Brandon and Freya used their
powers to halt all the traffic in front of the hotel and freeze the people
already out there. Once that was done, Freya conjured a sleigh out of thin air
and gestured for Ev to get in back of it. He did so, though he felt silly. The
two gods got in front after attaching a harness to Freya’s tigers. They
evidently were meant to pull the thing.
“Ready,
Ev?” Brandon
asked.
“As
ready as I’m going to be, I guess.”
Freya
took the reins. “Let’s go!” The cats begin running, and the sleigh followed
suit. Down 6th Street
they went, and they must have been quite the sight—if anyone could see them.
After a minute the tigers took to the air. Ev felt a rush of excitement as the
sleigh rose off the ground. The Seraphim
City skyline spread out
before them, a glittering collection of lights and skyscrapers. Ev couldn’t
help but marvel as they got a grand view of the magnificent city.
Before
long they passed over Jaxon Harbor and the Treadwell Bridge
on their way out of the city. No one on the ground seemed to notice the sleigh
flying above their heads. That was probably due to the gods’ magic—or powers or
whatever.
Soon
they were over the Nibian
Sea, heading east. The
sleigh must have picked up speed, because before Ev knew it they passed over
the Murnau Islands.
Despite
the fact they were exposed to the elements, Ev didn’t feel cold, and the wind
wasn’t whipping loudly through the sleigh.
Brandon turned around to
face him. “You know anything about the Murnau Islands?”
Ev
shrugged. “They don’t think very highly of women, I hear.”
“That’s
an understatement,” Freya said, keeping her eyes ahead.
Ev
was curious about that statement. “What do you mean?”
“They
have absolutely no respect for women. They don’t even consider them to be
human,” Brandon
explained. “You’ll find out all the ugly details soon enough. For now, it’s
best not to think about it. Ignorance is bliss, in this case.”
“Uh…OK.”
Now he was really curious, in that “I
want to know, but I don’t want to
know” sort of way.
* * *
After flying for a while (Ev’s
cell phone said it had only been an hour, though it felt like longer), they
arrived at their destination: Mt.
Oleia. True to Brandon’s map, the mountain
rose out of the sea like an angry rock giant. It was mostly comprised of one
massive crag, with two smaller crags flanking it.
Freya
maneuvered the sleigh around to bring them closer to a tiny, almost
imperceptible opening on the main crag’s face. They flew into it and landed in
what appeared to be some sort of hanger. Inside were other sleighs of varying
sizes and colors. Some looked like they could hold at least twenty people.
They
got out of the sleigh, and a young man in a jumpsuit came over to them.
“Welcome back, Miss Freya, Mr. Strong. How did it go? The old girl didn’t give
you any trouble, did she?”
“None
at all, Josh,” Freya said. “She handles as good as she ever did. My kids really
have the hang of it by this point.” She indicated the tigers. She then
whistled, and they retreated back into her chest. Ev wondered whether they
were, in fact, her children or just her pets. He didn’t know anything about the
Old Gods, but then again, no one did.
Brandon said, “Come on;
the President is waiting for us.”
Ev
cocked an inquisitive eyebrow. “The President?”
Freya
explained, “The school’s president. He’s also the dean and overall mentor to
everyone. He’s the one who sent us to get you.”
“Oh.
That makes sense. So he’s like the head god or something?”
Brandon replied,
“Basically. Although he was actually born in the current, universe, he’s the
one who founded this school. He recognized the need to create more gods to
maintain order and keep Carnivál in check.”
They
began walking across the hanger. Freya said, “The President is actually fairly
young for a god, but he’s shown an amazing ability to grow as a deity.”
“He’s
a natural born leader. That’s why we Lost Gods follow him.”
They
reached the end of the hanger and got into an elevator. It took them down one
floor, where they emerged into a circular reception area. A middle-aged
brunette woman sat at a desk in the center of the room. Vending machines and a
coffee dispenser were located to her left. Behind her was another elevator. A
map of the school hung on the wall to her right.
