Chapter 11: Disagreements

The room Steve and Quincey were sharing was about the same size as the one Rebecka had been given. The two beds in it made the space feel even smaller. Rebecka made sure the door was kept open, which neither of the men objected to. The knights outside did their best to pretend not to eavesdrop. She didn't care if they did. They couldn't understand anything she and her friends were saying, so it wasn't like it mattered. She just wanted the door open so she wouldn't have a panic attack.

"Absolutely not, Steve," Rebecka said.

"What? Come on! We can't let you go alone. We're going with you!" He shouted back.

"What's this 'we' shit?" Quincey asked. He stood up from the bed he was seated on. "I sure as hell ain't going on some quest."

"Neither of you are going on the quest," Rebecka said.

"You can't go alone," Steve objected. She was pretty sure he was about to bust out some Scottish insults she could never quite track and wondered if Aettatangi would translate them for her.

"I won't be alone. I've got Aettartangi and it..."

How do I tell him you eat people, but in a nice way?

After syncing with you I have learned there is no 'nice way' to describe it, Aettartangi replied.

"I don't know if you saw what that thing did to that skinhead. It turned that guy inside out and, I don't know, crushed him to death," Quincey said as he shook his head. "But I did, I saw it all, and I saw her eyes after it took her over, Steve. The whites looked like dried blood, all red and black. No way in hell am I going on a road trip with her while she's possessed by that thing. No offense."

"None taken. Even the axe agrees it's pretty horrific. I didn't know my eyes changed color, though," Rebecka replied with a shrug.

"They were freaky, the green was still green, just, the rest of your eyes were like blood," Quincey said.

Steve shook his head. "Beck, you're gallus if you think something like that's gonna stop me from helping you."

I believe the term 'gallus' may be linked to the gallows. It may share the root word 'galgi.' I would need to study his language longer to know for sure, Aettartangi explained. By his tone and your histories with Steve, he likely does not wish you harm.

Rebecka ignored that. It really wasn't the time for language lessons. She had to convince Steve to stay at the castle or at least in the city near it where he'd be safe. She brushed a few stray strawberry blonde hairs that had escaped her braid out from her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Steve. You've lost a hand, but beyond that, you know how to talk to these people. You can speak their language. We're not the only ones who've been dumped here either. King Nygard is trying to do what he can to help, but they could really use a translator."

"And who's gonna translate for you?"

"Did you forget I'm possessed by a talking axe that had me speaking whatever the fuck the local language is without me even realizing it?"

Steve seemed skeptical as he gently rubbed his fingers against his stump without looking at it.

"'Gallus' has something to do with gallows, right?" Rebecka asked.

"How'd you know that?"

She pointed to her head. "Aettartangi told me. Something about a root word being 'galgi.'"

An awkward silence settled in the room and Rebecka feared it might rob the space of its air. She turned to make sure the door was still open and caught sight of three knights, one of which was a giant, quickly ducking back out of view. Then she rolled her eyes and looked back to her friends with a sigh.

"You're both staying here. The King and his husband will set you up with whatever you need. I also talked to him about Barb. She's been kept in the dungeon the same as we all were. They didn't realize she was with us and so they just released her. She'll be here in the next half hour after their magical doctors finish checking her for injuries. Please, just, stay here at the castle and stay safe. I'll go chop down their evil tree and be back here before you know it."

Why are you lying to them?

"Okay, but, you've got to stay safe too, Beck," Steve said as he began to tear up.

"Of course, I will. Who do you think I am?" Rebecka replied with a smile.

"I think you're the idiot that climbed up a burning building to get your backpack," Quincey said while crossing his arms.

"I went in there to get the fucking first aid kit because you'd been stabbed, asshole."

He gestured to his side. "And I'm fine."

"Only because I made that dragon woman heal you."

Quincey blushed, "That was a woman?!"

***

Rebecka stayed at her friends' room until Barbara had been brought to them. Barb didn't want to talk and Rebecka didn't want to push her. Steve and Quincey agreed to do what they could to help and Rebecka had left to go back to her tiny room to get her belongings and transfer them to the larger room she had been promised.

If they did anything to hurt Barb I'm gonna be pissed, Rebecka thought as she walked the castle grounds.

King Nygard assured you she was unharmed by his knights, Aettartangi said. He's also moving them to a bigger room as well.

And you believe him?

King Nygard and King Finehair do not lie. I would have killed them both if they did.

Rebecka stopped walking.

Really? You'd kill them just for lying?

It was part of my promise to Ingimund. If any of his descendants were to lie or misuse me I promised to kill them. That promise does not cover you. You are free to lie to whomever you choose. Even if I do not understand why you would lie to your friends, Aettartangi said.

