God of the Abyss (3 page)

Sammy was six when I enrolled him in a small village
school on Shomodii. He was miserable about it, but I told him it was good for
him to be in the world on his own and to make friends his own age. I had been
homeschooling him because he was too brilliant to be in a regular school.

Two days later, he was suspended for fighting… in the
Duran equivalent of first grade. I asked him why and he said that he hated
school and he wanted to stay home. His teachers had never had a problem with
him, but they believed he was a terribly depressed child. He cried the entire
way home when I told him I was disappointed. I wanted to cry too, for I must
have made a horrible mistake somewhere in the previous four years that made him
antisocial. Children were supposed to want to start school. Normal kids
wanted
to make friends.

Ronez and Divina were waiting for us on the porch.
Ron hugged him and they went to their room. Ron was four and he never spoke.
Sammy was six and he was fighting with other kids. I told Divina that I
understood how Edward felt before I broke down. The only thing I did right for
the next few days was keep my mouth shut. It was the longest I ever went
without talking, because if I spoke, I would hurt someone I loved. I knew more
than anyone how badly words could hurt.

Mordon and Edward visited, but I couldn’t talk about
it. The last thing I wanted was to say the wrong thing in front of one of my
sons. It was so tempting though, when Mordon tried to talk to me in my mind. By
the third day of my silence, I knew I was hurting my family anyway; the house
was quiet. Sammy and Ronez didn’t laugh and Divina walked on eggshells around
me.

I was alone at the springs when I felt his presence
behind me. I didn’t bother to look or greet the god. He sat down beside me to
my shock. For shame; a powerful god sitting in the grass.

“Something is wrong with Ron. He’s never said a word.
Sammy is antisocial because he spent the majority of his life alone with his
family.”

I looked at Regivus. The gods all chose their
appearances for one reason or another. Divina chose hers to be beautiful to any
man, because it helped her get what she wanted after she took a physical form.
Apparently, it was also affected by their actual personalities, which was why
Azenoth always
looked
short-tempered to me. When I first met him,
Regivus modified his normal form to mimic a man in my past who tried to take my
life. After it failed to scare me off, the ancient god decided to remain that
way for no other reason than that it suited him.

His black hair was immaculately combed back, which
was fitting for the god’s no-nonsense demeanor, while his dark brown eyes could
have been humanoid if not for the supernatural hint of copper. He was tall, but
not the tallest man I knew, and willowy, but not scrawny by any means. Although
his appearance once bothered me, it now seemed to suit him well. In fact, he
didn’t remind me at all of Alec. Instead, I thought of Regivus as a god who
would never try to spare my feelings or inhibit my magic to protect me, who was
above lying altogether.

“Something is even more wrong with me. I miss being
out there. I’ve been a dad for four years and that’s all. I want to be a
Guardian again. Divina doesn’t even send me to Earth for errands; she goes
herself or sends Edward. I’m a horrible person.”

“Because you miss adventure?”

“Because I want to get my kids into school so I can
get out of the house. Now I have to homeschool Sammy and I’ll never get out.
I’m a parent and that’s all I’ll ever be and I am a horrible person because I…”

“You don’t want to be a parent?”

“I…” I hesitated. “I don’t know. I love Sammy and Ron
so much… but I miss being who I was before.”

Then he did something that left me speechless; he
flicked a few blades a grass at me. “You have two young children who are
growing up at every minute. Someday they will be gone, living on another world
even. Your youngest can walk. More importantly, he may not be able to talk, but
he can run for his life. Sammy was even younger than him when you were running
from the Ancient. You watch them at home. They wake up, they do whatever, and
they go to sleep. Of course you’re bored. You humans are known for that. So go
out. Take the kids and mate on an adventure.”

“Like what?”

“Just travel around. I guarantee for a family as
powerful as yours, danger and excitement will find you. Possibly an ancient
monster, possibly a demon. Who cares, right? You should take the dragon child,
too.”

I sat there fantasizing for a while.
Could I really
take Sammy and Ron out in the world? Ron is only four. It could be dangerous.

