That was where there similarities ended, though. Here, the entire place was colored in shades of orange. There were tangerine-colored birds and bright amber insects. A pale citrine sky arched overhead. Two great orange suns cast a colored glow. The scent of overripe flowers filled the air.
Plus, everything here was sized on a massive scale. The trees towered mountain-high before me. Orange ants skittered by in a neat row, all of them tall enough to reach my knees. I’d never seen anything like it.
For a few seconds, it was all I could to soak in the world around me. After that, a pair of massive orange monkeys dropped onto the ground nearby. Mlinzi and Walinzi. When I finally gave them my full attention, it was with the realization that if these gods wished to, one of them could easily squash me underfoot.
“He-hello,” I stammered.
“I’m Mlinzi,” said the first monkey. He had a deep voice and a long tail that lashed behind him with a predatory air.
“I’m Walinzi,” said the second. She scanned me with wide and compassionate eyes.
“Thank you for agreeing to help me.”
Mlinzi stared me like I was the main entrée at lunch. He grinned, showing a mouth of pointed teeth. “You’ll need the Sword of Theodora and soon.”
“Viktor will raise his army against you,” added Walinzi. “A great battle is coming.” She tilted her head and stared at me with pinprick eyes in her amber face. Unlike Mlinzi, Walinzi seemed to regard me as an object of sad interest versus a main course of food.
Rowan’s warnings echoed in my mind. “You’re trickster gods,” I said. “How do I know this isn’t all an illusion?”
Mlinzi merely licked his lips slowly. “You don’t.”
Walinzi swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t mind my brother. He has no taste for anything but eating.”
“Excellent point,” said Mlinzi. “This one could be rather tasty.”
Walinzi huffed out a breath. “You promised not to eat any more of my little projects.”
Mlinzi smile grew impossibly broad. “I break promises all the time.”
It was good that I had years of Necromancer training, because it taught me to control my emotions. Right now, my instincts were screaming for me to run. After all, a massive orange monkey was staring at me like he was about to munch on my arm for a snack. But I didn’t take Mlinzi so much for a hunter as a bully. He wanted to see me quiver with fear. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Instead, I focused my attention on Walinzi. She seemed the more reasonable of the two. “I’m here as you requested. I appreciate your offer of help. Where can I find the Sword of Theodora?”
“That’s your first question?” Walinzi squealed with joy while hopping up and down, making the ground rumble beneath my feet. It was an extremely animal-like display for someone who seemed so logical just a few moments ago.
“She doesn’t know anything,” said Mlinzi. “How is that the case?”
Walinzi stopped her happy jumping. “I told you, the Sire and Lady are fools.”
My heart thudded faster in my chest, and not just from the instinct to flee. “What do you mean? Where is the Sword?”
“That’s one question we can answer for you, and we will…Eventually.” Walinzi grinned. “Let’s not forget you had another question as well. You were asking us about hybrid magick and gateways.”
Mlinzi bared his teeth. “Yes, you need to know how to heal your realm without dying.”
The words tumbled from my mouth, seemingly on their own. “Of course, I want to know. Very much so.”
“In that case, we can help you with both questions,” said Walinzi. “But we have our price.”
“And what is that?” I asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” said Walinzi. “First, you must look behind you.”
I didn’t move. Mlinzi and Walinzi could just tell me where to find the Sword and the how to wield hybrid magick, but they were already playing games. My fingers itched to cast a spell. In theory, a Compulsion would force them to answer my questions, but in reality? They appeared far too powerful to be affected.
No question about it. This was going to be a game of wits, not magick.
Turning around, I examined the rock wall that I’d just stepped out of. Set into the surface was a series of massive orange gemstones, all of them neatly aligned into a familiar arch shape.
A gateway to a new land. That gave me an idea. These two trickster gods needed to see me as more than a meal or pet project. I had knowledge as well that I could put into play here.
Turning about, I refocused on Mlinzi and Walinzi. “I see your gateway. Is this your means of letting me know my world connects to others? I’m aware. I also know that the Sire and Lady happen to rule those worlds, including yours. Do you see them as tyrants, by chance?”
“Tyrants? TYRANTS!” Mlinzi pounded the earth with his massive fists. The ground shook with the force of his fury.
Walinzi leaned forward until her snout was inches from my face. “We’re different from all those other worlds in the Meadow of Many Gateways. We aren’t controlled by the Sire and Lady.”
Mlinzi hopped with rage. “Oo-oo-oooo!”
My mind raced through this information. “So you’re helping me in the hopes that I defeat the Sire and Lady somehow?”
Mlinzi stopped moving. His eyes flared with orange light. “Yes. Keep us free.”
“And that’s why you’ll tell me how to recharge the gateways.”
Mlinzi kept hopping with rage. “No healing the gateways! No, no, no!”
“You don’t want the gateways healed? But that would destroy my world. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“NO HEALING!”
While Mlinzi kept railing, Walinzi merely tilted her head, staring at me with new intensity. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you? We see things, my brother and I.”
“You have the gift of foresight.”
Walinzi casually picked nits from her fur. “We see things. Different visions and futures than you do, but we have foresight, yes. Sometimes we use our gifts to—how do I put this?—cause the Sire and Lady trouble.”
“Tricksters.”
“More than tricks this time,” howled Mlinzi. “You can save us. You can free us all! Kill the Sire and Lady with the Sword.”
I held my arms up with my palms forward. “If I get the Sword of Theodora, then I’ll use it to kill Viktor, but only if he attacks. The same is true for the Sire and Lady. If you want them dead, I won’t do your dirty work.”
Walinzi clacked her teeth together in quick succession. “Do not be too quick to judge what you will do.”
“I am not killing any gods for you.”
Mlinzi grabbed handfuls of muddy earth and flung them aside. “Kill! Kill!”
“Killing is not required,” said Walinzi. “We simply ask for our freedom. And no matter what happens, you must know we’re on your side.”
My eyes narrowed. “I didn’t realize there were sides.”
Mlinzi paused, his fists overflowing with earth. “That’s your biggest problem, Elea of Braddock. You’re a fool. Of course, there are sides.”
“Our help will not be what you expect,” said Walinzi. “However, it shall be what you require.”