Emi the Deity Ch1

Emi the Deity

By Krissie Gault

Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the original story (which you've only seen tidbits of before) and so it's not going to be connected to the Mockery plot line anymore. I am going to posts the chapters here as I write them. Currently I'm planning on making a comic book version of this which will be made after the first book is created and will be published via Smashwords. So enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter 1:

The sun was shining bright that day. The koi in the koi fish pond swam about, bored with the dullness of the day. Nothing new or interesting was happening, so the koi were just bored. People walked by the koi pond, a few coming to look at the greyish colored fish.

Though there was someone who was super excited today. That someone was Emideus Cheshire Saint. Emi for short. Today was Emi’s first modeling gig and he was stoked for it. Grant it, the modeling gig was for a friend, but a gig was a gig. Emi beamed with pride as he held the umbrella above his head as he posed a small water fall in the koi pond. His long wavy black hair was loose and fell softly down his back. His blue eyes sparkled the color of pool water.

“You look great Emi!” Joe praised. Joe was the camera man. A 24 year old photographer who took photos of cosplayers for several cons. He was becoming quite popular for those photographs. Joe wore a green cap to block the sun with a grey t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

Emi, being only 19 and fresh from high school, felt so honored to be photographed by Joe. Emi was wearing a Victorian style dress with frills. It was a dark burgundy color. He wore a nice pair of pointed boots of a similar color. Clip on dangle earrings added to the outfit. Emi spun around so the ruffles of the skirt would flare up slightly.

There were several clicks and flashes.

“Wow! I can’t believe you didn’t fall down doing that,” Joe complimented.

Emi merely chuckled. He had been cross dressing at every opportunity since he was a child. He had a good few years of experience now. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Are there any other poses you would like me to do?”

“Do you think you can give me a classy, elegant lady pose?” Joe mused as he set the camera stand up to get a steadier picture.

“I would be delighted.” Emi did a long sweeping curtsy. His legs crossed like a ballerina’s. Standing straight, Emi thought of every elegant woman he had ever seen. The umbrella propped on his shoulder, both hands holding onto the end right before the curve. He crossed one leg in front of the other softly. He turned his head to the opposite and pretended to look off into the distance with a dreaming expression.

“Beautiful!” Joe gasped as he adjusted his camera to get to get the best photo. Several flashes went off and Emi held still. Then Joe gasped, “What is that?” He pointed into the sky.

Emi turned to find a rock flying through the air. It just kept getting bigger and bigger. Than he realized that the rock was heading straight for him. He froze in fear and the rock hit him right in the eye.

Emi lost sight in that eye as he fell back. He saw Joe rushing towards him before turning black.

Earlier, in another space:

An elegant woman dressed in a fancy kimono. The layers of cloth engulfed her figure. Ribbons flowed freely around her. She wore a crown made of coral. Her large eyes stared out the balcony of her home.

“I don’t know have much time.” She sighed as she closed her eyes. She traced spirals on the railing of the balcony. “The new deity must awaken sooner than I expected.” She grabbed the pendant on her kimono. Clutching it tightly, she took several deep breathes. “Please stay safe little one.” Ripping the stone out of her pendant, she threw the stone over the balcony. “Awaken and know, I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down the woman’s face as the stone fell to the mortal realm.

Emi awoke in a hospital bed. His head was aching. He was relieved that he could see through both eyes, but he wish his head didn’t hurt so much. He shifted to his side only to be shocked at seeing an IV stuck into his wrist. His body felt weak, most likely due to the headache, so he just stared at the IV for a moment.

“How am I supposed to sleep comfortably with this thing in my arm?” Emi murmured.

“Good afternoon Saint,” A female voice greeted him.

Emi looked up to see a curvy Indian woman with her black hair tied back into a ponytail. She was staring down at the bored in her hand as she walked to the beeping machine that was connected to Emi.

Emi glared at the device. That device is probably why I have a splitting headache.

“Your heart seems to be quicker than normal.” She turned to face Emi. Her eyes then widened. “You’re awake!”

Emi nodded slowly. “How long have I been here?”

The nurse smiled at him. “Let me call the doctor first.” Opened the door to the hallway and leaned out. “Hey, tell Dr. Jones that patient Saint has just woke up. And bring the poor thing some food.”

Emi heard a muffled reply of a few nurses before the door clicked shut and the nurse came back to stand by his bedside. A warm smile was on her face, “I’m Symphia. How are you feeling, Mr. Saint?”

“My head hurts. A bad headache.” Emi answered. “How long have I been here?”

She only smiled, “Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was Mr. Saint?”

