The Confrontation

“Alright…” Dragomir held his head. “There’s too much to digest.”

“Please, have a seat, Drago. You look pale.”

Dragomir really did have to sit down, so he pushed away the orbs and took a seat on the bench in the first row.

“So… I don’t have either of my dushe because selling the right to rewrite the world means selling a dusha.”

“Correct. Dushe are a currency. They’re used for writing Commandments.”

“But it doesn’t add up. You only wrote one Commandment with my dusha, right?”

“That’s where Triglav’s weird domain comes in. I still don’t understand exactly how his domain worked, but he was surprisingly sneaky for someone so weak-willed.”

“So because I physically came back five years ago… I sold you my second dusha. Both of them were used to rewrite the same rule. And I didn’t die thanks to Levoslav’s dushe…”

Veles hopped on the altar again. “Take your time.”

“And Baba Yaga was your ally. What did you buy from her back then?”

“Nothing much. Just her knowledge of the truth behind the bohatiers.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning she kept doing what she swore but never knew why.”

Dragomir frowned. “Then why agree to erase everyone’s memories of me? Weren’t you trying to keep the folklore alive?”

“A miscalculation. I couldn’t have known you’d be the one to survive in the end.”

“Now that you’re all caught up…” Veles crossed his legs. “Where were we?”

Dragomir stared at him.

“Ah, right.” His golden eyes gleamed. “You owe me something.”

“I’m done trading things I can’t put a value on.”

“Is that so?” He tapped a finger against his chin. “Then how about… you sell me your battle-axe?”

“My battle-axe? I don’t have it with me.”

“I told you to sell it, not to hand it to me.”

“You’re not much of a fighter, so why bother?”

“But you are.”

Dragomir flinched. Then he exhaled. “Alright… You can have it.”

Veles grinned. Pulling down his glove, he walked up to Dragomir and shook his hand.

“Spoken and bound!”

A new crystal orb appeared above the altar.

Dragomir looked himself over. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. Now be gon-”

“Wait. I still have questions.”

“What do you want?”

“What exactly is the Eleventh Commandment?”

“‘Only bohatiers shall be capable of threatening the existence of gods.’ That’s what I commanded Rohd, or, well, what’s left of her.”

“So that’s how that massive shift in power among spirits and gods happened… But isn’t that enough? Isn’t that what you, the original nine, wanted all this time? You achieved your goal five years ago, thanks to me! So why do you keep oppressing the same humanity you once fought to protect?!”

Veles turned to retrieve the new crystal orb. “We became addicted.”

“Addicted…?”

“Addicted to being gods.” Veles tightened his grip around the orb. “We know what we’re doing to you, Drago. We know what it feels like to be weak. To be afraid. To beg someone stronger than you for mercy.” He looked back at him. “And we’d rather keep you on your knees forever than kneel again ourselves. We already won. So we just need to keep it this way.”

Dragomir’s body levitated above the ground. “Wait!” With each passing second, Veles and the altar grew smaller beneath him. “Veles!”

He screamed, but it was already too late. Dragomir was back at Buyan, near the shattered Alatyr.

Trees around him had melted. The soil was scorched, the golden grass burned away. The air reeked of iron.

And there, in the midst of it all, lay Milena, unconscious. Only the moth flew around her.

The battle-axe lay nearby.

“Milena!” he screamed, rushing over to her. He rolled her onto her back. Her eyes slowly opened. “Oh, thank goodness…” He pressed her hand against his forehead.

Milena jerked back as she noticed the ring on his hand. “So you’re with them!” She crawled backward, trying to grab the battle-axe. But the weapon wouldn’t budge. “W-what? Just how heavy is this thing?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Don’t come near me! Where did you Far East people take Zduhach?”

Did she fall asleep?! No… no, no, no… not now… not now when we’re so close!

“Calm down. Who took Zduhach?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know! Dazhbog admitted he came from the Far East! And that one-eyed bohatier Jarilo had the same ring as you! You’re all working together!”

Dazhbog… was from the Far East?

Dragomir’s eyes widened. He understood how all of this must have looked to her.

