by I. T. Lucas
54
Jacki
“This is a hymn to Inanna, the goddess of love.” Kalugal pointed at the crumbling tablet fragments under the glass display.
Showing off his collection, Kalugal reminded Jacki of a boy from her elementary school who’d tried to impress her with his stack of rare Pokémon cards.
It was so endearing.
Damn, she would have had to be made from pure rock not to fall for the guy. He was handsome, sexy, smart, polite, and he seemed to really like her.
He wouldn’t be showing her his prized possessions if he didn’t. And he wouldn’t be donating a fortune to charity for every day that she spent with him either.
Not that he wanted Jacki with him at all times. Kalugal was a busy guy, and he had work to do, but he took breaks whenever he could and spent every moment of them with her.
Jacki wasn’t all that interested in archeological finds, but since it was important to Kalugal, she made an effort to ask questions and ‘ooh’ and 'ahh' on occasion.
“I was able to guess most of the missing verses except for this one.” He tapped the glass over an empty spot with his finger. “That’s the biggest missing piece.”
“Do you understand the writing, or did you have it translated?”
“I taught myself Sumerian, but reading it is not as easy as reading a modern language. It’s a system of logographic and phonographic symbols, which means that some of them represent syllables that form words, and some represent entire words. Not only that, the same symbols are sometimes used as phonograms and other times as logograms depending on the context.”
Jacki chuckled. “Saying that it was complicated would have been enough.”
“It’s complicated. Am I boring you?”
“Not at all. It’s fascinating.” Except, what she was enjoying the most was seeing Kalugal excited. “So Inanna is like Venus, the goddess of love, right?”
“She’s the goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, procreation, and war. The Akkadians called her Ishtar, the Phoenicians called her Astarte, the Greeks called her Aphrodite, and the Romans called her Venus. All those ancient civilizations worshipped basically the same pantheon of gods, but they gave them different names.”
“So, if the Sumerians were the first, they were the ones who invented them.”
He smirked. “They didn’t make them up. The Sumerians knew the gods.”
Her eyes widened. “Those were your ancestors, right? The Sumerian gods?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. How did that work? Were humans slaves to the gods?”
“Not slaves. Worshipers. Each of the Sumerian city-states was governed by a god, and his or her temple was not only a place of worship but also the administrative center of the city. The contributions were like taxes, and the gods used them for various purposes. Some of it went into maintaining the temples and paying the salaries of the temple’s servants, clerks, and the like, but most of it went into building roads and water canals and everything else that required collaborative work. We are lucky that the Sumerians kept excellent written records and that their writing wasn’t limited to hymns and other religious purposes. A lot can be learned from financial ledgers.”
That was truly fascinating. Kalugal’s explanation had turned the crumbling tablets and dusty pottery into real, living history, and Jacki was curious to find out more.
“What I don’t understand is why the goddess of love is also the goddess of war. Those two are opposites. Make love, not war, right?”
Kalugal’s satisfied expression hinted that he’d been waiting for her to ask that.
“I wondered the same thing. But then it occurred to me that Inanna sounds a lot like Annani. Furthermore, Sumerian writing could be read from left to right and right to left.”
He looked at her like a teacher who was waiting for his student to arrive at a conclusion based on what he’d said.
“I don’t understand. What does the sequence of syllables in the goddess’s name have to do with her being the goddess of love and war? Does the name mean war or love in Sumerian depending on whether it’s read from left to right or right to left?”
Chuckling, Kalugal tapped his forehead with two fingers. “You don’t know who Kian’s mother is, right?”
“I haven’t met her.”
“Kian’s mother is the goddess Annani, the head of the clan, and probably the Sumerian goddess of love and war.”
She still didn’t understand the connection. “Arwel said that all the gods were killed by your grandfather.”
Kalugal grimaced. “Except for two. Annani and her sister Areana, who is my mother.”
It took a couple of seconds for what Kalugal had said to register, and when it did, Jacki’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my God! You are the son of a goddess? And so is Kian? Actual goddesses?”
Talk about being outclassed.
The tiny grains of hope that Jacki had subconsciously allowed to sprout had just been torched. Kalugal was the freaking son of a goddess, a half-god, while she was a human nobody.
She should leave, like right now. Just walk out and wait on the street for Kian’s men to pick her up.
With the instinct to flee kicking in, her legs started moving without her giving them a conscious command to do so.
Kalugal stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Where are you going?”
“I have to go.”
55
Kalugal
For some reason, mentioning that he was the son of a goddess had scared Jacki instead of impressing her. The spike in anxiety was so intense that he had a feeling that her instinctive fight or flight response had kicked in.
“I have to go.” She pulled her arm out of his grasp.
“What happened, Jacki? Nothing about me has changed. I’m still the same guy you were perfectly comfortable with a moment ago.”
She snorted. “Comfortable? Not really. You are…” She waved a hand over him. “Just too much.”
