Gods of Old, Part 3: Vesna

Chapter 5: Plans of mice and men

Ty needs to be in motion and paces over the length of the living room. Somehow he thinks better if he moves. Flying would be a great stress relief right now, but he’s in the city. That poses way too much risk of being seen. He can feel two pairs of eyes watching him and on the last turn he confronts them.

“So? What do we do?” He inquires of his new friend and her god husband. Veles is nothing like his father made him out to be. Not a ruffian or a brawler, but a gentleman and apparently a loving husband and brother. Even Ty can sense the worry and tumult in Veles.  

“Let’s take care of this party first. I can call Marra and cancel the catering, but I don’t have access to the invites list.” Ilona sets things in motion.

“That’s easy. Allegra does.” Veles retorts and takes Vesna’s phone. “I’ll call her in.”

“You know Vesna’s pass code?” Ty asks with a frown.

“For her phone? It’s a capital V.” Veles answers. “I don’t have access to her laptop, so we need Allegra.”

“What can I do?” Ty asks, quietly. Sadness is sneaking up on him and he shakes the feeling off. This is not the time for sadness, depression or any other kind of bleak thoughts. He needs to think and do something, not wallow in despair. He’s not a child any more, not a sheltered little dragonet that can just crawl up in his tower and sulk for a few days because his mother grounded him. He’s a grown up and he needs to act like one. ‘Great! How do you plan to accomplish that?’  His dragon asks, sarcasm dripping in waves from the sulky beast. ‘You can sulk, just don’t drag me down with you.’ Ty shoots back at his dragon.

“Nothing much.” Ilona tells him. “Can you make coffee? I think we’ll need it.”

Ty nods and wanders off to the kitchen. He finds a much better coffee machine here and a selection of different coffee grinds. He ponders which one to take and decides to go with a dark roast Ethiopian blend just because it smells the best. He makes a full pot and grabs a few cups and sugar and cream. He is too lazy to walk the distance twice if someone desires cream in their coffee.

“Any luck?” He asks as he comes back to the living room.

“Yes. The catering is canceled, though we have to pay a small reimbursement and Allegra said she can get Alessio to drive her here.” Veles answers as Ilona is still on the phone.

“I told mom the party is postponed, but she can still come.” Ilona tells them. “Who is Alessio?”

“Allegra’s older brother.” Ty answers her. “I met him at the photoshoot earlier today. He’s a firefighter. And he drives a motorcycle.”

“Now we just need to find Vesna. Any ideas?” Ilona sighs and sits on the sofa.

“I can’t locate her.” Veles grunts. “I can usually pinpoint where my siblings are if I concentrate enough on them. So, I think, she doesn’t want to be found.”

“Nah, you’re just not looking in the right place!” Comes a comment from the entrance.

“Mom!” Ilona jumps from her seat and hugs the newcomer. 

Ty thinks about the resemblance between the both of them. The lady is definitely Ilona’s mother. The same facial structure, the same wild red hair, but the eyes are different. The vivid blue of the mothers eyes shows an old soul, even though he can’t see a wrinkle on her face, he can feel that she’s old. Older than him, by far. This family is getting more interesting by the minute.

“Mother, come and meet Ty.” Ilona brings her mom to the sofa where he sits. “He’s the reason Vesna is gone.”

“Oh, really?” The lady raises an eyebrow at him. ”I’m Devana. And I think I’m missing some vital information.”

“Ty is Vesna’s mate.” Veles inserts while Ilona goes to answer the door. “And he’s a dragon, but the wolves don’t need to know that.”

“Please, don’t say anything.” Ty pleads and tries very hard not to hypnotise Devana who only nods in understanding.

“OK. We’re here! What’s burning?” Allegra dances in with her bright and happy attitude about life and Alessio follows her more moderately and a cloud of irritation about his sister flows around him.

“Do you have access to Vesna’s laptop? We need to notify people that the party is off.” Veles asks the young girl.

“No.” She frowns. “But I have my iPad and access to the cloud data. What should I write in the notice?”

“Just write: the party is postponed till further notice, because Vesna had to leave town for a family reason.” Ilona suggests.

“Sounds good. We don’t owe explanations.” Allegra smiles and begins typing.

“Where did she really go?” Alessio addresses the elephant in the room.

“We don’t know.” Ty shrugs with a sigh and sinks back in the cushion.

“I think I might know.” Devana answers and points her finger up as she looks at Veles. “Her sanctuary in The Sky.”

Veles looks perplexed. “Why would she go there?”

“Probably, because we can’t.” Devana tells him.

“I think you’re right. That would be just like her.” Veles frowns.

“Can someone explain what this sanctuary is?” Ty asks worried. He looks between Devana and Veles who seem to have some private conversation without words.

“Oh, what the hell!” Devana exclaims. “Our fathers had no imagination when naming things. The Sky is our heaven realm, so to speak. The gods of light have homes there. We call those homes sanctuaries, because they don’t look like temples. Well, most of them don’t. We shall not name certain gods.”

“Don’t even think about the names, let them sleep.” Veles inserts. “And some of us have our homes in the Underworld. Me, for instance. So I can’t go to The Sky realm without causing a war.”

“Mom? Can you go?” Ilona asks her mother.

“No.” Devana shakes her head. “I’m human now. No humans allowed in The Sky.”

“So, if I get this right, she went to the one place nobody can follow her to?” Ty asks. “Did she just abandon everything here?”

“She did it once before.” Devana whispers. “What was it? About a thousand years ago?”

