Ishtar Bound (a book of Sinnis)

by Gibson, Natalie

  “I want you to come for me. I want to hear you laugh like you did when I held you against that tree. I've never met a woman who laughed when she orgasmed and I need to hear it again.”

  His fingers started to work their magic and again she was stunned at his talent. “I don't laugh when I come”, she exclaimed as best she could with the rising flood impeding her thoughts.

  “Yes, you do. You did last night. I want to hear it again for my birthday present.”

  She took in her breaths of the cold December air in gasps. It was happening faster than last night. His fingers probed, sliding in and out of her, tickling her nerve bundle. She could feel the tingle, the white magic rising. “But there is n-no one here, w-what distraction will keep me from c-casting?”

  Aaron put his hand behind her neck and clamped it there, thumbing the front of her throat. “Perhaps you should concentrate on the very small, but very sharp knife I have between your legs.”

  Once again, it was working. He knew just what to do and say to make her feel vulnerable. Apparently feeling out of control, not being the aggressor, was what she needed to keep the magic at bay.

  “Pull up your shirt. I want to see your tits and my hands are a little busy.”

  She did what he said. She loved the feeling of being exposed to his hungry gaze. She kept her eyes on his, watching him lust after her. The tingle and heat coursed through her body and her limbs. The euphoria hit, more intense than any drug induced state, and she realized she was giggling. She let go of everything and threw her head back. She laughed, and with that laughter began the quick succession of contractions that made her knees weak. Pleasure washed over her and she could not help but exclaim, “F-Fuck...Aaron, fuck me.”

  Aaron lowered her skirt and backed away. He closed the pocketknife and tucked it into his pants. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and tasted her orgasm. “Tonight, my love.”

  ***

  The night air was ripe with the sweet tangy stench of elemental magic. The women were blanketed with the blackness of the near new moon. The slight breeze was the only tell tale sign of their circular movement around the pentacle. The shape within it was ancient beyond reckoning; the entire grimoire it was taken from was dedicated to this very ceremony. It had taken them years to decipher the writing and determine the details.

  The high priest and priestess stood at the center and the five other coven members danced around them. Their bleeding feet made gory prints on the ground, slowly overlapping and joining until the dark red circle was solid, unbroken. There was a great pulsing of light between the highest level adepts and then they themselves flashed out and back into existence. They collapsed, breaking the circle, cutting the tie to the others. Their followers rushed to them, further severing the connection.

  Though everyone in attendance wanted to ask, they waited. The priestess was the first to gain consciousness and cohesion. She had seen them with her own eyes and yet could barely believe it. The Gods of Old lived. They were blocked from this earth and none too happy about it. They wanted free.

  The high priestess addressed the coven, “The Shining Ones are pleased that we could come to them. They cannot come to us until the veil between their world and ours is cut. Long ago a criminal betrayed them and selfishly claimed earth as her own. She stole from them and they banished her, putting up the barrier to keep her from coming back. She tricked them. Yes, the veil kept her from going home, but it also prohibited them from stepping through to her. We will cut down the barrier with this.” She held up a white dagger. “The Shining Ones will walk with us once we can activate its power.”

  She didn't mention the bloodshed it would take to destroy the veil. She, like her high priest, had more of a stomach for the blood that was necessary. Some SOFE might need more persuasion than others to get behind more murders. Not she. The priestess had seen them, basked in their light of life and wanted more. There was no length too great to go in order to please and free the Gods of Old.

  ***

  “All Primo's are accounted for.”, Alicia said from her place in the doorway. Her daughters were safely asleep upstairs in their quarters, but she did not like being away from them.

  “Who was killed tonight?” Ingrid asked as she served the Abbess some tea.

  Nathalia answered her, “The lesbian couple matched right after John and Mary”.

  Libby, keeper of records, identified them immediately. “Deborah and Monica? No, Maeve's gonna be devastated.” Someone was picking off Maeve's most recent accomplishments one by one. “Oh my god! Andrew and Vincent could be next.” Not her jewel, her greatest accomplishment. Maeve was the first ever matchmaker to match a gay couple. She was determined to do it – since gay men are just as deserving of a good mate as anyone else – but she had a lot of obstacles. Andrew not being aroused by women was not the least of which. She had gotten around it by bringing Israel along as a distraction for Andrew. Every couple in her book was special to Maeve, none would be any less tragic than another, but Libby knew how hard she had worked for that match.

  Nathalia did not value their match as much as one with a female or two. After all, a gay couple didn't add power to the capacitors stash. “Don't worry. I know how she feels about that couple in particular. Andrew and Vincent 'won' a month long cruise around Europe. I arranged for them to leave this morning.”

  Nathalia couldn't bring herself to invite more men to stay here on the compound, but she did the next best thing. Maeve would be grateful.

  Camilla threw up into the waste paper basket beside Nathalia's desk. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, “Maeve should be here.”

  Ingrid smeared a salve on the Panacea's forehead and blew on it. Almost instantly Camilla's face lost its green hue. The Ingenium Primo moved on to the next woman.

