A Tale of Revenge Ch. 12

"I must ask you to stay with me. This is not over yet."

He heard her settle herself into the seat closest to him, her fingers nervously tapping the smooth leaves beneath them. "Of course."

*

It was unusual for humans to be removed from their spheres but there were some exceptions. Trespassing on a god's property was one of them. Leonid pulled the man through space, his power wrapped around his neck so he could feel just how the human struggled and writhed. The urge to rip the man's limbs off one at a time with excruciating slowness just to hear him scream was incredibly hard to ignore. But Leonid silenced it. There was a way of things that had to be maintained, and it would not do for the others to see him so altered. He met Emera and the others in the wide space outside the amphitheater; huge walls of glowing white stones and arching gates towered above them.

Leonid shoved the naked man at their feet. The pathetic thing whimpered in fear, cowering when minutes before he had been so mighty.

"Here is Imonesh's king," Leonid spoke in a voice that would pain the mortal's ears. "He can attest to her plan before The Five."

Emera nodded, her eyes falling on the man huddled on the ground clasping his ears. "We shall take him now, before Imonesh can stop the proceedings. You must initiate them," she said, stepping aside, allowing Leonid a clear path towards the main gate. With no outward signs of hesitation, Leonid strode in, the human compelled to follow him. Within the walls, Leonid made his way down to the open platform at the center of the structure. The Five did not exist on the same plane as he and the other gods did, but this was a point of contact, a meeting place for their overseers.

He strode out, unsurprised to see the large rows empty and dark. The Five were anything if not unpredictable. Time moved differently for them, as it did in this place between the two planes. It was possible to wait for what seemed like years before they came, only to emerge and find a moment had passed, sometimes a few moments were days in the lower spheres. He looked down at the human, his lip curled. He would make sure this wretch would never return to his realm.

What's this? Back again? A voice drifted through his head. Leonid looked up and found five glowing figures above him. They refused to coalesce into clear shapes, each one shifting and swirling with lights and shadows, sometimes slowly, sometimes more quickly, as if they could not quite settle on a corporeal form.

"I am," Leonid spoke. "I've brought before you a being of a lower sphere who has trespassed on my property there. I bid your permission to disperse his energies as punishment."

Leonid, again in the affairs of men? Another one spoke. They had no discernible gender, their voices were not the physical waves of sound but rather like ideas that were occurring spontaneously in the mind of those that heard them, translated into language only out of the necessity to communicate.

Wasn't it a moment ago that you declared your intentions never to return?

What was the property?

Why is this coming before us?

They spoke over each other, and yet distinctly. He spoke vaguely of the deal he had made with Anna and how the king had violated her. He thought it better to leave out the details though he did not think he'd be able to keep them secret for the entirety of the inquiry. It occurred to him, not for the first time, that their actions were fairly limited by the rules The Five imposed on them.

And you brought him here? You are within your rights to handle the punishment of a lesser being.

"As I would have, but this man is tied to another goddess," another thing that prevented Leonid from ripping him apart. "And I believe he has some information about violations to The Balance being committed in his kingdom." Leonid was careful not to say the violation was against the rules of The Five despite the fact that they saw themselves as the wardens of The Balance in the lower spheres and did not like to be challenged.

The swirling forms brightened, two of them moving in towards him. Indeed? A most interesting development. Send for the goddess, we will speak to her as well.

Leonid nodded, moving beyond the stage to signal to Emera to go and find Imonesh. Something beat through his connection with Anna as he moved away from The Five. He shot Emera a knowing look, and she disappeared. Part of him wanted to follow her, to go and make sure Imonesh was nowhere near his girl but he was trapped there before The Five until they were done with him.

When he reemerged, The Five were waiting, listening to the trembling king who told them as much as he knew about magic and Imonesh and her plans. She had been with him throughout his life, a watchful guardian and mentor. His parents had listened to her and once he became king he too had always gone to her for council.

When a sorcerer came to him, looking for employment, Imonesh had suggested the collars, even helped build the spell by dictating scrolls that he would place in the sorcerer's hands. She promised it was an ultimate weapon, one that would rebuild the empire of old and allow him to rule in his rightful place as ruler over many lands. Leonid did not appreciate still being subjected to the man's shaky voice or his kneeling form, but the information was necessary.

Tell us, Leonid, one of them spoke up, leaving the fearful human alone for a moment, when we look into this violation, what will we find of your role in all this? It seems a pity you've found yourself mixed up again, especially after the last time.

Leonid paused, considering. "I have re-established and strengthened my connection with a human of the Realm of Men. In doing so, I have placed some of my power within her and in return gained access to the human's mind." As he expected, there was an eruption of objections.

This is unprecedented.

Godly powers in a lower sphere could destroy it and its vessel.

You cannot breach the sacred barriers of the mind.

You put yourself and the realm at risk.

The Balance must be maintained.

He waited for them to settle. "I know what I have done, but as you will no doubt find, I have done so within the parameters of what you have set forth for us. I am aware of the consequences involved in access to the human mind and I have taken steps to protect myself and the possibility of losing control."

It is not that simple, god of the First Level, you are in violation of a series of wards in place to separate the spheres, contain the energies where they lie. You and your ilk are designed to influence and to enhance, to create change. But you must remain separate, above and removed from those that you rule over.

