41. Rob

41

ROB

" V ery well." Toven leaned forward and looked into Rob's eyes. "You are not allowed to reveal any of it to anyone I don't specifically approve. For now, that covers everyone not present in this apartment, but once we are done, I will enlarge the number of people you can talk to about this."

Toven's words settled around him like bands of steel. The guy was using some sort of hypnosis on him, but even though Rob had never been successfully hypnotized before, he felt that this was very different from his other experiences.

He frowned. "What's going on? What did you just do to me?"

"I compelled you to keep this conversation a secret."

"Compel? You mean hypnotize?"

"In a way. Compulsion is a much stronger form of hypnosis."

Rob swallowed. "I didn't know I could even get hypnotized. I always thought that I was too analytical for that."

Toven nodded. "That's possible. My type of compulsion is very difficult to resist. But my ability is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. What I'm about to tell you is going to sound impossible, and I hope that my small demonstration of power will suffice to help you suspend your disbelief."

As Mia and Margo returned from the kitchen with tea, water, and a tray of cut fruit, Rob couldn't take his eyes off Mia's legs. She was wearing pants, so it wasn't immediately obvious that what was underneath was flesh and blood and not plastic and metal, but now that he looked more closely, he could see the contours of her shapely legs.

Toven looked up at his fiancée. "I've already started, but only with the compulsion. I'm about to delve into the history."

Was he going to explain about the miracle of Mia's legs?

"Good." Mia put the two teacups on the coffee table while Margo continued to the bar. "I want to hear you explain it," she said. "This story never fails to wow me."

"Me too." Margo looked at Toven. "Can I offer you some whiskey as well?"

Toven shook his head. "No, thank you."

"You knew about Mia regrowing her legs?" Rob asked Margo.

She nodded. "Why do you think I asked Toven to come over? I know much more than that, but I couldn't tell you any of it without someone first making sure that you can't tell anyone who is not supposed to know."

It made sense.

Toven could compel his silence.

Toven lifted his teacup, leaned back in his armchair, and crossed his legs at the knee. "How well do you know the Old Testament, Rob?"

He hadn't expected that question. "I'm not a churchgoer. I know what most people know."

Toven nodded. "How about Greek and Roman mythology?"

"I'm probably a little better acquainted with those." Rob smiled. "It was much more fun to read about the shenanigans of the Greek and Roman gods than the angry God of the Old Testament."

Toven laughed. "I agree. Those stories were much more relatable because they were based on real people, and they were not shortened and adapted to meet the biblical narrative. The gods were not mythical characters that humans invented to make sense of their existence. They were real, and they took human lovers, and a race of immortals was born from those unions."

Was he reciting some biblical story? Or was that a metaphor for something else?

Rob waited for Toven to get to the point of his story, but he just sat there and sipped on his tea.

He frowned. "That is it? That's your big secret?"

Toven shrugged. "In a nutshell, yes. But I guess you need more to internalize the meaning of what I'm trying to tell you. I guess the confusion about what the scriptures meant when they described the descendants of gods is the result of a faulty translation."

Rob remembered vaguely the passage about the sons of gods taking the daughters of men and the giants who were the product of those unions.

"You mean the giants?"

Toven smiled. "Very good. The word Anakim was translated to mean giants, but the correct translation is immortals. I'm sure you are familiar with the Ankh, which most of the Egyptian gods are depicted holding."

Rob nodded. "It looks like a cross with a loop at the top."

"The symbol is referred to as the key of life or the breath of life. The Ankh symbolized life, both in this world and the afterlife, and was associated with deities, who were depicted holding it as a symbol of their life-giving power. Single—Anakh, plural— Anakhim. Does that make sense to you now?"

Strangely, it did, but as a fascinating lesson in etymology. It still didn't mean that the mythological gods had been real.

"Let's assume that you are right and that the correct translation should have been immortals and not giants. That still doesn't prove that the gods were real people. Besides, what does it have to do with me?"

Toven regarded him with an amused smile. "I'm one of those gods, and you and your sister are descendants of gods. We call carriers of godly genes Dormants, and we know how to activate those genes. Margo has already turned immortal, and now it is your turn."

Toven was insane, or the leader of some strange cult, or this was a dream.

Rob leaned over, grabbed the glass of whiskey his sister had put in front of him, and emptied it down his throat.

The burn felt too real for this to be a dream, and as he put the empty glass down on the table, he felt faint.

"I need to get some fresh air." He rose to his feet. "You'll have to excuse me for a moment, your divine highness." He mock-bowed to Toven.

The guy, or the god, chuckled. "Toven will suffice. I don't require any special honorifics."

Mia leaned toward her fiancé and whispered loudly, "I think Rob needs some proof. Show him your glow."

"Good idea."

A mischievous grin playing on his lips, Toven snapped his fingers, and as his skin started glowing, Rob's tenuous hold on reality disintegrated.