“Yes, of course. I’ll apologize at once. Please forgive me, Astraea. I shouldn’t have spoken to you so disrespectfully.”
Mal didn’t enjoy the game of only hearing half the conversation and then getting a shitty recap every five minutes, so he closed his eyes and turned his focus inward. He reached out for the threads of reality around him and quickly sorted through them until he found the one involving fundamental understanding.
The underlying source of communication. It was closely connected to how he could sense a sentient creature’s fear. He simply added the ability to understand what they wished to convey and to be understood accordingly.
When he opened his eyes, only a handful of seconds had passed, and he heard Elena say, ”We may not worship our gods in the way that your people might, but we do respect them. Our goddess is like our mother. She loves and cares for us and deserves our respect.”
“Yes, madam. I understand fully and promise not to disrespect her again.” Clayton’s shoulders were hunched, and he spoke to his feet like a little boy who was being scolded by his mother.
Mal didn’t like that at all, so he slung an arm around Clayton’s shoulders and pulled him into his side. “He’s fine the way he is. If Astraea has a problem with how he speaks, she can come and talk to me.”
Mal liked his little fireball best when he was saying exactly what he was thinking and feeling. It was becoming increasingly clear that Clayton was two entirely different people when it came to home and work.
Something inside Mal stirred in pleasure when he realized that Clayton never spoke to him in an overly polite andsolicitous manner. Sassy and stuck up, certainly, but Clayton never shrank himself for Mal. If he ever tried, Mal would hold him down and spank him until he turned into himself once more.
Clayton perked up with interest.“Can you understand them now? When did you…? You know what? Nevermind. I’ve decided not to be surprised by your weirdness anymore,” Clayton huffed and brushed his hands together as if he was dusting them off from Mal’sweirdness.
“Good for you,” Mal said and gave Clayton a squeeze.
“Please ignore him,” Clayton said to Elena. “It’s the smart choice, really. He’s completely uncontrollable, and if you try, it only makes him worse.”
“You’re so smart,” Mal poked Clayton on the nose and had the joy of watching the man go cross-eyed before slapping Mal’s hand away.
“Yes, I can see that. I’ll take your advice under consideration.” Elena came close to smiling, but her posture tensed, and Mal felt a surge of terror well up inside her. He realized from the flavor that she must have remembered her lost child. It was sticky and overly sweet in a vaguely rotten way.
Mal hated cases involving children, though they were a large portion of what he dealt with. He could feed off the abundant fear created when children were lost or murdered, but the flavor was revolting.
He still took the cases because feeding off a nice, well-seasoned child murderer was nothing short of bliss. Their screams enhanced the experience to perfection.
Once he and Clayton found their kids, Mal would feast like a king.
Clayton elbowed Mal in the ribs and whispered, “You’re drooling.”
Mal wiped his mouth and then grinned, showing off his teeth, making sure to give them an extra sparkle.
Clayton’s cheeks went pink, and his breathing grew shallow. He stayed professional, though, and asked the couple, “Do you have any idea how to find the people who tried to take your children?
Naerith answered this time. “Our main concern is finding our son and the other children. Our king and queen will find the ones responsible for the attack.”
“We came here hoping we’d find the children,” Elena explained. “There’s no place safer in our realm than here. None would dare enter this space without the permission of Astraea. When we realized the children weren’t here, well… I’m afraid we both fell apart. I’d already tried to locate where the spell sent our children, but I’m not good at that sort of magic, so I failed.” Elena gave a wan smile, and Mal noticed she was pale and trembled with exhaustion. “Eventually, I gave up and asked our goddess for help. She’s not generally one to help her adult children unless she believes them to truly be out of options, so it’s not something I would do lightly.”
“Did Astraea give you an answer?” Clayton asked.
“You and your friends fell out of her tree shortly after,” Elena said, eyes gleaming with hope.
Mal rolled his eyes.
Everyone wanted a piece of Clayton. The world would take and take until there was nothing left unless someone stepped in. Fortunately for Clayton, he now had Mal to help with that.
“I doubt that’s a coincidence,” Clayton murmured. “I’m not sure if she’ll tell me what’s going on, but it can’t hurt to ask.” His eyes went distant. After a moment, he came back to himself, and with a touch of puzzlement to his voice, he said, “She told me that we already have everything we need.”
“Everything we need for what, exactly?” Naerith asked.
“She didn’t specify. I told you exactly what she told me.”
“Is this common for you, speaking with deities?” Elena asked. “Our goddess speaks to very few people.”
“Not specifically, no. But I have a talent for communication. As far as I remember, I’ve always been able to speak to any creature capable of speech.”
