American Gods: The Girl Of Lightning

The Slavic House

In the blink of an eye, I was whisked upstairs into a dark, smoky apartment with a sweet old woman.
"You no feed her, Wednesday. She will waste away." The woman known as Zorya tucked my arm into hers and poured me a cup of coffee.
"I'm terribly sorry, my sweet Zorya. I'm new to this fatherhood." Wednesday said, laying the gifts we brought on the table. Another woman sat me down and in the chair and brought me a biscuit.
"Thank you." I smiled at them both and she nodded silently. Wednesday passed her a small stack of romance novels as she left.
"Why do you come here? Czernobog is not going to be happy." Zorya said, picking up the massive bottle of alcohol on the table. She downed it in one gulp.
"Drink." She chided me. I sipped the strong coffee, the warmth filling my empty belly.
"I came to recruit Czernobog. We need him." Wednesday said, patting the top of my head. I looked up at Shadow, still in a daze of what was going on. He shrugged.
"Who is this?" Zorya asked, gesturing to Shadow.
"My man, my bodyguard." Wednesday said, clapping shadow on the shoulder. Zorya inspected him with intense scrutiny before handing him a cup of coffee. She pulled Wednesday aside and spoke quietly with him. I looked over at Shadow and raised an eyebrow.
"Who's Czernobog?" I whispered to him. He shrugged and drank his coffee.
"All I know is Wednesday needs him." Shadow whispered. He looked around and nodded, beckoning me to drink coffee.
"She is a CHILD, WEDNESDAY!" Zorya shouted from the hall. I jumped a little and looked at Shadow. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
"Whvat is he doing here." A deep growl from the front door echoed through the apartment. The thick scent of cigarettes wafted into the kitchen. A greasy haired man wearing a dirty tank top stood in the doorway, smoke rolling out of his lips. The hairs on the back of my neck raised up as he scowled at me.
"Who the fuck is that?" He asked, gesturing to me with his cigarette.
"This is my daughter, and we are both here under no hidden circumstances or anything like it. Just giving old friends a chance," Wednesday strode over and clapped a hand onto my shoulder. "To meet my lovely daughter."
Czernobog puffed his cigarette and glowered at Wednesday. His icy gaze rolled over me, and again my fight or flight instinct kicked in. He was scary, wiry and intimidating.
"Is she a god?" He asked, kicking off his boots and striding closer. Wednesday squeezed my shoulder, my heart beating against my ribcage. He leaned down, sitting on the backwards chair before me, icy eyes biting into my soul. He sucked in a mouthful of smoke and puffed it back out. The cloud dissipated in my face.
"Tell me, girl." He growled, and Wednesday's grip on my shoulder tightened. I willed myself to blurt out.
"I don't.. I don't know...." it was barely a whisper, stale and cold in my teeth. I felt weak, afraid, and small. He chuckled and snuffed out the cigarette on the ashtray.
"Not very confident, eh?" He chuckled again and leaned back. I shuddered involuntarily, feeling the air finally fill my lungs. I had been holding my breath for too long, despite it only being a few seconds.
"She's new to our world, Czernobog. She doesn't know yet. Not to worry though, I'm certain she will be everything she needs to be when the time is right." Wednesday patted my shoulders and smiled.
"Why do you come here? Bring me childish gifts and a childish child. She doesn't even know of our world!" I looked away, noticing Zorya beckoning me. I stood and grabbed my coffee cup, and followed her to the living room.

Zorya sat me on the couch and gently patted my knee.
"Czernobog is harmless, I promise you." She whispered, smiling softly. I sighed, thankful to be away from them. She gestured towards my cup and I handed it over. She dumped the grounds and stared at them.
"The angel. You... your future is concerning. You will see a great triumph, but feel an immediate failure." She looked up at me again. I raised and eyebrow.
"What does it mean?" I whispered, looking at the grounds, not quite seeing the eagle shape.
"Nothing. I must prepare dinner. You sit and rest, you're too thin." She squeezed my hand one last time and left. I was left alone on the couch. I pulled my book out of my pocket and searched up Czernobog. Slavic, as I should've guessed from the accent. The Slavic god of darkness and evil. Fuck. I was literally staring down the face of evil? Weird. I looked up Zorya next. The three sisters of the stars. Evening Star and Morning Star.

