Against All Gods

Chapter 1

The ocean wind was relentless. It tugged at Sage's tunic, thrashed at the gnarled oak tree's branches, and droned in Sage's ears, mirroring the buzzing in his chest. Gnawing at his thumb nail, he scanned over the grassy meadow, his eyes grazing each stalk of grass and dandelion head as hungrily as the sheep under his care. Where was Violet?

Every second away from her felt like a minute without oxygen, or a day without bread. His lungs screamed and his stomach ached.

Xanthus drove his sun chariot across the sky at a steady, leisurely pace, and Sage wished that the elder god would hurry so that the morning would pass quicker.

Not that the gods cared for anything as trivial as Sage's love life.

If they cared, they would have already fixed the mistake in his form. Yet, he was trapped in a state of perpetual longing, not able to fulfill his desire until the gods fulfilled the promise they had made to his mother.

He shifted the position he was sitting in, leaning one shoulder back into the old oak tree he was under, and reached for the pouch he kept tied around his waist. When he moved, his right leg tingled. Trying to ignore it, Sage fiddled with the leather twine that cinched the pouch closed. He easily loosened the knot and slipped his fingers through the now-open mouth. He muttered a curse as his fingertips brushed against empty leather. There wasn't even a crumb of stale bread left to nibble on.

As he sat back against the tree, the tingle in his leg grew sharper. A spreading numbness climbed up his calf and thigh and small prickles danced along his skin, as though a hedgehog had lodged itself in his trousers.

The giant oak had protected Sage from the early morning sun, but with his leg falling asleep, he knew he'd been sitting for too long. He licked the salt air off his lips and stood, his soft hands gripping his shepherd's crook for balance. Hawkeye kept his steady gaze on the flock and only responded to Sage's movement with the slightest flick of one ear.

"With you here, I'm not sure what use I am," Sage muttered as he rolled his shoulders and surveyed the grazing sheep. He'd been herding this flock since his twelfth summer, and had never encountered trouble on this meadow bluff. Down in the valleys where the forest was thicker, that's where danger lurked. A daring fox. Roving coyotes. Maybe even a hungry bear. But up here, with the view clear to the western horizon and only the sloping foothills to the east, it was a wandering ewe that might cause difficulty. Not predators.

As his eyes scanned the field again, a familiar silhouette finally came into view. Violet was here.

She walked up the winding path with a casual sway in her hips and as she crested the hill and reached the meadow, sunbeams danced along her loose blonde hair and illuminated her fair features. Sage's face split into a wide grin. Hawkeye barely reacted.

"Hey, you found me," Sage greeted, his voice cheerful and light. All of his anxiety from waiting washed away. He took a step forward, but when he put weight on his numbed right foot, he stumbled and had to grip his staff to keep from falling.

"Are you all right?" Violet quickly closed the distance between them and placed a steadying hand on Sage's side, just above his hip.

He blushed at her touch, feeling her warm hand through his thin tunic. "Was just sitting for too long," he said, glancing up, his hazel eyes meeting her brown ones.

"Sitting on the job?" she teased, bringing her hand back to her side. "I expect more from our shepherd."

Sage gestured down at Hawkeye. "He's as loyal as Azure is to Aurelia. I'm just here to enjoy the ocean view."

At the mention of the ocean, Violet turned her head and looked over at the vast expanse, the domain of Viridian, the goddess of the sea. Churning white waves crashed and lapped at the rocky shore below, but further out, the water looked as flat as his mother's wooden cutting board. Today, with a thick line of tall clouds marching in from the distance, the deep water appeared gray-green. "It goes on forever, doesn't it?" Violet whispered.