Oh no… There’s no way I’ll make her trust me now.

Before he could figure out how to approach the situation, Milena ran.

“Hey! Wait! Let me explain!”

Dragomir tried to lift his battle-axe, but it felt like it was stuck to the ground. “Thought so…” He left it behind and ran after Milena.

For a split second, she disappeared from sight. But when Dragomir blinked, he saw something different.

A house appeared in front of her. Milena rushed inside. When Dragomir ran closer, he realized whose house it was.

Radegast’s.

Opening the door, he found Milena standing in front of the fireplace. Nobody else seemed to be home.

Milena grabbed an axe hanging on the wall. “Where did you take Zduhach?”

“Milena.” Dragomir raised his hands. “I am not your enemy. We were traveling together. You, me, and Zduhach.” He carefully approached her, step by step. “Please, tell me what happened there.”

“I don’t believe you!” She hurled the axe his way, and it clanked against his head. “See? It’s the same as with Jarilo! He… he trapped my mom with that sickly goddess in Nav!”

Dragomir picked up the axe and walked up to Milena. Face to face, she stood her ground, her mouth twitching.

Before Dragomir could say anything else, the door slammed open.

“Ah, what do we have here?” Radegast smirked.

Milena took the axe from Dragomir’s hand as he turned his back to her, protecting her with his own body.

“Oh, it’s just you, Radegast. Sorry, but can you leave us alone for a bit? Or maybe just serve us some tea.”

“Is he your ally, or are you just exploiting his hospitality?!” Milena asked.

In that moment, Radegast threw a knife at her.

Dragomir swiftly threw out his hand and blocked the knife with his palm right in front of Milena’s face.

“What the hell…? We’re your guests!”

“Oh yeah? And when did I invite you?” Radegast licked the blade of another knife he held. “You’re nothing but intruders now.”

“Shit!” Dragomir pushed Milena out of the way, sending her tumbling onto an armchair. The knife lodged itself in the wall where she had stood.

Dragomir lunged at the god. He punched him, drawing blood from his nose. Radegast kicked him away and grabbed a sword from the hallway wall.

As Dragomir’s fists flew, Radegast kept aiming for the ring.

“Still think I’m with him?!” Dragomir shouted amidst the battle.

Radegast broke the blade against Dragomir’s neck as he tried to decapitate him. Then he quickly found another axe and swung it.

Milena watched the two men fight in the narrow hallway, breaking the frames hanging on the walls in the process.

“Do you swear you’re not from the Far East?” Milena yelled.

“Why does it matter where I’m from?!”

“Tell me!”

“Damn it, I’m not! I swear!”

“Fine!”

Dragomir kicked the god away, sending him crashing through the entrance door and outside.

For a few uncomfortable seconds, silence fell over Radegast’s house.

Then came thunder.

A bolt of lightning tore through the roof, showering Milena with debris.

“Milena!” Dragomir threw himself on her, shielding her with his body.

“Isn’t that… Perun?!” she asked.

“Yeah! It looks like Radegast moved his house closer to his allies!”

“He can do that?!”

“Didn’t you see the first time we were here that the house appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared behind us?!”

“I did…! Wait… you were there?”

“Of course!”

Another bolt of lightning made them crouch beneath the table.

“What’s your name again?”

“It’s Dragomir! When we find Zduhach, he’ll confirm you can trust me!”

“I’m out of options now, so… I don’t even care which side you’re on as long as you don’t want to kill me!”

“Let’s go!”

Dammit. I got through to her before… Why is it so much harder this time? Did Veles really get stronger?

He pulled her by the hand and ran outside just moments before the house was obliterated by lightning.

Buyan was unrecognizable.

The golden fields had been reduced to scorched earth. Dust spiraled through the dead air beneath a sky split by lightning. A jagged cliff loomed over the battlefield.

At its foot, three gods awaited them.

Perun stood with his axe raised, lightning crawling across its blade.

Radegast pulled his boar hat over his head.

Dazhbog sat atop a bloodied Zduhach, pinning him to the ground.

And there, at the center of it all… stood the Golden Egg.

Chapter 45: END