“I remember something hitting me in the eye.” Emi answered. “I think it was a rock or something. Was it so bad that Joe brought me to the hospital?”

“I see,” she murmured as she scribbled a note down on the board. “Well you see Mr. Saint, you’ve been here for about 2 months. Since you were breathing on your own, we didn’t put you on a breathing machine. We’ve been feeding you through a tube. So try not to move around too much until we can remove it.”

“Two months?!” Emi sat up and then regretted it. He clutched his head in pain.

Symphia helped lay him back down again. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“What hit me?” Emi’s voice sounded half awake.

“We’re not entirely sure. All we know is that an explosion happened at the koi pond that day. We’re not sure about who set the bomb off or why. But don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“Bomb?” Emi chocked. His heart beat skyrocketed. “Where’s Joe? Is he okay? He was with me.”

Symphia smiled as she patted his head. “Don’t worry. Everything’s okay. Joe has recovered. He’s actually come by to visit you. I think he said he would be visiting today last time he came by.”

Emi sighed with relief. His heart slowing down to a normal pace.

“Now you take a rest while I go get you an aspirin.” Symphia ran her fingers through Emi’s hair for a moment. He soon dozed off to sleep. She smiled as she walked out of the room.

The hall was busy with bustling nurses and doctors. Some walking with patients in tow. Symphia glided throw the crowd. Her brown eyes rested on a small janitor’s closet. She opened the door and side stepped inside without anyone noticing.

“Come on out, you little creep.” Symphia growled.

“Creep? Is that the best you can do?” Particles of dust shifted off of the objects into one pile on the floor in front of Symphia. The space was small and cramped and it only became more cramped as Grey appeared. His grey eyes were piercing color and made him look blind. His short, neatly cut hair was a dark grey. His clothes were a neatly pressed. A white button up shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. His always freshly polished shoes were black. “You used to be so much better with nicknames,” he glanced at his nails, “Are you losing your edge Symphia? Or has being a love deity made you soft?”

“What’s a death deity like you hanging around a hospital for?” Symphia spat.

Grey smirked as he stood straight. “Lots of people die in a hospital. It’s the perfect place for me to work isn’t it?”

Symphia growled. “I’d hardly call stalking around a comatose boy’s room working.”

Grey laughed. “19 is hardly a boy, Symphia. Especially given the job that’s now fallen into his lap since you wouldn’t let me take him.”

“He was breathing on his own. You know very well you can’t take a living soul to the afterlife.” Symphia pressed a finger onto his chest.

Grey looked down at the finger and then shifted his eyes to Symphia’s brown ones. He could see the fire in her eyes. Symphia valued life and enjoyed protecting them. It made his job harder. “And what do you suspect we do when his powers manifest?”

Symphia took a step back. “He was chosen to be a deity by a god. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

“Ha! More like he’s going to get in a bunch of trouble.” Grey rolled his eyes. He propped a hand on his hip. “Just you watch, he’ll wind up in the afterlife because of those powers. It could be a demon, a lesser god, or even a human. And when that happens, I’ll take his soul. Young deities like him never last long these days.”

“You don’t know that. He’ll become a deity. I can feel it.” Symphia smiled.

Grey rolled his eyes. “Wanna bet on that?” Grey did love a good bet.

“Depends. What’s the wager?” Symphia tilted her head. Symphia enjoyed a good bet too.

“If he can become a full fledge deity, I’ll be your personal chef for a whole year. If he dies before then, you become my personal chef for a whole year.” Grey smiled. They were both good cooks, so the trade seemed fair to him.

“I like this bet. It’s a fair trade too.” Symphia thought it over. “You’ve got a deal.” They shook hands. “I’m looking forward to you making me sundaes every day.”

Grey laughed. “Just hope he doesn’t die before then.”

Symphia opened the door and exited, going about the day as if nothing had happened. None of the nurses notice. Grey simply disappeared in the dust again.

Emi was glad that his headache was now gone. He sat up in his bed looking around. The doctor told him that he would be able to go home in about another day after some more observations. Emi nibbled at the food Symphia brought him.

“You’re awake!” Joe cheered as he came in behind the nurse.

Emi smiled. “Yeah. I was told there was an explosion?”

“Yeah. It was crazy!” Joe stated as he sat in the chair by the bed. “I got knocked off my ass.”

“You’re camera wasn’t damaged was it?” Emi’s eyebrow rose as he saw the camera hanging from Joe’s neck.

“Yeah, amazing huh?” Joe smiled as he held up the camera. “I just got done with some elementary school pictures. I’m getting paid a good bit for it.”