Leonid considered this, "The Balance created us all, but you define our place in the universe. In placing us as wardens, gods, and rulers over the lesser beings of the lower spheres, you have assured that we are in constant contact with them, our very existence tied to how we wield that power, and control our own. But the restrictions you've mentioned are your attempts to understand what it was The Balance intended, to create a doctrine for our actions.

"We cannot know that The Balance was forever intending to keep us separated, and to proclaim that our canon is the only possibility would be to imply that we understood the intentions of a far greater power than we can conceivably fathom. I have not violated your rules to the extent that there were none to prevent what I accomplished. The existence of a god's power within a human, and a human's emotions within a god may trouble what you five initially intended for us, but, if you consider for a moment the possibility, it may not be the worst outcome for those of us who exists below you."

The silence that followed his proclamation was resounding, until it wasn't.

Nonsense.

We are the rightful agents of The Balance and you will heed our pronouncements.

Pretty words from a pretty god.

A base attempt to question the power of this court, Leonid, for shame.

There was nothing else to say. They would not be able to sever his connection with Anna, though they would likely make it much harder for any god to do the same in the future. He had circumvented them, which may bode ill for him here, but the threat of disturbing the integrity of the universe below them would be much more pressing shortly. He turned as Imonesh arrived, just in time to refocus the conversation. The Five settled down, flashes of light traveling between them. Leonid recognized it as their personal form of communication. He hoped he had not over played this hand.

The goddess looked properly furious as her eyes went from the king huddled at the side of the stage, to Leonid's stance as the aggrieved, over towards the five shifting forms of the powers they answered to.

"What is my ward doing here?" Imonesh asked, her voice steady.

"He has taken what is mine, and in so doing violated my assets in that sphere. It is within my rights to remove his energy for dispersal."

"And what, pray tell, did he violate?" Imonesh was watching him closely, her eyes narrowed.

While Leonid was back in control of his emotions, the question pained him. He kept his face calm even if it made him squirm on the inside. "I made a bargain with a human in that realm. Her innocence was a defining part of it. Your king here raped her and in so doing violated the contract."

Imonesh's eyes widened in understanding. "The human you played sex games with in the woods? You mean to tell me that her 'innocence' was maintained throughout the length of your contract?"

Leonid turned towards The Five. "In violating her this man was the first to breach her womb. There is no question as to whether he took from me what was mine." He steadied himself, turned back to Imonesh. "But the misuse of magic that she uncovered during her stay with your king was more interesting to the present council. Your charge has attested to the misuse of magical individuals to build a weapon."

Imonesh froze. "I have no agents beyond the royal family, and cannot influence magical individuals. My connection to the kingdom was approved by this court after you tore apart sphere after sphere—"

The court has settled the matter this god brought before us and will release the human's energies from his mortal form. Goddess of the First Level, we are interested in your role with this man, his kingdom and the use of magic in violation of The Balance.

Imonesh looked properly worried now. Her king sobbed in the corner.

"Perhaps we should speak to Ion, who was the first to suspect a plot by Imonesh." Leonid offered. He had set the stage, from here onwards it was up to the other gods to make the case.

Go and fetch the others who would accuse this goddess.

Leonid nodded and moved to leave. "Wait!" Imonesh called out. "This was a hearing about our subjects in the Realm of Men. The other gods add nothing to the issue at hand."

This meeting has moved past the violation of Leonid's human and now, with this new information, we will see to the plot against our laws that you have set in motion.

Leonid stepped off the stage, leaving Imonesh to argue with The Five. He had set them off balance with his revelation and indelicate questioning of their doctrine. They would be seeking to display their authority now, and Imonesh was the perfect subject to make an example of.

The other gods were standing beyond the gate, bunched in a crowd that spread out as he approached.

"What's going on?" Emera asked, her concern evident. "Did they reject the violation of your contract?"

"No," Leonid said a bit confused, "They have accepted it and are questioning Imonesh as to her involvement with the misuse of energies in the sphere. They wish to speak to those of you who suspected her plot." The others looked relieved. "How long have we been in there?" Leonid asked, finding their reaction strange given the scant few minutes he had experienced with Imonesh.

"Hours, Leonid, we were beginning to worry," Ion spoke up.

Leonid frowned and turned to extend his hand towards the gate, "Well then let us not linger any longer." As the others moved past him, he reached out towards Anna, knowing she would not have remained idle after he left her. She was still deeply troubled. He tightened his jaw in frustration. He should be there, after all she had suffered, he should be there with her. He was painfully aware of the meager comfort he had offered her since that night she had trusted him, and all that had happened since only added to his failings towards her.

"What is it, brother?" Emera called out to him, pausing before she entered the gate.

"I'm not sure." Leonid did not move towards her, something still felt wrong. Anna felt fragile to him, the way she had when she was trapped in the tower, when her mind was edging ever closer towards collapse.

Emera held her hand out, "Let us go and finish this with Imonesh. With any luck she may never trouble us again."

Leonid's frown deepened but he moved towards the gate, the connection to Anna humming in his mind. He was about to take Emera's hand when he stopped, his eyes went wide as he finally understood what was wrong. "I must go," he said and turned away.

"Leonid, don't be a fool! She is fine. We have the king and Imonesh; no one else can do her harm."

"You're wrong." And he was gone.

***

How did I do? Did I answer all your questions? Did I only give you more? Are you still with me despite the lack of naughty bits? Let me know...