Phantom Queen Book one

Chapter Twenty-three

“Maybe I can convince them to give up their ways and join us.” I say with a smile.
“Do not get your hopes up.” Emnos says behind me.
“It still cannot hurt to try; can you take me to them?” I ask Satan, he smiles and offers his arm to me, I take it as I feel Emnos’ arms slide off me and we vanish. A large camp appears in front of us, I let go of Satan’s arm and walk into the camp, men pull weapons as I walk into the light of the fires.
“I did not think it would ever be this easy.” One of them says with a laugh.
“I am here to ask you to join my city and stop stealing from people.” I say with a frown as I cross my arms.
“Why should we?” One of them asks me with a grin as he walks closer to me.
“Because I would rather not kill you.” I say as I watch him, I see the sword in his hands move, I dodge his attack and grab the wrist holding the sword, pulling it around behind him against his back. “I do not like killing humans. Join me.” I say to him, he glares at me over his shoulder.
“We are out here doing this because we got tired of starving and dying.” He says angrily as he fights against me.
“In my city no one starves, and if I can help it everyone will die of old age.” I say with a laugh.
“What is your city called?” He asks me with a frown.
“Bydlin.” Satan says as he walks over to me.
“We raid Bydlin, you are lying.” He says angrily as he glares at us.
“We just recently took over. Make your choice, join us or die.” I say to him with a frown.
“That is a decision that would have to be made by everyone here.” He says as he clenches his jaw in pain as I put pressure on the arm.
“I am fine with that.” I say as I let go of him, he turns to glare at me.
“Who are you?” He asks me.
“Morrigan, Goddess of War.” I say to him, he laughs.
“If you are a Goddess prove it.” He says with a grin.
“Use your power to show him.” Satan says to me, I unleash my anger feeling my eyes glow as my wings appear, he looks at me with a mix of surprise and fear.
“If you want, I can make fireballs rain from the sky as well.” I say angrily.
“No, that is good enough.” He says quietly as he backs away from me.
“Calm yourself, Morrigan.” Satan whispers in my ear, I let the anger go as I frown at the man.
“Go talk to your people and make your choice.” I say to him, he nods and walks into the large tent, men walk out of the tent and look at me with a frown, once everyone is out the one I had been talking to tells them about me and my offer.
“What is your decision?” He asks them, they look at me with suspicion.
“How do you really know she is a Goddess?” One of them asks him angrily.
“She proved it to me.” He says quietly.
“We want to see this proof for ourselves, she could have been tricking you.” Another says angrily.
“I feel like an amusement at a circus.” I say quietly to Satan and he laughs.
“Just think if you succeed with all the camps the road will be safer and you will have more people.” He whispers in my ear, I let the anger go and watch the group of men step back as one as I look at them annoyed.
“Now are you going to make your choice?” I ask them angrily. “Either way I will be happy.” I say as I grin at them, they look at me with fear. I watch as they all agree to join, Satan laughs.
“I thought you were supposed to be the good one.” Satan says to me as he grins down at me.
“I hate bandits.” I say as I glare at the group.
“I had forgotten about that.” Satan says as he looks over at them, I let the anger go.
“Go to the city and find yourself somewhere to live in the abandoned houses, if I hear any of you harassing citizens, I will hunt you down.” I say I glare at them and they nod.
“Ready to see the next group?” Satan asks me as he offers his arm to me with a smile as I look up at him, I nod as I take his arm and we vanish. We spend the rest of the night going to each of the camps, by the time we make it back to the castle the sun is coming up and I feel exhausted from using my power so many times.
I see Emnos pacing in the throne room as we appear, he looks over at me with a smile then concern as I feel my legs give out from under me as I fall asleep.
I open my eyes as I roll over to see violet eyes watching me, memories of the battle with the Fomorians flood my mind and I frown at him. “That was not the reaction I was expecting.” Emnos says with a laugh.
“The war is over, right? I was not just dreaming it?” I ask him.
“Yes, it is over, Macha is not about to come in asking you to fight another wave.” He says with a smile, I smile at him and kiss him.
“Good, I was scared I had dreamed all that.” I say with a laugh as I slide closer to him. “We can spend the day in bed while the seneschal gets everything together.” I say with a smile.
“I wish we could, but he needs you.” Emnos says with a frown as he hugs me tigher to him. “He has already come in asking for you.” He says with a sigh.
