The Creators Ch. 16

"I don't think you're getting it back, is all I'm saying. Jade said she'd give it to Freydis, but Freydis... I'm sorry, Astrid, but Freydis never returned."

"I am aware of that," Astrid said stiffly.

There was a pregnant pause between us. Astrid assessed me with stiff posture and a face that belied shock so overwhelming that she couldn't emote it properly.

"So..." I trailed off, "...what's... what's going on with the... new hairdo and... stuff?"

"I was near death. Gloria bit me to save my life, and Willowbud bound me to heal me, but I am no longer wholly valkyrie," she swallowed. "That is why it is good that the sword is in the Heat Bringer's army. At least then an Ionan may carry it."

"The Ionans all moved to Ofan yesterday."

Astrid raised her brows a fraction. "To invade them? We weren't planning to do that for another three years."

"Ah... no. They uh... they swore their oaths to Brandon."

Astrid's brows raised another fraction. "His Holiness is alive?"

I blinked at her. "Did you not just see me transform from a rodent?"

"I thought you had learned it from a book. Books are amazing things, and you are very smart, Justina Autumnsong."

"Change your hair color all you want, Astrid, you're still a blonde," I muttered to myself.

Willowbud snorted.

I turned my gaze on my cousin, and her smile faded. There was another pause, this one even longer, but there were no words for me to say.

"Good to see you're OK," Willowbud said, breaking the silence.

I just nodded.

She shifted uncomfortably. "I guess we didn't part on the best of terms."

I shook my head.

She knitted her fingers together. "I'm uh... I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Trying to... you know... take responsibility for the things I did. Otherwise, there's no growth. Otherwise, I'm just a kid fresh off the streets of Drastin. When Corruption's in you, it's easy to pretend you're someone else, but once you're in the clear, you realize... or I realized, anyway, that uh... well, there's a lot of Night Eyes in Willowbud." She looked up at me, then rapidly looked back at her fingers. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry... for whatever that's worth."

"It's not worth much," I whispered.

"Yeah..." she nodded, and splayed out her fingers helplessly, "...but it's what I got, so take it or leave it."

"How did you survive, you pathetic worm?" I hissed.

"I went underground, as worms do."

"I saved her," Astrid said, putting an arm around Willowbud, "and you saved me from the Breytans, Justina, so that means you saved her."

"Just my fucking luck."

"Um, excuse me?!" Gloria said shrilly. "Did we just gloss over the fact that BRANDON IS ALIVE?!"

"I'm starting to think Julia's explosion didn't kill anyone at all," I grumbled.

"Being a god certainly raises your survivability rate."

"So does having wings," Astrid added helpfully with a flap.

"Why am I the only one who's freaking out right now?!" Gloria yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking about; I'm losing my shit," Willowbud muttered.

Astrid nodded. "I too, am quite shaken by these revelations."

"I guess we're just used to being in a perpetual state of fucked up," I said.

"Is there any other state of mind?" Willowbud laughed brokenly.

"For you? No," I said and looked to the north. "But we're all starting to catch up to you, dearest cousin."

ANGELA

Making the Ionans comfortable in Ofan was an exercise in restraint. For a people that had pledged themselves mind, body, and soul to my brother, they certainly had a lot of conditions. Firstly, Brandon had to make sure the Ionan living trees were exactly as tall as the Ofanian trees. Secondly, Brandon had to spawn a herd of elk for the Ionans to hunt so that they could eat their traditional meat. Thirdly, Brandon had to erode the soil around the mountain stream so that Ionans could have their own source of water free from Ofanian contamination. Brandon, having spent all of his aggression just getting the Ionans here, acted upon their every request. As he eroded the soil, me and Bianca took a stroll along the new river and dumped all of the Ofanian chamber pots upstream of the Ionan camp.

"This is not going to work out," Bianca said as she pissed in the water.

"Give it time," I said, crossing her stream with mine.

"His Holiness does whatever they wish! They have no right to make demands of him!"

"He's just trying to be a good host."

"They swore their oaths! They're his slaves!"

"Are you his slave, Bianca?" I asked, raising a brow.

Bianca tilted her chin proudly. "It would be my honor to be shackled and collared for His Holiness."

"I can arrange that."

