"I have extra robes," the monk says in a cheery voice. "They are yours for the taking, as are my savings."

I cringe at that even as I sip the delicious, cold water. This guy sure is ready to give everything to Aron at a moment's notice. I worry we're going to ruin the poor guy's life just by dropping in and he's been so darn nice. I mean, we dropped in on Tadekha in a sense and look where she is now—at the bottom of a pile of rubble.

"Eat, eat," the monk tells me as he pushes a bread bowl into my hands. It's full of fruit wedges and nuts and cheese and all kinds of delicious things and I immediately tuck into it.

"Thank you," I tell him between mouthfuls as he putters around. Oh my god, I've never tasted anything better. I stuff my gob for a few minutes, and then I remember how awful it was to puke yesterday and force myself to slow down. I take small nibbles of food and wash them down with water as he bustles about in the room, straightening piles of books and putting things away while flicking excited glances in my direction. "What's your name?" I ask after a few minutes of this. "I'm Faith."

"You're what?" He turns and looks at me, eyes wide.

"Is that not a common name around here? It's pretty common where I'm from." I sound defensive even to my own ears. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just Faith."

"Fascinating," he tells me with a delighted smile. "And such a perfect name for an anchor to our esteemed Lord of Storms."

"I dunno," I say as I eat the world's biggest wedge of cheese and love every moment of it. "I'm pretty sure he thinks my name is 'mortal.'"

The monk just giggles at that. "You will have to forgive him. He is a god, after all, and not used to this plane or the ways of mortal people."

"Oh, I've been with the guy for a few days. Trust me when I say there's a lot of forgiving going on." I take another drink. "It's either that or murder him in his sleep."

The monk's eyes go wide as saucers. After a moment, he lets out another little giggle. "That is a joke, yes?"

"Yep."

He straightens a stack of big books across from the cot and then sits down on them like it's a stool, watching me with a fascinated expression. "My name is Omos. I am a humble monk who serves Magra, goddess of plenty.” He nods at us. “And now, it is an honor to serve you and Lord Aron, Faith. Whatever I have is yours."

"Hi, Omos. I have to admit I'm not from around here, so I'm a bit lost." I give him a faint smile. "It's nice to finally see a friendly face."

Compassion moves across the monk's features and he gives a heavy sigh, then nods. "It is a hard road you have chosen, to be an anchor."

"So you have met Aron," I joke. When he doesn't smile, I'm a little worried. He just looks troubled. "Can I admit something? I don't know what I signed up for. In fact, I don't know anything about any of this. It was either sign up to be Aron's anchor or die as a human sacrifice. I thought I'd take my chances with Aron, but the longer we're together, the more questions I have."

“Of course. I spoke with Lord Aron while you slept. I will do my best to help you both prepare for your journey.”

“Can you tell me how I get home?’

“I can try.” His lined face crinkles in a smile. "Where are you from? The coast? Glistentide?"

"Chicago?"

Omos's frown deepens and he gets to his feet. "I do not recognize the name." He moves to one of the shelves, his hand fluttering over it as I take another drink of water and eat. A moment later, he pulls out a rolled up parchment and spreads it on one end of the bed, and I realize it's a map. "Shago…Shago…"

I swallow hard and put a hand to my lips, murmuring around a mouthful of food. "You're not going to find it on that map. When I say I'm not from here, I mean I'm really, really not from here." I hesitate, watching his face. "I'm from another world entirely. I don't know how I got sucked here, but I went through a door in my world when I heard drums and I woke up on this side in a strange place." Omos watches me quietly, his eyes wide, and my heart sinks a little. "I know you don't believe me, or think I'm crazy—"

"No, not crazy, not at all." Omos jumps to his feet and races away, and I start to wonder if I'm the crazy one. He comes back a moment later with a heavy, thick book covered in red and gold, and sits down atop another stack of books. He pages through it, frowning to himself. "It's here somewhere."

"What is?"

He looks up at me. "Why, the tale of Queen Natasha. She came from another world and conquered the Fair Plains back before it became the kingdom of Yshrem. She ruled for thirty years…twenty? No, I'm pretty sure it's thirty." He frowns absently and flips through the book. "Maybe twenty-three…"

I put down the bit of fruit in my hand. "Natasha…she was from Earth?"

"Where?" He looks up at me, peering.

"Earth? That's where I'm from."

"I thought you said you were from Shago."

"No, no, I'm from the city of Chicago. State of Illinois. Country of the United States. Planet Earth."

"Oh. Goodness." He beams at me. "You'll have to tell me all that again later so I can record it. How very fascinating. This world is Aos, if you do not know. I have never heard of Earth.” He picks up the book and flips through it again. As for Natasha, it's not stated where she's from, just that she came from a place beyond all lands. She said it was another world, but there are varying theories on such things. From what I hear, she was a very good queen. Very learned. There are a few books about her, I think, but I don't have any in this library." He looks wistful. "They're probably all forgotten in some Yshremi library." He closes the book and smiles at me. "My point is that while it is unusual, it is not the first time I have heard of such a thing."

"That's amazing." I'm actually ready to cry I'm so relieved. Someone else has heard of my situation. "I thought I'd be stuck here forever. Do the books say if there's a way to get home?"

Omos blinks at me. "Go home? But you are Aron's anchor. You can't leave. Not until he ascends once more."

Obviously there's a piece of information or three that we're missing between us. "Ascends. Back to Heaven or wherever he's from?"

"The Aether, that's correct."

"Can you tell me more about this? Like why a god's been booted out of Heaven? And what we have to do to get him back there?"

"Oh goodness, yes. Of course." Omos clutches the book to his chest, looking rapturous. "This is the Anticipation. It's finally upon us once more. It's a time when the twelve minor gods must account for their sins to the High Father."

"So…this has happened before?"

"Twice before in recorded history, and it was foretold that it would come once more. We have always celebrated the Anticipation every year, but I don't think anyone truly expected it to happen now. These are troubling times."

For a man that lives in troubling times, he looks really darn pleased. "But you're not surprised. At least, you don't seem so."

"Me? No. I saw the moon fade like the prophecies foretold three days prior to the Anticipation and knew it'd be upon us."

"Prophecies?" When he gets to his feet, no doubt to look for another book, I grab his arm. "Wait. I don't care about the prophecies. Just keep telling me more about the Anticipation." If he goes to hunt for another book, I'm going to be here all damn day long and I'm finally getting answers. I don't want to be interrupted by anything at all. "What's this about accounting for sins? And there are twelve gods roaming the earth right now?"