Part 22 (1/2)
George gave Athena a quick kiss and then made his way to the stones. He lowered himself into the large hole and then used his magic to chase away the darkness. Sure enough, Kepler was lying with his head resting on his paws.
”Kep, wake up. I'm home.”
As soon as the demon-jaguar heard George's voice, his spirit was lifted. Despite his excitement, Kepler down played his emotions. He stood, taking his own sweet moments to stretch his powerful body and then turned toward his friend. ”Please tell me we're going somewhere.”
George moved to the cat. He reached up and threw his arms around the demon's neck.
As always, Kepler squirmed while inside the mage's embrace. ”Why must you continue to do this? I've told you, it's not natural for a cat of my prowess to be touched by a human. We need to establish clearer boundaries.”
George took a step back. ”Not a chance, stud. You'll just have to get use to it. Besides, I love you, buddy.” He reached up, grabbed hold of Kepler's ma.s.sive cheeks and then shook them.
Kepler cringed. ”Love is a strong word, don't you think?”
George smiled and changed the subject. ”I bet you're dying to know what I've been up to.”
”Unless you threw the freak off a cliff, not really.”
”You just have to be coy, don't you? Anyway, I'm not sure what's going on, but Brayson said there was a G.o.d looking for me. You know what that means. Something is about to happen. I bet Lasidious has a task for us, though I don't know why he would bother approaching Brayson about it instead of talking directly to me.”
”Then perhaps it wasn't Lasidious.”
”Oh garesh, you're right. Mary said something about a G.o.ddess. I suppose we'll find out what's up soon enough. Anyway, Mary is making breakfast, and Brayson is here. He said he wants to speak with me while we eat. I'll come back and get you once I know more. It's good to see you, pal.”
Kepler growled. ”Hold on, human. You're not leaving me here. If someone's making breakfast, I better be invited.”
George shrugged. ”You better slaughter something and bring it with you. I don't think Mary is making enough to feed you.”
The jaguar winked. ”I'll bring breakfast. Where's the freak at?”
George chuckled. ”Not funny, dude.”
After breakfast, George took the crystal shard that Mieonus left behind and met Brayson inside his floating office. Payne and Kepler tagged along.
Brayson was the first to speak. ”George, use the shard to summon the G.o.ddess.”
The mage did as instructed. He rubbed his hand across its smooth, polished surface. It was not long before Mieonus appeared.
George recognized the G.o.ddess as soon as he saw her face. ”I know you.”
Mieonus presented a pleasant smile. ”Yes, we've met, George. I see that you're adjusting to life here on Luvelles. I trust the bonding process with your goswig wasn't too difficult.”
”Ha! I wish that was the case. We were almost eaten by a bunch of p.i.s.sed-off plants. Then-”
The fairy-demon piped in. ”Payne save Master!”
The G.o.ddess looked down to acknowledge Payne. She had no idea the fairy-demon existed. ”And who are you?”
Payne was about to answer, but George placed his hand over his mouth. ”Don't get him started. Once he gets on a roll, you'll regret it.” The mage lifted Payne up, set him on the edge of Brayson's desk and then turned back to the G.o.ddess. ”What do you want?”
Brayson could not believe how direct George was with his G.o.d, but he stayed quiet as Mieonus moved behind his desk, adjusted her gown and then took a seat.
With the G.o.ddess taking her fair share of moments to respond, George became impatient. ”I asked, what do you want? I don't have all Peak.”
Brayson was shocked at how his Mystic Learner acted as if the G.o.ddess was his equal-as if a friends.h.i.+p existed, or worse, as if George did not care that she was a deity. Never would he have spoken to Mieonus with such a casual candor. Nevertheless, Mieonus' demeanor remained pleasant.
The G.o.ddess lowered the Book of Bonding onto her lap and flipped through the pages as she spoke. ”Brayson ... please ... I wish to speak with George alone.” She looked up from the book and found the Head Master's eyes. ”May we use your office? This conversation needs to be between the two of us.”
The Head Master wanted to object, but he could not fathom going against the wishes of the one he served. ”By all means. I'll leave immediately.” He vanished.
Mieonus waved her hands. Kepler and Payne also vanished. They reappeared on the ground outside the school of magic.
Kepler let out an angry roar. ”Gares.h.!.+ That is no way to treat the Master of the Hunt. How can I help George dominate the territories of this world if I'm left out of critical exchanges? This is starting to p.i.s.s me off.”
