Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X 1)

His words chilled Justin because in some part of him, he knew it was all true. “How are the elect chosen?”

“All sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s shared blood and heritage. Sometimes it’s about strength and usefulness—or alleged cleverness. Whatever’s a match to that god’s attributes and agenda. We’re pieces on a gameboard, Dr. March, and some of us are more powerful than others. You. Me. Her. We’re the ones the gods want. We’re the ones they’re fighting over. Of course, my allegiance is already sealed.”

“And I suppose you consider yourself the king on this board?”

“You must not have played chess in a while. The king is the weakest piece in the game.” He gave Justin a level look. “The queen’s the strongest.”

“What is it you and your master expect from me in this game? To use my alleged cleverness to convert new followers?”

Geraki shrugged. “That’d be a start. More followers means more belief, which means more power. Others will be doing the same for their gods. We’re not the only ones who know what’s happening. Your human masters know. So do powerful people you don’t even suspect. This won’t stay contained, and everyone will fight for the gods they’ve sworn to serve. Don’t you want to be on the winning side? We need to fight for ours.”

“I haven’t ‘sworn’ to anyone or anything,” Justin said.

“No.” Geraki sighed. “Which is a shame. You won’t be able to learn the full extent of his wisdom or grasp your power until you accept him. He’s already accepted you. You even have his mark.”

Geraki pushed up his sleeve, and Justin’s heart nearly stopped. There, tattooed in blue, was a symbol identical to the scar Justin had received in the fire, that same odd F-shape.

“Where,” Justin breathed, “did you get that?”

“From a tattooist on Brooks Street. Oh. The idea? Our god sent it to me.”

The room swayed a little, but Justin’s bourbon was only half-gone. “This is impossible.”

“Is it?” Geraki’s eyes seemed to see right into Justin’s heart. “He’s marked us both. I hear his voice, and you will deliver it. Everything I’ve said about the powers returning to the world…you know it’s all true. I know you feel it. You can feel you have a role to play. So why won’t you choose a side? How did you even reach this point with the ravens and a divine mark if you haven’t sworn fealty?”

“Because your master slipped up and gave me the goods before I had to pay for them.”

Geraki leaned across the table, face speculative. “You must be clever if you outwitted him. But you’re not in the clear, are you? He wouldn’t still be interested in you if you were. The ravens would have left. Instead, he’s biding his time…waiting for the inevitable. What is it? What line are you dancing on that’ll eventually bring you to his service?”

A woman among women.

“One I’m not going to cross.”

Geraki slumped back. “Why are you fighting it?”

“Because gods do terrible things to people.”

“And incredible things. You must know that. Haven’t the ravens taught you wonders?”

Justin thought back on the past four years. “You mean their constant nagging about my choices and personal life?”

I think you mean advice, not nagging, said Horatio.

“I mean the runes and spells and other knowledge key to your path.” At Justin’s silence, Geraki looked uncharacteristically dumbfounded. “How…what kind of deal did you make? Didn’t you promise to learn his ways?”

“Only if I swore myself to him.”

Seeing Geraki stumped was almost making this trip worthwhile. “Someone as egotistical as you isn’t interested in learning the secrets of one of the wisest, cleverest gods? If you had even a taste of his power, you’d want to follow him.”

“A god whose name I don’t know.”

“You have to learn that for yourself. It’s part of a wise man’s path.”

“Convenient. And I don’t suppose he’ll come talk to me himself?”

“I thought he already did.” Geraki looked legitimately surprised. “In a dream?”

“A dream doesn’t mean anything. I dreamed the other night that I went riding on a dinosaur.”

“He doesn’t just appear in the physical world at a man’s whim,” said Geraki, echoing what the ravens had once said. “To simply hear his voice alone, I have to fast and meditate and endure all sorts of torments.”

“Right. No alcohol. No sex.” Justin brought up the bill. “This is no different than any of the other religions I’ve looked at over the years. Maybe there really are gods in the world, maybe there’s one who thinks I’m his elect. But for beings that want worship, they sure do make things hard for their followers. Not much in the way of concrete answers or guidance. It’s just left for mortals to figure it all out.”

