Underbelly (42 page)

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Indeed. I attained every man’s dream. All women were mine. All men had to surrender their wives for me to procreate with. I was a god and it was imperative that I sowed my seed and created legions of demigods. Garrard and Chief Running Ghost insisted on this but they didn’t have to twist my arm. It began shortly after the meal. The women daubed me in paint and led me to my new, improved home, befitting the new chieftain. I lived my fantasies for years. My wife was tolerant at first – she knew it was in the best interest of everyone that I had as many children as possible as we needed an army to fight and repel the white invaders. I still loved her most even if I barely saw her at times. Often I was massacring the whites and partaking in orgies with women from the tribe and women were brought to me from rival tribes. I had chieftains begging me on bent knees to have sex with their virgin daughters and with their wives. I united factions that had feuded bitterly for centuries. I have no idea how many children I sired in those first few years – possibly thousands.”

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The bloodlust from consuming Octavius that tainted a generation – I believe that stopped me from fully appreciating the first wave of children. Even Usdi Unole was changed but she had enough humanity left in her to be a decent mother to our six children. I was a god and I tried to exalt my legitimate children and as my word was law, they were revered. My eldest son worshipped me, but he also craved power and believed that he would succeed me as my heir. As he grew to manhood and as my wife grew old, I did not age – by that stage she no longer loved me, but I will get to that in due course. Raoudd realised that it was of no benefit to be heir apparent to an immortal. He went his own way and tried to raise an army of his own. I could not tolerate what I saw as an attempt to divide us and what I perceived as a threat to my leadership. I defeated his pitiful army unassisted and I executed him. I was a very proud man then, very different to the creature that sits in front of you today. He challenged me and his life was forfeit. Usdi Unole understood why I killed him, but it was something else that would always come between us.”

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It took me hundreds of years to regret killing Raoudd. Killing your firstborn, your most precious child, to prove a point – I realised that this made me a monster. Raoudd may well have challenged me but I view my actions against him as far worse than injuries I inflicted upon innocents.”

Eleanor offered her opinion on the topic of infanticide. “At least he was a man when you killed him. My mother attempted to take my life when I was seven and her murder attempt was unprovoked.”

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What chance did he stand against me? I had massacred his forces, around 70 men, single-handedly. He was humbled then; I could have taught him a lesson without killing him. I could have tried harder to understand him then. It might have been better if I had killed him as a boy.”

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How did you kill him?”

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I beat him to death. I gathered hundreds to witness it around a campfire. I gave him weapons to use and I had none – I didn’t just want to hurt him, I wanted to humiliate him. He didn’t want to kill me either at first. He protested about how he just wanted to go off on his own, but he was his father’s son and after slapping him to the ground a couple of times he grew enraged and tried his best. I played with him for a time – it amazes me in retrospect how much I enjoyed it.”

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Octavius was still in your system.”

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That’s what I like to believe; it’s a palatable excuse. Whether it’s true, I don’t know.”

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Why did your wife stop loving you?”

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Everyone else preferred Chesmu, the god. She loved the unremarkable man and he didn’t re-emerge for a long time. I had been a good husband. I never hit her, I provided well and I was always a respected member of my tribe. I always felt capable because the love of a good woman can make a man feel like he can achieve anything and I sought to make her proud. She was against me undergoing the trials. I was an ordinary man and hundreds had died in the trials and their spirits were said to be in torment. I went against her wishes as I had to do my duty and, despite her apprehensions, she was supportive. She knew the challenge had to be met by someone. At first she was so relieved at my survival, especially after facing Octavius that as the other women crowded me she didn’t mind.”

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You saved her life along with the others by risking your own.”

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Yes, gratitude might have been a factor. I became an absent husband and father as I led the war. She should have loved a hero more than the ordinary man I was. She was obedient always but she admitted that she no longer loved me eight years after my triumph. She said that she understood why I had to fight and propagate my seed and she said that she respected me as the saviour of our people, but not as a husband and she dared to suggest leaving me. She made out that I needed a goddess as a consort; I saw it for what it was, an escape attempt. I told her that would never happen, and as I say, she was obedient and she accepted her place. The improved man, the god, the legend who had women falling at his feet, no longer impressed his wife. My personality changed – that was what she meant. She would have loved me still despite the women and despite all of the time away if I had remained the same man. I was like a stranger to her; I became something else straight away and expected our relationship to carry on as normal. Have you ever loved like that? A love that demands that you hold onto someone who is desperate to leave. A love that does not consider the other’s wishes but is concerned only with your own. A selfish love, but powerful.”

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To a degree. I am four times your age and I have only married once – you can draw your own conclusions from that as to how particular I am. He never wanted to leave so I never had that problem. We only had 18 years together and he was not very handsome, not very rich or clever.”

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None of those things matter.”

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I know. I used to remind him of his shortcomings and he would agree with me and he didn’t care either. Our circumstances are very different. You married your great love while you were still human. I had lived for a millennium when I met John McKinley. If I had met him in my youth our relationship would likely have been radically different – in fact I doubt I would have considered him as I was attracted to a different sort of man for a long time.”

