One (The Godslayer Cycle Book 1) (27 page)

He had once upon a time feared priests – now he saw them as the weak, impotents they truly were – impotents, though, with sparks of power which he now saw as means by which to increase his own strength exponentially.

Avery turned to look upon the people gathering around.  “I gave you the opportunity to judge men by mortal law, and this was my reward.  I see now that it was a mistake.”

Murmurs passed through the crowd and Avery paused to let the silence prevail again before continuing.  “From this day forward, this man is no longer a symbol of law or faith.  He is stripped of all authority, as are any who would answer to him.  None shall mind his words or follow his directions.

“Further, from this day forward, there is no longer mortal control over the law of this town.  I am the power here, and my word shall be law absolute.  Any that would challenge me shall share the fate of these men.  I have spoken and I shall be obeyed.  Do any question what I say?”

Avery looked upon the faces of the crowd.  None showed sign of raising objection. Several looked on with open adoration.

Avery smiled wickedly.  Oh, how good it felt to be a God!

The night, at least, had passed relatively peacefully.  Nathaniel opened his eyes to a bright dawn that held all the promise of a mild autumn day.  All at least seemed, from all outward appearances, to be right with the world.  It was easy to believe, in this moment of peaceful serenity, that he was not a pawn in some grand celestial game.  Yet he knew that moment of peace would not last.

Yesterday, he had followed Brea home to settle things with Mari.  His wife had been sleeping when he had first arrived, but the sound of his voice had roused her.  He and Brea had had only a few minutes to discuss with Duncan about what had transpired while they were away before Mari was upon him with a zealous fervor.  She had fallen all over herself thereafter trying to find ways to please him, from minor rubs and kisses to talk of grand gestures of preparing any one of a dozen different meals she knew Nathaniel liked.  It was everything he could do to calm her enough to greet Geoffrey, who was feeling the prolonged inattention of the morning and demanded some snuggling and comfort of his own.

After Mari had been convinced to avoid complicated meals for another time, they had all sat down to a simple meal of cold cuts and cheese on bread.   Duncan had set into the food with a casual zest, though Brea was less inclined to eat such simple fair.  However, she did manage to eat some, so as to not to offend Nathan.

The whole while, Mari fairly bristled with a fervent restlessness, hyper-sensitive to any need, real or imagined, Nathaniel might have, even to the point of neglecting herself.  Nathaniel found himself extremely self-conscious in front of their midday guests, but Mari seemed oblivious to anyone save him.

Something had fundamentally changed in Mari, and it made Nathaniel not only embarrassed, but anxious, as well.  Brea had told him a little of how she had perceived Mari's state of mind on their walk back to the cabin, and Duncan had had a few moments to fill him in further upon his arrival, but no amount of foreknowledge could have prepared him for the reality.  After the meal, Brea had suggested that time and rest would eventually set Mari to right, but it would take Nathaniel's love and devotion to ease her towards recovery.  If he chose to walk away out of resentment for the lies and deceit, the priestess was convinced that Mari would only fall further into madness.

Nathaniel, of course, had no idea how much it had cost Brea to encourage him to remain with his wife.

After speaking with Brea, Nathaniel decided that he needed time alone with Mari and that included time away from Geoffrey, who would only serve to distract them.  And besides, Nathaniel could not be certain how much Mari could be trusted to care for their son in her current state of mind.  He could not imagine his wife intentionally harming the child of her womb, but as willful and curious as their son was, simple neglect could lead to harm.  Besides, at the moment she seemed completely oblivious to Geoffrey, and Nate could not focus on Mari and his son at the same time.

Therefore, he had drafted a letter to Bracken and entrusted Geoffrey into Duncan's care to take him back to Oaken Wood for a few days.  He knew Bracken would not object.  He adored the lad and would spoil the boy terribly.  To little Geoffrey, Bracken was “Unca D'orf”, since he could not manage the dwarf's true name.  In spite of the potential slight, Bracken actually encouraged the nickname and was known to glare menacingly to anyone who would so much as smirk at the boy's pronunciation.  Bracken was as close to family as Nathaniel had left – not counting Mari's family, whom Nathaiel had no intention of entrusting his child with at present – and if anyone could understand his need for solitude, it would be him.

