Godhunter

by Amy Sumida

  I inhaled sharply and refocused. I couldn’t let their power distract me or I might drain them dry. Wouldn't Horus be pissed then? If he lived. The thought was sobering. For once, I was in the company of gods I didn't want to kill. How ironic would it be if I ended up killing them anyway? With a head shake, I shut off the flow abruptly and they sank to their knees around me. Puppets cut from their strings, staring at me in rapt attention, they seemed unable to move.

  I picked up the little white stone and washed it with a bowl of salt water, avoiding their eyes.

  “I cleanse you of all negativity, that you may hold only my will, and by the power of water I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic.” The water dripped from my fingers in glowing drops of energy, flowing over the stone with the viscosity and sheen of oil.

  I placed the bowl down and ran the stone through the smoke of some rosemary incense. “By the power of air, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic.” Smoke curled around the stone, clinging to it sensuously. Particles within the heavy smoke sparked and sizzled.

  The few remaining water droplets on the stone evaporated as I waved it through the flames of an red candle. “By the power of fire I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic.” The flames turned blue, splitting around my fingers to lick only at the stone. The stone itself heated but it was a mellow, comfortable heat.

  The scent of rich soil wafted up to me as I scooped some out of a small bowl and sprinkled it over the stone. “By the power of earth I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic.” The soil fell slowly, shimmering as it went, and clung to the stone as if it was magnetized before falling aside to become regular earth once more.

  I traded the bowl for the small silver knife I was using in place of my athame. It had come from Ull's kitchen and was hardly the perfect tool for magic but it would work fine. When it comes down to it, tools are just tools, the talent lies within the individual. I made a small cut in my left pointer finger and rubbed the drop of blood across the stone.

  “By the power of my spirit, I consecrate and charge you to be a sensor of god magic,” the air thickened around me and thrummed with the energy I poured into the stone. I could feel it push in my ears like I was suddenly submerged in water. “By my blood, I bind power to this stone, that it shall recognize god magic and alert me not only to its use but to the location of the user.” I sent power into the little stone till it glowed brightly. I pictured it in the Aether, a bright star of power and felt the responding weightlessness that signaled its success. Then I added the god magic. The bit they'd all been waiting for was just a few words I remembered from Ku's book. “Ilantre, Frangis, Antul.” I closed my hand over the stone and the light winked out.

  Huh. I expected a little more dazzle from god magic. My paltry human magic was more showy than that. Oh well, I knew my little part of it had worked. Maybe it was a god spell beyond my capabilities. I have to admit I was a little disappointed but the stone glowed at me reassuringly and I decided to let it go.

  I didn’t look at any of the gods while I cleaned up and opened the circle. It was cowardice, yes but I had to finish everything before I confronted their anger. I didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to have shocked them beyond rage and into awe but their continued silence did give me some hope. I had psyched myself up pretty good by the time I raised my eyes and lowered my wards.

  The first face I saw was Ull’s and his eyes weren’t filled with anger, they were filled with terror. I was so shocked, I immediately looked around to everyone else. Only one pair of eyes held anger and they belonged to Horus but even his fury was tempered by another emotion, I just wasn’t sure if it was fear or respect. Maybe they were the same to Horus. Everyone else met my gaze with varying degrees of wariness, even Thor looked concerned.

  “Well that taught you guys to hang around where you’re not wanted,” I smiled my half grin but it faded quickly when the mood failed to lighten. Uh-oh, this could be bad. “What?”

  “How did you do that, Godhunter?” Persephone’s voice sounded even more child-like. She had just regressed from teenager to toddler.

  I shrugged and stepped forward, everyone else took a step back. “Would you guys relax?” I held up my hands in the universal symbol of whoa. “All I did was pull some energy from you. Normally I just call it up from the earth or down from the moon but I figured I’d try something new. You guys have lived off our energy for centuries. Are you seriously going to give me attitude for taking some of yours? I wasn't sure I had enough juice to power a spell for such a large area, your magic helped.”

  They looked at each other, gazes shifting but never losing their intensity. I was getting a little nervous. Anger would almost have been better. Almost.

  “You shouldn’t have been able to do that,” Thor finally broke the silence.

  “Why not?” I stepped back so I was closer to the knife. I'd removed my gloves so I could work with the magic easier but I was starting to regret my decision. I shouldn’t have let my guard down among gods. Stupid, stupid mistake. I really was acting like an amateur.

  “The earth gives her power freely,” Estsanatlehi stepped toward me with her hands out, palms up, which I appreciated. “As gods, we don’t share our power. We’ve learned only to hoard it and gather more whenever possible. There are none among us who could take from another. Such a talent could be deadly. It’s astounding that it has manifested in a human. No offense.”

  “None taken,” I smiled a little, “and I think you may have just answered your own question.”

  “How so?” Horus had been edging around me but I’d followed him with my peripheral vision. So when he reached out to touch me, I automatically moved into a fighting stance. I may have been a little twitchy, okay? It’s one of the reasons I don’t carry a gun. I didn’t intend to attack Horus but the mere movement sent a wave of energy shooting out from my hand. He was suddenly on his back… half-shifted and surrounded by a cloud of feathers, the likes of which I hadn’t seen since the time my cat decided to surprise me by bringing one of his kitty gifts into the house.

