Fury's Death

by Brey Willows

  “And you’ve become a god.” Zed stood and clapped her on the back. “Well done, and welcome to the club!”

  She nodded slightly. “Thanks. It probably won’t last once the humans calm down, but it’s a nice feeling in the meantime.”

  “So, what? You were in Hawaii celebrating?” Kera asked, her tone a little sharp.

  “No, not at all.” Dani looked around, seeming less certain of herself now. “I didn’t really know how to deal with it or what to do. Meg took me to see Kanaloa, so he could teach me.”

  “I would have taught you.” Zed looked put out and grabbed another donut from the box.

  “I needed a water god, one who gets me.” She smiled at Meg, and this one reached her eyes. “Meg knew that.”

  Zed snorted and waved his hand. “Okay, yeah. Let’s get on with it.”

  Meg knew he’d have forgotten his pique by tomorrow and ignored it. “So why did you need us to get back here?”

  Tis and Selene looked at one another, and Selene spoke first. “We wanted to talk to you about the rebranding you’ve been doing. Especially with Dani’s department.”

  Dani moved around the table and sat beside Meg. “What about it?”

  “We’re wondering if the humans can handle it. We’re trying to understand the ramifications of this kind of massive change.”

  Meg frowned. “You were the ones who suggested it in the first place.”

  Tis nodded and closed her eyes. “I know. And part of me still thinks it was the right thing to do. But the other part of me is wondering if we haven’t taken into account just how fragile the human balance between life and death really is.”

  Selene nodded. “Faith is mutable. While humans might be having trouble with the gods walking among them, they’re capable of handling a choice of who to worship. But the human fear of death is what keeps us from doing dangerous things. It’s what keeps us moving forward. If we no longer fear death, if it’s a destination of its own, then what makes humans strive for more?”

  “That’s stupid, and it’s not giving humans enough credit.” Meg leaned forward, aggravated and having one of those moments where she simply knew what she was saying was true. “A whole heap of them really, really believe in an afterlife of some sort. But just because they knew there was a reward at the end, they didn’t stop doing stuff and trying to be better in some way. It’s not like death comes as a surprise. That’s the one thing all humans seem to accept, that death will come for all of them at some point.”

  “Cheery.” Kera flung a rubber band across the room.

  “True. I mean, you didn’t have any faith in the gods at all. But it didn’t mean you stopped being a good human because of it. In fact, you tried even harder because you didn’t think the gods were doing enough.”

  “I like this line of thinking. Do go on.” Kera leaned back and propped her feet on the desk.

  “If you knew you could spend your afterlife in Dani’s realm, where you don’t have to believe in any god at all, but you also don’t have to turn to atheist dust, how would that stop you from being the good person you are now? What if, instead of seeing the afterlife as a reward or punishment, but simply as another step, people could focus on making the world better because they want to and not because of the consequences after death? And would it make a difference to you wanting to live in Dani’s sector after you died?” Meg had no idea why she felt passionately about it, but she had to make them understand. They were on the right path with the redesigns.

  Kera stared at her thoughtfully. “Hell, I like the idea right now, frankly. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  Tis shook her head. “I agree, there are people like Kera and Selene who don’t need fear to inspire them to do and be better in this life. But they’re extraordinary, and I think knowing life is finite makes it precious to humans overall, whether they know it or not.”

  “What are you saying, Tis?” Dani asked softly.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “All I know is that by giving humans a vast array of choice among gods and by taking away their fear of death, we may have taken them to a place they can’t function. And by doing so, we’ve played into Dis’s hands.”

  They all sat silently, but Meg wasn’t buying it. “I don’t think we could have averted this.” She looked at Selene and Alec. “From the moment the Fates put the two of you in an oracle together to save us all, I think this moment has been coming. We all know how seriously messed up the Fates and their oracles are. This time they can’t see beyond it, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing. I mean, that’s the whole fucked up thing with oracles, isn’t it? No matter what you do, you’re going to do what you’re supposed to do. We just have to ride the wave as best we can.”

  Dani smiled slightly at Meg’s use of surfing jargon. “I agree. The Fates have set us on this path. Second-guessing ourselves isn’t going to do any good.” She took Meg’s hand in her own. “I like Meg’s plans, and now that I’ve got my own followers, I think there’s no way to go but forward.”

  Zed nodded. “Agreed. What are we going to do about the problem in Rome?” He stared out the window while munching a huge bar of chocolate.

  Kera still looked at Dani thoughtfully but turned her attention to Zed. “I think we can assume she’s going to do something stupid with the Vatican. The question is, will more gods join her?”

  He sighed and turned around. “I hate that I feel guilty. It’s one quality no god should ever have. But I feel the need to tell you something.”

  “What have you done, big guy?” Alec asked.

  “Nothing, really. Clotho told me Dis was in Rome. I went to see her, to see if she’d open up to me, without any audience.”

  “And did she?” Selene leaned back into Alec’s arm draped around her shoulder.

  “Kind of.” He slumped into a chair at the conference table. “I asked her what she wants. I thought if we could find a way to give it to her, she would go away. But the truth is, there’s nothing we can give her. She wants to do what she does and see it done to an extreme. She thinks the humans are a virus that needs to be dealt with, and her way of doing it is the only way.”

