“It’s a gift, but yes, it’s used as one. You cannot ever stay here for a full day. Never hit twenty-four hours or you will start to fade,” he warned. “You are not meant to be part of this world, only a guest.”
Fair enough.
“So, these keys are access points for where I could need them?”
“Yes, well done. And you must tell no one else about them. Only your priest.”
“I don’t have one,” I whispered, fear filling me.
“You need to name him, Bevin. Even if he doesn’t become yours forever, you need the shield he can provide. A witch is too vulnerable in this world without a shield.”
“I don’t know that I can trust him, and he won’t…”
“It’s not permanent,” he said gently. “Then name another of them. You have to name one so others keep their heads. This happened today and will continue to happen because people see the option.”
“This is too much,” I whispered, tears burning my eyes. “Can I bring him here? Can you tell him that—”
“No, I’m sorry, child,” he said gently. “Not unless you’re mated. His body isn’t made for this place. He hasn’t been blessed as yours has. You’re too young even normally, but since you have the blessing of multiple gods, you were allowed entry early.”
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” I whispered. I shook my head and pulled out my phone again. “Can I record you?”
“You can try,” he hedged. “Yes, I have no desire to deny you.”
It was worth a shot. I opened the app and recorded what we were saying, praying it worked even if just for my own sanity later. “What do you mean blessings from gods?”
“The way the magical society sees god warlocks and goddess witches is wrong, Bevin, but it’s also not.”
“Oh, well, that’s extremely fucking helpful,” I grumbled, shrugging when he sighed.
What did he expect? Seriously, the pink flamingo lawn ornament was giving me cryptic bullshit.
Yeah, I got to snark back.
“I don’t have all the answers to give you since I’m not a god and I’m limited to what I can tell you since there are truths the living cannot know,” he said in that frustrated tone I recognized well when familiars were at the limit of their knowledge. They wanted to understand more, but… They didn’t have the mental capacity.
To get my answers I would need to reach deep for patience.
Which was beyond hard at the moment, but I could try.
I moved over to him and pet his plastic wing. “I’m sorry. Really. I know you’re trying to help me.”
“I’ve never been a spirit guide before,” he whispered. “I just wanted to help you, child. Maybe I wasn’t the right one.”
Shit. I needed the help.
“How about you tell me how you see things. I know it’s not law or the rules but your perspective, and over time I can find my own perspective and beliefs,” I offered after a few moments of mulling.
“Yes, good, that could work. I warn you that my analogy is a bit odd.” He waited until I nodded. “Have you ever seen the oldI Love Lucyepisode where they work the candy conveyor line and start picking up chocolates?”
“No, but I know the reference. They get overloaded and can’t package fast enough, so they start eating them instead,” I mumbled, my eyes going wide. “The gods are going to eat me?”
“No, no, nothing that horrible,” he chuckled. “It’s that visual of the conveyor line.”
I think I understood where his head was and pulled up a quick video clip of a cartoon movie where newborn babies were moving along a conveyor for storks to pick them up and take to their families.
“Yes,yes, that is the visual I have always had,” he said. “But souls. The souls of humans, witches—any being coming into existence before being born. However they come about. It seems silly, but I saw it this way. The Fates gave them their fate—the process. There has to be some process, and our powerful gods would have something organized.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with that given the amount of chaos in the world and how off the rails so much always seemed to go, but I could understand organizing that in his mind.
