“The food comes from the Basin of Abundance,” Donald told me. “Not from the mudhog. But the Sacred Ones are not permitted entrance to the dormires, where the Basin of Abundance is used.”
“So you popped into Minatsol and stole a dweller’s mudhog,” I finished for her.
She nodded enthusiastically again, and I suspected that I was supposed to applaud her for her ingenuity. The almost expectant look on her face was odd. I might have been going crazy, but I was sure that she had somehow become even less like a proper Topian server since I had woken up almost a dozen sun-cycles ago in Pica’s home.
“Why aren’t the gods allowed in the…,” I began to ask the Abcurses, before trailing off, forgetting the name for the server residences.
“Dormires,” Yael supplied, meeting my eyes directly across the table. “And I doubt anyone has asked that question before. We’ve been led to believe that they have their own personal little caverns that they can disappear into when they aren’t needed. A reset space where they are serviced and maintained. Apparently, that’s also where they manifest the food and drink, using the Cup of Staviti and the Platter of Staviti.”
“But do they all use the same one?” I asked, glancing around at the others, before settling my gaze again on Donald. “Do you all have to share the cup and platter?”
“Our dormires all connect to the Pool of Abundance,” Donald answered. “We walk along one of the pathways, and a cart follows behind us on tracks. Once we reach the centre, we must touch the platter and ask for the food. It fills the plates and bowls on our cart. For the drink, we touch the cup and the pitchers on our cart are filled. Many servers at once can do this: the platter and the cup never get confused.”
“I suppose it’s easier and quicker than breeding mudhogs,” I admitted with an uneasy shrug. I wasn’t sure how I felt about eating and drinking everything in front of me now that I knew exactly how it was made.
Did it mean that we were constantly putting traces of Staviti’s energy into our bodies, or did it mean that we were constantly putting traces ofTopia’senergy into our bodies? I supposed it didn’t really matter, considering Staviti’s magic came from Topia anyway. A small piece of the Topian puzzle clicked into place then, as I remembered my first trip into Topia with the Abcurses. I had stolen the cup from Abil’s belt, and we had used it to keep the trapped servers at bay as we passed through the banishment cave. They hadn’t approached us while we held the cup because it was laced with Staviti’s energy—and Staviti controlled them, even in their damaged state …
“Oh my gods,” I said aloud, my eyes widening in realisation. “The magic of Topia isn’t shifting.Stavitiis shifting everything.Heis controlling the broken servers,heis infecting the panteras. They couldn’t possibly be rebelling against his control over them, because even the wraiths in the banishment cave still obeyed his energy—they didn’t attack us while we held the cup. His control over them is absolute.”
The others were silent for a moment, until gradually, every one of them turned to fix their eyes on … Donald.
“No,” I said quickly. “Not her. She’s different. He didn’t fully turn her into a server—she isn’t even qualified. Remember when I got lost out past the ninth ring and discovered the guardians and their temple, where specific dweller-corpses were delivered? Well, there were certain specifications. It wasn’t justanydead body. It wasn’t justanydweller. That’s why my mother turned out like this. Because she doesn’t meet all the requirements. She was always doomed to be a flawed, malfunctioning server. It was never her purpose. Her purpose was just to sendmea message.”
“Her purpose was to bring you to Topia,” Siret reminded me. “Staviti turned her into a server and then sent her to Blesswood with orders to bring you back to Topia.”
“But shedidn’t.” I tossed my arms out. “She failed her task.”
“I did not fail my task, Sacred One,” Donald replied. “You are in Topia. I brought you to Staviti. That was my task.”
For just a moment, terror flooded into me, my limbs locking up. I almost expected Staviti to jump out from the bathing chamber or knock on the front door … but he didn’t.
“I brought myself to Topia,” I told Donald. “And Staviti isn’t here, he’s—”
“Here,” Siret cut across me with a laugh. “Staviti is everywhere in Topia. His energy has been wound through the very foundation of this land. Technically, she did bring you back to him.”
“I brought myself here!” I reiterated.
A few chuckles sounded from around the table, but I only shook my head. I knew that I should just let it go, but I needed to be absolutely sure that this was just another Donald aberration and not some kind of trap.
I turned a little more on Rome’s lap, fixing her with a level stare. “Donald?” I asked.
“Yes, Sacred and Mighty Willa the Naked?”
Siret snorted. “I forgot I taught her that.”
I bit on my lip to hide my smile, trying to keep a stern expression on my face. “Please explain to me exactly how you managed to bring me to Topia?”
“I told you that I was required to take you back to Topia, and then you came back to Topia. You have honour and gumption.”
“Honour and gumption?” I repeated, choking on the last word.
Donald nodded again, this time almost sagely. “Only one with honour and gumption would have fulfilled the request with such promptness. You are the Great Gumption One.”
I groaned, my head falling into my hands as I shook it back and forth. “I knew I should have just left it.”
“You can go back to your dormire now,” Rome said with a gravelly laugh, pulling me a little tighter back into his chest.
As soon as Donald disappeared, I leaned forward and snagged some cheesy bread before settling back to snuggle into Rome as I ate. I would concede, for now. But only because I was hungry. As soon as I finished eating, I was going to force Rome to use his Strength on me, and then I was going to force Coen to use his Pain on me. Maybe it would only be a little bit, but I was going to prove that they didn’t need to restrain themselves so much.
