Chapter 10 Chapter Five Part One - Orenda
Without warning, Azadou takes a menacing step towards me, forcing me to back up in retreat but he doesn’t stop. He keeps pressing forward, forcing me to step back until my back hits the edge of the banister, making me wince in pain.
“How the fuck did you get in here?” he snarls.
I gulp. Again, not from fear. No. I gulp from what the sound of his voice does to me! That deep, base tone of his voice has replayed itself over and over in my mind since the first time I heard it, but my memories haven’t done it justice. It sounds so much better in person.
“I was sent here,” I answer him, taking in a deep breath and basking in his scent as my mouth begins to salivate. He smells like the remnants of ash left as a fire burns down. There’s a coldness to that scent and yet it smells calming and alluring, like it’s where I’m meant to be.
“Why?” he presses coldly, refusing to allow me the peace of my thoughts or this moment of closeness with him.
“Because I want to know what you did to the eyti,” I demand, pushing my feelings down. If he’s going to be like that then fine. I’ll make this strictly business. If that’s the only way I can get him to speak and acknowledge me, I can play that game.
He leans forward, bringing his face close to mine, his eyes never straying from my own. “Get. Out,” he slowly orders.
Okay, now he’s just pissing me off.
“No,” I say defiantly, standing up straight as I push off from the banister now forcing him to take a step back. “I need some answers and as far as I can tell, you’re the only one who can give them to me.”
He quirks his eyebrow, staring down at me pensively as he folds his arms over his chest. His large, thick, bulging arms that look like they could crush me like a twig. If that meant he’d touch me, I’d let him do it.
“Not interested,” he says dismissively as he walks past me, heading up the stairs.
I glare up at him through narrowed eyes as I storm after him.
“Frankly, I don’t care about your level of interest in the matter. Just tell me why the eyti were converging in Nepal and why you removed them from the area, and I’ll get out of your hair,” I declare.
He freezes at the top of the stairs and slowly turns to face me. He looks down at me with a rather unamused expression on his face and I can’t help but wonder if this God has ever once experienced a genuine smile in his entire existence. Does he even know how to use those muscles? And maniacal smiling doesn’t count.
“Was this your idea or did you have help?”
“Was what my idea?” I ask in confusion.
“Making up some pathetic pretence to get one of the Gods to send you here. I’ve already made it clear I want nothing to do with any of you,” he sneers.
I bite down the pain his words cause me and instead focus on the obvious fact that this God is a complete and utter self-involved dimwit.
“This might shock you to know Azadou, but there isn’t some cosmic conspiracy against you. In fact, I think most people have better things to do than to think up ways to torment you, especially since you seem quite adept at doing it yourself. I have one purpose and one purpose only and that’s to deal with the eyti that you created. So, you can either answer my questions and get me out of your hair or you can feed into your paranoia and expect more annoying visits from me. Which is it going to be?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest as I stare up at him defiantly.
His blinking begins to increase and as much as I’d like to assume that means I just smacked some sense into him, I’m not arrogant enough to think one little monologue from me could undo thousands of years of distrust, but at least maybe he’ll see that I’m serious and I’m not going to let him push me around.
The silence stretches between us, but I stand firm, refusing to let him dismiss me. I’m not afraid of the Gods. I was made by the most volatile God there is – we both were. So if he thinks huffing and puffing and glaring at me is enough to scare me off then he has another thing coming.
“I didn’t do anything with the eyti,” he finally says.
“I’m talking about a short while ago in Nepal,” I remind him.
His brows furrow in confusion making it clear he hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about. If he were someone else then I would assume it was an act, but I don’t think he cares enough about anything to bother with such a performance.
“Is that word meant to mean something to me?” he asks with disinterest.
I let out a long exhale as I rub my face. “Before I came here, I felt a large number of eyti converging in Machu Picchu, but when I arrived they were all gone. There wasn’t even any trace that they had ever been there,” I explain.
“Then perhaps your abilities aren’t as in tune as you thought,” he says mockingly, turning away from me and walking down a corridor to the right.
I grit my teeth and march up the stairs chasing after him. If I were a cartoon character there would be smoke coming out of my ears.
“Hey!” I shout, but he refuses to turn around. “Does every word out of your mouth have to be an insult? Are you incapable of just carrying out a civilised conversation?”
“Why should I grace you with a civilised conversation when you didn’t even gain permission to enter my dwelling?” he asks pointedly, glancing back at me as his hypnotic eyes glow in the darkness of the corridor.
“Had I been teleported to your front door I gladly would have knocked, but frankly I’m glad I was teleported inside your home because this seems to have been the only way I can get you to speak to me!” I exclaim in frustration.
“I don’t see how that is any concern of mine,” he shrugs nonchalantly.
Ugh! He’s utterly insufferable! I’d have better luck talking to a plank of wood.
“Are you going to answer my questions about the eyti or not?” I snap indignantly as he steps into a room at the end of the corridor.
I storm in behind him, only to come to a complete stop as I take in the room itself.
He has an office?
Can’t say I was expecting to find an office in this place. It’s absolutely gorgeous though. Stained timber floors give an aged feel to this dark yet somewhat cosy room. The room has a hexagonal structure, accented by floor-to-cathedral-high-ceiling gothic windows framed by velvet black curtains that are open enough to an eerie yet enticing view of the forest surrounding the house. There’s a simple mahogany desk with a black leather desk chair and it’s flanked by two ornate, gothic bookcases lined with… encyclopedias?
I jump in surprise when a fire suddenly rages to life in a gorgeous ornate fireplace to my left. Well, black is definitely his colour, but even I can acknowledge how gorgeous this place is. It’s like something out of an Edgar Allan Poe novel. Damn it! Now I’m getting distracted again. I focus my attention back on Azadou to find him leaning back against the desk, arms crossed over his chest as his piercing eyes observe me with curiosity. I’d kill to know what he’s thinking. Bad enough he has one hell of a poker face.
“Are you really not going to say anything?” I ask him.
“Whatever you claim to have experienced, had nothing to do with me,” he responds brusquely.
I frown, now completely thrown. I was so sure it was him. It was the only thing that made sense. Or maybe I just hoped it was him because I was hoping it meant I’d finally get to interact with him. As they say, be careful what you wish for. Just ask a visum.
“You don’t seem to like my answer,” he remarks.
“Quite frankly, no because now it means I have no idea what just happened. You’re their creator. Can’t you tell me anything?” I plead.
“No,” he says flatly.
I clench my fists at my sides as my frustration rises to a whole new level.
“Fine! If you’re not going to help me then I’ll find someone who will,” I snap.
I turn on my heel and storm towards the door, only to be forced to halt in my tracks when the office door slams shut in front of me. I turn to protest, jumping in surprise when I once again find Azadou standing right in front of me, his imposing frame dominating my personal space. His eyes bore down into mine and the scent of him swirls around me like a heady aroma that I can’t seem to shake. It turns my brain to mush and my limbs to jelly yet has my heart breaking into a sprint.