“Wonder what he needs.” I say with a frown.
“I don’t know but he is in the throne room waiting, I told him to wait for you there.” Emnos says before kissing me.
“How long did I sleep?” I ask him.
“Two days, what made you so tired?” He asks me with a frown.
“Proving I am a Goddess to bandits.” I say annoyed.
“They have started coming into the city getting set up in some of the abandoned houses.” He says with a smile.
“Do you want to escort me to the throne room, sir?” I ask him with a grin, he laughs as he nods kissing me again before getting off the bed.
“I would like to know why I sleep if I am a Goddess.” I say angrily as I slide to the edge of the bed.
“It is your way of regaining power you use, kind of like my way. Which I am still waiting for.” Emnos says as he pulls me off the bed to him with a grin. “I asked Creation about that while you were gone.” He says as he looks down into my eyes.
“I prefer your way over sleeping.” I say with a laugh, he laughs as he kisses me again. He lets go of me and offers his arm to me with a smile, I take it as I smile up at him and we vanish, I look over as Victor walks to me with a frown on his face.
“Goddess Morrigan, good morning.” He says with a bow. “There have been reports of bandits coming into the city and taking over houses, and I need someone to send as an emissary to other kingdoms and cities to start trade.” He says as he stands back up to avoid my gaze.
“I gave the bandits a choice, join us or die. We now have more workers in the city so we can start producing things of our own for trade to create income, I want some of them set up as guards at the gates, and some of the more refined ones you can make into emissaries.” I say to him, he looks down into my eyes with a frown.
“You invited them?” He asks me, I see anger in his eyes.
“Would you rather I go on a killing spree?” I ask him with a frown as I cross my arms.
“No, Goddess Morrigan. It is just that they will most likely be a problem instead of a help.” He says as he looks down at the floor.
“I told them all when they agreed to join that if they caused any problems, I would hunt them down myself.” I say as I watch him, he looks back at me with a small smile.
“Yes, Goddess Morrigan. That would explain why most of them looked terrified as they walked into the city.” He says as he tries to hide the smirk on his face.
“If you cannot find any you would think are appropriate as an emissary, come to me and I will assign one of the Gods to do it until we can replace them with someone else.” I say with a smile.
“I do hope you choose God Dhuna for the job, out of all of them he seems the most level headed, Goddess Morrigan.” Victor says quietly as he avoids Emnos’ eyes.
“I will, if you cannot find a person suitable.” I say with a laugh.
“Thank you, Goddess Morrigan.” He says and bows before walking out of the throne room.
“How is Dhuna the most level headed? I am as well.” Emnos asks me angrily, and I laugh.
“Would you want to leave me to go talk to merchants and kings?” I ask him as I look up at him with a grin.
“No, I would not.” He says as he grins down at me.
“Then do not complain about his views of you, it just takes you out of the small lineup of choices to choose from.” I say with a laugh, I feel someone appear in the throne room and I look over to see a man with short black hair with his back to us appear, he turns and looks at me as a woman appears beside him her red eyes watch me under her long white hair. They walk to us with smiles on their faces.
“I am Elda, Goddess of War.” The woman says as she watches me as she crosses her arms.
“I am Livius, God of Envy.” The man says as his green eyes watch us.
“I am Morrigan, Goddess of War.” I say to them as I watch Elda closely.
“I am Emnos, God of Lust.” He says to them.
“Fascinating another War, I would love to see what you can do in a fight.” Elda says with a devious grin.
“I will gladly satisfy your curiosity.” I say with a small smile.
“Who was the God that revived this place?” Livius asks us.
“That would be me.” I say with a smile, Elda frowns at me.
“You put off that power?” She asks me as she examines me closely.
“Yes, I did. I thought the place would be bigger so I put more magic than was required out at first.” I say as I watch her, I see a small glint of unease on her face as she watches me.
“Clay told me there was a new War, he says you have the ability to change forms. Is this true?” Livius asks me with a smile.
“Yes, I can.” I say with a laugh.
“What is it?” Elda asks me with a frown.
“Crow.” I say to her.
“May we see?” Livius asks me, I change and land on Emnos’ shoulder, they watch me with fascination.
“How good are you at flying?” Elda asks with a grin.
“She is very good; it only took her a few seconds to learn it once she discovered it.” Emnos says as he looks over to smile at me on his shoulder.
