The Scared God [ManXManXMan]

Chapter Eleven: Неугомонный - Neugomonnyj

~Chapter Eleven: Неугомонный - Neugomonnyj~

When Perun returns for dinner, I am already seated at the dining table, having been dragged down here by Hors a couple of hours ago to watch him cook. Though he never gave me a reason why, I suspect keeping me in the kitchen is his way of making sure I do not make another attempt at escaping. Not that I could even if I wanted to; I will not have enough magic to try again for at least two weeks, if not longer.

The reason it would take so long is not because my magic is returning slower, though. The speed of my magic's return has not changed at all, actually. What has changed is the strength of the wards. When my magic was locked away from me while it healed from the damage done by the revival, I was unable to see the wards or anything magical that would not normally be seen by the naked eye, but now that my magical ability is no longer closed off from me, I can see the difference in what the wards were before I tried to escape and what they are now.

And since the wards have been strengthened on the inside rather than the outside, I know it was done to keep me imprisoned.

Perun greets Hors with a peck on the mouth, as he almost always does upon returning from the heavens, before turning to me. "Veles," he greets. His tone is cordial enough, but his suspicion about my presence down here is rather plain to see.

Rather than get up to leave – dinner will not be ready for at least twenty more minutes; Hors seems determined to turn the it into a feast with how many dishes he is making – I linger at the table, watching Perun without bothering to reply. Part of my choice to remain is because of what Perun said earlier about not letting me ignore him any longer, which means he will probably invite himself into my room if I try to hide up there. However, the main reason has to do with the pocket watch.

Is this all a trick to make me trust him just so he can betray me once more? Was the first time not enough?

Perun chooses to remain in the kitchen, though he starts to help Hors rather than join me at the table, which I am thankful for. It means he does not expect our conversation to happen right this moment, and I also have more time to study him. Not that it will likely do me any good to study him, as I have been doing that for the past few weeks and have yet to crack the true reason he wants me here. If he really just wanted me out of the way and unable to cause trouble, there are hundreds of other places he could have hidden me other than his home.

Oddly enough, though, the more I watch Perun, the more I realize he treats me much the same way he treats Hors, just with understandably less familiarity. There is also a level of awkwardness around me that he does not display with Hors, likely because of that familiarity. Hors, however, is the one who treats me more like Perun should; he is distant and suspicious, today notwithstanding.

What game is Perun playing?

- - - - - - -

Dinner comes and goes, but Perun still does not strike up a conversation with me, nor does he come back to what he said before he left earlier. Either he has forgotten or he is biding his time. Hors told me not too long ago that Perun is not the type to play the long game – I am still not entirely sure what he meant by that – but I also doubt he just conveniently forgot about my escape attempt.

Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately – Perun does not leave me in suspense for long. Though, considering what happened earlier, I am quite surprised when, rather than barge in, there is a polite knock on the door, which does not automatically swing open afterwards, meaning that the knock was not merely just a forewarning of impending entry. A quick glance at the clock reveals that it is twenty minutes after dinner – Perun's usual visiting time.