Aspid hissed.
“You’re asking me for something not in my power to give. I guard the land. I do not own it and I do not own its people. They pray to their own gods.”
“Then you die,” Roman-Chernobog said.
“If you kill me, my father will take over the city and all the lands around it. He doesn’t suffer any competition to his power. The witches and volhvs are afraid of him and oppose him. He knows this. Right now, your worshippers live in the land I guard. I don’t make any demands on them. They worship whoever they choose. Once my father comes through, that will be over. Most of those who honor you will die in that battle. Those who survive will be punished and enslaved for opposing my father. If you kill me, nobody in Atlanta will be left to say your name.” I looked at Sirin. “Tell him.”
The look on her face said she already had.
“You asked me here to bargain. Let me bargain with you.”
Silence fell. This was the part where I would get eaten. I’d make it as expensive for them as I could.
“What do you offer?” the god said.
“If you agree to help us crush my father’s forces, I will invoke your name before the troops gathered in front of me. I will tell those who fight with me that you will be present, so they can witness your power for themselves. I’ll make sure that they know your name so they may choose to pray to you. If your power is as great as the power your volhv has shown, that battle will bring you many converts. I will not make this bargain with any other god. No matter how much aid Belobog or Perun offers me, I will reject it. I will not go to their volhvs for help and I won’t seek their counsel. You will be the only Slavic god on the field that day. You will be honored, feared, and remembered. Years from now, they will tell legends about this day and your name will be spoken.”
Silence.
The god’s eyes shone brighter. “Done.”
Darkness swirled around Roman and withdrew back into the forest. He blinked, as if waking up, his massive sword again a simple staff, and his head bare.
Aspid hissed and slithered to Roman, the serpent dragon’s huge head level with him. If he opened his mouth, he could swallow the volhv in one gulp.
Roman shook his head, clearing it.
The dragon opened his mouth, his teeth like long curved sabers. Oh crap.
“Roman!” I started toward them and sank into the mud.
Aspid’s long serpentine tongue flicked out and wound around the volhv. I sped up, splashing through the bog. There was no way I could make it through all this muck in time.
Roman blinked again and smacked Aspid’s nose with his hand. “What did I say about kisses? No kisses unless invited.”
Aspid’s tongue contracted. He pulled Roman into his mouth.
I sprinted.
“Yes, I love you, too,” Roman said from inside the forest of teeth. “I need to go now. Come on.”
The dragon opened his mouth and put Roman back into the mud. The massive serpent looked at me, hissed, and slid into the forest, his obsidian body going and going . . . It would be comical if it weren’t so damn scary. I glanced behind me. Sirin was gone.
“Happens every time,” Roman said. “He misses his father. I’m a substitute until he sees Chernobog in the next flare.”
“You have a weird life.”
“Look who’s talking.” He shrugged. “It’s not that I’m that evil, really. I’m just beloved by evil things.”
A sword wrapped in black canvas rose from within the bog hilt up, like some strange flower. I gripped the hilt. It was cool to the touch. Huh. The last time I’d used it, I’d had to get special gloves and wrap the hilt in three layers of cloth. I pulled the sword free. Some people pulled swords out of stones and went on to rule Britannia. I pulled a sword out of the mud and tried not to think about what I had done.
“This way.” Roman started through the woods. “Well, that was fun.”
“I did the best I could,” I told him.
“Not questioning that.” He dragged his hand over his face. “My uncle will have to be told. Professional courtesy. This is going to really upset the power apple cart. That’s why the Dark God didn’t use me.”
“Why?”
“Because if I had known what he wanted, I would’ve talked him out of it. You have no idea the shit I’ve stopped.”
“He wanted the whole battlefield dedicated to him.”
Roman grimaced. “I know.”
“At least this way, once he is on the battlefield, he won’t be claiming human sacrifices.”
“It won’t be him,” Roman said. “It will be me on the battlefield channeling his power.” He grinned. “I will be a battle volhv. This will be my first time. I’m excited.”
“I didn’t mean to rope you into this.”
“I didn’t mean to bring you into a scary swamp. Things happen.”
“How often are Sirin’s predictions wrong, Roman?”
“Do you want the true answer or the one you can live with?”
“That often, huh?”
He nodded.
The trees parted. Teddy Jo stood in the middle of the road, looking confused. The sun was to our right. We’d lost a few hours somehow.
He saw us and shook his head. “I’ve tried going through the woods twice. I keep ending up on this road.”
“I believe this is yours.” I pulled the fabric off the sword. The blade burst into flame. I tossed it at Teddy Jo.