Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Obsolete Garden ❯ Festival Murder ( Chapter 2 )

XxXxXxXxXx

Obsolete Garden

By: Revamp

Chapter 2: Festival Murder

XxXxXxXxXx

“Touch her and I'll castrate you with a rusty knife,” Venetia glared down the rose god. Her uncovered eye pierced through him with intensity and chill.

“Touchy, touchy,” Rosario waved in dismissal with a nervous smile on his face. While he wasn't afraid of her, he knew that she wasn't screwing around with him, either. She was a foe to be considered.

“This party is wonderful. It seems as though we'll have another successful year.” Through the masses of celebration and soft music, a familiar voice could be heard.

It belonged to a woman dressed in a tight, short, black dress with a mass of feathers that protruded through the neck hole. The garment lacked sleeves, and from them jutted two black wings. Her legs were orange and rough, adorned with black heels. Atop her head was a huge bird's nest with three baby birds that had open mouths. Her black, short hair was molded to her head and long bangs covered one of her red eyes, decorated with dark eye shadow. A black bird tail trailed behind her.

She was a mature woman, and a good friend to the goddess.

“Ah, Samala,” Cambria called her by name.

Red lips curved into a smile, “I see you're having fun, my goddess.”

“Can you call that fun?” Venetia inquired with an irritated expression and jerked a thumb towards the Rose God. He was hardly the best person to be around, and he was far from something she'd call fun.

Samala sighed a little and shook her head lightly, “It's the same as ever with you, isn't it Venetia?”

“You're in the deities' court. You should feel the same way,” Venetia knew that the crow had to put up with Rosario just as much as she did.

“I'm but a simple ambassador for Natsuhama. Besides, we have a treaty with Flora…do we not? So, Rosario is always more than welcomed here. Our worlds help each other. We've been close for eons,” Samala didn't want to do anything to upset that balance. Rosario might have been a pervert, but she knew that was a minor offense considering the cost it would be to be at war with him. He was a powerful god, more than most. Surely, she could understand that.

“Even so, I've heard things about the Rose Gods,” Venetia wasn't just talking out of her ass. There were a lot of things that were sketchy at least with the deities of flowers.

“Are you referring to the old text?” Samala had to wonder if it was the same things that they all had grievances with.

“Olden text?” The goat demon was unsure of what exactly she was referring to.

“The ones from Pangea,” Samala clarified.

“It's the Rose God's fault that the gods are in different worlds,” Venetia had pretty good knowledge of the old Pangea texts. They were pretty much common knowledge at that point, especially when it came to the misdeeds of the Rose God at the time.

“Is it?” Samala placed a wing to her mouth in thought. “I thought it was the Summer Goddess' fault for being tempted by her devil.” That was also a factor in why the gods went their own separate ways. She thought that Venetia was being just a little too spiteful on the matter.

“When Roseus left, the foliage died,” Venetia knew that much about the old texts. It was enough in her opinion. The Rose God was the reason that everyone left, because they had no other choice.

“Sorrow can drive people to do things,” Samala couldn't say that she wouldn't have done the same in that situation. She didn't think it was right for anyone to really judge the situation like they were doing. There must have been a lot on Rosario's shoulders because of it, but she was certain that he had a good reason behind it.

“Sometimes, I wonder if it would have been better if Pangea hadn't fallen to ruin. Things seemed better back then,” Venetia had heard the olden tales of what a paradise it was. A plain where all of the gods ruled together and the world prospered. It seemed like heaven to her, and she couldn't help but wonder what kind of lives everyone led before he decided to strip the world of its life.

“I couldn't tell you,” Samala responded. “That was many years ago, before I was even a thought in this world.”

“Ah, so we're talking about that subject again,” Rosario popped in between the two women, which caused them both to reel back in shock.

“Huh?” Cambria caught wind of the conversation from a few feet away and turned her attention to the three of them.

“You lived in Pangea…didn't you, Rosario?” Samala turned to the Rose God. Surely, someone like him would have answers to what life was like back then.

“He may not have those memories,” Venetia warned. She knew as well as they did that Rosario had lost a part of who he was from back then. There were certain things that he more than likely didn't remember as a result.

“I have some of them. I still think about certain memories all of the time,” a smile crossed his face at the thought of the few things he found to be comforts of the olden days. Rosario did have happy memories, despite his departure. They were memories that he wished he could keep always.

“What exactly was Pangea? I know it was another world, but I never got to live there,” Cambria had always been curious about it. Pangea was something that had only been spoken of lightly in conversations. It wasn't anything people spoke of in depth. Not even her fathers who have lived there spoke of it much.

“Pangea was the original world of the gods. We all created it together,” Rosario explained the land's existence to the young goddess.

“So, how did you all rule? Were you on a polytheistic system?” Samala was curious. The only world that she had known was one that was ruled by a single god. How did a world work where all of the gods were present? Did they ever fight over who had absolute rule or was it merely understood? Was anyone above anyone else? She had a lot of inquiries.

