Gathering of the Chosen (16 page)

Somewhere in the back of her mind, in the
small part that was not touched by her anger, Raya was aware that
she was probably going to get into trouble for just walking out of
the Stadium lobby like that. She hadn't told anyone where she was
going, when she was going to get back, or anything like that. She
had simply left and had no particular idea of when she would
return.

But Raya didn't see this as a big deal.
She was rightfully angry, in her view, for being denied what she
felt was her birthright. She just couldn't see how she could
possibly make a good Goddess of Deception, Thieves, and Horses
anyway. She never lied, certainly never stole (her takings didn't
count), and she didn't even know how to ride horses anyway. It was
the most unfair thing that had ever happened to her in her life and
she just wasn't going to take it.

Not like I can
leave
World's End
anyway,
Raya thought, allowing her anger to simmer.
Don't
have a ship or an airship, can't teleport, can't ask any of the
gods or katabans to take me away, and definitely can't swim all the
way back to Carnag. I'm stuck on this stupid island until I win or
lose the Tournament. Feels more like Rock Isle than World's End
right now, if you ask me.

Still, Raya looked over her shoulder
anyway, wondering if any of the other godlings or Alira were coming
to fetch her. She saw no one. In fact, she didn't even see any
katabans on the street that she walked upon. She wondered if the
city's inhabitants had gone to sleep already, though she didn't
care if they had or had not. Despite being part katabans herself,
she didn't feel any real affinity with the katabans that lived in
World's End.

I want to be alone right now
anyway,
Raya thought, scowling as she turned her attention back
to the streets before her, though she wasn't really seeing where
she was going, mostly because she was too distracted by her
emotions and thoughts to focus on anything else.
I don't want to
be around other people. I don't even want to be around the gods.
All I want to do is walk forever and ever.

A sudden rumbling in the sky caused her to
look up. Dark clouds were moving in, which was odd, because no one
had told Raya that it was going to rain tonight. In fact, Raya had
thought that it couldn't rain on World's End at all. She had
assumed that its position at the very end of the southern seas
meant that it never rained here, yet there was no mistaking that
rumble of thunder or those dark clouds rolling through the sky like
an unfurled carpet.

And now it is going to rain,
Raya
thought as she turned a corner into a wide-open area.
Bet it was
the Rain God who did it. Probably trying to make me go back to the
Stadium so I can participate in a bracket that is probably made up
of a bunch of deceivers, thieves, and horse-lovers.

Then Raya bumped into something solid and
fell backwards onto the streets on her behind. Shaking her head,
Raya thought that she might have accidentally walked into a
building before she looked up and saw that she had actually walked
into a person.

She had never seen this being before. He
towered above her, far taller than any human or aquarian she had
ever seen, his entire body cloaked in shadow. Though humanoid in
appearance, he had two extra arms sprouting from his shoulders,
which made Raya think he had to be a katabans of sort. His mask
resembled a baba raga's face, although Raya saw nothing but
darkness through the eye holes. His overall appearance creeped Raya
out. In fact, she was so creeped out by him that she thought that
he shouldn't have existed at all.

But even Raya's creeped out feeling didn't
stop her from rising to her feet, and poking him in the chest with
one finger, scowling at him all the while. “Are you even going to
apologize for not getting out of my way and knocking me over? And
what's with your mask? Is this some sort of stupid katabans
cultural practice that I am unaware of or are you just crazy?”

The figure said nothing. Above, thunder
roared more ominously and Raya felt a few tiny raindrops fall on
her hair, which caused her anger to dissipate almost instantly.

“Oh, dear,” said Raya, raising her hands
above her head to protect her hair from the rain. “If it rains, it
will mess up my gorgeous hair and my clothes. Sorry, stranger, but
I have to return to the Stadium of the Gods.”

Again, the figure did not speak, did not
even move, but Raya paid little attention to that, because the
drops were coming in more frequently now and Raya could not afford
to waste any more time on mute, rude idiots like this guy.