“Are you with Lust?” Elda asks me with disgust on her face, I change and glare at her.
“Yes, I am. He is mine.” I say as I watch her.
“I do not know what you see in such a despicable God. Especially if he is anything like ours.” She says as she glares at Emnos.
“He is not like yours; I have met Tiras. Emnos is better than him I imagine in every way possible.” I say with a smile as she looks back at me.
“Thank you for the compliment, love.” Emnos says with a laugh.
“Seeing as he hasn’t tried to bed me yet, I think I will believe you.” Elda says with a small smile.
“I have no interest in you whatsoever. All I need or want is Morrigan.” Emnos says with a smile.
“He is different, I like him already.” Livius says with a laugh.
“Do you have a God of Obsession?” Emnos asks them.
“He is currently dead, him and Lust got into a fight and Lust killed him.” Elda says annoyed, as Dhuna appears in the throne room looking around with a frown until he sees us, he walks up beside Emnos to look at the two.
“I am Dhuna, God of Obsession. Nice to meet you.” Dhuna says with a small bow.
“They are twins just like ours.” Livius says with a frown.
“They get along better than your two.” I say to them and they nod.
“I have never killed Dhuna.” Emnos says angrily as his eyes glow. “The more I hear about him, the more I dislike him.” Emnos says as he looks over at Dhuna, Dhuna looks at him with a smile.
“Yeah, Tiras is a God you should try to avoid.” Livius says with a frown.
“Do you Gods remember your previous lives after ascending?” I ask them.
“We used to not remember, and then suddenly over a thousand years ago it started happening.” Elda says with a frown.
“Seems that sword you put in Arthur effects all the Gods no matter where they are.” Dhuna says with a laugh.
“You are the reason?” Elda asks me with a frown.
“Yes, I imbued a sword into another God at my Creation’s order. After everyone was able to remember after dying.” I say with a small smile. “Any other gods we should avoid?” I ask them.
“Almost all of them.” Livius says as he glances at Elda.
“Elda, I want to see what you can do in duel. First blood or sword on skin?” I ask her with a smile.
“I prefer first blood.” She says with a grin, we walk to each other and we vanish when she takes my hand. An arena appears around us, I look around at all the weapons decorating the walls.
“Should I use my power?” I ask her I feel the magic warn me and I lean over as a sword slashes where my head had just been, and she laughs.
“Power?” She asks me as I turn to look at her as she grins at me, I let my rage take control as my eyes glow and the wings appear sprouting from my back as white feathers fall around me, she takes a step back as she watches me. “You are much stronger than I realized.” She says quietly as she takes another step back.
“Power or no power?” My voice echoes around the arena.
“No power, if you don’t mind. I do not have anything like that. Now all the Gods will be appearing to see what you are.” She says with a laugh, I let the anger go as swords appear in my hands. I feel Gods appearing on the side of the arena as I run to her to attack, she grins as she watches me. I swing the right sword as I watch her bring up the sword to block, an axe flies off the wall behind her landing in her hand she swings it down at me and I step to the side as it swings down in front of me. “Your ability to dodge is amazing!” She yells as she laughs with a grin on her face. She attacks me repeatedly until I knock the weapon out of her hand to watch another fly from the walls to her hands, I ignore the openings I see in her attacks to see how she can handle every weapon in the room. I dodge the pole arm that flies off the wall behind me into her hands, she laughs as she lunges with it, I take the opening and I swipe her feet out from under her as I dodge the weapon and I quickly swipe with my blade drawing a drop of blood on her hand.
“Good fight, Elda.” I say to her with a smile as I let my swords vanish and hold a hand down to her to help her up, she takes it as she laughs.
“I have never had someone play with me like that in a fight. You prolonged it, I could tell.” She says with a grin at me.
“I wanted to see how you handled all the weapons.” I say with a laugh, as I feel someone appear next to us.
“Who are you?” An angry voice asks me, I look up at a man with long red hair and red eyes as he glares down at me.
“I am Morrigan, Goddess of War. May I ask who you are?” I ask him with a frown as I cross my arms, the other Gods who had appeared in the arena appear at his side and behind him.
“Alcmene, God of Wrath.” He says as he glares down at me. “Why did I feel a surge of power from here?” He asks as he looks at Elda, she points to me making him look down at me again. “Show me.” He says angrily.
“Say please and a little nicer and I will.” I say as I glare up at him, Elda giggles.
