Luke didn’t respond at first, but when he spoke again, his voice was laced with forced confidence.

  “Your women will die if you stay here,” Luke hissed. “Is that what you want? Leave now, and I might spare one or two of them.”

  I couldn’t help laughing as I looked at the imps.

  “I don’t think that’s how the fight would go,” I muttered. “My priestesses have won many battles and have skills and training your followers are clearly lacking.”

  “Do not threaten me,” Luke growled in a low voice. “My creatures will not rest until your people are torn limb from limb.”

  “Listen,” I sighed as I realized this was going nowhere. “How about we start again? Maybe we could even help each other out or something.”

  “Help you?” Luke scoffed. “I am loyal only to the great Ethan. I am his loyal ally, and he respects me and my land.”

  “Right,” I snorted.

  “You have to get out!” Luke shouted, and he sounded like a teenage boy yelling at his mom for coming into his room.

  I once again wondered what the hell was going on, but I tried to stay present in the moment rather than get caught up in how fucking weird this first god encounter was turning out to be.

  “No,” I said flatly. “I have already built connections here in the forest, it is not yours to claim. Your own followers don’t even want you here, they want someone respectable who will protect them and listen to their wishes. They want a real god.”

  “That’s not true,” he snarled. “My followers fear me, and they cower at my greatness! I am as real as it gets!”

  “You’re pathetic,” I informed him outright. “Your people will turn against you at the first chance they get.”

  “Jack,” Nicola said cautiously. “What should we be doing? What’s going on?”

  The women and imps were still facing each other in silence, and I heard a sharp inhale of breath from Luke at the mention of my name.

  I waited for him to speak again, but he didn’t.

  Did this guy know who I was?

  “Jack?” Luke eventually asked in a low voice. “Is that what she called you?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I am Jack, and I find that the name alone is impressive enough without any kind of stupid title at the end to sound terrifying.”

  “Attaaaaack!” Luke suddenly screamed.

  “He’s ordering them to attack,” I warned the women, and they scowled as they raised their weapons.

  The imps didn’t move. They glanced at each other with their pale eyes and then took a step back from the women.

  “Master,” one of them said. “Why don’t we just--”

  “Attaaaaack!” Luke shouted in a blistering voice. “Show them the wrath of Luke!”

  What happened next was slightly tragic to watch. Two of the imps rushed forward with their fists raised, and one of them was immediately kicked in the head by Celeste. The other one was picked up by Aleia and thrown into a nearby bush by the strong fairy, and both women winced apologetically at their miniature opponents like they really didn’t want to hurt them.

  The other three imps groaned as they watched their buddies get beaten, and they scurried backward toward the bushes.

  “Do not flee!” Luke screamed. “You can’t be afraid of a bunch of women!”

  “This is sad,” Nicola murmured as the imp in the bush scurried back with a bleeding nose and rushed back to his group.

  “I feel sorry for them,” Penelope whispered, and then she raised her voice to the imps. “Why don’t you all come with us instead? Jack won’t make you fight without any weapons or training. That’s just mean.”

  “And you’re honestly just embarrassing yourselves,” Nicola admitted. “You’re better off with us. We’ll show you how to do this all much more effectively. Leave Luke, he’s not doing anything to help you.”

  “Luke is our god,” one of the imps said in a small voice. “We follow him anywhere.”

  “Why?” Celeste asked. “What has he ever done to earn your loyalty?”

  “Done?” The imp said nervously. “Well, he’s the god of these parts.”

  “So… you feel like you have to follow him,” Nicola said. “Because he’s scared you into it, and he’s cut off all the magic of the forest.”

  “Contain your women!” Luke demanded. “They’re blasphemous, and they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  I sighed as I considered the situation.

  He had clearly set his imps on the priestesses when he heard my name. That was a point in my favor, because for whatever reason, this guy was scared of me.

  I still didn’t really understand how he could know who I was. Maybe the news of the Sprite battle of Evelhelm had traveled, but it was just strange that he knew who I was, and yet I had only heard of him a few hours ago.

  It must have something to do with me being an old god, but I still couldn’t figure out exactly what that meant.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” I said to the young god. “If you leave this forest, restore its magic, and free your followers, then I won’t harm you. Final offer.”

  “Harm me?” Luke laughed. “I’m a god, you idiot. How exactly do you think we can be harmed?”

  I didn’t like him using the term “we,” like we were in any way on the same team. He wasn’t on my level in any sense of the word, and I sure as hell didn’t want him sniffing around my women like a hungry dog.

  Suddenly, the imps jumped and started to scurry away back into the bushes they had come from. I figured that Luke had said something only they could hear, and it seemed they were free from their pathetic attempt at a fight.

  “You will regret ever coming here,” Luke hissed. “Those pretty girls will be face down in their own blood, and you will only have yourself to blame. I will kill everyone who pledges faith to you, and you will become a shadow of a god. I will end you.”

  “Whatever, dude,” I sighed. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are my warriors. You are the one who needs to fear for his people’s lives if you try to step foot into a battle with us.”

  “You have no idea what powers I have,” Luke snarled. “I am an almighty god. You will regret crossing me.”

