Breaking Gods

by Viola Grace

  Muraz was looking at her with cautious eyes. They were a beautiful dark amethyst and he had thick dark lashes. His features were just as beautiful as they were the first time she had seen him, though his clothing was the modest robe of an acolyte of the Aruda Abbey.

  Lieta said through clenched teeth. “How long has he been here?”

  “Three weeks. He is serving three years supervised probation for his crimes on Darhil. Surprisingly, though he was looking for a breeding partner, he never found one. There was an entire seraglio of untouched women who were all returned home. The funny thing was that they didn’t want to go.”

  There was too much power in her system. “Please excuse me.”

  She tried to run for the front door of the abbey but Muraz got in the way. She struggled against him but he kissed her. All the fire and panic she had been feeling rushed out of her and into him. He shuddered as he took on her overflow of power.

  When he raised his head, his lips were shining and his eyes glowed. “I am surprised that that worked.”

  She blinked and punched him in the jaw a moment before she snapped her knee up.

  Sister Esrai put her hand on Lieta’s arm. “Mother and Father want to see both of you.”

  Lieta looked at the man kneeling on the ground with tears in his eyes. “Get up, Muraz. Time to take a meeting.”

  He grunted and she helped him to his feet. “I suppose I deserved that.”

  “You did. I liked that gown. I only had three.” She shrugged and walked with him to the chapel.

  “You really grew up here?”

  “Yes. I was one day old and found at the gates by Brother Eycar. He passed away ten years ago, but he named me the day that he found me by the gates.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “My father was killed, but my mother…I need to ask Mother and Father something.” Lieta had a reason for her tension. She had been eager to get some answers the moment that she had seen the woman from her earliest memories outside the temple where her third target had been sacrificing a child to gain some knowledge of the future.

  Horror had gripped her, but she had stopped the butcher before he had completed his work. She had stopped him by splitting him into eight individual pieces, using his own talent.

  She healed the child and the mother rushed forward sobbing, but in the gallery of those forced to view the massacre was a woman with brown hair, black eyes and creamy skin. The woman had a soft smile and a single tear running down her cheek. She nodded slightly and disappeared while Lieta stared.

  If Mother and Father knew anything about the woman with black eyes, she needed to know.

  Muraz pressed his hand to the door and she set hers next to it. The door swung open immediately and they walked in, side by side.

  She peeled off her boots and wriggled her feet in the grass. Lieta pulled her nature form around her and was surprised when Muraz did the same.

  He smiled and shrugged. “Mother and Father told me how to do it. I am sincerely remorseful for what I tried to do on Darhil. I was trying to make a home. I was rejected by my world, so I went in search of one that would still believe in the divine.”

  “You found it.”

  “And while I gathered them together in search of a mate, I did not harm them or their people. I just examined them and checked for compatibility. None were right, but they wouldn’t leave.” He shrugged.

  Even in the nature form, he was stunning. His skin was deep brown bark and his hair waved with shades of green. His eyes remained that deep, fascinating purple.

  Her own skin had changed, she had a silvery cast over her green bark and she couldn’t see her hair. It would have been foolish to look.

  They sat on the bench and waited. The tree rustled, vines slid apart and Mother and Father stepped free.

  For the first time in her life, Lieta saw Mother and Father surprised. “Lieta, you have changed.”

  Lieta nodded. “I have.”

  She rose and hugged Mother and Father, feeling their touch on her thoughts in a way she had not been able to before. With complete surrender, she invited them into her thoughts and memories.

  “Oh, Lieta.” They caressed her hair and held her tight. The images of the dead children still stuck in her mind along with the splatters of blood on the walls.

  They pulled her down to the bench next to Muraz and held her hand. “Take his hand and show him what you showed us.”

  Lieta jolted. “Why?”

  “Because you are for him as he is for you, now take his hand, Lieta, and show him what has been done by the other children of the Aruda. Make him understand what you are feeling.”

  Muraz held his hand out, palm up.

  Lieta placed her hand in his and the air left the room as she shared everything that she had seen in her last three missions. Two of the gods had been content to order their people around and use their power to enforce it; it was only the third that had gone mad and had needed to be destroyed. The first two had settled for unconsciousness and arrest in a swath of null film.

  Muraz took it all in, examining it in detail. He focused on the woman on the observer’s balcony and surprise rang in his mind. He spoke out loud. “I have seen her before.”

  Lieta was shocked. “What?”

  He was looking at her with dawning comprehension. “She came to me and laughed when I offered to test her as my mate. She warned me against injuring any of the men or women in my care. She said I could do what I wished but I needed to make sure that no one was hurt or my future would be at stake.”

  Mother and Father were shocked as well. “You have seen her? Seen the watcher? What else did she say?”

  He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t understand then but she said, hurt my daughter and she will make sure to wear your guts on the outside of her body. You are her daughter.”

  Lieta shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. The more I examine my life, the more I catch glimpses of that woman. If she is my mother, why won’t she talk to me?”

