Siobhan, The goddess' handmaiden

4. Blood

There is blood everywhere. A sultry demon is growling at another that holds a huge kitchen knife in its claws. These two don’t even try to look human, or they simply can’t. There are many demon shapes and sizes. She can’t catalogue them now. There is a mess so huge, she’s not cleaning it. Pots and pans are lying around without any order, everything is covered with grime and blood. Dried blood and fresh blood. Both demons are bleeding all over the floor. What are they doing?

“This little dispute of yours will have to wait,” Siobhan says loudly to get their attention. “The goddess is impatiently waiting to hear why her special wine is not available.”

“Who the hell are you?” The knife wielding one turns to her.

“The new handmaiden,” she answers.

“The provider is not providing. She can’t get what I don’t have,” the demon answers.

“Where is the problem?” Siobhan asks.

“There. The bastard is fighting back,” the demon points the knife at the other one.

“Oh, bloody hell!” Siobhan exclaims. How did she miss the connection? The goddess drinks blood, not wine.

To avoid getting her ass handed to her by the goddess, she zaps the demon with static. It worked on the other one, it should, in theory, work on this one too. The angry glare she gets back tells her, she miscalculated. It didn’t work.

“Does he have to die for the goddess to get her drink? Or where is the real problem?” Siobhan inquires.

“No. He just doesn’t want to donate,” the kitchen demon answers. She decided that’s what she’ll call him.

“Why not? Should I drag you to the throne room, so she can drain you in person? Give up the frigging pint of blood and be done with it!” Siobhan yells. “There’s more on the floor by now.”

“She does have a point,” Nakir chuckles. He somehow snuck up on her while she was dealing with the demons.

“Fill the pitcher, clean up the bloody mess!” Siobhan glares at the demons. She lost so much time just talking to them. It’s not wise to keep the goddess waiting.

“Yes,” the two demons seem to give in rather quickly. Was it his presence and not her? Should she care if it gives the result she wants? Maybe she can get back to her book and have some peace today?

Siobhan takes the pitcher and goblet. Ignoring Nakir’s presence might be best. He doesn't pay any attention to her either. She walks as fast as she can without spilling any of the contents. If she doesn’t think about it, she can go back to pretending it’s just wine. Ereshkigal sits on her throne. She’s taping her nails against the armrest. The goddess might look peaceful, but she’s anything but that.

“Took you long enough,” she accuses.

“I don’t have anything to say,” Siobhan shakes her head. She pours the blood and offers the goblet to the goddess.

“I was watching. You never negotiate with the demons. They will think you’re soft,” Ereshkigal scoffs. “Go now.”

Siobhan passes Nakir again at the door of the throne room. Did he come to see Ereshkigal? Why does she care? She quenches her feelings deep in their roots. Never show him how you feel, Siobhan reminds herself. There is nothing for you there. He is free and you’re not. It’s none of your business what he does. She leans against the wall. Siobhan is not tired from all the running, but her soul is heavy and weary. The worst punishment for one's deeds comes from oneself. She brought this on herself by coming here. Now she has to look at him every day. It was so much easier when she was in the human realm and he was safely locked in Irkalla.

“Siobhan?” Nakir is standing by her side, but she doesn’t open her eyes. She can’t look at him now.

“Hm?” She murmurs. Maybe he’ll get the hint and go away?

“She’s giving you a hard time? What is she punishing you for?” He asks her almost gently. Or is this her imagination because she can’t see him?

“Nina,” Siobhan answers.

“Did you tell her, or did she find Nina by reading your mind?” Nakir inquires.

“I told her. She took me to the screening pool to see her. Nina is fine, she doesn’t need me at all. She doesn’t need anyone,” Siobhan sighs.

“Well, Ery is screaming for blood. The goods perceive family ties very differently. Nina is my daughter, so that makes her Ery’s family. She doesn’t have many family members that are still alive. And she was kept in the dark about her,” Nakir tells her.

“I’m sorry. I really am,” she finally looks at him: “Do you hate me?”

“No. I would like to have known about her, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. I’m stuck here. I can’t open a portal on my own, I need Ery to do it,” Nakir’s voice is totally impassive. She can’t tell if he’s telling the truth or not.

“Why couldn’t we open a portal to Irkalla? Zack’s and my powers were enough to open one to everywhere else we tried. Zolan did it, we couldn’t,” she wonders.

“Because of Ery. She is the absolute ruler here. The guardian of this realm, and the keeper of the portal. When she’s present there is only one option for a portal, and that’s in the throne room. Zolan took advantage of her absence. Ery was tired of everything and she locked herself away. In a sense she was hibernating. That created a void and chaos. The generals did what they wanted and released demons into the human realm,” he explains.

“Oh. That explains a lot,” Siobhan nods. “Has your return awoken her? She doesn’t seem happy to have you back.”

“My presence here ensures peace. The demons fear me,” Nakir scoffs. “As to Ery? She’s never happy. I’m a reminder of what she lost. The only difference between Munkar and me were our eyes. His eyes were golden.”

“So you’re not lovers?” Siobhan blurts out. Damn, woman! No feelings! Ereshkigal warned you, and you go and do it anyway.

“Where did that come from?” Nakir narrows his eyes at her.

“Forget it. I’m going back to my book,” Siobhan tries to walk away from him, but he grabs her arm. It makes the sleeve slide down and her owl tattoo is plainly visible.

“Is that jealousy? There is nothing between us!” Nakir growls at her. He lets go of her arm and walks away. He never loved her, that’s clear now.

She walks to the library in hopes to finally have some peace to read. Ereshkigal is quiet and there is nothing else to do. But concentrating on a book is hard when she’s rattled. The blood thing is still lodged in her mind. If the goddess drinks demon blood for nourishment, what does Nakir eat? He’s still alive. She has seen the angels eat human food. And why is she stuck on that? It’s not the weirdest thing to eat. Gods have very peculiar tastes when it comes to food. Besides, she shouldn’t care about Nakit at all. He said it himself, there is nothing between them.

Siobhan sets the book back down. She can’t read. Yoga might be the answer she needs. It always helped to bring her inner peace back. Getting down on the floor, she does a few stretches and sits in the lotus position. Deep, slow breaths to clear her mind of everything. And then her bracelet flashes red. It comes with a buzz that destroys her peace at once. That part is new, she thinks. Was Ereshkigal spying on her? Her eyes were closed, so she didn’t actually see the red flash. What does she want this time?