Regi's Goddess, chapter fourteen (Patreon)

“Where is that coming from?” Dante asked.

Regi was draped over Dante’s back, keeping him pressed to the ground. “There’s at least one shooter in the east. Possible two.” Probably two because Regi had heard two different discharge whines. Most Kowri favored one hand over the other for precision work such as shooting, so two weapons implied two shooters. “We need to move before they have a chance to get closer.”

“Thank God for bad aim,” Dante said. He wiped the side of his face where white leaf slime stained his cheek. “Either that or thank Divashi for ruining the shooter’s aim.”

“Thank the universal powers later. We need to move before they close the distance between us.” Regi slid off Dante’s back and kept low as he retreated behind the nearest ifah tree. They were large enough to absorb the energy blasts, or at least Regi hoped they were. He had left Empire space without ever having trained on Empire weapons. He couldn’t assume they had the same limitations of Coalition weaponry.

Dante followed without comment even though his height made it more difficult for him to stay within the limited cover. Regi suspected their attackers were using the rise to the south to hide, so as soon as he reached low ground, he started to run. With every step, he feared the burn of energy searing his skin, but the pain failed to materialize. Not even the whine of an energy discharged marked his retreat.

Dante ran after him, bent at the waist in a manner that appeared uncomfortable. “Are you crazy?” he demanded.

“I don’t have any brain dysfunction I know of, although my mother would likely disagree,” Regi answered. Dante stared at him, his mouth open. After waiting two or three seconds for a response, Regi dismissed any concerns Dante might have for his brain health and ran for deeper woods. An unknown number of pursuers wished to kill them, and they could not waste time.

Regi stopped in the shadow of the largest ifah tree he’d ever seen. Dante slid to a stop beside him sliding in the damp leaves so the scent of sweet rot swirled around them. “They could have shot you in the back!” Dante said loudly before targeting Regi’s arm for a strike that was so impotent that Regi feared for Dante’s ability to defend himself. While Dante had acted in a way that was both efficient and effective in their battle against the Styl pirate, the enervated nature of the strike made Regi doubt Dante’s ability to protect himself in such rough territory.

“The angle of the fire suggested they are using the rise. I was not in sight from that rise when I chose to run.”

“That’s a lot of faith to put into an assumption, especially when someone is shooting at you.” Dante’s voice suggested anger, a reaction Regi did not understand.

“I am a trained security officer. Judging angles of fire and taking reasonable risks are part of my training.”

“Still too risky,” Dante muttered.

Despite the danger, Regi risked a quick glance in his direction. “Are you worried about me?”

“I do like you despite the fact that you appear to be insanely reckless with your own life.”

“Reckless would be standing still and allowing them to gain ground on us. We have to get out of this area.” He turned his attention back to the woods before running for a rise that could provide even more cover. A thicket of berry brambles provided some visual cover even if the vegetation would not stop even the weakest of weapons. Their main problem lay in the fact that Regi had no idea how to reach the assistance Alb had sent them. He could call her again and request a new rendezvous, but clearly she had not been the only one to track his communicator. He was loath to turn it on again and help their enemies pinpoint their location.

Regi ran until his breath was coming in heavy gasps. He worried that the level of physical exertion would overtax Dante’s system, but Dante was amazingly adept at keeping up. He struggled less than Regi, and given that Dante was a medically fragile species, that was a stiff condemnation of Regi's fitness regime.

Dante waited until they had reached the shadow of a boulder before he asked, “Where are we going now?” His breath came so quickly that he had begun breathing out of his mouth. Even after seeing him change his method of breathing several times, it was still odd.

“I am unsure. Our enemy waits in the travelway to the temple, but I am unsure how we can get around them in order to reach the assistance Alb has promised us.”

Dante winced. “Are you entirely sure that Alb is on our side?”

A bone deep shock rattled Regi to his core. “Were she not ethical, she would not be an exalted. If she is against us, that is as good as suggesting that the gods are against us. The gods have never turned Kowri against Kowri.” If they ever did, Regi was unsure how his people would survive.

“Maybe it's just Alb’s god that is trying to stab us in the back. I’ve never had good luck with writers.” Dante muttered the last bit under his breath.

Regi shook his head. “The gods are united in their course. Any debates they may have with each other do not spill over into their handling of our world.”

Dante grimaced before his expression cleared, and he gave a single nod. “You know your gods better than I do, so I will take your word. So if we’re have to find the Gavd folks trying to rescue us, how do we get past the guys with the guns?”

“That is an excellent question.”

“That is why I asked it.”

“Unfortunately, I lack an equally excellent answer,” Regi confessed. “Any attempt to circumnavigate our adversaries would require us to move closer to them at some point.”

“And you don't have a weapon?”

Regi's hand fell to his anelace. “Not one that can counter their energy weapons.”