“Welcome
back, you two,” the receptionist said to Brandon and Freya.
“Good
to see you again, Aphrodite,” Brandon
replied. “Tell the President we brought Ev Bannen. I’m sure he’ll want to see
him as soon as possible.”
Aphrodite
clicked her tongue. “Unfortunately, he’s in a meeting at the moment. I’ll let
him know you’ve returned. Nice to meet you, Ev.”
“Uh…thanks,”
Ev said, not really sure what to do here.
“We’ll
head on down now,” Freya said.
“I’ll
let you know when the President gets out of his meeting,” Aphrodite assured
them.
They
proceeded past the reception desk to the other elevator. This one had more
buttons than the other:
Level 2 – Offices
Level 3-4 – Classrooms
Level 5-6 – Dorms
Level 7 – Recreation
Level 8-9 – Training
They
got off at level five, which Brandon and Freya explained was the men’s
dormitory. The elevator was situated in the middle of a long corridor. The
hallway was brown with a white floor, and various flyers hung on bulletin
boards. It looked just like any other college dorm, except this one was inside
a mountain in the middle of the ocean.
They
sat him down at a chair in the hallway and told him to wait there until they
returned. Minutes passed.
Soon
the elevators began letting off students. They were dressed in seemingly every
fashion on the planet. It then occurred to Ev that the Kami Dios Academy probably recruited from all over
the world.
He
didn’t know any of these guys, so he decided to keep his head down. However,
one student, a bronzed-skin youth with short, spiked brown hair, approached
him. “G’day, mate. Don’t think I’ve seen you here before.” He offered Ev his
hand.
Ev
stood up and nervously shook hands with him. This guy had at least a foot on Ev
in height. He wore a brown vest and tie. “Uh…hi.”
“The
name’s Jaysin. Jaysin Marx. Niceta meet you.”
“Ev.
Ev Bannen.”
Jaysin
said, “You new here?”
Ev
nodded. “Yeah. Just got here literally five minutes ago. Had some trouble with
rofghosts.”
“You
mean refghasts?”
“Yeah.”
Ev felt embarrassed to have gotten wrong the name of the things that had almost
killed him.
“Ugly
little biters, aren’t they?”
“Well…they
didn’t actually bite me.”
Jaysin
laughed. “Just a figure of speech. They can’t
bite you. They’ve got no mouths for it.”
“I
noticed. So how do they talk?”
He
explained, “The hypnotic signals they use to lure you in also let them
communicate. Don’t really understand how it works, myself, but there you go.”
Ev
decided to change the subject. “So, where are you from, Jaysin?”
“Chrichton.”
“Chrichton?
I’ve never met anyone from there before.”
Jaysin
replied, “Not surprising. Most Chrichtons never leave the country. It’s too
much trouble getting over the mountain chains.
“Where
are you from?”
Ev
said, “Upton.
It’s a small town on Morovia, about a thousand miles south of Seraphim City.”
“Seraphim City! I’ve been there. Real twigging
parties they throw there.”
“‘Twigging’?”
“Another
bit of Chrichton slang. When you’re mostly cut off from the rest of the world,
you develop your own unique vocabulary.
“So
tell me: What kind of god are you going to become?”
Ev
was taken aback by the question. “What kind…?”
“Yeah.
Just like in religion and mythology, there’s different gods for different
things. For example, Miss Freya is the goddess of love. Another person might be
the god of thunder. Me, I’m gonna become the god of money.” To illustrate this
point, he pulled out a fat wad of bills from his pocket.
Ev
gaped at it. “Holy…!”
“Best
to mind that kind of language around here. Never know who you’ll parse off
talking like that.”
Ev
wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just said, “Thanks.”
“Don’t
mention it. But going back to what I was saying—sooner or later everyone here
has to figure out what kind of god they want to become. It’s your major, in
other words.”
“All
right, I’ll definitely be thinking about it.”
