Chapter 28: She who Helped her was a God

"OMG! Julie! What happened to you? And why is he with you?"

Jane was waiting for me when we stepped out of the woods. I could hear the fear in her voice, and I could also see it in her eyes. As much as I want to run to her, I can't. Why? Because of the way she glared at Thor.

They knew each other. Thor on the other hand was grinning like a fool, and said, "Aunty! I'm back!"

"You are not my nephew," Jane said in a dismissive tone. I cannot help but stifle my laughter. The serious Thor I met earlier was gone. " You are not even Celtic how can you call me aunt?"

"You are Duncan's aunt right?" Thor asked.

"That boy," Jane's tone had softened when Thor said his name. Then she continued, "is special."

"Ugh! That special word again! Why can't I be special?" I suddenly looked at Thor in a different light. He was like a child having a tantrum while talking with Jane. And Jane had this twinkle in her eyes as she scolded and belittle the god of thunder.

I have no idea what is happening right now. Angus. Thor. Now, Jane. Things were getting weirder and weirder. And I feel like a pawn in the middle of a chess game. And the man, who was supposed to ground me, was nowhere to be seen.

I should be mad. Mad that I am in the middle of all these things. Yet I cannot find the strength to have a sliver of hate towards him.

Jane looked at me. She slowly walked to where we were standing until she was an arm's length away. Fall left my side and walked to her. He rubbed his head on her hip, and Jane knelt and hugged the big dog.

"You did a good job, my boy. Go, I know you want to be with Claude and Nicole. We are here, she will be okay." Fall gave a whine and happy yip before he too vanished. I stood perplexed and could only gape at the spot where Fall once stood. I closed my eyes. I had to. This was too much.

Jane was a god. A Celtic one, like Duncan and Angus and End. Thor was the real Thor, why black hair, I have no idea. And Fall? He is Failinis. And there was only one god who owned that creature.

"Julie, it is okay child." Jane's voice made me open my eyes. She was holding my hand, and like what she always does, the way she gently rubbed her thumb on my knuckles caused me to give her a watery smile. "Who caused you to know who we are?" she asked. I do not want to answer her. But stupid Thor answered.

"Angus."

I saw how the gentle woman changed right before my eyes. Gone was the sweet woman I have known, replaced by a woman whose eyes were blazing with anger.

"Angus? My brother?" Her expression hardened. She looked at Thor, and the other man must have answered because the next words she said were totally out of character for me. "I will gut that bastard's lungs and feed it to Mane."

"He will just grow another one, Jane," Thor replied.

"Then I will keep pulling his lungs out until he understands the meaning of solitude!"Ie and Thor had to wince because her voice rose to an octave that was quite scary. "Um, Aunt Jane, you need to tone down a bit. The trees are losing their color."

I looked at the trees behind me, and it was like Thor was saying, the trees were slowly dying. I could see how their color slowly changed from vibrant green to yellow. The ones with the yellow color were beginning to have that dried look until some of them had started falling on the ground.

I heard Jane curse and took a deep breath to quell her anger. This was not the first time I have seen her angry, but this anger was vastly different from before. The woman before me was not the Jane that I have known for the past eight years. This Jane was a stranger.

"Julie," she began, the anger that we saw a few moments ago was gone, replaced by concern over me. "I'm sorry. On behalf of my brother, I am deeply sorry for what he had done. He is a bit overprotective of Duncan…"

"Duncan? Or the throne where Duncan is?" I asked in a dry tone. "Honestly, Jane, that brother of yours makes me want to gut him," I told her.

She laughed. It was full-blown laughter that gave life to the forest behind me. I heard the rustle of the leaves and a mild breeze suddenly swept over the land. The birds that were silent when Jane was angry began to sing.

"Of all the human beings that I have encountered in my lifetime, you are the most contradictory one." She did not hesitate to draw me into her arms and rubbed my back.

I wanted to feel indifferent. To be aloof, but she was still the same Jane that I saw cry when her husband had died. The same Jane that held my hand and slept with my children during the first few months we came here. She was still the same person, who wanted to skin the kids' father and feed him to the dog.

"Did he really die? Your husband? Or is he another god?"

I could not help but ask. She was a god, and the possibility of her husband being one was high.

"Yes, but unlike Thor and Duncan, my husband has a curse that we cannot break," there was a sad smile on her lips as she looked at me and continued, "his soul would be reborn and it is my duty as his wife to search and care for him. It is fortunate that he was always born as a man. But it doesn't erase the pain of losing him each time his mortal life would end."

"Jane," I whispered.

"I am okay, child. I am an immortal being that has nothing to do but wait for him to be born again. You, on the other hand, are as mortal as you can." She looked deep into my eyes before a grin appeared on her somber face. "No, I withdrew those 'more mortal' words. Fall had given you his blessings. You are still human, but you will be a lot tougher than most."

Wait! I was more than just human now?!

"Do not panic," Jane continued, "if you are worried about the kids, Fall also gave them the same blessings. It would be better if I told you rather than Duncan. He needs to explain more."

I could only nod. Jane was right, if Duncan would have been the one to tell me these things, I would have reacted negatively. Fall was his dog after all, and he might have ordered that dog to do it.

Gagh~ I have finally accepted that Duncan was a god. But I needed him to tell me which one was he. Or why.

He was one of the most powerful beings in this world. He could have anyone.

So, back to my question, WHY ME?

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