“I was really hoping that you had smuggled an illegal weapon in your back pocket.”

“I am unsure what pocket is, but I assure you that I would not smuggle a weapon on a Kowri world. Kowri have technology that enables them to identify those who illegally possess weaponry, and I would prefer to not aggravate a leadership which is currently debating whether to eject or execute crew members whose safety I am responsible for.”

A frown flickered across Dante’s face before he said, “You bring up a valid concern.”

“It is certainly valid from my point of view.” Regi lived with the constant terror that his decision to request asylum inside Kowri space would lead to the deaths of the crew he was not only duty-bound to protect but that he liked. “We must continue moving. If they are hunting us, they likely have technology which allows them to track our location.” Regi set a brisk pace back towards the deeper woods.

“This is just not a fair fight,” Dante complained. The words were soft and spoken with an excess of air.

Regi was not sure whether Dante meant the words only for his own use or if he simply had enough need of air for the oxygenation of blood that he could spare none for speech. However, he answered. “I rarely expect criminals to concern themselves with fairness. In fact, I find they usually eschew any sense of fairness in their dealings.”

“I’ll take your word for it. On my planet, it’s generally the leaders who eschew fairness.” Dante blew out a heavy breath. “I need to apologize to my English teacher because I insisted I would never need the words she made me memorize for Friday tests.”

Regi didn't want to exhaust himself or Dante, so he slowed to a fair trot that would hopefully keep the enemy behind them while still allowing them to watch their footing.

Dante kept pace. “If those guys have pebafri, there is no way we can outrun them, and I get the feeling those horns are not for decoration.”

“They are not, but no criminals would not dare bring those beasts into the woods.” The thought of their pursuers even trying was laughable. Regi could remember the plots of many children’s stories where such foolishness led to the gods raining havoc down on the heads of the fools who had tempted fate in such a way.

“Why not? Both of us rode a pebafri into these woods; in fact, we rode the same bad-tempered beast.”

“The animals are sacred to Gavd, and riding one is an invitation for Gavd to involve himself in one's business. Criminals avoid sacred animals so that they may avoid the attention of any god who may foil their plans.” Regi divided his attention between the ground directly in front of him where any potential trip hazards lay in wait and the contour of the land behind. If the enemy could reach the crest before Regi and Dante found new cover, they would be exposed because the trees were not yet dense enough to offer adequate protection.

However, Dante grabbed his arm with surprising force. “Wait,” Dante said. “Pebafri will be going to the temple, won't they?”

Regi glanced toward the ridge and considered dragging Dante to a safer position, but that appeared rude.“At least some wild pebafri in their area likely will. Sacred animals wander between the undeveloped areas and the temple proper, but because the land is undeveloped, those untouched by the gods will also make it their home.”

“Is that pebafri headed to the temple?” Dante pointed north where an ancient male with a gray muzzle picked his way over a bramble of dead branches.

“Perhaps. It is difficult to know which animals have been touched by a god and which have not.”

“Yes, but we have the advantage that we have been touched by a god, so the sacred animals won’t kill us, correct?”

“I assume so.” Any Kowri who heard such a statement from Regi would charge him with sacrilege, but Regi did assume that Divashi lavished at least as much attention on Dante as any other exalted who answered to the lady of poisons. And Regi was not alone in that assumption.

“But I'm guessing that anyone who is trying to commit murder is on the gods’ naughty list.” Dante sounded oddly gleeful about that proclamation.

“The concept of a naughty list is unusual, but in general I believe I would agree.” Regi had no idea why Dante wanted such irrelevant pieces of information.

Slowly, an uneven grin appeared on Dante's face. “If these pebafri are god-touched, do you think they will let us near?”

A second male appeared next to the first. This one was not as large, but it had the darker colors of a younger individual. “If they are not god-touched, they will either evade or eviscerate us. What are you suggesting?”

“I'm suggesting that we use your people's prejudices against them. They don't want to ride a pebafri because it would be bad luck and attract the attention of the gods, so do you think they would be willing to kill one?”

Horror washed through Regi at the very thought. He had been forced to kill a pebafri once because a predator had grievously wounded it, and even knowing that he was serving Gavd by sparing his sacred animal the pain of a slow and torturous death, killing it had been one of the most difficult moments in Regi's life.

“I can tell just by looking at your face that killing a pebafri is anathema to you. And that means they are probably going to avoid it. We can follow the pebafri to the back door of the temple and call Alb from there.”

The plan was both simple and audacious. However, Regi could imagine an impossible number of ways it could go wrong. “If they have proper scanners, they will still be able to position themselves in such a way as to shoot us without injuring the animals.” Regi feared their hunters could have any number of Kowri weapons that would make tracking them too easy, and Regi’s understanding of his people’s security measures was woefully inadequate. He knew more about Styl weaponry that Kowri.

