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Copyright ©2007 by C.S. Chatterly
First published in 2007, 2007
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Delos Descending
ISBN # 978-1-906328-29-0
©Copyright C.S. Chatterly 2007
Cover Art by Anne Cain ©Copyright August 2007
Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
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Warning:
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated total-e-burning.
Sons of Olympus
DELOS DESCENDING
C.S Chatterly
Dedication
To my husband, Lee, who is and always will be my hero!
Chapter One
On a different plane of existence, where gods and goddesses dwell
Delos gazed at the smirking bevy of women before him and crossed his arms over his chest. “Kato, is this what my father calls a choice?"
"Highness, these are among the most beautiful of all the young goddesses in your father's real. All are eligible for marriage, just as you requested."
"I'm quite sure they are,” he softly muttered. “Every one of them has been openly eligible to every man who'd crawl between their creamy, high-born thighs.” Del stalked away, eager to get to the stables where a measure of peace could be found.
Kato turned back to the women and waved them off. “Thank you, ladies. That will be all for now.” Then, he quickly ran after his master.
Del wasn't deaf to the rude comments coming from the women. The 'who does he think he is' and 'pretentious bastard' remarks had long since begun to bounce off his now rhinoceros-thick skin. Perhaps he deserved it. After all, he was the one who'd put himself on the market for marriage. He was the official groom of the season, and he was a son of Zeus. He'd tolerated his father's help in sending the women only because he'd given up looking for himself.
Zeus was anxious to see him finally wed. But Del had no stomach for the lovely but promiscuous legions of beauties that had been paraded before him like so many bushels of ripe peaches. When asked, every single one of them had outright refused to make the one promise he found necessary in a mate. It was a simple matter to him. For the women, however, the vow seemed offensive.
Fidelity.
For his entire life, Del had seen the sad results of the licentious wallowing of the gods. His own existence was a result of his father, Zeus, having lain with the minor goddess and Nymph, Acantha. His mother, never willing to stay with one man, was currently sleeping with several gods from the mountain regions. Hera, the only woman to actually sit at Zeus’ right-hand side, hated all the misbegotten offspring of his father's lusts. That included him. He was a living reminder of all the times Zeus went a-roaming, seeking some night's pleasure with a woman who wouldn't nag him the way Hera did. And like all of his step-brothers and step-sisters, Hera made it her life's mission to inflict her vengeance upon Zeus’ mistakes. Since there were so many of his father's bastards running around, her wrath seldom settled on any one of his siblings for very long. Ironically, Hera was certainly no pillar of chastity. She was known to sleep with the Olympian guards, taking on several at a time, then tossing them aside when they could no longer pleasure her. He'd been kept from sleep many nights listening to her disgusting howls of climaxing glory. Finally, he'd taken to sleeping outdoors, anyplace where he could get some rest. Even bedding down in the stables was better than lying in his palace room, listening to all the rutting women and men moaning in the night; each of them with a different partner every hour.
Kato made an attempt to placate his beloved charge. “Highness, perhaps you could relent a bit in your wedding demands. Maybe you could allow one or two days of the year where your mate could ... shall we say ... wander."
Del stopped and rounded on his long-time mentor and aide. “I refuse to marry anyone who'll be with another man as soon as my back is turned. What's so wrong with wanting a lover who can remain faithful? Whatever happened to trust?” he angrily questioned. “Even humans, as promiscuous as they often are, sometimes manage to stay in a relationship without cheating. On occasion, I've opened the portal between their reality and ours and have seen this. If they can, keep their tits and cocks to themselves, why can't a god?"
"I-It's the way things have always been done,” Kato replied. “Since our reality has been separated from that of mankind and even before, gods and goddesses have always found great sport in bedding one another. It's part of the intrigue your father so loves. Why, where would all our Grecian tragedies have originated if it weren't for the degenerate behaviour of those on Olympus?"
"Where indeed?” Del sarcastically responded. “Still, Hera makes sure that every woman my father screws, pays for it."
Kato lifted a hand in supplicating gesture. “You know she isn't really jealous of your father's bed partners. Her real fear is that her own children will have to fight over ruling Olympus once Zeus steps off the throne. She wants power over all the gods and goddesses to remain within her direct bloodline."
Del sighed. “You know, that's the really sad part. I could forgive her outbursts of temper if she really loved my father, and was hurt by his promiscuity. As you say, however, it's really all about keeping my old man from creating so many heirs that the powers of Olympus will be split among them one day. That's all that matters. Sex and power."
Kato struggled to keep up with Del's strong stride. “My boy, you're asking a great deal of the women you're interviewing. After all, they've been raised in this environment and have come to expect their pleasures. Why, they don't have sex alone, you know. The men are just as responsible."