  “Holy crap!” I jumped and started over to him but he held a wing up to ward me off. Yes, a wing. I said he was half-shifted.

  Downy feathers drifted down around the largest falcon head I’ve ever seen, sparkling here and there in the currents of magic that still rode the air. Black bird eyes darted frantically, blinking out of that oversized head. The silky golden feathers at his neck smoothed down into perfectly tanned skin. Perfect until it reached his shoulders. His arms were now an impressive pair of wings, the span of which matched his height.

  The snug turtleneck he’d been wearing was ripped beyond repair at arms and neck but his pants were intact since his legs had remained the same. He didn’t seem capable of standing though and continued to flap about furiously, sending me looks that were both terrified and terrifying. He opened his beak and I half expected his snooty voice to spill out but all that emerged was an enraged squawk. I guess his vocal chords had been included in the change. Small miracle but I was grateful for it.

  I looked down at my hands and actually saw the magic rolling along my skin. Like heat on asphalt, it blurred over my body in a haze. For the first time in my life I was horrified by my power, not because it was too much but because it was alien, an unknown entity I had no idea how to control. I curled my arms around myself and backed away from everyone, my eyes fixed on the monster I’d created. What had I done? What would I do next?

  Thor reached out to me.

  “Don’t,” I shook my head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then you won’t,” behind Thor I could see Horus shifting back to man form. I felt a small amount of the tension in my shoulders release as I realized the damage wasn’t permanent. “You only changed Horus because you were startled and reacted to protect yourself. You’re still filled with our power. Don’t fear it Vervain, use it. It’s in you now, which means you’re its master. Control it.”
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  I took a deep breath and nodded. I let my hands drift down to my sides as I thought over the implications. I had their power? Did that mean I could do what they did? How long would it last? I looked at a little potted palm in the corner as an idea struck.

  They all watched me steadily as I held my hands out to the plant. I thought of Persephone, the way she felt like springtime, and my hands began to glow. First my palms began to tingle, then warm waves coasted down my arms and out through my fingers. The plant rustled and started to grow. You shouldn’t be able to hear things grow. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to. Natural growth takes time. Roots drink in nutrients, plant cells multiply, and it all happens way too slowly for the naked eye to catch... or the human ear to hear.

  I forced growth into those vulnerable cells, demanded that they separate and multiply at dizzying speeds, and the sounds that resulted from that blasphemy became a raw, primitive music. The beginning of life must have sounded something like that; a creeping, tearing rustle. A sound of struggle, of a creature crawling out of the primordial ooze and taking its first gasp of air with it's raw, new lungs. It was a nightmarish noise and it hammered home the truth that although destruction can be explosively loud, creation has its own voice.

  In seconds, the palm had burst from its pot and was brushing the ceiling with questing fronds. The roots shook free of dirt like a dog shakes off water and wriggled out to push at my feet. I stumbled back and fell heavily to the floor. The roots kept coming, tendrils waving up before me like snakes, sensing the magic that had freed them, until finally they shivered to a halt. I looked up at the monstrosity I’d made and felt my heart pumping furiously in my chest, my breath panting like I'd gone a round with Triple H... and not in the way I'd like.

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Thor crouch down and start to crawl towards me. “I’m going to touch you, Vervain. I just want to see how much power you’ve still got stored up.”

  I looked up at him numbly and suddenly felt very lost. I wanted to be home in my bed where I could pull the blankets over my head and have some time to think. I wanted someone to tell me what the hell was going on, what it all meant. Failing that, I just wanted someone to hold me and make the whirlwind stop for a moment. Thor looked like exactly what I needed. I reached carefully to him and nodded.

  He didn’t just touch me or hold me, he wrapped his entire body around me. A flesh and blood shield between me and reality. I let my head fall to his shoulder, feeling safe for the first time in years. His skin was warm against mine, his muscles flexing gently under my cheek. When I took a trembling breath, the clean scent of rain filled my nose and tingles ran over my body. I snuggled closer and felt the air condensing around us, the temperature falling slightly. The sound of thunder rolled through the air. It was soft though, as if heard through a down pillow.

  Just let it be a sudden rainstorm. Let this be a normal man holding me. Please give me a normal life for one blessed minute. I squeezed my eyes tighter and buried my face into his thick neck. I could stay there forever just pretending, imagining a world where gods stayed in their heavens and plants took more than mere seconds to grow. A different reality where I didn't cut the heads off of gods so that I could feel safer at night. Where I slept untroubled by nightmares, never having to pay a price for my safety.

  In that brief moment, I finally realized why I did what I did. There, in the arms of a god, I was finally able to admit why I killed his kind. I'd always told myself it was a noble sacrifice. That I fought them so the human race could be safe. I had this image in my head of me being some kind of a comic book hero. Destroying evil in the shadows while mankind walked by, oblivious but safe from harm. What a joke. I was no hero.

