The Godling Chronicles 02 - Of Gods And Elves

The
Godling Chronicles (Of Gods and Elves, Book #2)

by

Brian
D. Anderson

Original
Concept: Jonathan Anderson

The
Godling Chronicles (Book Two) Of Gods and Elves

By

Brian
D. Anderson

Original
concept by Jonathan Anderson

Copyright
© Brian D. Anderson 2012

Cover
Design Salinde

Published
by Mythos Press (An Imprint of GMTA Publishing)

Names,
characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the
author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the
publisher.

All
rights reserved. No part of this book maybe reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by

any
means whatsoever, including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage

and
retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher
and/or author.

Contact
GMTA Publishing, 2206 Wingate Road, Fayetteville, NC 28304

Printed
in the U.S.A.

ISBN-13:
978-0615710044

ISBN-10:
0615710042

Dedication

In
loving memory of Magdaline Panagos (1923-2006)

Prologue

Gewey felt cold, smooth stone pressed against his face,
and a terrible wind roared in his ears. He opened his eyes. Nothing
but pitch-blackness surrounded him. He remembered his fight with
Harlondo. He felt his body searching for wounds the half-man had
inflicted.
No injuries
!

“
We have healed you,” said a voice from the
darkness. It was soft and musical but neither male nor female.

Gewey tried to tell where the voice originated from, but
it was as if it came from everywhere.

“
Where am I?” He got to his feet as his
voice echoed. “Who are you?”

“
You are home,” said the voice. “You
are with us. We have been waiting so very long.”

“
You haven’t answered my question.”

“
There is plenty of time for questions. For now
you must take your ease.”

A light appeared, piercing the darkness several yards
away. He stood on a raised stone walkway, surrounded by pure
nothingness that went on forever. The only other thing he could see
was a silver door at the end of the path. Gewey crept forward,
careful not to step to close to the edge.

When he was only a few feet away the door opened, and
the light dimmed.

“
What’s in there?” he asked but
received no reply.

He stepped inside the door and found himself in his own
house. A fire burned cheerfully, and a hot plate of roast lamb and
honey-split bread were on the table. Harman Stedding, his father, sat
at the far end of the table smiling at him.

“
Finally,” said Harman. “Did you have
a good day?”

Gewey turned pale and tried to back out of the door, but
it was no longer there.

“
What's wrong, son?” Harman asked.

His father was just as he remembered him, tall, and lean
with salt and pepper hair. Gewey had always thought he looked more
like a teacher than a farmer. He wore the green linen shirt and
trousers that he always had worn in the evenings after the day’s
work.

“
Who are you?” Gewey demanded. He reached
for his sword, but it was no longer at his side.

Harman looked concerned and tried to walk over to him,
but Gewey ran to the other end of the table looking for something to
use as a weapon.

Harman sighed, shaking his head. “He told me this
might happen. Gewey let me explain.”

“
Explain what? You’re not my father. My
father is dead.”

Harman backed away. “Son, please. You’ve
been through a terrible ordeal. Let me help you.”

“
Liar! Get away from me.” He found a knife
on the table and snatched it up.

Fear struck Harman’s face. “If you’ll
just let me speak to you for one second.”

Gewey tried to calm himself and focus. “Speak,”
he growled. “But if you come near me, I swear

I’ll kill you.”

Harman slowly pulled up a chair and motioned for Gewey
to sit as well, but Gewey backed away and put himself near the front
door.

“
You’ve been ill,” said Harman. “Very
ill. Lord Starfinder took you to Gath for treatment.

You’ve been back for three days now.”

“
Gath, eh,” said Gewey. “I
was
in Gath with Lee, and so far that's the only true thing you’ve
said.”

“
I’m not lying, son. This is the third time
you’ve lost your memory since you’ve been back. It’s
the medicine they gave you. Lee told me that the healer said this
might happen.”

“
You expect me to believe that?” Gewey
snorted. “You’ve been dead for two years. I buried you
myself.”

“
Your fever is causing you to hallucinate,”
said Harman. “Last time you lost your memory you thought you
were a God. You even told me I wasn’t really your father.”

Gewey glared. “This won’t work. Tell me the
truth, or I'll gut you right now.”

Harman bowed his head. “You’re not going to
make this easy are you? We really hoped being here, and seeing your
father alive and happy would be enough for you just to accept this.”

Gewey raised his knife and readied himself to attack.
“What are you?”

“
I’m here to care for you,” he
answered. “You are with us now. Your body has been left
behind.”

“
My body? What have you done to my body?”

“
Your body was destroyed. Only your spirit
remains. However, you shouldn’t fear, we love you, and we will
care for you. Anything you want is yours.”

“
You still haven’t told me who you are?”

“
We are the first,” he replied. “We
are the lovers of the Gods. We have been waiting for you. We love
you.”

“
Return me to my body now,” Gewey demanded.
“You can’t keep me here. You don’t have the right.”

“
I cannot return you,” said Harman. “Please
don’t worry. Soon you will forget about the troubles of that
other world. Here you can be anything you wish. All we ask is that
you love us as your kin had once done.”

“
My kin? You mean the Gods? What do you know about
them?”

“
We were favored by them, above all others. When
the Dark One trapped them, we were left all alone. We had you once
and should not have let you go. But we were betrayed.”