“We were not on speaking terms then. Different sides of the succession wars in Poland.” Veles answers. “Why did she go then?”

“I don’t remember.” Devana shrugs. “My memory is not perfect like it used to be. But we do know someone who can go.”

“Who’s going to ask her nicely?” Veles inquires.

Ty is getting more and more confused here and he has the distinct feeling that there is a lot Veles and Devana are not telling them. And the way they act? They are related somehow and not just because she is Ilona’s mother. ‘That question can wait. We need our mate back.’ His dragon inserts a thought, but right now he has no idea what to ask to get the answers they’re not telling. He makes eye contact with Alessio and the wolf only shrugs, he’s in the dark too. Well, this dragon is not one to just sit around and wonder, he will ask anyway. At least the question they have to answer.

“Ask who?” Ty demands.

“Our sister Morrana.” Veles answers. “She is one of the rare gods that can live in both realms. Getting her to do something is the problem.”

“Well, she mellowed out a bit since she met Marco.” Devana comments. “You really think she would say no?”

“Yeah.” Veles nods. “After that incident last month, where Marco was kidnapped? She’s back to her usual icy self.”

“Can you ask her? Just so we know we tried everything.” Ty pleads.

“Please ask her! I want my boss back. She’s the best ever. I learned more from her, then I did in three years of school.” Allegra pleads too.

“Fine. I’ll call her, it’s not that late yet.” Veles gives in and dials Morrana’s number. “She doesn't answer. But you all saw me try.”

“Thank you for that.” Ty sounds resigned. “What do we do now?”

“Let me try.” Devana produces her phone and dials. “Nothing.”

“Do you think, if I call her and she sees missed calls from all of us, she’ll do something?” Ilona asks suddenly.

“Try it.” Veles smiles at her and Ty looks away from that happy couple. He reminds himself that envy is an ugly thing and it’s not their fault he managed to alienate his mate with the first kiss. ‘Not your fault! I blurted out she’s our mate.’ The dragon shows remorse and tries to make himself smaller. ‘Not your fault, either. You were just excited that we met our mate. It seems she has some issues.’ Ty tells his dragon.

“I need to go home. I have the early shift at the firehouse tomorrow. Alli? Are you coming?” Alessio asks his sister.

“We can go, right?” Allegra inquires of Veles.

“Sure. We can’t do anything now anyway.” He shrugs. “Will you go check on the store tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Allegra promises. “I don’t have to tell them she’s gone? It’s not like she’s there every day. Right?”

“Keep it to yourself. Let’s not bring her whole business down.” Veles orders.

“Understood. My lips are sealed.” Allegra even makes the exagerated motion of locking her lips with a key before they leave. 

“Can I stay? I can sleep on the sofa.” Ty asks Veles after the wolves go home. “But I doubt I’ll get any sleep.”

“It’s not a mansion, but you can stay if you don’t mind the sofa.” Veles responds with a smirk. 

“I’ll keep you company.” Devana hugs him suddenly. “I’ve got nothing else to do. Maybe we can think of something.”

“Thank you.” Ty whispers softly.

“Are you sure, mom?” Ilona asks her mother.

“Yes. Go get some sleep.” Devana vawes them off.

“Thank you.” Ty whispers again when they are left alone in the living room. “I don’t remember the last time I got a hug from anyone.”

“Your mother never hugged you?” Devana inquires.

“Not the dragon’s way. Showing emotions is not encouraged.” Ty tells her.

“I see.” She smiles. “I haven’t met any dragons that I know of. Mythical creatures were not my domain.”

“Hm, yes.” Ty untangles himself from Devana’s hug. “I meant to ask you about that. I can feel a connection between you and Veles. How exactly are you two related?”

“You can feel that? Or do you see it? Vesna can see mate bonds.” Devana asks him.

“I don’t see anything, I feel the connections. I could tell they are siblings the first time I saw Allegra and Alessio in the same room.” Ty answers.

“Oh. Well…” Devana pauses. “...Vesna, Veles and Morrana are siblings. There are more, but those three stick together. They might fall apart for a while, but they always end up together again. I am a distant cousin of theirs. Vesna and I were close as children, but I never had much interest in the human world.”

“But you said earlier that you’re human now?” Ty remembers the past conversations.

“Yes.” Devana smirks. “A great joke of the Fates, it seems. I gave up my immortality for Ilona’s father and they took him. He died in an accident when Ilona was nine.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Ty tells her, sincerely. “Can I ask? I know Vesna is the goddess of spring and nature, because father used to talk about her. And Veles is the god of the Underworld. What about you and Morrana?”

“A great change of topic.” Devana laughs. “Morrana is the goddess of death and winter. I gave up all of that. I do miss it sometimes.”

“I’m sorry I asked. I’m curious.” Ty apologizes. 

“No. It’s fine.” Devana smiles sadly. “I was the moon goddess. Hunt was my domain and childbirth in some places.”

“If you really miss it so much, there is an archery course in the forest behind my castle in Castelletto. I’m pretty good with my crossbow if you want a challenge.” Ty muses and nods at her.

“Ohhh. Now you have my full attention. We’ll go after we get Vesna back.” Devana laughs and presses her hand against her mouth. “Ups. We don’t want to wake anyone.”

Ty snickers a bit to himself and is careful not to fully smile at Devana. He really likes the lady, she’s funny and considerate. She will be a great friend.

“We can try to get some sleep, too.” He whispers and lays down on his sofa. “Lucky that we have two sofas and they are comfortable.”

“Good night, then.” Devana whispers back and pulls a blanket over herself.