”Kitty sound like Master. It okay, Kitty.” Payne hovered in front of Kepler. ”Payne talk to Kitty if Kitty need to talk.”
The jaguar just rolled his eyes. ”Great! That's all I need. Just teleport us home, Freak.”
Back inside Brayson's office, Mieonus continued. ”A piece of the Crystal Moon has been placed on Luvelles. I'd like you to go after it since you have the first two pieces. If you capture this piece, Lasidious will return the rest of the Crystal Moon to the Temple of the G.o.ds and everything will go back to normal.”
George laughed. ”You can't be serious! What makes you think that I care? Perhaps you should talk to Lasidious. After all, he was the one who took the Crystal Moon from the temple in the first place. This isn't my problem ... it's yours. I'm just a guy trying to learn the ways of magic.”
Mieonus did not like the mage's response. She decided to take another approach. ”George, my dear, dear friend.”
”Friend? Who in the h.e.l.l are you calling a friend? Try using a different word. Perhaps: my dear, dear p.a.w.n, tool, ignoramus, moron, or even dumba.s.s would be what you really meant.”
Mieonus refused to let the mage entice her to anger. She removed the Book of Bonding from her lap and teleported to the opposite side of the desk. After leaning against it, she responded. ”George, my little mortal acquaintance. I think we both know you're the best man for the task. I only ask you consider my request. After all ... there's no one else on Luvelles who knows Shalee the way you do.”
”Shalee?” George queried, totally caught off guard. ”Is Shalee seeking the crystal, too? What about Sam? Are they both on Luvelles?”
Mieonus flipped her hand through the air to wave off part of the question. ”Don't worry yourself about the king. Sam is still on Grayham.”
”Really? This changes things a bit,” George declared. ”I have a debt to settle with that biaatch. She tried to off me inside the scorpion's nest. If I hadn't been so drained of magic, I would've tagged her a.s.s right then and there. I haven't forgotten about how she sent her needles flying at my face. I could've been two paces under right now.”
The mage started to nod. ”I'll think about your request alright. You can count on that. This just may be something I want to do, but like I'm sure you already know, I don't work for free.”
Mieonus' brows tightened. She wanted to strike George down in the worst way. Her tone was firm when she responded. ”Since when did you become so bold? How dare you presume anything of a G.o.ddess, mortal!”
George allowed a smug grin to cross his face. ”Please! I know there's nothing you can do about it, so shut the h.e.l.l up. You may have your wors.h.i.+ppers fooled, and that idiot, Master Brayson ... but as for me ... I couldn't care less about your status on Ancients Sovereign. I know you're bound by laws that are written inside your stupid book. You'll pay me, or I won't do c.r.a.p for you. You can take your crystal and shove it up your a.s.s.”
Mieonus stepped toward the mage and put her nose almost against George's. Her voice was a hiss. ”We shall see how confident you are when someone who serves me is breathing down your neck for the way you've spoken. Perhaps then, you'll learn humility and beg for forgiveness once you've suffered blood loss.” The G.o.ddess stepped back and tossed George another one of her shards. ”If you decide to perform this task, summon me. Think about it. Accepting my proposal is the only way to spare the lives of you and your family.”
George tossed the shard back to the G.o.ddess. ”You threaten me, and you actually believe that I'll go after your missing piece of the Crystal Moon. Are you dense? Get the h.e.l.l out of my face!”
Mieonus maintained her composure as she reached out and gently took hold of George's hand. She placed the shard into his palm and then softly closed his fingers around it. With her free hand pressed against George's chest, she backed the mage against one of the windows in Brayson's office. Her eyes were cold as she responded. ”There was no threat implied, George. There was only a promise. If you don't rethink your choice, destruction will rain down on you and your family, and it will be delivered by those who command far greater magic than you.”
A seductive smile appeared on Mieonus' face as she could feel George tremble. ”I don't need to touch you to abide by the laws written on the Book of Immortality's pages. I have many, many others who would end you for me. All it would take is a simple suggestion and a precious promise of wealth. Your soul will find its place inside the Book.”
The G.o.ddess pulled her hand off the mage's chest. ”You're not a stupid being. You know I have the high ground. Don't allow your faith in Lasidious to give you an unjustified confidence. I'd hate for you to lose your heart the way Amar lost his.” The G.o.ddess winked. ”Summon me when you've made your decision.”
Mieonus leaned in and tasted George's lips. ”The choice is simple. Go or not. Either way, I win. I always win. Make no mistake about that.” Mieonus vanished.