CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN by M.Scott Verne, Wynn Wynn Mercere Read Free Book Online

creature would parallel the boat’s path, but the silent and beautiful trip across the lake was otherwise uneventful.
    By the time the small boat got close to the shore it was getting dark. There were still hints in the sky that the sun had been there not too long ago. “We are lucky Aavi,” Mazu revealed. “Sunsets in the realms of the gods last much longer than the ones on Earth. Otherwise we would have spent the last two hours traveling in the dark.”
    “Yes, I noticed all the light was draining from the sky.   Does that always happen?” Aavi asked as she looked toward the approaching dark shoreline.
    Mazu tied the boat alongside another wooden dock and climbed out of the boat. She looked with some bemusement over at Aavi.
    “It is called night. Now, the Oracle’s temple is up on top of that hill. We’ll have to walk a bit. I promised D’Molay that I’d make sure you got all the way there, so I will accompany you,” she said as she leaned on her specially-shaped staff that served as walking stick, boat pole and oar.
    Aavi struggled to stand up in the swaying boat and carefully made her way toward the old woman. “Thank you, I’d love the company. I really don’t know my way.” She was relieved to know she wouldn’t be alone. Aavi didn’t feel she would ever get used to being alone.   It was strange to feel so isolated and disconnected from everything. Mazu held out her thin, bony hand and helped Aavi get out of the boat.
    As they walked along the trail, Aavi peered at the trees and hills in the darkness.   When they were in the boat, while there was still a golden glow in the sky, it all looked so pastoral and beautiful. Now, as she walked along in the slowly dimming sky, next to an elderly woman she knew nothing about, everything took on a sinister, threatening appearance. It was as if a dark blanket of fear was wrapping itself around her. Aavi tried to resist the feeling, reasoning that this was the first time she had been in the dark since she had lost her identity, so no doubt her fear was all the worse because of this.
    “So, how long have you been running the boat from the City, Mazu?” Aavi asked, trying to break the foreboding silence. Mazu replied as they continued to walk.
    “Several hundred years, since the last ferryman betrayed the gods by attempting to bring in usurpers. That ferryman was a human servant who was executed for his traitorous actions.   After that, the Council decided that a god should take on the duty to make sure such a betrayal would not happen again.   I volunteered, as I wanted to get back to the lakes and boats that that I once protected as a goddess in China.”
    Aavi was surprised by this, “You were - I mean are - a goddess?” she asked.
    Mazu chuckled slightly as she answered, “I suppose I look more like a fisherman’s wife. But yes, I am, though really I consider myself retired at this point.” Mazu laughed again as she seemed to be amused at something she kept to herself.
    Aavi hoped Mazu wasn’t laughing at her ignorance. “I-I’m sorry, I meant no insult, Mazu.   D’Molay didn’t tell me.” She examined Mazu again. With simple black trousers, wooden sandals, a grey, somewhat tattered, long-sleeved coat, and with her long grey hair in a braid down her back, would anyone have guessed she was a goddess?   Aavi doubted it.  
    Mazu pointed a crooked finger at Aavi as she spoke. “Perhaps he did not want you to be any more worried then you already were. You will find that not all the gods here are glorious to look at, or beautiful. Not all of us are desirous of power or prestige. Many of us feel that we finished our duties when we were on Earth, and now in this place, it is our time to rest. I pilot the boat as much for my enjoyment as for any other reason.”    
    “Earth must be a very big place,” Aavi mused, causing Mazu to look at her curiously.
    “Actually, it is quite small compared to the godly realms we reside in.” Mazu paused