  An unfamiliar voice spoke from the shadows. “I was waiting until you could understand, Lieta. It is a lovely name.”

  Lieta’s mouth went dry as the woman stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Mother and Father remained silent but attentive.

  “Thank you, the monk that found me at the gate could light his hands. He touched me and I did the same, my fist lit up and he named me Little Light.”

  The woman smiled. “I knew you would be safe here. I see that Mother and Father are doing well now that you have come into your own.”

  Lieta released the hands of those next to her and she got to her feet. “What is your name?”

  “Whella of the bright islands. It took me two months to get here and I talked to you the entire time. I could swear that you heard everything that I said from your place within my belly.”

  Lieta smiled sadly. “Where did you go?”

  “I was murdered minutes after you were born. My skills as a healer were no match for a knife while I was waiting for the afterbirth. I was dead one minute, and the next, I was being carried away to be healed. I tried to get back to you every minute for the next month but I was too weak. When I finally managed it, I only had a few minutes before my tutor caught me and pulled me back for more watcher training. I got you to the abbey; I knew that Mother and Father would keep you safe. My time with the watchers confirmed it.”

  Lieta scowled. “How could you be gone for a month and it was only a few hours?”

  Whella smiled. “I knew you were awake and alert the moment you were born. The short answer is I was pulled out of time. I found the moment you were born and tried to get back right after I was removed, but I missed. It was still very early days for me.”

  Mother and Father asked, “How long have you been a watcher?”

  “Good question. Two hundred years, and each day that I am not on assignment recording history, I look for Lieta. Imagine my
surprise when the two occupations collided. That was when I decided to visit.”

  A wooden seat took shape formed out of twisted vines. Mother and Father smiled. “Take a seat and explain.”

  Whella sat. “There is an event coming and the Aruda will play a part. Your work has begun, daughter, but there is much more stretching in front of you and you cannot do it alone.”

  Lieta pinched her nose. “This feels like a mass matchmaking.”

  Mother and Father chuckled. “I had this in mind all along. When Muraz offered to atone for his crimes and was offered the opportunity, we seized it.”

  Lieta snorted. “So, I am penance? I rather like the sound of that.”

  Muraz was sitting quietly. “How could you leave her like that?”

  Whella looked at him and smiled sadly, “Because I was already dead. There was no choice. There is no life where I reside. No children, no growth. We exist to serve the future and record the past by every angle possible.”

  Lieta cocked her head. “How did you know to come here?”

  Mother and Father whispered, “We called her. We thought she would be safe here if we could get her within our borders in time.”

  Lieta slumped in shock. “I thought she was chased.”

  Whella smiled. “I was. I was the strongest healer in the bright islands. I served in the king’s court and folk came from distant countries for healing. When I told the king I had to leave, he refused and I bribed a guard and slipped out during a festival when I was supposed to be resting because of my delicate condition.”

  “Who was my father?”

  “He is still alive. King Athercourt of the bright islands. He sent men after us who killed the guard, leaving me alone for the last of the journey when my labour started. I knew I was too far away, but I went as far as I could.”

  Lieta’s head spun. “I have a living parent.”

  Mother and Father took her hand. “We didn’t know. We thought that the body found was her husband.”

  Muraz was calmer. “Do you wish to see him?”

  “Yes, but not now. Not right away. I need some time to recover. Whella, it has been good to speak to you, but I need to bathe.”

  Whella smiled and got to her feet, touching Lieta’s cheek as she had done only twice before. “I will be around if you need me, Lieta. I have full authorization to give any information I can about your current timeline.”

  “Thank you. When the shock wears off, I am sure that I will be delighted to see you again. For now, thank you. You have answered many questions for me and it has put pieces of myself into place.”

  Whella kissed her quickly on the forehead and disappeared. Lieta now understood how she could do it with no one looking at her. She simply removed herself from time.

  “Thank you for your help, Muraz. Thank you for your assistance, Mother and Father. May I be dismissed to bathe?”

  Mother and Father stood. “Of course, Lieta, but you go nowhere without Muraz. He will take what you cannot handle. We are assigning him to be your shadow. You two will eventually become one, but until that happens, he will be with you on every assignment and every moment at the abbey. This is not up for discussion, Lieta. You will do it.”

  Muraz wasn’t gloating, he was calmly accepting. “I will try to be unobtrusive, Lieta.”

  “It is fine as long as I get my bath. I have looked forward to coming home and things are definitely not as joyous as I had hoped. Nothing here has changed, but I have turned into something I don’t recognize. I need to find the old me.”

  She kissed Mother and Father on the cheek and went to retrieve her boots. Instead of putting them on, she kept them in her hand as she exited the garden.

  * * * *

  Muraz turned to Mother and Father. “She is taking this better than you anticipated.”

  “Indeed. She is strong. She will recover, but she is also a sensitive soul and what she must do hurts her. You are the balm that we offer to her and we count upon you to keep her safe and sane. Both will be difficult.” Mother and Father returned to the bole of the tree where their true minds resided.

