Page 160 of The Gods Veiling
“Nope, little nosy thing. I’m not answering the million questions you want to ask me.”
“Fine. Only because I don’t want you to ruin my mood or appetite, I’ll let that slide.”
“Good girl. I knew you could listen like a proper angel.”
Both annoyance and something else I’m not willing to examine flutter over me. I turn my face to the side to hide my blush and just focus on how the path is starting to completely clear of structures. The farther we walk, the more open grasslands greet us.
My feet are growing tired from all this walking, and this is a time when I really wish my power were settled enough to starshoot. Thankfully, Riven steers us onto a dirt path and the sign sticking out of the ground that reads “Molder Meadows” tells me we’ve arrived at the place he’s hunting down.
Well, we didn’t really hunt. He seemed to know exactly where we were going…
The two of us duck beneath a wooden fence and continue across the field. It isn’t long before a shouting voice echoes across the open space, and we find who I assume is Mr. Molder with some rope in his hand as he calls down animals. I’m shocked to see the exact animals Havar told me weren’t here in Godsden.
There are definitely oxids and taurns in this field. As well as goatlins that are predominantly used for creams and meat. Woolers, which are shaved down and used to make certain fabrics, and egglayers. Their name says it all. They’re also a delicious, lean source of protein. Taurns are pretty good as well.
“I thought there weren’t any labor or food-producing animals in Godsden.”
“Aside from the secret meadow the Godsdawn owns for our food, there aren’t many.”
That little tidbit of new information causes my eyes to widen. It makes sense, though, seeing as we had to get our food from somewhere. After a moment of me staring, he huffs and carries on.
“A few meadows here have brought them in. There’re regulations that have to be followed and only certain gods can have their own herd of them, just like they’re assigned which creatures they can take care of. For some reason, gods who’ve been allowed to keep them seem to think they’re better than the other Plentifuls because it’s more work, so more reason to brag that they’ve been given this responsibility. Fucking weird mindset in my opinion. Here, make yourself useful and hold our food.”
I sneer at him but take the containers anyway. I’m starving since I let breakfast get ruined for me and plan on stuffing my face while he does whatever he’s going to do.
He strides away, singing with each step, and I plop down in the grass. The delicious aroma hits my nose the second I open the lids, and I groan happily.
I know which is my dish immediately. It’s like a little sample of everything Mrs. Akova had in her kitchen, while Riven’s is a single casserole dish and three cookies.
I’m tempted to take them but decide that’s probably not the best idea.
The sound of a scream drowns out my moan at the first glorious bite and I peek my eyes open. Riven’s twirling his finger in the air, and Mr. Molder is spinning so fast I can barely see him.
When he finally stops, he’s strung up in his rope from neck to toes. I nearly choke on my food as a laugh bursts free when Riven starts dancing around him. All the animals that were out and about flock to him.
Their noises grow louder and so does Riven’s laughing. The exhilaration from his power skims my skin even from here.
He skips his way over to a barn and my eyes grow wider than a plate when he slings the doors open. I’m not sure what I had expected to see, but the creatures that come out aren’t it.
A group of Venturers jumps and climbs all over Mr. Molder before running free. They’re small, fluffy, little balls of fur that are expert climbers and can glide through the air. Their name derives from the ability they have. It’s recorded they spread messages to the other creatures throughout the forest. Only a handful lived in Oddian, and they were nearly impossible to spot.
The next set of creatures really surprises me. Spyvies.
These felines have tall, pointed ears and slitted eyes. They stand about knee high on four legs and are stealthy. Their most notorious feature is the three tails they have. Those tails can twirl rapidly, lifting them off the ground enough to maneuver but not really take flight. They’re rumored to be the spies of the gods and Valories. During the day, their coats are gorgeous burnt oranges, but at night, they’re as dark as the sky.
Goodness.
These creatures have no business being kept locked away, they should be free in the wild, but regardless of my opinion, Mr. Molder must have been an outstanding lead Meadow Hand to be granted the responsibility to take care of them. Too bad he obviously only shows off rather than mean it.
Both creatures and the other animals run wild at Riven’s laughing and cheering. Mr. Molder bellows out, ordering the animals back, but it’s too late as they’ve got a taste of freedom.
I can’t help but suck in a breath and chuckle lightly as a Venturer comes scurrying up to me. It has no fear or concern about me whatsoever. It goes as faras wrapping its little furry fingers around mine and plucking the berry right from out of my hand.
“Uh, stingy little thing you are.” I laugh, handing it another one.
Any animal that possesses realmly power has intelligence in their eyes. I have no doubt they know what I’m saying and what’s going on around them.
This one silently takes a seat on my knee and continues to eat my food.
