Clever, that. His building looked like a raven with the world in its wings.
We walked through the raven’s heart and into the shop.
It was a lot warmer inside, and the display shelves that lined the room were filled with glass that glittered and beckoned.
Crow hunched on a stool behind the counter, sketching on a pad of paper. “Welcome to the Crow’s Nest,” he said without looking up.
“Hey, Crow.”
He glanced up, his eyes widening just a moment when he saw Than.
“Hello, Delaney.” Crow set the sketchpad aside. “What trouble have you gotten yourself into?”
“Nothing much. Do you have any customers today?”
He shook his head. “It’s early. Most show up after noon.”
“Good. We need to make a deposit.”
Crow stuck his fingers in his front pocket and studied Thanatos. “Been a while, old bones.”
Thanatos raised one eyebrow. “I intend to vacation here, Trickster. I have signed the contracts necessary.”
“You understand that your power remains with me, locked up until you leave town? You understand you will have no access to it during that time?”
“I do so understand.”
“Have you positioned the power so that it will rest?”
“Yes.”
Crow studied him. Thanatos looked immensely unconcerned. If there was one god in the known universe who didn’t scare easily, I supposed it would be Death.
“He telling the truth, Delaney?” Crow asked.
Thanatos didn’t scowl, but his countenance darkened. He did not like his word being called into doubt.
“He’s agreed, signed, and followed through. All you have to do is take us back to the storage area so we can settle the power, and he can start his vacation.”
“Huh.” Crow clapped his hands together once and rubbed them. “All right. Let’s do this, then. C’mon back.”
We followed him to the furnace where he did a lot of his glassblowing for the tourists, and where he taught his classes. Then we moved back to the furnace set in the farthest corner of the building.
A worktable filled with all his glassblowing tools was situated in close proximity to the oven, and other, older-looking tools were hung on the wall beside it.
The tourist furnace was hot, and so was this furnace. But I could tell that the older one had more than just heat in it. I could hear the god powers singing.
“That’s where you’re keeping them?” I asked. “Really, Crow? I thought you had them in a safe or something secure.”
“Do you see any deities accessing their power?” he asked. “Do you see power escaping and running loose in town? No, you do not. Do you see any trouble with the powers held here?” He opened the oven door so I could look inside at the hot coals.
To my eyes, those coals burned with more than fire. The flames were filled with wild, indescribable colors, scents, and music. God powers curled and flexed in that crucible. Each power contained in its own space, quiet and passive, and unlike the noisy, angry power inside of me, these powers seemed happy.
Yes, that sounded silly. But I could sense the calm radiating off them. Pretty amazing, considering the mix of powers in there.
“If you don’t like my oven, you can give them to another god for safekeeping.”
“That’s not the way it works and you know it. It’s your turn. You watch them for the rest of the year. And that’s that.”
