The Last Goddess

Chapter Twenty-Five: Familiar

Aryan

I must be an idiot.

All I've wanted to do since meeting this woman is get away from her. And now, I've tied myself to her! And all because I couldn't control one little impulse! UGH!! IDIOT!!!

I just got so damn caught up in her sincerity. How can a total stranger be so freaking—

Samara pushed back her shadowy hair and seemed to slowly run her hands through it as she looked at me. Her hunter green eyes were wide and vibrant. I couldn't help but notice how her hand stopped just at her shoulder before she briefly touched her lips. Not a couple of seconds passed before she noticed I was watching. She put her hands to her side, embarrassed, but didn't look away.

Dammit... I thought she was pretty before, but now... She's the only thing I can focus on. Stupid familiar contract!

"Aryan," she called, distressed, but it was more than that. I could feel what she felt. She was nervous and excited. Panicked and happy. She was just a rainbow of emotions. Ugh... did I just think 'rainbow of emotions?' "What are you talking about? Goddess? Familiar? Stuck?"

"Look," I started, feeling her curiosity sapping the life out of me. "I'll tell you whatever you want, but can you not feel so hard. It's exhausting."

"Feel?" her eyes showed her awe. "You can feel my emotions?"

"Eh," I half-nodded. "It's more like sense. Now that we've sealed our contract, I know all I need to know about you. Your emotions are one. If you're near enough, I can sense them. And then, of course, the fact that you are a goddess became clear pretty quick." I wagged a finger at her before moving past her and further down the path. "See, I knew there was something about you. It just figures that I would tie myself up with a goddess."

"I don't understand." Samara's stare was drilling a hole into the side of my head. "What contract? Do you mean the..." A flash of delighted fretfulness went through her. "...the kiss?"

"You got it." I smirked, marching ahead and searching for a place to camp for the night. While this familiar business was annoying, I couldn't help but find a little amusement in her reaction. She really doesn't know much.

"How does being my familiar work?"

"Basically, I do all your bidding for all eternity." I shrugged, not completely unamused.

It's not like I haven't been through this before. And Samara certainly seems a hell of a lot nicer than the last one.

"What!?" her horror caused me to stare down at her. Samara wasn't looking at me though. Her eyes were downcast as she shook her head. "No... no. That is not acceptable. How do I get you out of this?"

Heh. Look at that. Already much, much nicer than the last.

I smiled at her but removed it when she looked up at me. "I don't know." The skepticism showed all over her face. "Truly, I don't."

She didn't have to speak a word for me to feel her shock. "If everything you've said so far is true..." Her pace slowed down, but I couldn't have that. I could still sense Soren's pebbles gaining on us. I grabbed Samara's wrist and pulled her along with me. She didn't seem to notice as she continued. "...and I'm the last one. Where are the other goddesses?"

"They're gone." I shrugged, remembering them from long ago.

"Gone where? Do you mean..." A soft frown graced her lips. "...they've passed?"

I felt my face scrunch up as I thought about how to answer that. "Kind of." Samara stopped dead in her tracks which forced me to double back for her. "What are you doing?" I asked, irritated now. "We have to keep moving."

She shook her head at me, determined. "Aryan," her eyes were searching mine for something, but I didn't know what. "I have lived the last twenty-three years of my life not knowing what I am. Don't you think I've waited long enough? If you know something I should, please, tell me."

I know she didn't, but it suddenly felt like she spelled me. I just couldn't help but answer her. "Look," I started, trying to shake the shortness from my tone. "I was sort of messing with you earlier about the whole bidding thing, but as your familiar, my job is to make sure you get what you need. If it's answers, fine. I'll be more than glad to give them to you, but right now, my top priority is to protect you. So, let me do that already. If you keep standing there, Soren's pebbles will catch up."

She seemed defeated as she walked just a little behind me. And after a few minutes, I couldn't stand the deafening silence that was between us.

I growled to myself before taking a deep breath. "The goddesses are gone. I'm not sure if they're really dead or not, but... their powers are inside you." I could see Samara inching closer to me from the corner of my eye, but she didn't say a word. So, I continued. "Thousands of years ago, they made a decision, and enacted a... curse."

"A curse?" Samara thought about this, her eyes looking towards the tree line ahead. "What kind of curse?"

"The kind that has a god like Soren cowering." I smirked. "A curse to punish all the gods."