, Mosley knew he did not have the moments to prove his territorial dominance to the rest of the garden. He had to be back on Ancients Sovereign by nightfall, so he needed to get going, but first, he had to try his new name on for size.

“Hello!” he shouted. “My name is Mosley, and I am the God of War!” He trotted around the garden and continued to shout. “Hey! Look at me, you insignificant beings! I am Mosley, the furry God of War!”

The wolf liked how his new identity sounded. It had a ring to it. As he lowered his head to sniff the grass, the wolf felt a poke from behind. One of the bushes was awake, and it had decided to plant its roots where Mosley was standing. The bush rustled, determined to push itself into his spot.

Mosley turned, growled and then lifted his hind leg.

The bush reacted and scurried away as fast as it could to avoid Mosley’s stream, but its efforts to flee were not good enough. The wolf judged the bush’s speed and then released a powerful stream of urine that hit the bush and sent it tumbling.

Delighted in this small victory, the wolf trotted over to the bush as it picked itself up off the ground and eventually regained its balance back onto its roots. The wolf boasted, “I’m Mosley, the new, dynamic, vigorous, vehement, forceful God of War. Don’t challenge me, or I shall mark you all with my godly smell.” He lifted his back leg again and peed in the direction of the closest grouping of bushes. The stream hit the ground and splashed a number of them. Annoyed, each bush uprooted, shook their limbs and then hurried away to another spot in the garden.

The wolf redirected his attention to the bush that he had caused to tumble. He extended his right, front paw and used one of his nails to point at the plant. “You shall bow before me, you foul smelling floral being. This nail could strike fear throughout the expanse of this garden. Remember me, for my stream is to be feared.” The wolf opened his mouth and breathed on the bush’s limbs. Just like Shalee had done on the griffin’s platform, the plant fell asleep as its limbs drooped toward the ground.

A random thought popped into Mosley’s head. His smile widened as he shouted, “To all the giant cats of the worlds, I will shed, and you’ll choke on my deadly fur balls!” The wolf laughed and then another random thought entered his mind.
I wonder if I can fight better than my ability to talk garesh.

A moment later, Mosley concentrated and thought of Sam’s face. Before he knew it, the new God of War was standing in front of the human.

Sam and Shalee were caught off guard by the wolf’s sudden appearance inside Sam’s preparation room beneath Angels Arena. Shalee jumped up from the bench she was sitting on and raised her staff while Sam reacted by throwing himself into a defensive posture and raising his fists.

Mosley overreacted. He closed his eyes, and his defensive instincts took over. He blew on the humans in an effort to protect himself, and since he was now a god, his breath filled the room like wind.

Hearing two thuds, the wolf opened his eyes.
Ouch!
he thought.

Seeing the awkward position Sam had landed in, Mosley shook his head and continued to think,
That’s not good. That had to hurt.
Normally, the wolf would have panicked, but instead, he grinned.
Good thing I’m a god now, or his leg would not mend before his fight.

With nothing more than a nod, Mosley commanded Sam’s leg to slowly twist out from under the fighter’s body. The crunching sounds the bones made as they ground against each other caused the wolf to cringe as the appendage shifted into its proper alignment. After a few more minor pops, the leg finished mending.

Another nod was given. Both humans woke and slowly got up off the floor. Mosley looked at their confused faces and produced his best, cute, wolfish grin as if nothing had ever happened. “Hey, guys. Did you miss me?”

Shalee leaned Precious against the wall and crossed her arms. “Mosley, you scared the bejesus out of me. Since when do you know how to pop in on us like that? And how did I end up on the floor?”

“Yeah, what the heck was that about?” Sam added.

Mosley was not sure where to begin. He decided he would answer their questions later. “I have much to say, but most of it will need to wait until we have a greater number of moments available to us.” He looked at Sam. “I won’t answer any of your questions ... so, for now, I will say that Bassorine has been destroyed. He’s no longer the leader of his own pack.”

“Destroyed?” Sam snapped. “What are you talking about?”

Mosley shook his head. “That would qualify as a question, Sam. I said I would not answer them, so don’t ask. I need you to listen right now. I’m here because Bassorine was destroyed, and it was his choice that I take his place amongst the Collective.”

Mosley stuck out his furry chest. “I am the new God of War, but not as powerful as Bassorine … I think. Anyway, for now, I have two gifts for you, Sam ... if you’ll allow me to give them to you. It was, after all, Bassorine’s wish that I do so.”

“Okay, okay. Hold up a moment. What gifts? And why would Bassorine want you to give me anything? And what do you mean, you’re a god? How’s that possible?”

Mosley smiled. “Sam, you’re unable to refrain from questions no matter what the circumstance. I expected as much. Allow me to put it this way. All you need to know is this: I am one of the gods now, and I’m here to give you two gifts. Do you want them or not?”

Sam looked at the wolf. He did not believe a word Mosley was saying, but he figured it would be best to play along. The last occasion he had failed to play along, a sword had chastised him. “Well, of course I want your gifts. Lay them on me, buddy.”