“Unless your people are far better with firearms than mine, getting a shot between moving animals is not going to be that easy.”

Regi tugged on his ear as he considered trajectories. Dante was right about that. If there were even two or three animals between them and the shooters, getting a shot would become exponentially more difficult. However, two animals would not pose a significant obstacle to a shooter. Other forms began to move through the shadows. A female with two spindly-legged children appeared, a clump of vegetation hanging from her mouth. Another wide with pregnancy appeared and then two more males—young ones who leapt over brambles with such enthusiasm that Kowri could have stood beneath their leap and no hoof would have touched a hair.

Regi closed his eyes and touched his thumbs to his temples as he tried to decide whether this was a god sign or a terrible idea which appeared plausible only because Regi could not come up with another. In stories, exalteds always recognized the hands of the gods in their lives. Reality was more ambiguous. And as much is Regi knew his gods and loved them, he did not want to put their safety in enormous hands that might prove too large for the lives of two small beings. “What you are suggesting is a grave risk. You assume the enemy will not target us within the herd or follow us long enough to kill us as we attempt to leave the herd on the edge of town.”

“I assume that murderers like to function in the shadows.”

Regi sucked air through his teeth. Dante did have a point. Before he could marshal another argument, Dante strode toward the pebafri herd with a confidence that made it clear he had been the huuman equivalent of Siger. More than a dozen pebafri now wandered through the dappled shadow formed by gently swaying branches overhead. These were wild pebafri with mottled coats designed far more for camouflage than to impress a potential buyer. Dante reached the closest—one of the young males—and rested a hand on the coat. The pebafri swung his head around, juvenile horns still dangerous even if they were half the size of the adult ones. However, the creature only sniffed Dante before nipping at his pebafri playmate. The second male came over and stood on Dante’s other side.

Dante smiled. His small form was dwarfed by even the young pebafri, so hope started to grow in Regi’s heart. He walked over, and the pebafri shifted to allow him to stand next to Dante.

Regi caught Dante’s oddly shaped hand in his. “If my enemies manage to outmaneuver the gods, I would wish for you to take whatever cover is possible. If cornered, I will give you as much time as I can to escape.” Regi squeezed Dante's hand. Dante had been watching the pebafri with wonder and some emotion that reminded Regi of parental love, but now he turned to Regi. He captured Regi's free hand in his so that now they stood with both hands joining them.

“If you're going down, I'm going down. But my preference would be for us to survive long enough to make those bastards sorry that they hunted us. So don't you dare talk about losing this fight.”

“I am attempting to be practical.” Regi loathed considering any alternatives that did not include his own survival, but it was his obligation to be practical and to ensure the survival of as many people as possible. “These people are offended by my status as exalted and my work advocating for Divashi’s positions. If this plan fails and we divide their attention, they will focus on me. That will give you a greater probability of surviving to reach town.” The logic of the argument was unassailable. These enemies might hate outsiders, but they would not be threatened by them. Regi, on the other hand, posed a threat.

Dante shook his head. “If I wanted to live by probabilities, I would have killed myself long before I met you. How improbable was it that you found me on that ship?”

“The gods’ twin blessings led me there, but wise Kowri say that those who depend on either of the gods’ blessings deserve neither and will prove themselves fools.”

“I get that, but I’m not leaving you no matter what happens. There are few enough people in my life that I genuinely like that I am unwilling to give up on one.”

“That’s foolish.”

“Then I’m a fool, and if you want to keep me from getting shot, you need to keep yourself out of the line of fire.”

“I don’t want you to die, even if the gods decide it is my time.”

Dante smiled. “I think you’re saying you like me, too.”

“Of course I like you. You are challenging and confusing and you accept the Kowri parts of me in ways that Coalition members never have and accept the Coalition parts of me in ways that Kowri never will. But that is why I am telling you that if the enemy find us, allow them to target me because I would rather give you a chance to continue being brave and challenging and odd then I would die knowing that you were fated to die next to me.”

Dante blew out an explosive breath. “After we both survive this, I'm sending you for therapy and possibly antidepressants.”

The translator offered a strange amalgam of ideas with the last word, but the general idea was clear. “I admire your loyalty and optimism, but I would feel better if I had your promise that you will put yourself first.”

“Tough, because I'm not going to give you that promise. Now move your ass because these pebafri are moving.”

The animals started moving with more purpose toward the ridge where the enemy waited. And Dante moved with them. Realizing that he had lost any chance to debate, Regi slipped in between the pregnant female and the oldest male. This was a horrible plan, but given that they were unarmed with an unknown number of enemies hunting them, faith in the gods was the only advantage they had. Regi just never expected an outsider to make that argument for him, but then again, in all the time he had served in the Coalition, he had never met another outsider like Dante.