For the Record

As the glass continues ringing, the entire crowd of gods and goddesses go silent.

At the garden’s central fountain stands a humanlike in what I can tell is immaculately tailored clothing, the kind that mortals wear for business stuff. They just stand there for a moment looking important before starting to talk.

“Ladies and gentlemen… gods, goddesses… I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to attend tonight. I know, it’s been some time since we graced each other’s presences, and blah blah blah, blah blah.”

Hmm, I see.

“Blah, blah blah blah. Blah blah, blah blah blather blah? Blah! Blah blah.”

Ahh, that makes sense.

Artemis nudges me with her elbow.

…And that’s when I notice that a lot of the others aren’t looking at whoever’s speaking.

They’re looking at us.

I wonder if any of them caught on to how glazed over my eyes were.

Also, that fancy-dressed person is still talking.

“-Mostly given up even on wagering whether she’d ever find a mate, or simply accepted solitude being her default state! And yet, here we are! The first order of business for tonight: Congratulations to our own Artemis for finally finding a mate! May you both have many happy years together!”

They clink their utensil repeatedly on the glass while the others applaud. I blink.

This thing was for us?

“While we all understand that you’ve been together for quite some time now, it has only recently come to our attention, and so now we are acknowledging it. Again, congratulations.

“Now, moving along.”

They straighten their coat and then turn to begin pacing in front of the fountain.

“I have no doubt that all of you have found excellent entertainment in the most recent round of games,” they say.

And the crowd politely applauds.

“In truth, we have no one to laud more for their efforts and sacrifices in the name of divine entertainment than one who stands before us today – and Artemis’ own wife herself!”

Gasps, oohs and ahs follow.

I sigh as they all turn toward me. I have a bad feeling about this.

“Many thanks and congratulations on a truly wonderful performance, Lady Nemesis! And not only skillful in theatrics, you even managed to eliminate a full third of the dark pantheon’s elites, their finest shock troops, in one fell swoop! So, in light of your efforts and many sacrifices, I have decided it only appropriate to indefinitely suspend our hostilities. I look forward to your contribution to our community to come!”

They deeply bow while the masses continue applaud.

“Go fuck yourself.”

…

Who said that?

(You did.)

What?

Surprise washes over the crowd, while my wife’s level of tension hits a high watermark I’m not sure I’ve ever felt from her.

But I’ve already started, apparently.

With a sigh, I continue. “I lost my home, my allies… so many useful humans, everything I’ve worked for. So you all could be entertained, at no cost to yourselves. Is this how you welcome new gods to the fold? Is this how you try to recruit potential allies? I would have been open to working with you people, if you viewed me and mine as anything more than sport.

“So take your ‘suspension of hostilities’ and shove it firmly up your ass, until you reach your gods-damned anima. You are my enemy, all of you – grandmother was right. I don’t even know who you are, and I still can tell that you deserve to have your children eaten.”

As I speak, I search my soul with my will until I find the source of the malevolence I know I’m radiating and then force as much of my will into is as I can. More gasps echo around us.

Ah, and now Artemis is panicking, and struggling to hide it.

The idiot, the absolute fool in the suit, flaps their mouth like a fish for a moment.

But I don’t give them time to respond.

“Dear, we don’t owe these disgraces our time. Let’s leave.”

She looks at me for a moment, eyes wide, before quietly muttering, “Barrier.”

I grit my teeth.

…And then I look around me, with the magic component of True Sense. Yep, there it is. A barrier.

But it’s not any more complicated than the one Aubrey used, although using divinity in place of mana and covering a much larger area.

I can still work with this, consequences be damned.

So I point at the sky and start speaking. It won’t take much.

“{shatter permanence}.”

The sky overhead warps momentarily, before cracks form across it, rapidly spreading as its entirety rumbles, and then crumbles.

Motes of light scatter like sparks, and suddenly the sky is just a bit clearer, showing the glimmering stars and the moon’s full glory.

And I sag. Artemis catches me by the shoulders, pressing me against her.

Shock and even fear registers on the faces of the gods around us.

And I don’t care. They made an enemy tonight.

They made an enemy of me.

“Let’s leave, please?” I weakly intone into my wife’s dress.

Not even a breath later, we’re back in her room, and I’m collapsing onto the furs that make up her sleeping space.

***

I’m slowly recovering again, because of course I am. Shattering a god’s barrier isn’t exactly a small thing.

Some part of me had actually hoped I’d be able to get along with my so-called peers.

So much for that.

I don’t even know who the hells that was.

…

Artemis, kneeling to my side, looks hesitant for a moment.

…

“What aren’t you telling me?”

…

…

And she glances away, her eyes flicking back to me periodically.

“Well, out with it. Come on.”

“Who,” she starts. “Themis.”

My eyes shoot wide. “That was goblin-fucking THEMIS!?”

She nods sheepishly.

…

“You knew. Didn’t you? You knew Themis was… gods. That was his gala, wasn’t it?”

Eyes tightly shut, she nods again.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

She was probably worried that I’d make a scene or start a fight. And she was probably right.

“At least I got to see grandmother again,” I mutter.

…

It occurs to me that my wife has been subtly watching me from the side for some time now.

“What?” I ask. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any hostility in my voice.

“Hurt,” she answers quietly.

“Yes, you hurt me. You should have told me what I was getting into, you led me directly into what could have been a trap, and I still have no idea why you did it. Did you think everything would just work out? Well, did it?”

She looks away again, and then quietly says, “No.”

“Then don’t do this again.”

And I roll the other way in the furs to face away from her.

…

As I hear her quietly get up and leave the room, I can’t help but wonder why the hells this even bothers me.

I never trusted humans before, let alone gods. I didn’t need to. I didn’t need them. All I needed was something to Consume.

That simplicity is so, so appealing right now.

Being betrayed is exhausting.

Emotions are exhausting.

Stupid fucking Astraea.

…

Stupid, stupid fucking me.

***

I’ve made up my mind.

This isn’t my home. I’m not staying here.

I’m going home.

But I don’t want to depend on Artemis. I just want to leave.

It’s taken some time, but I’m finally strong enough to move on my own again, and even to use Spellspeech again.

And I’ve already chosen an entry point in my castle, it’s one of the many unused closets in my quarters. It’s not like anyone other than Artemis should have access to it anyway.

I want to set up that planar link we talked about. Where should I tie it on this end?

Sighing, it occurs to me that I’ll at least need her to take me to my plane once…

Well, whatever.

And here she is, appearing in her usual blue fire.

From what I feel through our bonds, I can tell that if I hadn’t specifically asked her for something, she’d probably still be avoiding me. She doesn’t know how to talk to me now.

She’d never actually fought with Astraea, not even after hundreds of years.

Sometimes the gods all seem incredibly childish.

All I say is, “Where?”

Leading me to one of the subtle closets in the hallway, she points to it and says, “Here.”

A few words and the start of a headache later, I’ve got this side configured.

“Take me to my bedroom, please.”

No more words exchanged, I’m in my own room again and have finished the link. I collapse onto my own bed for the first time in at least a month.

…

She really doesn’t have any idea how to talk to me.

“Look. Yes, I’m still hurt. But I’m not mad at you, alright? It’s okay. Things get better. Probably. You can come visit me here anytime, just let me know you’re coming.”

Artemis tilts her head, and even now I can’t resist a small smile.

“I’m going to rest for a while.”

Saying nothing more, I close my eyes.

And then I feel the bed shift.

“Yeah, sure. You can join me if you want.”

I mercifully drift to sleep, while my fox spirit curls up against me.