Страница 16 из 53
“It won’t save you. You don’t think you are the first to turn to Divine Affairs, do you?”
“But you have to follow the rulings of the court,” said Bo
“You don’t get it, do you? Yes, if the court decreed it I would have to release you as my follower. But it takes time to bring a case to the court, time for a ruling to be handed down. Several months at least. And none of my followers have ever lasted that long.”
She sighed. A dove flew into the window beside them and broke its neck.
Bo
“How many months do I have?” asked Bo
“Four, perhaps five,” said Syph. “One lasted almost six before losing the will to live. His heart just stopped beating, and he turned to stone. Shame about that one. I rather liked him.”
Bo
“No!” She sat up and slammed her palms on the table. “I’m not giving in! I’m not going to sit here and let you kill me!”
Syph opened her eyes in startled surprise. It was the first time Bo
“There has to be a way to fix this,” said Bo
“Not in a very long time. The Age of Legends has long passed. A shame. They were brighter days.”
Syph smiled and sighed wistfully. Bo
She flicked it away. “What just happened?”
“Hmmm?”
“I felt better all of a sudden.” Bo
“Maybe I did. Aren’t I allowed a smile every so often? Must I always be dour?”
“I don’t know. Mustn’t you? You are a goddess of tragedy and hopelessness, aren’t you?”
“I wasn’t always.” Syph spoke in a low embarrassed tone. “A long time ago… well, I suppose that’s not important anymore.”
She slouched, and a crack split the window. “It’s not worth talking about.”
Bo
“Gods can change their province?” she asked. “I didn’t think you could do that.”
Syph nodded.
“So why don’t you just change then? You obviously aren’t happy as the goddess of tragedy.”
“It doesn’t work like that. I can’t choose to change. It’s not something I control.”
“How?”
“It’s not important. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Oh no. You don’t get off the hook that easy.”
Syph arched her eyebrows in surprise.
“It was such a long time ago, I hardly remember it, when I wasn’t what I now am.” A reluctant smile crossed Syph’s face. The cloud scooted over to allow half the sun to shine.
Bo
“You dragged me into this,” said Bo
“I don’t see how it’s relevant.”
Bo
Syph thought about this a moment, and it must have brightened her day because the cloud vanished from the sky in a puff.
“It’s fu
Bo
“You wouldn’t know it to look at me,” said Syph, “but I was once the goddess of love. I brought only joy and hope to all around me, made the world a more beautiful place. Everything I touched was brightened by my presence, and my favor was coveted by king and peasant alike.
“But my influence didn’t end with mortals. I was courted by all the best gods. The most powerful of deities sought my company. There wasn’t a god I couldn’t seduce with merely a demure smile and a coy glance.”
Bo
“And I dated them all,” said Syph. “From the most insignificant mortal to the most powerful of the divine. I gleefully spread my joy across the heavens and Earth without care, and should have done so until the end of time.”
“So what happened?”
Syph sighed. The cloud came back, bigger and blacker than ever.
“I fell in love.”
Bo
“I don’t understand,” said Bo
Syph chortled. Or tried to. But all that came out of her tight throat was a strangled grunt.
“Would it serve a goddess of death to die herself? Or a goddess of war to see the world of mortals consumed in nuclear holocaust? The needs and welfare of gods doesn’t rely solely on a singular motivation.”
“Hadn’t thought of it like that,” admitted Bo
“Few mortals do. You think it’s easy to be a god. But we are as fallible and foolish as mortals. Perhaps even more so, since our immortality often leads to boredom, and boredom leads to recklessness. And it’s easy to be reckless when immortality usually keeps us from having to deal with the consequences of our actions.” She laughed again, bitterly. The cloud rumbled, growing to cover half the sky.
“At first, it was wonderful. I, the goddess of love, had discovered love. Genuine love. My powers increased, and for a while, I thought I might even be able to usher in a new golden age in Heaven and Earth.”
“What happened?”
Syph lowered her head and mumbled into her shoulder.
“What?” asked Bo
Syph pulled her hand away and studied her fingernails. “He dumped me.”
A rolling storm materialized over the Burger Town. People ran for cover as tiny heart-shaped pieces of hail rained down. Each piece shattered exactly in half upon impact.
“And?” asked Bo
Syph looked Bo
“And what else? Something else must have happened to change you.”
“You still don’t understand, do you? I was dumped.”
“Hold it,” said Bo
“Not always.”
“Uh-huh,” said Bo
“Okay, so usually that is true. Although there are true and long-lasting marriages among the gods. Though not many, I’ll admit. Immortality and boredom are rarely healthy for a long-term relationship.”
“What’s the big deal then?” said Bo
“No. Not business as usual. The right thing to do would have been to marry me. Even if he didn’t love me, he should’ve wanted to possess me only because I was desired by others. Or he could’ve waited until enough time passed that we would’ve naturally drifted apart. But he dumped me. Me. The goddess of love, rejected by her first true love. I was in my heyday, and he was only a minor god. But I chose him, despite the dozens of proposals from much more influential and desirable deities. Zeus himself was among my suitors.”