Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (10 page)

“Mosley, stop that!” Bassorine commanded.

The wolf pulled back and turned to face the god. What happened next caught Sam and Shalee off guard. The beast spoke. “What? Her aroma is magnificent.” He looked at Sam. “But your smell curls the hair in my snout. You don’t run with the rest of your pack. Your odor is selfish.” The wolf looked back at Bassorine. “The human doesn’t have the smell of a leader as you said he would.”

Mosley looked back at Sam. “Despite your stench, you fought well. I can’t remember the last series of moments in which I was hit that hard ... a few well-placed blows your paws delivered to my flanks. I hope you were unharmed.”

Despite the impossibility of a wolf speaking, Sam was irritated by the wolf’s flawed recollection of the fight. The genius moved past the fact the animal could speak—a fact Shalee was still digesting—and rebutted. “Of course I wasn’t harmed. You didn’t touch me.”

Sam turned his attention toward Bassorine. Respecting the god’s power, he was careful to choose his words. “You said you used your statue to greet us. You also said you would answer my questions, and I should listen when you speak. Maybe we could have a conversation?”

Bassorine nodded and then motioned for the wolf to stand by his side. “This is my companion, Mosley.”

The beast looked up at Shalee, gave her a wolfish grin and winked before complying with the god’s desire.

Bassorine, God of War

Bassorine reached down to scratch the back of the animal’s head. “Mosley is the finest companion a man, or god, could have. He’s a night terror wolf. On many occasions, before I ascended, this beast saved my life. He is loyal. I have given him an extended existence because of his actions. He will live many, many seasons before he joins me in the heavens.”

Sam took a second to admire the animal’s beauty, and then he raised his right hand as if he was in school.

Bassorine motioned for Sam to speak.

“Okay, okay. Let me get this straight...” He reiterated what he had just learned. He concluded by saying, “...And we’re in a place called Grayham. Is that about it? Do I have it right so far?”

Bassorine sighed. “You’re not
in
Grayham. You are on the world of Grayham. More specifically, you’re on the continent of Southern Grayham.” The god motioned to the section of the floor that had held his statue. “My likeness and the base it stood upon have sat within this hall for over 10,000 seasons and served two purposes. The first was to celebrate the victory I attained when fighting to return the Crystal Moon to the gods. The second, was to act as this world’s placeholder for the true Crystal Moon. As you know, its power provides the planets the ability to support life.”

Bassorine lifted his right hand and pointed to the paintings on the ceiling. “The Crystal Moon is kept in this temple for all to come and worship. They marvel at its beauty, but more importantly, they acknowledge my glory. The Collective felt my statue would be a fitting test to see how you’d handle the adversity of your arrival.”

Shalee butted into the conversation with a question of her own. “How do you protect the Crystal Moon from being taken? Where I’m from, people steal things all the time. Don’t y’all worry about that?”

Bassorine shook his head. “It would be a waste of someone’s moments to try. The Crystal Moon is protected by my power. No one can take it unless I release my hold on it.”

Sam raised his hand again and was encouraged to speak. “It looks as if someone has found a way to appropriate it. Your crystal is gone. It vanished just before you showed up.”

The god looked at Sam, and then took a moment to observe the area. A sense of realization appeared on Bassorine’s face as he started to fumble with the point of his chin while talking to himself.

This annoyed Sam.
This is some god,
he thought.
Gods aren’t supposed to have a weakness. They’re supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing. How could he not know it was gone. How could he have overlooked the fact that the base of his statue is missing? I mean, he just came from that spot. And he talks like a regular guy. What kind of god talks like a regular guy? An accent would be more believable. At least he would come across as esteemed.

Sam frowned.
I’d be a better god.
He looked in the direction of the missing statue.
What an idiot!
He looked at Bassorine.
It’s best I stay calm. This guy would make me tap out if I don’t. That pisses me off.

Sam decided to take control of the conversation. “Okay, okay. It’s clear there’s something wrong here. Maybe you should let me dissect the situation. Maybe we could begin with a few pertinent questions?”

Bassorine agreed and motioned for Sam to continue.

Sam now believed his intellect was superior to that of this “so-called” god. “So … how did we get here?”

“Your wishes brought you here. This is your chance to have everything you wanted. You succeeded at discovering the statue’s meaning and how to awaken me. Otherwise, you would’ve been sent home. Now you shall stay and enjoy this world.”

Bassorine paused. “Lasidious was the one who retrieved you from your Earth.”

Shalee stood in silence as Sam reacted. “Okay, okay. Hold up. There are issues. First, what wishes are you talking about?”

“ You each made a wish. I’m sure you remember the requests you made on the last celebration you had honoring your births. You, Sam, wished to be given the chance to be the best warrior you could be and to make an impact on the lives of others while Shalee desired to escape her routine. She also wished for the power to make a difference in the lives of others and for an adventure. Your wishes were noble.”

