His voice did that growly thing again. “I heard that, Rocks. I’d prefer it if you didn’t offer any sort of exclamations to those assholes.”
“Why do you hate them?” I asked as he led me from the steamy room. “I still don’t understand how you five even figured out how to get into Topia.” And why weren’t they afraid of Rau? At no point during the entire threat-and-attack thing Rau had going on, did any of the Abcurses show one ounce of concern that he would smite them into dust. Their confidence was pretty amazing. And annoying.
I hadn’t actually expected Siret to answer, but oddly enough, he did spill something. “The gods are not as deserving of worship as you people like to think. They have weaknesses. Fears. They fight and bicker amongst themselves about the stupidest things. Rau doesn’t scare us, he’s powerful of course—all of the Originals are—but he has one big problem. He’s one of the only Original Gods without a Beta and no one really knows why there has never been a sol to step into the role.”
His pause was heavy and I had to ask, “Are you sure you don’t know why?”
Siret glanced down at me, a flash of white teeth shining in my direction. “Personally, I believe that someone is manipulating things so that Chaos doesn’t get out of hand. Rau does enough damage on his own. Of course, having no Beta leaves him weaker and more vulnerable. The only thing ensuring his dominance is the fact that chaos is the natural order of the worlds. His power grows by the simple act of you all living.”
“So if he got a ‘Beta’ then …”
I trailed off as the horror of what the world might look like washed over me.
“Yes, complete and utter destruction of everything you’re used to. He would burn this world to the ground in a bid to gather enough power to take down the other Original Gods.”
“So that’s what he wants? To destroy the other Originals?”
We were back in the first room now; Siret grabbed something from a small shelf before leading me out into the hallway. I shivered slightly as a cool breeze caressed my mostly naked and damp skin, before jumping when the sol draped a warm towel across my shoulders. “You have got to stop walking around naked, Rocks. You’ll catch a cold and die. Dwellers are delicate like that.”
Yeah, right. I’d ended up naked and freezing more times in my life than was even possible to count. It was almost my state of natural being at this point. “So … Rau … end game? Destroy the OGs?”
Siret shook his head at me. “No, his end-game isn’t to destroy the OGs. He wants to take out the big daddy.”
Staviti!
Thank you, Emmy, for making sure that I knew things.
“You know Staviti?” Siret suddenly looked darker and a hell of a lot more menacing than he had two clicks before the conversation had started. “That’s not possible … no dweller has seen him in several hundred life-cycles.”
He was half muttering to himself, but I wasn’t paying that much attention because there was suddenly a mountain in the hallway.
Rome strode up to us and, in a move which completely stunned the crap out of me, dropped to his knees right before me. What the actual freak?
I was about to hyperventilate, or faint, or do something stupidly inappropriate when his hand gently prodded the graze on my leg. “What happened to you, Rocks?” With him on his knees, we were basically at eye-level. His eyes were so green it was hard to stare directly at them. “Did someone hurt you?”
I shook my head frantically. It seemed to be the only movement I was currently capable of. “No, nope, no … no.”
Siret laughed. “You should scribe a book. You’re so good with words.”
I recovered some of myself, enough to be able to turn and glare at him, before turning back to Rome. Only to find he was already on his feet, towering over me again.
“I’m fine,” I said, managing to get those two words out without stuttering or repeating myself. “I should get back to my room.”
I knew it was stupid. I literally couldn’t leave their sides, but the small part of me which had always been alone—independent … a misfit—needed to prove to myself that I could make it without the Abcurses. Like I needed to know when they decided to turf me out like trash, that I’d be okay. Shredded heart and all.
Turning, I stomped off down the hallway, half dreading that someone was going to stop me. I had no idea what I was going to do once I reached the end of the hall. There was no way to jump into the supply closet while they were watching me.
Were they still watching me?
I turned my head as minutely as I could to see behind me. Five figures. Everyone was there for the show this time. Damn them. Since I hadn’t been watching where I was going, and the agony in my chest was increasing, I missed seeing the small cart which was waiting in the hallway for the morning shift of room-cleaning dwellers to grab it.
I tripped. Of course I did. Right onto my face.