The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond

get out of here. “Thanks for the… hospitality, great lord of the watery deeps,” I say.
    His response is inside my head this time.
    You are always welcome here .
    The others don’t react, and I’m sure it’s because they didn’t hear it. I wasn’t looking for a permanent open sign to flick on. If I have to visit here again, things will have gone south, way down south.
    We make it to the opening along the back wall. In the next room, the seven are hissing like a nest of giant snakes.
    “How did you get past the sages?” I ask Oz.
    “Easy,” he says, and we pass back into their chamber. We’re in back of the tank this time, but the sages are ready for us.
    “ Youuu said you’d stay, threat,”one of the female sages sings to me.
    “We used that,” Oz answers, ignoring the sages to gesture at a black tactical bridge that arches over the tank. “Ladies first,” he says.
    “No splashing,” I tell the sages, as I start toward it. I channel Dad, trying to make it sound like I’m the boss of them. They aren’t fooled.
    “Nooo , ” says one. And another, “Not for youuu . Wouldn’t want your guard to notice.”That creepy not-laughter ensues.
    “Bree?” I check to see if she’s coming.
    “I’d rather have an escort,” she says, and I note that she already has her hand looped through Justin’s arm. He looks surprised, and Tam disapproving.
    Oz offers me his arm, like he’s a courtly gentleman, and I take it despite the ridiculous thought. I don’t know what a courtly gentleman even is .
    We only make it a few steps before one of the sages leaps above the water. She hooks scaly flippers over the edge of the bridge. Black water slops over onto its surface, and Oz slides me behind him. “Get back,” he says, and then adds, “Please.” Justin lets go of Bree to join Oz, holding some sort of small green knife that might be a relic.
    “ Put away your fin-splitter, boooy ,” she says, and the other sages hiss and clamor. “We exxxist only to give knowledge.”
    The sage releases the side of the bridge, but her tail flips up and out of the tank to spray water across Oz and Justin’s faces. This opportunity is exactly what she wanted all along. I barely have time to tuck my nose into my elbow to avoid another vision of my own.
    I grab Oz’s uniform to lead him across. “Been there,” I say, loud enough for Justin to hear too, “it’s just a vision. It’ll be over before you know it.”
    The sage fish-woman slides back into the water with the others. “You never know what you need to know, but weee do,” one says.
    Oz’s eyes are closed as I lead him onto the tile, his lids moving slightly in a mimic of dream state. Surprisingly, Tam tows Justin across, leaving Bree to follow last. I’m not sure what’s going on with Tam. He’s never this quiet.
    “Tam, everything alright?” I ask.
    “Why wouldn’t it be?” he counters, his irritation plain and, again, not like him.
    “I can think of about a thousand reasons,” I say, but let it go.
    We get the Society boys out into the hallway, empty of humans and gods, and wait out whatever gift the sage decided to give them. Oz slumps against the wall, and I have to force myself to stop watching his eyelids flutter. I want to know what he sees. From his scowl, it’s not anything good.
    I’d love to ask if the visions the sages gave us were true or false. I can’t believe Dad was crying like that, not over me. But I don’t want to know, not if it wasn’t the truth.
    Bree is near Justin, keeping an eye on him. His expression is blank.
    “What about you?” I ask her. “Everything alright?”
    She shrugs one shoulder. Her mascara has run down her cheek, blending in with the face paint. I’d forgotten we had it on. “No,” she says. “You?”
    I shake my head. We exchange a half-smile. It makes what I know is coming harder. So I focus on Oz and Justin, waiting for them to come out of the visions.
    Finally, they do. Oz reenters the waking