TWENTY-TWO
RYXA
It’s not until Kier says that we should all take the conversation elsewhere that I realise the repercussions of those stupid vows. I can’t speak. No matter how many times I open my mouth, nothing comes out. I’ve been silenced by his command.
Obey. Obey. Obey. The word repeats itself in my head over and over as I stomp through the hidden passageway back to Tanner’s room. I sort of understand why they didn’t warn me about it, but this is going to drive me insane. I won’t be controlled by anyone. Let alone some douche Gods who think they know what’s best for me. The moment we’re inside Tanner’s room I storm into the kitchen, grab the pen and paper I left there, immediately writing out what I wish I could say out loud.
I willnotbe controlled. Remove this curse from me now!!!
I shove the paper at Kier as he’s the one who silenced me. It takes him a few seconds to read it, but his gaze lifts to my murderous one with a hint of guilt in his eyes. “Sorry Angel, I didn’t know. You can speak.”
I feel it the moment he says the words, my body feels warm and tingling. “I don’t fucking care what you all have to do but I will not be used like this. Take it back!” I’m practically shouting by the end, not calm enough to look at any of them.
“We can’t take it back. A God’s word is binding for life.” Kier mutters with his face down.
“You all knew this would happen! Why didn’t any of you at least warn me? I could have ran. I could have left this hell and gone back to my life.” My anger stutters out, my voice losing its volume by the end.
“We’ll be more careful how we word things. I promise, you can trust us.” Seth grabs my hand, but I don’t want anyone touching me right now, so I wrench my hand free and cross the room to the couch.
Tanner sits beside me, his brows drawn together and his hands clenched at his side. “Can you talk about what Zeus, Ares, and Poseidon were trying to make you do now?”
“Yeah, those assholes wanted me to spy on the three stooges, they believe that they will be more powerful than themselves so they wanted to know if they were plotting to overthrow them.” I sigh, “I’m not sure if that was all, the way they talked, it’s almost as though there was something else, but I don’t know what.”
A thought pops into my head so I voice it out loud, “What happens to a God who doesn’t have a human to feed off when they come into their powers?”
“It’s never happened. They teach us that humans are the link to our powers but not what happens if we don’t bond with them.” Tanner explains.
“So if your theory is right, then these three are fucked, cause if even the Gods won’t talk about something then it must be pretty bad.” I turn my gaze on them and laugh, “You’d better hope Tanner is full of shit.”
“Munchkin, if I’m right…” Tanner looks pointedly at me, he doesn’t need to say it.
If Tanner is right then I’m fucked too.
“We need a backup plan. Can you use a human you’re not bound to?”
“No, the emotional connection needs to be there. We have to love the person enough to not want to lose them.” Tanner again chooses to answer instead of the three stooges.
“Can you bond to a God?” Another thought occurs to me, “Wait, did you ever consider that they make you bond to humans to make you all weaker?”
“What?” The three stooges snap at the same time.
“There has to be another way because none of this makes sense.” I say into the silence that looms over us all.
Kier grips my hand as he explains, “There is. The Gods who choose not to bond become human. At least that’s what they teach us.”
“So if what they teach you all is true, you bond with a human, get your powers and then erase the human’s memories.” They all nod. “Then why erase their memories?” That’s the part I’ve never understood.
“Because it’s a choice we have to make. A test if you like. We have to choose whether to keep our hearts intact and become mortal, or give up the one we love and keep our powers.”
“Has anyone ever chosen to keep the human?”
“Not to my knowledge.” Tanner answers.
“Then it could all be a lie. A way to control the other Gods and keep them weaker than the ruling Gods. Think about it, they came from a different plane of existence; one where there were no humans. So how did they all survive if they weren’t able to bond with a human?”
“They came to this plane. That’s why you all had those myths about Gods.” Seth’s theory is sound but to me it just doesn’t add up.
“This is getting us nowhere. We need a plan to stop Zeus, Ares and Poseidon from controlling you or using you for their own purposes. You’re human and we’re bound to you now, so whether we like it or not, you are the one who will provide us with the energy to survive once our slumber hits us. Talking about theories that are untestable is pointless. Let’s focus on the things we can work on.” Kier’s tone makes his words come out as a command and I feel the effects immediately. He’s just forced me to stop talking about my theory without even realising it.