  There was a faint rustling sound, and the women spun around to see an orc emerge from the trees with an axe grasped in its large hand. The creature towered above the priestesses, but it only scratched its chin as it stared at the group. It didn’t seem like it was about to attack, but the priestesses stood poised and ready anyway.

  “What are you doing here?” the orc grunted. “This is where the orcs live.”

  “Don’t mention that you know where their cave is,” I said. “You’re leaving soon. Don’t get it worked up for any reason.”

  “We were just passing through,” Celeste said firmly. “We’re leaving soon.”

  The orc grunted in response, and then its eyes fell on the imps behind the priestesses.

  “You!” the gray beast said. “We told you to stay away from these parts.”

  “Orc!” Luke boomed. “These imps are my right-hand men, they come and go as they please through the forest!”

  The orc somehow managed to twist its face to look even more unpleasant as the god spoke. Its nostrils flared, and it swung its axe up to rest on its shoulder as if getting ready to chop up the invisible deity.

  “Show some respect,” Luke said. “Take to your knees for your god, Luke the Reaper of Skulzzz!”

  There was a loaded silence, and the orc let out a long, tired sigh as it scowled at the imps.

  “What’s happening?” Nicola hissed.

  “Keep quiet for now,” I replied. “Luke is trying to get the orc to bow down, and I have a feeling that’s not going to work out for him.”

  “Oh, shit,” Nicola said.

  “Take a step to the side,” I said slowly. “All of you. So you’re not between the orc and the imps. This guy might attack if Luke asks it to kneel again, so don’t get in the middle of it.”

  The priestesses managed to take such small steps to the side that nobody seemed to notice their movements, and the orc continued to stare down the little red creatures.

  “I told you to kneel,” Luke growled. “Would you dare to disrespect your god?”

  “The trees,” the orc growled and ignored the question. “Why did you take away the magic? My leg’s all fucked up from a bite, and I can’t fix it.”

  There was a hesitation, and I got a feeling that Luke hadn’t expected the orc to talk back or ignore his demands. I couldn’t help feeling smug as I watched the asshole god’s own followers straight-up ignore his orders.

  “Your god’s plans do not concern you,” Luke hissed. “Now, bow down to show respect to your leader.”

  “Leader?” the orc snorted. “You’ve done nothing but rob us. Bring the magic back, or we’re leaving to another part of the forest.”

  “You can’t leave,” Luke spat. “I am your god, and you will stay in the north forest to serve me!”

  “We’ll do whatever we fucking want,” the orc snarled, and it sounded much more hostile.

  The imps were shaking as they watched the cave beast take a step forward. My women didn’t take their eyes off the orc, and I was ready to react if the gray beast made a move on them. It was clear to me it didn’t care about the priestesses, though. It barely seemed to notice they were there, and its only business was clearly with Luke.

  I made sure to take in everything the orc said. I could use it later when we would try and win them over to joining my followers. Everything Luke said, I would use against him, not that I needed sly tactics anyway.

  Luke was a disaster of a god all on his own.

  “Get the magic back,” the orcs snarled. “Or I’ll take the heads off all your little red friends.”

  The imps almost fell over as they scrambled backward and tried to hide behind each other.

  “Stay where you are!” Luke bellowed. “This disrespect will not be tolerated! Orc, what is your name?”

  “I won’t be telling you,” the beast replied. “You don’t need to know.”

  The orc wiped its nose on its arm and then started to stride past the women and back toward the cave.

  “No further!” Luke yelled. “I am your leader! Your master! Your entire clan will regret the day you disrespected me if you continue one step further!”

  The orc rolled its eyes and strode straight through the imps in the direction of the cave.

  It was all the proof I needed that Luke wouldn’t last long around here. He had no power, no charisma, and certainly no respect from his people. Everyone was silent as the orc strode into the trees, and the heavy footsteps disappeared into the cave.

  “I’ve got a feeling he’s going to be really fucking angry,” I whispered to the women. “Brace yourselves for some kind of attack.”

  The women nodded and hurried into a line formation facing the imps. The red creatures glanced at each other nervously, but then they slowly began to shuffle off into the bushes behind them. Their footsteps faded quickly after that, and the women kept their weapons raised as they looked around the deserted clearing.

  I waited for a beat, but Luke didn’t talk. The orc leaving must have enraged him past the point of arguing. He had been humiliated in front of another god, and I had a feeling he would want to take it out on someone.

  I felt bad for whichever of his followers he was bothering now.

  “I think he left,” I said after a full minute passed. “Wow. He was even more of an asshole than I expected. I’m pretty ready to bring this fucker down.”

  “That orc did not give a shit,” Nicola snorted. “I only got one side of the conversation, but it was pretty easy to tell that it wasn’t going well for Luke.”

  “The orc basically told him to go fuck himself,” I agreed. “I have a feeling winning the orcs over won’t be too tricky.”

  “I felt kind of bad for the imps,” Celeste sighed as she lowered her sword. “They really did not seem to be excited to be a part of that.”

  “They’ll be free soon enough,” I said firmly.

