Songs of the Earth Read Online Free PDF Page B

on my stomach as he pulled himself together and told me the rest of what happened.
"When you fell to the ground, the warriors quit fighting the air. As you lay there, the blisters started to heal. Ki was trying to convince Ushna she hadn't done anything to you, though we all saw to the contrary. Ushna really did try to kill her. She said you had a spell, a ward, on you that was triggered like a booby trap when she tried to see how powerful you are. Something to do with an ancient writing about the ring Ushna wears. Anyway, she claimed the only one who could create a spell she couldn't see was another God. You woke up after the blisters healed and we brought you back to the house. Uttu was waiting for us when we got here. She was already painting the walls with the symbols for this healing spell."
I was exhausted. Ushna and Gregori helped me to the bathroom, which would've been embarrassing if I'd felt better. Ushna stripped me and we took a quick shower. He had to hold me the whole time because I couldn't stand long on my own. Gregori was waiting with towels, drying me off before they helped me back to bed. I felt them crawl in bed with me as I let myself fall into sleep.
    I dozed off and on for twenty-four hours. I convinced Ushna to take care of our business, practically kicking him out of the room. I promised I wouldn't leave the bed. It was an easy promise to keep, because I was still exhausted and had no energy.
    Uttu continued her vigil as she wove on her loom in the corner. No one explained to me who she was or what she was doing here. I wondered if it was some kind of spell that caused people to accept her presence. I felt power in her but it was subtle, controlled. If she'd meant us harm, she'd had ample opportunity to hurt us in the last few days. I harnessed my patience and waited for her to reveal her purpose.
    In no way was I bored, because Uttu told me stories. We talked about Gods and humanity but most particularly how Gods lost track of time. I wanted to know how it was possible for the Goddess Ki, who was supposed to be the tutelary for my family, to lose track of us. Uttu avoided my direct questions and instead started telling me a different story. I had a feeling each story she told me held some important message and so I paid attention and remembered them.
    "The Gods have been here since the beginning of time. They explore and mingle with humanity, time meaning nothing to them. They do not set up households or form family units like humans, but they do value and love their children and siblings. They love and conspire and make war like any other race, but the time scale is infinitely longer for immortals. Grudges are held longer.
    "The first father, Adzu, was going to destroy the universe and all his offspring but his grandson, Enki, put him into a deep sleep in the waters of Kur. Dragon Queen of Chaos, Tiamat, was angered at the imprisonment of her husband and vowed to take back creation. All the Gods and Goddesses' called out to Enki for help, but Enki was in a deep sleep and he didn't hear the cries of the other Gods. His brother Enlil drew to him an army and captured Tiamat and severed her corporal form. Her dragon's tail became the stars of the Milky Way and her body formed the Earth around the waters of Kur.
    "The God Enki, in Sumerian times, was called Lord of the Earth. He is a deity of water, intelligence, and creation. His image is a double helix of snakes entwined around a rod called a Caduceus." Uttu looked down at the double helix of snakes on my exposed chest. The snakes had been solid black, but now they were alternately striped black, blue, and green.
    "He wears the Horned Crown of Divinity and dresses in a cape made from the scales of fish. Enki is always honorable. He is not a trickster. He doesn't cheat, and although he has been fooled, it doesn't make him a fool. He is a creator, the master shaper of the world with fertilizing powers as the Lord of the Waters and Lord of Semen."
    I gave