So Raya turned to leave, but then paused.
She didn't recognize this part of the city at all. True, Raya was
not a native of World's End, so it made sense that she didn't know
every little nook and cranny as well as a native. Still, Raya had
thought that she knew enough about its layout to be able to retrace
her general path back to the Stadium at least.

The problem was that Raya just couldn't
recognize any of it. She saw the tall, colorful buildings, the
smooth white streets, the stoops leading up to the entrances of the
skyscrapers, as well as cafes and restaurants that were currently
closed, but it was like she had stepped into another world
entirely. That it was starting to rain only heightened her
confusion about this strange part of the city that she did not
recognize, that she could not recognize, as if her mind was unable
to comprehend what she was looking at.

Raya turned to face the stranger, saying
as she did so, “Mister stranger, I—”

But he was nowhere to be seen.

Then Raya felt a creeping presence behind
herself and turned around in time to see the stranger raising four
blades above his head. The blades were thin and long, but looked
sharp enough to dice Raya into tiny pieces with little effort on
the part of their owner.

Raya could not help but scream when she
saw the stranger and his swords, especially when he brought them
down on her with frightening speed.

***

“
F
oolish girl,” said Alira, shortly
after Raya left the Stadium lobby. “She is foolishness
incarnate.”

For once, Carmaz agreed with Alira. While
he had somewhat empathized with Raya's anger at Alira's decisions
(even though he found her reasoning for it incredibly selfish and
immature), he still thought it was stupid for Raya to march out of
the lobby like that without telling anyone where she was going. At
the very least, it was immature, though Carmaz thought that calling
Princess Raya immature was also redundant.

As for the other godlings, none of them
seemed to want to acknowledge Raya's tantrum, or perhaps they
simply didn't know what to do. Carmaz couldn't see Saia or Braim,
due to the fact that they were at the back of the crowd, but he
doubted that either of them had gone after Raya, either.

Alira sighed and pushed her glasses up the
bridge of her nose. “Carmaz, can you go and find Raya? We cannot
begin the Tournament unless all godlings are present and accounted
for.”

Carmaz looked up at Alira and frowned.
“Why me? Can't you send a katabans to find her?”

“Because I think it is a suitable
punishment for your disrespect for my judgment,” said Alira. Then
she added, under her breath, “Besides, the katabans never listen to
me anyway. They only ever listen to the gods.”

Carmaz sighed, but nodded and said, “All
right. I'll track her down as quickly as I can.”

Depositing his card into the front right
pocket of his pants, Carmaz made his way through the crowd of
godlings to the back of the lobby. Here he found Braim and Saia
standing awkwardly together, but he said nothing to them. He just
nodded at Saia, indicating that he should follow him, and his
friend understood and walked behind him to the lobby's exit.

The two emerged onto the street just
outside of the Stadium. Much to Carmaz's consternation, it was
starting to rain. He always hated the rain, even though it rained
fairly frequently on Ruwa. Thankfully, his clothes had a hood, so
he pulled it up over his head to keep his head dry.

So did Saia, who was now looking at Carmaz
from under his own hood. “Where do you think Raya went?”

Carmaz frowned and looked down the street
both ways. “I have no idea. Maybe we won't have to find her at all.
She struck me as the kind of girl to come running back as soon as
she gets a little wet. Maybe she'll return when the rain really
picks up.”

Saia looked down at the street and pointed
at something. “Hey, is that Raya's card?”

Saia quickly bent over, picked up the
card, and showed it to Carmaz. Carmaz still couldn't read it. He
figured that it had to be Raya's, seeing as all of the other
godlings were still in the Stadium lobby and still had their cards
with them.

“She must have dropped her card while
going in this direction,” said Saia, pointing down the street.
“Let's see if we can find anyone who might have seen where she
went.”

Carmaz nodded and the two walked down the
street even as the rain began to increase in intensity. It wasn't
quite as heavy as the torrential downfalls of Ruwa, but it was
still loud and wet enough to shut off all potential conversation
between the two friends as they walked quickly down the street,
keeping their eyes open for any sign of Raya.

