My hands immediately went up in the air.
"Now, easy with that, Catherine," I whispered, my tone solicitous, while stealing a glance up into the canopy.
Where the hell was Joshua?
Catherine kept the gun leveled on my chest, her face calm as always. "Still have questions for me?" She asked mockingly.
"Drop the gun now Catherine."
"You're still trying to command me," she said, moving the barrel in a slow, taunting circle. "I'm the one in charge here. Right now? I am the god."
I glanced up again. My powers were still extremely drained, I couldn't even get a neural link with Joshua.
Curses. I was trapped by a mortal holding a gun.
"You wanted the truth ehh?" Catherine asked, "You wanted to know about Eda, about the countdown, about Layla."
"That's all I ask." I said, slowly making my way towards her. She knew things I needed, but I would not get anything if I had a bullet in me. I had to play it smart.
I turned my gaze to my surroundings, looking for something to my advantage. All I could find was my discarded stick and the body of the dead attendant. Not much help.
"You worry over Layla who's protected in a castle by fire deities, while you're out here, alone and vulnerable." She shook her head in mock disappointment. "No priorities."
"What should be my priorities then?" I asked, hoping my voice sounded confident enough. I stole another glimpse into the canopies. How long does it take to get a neural link with father?
"Well for starters. You're a walking beacon. Every god, every monster would hunt you." She smiled, "a girl should be the least of your problems."
I hardly understood what she meant by 'every god' but the monster part made sense. The destination of Dorjets that had attacked us, even with Joshua's power being evident, was not normal. Then I had the monster who was pointing a gun at me right now.
Embarrassing.
The shrubs behind Catherine began to rustle and my shoulders immediately sagged from relief.
Joshua had finally returned.
My hands came back down, and my smile returned. I took another step forward.
"What are you doing?" Catherine asked, "don't take another step."
""It's over, Catherine. We have you surrounded again." I said, still inching my way towards her.
What the hell was Joshua still doing in the bushes? Catherine turned towards the rustling shrubs,completely distracted for nano second.
A window of opportunity.
I immediately lunged at her, my hands diving for the rifle. Catherine turned and fired. The bullet wheezed passed, missing me by mere nano meters, my skin searing from its heat. She tried yanking the gun, ready to fire again,but I had my palm on it already. I pulled with all my force and yanked the gun out of her hands.
I turned it around and pointed, breathing heavily.
"I believe the tables have turned once more."
"Bloody cuc…" Catherine began, her eyes on what was formerly her weapon.
"AHH AHH. No need for bad words." I chidded arrogantly.
"Joshua, what the hell are you still doing in there?" I angrily yelled in the direction of the shrubs,my eyes never leaving my hostage.
A hand appeared out of the shrubs and I realised it was several inches too wide and several shades too dark to be my brother's . A bald headed behemoth of a man moved out of the shrubs, his skin a deep ivory colour and his body covered in war scars.
Catherine didn't even hesitate. She immediately retreated next to me.
"What the hell is that?" she whispered, her voice tight, stripped of its usual composure.
I wished I could answer, but all I could do was keep my gun pointed at him. The man was easily ten feet tall, how he had managed to hide behind a shrub was a complete mystery. His very red eyes studied us, his lips twitching angrily.
He took a massive step forward. Catherine and I immediately took three back.
"Shoot it." Catherine hissed. I kept the gun on the man still.
"Shoot him." She repeated, her voice even more urgent.
There was a problem with her request, one I did not know how to relay. In as much as I would love to watch Catherine die, this…man thing would probably do me in seconds later.
Without my powers the reasonable thing to do would be to use my new found weapon. And this was where our problem lay.
I did not know how to use a gun.
The giant continued to make his way towards us, bellowing in a language I could not understand, but the very volume making my blood vibrate in my veins.
"Shoot it!!" Catherine was basically screaming now. Then, she suddenly went quiet. She turned to me with a look of sudden, sharp clarity. Like she'd just had a brilliant idea.
She turned and fled.
The giant was upon me before I could even curse at her properly. I instinctively pulled the trigger. The explosion was deafening, the recoil nearly yanking my arm out of its socket. The gunshot forced birds out of their nests for the second time that day.
The bullet fell harmlessly to the ground, flattened at the tip. That was when his aura hit me. Something so strong and powerful I could only refer to it as…divine.
Another Marticc Altican?
The man grabbed my head, lifting me clean off the ground. His hand was a pressure clamp, slowly crushing my skull and brain.
"Maggatutooa!!!!" He roared, sending a fine spray of saliva into my hair. His hands covered my face completely and I could see nothing, but the pain…I had not felt pain like that for centuries.
He squeezed harder, and I was certain I heard the bone of my temple crack. Just as I had accepted my end,accepted that a Frost God was about to be popped like a grape,the temperature dropped to minus fifty.
The giant released me like a child throws away an unwanted toy when a new one arrives.
I landed heavily on the ground blood flowing freely out of my nose and ears, but all that was secondary.
The sounds of birds crying were gone, the entire forest seemed frozen in place, and the reason stood before us.
Ten feet away my brother stood, his eyes glowing a terrifying blue, his hands welding spherical storms of frost so cold, they'd freeze atoms in place.
"Did you just try to kill my brother?" He asked.