Shey Thrudesh-Vo #2
Shey reached out and caught Tyche’s arm. He squeezed, trying to reassure him. “That sounds nice.”
“It was. That meeting was the first time I heard about Zyros and her quest to become a goddess. A quest sanctioned by Tula and the other major gods. We had few details, but we knew this huntress was unsatisfied with the powers she’d gained from Tula, so she’d started hunting minor gods and stealing their powers.
” Tyche frowned at the railing, and his hand balled into a fist. “I didn’t believe what they were telling me.
Kaes or Nyx getting pissy and wiping out a bunch of minor gods I could believe.
I’d seen it. The major gods are a level of power beyond my reach.
But they weren’t talking about a major god.
” Tyche stepped over toward Shey, lines dug into his face as he said in a trembling voice.
“This was a human. A human hunting gods. How was I supposed to believe that?”
Shey froze in the face of Tyche’s obvious pain.
He waited, watching Tyche pull free of the old memory enough to see him.
The God of Luck possessed nightmare magic, but Shey wasn’t sure if it would affect him the same way it did Haru.
Was he hallucinating and suffering from waking nightmares as well?
Tyche’s breathing evened out and his expression smoothed. “Sorry.”
Leaning forward, Shey brushed a kiss to his temple. “Don’t be. I want to know everything.”
“As we’d agreed, I left that night and returned to the burrow I’d made for myself outside of town on a small rise.
It was in just the right spot that I could see the torches outside the homes flickering in the darkness.
The sight of them was reassuring.” Tyche smiled and lifted one hand as if he were feeling the heat off those torches even now. “Like I wasn’t so alone in the world.”
Shey kissed his forehead. “You’re not alone anymore.”
“Twilight had fallen when I heard the first scream. And then another. I hurried out of my burrow to see torches popping up everywhere and wildly waving about. Sounds of fighting and dying. Magic was heavy in the air. Like a fat rain cloud sitting low in the sky, waiting to burst open. But that didn’t make sense.
All the gods had promised to leave town at night, and we had kept to our promise.
Plus, we’d stayed close to this town for more than a month, swapping stories while using what meager services were available in the town.
We traded with the villagers for food and other goods.
Not one of us had a problem with them. Even with the feeling of magic, I convinced myself that it was bandits or some other raiding party.
I thought I could help the villagers because they’d done so much for me. ”
“But it wasn’t raiders,” Shey murmured as Tyche fell silent.
Tyche shuddered. “No. When I reached the village, I saw several dead humans in the streets. Their bodies horribly ripped apart. A bit farther in, I spotted her. Zyros. She was like a feral monster. Her slender body glistened in the moonlight, covered in blood from head to toe as if she had bathed in it. She stood over the bodies of two of my minor god companions as she fought another two. I could see that they were losing. The magic…the sheer raw power rolling off her was suffocating. I knew there was no way I could beat her. I had to run.”
“Good.”
Tyche frowned at Shey. “I’m a coward, Shey. With my help, they might have tipped the scales in their favor.”
Shey grabbed Tyche’s jaw and pinched it hard, forcing him to hold Shey’s stony gaze.
“She defeated two other minor gods and was on the cusp of beating two more. I’ve experienced enough of the battlefield to recognize an impossible fight.
Retreating and regrouping are always better than dying for nothing. ”
“I ran. Obviously.” Tyche turned his head, and Shey released him, his heart breaking for his friend.
“As I escaped, I tripped on the body of one of my companions. He was nearly dead. I tried to put him on my back so I could bring him along, but he said no. He’d only slow me down.
There was already a large gash across his chest. He reached inside and pulled out his sarira.
I was horrified. They’d talked about Zyros stealing power this way, but I’d never seen it.
He pressed his into my hand and told me to use it or hide.
Just never let her have it. I didn’t question it. He took his last breath, and I ran.”
“You escaped and survived.” Shey touched his cheek, wiping away a stray tear. “I’m glad.”