  “And did she say why she was in Rome?” Dani said.

  He winced. “She said she’d meet us there in two days, at the start of the eclipse. I didn’t bring it up right away because I wasn’t sure I wanted to play into whatever trick she has up her sleeve. But I don’t think we have a choice. And now that we know there are underworld gods with her, we can assume it isn’t something that goes with the Afterlife constitution.” Zed motioned at Meg and Dani. “That’s also why we called you back. If we need to move quickly, we want to do it as a group.”

  “You kept the fact that we’ve been invited to a rumble to yourself?” Kera looked like she was going to burst.

  “Hey, I’m still in charge, and the lives of the gods are in my hands.” He glared back her, his eyes sparking. “And I’m telling you now. I only saw her this morning.”

  Kera rubbed at her head but didn’t say anything else, and Zed grumpily shoved more chocolate into his mouth.

  “None of this is news, is it?” Meg said, looking around the table and focusing on the big picture. “We pretty much knew this was a shit show with her around, and yeah, it sucks that gods are becoming her merry little band of psychos. But all we have to do is figure out how to get the humans to be less confused, which is exactly what we’re doing, and what we’ll keep doing. Why do we keep going around and around this?”

  “I suppose because we don’t know what to do next, and we’re just trying to find the answers. How do we get the humans to be less confused? How do we keep them from feeling so lost and overwhelmed that they call to Chaos? Do we go to Rome and meet her on her terms? Why the eclipse?” Tis closed her eyes, looking terribly tired. “What’s the right move?”

  “I want to move forward with the rebranding. I’ll get other departments going. Not only that, but I’
ll talk to the heads of those departments and really get them to lay out what they’re offering in simple terms.” Meg nodded slowly, that feeling of rightness building inside her. “That’s it. Simplicity. Not overwhelming them with sparks and circuses but giving them the absolute basics. It will help with the confusion and relegate some of the other stuff into white noise.”

  Dani squeezed Meg’s hand. “Death is a big question. I think Meg’s right. Simplifying what I do will make it less scary, but it’s not going to make life any less precious. I think the desire to live is built into their genetic codes.”

  “Okay. Our plan includes…” Kera stood and started writing on the white board. “Dani is rebranding to explain death and make it a journey instead of a penalty, probably by using posters with motivational sayings on them. Meg is going to help the gods simplify their offers to help abate confusion, essentially editing every religious text in existence. I’m going to stand here writing things, and Zed is going to eat so much chocolate he’ll turn brown and lumpy and look even more full of—”

  The door opened and Petra, pre-fader Nabatean goddess and Kera’s new right hand at GRADE, came in. Close behind her was Fin, who winked at Meg. They both sat down, and Petra smiled at Tis. “I hardly hear from my boss anymore. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

  Tis grinned and leaned over to kiss Petra’s cheek. “Glad to be of service. What brings you to our constantly stressed conference room?”

  “Information. I was listening to prayers at temple yesterday, and a young man was praying for guidance. It seems several of his brothers have joined a religious movement that involves removing certain deities from certain places. He wanted a sign whether or not he should join them.”

  Fin held up his hand to keep them from asking questions. “Wait. Let me go first. Once you all start babbling, there won’t be any room for a ginger Irish ex-god. Freya and I had a visit from Dis, the scary old bitch herself. She wanted to know if we were interested in joining her expedition to Rome. Seems they’re interested in removing the powers that be.”

  “And replacing those powers with what?”

  He shrugged. “Sheep fucks if I know, lassie. But I can tell you I wasn’t about to jump on her crazy train. She was talking about changes of power and needing to save the planet. Proper megalomaniac stuff.”

  Meg leaned across the table to get near him. “What were you and Freya doing in the same place? Did the old biddy upstairs not do it for you anymore?” She propped her chin on her fists and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

  He laughed and turned pink. “Apparently, Freya likes a taste of Irish almost as much as she likes a taste of fury. And as for our resident Fate…well, lovey, she’s got more important things on her mind right now than sex. Even I couldn’t distract her.”

  “I think you’re way better off with a Viking goddess than a woman who speaks in riddles and controls the whole of destiny. And Freya’s insanely strong, isn’t she? Did she do that thing with her pinkie—”

  “Um, Meg? I think we might need to talk about something else at the moment.” Dani tugged on Meg’s ankle to pull her back to her seat. Strangely, them discussing Meg’s other sexual exploits didn’t bother her. In fact, she could easily picture Meg astride the Viking goddess…

  “I want to know about the pinkie thing when this is over.” Kera turned to Zed. “Does the Catholic god know his golden throne is about to be overthrown?”

  “I can’t believe she’d go this far.” Zed looked stunned. “I doubt he knows, or he’d be in here. Or already there.”

  “We’ve got to stop her. And the gods who have joined her. Which means we meet her just like she knew we would.” Tis stood and began to pace. “If she’s recruiting humans to fight, she’s going against everything Afterlife has worked for. We can’t let humans die fighting some kind of weird power grab between gods.”

