did he really have to do it now? He could enter transition at any moment, and she wanted their time together to be spent with each other, not on interrogation concerning her mother.
“Can it wait for after your transition?”
“I’ll make it quick.”
Apparently, his curiosity couldn’t wait.
She turned to her butler. “David will ask you a few questions, and I allow you to answer them.”
Ojidu bowed. “Of course, mistress.”
10
David
Sari seemed reluctant to let him question Ojidu, and David wondered whether it was because she didn’t want him to discover unpleasant truths about her mother, or because she was impatient to start their romantic picnic.
In either case, the inquiry was sure to spoil the mood, and he should have let it go. Except, it was too late to do so now.
The butler looked at him with a fake smile plastered on his square-ish face. “What would you like to know, Master David?”
“Sari tells me that before you were her butler, you served the Clan Mother.”
As the cyborg just kept smiling, David realized that unless he asked a direct question, Ojidu wouldn’t answer him. “Do you store in your memory everything that you experience?”
“Yes, master.”
“Do you remember a time when the goddess was in danger?”
“Yes, master.”
“Can you tell me about those times?”
“Which one, master?”
He needed to start thinking of Ojidu as a computer. Unless he told him precisely what he was looking for, the guy wouldn’t know which file to access.
The problem was the limited information they had about the incident. It had happened a long time ago, probably while the goddess was still in the Nordic lands, but that could’ve been hundreds of years ago. Maybe even thousands. There was no way he could pinpoint a specific time.
The only thing he could do was to start at the beginning and go from there. Hopefully, Annani hadn’t been in danger too many times. After all, she was a powerful goddess and could seize people’s minds. Only other gods and immune humans or immortals could pose a threat to her.
“Start with the first time the Clan Mother was in danger.”
“Very well, master. The first time the Clan Mother was in danger was before she became the Clan Mother. The god Mortdh was amassing forces, and she told us that if he won a war with the other gods, he would kill her. That was why she needed to leave her home and escape to the north.”
Sari groaned. “This is not going to be quick, David. Knowing my mother, she got in trouble countless times. She always does things that might expose her, and Alena has to do damage control. Other than popping children like a human female, that’s Alena’s main job in life.”
David nodded. “Let me rephrase the question. Was there ever a time the goddess feared for her life?”
“Please define fear, master.”
Damn, that was difficult. He was asking a cyborg to comment on an emotion instead of a fact.
“Was there a time that the goddess needed your protection?”
“Yes, master. When she left her home and traveled to the north, my brothers and I protected her. She told us that if the god Mortdh found her, we were to shield her.”
“Other than Mortdh, were there any others she told you to shield her from?”
“No, master.”
This was going nowhere.
Sari lifted a hand. “Can I take over, David? I know how to ask Ojidu questions that he can answer.”
“Be my guest. It will certainly go faster.”
“Was the Clan Mother ever physically attacked by humans? And by physically, I mean, did any of them ever raise their hands or weapons to strike her?”
“Hands and weapons were raised.”
Finally, they were getting somewhere.
“Did she command you or the Odus to protect her?”
“The Clan Mother did not command my brothers or me to strike humans down.”
“What did she do to protect herself?” Sari asked.
“The Clan Mother took over their minds.”
“Were any of them immune to her mind control?”
“I do not know, mistress. The Clan Mother did not tell us.”
“Was there a time that she needed to flee?”
“Yes.”
“From whom?”
“From Mortdh.”
David stifled a groan. “Did she move from one place to another because it became dangerous for her to stay?”
The butler tilted his head in a very human gesture of confusion. “The Clan Mother moved many times.”
“Did she tell you why she moved?” Sari asked.
“No, mistress.”
Shaking her head, Sari turned to David. “I don’t think we can get anything more out of him. Apparently, my mother didn’t confide in her Odus.”
“Perhaps that’s the question we should ask Ojidu.” David turned to the