Even though Carmaz tried his best to keep
his mind focused on the task at hand, he still couldn't help but
feel a little annoyed at this recent turn of events. He had wanted
to be the God of Martir, not the Human God. He didn't see any
reason or logic in Alira's decision or in the decision of whichever
god had recommended this position for him to Alira in the first
place.

But maybe it won't be all bad,
Carmaz thought as the rain beat against his head and shoulders,
soaking through his hood and making him feel more miserable than
ever.
I would still be a god. Not as powerful as whoever becomes
the God of Martir, maybe, but I will still have far more power and
influence than I do now. Maybe I will even be able to help my
people somehow.

The problem was, of course, that Carmaz
had no idea what being the God of Humans even meant. He certainly
had not heard of the Human God until recently. Did it mean that he
had control over all of the humans on Martir? Did it mean that all
humans were dependent upon his power and rule? It was all too vague
for his tastes. Perhaps he'd find out more about what the position
actually entailed during the Tournament itself.

Taking his mind off the Tournament, Carmaz
tried to focus on the present. He looked everywhere as he and Saia
walked, but he didn't see any sign of Raya at all. He didn't even
see any katabans, though that made sense, seeing as the rain was
falling hard now and any katabans with sense in their heads were
undoubtedly inside their homes keeping warm and dry.

One thing Carmaz did notice about the
street was how it did not get very slick despite the rain. The odd
white stone that made up the street upon which he and Saia walked
felt as dry as ever, as if the stone was somehow absorbing the
rain. Carmaz was no mason, but he found that to be more than a
little odd, though he dismissed it as being the work of the gods'
magic, which he found even less comprehensible than mortal
magic.

Then, over the roar of thunder and the
thundering rain, just as Carmaz was beginning to wonder if it might
be wiser to head back and wait until the rain let up before
continuing, a high-pitched, girlish shriek shot through the
air.

It was so loud that both Carmaz and Saia
stopped and looked at each other in surprise.

“Was that Raya?” Saia shouted over the
rain, his words barely comprehensible to Carmaz.

“I think it was!” Carmaz shouted back.
“But where did—”

His question was interrupted by another
loud shriek. This time, Carmaz knew where it came from: On the
other side of one of the smaller buildings on the other side of the
street.

“There!” Carmaz shouted, pointing toward
that building. “I heard her over there!”

Without hesitation, Carmaz and Saia dashed
across the street, through the alleyway between the smaller
building Carmaz had noticed and the taller one to its right, and
into a back street on the other side.

Carmaz saw Raya walking backwards, away
from a large, hulking figure that seemed to wear darkness like a
cloak. It had four arms, each carrying a sword, and it wore a mask
like a baba raga, but that was all Carmaz could make out of the
strange figure. In addition to the darkness around it, the heavy
rain made it hard to see clearly, but Carmaz didn't need to see the
assassin perfectly to understand that it was trying to kill
Raya.

“What the hell is that?” said Saia, his
eyes widening under his hood. “A katabans?”

“No idea,” said Carmaz. “But we have to
stop it before it kills her.”

Saia looked at Carmaz in alarm. “How? You
and I are unarmed, you know.”

“Then we rescue Raya and run away from
it,” said Carmaz. “But we need to distract it first.”

“Great idea,” said Saia. “So how do we do
that?”

Carmaz bent over and picked up a rock on
the street. He then handed it to Saia and said, “You throw the rock
at the creature. Insult it and then run once it starts chasing you.
I'll grab Raya and all three of us will make a break for the
Stadium, where we will be safe.”

“Hold it,” said Saia, looking up from the
rock Carmaz had given him. “When did I volunteer to be the
bait?”

“You're a better runner than I am and you
have better aim, so the creature is less likely to capture you than
me and you will be far more likely to hit it with this rock,”
Carmaz said. “So it is unlikely that it will kill you.”