Bianca's stream suddenly sputtered out. When I glanced to the left and saw her veiny compass pointing true north, my stream suddenly sputtered out as well. We looked at each other's members for a moment, then drew our eyes up the feminine curves of the other until our gazes were locked. It was at that inopportune moment, that I received a telepathic message from Justina, and my world was once again turned on its head.

An hour later, I was standing in front of the Ionan keep. Brandon was to my left, Bianca was to his left, Justina was to my right, and Nona was to her right. I wasn't all that surprised to see Gloria Titus—I knew she'd show up eventually—but the other two women who stood before me were supposed to be very, very dead. Astrid had gotten a sexy vampiric makeover and had made herself a Bound One to boot. Willowbud looked no different than the last time I saw her (sans the black eyes) but her transformation was an order of magnitude more dramatic than Astrid's. It was the way she carried herself. Instead of having her shoulders thrown confidently back and her weight shifted on one cocky hip, she was slumped forward with her arms crossed insecurely over her chest. Instead of smirking at the lot of us like we were a punchline, she struggled to maintain eye contact with any of us for more than a few seconds. And when she spoke, her voice carried none of the sultry danger it once did. It almost sounded like a child's voice.

"Hey, Brandon," she smiled shakenly. "Bianca, what's up? And uh-oh, I'd recognize those eyes anywhere. It's crazy Angela!" She laughed uncomfortably. "So, you finally stole my boyfriend, eh?"

"You're supposed to be dead."

"So are you. Why is everyone so disappointed when they find out I'm alive?"

"I'm not disappointed," Brandon said.

"I am," I said.

Brandon stepped cautiously forward. "Willowbud, what the hell happened in Drastin?"

Willowbud twisted her lips. "I killed Lucilla; Julia killed everyone else. Not much more to say."

"There's a great fucking deal more to say!" I snapped.

"And it will all be said in good time," Gloria said, stepping forward. She smiled at Brandon. "You cannot know how great it is to see you, Your Holiness."

"You bailed on us, you blood-sucking cocksucker," I growled.

"Angela," Brandon said, turning to me, "you're not being very helpful right now."

"Oh, am I supposed to be Miss Friendly to this batch of mass murderers?!" I exclaimed. "Not you, Astrid; you're cool."

"I am also a mass murderer, Bound One, and many times over," Astrid said, and smiled at me, "but it is good to see you finally in the flesh." She turned to Bianca. "And you, High Guard. It is good to see that you are in good health, and pregnant as well! Congratulations."

Bianca raised her brows. "How did you know?"

"I can smell the change in you," she wrinkled her nose with a smirk. "There are many changes in you, High Guard Blackwing. Perhaps you will show me them later."

"I would be honored to demonstrate my blessings to the Bound One," Bianca said with a respectful bow of her head, "but I believe I'm going to have to kill you very soon."

Nona drew her sword in a flash and marched over to Astrid's side. "You will have to get through me first!"

"Bitch, didn't you just swear your undying loyalty to my brother?"

"I did not have the authority to do so," Nona said and planted her sword in the ground before Astrid. "The true High Guard has returned. All oaths made under my command are nullified."

"Since when did valkyries deal in contingencies?!" Bianca snapped. "Have some honor, you wretch!"

"She's right, Nona," Astrid said gently.

"But—"

"If you swore yourself to a god, only a god can free you from your oath. Go back to him."

Nona bowed her head, her face burning with embarrassment, and she picked up her sword and marched back to the other side.

"Willowbud," Brandon said, "why did you come here?"

"To get the Ionans, obviously. I guess you got granted custody in the divorce though," Willowbud laughed awkwardly.

Brandon offered a congenial smile. "Arbitrators don't show as much gender favoritism when the woman's got a big fat cock."

"Don't blow yourself up too much, wifey."

"Hardy-har-har."

"We both know who wore the pants in that relationship."

Brandon just chuckled and nodded. He laced his fingers behind his back and stepped toward Willowbud. Willowbud winced and took an insecure step back. Brandon made his posture as unthreatening as possible, but he continued his walk toward the Earth Former until he was barely a foot away.

"That's far enough, Your Holiness," Astrid said.

"I think we're on a first-name basis by now, Bound One."

"Not at this distance."

"We've been much closer than this."

"And you will come no closer."

"She's the god of rock, and we're on top of a mountain range; what am I going to do?" Brandon said and turned back to Willowbud. "So, what's up?"

