God of the Abyss (7 page)

“Eat,” he growled.

I took the fruit, but grumbled about it. A few
minutes later, Marnd came by and chased away the little dragons. He pleaded
with Mordon to take the position of their leader, only to be brushed off in a
nearly rude display of disinterest. It seemed that whatever childhood
friendship Rojan and Marnd had, it was broken when Ron was threatened. Mordon
chased him off.

“So I had a moment to talk to Marnd last night. The
reason I couldn’t smell the dragons ahead of time was because Rojan’s sister
found some kind of plant residue that disorientates dragons. Also, my father
was here a few months ago, asking about it.”

“What do you think?” I asked. “Is he trouble, or is
he
in
trouble?”

“At this point I don’t know. Whatever it is, we can
deal with it later.”

I flashed us all back to Edward’s cabin.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about Meri. I covered Ron’s eyes and Mordon
covered Sammy’s, because Meri was sitting at the table, dressed only in one of
Edward’s shirts. Edward sat across from her, a fair bit more decent.

“Hello, Dylan,” Meri said, giving me a polite smile
before continuing with her breakfast.

She didn’t even try to cover herself, but I guess a
woman like that never had anything to be ashamed of. Divina was the same way.

“What’s wrong?” Edward asked, immediately assuming we
were in trouble. We usually were. Mordon just gaped at Meri.

“The gods think that one of the Guardians is a…
Mordon, stop staring. They think one of the Guardians is a traitor,” I said.
Then I put my other hand over Mordon’s eyes when he continued to stare at Meri.
Edward has fought men much bigger than Mordon for a woman and I needed my
friend in one piece to help me.

Meri gave him a kiss and said she would leave him to
his work. Thinking the show was over, I removed my hand from Mordon’s eyes.
Edward’s girlfriend then pulled the bedroom door up and when she bent down, I
thought Mordon would die. Meri was undoubtedly gorgeous and had a truly amazing
figure, but I had Divina. It wasn’t even that Divina was more beautiful than
Meri; Divina was perfect for me. I liked the mischievous, calculating aspect of
my wife, the innocence hidden behind her darker history, and that she loved to
sleep late.

Ron blinked when I took my hand away. “What did I
see?” he asked. “Mordon’s heartbeat went crazy.”

Mordon had the decency to look ashamed, but Sammy
looked no better. Thank god my younger child didn’t get it.

“They always suspect of us one thing or another,”
Edward said, referring to my earlier statement.

“Do they have a good, legitimate reason to? I mean,
has any Guardian actually betrayed their god?”

“Not that I know of. I know Ghidorah and Samorde have
refused to take assignments from their gods based on moral dilemmas, but they
both accepted punishment for it.”

“Since you know them personally, would either of them
consider that reason to–”

“No. Ghidorah and Samorde would be the last to betray
their gods or people. Ghidorah doesn’t even know where his book is; he hid it
from himself so that no person could invade his world and damage Skrev’s ecosystem.
Samorde is completely devoted to his responsibility to his people.”

“Is there any Guardian who might have the motive to
obey Vretial over their own god, share information, betray the other Guardians,
or maybe even want to bring Vretial back?”

“We have all been raised to trust in and obey our
god. Well, except for you. The fact that they trust you so much and share
information with you alone might irritate some. Nano is known for sharing
information for a price and Shiloh wants to know everyone’s business. They
might resent you for your relationship with the gods, but Nano wouldn’t betray
you for his love of Vivian and Shiloh is more likely to try to use you to get
what he wants, which is essentially peace. As far as who might betray their
god, only myself, Rasik, and Samorde have a god who is known as cruel.”

“Well, if you were to betray Erono, how would you do
it? And for what reason?” I asked.

He thought carefully for a few minutes. “I would do
it out of spite, because Erono didn’t care when Ronez died. I guess what I
would do is get information about Erono from you and Divina, then spread it to
the Duran people. Maybe I would make up some stuff. I just can’t imagine that
Erono has any important secrets. Regivus would be the one to betray.”

“What about Rasik?”

He shook his head. “Rasik is terrified of his own
god. I can’t conceive him doing anything as bold as betraying Azenoth.”

