Valentine

"So you're a god now?" I grinned.

"Ah fuck. Here we go," Wally sighed.

The three of us stood in front of the school- Wally had explained the building's purpose -waiting for Amity to return with our vehicle. And with little else to pass the time...

I elbowed Wally, "Should I start worshipping you? How might I do it? On my knees seems appropriate, but do you require any particular rituals?"

Wally, his cheeks bright red, peeked over his shoulder at the bored guards.

"I have been worshipping you, come to think of it," I mused, lowering my voice slightly, "Parts of you, at least."

Wally's relief was evident as Amity rounded the corner and came rolling down the street towards us.

"Valentine would make a dedicated apostle. If a little overenthusiastic," Regina remarked.

Amity brought the truck to a halt on the street, and Wally held the door open for me while Regina hopped into the back.

"I'll stop teasing if you let me know what all this nonsense is," I promised, as I found somewhere to sit, "I thought this city was typical of humans. But there is this business with the gods and dinosaurs, these lizards seem familiar to you at least, but what of these petty gods?"

"I only kinda know what's going on," he admitted, "But I'll try to make sure you're not any more confused than I am."

Wally settled onto the bench next to me, and I sighed as I leaned against his chest. So far his enchantment had worked nearly as well as my amulet had, but Gods, did I ever feel sore. The adrenaline of our flight had since worn off, and the momentum that had kept me upright this long had evaporated the moment I'd sat down. My limbs felt as if they were made of lead, and the muscles ached to my very bones.

Amity looked over her shoulder to ensure Regina was settled before lifting her foot off the brake. The truck rocked forward, and she hauled the wheel around. The truck turned, bounced up onto the sidewalk, and then back down onto the street.

Wally absently moved his arm to circle my shoulders, and continued, "The dinosaurs, yeah, I guess I am familiar with them. But they're an anachronism. They died out on my Earth over sixty-five million years ago, all that's left are fossils. But Martin said he can summon them, so at least we know where they're coming from. As for the gods, that's even weirder. It's not like my Earth had some guy going around handing out superpowers, and from what Martin said, he was just as surprised as we are."

"Then how did this guy, as you call him, arrive on this alternate Earth?"

"Ah- Take a right up here, Amity," Wally instructed before answering my question, "Cassius's first trip didn't bring him directly here," Wally pointed out, "Maybe Mr Superpowers had something similar happen to him, or maybe he can move between worlds under his own power. There's so much I don't know. Hell, we don't even know if there's just the one guy."

"You believe there is more than one? Hmmm, I suppose that would make sense. More likely to have two such beings playing some power game, than to have a single creature bestowing these abilities for mere amusement. But the question remains, why then did the city arrive here? And only with those persons involved in this conflict?"

"Up here, Amity. Take that ramp up, and just follow the highway into downtown," he directed, and then to me, "That's what leads me to think the guys running the show have some control over the mists. I don't know, maybe one of the over-gods, or whatever you want to call them, were chased here by another of their kind. The over-god on the run realizes there's some good candidates for powering up, and gets started making himself allies. Then the second over-god shows up, sees what the first guy is doing, and starts copying him," Wally guessed, though I could tell from his expression that even he was sceptical of what he was saying, "I honestly have no real idea. But at some point, I think someone got fed up with the fight. Maybe it was a third party, maybe one of the over-gods took the nuclear option. But whatever the cause, someone scooped up the whole damn city and moved it here. Minus anyone not involved in their little war."

"Perhaps, but when Martin spoke, he did not describe two warring factions," I insisted, "He gave the impression that it was more akin to a chaotic melee, where each man fights for himself. Lady Death and Agamemnon being notable exceptions."

Human highways were a different animal entirely than those of the fey, or any of the species I was familiar with. Even elven highways were little more than hard-packed dirt paths, perhaps with cobbling and lamps along the oft-travelled sections, and only wide enough for two carts to pass. But this ribbon of asphalt stretched across eight lanes, their boundaries marked by painted white lines, and with a concrete divider separating the four on the left from the four on the right. If that had been all, perhaps I would not have been so impressed. After all, what I described was little different from the streets within the city's industrial core.

But this highway had been elevated as if the whole thing was one great long bridge. And while I was used to a city's streets being well kept, this was a highway. Did that mean one could expect a road of this quality to run clear from one city to the next?

The scale was almost unimaginable. Their cities were so large that they even needed highways within them, and judging from the numerous cars Amity found herself weaving between, they were well utilized.

"You're right," Wally agreed with a shrug, "and I'm probably way off the mark. But there's got to be another level to this game, I know that much."

"Even if that is the case, and I believe it is," I added, "What do we intend to do about it, about any of it?"

"My initial observation stands. The city is fucked. Not having millions of hungry people is a big plus, but suddenly having a lot of super-powered neighbours is a whole different kind of complicated. This went from being a problem for everyone inside the city, to a problem for everyone outside the city. So either we help them stabilize their home and leave them to sort themselves out, or we fill them in on the details about the tides and point them away from the hotel. Oh, and at some point, hopefully, ambush whichever fey came after us."

"Assuming any bothered to do so."

"Yeah. Yeah..." Wally pondered.

"What?"

Wally tilted his head back and groaned at the ceiling, "It's possible I'm a massive dumbass."

"Wally," I teased, "Don't doubt yourself, it's a near certainty. But why specifically in this case?"

