“But he’s more of an eye-for-an-eye type guy. Neither of us stole the power. I don’t think he’ll decide to off us without hearing our testimony.”
“That’s better?”
“Sure. He’ll be looking to punish, not destroy. I think.”
“You think.”
“It’s going to be fine,” I lied.
“What are the chances that’s actually true?”
“Ten, fifteen percent?” I grinned and patted his arm. “Good talk. To recap: Be quiet, don’t agree to do anything, let me handle this, and don’t lie.”
“Why would I lie?”
I gave him a look. “I don’t know, but I’m telling you not to. At all. Until we’re back in Ordinary with the powers in our possession.”
“God powers.”
“That’s right.”
“Still don’t believe in them.”
“Probably doesn’t matter if you do or don’t, does it?”
He shook his head but gave me a flustered little grin. “I don’t think that it does. Lead the way, Delaney.”
I led. The coffee shop was full, the tables alongside the windows packed with people talking, laughing. One table near the back had only a single person sitting at it.
The guy certainly didn’t look like a god. Short, scraggly salt and pepper hair about a week off from a good brushing, and a beard that was at odds with his look because it was neatly trimmed. His eyes were overly round, deep set, his face gave the impression of a pug dog.
I was a little surprised he’d been allowed into the café since he was dressed in three or four layers of shirts—mostly T-shirts and flannel, and jeans that were ripped at the knees and thighs.
He was a god. He could look like anything he wanted to. I could only assume he had chosen this form because he thought it would blend in.
He looked homeless. For a being currently in control of a vast amount of power, he wasn’t using much of it on his wardrobe.
He saw us coming. He had probably seen us coming since we left the boundary of Ordinary. Might have been spying on every inch of our travel via birds, weeds, clouds, or whatever else it was he used for eyes.
Still, his shaggy eyebrows rose upward at our approach as if he hadn’t expected our arrival, as if we were a complete surprise.
Which, I knew, we were not.
“Hello, Mithra,” I said. “Can we be seated?”
He was leaning back against the booth, his homeless gaze filled with an executioner’s boredom. “Delaney Reed. You received my summons?”
“Piper told me you wanted to see me and Ryder. Ryder Bailey, this is Mithra. All-seeing Protector of Truth, Guardian of Cattle, Harvest and Waters, and Divinity of Contracts. Mithra, this is Ryder Bailey.”
Ryder nodded, with just enough of a bend at his waist to make it a passable bow.
I was impressed. From the considering glint in Mithra’s eye, he was too.
“Be seated.”
I let Ryder slide in first, then I took the seat next to him.
“You have failed in your duties, Delaney Reed. How do you plead?”