“
You’re not making sense,” said Gewey.
“Who betrayed you?”

“
Felsafell,” he said bitterly. “He
convinced us to let you go. Then he left us too.”

“
You’re spirits. That’s what you are.
What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you.”

“
We only desire your love,” he said. “It
is everything to us. We need it. We are so lonely.”

“
I cannot stay with you,” said Gewey as he
moved to the door. “I don’t belong here.”

“
You cannot leave,” cried Harman. “There
is nowhere to run. Soon you will forget. Soon you will love us as we
love you.”

Gewey couldn’t help but feel pity for the
creature, but he knew he had to get away. He opened the door and ran
from the house. The figure of his father appeared in front of him.

“
Get away from me,” screamed Gewey. “Let
me go.” He pushed his way past the spirit and ran in the
direction of town.

“
You are with us.” The voice of the spirit
carried on the wind, following him as he ran.

Gewey ran until his legs burned. When he reached the
village all the familiar faces he knew as a child were there to greet
him, but Gewey ignored them and made his way toward Lee’s
house.

The trees and brush whizzed by as he ran at full speed
down one of the many roads Lee had built. Gewey stumbled to a halt.
He couldn’t remember why he was running or where he was going.

“
Wait up.” His father ran up from behind.
“I’m too old to keep up with you anymore.”

Gewey stood there scratching his head. “What
happened?” he asked. “Why was I running?”

“
We’re going fishing,” Harman replied.
“Don’t you remember?”

It was then Gewey realized he was holding a fishing pole
in his right hand. Harman carried one as well, along with a bucket of
bait in the other.

“
Yes,” said Gewey after a long pause. “Of
course, I do. I’m sorry, I was just confused.”

Harman smiled warmly and threw his arm around Gewey’s
shoulder. “That’s alright, son.” He laughed. “It
happens to everybody.”

Gewey and his father walked for about three miles, to a
spot along the Goodbranch River where they had fished since he was a
small boy. The sun shone brightly, and the birds chirped merrily, as
father and son sat on the bank near a large oak and fished throughout
the day.

Gewey landed three nice-sized trout and Harman four
others. His father always had better luck at fishing. As the sun
began to sink closer to the horizon, Gewey lay back on the grass and
took a deep breath of the fresh spring air.

“
Are you happy, son?” his father asked.

Gewey looked at Harman mildly surprised. “Of
course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“
I’m glad.” He stretched his arms with
a satisfied moan. “I think it’s time we go home and eat
some fish.”

It was nearly dark when they arrived back at the farm.
Gewey cleaned the fish on a wooden table next to the house, while his
father prepared the stove and wash water inside. After they had both
cleaned up and cooked dinner they sat down to eat. The fish tasted
better than any Gewey could remember.

“
I have a surprise,” said Harman, as he got
up and brought a pitcher down from the cabinet. Gewey could smell
orange juice as his father placed it on the table.

“
Where did you get that?” asked Gewey.

Harman just smiled and poured Gewey a cup. “My
little secret.” He winked and returned to the chair.

There was a knock at the door. Harman sprung up and
looked out the window.

“
Who is it?” asked Gewey.

“
It’s no one. No one at all.”

“
No one? Someone knocked.” He got up and
started to the door. Harman rushed in front of him, barring Gewey’s
way.

“
I said it was no one,” said Harman, this
time with more force. Again, there was a knock.

“
What wrong with you?” said Gewey. “Why
won’t you open the door?” Gewey tried to push his way
around his father, but Harman shoved him hard, sending him flying
across the room and crashing into the wall.

“
I said leave it!”

Gewey stared in horror as his father changed and
distorted, until he became a creature of quivering mass and swirling
colors. “What are you?”

“
She doesn’t belong here,” cried the
creature. Its voice echoed loudly. “She must leave.”

Gewey felt panic grip him as the creature closed in. He
bolted around the table and tried to get to the door, but the
creature got there first. “You must stay. We love you.”

Gewey slowly backed away until he stood next to the
window. He propelled his body through the glass and onto the porch.

“
Gewey,” a familiar voice called out.

Gewey tried to focus, but the world around him blurred.
“Who’s there?” he cried as he tried to regain his
feet. A figure stood in front of him, but he couldn’t tell who
or what it was.

“
It’s me, Kaylia.”

As soon as he heard her name, it all came back to him
and the figure cleared revealing Kaylia dressed in the same shirt and
trousers in which he had met her in the forest for the first time.
“Kaylia,” he cried, his voice filled with relief and joy.

She took his hand and pulled him from the porch.
“Hurry,” she ordered. “We must get out of here.”

The door to the house shattered, splinters flying. Gewey
and Kaylia ran as fast as they could, not paying attention to where
they were going.

“
You must not leave!” the creature screamed
as it pursued them. It appeared to float just above the ground.

“
Where are we going?” asked Gewey as they
ran.

“
How should I know? Anywhere but here.”

Gewey nodded in agreement, and they headed down the road
east, away from town. After a few minutes, Gewey glanced over his
shoulder, but he couldn’t see any sign of pursuit. “Hold
on.” Gewey grabbed Kaylia’s arm and came to a halt.

“
We need to keep going,” she said.

“
But where? I don’t even know where we are;
let alone where we should go.”