“Zyros pursued me for years. Always a few steps behind. I could never settle. Never risk talking to anyone or using my powers. It was only after I ventured into what became Ilon that she finally backed off and left me alone. Years later, I learned there was something between her and Lore, the God of Wisdom. In truth, I didn’t care so long as I was safe.
I hid in those lands for centuries until the God War and the formation of the godstones.
Still, I waited centuries to dare venture out and live again.
I told myself it was safe to forget about what happened. ”
Shey frowned. “But you didn’t forget. I see it in your eyes. In how you keep up walls against the world. In how you act with Caelan. That nightmare was always lurking in the forefront of your mind.”
“No, I didn’t forget completely. I never forgot about those of my own kind that she killed.
There were others I knew who disappeared, killed by her as well.
At the end, there were so few of us left.
It’s no wonder that all of Thia forgot about us.
Stopped worshiping.” He lifted his hand and harshly rubbed his eyes.
Tyche paced away from where he stood near Shey, his hands dropping to his sides, balled into fists.
“No, this isn’t what I wanted to tell you. ”
Shey straightened and took a step toward Tyche, but stopped, wanting to give him some space. “Take your time. We have all night.”
Tyche turned, a soft smile on his lips and a sparkle of unshed tears in his eyes. The look of gratitude tightened something in Shey’s throat. “Thank you.”
“I want to know everything about you. Good and bad. I’ll happily listen to any story you have to tell.”
Tyche’s smile crumbled slightly. “Kaes and I have a bit of a past.”
Shey snorted. “Yeah, I caught a hint of that in Bellcairn.”
“He approached me shortly after my first encounter with Zyros. He knew I had the power of another minor god.” As he spoke, he tapped his head.
Shey clutched his own forehead. “Why there? Wasn’t that painful?”
Tyche shrugged, looking embarrassed. “Only putting it in and taking it out. The culmination of our powers rests down here.” He waved his hand across his chest and stomach.
“Either behind our hearts or near our stomachs. I didn’t want his powers and mine to merge, but I had to keep them safe on me.
In my head seemed like a smart alternative. ”
Shey closed the distance between them, grabbed Tyche’s head gently, and kissed the side. “Just the idea of it scares me.”
“Kaes scares me, but becoming like Zyros scared me more. Kaes pressed me to merge those stolen powers with my own. He told me this was my chance to rise to become a major god. To take on Zyros and stop her slaughter.” Tyche held his empty hands out in front of him, slowly curling his fingers in.
“I have no illusions about my abilities. I’m not a fighter.
Never have been. My ability to remain alive this long has been luck.
” His eyes snapped up to Shey’s face, his lips trembling. “Pure luck.”
“And brains. You’re smart. Resourceful. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“If I were so smart, I would have chucked Wu’s powers into his shrine when I learned that was a way of locking them away,” Tyche muttered.
“Wu?”
Tyche wandered to the railing and sat on it. “Wu, God of Accidents. Nice guy. A bit of a klutz.”
Shey smirked and tilted his head so that it was in Tyche’s line of sight. “You mean a bit accident-prone.”
Tyche chuckled for the first time. “The man could trip on air while walking, but he could also make his magic work for him. A mother accidentally made too many sweet buns, and she gave him one. Or a rabbit running from a fox slips and accidentally lands in his trap.”
“I’ve seen your luck run like that.”
Tyche hummed. “True. I think that’s why we got along so well. There was a definite art to controlling our magic that others didn’t quite understand. If gods and goddesses weren’t so troublesome, I think we could have been friends.”
“Do you think that’s why you held on to his powers?”
Tyche snorted and stared at Shey as if he were insane. “Now you think too highly of me. I kept them out of fear. If I found myself in a desperate spot, I could merge his with mine to escape Zyros. And later, the excuse was to protect myself from Kaes and any of the other major gods.”
Shey could feel where the story was building to. The point where he’d been left with no choice.
“And then they murdered Yesuntei.”