Chapter 18

A Goddess spoke to them.

Well, a disembodied female voice which seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It might not be a Goddess. It could be ... well, a God who just sounded female.

Felek realized he obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

His grip on Ruta tightened, arms wrapping around her waist as she leaned back against him. All eyes in the tower room were on the wooden statue. Felek sensed they, too, were too shocked to speak. Well, someone had to say something. He cleared his throat.

"I ... I am Felek, son of Marik, servant of His Grace King James the First. We have come to..." He looked at Bogdi. The soldier nodded, his own wife pressed against him, eyes wide in shock. "We come in search of a cure for the two surviving children of Bogdi and Adanya." He motioned to the kids. Standing before their parents, they looked more enchanted than scared. "Can you help us?"

He bowed his head slightly, not sure proper protocol. After all, this was not a being they worshiped.

Yet.

The statue seemed to shiver. The bird in its hands cast its gaze around the tower, as if following some insect, as a ghostly being stepped forward through it. It was female, nude, Polish. Felek's mind recorded its impressions in that order. Bare feet stepping off the stone dais, the being towered over the gathered, easily ten feet tall. Her hair was long, unbraided, with flowers woven into a crown. Her breasts were not large, but seemed swollen, as if full of milk. Her eyes were the softest blue, full of love, compassion. Felek felt no desire at her nudity, but rather ... peace.

"Who ARE you?" he found himself saying, as if needing to fill the silence. "Why are you here?"

Her eyes turned to him. Ruta pressed her body back against him even more. The being smiled.

"I am Zywie, Goddess of your ancestors. Spirit of your people. It is I who made them happy. I who made them prosper. I who kept the evils of the world at bay, who brought the crops, made mother's milk flow."

"Why did you leave us?" Ruta whispered. She was now leaning forward in Felek's arms, as if drawn to the spirit. Sadness clouded Zywie's face.

"The God called Jealous, he of the Cross, came to my people. Warned my Poles of wickedness which did not exist. Promised them salvation. They ... abandoned me." Felek winced, her words making him ashamed of his people. "Under his cross they tore down my temples. Destroyed my groves. They... " Her head bowed, grief flowing from her. "They destroyed my tower, stone by stone. Built there a shrine to a mere mother of a babe, to trick my people into worshiping her in my stead."

"Please, Lady Zywie." Adanya's voice was pleading. She stood tall beside her husband, hands on the shoulders of James and Zuza. "Please, help our children. I will do anything you ask to save them. Please."

"The cries of a Mother I have always heard." Zywie held out her right hand. "Come to me, my children."

The two half Pole, half Kikker children slowly walked forward, holding hands. Felek had often, on this journey, found himself forgetting they were not "normal". As they came to a stop before this Polish spirit, however, their otherness shouted itself to him. He found himself muttering a prayer that she accept them. To whom his prayer was directed, he was not sure.

"Are you going to heal us?" Zuza asked. She turned to her brother, taking his right hand in both of hers. "He's really sick. I will be, too."

"Make her well," James said, eyes not leaving Zywie. "Please."

Zywie's hand hovered over their heads. Specs of light seemed to float through her body.

"I can heal you," the Goddess said, voice strong. "But there will be a cost."

Felek winced. Not at her pronouncement, but at the knowledge it would be paid no matter what. Adanya took a step forward.

"Anything! I will pay anything!"

"Will you pay with your motherhood?"

Adanya stepped back, as if slapped. Bogdi stepped forward, one arm going around his wife, his other hand gripping the axe slung from his belt. His voice was like steel.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your offspring are ill because blood has mixed which should not mix. The way to save your children is to ... un-mix it."

Felek felt himself go numb. Make them ... Polish? Remove any trace of their mother? That ... that was...

"NO!"

James' scream echoed through the tower. He ran to his mother, throwing his arms around her.

"No! I won't let you! You can't do that to me! Mommy, don't let her!"

"You are MEAN!" Zuza told the Goddess, hands on her hips. She tossed her head, short red hair not having the dramatic effect she probably intended. "She's our Mom! He's our Dad! You can't take one of them from us!"

"She will still live," Zywie said, voice calm. "She will still be like your mother."

"But I won't look like her! I won't look like Grandpa! No, you can't do it! I won't let you!"

"Zuza!" Adanya stared at her daughter in disbelief, her son clutching her waist. "If it will heal you... !"

"No, Mom!" James raised his head, face red. "I won't let her do it! I'd rather see my brothers and sisters again in heaven than not BE their brother any more! You can't let her, Mommy! It's WRONG!"

The final word hung in the air. Felek swallowed hard. He had never felt this terrified, nor proud. These children ... His Grace had said they were not worth the life of Felek.

Felek now disagreed.

Issa stepped forward. He bowed towards the towering spirit, face as severe as Felek had ever seen it.

"Lady. Surely, there is some other way. Some way to repair what needs to be repaired, to make them whole yet stay who they are."

"Will you pay the price?"

"If it is in my power to, yes."

"What IS the price?" Felek asked. He moved Ruta to his side, taking her hand. Her fingers locked with his. "To worship you?"

"I am not like the Jealous God, who forces all to bow to him and no other. I do not demand. Those who honor me, I bless. Those who do not, I ignore."

"How do we honor you?" Ruta asked. Zywie smiled, the room seeming to brighten.

"With prayer, with songs. With dancing and love. Praise me on the solstices, when planting and harvesting, and I will reward you."

Felek looked around at the others. That ... did not sound like a bad deal. It wasn't like she was asking for blood sacrifices or anything like that. But...