So much of our lives had been lost because of one power-hungry god. So much suffering because of him.
“I will free those children,” I choked out, their blank faces flashing across my mind.
Jakan seemed to realise where we were then, and he too looked around the darkness. Maybe trying to sense them.
“We have to save the worlds first,” he told me, reaching out to clasp my hand. “But as soon as we restore the balance, we will save the children.”
I nodded, too choked up to speak. After a click, I pulled my hand from his and cleared my throat. “I need to get word to the Abcurses,” I said. “I have to tell them that I am back in the land of the living. They’re probably freaked out about my body just up and disappearing.” I paused briefly before continuing, “And I think I know someone who might be able to help. You said you could see Topia through the mortal glass? Did you meanallof Topia?”
“All of it,” he confirmed. “It was simply the other side of the mirror.”
“So … if I understand pockets right, you could take us through a pocket to anywhere in Topia? Because you’ve seen it all through the glass?”
He nodded, a thoughtful look falling over his features. “In theory, that should work, but I haven’t been to where Abil’s sons are in person, and that might make a difference. But I will try.”
He reached out, wrapping a hand around my mine again. He touched me with the ease familiarity usually brought. I did understand why this felt different for him—he had known me my entire life, had known that I was his daughter. I, on the other hand, had only met him once before this. And while I might have suspected he was my father, I’d only just had it confirmed.
Before witnessing the way my mother cried out for him, I hadn’t even considered it a possibility that she had ever loved a man enough to have a child with him. I knew how pregnancy and childbirth worked, obviously … but I still thought of my conception as more of an accident, or a random, unimportant coincidence. My mother and I had never had a close relationship—certainly not close enough for me to comfortably ask her questions about my conception. Even though we hadn’t made an occasion of speaking about it, I’d still been raised under the impression that her becoming pregnant with me had been something equivalent to ‘surprise,here’s a baby.’
“It’s not working,” Jakan muttered, reminding me that I should have been pulled through the darkness by now.
I signed. “There might be another option. Can you try Terrance’s forest? It isn’t a secret cave in the middle of nowhere, it might be easier.”
“That, I can do.” Jakan’s hand tightened around mine, and only a fraction of a click later, we were standing beneath a thick canopy of trees.
The humidity in the air immediately clung to the exposed skin along the back of my neck, making the leather that still encased my body feel too thick and my hair feel too heavy.
“It’s not snowing here,” I realised out loud.
“His habitats have been enchanted for the comfort of his creations,” Jakan replied. He released my hand, striding forward again, though he pulled his cloak about his person more securely instead of shrugging it away from his shoulders to combat the oppressive heat. “Stay behind me,” he warned. “The enchantment covers more than just whatever threats the weather might present—it also protects the animals against other threats. That includes us.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me as I walked close behind him, trying to move as soundlessly as he was. I had definitely inherited my lack of grace from my mother, because he moved in an almost unnatural way, as though his feet weren’t even touching the ground.
When we passed from beneath the canopy and snow was again dusting my shoulders, I started to relax and hurried to walk beside him. We were on a narrow path now, and Jakan began to walk faster. I appreciated his urgency. I wasn’t comfortable with the state I had left the Abcurses in. My body would have just disappeared, but I assumed that Pica’s body had remained. Hopefully they would still be able to feel my energy and would know that Pica hadn’t killed me in the imprisonment realm.
The path eventually led to a footbridge that climbed over a gently flowing river. I glanced to the water as we passed to the other side, thinking about where it flowed to. If all water sources eventually poured into Minatsol, then there were several natural passageways existing between the two realms. It must have been normal practice, at one point in history, to simply travel between the two worlds with ease.
I was distracted from my musings about the water when a cottage became visible down in the basin of a gully below. The path that we were on twisted lazily down the side of a hill, dotted by large cypress trees and smaller ferns. Birdhouses and ponds were also scattered about, and I realised that the trees lining the path were filled with the fluttering of wings and the chattering of birdsong. The sight filled me with mild relief, because Terrance’s birds were why I had decided to go there, after all.
The God of Bestiary walked out his front door as we reached the front porch, and I gave his cottage a brief examination, appreciating that it wasn’t a marble rectangle like the houses of all the other gods.
“Willa,” he greeted, his stare running from my head to my feet. “You appear unharmed. That is a surprise.”
“It shouldn’t be,” I returned. “Did everyone get out of the garden safely?”
“They did indeed.” He stepped away from the door and motioned for us to follow him inside. “And several of them are impatient to talk to you. Who is this you have brought?”
I stared at his back as he retreated inside again. He was still only partially clothed, his long, knotted hair falling almost to his hips.
“This is ... my ... Jakan,” I stumbled over the introduction, quickly making my way inside. “He is Staviti’s brother.”
“Staviti does not have a brother,” a man countered.
I stopped walking immediately, realising that several bodies were gathered inside. Four in total … and I didn’t recognise any of them.
“You are the other Original Gods,” I blurted, looking between them. There were two men and two women, and the man on the far right—the one who had spoken—arched a brow. He was tall, and his robes were plain compared to what I had grown used to. The material was rougher than the long, draped silk of those beside him, and I could see plain brown sandals on his feet beneath the hem. The colour of the robe was a pale yellow, almost cream.
“What an interesting thing to declare,” he muttered, meeting my eyes. His were a light brown, as was his hair. His features were youthful, and there was an odd kind of brightness that seemed to emanate from him. “Tell me, what gave us away?”
