Chapter 26 #2
“It is true that I work for him.” He slowly pulled the knitted hat off and ruffled his hair revealing his pale horns.
It had been a long time since he had played his own temple attendant in either world.
In this world, people expected to find what they called nature sprites, as the gods were invisible forces.
It had been around the same time that he’d had that issue with Rhiannon, who was going by the name Epona.
“And I do not believe it was by chance that I am here. That I was able to find the dragon’s mate and reunite them and show the humans that dragons are not a threat but can assist a city.
“Your new Lord did not hand the city over to a stranger. He hoped that I would be able to make a difference and lift our voices.”
Noah frowned. Had he expected Pan to reveal that he was nothing?
“But without magic, it is hard for the gods to hear us, as they are so deeply connected to magic.” He felt the Strega staring at him but didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes.
“I have been told that like any wound, magic needs time to heal. So we must care for it and exercise it gently until it is returned to full strength. This is a start. A nexus where power can gather.”
He bit the inside of his lip, knowing it would take more than a few prayers to make that true. “To that end, I think it is appropriate that all prayers, to all gods, be cast into the one fire. A temple for all the gods in the hope that one may hear.”
He flicked a glance at the Strega, who gave him a small nod of approval while still managing to appear saddened at his continuation of the lie.
He wasn’t about to wish a Strega ill; he’d heard tales of what happened when a god crossed paths with the Strega, and it was not the Strega who suffered.
And while she lacked the backing of her sisters, he lacked the backing of magic, which made them more than equally matched.
He still didn’t know what to wish for, even though his stomach was making demands. It seemed rather petty to wish for rabbits and apples. The first wish should be for something grand.
Or at least that was how it worked on Tariko.
Here, maybe it should be for something practical, something that had a chance of coming true. Something for everyone…
No, they would cast their own. Perhaps this one time, he could wish for something for himself. If magic was there, trying to reach for him the way he was reaching for it.
He wrote one word on the piece of paper then held it over the fire. He drew in a breath, wanting the universe to open for him so he could grant every prayer offered today. But the only gold he saw was in the flames. He released his wish and watched as it was consumed.
Was everyone who did this filled with the same desperate desire?
If anyone was feeling anything, it would be Noah. But he couldn’t give the next wish to him or Linda because she was human, and that would offend some even though she had helped him at every turn.
He faced the crowd and closed his eyes, trusting that when he opened them, he would see who to give the honor of the next wish to.
He exhaled and opened his eyes. His gaze landed on Jarot.
Thank magic, that was a good choice. “Jarot, for creating the beautiful memorial for our lost world and all those we lost with it, will you please cast the next prayer into the fire?”
Jarot walked up the path. When he got close, he whispered, “I did not come with a specific prayer in mind, as there are too many needs.”
“I hear some of the werewolves have been hunting in the hills. Perhaps a prayer for the hunters to return with some decent meat?” Pan inclined his head.
“That is as good as any.” Jarot gripped the quill awkwardly and scrawled his wish in ink before folding it twice and tossing it into the fire.
If everything were right with the world, Pan should have felt the prayer slide over his skin and whisper in his ear, but he felt nothing.
“Thank you.” Pan nodded at him and then spoke louder for all to hear.
“Everyone is welcome to write their prayer to which ever god they choose, including the Earth-born humans. Though you would do well to remember that wishing ill on another is likely to return on you.” He stepped away from the table in the fire and stood with the Strega. “What do your fate lines tell you now?”
“That it is too soon to tell if anything has changed. I thought your kind had more patience.”
Pan gave a low laugh. “Others might. I do not. Nothing in nature is static, and every heartbeat is new and exciting.”
“And yet you are not content to watch and enjoy as a leaf unfurls or a bud blooms.” She arched one white eyebrow.
“I am constant change.” And nothing was changing fast enough. It was frustrating in a way he did not enjoy.
“Perhaps your lesson out of all of this is to be still.”
Pan stared at her, thinking she must be joking. Stillness was death. He was life and exuberance. Sex and pleasure and gulping down experiences. “How can I do anything if I am still?”
Nothing would get done. He’d be even more useless.
