Betrayal hits me right in my chest, and it knocks the air out of my lungs. Why didn’t he tell me this before? That feeling disappears, quickly replaced by anger. I feel manipulated, and I didn’t expect that from Tai.
“Bri…"
Tai struggles on the ground, and the cuffs shock him so hard, he is knocked unconscious.
“Lower the blaster. He can’t do anything now,” I tell Boss, sadness and disappointment soaking my every word.
“We will return him to the gods.”
“No! Wait.” I stop them from picking up his limp body. “I give him mercy. No returning him to the gods. Take him to the dungeon. And take those cuffs off—it’s inhumane.”
“But—” Hot-Breath steps in.
“No. As your goddess, I decide what happens to him. Take him to the dungeon or you can join him there.” I stare him down, daring him to defy me. I’m not fucking around. I’m tired of this shit and want to go home.
It takes a dozen of them to drag Tai down the stairs to the dungeon. The plan has officially changed. No more trying to get through to these guys. It’s not worth risking Tai. He has become far too important, and I want answers. He owes me the full truth.
What I need is a distraction. I need something so big, so monumental that the brethren won’t even remember Tai exists.
There is one thing that could take their minds off the giant blue prisoner in the dungeon: the mere thought of their goddess performing one very specific ceremony I refused to participate in previously.
I grab my pack from the bottom drawer and check the contents. No hydropacks, no nutrigels, but everything else is still there. I look down at my clothes and wish I had my nasty coveralls. This goddess costume they have dressed me in is not ideal for a daring escape, but I don’t have any other options.
I bolt to the bathroom and grab a handful of the bottles of soapfrom the edge. I spin around, looking for anything else that could be useful. Seeing nothing, I stash the pack under my bed.
I crack open the door. Bug-Eyes sits on a wooden chair facing me. Just sitting there. Staring. Waiting for me to open the door.
Creepy fuck.
“There you are! I was hoping to find you.” I should have been an actress with how convincing I sound.
“What can I do for you?” He yawns. Someone isn’t excited about being on guard duty.
“I need to speak with Boss. Can you go find him for me?” I ask sweetly, hoping a little charm will help get me what I want.
“Boss?” he asks.
Dammit, why do they only go byBrethren? It’s so fucking confusing. I suspect he knows exactly who I’m referring to. He’s just being difficult.
“Brethren,theBrethren.Long eyebrows that connect with the long gray beard? Ever heard of him?”
“Wait here. Don’t leave your room.”
The illusion that I had the upper hand fades fast. I might not be locked up in a dungeon, but I am a prisoner just the same. I wait impatiently in the doorway, watching for a possible break in the steady stream of brethren walking past. Why are they all in this part of the colony today? Don’t they have better things to do with their time?
Boss finally shows up, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
“Yes?” he says impatiently. I notice he didn’t address me with any of the over-the-top titles I have come to expect.
“The brethren have proved their loyalty to me. You have found the traitor in our midst. I would like to reward you all. Tonight.”
He raises one skeptical bushy eyebrow at me.
“The ceremony, the one we didn’t finish,” I clarify, hoping I can get away with saying less. I refuse to say the words “pleasure” and “completion” around these guys.
“Goddess, the ceremony requires purification of the brethren before we can begin, and we still have the Tilak to deal with.”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s locked up, right? He can’t go anywhere. I want to do the ceremony tonight. I’ll do my own little purification thingy as well, and I am not to be disturbed. I’ll come out when I’m ready.”