“With fear in mind, would Azenoth be the least likely
god to betray?”

“No. Azenoth would only kill you. Regivus would be
the one nobody would betray. Of course, Vretial would be if he were still
alive. Now, I’m telling you from the perspective of the Guardians. None of us
know the gods like you, not even Nano. Did the gods give you any instructions?”

“They want me to determine who’s good and not good.”

“What do I need to do?” he asked. “I assume Erono
suspects me.”

“Yeah, because you were able to hide from him. Some
of the Guardians have temporarily hidden from their gods and the gods are
having trouble communicating with them. When was the last time you or Erono
talked to each other?”

He frowned. “A few months. I didn’t have any
trouble.”

“Try now. Get ahold of him and let him know I
investigated you. Your super-secret access code is green.”

“So if I said red?” he asked.

“Um… Don’t do that. Like, really, really don’t say
that. Before you go, I need to tell you something.” Just in case he heard it
from Erono, I wanted to tell him about Vretial first.

We stepped out onto the porch. The boys both gave me
sad expressions as if I were leaving them for a month as I shut the door.
“Vretial warned him,” I said after we were alone. “We were following the tracks
of a dragon when Vretial called Ron out. He warned Ron that we needed to turn
away, that we were walking into a trap.”

“I’ll watch out for him. He must be trying to get Ron
on his side.”

“So he is back then?”

“If Sammy and Ron say he’s back, it’s hard to argue.
But you are the one who defeated him, you tell me.”

When Sammy first told me he had seen Vretial, that he
was afraid of the god, my only goal was to keep him safe. Divina was sure he
wasn’t back… but how could she be so certain? What happens to a god who is
destroyed? What did Divina and I even do to him in the first place? And more
importantly, why did he want my kids?

“I think I need to find the other Guardians. If I can
find out what’s happening with everyone, I can find out if it has anything to
do with Vretial. Who knows, maybe it’s someone else who is impersonating him.”

“Just be careful.”

I tried to give him an encouraging smile. “I’ve been
in this a while now. I had you to train me, and the gods.” I shrugged. “You
know what I’m capable of,” I said. I really didn’t want him to worry about me;
I wanted him to believe in me. He was my mentor and the person I looked up to
the most. By blood he was my uncle, but in every way that mattered, he was a
father to me.

He sighed and put his hand on my shoulder. “I never
look down on you. I know you are capable of great things, but you are also
capable of making a mistake. You think with your head and act with your heart
and sometimes you are brilliant, but sometimes you’re not. You are young.”

“I learn.”

“I know. But you are so driven to figure things out.
Just…” He patted my shoulder as if searching for the words to say. “Think of
Sammy. You know he’s powerful, but every time he’s out of your sight, there is
a chance of something happening.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel much better.”

“That’s how I feel about you. I know you’re not a
child, and you have come so far from when I first met you, but you’ll learn
that the fear doesn’t go away just because your child grows up. So the next
time you are about to do something stupid, like drop your energy shield while
surrounded by an army intent on eating your entrails, think of me. Think of me,
sitting at home, baby-sitting and worrying about you. Think if it were Sammy or
Ron in your position.”

I couldn’t stand the thought. “I will try to think
about it… but you said yourself that I act with my heart instead of my head.”

“Sometimes your head has to be louder than your
heart.” We went back inside.

Edward cleared his mind to contact his god. I felt
the moment that his consciousness left his body, but I also felt the moment he
was attacked. My first reaction wasn’t to figure out what it was, as it should
have been. Instead I pushed my magic into Edward with the purpose of pulling
him back. I felt him and something else trying to hold him. It was a cold,
angry, creepy power, similar to Iadnah energy, but dark. My own magic could
have failed, but just before I lost him, the power let go.

Edward woke with a gasp and shudder. I sent more
magic into Edward to heal him. “I couldn’t get to him. Something attacked me.”

“I know.”

“It was Vretial,” he said.

I hesitated. “Maybe. I’m not so sure. Vretial never
seemed that evil to me. Someone or something attacked you and if that is what’s
stopping the gods and Guardians from contacting each other, we have a serious
problem. It’s as powerful as Iadnah magic.”