“Sometimes, you have to be still to hear.” She nodded at the people solemnly casting their wishes.
Pan was sure that even if he held his breath and didn’t move, he wouldn’t hear a fucking thing aside from his own pulse.
“That was smart, making it a temple for all the gods,” she said.
“It felt right in the moment. Magic is still guiding me, even if I cannot feel it.”
“That is what gives me hope. That and your consort.” She smiled as Noah wrote his wish and paused, eyes closed before dropping it in the fire.
Pan had no idea what the wish was, but he was sure that he felt Noah’s breath on his ear…or maybe it was his own need for it to be true.
He wanted to ask what it was that Noah wished for.
Some days it was for chocolate, or for the authorities to pull their heads out of their asses and make things easier instead of harder—Pan appreciated that turn of phrase, after it had been explained to him.
He rarely mentioned separating from the coat.
Linda cast her prayer, followed by Kirel, who helped Helsa. Finally, the drak came and made their wishes. Their gazes slid to him as they murmured by the fire.
Subtle.
And still nothing.
With the prayers cast, people began to drift away, except for the first four who would guard the temple fire and keep it lit until the full moon.
After that, it would only be lit if someone came to pray.
Some busy temples were tended all the time, but he didn’t expect that kind of attention when there was so much to do.
The human reporter waited on the street. Was he too scared to enter the temple?
“What do you think he wants?” Pan murmured.
“The same as any reporter, probably. A story.” The Strega placed her hand on his arm. “Go. I will remain here.”
Pan glanced up at the sky. The sun was hiding once again. “I would prefer it if you had a house with a roof to keep vigil.”
“My house is in good hands and will be fine without me. This is a duty I never thought I’d get to do, and I can’t even gloat to my sisters about it.”
“Well, I’m glad I could be of service.” At least someone was getting their wish granted.
He gave her a little bow, then pulled the hat over his horns and walked back down the path to the street.
The reporter, a middle-aged man bundled up against the cold, walked toward him. “Can I ask you a couple of questions, Mr. Wilde?”
Pan smiled. Linda and Kirel lead Helsa and the drak a little way up the road giving the illusion of privacy. The drak gathered some pebbles for a jumping game children had been playing for centuries on Tariko. Would they continue to play it, or would it be forgotten about?
Pan smiled. “You may.”
The reporter blinked as if confused. Had he expected Pan to refuse? “Um…can I ask what you mean by magic and gods?”
“I would’ve thought that was obvious? There are many gods, and each one uses magic differently when they grant people’s prayers.”
“Which gods are you talking about?”
“Pan, Rhiannon, Odin, Athena… You must’ve heard of some of them. I know they existed in your stories.”
The man gave a nervous laugh. “You’re telling me they are all real gods, from your world?”
“Yes. Which means now they are here.”
“What about the god most human’s worship?”
Pan held the man’s gaze. “What about him?”
“Was he from your world?”
Why were humans so bloody obtuse? So unwilling to believe? Or did they not like learning that their god was not that special but one of hundreds? He kept his smile fixed instead of snarling and wished someone was able to appreciate the control he was exhibiting. “Yes.”
The man frowned. “You said this world doesn’t have much magic. What does that mean?”
“Exactly that. It is much harder to answer prayers without magic.”
The mans scribbled on his paper. “Do all gods need magic to answer prayers?”
“Of course they do.” What kind of a question was that?
Noah walked over and wrapped his fingers around Pan’s hand. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. The reporter was curious about magic.” Pan took a step away, eager to leave. “You are welcome to cast a prayer into the fire.”
The reporter turned his attention to Noah. “You’re human. Why are you helping the mythological people?”
“Because they needed help, and it is the right thing to do. Not only that, but the palace joins my grandmother’s pub.”
The reporter nodded. “You aren’t scared of the vampires?”
“I am more scared of the humans who threw bottles and bags of shit on Halloween and the ones who burn buildings instead of building them.”
“So you’re on the side of the mythological people?”
“I’m on the side of surviving and rebuilding. We should all be on the same side.” Noah tugged on his hand, and Pan was delighted to be led away. They were halfway to where Linda and Kirel were watching Helsa and the drak play when Noah paused and glanced back. “I hate people like him.”
