Magnus set up camp where they were, casually dumping some damp wood in a depression in the ground and setting it on fire with a wave of his hand.

"You can use the fire," he said to Cassie, who took that to mean they weren't sharing food. She made a mushroom stew in her kettle, and charred the moths and ground them on a stone before adding them as well. Magnus had a whole fish he had been carrying around somehow (maybe hidden under his cloak? It would smell, surely), and a fresh loaf of bread. Angus was silent and absent until Cassie wandered a way away to go to the toilet.

"At least he gives people privacy," Angus grumbled.

"More than I can say for you," Cassie said scathingly.

"I am you, it doesn't count. Don't stay close to Magnus for long; he's canny and suspicious, and will spot me eventually. He won't be so friendly then."

"He's being friendly?"

"He hasn't tried to kill you yet, has he?"

"What did you do to him?"

"The list of things is long and irrelevant. Just get out of his sight."

"He wants to ask me about the cultists first."

"Yes, stay to be interrogated, he'll be suspicious otherwise. But after, we go on with our original plan."

"All right," Cassie said dubiously.

When Cassie got back to the fire, Magnus asked her what she knew about the cultists whereabouts.

"They came from this direction initially, but either left scouts around here or doubled back. They've been in the nearest village twice, and my village once. Mine is..." Cassie trailed off, realising that without Angus's sense of direction she had no idea where she was "About two to three days away."

"You're reasonably far from home," Magnus commented.

"Yes, as I said, I'm going to the Glad of the Gods to ask for help."

"Why?" Magnus asked. "It's a perilous journey, to walk the forest alone. Did the cultists terrorise your village?"

"No, although I'm a little worried about my great-great aunt," Cassie said. She thought about it, and decided that the truth probably wouldn't hurt, at least part of it. "But they're after me as well, because me and my aunt were asked for directions by the person they were chasing."

"Oh, they're chasing someone?"

"Yes. He said his name was Angus Brightfield."

"Ugh," Magnus said. "He's still Angus, is he? I thought Angus was smart enough to keep away from his cult."

"He was certainly trying to." Cassie decided to fish for information. "What is the cult about, anyway? Is there any way to stop them chasing after me?"

"They'll get bored and not look actively for you eventually, sooner if they find Angus. They're the cult of the Trickster, a very old cult that is interesting for its core philosophy: that they know better than the god they worship. Their ultimate plan is to make the Trickster part of his own cult."

"I take it asking nicely hasn't worked?"

"I'm not sure they ever tried, to be honest," Magnus said thoughtfully. "No, their plan is to use his own power against him."

"How does that work?"

Magnus looked into the distance for a moment. "We're a bit far from the Glade here, aren't we?" he said. "What has your Templeman told you about the Trickster?"

"We don't have our own, but I know that the Trickster tricks people, and lies, and steals people's names."

"That last one is not quite true, he doesn't steal people's names, he steals people's lives. If someone catches him and eats his heart, they gain his power--but he eventually absorbs their personality into his own, and since these days there's a lot more personalities in the god than the small, single-lifed human, well." Magnus shrugged.

"Oh," Cassie said in a small voice.

"But the personality of the person is still there, however small a part. So the cult figures, if they sacrifice enough of themselves into the god, he'll become one of them."

"That... is creepy. Would it even work?"

"They got close around a hundred years ago, but he managed to escape into Angus and got away," Magnus said.

"So they plan to just kill him, over and over again."

"That's right."

"As a god, isn't it bad to have people thinking its okay to kill and eat you? Doesn't that kind of set a bad precedent?"

Magnus shrugged. "They only do it to the Trickster, and I don't care about him. I'd wish the cultists well of him, except that they've decided that I am their enemy and keep on killing my witches to upset me."

"They tried to torture the Templeman in the last village I was at, too," Cassie said.

"Oh? Did he manage to escape?"

"Yes, he..." Cassie's ingenuity failed her, and she panicked, staring at Magnus's vaguely inquisitive expression. How was she going to explain what happened without mentioning Angus? Why couldn't she think of anything? Argh, she was taking too long, she was being suspicious. Surely she could think of something...

"... did," Cassie finished lamely. To her great relief, Magnus seemed to accept this, and nodded.

"Good," he said mildly. "I've set wards up for the night, it's safe to turn in."

"Oh, great, thanks," Cassie said, and gratefully left the conversation.

The next morning, Cassie had a bone to pick with Angus.

"You did not tell me you were a god," she hissed at him when she felt him come back to her mind.

"I was trying to figure out a way to break it to you gently," Angus said. "It's not my fault Magnus blurted it out like that. And I am not a god anymore, you are."

"I do not like this!"

"I know! It sucks! But how is this any worse than getting slowly merged with a creepy human with powers? At least being a god comes with perks!"

"Like what?"

"Like... Well... a more interesting class of enemy?"

"That's not a perk!"

"No," Angus sighed, "but, you know, if you hadn't escaped, and you wouldn't have without me, the cultists would have killed you. I would imagine your parents may have tried to intervene, maybe even more of the villagers. As it is, your village will face no reprisals. Think of it this way: the Trickster, god of deception and calamity, stumbled into your village, and the only one who was brought misfortune was you. Isn't that lucky? Isn't that worth becoming a god for?"

"Are you mad? I heard someone say once that the Trickster is mad."

"I am literally talking to myself right now."

Cassie sighed. "So what do we do?"

"First thing's first: ditch Magnus before he figures out who you are and tries to kill us or something. Second thing's second: continue to the Glade. Magnus may think he's good enough to defeat the cultists and save his witches on his own, but the cult has become bigger than he realises. We should probably rustle up some help before he kills himself."

"This feud seems a little one-sided," Cassie said.

"Yes, well, I tricked him into putting Bounty to sleep, and he has not forgotten or forgiven me for that. He's holding a bit of a grudge."

"Can you just... wake her up?"

"Not yet," Angus muttered.

When Cassie got back to the camp, Magnus had put out the fire and was waiting for her.

"Where are we going now?" he asked.

"Um, well, I was going to the Glade of the Gods," she said, pointing.

"It's that way," Magnus said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Oh."

"I shall accompany you," Magnus decided.

"Uh... what about the witches? Don't they need your protection?"

"The cultists seem to have spread out a little, and my witches can handle themselves if they don't encounter the cultists en masse."

"How do you know what the cultists are doing?" Cassie asked. Magnus, without expression, held out a hand. A raven flew onto it.

"Oh," Cassie said. "Sorry, I forgot."

"In any case, you do not have magic to defend yourself with, have no sense of direction, and are dressed like a witch. The cultists will find you and kill you in days, if not hours. So I will accompany you until we are out of the territory the cultists are searching."

"That's very kind of you, but I do not want to put you out."

"It is no trouble," Magnus said firmly.

"All right, then, thank you," Cassie said, defeated. So much for first thing's first...