Enemy of the Gods Ch. 01

"Stop!" She blurted, hearing his footsteps still.

Her heart beat fast. He had really stopped. Even without her mind control? Interesting. So, he was at least going to put up a pretense of reverence, in front of all these people. She breathed in deeply in relief. At the very least, it seemed that Kai, for all his cunning, had decided not to come into open conflict with the Goddess. She could avoid violence, for now.

"Is it really the Goddess? Or some girl with mental issues, to have the audacity to attack the statue of a venerated God in the great Temple itself."

"You have mental issues." She retorted sulkily under her breath, her revulsion for the man difficult to contain.

The Emperor chortled. "So... it is the Goddess?"

"I'm a girl, who's lost a brother and is missing another. Many of my people are also missing family members, after being forced through the death rituals."

"You speak so softly, my dear." Emperor Kai mocked as he took another step forward. "Come whisper in my ear."

Psychi's looked up, glaring at the Emperor dead in his eyes. He was a large man, as expected of an army general, and exuded power. Yet for all his size, he stumbled backward under her glare, the action surprising. Why? She hadn't exerted any magic power over him, couldn't, he had protected himself too well.

Was he afraid of her? Surprised at her appearance? This was their first meeting, after all.

She felt the heat of the crowd's gaze on her, heard the change in their collective thoughts. Oh. The crowd was awestruck by her skin. Of course they were. She, too, had been surprised when she started to subtly glow since coming back to Vios. Her brother Anima's skin was the same way.

"You are indeed the Goddess." Emperor Kai's voice commanded her attention. She turned to look at him, caught off guard when he fell reverently to his knees.

"It is my honor to meet you, finally."

As soon as Kai knelt, a loud and low shuffle went through the temple as everyone else now also fell to their feet.

Psychi hadn't expected this. An eerie silence ensued, the air heavy with expectation.

"Do even usurpers bow?"

Emperor Kai smiled. "We all have our rightful roles. I am Emperor. You're a Goddess. Man has always bowed to the Gods."

He looked pass her, at the statue of Anima. "Even the fearsome God of War knows his place."

Psychi absorbed his words, understanding them. Pneuma had been murdered and Anima had stood aside. To outsiders, Kai's words may sound reverent, but she saw the hidden challenge buried between the lines. Kai was telling her that if even the great Anima stood aside, who was she to challenge his rule?

Psychi reached down, touching a kneeling soldier on the shoulder, pushing him roughly aside as she stepped pass the human barricade toward the Emperor. She stopped just a short distance away. He was a lot bigger than her, and she didn't want to be grabbed.

The action was not lost on Kai. His eyes swept slowly upward, from her feet toward her face, staring as a mocking smile contorted his features. Psychi could hear her heart beating fast in her chest. Finally, here she was, face to face with this murderous mad man. She steeled her voice. Why should she be afraid?

She had nothing left to lose.

She stepped closer, watching as Kai's smile widened, his glare audacious. He would never have dared to look into her eyes this way during Pneuma's reign.

She came closer still, sashaying with each step, forcing confidence that she did not feel. At the very least, she wanted to show him and the crowds that she was not afraid.

"Tell me, Emperor..." she drawled, bending down so that her breath tickled his ear, her voice low and husky, bearing secret words meant for him only. She noticed his body going rigid with the unexpected closeness, the smile falling for his lips as he froze in surprise.

"What do you fear more? A God who cannot be found, or the one already here?"

Emperor Kai twisted his ear away from her, his hand flashing out to grab her by the wrist. Immediately, Psychi's free hand reached out to hold tightly onto his head, her voice projecting directly into his mind.

"Don't think to threaten me, snake, you may have protection against my power but we'll see how protected you are when I flood it directly into your brain, right here."

"Try it, chipmunk." Kai whispered. Psychi stilled, irritated at his bold irreverence.

"Why does my murdered brother's power protect you, Usurper?" She floated her voice into his mind.

"Perhaps he endorses me."

Psychi wanted to slap the grin off his face. And, from the looks of it, he knew. His grey eyes danced with amusement.

"Psychi, did you really come to the Temple to desecrate your brother's statue, or did you come because you wanted my attention?"

His hand came to touch the edge of her robe, near her waist, rubbing it between his forefinger and thumb as his tongue flicked out to lick his lip. Disgusting, she thought.

