Page 191 of The Gods Veiling
“Bad, bad Thayla. So that’s where those yummy little feelings keep coming from,” Riven whispers in my ear.
I spin around, but his stupid laugh is all that lingers when he starshoots away.
My glare lands on Creed, who looks uncomfortable as his eyes move from my face to Kyzen’s and my hands then back. I wordlessly dare him to add any remarks.
He grunts, then starts moving in the direction of the Court. “I’ll see you later.”
I huff as I start walking once again. “Someone put something funny in the coffee this morning.”
“Yeah.” Yemi snorts. “I’m sure that’s what happened.”
I forcefully keep my face from smiling and hold the ungodly like snort in as the obsidian statues of the Beginning Gods loom a few feet in front of us.
Daily, I spare them a quick glance as I make my way to the Athenaeum, but now, I observe them closely. There are three men and three women. The goddesses wear gowns. The gods wear armor.
Kyzen squeezes my fingers to get my attention. “Can you identify each of them? Without saying their names preferably. I’d hate for one of them to overhear us.”
“Yeah, I believe so.”
From left to right, I begin.
“Goddess of Creation, God of Obliteration, Goddess of Seduction, God of Consequence, Goddess of Accord, and God of Chaos.”
The difference between each, what makes them distinguishable, is the intricately carved letter on their chest that represents what they’re the god or goddess of. Although there are two gods that start with a C, Derivius is obvious. His face is smoothed out and his C matches the one branded on our wrists.
“That’s right. Do you know which one is missing?”
“Yeah. The God of Boundaries. Why is his missing?”
“He’s never had a statue or a temple here since I’ve been here. Maybe the gods’ way of showing him they’re angry at his disappearance. Maybe it was his own doing. I’m not quite sure and I don’t believe he’s ever answered anyone’s questions about it.”
Huh.
Maybe it’s because he realized his counterparts don’t understand what a damn boundary is, so he said the hell with this.
I can’t really blame him.
They’re each standing straight with their hands raised and perched right under the roof of the Sanctum. Just like the first impression I ever got when I saw them, they truly look like they’re holding it up, ready to protect it.
It’s hard for me to fathom that these gods who were created together by the Valories are having a secret war with one another. Spats and disagreements I can understand. That’d be normal, in my opinion, for beings as old as our realm, but war? One wanting to rule the rest?
I don’t understand why.
They were created equally. All with a purpose that served one another when they began using their powers to make the Domain gods.
Greed, boredom. Pitiful excuses are all I can come up with.
I can’t help the chill that travels down my spine as we walk through the giant statues. Their power still pulses everywhere in the Godsdawn but more so here than anywhere else.
“As we all know, I didn’t get to see much of my surroundings on the Veiling Day, but the platform that was set up right in front of the Sanctum, how does the Veil just appear there? Isn’t it in a room somewhere in here?”
“It is, but the side that you all walk out of is an illusion. It can be placed anywhere.”
“I swear I hear more about the Goddess of Illusion and her creations more than any other god.”
“She has her hands in just about everything. She was one of the Beginning Gods’ first beings made, so she and her essence have been around for a long time. You’ll find her power inallof Godsden.”
I don’t miss that emphasis.