“I am the leader of these Gods; I will not say please.” He says angrily.
“Oh really? Show me yours and I will show you mine.” I say with a smile as I wink at him, I see out of the corner of my eyes that Elda moves away from us. His eyes glow as his hair turns to flames, the flames spread down his shoulders to his hands as his hands turn into metal fists.
“Now show me yours.” His voice echoes around the arena, I let the rage take control as I feed it with all of the anger I have. He steps back as he watches me with a grin, I feel Emnos appear behind the crowd.
“Duel?” I ask him with a grin, he laughs as I see Emnos run around them to me with concern on his face.
“Everything okay here?” Emnos asks me as he watches Alcmene.
“Yes, Emnos. No danger, love.” I say as I smile up at him he looks down at me in relief and smiles.
“Who is this one?” Alcmene asks me as he looks at Emnos.
“He is Emnos, God of Lust.” I say as I look back up at Alcmene, he glares at Emnos.
“Seems Tiras is spreading the good word about my type of God to everyone.” Emnos says with a frown as he looks at Alcmene.
“I will duel you, Morrigan.” Alcmene says angrily, I watch as all the Gods vanish behind him to the side of the arena.
“See you in a moment, Emnos.” I say as I smile at him, he looks down at me with a laugh and vanishes to the side with the Gods. I dodge as the magic warns me of the fist coming towards me, I jump away from him. “First blood then?” I ask him with a smile as my swords appear in my hands, he grins as he runs to me with his fist raised. I spin around him and dodge the fist as he turns to follow me, I back away as he raises a fist and punches the ground flames shoot out from him I change flying up into the air above him to change coming down on him with a sword raised, he jumps back with a laugh.
“You are more fun than I thought.” He says as he watches me, I watch as his hands melt and giant axes appear in his hands, they ignite on fire from the flames on him. I motion with my sword for him to come to me, he grins as he runs to me, I let him attack as I go on the defensive to see how he handles the weapons, I almost get caught in his axes several times. He is much faster than I thought he would be, his axes almost vanish as they swing through the air to hit me. I move to the side as an axe swings down and slice a small cut on his arm as I do, his power vanishes and I let the anger go, he turns to look down at me with a smile as he laughs.
“Good fight, Alcmene.” I say with a small bow.
“Great fight, I have never had that much fun in a duel before. Are you the strongest of your Gods?” He asks me.
“Yes, I am the leader of the Gods from my world.” I say with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Goddess Morrigan.” He says as he holds out a hand, I take it and he kisses the back of my hand, as Emnos appears beside me. “Is this one your lover?” He asks as he frowns at Emnos.
“Yes, he is not like Tiras.” I say with a smile.
“What is so bad about being like me?” Tiras asks with a grin as he appears beside Alcmene, his eyes glow as he watches me and the scent of roses and sandalwood surrounds me. I grab onto Emnos he looks down at me and the scent of jasmine and lavender takes over.
“Thank you, Emnos.” I say as I glare at Tiras.
“I would like to kill him.” Emnos says as he glares at Tiras.
“Tiras, I will not be able to save you if she decides to liberate your head from your shoulders. I suggest you desist.” Alcmene says as he glares over at him.
“All in good fun.” Tiras says as he winks at me and vanishes.
“I would be on your guard, he does not take no for an answer.” Alcmene says with a frown down at me.
“As long as Emnos is around he has no effect.” I say with a smile.
“Do you mind if I see the memories of your world?” Alcmene asks me with a frown.
“As long as I get to choose the memories, not all of them are that great.” I say with an uneasy smile, his frown deepens.
“I will accept that for now.” He says as he leans down and I touch a finger to his temple, I show him all the Gods we left behind and the kingdom I created along with Myrddin and then the Fomorian war, the pavilion where Emnos ascended me. The forest of the sleeping giants and the Gods graveyard, also the battle with all the creatures that flooded the forest. I drop my hand and he stands with a frown. “Seems you have been in plenty of battles, I also wanted to let you know we felt some more of your kind cross over.” He says as he watches me.
“Have you seen who it is?” I ask him with a frown.
“I have had some of the Gods searching for them, Clay let me know after he did what Creation wanted, about your group.” He says with a small smile.
“Do you have demigods here?” I ask him with a frown.
“No, our Creation is too weak to make them at the moment.” He says with a frown. “You have them in your world?” He asks me.