“We all had our own roles to play. As long as we knew our place we could co-exist,” the rose god placed a finger to his chin in thought. “From what I remember, it was very peaceful and happy. We had many subjects and very few wars. Haa, the good old days. Even though my memories are limited, I enjoy them.”

He couldn't help but smile as he remembered what visions of life he still had. The days of Pangea were definitely good ones and he loved to recall the happier times of his life. The times where all of the gods were together, jesting and laughing with each other as they basked in the glory of their successful civilization.

“Then why?” Venetia didn't feel like she was getting the entire story.

The Rose God made it out to be some beautiful paradise, but if that was the case then why did he leave it? He was the one who left it first, before anything bad had even happened to it that she knew of. Why would a god leave a perfect paradise if there was nothing wrong with it? What happened to make him want to leave?

“Why did my other half and I leave? I'm a little foggy on the subject myself. I was told it was because I was sad about the Summer Goddess,” Rosario's tone became more serious as he continued to think about that time in his life. There were only fragments of memories, but nothing cohesive or all that coherent. It was irritating that he couldn't recall them clearly, but maybe he wasn't meant to as well. Maybe that's how his other half wanted things to be.

“The Summer Goddess before me?” Cambria questioned. She had only heard tales about that being, but she didn't know too much about her. As far as she knew, the past Summer Goddess was a wonderful person, someone she wanted to live up to in reputation, but that was all she knew.

“Yes, she was a wonderful person. She'd be proud of your rule.” That was something that Rosario was certain of. He knew the Summer Goddess more than most people did. In fact, he could say that he knew her the best.

“Really? You think so?” Cambria looked up to the taller deity with sparkling, yellow eyes. She wanted to hear more about the fabled goddess, and how she used to be.

“Of course,” Rosario smiled warmly at the girl, “her rule is why I can come here. Well, come here so freely. Gods are pretty picky about who they let come to their worlds. It's not exactly common that we visit each other, save our meetings…and some we can't see at all.” Rosario was pretty knowledgeable about traveling to other worlds, an ability that the gods had called `world hopping'.

“But what about god meetings?” Cambria was a little confused. Didn't all of the gods see each other then?

“Those are on Pangea, right?” Venetia wanted clarification on that. She had never been to a god meeting, nor had she ever step foot in Pangea. That land was merely a decaying dream to her.

“In the one part of Pangea that's still accessible. The rest of the world is highly unstable, riddled with disease and decay,” Rosario had been one of the few to see the true fall of a place he once considered utopia. It was in shambles now, such a sad, disgusting world it had become. The only thing beautiful in it was the glowing garden of blue flowers that sparkled in the dim light.

“Wait, all of the people the gods ruled over-“ A horrifying vision shot through Cambria's head. Hundreds of dead bodies, people festering on the streets and dying of disease. Did the gods truly leave their civilization to rot to such a cruel fate? Terror and shock crossed her face to even be led to think such a thought.

“Who knows what happened to them,” Rosario shrugged. “The one person who does know, we can't really talk to.”

He had no idea what happened after he left that world. Rosario wanted to be far away from it and all that reminded him of his precious daughter. Pangea was her birth place, the place that held his happiness and a world so full of his beautiful vegetation. It was a world of love, peace and many people that he had such wonderful bonds with.

However, it all crumbled that day.

The day she was taken away from him.

“Are you implying there is another god that only you know of?” That was the one topic that really stuck out to Samala. She was aware of most of the gods, so who was this mysterious entity. Even more important, why did Rosario know of them and no one else?

“There is,” he confirmed her assumptions.

“Why is it that you know this?” Venetia was getting skeptical.

“He was my husband…Well, Rosalina and I,” Rosario mentioned the god's importance in his own life. This god was very close to him.

“Husband?” Samala was caught off guard by the revelation. “Wait…you had a-“

The thought of the Rose God being in a committed relationship was something that was beyond her comprehension. The thought of him being faithful was even more so.

“I did,” he knew it was hard to believe but it was the truth.

“What kind of god was he?” Cambria was interested in the mystery deity. She really wanted to know more about him. This was a god that she knew nothing about and she wasn't even sure that others have heard of him. It felt special that Rosario would trust her with such information.

“He was a powerful god, the most ruthless man I've ever met. One would think he was more a devil than a god,” Rosario began to explain his mate the best way he knew how to. He wanted to pay homage to all of his wonderful glory.

“He sounds unpleasant,” Samala frowned. That was definitely a man she didn't want to meet any time soon. Maybe it was better that she didn't know about this god.

“He's kind of a corrupt fellow, but I understood him. He could at times be very loving. He was also kink as fuck,” a sly grin crossed the Rose God's face as his pink eyes sparkled in perversion. “A real dominating kinda man. Cute too. Oh, how I want him to shackle me up and-“

Before he could go any further, Venetia clamped her hand over his mouth. She knew where his little story was going, and her goddess didn't need to be tainted by his disgusting words. “We didn't ask for extra information.”

“Uh…” Cambria blushed at his words. Rosario was giving her mental images that she didn't really want. Picturing the Rose God moaning in shackles was the last thing she wanted on her mind.