Dinner was of dry and tough meat matched with hard potatoes. I ate, finally filling my belly after days of nothing. Wednesday made sounds of pure delight as he ate, as though it was lobster mac n cheese. Czernobog asked Shadow if he knew how to play checkers, and they agreed on a game. I offered to help wash dishes, to which the two sisters denied. They gave me a glass of milk and let me sit in the kitchen, listening to them hum. The chair was nestled against the warm part of the oven, not too hot to hurt and just warm enough to make me want to sleep. I rested my arm against the stove and let my head pillow into it. I was so sleepy, and the soft words of the Zorya sisters was slowly lulling me sleep. I woke up to an argument from the living room, jumping with a start. A blanket was tucked around my shoulders, adding to the coziness I felt. Czernobog was laughing, a grating bitter laugh. I stood and stretched, peering into the living room. I caught the last dredges of conversation.
"It is settled then, tomorrow at first light, I will strike you with my hammer. Is good?" Czernobog laughed, and I saw Shadow sink in his chair a little. What the fuck had happened when I was asleep?? Wednesday stood and looked me over.
"Go to sleep, and do not go on the roof. No matter what you hear." He whispered, reaching out and touching my face. I moved away from his hand and frowned.
"Is Shadow going to be okay?" I asked, my voice husky from sleep. Behind Wednesday he stood, and I saw him.
"I'll be fine. I promise." Shadow said, not convincing anyone.
I lay curled up in a recliner chair, snuggled with the soft quilt covering me from earlier. The apartment was cold and silent, save for the distant footsteps on the roof. Wednesday and Shadow slept on separate couches, snoring quietly. I slowly sat up and eased myself out of the chair, silent as the moon creeping above trees. I wrapped my blanket around me and headed for the roof.

The night was clear and cold. The breeze bit through my pants, but the thick quilt blocked the bitter wind. On top of the roof I saw the night sky, speckled with millions of stars, illuminated more than I'd ever seen. I stared at them, slack jawed.
"Hello." Said a woman, snapping me out of my trance.
"I uh h-hi." I stammered, feeling my face flush at being caught. "I-I'm-"
"I know who you are." She interrupted, turning away from the telescope to face me. She was beautiful. My heart thumped in my chest, I couldn't tear my eyes away from her.
"You have come to see the stars, no?" She asked, smiling and walking towards me.
"I came to see what was up here." I admitted, completely star struck as she walked closer.
"You are a clever one. You take risks. Is good." She smiled politely. I blushed hard, feeling the blush spread down my neck and chest.
"Is there something I wasn't supposed to see?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from her to look behind at the astrology equipment.
"You like the stars, no? They are beautiful, no doubt. But what do you seek, young one?" She turned to peer through the telescope again, leaving her question hanging in the cold air.
"I guess I seek... I seek truth. I want to know what I am, who I am. That all of this is real!" I gestured to the sky and everything. She smiled and stepped back towards me.
"I will answer your question for something of equal value. A kiss."
My heart skipped 3 beats, I managed to stutter out. "A-a-a kiss?? Why a kiss??" My face was burning.
"I've never been kissed and I want to know if I like it, we do this now." She grabbed both side of my face with her warm hands and kissed me. My eyes slid shut as her warmth spread through me. The plush, soft lips pressed against my own. She pulled away and looked thoughtfully.
"Kissing is... is good but strange. I like it." She finally whispered. My heart slowly returned to normal pace.
"I never kissed anyone either." I mumbled, pulling my blanket tighter. She smiled and touched my cheek. Her hand was shockingly warm in the bitter air. I wanted to lean into it and leach the warmth, it felt safe and content when she touched me.
"You have questions?" She asked, pulling her hand away to check the telescope.
"Yeah! Right, um. I guess I want to know if I'm a God? And how, I suppose. Is my mother a god? I know so little." I said, not knowing how she would respond.
"Yes."
"... yes what?"
She turned and smiled, reaching up and plucking a star out of the sky with her fingers. She reached with her other hand and pulled down my collar. She pressed the glowing star into my chest, above my heart.
"You know what the answer is already." She whispered.

I woke up in the armchair, Czernobog and Shadow playing checkers in front of me.

A/N: I'm sorry for the super long delay, pls forgive me. I hope you all like this chapter! Thanks so much.