NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: Family
In the aftermath of the gods descending, Luka opened the park, briefly conversed with Vale, ignored everyone he did not know, and disappeared into the forest and got back to work. Bestial Grove was coming along nicely, but suddenly not at all. It was a strange dichotomy; one he blamed the gods for.
Luckily, he had proof!
Hidden in his pocket was a piece of paper he did not place there. Luka knew it was from the gods—notes about the Bestial Grove and what could be better—because it was signed by "the gods." So, unless the Trickster wished to trick the park into mediocrity, and Luke could confirm the notes were going to have the opposite effect, then the piece of paper was genuine.
In fact, some of the notes were quite, dare he say, good.
Take the forty third line under the "Cool things to add" sections: "Add spitting fountains to the pathways, hidden amongst the shrubbery and plantery. Besides giving extra water sources for the animals that will soon call the area home, it will also be an interactive element for guests."
Luka wasn't even sure if "plantery" was a word, not that it mattered. Included with the note was a drawing of what the god or goddess meant. Annnnnnnnd it was exactly as he expected—a simple water low-power cannon glyph hidden beyond the path. The glyphwork would go off every so often, spewing water over the path and misting the area. The water would crash safely into the other side, or wherever the target goal was.
It fit the jungle temple theme, especially around the river ride. It fit a little too well, actually. And Luka suddenly found himself following the note on line twenty-nine under the section labeled "Scenery additions" simply saying "Add more totems! See traditional orcish shamanism for inspiration!"
The totems would be the source of the spitting water, he decided… as soon as he knew what they looked like.
Luka sighed.
Took a moment for himself.
Then he looked at the piece of paper again and made his way down the list. Somehow, some magical way, the list kept going. Hundreds of lines, thousands of notes, impossibly long and yet, perfectly readable.
I've decided, he declared mentally, I'm not going to open any divine post until after the pilgrims arrive… and stuff… just to spite the gods for making me change all my plans for…
Luka trailed off, suddenly that idea didn't seem very smart. He was annoyed and tired and mentally exhausted. The day had been a day and it wasn't even noon!
…He watched someone die today.
Swallowed by Snake. Whole. And he couldn't find the emotions to care. Even after everything on Earth and his first few weeks on this world, he just didn't care.
He took a deep breath.
He wanted to care. He truly did. He hated his life on Earth, what he made, what he had become. He felt as if he was slipping, falling back into that person, that persona. The King of Bullets, the man who made bombs. The man who abandoned his family.
That was it, right? The crux of it all. Luka did not care that the hairdresser or trickster cultist or whatever he was, died because he was going after Annie.
It was a strange notion, but one Luka knew he had to adopt. He would never abandon Annie—never, ever again. And if that meant becoming the King of Bullets again, so be it. No… no, that wasn't right. He would never be the King of Bullets again—that man was long dead—but Luka could become something else. Something just as ruthless if need be, if, of course, Annie was involved.
Yeah, that sounded right. He didn't want to. But he would be forced to. And may the gods help any who dared stand between them.
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A weight lifted from his shoulders. A scary weight, but a weight all the same.
He breathed deeply, etching the glyphwork into the plantery for a spitting fountain. He peered over it—and proceeded to get blasted by a stream of water in the face.
He sighed.
And laughed.
***
Annie found her dad standing over an Easter Island Head looking rock. It obviously wasn't an Easter Island Head, but the inspiration was there. The stone was fit within the shrubbery, blocking a path behind one of the exhibit areas from guests.
Beasts and monsters sat around watching him, surreptitiously eyeing their new living arrangements. Some were happy, others soon left to find new digs. A mutated bear-goose thing inched closer, obviously thinking the stone head was a prime location to dig a nest underneath. Unfortunately, a semi-aquatic floating fish thing also decided under the stone head was perfect—especially since the soil was saturated from a nearby fountain.
Annie decided to let that play out naturally and moved over to her father. He didn't notice her approach, nor when she was within touching distance. The man was enthralled, his focus on minute etching at the base of the stone head—glyphs, obviously. But Annie couldn't recognize the formation. It was very, very complicated looking.
"Dad," she said.
Luka jumped, his surprise turning into melted warmth. Tension left his shoulders, this morning's mood suddenly gone.
Annie wasn't present for the gods descending on the park again, but she had heard about it. Everyone had heard about it. And from the gossip, it did not go well until the very end… until Annie talked to Vale and got the whole story un-guestified.
The hairdressers were evil or something, no one really knew, but were attempting to kidnap her. And her father was pissed at the gods for allowing it to happen. He had every right, in Annie's mind—hell, she was pissed as well! But it was now dark out. Her father had been working all day straight. He missed lunch, he missed dinner. Others had come to check on him, but he turned them away with a smile apparently.
Annie grimaced inwardly. She should have come earlier. But there had been one problem after the other and she simply couldn't get away fast enough. Reincarnating a village of people did that. Orchestrating the park in the meantime was even worse!
She should have come earlier.
She really should have.
Annie held up a wrapped smashburger. "Dinner," she said. "Eat."
Luka looked around. "Oh. I must've been in the flow. Didn't even realize it was dark out."
Daughter eyed father. Father smiled at daughter. Daughter frowned.
"You're not okay."
"I certainly am!"
There was a blankness to his words, a blankness that Annie saw right through. "Uh huh."
"I am!" He gestured at the stone head. "One of the gods suggested I add some security to the Bestial Grove to help the animals. Whichever god it was left a glyph pattern to automate the process. Here—watch!"
Luka took a long step into one of the enclosures and—
"MORTAL REMOVE THY SELF FROM THE LAND OF BEASTS OR FEEL MY WRATH!" yelled the stone head, its eyes glowing demonic red.
Annie's eyes widened and she took a step back. "Uh."
"It doesn't actually do any 'wrathing' but it does contact the security office and get someone to come over."
Annie blinked. "And a god told you to make this?"
"Suggested it." He showed her the divine notes paper. "They all did… I think."
Luka stepped around, back to the guest path, and the statue's eyes waned back to stone. "A little loud, I'd say. Maybe I should fix that…" He stared at the stone, doing something magical to it.
Annie scratched her face. "Dad. Can we talk?"
He looked up. "Hmm? Oh sure. Let me just finish this…"
"Dad. Now, please."
This time he looked and truly looked. Sure, Annie had heard about her almost kidnapping, but that didn't make the fact that she almost was kidnapped only gossip. The threat was good and truly real and was only thwarted because Elven Consort Jear decided to visit the park and liked the area enough to plant Ressen, which subsequently caused the planet to create a guardian for the World Tree, and that guardian decided to not only protect Ressen, but those deemed "family."
In essence, Annie was standing here today because of a series of events no one could have seen coming.
And that was freaking her out a little.
Her father's eyes narrowed. He tilted his chin down, staring at her. He knew something was wrong. Annie flinched.
Okay, maybe it was scaring her a lot. She held in her tears. She was a big girl, older than most guests in the park by a lifetime. She could handle some implied kidnapping, right? That was fine. Everything was fine.
Her father stepped forward and hugged her, crushing the smashburger.
Annie cried.
"I've got you," he whispered. "I've got you."
They talked for hours, and Luka didn't work for a single minute of it.