  Muraz bowed and walked after the woman who would be his mate. Embracing the power slowed their aging, so he had plenty of time with the woman he wanted. For now, his duty was to help keep her from burning herself out.

  A few hours linked to Mother and Father had filled in the cracks of what he was and what his duty was to those living at the abbey. It had given him a purpose that his life had been lacking, and the folk who accepted him were honest, hardworking and all had a talent of some sort. He was with his own kind and it was a balm to his soul. Now, he had to pass it along to the woman who had lost that inner peace.

  Chapter Seven

  Getting out of robes and a bodysuit was considerably worse than shucking a plain gown. Her hands fumbled as she peeled the clothing away.

  Muraz joined her just as she was peeling out of the top of the suit. She looked at him with a sort of a challenge that she couldn’t stop and pried the suit off her body, kicking free of the legs. For some reason, the very sight of him antagonized her.

  She breathed deep and walked into the water until it closed over her head. Swimming as deeply into the cavern as she could, she found the calmest, deepest spot she could and settled down.

  When Muraz swam toward her, her irritation was lessening. She took his hand and used that touch to show him how to simply not breathe under the water. He looked at her with surprise and settled down next to her.

  They sat there for twenty minutes and Lieta absorbed the serenity of home. When she stood and began walking out of the water, Muraz was at her side.

  Sister Esrai and Brother Frimin were waiting to dry them and wrap them in robes.

  Attendance after a traumatic exertion had become a ritual after she had been forced to take a life for the first time. They had dried her, wrapped her and taken her to Mother and Father. Today, the order was reversed, but Esrai’s hands were no less gentle for that.

  Barefoot and robed, they walked to the main square and the dining tables had been laid out and torches flared to light the interior. Music played the moment they stepped inside and part of Lieta clicked into place once again. Venila came to her and gave her a hug, which gave permission to everyone else. She was swamped with hugs, laughter and flowers.

  Specialists Heirak and Ukiss were there with Valuu and they stared at Muraz during the dinner.

  Muraz smiled, “I believe I will get a complex. They do not seem happy to see me.”

  Lieta chuckled. “They do not. I believe they were sure that you were torturing your population and forcing yourself on the women.”

  He frowned. “Why would they think that?”

  “Because that is what they were told and that is what they told me. I was expecting something quite different, but when you started acting like a thwarted child, you still kept the force of your lightning away from your people. That counted for a lot.”

  He ducked his head, “I never meant to hurt them.”

  Lieta put her hand on his. “I know. The information exchange went both ways. You were not acting in malice but need. There is a difference.”

  “That is what the Minder at Janial said. I will admit I had no idea that supernatural talents were flaring up in such varied populations.”

  “They always have been. Our kind just come to them when the time is right and the blood of the Aruda builds up.” She looked down and realized that she was still holding his hand. It felt so normal, so natural. She jerked her hand away.

  “You finally noticed.” He was smiling. “It is fine. Mother and Father said we were born to be drawn to each other.”

  “They would know. Each leaf on the tree is one of our kind on this world, but to date, I am the only one to evolve to this level. You seem to be catching up.”

  “It has only been weeks, but Mother and Father have met with me daily. They have helped me become what I should have been all
along.”

  Lieta was curious. “What was your home like before Darhil?”

  “It was polite, cold. They didn’t know what to do with me and I couldn’t ever use my talent without injuring folks around me. The effort to master my skills took all of my control. When my parents had amassed enough money, they sent me off in a shuttle with just enough training and supplies to last me for four months and told me to find a world where I couldn’t hurt anyone. They told me to make it my own, so I did.”

  Sister Esrai took the seat across from them. “In case you think we do not know who he is and what he did, we got full disclosure from him when he arrived. We have moved you to the double quarters on Mother and Father’s orders.”

  Lieta scowled. “They didn’t tell me that.”

  Sister Esrai smiled, her weathered features wore the familiar look of amusement at Lieta’s naivety. “They didn’t want to upset you anymore than you already were.”

  Singing and dancing rang through the central courtyard.

  As the evening went on, the specialists took their leave. Lieta was happy to see them go, and she knew that for Heirak and Ukiss, it was the last time. They did not like Muraz and it showed in their bristling hostility. Valuu knew that they were a set now and she would pass it along. The next pilot that she got would be aware and hopefully accepting of the situation.

  “Do you dance?”

  She shook herself out of her plans for the next time she had to go in search of her own kind. “What?”

  “Lieta, do you dance?” Muraz smiled.

  “Yes. A little. Why?”

  “You need to work off some of your tension and it is a good way to do it and keep your dignity.” He got to his feet and held out his hand.

  She put her hand in his. “You have never seen me dance.”

  Lieta pivoted on the bench and stood up. She grinned when the dancers tripled the amount of room they would normally give a new couple.

  The sash around her waist kept the robe in place as she stepped, turned, bowed, twisted, turned, stepped and turned again. Muraz kept up, but he was laughing too hard and missed a few steps as they faced each other, held hands and skipped sideways.