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"The gods," Luch said with a shrug.
"The gods don't exist," Macey blurted.
"Really?" Amber questioned. "After all that we've been through, you're going to question the existence of gods?"
"And you're not? Are beithirs brought up believing in them?" Macey demanded, though not unkindly. She didn't want to start a disagreement with her friend. She just wanted to get to the bottom of it all.
"No, we're not. But after all we've seen and done, including the mysteriously appearing marks on your back, are gods really too much of a stretch?"
Macey slumped back in her seat, and took a sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid slip down her throat and soothe
her in a way nothing else could. It was one of her favourite things about being above water.
Well, other than her other three favourite things. She looked between her men, noting they were listening intently. They were learning new things too then. That made a change. They always seemed to be telling her things, and adding to her knowledge. And quite frankly, making her feel like the naive and sheltered loch kelpie that she was slowly learning she actually was. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but she liked to believe she was strong for it.
"No. Gods aren't too much of a stretch," Macey added. "Where are they now?" she asked Luch.
"Dead. Gone. On vacation. I'm not really sure. But I don't think they're about, if that's what you're getting at."
Macey nodded along. That made sense. There was very little point to having gods involved if they were just going to solve everything. Oh no. That would be way too easy.
"They created the Wardens to do the job they're supposed to do themselves, didn't they?" Amber asked.
One glance over at her friend showed just how uncomfortable she was. She was nestled into Izban's shoulder, his arm wrapped tightly around her. But it was her tail that gave everything away. It was curled up in Amber's lap, switching slightly as she stroked it.
No. Amber was particularly uncomfortable with what was happening.
Macey didn't blame her. She couldn't say she was a fan of how complicated things had become. And she'd be even less so if she'd been kidnapped from school, locked up, and then instantly thrown into this situation, like Amber had. In fact, they all deserved a decent rest when all of this was over.
"I think so," Luch responded. "But I'm not sure. For the first hundred years or so, I did exactly what I was told. And then something changed. I'm still not sure what it was, but I think someone else tried to tamper with the Staran, and I got caught out. It sucked, but there was very little I could do. It was shortly after that when the gods decided I wasn't enough. They created the Seven Wardens and tasked me to watch over them."
"But?" Macey prompted. She could hear that it existed just from the mouse's tone. She just hoped Luch would actually tell them what she meant, and not just keep them in the dark like she had been.
"I'm not sure. That first set of Wardens did everything they were supposed to do, when they were supposed to do it. But something didn't quite work out. The same happened for the second set, and the third..." she trailed off, then shrugged. "You get the picture."
"Basically, you're saying that even when the Wardens know what to do, it ends up going wrong?" Jared asked.
"Not wrong, wrong. What they do works, otherwise the Staran would have disappeared years ago. But it's not stabilised everything quite the way it should," Bradaigh answered.
"Is that because the issue is bigger than the Staran themselves?"
"Yes and no," Luch answered.
"The Seven Wardens job is to stabilise the Staran. And yes, before you ask, I will tell you how to go about doing that," Luch said, holding up a hand to stop Flint from speaking.
It wasn't Flint Macey was concerned about though. Cam had been suspiciously quiet through the entire conversation, causing worry to build within her. He was normally so aware of everything that was going on, and the fact that he wasn't, was somewhat concerning.
"Why do I feel like there's another but coming?" Jared joked.
"There is. I don't think your job as Wardens is going to just include the Staran. I think you need to stabilise something far, far bigger than that." Luch worried her hands together, as if she was nervous to admit whatever it was.
"Let's guess," Macey started. "All we have to do is save the world?"
Luch gave a dry laugh. "Something like that, yes."
"How about we focus on one problem at a time?" Cam said gravely. He looked as exhausted as Macey felt. "Can we fix the Staran first and then worry about the rest of the world later?"
"I'm afraid you won't be able to repair the Staran entirely without looking at the bigger picture. They would only destabilise again," Luch replied with a sad smile.
