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.”