“Yes, we have quite a few. I had two of them but they did not want to follow to this world so I let them go before we left.” I say with a smile.
“Morrigan, the seneschal is looking for you again.” Emnos says quietly to me.
“I must go, I am currently reviving a kingdom here.” I say with a small bow as I smile at Alcmene.
“Very well, I may visit after it is better established.” Alcmene says with a smile as he bows to me, Emnos wraps an arm around me and we vanish. The throne room appears us, Victor walks over to me with anger in his eyes as he frowns at me.
“None of them to your liking?” I ask him, and he shakes his head as he tries to restrain his anger.
“No, Goddess Morrigan they are not. I was told more times than I care to count, why not just take the goods and run with it and keep the money.” He says as he glares at the wall, Emnos laughs.
“Then send Dhuna, he will be able to convince them to trade with us.” I say with a smile, he looks at me and nods as Dhuna appears beside him. “Dhuna, see if Clay will help you with going to the places you need to go.” I say to him with an uneasy smile.
“I will attempt it, but I have a feeling he does nothing for free.” Dhuna says with a frown, Victor glances at him and looks at the floor.
“Victor, how well do you know Clay?” I ask him as I watch him.
“I do not personally know him, Goddess Morrigan.” Victor says as he stares at the floor.
“Do you know anything about him?” I ask him.
“I prefer not to say, Goddess Morrigan. If I may be excused, I need to get the things God Dhuna needs.” Victor says as he stares at the floor.
“Go ahead, Victor.” I say quietly, he runs away from us.
“I see you feel the same way we do about Clay.” Dhuna says to me with a smile.
“I do not trust him at all, I have a feeling he is nothing like Vhaanth.” I say with a frown.
“Vhaanth was mostly humbled by the death of his wife, he used to be quite a force in his day.” Dhuna says with a laugh.
“How do you know that?” I ask him with a frown.
“Emnos distracted him while I snuck up behind him, I watched all his memories.” Dhuna says with a grin, Emnos laughs.
“I watched through Dhuna’s eyes as he went through the memories. Vhaanth got so mad at us.” Emnos says with a smile, I watch Victor come back into the room Dhuna looks back to see him and walks over to him.
“Victor do you need me for anything else?” I ask him and he shakes his head. I grab Emnos and we vanish, the room I woke up in appearing around us, he grins down at me as he picks me up, I wrap my arms and legs around him as I kiss him, I feel the bed under me as I feel my dress vanish, I feel him push into me as I kiss him. His kisses get more desperate at the sounds I make as he pushes further into me, pleasure shoots through me at the feel of him inside me as the scent of jasmine and lavender fills my lungs, suddenly I feel him stop I open my eyes to see him looking away from me with hatred in his eyes as I feel my dress appear on my body, I look over to see Tiras grinning at us.
“Get out.” Emnos growls at him.
“Not even going to let me watch, Emnos?” Tiras asks him with a laugh, my sword appears in my right hand on the side opposite him, I shove Emnos back with my legs and throw the sword at Tiras and he vanishes, Emnos laughs.
“Now you just need to start doing that to every visitor, everyone will learn to stay away.” Emnos says as he comes back to me in between my legs, I grin at him as I pull him down to kiss him again as I release magic locking the room down. I feel my dress vanish again as the smell of jasmine and lavender fills me again.
I lay on the bed feeling him laying on top of me tracing circles on my chest, I watch him with a smile as he watches his finger. “Why do you do that?” I ask him, he looks into my eyes as he grins.
“I love the way your skin feels.” He says with a laugh. “Why have you not brought back the scar on your face? I thought you liked it.” He asks me.
“I don’t know how.” I say with a laugh, he gets off the bed and pulls me up and leads me over to the large mirror in the room, he stands behind me watching me in the mirror as he leans down to my ear.
“Imagine what you looked like before, every detail, you can even add scars from wounds you have received if you want.” He whispers into my ear. “Close your eyes to visualize it if it helps.” He whispers as he kisses my neck, I close my eyes and think of what I looked like I think of the scar on my face, memories of the fight with Indech pop into my mind without me bringing them forward and I open my eyes to see a scar on my chest where the sword went in. I frown at it, I see Emnos frown. “Why did you bring that one up?” He asks me.