“Why?”
“Because they feed on division, and they don’t look for solutions. He probably secretly supports the humans who keep burning what we build. I will not be surprised if they come to the temple.”
“We are setting guards.”
“You shouldn’t need to. I hope karma returns what they do threefold.”
Static raced up from Pan’s fingers where they wrapped around Noah’s, over his skin and up his arm. He suppressed the shiver, but there was no denying the magic Noah had just used.
Noah sucked in a breath and stopped walking. “Ohhh. That was a magic thing.”
“That was definitely a magic thing,” Pan agreed. And he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, but whatever damage the humans did would return to them. That was slightly more serious than holey socks and pebbles in shoes.
“Your eyes are a little sparkly.”
“Because I felt magic roll off you. Wait…did you feel something at the temple?” It took everything Pan had not to run back the way they’d come and drag Noah into the temple to determine if there was magic gathering there. “Did you hear people’s prayers?”
“No…but I did feel something.”
“When did you start to feel something?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s important, Noah. When the dragon lit the fire or when people started casting their prayers?”
Noah turned back to face the temple, his eyebrows knitted in concentration. The reporter was taking photos of the sculpture out the front, and the Strega was walking toward him, no doubt to ask if he wanted to send a prayer.
“I think it was as people were burning their wishes. Why does it matter?”
“Because one is about magic already existing in the area; temples are usually built in areas where there is a natural occurrence of magic. But temples can also be built in areas where you want magic to gather.” Pan smiled. “That is what happened today, and you sensed it.”
“Maybe we should go back tonight and make some more.”
Pan leaned in and kissed Noah on the lips.
“The guards and the Strega will be there, and while satyrs like to hold orgies in my temples in my honor, I would much rather press you into a soft mattress and make you beg for release. Though if you have a little magic to spare, I would really like some apples.”
Noah’s cheeks turned pink. “Apples?”
“That was my wish.” Which seemed a little frivolous now, but it was too late to take it back.
“That’s all?”
“I wanted something simple, so I’d be able to tell if there was magic, and since I want baked apples with honey and cream, not depression soup, that is what I wished for.”
“Better soup than an empty stomach.”
Pan snorted. That was debatable.
The reporter walked away from the Strega without making a wish. Pan didn’t want him catching up to them, so he took a step, expecting Noah to follow. He did, falling into step with him, his face still etched with thought.
“I wonder how many people had the same thought and wished for something simple and how many wished for something grand?”
“From experience, it’s usually a fairly even amount. It’s also much quicker and easier to deliver the small desires. The bigger the wish, the harder the work for the recipient, and they must really want it. All magic does is smooth the path and light the way.”
“So you kind of have to work on your own wish anyway?”
Pan smiled and “You need to give a god something to work with. If you stand still and wait for a lightning strike, you will be waiting forever.”
But he was a god. Perhaps he did need to stand still so magic could hit him. Maybe the Strega had a point.
“Everything okay?” Linda asked.
“Yeah.” Noah smiled. “Do you know where we can get some apples?”
Pan gasped. That was cheating, wasn’t it?
“Meave has an apple tree in her backyard—that whole suburb used to be an orchard when we were children,” Linda added.
“I can give her a call and let her know you’ll be going around so she can warn the family in her place.
Hopefully there’s some left on it. She’ll want all the gossip as payment, so be prepared to talk. ”
“If that is the cost of apples, I will pay it.” Pan put his hand over his heart. He’d visit the ogre dairy for cream, and while the human honey wasn’t the same, it would be good enough.
“I think there is some honey in the palace store. I haven’t had baked apples since last winter,” Kirel said. “No offence, Linda, but human honey isn’t the same.”
Linda bumped into him. “Well, I’ll need to try this fancy honey before putting the apples in the oven at the pub.”
Noah grinned as though he was enjoying playing god. He leaned in and whispered in Pan’s ear, “Wish granted.”
Wish granted, and almost too easily. Pan inclined his head in agreement, unable to shake the concern about how Noah’s karmic desire would unfold.