Page 35 of Corvus and the Broken God

Had he been in love with her?

I did my best to keep that thought from going any further, but it wasn’t easy. He had shut me down so quickly, even before I could fully accept my attraction. No, it wasn’t the attraction he had a problem with. There was some sort of mutual draw, which I could sense, and a sort of familiarity. I suspected we had the same sense of humor, but maybe not. He didn’t want me to expect anything more. In that, he seemed more like a typical man than an ancient creature. Without overthinking, I slipped the necklace over my head, the weight of it settling between my clavicles.

It didn’t matter, I decided, who he loved and why she left. He had given me an opportunity I wasn’t going to squander. It may take some time to quiet the thoughts he insisted on overhearing, but I’d get there. In the meantime, I had plenty to do. And if my feelings were still hurt, well, I had years of practice dealing with that as well.

During the evenings I read the books he provided, learning as much as I could about the Yucatán Peninsula and Mayan culture, both ancient and modern day. From cryptic texts about the various gods and goddesses and the hair-raising levels of suffering in their Underworld, called Xibalba, to their stepped styles of architecture. Mirroring the underworld to some extent, I learned about the hundreds of miles of underground caverns filled with water, level upon level of dark caves where fresh water sank through the porous limestone, creating a massive underground river, and the challenging growing conditions for crops and food sources.

I began visiting the log cabin on my own during the daytime. I would wake up, eat breakfast, transform into a crow, flap over there, and fly up to the bedroom. Once there, I would wear an old flannel shirt and some soft, clean boxer shorts, keeping me covered while I explored as my human self. On the second visit, I discovered a cleverly hidden room off the back of the house that had been The Stag’s workshop. He had every tool, both worn and reasonably new. I could make this place pleasant. It would give me something to do to pass the time.

On the third day, I found his bills. If I could transform myself into something larger with wings, I could haul my computer over to the cabin, set up the internet, and keep in better touch with Mindy.

Or I could ask my Monster to bring it for me. What would he say? If our mind-speak didn’t work at this distance, which it hadn’t the first night I had changed myself into a crow, I assumed my thoughts were private when I was at the cabin. That made me smile. Would he care if I moved in here for a few weeks? Probably not. The fact that it bothered me wasn’t a good sign. I rolled my eyes. I had never been good at holding grudges and missed the insensitive jerk.

Needing a distraction, I sat down at the desk and picked up the phone, having memorized Mindy’s number the day before. She answered immediately.

“Mindy, it’s Freya. How are you?”

“Freya! It’s about time you called me. I’ve been calling, but it goes straight to voicemail. You haven’t replied to any of my emails either.”

“Sorry about that. I haven’t been good at checking my cell. I’m at the Stag’s house. This is his landline. I’m looking into setting up the internet.”

“So, you’re doing well then? Do you need me to come get you?”

“Yes, no, I’m okay. Benjamin is being difficult, but I don’t have any right to be surprised. Overall, it’s good. How is work?”

“Good, well, maybe not so much. Matthew is planning to pitch your idea again with the updated plans. I’m not sure he’d welcome you back here now, despite what HR has to say about your contract.”

Matthew using my plans for the new pitch didn’t surprise me, but it still smarted. “How did you hear that?”

“I’ve been having lunch with Amanda lately, and she told me he’s had her systematically remove your name and any references to you from everything. She feels bad, but when I asked her what she thought would happen if you returned, she looked around as if he could be spying on her. I’d be paranoid too if I worked for that rat.”

“Did she say anything more?”

“No, just that they have something in place to take care of the problem if you show up.”

“That’s…”

“Revolting, disgusting, I could go on.”

“Yeah, all that.”

“I don’t know, Freya. I’ll let you know what I find out from HR, if anything. They really want to talk to you, but for now, I think you should stay where you are. They can’t do anything to you if you’re not in their way.”

Or line of sight. I put my head down on the desk. “I think you’re right. It’s not like I’m up for going to war against them right now anyways. And at the same time, quitting doesn’t feel right either.”

Mindy let out a sigh. “I know. I’d say focus on your thing with Benjamin for now. I’m going to have my personal attorney take a look at the whole situation, well, you know, without the whole changing your features part of it. I’ll let you know what your options are once I have something good to tell you.” She hesitated. I waited, needing to hear it, whatever it was.

“Could you change back all the way if you needed to?”

“Yes, definitely.” But the thought of going back made my stress levels jump.

“Good, that’s great. We’ll keep it in our pockets as an option.”

“Thanks, lady. You’re the best.”

“Don’t you forget it either. I’m coming back up there to check on you first chance I get. My hot springs vacation ended way too soon.”

“Come see me anytime.” I hung up the phone, trying to dig into all I was feeling.