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“And you were always too greedy for yours,” I return, keeping a wary eye on the hair slithering around my feet like vines. “How did you get in here? Slip into Mother’s body while the other gods were at war?” I remember now, noticing how there were only two Gilded Ones, but three Idugu standing in the city.
I nod, understanding. “You came before Okot could place the arcane jewel. That’s how you were able to emerge here while the other gods cannot.”
“A stroke of luck on my part,” Etzli admits. “Or perhaps even foresight.” There’s a gloating tone to her words. Etzli always did like hearing herself speak.
“So what was the plan? I open the box and you take my kelai at the moment of absorption?”
“Indeed.” The goddess inclines her head.
“And the others are just all right with you doing so?” As I speak, I sneak a glance at my companions. They’re all slowly and surely backing away from me, headed to different corners of the room—even Ixa, who I’m now mentally sending very specific instructions.
All of them are preparing.
If we can’t use doors in here, we have to make a different plan. Have to improvise. After all, it will take time for the Idugu to return with their troops—time Etzli will use to enforce her will. I slip one hand behind my back, using battle language to signal my intentions to my friends.
We incapacitate her, take the box, and then run, I say, all the while keeping my eyes on Etzli, who’s still speaking.
“They are occupied imbuing me with enough power for this task,” she says haughtily.
“You mean they’re opening up vales and eating everyone in them so they can feed you.” Foreboding trickles up my spine. No wonder Etzli seems so confident. Hui Li and Beda are using this battle to feed her. Which means she’s likely the most powerful god in Otera at the moment. She might not even be affected by the arcane jewel’s power.
The goddess shrugs. “My sisters understand the importance of my task.”
As she speaks, something flits past her, so swift, it’s barely noticeable. A small blue bird. A nightflyer. Ixa.
I keep talking so Etzli remains engaged. “And what about Anok?”
The word causes the goddess to bristle, her hair spiking and jolting all around her. At this point, she’s taken over Mother’s body so completely, I barely even recognize it anymore. The sight has my fury rising even higher. After everything she’s already done to me, Etzli has the nerve, the gall, to use Mother’s body as her puppet.
The very first thing I will do when I become a god is destroy Etzli. Everything turns cold inside me as I make this decision. I will burn her to a crisp before her sisters’ eyes, watch them despair the way I have despaired. But I have to wait for the perfect opportunity. Ixa is still flitting carefully closer to the box clutched in Etzli’s hands. To act too rashly now will cost not only me but everyone else in Otera our lives.
“Do not dare speak the name of that traitor to me!” Etzli hisses, forcing my attention back to her.
“Traitor?” I tap my lips. “I thought she was your sister. If you’re going to be feeding the others my kelai, it stands to reason she’ll be eating as well. She’ll become just as powerful as the rest of you.”
“All the good it’ll do her,” Etzli humphs. “She’ll remain caged as she is for eternity, imprisoned in her own darkness.” Now Etzli turns to me, a cruel smile twisting her lips. “Imagine what that means for a god. We are the Eternal Ones. We are unending, undying.”
“Such cruelty I could never imagine,” I say softly.
“Is it cruelty or fairness?” Etzli returns. “She intended the same for us.”
“She intended to end you. Return you to the cosmos before you end the world.”
“Foolish girl,” Etzli sniffs. “Once we have your power, we will build a new world. One of complete worship, complete devotion. Never again will our worshippers question our existence. They will know from the moment they’re born until the moment they die that we are their mothers. And you will give us the power to do so. Come here, Deka!”
A strand of hair hurtles at me.
As I dodge, a bright blue body darts past Etzli, snatching the box. “Ixa, this way!” I shout, racing for the door as he flies in my direction.
But before I can reach, a mass of hair slams it shut with a resounding boom, its tips turning gold, as do all the other portions of the strands. They all change so completely, I can’t even call them hair anymore. They are living vines, golden vines, all connected to Etzli.
And they’re all instruments of her will.
“You will not escape from this room, Deka,” Etzli roars. “Not using this door or any other.” As I watch, horrified, the goddess covers the blue jewel beside the door with another mass of vines, protecting it from any interference as she rises into the air, her body pushed up by yet another grouping of vines.
The lengthy strands all work in concert, slithering together until they’re indistinguishable from the vines of blood-eaters she used to the same effect in Abeya.
“Did you think it would be so easy?” Etzli asks, absently backhanding Kweku when he rushes her, sword in hand. She does the same with Belcalis, who valiantly tries to ambush her from the back. “Did you think I did not prepare for you and all your little tricks?”
