Chapter 17: A god? Of rats?

Chapter 17: A god? Of rats?

It was dark, and cramped. Dantes could feel earth pressing down on him from all sides, but he felt oddly calm. The dark, and confining space felt natural, and comforting. Dantes moved through it, wriggling through the dirt and rock as naturally as hed walk through a hallway, feeling pulled toward a destination.The tunnel he was in opened up into a larger chamber and he stood up, though doing so felt oddly unnatural. In front of him was a strange gray wheel spinning in mid air, at least thats what he thought it was until he looked closer. It was rats, a writhing mass of them all moving in circles over and over again, linked by long tails that were all knotted in the center in a tangle which he could not see the beginning or the end of. The mass turned its attention to him as he approached, feeling drawn to it.Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

Dantes. The voice was both one and many all talking at once and it struck him with a kind of force that made him stumble onto his back foot.

He squared his stance and forced himself to take another step forward. Who are you? Where am I?

The mass moved toward him expanding and contracting as the individual rats that made it up scampered and writhed across one another.

I am the god of Rats. This is my domain.

A god? Of rats? Hed never heard of such a thing. Hed offered prayers to the god of thieves, and avoided the god of greed. His mother had made the occasional offering to the goddess of hidden women, and one of her clients had been a priest to the god of temperance, though he only visited once a year. Hed heard of more than a hundred gods, and was certain there were thousands hed never heard of, but they were all gods of the races that could walk and speak, not of creatures that lived and died based on instinct. Still, he could feel the power radiating from the being in front of him. The primal force of it left him little reason to doubt the creatures claim.

What do you want of me?

The Gods body began moving more slowly, its individual rats seeming to be pensive, searching for something. It is not common for one of your kind to bind yourself to one of my children. They usually avoid us, think of us a part of their natural order, but without honoring us, or acknowledging our importance. They choose pacts with the bear, elk, shark, lion, or wolf. The god of wolves has been witness to more bindings than the god of roaches has children. The god's tone was spiteful as it spoke, some parts of its form actually hissing as it said the word wolf.

Mykind?

Druids.

Dantes frowned, hed never heard the word before, but was grateful to have some indication of what was happening to him. It would help him to figure out what was happening to him once he solved his more immediate life or death problems.

I have brought you here to give you my blessing, and to complete your binding to Jacopo. The god seemed to chew on the name a bit as he said it.

Finish the binding how did I start it?

The offering of your blood to save his life. That is the first step to the binding.

Does that mean Im bound to the plants I gave blood to as well?

Jacopo nodded, this time much more naturally, as if he was much more used to the gesture than he had been the last time Dantes had watched him attempt it. I am. Thanks to you.

Dantes shrugged. Needed your help, couldnt have you dying.

Jacopo shrugged. Either way, you saved my life and your goals are now mine.

So since our goals are aligned, do I still need to feed you to keep you from chewing on my feet while I sleep?

Yes.

Thought so.

Dantes looked at the tattoo marks on his arm again. Come with me.

Jacopo nodded, and leapt onto his leg, crawling up through his jacket and into an interior pocket. They moved out of the cave and through the tunnels into the budding garden. Each of the plants had grown nearly a foot, and a few of them were already starting to bear small amounts of fruit. Dantes went over to the peach tree, the one that hed planted after Jacopo had asked him to.

Jacopo, this tree and anything it produces its yours. Offer it to whoever you want, keep it to yourself, its up to you.

Jacopo crawled out of the jacket.

Dantes could feel it as Jacopos paws left the warmth of his jacket and landed on a piece of cold stone. He focused for just a moment and he could suddenly see through Jacopos eyes. Jacopos vision and his own existed simultaneously for a jarring moment, and he dismissed it. That would take some practice to do without his eyes closed.

Jacopo sniffed around the growing sappling, and took a moment to chew on one of its leaves. I will tell them.

I also need some of them to help me with a favor. Can you bringlets say twenty? Dantes thought for a moment. Actually, wait. He looked at the mark on his arm and reached out with that strange ability hed developed to sense life. The first thing he noticed was that the plants wanted more blood, but otherwise were strong and thriving. Next he felt the skittering of all the rats nearby.

Come

He gave the order wordlessly, and suddenly three dozen rats poured into the cavern from all around him and Jacopo. They all gathered, then sat there silently, some of their heads cocking curiously, and others looking at the unripe fruits that had begun to grow with undisguised hunger. He looked down at the rat mark and noticed a small sliver of black in the gold mark. This was something he could work with.