Goddess Reborn

Mags

Both guys just stopped what they were doing and stared at me for what felt like an eternity. Neither said anything, moved or showed any clear emotion. The longer it was the more self conscious I got, thinking what I had said may have cause me the two friends I still had in this world. Finally, they looked at each other, then to me. Deac motioned for us all to sit at the table, then asked me to run through everything that had happened.

I told them about getting to know Pari, some of her past, but only what mattered to the conversation. I told them about her being approached by a woman that had been the reason she opened the Cafe. When I got to the part just before Mags came in, telling them about the shadows, both men sat up straight. I explain that I could not really see them, more they just made me feel uneasy.

"What did Mags mean by telling Pari to watch out for us? Or that she has a path to follow?" Roman was clearly feeling concerned for her, and what all of it could mean. Without even knowing much about her he knew she could be someone important to him. Deciding it was not fair to make him wait I let him know about her asking about him, and that I gave her my number to get together with us. I did, for now, leave out her ability to persuade people to do as she wanted.

"What we need to figure out is Mags, who is she, why would she be targeting Pari and what is going on? I feel like all of this is tied together and I do not like where it is going. I want to feel like we are ahead for once." I tell the guys, tired of feeling like we are always playing catch up in this. "Mags asked if I remembered the crime that had us punished, seemed surprised I didn't. Do either of you remember?" Both shook their heads no.

"We never did know, you were brought to a meeting with some God's, we only knew of the sentencing and punishment when we were all sentenced. Mags has been determined to figure out who accused us and wanted to be there to help us take revenge." Deacon told me. If she had no part in us being sentenced, why would she be so concerned with it. "I know who we can ask, and they may be able to give us some insight on who would be trying to raise Erebus. Let me see if I can contact them."

Next I needed to know why the guys would allow Quinn to take his sister if she played such a big part in this and she attacked me. Deacon explained that someone has been capturing and enslaving supernatural creatures to do their dirty work. "They are praying on those that have had issues with substances before and are using them until their shells of themselves or dead." He explained. "Quinn had helped us a lot in past work and it only made sense to let him see if he can get her back. When we found out she had been taken and used we knew she would be our best chance at information." I understood his thought process but then was frustrated we had just let her go with her brother. She knew more than she was telling, and I knew this would be important for us to know.

Sitting with the guys we decided to make a plan, we want to ask Mags outright what her part in all of this is, we want to know how my death factors into all of this and where Pari is in all of this as well. There were so many unanswered questioned and I decided I was done waiting for answers, "I'm done. We can wait until Pari contacts us to find out where she is in all of this, but otherwise we need to make a plan. I don't want to

sit back and wait, it is not my style, but for now we have no choice.

After the long day we decide to rest and wait for the pieces we have put into play to come back to us. Sleep that night was full of tossing and turning, not allowing me to feel at all rested. There were too many questions and too much I did not understand yet. I had to remind myself that it had only been about 10 days since I had come back to this life and I still needed a lot of time to recover and come back to who I was before. At some point I finally fell asleep, back to dreams and nightmares of my life with Marcus. I would remember how great everything seemed but then looking at it from the outside I realized how toxic it was.

Waking up the next day I decided the dream had a meaning, we need to look at all of this from the outside. If we were looking at someone else's issue we would be listening to all sides, looking at all involved and coming up with a solution to it without emotion. As I made my way from my room to the kitchen, having noticed I woke up alone, I found the guys in the kitchen with Mags sat at one of the stools. For some reason seeing her did not put me on edge, like I knew she would be checking in on us and I was able to remain calm and impassive about it.

"Good Morning everyone, Mags, always nice to see you first thing in the morning. To what do we owe this visit?" I asked, sounding much calmer and joyous than I had realized I could. She looked me over briefly, also eyeing the guys before offering an answer.

"I just wanted to check in, see if you had made any progress on your little crusade to find out what happened to you. Also, if you remembered anything yet. I find it so worrisome that you have devoted your time to these endeavors and nothing is moving forward for you." She said, her sickly sweet tone almost made me gag. I knew it was fake but I remained steadfast in my demeanor.

"Thank you for your concern, you're not wrong that this has been a big part of my time since I returned. in fact, I was coming to tell the guys we need to take a break. A dream last night reminded me that I need to look forward and not focus on the past. It will all come in time, so tell me, have any work for us?" I asked. I did not dare to look to the guys as I did not want to give away my facade. I knew they were flabbergasted, and I could tell they did not believe me, but that would not matter, except that it made Mags question me. Using her skill to read their minds she commented on their distrust in what I am saying, showing also the guys are not as good at hiding their thoughts as I had hoped. If that was the case, she likely also knew I did not trust her. "Yes, this is a surprise to them, when we went to bed last night I was singing to a very different tune. The fact is, we cannot continue like this, I feel like I am finding faults and mistrust in everyone in my presence. I want to trust those around me and be happy, so for now it is best to push this aside. Why focus on what I cannot change, all that is wrong will be righted in time. Now, I want to enjoy my time with the guys, is that so wrong?" I ask. hoping my words carry the intention I mean for them to, but two very different meanings depending on who is listening.

It seems Mags accepts my words at their face value, agreeing that this is the time to enjoy life. She lists off new jobs for us, tells us news of various gods, factions of supernatural beings, and new born creatures needing to be watched. The guys fall in line to the conversation and I lose myself in it as well, genuinely interested in understanding the world around me. When she leaves finally we have been talking for hours, but I feel calm and collected shockingly. As soon as the guys are both sure she is not still lingering around to hear us they turn to me with pure confusion in their eyes. I knew it was coming though, how could I not.

"Listen, what I said to her was real, mostly. We are at an impass; unable to move forward without more information but no access to know more. Right now what we need is time, and that seems to be something we have plenty of, so... we step back. Let's play the game for a while, listen to the word on the streets, talk to our friends, be seen as we once were. Once we have more to act on, then we see where we are." I tell them. Both look pensive, unable to come up with an argument against what I am saying. Deacon questions my feelings on this, saying I seem to calm to be giving up. Roman explains he does not want to sit and wait for me. "I don't like it either, action is always more fun than waiting, one needs patience. I can say for sure that is not a skill of ours, but we have no where to strike right now. So for now, we exude an appearance of nonchalance, freedom and lavish living. Let our enemies think we have moved on, or given up; it won't be forever and who knows, maybe it will be fun."

"What do we do about the calls we have made, and the plans? Oh, and what about Pari?" Roman asks, feeling very lost by this sudden change. I explain the plans and calls don't have to change, we can wait for them to call back. As for Pari, I could not think of a better way to handle this.

"Continue going to get your coffee, but don't risk lingering. We do not want to give Mags more to worry about for now. If Pari calls to hang out then we see where that goes. Ultimately, we need to treat all of this like we have given up on everything but having fun. I'm not saying we have, but we need time and we need information." I tell him. Trying to appease these men would be the biggest challenge of all. "Starting right now, no more conspiracies or vengeance. We are going to be the self entitled super beings that we are, deal?"

Both guys open their mouths to argue but promptly stop themselves when they see the look in my eyes. I am not going to let this go, and they are not going to ruin it. This may have been a spur of the moment plan brought about by the presence of the biggest likely enemy to our health sitting in front of us, but now that I had said it out loud we were committing to it.

After all, who among us had not dreamt of endless funds, and time while being young and beautiful. I want to enjoy all of that before it comes crashing down around me. I knew it would, so it was time to have my last supper, as it were. I am not going to allow anyone to kill me without enjoying my life first.

"First thing I want to do today, new shoes. I think it's time for some killer heels and a place to wear them."

With that, the fun began.