The Goddesses gather to discuss crime and punishment
Chapter 4- Part 2 Law & Order
Previously, the new Sheriff receives more information on a new massacre site. The Bandits have killed another six people and left their bodies in a burned out wagon. Balgair thinks he knows how Ananke would handle the punishment for murdering families.
Not a stranger to horrible deaths, Balgair retires to his office and broods over the fact that he can’t stop these criminals. His ruminations are cut short when Heather and Delilah bring him some breakfast.
The Lady of Chains sat at the table in her viewing room and gazed into the crystal ball. Through it, she listened to her Ridere as he talked to her dèanamh-chàraid. When he mentioned how families had been murdered, she arched a brow. “How would I punish them?”
For all her power as a goddess, she knew that their fate was outside her purview. While it was true they had shattered bonds, it came as part of a series of murders. She tapped her fingers on the scrying device. This was something she couldn’t decide on her own. But who could she call?
She knew of only two people who would listen to her objectively and then offer advice without trying to fix the problem.
She gazed into the Ether and spoke, “Des, are you busy?”
The swirling star pattern stabilized as a voice answered her. “Not at the moment. What do you need, Ana?” Despoina answered.
“My ridere is tracking some murderers and thinks he knows how I’d punish them.”
The tone of her voice queued the goddess of mysteries into the doubt she felt. “You aren’t sure what you’d do, are you?” Her sister-goddess inquired. “It sounds like you need to talk.” Despoina paused, then with an impish tone, she suggested, “Chanti’s kitchen?”
Despite herself, a soft smile curved Ananke’s lips, “You know me too well.” Removing her fingers from the orb, she rose and walked to the swirling star pattern that stretched between two columns. With the barest of pauses, she stepped through the portal, and ended up in the Hearth-Mother’s kitchen.
The smell of cooking meat, corn, maize, and tortillas overwhelmed Ananke and she took a deep breath, exhaling with a “Mmmmm.”
“What would you like, nechpan?” Chantico asked as she took some dough and made a flat tortilla shell. The hearth-mothers dark hair hung down her back in a single black braid, and her brown eyes watched Ananke.
“It smells so good, mitera,” the goddess of chains commented. “If you have some fixed, I would like a beef and vegetable tortilla.”
As she spoke, the hearth-mothers fingers deftly pulled some ground beef, corn, beans, and peppers. In what seemed magic to Ananke, Chantico mixed the ingredients and placed the rolled tortilla in a long bowl sitting above the fire in the pit.
“That will be no problem,” Chantico replied, smiling in Ananke’s direction. She tilted her head as the spiral pattern on her wall distorted and Despoina stepped into the kitchen. “This is a surprise. Welcome nechpan. What would you like to eat?”
“Good afternoon, Mitera.” The goddess of mysteries replied happily as she looked around the kitchen. “I will have what Ana is having.” She replied with a polite nod.
Within seconds, three more tortillas were cooking the same bowl. “What brings the two of you to my kitchen?” She asked astutely, knowing that Ananke and Despoina only came to her when they had problems to work out.
Despoina nodded in Ananke’s direction. The goddess of chains took that as a cue to sit and spill the beans. “My Ridere,” she started, “is tracking down a group of bandits that have killed six people and left their bodies to freeze in the darkness.
“There are more than six,” Despoina clarified. “If what I’ve learned is right, they’ve killed closer to sixty people. The longer it’s been since the murder, the less the spirits cry out. The earliest victims have already taken their place on the wheel.”
Ananke closed her eyes, now knowing why Balgair was in pain. “Fifty people taken before their time, by men who have no regard for life,” she whispered softly, her heart breaking with the news. “He mentioned to one of his men that he knew how I’d punish them,” she paused, “but I’m not so sure.”
The Hearth-mother raised her index finger. “Were they all families?” When Despoina nodded, Chantico frowned. “I know how I’d punish them.” When the two younger goddesses indicated curiosity, Chantico almost snarled. “I would cut their heads off and feed their bodies to the pigs.” Some things were sacred to Chantico and the other three Aztec gods that resided on Crann Na Beatha. Families were considered sacred and the punishments for killing families were strict and harsh.
Ananke and Despoina, coming from a different background, believed much the same, save for the addition of Exile or execution. It was one reason why the two sets of gods got along so well.
Chantico raised a brow and asked, “What does your Ridere think the punishment should be?”
“My Balgair has ordered them taken, dead or alive. I think that if they are brought to him dead, he won’t mourn their passing.”
“That one is a just man,” Chantico commented. “Is that what brought you to me, today?” When Ananke shook her head, the hearth-mother asked her to continue.
“Do you think Astinmah would allow us to separate their souls from the wheel? They have committed such terrible crimes against others.”
Despoina carefully took one of the tortillas from the bowl and nibbled on it, bringing a smile to Chantico’s face.
“You would have to ask her yourself,” the hearth-mother suggested as she took one of the tortillas out and handed it to Ananke.
The goddess of chains nibbled on her tortilla as she considered the hearth-mother’s statement. As she ate her meal, she knew what she was going to do. She would go Astinmah and petition for the murdered dead. If it was the last thing she did, she’d see the murderers scattered to the outer darkness.
~ ~ ~ ~
After finishing the two tortillas, Ananke hugged Chantico. “Thank you, Mitera, for everything you do.”
“You are welcome, my daughters,” she whispered, returning the hug. Even though the two goddess weren’t hers by birth, she often thought of them as such, just as they considered her their mother.
After releasing Chantico from the hug, Ananke turned to the goddess of mysteries. “Would you go with me, Des?”
Despoina nodded, “Of course, I will, Ana.” She, likewise, enfolded Chantico in a hug, then wished her well before joining Ananke at the portal. “Can we stop at your place first? If we are going to walk through a forest, I want to be dressed for it.”
“I was going to suggest the same thing,” Ananke commented before opening the portal and giving Despoina a playful shove.
The hearth-mother watched the two women disappear into the ether.
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