Chapter 1 #2
Waiting to see if the blessed could lay eggs was an excuse.
I didn’t feel good about taking Liz back with us, and I’ve been delaying our departure.
But now, with Thunar pointing out the flaw in reasoning behind my delay, I don’t have another excuse.
I can’t tell him we’ve all bonded our humans and none of us want to give them up.
I can’t tell him we all want to protect the rest of earth’s humans from the vanir we released in the process of securing the heart.
I really can’t tell him I’m worried Father will kill Liz, or that I’d rather die than watch that happen.
We suffered some losses, recovering the heart, Hyperion says. We’re simply recuperating before returning home.
Why didn’t I think of that?
You look fine. Thunar looks beyond us. Why did you come here alone? How many of the blessed who came with you perished?
We’re simply faster than they are. As if my words summoned them, the strike blessed swoop toward us in the air, dozens of them. Once I confirm Asteria’s not among them, I ignore the reunions happening above me.
What on earth is that? Thunar’s staring with rapt attention, so I follow his line of sight and. . .see a few earth blessed who have followed the strike blessed.
Flying.
Larger than ever before.
I should have told them to stay put before launching my way over here, not that I could have kept this a secret.
Azar won the earth blessed quite the upgrade, Hyperion says. Or at least, his—
They’re bigger, and they’re stronger, and I don’t recommend trying to eat one.
He was about to tell him about Liz, and while she did manage to provide the earth blessed with their new, stronger forms, I’d rather not draw attention to her.
In fact, if we can get Thunar to leave, maybe he never even needs to know about her at all.
We can talk more about it soon. Why don’t Hyperion and I fly back and get the heart?
You can take it to Father and let him know how we’re all doing.
Actually. Thunar comes as close to a scowl as the blessed get. Father’s preparing to bring all the blessed here. A few days ago, we stopped being able to consume even the earth blessed. He scowls. We thought you might know something about that.
Shoot.
Shoot, shoot, shoot. They didn’t get the upgrade, but they did get the resource processing problem.
Why didn’t I think about that? Of course it would impact them too—our consumption problems have been ongoing.
I can’t believe we didn’t expect this. While we frantically searched for humans to bond for our population here, I didn’t even think about the eighty or ninety thousand back at home.
Can your earth blessed process nutrition?
Thunar glares, and then his gaze moves to me. Can your more powerful blessed do it?
No one here can do it, I finally admit, seeing no way around it. Unless they’re bonded to a human.
Human—another word for earth child? He nods slowly. But otherwise, it’s the same as before—we need a connection to them to survive on earth. Hyperion looks annoyed but not surprised.
That’s information they really should have given me, and I can’t help glaring.
Father did tell you about bonding humans and how to do it.
He told me that if I needed to do it, I could find a bright and shining human and force them to do my bidding. From what Liz says, that sounds more like the way the vanir handle things. After flying around for a moment, my strike blessed and earth blessed are landing a generous distance away.
Even so, Thunar watches them carefully. Dinner has gotten a lot bigger, and a lot stronger.
We don’t have to eat them anymore, Hyperion says. I’ve consumed a lot of fish, a few water buffalo, and even a crocodile. But my favorite so far is the kangaroo.
Thunar eyes the closest earth blessed, who happens to be Rufus. I suppose he didn’t want to leave me to face my enemy alone, but I wish he hadn’t come. I wonder how they taste now, like this.
Why don’t you try one and see? Hyperion looks absolutely diabolical.
I’m not willing to risk it, Thunar says.
Because so far, when blessed start rejecting food, they’ve always died shortly after. Something about the process going wrong isn’t good for us. I hope Hyperion knew that and wasn’t actually encouraging Thunar to eat my first lieutenant.
Not to mention the fact that he’s bonded to Sammy—Hyperion’s bonded human’s sibling and Liz’s too.
At least with all this going on, Father won’t be far behind him.
Maybe he’ll think twice before attacking us.
Then go back and tell Father we have the heart, and we’ll follow with it shortly.
Perhaps it will fix the problems he’s having—you can even take it with you.
Liz won’t like that, but it’s better than being dead.
Oh, I think not. I’ll be staying here until he comes. It seems like you’ve been having all sorts of adventures here without us, and I want to find out all about them.
Great.
You could bond a human and then take the heart back along with a few options for Father—tell him how we are, and buy him some time so he’s not so rushed.
Thunar tilts his head. Why are you trying so hard to get rid of me?
I’m not.
Is it because I’ve always hated you? Are you still afraid?
He steps closer. Far too close. Or is there more that you’re hiding?
He smiles, and it’s not a very reassuring sight.
Because I can’t wait to sniff out all your little secrets, and if one of them gets you killed.
When he snorts, small flames erupt, singeing the ground at our feet. Oh well.
Another group of earth blessed shoot across the sky, circling to land, and in the same moment, Euphrasia bursts from the water.
Is everything alright? I ask. I’m not disappointed at the distraction. I need time to process the ramifications of all the blessed coming here and work out a new plan.
Norellia water blessed has laid an egg! Euphrasia’s broadcasting, so within seconds, every blessed around us is trumpeting their excitement.
It’s an exciting day—we have the first non earth-blessed egg that has been laid in millennia, since shortly after we left earth.
I just wish I had a better idea of how to handle the addition of ten thousand more blessed who will all need a bonded human.
. .and the others who are coming any time now.