“You overthink things. How much trouble could your
children get into with a god and a powerful Noquodi watching over them? Show
them the world now and open their eyes. This is a crucial time in their
development.”

“Would you help Ron?”

“I will take a look and see if I can figure out why
he cannot talk.”

We flashed back to the house to find Sammy and Ron
sitting on the porch. “Where’s your mother?” I asked. We usually didn’t let
them outside alone at night, as there were some strange people wandering about
Shomodii.

Sammy pointed behind him. They both looked miserable.
“Divina and Mom are arguing in the kitchen.”

I turned to Regivus, but he waved me ahead. I trusted
him to watch over my kids. I certainly didn’t want to make them go into the
house if there was arguing; that was one thing I tried my hardest to shield
them from. Just as Sammy had said, I found Divina and Mordon in a fierce
argument. They both stopped and turned to me when I walked in. Mordon’s eyes
were black, as they normally were when he was angry, but I could feel the lack
of connection in them. Mordon and I were best friends for seven years, so there
was a look of acknowledgement and recognition in him when he saw me, even when
his eyes were black. This time there was none.

“Hello, Rojan. Long time no see.” I meant Rojan in
particular; I saw Mordon all the time. My friend was fully mature, almost the
exact same height as myself, and a little heavier built. He was no longer the
scrawny young man trying to escape a life of being a king that he was when I
first met him.

“It is uncanny how you always know it is me, Dylan.
Nice to see you.”

“Somehow I doubt that. What brings you out? Is Mordon
okay?”

“He is for now, yes. We do have a problem, though.
One I was hoping you could assist us with,” he said. His eyes shifted back to
normal, one ice blue and one striking purple. He was himself again.

“I’ll always help, you know that,” I said to Mordon.

“I know you would, but Divina here wants you to stay
home.”

She glared at him before turning to me, her deep blue
eyes pleading and mournful. “I have to go take care of some stuff with my
brothers and I need you to watch the boys for a few days,” she said. “If there
was any way I could get out of this, I would, but I can’t. Please. I know I
leave you all alone too much, but–”

“Of course I’ll watch them,” I said, cutting her off.
Mordon immediately looked wounded and startled, since I would never refuse
helping him and Rojan when they needed me. “As long as Mordon’s okay with them
coming with us. Otherwise we’ll have to get Edward to babysit or Vivian and
Nano. Hell, even Nila would volunteer. You don’t worry about it. Go deal with
your grouchy brothers and I’ll make sure the kids are accounted for. I’ll even
do a headcount to make sure we all make it back safely.”

“What about… Ron.”

“Your grouchiest brother is outside, babysitting and
diagnosing.”

“Ren?” she asked, using her nickname for the older
god. I laughed because we both considered him to be the grouchiest, but really,
he was very wise and offered me sound advice on many occasions.

We all entered the living room, where the door was
opened about a foot, to see them having a conversation outside. By
conversation, I mean that Regivus was talking to Ron and Sammy was answering.
The boys must not have realized we were there. Sammy confessed that he got in a
fight at school because he hated the other kids and missed his brother. He
explained how I was mad at him and wouldn’t talk to either of them since. When
he told the god that he was sorry for causing me to be mad at them all, I felt
horrible. Sammy thought that I was angry with Ron because of him and
apparently, Ron was miserable.

“Your father is very concerned that Ron can’t talk,”
Regivus told Sammy. He regarded my younger son. “Do you know that he worries
about you? That other children your age talk?” he asked.

Ron nodded, but as usual, it was Sammy that spoke.
“Ron can talk,” he insisted.

We were all surprised by that and I was doubtful.
Sammy was talkative enough for both of them, but I figured that if Ron could
have talked, I would have heard him speaking in private to Sammy. Ron never made
so much as a grunt, even though I never found anything medically wrong with
him, his throat, or his hearing.

“He can? Then why doesn’t he?” Regivus asked. For
such a powerful god who threatened my life when he first met me, Regivus had a
kind voice for children. He had only ever showed them kindness.