“Am I overbearing? Condescending? Tell me how to make you comfortable, and I will.”
She let out a breath. “You are none of those things. It’s not what you do. It’s who you are. I’m just a simple girl, and hanging out with a half-god freaks me out.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss. “I’m just an immortal like the other immortals you have been unknowingly hanging out with for the past two weeks.”
“You and your father are the most powerful immortals in the world.”
“True, but it is also true that I inherited my powers from my father, who is just an immortal, and not my mother, who is a goddess. Kian told me that she’s a very weak goddess, weaker even than the average immortal. So my half-godly status really shouldn’t freak you out.”
Nodding, Jacki let out a breath. “Okay. So the freaky one is your father, not your mother.”
“Precisely.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go to my office. I’ll pour you a drink, and you can tell me all the ways in which I am too much.”
She rewarded him with a lopsided smile. “That would take a while.”
“We have time.” He led her out of his display room.
“I do, but what about you? Don’t you have work?”
“For the time being, I’m in maintenance mode.” He opened the door to his office. “I just keep an eye on my portfolio and do some trading when necessary.”
“Is that because of me?”
He walked Jacki to the couch and motioned for her to take a seat. “In part. But I also don’t feel comfortable venturing out while Kian’s men are watching my every move.”
“They are here because of me.”
Smiling, Kalugal opened the bar doors. “Don’t kid yourself. If you weren’t here, Kian would have just made their presence more covert. What would you like to drink?”
“Do you have a beer?”
“Not the kind you would enjoy, but I can make you a tasty cocktail.”
“That would be
great. Thank you.”
He made a couple of old fashioneds.
Jacki took the glass he handed her and sniffed at it. “What’s in it?”
“Bourbon, sugar, bitters, and a little water. Taste it. It’s good.”
She took an experimental sip. “Nice. Not too sweet and not too bitter.”
“Like me?”
Holding the drink with two fingers, she regarded him for a long moment. “You’re not bitter at all, you’re a little sweet and a lot of tangy.”
“Tangy? What does that mean?”
“Flavorful and intense. Nothing about you is average.”
“It’s a good thing, right?”
She shrugged. “For you, yes. For others, it’s intimidating. You are in a class of your own.”
For the first time in his life, Kalugal regretted his superiority. It obviously bothered Jacki, but as much as he searched his mind for some imperfections he could fess up to, he could find none.
He could lie and make some things up, but he had a feeling she would see right through him. Besides, Jacki was a straight shooter, and she wouldn’t like to be lied to even if it was a white lie. Still, he was far from a saint, and he could exaggerate his less than saintly behaviors.
“It’s not easy to be perfect.” He crossed his legs and assumed a haughty expression. “People think that I’m stuck up, or that I have a god complex, and it makes me less likable. Also, I’m not what you would call a do-gooder. I’m quite selfish and always look for what’s in it for me. I’m not always honest, and I’m not overly concerned with upholding the law when it suits me.”
She chuckled. “I know. I’ve heard that you use insider information to make a killing on the stock market.”
“You see?” He lifted his hand. “I’m not perfect.”
“I didn’t say that you were. You were the one who did. But thank you for trying to make yourself seem more human.”
“Human? What’s so good about humanity? Have you read the news lately?”
Grimacing, Jacki took another sip from her drink. “I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t. Jin told me something about two vicious gangs that are becoming so big that they are spreading their tentacles all over the country. Apparently, they are all over the news, but I had no idea they even existed before she told me about them. One is called the Doomers and the other the Humans.”
Snorting, Kalugal nearly spat out his drink. “Doomers and Humans? Both are indeed incredibly vicious.”
“What’s so funny? Jin said that they do ritual killings.”
“Well, maybe the Humans do. I have it on good authority that Doomers kill without bothering with rituals.”
56
Jacki
Jacki failed to see the humor in that. Two murderous drug cartels who did really gruesome, horrible things were no laughing matter, and Kalugal’s chuckles were starting to annoy her.
“Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just too funny. Doomers is the nickname that the clan invented for members of my father’s organization. It’s the acronym of its real name, which is the Devout Order of Mortdh Brotherhood. Jin must have blurted something about Doomers and humans, but since you were not supposed to know about immortals, she covered it up with a story about two rival gangs.”
Thinking back to the conversation, Jacki realized that it was precisely what had happened. “Oh, she is good. I need to remind her of that. She also said that the Doomers were getting into trafficking.”
A shadow passed over Kalugal’s eyes. “You wanted to know why the goddess of love was also the goddess of war.”
That was a quick change of subject.
Was his father’s organization really involved in trafficking?
Jacki had a feeling that she was onto something, but instead of asking Kalugal about it and embarrassing him, she could later ask Jin. Except, she’d forgotten to ask Kian for her email.
“I do, but before I forget again, can you ask Kian for Jin’s email address? I forgot to do that when I checked in this morning.”
