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His affection for me came down my bond before he disconnected.
“Done with your conversation?” Xotchi didn’t even turn to look at me. She continued striding forward, confident in her knowledge of where she was going.
I raised one eyebrow as I moved behind her, my tiredness causing my feet to stumble repeatedly. My stomach grumbled, and the dragon stopped suddenly, whirling around to study me.
“You look… horrible.” She frowned, her brows lowering, her eyes almost closing as she peered at me.
I smirked back at her. “Well, thanks. Remember, they threw me into a dungeon, and then chased me out of the house and across the land. You had me follow a capybara. Which reminds me—why that giant rat?”
For the first time since she rescued me, Xotchi grinned. “Their barrier was closed to most animals—dragons, wolves, and bears—as well as human-like beings. They forgot rodents, because it is hard to keep them out of any place they want to crawl into. But in particular, they forgot about the weirder ones. Capybaras are smart. And I could bribe it to go retrieve you. So I chose it for your guide.”
I laughed. “Brilliant. Leave it to a god to forget about rodents. Apollo is intelligent, but the god doesn’t think like a regular person. It's one of his blind spots. I have used this to my advantage in other ways. I've worked around his ability to control the prophecies we oracles have, since mine are multi-faceted.” I shrugged. “I let him observe the minor paths, while keeping the major pieces to myself.”
Xotchi barked out a laugh, slowing to allow me to catch up to her and walk alongside. “I will have to remember that tactic. Give them what they want to see, just not all of it.”
I nodded before frowning. “The one I am more worried about is Henry—ummm—Hermes. He is cruel and easy to provoke. He was also the one who threw me into the dungeon for no reason. Oh, and he also can fly. Using shoes with little bitty wings on the heels.”
She now matched my frown. “Hermes, the trickster. The god who can travel between the mortal world and the gods with ease. Yes, I agree. He will be our biggest obstacle. And I don’t think Artemis will be any help. She won't fight him if he wants to travel to Earth, because they are—or were—friends.” She paused and then continued. "And don't discount those shoes or the wings on them. He almost caught us back there on Delphi."
Nope, I knew they made him fast as shit. But I wanted to find out more about the relationship with Artemis.
“I was hoping she would have shielded me from them.” I glanced over to study her profile.
“No chance of that.” Xotchi’s steps slowed. “I think Apollo took you to turn you into his Pythia, a priestess. But once he got you in Delphi, he must have realized the role didn’t suit your personality. At home, you are quiet and meek, keeping to yourself. But now that I am talking to you, I can tell you are nothing of the sort.”
I snorted. “Yeah, my brothers can confirm that. I kept to myself because of my prophecies and visions. When I was younger, I would go comatose during one. It made people wary of me. The other kids thought I was weird. And sickly. But once I met Soren, he helped keep the strange visions to a minimum.” I paused, thinking. “On Delphi, I figured out how to pull energy from around me so I wouldn’t deplete my powers. Apollo also showed me how to control the visions better, not letting them just happen to me. I can’t say I am sorry he stole me away, because I have acquired knowledge I otherwise wouldn't have had. I just wish I had at least one of his books with me now.”
Xotchi touched my arm sympathetically before dropping her hand. I glanced up as she turned down another tunnel, this one leading into a cavern lit with multiple bright lights.
It was enormous. Colorful stalagmites and stalactites filled the outer edges of the space. A waterfall fell into a pool of crystal clear water on the far side, steam rising from its depths.
And in the middle of the shoreline were several tables with various instruments and machines on them and around them. Giant lights lit up the tables, allowing someone to work at all times of the day or night. A woman who looked like a mix between humans and some sort of ape-like alien stood among them.
I studied her as we made our way forward. She was focused on something, not even looking up, even though we were not being quiet as we walked in. Along with a full body pelt of short brown hairs, she had long, dark strands that flowed down her back, similar to what I would see with humans. Her arms were longer than what would be normal on Earth, and her feet were agile, acting sometimes like another set of hands.
As we stopped in front of the table she was standing at, she peered up at us.
I gasped. I knew this face. I had seen her in that snip-it of a vision…
Before I said anything, she smiled and reached out one hand to me. “Welcome, young oracle. I am glad we got to you in time. The gods would have bound you to Delphi if they had been able, but your own planet needs you more.”
That caused me to think about the situation. “Do you think they will go to Earth?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you think we can win this—whatever it is we are in?”
She shrugged. “It depends. In our book of prophecies, we had predicted no resolution would happen without a horrendous battle. It will involve all those who live on your planet—including any gods that are aligned with you—against other gods and their followers. But there were things that were vague in the telling and I don't have access to the writings to study them. My Malen gave it to one of my brothers to preserve.” She appeared a little sad at that fact.
“Who and what are you?” I asked, curious.
“My name is Belesh and I am an Universa. My species were the worlds’ geneticists. My mother was the best there ever was, but she gifted me her notes while she attempted to protect our lab and its equipment on my home planet. I do not know if she survived, but I doubt it. Her lab, though, was completely destroyed.”
She moved out from behind her table, stepping closer to me. She wasn't much taller than me, which was surprising, since I was quite short for a human. Her body was fit, but the intelligence in her eyes shone and made me forget she was an alien species and see her just as a person.
She continued. “With Malen’s book of results, I can carry on our experiments. She gave one brother our book of prophecies, called the Korchamen. He was to hide it until the time came when we would need it. It is meant for The Oracle. Only she can ferret out its secrets.” She smiled at me, as if she guessed I might be that person.
“My Malen genetically modified my youngest brother so he could blend in on Earth before traveling there to give the prophecy a very important nudge. He was supposed to find someone to birth the ones that will help to win this war for the universes.”