"Not much," Willowbud said, trying to hide the way she was cringing back from my brother. "What's up with you?"

"Oh, not much either," Brandon sighed, "just trying to save the world from two corrupted gods is all."

"Huh. Me too."

"Really? Well, what a serendipitous coincidence."

"Fuck no!" I yelled and stomped over to them.

"Angela—"

"Don't you fucking 'Angela' me, Brandon!" I snapped. "This bitch put everyone through hell!"

"We need her."

"The hell we do!" I yelled. "What we need is a stone-cold killer! This bitch can't even look me in the eye!" I glared down at the cringing Willowbud. "I guess Corruption took your balls with her."

"Bound One, that is enough," Astrid said.

"What the fuck are you gonna do about it, butterfly?" I snared, blowing dragon fire from my nostrils.

She rested her hand on the pommel of her sword. "Transform into any beast you wish; none of them will be faster than me."

"That thing would snap against me like a toothpick."

She smiled thinly. "It would cut through you like air."

"Guys, guys, guys," Brandon said, stepping between us. "This is stupid. We're all on the same side."

"Are we?" I snapped. "Because we don't even know this bitch! How can we trust her at all?!"

Brandon gave me a bemused look. "Angela, are you sure this isn't about something else?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're just acting a little jealous is all—" And I punched my stupid brother right in the nose. He went down flat on his ass, Bianca and Nona came rushing over to his aid, and Gloria came sprinting over from the other side. The two valkyries drew their blades before the approaching vampire, Astrid drew her blade against them, and I used the distraction to test if my theory about Willowbud's testicles was true. I kicked the Earth Former right in the groin, and Astrid's fist smashed into my face with such force that five of my teeth exploded before my jaw snapped. I crumpled to the ground next to my brother, Willowbud fell groaning beside me, and Bianca swung at Astrid's neck. Astrid blocked the attack easily, and the blade of Ofan was shorn from its hilt like it was butter by Astrid's weapon. Bianca's scream of dismay sounded for a millisecond before an enormous hippopotamus with Justina's head came charging into the group, and trampled everyone.

BRANDON

After I was done healing the broken bones Justina had dealt to Gloria and the valkyries, as well as the wounded jaw and pride of my sister, Willowbud and I ordered everyone to leave for Ofan. Everyone was naturally incensed, and Angela was down-right belligerent, but Bianca and Justina managed to wrestle her away. Astrid didn't object, but she gave me a look that made my blood run cold as she departed with Gloria in her arms. We watched them fly off into the horizon, and when they disappeared behind a distant mountain peak, I turned to the Earth Former.

"It is good to see you," I said.

She nodded without looking back. "Your sister's right, Brandon. You have no idea who I am."

"It's still good to see you."

She smiled back at me. "It's good to see you too."

"How have things been for you since... you know?"

"They've gotten better," she shifted against the stone bench she'd made for us. "They couldn't get much worse."

"Things always get worse before they get better."

She snorted. "That's a load of horseshit. Things always get worse, and then you get used to it."

"Circumstances deteriorate, and we become stronger."

"We become number."

"You're just a ray of fucking sunshine, aren't you?"

"No, that's Julia, and now her sunshine is black."

I rolled my eyes. "So, the real Willowbud's the emo kid in class."

"I never went to school."

"Neither do emo kids. Do you like to write morbid poetry and cut yourself?"

"I barely know how to read, and I'm clinically suicidal," she muttered into her lap.

I dropped my head against the bench. "I'm an insensitive douchebag."

"You're just so used to talking to Night Eyes. She never had any self-pity. I am nearly consumed by it."

"Sorry."

"Eh, I was trying to make you feel bad, you insensitive douchebag."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. "There's still a little Night Eyes in Willowbud."

"There was always a little bit of Willowbud in Night Eyes," she said, smiling at me. I snuck my hand over to hers, and she withdrew it sharply when our fingers touched.

"Fuck, I'm an idiot," I muttered.

"It's OK," she said hastily, folding her shaking hands tightly in her lap, knotting her fingers until the knuckles were white. "It's just..." she struggled to catch her breath, "...it's just..." the earth quivered beneath us, "...it's just... fuck, I'm having a panic attack!"

