The Realms of the Gods Read Online Free Page B

getting up. “Easy. Master Numair is here, and safe. The badger took care of those skinning monsters. He turned them to ice, and they melted. They won’t trouble anyone now.”
    â€œSo I didn’t dream that.” Daine sank back against her pillows gratefully, fingering the heavy silver badger’s claw that hung on a chain around her neck. “Where did they come from, do you suppose?”
    â€œYou know as much as me,” was the reply. “I’ve never seen the like of them.”
    â€œSarra?” The voice coming from the next room was deep, male, and unfamiliar.
    The woman’s face lit up. “In here, my love. She’s awake.”
    The door opened, and a man dressed in a loincloth entered. Although the doorway was unusually large, the crown of antlers firmly rooted in his brown, curly hair forced him to duck to pass through. He was tan and heavily muscled, with emerald eyes. Daine was unsettled to notice that there also were olive streaks in his reddish brown skin.
    â€œSo.” He touched his antlers uneasily as she stared at them. “We meet at last.”
    â€œThis is your father,” Sarra told Daine. “This is the god Weiryn.”

TWO
    MEETINGS WITH GODS
    He looked so—odd. No one else’s father had antlers, or went half-naked. What was she supposed to say? “Hullo, Da.” She hid trembling hands under her blankets.
    â€œDaine!” Sarra cried. “Is that the best you can do? He’s your da!”
    The girl couldn’t begin to describe her feelings. Only months ago, she had learned that the horned man she saw in visions was her father, and that he was a god. She had tried not to think about it ever since. “It’s not like you ever told me who he was, or what he was,” she reminded her mother. “Not even a hint .”
    â€œI thought we’d have time later,” replied Sarra. “I never meant to be killed by bandits!”
    â€œDaine?” Numair came to the door, looking pale and tired. “You know that the badger destroyed the Skinners, yes?”
    â€œMa told me. You don’t look so good.”
    He smiled. “I’ll survive. Are you all right?”
    â€œI hurt a little.” She couldn’t help but note, with some amusement, that except for the tips of his horns, Weiryn was shorter than her friend.
    Numair smiled twistedly. “I am informed that passage between the realms has an adverse effect on mortals.” He clung to the door frame.
    Silver fire glimmered on the floor, and a large badger appeared. Daine smiled as her mentor waddled over. He looked up at her with black eyes that were bright in his vividly-marked face. “Hullo,” she told him. “So we’ve you to thank for handling those Skinners?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t rest until you knew they were dealt with.” Balancing on his hindquarters, the god rose to plant his forepaws on her covers. Her nose filled with his musky, heavy scent.
    Gently she scratched him behind the ears. Since she had left her Gallan home, the badger had visited her, teaching her the use of her wild magic, and warning of danger to come. The claw she wore around her neck was his; he could always trace it to find her.
    Sarra frowned at Numair. “You are supposed to sit, and stay sat.” She made a tugging gesture at the wall beside the mage. That part of the room began to move; the floor buckled and rose. The wall stretched to meet it, then sagged to create a chair. “Down, Master Salmalín!” ordered Sarra. Meekly, he did as ordered.
    Daine’s jaw dropped. “But—Ma, you can’t—you never—”
    â€œThings are different here,” the badger said. “In the Divine Realms, we gods can shape our surroundings to suit ourselves.”
    â€œSometimes,” added Weiryn.
    â€œWonderful,” the girl said weakly. She was not sure that she liked to see unliving things move