Breaking Gods (7 page)
She gave him a sidelong glance. “Of course they do. They know what they are, but they keep their secrets. May I ask you a question?”
“Fair is fair.” He smiled.
“Did you ever meet the Aruda on your home world? There had to have been some at one point.”
“No. Until I came here, I would never have thought to look. I didn’t know that this species even existed, let alone that it was encoded in my genes.”
“I didn’t know that I wasn’t the only one of my kind and that a bunch of the others were power-mad jackasses. Every day is another chance to learn.”
They followed the goats through the narrow path and down the mountainside in a progress lost to time.
Every now and then, Muraz would ask a question about life in the abbey or how she could so easily master new skills. She answered question after question until they made it down to the wintering valley.
“How do we get the kids and mothers separate from the rest?” Muraz was looking nervous at the flock, as it was obviously over two thousand milling and bleating goats.
She smiled and whistled in a lilting tone, over and over until the small creatures with floppy ears made a beeline for her. Their mothers came after them.
“How do you do that?”
“I was trained by Brother Eycar. Bringing in the flock had been his duty. I took over from him when he wasn’t able to make the journey. He enjoyed it.”
She whistled again and more of the little ones separated from the flock until there were over one hundred mothers and kids milling near her. She took a snack from her pack and ate as she walked. Muraz followed her example and every few hundred yards she whistled again until they were on the way down a gentle slope and heading toward a barn.
“Who feeds them?”
“Brother Frimin is the primary on winter duty here this year. The seven here will be checked on every week and spend their time in meditation and communication with Mother and Father. They keep this area green and lush for the kids and the mothers. Winter doesn’t touch it and there is a spring and plenty of fresh water, grass and light. Everything that they need.”
“Why is it important to separate them from the herd?”
She sighed, whistled again and kept walking, leading her fluffy parade. “If we don’t separate them, a good quantity of the kids die and then the females go into season immediately. Overbreeding isn’t good for them. If we keep the kids with them as long as possible, they won’t breed again for two years.”
“So, population control and keeping the species healthy is a good thing. I am just surprised that they go along with it.”
“They were raised this way and their mothers were raised this way. It is in them after one generation. The offspring brings a warm winter. They know it and expect it. We can’t stop now.”
She whistled and the doors of the barn opened. Brothers and sisters streamed out with supplemental hay and troughs that they filled with water. The goats took it from there.
Lieta watched the beasts walk toward the brothers and sisters without fear. “I envy them the simple life.”
“The monks or the goats?” Muraz was amused.
She snorted. “Both. Ah well. Time to go home. It is a twelve-hour walk or a half-hour flight. Which are you up for?”
He visibly paled at the mention of flying. “Which way are you getting home?”
“I am flying. If you want to walk, tell the monks and they will show you the tunnels.” She refastened the back of her pack and slipped it over her shoulders.
She smirked. “You won’t get sick if you do your own flying.”
“What?”
“If you control the motion of your, body you won’t get motion sick. Come on, we will fly, and if not, I will see you at dawn tomorrow.”
She lifted off and left him on his own. He had the power and the skills to use them if he was brave enough.
Time would tell.
She landed in the orchard and checked the skies. She squinted and there he was, skimming along the edge of the mountains.
His landing wasn’t graceful, but it was solid. She helped him up and put his arm around her shoulders, walking him through the trees as they prepared for their winter sleep and into the abbey.
Instead of going through the public areas, she skimmed along the outer walkways and headed straight for the bathing pools.
She aimed him sideways through a crack in the stone just wide enough for his body and she pushed him through.
“Where are we going?” He was dazed.
“Special pool. Be quiet and relax.”
The hall was several metres long, but eventually, they emerged and she eased him onto a bench. With the ease of practice, she removed his boots, and with a grin, she slit the robe off him with nails turned to claws.
She left him there naked and quickly removed her own clothing, setting it to one side. Lieta took him by the arm again and walked him to the pool with her skin as the guiding light.
“Where are we?”
“In the pools closest to the roots of Mother and Father.”
“Why am I so drained?”
“Flying uses multi-directional telekinesis and weather manipulation. It is an energy-draining skill. The waters here will help you.”
She kept walking until he was in the water up to his jaw and she was floating.
With a quick move, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him.
He gripped her hips and leaned back a little. “Why now?”
“Because we are assured of privacy and nothing will eat your clothing. I have already shredded it.” She grinned and nipped his lip.
“Are you sure?”
“The Citadel will be coming again very soon. If we become partners now, there will be less issue later.”
“That is the logic you are going with?” He raised his eyebrow.
She grinned. “It works for me. Any objection?”
“You are the kind of woman to take advantage of a man when he is weak and feeble. I can work with that.” He grinned and kissed her as they sank beneath the water, their bodies glowing under the surface as the waves churned.
* * * *
Mother and Father rustled their leaves with relief. It had been a gamble to bring him here, but Lieta was accepting him.
For now, they would be partners in taming their species, but a few centuries down the line, there would be children. A new generation for a new world when Lieta was ready to take root with Muraz wrapped around her in the Aruda way.
Mother and Father had already begun their search for a nesting home for the couple. It was never too early to begin planning for the future of ones you loved.
A woman of many talents with trees in her veins. I enjoyed
Breaking Gods,
and we will definitely see Lieta and Muraz in another story. I am curious to see how things are going on.
Water and Power
will bring us back to Resicor. Deep in the cities, talents are put to use and hidden from the public eye. Our heroine controls water and power for two million souls, but the only life she wants to enrich is her own.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.