A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 85: Welcome Back...Oh Come On! Again?!

We got word that the war campaign Father had been in charge of had ended a while ago, and that the reason he hadn't answered any of our messages was because they were in the middle of traveling back home.

     We were all glad to have the family mediator back home, and learned he would be arriving in two days.

     But, Paivla was quite true to her promise. A day after the World Council and on the day before Father returned, she dragged me back to her painting.

     This time, there was no one around. Which meant, she dragged my whole soul this time instead of just my consciousness.

     "You really need to get that fixed," she told me when she saw that the wound Margaret gave me had grown even more than last time. It was up to my chin now, the crooks of my arms being the border. It was now encroaching on my back, looking like wings drawn upside down.

     "I would if I could," I shrugged. "Now, about the history of the world, as you promised before?"

     "Eh, I'm too bored to talk about something so depressing right now. Remind me to do it some other time," she flippantly waved her hand. "Right now, I'm about to give you something very important and do something that will make you hate me for life. And so you don't escape before I can do it..." Gold chains hopped up and wrapped around my neck, straightening so that I was on my tiptoes trying not to choke. My arms were similarly pulled to the sides, making me feel like I was pinned to a cross.

     "What're you doing?!" I choked out.

     "I'm going to be the first out of all the gods to claim my first task," she stood from her throne and walked towards me, my sleeves rolling up and showing the marks of the contract that all of a sudden reappeared after years of not seeing them.

     "What?!" The first? Wait, so there were more loopholes?

     The hundred tic marks on my arm stood for each god to claim a task? Are you kidding me?

     And since I had a contract with Arion and one with Zuelis, that meant I had two hundred tasks to fulfill...?

     I fainted on the spot at such a thought.

     "Oh, no you don't!" Paivla shocked me awake. "You need to be awake for this."

     Her dress shortened so she could walk towards me, her wings closing as she came forward.

     "Contractee of Arion, I stake the first claim of thine contract with Zuelis, the second god. Mine present name art Paivla, Goddess of Nature and Tasega. Mine given name art Clover Brook of Teryl village. My command is that you kill all the gods I tell you to by a given date, and you shall accept no task from any other god during this time. My words shield you from such a circumstance, so do not betray me. Your punishment, if you should fail in the killing of the assigned god, is to be decided upon the hour of failure."

     "You-stop! Why are you doing this?!"

     "Thine present name art Firea-Madeline de Libellule, thine given name art-" I coughed as she spoke, feeling the blood rushing to my head. What was all this? Why now? What's with the sudden betrayal? "You shall obey me unless the original contractor stakes the claim of their task."

     "Guh...!" I groaned when the tic mark opened up to become a deep wound on my arm and a thick drop of blood dripped down. Paivla caught it in her outstretched hand, then closed it in her fist. When she opened it again, that same gold chain had formed and connected to the insignia of Zuelis that was below Arion's on my chest.

     Paivla tugged on it strongly, making sure it was properly connected. Then the chains, all of them, faded away.

     I sunk to the floor, not happy at all.