Blooming Idolatry

Child's Play

As soon as I led my cult in the doors of the school, I remembered I did not have a plan. I walked my cultists through the double doors of the school gym, where rubber and sweat coated the air.

They all sat around my standing form, criss-cross applesauce. It seemed forever ago since I had done the same next to Enna in class. I lowered myself to the cold tiled floor. The coolness lended me a bit of calm.

"I don't have a plan."

Ella raised her half buttercup, half coneflower covered wrist in the air. A twinge reverberated across my heart strings.

"Yes?"

"I have a plan."

"And what's your plan?"

"We take a nap, and while we're sleeping the mean lady will come and try to take us." Ella was sweet in her naivety.

"That won't work I'm afraid." My thoughts went to a different kind of sleeping, one that would bind away my powers and render me undetectable.

It was not a feasible plan without the help of Kane. Who disappeared along with Enna. We were back to not having a plan.

I watched the wheels turn in the minds of my cult, and felt their hopes die out. We had no chance of luring Leta and Lucretius out of hiding.

Concluding their collaboration was the only logical thing to happen today. There were too many clues pointing to their teamwork.

Their flos divus coincided at the school where Leta attacked Enna and Ella. His scent was on a note with Leta's scrolling handwriting. It made the most sense.

"You guys get some rest while I think something up." I told my cult. They yawned and stretched while I thought of more ideas. In my clouded judgment, I managed to find foam mats for the children to sleep on. The gym floor was much too cold to get any rest worthwhile.

The cultists settled down on the foam mats, and sleep evaded them. I cut the lights in the gym off to offer a bit of a better sleeping environment. Stepping outside to catch a breath of fresh air, I caught sight of an orange tabby cat.

"Pspsps," I tried calling for it. The cat stopped a few feet away from me and was not coming any closer. I sat down against the warm bricks of the school.

I stretched my powers. They responded quickly to my command, and a group of flowers rose to my palm. Yellow eyes observed me. I supposed the cat found me trustworthy after my show of power, because it came to rub against my legs.

"I'm a mess." I vented to the cat. "My Enna is gone. The only god I've spoken to in thousands of years has left me to fend for myself, and there's no hope."

"Meow."

"I truly am the god of broken hopes aren't I?" The cat stared into my soul.

"You're right I'm just feeling sorry for myself." I toed the rocks at my feet. "I'm not sure how to confront the people who wronged me, or how to rescue Enna. Things are all blurry right now."

For a while I sat with the orange tabby. Their purring was a constant background to my racing thoughts.

"I know you're just a cat but you're my only friend at the moment. What do you think I should do?"

"Meow?" The meow was almost quizzical.

"I'm ridiculous. I'm asking a cat for advice. This is rock bottom isn't it?" My sighs were louder than the surrounding breeze. The breeze played in the coneflowers I grew, as I played with plans in my head.

Sleeping was not an option, because it left my children without a protector. I cared for Enna, but a god is no good without a constant supply of vis. To even consider overpowering Leta or gods forbid Lucretius, I would need to increase my intake.

My eyes darkened at the arrival of my next train of thought. I could drain a cult member. The entire vis content of a young soul would give me the strength to turn my enemies against each other. No matter how strong their minds were, I was the eldest god. The fact of my age and the vis of an entire soul would make me unbelievably powerful.

My revenge would be sour though. I ran my fingers over the rough surface of the concrete patio outside the gym door. My morals set boundaries I had to follow, if I did not then who would I be?

Sekane was and would never be a cruel god. It was the very reason my followers stayed by my side even when they felt the sting of failure.

Briefly I opened the door to the gym and stuck my head inside. Several of my children were still awake. I counted twelve in total. I hoped Enna would reappear when I was not paying attention.

My mind was decided. I would not harm a hair on the head of a single cultist. However, I did need more followers if I planned to force Leta and Lucretius into sleeping once I found them.

The orange cat rubbed against the back of my calves and looped between my legs. They continued to do so several times before I scoped them into my arms.

The cat fought my affection about as much as a predator's prey fights their capture. The purring was still going though, which told me the affection was not entirely hated.

"What's your name?" I decided to keep the creature, it reminded me of my early years when I created the furry beings.

"Merow."

"Alright, Buddy it is." I placed the ball of claws back on the cement pad.  My shoes grated against the concrete as I sat once more.

"I didn't miss being conscious." A pause. "I had a miserable existence before Enna. You probably don't know who Enna is, but once I rescue her I'll introduce you two. She will love you. You will probably hate her because she's never going to put you down. Enna is a stubborn little terror. Always telling the other children about me, and gaining a following for me." I sighed.

"Just a minute more and I'll go face my cult. I promise." I smiled at the cat, "but I need to vent before I murder someone. Really calms the nerves. Anyways, I never asked to be awakened. I wasn't even going to help Enna find her way back to her teacher. But that dang pout she has. I swear it's her favorite face to make, she knows it'll get her way. I think she's starting to grow on me. Sort of like how a tumor grows on a person."

I brushed my hands off on my pants as I stood. Inviting the cat inside was easy, it ran in before I could offer the open door. The lights turning on woke up my cultists.

"I have a plan."