She brightens. “That’s an excellent idea. The gods love flattery, almost as much as they love a sacrifice.”
I wince.
“I know, I know. You don’t like sacrifices.” Kina grins at me. “I won’t do that while you’re around.”
“She’s the goddess of…what? Love? Beauty?” When Kina nods, I suggest, “Maybe you sacrifice something beautiful to her, like flowers or a favorite earring.”
Her eyes widen. “Or the most beautiful goat?—”
“Or your favorite necklace,” I state again, voice firm.
“I’m teasing you, Mistress.” She laughs. “As for your goat, don’t worry. He’s quite safe.”
He is? I’ve forgotten all about him. “Where is he at?”
“He belongs to the farmer down the road. When you’re ready to retrieve him, we’ll go get him. I insisted that you rest first.” She frowns at the mortar and pestle in my hands. I’m probably doing it all wrong, and I grind a little harder on the spices in the heavy stone bowl just to be certain.
Retrieve him. “What am I to do with a baby goat?”
She shrugs. “If you don’t want him, we’ll tell Davios. He’ll make a fine stew out of him.”
“We’ll get him,” I say faintly. I know that people eat farm animals all the time, but something about saving that little goat from sacrifice just for him to end up in a stew pot doesn’t seem right to me. “Perhaps tomorrow. And then we should head back to the temple.”
Kina looks up at me, surprised. “So soon?”
I nod. “I have a feeling Kalos is going to be arriving quicker than we’d like.”
Hadn’t Lachesis said as much? I want to be there so I can truly begin my task. I don’t want any chance that I’ll be sent back to my world and mess up David’s chance for a happy ever after.
Ineedto stay.
The next morning,I head back out to the swamp and the temple there with Kina as my guide. We both carry heavilyladen packs, since I’m determined to live out there instead of staying at the comfortable farm. My job is clear, and I can’t avoid it. More than that, I don’t want to. Kina and her mother are distressed at my decision, but I remind them that it’s my divine calling or something, and they’re eager to make the gods happy. Going with us are a few changes of clothes for me (more of the plain, cool linen slip dresses), dried fish and meat, cheese, bread, and some other foodstuffs I don’t recognize. Kina’s pack has a rolled-up padded mat for me to sleep on, along with a pillow, blankets, and a trunk full of “necessities.” Her bag looks heavy enough to drag me to the ground, but Kina carries it easily and I’m reminded that she’s a farm girl and made of sturdy stuff. I’m the wilting flower that knows how to make coffee and not much else.
Also with us?
Dingle the goat, the one I saved from sacrifice.
The farmer showed up with him late last night, and now he’s mine. He’s adorable and small, with two tiny buds for horns, cute little hooves, and a black and white coat. He trots at my side, tiny hooves clopping merrily, as if he wants nothing more than to venture into the swamp with me.
The walk back to the swamp is slow-going. We take a flat, muddy road with wheel ruts going down the middle. Off to both sides of the road are thick clusters of trees, some of them evergreens, some tall and spindly, with a high canopy. There are birds everywhere, and the smell of rot and fetid water grows the closer we get to the swamp itself.
Kina talks endlessly about things I should expect living at the temple in the swamp. “You’ll want to keep your food covered at all times and off the floor, so crawling things stay out of it. Keep the goat close to you because of alligators. Oh, and don’t drink the water.”
“The…swamp water?” She really thinks I would drink the swamp water. Seriously? Do I seem that helpless?
“Aye. There’s a blessed fountain inside the temple that has flowing water. Drink and use that one to bathe. Any other water, like from the bowls to catch rainwater, might be full of worms.”
Delightful.
“And remember to set up the netting over your bed so the mosquitos don’t feast upon you. Though perhaps when the god arrives, you can ask him to make them ignore you. I imagine he’s the sort that likes mosquitos.”
I imagine he is, but I also don’t plan on asking him for anything. I haven’t thought about what I’ll say or what he’ll be like. I’ve just been taking things one day at a time, but now Kina’s words remind me that I don’t know anything about the man-slash-god that I’m going to be serving for the rest of my days. A lump forms in my throat at the thought. Have I made a mistake?
No. He could be the most awful person imaginable and I’d still have volunteered just to give David his life, his future. He deserves it.
“Tell me about Lord Kalos,” I say to Kina. “What’s he look like?”
She spits over her shoulder, nearly hitting me. “We don’t say his name. We don’t want his attention.”