Sammy shrugged. “We don’t know. He just never does.
He didn’t like to cry when he was a baby and he doesn’t like to talk now.”

“But you know what he thinks?”

“Of course; we are brothers. Like mom and dad.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are brothers like Mordon and Dylan.”

“How does that help you know what he is thinking?”

Both of my boys looked confused. “They talk all the
time in their heads. Brothers can talk in their heads. Ron and I talk and when
someone asks Ron a question, he tells me the answer to tell them. Usually he
doesn’t have to tell me, though, because I know.”

“Oh. That is interesting,” the god said.

Mordon and I looked at each other. We discovered the
ability to talk to each other on accident not long after we became friends. I
always speculated that it was because I used my book to translate for us,
although there was never any evidence, or even a strong suggestion.

“Since I found out about Rojan, I thought it was
because of him that we could talk.”

“But Rojan and I can’t talk to each other,”
I
said.

“Well, I know you two don’t know me very well, but I
am your uncle, so I should help you when I can, right?” Regivus asked the boys.
They both nodded hesitantly. “I lived a long time. I have one sister and had
ten brothers. Now I only have nine brothers. I am the oldest of them.” Two
little jaws dropped and four little eyes widened. “I have made some foolish
mistakes, but family forgives and forgets. You both will do some things you
will regret, and that’s normal, but your family will always forgive you.

“Ronez, you need to listen carefully to this. The
first thing you have to do when you make a mistake is tell the truth, and you
can’t do that if you don’t talk. The second thing is to apologize. You can’t
usually do that if you don’t talk, either. And this is the important part, the
part that many people forget; once you say you are sorry, you don’t do it
again. Do you understand all that?” he asked.

Ron nodded and took his brother’s hand.

“Does that mean he has to start talking?” Sammy
asked.

Regivus shook his head. “No, not all of the time, but
think about this. You two talk to each other all the time.” He looked at Ron.
“How would you feel if Sammy talked to everyone but you? What if he never
talked to you? How would you feel? Now think about how your parents feel when
you never said a word to them your entire life.”

I wanted to go out there and get that devastated
expression off my baby boy’s face. Ronez was a happy child.

Divina opened the door fully and they all heard it. I
was looking right at Ron’s face when he opened his mouth and drew in a shaky
breath. “Daddy, mommy, I can talk.” My son’s first words… “I’m sorry. I love
you both,” he said.

His voice was soft, probably because he never used
it, but his words were clear.

Whatever I was going to say vanished along with the
moment as Samorde, Guardian of Enep, appeared before us. He squeaked when he
saw Regivus and ducked, but the god made no move to strike him.

“What are you doing here?” Regivus asked harshly.

His expression was hard and his anger apparent. There
was no sign of the kindness he showed me and my children. It occurred to me
that all of the gods had multiple personalities. Divina smacked me in the arm
when she heard my stray thought.

Figures, I can’t get a moment to myself, even in
my head.
Divina glared at me.
I mean, I love my wife. I love my
wonderful wife.

“I… where is here? I was just going to bed. I lit a
candle and was here.”

I hadn’t noticed until he said that, that he wore satin
blue pajamas and was barefoot. The Guardian, trapped in the body of a teenager,
was already so small that he looked a bit ridiculous. His hair was golden blond
and disheveled as if he never tended to it and his hazel eyes were wide with
fear. It definitely wasn’t the cold that caused him to quiver.

“Why have you not come when I called you?” Regivus
demanded. The god had likely been calling on his Guardian to serve as a butler
would.

“I have not been able to contact you in half a
month!” the Guardian cried. “Not a word.”

“Regivus, this is why we need to get together.
Something’s wrong with…” She trailed off and shot me a guilty look.

“With the Guardians,” I finished for her. “That
doesn’t offend me. I know you can’t tell me everything just because I’m your
mate. You have god business and–”

“Yes, she can,” Regivus interrupted. We all looked at
him. “If you were just a Noquodi, we could not allow her to share our secrets,
but we take mates more seriously than you Noquodi do. She is allowed to tell
you anything.”