Free Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods by John Michael Hileman

mechanism. He knew what a gun looked like and how to use one, but he didn't know how they functioned.
    Fortunately for me, I did. It was odd how my memory was fragmented. I could remember intimate details of pistol firing mechanisms, but I had no idea who had taught me, or where I was when I’d learned it. I brought up the web and created the items I would need for my trip including a pistol and a holster, which I neatly hid under my shirt. Last of all I made a backpack in which to carry everything.
    “Well, I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, emerging from the alleyway. “Thank you for your help, Sajin.”
    “My pleasure, sir. Good luck.” He backed away as we moved past him and mounted the horses waiting patiently nearby.
    I looked at my quiet partner. “Lead the way,” I said, trying to sound cheerful.
    Silence.
    Oh yeah, this was going to be fun.

CHAPTER 6

EXPELLING A DISTORTED MASK
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    Traveling by horseback would probably be on the bottom of my list of preferred transportation, if I had such a list. Horses simply lacked the speed and comfort of an automobile. By now I would have had the air conditioner on and the radio blaring. But instead, the sun was burning a hole through the back of my neck, and my inner thighs were becoming sufficiently tenderized.
    Thana was doing an excellent job of ignoring me. I made several attempts to pull up beside her but each time she spurred her horse ahead. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with me, so I rode quietly behind her for several hours.
    Finally I could stand it no longer and with difficulty managed to pull my horse up next to hers and keep pace. “Where’s the fire?” I joked.
    Silence.
    Somehow I had to get through to her. I wasn’t such a bad guy. If she could just take two seconds away from her grumpy schedule, she would see that. “Listen, what do you have against me anyway? You know, if we’re going to work together we are going to have to communicate. Our lives may depend on it.”
    I felt the chill from her shoulder.
    “Look, Thana, I feel greatly for your loss but I’ve done nothing to you.”
    I must have touched a nerve because without warning the floodgates crashed open. “What! You think you’ve done nothing? All you people do is meddle! You have no respect for what we’ve worked for. You come here sticking your noses into everything without asking us what we think. We’ve been here for centuries . This planet is our home! We’ve put our sweat, tears, and memories into its construction, but that doesn’t seem to matter to your kind! You snap your fingers and a mountain is a valley. You wiggle your fanny and a lake is a dessert. Well it’s wrong! And thousands of my people have died senselessly in the faithful service of the gods . But their deaths have no meaning because the cause is worthless . Peace? Hope? You don’t seem to understand the meanings of the words that come from the very book that spoke of your intervention. You don’t know us! This isn’t your planet and...”
    “Now wait a minute! You don’t know me!”
    She glared at me. “I know your kind, gods indeed!” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “It’s amazing that the fabric of the universe should choose you as its supreme beings. You can scarcely see beyond your own noses. Life is not something you bend to suit your fancy. It’s hard and it’s rewarding, and it’s the journey that makes us who we are! But to the so-called gods nothing is sacred. There’s a quick fix for everything!”
    “That’s enough!” I clenched my hand into a fist. “You have no right to judge me!”
    “What are you going to do, destroy me? Silence me for the things I’ve said? That is how your kind deals with their problems isn’t it? If you don’t like it, change it. Well, go ahead! Snap your fingers and make me disappear. I don’t want to live if I have to live under the whim of juveniles!”
    I stopped my horse and enunciated through clenched