"Come back to the Palace with me. I'll give you whatever attention you need."

She glowered at him, his eyes level with her naval. What was he staring at? She sucked her belly into herself. On top of being murderous, he was also creepy and strange. And, it seemed, quite talkative, too.

"Oh, I don't believe that you really came to pray. Tell me, what do the Gods fear?"

"I don't fear dragon breath." She said spitefully. "Just the lies that float in it."

"Our breath follows our flame. If you don't fear our flame, Goddess... then what's stopping you from coming back to the Palace with me? We can end this game of cat and mouse between us, hmm?"

Psychi hesitated. She might hate the man, but her people deserved the chance of a peaceful resolution.

She opted to speak through her mouth this time, the action meant to be less threatening. "In the palace, my safety is not assured."

Emperor Kai flitted his eyes upward, glaring at her hand that was still resting on his head, rasping under his breath. "And how does my safety look, with the hand of a mind weevil resting on my skull?"

She let go of his head abruptly, retreating a step away from him.

"You took my brother's powers." She said. "You can come to the dream sphere. We can speak there."

"No." Emperor Kai snapped, smoke coming out of his nostrils. "You have control over that sphere. My men who met you there never woke up, as I'm sure you are well aware."

"You murdered them." Emperor Kai accused.

Psychi looked down. Pulling people into the dream sphere was something only a few families could do. Her family could do it. King Graethe could do it, too, although his brother Damien seemed to have no power there. And Raiha of the wolf clan could do it. Dragon clan should not have been able to do it.

Kai must have gotten the ability to enter the sphere from absorbing her dead brother's powers. The last time Kai had done it, he had entered with a group of his men, threatening to murder Damien in that sphere unless she showed up. So, she had showed up, and murdered all of Kai's men who had come into the sphere. She couldn't have them pulling Damien in there again. And, her tactic of frightening Kai off ever pulling a stunt like that seemed to have worked. Kai seemed terrified of going into that sphere.

Of course, that didn't mean that her vicious brother Anima wouldn't pull Damien into the sphere.

Thankfully, she had pulled Damien out in the nick of time, otherwise, he would be dead by now, as King Graethe probably was already.

Psychi turned back toward the statue of Anima. She wanted to throw another slipper at it. Why did Anima avoid her, only to go around murdering others for sullying her perceived honor?

"Oh, cat got your tongue? Does our Goddess feel bad, or is she thinking of her Anderran lover again. Do you forget your people after falling in the sack with a foreigner?"

Psychi turned back to Kai. "Does my chastity, or lack thereof, bother you, Kai?"

Kai stared pointedly at her, all swaddled in the black robes. "Look at you, a shy garment heap. Such innocence should not be defiled. No wonder your brother is so upset about how that foreign prince enjoyed you."

Psychi had enough of his mocking. She had ended up as the bed slave of Prince Damien by some strange turn of fate. They had become friends, eventually... but she had been enslaved, it was undeniable. And Kai was rubbing it in her face.

Kai's eyes darted about, a leery grin on his face. "You know, Vios flooded with rain when Anima heard about what had happened. I can only imagine how upset he must be... his beautiful, pure virgin..."

Psychi pulled open her robe, hearing the audible whistle through the crowd as she revealed her form fitting clothes underneath. Emperor Kai's mouth gaped open a little, before he collected himself, licking his lips.

"I don't need men to fight for my honor unsolicited." She announced loudly, balling the robe in her fists.

"Rise, Kai of the Dragon clan." She turned around, "everyone, rise. I accept Kai's invitation to go back to the Palace."

It was a risk, but she needed to go back to the Palace. She needed to know what had happened to Pneuma's body, why Kai could wield her brother's powers. Besides, she had come here, to the great Temple, to ensure that her return to Vios was publicly witnessed by her most loyal followers. Kai would not risk a revolt or Anima's wrath by murdering her too openly.

Still, she hated him. Holding her head high, she walked pass Kai, who was just rising off his knees. Her timing was just so. Taking the balled robe in her hand, she swung it into his face, causing him to fall backward onto the floor.

"Oh," she feigned surprise, offering her hand to Kai for the crowd's benefit. To him, she whispered harshly, "you've called me slut enough times, snake, so don't speak to me about protecting my honor."