I quickly touched her brow and quelled her adrenal glands, then retracted my fingers just as rapidly. Willowbud's breaths subsided into a steadier cadence, and she swallowed the last of her panic. "It's just..." she started again, "...what we had, Brandon, it wasn't between you and me. It was between you and her, and those things I felt for you..." she swallowed again, and looked at her palsying hands, "...I am no stranger to rape, and that love I felt for you was the very worst kind."

"I understand."

"How could you?" she laughed at the sun and wiped a tear from her eye. "Good god, I am pathetic. A boy tries to hold my hand, and I almost throw a mountain at him. What will I do against the god of fire?"

"Throw a mountain at her."

She snorted and blotted her eyes with her shirt. "Well, let's talk business then. What was your plan?"

"I... don't really have a plan yet. It's not that I haven't been thinking about it, you know, it's just... there's a lot of factors at play, and—"

"You've had weeks to prepare for this, so naturally you fucked away every second and hoped the problem would solve itself," Willowbud sighed. "At least one of us hasn't changed."

"Look, the problem isn't just Julia; it's Tera. She can literally smell us coming from a mile away, and she's never far from Julia." I looked side-eyed at Willowbud. "Say, how far can you throw a rock?"

She picked up a stone from beside her, and with a flick of her wrist, she launched it over the adjacent mountain.

"Holy shit."

"I can hit a stationary target just fine, but a moving target would be an issue."

"Not at several thousand feet per second."

"My aim's not that good. I don't control it once it leaves my hand."

"Throw a mountain at her."

"Oh, she'll never see that coming. We already fought head-to-head, Brandon, and now she's bound again. She will turn my mountain into a molten puddle, then boil me alive in it." Willowbud shook her head and sighed. "And then there's Diamond to deal with."

"No one's seen her in weeks."

"So I guess we don't have to worry about her then. Out of sight, out of mind. Yay, we saved the world."

"Look, I don't have all the answers—shit, I don't have any of them."

"Between you and me, there are about three working brain cells, so don't feel too bad."

"Yeah, and you've got all four of them." I looked her levelly in the eyes. "We're gonna have to talk with the team on this one."

"Probably not a good idea. I get the strange feeling that your sister doesn't like me very much."

"She's hotheaded, but she'll come around." I opened my hand, and an enormous griffin appeared before us. "Care for a lift?"

She gaped at the miracle I'd performed, then smirked at me, and for a moment, she almost looked like she used to. "I'm not riding bitch."

"I can ride bitch. Between Angela and the Ofanians, I'm getting kind of used to it."

She snickered and shook her head. "Make another one, Brandon. My dick isn't going to be anywhere near your asshole, no matter how hard you try."

I smirked back at her. "We'll put a pin in it," I said, but made her another beast.

JULIA

The gates of Droktinar stood before me. Though the city was underground, Droktin spared not an ounce of humility in creating its entrance. The threshold was polished obsidian, and it flowed without a single chisel marking or mortar line, an unbroken masterpiece displaying orc symbols, statues of resplendent emperors of the old empire, and gargoyles crafted with such precision that the hairs on their heads were discernable. The gates were iron and polished to perfection, each of them made with great speared bars that ascended in perfect perpendicularity to the threshold. The immense black entrance was a thousand feet wide and half again as tall and was formed into the side of a large red sandstone mesa. Given the proportional size of the entrance to its parent rock, I intuited that most of the structure of the city was subterranean and that this mesa, as large as it was, only served as the atrium for what came after. It was a miracle to behold, but there was no awe in me. I only felt the tug of terrible anxiety, and the urge to look back at Sister Tera as she worked on my comatose daughter. I stayed that urge, for that urge would beget more pain, and even an ounce of pain compelled me to violently relieve myself of it. I needed to maintain control. I was not a tyrant who dealt out death with impunity. I was not a murderer; I was a savior. I took a deep breath through my nose and exhaled slowly through my mouth.

Patience. Peace. Purpose. Sister Tera will find a way. It was why God brought her to me. I assured myself of the succubus's skill and focused my energy on the task at hand. A great crowd of orcs had formed a semicircle around the gates of Droktinar and were waiting for me to do something. Yuntok stood beside me, standing ceremony as the first orc citizen to have joined my crusade.

I turned to my audience. "Brothers and sisters, we have all traveled far and wide to reach this place. All of you sacrificed much; some of you sacrificed everything. It is by God's will that we have made it this far, but it is by your courage and perseverance that we will make it even further. Let us pray." I got to my knees, and the great multitude did so as well.