by Maya Daniels
Now we are staring at each other face to face. That’s a little too much for me, so I start shaking my shoulders and bending my upper body backwards, almost into a bridge pose. Remi follows with the beat of her drum in sync with every movement of my shoulders. My breasts are moving wildly, and as I bring myself up again, I see him standing so close to me that I’m within arm’s reach. No can do! I lean sideways and, while dancing, I sidestep him and end up behind him. He turns around sharply, but I do the same again. He follows me with narrowed eyes. I guess gods don’t like to be disobeyed. Tough luck for him. I agreed to dance, nothing more.
Swaying my hips, I slowly circle around him, and he follows me with his head. When I’m behind him again, I reach out with my hand, touching him from one shoulder to the other with my fingertip as I move in front of him again. A grunt falls from his throat.
Moving and swaying like a boneless snake in front of him, his eyes land on my jiggling breasts, and I curse my treacherous body when my nipples turn into pinpoints. His gaze meets mine and he gives me a predatory smile that triggers my fight-or-flight instincts, but remember how he’s a god? Yup, you guessed it, he read my mind and out of thin air shackles pop on my wrists, ankles, and around my neck, which is connected by a chain to the shackles on my wrists. He snatches it fast.
“Not so fast, little witch,” he growls, and my knees go weak. He turns around and starts walking towards the altar, dragging me behind him like a dog, which raises my hackles.
“Hey, let go!” I dig my heels in the grass but that doesn’t stop him. He keeps moving. I turn around to ask any of the others to help but they are nowhere to be found. What the fuck!
“They obey their God, unlike you, little witch,” he says in answer to my question.
So much for sister love, I guess. I’m on my own here. I stop struggling and follow behind him. What else can I do, really? We get to the altar and he turns around, grabs me by the waist and picks me up, sitting me on the edge. Then he lodges his body between my legs, putting our faces inches apart.
“The Priestess was speaking the truth. I have not seen a witch dance like that,” he says as he stares straight into my eyes, causing my mind to go blank. With my mouth slightly open, I stare unblinkingly at him because I can do nothing else. He is just that beautiful.
“And so are you, little witch. No wonder my daughter picked you for her vessel.” He touches my cheek with the back of his finger and my insides shake.
“I am very pleased with this offering. Very pleased, indeed.” With his hand between my breasts, he pushes me down onto the altar, and now I’m lying there like a virgin sacrifice with my legs dangling off it, wrapped around his hips. He leans over me on his forearms and I can feel his erection through the non-existent pants I’m wearing. His loincloth doesn’t help at all. My breath is coming in little puffs in his face, and he closes his eyes and takes a long sniff.
“Mmmmmm, jasmine. I like it.” His eyes open and I just stare at him.
“I think this is an offering I would like to sample,” he says, almost like he’s talking to himself instead of to me, and judging by that thing I feel poking me between my legs, I can imagine what kind of sampling he is talking about. He lifts his head and follows a line from my forehead down my nose with his finger, then he rubs it on my lips a little before he continues down my chin, neck, all the way to my breasts. With one sharp thug, he rips the scarf off my body. Humming to himself, he touches me like a sculptor would shape clay. I don’t want to, I really don’t, but my body is reacting to him on its own, and he seems pleased by it.
“Very responsive, little witch.” He flicks a gaze at my face, then down at my body again. “I can’t remember the last time I desired to taste a mortal,” he says, tilting his chin up gazing at the moon.
As soon as he is not looking at me, I can think clearly, and for a second I remember why we are doing this. And I remember what Inanna said, to entice him. Well, if he’s going to grope me anyway, I’d better make sure I get what I came here to get. Here goes nothing, I think to myself. Reaching up, I place my hand on his chest. It’s shaking and I know he can knows it too, but he doesn’t say anything. I squint at him with half-lidded eyes.
“You don’t have to be the only one tasting,” I purr, and it sounds strange to my ears, but I guess it’s working because now I have his full
attention.
“Is that so, little witch?” he growls at me.
“That is so.” I smile, and he does too, but he looks like the cat that ate the canary.
“Well, don’t let me stop you, then.” He rips off his loincloth and my jaw drops. Holy Mother. Well, you asked for it, you dum-dum, I tell myself.
“You are a funny little creature.” He laughs.
I lift myself up on my elbows and try to see him. All of him. He steps away to give me a better view. Modesty is not a strong suit with gods, and with good reason I might add.
“Are you going to just look at me all night, little witch?” he says, and I can hear the laughter in his voice. Oh, you’ll lose that laugh very fast, I think as I sit up. I curl my index finger in front of my face, calling him closer, and he raises his eyebrows. As he inches towards me, I reach out with my legs and pull him to me, placing my arms around his waist while sliding one onto his back and the other onto his butt. His perfect butt, if I may say so myself. He is breathing more deeply now. I rain little kisses on his chest and he throws his head back, enjoying it.
“Your lips are very soft and soothing, little witch,” he says to the sky. Here is my chance.
“I’m happy you like them, but too bad you can’t enjoy them for more than tonight,” I say as if it’s just small talk.
“And who will stop me if I want to enjoy them again?” He stares down at me.