  “It’s not just a power grab, love.” Fin stretched, but the casual move didn’t disguise his worry. “She offered me my powers back. Said if I fought for their side she’d make sure I was a full-blown god again.”

  “She must be desperate.” Kera tilted her head apologetically. “No offense. But if she’s even asking the pre-fader gods to join up, she must not have much of an advantage.”

  “We need to go to Rome.” Selene said it so quietly everyone stopped to listen. “In force. Every god willing to stand for Afterlife needs to be there to say ‘no more.’ Every god willing to give humans freedom of choice and movement needs to stand up and say so.”

  Alec frowned and shook her head. “If they fight back…”

  “Then the gods go to war. It’s exactly what she wants.” Dani felt the tension in every person in the room and hated being helpless to fix things.

  Silence filled the room as they all took in the implications.

  “Has it ever happened?” Kera asked.

  “No. Not on this scale, certainly. Gods within their own departments have always squabbled. Sisters baiting brothers, aunts drowning nephews, that kind of thing. And before we came out and modernized, we told our followers we were the only ones and to disregard the others. But we’ve never openly warred against one another. I mean, our followers have often misinterpreted our texts and killed each other in our names, but that wasn’t us telling them to. And that’s exactly what we’ve been trying to fix since we’ve been among them. But it’s a long process. Most of us are still writing fourth and fifth drafts of our department rules.” Zed, the oldest god in the room, knew his world history, and no one doubted him.

  “Dani, what happens at the death of a god?” Fin asked.

  “It’s hardly ever happened. But they basically return to a molecular state. Humans create gods in their image, manifesting them through thought, creating them out of consciousness combined with atoms. When the god dies, they return to that atomic beginning. But it usually means their followers have been decimated in some way as well, so they can’t be re-created.”

  Selene looked around the room. “If she can turn followers against their gods on a massive scale, she can kill off humans and the gods they believe in.” Once again, the implications were monumental. “But there’s a small difference now. Thanks to people believing more strongly in their gods now that they’re among them, the gods have also developed a certain level of autonomy. People expect their gods to protect them, and now is the time to show them that belief is founded in truth. If the gods have to sacrifice themselves to keep the humans safe, then that’s how it has to be. If believers see their gods die, it will wipe out their belief instantly, and that god won’t be reborn. Not for a long time, anyway. But that’s a chance we’re going to have to take. We can’t allow chaos and gods of destruction to rule the world if we have a chance to keep it from happening.”

  Zed stood slowly, looking as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. In a way, it did.

  “We’ll call an emergency meeting for the whole building. Gather everyone in the main hall tomorrow morning and tell them what’s going on and what needs to be done. Megara, you should be there to talk to them as a whole about the simplicity idea. You can talk to them individually later to help them spell things out, but start the process tomorrow. No more lingering over drafts and word choice. There’s no more time.”

  “In the meantime, everyone else get some rest. Get whatever things you need to bring with you and be ready to fly by tomorrow night.” Kera started stuffing things in her briefcase but looked up when Tis sighed.

  “You can’t come with us.” She looked at Kera and then at Selene. “You’re driving forces behind this place, and you’re the ones who know every aspect of what’s going on. The gods trust you. If everything goes to cosmic hell in Rome, we need to know you’re both safe here.”

  Kera looked at Tis disbelievingly and then at Selene, who began to laugh. Kera smiled and began to laugh too, and Dani was left wondering what she missed.

  “As if.” Selene gathered the files on the table and pushed them into Alec’s
chest. “You’re right, you do need us. But if things go to hell in Rome, our last concern will be running Afterlife. You think they’d let us live? You think we’d be able to hide anywhere she couldn’t find us?” She poked Alec in the chest. “You think we’d live without you? No chance, buddy. You go, we go.”

  Alec wrapped her big black wings around Selene and closed her eyes. “I’m fully aware I can’t stop you. Promise me you’ll stay behind us, though?”

  Kera snorted. “We’re in love, we’re not stupid. I’ll hide behind your feathers any fucking day.”

  The tension lifted slightly, and everyone began to file out. Meg took Dani’s hand. “My place?”

  “Anywhere you want to go, beautiful.” Dani meant it. She’d follow Meg wherever she wanted to lead. She was also aware that Meg had said very little about the plans and wondered if Meg was doing the Zen thing she did, knowing things deep down but not sharing them.

  They walked to Meg’s hand in hand, and when they got inside, Meg went straight to the fridge and opened them a couple of beers.

  “Want to talk about it?” Dani asked. She sat on the sofa, and Meg sat at the other end with her feet in Dani’s lap. Dani began to massage them, and Meg moaned.

  With her eyes closed, she said, “Selene and Kera shouldn’t come with us. Tis is right.”

  “Is that one of your gut feelings?” Dani hated the thought of the humans in her chosen family being in danger.

  “Yeah. I just know. But there’s no way in hell they’ll stay behind. Maybe it’s all part of the big stupid plan, right?”

  Dani continued to massage Meg’s feet, knowing there was no real answer. Tomorrow would be a frightening step toward a possibly more frightening future. “You and your sisters can kill gods. The three of you, together.” She hated bringing it up, but it needed to be said.