“Freeze,” Markus hissed.
The others immediately froze. This was why he was in charge, he had a sort of way of making you take notice. It worked well in the church context, but out here, in the open, it was altogether a different experience.
In the silence that accompanied their lack of movement through the bushes they could hear what Markus had heard: the soft swishing of something large in the undergrowth. They all exchanged a look and then, as a group, looked over to Markus who had taken a long, slow step towards the noise. It was a risk, but obviously Markus thought it was one worth taken. They each held their breaths as he used a large stick to part the leaves.
Markus looked back at the group he had gathered over the last few months. The girls, Ana and Bec, were paler than usual, almost to the point of colourlessness. They clung to each other, as they had this entire time, and waited to see what was to jump out at them.
The old man, Graf, the trader. Still an unknown quantity despite his actions back in Giar-a. He, like Markus was focused on the source of the noise. Whatever his ambition, it would do him no good if one of the Gods were to kill him here, in the jungles of the outside land. Also like Markus, he knew the risk was worth it.
The fifth member of the group was nowhere to be seen. It had run off into the wilds. Was its appearance here a trap as the girls had said? Had they all been lured into the most obvious cage without a second thought?
“Focus,” Markus thought as the stick opened the curtain of leaves in front of him. “One thing at a time.”
The leaves parted and he saw -
Humans, a voice said, coming from everywhere at the same time. You are not meant to be here. This is our territory.
Markus watched as something akin to a snake uncoiled itself from around the trunk of a thick tree. The noise they had heard was the end of its tail moving back and forth in the grass. The tail, as it uncoiled, rose into the canopy of the tree and disappeared. As they watched, silent and terrified, four long appendages appeared from the branches above and the head of the God appeared.
“Forgive our trespass,” Markus said slowly.
Why? The God asked. As I said already, this is our land, not yours. I would not gain any disrepute from my siblings if I cut you down where you stand.
As the God spoke, its full body slowly lowered down from the tree. You would be wrong if you said it was as if a human torso had been attached to a snake’s tail, but you would have the closest analogy possible if you did.
The humans, now gathered together in a group, watched in silent awe as the long tail coiled on the ground and the top half of the body balanced atop. The torso expanded out from where it stopped resembling a snake towards what would be the human-ish shoulders. A long triangle of grey flesh, embedded with several brightly coloured gems.
“Unia,” one of the girls, Markus was still trying to find a way to tell them apart, said.
“Unia?” Markus asked her.
“The jewellery,” the girl said, pointing at the gems. “Her artefact.”
You are more knowledgeable than other humans, Unia said.
Markus watched as the God focused on the girl, trying to locate where her voice was coming from. Both he and Graf had relaxed. Unia was not overly welcoming to humans, and certainly not friendly like the twins were, she wasnt overtly hostile like Erasil or Tunlai were.
“Markus,” Graf hissed. “We need to get away from here.”
Markus nodded his agreement. They couldnt let on they were searching for the artefacts. Especially not in the face of the one they had already agreed needed to be the last one they get. Markus swallowed and took a step back the way they had come.
Leaving already? Unia’s voice said and Markus knew that she was now focused on him. Hoping you can corral your little pet into helping you with me?
“Pet?” Markus said, hoping Graf could move while the God was focused on him.
The demi-god, Unia said, her voice full of venom. The tainted one that was with you until I showed myself.
“Showed yourself?” the girls asked each other.
Do you think that we just lay about and do nothing with our lives? That we take each day as it comes like you humans do? Of course we dont. My siblings and I, we plan. We have plans. Ever since we were born we have planned. I heard you all coming three days ago, followed you through the trees. Waited for you here for our chance to meet. But I had to wait for somewhere where that thing could run off and hide.
“Markus?” Graf asked.
“Its ok,” Markus replied, considering the creature before him. The top half of her body swayed on the lower almost hypnotically. He tried not to follow it and instead watched her limbs. Sprouting from four places along the front of the torso what could pass as arms thrust out. Two of them had been tucked along the side of her since she had taken her current stance before them. The other two were constantly moving about in front of her. Markus frowned. Another God with sensory limbs. He tried to follow the line of her body to where a head would be, but found himself drawn back to her swaying.
“Markus,” Graf snapped louder, drawing the younger man from his thoughts. “The gems.”
Oh, you like them do you? Unia said, almost too proudly. They were a gift from my father, if thats the right word. They were left after his cataclysm, but none of you would know anything about that. My brother embedded them in me so I always knew where they were.
“Theyre as big as our heads,” one of the girls said.
“Imagine how big the father was,” the other replied.
He was much bigger than my siblings and I. Youve met them, have you not?
“Just Ordaius,” the girls said in unison.
The scientist, Unia spat. Always looking at how things work instead of what they are.
“You arent curious about any of that?” Markus asked, taking his chance to distract her. The girls had walked closer to her body in the last few seconds and while they were all technically within striking distance of her upper body if she chose to whip it at them, he was more worried about getting within reach of her arms.
Unia spun her upper body towards Markus. She makes a mockery of everything we are. She doesnt believe, not really, that we own all of this. All of you. She wants to find out what happened to Tun.
“Tun,” Graf muttered. It wasnt the first time they had heard that word.
Her and Ubarus both. Which is why that thing exists. That little pet of yours.
“Pyona is here by their own will,” Markus said. “It isnt a pet. As you can tell by the fact that its run off somewhere.”
It is scared of me, as well it should be, Unia said. I would have destroyed it had it not run away, had I not given it the chance to.
“What do you mean?” Graf asked. “What choice?”
It is a brazen, unnatural creature. It is not one of us. But I cant deny that it is alive and I, along with a few of my siblings, revere life. So I let it run. Gave it a chance to escape our meeting. I dont want to kill, but if it stood between you all and I, I would be left with no choice. None of us can bear to be in the presence of something so foul and wrong.
“You wanted this meeting,” Markus said, catching onto a loose thread of a thought that had been swinging in his head since they had encountered Unia.
I do not like my siblings, she replied. They are brash and prone to emotional outbursts. They dont know how to react when a plan is waylaid or something that isnt planned happens. I prefer to think first, to let the unexpected happen. For example, she said, lowering her torso into the coil of her snake half, I like it when humans enter the world we have locked them out of. I dont like you, but encountering you where you arent meant to be gives me an idea as to what the humans are doing.
“There is a nation named for you,” Graf said slowly. “The people there would gladly keep you informed if you were to-”
The end of Unia’s tail uncurled from the coil, growing longer and thinner until it was like a whip and cracked the air next to Graf. I dont like you, she growled and for a moment, the idea that all of the Gods were openly hostile towards humans became very real again. I would never go out of my way to do anything for or with you. But if you were to come to me, thats a different story.
“Do you want anything?” Markus asked as her tail returned to its normal size and recoiled itself back under her.
What can you give me? She asked.
Markus knew what he wanted to say. What Unia and Ordaius and likely the other Gods wanted to hear. But without knowing exactly where the demi-god was, he couldnt risk saying it. The other demi-god they had encountered, the one who had attacked Ordaius allowing their escape, was still out there too. There really was only one thing they could do for the Gods.
“We can leave you alone,” Graf said. “If you leave us alone.”
No, Unia said slowly. I will think of something you can each do for me and in return, I will not mention a group of humans travelling with a pet demi-god outside of the human borders. I do believe that sounds more than fair.