“I sort of got carried away there,” Rosario took her hand away from his face and fanned himself with his hand. “He still manages to make me hot and bothered even after all these eons.”

That man truly had an effect on him, more than he would have liked to admit. Oh, what he wouldn't give to play those kinky games that they did.

“Sounds like you still love him.” It was strange to see Rosario gush about someone like he did this man. Samala found it so odd to see him acting like a little school girl about the very mention of him. It wasn't really like a playboy who slept around to have an affinity for someone.

“Of course I do,”Rosario's tone sounded like he was on cloud nine. Just the thought of his mysterious god made him feel like he was on top of the world. He truly was a wonderful man.

“But you sleep with so many people,” Venetia wondered how his partner felt about something like that.

“Fukatsu never minded. He has always been my favorite. The one who knows everything about me. The one I'd bear the child of. The happiest day of my life was when she was born,” Rosario stared wistfully into the great, blue sky as memories filled his mind - of him, of her…of them.

“It's hard to believe that you love someone, but when I listen to you talk about him…I can really tell you mean it,” Venetia was almost fascinated with his psychology behind it all. She had never heard him refer to someone with such endearment as he had this man. What was so special about him that caused him to capture the Rose God's heart?

He spoke about the other man with such love in his voice. Rosario often spoke to people in general with a sultry or purring tone, but this was different. There was no perverse intent in his tone, it was all pure emotion. Rosario spoke of him fondly, romantically.

“It must be sad to know you can't see him anymore,” Cambria's visage fell. She could only imagine the depth of sorrow he must feel, and the amount of loneliness that he felt because he couldn't be around the other god.

“One day I'll see him again. I know he's thinking of me as well. I mean, how could he not? I'm fabulous,” Rosario flashed his most perfect smile and struck a pose. There was no denying with good looks and a figure like his, he was charming in the eyes of even the harshest of critics.

“What about Rosalina?” Samala was a little curious on how she took such a relationship. Weren't the two of them together?

“She is my other half, the co-developer of Flora,” Rosario explained her position. While it had nothing to do with her standing as his true `other half', she was in every meaning of the word. She was always by his side, the one who helped him develop and give life to everyone that lived there.

“Everyone on Flora is-“ Samala began to speak, but she was cut off.

“They're all related to me,” Rosario spoke those words proudly. In all reality, he was glad that there was a planet composed of all of his beautiful creations. Flora was a world of beauty, so why not have a world full of his beautiful children? Even his angels were the pinnacle of beauty and they were more created than born of the gods.

“Again, gross,” Venetia wrinkled her face at the thought of it. “The last thing that came out of you was probably the Summer Goddess.” In fact, the only thing that came out of him that was good was the Summer Goddess. She doubted that he could produce anything else worth anything.

“I love her…so much,” Rosario closed his eyes as he thought fondly of his daughter. Oh, how he wished he could see her again. He hadn't in ages. He really should visit her again.

“Do you miss your life on Pangea?”Cambria didn't know if that question was a little too personal. She was just really fascinated with that world, and she wanted to know about the way things used to be. It really seemed like it must have been so nice to live there.

“That's behind me now,” the Rose God ruffled her hair. “There isn't a need to talk about such affairs at a happy setting. We should be happy and not think about sad things.”

It was bad enough that he felt the guilt that he did. Must she shove things in his face like this? Rosario knew that Cambria wasn't aware of what she was doing, but it didn't make it any less painful for him, and it didn't make him feel any less guilty that people blamed the fall of Pangea on him leaving it. This was a party; it was the last thing he wanted to hear guilt tripping at. Rosario just wanted to have fun.

“Sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up! I was just curious.” There was panic in Cambria's voice. She didn't mean to bring up such sensitive things about the other god.

“No harm done! No harm done! But, if you wanted to comfort me I wouldn't be opposed,” Rosario smiled kindly at the smaller god, before a sly, perverse expression crossed his face. There was nothing like a little fertilization at a fertilization festival. Cambria and he could make such beautiful children together, and he wouldn't mind seeing her carry his child.

“Lord Rosario!” Samala scolded the Rose God. She knew that her words would do no good, but at the same time she was caught off guard that he would make such an advance at her goddess.

Venetia, however, had enough of his shit. She pulled out a large, black hammer that was tied to her back. She could feel the anger boiling through her as she drew her weapon back and brought it down with all of her strength. Rosario barely managed to move out of the way as it hit the ground and shaking it. The ground gave way under her strong blow, caving in and making a crater.

“I said enough!” Her voice was cold and commanding as everyone scattered in confusion and fear.

“Touchy! Maybe you can comfort me instead,” Rosario didn't know when to quit. Actually, he just liked testing her. There was something cute about angry people.

“Not a chance,” the goat demon's words were as cold as ice. Someone like him hardly interested her.

“Was that really necessary?” Cambria held a hand to her chest. Venetia's violent outburst really scared her. She was lucky that she didn't get caught up in the goat demon's wrath. She held Venetia very dear to her heart, but there were times that she could be more than frightening. It was one of the reasons that she made Venetia her right hand woman.