Kai, sitting on his ass after having been shoved, stared at her, shell-shocked.

"I am not some naïve girl who will hold onto the same virtues as my poor dead brother," she added venomously, "I have no virtues toward a conniving monster like yourself." She kept her hand held out for him, despite her disgust. If she had to play politics, then she would.

"It wasn't an insult." He muttered, reaching for her hand. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to lift him, he put another hand behind him on the ground, pushing himself up.

"What?" She asked, straining forward to hear him.

He smiled. "I prefer sluts. It wasn't an insult."

She retracted her hand in disgust, letting him crawl up on his own as she walked pass him. Within moments, he was next to her.

"I, too, hope that you won't let your virtue come between us."

She met his gaze head on. "Oh, it won't." She hissed.

Before she could respond, he had sidled up next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Good to hear."

On reflex, her entire body went rigid, her spine ramrod straight. She swallowed hard, not wanting to lose her cool, but unable to hide her discomfort nonetheless. Kai's eyes twinkled with laughter.

"Don't worry." His irritating voice comforted, leaving his arm looped over her shoulder. "You're not alone. I tend to bring the virtuous side out of all the pretty girls."

Psychi bit her tongue and looked straight ahead, feeling Kai's gaze rest heavily upon her. Everyone was staring at them, and whilst she was strained and agitated, her palms sweaty and heart beating rapidly in her chest from all the attention, Kai looked as if he might be going for a stroll in the park with his best friend.

"You know." He said conversationally, still ogling her, "you're really very sweet. Vios truly belongs to the Gods."

He creeped her out. She spared him a sidelong glance, and the reptile seemed to melt on reflex. It was so genuinely perplexing. "Kai, you know that I came back here to murder you and to take Vios back, right?"

"Um-hmm...So tell me, Anima's sister, that barbarian prince really did fall in love with you, did he?"

Psychi ignored him, but Kai prattled on.

"Psstt..." he called. She made it a point not to look at him. He continued speaking anyway. "It's not a secret, but I'm an Emperor. My minions tell me that girls like that. Princes, bah, they're a dime a dozen."

"I came here..." Psychi gritted her teeth together, "to take back Vios."

"Ah, so you want to be Empress? You know, there are more loving ways of becoming Empress than to kill a reigning monarch. A pretty successful one too, if I say so myself." He leaned in closer to her, and she turned to stare at him.

He sniggered. "I like it when women are direct. Men always miss the clues."

"Kai of the Dragons."

"Anima's sister."

She turned to the arm resting around her shoulder, arching an eyebrow.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Now that we've met in person, I find that I quite like you."

"You murdered my brother to become Emperor. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be groveling on your feet, begging for forgiveness." She threatened.

"I hope that I'll be kneeling between your legs soon, Psychi." Kai smiled, casting her another appreciative glance.

Soldiers opened the large entrance doors, and Psychi sucked in a deep breath of air as the massive crowds looked at her. They broke into screams of excitement. It frightened her, the numbers of people, the intensity of emotion, setting her mind reading into overdrive. She took a step back, overwhelmed, only to step into what felt like a brick wall behind her.

She hesitated.

"Hmm?" Kai asked, both hands on her shoulders now, steadying her.

"How will we get to the Palace?" Psychi looked forward, breathing deeply and forcing her mind control to switch off. She felt so hot. So exposed. All eyes were on them.

"I'm flying there." Kai said from behind her.

"I mean,"Psychi stammered, "how am I going to the Palace?" She calmed her nerves, focusing on the conversation with Kai. He was unexpectedly quiet, and her ears strained, waiting for his words.

"You can ride me."

Heat flamed into her cheeks, the sexual connotation clear. Damien had taught her well as his bed slave, and her reaction to the term was visceral. Kai seemed to have seen her reaction. She heard him clear his throat, felt him step away from behind her.

She turned around, surprised to find him scratching his head and stuttering.

"Its just erm... you know... the fastest way. Good for... your core muscles. And thighs. And your core muscles."

She leered dramatically at him, slowly, up and down, the same way he had done to her, stopping meaningfully at his waist. "I'm sure it's very quick."

He burst into hearty laughter, stepping in front of her to lead the way. "My dear, it can be fast, so long as you come already."