Page 36 of The Demon God's Desire
We need to get back to the village. We can defend ourselves there. We have more weapons and people at our disposal if we need to defend against a massive attack of crazed serpents.
On the other hand, I realize how awful it would look to the villagers if Guilri comes running back in, me over his shoulder with a swarm of serpents behind him. They might attack him on sight without giving him a chance to explain himself.
Either way we’re over halfway back and the serpents seem to be gaining energy while I can tell Guilri is getting fatigued. His blasts are becoming weaker and I can tell that his injuries are bothering him.
Not to mention whatever injuries he sustained from having a literal goddess attack him in his dream, as he said.
“More on your right flank!” I yell. He shoots out firepower but it’s barely enough to singe the serpents and it doesn’t stop them.
“We’re nearly there!” he yells. “I can see it in the distance!”
“To your right!” I scream. A horde of serpents swarm at him, one flinging themselves at him. He bats it away but it winds itself up and onto his shoulder, aiming to biteme.Before it can reach me though, Guilri grabs it and it sinks its fangs into his fist as he strangles it dead. He throws it away and we keep going, racing towards the village.
Whatever is sending these serpents on a rampage seems to be limited to outside the range of the village because as soon as we hit the village line, they seem to stop, hissing in confusion before slithering away en masse.
I stare, wondering what’s coming next.
19
GUILRI
Going up against angry, hissing serpents was definitely not at the top of my to-do list. I do the best I can to dodge their attacks but I’m having a hard time. I’m already barely rested from the fight the day before and now that I have Bridget weighing me down, as light as she is I’m still struggling.
It takes every ounce of effort inside me to keep going. I can’t stop. I can’t drop Bridget. I have to defeat the serpents before they can get her.
But this is all my fault. I dragged her into this mess and I have to get her out of it. I throw fireball after fireball at the serpents and race along, following the two sets of tracks that we left leading back to the village.
By the time we reach the village line, I’m panting and sweaty and seething with rage inside. I’m so angry that the Hearthkeeper would betray me like this. I’ve dedicated my entire life to her, sacrificing everything to her name and this is the way she repays me?
A part of me is also pissed at myself. Maybe if I were a more honorable man, if I were more worthy of the goddess, she wouldn’t be trying to kill myself and Bridget. If I had stayed true to my path she wouldn’t be so angry with me. If only I had not been so weak as to get injured badly enough to be found by a human.
I would have never met Bridget. And I would have never fallen in love. But then again, I wouldn’t have put her life in danger like that. If only I had been stronger, more resilient.
But I dismiss that immediately. I’ve done every single thing the goddess has demanded, and more. I’ve spent my life in her service. I feel lied to and betrayed.
Have I dedicated my life to someone truly so monstrous and evil? And how could she forsake me at a time like this? What does she want and why is she so angry? I would never have found Bridget if she hadn’t sent me here, so in a way it was her doing that led us down the path to finding each other.
The Hearthkeeper represents the home and tradition. You’d think she would be delighted I found someone I cared about, someone who could walk by my side in life and keep my home and bear my children.
But she seems so vengeful, so angry. Have I been misled in following her?
I hold onto Bridget tightly, unable to let her go even though the danger has passed. For whatever reason, the Hearthkeeper’s reach doesn’t seem to extend to the village line.
“Guilri,” she says, interrupting my thoughts. “Guilri.”
“What is it?” I ask, glancing up to see her frowning at me.
“You have to let me down.”
I can’t do that. I’ve just managed to get us out of danger and I’m not about to let her down in case something else pops up. She sees my resolute expression and her face softens.
“I know you’re worried but you have to set me down,” she says. “If you don’t, the villagers will think something is amiss.”
I take in a great lungful of air and breathe it out in a whoosh as I set her down. I don’t like this. I want to keep her close to me so I can keep her safe but she’s right. “Don’t go too far away,” I warn her.
She smiles softly and links our fingers together. The sun is rising at this point and as we walk into the village together, I catch the eye of the other townspeople, many of whom are narrowing their eyes at me. They’re suspicious, I don’t blame them. They obviously thought I tried to escape.
I follow Bridget to her house and walk inside behind her without saying a word. My mind is a mess, my thoughts all over the place. How could I let this happen? How am I supposed to keep Bridget safe now? How do I fix this issue with the goddess?