“Sorry my lady,” Venetia closed her eyes and frowned, straightening herself up. “I just didn't want this lecherous pervert defiling your image.” She wouldn't know what she'd do if the Rose God put his disgusting hands all over her precious goddess. Her job was to protect her and she would, even if it meant protecting her against the other gods.

“Venetia, please! He's a god.” That was no way to treat him. Rosario was Cambria's special guest. She didn't need to try and kill him.

“Oh, there's a party. It seems I've been sleeping through all of the fun,” a familiar voice was heard through the chattering of the party guests.

It belonged to a scorpion who was light blue in coloration. He had long hair, braided down past his butt and tied with a lavender bow at the top and bottom. Long, shoulder-length tendrils hung over his shoulders and straight bangs covered his eyebrows, giving his piercing blue eyes a menacing appearance.

This scorpion was a nice dresser, wearing a sky blue coat that was slightly darker than his hair with an open coat and vest of the same color. He wore a white dress shirt and navy blue tie. His dark blue dress shoes were shined to perfection, as was the odd object he carried with him - an axe.

The blade of the axe was as sharp as the point on his venomous tail. Why he brought such an object to a party was beyond everyone there. He looked more than shady carrying around such a weapon, but at the same time, that weapon never seemed to leave his hands.

“Thanatos…” Iliya could recognize that voice anywhere. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it belonged to.

The moth turned around with a frown on his face that only deepened to see that Thanatos brought his little…friend with him to the party. This man was face palm levels of irritating.

“You look so disappointed to see me,” Thanatos sounded more amused than hurt.

“Scorpion…” Iliya narrowed his eyes. That was even more of a reason not to want to even associate himself with him. Scorpions ate moths. He would rather not.

Thanatos winked playfully at the knight, “I haven't eaten you yet.”

“If you did, you'd be in trouble. It's not like you have the best reputation,” Iliya felt the need to remind him that there were repercussions for his actions. Thanatos couldn't go around, just doing whatever he wanted and killing whomever he pleased.

The scorpion merely laughed at his words, as if he were telling some kind of funny joke. “The things that crawl around in the dark are the most interesting. That is something moths should know.”

“Aren't you nocturnal? You should go back to sleep,” Iliya shot back. It would be more than a relief if Thanatos removed himself from the party and slept…for a thousand years. He couldn't stand that guy. Everything about Thanatos made his skin scrawl.

“Thanatos…” Ophir finally realized that he was there. He really wished he hadn't.

“Oh, you're awake, too,” Thanatos found it more than amusing that both of them were there. The three of them usually were more active at night. It was rather odd and coincidental that they happened to all be awake today.

“I don't want to be,” Ophir sighed before his eyes went to the axe the other male had swung over his shoulder. “Why did you bring an axe to the party?” What the hell was wrong with him?

“He's my friend. I take him everywhere. It'd be wrong if he didn't join the fun,” Thanatos smiled. He never went anywhere without his weapon. He did more than have reasons for doing such things. People could call it a precaution of sorts.

“You'd better not cause trouble for Lady Cambria,” Ophir's eyebrows wrinkled and a scowl crossed his face. If he intended on using that axe, he'd be sure to take him out.

“Relax,” Thanatos waved and turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, waving him away, “you worry too much.”

“I don't need you to tell me that,” Ophir argued the point. Of all people, Thanatos had room to talk the least about his position in anything.

The carefree scorpion laughed again before his eyes wandered over to one of the nearby tables that was adorned with copious bottles of expensive liquor and a large bowl of punch. “Is that liquor?” Thanatos was more than excited to see spirits at the party. He might as well stay just because of that. There was nothing wrong with drinking a little.

“Hey, drink with me,” Rosario called to him, holding up a bottle of hard booze.

“Hell yeah!” Thanatos was more than happy to oblige and walked over to him to choose his spirit from the assortment.

“The last thing anyone needs is the two of you drinking together,” Ophir already had a bad feeling about the both of them being at the party, much less the both of them being drunk together. He could smell the bad influences from a mile away.

“The grasshopper is no fun! No fun! No fun!” A slightly drunken Rosario chanted in a teasing manner as he waved his bottle around.

“I'm a cricket,” Ophir corrected him, irritation prevalent in his voice. Not only was he growing sick of Rosario's voice, he was growing sick of being called something he wasn't. He swore to Cambria if one more person called him a grasshopper, he was going to lose his shit.

There were differences between crickets and grasshoppers. For one, crickets sung, they also had longer antennae, and they only came in two colors: black and brown. They might have been in the same species classification, but they were not the same at all. It was always irritating that people confused him for the other.

“No fun!” Rosario continued to chant.

“Ugh,” the cricket sighed and drug a hand down his face.

“I second that,” Lestat said, standing beside of him.

Ophir turned to the nephalim, regarding his presence. Then again, how could one not? Whenever Lestat was around, there was a certain chill in the air. He had an odd presence about him, something otherworldly. Ophir couldn't help but notice that he was truly special in that regard. He wondered if Cambria felt such things when she was around him? Maybe that was why she stuck around him so much and made him her body guard.

