[ 58 ]
The bartender,crying, scooped up a few handfuls of the dead DJ and rushed outside.
The others all started grabbing nickels and were helping Dong put them back in the sock, though dozens of NPCs had grabbed some and run. There was a nasty tear in the fabric of the sock, but it was mending itself. The sock, however, didn’t seem to be going back to its giant size, no matter how many nickels people put back in. The coins were absolutely everywhere.
I called Splash Zone for help, but he didn’t answer. He and the others were still in the Desperado Club, so I had Tipid run over. He and Bucket Boy grabbed the still-unconscious unicorn and lugged him back toward his garage before the bartender could gather some friends.
The bar stank like smoke, and I didn’t know if we were going to get kicked out, so we had to do this quickly. Prepotente was in the middle of raiding the bar while Dong, the skeletons from the Bleak Congregation, and a few of the other regulars finished cleaning up the nickels.
I eyed Dong warily.
Carl: I gotta read the room first, but I don’t want Dong screwing this up. If I say the word, you gotta get him out of here.
Imani: I’ll keep an eye on him.
Donut sat sullenly on the edge of the stage, a sour expression planted on her face. Mongo was snuffling about the bar, occasionally licking random puddles of blood and beer and gremlin guts. He had straw all over his face from where he’d bitten one of the scarecrows. Dekoki the kappa had regained the ability to move after the Minister of Blood-Letting poured a beer into her head bowl, and Louis was helping her reapply her Saran Wrap as she profusely apologized to Donut. She’d been knocked over when people lunged for the coins.
I spied Jurgen trying to come speak with me, but Florin held him back. That likely had something to do with Lucia Mar. I held up a finger, telling him I’d talk to him soon. “I’ll get back as soon as I can,” I called, moving for the door to the guild.
“No,” Jurgen said, moving out of Florin’s grip. “I will join you in the guild.”
“You can’t,” I said, pulling the door open. My voice was still high-pitched. I moved into a menu, and it wouldn’t let me turn it off, but it was about to time out. I coughed a few times, waiting for it to clear. “Look, this is important, too. We need this if we want to deal with the problem with the kids.”
Jurgen was stopped at the entrance like he’d hit a brick wall. He grabbed me by the shirt, preventing me from going all the way in. “There is a goddess threatening to kill all the children.”
“I know,” I said, gently but firmly removing his fingers from my cloak. “But the only thing we can do from this side is try to talk Lucia into taking a deal. If she takes a deal, she’s off the playing board, and those children are safe.”
I hope,I didn’t add.
“I need to get out,” he said, a hint of panic in his voice. “Send me out via the Pineapple place, too.”
“You can’t,” I said, looking him up and down. “I’m sorry. You worship Donar. They said you can’t go if you worship a god.”
“They said those of us who worship godscan’tgo, or they say theydon’t want usto go?” he demanded.
That was actually a good question. Akuma had said he didn’t want the eyes of gods on that place. He’d said that if one worshipped a god, entering the area would instigate a smite. But was that true? Was it just a way to keep certain crawlers out? I didn’t know the answer.
I thought again of Akuma’s insistence that we kill two teams. That had been a lie, so I knew we couldn’t trust him. But what if he was correct about not wanting gods there? I had no way of knowing, and it was frustrating. So many now worshipped gods, and if this was truly an escape, we needed to know.
“Wait, what sort of god is Donar anyway?” I asked, pausing. I was making a running list of all the gods I’d heard of. I was placing them into a chart, moving each one into a different category based on their affiliations and skills.
“Donar is a god of thunder and lightning. This version is much the same as Thor. But manlier.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Is he sponsored this season?”
“No. I am no idiot, Carl. I wouldn’t be dumb enough to worship a sponsored god. I?—”
“Has he given you any lightning spells?”
“Ya.A few. It doesn’t matter. Listen, Carl,” Jurgen said, lowering his voice, “I gotta tell you something. It’s Heidi... I used to be able to talk to her, but I haven’t heard her in a while. I think something’s wrong. I think she’s in danger. She is all I have. She’s pregnant. I have to get to her.”
I gently pushed the large blond man back. “I promise you, Jurgen, I’m doing everything I can. You and Prepotente need tofocus on surviving this next race, and then we’ll figure it out. That’s the best I can do for you right now. I promise.”
He opened his mouth to say more, but I disappeared into the hidden guild.
Entering the Stage Performance Guild.
Please come in, performer. You are welcome here. See the guildmaster for the services o-o-o-offered.