“Wise men don’t need concrete answers. By definition, they need wisdom, which you’re lacking in.” It was exactly the same kind of nonsensical commentary Justin had heard before, and he was surprised to find he was disappointed.

“Wise men thrive on concrete answers! I’m not going to learn from—let alone swear myself to—someone so nebulous. Someone whose face I haven’t seen. Someone whose name I don’t even know.”

Geraki looked exasperated. Justin might have broken him. “Really? He spoke to you in a dream, sent you the ravens, and put an extraordinary woman in your path. But that’s still not good enough? You need a face and a name before you’ll start learning his ways? That’s what it’ll take?”

“You bet,” said Justin, feeling triumphant at seeing Geraki squirm. “Think you can make it happen?”

“I have limits,” he admitted. “So does our god.”

“That’s exactly what I thought.” Justin swiped his ego and stood up in disgust.

“Wait.” Geraki had gotten control of himself again. “Maybe you can dodge everything else, but there’s one thing that’s unquestionable. Yielding the stars and flowers for the clever compromise. You promised, and even if you won’t follow him, I know you believe in him and his power. Breaking your word is a grave thing.”

Justin stilled. “If I do it, it’ll be going against something else he wants. It’s a contradiction.”

“The plans of a god aren’t for you to understand.”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Justin turned away. “Your water’s on me. See you for your next inspection.”

But as he walked out of the restaurant, he knew what he had to do.

CHAPTER 37

STEPHANOTIS

There were protesters outside Internal Security again when Justin showed up for his afternoon meeting. They shouted about religious freedom, and as security helped him push past, Justin uneasily wondered if the fact that they kept popping up more frequently had anything to do with Geraki’s game.

He reached Cornelia’s reception area on the twentieth floor and found Mae sitting and reading her ego. Her presence lit up the room. A flicker of amusement flashed in her eyes at his unabashed surprise. “You didn’t expect me here, did you?”

“No,” he admitted. “When I didn’t hear much, I figured my superstar prætorian had gotten her uniform back and was off fighting in an epic battle.”

“I’ve been busy—but I did get the uniform back. There’s just not much reason to wear it while running around with a servitor.”

He hadn’t really thought she’d stay on, and from that cool look on her face, she probably wasn’t thrilled that she had. “Well, congratulations. I’m glad to have you, but I know it’s not as action packed as you’d like.”

She shot him a sidelong look. “Not action packed? Did you somehow miss this last month?”

An intern came to escort them to Cornelia’s office. The girl’s face brightened when she saw Justin. “Hey, I wondered what happened to you when you didn’t call me.”

Justin vaguely remembered a night out with her. “You know how it goes. Just been busy, Flora.”

She looked hurt. “Flavia.”

“Right.” He smiled as winningly as he could. “We’ll have to get together again sometime.” Mae moved past him with no expression.

“Please be seated,” said Cornelia as they stepped into her office. “We have a lot to discuss. And although it must be a disappointment, we actually aren’t here to laud your brilliance and bravery. We need to talk about what really happened with the Pan-Celts.”

“It was outstanding,” piped Francis.

“It was a breach of a dozen policies,” said Cornelia.

Justin leaned back in his chair, projecting more confidence than he felt. “I thought our policy was to dismantle dangerous religions. Seemed like we pulled that off pretty well and solved a national murder mystery.”

“We thrive on order, Justin. You aren’t a vigilante bringing justice to a lawless land. You should’ve notified us first and had an actual military team seize the compound. We’d have a few more suspects to question if you did.” Cornelia had no jurisdiction over military personnel, but it was clear that last remark was a rebuke for Mae’s killing spree.

“Do you know how fast word of a military raid would have spread?” Justin asked. “You’d have no suspects because they would’ve taken off beforehand, along with all the evidence.” As it was, Justin was still puzzled over how Emil and friends had learned they were there. His best guess was that word of a prætorian’s presence had leaked from border security.

That, or someone betrayed you, mused Magnus.

The tight line of Cornelia’s lips showed her thoughts on that. “That’s still not the reason we’re here.” She held up a reader. “Let’s talk about your report.”