“I'm glad these parties only come once a year,” Ophir said as he rested his arms at his sides and frowned.

“Mmm…” Lestat didn't seem to have much to say on the issue.

“I suppose I should be glad, but…” Ophir trailed off and looked dejected. It wasn't as if he didn't want to have fun, and he knew that he really should, but he just felt an overbearing wave of sorrow. It was so hard just to get out of bed, much less attend an affair where everyone was happy. He didn't want to upset his goddess, but he just couldn't feel jovial even in a setting that he should be in.

“I know,” Lestat understood his reasoning, maybe more than most others. Around him, the cricket didn't have to explain himself.

“It's too peaceful,” and it bothered Ophir. He didn't like moments like this. It made him feel worse that he couldn't enjoy peace, but there was something about this kind of setting that unnerved him. He wasn't sure if it was his depression, not wanting him to be happy or if it was something else. He couldn't tell anymore.

“She's happy,” Lestat looked over to the goddess, who was talking and looking as if she was generally having a fun time with her subjects. It made him feel a sense of peace to be able to see his goddess enjoying herself among the others.

“Huh?” Ophir looked to the nephalim in question.

“As long as she's happy, I'm fine with that.” Nothing made him content as much as it did to see Cambria smile.

“I once felt the same way. I can relate.” Although the memories were painful for Ophir, he was still happy that he was able to have them.

Lestat glanced over to see Thanatos and Rosario, who were both piss drunk with their arms around each other. They were laughing with flushed faces, their free hand holding a liquor bottle. They looked as if they were both having fun.

“These are peaceful times. The world is how she wants it.” How long it would stay that way, Lestat could never be too sure. However, he would help her protect it in any way that he possibly could.

“So it is…” Ophir closed his eyes, trying to let the happy atmosphere sink into himself. He wanted to feel the same sense of peace as the others.

“I'm so happy that everyone is having fun,” Cambria smiled up at Iliya, who held a glass of wine that he had been gingerly sipping on. She was having fun seeing all of her friends celebrating the good times. It was nice to be in a moment like this, and she felt it was a good idea after all.

“It's nice, isn't it?” Iliya smile a little at his goddess. So far, there was nothing wrong with what was going on. Perhaps it would be better if he relaxed a little and had some fun. He couldn't be serious all of the time, even if there were people like Rosario and Thanatos at the party.

“I never want it to end. I truly love this world and everyone in it. Seeing them so happy fills me with joy.” It was true that most of the beings there weren't her creation, but it didn't mean that the goddess didn't love them any less. Cambria truly cared about Natsuhama and its inhabitants. Their well-being was her prime concern.

“Compared to the other worlds, I've heard ours was peaceful,” Iliya turned, glancing over the many people who were celebrating happy times. He didn't know if what he said was correct, but he felt as if the world he came from was an oddity.

“I've only been to Flora and Solara, so I don't know,” Cambria placed a finger to her lips in thought. “I'm sure Lord Rosario would know. I think he's been to other worlds.”

She knew for a fact that he had been to Pangea, and he could travel to Natsuhama. If she remembered correctly, he could go to a lot of different worlds and often did. She couldn't think of anyone that he was on bad terms with. Even Fate seemed to tolerate him.

“Lord Rosario can world hop?” Iliya glanced back to his goddess, arching a fluffy eyebrow.

“I believe so, yes. I think most of the gods can.” Unless it was something she was missing, Cambria was certain that was a simple things that all of the gods could do. She didn't have much knowledge of their personal affairs or who could visit whom, but she was certain she was right about that at the very least.

“What about you?” Iliya knew she traveled around, but he wondered where all she had gone.

“I've never tried to go to worlds beyond Solara and Flora. I don't know the other gods and devils at all,” Cambria had heard things about them from Rosario, Beelzebub and Penumbra, but she didn't know them personally nor had she even really seen them aside from god meetings.

“I wonder what they're like,” Iliya looked thoughtful as he sipped his wine. Given what he knew about the one god that Rosario described, he had his doubts.

“I do, too. I bet they're really interesting,” Cambria beamed, looking excited over the subject matter. Her imagination ran wild when it came to the other gods and goddesses. They all always looked so regal and beautiful, and she was always curious to know what kind of gods they were. Were they peaceful or chaotic? Did they share her ideals of how to rule? Did they all have devils? What were their relationships with them? How did they feel about their creations? These were all things that she never asked, but she would like to.

“I don't know…” Iliya's doubts were doing more than showing in this case.

“What do you mean?” Why would the moth say that? Cambria thought all of the gods and devils seemed really interesting. Did he know something she didn't?

“If they're anything like that Fukatsu guy, they sound intimidating. The way that Lord Rosario talked about him made me uneasy. He sounds downright sinister,” Iliya couldn't get Rosario's description of the god out of his head. Even if Rosario was a scum bag, he didn't really lie about this kind of thing, and the way he spoke of him with such affection, despite Fukatsu being a terrible man was…unnerving.