“Of course. I can call him right away.”
Kalugal sounded eager, which confirmed Jacki’s suspicion that he didn’t want to talk about the Devout Order of Mortdh. The name was a mouthful, and it was no wonder that the clan had shortened it to the very appropriate Doom. After all, their leader was the son of a murderer, and his organization worshiped the god who killed all the others.
“First, tell me about the goddess of war and love.”
Her request must have pleased Kalugal because his pinched expression relaxed, and he took another sip from his drink.
“Annani, or Inanna, started out as the goddess of love. But when she spurned Mortdh, to whom she was betrothed, she caused a war. Annani was what you would call a crown princess. She’d been promised to Mortdh since birth, which assured his ascension to the throne when the time came, and Annani’s father stepped down. But then she fell in love with someone else and broke off the engagement, with her father’s blessing I might add. The consequences for Mortdh were more than just the loss of face. He lost his promised position as the next leader of the gods.”
“Arwel told me that he killed another god and was sentenced in his absence to entombment. That’s why he bombed the other gods.”
“That’s correct. The god he killed was Annani’s husband.”
In her imagination, Jacki saw the two gods battling to the death over the hand of the princess. It was gruesome, but in ancient times it probably hadn’t been considered criminal.
“But if it was a duel, why did he get sentenced to entombment?”
“It wasn’t a duel, it was an assassination. Killing another god was not allowed. So even if Mortdh killed Annani’s husband in a duel, he would have gotten the same sentencing.”
“I see. So the goddess’s love caused a war, and that’s why she was given the dual-title.”
Kalugal shrugged. “That’s only my hypothesis. I might be wrong.”
“It makes sense, though. Poor Annani. She must have been so heartbroken.” Jacki eyed Kalugal from under lowered lashes. “Are you blaming her for what happened?”
He shrugged again. “She wasn’t the one who dropped the bomb. My grandfather was. He must have been insane because there was no upside to what he did. Even if he had survived, what would have been left for him to rule? A desolate land with most of its population gone?”
“Did he love her?”
“It was a political arrangement. He didn’t even know her. He was enraged because of the public humiliation and his ambitions getting thwarted.”
“I will never understand people like that. How can anyone justify a massacre? Or even one killing? I couldn’t care less about honor or power, or even humiliation, not enough to kill for.”
“What about revenge? Could you kill to avenge a loved one?”
That was a tough question. “I don’t know. I’ve never had a loved one. But if anyone threatened the life of my child, I think I could be capable of killing. I hope it never happens, but if it does, I hope that I won’t chicken out.”
“You won’t. You’re a fighter, Jacki. You came after Rufsur and me to save Arwel, and he was just a teammate, not someone you loved. You fought like a tigress, giving it all you had.”
“Because there was no one else. I was desperate. Jin was crying, and even though she was frozen in a crouch, she begged me with her eyes to do something.”
Kalugal tilted his head. “Maybe she is your loved one. You did it for her.”
Jacki rolled her eyes. Like every guy who thought that he was all that, Kalugal assumed that if she hadn’t jumped into bed with him already, she was into girls.
“I’m not a lesbian. The fact that I don’t like hookups doesn’t mean that I’m not attracted to men. I’m just choosy.”
He smirked. “I was referring to sisterly love.”
Great. Not only had she misinterpreted Kalugal’s comment, but she’d also opened the door for the kind of
talk that could get her in trouble. The solution was a quick change of subject. Kalugal wasn’t the only one who could use that tactic to his advantage.
“Jin and I became very close in the program, and then even closer after we escaped it. I miss her. Can you call Kian and ask for her email? I want to show her all the fabulous clothes you’ve given me, and the cute room you’ve put me in. Did I tell you already how much I like it? It’s so cozy and beautiful.”
Kalugal regarded her with an amused expression on his handsome face, his intelligent eyes reading her like an open book.
By now, he knew that whenever she started blabbering, it was because she was nervous.
57
Kalugal
Jacki was adorable when she got nervous. Instead of her usual guarded reserve, she got more animated, her cheeks got peachier, and her eyes sparkled.
If only he could provoke a reaction like that without stressing her out. But then a little sexual tension was okay, and he could push her a little but not go as far as embarrassing her.
He wanted her to feel safe with him, but at the same time excited and eager.
A guy could dream.
Jacki had issues, but he lacked the insight or the tools to figure out what those issues were, and how he could help her to overcome them. Getting her to talk was the best tactic, and it seemed that the more nervous Jacki got, the more she talked.
Gently provoking her would be fun. “I’m so glad that you are enjoying your room. I like having you so close at night. It almost feels like we are a couple.”
Jacki’s blush spread from her cheeks to her décolletage. “Maybe a Victorian couple. Didn’t married people sleep in separate beds back then?”
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not that old.”
“I know that you didn’t live in the Victorian era, but since you seem so well-educated, and you love archeology, I thought that you must have studied history as well.”