He put a finger to his own chest. “That's exactly what I'm talking about. I was raised in this environment, too. And you don't see me sleeping with anything that walks, crawls, oozes or slides into my bed chamber, do you?"
"That's true enough. You're quite discreet about whatever it is you've done. Even I don't know the women you might have bedded.” Kato rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You, uh, have bedded women, haven't you, Highness?"
Del rolled his eyes in frustration. “That's not a subject a gentleman discusses. I'm not my father.” He
changed direction suddenly, deciding a short cut to the stables and the respite offered there was in order. “If there was one woman in the entire world who'd make a promise to be faithful, I'd marry her on the spot. I wouldn't care what she looked like or what she'd done in the past. Just so long as she'd be true to me in the future. I'd want to know my children were mine and not have to guess who'd been lying between the sheets of my own bed."
Kato arched a brow in thought. “Did you say you'd marry anyone, Highness?"
"You heard me."
A plan began to form in Kato's brain, but it would require very careful strategy. “I'll be waiting for you at the stable when you finish your ride then. I'd like to speak with Hephenon."
Del shrugged. “Suit yourself. I won't be back until late this evening, so don't wait up for me."
Kato subserviently bowed his head. “As you wish, Highness."
After arriving at the stable, Kato watched Delos mount his black stallion and ride toward the hillsides surrounding Mount Olympus. When he was sure his young master was gone, he quickly went inside the large wooden building and found Hephenon hard at work at his forge. For a brief instant, the heat from the fire drove him backward. As ever, Hephenon was immune to its stifling nature and continued to swing away with an anvil. His taut muscle bunched with each movement.
"Hephenon, I must speak with you right away. I believe I have a solution to your problem. The one concerning Megaira, that is."
Hephenon quickly stopped his work, moved away from the forge and stared at the distinguished, white-haired servant. He lifted one hand to silence Kato while looking around and lowering his own voice in a conspiratorial fashion. “Careful what you say, man. There are ears everywhere. Nothing escapes Zeus and Hera,” he warned. “Meg's dilemma isn't to be discussed openly, you know that."
"Come close and listen,” Kato murmured. “By tomorrow, I can have your beloved daughter safely situated within Delos’ quarters, under his protection."
"What are you saying, you old fool? You know she can't..."
"Listen, friend. Simply let me explain my plan. It will work if the girl is willing. What other chance does she have?"
Hephenon eyed his life-long comrade critically. “What are you up to? What's it got to do with my Meg? I won't risk her life."
Kato put his hand on the big man's shoulders and began to whisper a scheme. By the time he was through, Hephenon was nodding in agreement.
"It's as you say. This may be the only chance she has,” the bigger man finally registered as he stroked his chin.
"Good,” Kato told him as he rubbed his hands together. “Bring Meg here. We'll explain our idea and get her opinion. If she won't agree, we'll forget it was ever mentioned. If she wants this chance, however, we'll put the plot in motion and pray the Fates are with us. My master needs a mate he can trust, your daughter needs a man who can stand by her side whatever comes. Were it not for his last words to me this afternoon, I don't know that I'd have ever thought of anything so insane, but Del is quite desperate."
"So is my daughter. Because of the way she looks, men won't leave her alone. Yet she despairs of finding anyone who will understand,” Hephenon confirmed. “I only hope Delos is as open-minded as you say. Still, I'll leave it to Meg. It will be her choice to make."
"We're of a mind then?” Kato asked and held out his hand.
Hephenon took the other man's outstretched palm and gripped it hard. “We are."
* * * *
Del watched the sun set before turning his stallion, Fleetwind, back to the stable. His hopes of finding one women who wouldn't betray him were as bleak as the long, empty night ahead. What was so wrong with asking for an honest relationship? He didn't care how many men a woman had been with. That was none of his business so long as she'd be loyal once wedded. In turn, he would promise to be just as earnest in matters of fidelity. Every time he'd put the question to the hoards of women he'd interviewed, however, he'd been laughed into the dust. He was tired of asking. There simply wasn't one woman in this reality who'd take marriage vows seriously. No wonder the world of man had eventually turned away from the gods, causing Zeus to separate the planes of existence. That separation was all that kept the gods and goddesses from losing their powers altogether. When men and women stopped believing in many deities, the powers those deities had began to fade. Now, mankind believed in things like computers, fast-food franchises and liquor stores. There was nothing left of the old legends to which humans once clung. They needed and wanted property. Aspiring to ideals no longer appealed to the bulk of them. And so it was that the gods and goddesses now whiled away their hours sexually stimulating one another instead of catering to their human worshipers as they once did. On his many open-portal viewings into the reality of humankind, they hadn't much going for them except their occasional ability to remain faithful to one man or one woman. And if they could remain steadfast in their love, so should the plethora of gods and goddesses, both minor and major.