“Oh, well, Tiamat, for example,” I say while I’m locked in his gaze, and I bite gently on his nipple. I see the flames of a thousand suns in his eyes. He can burn me to ashes if he so pleases.
“What does that evil creature have to do with you?” he asks, his voice husky and deep.
“Well, she thinks I know where the potions are, the ones that will help her find the realm where Anzu is hiding the Tablets of Destiny.” I’m proud of myself for talking like we are discussing the weather.
Throwing his head back, he laughs. “That’s ridiculous. Only I know where they are, no one else,” you can hear the arrogance from miles away.
“Hmmm. Well, I’m not so sure about that. You see”—Kissing my way up his neck, I give him little licks, holding him tight with my thighs to keep his hips flush to mine—“she sent a warlock to kill me because she is sure I know,” I whisper in his ear, and he shivers. Look at me, making a god shiver. I want to pat myself on the back. I’ll do it later, if I live.
He grabs my hips and grinds himself on me. “Don’t worry, little witch, no one can find them,” he says, and kisses me with such passion that I forget everything—what I was saying, why I’m here, absolutely everything including my own name.
While he is kissing me, he lifts me up a bit and rips my pants off with one flick of his wrist. Now here I am in my birthday suit, with only the necklace, armband, and the shackles he put on me as I sit on the altar in front of a god. What has the world come to? I wonder. I need to think, but I can’t. He is messing with my head. He pulls me up, then places me flat across the altar. Moving slowly, he comes to my feet, takes hold of my ankles and pulls me towards him while placing my feet apart on the edge.
“No more talking, little witch. Now I sample my offering.”
Before my mind catches up, his head is between my legs, and I feel his tongue moving, circling, sipping like he is drinking from the chalice of life. My eyes roll to the back of my head, and I reach with both hands to get a hold of his head. He hums, and my entire insides shake from it. His tongue enter me, and it’s so warm and everything is just wonderful. I arch my back and he shoves his hands under me, holding my hips up while taking his time. At the moment, I don’t mind a
t all. In the middle of the haze, I hear Meda’s voice in my head. “The potions” is all she says. Huh? What potions? I’m thinking. I have no idea what she’s talking about.
Sin lifts his head and I look down at him. His face is flushed and his lips are all glossy from my juices. “Don’t worry about the potions, little witch. I have hidden them very well. No one can find them, of that you can be sure.” He dives back down, and I reach over my head for the opposite side of the altar, holding it so tightly I think my fingers may start bleeding.
Meda’s voice interferes again, and it’s starting to annoy me. Can’t I enjoy this? “Where are the potions?” she says, and then she’s gone again, thank the Goddess.
Sin lifts his head again, and I’m about to tell him not to worry about it but keep doing what he was doing, when he says “No snake can go into the depth of the ocean, little witch. She will not find them unless she learns how to breathe under water.” He goes back to his sampling, but the mention of water zaps me like a thousand watts. He hid the potions in the ocean, but where! Think, Al! My mind is screaming. I squeeze his head with my shaking thighs.
“There are many oceans on Earth.” I just watch him.
He seems preoccupied with his sampling, so he absentmindedly adds, “In the Pacific, so deep in the ocean where only the merpeople live, but even if she gets there, little witch, they will not give them to her unless she is Semiramis. Only the gift of the sea can take them.” With those words, he slides two fingers inside me, starts sucking and that’s the end of the thought process in my head.
My mouth opens in a silent scream, my entire body convulsing on the altar while he hums contently like I’m giving him life between my legs. I don’t know how long I am shaking, but eventually the tremors subside and he lifts his head up, licking his lips. I peer down at him, panting and trying to catch my breath.
“You are an offering fit for a god, little witch. I shall come back for more another full moon, but for now, I must go.” He lifts up, comes around the altar towards my head, and all I can do is follow him with my eyes because I can’t move a muscle.
He places his hand on my head and stares intently in my eyes. “I bless you with the fire of passion, little witch. May it burn in your heart with the strength of a thousand suns.” Flames come out of his chest and enter mine. Then he leans down, giving me a soft kiss on my lips and I can taste myself on them. Lifting his head he brings us nose to nose. “I shall see you soon, my little jasmine witch.” He winks at me and is gone.
Plopping down, I stare at the sky full of stars and the full moon above me. Who would’ve thought the Sun God was so good at going down on a woman, I think stupidly. I’m sure if the goddesses knew, there would’ve been a line at his gates. That thought makes me laugh, and I continue looking at the moon. I mean what else can I do, right?
Chapter 17
The soft fabric covering me makes me open my eyes and look up at the concerned faces of Remi, Meda, and Jezzinta. I didn’t know I had closed them.
“Are you okay?” asks Remi, and her voice is quavering like she’s about to start crying. She’s tucking the cloak around me like I’m about to freeze, and I guess it’s for her own piece of mind because it’s actually very warm.
“I’m okay, thank you. I mean, I’m sure you saw how okay I am,” I say dryly.
They glance at each other, then they check around the area. I lift myself up on my elbows to see what they are looking at, and I take a sharp breath in. The clearing is not much of a clearing anymore. There are trees ripped out of the ground and thrown every which way. Others seem like a giant has pushed against them and are leaning on the one next to them for support. There are piles of branches and leaves everywhere.