Nathaniel had done the best he could to explain what he had learned and how the revelation of her years of secrecy had affected Mari, yet intentionally withheld how he had come by the knowledge in the first place.  Though surely Bracken would have tried to believe anything Nathaniel told him, somehow committing the details to written word seemed wrong.  Whether he agreed with the Old Gods or no, it was still a secret that held dire implications if it were found out, especially where his own empowerment was concerned.  He convinced himself that it was in everyone's best interest to share the details with the dwarf another time, when they could discuss the matter at length face to face.

And besides, Duncan would be traveling back to town in company with the priestess, and he dreaded the potential complications if she somehow acquired the note to read herself.

Shortly thereafter, Brea, Duncan and Geoffrey had taken their leave, the boy calling his goodbyes long after he was out of sight through the trees.  Brea, for her own part, had given Nathaniel a strange, wistful look before leaving, then had turned and walked away without ever looking back.  Whatever she was about, Nathaniel felt sure that she was not done with him yet.

The rest of the day had consisted of Nathaniel doing his best to distract Mari from her endless designs to find ways to pleasure and comfort him, both physically and emotionally.  Alone, she became exceptionally amorous, needing to have her hands upon every part of him and wanting his hands upon her.  Nathaniel could not bring himself to succumb to her attentions, however, and spent a great deal of time letting her cuddle in his lap, talking endlessly of ways she intended to please him now that he had come home to her.

The one thing she had meticulously avoided talking about though was her deceptions.  Nathaniel had tried to steer the conversation there a couple of times, but she had avoided responding and would only launch into new efforts to seduce him.  He eventually decided to let the issue rest, at least for the day.

Toward dusk, she had fallen asleep in his arms, cradled up against his chest like a small child.  She had seemed so innocent and guileless as she had lain there, completely oblivious to the ills of the world, much less the consequences of her own actions.  She was beauty personified to Nathaniel, and his heart ached with love for her.  But it ached as well with her betrayal.

Tenderly, he had carried her to bed and settled in beside her.  Nathaniel had lightly brushed a chestnut curl from her forehead with his finger, to which she had smiled in her sleep.  He had lain there watching her breathe for hours before he himself fell asleep, never having undressed.

Sometime during the night, she had woken him with her needful petting and he finally succumbed to her needs.  Their lovemaking was tender yet passionate, having some feel of the desperation of the night before, though far more intimate and attentive.  It seemed Mari's carnal desires were without end and the two coupled for what seemed hours.  Yet despite the intensity of their mating, Mari remained silent.  It was a silence Nathaniel could not bring himself to break either, for he could not raise the subject that still remained at the forefront of his mind.  Finally, she collapsed atop him in exhaustion and soon soon fell asleep again, without uttering a word.

Twice more during the night she had woken Nathaniel for more lovemaking, but the latter times were much briefer.  However, the couplings were no less intense than their first bout.  There was a sense of desperation in Mari's actions by this point that had become achingly clear to her husband.  Without a doubt, Mari intended to live up to her promises of devotion.  Nathaniel had never known her to be so wild in bed, though, and could not help but wonder whether this boded well or ill for her mental well-being.

Waking in the morning, he had found her curled with her head upon his groin, her hand warmly wrapped around his manhood as though she had intended to initiate yet another round, yet had fallen asleep in the middle of the effort.  When he moved, her hand moved as well, causing his body to react.  His own body's reaction woke Mari in turn, who returned to wakefulness with a soft moan.

“
My man is so wonderful,” she purred, kissing what her hand did not cover.

Nathaniel allowed Mari to continue and the early morning was spent in yet another bout of romance.  By the time they had finished, Nathaniel was keenly aware of the over powering scent of rut in the room and upon the sheets.  It was definitely not a scent he was accustomed to, and yet Mari seemed oblivious of it altogether.

In spite of this, Mari was at least aware of the sweaty locks that cascaded over her face enough to push them back with her hand.  “I will draw us a bath to share, if you would care to continue this,” she suggested coyly.  There was no mistaking the lust behind her words.

“
Mari, we should talk,” Nathaniel replied, fighting down his own lustful thoughts at her proposition.  Images of his wife in the bath, her skin glistening, aroused him anew.  Mari truly was the most sensual woman he could imagine, and even now he could not escape how deeply he loved her.

