Breaking Gods by Viola Grace Page B

hundred mothers and kids milling near her. She took a snack from her pack and ate as she walked. Muraz followed her example and every few hundred yards she whistled again until they were on the way down a gentle slope and heading toward a barn.
    “Who feeds them?”
    “Brother Frimin is the primary on winter duty here this year. The seven here will be checked on every week and spend their time in meditation and communication with Mother and Father. They keep this area green and lush for the kids and the mothers. Winter doesn’t touch it and there is a spring and plenty of fresh water, grass and light. Everything that they need.”
    “Why is it important to separate them from the herd?”
    She sighed, whistled again and kept walking, leading her fluffy parade. “If we don’t separate them, a good quantity of the kids die and then the females go into season immediately. Overbreeding isn’t good for them. If we keep the kids with them as long as possible, they won’t breed again for two years.”
    “So, population control and keeping the species healthy is a good thing. I am just surprised that they go along with it.”
    “They were raised this way and their mothers were raised this way. It is in them after one generation. The offspring brings a warm winter. They know it and expect it. We can’t stop now.”
    She whistled and the doors of the barn opened. Brothers and sisters streamed out with supplemental hay and troughs that they filled with water. The goats took it from there.
    Lieta watched the beasts walk toward the brothers and sisters without fear. “I envy them the simple life.”
    “The monks or the goats?” Muraz was amused.
    She snorted. “Both. Ah well. Time to go home. It is a twelve-hour walk or a half-hour flight. Which are you up for?”
    He visibly paled at the mention of flying. “Which way are you getting home?”
    “I am flying. If you want to walk, tell the monks and they will show you the tunnels.” She refastened the back of her pack and slipped it over her shoulders.
    She smirked. “You won’t get sick if you do your own flying.”
    “What?”
    “If you control the motion of your, body you won’t get motion sick. Come on, we will fly, and if not, I will see you at dawn tomorrow.”
    She lifted off and left him on his own. He had the power and the skills to use them if he was brave enough.
    Time would tell.
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    She landed in the orchard and checked the skies. She squinted and there he was, skimming along the edge of the mountains.
    His landing wasn’t graceful, but it was solid. She helped him up and put his arm around her shoulders, walking him through the trees as they prepared for their winter sleep and into the abbey.
    Instead of going through the public areas, she skimmed along the outer walkways and headed straight for the bathing pools.
    She aimed him sideways through a crack in the stone just wide enough for his body and she pushed him through.
    “Where are we going?” He was dazed.
    “Special pool. Be quiet and relax.”
    The hall was several metres long, but eventually, they emerged and she eased him onto a bench. With the ease of practice, she removed his boots, and with a grin, she slit the robe off him with nails turned to claws.
    She left him there naked and quickly removed her own clothing, setting it to one side. Lieta took him by the arm again and walked him to the pool with her skin as the guiding light.
    “Where are we?”
    “In the pools closest to the roots of Mother and Father.”
    “Why am I so drained?”
    “Flying uses multi-directional telekinesis and weather manipulation. It is an energy-draining skill. The waters here will help you.”
    She kept walking until he was in the water up to his jaw and she was floating.
    With a quick move, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him.
    He gripped her hips and leaned back a little. “Why now?”
    “Because we are assured of privacy and nothing will eat your clothing. I