by Amy Sumida
“A safe room,” I noted after we did a quick sweep for Muses and left.
“Cunning,” the Wolf said. “The humans go in there and whatever spell that was previously compelling them is given a chance to wear off.”
“Why would they want that?” Arach asked.
“To give other enchantments an opportunity to take hold,” I said. “I have a feeling that there are far more than two gods here.”
And there were. We ran into Brahma's group at one point, as we were both exiting a room, and they were having the same experiences that we were; discovering a god in each room with magic-free rooms between. That helped; we knew what to expect
But nothing could have prepared us for the final room.
It reminded me a bit of Moonshine, with a multitude of potted plants, deep walnut walls, and a plush, green, carpeted floor. The lighting was even dimmer there than in the bear room, with only some strings of twinkling lights draped across the ceiling. There was no altar or offerings, but the spell there was ten times as potent than any we'd yet to encounter.
I moaned as I fell to my knees. Cloying, powerful music dripped into my ears and permeated my whole body. My sex drenched with need and my muscles tightened with excitement. The enchantment was obvious; sex. Pure, carnal pleasure prowled around the space and sent people to the floor to copulate wildly. I dropped forward onto my hands and dug my nails into the carpet as my back arched and my thighs clenched.
The Wolf snarled and went to his knees behind me. His hands pushed up my skirts and tore away my panties. I couldn't form words; only rough sounds of aching need. My nipples tightened as I shifted my knees far apart for my husband. Arach got down before me; his pants already open and his, pale, silky shaft reaching for me. I had it in my mouth before he was settled.
The Wolf snarled behind me as he shoved himself into me, and Arach growled back. For a moment, I wondered if they'd start swiping at each other over my body, but then the ecstasy took them, and they began to slam into me urgently. My eyes closed in rapture as I drowned in bliss. The sound of sex—not just our sex but that of numerous couples and thruples around the room—combined with the magical music to penetrate my ears.
Shivers coasted over my skin as sweet, silky flesh rushed over my tongue; my lips tightening around it and my tongue urging it deeper. Zinging jolts of delight coursed through my body from the savage thrusting of the Wolf behind me; his pelvis slapping my ass rhythmically. His hands gripped my hips possessively, pulling me over his cock even as he thrust deep. Simultaneously, Arach's hands bracketed my face to keep me steady for his wild pumping. He was going down my throat, but I didn't care.
Then another hand trailed over my back, and I felt a little of my pleasure drain away into it. No, not my pleasure; the energy it was creating. I opened my eyes to glance up at a man just as he straightened out of a crouch beside me. He was sleekly muscled and tall, with fair skin, hair the color of autumn leaves, and eyes the shade of spring buds. He winked at me and licked his lips lasciviously as he rubbed the bulge between his legs with the hand he'd touched me with. A soft glow sunk into him there. After he looked his fill—his hot stare moving from my mouth to my ass—he moved on to admire another rutting group. Trevor and Arach didn't even notice him; they both had their eyes shut in rapture as they pounded into me.
Even knowing that I was being manipulated by a god—seeing and feeling the absolute proof of it—I couldn't stop. I bucked between the men, wanting more and more. When Arach transferred his hands to my breasts, I came; screaming around his cock. But the magic didn't release me. I was swept back up into desire to join my unsatisfied men. In fact, the passion grew to an unbearable point. Our pace sped up until it felt as if they were simply vibrating inside me. Arach's hands tightened on my breasts, pinching my nipples between his fingers, and the Wolf slid a hand between my legs to rub me furiously. My whole body shivered as if it were about to break apart and sweat beaded on my skin. Finally, we all reached that pinnacle—bodies straining before jerking wildly—and we shouted together in release. Even the timing felt magical; as if the spell had pushed us to our completion together. They emptied into me, my sex and mouth sucking their passion in greedily, and then we all crumpled into a heap.
“We need to get out of here now!” I hissed against Arach's belly as soon as I could form the words.
The Wolf growled and then faded back as Trevor came forward. “I have you, Minn Elska!”
Trevor picked me up as Arach stumbled to his feet, and the three of us fled the room of carnal delights as if it were home to a monster more powerful than us. In a way, it was. As soon as we stepped into the antechamber, we started to breathe easier, and when we made it outside to the hallway, we shuddered with relief.
“What the fuck?” Trevor whispered.
“I think that sums it up accurately,” Arach agreed.
I just whimpered.
Chapter Nine
We found the others waiting for us at the predetermined location.
“This place is full of Gods,” I declared.
“All being worshiped in their own ways,” Thor added with a nod. “The music lures humans in and leads them into the Old Ways.”
“The Old Ways?” I growled. “Trevor, Arach, and I were just forced into having sex.”
“What?” Azrael growled as Odin, Re, and Toby all looked at me in concern.
“Are you all right, Vervain?” Toby asked gently.
“I'm fine.” I glanced at Trevor and Arach. “We all are, but that compulsion was too much for any of us to resist. The room was full of copulating humans.”
