Laima's One Thousand Years Vol. 2

Content

Giltine stood in the abandoned home of Goddess Laima. A message, clearly directed to her, appeared briefly on the wall before fading back into nothing. Giltine meditated on the words. Unlike humans, she was unable to forget anything her eyes had seen.
Her thoughts turned to words in her mind before she voiced them out, at once enraged and insulted.
[So you left without even bothering to speak to me. You still think you are right, don't you?]
{np}She continued. [You knew that we would never agree on this, that I would come find you if everything fell through, so you prepared to abandon this place? The place we call our home?]
Giltine's monologue turned into an angry lament. [You're going to roam with the humans now? You're leaving me, making me the enemy? You're running away from the other goddesses, your sisters, to live like that for who knows how long?]
{np}As soon as her words dissipated, Giltine heard a noise coming from behind her.
She turned around to glance at the three demons that had arrived under her command.
On the left stood Kartas; his skin pale and ashy, his deranged eyes glistening.
Knowing him, Giltine believed he might very well be able to chase Laima. Kartas was chaos personified after all, there was no telling what he was capable of. Counting on his tenacious and uncontrolled nature, Giltine knew it was only a matter of time before he could find Her.{np}On the other hand, Kartas hunted for pleasure and thoroughly enjoyed wreaking havoc. Laima would not die at the hands of Giltine's subordinate, but his destructive impulses seemed like too much of a risk.
She erased from her mind the thought of entrusting Kartas with the goddess. Instead she turned to Baiga, her most trustworthy subordinate. Baiga was discreet, intelligent and powerful, a rare combination among Giltine's followers. Short of a true goddess herself, she knew not to expect perfection from her subordinates. Baiga, however, would not disappoint her.
Capturing a goddess with foreseeing powers would be no easy task. It could take centuries to find Her. And yet, to an immortal being it was not impossible, and Giltine was willing to bet on Baiga to produce the right results.
Unfortunately for her, there was a bigger, more urgent task reserved for Baiga that she could not entrust to anyone else.{np} Conformed, Giltine turned her eyes away from Baiga and onto her third demon.
[Gesti, I want you to chase Laima. Do what you must to find her. I will not tolerate a failure.]
Upon hearing Giltine's words, Baiga acquiesced. Kartas clenched his teeth and growled loudly in discontent, gazing intently at his superior. Gesti stepped back on one foot, as if preparing for him to suddenly attack.
Predictably, Kartas seemed fixed on the thought that he would have been chosen for the job if it weren't for Gesti. As someone who did not hesitate to defy Giltine herself, he was remarkably less keen on respecting her other subordinates as fellow demon lords.{np}Giltine let out a deep sigh and adopted a rigid stance, glancing back at Kartas. A few moments passed before he looked away in defeat. As always, the only way to control Kartas was to overpower him into submission. Other than the goddesses, few were able to do that without collateral damage.
{np}Now regretting ever having considered Kartas for the important task of finding Laima, Giltine adjusted her posture to speak again.
[Kartas, you stay away from Gesti. You don't want to know what I'll do with you if I catch you out of line. You go to Gesti only if she asks for your help. Do as she says or you will be punished. I will not hesitate to take you down.]
{np}Kartas slowly lowered his head, signaling to Giltine his obedience. No words were directed to Gesti.
If needed, she would call for Kartas or his subordinates. He may not have been as brilliant as Baiga, but Gesti was no fool either. She would be careful not to assign Kartas too big of a role, or push him to the point of releasing his explosive nature.{np} Gesti pondered on what task she could entrust to Kartas. Giltine stepped towards her, as if guessing her thoughts.
[Let us leave, before the goddesses realize we came to find Laima.]
Without further discussion, the four demons walked away from the scene, leaving Laima's home empty once again.