“I didn’t, it just came up on its own.” I say as my frown deepens as I look at the large across my chest where my heart is, I focus on it trying to remove it but it stays.
“Try to get rid of it?” He asks me, I nod. “Oh well, I still love the way you look. Scars and all.” He says with a grin as he looks at me in the mirror, I laugh as I turn to face him he lifts me up as I wrap my arms and legs around him and he takes me back to the bed as jasmine and lavender fill my lungs as he kisses me.
I lay on my back with him laying on me, watching him trace circles on my chest again as I smile at him, he notices me watching and grins at me. “I love you.” I say to him.
“I love you too.” He says to me.
“Can we just shut out the outside forever and just stay here?” I ask him with a grin.
“I wish.” He says with a laugh. “Though you do need to sleep, I can feel how tired you are.” He says as he lifts himself up over me and kisses me.
“Stay with me?” I ask him.
“Always, especially with Tiras showing interest in you. You will never be alone while you sleep.” Emnos says with a frown, I grab his face and pull him down to kiss him again as I feel the blanket sliding up to cover us. I roll onto my side as he lays down behind me wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close to him, I close my eyes and fall asleep.
I open my eyes; I feel my dress on me as I roll over to see blue eyes watching me. I throw the blanket off me and slide to the edge of the bed. “Out of the Gods here, he trusts you?” I ask Satan with a frown, and he laughs.
“A lot more than Lucifer, he almost killed Lucifer when he offered.” Satan says with a smile as he watches me.
“Well you have at least never tried what Lucifer has done, so I guess he does have that reason.” I say as I stand up.
“I prefer not to make the first move.” Satan says as he watches me walk over to the wardrobe. “Your hair is something special after waking up.” He says with a laugh as I grab the brush out of the wardrobe.
“Yes I know it is irritating.” I say as I walk over to the mirror and start brushing my hair.
“I do not know why you need protection though, you could kill the God with little effort.” Satan says as he watches my reflection in the mirror.
“His lure.” I say to Satan as I finish taming my hair.
“How strong is a Lust’s lure?” Satan asks me as he watches me walk back over to the wardrobe.
“You lose the ability to fight, if under the effects long enough you actually want what they are doing to you, you crave it.” I say as I close the wardrobe doors and turn to him. “Where is Emnos?” I ask him.
“He went out into the city to see if there are any needs that are not met, and to see what the city is capable of producing without outside help at the moment with the seneschal.” He says with a smile. “I heard you dueled the leader of the Gods of this world.” He says as an eyebrow raises over an eye.
“Yes, he is not that strong. He is quick though.” I say as I walk past him to the door, he appears in front of me and offers his arm with a smile, I take it and he leads me out of the room through the halls.
“Do you trust him?” Satan asks me as he leads me through the halls.
“Who?” I ask him as I look up at him with a frown.
“The leader.” He says as he glances at me.
“No, I do not trust any of them. They let this world get this far, without even making a move to help.” I say to him.
“I think it is best if you do not trust them.” He says to me.
“Trust is to be earned not given freely.” I say to him, and he laughs.
“I guess if anyone has learned that, it would be you.” He says as he smiles down at me.
“It is strange that we used to be enemies, in fact I killed you, and we are walking and talking like nothing happened.” I say with a laugh.
“You cannot hold a grudge forever, without Carnage to tell us what to do and punish us if we do not do it. There is no point in being your enemy anymore, I enjoy our conversations.” Satan says as he leads me through the halls.
“I enjoy them as well, Satan. I really did not want to kill you, between you and Lucifer you were the better leader.” I say as I give him a sad smile.
“I thought you were lying at that time, you were telling me the truth.” He says as he frowns at me.
“Yes, I was. If I could have done everything I did without killing you, I would have.” I say with a laugh. “I prefer you as a friend than an enemy.” I say as I smile up at him.
“I do too, you are interesting.” He says with a laugh, as he opens the throne room door, we walk in and I see Emnos and Victor talking, Emnos sees me and smiles as he continues talking to Victor. Satan leads me over to them and lowers his arm, I walk over to Emnos’ side to listen.
“I think we should offer them higher pay to increase the likelihood they will want to agree to working. I have been dealing with these men for days and they expect higher pay for work than normal citizens.” Victor says annoyed.
“That is all well and good, but they were given a choice and a warning. I do not think we should start off treating them special, if we do they will expect it every time.” Emnos says angrily.
