Tales of a Dead God

Chapter Thirteen: My Special Little Gift

It was a bit of a race to the next civilization before sunset. No one wanted to be out in the open for fear that they would be found by the wrong people. So they pushed on. The sun slowly climbed overhead and with it so did the heat. Sweat beaded down their foreheads and soaked through their shirts. Each breath felt like swallowing fire. Noah and Theo were beyond miserable, but Gabriel was even more so.

Ciro glanced back at the slowing line of travelers. He chuckled at their red faces and soaked shirts. "You all are acting as if we're walking through fire," he called back.

"We are." Noah panted out. With each word, he could feel the energy leaving him. The heat absorbed it as if it was water from a pond.

"Dramatic much?"

Noah waved a hand at him as he lay on the neck of his horse. Even sitting was getting to be too much. No one else felt the need to argue with Ciro. They all kept quiet and suffered silently.

~~~*~~~

The sun had said its goodnight long before they finally arrived in a small village. This place was pretty much deserted except for two or three houses.

Exhausted and drained, the four secured the horses and piled into the first empty house they came upon. Theo and Noah instantly passed out once they found some pitiful-looking pillows. Gabriel however found his way out under the night sky. A place that gave him comfort.

"Care if I join?"

Gabriel saw Ciro standing in the doorway from the corner of his eyes. He nodded and felt the slabs of wood slightly bend as Ciro walked over. He sat beside Gabriel quietly watching his brother.

"Is there something you want to say?" Gabriel finally acknowledged Ciro's gaze. "Or are you just being weird?"

"It's still shocking to me," Ciro said quietly.

Gabriel furrowed his brows. "What is?"

"That you survived. That you really are sitting in front of me." He smiled brightly. "I have my brother back." Gabriel wished he could remember if this was true, but those memories had slipped away like ocean waves sweeping across the sand. Ciro could see the internal battle going on in Gabriel's mind. The battle of finding what was true and what wasn't. "It's alright if you don't believe me. I wouldn't either if a stranger did what I did." They both chuckled.

The sounds of the night swept over the two again. It was a comfortable silence that settled between them. The chill of the night welcomed Gabriel into its embrace and he smiled. Ciro may enjoy the heat of the day but the atmosphere that was brought by the night, in the mind of Gabriel, was better.

"So, your friend in Ifera..." Gabriel spoke up. "How will he exactly help?"

"Lorcán is the God of knowledge. He has libraries of information all the way from the beginning." Ciro nudged Gabriel and winked. "He knows it all but I figured we could put it to use."

Gabriel chuckled and shook his head lightly. He looked up seeing a comet sore across the sky. "It would be nice to remember anything from the past."

"So you do believe me." Ciro sat a bit straighter and his eyes brightened with hope.

"I don't think Gods exist." He turned his attention to Ciro. "If what you said was true, then why didn't they fight?"

Ciro sighed, "They refused. Short answer."

"And the long answer?"

"They didn't care." He shook his head in shame. "And they still don't. I didn't want Theo to hear any of this, but Noah was right. These Gods don't care about the mortals or what happens to them as long as they can use this world for their own pleasure. Erebus isn't a threat to them so they see no reason to fight."