“Is that all? I confess my love for you, and you simply thank me?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure what else to say. I’ve never been in love before, and I’m not sure I want to be. Sure, I wouldn’t mind making a bit of love with you, but I can’t say I’d ever be tied down to one woman. Nor do I think I’d ever be capable of love. And I don’t want to give you the wrong idea by leading you on.”
“Those are the most arrogant and cruelest words anyone has ever spoken to me,” Elyse said as she snatched the new bottle from me. She swallowed back the strong wine. “Yet, they were also the noblest and kindest words. Thank you for allowing me to speak. But I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t?”
“I don’t believe you’re incapable of love.”
“So, you’re going to stick around, trying to make me feel this emotion called love?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps I’ll also get the chance to make love with you.” Her eyes widened, and she clasped a hand over her mouth. “The wine is far stronger than I imagined. I shouldn’t have said—”
I laughed. “You said what was on your mind.”
“In that case, there is something else. You’re a god now. You wouldn’t need to be limited to only one wife. If that’s what preventing you from considering love, then you needn’t worry. I heard some of the old gods had hundreds of wives.”
“Why have wives? I can have a hundred women in my bed without ever marrying a single one. Hells, we could have a little fun right now. There’s nothing stopping us. Isu is off on a midnight stroll, and Rami is meditating.”
Elyse laughed softly and shook her head. “I’m a bishop, Vance. I take my vows seriously. I can’t just sleep with a man.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Have you ever done it?”
“No,” she murmured, staring into the fire. “I’m a virgin.”
She had a quick swig of wine and followed it up with a much longer slug.
“We don’t have to keep talking about this if it makes you uncomfortable,” I said.
“No, it’s not that,” she answered. “It’s just that… well, since I’m being completely honest with you, maintaining my vow of chastity is turning out to be pretty difficult when I’m around you.”
There was only a sip or two of wine left in the second bottle, and Elyse was beyond tipsy now. She was starting to slur her words a little and was looking a bit unsteady. I was an asshole, but I wasn’t the kind of asshole who’d slip into the bed of a drunken woman.
“You know what I think, Elyse?”
“What?”
“I think you should get some sleep now. Any more of this wine, and you’ll be waking up with a hangover tomorrow, and we have a long way to go. A hangover won’t make the journey any easier, I can tell you that.”
“You’re right,” she said with a sigh. “I probably have had a little too much. Yes, I’ll try to get some sleep now. Thank you for listening to me. I’m glad that I could talk with you.”
“You get yourself some rest now,” I said with a smile. “I’m going for a stroll in the woods.”
Elyse nodded, rolled her cloak around her, curled up by the fire, and was snoring gently within minutes. I finished off the last of the wine, stretched, and headed into the woods.
I placed my mind into Talon. Immediately, the taste of blood and meat filled my mouth. I shuddered at the thought of what creature my new undead monster had ensnared and returned my soul to my body.
“Sarge.” I nodded at my skeleton, the first I’d ever raised. “You’re doing an excellent job.”
The skeleton tilted its head and produced a sound of rattling bones when it lifted its greatsword up.
I walked out past my other undead sentries, the mounted undead, zombie Crusaders, and regular skeletons. They watched me pass by in silence, their yellow-green eyes glowing gently in the dark.
I heard the bubbling of water, and I followed it to a pool at the bottom of a cascading stream. When I reached the edge of the pool, I found Rami seated there, cross-legged and eyes closed. A broad beam of moonlight illuminated her face, set in an expression of deep meditation. If she registered my presence, she did not show it. I kept a respectful distance from her and waited for her to finish meditating. It didn’t take too long. Perhaps five minutes after I arrived, she opened her eyes and stood.
“I hope I didn’t disturb you,” I said.
“No,” she answered, “you didn’t. Besides, I knew you would come here.”
“How?”
“While I was meditating, I found my qi yearning for yours. It was a fiery, irresistible yearning that not even my most focused concentration could overcome. Eventually, I gave up trying to resist it. I knew that it would draw you to me.”
“What’s ‘qi’?”
“It is the name we Yengians give to one’s life force. The unique energy core of every living thing.”
“Like a soul, then?”
“Not quite. One’s soul is part of one’s qi, but so is the energy of one’s physical body, and the energy of one’s mind. Together, all three combine to form one’s unique energy core. This is what qi is. And yours, Vance, is immensely strong. I knew that from the moment I first laid eyes on you. Your qi drew me to you like a loadstone pulling in an iron filing.”
“I kind of feel the same.” I considered telling her I didn’t understand a word of her ‘qi’ explanation, but I knew attraction, and I was feeling utterly attracted. While Elyse had been drunk, Rami was as sober as the Lord of Light himself. My somewhat malleable morals would at least allow me to entertain any advances she
