God's Gaze

Part Two Chapter Three: Holding My Breath

       Jeremiah woke up the next morning with the blazing sun blinding his eyes. Annoyed, he rolled over in the bed to a vacant spot. He sighed deeply before he rotated off the sweaty mattress and onto his feet. He had a restless night with the humidity making an unbearable haze in the room where it left him tossing and turning all night.

       Also, what Florian told him kept him up.

       "Nobody can go against the Gods," that much was true; it was a motto Jeremiah himself had lived by, but... His mind trailed off as he put on a clean white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and the slacks he wore yesterday. It was simply too hot for him to bother with his usual attire. He glanced over his shoulder at the bed where the Heart of The Crystal lay unattended.

       He scooped it up in his hand and pocketed it. He got what he came here for, but the thought of leaving Florian here after learning that he was still alive burned on Jeremiah's conscience. An idea crossed his mind; however, it was a very stupid one.

       He frowned. However, this might be the only way of convincing Citadel to part with her Vessel.

       He left his room and ordered a maid to ship his remaining belongings back to his office in Baesary. If his plan were to work, then he wouldn't need to stay another night. He followed the maze of corridors with his chin held high as he made his way to the court room. He'd be playing right into Citadel's hands, but if it's a show she wanted, then he'll give her one.

       "I hope our accommodations were satisfactory," the Fire God said with a giggle when Jeremiah entered the court room. He glanced up to the banister to his left to see Florian obediently perched upon it.

       "It was alright, I suppose," he said, working out a crick in his neck, "you could invest in some curtains though."

       Citadel laughed at that as she slowly fanned herself with one of her four arms.

       He kept his expression taut during her laughing fit. Better rip the band-aid off. "I have come with a request, Your Benevolence," he said. The title he placed upon her garnered the deer-shifter's attention. "I request to test your entertainment. If I win, then both your Vessel and I get to walk out of here free."

       "Both of you?" she asked with a shit-eating grin spread across her lips, "you're suggesting that I am keeping you hostage here?"

       "Apologies, but one doesn't make demands of someone without offering something in return," Jeremiah replied, his eyes ingrained on the God's face.

       "Hmmm... And what makes you believe that my entertainment was a test?" she asked again, her second arm tapped her chin.

       The corners of his mouth quirked. She truly enjoyed wasting his time with worthless questions. "Surely, it doesn't take someone with a PhD to understand what truly goes on in here. Speaking of someone whose mother is just as conniving as yourself."

       Citadel cackled once more at that. "Nothing gets by you, does it?" she said, wiping a tear from her eye, "then I agree to your request, Mister Belsara! Beat my "entertainment" then both you and my Vessel can leave this temple Scott-free." She used her third and fourth arms to hug herself. "Oooooh, I'll have the Ice God's descendant a part of my court! I wonder what her reaction would be to that!"

       Jeremiah could feel the hesitation come off Florian at the proposition that just transpired, but now was not the time to think about that. He was doing this for them. If he couldn't beat a God then he could beat their games.

       A glass enclosure dropped from the ceiling that trapped Jeremiah within its domed cage. Multiple tiny holes littered the walls of it with fire and water elementals sending their powers through the holes to create hot vapor in the already suffocating space of the enclosure. With the heat rising, Jeremiah's skin felt like it was burning, and his lungs set aflame. The floor beneath him slid apart and he nearly fell over, but more fire elementals leapt from under the floor. The hole concealed itself before the elementals' feet landed on the concrete. His opponents materialized their weapons of identical swords and knives, which showed their undying loyalty for their God.