  I felt high with adrenaline as I thought about Luke’s words. I didn’t care if he was allied with Ethan, I wasn’t scared of a god who made his followers play music for his entrance.

  He wasn’t going to terrorize the people of the forest any longer, I would make sure of it.

  “Should we follow them?” Aleia asked. “Try and track down their base?”

  “Not now,” I said. “He might be expecting that, we should come back with more numbers. Who knows what other reluctant creatures he’s bullied into following him?”

  “So, we should go?” Penelope said, and I hesitated.

  Something told me that Luke wasn’t done yet. I couldn’t explain it, but it was an instinctual feeling that something bad was about to happen.

  “Yes, but keep your weapons at the ready,” I said. “I have a feeling he’s going to try something else, so move quickly.”

  The priestesses nodded and glanced around them as they began to hurry back to the creek.

  As the women jogged along, I scanned the side of the trees that the imps had disappeared into.

  Then I felt something I never had before as a god: an overwhelming sense of dread, and a certainty that something was coming.

  The bushes moved just as the feeling washed over me, and I heard something snarl.

  “To your right!” I shouted, and the women spun around just as the five imps jumped back into the clearing.

  They all had a thick, silver chain clutched in their hands and were wide-eyed and sweating as they led a huge creature through the bushes.

  Tied up in the chain was an enormous, black bear.

  With three heads.

  Each head had wild, yellow eyes and an open jaw dripping with blood and drool. Razor-sharp teeth snapped together as all three sets of eyes spotted the women at once.

  The imps were barely holding on to the chains that wrapped around the bear’s necks, and the creature let out a roar with each mouth that shook the leaves around it.

  Even though I was in god form, I felt an icy coldness shoot through my being as the imps nodded at each other.

  “Run,” I bellowed, but the women seemed frozen with fear as they stared at the beast. “Run!”

  The priestesses began to move, and the imps dropped the chains.

  Then the three-headed bear tore after the priestesses, and all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 11

  The women raced along the side of the river as the sound of the bear’s footsteps rang out behind them. I could hear every snarl and roar as the beast tore across the forest floor, and the chains that were hanging from its neck rattled with every step.

  “Jack!” Nicola panted. “I think we found the bear!”

  “Aleia!” I shouted. “Fly up and shoot it!”

  The fairy was pale as she nodded silently, and she shot up into the sky as her sisters carried on running. She fumbled with her crossbow, and her hands were shaking as she took aim.

  “You can do this,” I said, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

  The strawberry-blonde shot at the bear just as it raced under her, and the bolt was poised to strike right between the shoulder blades. Then it bounced right off the creature’s back and fell onto the ground before it was crushed by a powerful paw.

  “Shit,” I hissed.

  The bear was fast, and it was starting to catch up with the other women. It was a huge force of fur, muscles, and teeth, and it seemed to have some sort of impenetrable skin under that coat.

  It towered over the priestesses and probably would have been as tall as if Aleia sat on Celeste’s shoulders.

  “Why don’t we climb a tree?” Penelope yelled.

  “Bears can climb trees!” Nicola shouted. “That would just trap us!”

  I knew I needed to help out the two priestesses who had no wings to rely on, and I quickly tuned into my interface to transport some points over to them.

  I gave Penelope two extra agility points, and Nicola received two extra strength points. The second the points were added, the two women seemed to become lighter on their feet. Both of their paces sped up, and they leapt over obstacles like fallen branches with no issues. They had been pretty fast runners beforehand, but the extra points were the boost they needed to put some extra space between themselves and the bear.

  “What do we do?” Aleia cried as she flew over the priestesses. “If we can’t escape it in a tree, then how do we stop it?”

  “Stay in the air,” I ordered. “Celeste, you need to help her try and distract it away from Nicola and Penelope. It’s too fast to outrun, and you’re going to lead it right back to the fortress.”

  The harpy didn’t need telling twice, and she spread her scarlet feathers and shot up to join Aleia.

  Celeste began to scream, and she flew over the creek as she waved her arms and made as much noise as possible. Aleia copied her, and the bear’s three heads turned to look up at the winged women.

  “Keep running,” I told Nicola and Penelope. “Just follow the creek, you can do this.”

  The two priestesses had wide eyes as they raced beside the river, and sweat was pouring down their faces as they fled from the huge animal.

  The distraction had sort of worked, the left head of the bear was solely focused on the flying women, but the other two were still locked in on Nicola and Penelope. As the bear continued to run, Aleia took aim with her crossbow again.

  “Try one of the heads this time!” I called. “It must have a weak spot.”

  The fairy shot a bolt right toward the closest head, but the bear reached up a paw and hit the projectile away before it could reach the target.

  “Fuck,” I growled.

  Celeste took her sword in hand and closed her eyes as she held it high. She was trying to summon the enchantment, and I watched as the blade began to glow a dark red.

  The harpy opened her eyes and flew over the animal as her blade shone, but nothing happened.

  “It’s not working!” Celeste cried.

  The bear seemed unfazed by the noise, and as it ran, one of the loose chains whacked against its own back side. It cried out as the metal struck its fur, and I looked carefully at the tight chains that gripped around its neck.

 

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