“Good.”
Jaysin checked his expensive-looking watch. “I gotta get going. Maybe I’ll see
you later.”
“Yeah,
maybe. Thanks for the advice.”
“Don’t
mention it.” And with that, he left. The hallway soon cleared, leaving Ev more
or less alone again.
Fortunately,
within a few minutes Brandon and Freya returned. “Sorry to keep you waiting.
Have you met any of the other students yet,” Brandon asked.
“Yeah,
I met one guy. Said he was going to become the god of money.”
“Must
be Jaysin Marx,” Freya said. “He might sound greedy, but he’s not. That’s
because…well, better to let him tell you.”
Ev
said, “Um…OK.”
“Come.
The President is waiting for you,” Brandon
said.
Chapter III: Getting Acquainted
They returned to Level 2. Brandon
and Freya led Ev past rows of offices to the one at the end of the hallway. The
name plate read “President Bethos”.
Ev
did a double-take. “Wait,” he said. “The
Bethos?”
Freya
nodded. “That’s right. The god of Morovia. And he can’t wait to meet you.”
The
level of anxiety Ev felt at that moment could safely be described as nearly
overwhelming. He was as nervous as he had ever been, and his feet felt like
lead.
Nevertheless,
he managed to get himself moving into the President’s office. Unfortunately,
his nervousness didn’t go away upon seeing Bethos. The President was certainly
not what Ev had been expecting.
“Hello,
Ev! Come in, sit down.”
Ev
nervously did so. “Uh…hi.”
Bethos
reclined back in his chair. “Not what you were expecting?”
He
had to admit, “Well…not really. All the pictures of you are…” He didn’t want to
finish that sentence, didn’t want to incur the President’s wrath.
Bethos
finished the sentence for him. “White? Tall? Long beard?”
Ev
nodded weakly, afraid that at any moment he would be struck by lightning.
In
fact, Bethos was not any of those things. He had skin black as midnight, he was
about three foot six inches tall, and clean-shaven. He wore a burgundy suit and
tie instead of a toga.
He
laughed at the massive historical discrepancy. “When I first became a god...”
He turned to the bald, tanned man standing next to his desk—who was wearing a toga—and said, “How many
years has it been, Ku?”
Ku? The famous prophet who came from an
unknown land and worked to spread the word of Bethos all those years ago?
The day got more exciting by the minute.
Ku
said matter-of-factly, “Three thousand, one hundred and fifteen days.”
Bethos
pointed to his servant with a thumb. “This guy keeps track of those things so I
don’t have to. Hell, I imparted a bit of my power to him so he could live
forever for that exact purpose.” He laughed again. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes.
When I first started, the world wasn’t ready for a diminutive black god. So they
made me a tall white guy.”
Ev
dared to speak up at that moment. “But…couldn’t you make yourself taller? You are a god.”
Bethos
shrugged. “What would be the point? To gain peoples’ respect? I’ve already got
it! Everyone here has chosen to follow me out of respect. I have no reason to
change my appearance now.”
That
made sense. Still… “But why don’t you appear to the world and show them the
real you?”
Bethos
explained, “Being a god isn’t about glory or vanity. We choose to remain in the
shadows and help mankind from behind the scenes.”
Ev
was becoming more and more at ease around the President. “But mankind has
fought countless wars because they don’t know what you’re all about.”
“And
whose fault is that?” Bethos said, maintaining his carefree attitude. “My man
Ku laid it out for them a long time ago. Some of them called him a liar and
claimed they alone knew my true nature.”
Ev
took the chance to ask the question he had always wondered about. “So where do
we go after we die?”
To
his surprise, Bethos shrugged. “Beats me. We gods live forever, so even we
don’t know. Some think there’s an ultimate god who resides over the afterlife.
If you become a god yourself, you will likely never find out.”
The
thought was both encouraging and depressing. Ironically, if Ev indeed became a
god, some answers could be forever denied him. Nevertheless, he thought it a
risk worth taking. “Do you really think I can become one?”