“He loved Lord Rosario, so he can't be that bad,” Cambria wanted to think that there was some kind of positivity to this dark god. Perhaps he had a reason for being the way he was. She had always stayed true to the fact that there was good in all things, this mysterious evil god in question applied as well.

“You try too hard to see the good in people,” Iliya sighed. Sometimes his goddess could be a little too positive when it came to her views on others. She wanted to see the good in everything, and while he couldn't fault her for it, he also saw the error in that way of thinking.

“Not everyone is all bad,” Cambria knew this far more than anyone should. Even the most evil of hearts have a little amount of kindness and good will. People just had to find it and dig deeply. Everyone was capable of being liked. Everyone was put on this world with a purpose.

“I don't know about that,” Iliya argued her point. With people like Thanatos around, her point was hard to prove.

-X-

`This party has a bigger outcome than imagined. It seemed everyone feels god's protective light shining on them today.' Those thoughts ran through the scorpion's head as he turned from the table of spirits with a full glass of wine.

Such a party had a truly happy setting. It was sickeningly nice to see everyone getting along so well. Peace was such a pathetic notion to him. No world was perfect, not this perfect. The aspect of such peace only made him want to drink even more. In his opinion, he thought the previous Summer Goddess would be slightly disappointed at such a world, considering how she was now.

Then again, that wasn't any of his business, and she hadn't seen this world in eons. What a pity.

Suddenly, he felt himself jerk forward. His hand twitched and the wine that he had just got spilled everywhere as he stumbled forward in an attempt to keep his footing. Well, this was getting interesting. Thanatos wondered if this would be the perfect opportunity to get into a drunken fight.

He turned around to see who had bumped into him and met with the maroon eye of the goat demon.

“Pardon me,” she said curtly.

“You should watch who you run into. The next person you bump might not be so kind.” It was just a little warning. Then again, if an altercation did happen, at least something worthwhile would take place at this little shindig.

“You spilled your liquor. I can get you more,” Venetia glanced to his wine glass that had only a small amount of liquid in it.

“No worries.” It wasn't really worth her time. He hadn't walked that far away from the spirits table, and it wasn't as if he had anything else to do.

“How clumsy of me,” Venetia was irritated. She should have known better and stepped with more grace. She was the right hand woman to the goddess! What a neophyte mistake. To run into Thanatos of all people didn't make things any better.

“You're the right hand woman of our goddess, aren't you?” Thanatos brought up her position as a topic.

“Venetia, personal body guard and adviser to goddess Cambria,” the goat demon bowed and introduced herself.

“You're so serious,” Thanatos noted and poured himself some wine. It was a party and she still couldn't get away from that rigid personality of hers. She truly did take everything as business.

“This is my job. I'm here to protect her from harm.” Even though it was a party, anything could happen and it was best that she stayed on her toes. For Venetia, there was no rest.

“Sometimes, it's best to make yourself happy first and foremost,” Thanatos closed his eyes and sat his glass on the table. “People falter, you know.”

“My end will have meaning,” Venetia knew this to be true. She didn't need a scorpion telling her to be selfish to determine that.

“Will it?” Thanatos turned to pour himself more wine.

“If you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to,” she didn't have time to shoot the breeze with someone who let his axe do the talking. Venetia had something important to do, anyway. Thanatos was just trying to be a road block.

High above them, a girl with transparent insect wings fluttered around and checked the lights in several trees to make sure that they were all operating to full capacity. She was dressed in a purple party dress and had hair of the same color, cropped into a bob cut. The entire length of the party she had been making sure that everything was in perfect working order.

She wasn't about to let her goddess down. After all, Lady Cambria deserved the best experience with her people and she would give it to her. The female insect fluttered about, occasionally moving the lights and checking their bulbs. To her this wasn't a party, it was a job.

“I always have to fix the lighting. You'd think there'd be a better way to go about this,” she fluttered back and wiped the sweat from her brow.

Down below, Thanatos was covered by a shadow and glanced up to see her flying above him. He took his wine glass and sipped from it as he watched her go to another tree. `Oh look, it's Madam Lafayette. I was hoping she'd attend…I'm glad she did.'

Lafayette pulled back from another tree where she had finished adjusting the lights once more. She sighed heavily to herself. “Phew, this is hard work. I don't want to drop this light or the crowd below will go into a panic.”

She lifted the glass, flower-shaped done carefully and adjusted it onto a tree branch. Lafayette didn't want the wind to knock it out and shatter the blown glass. It was very delicate, and she was sure that her goddess would be disappointed if such a thing were to happen.

“You should be careful. I wouldn't want you to accidentally fall.”

She heard a deep voice intone as she stood on a nearby tree branch and glanced around. “What? Who's that?”

“There are always unforeseen events in time, in which the slightest infraction can cause a series of unfortunate events. Time can't be recovered.”

-X-

“What do you mean?” Iliya looked to Lestat with a grave expression on his face. Did the nephalim really say what he thought he had?

“Murders,” Lestat repeated his word.

“Murders?” Iliya could feel himself tense up at the very word. That kind of thing was rare for a place like Natsuhama, especially in the day time.