“So you can’t beat it?” Mordon asked.

“No, it means I have to use my brain instead of my
strength.”

“Oh, no, we’re doomed,” he moaned.

“Shut up. I need new friends. We need to get to the
other Guardians and warn them. Not you, Dad,” I said when Edward grabbed his
bag. “Mordon and I can handle this. I was hoping you would watch the boys.”

“What?! No, we want to fight the monsters!” Sammy
demanded. Ron nodded his agreement.

“Why should I not go?” Edward asked. I had to tread
carefully so that I didn’t injure his pride. He didn’t have Iadnah energy, but
he knew so much more than me about nominal energy. He also had wisdom I would
only get with age. However, I needed his power and wisdom focused elsewhere.

“Because it might be targeting Guardians, because the
gods are paranoid enough, and because there is no one I trust more to take care
of Ron and Sammy. Vretial might be after them and I need to know they’re safe.
You protected me, and I know you can keep them safe. Please.”

He didn’t look happy about it, but he sighed and
nodded.

“You should let the gods know about the change of
plans,” Mordon suggested. I used my magic to reach through my book. It was the
same as when I connected to Earth to heal it from the backlash of Vretial’s
defeat, except I was specifically trying to connect with my mate. This was
something I never did before using my magic and I had no idea how it would
work. However, my magic could do anything.

“Divina? Can you hear me?”
I thought real
hard. I could feel the goddess of Earth through my book.

“Dylan? How are you doing this?”

“Not sure, and I don’t know if I can keep this
connection up. Edward tried to contact Erono and was attacked. I don’t know
what it was other than extremely powerful.”

“Are you putting yourself at risk?”

“This is probably safer than contacting you the
Guardian way. It attacked instantly and I think it might be targeting
Guardians.”

“Don’t let Kiro go with you. If Vretial is
targeting Guardians, Kiro might be–”

“I know. I’m taking Mordon and leaving the boys
with Edward. I’m still going to try to find the Guardians. I want to give
Edward my pentagram. It can alert me if something attacks him again. I’m just
calling to let you know that the plan has changed and the kids are fine.”

The connection snapped. I opened my eyes to see
Mordon’s eyes shift from black to normal.

“How did it go? Did you get her?”

“Yeah. I told Divina what’s up.” I turned to Edward
and took off my pentagram. “Please keep this on you for mine and Divina’s peace
of mind. If you get hurt or need help, it’ll bring me to you.” He looked at the
boys and agreed to take it. Edward was very protective of my kids. I turned to
Mordon. “Let’s go check on Nano first.”

“How come?” he asked.

Sammy watched us with hawk eyes and owl ears. I hoped
he had settled happily into our family, but no child wanted to believe his
biological parents abandoned him.

“Because it’s been four years and they never came
back for Sammy.”
They visited a lot in the first year, but they stopped
coming when it got too hard for Vivian to leave. Ron was old enough now to turn
over the spell to Divina with some guidance, but we never told him about the
magic. There was never a reason; the boys were always together. And if I did
tell them, Sammy could go live with his parents. It would absolutely break
Ron’s heart if Sammy left us, not to mention Divina’s, Edward’s, Mordon’s, and
mine.

“I’m sure they had a good reason.”

I got down on my knees to be eye level with Ron.
“Mordon and I will be back soon, so be good for your granddad, okay?”

“We’re always good, Daddy.”

Oh, Hell, he has the same mischievous glint in his
eye as his mother.
“Yes, I know you are.” “
Watch him
,” I mouthed to
Edward. He nodded. Both of my sons were very well behaved, but I noticed an
increase in small pranks lately. Sammy was a bit of a vindictive baby, but Ron
was genetically prone to asking for trouble. I said goodbye and hugged them.

Regivus was right; I had eternity to be a Guardian,
but my sons would only be little for a short time. I didn’t want to miss any of
this. Besides, if I turned my back on Ron, he was liable to take over all the
worlds. He was enough like his mother that he could probably talk the gods into
handing
their worlds over.