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If you say you’re four times my senior you must have lived for over 1200 years. What made him different to all of the other men you met in that time?”

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In covens I have explored sexually but away from them I have never been promiscuous. The wonders of witchcraft have always fascinated me more than mankind. People are fascinating, don’t misunderstand me, but the power that is out there has fascinated me more. With Octavius on the prowl I decided that improving my sorcery to survive was more important than frequent sex. I used to just date sorcerers, preferably those who skirted on the dark side of the occult. My first lover specialised in human sacrifice in Mercia in the Dark Ages.”

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Was he powerful?”

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At the time I believed so. He was a very charismatic man – a monster, but a fascinating one and that was enough to entice me.” Chesmu’s tale had interested her yet it had proven disappointing, not revealing anything useful that she could use. She realised that Chesmu knew nothing of spells or rites, Chesmu admitting that he longer indulged in any occult practices as she asked him about his current life, seeming averse to the practices that had granted him eternal life. He admitted that he wanted to talk to her away from his people as he didn’t want to expose them to such things, meaning her, a witch.

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I always thought that your people were very spiritual.”

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That varies from tribe to tribe. Garrard and Chief Running Ghost saved my generation from Octavius and I’m grateful for what they did for us. They were extremely unorthodox, and, even though I was their chosen champion, I’m not. I lead some of the reservation in some traditional activities that can be spiritual – we have a sweat lodge, where visions aren’t unusual. I know, like you do, that there are routes to gain more power, but I’m concerned with their welfare, physically and spiritually.” He called the leader of the reservation his son and Eleanor realised that all he was now was a benign old family man tied to his small group, no great figure who could offer her enlightenment in her quest for power. She asked him to recount practices of Garrard’s that he had observed and was told, in a very matter of fact way, that if she wanted to know Garrard’s secrets then Garrard was the one to speak to.

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That’s not an option. You said he was dying – did he die?” she said, thinking of giving Grey another person to contact.

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Within a year of granting me his power, his son too. The power of my people is not meant for you,” he said, astute enough to deduce her real intentions. “I am prepared to talk to you for as long as you wish and then you will leave. You don’t want to wake this sleeping dragon.” His sober threat was designed to stop her trying to find an opening to power that didn’t belong to her, Chesmu warning her that if she did anything against his people there would be consequences.

The threat seemed unwarranted to Eleanor, and she said, “You judge me harshly without knowing very much about me. Do you want to know my story?”

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I’ll listen to your past if you wish to share it, but your future concerns me more.”

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I have no grievance with you or your people. I can understand that you want to protect them and I assure you that I have no designs on any of them,” she said, trying to convince him that she was not the malevolent force he seemed to believe. She shared some of her past, detailing her abusive childhood, inauguration into the craft and admitted that she was a member of several unwholesome covens, or black lodges. She told him of how she had grown a lot during the course of her life, eventually able to find true love and becoming a better person over time, even assisting in the war.

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Which side?” he said, his question annoying her as it was clear he had no idea which side she would have lent her support to.

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I told you that I have reformed from my darker days so I thought that would be obvious. I helped the Allies.” Chesmu had listened intently to her story but seemed unmoved. When she was finished they both fell silent for a while, Chesmu eventually breaking it by talking of all of the changes he had witnessed in his life, Eleanor joining in the topic, having seen many more changes than he had. As it grew late they were tracked down by Chesmu’s kinsman, Kuruk, who Chesmu told to keep back.

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It’s getting cold. Are you coming back soon or do you want me to fetch blankets?” Kuruk asked, clearly concerned about him.

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We’ll both be fine. It’ll take more than the cold to finish us off. Go back to the others.”

Kuruk stared at him quizzically, wanting an explanation, and Chesmu spoke in a language that Eleanor didn’t understand, his words sending Kuruk away.

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They care about you very much,” Eleanor observed.

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They ignore my faults and choose to see only the good. They don’t realise that I get more out of them than they do from me.”

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I’ll let you return to them,” Eleanor said, Chesmu clearly not going to tell her anything else of value. She stood up and shook his hand as he remained seated and said, “Thank you for sharing your past with me.”

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And yours. Be careful,” he said, a little ominously.

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That’s my way,” she said as she walked away.

Chapter 7 – A Taste of Luxury

New York was exactly what Grey and Germaine had expected – vibrant, alive, cosmopolitan, dirty, noisy, and generally exciting. Germaine’s pregnancy was still at an early stage and didn’t stop them from going dancing, or exploring what the large city had to offer by night. By day Grey worked in another menial job, which was bearable, as their nights were good. Grey put on the occasional small show, finding that there was a market for such things in New York, a place for the broadminded. While Grey took to the city instantly it bothered him that he couldn’t take Germaine to the best clubs and dance halls or the best restaurants – they both enjoyed themselves wherever they went but their limited finances made them second class citizens, and their apartment left a lot to be desired, as did their neighbours.