“What the hell happened?” I turn at the three of them with shock. I didn’t hear anything. I couldn’t have been that gone in my head.
“After Sin put the shackles on you, he somehow created a barrier
between you two and us,” says Meda sadly.
“I think he saw or felt us all getting ready to intervene, and he made sure we couldn’t. We tried everything to get past it, but we couldn’t see or hear you. It was like everything vanished, including the altar,” she tells me.
I look from one to the other. Meda seems sad but Remi and Jezzinta look like they could bite a metal bar in two with their teeth. I’ve never seen them that angry before and it warms my heart. “And all this destruction and mess is from that?”
“Ummmm, that’s actually from Jezzinta and me trying to break the barrier. Obviously tornadoes, thunder, and trees being thrown at it doesn’t work when the Sun God doesn’t want to be interrupted,” Remi says angrily.
“What did he do to you, sis?” asks Jezzinta, and I can see she’s bracing herself like someone is about to shoot her point blank.
I sigh and lay back down, peering at the stars again. “I’m sure Meda replayed everything she read in my mind,” I tell them tiredly. I don’t need to explain, they know.
“Actually, I couldn’t read anything, A-ma. I was trying my best to talk to you, hoping you would hear me even if I couldn’t hear you,” she says with tears in her eyes. I reach for her hand and squeeze it gently. She’s such a beautiful soul.
“Well, he did but he kind of didn’t,” I tell them. They stand around me, quiet, waiting for more details. I don’t need to make them feel worse than they already do. “If you knew how good that god is with his mouth, you wouldn’t have worried so much about me.” I try to turn it into a joke. “I mean, really, who would’ve thought, right? If witches ever figure this out, I feel bad for mortal men.” I smile at them, and Meda starts first, followed by Jezzinta and finally Remi, all three laughing. Good. At least the tension in the air has lessened because it was choking me.
“I guess she’s less of a bitch after an orgasm,” Jezzinta joked, poking me in the thigh with her finger.
“Ouch! Hey! And you’re saying you’re not?” I laugh with them. She just shakes her head.
“Let’s go, vixen. We need to get inside. It’s almost dawn,” says Remi as she helps me up.
“Dawn?” I’m shocked. It all seemed like it took fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, max.
“Yeah, well, when barriers are put like that, time moves differently inside and outside of it,” explains Meda while grabbing my other arm. With Remi’s help, they pull me off the cold rock that we’d used as an altar. I shrug on the cloak and wrap it around me like a blanket.
“And this?” I wave my hand towards the mess they made. “We’re just going to leave it like this? My heart hurts for those trees.” I’m not lying. It really does.
“Oh, right!” Jezzinta starts waving her arms and chanting, joined shortly after by Remi. The trees lift in the air, floating peacefully towards their rightful places while the piles of branches and leaves get distributed around them perfectly. Within minutes, it’s just like when we got there, like nothing has taken place, and it works for me. I’ll just act like nothing happened and concentrate on what needs to be done. Then again, that god really knows his stuff. That will be a little hard to forget, but I’ll do my best.
At Meda’s giggle, I shake my head at myself and help close the circle, then we collect all of our tools that had been thrown around the altar by Sin. We gather everything and, hand in hand, all four of us start walking back to the house. It’s a little difficult weaving between the trees without wanting to let go of the others just yet, but we manage somehow.
Back at the house, everything is left in the altar room. I figure we’ll put it away tomorrow. Each of us leave to change our clothes after that, and when I come down from my from, my three sisters are already in the living room talking. As I step in, I notice the tea sitting on the coffee table first, wandering to a cup full and lifting it to my nose.
“Mmmm, peppermint tea! My favorite.” I smile at Jezzinta.
“I figured you could use it.” She grins back.
“I can always use peppermint tea, sister.” Sitting down in th
e armchair I usually take, I bring my knees up and take a deep breath. “It’s done!” I say, and glance at them.
“He told you?” asks Remi. It’s like all three of them are holding their breath.
“Yes, he told me, and it won’t be an easy task to find them. Which reminds me …” I narrow my eyes at Remi. “What does my name mean?”
“Alexia? It means defender,” she answers with a straight face.
“No, not Alexia. Semiramis, my family name.” I watch her face, her body language, and check her energy. There, a little spike in her energy tells me all I need to know. She knew.
“Well, from what I’ve heard—” she starts but I cut her off.
“Don’t bother. I had a feeling you knew.” She acts shocked, which I actually find offensive at the moment. By the way her demeanor changes, she knows that fact, too.
“Yes, I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t think it was the right time,” she said defensively.
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Remi. Sin told me.” I take a deep breath. “He said that the potions are with the merpeople in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, and even if Tiamat and her puppet warlock manage to breathe under water, they still can’t have them because only a Semiramis”—I pause for dramatic effect and all three of them widen their eyes—“the gift of the sea, can take them,” I finish, staring hard at them.
“So that’s why Margaret died to protect you,” Jezzinta says quietly, and I give her a side-eyed glance.
