Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Just change? Can she really see it like that? I can’t. I’ve seen the devastation that “just change” can bring close up. But I’m not here to argue it. If me shutting my mouth and serving some strange god of disease gets David free of cancer, I’m grabbing that opportunity with both hands. “And you said it needs to be me? Is there something special about me?”
Lachesis gives me a gentle smile. “The most special thing about you is that you aren’t special. Every thread we pull from the weave of souls, we consider what outward ripples it has on others. All threads cross, some more than others. If we cut short the thread of a simple farmer, it might create a ripple effect that topples kingdoms that aren’t meant to be toppled yet. If we remove you, though, it doesn’t cause any massive ripples in the fabric of life. There are no world-ending situations. You’re just…gone. Poof.” She flicks her fingers.
Poof. My entire life is less than a poof. “What about David?”
She raises a finger in the air. “That’s the interesting part. If his thread continues, he develops revolutionary cancer treatments that help thousands of people. He marries the love of his life and has children, and all of their threads also successful and beneficial to the universe as a whole.”
“So… why not just do it?”
“Like I said, I owe someone a favor. And you’ve got the right personality to be the watchdog to the god we’re looking to have, well, watched. Once we move you over, I’ll tweak David’s fate thread. He’s going to risk an experimental cancer treatment and it’s going to work wonders on him.”
I twist my hands in my lap to hide their trembling. David is going to have everything. I’m going to lose everything, but David will get all that I ever wanted for him to have—happiness and a family of his own. Success in his career. A great life.
Never mind that I’m giving all of mine up. It’s easier to agree to as long as I don’t think about what it means for me, the poof. I focus on David instead. “Experimental treatments are costly. David needs to win the lottery, too.”
Lachesis chuckles. “A hard bargain. Okay, fine. He’ll get a scratch ticket on the way home one day and it’ll surprise him.”
I eye her. She’s conceding so easily to huge, world-changing decisions. “This job is going to be terrible, isn’t it?”
“You said it doesn’t matter, remember?”
“It doesn’t, but I’m just getting confirmation.”
“He’s no one’s favorite person. His name is Kalos, he’s the god of disease and decay in his realm, which I told you about. He’s also a total shitstain, but all of the gods are in their realm. That’s one reason why they’re being punished.”
“Punished…?”
“Oh, it’s a long story, but I suppose we have nothing but time, right?” She pulls out another cigarette. “Okay, so the other world is called Aos. It’s run by a pantheon of gods. I forget how many. Ten? Twelve? Whatever, not important. Anyhow, the High Father runs the show, and the others have their own petty squabbles. When they misbehave, he doesn’t clean house like the High Father does here. He basically sends them down to the mortal realm to learn a little humanity.”
Wait, clean house? High Father here?
Before I can ask, she continues. “The people in their world call it an ‘Anticipation.’ The gods are split into the four aspects that the High Father has deemed the worst for a god to have—Apathy, Lies, Hedonism, and Arrogance. Each Aspect is sent to live amongst the mortals, and they can only ascend back to the heavens by defeating the other three aspects of themselves.”
That seems…strange. “Why not eradicate all vices while you’re at it?”
“Why have sugar in your coffee? Why add salt to your food? A bit of spice adds a little flavor. It’s not about destroying someone’s personality as much as it is teaching them a little humility. Reminding them what their purpose is. They’re still his children, though. He doesn’t want to eradicate what makes them them. Just tweak it a little. Add a little zhuzh.”
It makes no sense to me, but I suppose it makes sense to the god in charge. “Where do I come into all of this?”
“During the Anticipation, each god’s Aspect remains divine. He cannot use his powers. The god remains immortal, however, and does not need to eat or drink or breathe to survive. Because of this, he or she must be anchored to a human. The tether to a mortal keeps the god aspect locked to the mortal plane. Also, it helps the god realize a little something about the people he’s supposed to be serving.”
I piece this together. “I’m going to serve as an Anchor? His mortal tie to the world?”