Of course, it was not difficult for the Goddess to believe that Va'al had wasted eighty years searching for her and her alone. His mate. His partner. The First Goddess to arrive in Rhosan, in Illygad. Why would he not wait for her before trying to reclaim his Divine Status?
Va'al grinned. It was an old trick, flattering Enyo into leaving off whatever questions she had, but it worked as easily as it ever had. And, he had planned to bring her back first. Always, Enyo came first. He was glad, though, that she did not know just how much time he had gambled away in dirty bars and cheap whore houses.
“We could try with three or four, but I think five of us would be a safe bet. Even in mortal Vassals, that would be a tremendous amount of power.”
The research he had found had not been very definite. After all, it had never been done before, but the mage had surmised that it might be possible for the Gods to reconstitute themselves if they found a means to gather enough of their power. They were creatures of magic, not of flesh and blood.
“Five? And you’ve already found Maoz laying about in some mountain clan? Typical. He probably put it down, caught the scent of some bitch in heat, and forgot all about his artifact. He’s not good for much, but he’s not nearly as intolerable as Tha’et. Of course, Tha’et shoved his moon jewel up in his mountaintop kingdom. Do you remember that cathedral he built out of—What did he call that stone? Star rocks?” She scoffed and glanced off in the distance as if she could see Tha’et’s realm even now, hundreds of miles away.
“You mean astral luminescents?”
“Yes, astral whatsits— Do you know where anyone else is?” Clearly her hesitancy in the plan was forgotten—so long as Tha’et didn’t join them. She and Tha’et had fought constantly, and not in the fun, alluring way she and Va'al had.
“Not in the least,” Va'al said cheerfully and dropped to the ground, stretching out his tired, mortal feet.“But the temples are probably a good place to start looking. Aryus’s tower is close to the clan with Maoz’s artifact, and then the next closest would be Ruyaa or Esha.”
He knew who he would prefer to bring back, but saying so would probably trigger Enyo. Still, Esha had to be the better option, right? It was Ruyaa. “So what do you think, the stoic, the clown, and one more?”
Grimacing, Enyo plunked herself down beside Va'al. “I suppose Kirit and Iluka are out… I heard her talking about housing her clam in a watery bed. How long can humans hold their breath?” Not long enough to swim to the ocean floor. “You could try to speak to your son. Derog might be able to get it since his body wasn’t transformed as we have been.”
Va'al cocked an eyebrow. Was Esha really that bad? He knew she could be a… drag at times, but her company wasn’t wholly unpleasant. Not to him. “So you would rather travel to Aberdwyr, hire a vessel to cross pirate-infested waters to whatever forgotten lump of an island my son has currently installed himself on—assuming we could find it— and ask him to then search out Iluka’s hiding place than take a short stroll down the Afonneidr to Esha’s temple?”
It would add moons to their quest. Assuming they could secure the money to hire the vessel. Otherwise, who knew how long? All because Enyo wasn’t a fan of Esha.
She sniffed in dismissal as if Va'al barely had a point. “Well Ruyaa certainly knows how to have a good time. If you can keep her in one place long enough.”
That was true, Va'al supposed. If by ‘a good time’ Enyo meant sleeping, or moon gazing. And, with the Goddess of Dreams, staying on task could seriously be an issue.“And you honestly think she would stay on task long enough for us to get our bodies back? What does she care? She was half incorporeal before we were banished.”
“Well if you just wanted Esha in the first place, why suggest Ruyaa at all?” Enyo snapped, annoyance making her face tight and ghoulish looking.
Va'al shrugged. “Come now, don’t be like that. I was just telling you who was nearby. We can get Ruyaa if you really want her.”
“Fine.” She grinned, calling his bluff. “Ruyaa it is.”
Va'al refused to play her game, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head. “Well, I suppose this body isn’t all that bad. It is fairly good looking. For a human.”
“What?! So you want to stay human? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re blond, Va'al. Blond. Of course you want your body back.”
“Yeah, it’d be nice,” he said. “If we can get everyone else on board.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What was wrong with being blond? Plenty of women had liked it just fine over the years. And it obviously wasn’t enough to keep Enyo off him.
“I’ll get them on board. Now—” The Goddess smirked and moved to straddle Va'al’s hips, sinking down to sit in his lap. Hands coming to pin his shoulders to the earth. “How shall we get Maoz’s spear?”
Chapter III
Ninth Moon, First Quarter: Mynydd Gwyllt Clan
Tanwen hefted her son with a grunt. “You’re getting so heavy, Artur. Soon I won’t be able to carry you around. You’ll have to walk all by yourself, like your sister. Wouldn’t you like that? Hm? To be a big strong warrior boy?” Artur grinned up at his
