"You pretty much set the terms yourself in the wording. That part where you said, �May the morrow come soon that I might repay you for this kindness.� Pretty much, you put yourself in debt for staying the night. And since you put yourself in Strife�s service�"
"Unc is not gonna like this, Cupe." Strife�s sing-song sounded defeated. "I�m not s�posedta mess with followers unless he asks�"
"Which, if you went out of your way to cause this, would probably mean a lot of nasty scrapes and gouges and extended war-dog-walking duty. But you didn�t. This is a simple case of favor and repayment. He can�t have a problem with that."
"You don�t know Unc so well, do ya?"
"By decree, doofus." Cupid shook the scroll at his cousin. "Athena really needs to watch herself with the paper-trails. This is one of her dandies." The God of Love straightened out the paper and read. " �And whosoever shall give unto a mortal a boon of chance shall be returned said kindness threefold or until the nearest solstice, whichever shall occur first. This shall be and so shall it be said. No vengeance or repercussions shall be heaped upon said mortal by her or his dedicated deity, provided the aforementioned service does not become permanent. Filching or usurping of a fellow deity�s power source is strictly forbidden. So shall it be marked here and anon��" Cupid brought his gaze back up to his tablemates. "It kinda goes on like that for four or five more paragraphs. Pretty much the same thing, mostly directed at Mom and Pops. You know how Aunt Thenie gets when a bug climbs up the ol� toga."
"Like Unc needs to lift any of her tight-ass followers." Strife snorted unhappily. "So tell me the part where Unc can�t smite me into dust."
"It�s an official decree. Long-winded and pompous, but official. You can borrow Joxer, but you can�t keep him." Cupid shrugged casually. "Pops may get put out about sharing, but in the end, he�s still got what�s his. No smiting necessary." He cast an eye to the mortal. "For either of you."
"I dunno�" Strife couldn�t help but seem skeptical.
"And if it�s official, Ares really can�t� blast us?" Joxer sounded hopeful. He really envisioned living past his late twenties and being blown to smithereens wasn�t going to help that any.
"He might want to blow something up," Cupid rerolled the scroll and held it out to Joxer, easing it into the mortal�s hand. "But he�s not dumb. He knocks you out and he loses mucho energy doing it. Never mind one of his biggest producers."
"I�m one of his biggest� but I�m not even�" Unknowingly, Joxer tucked the scroll away in his trousers. "How can that be true if I�m still�" pathetic.
"It doesn�t work like that." Cupid sat back again and noshed another sweetcake. "Talent in a given field doesn�t give us power. It�s nice, shows folks care an� stuff, but what really amps up the juice is devotion. One prayer from the truly faithful is worth a hundred guys with skill."
"So, even if I�m a crappy warrior and trip over my own feet every four steps, because I�m loyal and devout, I�m worth more to Ares than, like, warlords? Even Xena?" All his disbelief flooded that last word.
A smirk took hold of Cupid�s mouth, though it looked fond. "Dude, you have no idea how much more." A nudge to his knee under the table, an almost imperceptible caress in it, brought his attention to his cousin, whose pale, now-calmer face belied the foot-caress. For a second, there was all possibility, but Cupid reminded himself it was probably the locale playing on his cousin.
"As a follower, cuz." Black eyebrows rose up once.
"Yeah, that too." The nudge came back, much harder this time. In fact, it was more of a kick to his shin than a nudge to his knee. Anything he might have thought was there before was nowhere near this one. Only a smart spark of pain that brought him around from several very naughty thoughts about his father and the man in front of him. "I mean, of course! As a follower! Even when she was all big and mean, Xena was only as attentive to worship as she needed to keep the favors coming. Otherwise�" Cupid smiled and rolled his eyes, thinking of his half-sister�s love of hubris. "Well, let�s just say she can get too big for her britches sometimes."
Part 4 - Reading the Fine Print and Serving a Short Stint
Mulai dari awal