Sam’s voice was filled with sarcasm, but a big smile appeared on his face to soften it. Despite his lack of belief in what the wolf had said, he reminded himself that he was on a new world, so maybe there was something to this after all. Besides, he could not afford to look foolish again—it hurt too much both physically and mentally.

Mosley sniffed the corners of the room as he continued. “We both know your rise to glory will be a savage journey. I want to help. The gifts I can bestow will expedite your growth.”

Mosley stopped in one of the corners and curled his nose at the foul stench. A spot of blood had landed there from one of the arena’s combatants as he had been attended to by the healers. The spot was dark brown and dried out. “Nasty. This being smelled as bad as you, Sam. The men of your species carry a horrid odor.”

Sam looked down at the blood. “Okay, okay. How often do you need to tell me I stink before you think that I’ll get it? Can’t you just get on with whatever the gifts are rather than chastise me about my odor? What kind of friend are you anyway?”

Shalee covered her grin with her hand and waited for the wolf to respond. “I have thought about what to give to you, Sam, and my decision is this: I want my gifts to be a natural part of your being and increase your abilities.”

Sam nodded. “I like the sound of that.” The fighter was glad he had not been so quick to judge and had given his four-legged friend the chance to prove himself.

The new God of War continued. “I shall bless you with greater strength. You’ll be able to lift the weight of your body, amplified by six. For my second gift, I’ll enhance your ability to react. In my opinion, the greatest of pack leaders would have sought gifts like these. Your body will move as quick as your mind can think. You would like both gifts, yes?”

Sam nodded. “Of course, I would. It’s not like what you’re saying sucks or anything like that. So if you’re going to give me something, it might as well be enhancements like those.”

Mosley chuckled. “With these gifts, you just might survive the arenas on Grayham ... but I doubt it.”

Sam shrugged. “Okay, okay. So what do I have to do? If this works, Mosley, you’ll be my favorite god.”

Mosley laughed and looked at Shalee who was clearly excited about Sam’s gifts. “I think he better control his emotions, or he’s going to burst from the excitement,” Mosley chided, and then his tone changed. “Shalee, you do not need a gift. Only Sam is our problem cub.”

Shalee nodded. “I totally agree. So what does he need to do?”

“Nothing,” Mosley replied. “He only needs to allow the gifts to flow into him.”

Without hesitation, Sam piped in. “Then start flowing already.”

Mosley trotted over and touched one of his paws to Sam’s left foot. The transfer of power was instantaneous. The fighter felt an electrifying surge course through his body—not painful, but rather a soothing current that massaged his cells as his anatomy accepted the gifts. He could feel his strength increasing. His feet felt lighter as he watched his body change. He looked at Shalee to confirm what he thought he was seeing was actually happening.

The sorceress-in-training nodded. Sam’s body was, indeed, growing bigger and stronger. Shalee took a step back and watched the effects the gifts were having. Sam’s height was increasing. His arms, legs, chest, back, and neck were all becoming thicker. Sam’s new look was wonderful, and though she had always subconsciously desired him since their first encounter inside the temple, she really liked this new Sam.

Sam’s five-inch-taller frame balanced the additional weight. He had just enough body fat to look healthy, yet he was cut enough to look shredded. His shoes had burst open, allowing for the expansion of his feet, and his pants were not only too short, but torn.

Shalee grabbed Sam’s old pair of fighting trunks and made him put them on. Sam dropped his pants, and for the first series of moments since their arrival, Shalee saw the fighter in all his glory. His shoulders were broad, his arms were like cannons, his jaw line was tight, and his abdomen called to her—and the rest, well, Sam looked delicious.

Shalee lost herself in the fighter’s physique. He would get all her attention from now on. The moment had arrived for her to become Sam’s. She ran off at the mouth, saying things that were out of character and downright unladylike—things best left to the imagination as she stared at his body.

Sam and Mosley glared at Shalee in disbelief.

Embarrassed at what she had just said, she blushed. “I’m so sorry. I don’t normally act like a fool. I don’t know what came over me.” She reached up with her hand and fanned her face. “Goodness-gracious, it’s hot in here. We should just forget that I said anything.”

Sam looked at Mosley and winked. “Looks like you’ve given me more than two gifts, buddy. The ladies won’t be able to resist me now.”

He turned to Shalee and smiled. “I’m glad you like my new look. I’ve always liked yours as well.” He addressed Mosley once again. “You really know how to hook a guy up.”

Sam looked down at his new six-foot-two-inch, 250 pound frame and marveled at its splendor. Excited, he blurted out without thinking, “Well, I’m sure Shalee and I can make some strong babies now. What do you think, Mosley?”

Mosley rolled his eyes. Neither human seemed to have any self-control at the moment.

Shalee looked at Sam. Her mood went from anxious embarrassment to utter surprise and softheartedness. She moved close, looked into his eyes, and spoke with tenderness. “Do you really look at me like that? Am I special to you? You’ve actually thought about me having your kids? I was surprised to hear that. If only I had known.”

Mosley rolled his eyes. His moments were filled with awkwardness as Sam pulled Shalee to him to give her a kiss. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to skip chasing after you.”