“That’s cool!” Emi gave a thumbs up.

“I brought the pictures from that day with me. Do you want to see them?”

Emi opened his mouth to speak, only to have the door slam open. He looked up to see his uncle Carmike standing there. His salt and pepper hair was a mess. He smiled the moment his eyes rested on Emi.

“You’re alive!” A tear came to his eyes as he wrapped Emi up into a bear hug.

“When did you get here?” Emi squeaked.

“He was the only family contact we could find for you,” Joe whispered, giving a look of sympathy.

“Who’s we?” Emi arched an eyebrow at the cameraman.

“Everyone at the café,” Joe scratched his cheek with his finger. “I can’t believe you’ve been working there for two years and not even the boss has met your parents. But the boss remembered meeting your uncle once and she had his number so she gave him a call.”

“Ah, I was so disappointed that she didn’t want to go out for that coffee.” Carmike sighed.

“You hit on my boss?” Emi cringed.

“What? Can you blame me? That lady is a looker. Who wouldn’t want to get with a woman like her?”

Emi groaned as he fell back into his bed. “I love you Uncle Carmike.” It was all he could think to say.

Emi stared out the window of the car. Carmike owned a nice hybrid car. He had saved money for years just so he could have one. It was a green car. Emi was never sure why Carmike decided to get a green car, but he was sure the car magnetic on the bumper advertising a marijuana business was a good clue.

“Is your business doing well?” Emi asked softly. He wasn’t sure if Carmike would hear him over the Johnny Horton.

Carmike turned the radio down to a soft whisper. “Yep! It’s booming! I was even able to get this shiny new car.” He laughed as he pulled into the driveway. Emi’s home was a simple place. A two story apartment with a small flower garden out front.

Emi smiled at the still alive little flowers.

“I watered them for you.” Carmike stated as he opened the door.

“How’d you get the key to my apartment?” Emi paused as he stared at his uncle, who stood in the doorway like a deer in the headlights.

“The nurse gave me your belongings,” he answered after a long pause. “I wasn’t given your clothes though. Apparently they had to cut them off of you.”

Emi sighed, “Oh well.”

He’s two floor apartment was quite nice. The first room you entered was the living room. To the right when you came in was the kitchen. To the left was the stair case and a small bedroom that Emi used as a storage room. A small bathroom was under the stair case. Up that stair case was Emi’s bedroom, a large bathroom and the laundry room. Emi really liked his apartment. It was a real nice one too.

He paused as he stared at the tall suit case leaning against his couch. A soft smile spread across his face as he noticed the papers on the coffee table. They were to do lists in Carmike’s handwriting.

·         Water the plants.

·         Sweep and mope

·         Change car oil

·         Visting hours are 12p to 5

Emi gingerly picked up the paper. He found it funny how Carmike would often misspell certain words if he was in a rush.

“Thanks for taking care of my place while I was in the hospital,” Emi placed the paper back on the table.

“It’s no biggie.” Carmike shrugged. “Though I was surprised that you didn’t have a pet when I got here.”

“What makes you think I would have a pet?” Emi asked as he sat down on the couch. He didn’t feel like going to bed. It was the first time he had been home in two months. The thought was surreal to him. But at least he wasn’t gone for years.

“You always wanted a pet when you were little. I think for a while you had trouble deciding if you wanted a cat or a turtle.” Carmike smiled at the old memories. He sat down beside his nephew and ruffled his hair. “You’ve grown up so quick. You used to be so tiny.”

Emi laughed as Carmike held his hand out at the height he was when he was a toddler. “I remember you used to look like a giant to me.”

“Your mum must have been the tallest giant then.” Carmike had a far off look in his eyes.

Emi smiled bitterly. His mother was a touchy subject for him. “She was really tall, but normally she would kneel down to talk to me or pick me up.”

“Yeah that sounds like Isabell.” Carmike nodded. “You’re her pride and joy, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Emi brought his knees to his chest. His eyes falling on his mother’s picture hanging on the wall. Isabella Saint. His mother. She had pale blue eyes and long wavy black hair. Her smile lite up the house with a warm glow that made everyone feel welcomed. She was the center of Emi’s world. At least until she went missing.

Emi sighed as he uncurled himself. He didn’t want to think about the past. “I’m hungry. What’s in the fridge?”

Carmike laughed. “Not much.” He groaned as he stretched. “Are you wanting to cook? I’m thinking going out to eat would be good. Yeah, a nice outing since you’re finally out of the hospital.”

Emi smiled as he watched his uncle ramble on.

Chapter 2