“The modern world is, yes. The ancient world? Not so much. There’s a reason our particular faith only dates back a small portion of the human’s time on Earth. Before this God, there were the gods. Plural.”
“Like the gods? The myths gods?” I asked, head reeling. I hadn’t heard a mention of them since high school. “Mount Olympus gods?”
“Let’s hope it’s them.”
“What the ever-loving fuck do you mean by that?”
“Well, there’s those gods, sure. And we know a lot about them. But before them, there were the Titans.”
“Titans,” I repeated, trying to drag up some memories of them. I was sure I learned about them at some point, but I must have replaced that knowledge with the lyrics to every single song I’d ever heard in my entire life.
“And before them…” Gideon said, waving out a hand.
“I don’t like that hand wave,” I declared, stomach twisting.
“I don’t like it either.”
“But why? How? I don’t understand.”
“Way I figure, the gods had a long run. They decided to pass the baton and take a rest for a couple thousand years. After that, this God, the God we know, took over. He created this modern world of ours. But now the old gods have had their rest. And they’re ready to come back.”
“Okay,” I said, exhaling hard. “Okay. I mean, what the fuck? But okay. What makes you think that?”
“There’s been a lot of shit going on lately. Shit everyone is writing off as unfortunate tragedies and such. But with so many new demonslayers getting Called, I’m thinking those tragedies aren’t just a fluke. They’re by design. The old gods, well, they were mercurial as fuck. Floods and wars and famines. Over hurt feelings and shit.”
“But why us? To fight them?”
“No, I don’t think so. I think we are in response to the fact that if the gods come back, so do all the rest of them.”
“The rest of who?”
“The demigods, heroes, spirits, and the monsters. And, well, the daimons.”
“Daimons.”
“Greek. For demons,” he said.
“Oh. Oh. Oh, holyfuckingshit, Gideon,” I hissed.
“Shh,” he demanded.
“Oh, please. No one is here but us and the damned spiders.”
“And stop freaking out. I have no proof. It is a working theory of mine. It would explain a lot of the panic I see on the faces of not only the Council, but the priests we work with.”
“But what happens if the old gods come back? With, you know, our God in charge?”
“I have no idea. Everyone trying to do their own thing?” Gideon suggested.
“That’s terrifying.”
“And that’s why, if this is happening, no one is saying anything.”
“But, I mean, eventually, they are going to have to, right? I can’t imagine if the old gods are coming back that they are going to be quiet about it.”
“No, I don’t imagine so. But it’s why I need you and Marsh to really bust your ass with your mentees. I don’t like the idea, but we might need them sooner than we would like if we start getting overwhelmed with monsters and daimons on top of what we are all already dealing with.”
“Me and Marsh,” I repeated, feeling a tingly sensation at the back of my neck that I didn’t like. Not at all.
“I know. I get it. But I am going to need you to at least pretend to put aside your differences. The kids will have a better chance if they get the best of both of you. And, Dale, they might need that leg-up. It’s not going to be easy for any of us moving forward if this is really happening. You and Marsh, and the rest of us, we all have the experience. They don’t.”
“So, what? You want all of us to spar together?”
“Yes.”
“But?” I asked, sensing it hanging in the air between us.
“But I also want you to take them out. Not on big slays. But I want them in the field. I want them to learn to use their instincts sooner rather than later. And I like the idea of groups right now. Two adults to the four kids.”
“Fine,” I said with a sigh, draining the rest of my coffee.
I could deal with Marsh if I could focus on the kids.
“So I will tell Marsh and the kids to be ready to head out with you in the morning to check out the park.”
“What? No,” I hissed, spinning around to face him as he started to walk away. “This is my case.”
“And it will stay that way. But you can give the kids a teachable moment at the same time.”
“If that bastard tries to take any of the credit—“ I started to warn.
“He won’t. It will be fine,” he insisted.
He had a lot more faith than I did in my—or Marsh’s—ability to play nice.
But what choice did we have?
If Gideon was right and the old gods were waking up, we had a lot bigger issues to worry about than our own little rivalry.