“Anyone
can—and will—become supremely
powerful if they stay here long enough. The built-up energies left over from
the Big Bang will see to that. You’re probably already experiencing increased
vitality just from being here a half hour.”
In
fact, he was. It wasn’t anything dramatic yet, but he did feel as though he had
more energy. “Kinda feels like I just had one of those energy drinks.”
Bethos
pointed at him and smiled. “Exactly. The longer you stay here, the stronger
you’ll become. However, it is our job to make sure you’re ready for godhood. As
you attend classes and take tests, we’ll evaluate your progress. If we don’t
feel you’re going to become a proper deity, you’ll be expelled. Sorry, but we
have to be honest with you going in.”
That
scared Ev. “What will happen to me if I’m expelled?”
“You’ll
have to leave the Academy. Mostly likely you’ll end up going home.”
Home?
That scared him even more. “Professor Strong said you guys have been watching
me. Does that mean you know what kind of home I come from?”
The
President nodded grimly. “That we do.”
“Then
you know home is the last place I want to go. My father used to beat me, and my
mom just didn’t care. That place can’t even be called a home. I’d rather take
my chances with those fallen gods than go back there.”
From
behind him, Brandon
replied, “All the more reason for you to succeed here.” Ev hadn’t realized he
and Freya were still in the room.
“But
do you really think I can?” he asked, to no one in particular.
“I
think you have the determination necessary. Your high school GPA was quite
good, so we know you can apply yourself.”
Yeah, but apply myself to becoming a god?
That’s something else entirely. Nevertheless, Ev said, “Well, I don’t want
to go home, and I don’t want to be killed by…uh…what’s that group’s name?”
“Carnivál,”
Freya replied.
“Yeah.
Them. I don’t want them sending any more of those refghasts after me until I
can defend myself like the rest of you. So…” He took a deep breath, in case he
found any arguments against what he was about to say. “I’ll do it. I’ll enroll
here.”
“Excellent!”
Bethos said. “We’ll give you the paperwork to fill out, and then you’ll be an
official student here. Now, other colleges have tuition—”
Without
thinking, Ev cut him off. “Oh, crap! I didn’t think about tuition. I have
hardly in money on me. I was hoping to get a scholarship to whatever university
I ended up attending.”
“You
didn’t let me finish,” Bethos said. “Other colleges have tuition, but not us.
You can’t put a price on godhood, after all. We use our powers to keep the
school running, not money, so you can rest easy.”
Ev
breathed the biggest sigh of relief of his life so far. “Oh, thank you, thank
you, thank you.”
Laughing
again, the President said, “Don’t mention it, kid.
“Now,
there is one last thing I want to mention. You must eventually decide what kind
of god you want to become.”
“Yeah,
this one guy said that to me. I really don’t know what I want to become god
of,” Ev said.
Freya
said, “You have to become a god that can help people. We don’t allow our
students to represent anything negative. With one exception, only Carnivál has
the gods of hatred, vengeance, death, etc. You must choose something positive
to represent.”
Ev
remembered, “That Jaysin guy said you’re the god of love.”
Smiling,
she said, “Exactly. There is nothing more positive in this world than love. I
answer the prayers of mortals that pertain to love. For instance, I generally
give them subconscious guidance. If I feel the mate you’re pursuing is right
for you, I’ll help you succeed. But if that person isn’t right for you, I’ll nudge you away from them. The receptionist,
Aphrodite, helps me out with that. Just because you’re a god doesn’t mean you
can answer every single prayer.”
“But
how do I answer prayers? Do I just put my head to the ground and listen or
something?”
They
all laughed. “We’ll teach you how to do it,” Brandon said.
Bethos
said, “Just be thinking about what kind of god you want to become. Now, then—I
think you should get settled in the dorm. I’ll leave that to you two.” He
indicated Brandon and Freya.
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