Confluence (Godbreaker Book 3) by DJ Molles

Author:DJ Molles [Molles, DJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

A LITTLE CONNIVERY

How long can a person swim?

Senex hadn’t the faintest idea, having never been in a body of water deep enough to swim in. There were the leisure pools, but they were only for wading. Swimming about was an undignified, human thing to do.

And yet, so many un-Gifted had been thrown into the ocean below The Clouds. Did any of them even know how to swim? Had any of them even survived the fall?

Senex stood on the balcony of House Batu—its name now taking on a sour note in Senex’s mind. Batu, his forebear. Batu the Trickster? No. Batu the Butcher. The Murderer. Batu the Mad.

And how many humans have been butchered and murdered by your own kind?

It seemed even the wrathful gods had wrathful gods.

“I have too many thoughts in my head,” Senex groaned softly, touching his temple. “And not a one is firm enough to grasp.”

“Well, you’re going to need to grip harder,” his companion growled. Indago, Elder of House Rennok. “We’re on the verge of extinction here, whether or not the Guardians come to The Clouds or remain on the ground.”

Senex gazed out to the edge of The Clouds, where he could just see the tiniest sliver of moon-dappled ocean, far, far away. He longed for that place. Any place. Any place that was not here.

“They claim they can sustain themselves through Confluence,” Indago rumbled, beginning to pace behind Senex, all hunched and glowering, anxious energy with no outlet. “Well, I have Confluence, and it’s never filled my belly.”

“They survived for five hundred years without food,” Senex commented, his own voice much quieter than Indago’s. Wistful, almost. Or perhaps resigned, like he could see death’s shadow, even if he hadn’t quite turned the corner to meet him yet. “And they haven’t requested a single crumb.”

Indago stopped pacing, his face crumpled up into a terrible frown. “You can’t eat the air.”

“Confluence is energy. Food is energy.” Senex didn’t have much to say beyond that. He was very tired, and yet felt like he could never sleep again. Perhaps would just stand on this balcony until his knees crumbled to dust. “I suppose there’s some connection there.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Indago growled. He thrust a finger at Senex. “You can’t feed from Confluence. And neither can I. Nor any other Gifted in this city. Our forefathers be damned—yes! Damned!—if they let the humans die out completely, they’re resigning us to slow starvation.”

Senex raised a single eyebrow. “We could grow our own food.”

Indago looked aghast at even the mention of it. “And who would do the planting, Senex? You? Me? Propagate the grapes? Plant the grain? Husband the animals?” Indago made a disgusted face and shook his head. “There’s not a one of us that would know how to do that. The animals would die. The grain would fail. The vines would not bear fruit. That is generational knowledge, not just something you can pick up on a whim and be successful at. It would take years to learn, and by then we’ll all be dead.

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