Mihali still hadn’t turned around. Even with his back toward Taniel, he had a kind of presence that made Taniel second-guess his decision to come there. There was something about him. A smell, maybe? No. Something more subtle. Just the slightest sense of familiarity.
“Tamas is very much alive,” Mihali said. His lips moved silently, finger wagging as he counted barrels in one corner of the tent. “Along with most of the Seventh and the Ninth. They’re being pursued heavily right now by three full brigades of cavalry and six brigades of infantry.”
Taniel snorted. “How can you know all that?”
“I
“So. You
Mihali finally turned around with a sigh, making marks on his paper. He had a pudgy, elongated face that spoke of a mix of Adran and Rosvelean ancestry. His white apron was stained with flour and blood, and there was a piece of potato peel stuck to the side of his clean-shaven chin. “Is it that hard to believe? You’ve attempted to kill one god.”
“I saw Kresimir descend from the clouds. I saw his face. I looked upon Kresimir and I knew with every bit of me that he was a god. You…” Taniel trailed off, watching the master chef for the anger that was sure to come.
“Not so much?” Instead of taking offense, Mihali laughed. “Kresimir was always so much better at appearing effortlessly grand. Your father needed to come to believe on his own. You, I think, need a more direct approach.” Mihali approached him and held a hand out toward his head. He stopped suddenly, recoiling. Taniel noticed that Mihali’s hand was trembling.
“May I?” Mihali asked Ka-poel.
Ka-poel returned his stare, her eyes daring him to try.
Mihali extended his hand once more toward Taniel. As it drew closer, it trembled harder and harder, as if affected by some unseen force. Finally, the chef’s fingers brushed Taniel’s skin.
Taniel felt a spark.
Then it seemed as if the universe flashed before his eyes. Countless years zoomed by, filling Taniel’s memories like they were his own. He saw Kresimir’s original descent from the heavens, and then felt Kresimir call to his brothers and sisters to aid him in rebuilding the Nine. He witnessed the chaos of the Bleakening, and the relentless march of the centuries. Lifetimes rushed past in a blink of an eye.
And then it was all gone.
Taniel staggered backward, gasping.
Ka-poel had done something similar to him once, several months ago. It had left him breathless in its emotion and magnitude, though it had only been a few moments’ worth of memories.
This was two thousand years’ worth.
It took him some time to recover. When he did, he said, “You are a god.” Not a question this time.
“‘God’ is a funny word,” Mihali said, turning back to his inventory. He made a mark on his paper and silently counted sacks of onions. “It implies omnipotence and omniscience. Let me assure you, I am neither.”
“Then what are you?” Bo had once said that the gods were nothing more than powerful Privileged. With memories like that, how could Mihali be anything but a god?
“Semantics, semantics!” Mihali threw up his hands. “For the sake of argument, let’s say yes, I am a god. I don’t think either of us has the time for a theo-philosophical argument right now. Please, have a seat.” Mihali picked up a wine barrel like it weighed no more than a couple pounds and set it beside Taniel, then went to get another.
Taniel tried to nudge the barrel over a few inches. He couldn’t. He frowned, then looked at Mihali as the chef fetched a barrel for himself and one for Ka-poel.
Ka-poel’s hand casually brushed Mihali’s arm.
“Now, girl,” Mihali said as a man might gently reprimand a daughter, “none of that.” He gently touched her fingers.
There was a flare of fire, and Ka-poel danced away, blowing on her fingertips and scowling at Mihali. Had she been trying to collect a hair from the chef?
Mihali deposited himself on his wine barrel. “Unlike my brothers and sisters, I decided to stay on in this world after organizing the Nine. Hidden, of course. But learning.” There was a far-off look in Mihali’s eye as he stared at something Taniel could not see. “Distant stars are beautiful and curious, but I found the people here so varied and enchanting I couldn’t leave.”
Mihali glanced at Ka-poel. “I’ve studied the Bone-eyes. Not in depth. Being in Dynize and Fatrasta, so far away from Adro, taxes my strength. I never knew how Kresimir and the rest left the planet. They always called me a homebody for not wanting to explore the cosmos. Anyway, the Bone-eyes have incredible magic. So very different from anything Kresimir or the others could imagine. You, my dear, are truly terrifying. So much potential.”
Mihali didn’t look terrified. If anything, he seemed intrigued.