Mari's response was to move her mouth over his, running her hands meaningfully around his groin.  “We don't need to talk to express our love, silly man,” she giggled when she finally came up for air.

“Mari,” Nathaniel tried to assert forcefully, though his own hands betrayed his intentions by running themselves over her naked form.  “We cannot avoid this forever.”

“
There is nothing to avoid, my love.”  She smiled as she rolled off of him and gently pulled at his arm.  “If the bath does not suit you, we can go outside and make love with the morning sun, if you like.”

“
Mari, you betrayed me!”  Nathaniel blurted out, immediately regretting the harshness of his words.  He had wanted to be more tactful.

Mari stopped tugging at his arm, her entire body gone rigid.  “No, Nate.  I would never hurt you.  I love you too much.”  Her eyes welted with tears as she spoke.  “Haven't I loved you enough?  Have I not pleased you?  Tell me what more I need do and I will, Nate...”

“Why did you not tell me you were one of the people who...” He swallowed.  “...who stoned my mother?”  Nathaniel knew he was being blunt, but he could not think of a more delicate way to phrase the question.

A look of terror crossed Mari's face and she dropped Nate's hand.  “Th-that was Papa,” she said in a little girl's voice.  “All I wanted was to make Papa happy, to get him to see me.  I didn't know I hurt the lady.  I swear, I didn't know.  I d-didn't know...”

“But you could have told me,” Nathaniel prodded.

“
Then you wouldn't love me, Nate.  You would know how bad I was.  How bad and evil I was, and you would know I didn't deserve to be loved...”  Mari knelt down upon the floor and clutched her knees to her chest.  “You can't love a bad little girl.  You're
Good
smith, Nate.  Your name is good, your body is
so
good, and your heart is so,
so
good.  You could never love a bad little girl like me, not when I took away your Mama...”

Nathaniel felt overwhelmed by the pure childish mentality that Mari had adopted.  A grown woman, he realized, that still lived with a childhood tragedy and the guilt she had attached to it.  That part of her had never grown past the age where she had committed her crime and it had burdened her soul ever since.

Now, as Nathaniel looked upon the helpless little girl in a woman's body, rocking back and forth silently on the floor, he at last understood what Karmel had been trying to say.  Mari had been an innocent, compelled to do evil by a man she had trusted implicitly: her own father.  The betrayal of that trust, coupled with the guilt of what she had done once the reality had sunk in, had traumatized her irrevocably.  It seemed that earning his love and trust had been a form of atonement, and it had gone a long way toward redemption in her mind.  But discovery of her sins had sent her spiraling into an unstable mental state, one that desperately craved his attentions for fear of forever losing herself to her own self-loathing.

And as he came to realize this, the other matter became easier to understand.  Being with Nathaniel, being his wife, being worthy of his love, meant more to her than anything else in the world.  She would have done anything, even making a pact with a demon, as surely her deal with her father had been akin to, in order to make that happen.  And she would have kept that deal under pain of death for fear of losing him and the redemption she had achieved.

In the final analysis, Mari was only guilty of loving him more than any other person should rightfully love another person, and being willing to make whatever sacrifices she felt she must to keep him.  Perhaps she had not made the right choices, but she was mortal.  And she was fallible.  That alone was not enough to make him stop loving her in return.  And with that understanding, his outrage vanished as he was overcome with an even deeper love and respect for his wife, a warmth that seemed to suffuse his being.

Nathaniel knew what needed to be done.  Standing away from the bed, he went over to kneel beside his lovely wife and dropped his arm snugly around her shoulder.  “It's alright, Mari,” he said.  “I forgive you.”

Mari's tearful eyes turned to regard her husband, whom she loved with every fiber of her being.  “Y-you...  What?”

“
I said I forgive you.  You were only a little girl.  It wasn't your fault.”

Mari stared at her man in disbelief for another moment before bursting forth with new tears.  These though were tears of release, and she threw herself bodily around Nathaniel, her naked body heaving against him in great sobs.  “I'm so sorry, Nate!  I'm so sorry!” she cried.  “I didn't mean to hurt you!  I'm so sorry!”

“Shhhh,” soothed Nathaniel.  “Everything's alright now.  Go ahead and cry.  I'll still be here when you're done.”