“Anything I can do to alleviate the tensions between you two?” I ask with a smile, they both look down at me.
“He thinks we should treat the bandits you invited the same as the others, I think we should offer them a slightly higher pay to incite them to work with us.” Victor says annoyed. “Goddess Morrigan.” He says quickly as he bows.
“I have to agree with Emnos, if the citizens found out we were giving them special treatment they would be angry and want it too. If you want I can deal with the bandits personally.” I say with a grin.
“I would prefer it, I am tired of dealing with them.” Victor says angrily.
“From now on all matters regarding them, forward it to me and I will deal with it myself. I invited them so I will take responsibility for them.” I say with a smile, he nods as he looks like a weight has been lifted off him.
“Thank you, Goddess Morrigan. They are a pain.” He says with a sad smile.
“I have a special way with them.” I say as I wink at him, and he laughs.
“I will allow Emnos to fill you in on what we were trying to accomplish, I saw some emissaries come into the city on our way up here. Seems God Dhuna has been hard at work.” Victor says with a smile.
“Where is Aamon and Lucifer?” I ask Emnos and Satan.
“They went out to check to see if any threats have surfaced since your cleansing of the area.” Satan says with a smile.
“It was Satan’s idea, to get Lucifer away from me.” Emnos says angrily.
“It couldn’t have escalated that much.” I say with a frown, and Satan laughs.
“Lucifer would not take no for an answer, and tried to enter the room.” Emnos says angrily, Satan laughs harder.
“Those two were fighting like teen boys in the hallway punching each other and Emnos kept tackling him.” Satan says through fits of laughter.
“At one point he vanished into the room, and locked the door.” Emnos says angrily as he glares at Satan who is still laughing.
“Lucifer was taunting him through the door.” Satan says through fits of laughter as tears fall down his face, I laugh.
“In the end, Lucifer vanished with Aamon.” Emnos says to me as I can see trying to restrain his anger.
“Only after Lucifer ran over and kissed you on the cheek, Aamon tackled him and vanished.” Satan says as he laughs harder.
“I am surprised I slept through this.” I say with a laugh.
“Especially since Emnos blew the door open.” Satan says as he laughs.
“I repaired the door.” Emnos says to me.
“I did not notice that anything had happened, the room looked the way it did before I went to sleep.” I say with a smile up at Emnos.
“He fixed everything.” Satan says as he calms himself down. “Then told me to watch you.” He adds with a grin at me as I look over at him.
“Aamon would have been my first choice, but he took away my target.” Emnos says angrily, Satan giggles and calms himself down again.
“I am guessing during this entire thing Satan was laughing while watching?” I ask Emnos.
“He laughed so hard he was using the wall to hold himself up.” Emnos says annoyed.
“I rarely get to see displays of things like that, I have to enjoy it when it happens. I knew you could take him as long as he didn’t use his power, but that would have woke her up.” Satan says with a grin.
“Him using his power would have woke me up?” I ask Satan with a frown.
“Yes, it would automatically make you go into defensive mode activating your power. Which you move to attack immediately.” Satan says with a laugh.
“Well, that is good to know.” I say with a smile.
“We should get started with the men you invited.” Emnos says to me with a smile, I nod as he offers his arm and I take it. He leads me out of the palace into the city, I watch as people walk past us they seem happier, I look down at the docks at the bottom of the hill the castle to see it completely empty. He leads me down a side street to a small house and knocks on the door, the man from the first camp I talked to opens the door with an annoyed look on his face until he sees me.
“Goddess Morrigan, what brings you here?” He says as he gives me an uneasy smile.
“Have you done anything to bring me to your door?” I ask him with a grin, he shakes his head quickly. “Good, I am here to offer you a job along with the other men.” I say with a laugh, he laughs nervously as he steps back and motions for us to come inside, we walk into the small house and sit down on the wooden chairs sitting around the table.
“What is this job?” He asks me as he glances at Emnos who stands behind my chair.
“I will let Emnos tell you, since he is the one who has been working to make it an opportunity.” I say with a smile, he nods and looks up at Emnos, I look out the window at the birds perched on the window sill of the house opposite us as they talk. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up at Emnos, he looks at me with concern and I smile at him.
“Are we agreed then?” Emnos says as he watches me.
“Yes, I will spread the word around with the guys.” He says to Emnos, I look at him as he talks. “Is she okay?” He asks Emnos.