"Don't you understand this place yet, Karma?" Storm stops to ask me. "No one in here has ever done anything wrong. We are all innocent, and the higher gods care nothing for the lives of the innocent or guilty. They only care about themselves."
"How do you know that?" I ask him.
"Secrets, my little Karma," he whispers to me, making it clear he isn't telling me anything more as he starts to walk off. What secrets could the higher gods have that Storm could possibly know?
Chapter 23
"Hey, stranger," Jade says, making me almost jump out of my skin as she comes into the shower room where I am pulling on my clothes. "How was your day?" she asks as she starts stripping out of her clothes. Luckily, I'm not a shy person as she strips naked and runs, diving head first into the pool at the back of the cave. The room is steamy from the rising steam of the natural rock pool, which is warm and soothing to bathe in. At the front are seats carved directly out of the stone, with hooks for hanging towels on them. Whoever designed this place paid such attention to detail. It is incredible.
"Wait, don't you hate water?" I ask her.
"Cold water, yes; warm steam water that smells like lemons...nope," she replies. "Now how was your date with Storm?"
"It wasn’t a date, remember? Anyways, I met Storm's ex who I think now hates me, I saw the markets, the tree yard where they farm the most food. Then we went to the final level where it is like a big stone clearing where they have classes for the kids in the day on the one side, and on the other, they practice fighting. It's crazy down there," I reply, remembering the place quite vividly.
"Coxen told me they also do parties there. He showed me around today, it was fun," she kindly sighs.
"Coxen seems sweet," I remark, watching her expression closely as she pulls a neutral face.
"He is...maybe too sweet," she says, winking at me as she rests her head on her arms, floating in the water. "Now which one of the hunks we live with are you eyeing up? They are all sure looking at you at every moment they get."
"They don't—"
"Karma, I'm a cat with crazy extra senses. I can smell their desire and yours. Even Seth fancies you, who in my opinion is a dickhead so maybe don't choose him," she tells me, and my cheeks burn red as I take in what she just told me. They can’t all be attracted to me…right? Maybe she just got it wrong or something.
"Dating gods is against the law," I remind her.
"Yeah, but what is the worst that they are going to do? They have already locked you up, and to me, it looks like all the gods in here are getting it on. Coxen told me both his parents were gods," she explains.
"And he seems pretty normal. Doesn't the law say that children born of two gods turn into monsters?" I say, remembering my mum telling me and my brothers the laws when we started officially working. We have a book in our house that tells us everything. Mum was lucky that she loved my dad, and even though he is human, it doesn’t bother him what we are. He told me once it makes life interesting.
"It does, but I am starting to believe everything the higher gods have told us is a load of horseshit," she replies.
"I'm starting to believe the same thing," I mutter, pulling on the hoodie that a random lady gave me in the market because she said it was my colour. Dark green. The lady was right. All day, people have stopped us, talked in such admiration about Storm, and been nothing but friendly. None of the people here are monsters...well, except maybe that creature in the lake below. I really need to ask Storm what the hell that was.
"Maybe we are safer in here," Jade muses. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to get out and see my friend because it's so important to me...but outside is where we are controlled. Where we are told who we can and can't love. We are governed by the higher gods who rule with an iron fist, and in here, well I don't know about you, but Storm is one hell of a better leader."
"I need to protect my family and see them again. Staying here isn't an option for me, Jade," I sadly reply to her. "But honestly? You're right. I like the idea of this place, living with no rules."
"I bet you do with all those hunks looking at your butt," she says, and we both laugh as I pull my shoes on.
"I'm going to let you bathe in peace," I tell her, walking to the door.
"Have a good night," she replies as I leave the room, shutting the door and walking into the living room. This room is just as spectacular as the rest of the house. The cream couch is L-shaped and has a lovely wooden coffee table in the middle which faces the fireplace. The fireplace itself is handmade from stone, and there is a fire roaring inside it.
Above the fireplace is a painting of five people sat around a table with large chairs behind them that stretch up to the ceiling. I walk closer, looking up at the people in old-fashioned white clothes, who I don't know...except for one. Storm sits on the far right in his seat, his head is held high. His hands are holding his axe on the table, and the detail of the painting is so perfect. I pull my gaze to the other four people, two women who look like night and day. The woman sat next to Storm has black hair piled high in a bun; her face is cold and expressionless. The other woman has white hair, except it falls down her shoulders in curls, and she seems nicer from the smile she wears. The other two men in the painting give me shivers. They both have red hair, a deep dark red, and matching red glowing eyes. The women have strange white and black eyes. Actually, they all look creepy.
"Storm has a strange group of friends, doesn't he?" Seth says from close by, though I never heard him even come into the room. I look back as Seth sits down on the sofa, and I watch carefully for his mood as I choose to sit on the other sofa. I know I should give up and leave Seth be, because he clearly doesn’t like me, but for some reason I just want to find out the reason why. What I actually did to make him hate me.
"Why do you dislike me so much?" I ask him. "Our date was a disaster, yes, but you actually got to walk away in the end, and I had to find a healer!"
"It's not about the fucking date, Karma," he huffs. "And I really have said sorry quite a few times about that night. If you hadn't disappeared, I would have gotten you a healer."
"I thought I'd cut my losses and fix myself on my own. I mean, that flying pig did knock you out and—"
"Maybe someone shouldn't have made a bet with a leprechaun that pigs couldn't fly," Seth remarks, but we both are smiling by this point, and I can't help but laugh, which sets him off as well.
"So, what is it that makes you hate me?" I ask, wanting to get to the bottom of this whole thing.
"You think I hate you?" he asks, looking confused.
"Well, yeah," I reply.
"I don't hate you. I liked you after that date, and I would have demanded a second chance at that date if you were human. I hoped you would have a good life, not a fucked up one like you now have. I hated when we were given your name," he tells me and takes a deep breath. “I hate how the people that locked us in here clearly wanted to get to you and make sure we never told a soul about you. Karma, I hate that you are trouble, but actually, you are alright.”
"Seth..." I reply, not having a clue what to say about that.
"Don't worry about replying, I really don't want to hear it. I'm not the nice guy you need in your life," Seth angrily comments, the moment we seemed to have just had instantly gone and replaced by his usual attitude. He walks to the door, and I almost regret the words that leave my lips.
"I liked our date. I never forgot it like every other date I’ve ever had. I wished you were human too." Seth pauses under the doorway to look back, and I can't process what the emotion is in his eyes. Without another word, he disappears, and I'm left wondering what exactly just happened between us. I wouldn’t say we are now friends, but we are a little less than strangers that had one date. I walk through the entrance hall and into the empty kitchen, seeing the study door behind is open. Even though I should know better, I walk to the study door and push it open a little more, seeing Storm reading a book on a chair.
“You can come in, little Karma,” Storm says, making me jump. I sheepishly grin as I step into the room, seeing the shelves on each side of the walls that have books on them. “These are all the books that people have brought in with them. Though I’ve read every one of them, and people borrow them from time to time. Any chance you brought a book in?”
“No, I didn’t,” I say with a sigh, knowing a book could make this place all the more interesting. I’ve never been a big reader, not like Mads is, but whenever I need cheering up or to get lost in another magical world, I’d ask Mads for a book recommendation. That’s when Mads’s nerdy side came out in full force as she found her Kindle.
“If you could have done, what book would you choose?” he asks. “I find this question very interesting. Your choice of book will tell me a lot about you.”
