The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Seventeen: Кошмар - Koshmar

[Warning: Depression.]

~Chapter Seventeen: Кошмар - Koshmar~

Perun arrives shortly after Hors and I collapse – well, it was a collapse on my part; he just sat down – on the couch in the living room. If I could actually feel my legs, I might try to go upstairs to suffer through this on my own, but not only would I likely fall on the way up there if I was to try, I am also not sure Hors would let me leave. Either he would follow me upstairs or keep me stuck down here with him. He seems pretty intent on staying glued to my side at the moment, as he is sitting directly beside me instead of in one of the chairs or even on the other side of the couch.

The only warning that Perun has arrived is the front door opening, as Hors apparently did not see fit to warn me that his boyfriend finally heeded the distress call. The saying might be better late than never, but when being late could mean death, late might be never.

"Why is there a crack in the sky?" Perun calls from the hallway. When he passes by the living room and spots us, he pauses in the doorway and frowns. "What happened?"

"You're late," I grumble, not sure if it is ironic or not that the one time I actually would have wanted him around, the bastard did not show up. While I would not expect him to save me, he could have at least made an effort to protect Hors and their home.

Since I am clearly not going to, Hors is the one to answer Perun's question. Though, he stands up to greet Perun with a quick, chaste kiss first. I look away, trying to ignore the little voice in my head that wonders why Perun is the one who gets the kiss; I did a hell of a lot more than he did. "Zeus tried to break through the wards," Hors explains. "Veles was able to stop him before he could succeed, though."

Yeah, that's right; I was the one who saved this realm, not Mr. Slowpoke over there.

Perun glances at me in fake concern – or maybe it's real; I did just save his boyfriend – and goes to rub his eyes, only to stop at the last second. It is at this time that I realize how his hands are covered in blood, which he almost just smeared across his face. When he realizes that both Hors and I are staring at his red hands, he says, "I was in the middle of putting Lado's viscera back inside his body when I felt your call."

"Will he live?" Hors asks, crossing his arms in a rare show of concern.

Perun shakes his head. However, when he realizes how that might look, he explains, "I left that to Razivia when I felt the call only a minute ago. I know you would have not called me if it were not an emergency, though it seems like you were able to handle it yourself in the end."

Only a minute? I repeat to myself. It takes me a few seconds to figure out, but then it clicks. Zeus was still halfway in control of the wards; he could block communication from leaving the realm. If that's what he was doing, then the magic must only have worked once Zeus was gone.

I try to hang onto my anger over his uselessness, but it fades nevertheless, as I can hardly blame him for something that is not his fault. Well, it is not entirely his fault. He still fell for a trap – a trap no one ever considered the possibility of, not even me – that left us defenseless. If I had even slightly less magic than I did or Hors did not trust me enough to let me help, this realm would have been taken.

"Veles?" Perun asks suddenly, cautiously approaching the couch, only to stop when I glare at him. He crouches down so his eyes are level with mine, which just feels condescending of him. I'm tired, not a child. "Are you okay?"

I sneer at him. Or, at least, I try; it does not really feel like my facial muscles are cooperating enough for any complex expressions, which is why I settle for a frown and more glaring instead. "I'm fine," I snap, though it sounds half-hearted even to me. "Go back to whatever you were doing; Zeus won't be able to try again for a while."