“What do you mean you’re lost?!” A gruff, angry, and very British voice barked at him. “You’re supposed to be getting healed right about now!”

  “I know Frank, and believe me were I able and not busy babysitting that’s exactly what I’d be doing.” Ozzy was leaning forward, his elbows resting against on his knees as he held his face in his hands.

  “Stupid swamp diving, tree hugging, sorry excuse for a core user. You shoulda’ summoned me back there. I’d have put a stop to things the right way.” Frank said, angrily pacing back and forth in front of Emil’s feet.

  “I know I know, I really should have, I was too caught up in the moment and I didn’t think about you.” Ozzy admitted, the rat harrumphing in reply.

  “Don’t worry about it, I’m sorry about how it went down kid. It’s a rough thing.” Frank paused, looking up at Ozzy with his weirdly intelligent rat eyes, searching for any reaction before continuing. “Not sure I’d have been able to do much better than you did though, maybe I could’ve watched your back but that last guy was looking for blood. He’d probably have gone for the kill regardless of whether or not I’d been there.”

  “Thanks Frank. Still though, I can’t stop thinking about that girl. Crying on top of him, praying...” Ozzy shuddered, trying to shake the chills away.

  “Killings a hard thing. Monsters are easy, gods form them, you put em down, and they form some more. No real rhyme or reason to em. People though? It’s just hard, even if you’re doing the world a favor it’ll wear on you.” Frank spoke gently, a lot of the edge leaving his voice for the first time since Ozzy’d gained the power.

  “You’re a good egg kid, don’t change.” Frank added, and Ozzy couldn’t help but smile down at the rat.

  “You know I met a god already?” Ozzy asked, changing the conversation away from the uncomfortable subject.

  “Yeah, felt it when you got his blessing and again when it got upgraded. Nasty thing you know, dealing with gods. I figured Mr. Battered Black and Blue over there would have told you about it.” Frank said, staring down a bumbling drunkard that had stumbled in on them, the man quickly turned and went the other way down the alley.

  “He didn’t mention it until I met the God.” Ozzy chuckled, very happy to be thinking about something else. “He’s a good guy though, he helped all of us out. Without him we’d be toast and then everyone on board the wagon would’ve been eaten.”

  “But in exchange he made you agree to help him right?” Frank asked dubiously.

  “No actually, which is part of the reason I actually agreed to. He helped me just because he wanted to, so I felt like returning the favor. Does that make sense?” Ozzy asked.

  “In a weird human kind of way?” Frank admitted.

  “Well yeah, basically he just wants me to help him improve the city. Which I feel like if I ever get strong enough to do I’d just do it anyways.” Ozzy said.

  “If that’s what you’re about then I’m here for it.” Was all Frank said.

  “He did tell me one thing though.” Ozzy said.

  “And what’s that?” Frank asked.

  “He told me to watch out for rats, and I’m pretty sure that it was right after I’d just summoned you for the first time too. Unrelated, how’s Emil doing, any better?” He asked.

  Ozzy wasn’t much for understanding the way their empowered bodies worked, he vaguely understood that each core, shard, and enhancement ability moved you further away from human but he wasn’t completely sold on the details. For example, he had less cores and shards to his name than Emil did, yet he was way better off when it came to getting hurt because of furry fortitude, details right?

  “Well he’s breathing better, probably just needs a couple o’ hours crashing it up in the palace of dreams before he’s good to move around.” Frank paused, looking Emil up and down before continuing. “I guess I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him say that. Your god I mean.”

  “Why do you say that? It’s not just God on God hate?”

  “Not exactly”

  A voice seemed to form from the very world around them, it was higher pitched and scratchier than a normal human voice and it carried with it the authority of a king of thieves.

  Both Ozzy and Frank turned to find a common street rat constructed of pure darkness lounging just above them on a protruding piece of brickwork. Its eyes pure crimson, not in the classic glowing red ember but a deep consuming red like the shard Emil’d used in the swamp.

  “Cat got your tongue?” The ominous rat who’d just crashed their little alley party asked.

  “My lord.” Frank was on the ground practically prostrated, not even daring to look up at the shadowy rat.

  “Oh get up Frank, you know we’re not about all that anymore.” The rat waved Franks adoration off as if it were more annoying than anything else.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Sorry about that, I haven’t been summoned since the last prime stepped down. He was more about the formalities as you know.” Frank apologized.

  “I know I know, but you’re distracting me, even if it is nice to see you again I’m here for this one.” The ominous rat said.

  “Here for me? I already have a blessing though?” Ozzy said questioningly.

  “Ahhh right, the famous ignorance of cosmic strangers. Apologies Ozzie.” The rat said.

  “No need to apologize, but um, who are you?” Ozzy asked, though deep down he had a bad feeling he knew exactly who he was talking to.

  “My name is Remulas current shoe in for the prime concept of the rat.” Remulas said, a toothy grin spreading across his snout.

  “Uhh nice to meet you Remulas, my name’s Ozzy?”

  “I know Ozzy, nice to meet you too.” The apparent god said, its smile only faltering slightly.

  “So what can I do for you?” Ozzy asked, trying not to feel bad about how awkward the conversation was getting.

  Remulas looked between Ozzy and Frank and sighed loudly. Then glancing at the grizzled rodent beside Ozzy began to communicate something to the old rat. Frank nodded in confirmation looking like a bedraggled office worker who had to ride herd on the bosses son.