“Which room was this?” Pan asked eagerly.
Horus gave him a dirty look.
“What?” Pan grumbled. “At least I didn't say my first thought aloud; that I wish I had been in Vervain's group.”
“You just said it!” Horus snapped.
“Be careful what you bray, Goat God,” Arach growled. “Or you'll wind up as a dragon's dinner.” He looked Pan over and reconsidered. “Or snack, rather.”
Pan paled.
Horus snorted and chuckled. “Well said, Dragon King.”
Arach nodded regally.
“No one saw my muses?” Apollo asked anxiously.
We all shook our heads.
“I'm sorry; I didn't even smell them,” I added.
“Damn it all!” Apollo cursed.
Before we could gather ourselves to continue our search on the third floor, we were interrupted.
“Allfather, you've changed,” a deep male voice came from behind us.
We all turned toward the voice to find a buff, fair-skinned man with a rugged face, shoulder-length brown hair, and striking blue eyes that were staring at Odin. He looked like a brute but wore an expensive, tailored suit; a brute in a suit. His bulging arms were crossed casually over his chest, his stance relaxed, and his lips spread in a smile. As soon as Odin's gaze landed on him, though, the man uncrossed his arms and held a hand out to my husband.
“Ilmarinen,” Odin said as he shook the man's hand. “It's been a long time.”
“Centuries,” Ilmarinen agreed. “You shaved the beard.”
“I did. Recently.”
“You look like a boy.” Ilmarinen chuckled and glanced at Thor. “A little like him, actually.”
“This is my son, Thor,” Odin introduced them.
“Well met.” Ilmarinen nodded to Thor. “And, is this your famous wife?” He shifted his stare to me.
“Don't you mean; infamous?” I held out my hand as I looked him over. “I'm Vervain.”
“Good to meet you, Godhunter.” Ilmarinen shook my hand as his discerning stare moved over me. “You and your friends seem to have invaded my establishment. You aren't here hunting, are you?” He eyed the others.
“In a way.” I waved my hand at Apollo. “We're looking for some missing Muses. They may have visited your club sometime within the last month.”
“Muses?” Ilmarinen frowned. “Missing goddesses, eh? Come with me; l
et's go somewhere we can talk.”
Ilmarinen led us up the grand stairwell set beside the corridor and took us past the second floor. The door to the third floor was locked. He produced a key and unlocked it before ushering us through. Ilmarinen went straight to a sitting area along a glass wall. We had a great view of the main room and the glass also muffled the sound. Ilmarinen waved us into seats and then took a chair beside Apollo.
“Now, do you have pictures of these women that I could show our security team?” Ilmarinen asked Apollo.
It was such a perfectly normal question that it surprised me a bit. It surprised Apollo too; he just stared at Ilmarinen for a few seconds. I think he was expecting opposition and possibly a fight. To show up and find someone willing to help him was unexpected.
“I, uh, I have some on my phone,” Apollo murmured as he fumbled with his phone and pulled up a few images.
He handed it over to Ilmarinen, and the Hammerer thumbed through the gallery of shots while his expression went grim. He shook his head and stood.
“I don't recall seeing them, but a month is a long span of time to mentally sort through. However, we do have security cameras and all of the videos gets saved to a database. Let me show these pictures to our security team and perhaps they can find your muses in the old recordings. They're right through that door.” Ilmarinen gestured to a door behind him. “Do you mind?”
“No, of course not; take it,” Apollo agreed readily.
Ilmarinen headed off.
I got up and went to stand at the glass. Vainamoinen was still singing his peaceful music. Although there was a sexual undertone to the peace, it was nothing like the music in that last room. It seemed that the more wild songs were reserved for the private area. The others joined me; my men gathering close around me.
“What happened in that room?” Odin asked. “The room where you...”
“Had wild sex with Trevor and Arach?” I lifted a brow at him.
“Yes, that one,” Odin remained serious. “Did you see a god in there?”
“No,” Arach and Trevor answered immediately.
“Yes,” I said.
“What?” Trevor growled.
“Why didn't you tell us?” Arach demanded.
“I wanted to wait and tell everyone at once.” I glanced at the God Squad. “While we were busy”—I glanced at Arach and Trevor—“and you two had your eyes closed, a man crouched beside me and touched my back.”
“He touched you?” Arach snarled.
“Just my back.” I held up a restraining hand. “It wasn't about touching for him, it was about magic. Although, he obviously enjoyed watching.”
“Explain that.” Trevor narrowed his eyes at me.
“He took some of the power we were producing with our passion.”
“What did he look like?” Odin asked.
“Fair-skinned, auburn hair, and green eyes,” I reported. “He winked at me, the slimeball.”
“Lempo,” Odin growled.
“Is that the conjugal god?” I asked.
“No; that's Lemminkainen.” Odin shook his head. “Lempo is far worse. He's the God of Evil, Love, Fertility, Fire, Sexuality, and Dual Genders.”
