Titans of Chaos

He nodded, and smiled at some pleasing memory. "We were in the library, arguing, and heclaimed he was stronger than I, despite that he was blind. I lifted up the Great Weapon and shot,just as he donned his dread helm and vanished, and I had no more sight of him than he of me. Thecurtains billowed and the candles blew, so for a time I thought he had escaped my shot, for (aswell we know) the Great Weapon often goes astray, but the next day he outraged the Maiden asshe gathered flowers in the fields of Enna, and carried her down through sunless crevasses intothe House of Woe, so I knew my bolt struck home."

"Death is blind?"

Archer nodded. "As Justice is: He makes no distinctions, plays no favorites." Now the boy tookme by my naked shoulders and lowered his face toward mine. I thought he was about to kiss me,but instead he merely looked deeply in my eyes.

"You are in my realm as well," he said. "There is a boy you love, who steps across the thresholdinto manhood. I can grant your wish. But you must ask it, and be in my debt."

"Wait! When you said you could make my true love have the head of an ass, did you mean youwere going to change Victor, or that you would change me?"

He said, "Is that your boon? Is that what Boreas sent you all this way to pray from my court?"

"Your... your court?"

"Know you not who We are, little daughter of Chaos? We are Cosmos itself. The throne is Ourown, granted by the Three Goddesses, confirmed by the Fates. Our Royal Person is no less thanthe Imperator of Heaven."

"Do you have-I don't mean to seem rude or anything, but-do you have a badge or anything?"

"A what?"

"A letter signed by your mother, or a driver's license, or something to prove you are the Emperorof Heaven? A golden stick, a fancy chair, a shiny hat?"

"I have the Great Weapon. Do you want to fall in love with a goat?"

Goat? I already had enough trouble with Colin. So I said, "Okay. You are the Cosmic Emperorand King of All Gods. Let's posit that. And you are talking to me, naked in a closet, because...

Why?"

"I've never had a boring conversation with a girl in her lacy things. But once she puts on clothesand opens her mouth, then..."

I favored him with a withering look. "It's the 'in the closet' part I was wondering about. You areafraid to talk to five children in a group, aren't you? You are not really an emperor of anything,are you?"