Page 88 of Sequel to the Easter Bunny

Fruits & Labours

Ester’s domain smells like fresh dirt as I walk through the grove of trees, trusting that all paths will lead to her.

Thankfully, when I find the clearing that holds her throne, Juun is not with her.

The god of spring looks vaguely bored as she sits, chin in her hand, elbow on the twining arm of her throne.

Her attention is focused on a man on his knees in the dirt twenty feet away. An enormous pile of bulbs lay stacked behind him. I would believe her if she told me there were a million, but there might as well be one, for all the progress her punished gardener makes.

He hasn’t moved from the spot where he started—whenever he started.

As I watch, he very carefully places a bulb in the soil, whispering words of encouragement as he gently pats that dark dirt down over it.

But the moment he turns to pluck the next from that pile, a small grey stalk sprouts from the ground with a puff of silvery smoke.

The man’s shoulders slump, and he pulls it up again, tossing the rotten husk to the side before he tries again… to the same result.

I have to force myself to ignore him

Force myself to walk away from him, to stand, once again at Ester’s mercy.

But I don’t wait for her to acknowledge me. I don’t simper or bow. I’m beyond that by now.

“Will you, or will you not put an end to this utter nonsense?”

She looks at me, her attention clearly split, though she still looks bored to death. “I’ve already told you I can’t.”

I have a feeling she could, but simply doesn’t want to.

“Fine, it’s time to make yet another deal.”

She laughs and it’s tinged with cruelty. “You don’t need to make any more bargains, child.”

“I think you’ll agree that I do. To meet Juun’s demands, I’ve had to make a deal with the trickster god.”

Her scowl drips with distaste, but she says nothing.

“He is the only option I have to gain Heim’s approval, and he wants this child to have a god-twin.”

“Out of the question!”

She’s mad. Good.

“Will you make Juun stop this?”

She adjusts her shoulders and I see the man behind her working doubly fast. She’s distracted and his bulbs are taking root.

“I can’t make Juun change her mind, and once a deal is made, it cannot be undone.”

“Then you’ll have to find another way to help me. I do not want any other child but Jacks, but if I cannot gain Heim’s blessing….”

“You will not have another god's child.”

“Then I need some alternative. Some guarantee. I know you can find a way to give that to me.”

Studying me for a long moment, a smile quirks at her lips. “I can.”

She snaps, and this time, a tiny little tree grows beside her throne with two apricots on it.

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