  The need to save others did, of course, play a part in my choices but it wasn't the only reason. It wasn't the driving force behind my obsession. I hunted them so they wouldn't hunt me. It was a preemptive strike. Hours of training with sword, claws, and knives, so I could stand a chance against beings that outclassed me in every way. Even more time spent in spellwork, meditations, and charging my weapons, not to do what was right but simply to be able to walk down the street at night knowing I was prepared for whatever may be around the next corner. It was survival instinct, pure and simple. Nothing noble about it. At the heart of every fighter lies a scared child who just wants to feel safe.

  How odd that I'd found that safety with a god.

  “Open your eyes, little hunter,” Thor’s whisper pulled me out of my self scrutiny. “Look at the storm you’ve conjured.”

  The funny thing was, storms comforted me. They made me feel peaceful, always had. It was as if when nature raged, I could finally be calm. You can't fight the weather, all you can do is ride it out. So I could relax because all the nasties out there were most likely running for cover too. Storms were like a vacation for me. A way for the Universe to say Take a breather. The sound of thunder, the feel of moisture beading on my skin, Thor’s lips tingling against my cheek, it all served to calm me. I let go of my anxiety and opened my eyes.

  I could barely see the others through the heavy clouds cocooning me and Thor. Little sparks lit them sporadically and I realized it was lightning. We were sitting in the middle of a miniature storm; lightning, thunder, and all. I rolled my head back to look up at Thor.

  His eyes had gone indigo and within them I saw lightning strike as if it were dancing across waves. He smiled and I lost that wonderful feeling of safety. I didn't mourn the loss though. A part of me seemed to wake up and realize I didn't want a man to make me feel safe. Going down that road could only lead to disappointment or even worse. If I depended on a man to keep me safe, I could end up dead.

  This wasn't even a man, no matter how much I'd like to pretend he was. This was an ancient god. A god that already had some kind of claim on me I didn’t even fully comprehend. The last thing I needed to do was get involved with him any deeper than I already was.

  Deeper was all I could think about though as he lowered his face and brushed his lips against mine. Deeper into those stormy eyes, deeper into his massive arms, and deeper was suddenly where I wanted him. I sighed against his lips and he used the opportunity to invade. His mouth was hot, a vivid contrast to the cold around us, and he tasted wildly metallic with a tinge of salt. Like ozone on the ocean.

  My arms pulled him sharply to me, even though I was screaming internally at myself to stop. Electricity mingled with our lips and vibrations flowed down my skin with the bursting condensation, heading places it shouldn’t go in public. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he pulled me up onto his lap with a growl rumbling from his chest into mine. The storm around us grew stronger. The wind picked up and my hair tangled into his as if it too needed contact.

  Thunder rumbled through the floor and rain suddenly beat down upon us. We were soaked in seconds and still he kissed me, his tongue licking at mine, his lips slashing harshly. My hands were tangled up in the hair at the nape of his neck, sliding up his face, desperate to feel him. When his hands pushed up under my shirt, the sound of a throat clearing finally stopped us.

  “I appreciate that this is an unusual situation,” Ull’s voice dripped sarcasm. “But could you tone your lust down a bit? My carpet is not only soaked but it’s getting singed.”

  I pulled back and looked at Thor in mounting horror. Heat flowed over my skin from the neck up. I sprung backwards off his lap, ending in a sprawl over the tangled roots, with my arms propping me up from behind. My silk shirt now clung to me, showing clearly not only my hidden dagger but the pattern of the lace of my bra. I was thoroughly mortified.

  Thor sat where I’d left him, a little smile on his face. He rubbed his lips with a finger and his smile grew lascivious. The lightning in his eyes sparked and dimmed but the electric look remained. I watched in morbid fascination as his hand slid down from his mouth, over his chest, and between his legs to adjust himself. I blushed hotter and he laughed loud enough to shake the walls before starting towards me on hands and kne
es, licking his lips.

  “Thor this is neither the time nor the place,” Brahma’s tone was crisp and his eyes were narrowed on us.

  “Don't rain on my parade,” Thor shot over his shoulder as he crept closer, chuckling at his own joke.

  I jumped to my feet and backed away. “Enough! Brahma’s right. That was a crazy fluke and it’s not going to happen again. I was freaked out and forgot myself for a second. So get up off the floor and go take a cold shower or whatever gods do to calm down, so we can get back to business.”

  “Gods generally don’t have to calm down,” Thor got to his feet and kept coming, so I kept backing up till I hit the glass door that led to the balcony. The knowledge of my restricted position jacked up the brilliance of his smile.

  “We’re not here for this,” I held up a hand and it was soon pressed to his wet chest, “and I’m not an exhibitionist.”

  “Fine,” he leaned down and buried his face in my wet hair. I felt him breathe deep and exhale hotly across my neck. I did my best to ignore the shivers it ignited. “We’ll finish this later.”

  “No we won’t,” I slid out from under his arms, cleared my throat, and started another backwards journey across the room. I would not be some god's plaything. Oh hell no, not this witch. Thankfully, Mrs. E saved me.

  “Vervain,” she grabbed my arm and pulled me to her. “You were about to explain why you thought you were capable of pulling out our power when no god is able to… before you were interrupted.”