Now, fellow soul ... Sam was floored. He thought back to his last birthday and remembered the wish he made as he blew out the candles. The problem was, he had no idea the memory of this supposed wish had been planted in his mind. It was a false memory.

“I remember the wish,” Sam responded. “But I wanted to be the best warrior in the world of mixed martial arts. I wanted to touch the lives of others through the fame I would gain. I wanted to help people my way … not be dragged into someone else’s idea of what I meant.”

Bassorine nodded. “What’s done is done. It was agreed upon by the Collective to bring you here. Your gods of Earth agreed as well. Ask your next question.”

Sam grit his teeth. This was heavy, a hard pill to swallow. How could he argue with a god, or was this guy truly an exalted being, considering his lack of knowledge of the day’s events? He could argue, but it was pointless to try. He could not overcome Bassorine in a confrontation, and he still needed to know more. For now, all he could do was continue to ask questions.

“Okay, okay. You said we would’ve been sent home if we were unable to summon you. So you must have released your hold on the Crystal Moon. We needed to touch it in order to complete the test, right? Maybe that’s how it was taken.”

Bassorine nodded in agreement and motioned for Sam to continue. “I’m sure you know I understand other languages. I’m also sure you know more about me than I care to guess. So my next question is … what about George? Why was he here? What happened to him when he fell through the floor with your statue?”

Bassorine looked puzzled. He stood in silence for a moment. “George? Who is this George? There should have only been two of you.”

Sam loved the fact he knew something else this “so-called” god did not. “The writing on the statue talked about a group of three who would be called upon to recover the missing pieces of the Crystal Moon. You know, the one about two men and a woman. The prophecy where one of the group’s members falls by the wayside, leaving it up to the remaining two to save the worlds and find a way to gather the pieces of the Crystal Moon before the worlds collide?”

Sam’s expression mocked his next statement. “The whole, ‘watch out for the spread of chaos’ part was on there as well.”

Ignoring his tone, Bassorine responded. “This test was for the amusement of the gods. We grow bored and seek diversions. When I created the prophecy for your greeting, it didn’t read the way you described. I wrote about one man and one woman creating an empire of good. You were to make a difference on the worlds. The Collective agreed and thought this to be a worthy cause … a good entertainment.”

Bassorine cleared his throat. “Sam, we hoped your knowledge and your skills as a warrior, along with Shalee’s goodness and power, would be a strong combination while creating an empire on this world. We further hoped the remaining worlds would follow in your footsteps, and the races would be rejoined. They would be allowed to live together on any world they choose.”

Sam started to speak, then stopped. He started again, then stopped.

Bassorine commanded, “Just speak.”

“Okay, okay. All right. I understand the power the crystal is said to possess. If the gods agreed you wanted us to create an empire, why implement a test in the first place? Why risk releasing your hold on it?”

Bassorine’s brows furrowed. “Not all the gods were in favor of this decision. We govern by majority. It was Lasidious, Yaloom, Mieonus, Alistar, Celestria and four others who felt a test should be implemented to see if you were clever enough to undertake such a task. Lasidious was the one who suggested I allow you to touch the Crystal Moon as a way to summon me. The idea didn’t seem risky. No harm was to come from it.

“I believe a trick has been played, and a game amongst the gods has begun. The prophecy has been rewritten without my knowledge. This is the only logical explanation. You have been caught in a play for power. A new plan is in order to stop the chaos that will ensue because of this deception.

“You’ll be more instrumental than ever while saving the worlds. It will rest on your shoulders to restore balance between good and evil.

“If the pieces are not returned, the planets will drift. This deception could be the beginning of the end of all we’ve created.”

“What on God’s green Earth are you talking about? What do you mean, we’ll need to do this?” Shalee inserted. “Who do you think you are, buddy? We didn’t ask for this. You said I have power. I don’t have any such thing. None of this makes sense. You’ve brought us here against our will ... against our will, I tell you! You don’t do things like that to Texans. We don’t take kindly to folks messing with us. I have a mind to put my foot right up your—”

Bassorine held up his hand and used his power to command Shalee’s silence. Tears began to flow down her face—not because her life was being forced into an unfamiliar situation, but more because the thought of Chanice popped into her head.
Oh my goodness, my little sis
.
Who’ll take care of her? How can I keep my promise if I’m not there to keep her in line? What if her mama dies before I get back?
She remembered her dream.
Oh, my gosh, what if she’s already dead?
All Shalee’s unspoken questions and more would go unanswered.

“Allow me a moment to think,” Bassorine demanded. He looked at Sam. “I believe this to be the handiwork of Lasidious. He’s a master of deception. He must know the location of the Crystal Moon. I’ll check with the others of the Collective to see if they have knowledge of his actions.”