"Well, I had the bright idea to draw out your pursuers by coming here. And all I've done is given them the chance to get lost in a labyrinth of a city, where around every corner is a demi-god in the midst of a housing crisis. Assuming they live long enough to get a word in-"

"My countrymen might think to make common cause with one of the gods."

"Yeah. Hunt us down, then go on back to Pelignos where they'll suddenly make whoever they side with the dominant force in the city."

"You couldn't have known. It might have worked, if not for this business with the petty godlings. But it is not as if we have nothing to bargain with."

"Wallace," Regina rumbled, "You should see this."

We both turned to see Regina looming large in the doorway, and she tilted her head to indicate the rear of the truck.

Wally slid over on the bench so he could look through the door and out the back where the flap of canvas had been left open.

Martin was following us.

We were rolling along twice as fast as a horse could gallop, and Martin was following us on foot.

His sinuous body slipped between, over, and around parked cars, trucks, and industrial vehicles as he kept pace with us.

"Jesus, I'm glad the nerdy dragon weeb is on our side."

He was right. Though Martin seemed a bit of a buffoon, upon seeing him in motion I couldn't help but feel intimidated.

Martin was followed by one of the large yellow vehicles- school busses, Wally had said -that lagged a bit behind as they navigated the abandoned cars.

Wally continued to give Amity directions, and she guided our truck down from the highway and into the forest of glass and steel that lay at the heart of the human metropolis.

There were even more abandoned vehicles here, and I could scarcely imagine how they might have maneuvered, had they all been in motion. Thankfully, the route from the highway ramp to Agamemmnon's mall had been cleared. Bits of broken glass and fragments of bodywork scattered the sides of the street, and there were dozens of battered cars at every intersection. Some great force had shoved them off the road and up against the side of the buildings, leaving space only for a single vehicle to pass.

Two or three stories up, at regular intervals, were enclosed bridges that linked one building to the other across the street. This was also the case with the mall. According to Wally, it was a centre for humans to eat and shop, all within a single building. Where a fey or elven market might have sprawled across several streets, the humans packed it all into one enormous structure.

And it was enormous. Occupying an entire city block, and with bridges reaching out to each of the adjacent buildings, it towered over the street below. It was a wonder they could build so high. I'd taken our hotel to be quite the prize. Larger and more luxurious than the palaces of even the most ostentatious fey nobles, but it was a mere dozen stories. This mall couldn't have been less than forty, and yet, placed within a forest of its cousins, it was made to seem common-place.

I'd finally found the energy to rise from the bench and now stood with my face pressed against the window, trying in vain to see the mall's summit.

"How many shops does one city need? How long would it take to visit them all?"

"The mall's only going to take up the first few floors," Wally replied, and I could hear him grinning, "The rest is probably office space, apartments, whatever."

"You could fit the entire population of Pelignos within that building."

The mall's ground floor had been fortified. Windows were boarded up and covered with steel sheeting, then the defenders had shoved wrecked cars against the building, filling in the gaps with concrete rubble. Even the doors were blocked, and we were forced to park across the street and enter through the building on that side so that we might take the bridge across.

Thankfully Martin arrived just as we were disembarking, and was there to make the introductions necessary to see us past the guards hole up on the far side of the bridge.

The bridge let us out on the third floor, and I came to stand at the edge of the balcony where I could see clear down to ground level. Many of the shops had been repurposed. Rather than serving customers, they'd become storehouses for whatever goods they sold before the current circumstances arose. Shutters of metal and glass had been drawn across their entrances, and armed humans patrolled the balconies in pairs.

I suppose I'll need to discover what it is they use for currency.

"Come on, Agamemnon-kami's up here," Martin prompted, directing us up a staircase.

There was a noticeable transition in decor. Thin carpet replaced marble tile, and the walls were much more plain. I took it to mean we had left the mall, and had entered the floors dedicated to other business.

We were led past some bland-looking rooms and a forest of beige cubicles to an office whose floor to ceiling windows looked down upon the mall below.

It was here we found Agamemnon. An unassuming man in a rumpled suit, with greying temples and a bit too much weight around the belly.

The office was spacious, but Martin was large enough that only his head and forelegs were through the door, with the rest of him in the hall beyond.

"Martin."

"Agamemnon-kami."

"Still going with the whole weeb motif?"

"Says the dude callin' himself Agamemnon."

Agamemnon sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Who is this?"

"This," Martin gestured with a- A claw? A paw? In any case, he gestured at Wally, "Is Wallace-kami, god of patience. These are his champions, Amity, Regina, and Valentine," he continued, indicating each of us in turn.

"Patience, huh? Well, has Martin filled you in on my rules?" the dumpy-looking man asked, and Wally shook his head, "There are three. Don't take anything that isn't yours, don't hurt anyone, and don't fuck with my shit. Do all that and we'll be just fine. You can find rooms on the floors above, and you're welcome to them. If you want anything from the mall, other than food, you've got to trade for it. Just find one of my people downstairs and they'll work it out."

"Fair enough," Wally agreed, "But that's not why I'm here."

"Oh?"

"Wallace-kami knows what's up," Martin supplied.

Wally nodded, "I don't know how long it's been since you guys arrived, but I've been here for a couple of months now. I'd be willing to fill you guys in on the details, and help you out with your hydrology problems."

"Just as long as we help you out with some troubles you're having?" Agamemnon guessed.

"Obviously."

Agamemnon gave a flick of his wrist, "Fine. I'll put the word out, and we'll see if the others like what you've got to say."