Unity Faithweaver's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Unity could breathe now, but the peace did not last. The four gods who had taken her fear stood in a loose circle. Between two young palm trees, their trunks carved with the words freedom and unity, the gods began to argue. The fight was about Lucifer. The one who was cast out. The one still missing his share of her dread. Ember FireSprite spoke first. Coals flickered across her shoulders. "He was thrown out for a reason," she said. "You want to hand him a place at this table?" "Every table has an empty seat," Allah said. "Mine has one for him." "Then your table is a fool's table," Ember said. Sparks jumped from her hands. JC crossed his arms. His golden light dimmed as the voices rose. "I carry the fear of being cast out," he said. "I feel it right now. He feels it too. That does not make him safe. It makes him the same as me." The argument grew louder. Ember's fire climbed higher. Allah would not repeat himself, so he only stared. JC looked ready to leave. Unity felt the gathering start to break, like a rope pulled from both ends. If they split now, no one would hold the last piece of fear. Her mission would end here. A man sat under the carved trees. He had not spoken once. Long locks fell past his shoulders. A knit cap held them back. Unity had seen him arrive quietly, barefoot, and take a place in the shade. He watched the gods fight the way a poor man watches rich men break dishes. "Stop," Bob Marley said. He did not stand. "You all sound the same." The gods turned. Ember's fire held. "I grew up with nothing," Bob said. "No shoes. A father who left. People decided I did not belong. They were wrong." He pointed at the two trunks above him. "Freedom. Unity. You cannot pick one." "He tried to build his own world," Ember said. "So did I," Bob said. "On a stage. Full of poor people. All one country." He looked at Unity. "You cannot leave a man outside and call it whole." The words landed. Unity stepped into the circle. Her voice held steady. "Bob is right," she said. "I do not take sides. I never have. If I cast out the cast-out one, I am no different from Heaven." She faced the four gods. "The last piece of fear is his. I will carry it to him myself. None of you have to touch it. But none of you break this gathering over him." Ember's fire sank low. She said nothing, which meant yes. Allah nodded once. JC's light brightened again. The circle held. The gathering did not break. But now the choice was Unity's alone. She had promised to walk out and find Lucifer. She still did not know where the cast-out god had gone.