Goddess Breaker

Your wife taken. Your home destroyed. Three goddesses rule over you. Reclaim your life, seek revenge, or rise beyond divinity.

Plot

Opening scene

Twenty-three adults stand in Orchard End’s village square beneath a bright morning sky while three goddesses decide which of their lives will still exist by sunset.  The Goddess Telia stands beside the village elder with her hands folded pleasantly beneath her enormous breasts, the polished gold plates covering them catching warm flashes of sunlight whenever she moves. The rest of her white-and-red divine dress looks absurdly festive against the frightened faces surrounding her. She smiles at the elder as though they are discussing where to place tables for dinner. “One household in four,” she says gently. “That was the order.” The elder grips his walking staff with both hands. “These are family homes.” “I know.” “Some have stood here for generations.” “I know.” “We sent a reply.” Telia’s smile brightens. “You sent six pages explaining why you weren’t going to do what you were told.” A few villagers shift uneasily. The elder straightens. “We asked for another season.” “And we declined.” “You gave us twelve days.” “That was plenty.” “To abandon our homes?” Telia tilts her head. Her violet eyes soften with something almost maternal. “If it helps, I can burn the chosen homes.” The elder stares at her like she is a bandit demanding grain for lives. Telia gives his shoulder an affectionate little squeeze. “Then nobody has to keep looking back at them.” High above the square, the Goddess Starra yawns. She is floating perhaps twenty feet in the air, reclining on nothing at all as though the sky itself has arranged a couch beneath her. Her deep-sea blue twin tails drift behind her, gold ribbons gleaming, one long bare leg crossed lazily over the other. “This is taking forever.” Starra rolls onto her stomach in midair and looks down over the village. Ruby-red eyes drift across roofs, vegetable gardens, drying laundry, sheds, fences. She points. “That house.” A woman gasps. Starra points again. “That one.” Then another. “And that ugly brown one next to the well.” The elder pales. “My goddess, those households—” “I don’t care.” Near the far side of the square, Sam’s fingers tighten around You’s arm. “Don’t.” Her voice is quiet. Her dirty-blonde ponytail hangs behind one shoulder, bow and quiver strapped across her back. Her brown eyes never leave the goddesses. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” Across the square, Damon Breaker, Champion of the Three Goddesses, is talking to Diana. Damon looks as though someone carved a heroic statue out of gold and then taught it to smile. Tall, broad-shouldered, long black hair tied back from his face, golden armor immaculate despite the dusty village road. Diana stands opposite him in her familiar cream blouse and fitted green bodice, one hand resting protectively over the leather pouch at her waist. Damon smiles. “You’re wasting your talents here.” Diana gives him a polite smile of her own. “I’m not sure my patients would agree.” “You treat fevers, cuts, infections.” “Yes.” “With dried plants and boiled water.” “With medicine.” His smile widens. “Exactly.” Diana folds her arms. “That sounded suspiciously like an insult.” “It was admiration.” A faint flush touches her cheeks. She looks away. Damon notices. “I’m married.” “I haven’t done anything.” “You’ve been flirting with me since you arrived.” “I’ve been complimenting you.” “You called my eyes beautiful.” “They are.” Diana presses her lips together. The blush deepens despite herself. Diana shakes her head, but the corner of her mouth betrays the beginning of a smile before she suppresses it. Then Starra points again. “That one.” Diana follows her finger. All the color leaves her face. “No.” Starra’s finger is aimed directly at You and Diana’s home. Diana steps away from Damon. “No. Not that one.” Starra barely glances at her. “Yes, that one.” “That’s our house.” “Then apparently you’re moving.” Damon steps closer to Diana. “You don’t need to panic.” She rounds on him. “My home was just selected for destruction.” “You’ll have another.” Diana stares. He gestures toward the distant road leading east out of Orchard End. “Come to Caldras.” “What?” “The High Palace needs healers.” “I am not a palace healer.” “You could be.” “I learned medicine from an old woman with three teeth and a cupboard full of moldy books.” “And you’re still better at it than half the people calling themselves physicians.” That stops her. Damon continues. “There are libraries there. Alchemists. Magical healers. Gardens with plants you’ve never seen. Proper laboratories. Teachers.” Diana’s expression changes despite herself. Not agreement. Interest. Damon sees that too. “You could learn.” She swallows. “My life is here...” A shriek of laughter breaks across the square. Everyone turns. The Goddess Notqa has apparently stopped caring about forced relocation entirely. The sea-green-haired goddess has attached herself to a broad-shouldered villager near the fountain. His wife stands three steps away. She is not enjoying this. Notqa is. “Oh, come on!” Notqa says, throwing both arms outward. “You said you were strong.” The man looks desperately toward his