"Come on, Fleet,” Del murmured as he reigned his black mount back toward the warmth of a stable and a good bucket of oats. “I guess I'll be sleeping in the loft again. Better that than listening to Hera and her men copulating.” It's disgusting.
The horse snorted and tossed its head.
Del smiled, half believing the beautiful animal could understand. But even Fleetwind would find a herd of mares to service if he were allowed freedom to do so. Everyone and everything in and around Olympus these days was bent on having intercourse with any object that would stand still long enough. He was the odd man out.
Megaira watched as the tall, muscular rider approached. The setting sun shone on his mount making the stallion's colour seem blue-black. That horse's dark coat was in direct contrast to the tall, tanned rider whose long golden hair drifted in the evening breeze. Yet, there were certain similarities the man and the horse shared. Both had eyes as dark as the pits of Hades. Both had bodies honed by hard work and clean living. Both were proud and kept their heads high in a superior fashion that might have daunted others, but not Meg. She knew both rider and mount well. One had been her friend as a child; the other had been bottle-fed with her own two hands. Tonight, if she played her cards right, she'd know the child-hood friend much better. She took a deep breath and willed herself to stay calm, as her father and Kato had instructed.
"Hello, Del. Wonderful night for a ride, isn't it?"
Delos gently reined Fleetwind to a stop. Preferring to ride bareback, it was no difficulty for him to throw his right leg over the stallion's neck and slide to the ground. He stared at the tall beauty before him. She was lean but strong looking. Her long, golden-brown hair curled loosely around her shoulders, and her blue eyes were nothing short of captivating. “I'm sorry. Forgive my poor memory, but have we met?"
She grinned. “Don't you recognize the girl who used to throw apples at you in the orchard? It's me ... Megaira."
Delos felt his eyes widen of their own volition. “By all the ... Meg!” he shouted, and summarily strode forward, taking her hands in his. He looked over the leather jerkin and pants she wore. As always, Meg had been more comfortable when in the stables if she was dressed as a boy. But even the leather couldn't hide that she'd become a most lovely woman. “How many years has it been?” he enthusiastically asked.
"Six. I've only been back a few days. I asked Father and Kato not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise."
He couldn't quit staring. “You're all grown up. I remember you being a scrawny little girl with freckles, helping your father with the shoeing."
"And I remember you being a tall twit of a young man, barely able to shave, and more interested in how to throw a discus than anything else.” She laughed. “Do you still train the way you used to?"
"Every other day. And I see you still have freckles,” he gently taunted. But they somehow seemed exactly right. Her lovely face had a smattering of the little attractive spots right across her upturned nose. The breeze was currently lifting the go
lden-brown strands of her hair, and he noted how she pushed them away from her mesmerizing eyes with one hand. Her gesture was punctuated by a kind of grace.
"This is so unexpected,” he gasped out. “We have to put aside some time to get to know one another again. I was crushed when your father sent you away to study with the Stygian witches. That was the very last place I'd have expected you to go for tutoring."
She tilted her head. “You could have visited, you know. A year ago, you quit writing. I was afraid you'd forgotten me altogether."
He contritely nodded. “Yes. I should have kept in touch, and I most certainly should have visited. But time just seemed to get away from me."
She shrugged and squeezed his hands. “I suppose learning to throw a javelin or being the best archer in all Olympus was more important."
"Nothing is more important than a friend. I should have made more of an effort to see you. I know the witches wouldn't let you leave until they'd finished their tutelage. It was my responsibility to stay in contact,” he ruefully admitted. “I'm sorry."
"Water under the bridge. Besides, though I missed you terribly, it was probably better in some ways that I didn't see you. I needed the space to get my head together. I'm home now. That's all that matters."
He looked her over yet again. “By Helios’ glare, you've grown into a beauty!” He watched her dip her head in coy acknowledgment of the compliment.
Meg removed her hands from his strong grip and walked toward Fleetwind. “I see all that pampering did wonders. Fleet is magnificent,” she praised as she stroked the big stallion's muzzle and neck. “Did you know that father is letting me help him with his chores as I used to? Thanks to the witches, I'm much more gifted with animals now. I'd love working around a big brute like this one,” she finished, playfully pushing the stallion away when he nibbled at her fingertips.
Del shook his head in wonder. “It's so good to have you back, Meg. I simply can't get over the physical change. It's phenomenal."
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