Brahma could not openly defy Shiva without suffering the same fate as Vishnu. If he was going to be any good to his people when Balance finally caught up with Shiva restored a proper Reality to House of Hindi, Brahma would have to obey Shiva’s commands until another path was made clear.

  The two Star Children’s golden glow continued to intensify as they set down on the roiling surface of the protostar. The radiating promise of life and unchecked boundaries of hope sang in their ears. It was hard to feel anything amiss with such reassurance flooding from every direction. In an obvious festive spirit, Agni had begun to match the color of his personal flames to the glow of his Karmic form. The flames on the fire god’s six arms started to alternate between the golden warmth of the neo-zoi and his usual standout bright orange—

  This will do nicely. A deep voice hissed from everywhere.

  Agni only had time to look up in confusion as bladed chains shattering the perfect crystalline planes of his Karmic form, piercing him from all directions. The overwhelming assault forced the young god back into his physical avatar, A muscular man with dark-burnt copper skin. All of his limbs strained against the dozens of barbed lines as they pulled the six arms and two legs taunt into the unseen distance. With the strength of desperation, Agni had been able to form flaming blades erupted in all of his twisting hands…Only to be immediately extinguished as sharp-edged scoops began slidding down the chains to shred the gods flesh from his bones. Essence-rich flesh-fuel was torn from the youth’s body and shoveled up the chains into a grotesquely expanded jackal maw. “Save me Elder Brahma!?!”

  Brahma stood still and turned his gaze from the sight as the revolving whirlwind of adharmic gore continued. Though he could still feel the appearance of an apparition of the Aztec god's disembodied head move quickly down each of the chains to consume Agni for all points at once. Dozens of Huitzilopochtli’s heads were devouring the fire god. The speed of the Huitzilopochtli’s chosen grotesque consuption manifestation increased to blurs of scooped flesh, streaming blood and gut wrentching screams of horror and betrayal. True to his vile nature, Huitzilopochtli saved eating Agni’s head until last, prolonging his hopeless wailing.

  Through all this Brahma only grit his teeth and stared past with glassy, sightless eyes. Not daring to meet the youngling’s pleading looks and calls for help. . . It would be over soon . . . Brahma knew this because it was the third time he had fed this demon . . .

  In less than a microgyra, that felt longer than an eternity, the cries stopped. Agni’s stripped bones fell to the nascent star’s surface. Now being devoid of Essence, they instantly burned to ash. Apparently satisfied, Huitzilopochtili halted his manifestation of consumption and the War god’s avatar slowly strolled up to the stone faced Brahma. The Aztec wore obsidian-edged war clubs strapped tightly to both of his akimbo lanky arms. He blue human face smiled rapturous malfeasance and then his head contorted into that of a rotting vulture with dead white eyes staring at the creation god. Huitzilopochtli nodded his festering crown and spoklightly in basal grating tones “I’ve never known the Hindi to be so accommodating. My compliments to your Superior. . .But I’ll require a female next time . . . someone younger—"

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  Brahma manifested his physical avatar for battle, his four screaming faces mounted on his head in the four cardial directions were all outraged and demanded mindless vengeance. His body blurred forward in attack with both hands outstretched to grab Huitzilopochtli’s thin bird’s neck.

  But, apparently Huitzilopochtli knew that the assault, while truely felt in the heat of the moment, was a farce. Even if Brahma himself hadn’t quite yet come to realize it. The vulture spontaneously burst into a cloud of gas, leaving the Hindi’s four raging faces to search in all directions for their lost target.

  The Aztec’s laughter continued to echo all around Brahma in deep base. “Ahaahahahh . . . Temper, temper Brahma! We don’t want to put too great a strain on our new friendship! You know how fragile dharmic and adharmic alliances can be. Haahahahaa!”

  Brahma stood straight, clenching empty fists as he mastered his anger. He closed all eight of his eyes and spoke with a deadly calm voice shaking his heavy fists in front of him. “. . . You will perform the actions Shiva commands of you. Your actions will in no way lead back to our house. Neither the Olympians, nor any other Star Children will learn of our complicity . . . Not until Shiva has determined the proper time! Do you understand my instructions?!”

  Huitzilopochtli replied lazily. “...Of course, I do—”

  “—The next task needs your immediate attention. Shiva has commanded that the two mortal cultivators on House Olympia’s Ligat team need to be eliminated— And it must be made to look like an accident. As you are already persona non grata,” All four of Brahma’s faces turned their noses up in disgust, “because of you poor table manners in Gaia’s throne room, we do not want you drawing any unwanted attention to yourself. Doing so will draw unwanted attention upon all of us. I know I am clear.”

  Huitzilopochtli made only guttural sounds of annoyance. But he didn't dispute anything that Brahma said. Of course not, this Aztec haraamee fears Shiva as much as the rest of us do.

  Turning away in loathing, as much with himself as the filth he was instructing, Brahma transmogrified back into the perfect transparent crystal of his Karmic form. He leapt from the surface of the star and was once again moving once through the nebula at ultra-light speeds. He couldn’t help but notice that his glowing form no longer held any wonder or sense of rebirth. Huitzilopochtli’s dark voice came telepathically. I spectated the games. There is more to those two than meets the eye…This should be fun.

  Brahma sped up to put as much distance from himself and the loathsome creature, but not fast enough to avoid hearing Huitzilopochtli’s stone grating on stone voice in his mind one last time . . . I’ll expect that young female immediately after I’m done with this task. And Brahma… make it somebody you favor personally. I do love the smell of your suffering when I feed! Ahaahahahahaa!