wife. His wife folds her arms. Notqa points at herself. “Pick me up.” “My goddess—” “Bridal style!” The man’s face reddens. His wife’s does too, though for a very different reason. Notqa stamps one foot. “Do it!” The man bends awkwardly, one arm behind Notqa’s back and the other beneath her knees. She gives a delighted squeal as he lifts her. “There! See?” She loops an arm around his neck. “This is fun.” The wife’s jaw clenches. Notqa settles more comfortably against her husband’s chest. “Ooh. You actually are strong.” The wife’s nostrils flare. Notqa grins directly at her. “Can I borrow him tonight?” The square goes quiet again. The wife’s face twists. “Put her down.” Her husband freezes. Notqa bursts out laughing. “Oh, I like you.” “I said put her down!” The man looks between them. “Sorry.” Notqa is still laughing. Then he lowers her. Carefully. One arm beneath her knees until her feet touch the ground. Softly. Respectfully. He steps away. “I’m sorry, my goddess.” Notqa stops laughing. Starra sits upright in the air, serious for the first time. Telia turns away from the elder, as though she heard thunder in the distance. Damon’s expression changes, as though a war horn had sounded. Notqa looks at the man. No pout. No rage. Nothing. Her sapphire eyes are completely empty as she stares at the man who had put her divine feet back in mortal dust against her wishes. Notqa slaps him.  The sound is not particularly loud. His head snaps sideways. Something cracks. His body drops before his wife can catch him. For half a second, nobody understands what they saw. Then his wife screams. She falls beside him, grabbing his shoulders. His head hangs wrong. “No. No, no, no—” Notqa looks down. Her expression remains blank. “He ruined it.” The wife looks up at her. “You killed him!” Notqa’s brow furrows slightly. “He put me down. You were being annoying, and he listened to you.” The woman makes a broken sound somewhere between a sob and a scream. Notqa looks around at the staring villagers. “What?” No one answers. Starra sighs. “Oh, now everyone is going to stand around being miserable.” She raises one hand. Several ruby-bright gemstones appear between her fingers. The elder’s eyes widen. “Wait—” Starra flicks them. The first gem streaks across the square. It strikes a cottage. The house erupts as though a furnace had ignited inside its walls. Wood, roof tiles, furniture, dust, and flame burst outward in a rolling concussion. Before anyone can react, another gemstone hits the second selected home. Then the third. People scream and scatter. Starra watches the explosions with considerably more interest than she showed during the negotiation. “There.” She dusts her hands together. “Problem solved.” Diana stares toward the smoke. Then toward her own home. Starra lifts another gemstone. Diana goes white. “No.” Damon catches her around the waist as she moves forward. “No!” The gemstone leaves Starra’s fingers. Diana’s home disappears behind white-hot flame and splintering timber. The blast rolls through the square. Windows shatter. Telia exhales through her nose. She looks at the burning houses, the screaming widow, the displaced villagers, and finally the elder. “You see?” Her expression is almost disappointed. “Mortals always need help.” She lifts one hand. Fire pours across the village stones in a perfect circle on the ground. Golden-red flames rise without consuming the ground, folding inward until the air inside the circle becomes something deeper than fire. “Come on,” Telia says. “We’re done here.” Notqa steps over the dead man without looking down. Her smile has already begun returning. “Are we still having lunch?” “Yes.” “Yay!” Starra descends lazily from the sky and passes through the flames. Notqa follows. Telia waits. Diana stands frozen in horror as she looks at what little remains of her burning home. Her eyes find You for a moment. Damon follows her gaze. Then he looks back at Diana. Conviction settles into his eyes. He lifts her. One arm behind her back. One beneath her knees. Diana struggles immediately. “Put me down!” “You’re going to hurt yourself.” “I said put me down!” Telia steps into the circle. Damon carries Diana after her. The three goddesses, their divine Champion, and the captured village herbalist are barely visible behind the flames. The fire collapses almost peacefully, taking the group from sight. The village square goes silent except for burning timber and a woman sobbing over her husband’s corpse. Smoke rolls over Orchard End’s rooftops. Four homes burn. One of them is You’s. Sam’s hands finally loosen. She lets go. For several seconds, she only stares at the empty stones where the divine circle had been. They are not even scorched. Then she looks at You. Her face is pale. Her jaw is tight. “...What do we do?”

Characters

• Diana
• Damon
• Sam
• Telia
• Starra
• Notqa

Tags: Fantasy NTR Revenge Romance Villain Hero Adventure PoliticalIntrigue War Possessive AnyPOV Adventurer Magical Violence TurnDark Combat Arrogant

Chats Started: 1083

By: mocapoka

Stories

• Taken
• A Hero, Apparently
• Camelot Royal Academy
• Diversity Hire
• Pawtner Up! Reincarnated as a Beast Tamer
• The Mage Who Lived Twice: Arcane Reincarnation

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