“I've been checking on them recently. I came here to keep an eye out for more. They've been happening infrequently. I don't want anything to happen at this party.” Both Lestat and Venetia had been keeping their eyes out for anyone suspicious or anyone that they thought would want to cause harm to his goddess of anyone there.

“Did you tell Cambria?” Iliya thought that was important. If there was something bad happening, then she needed to know what it was.

“No, but she may already know. Still…” Lestat was certain that she was aware of the situation. She was god, after all.

“Do you know who's causing them?” The moth knew that question could potentially come off as stupid, but he wanted to know if they at least had any clues.

“No,” Lestat shook his head, “No one does. All I know is that they kill with some kind of weapon that tears flesh.”

“Do you have any leads? How long has this been going on?” Iliya had no clue any of these things were even an issue. Why didn't they tell him about this?

“It's hard to track them due to the lack of evidence. However, we believe it's someone close to Lady Cambria. The murders have been happening for a month now. I haven't spoken of them to my goddess. I don't want to destroy her perception of this world.” He knew it was wrong to protect her, but Lestat truly loved her innocence. It was his job as a body guard to preserve that. More than anything, he wanted her to be happy.

“Just who are we dealing with?” The more Iliya thought about it, the more dangerous this person could be, especially if he were to target Lady Cambria. He didn't want to think of the type of power that a god slayer could have. “I hope you find out who's behind this. Lestat, do you think they'd kill someone at a big party like this?”

“I don't know. I'm here to make sure that they don't,” Lestat didn't want to miss an opportunity. His luck, the moment he did, the killer would strike.

“Where is Lafayette?” Iliya actually hadn't seen her around. Admittedly, he hadn't paid much attention, either but he wanted to check on her at the very least.

“There was a problem with the lighting. She went to fix it,” the reserved nephalim was certain that she was alright. He had seen her not too long ago.

“I hope she returns safely. I'm a little on edge now,” the moth could feel the anxiety rising within him. Now that he knew there was something nefarious about, he would be sure to stay on his guard.

-X-

“Lights are pristine and beautiful. However, pristine things fade out and become tainted over time.”

“What do you mean?” Lafayette paused and glanced up from straightening one of the many lights.

“Tonight will be a night of bloodstained glory.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide with horror and her heart slammed in her chest as she took a shaky step back.

“I wish to pain the white flowers red…with the color of your blood.”

A loud scream was heard piercing into the moth's sensitive ears. He dropped his wine glass and quickly turned, only to be met with the hanging body of Lafayette. Her wings had been bound so she couldn't fly and around her neck a noose had been fashioned tightly, cutting into her skin. Blood dripped from her mouth and her glazed over eyes were cast to the heavens.

Several people in the crowd of partiers screams and began crying. A commotion up roared as people nearly ran each other over to quickly clear out. There was nothing but a mess of glasses and plates behind. Some of them even left their purses and most cherished belongings out of fright.

“What's this?” Iliya's voice was shaky as he took a step back. Wide black eyes with white irises could only stare at the horror before him.

“Lafayette!” Lestat called out from beside of him with a serious expression.

“Could it be?” The moth questioned, still in shock.

“Lafayette!” Cambria cried with tears in her eyes as she ran up to the suspended limp body of someone she once considered a dear friend. She tried frantically to get her down, but she couldn't seem to undo the ropes.

Suddenly, she felt someone's hands on her shoulders, pulling her back. Yellow eyes widened as they stayed transfixed on the insect's body. She couldn't believe that her friend was dead. Tears continued to stream down her face and her heart sank in her chest as Lestat stepped in front of her protectively.

“Stay back, my goddess.” The killer was around here somewhere, and Lestat wasn't going to let her fall victim to their trap. Right now, they made their move and it was dangerous to leave her alone.

“But-“ She tried to protest.

“They're here at this party,” Lestat's voice was dead calm, like a cold killer as he scanned the now empty party area. Well, empty except for a select few who stuck around.

“Who is?” Cambria was confused. What were they talking about?

“The killer…” The nephalim made the situation aware to her. He didn't have a choice in the matter. Now he was forced to reveal that something was amidst. He didn't want to risk her innocence, but he had no choice now. Her life was far more important.

“I'm going to look around and see what I can find,” Iliya was still trying to get over his shock, but it was better that he walk away from that hanging body and try to get his head on straight. A knight was of no use if he couldn't do his job.

“Right,” Lestat nodded in agreement.

In another area of the party, Venetia ran around wildly looking through the chaos to see if there were any clues that could lead to the killer. Now that he had acted, she was out for blood. She had to catch him for the sake of the safety of her goddess. More than anything, she didn't want to let her down.

After running into nothing but garbage from the party, she finally found a few splotches of blood in the grass. It was down a shaded path that was closer to a large forest that was referred to as the Black Woods. The more she walked, the stronger the blood was in her senses,

Venetia tensed up as she continued to follow the path. The woods were very quiet, not even the birds sang. The more she walked, the darker the forest seemed to become. All around her, the trees became more twisted and mangled looking, shadows of their former selves.