“Evil and Love?” Brahma asked. “Surely not.”
“Love can easily become evil,” I murmured. “Wait; did you say; Dual Genders?”
“He can be either male or female.” Odin grimaced. “And he uses that to his advantage. I have no doubt that were Arach or Trevor to have opened their eyes, they would have seen a beautiful woman admiring them instead of a man. But forget his appearance; he shouldn't be here. Lempo's the ruler of the Forest Demons and Shadow Spirits. He should be off in the woods somewhere.”
“Technically, we're in the woods,” I pointed out. “There are quite a lot of trees outside.”
“And he had that room stuffed with plants,” Trevor added. “For a second, I thought Moonshine had been mimicked.”
Odin grimaced and stared down at Vainamoinen.
“My security team has found your muses,” Ilmarinen announced as he returned.
“They did?” Apollo asked excitedly as he retrieved his cellphone.
“We have footage of the Muses coming into the club and then leaving,” Ilmarinen said. “From all appearances, they left alone and in good health. I can take you back to show you the footage if you'd like to see it for yourself.”
Apollo's face fell.
“Do you have cameras outside the club?” I asked.
“Yes, but they only cover the parking lot. We lost sight of them when they stepped off the asphalt. They veered right, into the woods.”
“Into the woods?” Apollo asked as he frowned.
“I assume they went there to discreetly trace,” Ilmarinen suggested.
“Are you sure they weren't lured there by one of your other gods?” I asked him. “Such as Lempo?”
“Ah, you've met Lempo.” Ilmarinen chuckled and gave me a knowing look that lingered in places it shouldn't have gone, to begin with. “Yes; he's a bit much, isn't he? But after meeting him, you surely must understand why we've made this place.”
“To manipulate humans into worship and orgies to feed your perverted friend?” I asked dryly.
Ilmarinen burst into surprised laughter. “No, Godhunter. Well... no, and yes. Our pantheon has been suffering. A long time ago, Vainamoinen left us. He'd had enough of dealing with humans, and he went to live a solitary life in the God Realm. But when our pantheon began to flounder—losing magic and strength from a lack of belief—Vai returned to help us, just as he promised he would. We built this place for him to sing and lure followers to us in a gentle way. We don't trick humans into violence. We don't manipulate them into killing each other. We merely remind them of who we are and what we can do for them. Lempo's manner of collecting sacrifice is startling, yes. But I sense similar magic inside you, Godhunter; I'd expect you to be more sympathetic.”
“Aphrodite's magic,” I admitted. “Yeah; she did far worse than Lempo, but I don't use it as she did. I changed the magic back into what it was meant to be.”
“Would you prefer us to set Lempo free to inspire humans into rape and violence? He has many magics but some make it hard for him to receive power and others give him power in vicious ways. Lempo's sex magic satisfies him without anyone being hurt. The humans are inspired toward sex that they wish to have; their natural inclinations stimulated. No one is forced into fornicating with someone they don't wish to. Vainamoinen can't excite what isn't there. In other words; if two people who were not attracted to each other had entered that room, they would feel nothing. You understand?”
“You're saying that those people would want to sleep with each other normally, just probably not here, in public,” I clarified.
“Exactly.” He nodded. “We make sure the environment is safe but also unrestricted. Our security team isn't here to force people to stay nor does our magic force them to go against their basic natures. The humans may come and go as they wish and the enchantment wears off while they're gone. Still, most come back. They enjoy what we offer them; peace”—he waved a hand down toward the dance floor—“love, animal freedom, and pleasure. This is a sanctuary for humans, not a prison; a place to revive themselves out of the stupor of their mundane existence and live fully. Then they leave and go back to their normal lives. As far as Lempo, the humans delight in what he gives them as much as he does. He takes a small offering from each couple and that's all. Lempo is our most violent god but this keeps him on a leash.”
“But you didn't do all this for Lempo,” Hades protested.
“No; he was only a bonus,” Ilmarinen confirmed. “We did this for all of the gods in our pantheon; the Animal Spirits, the Piru, the Gods of the Forest and of the Weather. All are here, and all have their own song that Vainamoinen sings for them. They receive their offerings but there is no human sacrifice allowed; no human death. I'm sure you saw that for yourselves.”
“You've found a way to empowe
r yourselves without killing humans,” Odin murmured with a note of approval.
“Yes, Allfather; precisely,” Ilmarinen said proudly. “Blood is the most potent sacrifice, but it's not the only one that gives us power. Many of us never accepted human blood, and we still don't; we don't need it when we have other forms of worship.”
“This is still manipulation,” I grumbled.
“A gentle one,” Ilmarinen insisted. “One that keeps us alive as well as the humans. Isn't that better than the alternative?”
“There is more than one alternative,” I said.
“Yes; we could fade away and live human lifespans,” he agreed. “You've become a god, Vervain, surely you know how difficult that would be for us; to give up immortality after having it for so long?”