True, King Nygard had let her move to a larger bedroom, one with two windows that opened, even. He'd even offered to pay Quincey, Steve, and Barbara to help with the refugees who were pouring into the capital city of Heiligvagr from all over the island country of Gullborg. Rebecka had assumed the country was called 'Utgard' rather than it being the name of the planet they were on. She realized she hadn't been asking enough questions.

She also hadn't met King Finehair yet, and assumed he must have really nice hair or something.

How about that anomaly? Any sign of it? Rebecka asked.

It appears to be near your destination.

Rebecka had started to set up a small temporary altar on one of the tables in her new room using the statues from her belongings. When she was almost done, one of the knights watching her room mentioned there was a large Temple nearby if she'd rather worship there. She had assumed there wouldn't be room in castle grounds for the Temple, and figured it was outside the castle walls.

She had been wrong.

I really gotta stop making assumptions, Rebecka thought.

Yes. It is better to work from as much data as possible.

You could've told me how big this place was.

My data was incomplete. I have rarely been taken from the Great Hall and the castle grounds have changed much in the thousand years that I have been here. The last time I was near the Temple it was not this size, nor were the castle grounds this expansive, Aettartangi said.

Yeah, I guess they figured there wasn't much cause to bring the carnivorous axe out for a walk, Rebecka replied.

I would have appreciated it.

The Temple ahead of her was much more grand than Rebecka had imagined. Sure, she'd seen churches back home that were huge and fancy but she'd never been to a Pagan Temple that was more than a few statues in a nondescript donated building. One of her mothers, Mama Courtney, had been Pagan and taken her to a small Temple a few times to pray to the old gods. Most of the time Mama Courtney had used an altar in her bedroom. The religion hadn't become any more organized in the years that had passed. Or, at least, it hadn't been before a chunk of Dallas was thrown into Utgard.

I wonder how different it is from what I was taught, she thought.

Not enough data, Aettartangi replied.

The setting sun lit the intricately carved light colored stonework of the Temple with warm rays filtered through the pink and blue flower blossoms and fresh spring leaves of nearby trees that lined a cobblestone walkway. The path was busy with foot traffic thanks to an entrance from the city of Heiligvagr. People dressed in medieval garb seemed to know where they were going while a few people in clothing more like Rebecka was used to, jeans and T-shirts, wandered around in awe. There were a couple of the giant knights stationed at the gate, each with a smaller knight next to them. She wondered what the open door policy meant for the security on the castle grounds.

The regular knights deter most crime. The mechanized knights handle the rest, Aettartangi said.

Mechanized knights?

The larger ones.

They're robots like you?

No. They are machine suits piloted by organics.

Right. I thought they were magic, Rebecka said.

The mechanized suits are reinforced with magic. This is likely why your shotgun did jack shit to them, Aettartangi replied.

'Jack shit?'

It is the technical term, no?

Rebecka shook her head with a little laugh before she continued on the path from the castle that connected with the road to the Temple. No one bat an eye at her as she headed for the stairs that lead up to the main building. She was about halfway to the top when the huge figure of Sigyn stormed out of the front door. She was still wearing a dark hoodie, red T-shirt, and torn jeans, the size of which Rebecka had trouble fathoming given how big Sigyn was in general. She wondered if they had been custom made to accommodate the dragon woman's tail. Maybe they were normal where she was from?

Sigyn's sudden appearance startled several of the people lingering on the stairs who, given their clothing, were likely refugees like Rebecka. They ducked and dashed away, even though the dragon woman was nowhere near them. Rebecka stayed put, however. Even if she didn't have Aettartangi she knew better than to show someone fear, especially if she considered that person a friend.

Sorta.

The dragon woman held up a clawed hand at Rebecka as she stormed down the stairs nearby, not stopping while she spoke, "Whatever you're here for the answer is 'no.' I'm not going with you on whatever quest they set you up with. I'm not helping you with anything. And I sure as Hel am not going to fall in love with another human. Y'all don't live very long and it's always depressing when you die."

"Good."

Sigyn froze at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Rebecka, her big golden lizard eyes wide. "What?"

"I said 'good.' I wasn't going to ask you to go with me. I don't know what the deal is with the rest of what you said and don't really care. Gullborg can use all the help it can right now. You know how to talk to the people here so it makes sense you stay."

"You...want me to stay here?"

"Yeah. It makes the most sense," Rebecka said. "I don't know you well enough to ask you to come with me and I don't want the people I do know anywhere near this job. If you can stay here and help the other refugees it'd be great."

Sigyn let out a snort, which made people nearby flinch.

It would be best to have her join us, Aettartangi said.

No.

But she is capable of using magic. I can't us-

I said 'NO.'

The dragon woman snorted again. "My magic ain't shit here. I can barely use it at all. And again, I don't want to help you."

"I don't want you to help. Aettartangi can learn to shut up."

Sigyn snorted then continued down the path away from the Temple. People got out of her way as she walked out the gate into the city.

I do not agree with you, Aettartangi said.

That makes two of us.