Ugh. Jane, not while I'm sleeping.
"It usually comes down to belief, really," Magpie said, eyes staying on the poppy in her hand. "I mean, we can say that it's about lust or love or whatever, but it's really just what you believe in. Faith's the best drug there is, and there's not a god in existence that isn't hooked. Even my friend Alli -- she says she's not, but she's just deluding herself. She feeds off the fact that I believe in her."
Zachary frowned slowly, picking himself up off the ground. "So if this is all about faith, what are you trying to do? Won't this just destroy people's faith in the divine?"
"Not if I do it right. The gods used to be just like you, you know. Your father -- sorry, Icarus' father -- he knew that. That's why he built you those beautiful wings." She folded her fingers over the flower, closing her eyes. "Faith isn't just miracles. It's parlour tricks and little lies and men turning into swans and water into wine. It's the shape outside a child's window, and shadows on the moon."
She opened her hand again, and the scarlet butterfly resting on her fingertips fanned its wings once, twice, three times before it rose and fluttered away. "It's believing your eyes."
"How did you..."
"Have faith."
Zachary frowned slowly, picking himself up off the ground. "So if this is all about faith, what are you trying to do? Won't this just destroy people's faith in the divine?"
"Not if I do it right. The gods used to be just like you, you know. Your father -- sorry, Icarus' father -- he knew that. That's why he built you those beautiful wings." She folded her fingers over the flower, closing her eyes. "Faith isn't just miracles. It's parlour tricks and little lies and men turning into swans and water into wine. It's the shape outside a child's window, and shadows on the moon."
She opened her hand again, and the scarlet butterfly resting on her fingertips fanned its wings once, twice, three times before it rose and fluttered away. "It's believing your eyes."
"How did you..."
"Have faith."