Soon the smell of blood was replaced by that of necrotic bodies as she stumbled upon corpses. Stopping in her tracks, the goat demon glanced around to see that there were quite a few dead bodies. They were all dressed in party clothes, but how did they get so far away from the site of the party?

Blood was strewn everywhere. It spattered the leaves of bushes, tree trunks and the grass. On each corpse, there was a blow from some kind of blade, or a weapon that made deep gashes.

Upon coming back from the path, she saw the drunken Rose God sitting underneath a tree with liquor bottles all around him. His face was flushed and he held a bottle of liquor in his hand laughing to himself. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

He was the only one happy about any of this.

In fact, he was just palm-to-face worthy levels of irritating at this rate. Not that he wasn't before.

“What a wild party. I've heard of knocking them dead, but in this case, it was literal,” the Rose God made light of the situation, nearly laughing at his own joke.

“Could you at least take this seriously? There's a killer on the loose,” Venetia placed a hand on her hip and stared him down with harsh disapproval.

“A murder mystery!” Rosario cheered in drunken happiness. “That's a great addition! I didn't know you wanted to spice things up this year.”

“This isn't a joke, you idiot,” Venetia tried to make him see the severity of the situation.

Rosario merely began to laugh uncontrollably, slapping one knee as he did so. It was as if he was watching some kind of dramatic comedy play out. He had to admit, watching them scurry around like field mice was something to behold.

“You old drunk,” Venetia scowled before she went back to the scene of the crime.

“Did you find anything?” Iliya glanced over his shoulder as he saw Venetia nearing him.

“Just Rosario, drunk off of his ass,” she vented her frustrations.

“I'm going to search some more,” Iliya decided that double-checking things wouldn't be bad. Maybe he could pick up on things that she missed, considering his senses were stronger than hers. It didn't hurt to retrace their steps.

“I'll come with you.” If Iliya did find anything, Venetia wanted to be there in case he needed someone to back him up. It wasn't that she didn't trust his abilities; she just wanted to make sure he didn't come across someone stronger than he was.

The two headed off back towards the forest path that Venetia had found before. It was better that she had Iliya with her if they were going to go even deeper and follow the trail of the dead any more than what she had before.

They continued to walk into the now twisted and macabre forest. The trees looked like black silhouettes against a blood red sky with an eerie-looking sun beating down on the two of them. The more they walked down the path, the more bodies that they came across, and the more blood that had been splattered across the foliage in artistic display.

The area smelled vile of vicera and necrosis. It was stronger than usual in Iliya's senses, and he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword so he could prepare himself. It felt like something was going to jump out at any time and grab them, or like they were playing some kind of twisted survival horror game. His senses and awareness was crystal clear. Even the slightest sound caused him to snap his head in response. Fuzzy antennae felt around in the air, trying to sense any odd vibrations.

Soon, the two of them came to a large streak of blood that dragged across the grass. They stopped and looked at each other with serious expressions.

“There's a blood trail,” Venetia stated the obvious.

“Should we keep going?” Iliya asked.

“It's now or never,” the goat demon's visage hardened as she nodded to her companion.

“Right,” he nodded back as they continued to walk.

As they did, more and more bodies showed up. They weren't like the bodies of the guests, and some of them were a little rotted as if they had been killed at an earlier time. They all had gashes on them. Some of them lacked a head or limbs, or some combination of both.

“This is making me really uneasy…” Iliya spoke up after the silence between them had lasted a good twenty minutes.

“A trail of death,” Venetia's words were haunting in his ears.

“Who do you think did this?” Iliya asked lowly.

“It had to be someone at the party,” Venetia could at least deduct it to that. The only way that someone could strike Lafayette like that was if they had attended. It only confirmed her fears that it was someone that she had known, or at the very least that Cambria had known.

This was getting dangerous.

“But who? Who would do this to our goddess?” Iliya didn't want to think of such a person. If someone like that had been in their midst, pretending to be close to the goddess just to eventually kill her then she needed to be heavily guarded.

He wanted to deal with the problem as quickly as possible and bring the killer to justice.

“Surely it's not someone so stupid to think they can kill a god,” Venetia thought such ideals were blasphemy. No one she knew even had the power to come close to assaulting Lady Cambria…and no one ever would on her watch.

“That's insanity,” Iliya agreed. He didn't want to think of such a thing, either.

“Is it?” Venetia glanced to him in question. “I've heard a long time ago that the gods had to come together to stop one of their own from killing them all.”

It was an old tale that was so famous it went down in history. Everyone on Natsuhama could readily read it from a book. She was shocked that Iliya hadn't heard of such a thing. She was happy that it wasn't an incident that took place on Natsuhama. It sounded like a horrible battle.

“Do you think someone here would try that?” Iliya was a little skeptical of that whole scenario. The one who went against the other gods was a god themself. Surely no one would want to go after a god, or even have the audacity to go after another god except another god.

“Who's to say? I don't want to think of the consequences,” Venetia closed her eyes as a sense of dread crossed her mind. Surely, nothing like that would happen. If it did, then she was going to be in for more than she bargained for.

Even taking Iliya along might not help her now.

…To Be Continued