How to Be a God [ManXMan]

Chapter Fourteen - The Amazing Maze

~Chapter Fourteen: The Amazing Maze~

By the time of Tuesday, I have made very little ground in my search of the mysterious witch-demon war. I did speak to Jasper about the explosions, but the information I found on the internet the next day gave me no indication that it could be connected to anything magical. Instead, I was left with unanswered questions and an insatiable curiosity.

There are plenty of beings I can ask that I see on a daily basis at the diner, or even just random strangers I encounter on the streets. However, it would be considered odd if I suddenly stopped a stranger to ask about a war they may or may not know about, and I am not willing to ask about it at work, as the people I ask, should they have already chosen a side, would know where to find me five days of the week. As far as I know, no one has thought me to be anything other than human, or at least anything worth noticing, but if I start asking around for information about a war a human would not know of, it will likely draw unwelcome attention.

Along with the burning curiosity came a new sense of caution. I no longer feel comfortable leaving the ward stones for too long, as there is a chance that someone could be narrowing in on my location every time I do. If not my uncle, it could be the Greeks. Though, honestly, I am more fearful of my uncle. The Greeks will likely just kill me, that is, if they are still angry over my releasing Atlas; my uncle, though, would never do that. He would just drag me back to Faerie, where I would be forced to stay until my mother picks me up.

There are things worse than death.

This is not the time to be thinking about all that, though. In less than a couple of minutes, I am supposed to be knocking on Jasper's door and then we will walk to the skating rink together. We came up with this plan on Sunday, in person rather than over text messages. Without Ullr around to translate, I was not taking the chance that I would not be able to understand what he was saying and thus mistake it for meaning something else.

Of course, I nearly had to cancel our plans when I woke up this morning with head pain. Light made me nauseous, moving caused dizziness; it was a rather unpleasant experience. After a rather long shower, though, I felt far better. By the time I arrived at the diner, everything was back to normal. I still have no idea what caused it, though.

Perhaps I hit my head while sleeping?

Checking my coat pockets for my wallet, phone, and apartment key, I put on a pair of black boots and exit my apartment. Under the coat, I chose to wear a simple blue shirt and dark brown pants, as it is not as though he will be seeing how formally dressed I am with this coat on. I am also not certain how to dress for our first date – internet advice was unable to help me when it comes to something as uncommon as a snow maze date – but I can hope it will not matter. I did think to buy gloves the last time I went shopping, though, and they match my grey trench coat almost perfectly.

I lock my door behind me before knocking on Jasper's. "It's open," he calls, and since the door is clearly not ajar, I suppose that is him inviting me in. Or, at least, I hope it is, as I enter nevertheless.

What I find waiting for me inside has me stifling a chuckle. Jasper is on the floor by his bed, struggling with his boots. I assume the reason for his struggles is that his socks are too thick to fit into his boots, as he cannot seem to get further than his heel. His sock choice reminds me greatly of the thick kind worn by the Greeks in my time, not the socks commonly sold in stores now. Why he has such thick socks, I do not know.

After a long moment of tugging on the boot, Jasper groans in frustration and collapses onto his back on the floor. "This might take a minute, sorry," he apologizes, glancing sheepishly at me before turning his attention back to the boot stuck halfway on his foot.