I remembered them telling me that he could never get drunk, but everyone around him would.
“And I’m just going to tell them what’s going on and demonstrate my power?” I asked.
We’d talked it over a few times, but when the five of them were together at least one of them always disagreed with the other four, and I couldn’t remember what the final plan had ended up being. Cyrus and Emmy approached at that moment, and we both turned to hear what they had to say.
“I will tell them what is going on,” Cyrus announced without preamble, not even trying to hide the fact that he had apparently been eavesdropping. “Keeping this world in balance is my job, and it’s so far skewed off course right now that there might not be a chance to even come back from this. But we have to try.”
Emmy grabbed his hand. “The fact that it’s snowing right now should be a pretty big piece of evidence to present them.”
Cyrus nodded before he tugged her a little closer, tucking her into his side protectively. Gods were surging past us everywhere, and he clearly was doing his best to keep her safe, which made me like him just a little bit more.
“When do you want to start then?” I asked, looking between them all. “I think we have enough gods here now, and Staviti isn’t here, which is a huge bonus.”
Cyrus’s smile was twisted with cynicism. “His spies are here. We won’t have much time once we start; he’s going to want to stop this before it can gather force, so be prepared for your demonstration, Willa.” He focussed on me with those intense eyes and I forced myself not to shiver. “Are you ready?” he pressed.
I nodded rapidly. “Oh yeah, totally ready. I’ve been practising for multiple sun-cycles and know exactly what I’m going to do. All practised up. It doesn’t get any more ready than me.”
Siret coughed next to me but didn’t say a word. We’d already decided I was a “wing it” sort of woman, doing my best thinking when I wasn’t thinking. You couldn’t practice winging it, but something told me that attitude wouldn’t impress Cyrus. Emmy was smiling at me like she knew exactly what I was thinking, but I’d already lost the Neutral God’s interest. He was now focussed on the crowds.
“I’ll wait five to ten more clicks,” he said, turning back to us. “Go. Mingle with the gods. You’ll see me on the stage when it’s time.”
There were servers on the stage playing an assortment of musical instruments, and I turned to watch them as Cyrus and Emmy walked away.
“Staviti is very fond of dwellers who display musical aptitude,” Siret said, following my line of sight. “He has some play for him for many sun-cycles.”
Whenever I heard his name, a bubbling of anger swirled in my gut and it grew worse with every instance. It felt like eventually I would lose control of the energy and it would explode from me with more force than my body could handle, almost as though I would have to be destroyed to allow my power the freedom it required.
“Don’t even think that,” Siret said fiercely. “You must exist in this world; there’s no other option.”
I nodded, but the troubled thoughts didn’t leave me. I was one being, and if it required a sacrifice to save all the rest, then what choice did I have?
“They’re moving,” Siret whispered, leaning down to my ear.
I turned to follow Yael and Rome, who were stepping through the crowds now. Luckily, Rome stood heads above most of the other gods, despite their heights, and it was easy to follow their path.
“Let’s move toward the stage,” I suggested, ready to know what sort of battle we were facing. It was pertinent that we knew who our allies were … and maybe even more important, who our enemies were.
Siret didn’t pull me into his side like he might normally; instead he allowed me to push through the crowd while he stayed at my back. At first I was confused because it wasn’t normal Abcurse behaviour, but very quickly I caught on to what he was doing.
I couldn’t hide behind them for this. I had to make these gods respect me, which meant I had to throw my power around a little bit. If there was one thing I had learned from the gods, it was that they respected power over everything else.
I searched for the heat inside me—the feeling that I had associated with the source of my power. My arms began to elevate again as I walked because for some reason it was the most familiar and comfortable way for me to release my energy. I let it seep from my body and rise up around me, almost like a cloak. I could sense the energy of the other gods, so it stood to reason that they would feel mine too. Sure enough, as I surged forward through the crowds, my energy seemed to almost pushthe other gods gently to the sides. A path formed in front of me and I stepped along the newly formed passageway.
Their attention naturally went to Siret as we passed and I watched as they all tried to figure out how his energy was pushing them aside. It took them all a moment, but eventually their attention slid to me, finding the source. Their expressions ranged from disbelieving to confused. A burly god in blue robes approached me from a few yards away, charging through the seas of people as though he would put a stop to whatever menace was parting the crowds.
I waved my hands and froze him to the spot, releasing him only once Siret and I were long past. I felt guilt at the abuse of power, but the last thing I needed was to get into a fight before I’d even had a chance to say my piece. It would probably happen soon after anyway. The gods were not going to like being told that their world was about to be turned upside down—no matter which course of action they chose. They were used to being on the top.
By the time we reached the stage, I was relieved to see Yael and Rome near the right side, and Coen and Aros near the left. Cyrus and Emmy weren’t in sight at first, but about three clicks later they stepped out from behind a huge string instrument and crossed to the front of the stage.
The servers didn’t seem to notice; they were focussed on performing their given task without error. Between the noise of the party and the servers playing their instruments, I had no idea how Cyrus planned on getting everyone’s attention. He paused on the edge of the stage and lifted both of his hands. White light emanated from him, blinding in its intensity, and an eerie sort of silence descended over the crowd all at once. I opened my mouth to ask Siret what Cryus had done, but every time I tried to speak a word, my mind and tongue got confused and my voice disappeared.
He’d silenced us all.
How freaking powerful was Cyrus?
His glow faded slightly then, but the energy holding our thoughts and tongues lingered. I felt like I could fight through it, but I didn’t bother to try. Breaking his energy wasn’t in my best interests.
“I have a message for you all,” Cyrus started, his voice amplified into a loud boom. “You need to listen to my words and pay them great heed. The worlds are no longer in balance.” He paused somewhat dramatically to let those words sink in for a micro-click. “We are all in grave danger because the further Topia slips to one side of the spectrum, the less energy we, as gods, will have to draw from. We will become weaker. Eventually, if we follow this trajectory, Topia will fall and us along with it.”