  “Frank’s just brought me up to speed on your level of competency regarding your ability to survive here in Myreluck. He said, and I quote, “No issue surviving, he could kill just about anything that feels like dancing but he’s got a terrible sense of direction and less common sense than a jarvint-.”

  “What’s a jarvint?” Ozzy asked.

  “Don’t interrupt, I’m gonna try and lay things out for you here. First of all, you can have multiple blessings, which is partially why I’m here. Granted I can’t give you anything like that old coot Fauga but I can help. Really I’m here to dissuade you from Fauga’s apparent ramblings. It’s been a while since that old Machinist’s been in town and things have changed. At least for us rats.” Remulas paused for questions.

  “Wait so you want to give me a blessing too? And what’s changed?” Ozzy asked.

  “Maybe, probably not. I’m not certain we are compatible in the same way you and Fauga are.” He admitted.” What I mean to say about change is that we rat kin no longer follow the same prime. I am the new Rat God, and I do things a little differently than the last.” Remulas said, dropping from his high perch to sit beside Frank on the worn wood of platform 1.

  “I’ll be honest with you, that sounds great but I don’t really know what you did in the first place so hearing you’ve changed doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Don’t you just do rat things? Snitch, steal stuff, eat carrion, what could have changed about that?” Ozzy asked,

  “Ozzy I’ll take that in the spirit in which I believe you meant it, not in the rats are the sniveling vermin of the earth way it came across, but no. We do not simply lie, eat trash, and steal as you so eloquently put it. We do much, much more.” Remulas said.

  “You see, being a rat is about survival, thriving in the dark you could say. We take what we can from the world around us with or without the permission of those above us and we thrive with it. Being a rat is about freedom and the only community that matters, family.” Remulas spoke like a prophet, a passion creeping into his voice that only true zeal could produce.

  “You don’t snitch, lie, and eat garbage then? Kidding, kidding.” Ozzy joked,

  “Hilarious, but yes.” Remulas sighed. “When survival is on the table we do whatever it takes. It’s our way.”

  “What do you want from me then?” Ozzy asked, raising his eyebrows at the rat on the floor.

  “I have interests here, more than you could count and I desperately want them protected.” Remulas said firmly.

  “What kind of interests?” Ozzy asked.

  “Ones that I do not wish to disclose. I know that Fauga put you on a path to cleanse this city and in exchange for my help I’d want for certain things to go un-cleansed. Make sense?”

  “Criminal organizations?” Ozzy asked, not enjoying the rat gods non answer.

  “Unsavory organizations,” Reumulus corrected, “at least to one such as yourself.” He admitted.

  “I’m completely unwilling to make a deal based on protecting potential criminals and unethical operations I don’t know anything about. Explain what’s going on to me or we don’t have a deal.” Ozzy said firmly.

  “No deal.” The rat grinned up at him. “Which isn’t outside of my expectations for this converssation. You need to talk to The Machinist before deciding on a course of action, it’s only proper and when you’ve come to a decision with him ask Frank to contact me and we will speak again.”

  As the rat god finished speaking dark wisps of smoke began to rise off of him, each rapidly reducing the mass and size of the dark rat. It was like watching him unravel, mesmerizing, otherworldly, and slightly disturbing.

  “Wait, could you help us get to the healers or help Emil? I’d be happy to repay the favor down the line.” Ozzy spoke rapid fire, hoping to catch the god before he left them.

  Disintegrating before them the rat god smiled, “Consider it done,” and just like that he was gone. The particles of smoke that had formed him rising up through the alley to join the rest of smog up on the ceiling.

  Not a second later the chittering of a rat pulled Ozzy’s vision down and with more than a little surprise Ozzy made eye contact with a rather large rodent that had a small potion vial strapped to its back with black ribbon. The rat ran up between his legs were it stayed, turning its back to Ozzy and giving him easy access to untie the potion.

  “Thanks buddy.” Ozzy said, untying the potion. The second it no longer held the vial the rat scurried off leaving them to tend to Emil.

  One potion later the injured hunters wounds began to rapidly fade. Gashes knitted themselves back together and discolored bruises faded back to Emil’s normal light complexion, and like he’d been out for the world’s best nap, he yawned and leaned up.

  “Oh hey Ozzy, how’s it hanging?” He said groggily, and Ozzy had to resist the urge to not put him back into a vegetative state.

  ***

  Two hours later and they were sitting in the waiting room of what amounted to this places version of a hospital, and it was just as expensive as any American operation. He’d had to fork over 100 roqs worth of stinger crab meat and while it hadn’t been much Emil had said that the average person here barely made 10 roqs a day here, if that.

  In spite of the exorbitant cost of healing he was just happy to have his eye back, it’d never felt this good just to look around. He hadn’t realized how disconcerting it could be not being able to see past the bridge of your nose. Everything on his right side had been a void, and had someone decided to try their luck with him and take him down they would’ve only needed to have hit him from the right.

  Now he was good to go, and beyond that he was clean. One of the things they’d been sticklers for was cleanliness, and he’d been led through a magical system that stripped him of all the dirt, blood, muck, and filth he’d acquired over the last week in the swamp. He was practically a new man, and they were finally ready to get on with their day.

  “Well you’re looking fresh.” A familiar womanly voice drifted across the room to Ozzy, and he realized he might have missed a certain lunch date.