  “The Vinculum Primo is resting. She has work to do tonight.” Margaux was the only woman sitting down in the office. As the voice of the Council, who originated at another chapter, she had no link to the capacitors like every Primo pacing the room. Margaux took a sip of her tea, “Why is your Animaverto unable to predict these deaths?”

  “It's we who failed to interpret her dreams correctly.” Since the day Margaux had warned her of her death, Nathalia had seen every evil omen, every deathly prediction as a sign of her own death. It had not crossed her mind that 'the holy one's last breath' was not about her own.

  “Aucune personne aurait pu le prévoir. In all the history of our order no capacitor has ever been killed, none has ever done harm to another. This black magic murder is horrific and blasphemous and must be avenged. More than that, we must prevent it from happening again.”

  Margaux had stood and it was obvious that she was taking over this meeting. She was not talking about the murder last night that had created a mass of black energy greater than any they'd ever seen. She was talking about how one of their beloved capacitors, overcome with the pain and corruption of the energy created by that murder, had bludgeoned another capacitor to death. That action of sister killing sister had further spread the blackness. It would take Camilla a month to remove that evil. In that time who knew what else could befall the holy ones. “We must find the leak, and now we are certain there is one, for how could this many occurrences be coincidence? Is there anything else that links these women together? Anything else that could indicate who the next target could be, if this is a conspiracy against us?”

  “They're all women. Not one man has been hurt.” Physically at least, John might never recover from having his mate abducted from their honeymoon suite and ritually murdered. “And they seem to be the most recent matches. Maybe Maeve leaves some trace of power on the matches and the SOFE have some way of detecting it.”

  Margaux held up her hand to stop the conversation. “What is SOFE?”

  Shit. They'd forgotten to mention to the Representative that they knew who was doing the killing. “SOFE are sorcerers who work in blood magic. I've some history with them from my childhood. They usua
lly just use small amounts of their own blood. They do a lot of invocation circles and talk about the old gods.”

  Libby started to hand Jolie's achievement book to Margaux before remembering that the Voice couldn't see. “Our seer had a dream about a circle ceremony centering around a man and woman. There was blood everywhere, and the two people in the center are slicing at the air, hacking through something. Bright light shines through the lines they'd cut in the air. She says the light felt good at first and then she realized it was stealing her magic, pulling it from her. Then something stepped out, tearing a hole in the air.”

  Margaux stood frozen for a full ten seconds before whispering, “Great Mother help us all.” and then a little louder, “I need my Guardian. You will find him near the Matchmaker's resting place. Bring him here.”

  Camilla took the opportunity to find him. She dashed out, planning to get a charge before sending him in. She had work to do with the capacitors. Let the others decide what to do about the rest of this mess.

  “What's wrong?”

  Margaux turned to the Abbess. “If these SOFE have found the DakuAnu, the Nephilim must be informed.”

  Alisha spoke up, “Should you cancel Midwinter? I only ask because the children will start preparations soon and if it's gonna be called off, I'd hate for them to go to all the trouble just to have their expectations dashed.”

  “No of course not. The children don't know about the deaths, so it would only raise their curiosity if we canceled. We'll ring in the solstice with yuletide cheer as always with a celebration of the evergreen mothers.”

  “I agree, Abbess. I have not celebrated solstice in a long while and it was always my favorite. I would love to see your version.” Margaux knew she had little time left for celebration. She would be leaving this world soon.

  “Good. We'd be glad to have you. It's Maeve's favorite too.”

  “We should keep these deaths from the Vinculum Primo for a while. She has a very important job to finish with Aaron and we need her not to be distracted.”

  Nathalia agreed, but “Won't she feel the darkness and pain of the capacitors?”

  “They must have Aaron mated immediately. My guardian is now her guardian and will block any discomfort from her. That is why she is able to sleep when the rest of you are in agony. They are powerful beyond imagination.” Margaux changed the subject and the other two women forgot all about it. “Have you chosen your mothers?”

  “No, I haven't even thought about it.” Nathalia turned to look at Libby. “I'd be honored if you would symbolize our Mother Crone this year. I think that Alicia, you'd be a good Full Mother but I'm not sure who to ask to be our Maiden Mother.”

  Margaux had a little bit of information that even the Abbess did not. “You should ask Marcie. She is with child and should be healed enough to participate and even enjoy the community gathering.”

  Chapter 10

  As he walked up the road, Aaron heard the sounds of a snowball fight, but that wasn't possible. There had only been one real snow in Texas in his whole life. As he turned the first bend, the sounds started to make sense. The large area between the road and a grove of ancient trees was covered with people. Young and old, men and women were gathered around a giant bonfire laughing and talking and the children were running like mad.

  Aaron crossed over toward the people, all looking jolly and bundled. Most adults were drinking a spicy smelling hot drink, but the children were much to busy to slow down long enough for that. There was a table with homemade cookies and golden apples, but no one was touching them. He stopped near another one covered with popcorn and peanut butter jars to watch the boys and girls, all androgynous in multicolored, multi layered coats, hats, scarves and mittens, frolic in the imaginary snow.

  “Isn't it wonderful?” Maeve slipped her hand into the crux of his arm and stood enjoying the warmth of the fire. “This is my favorite holiday with the sisterhood. It feels so...normal. Just people enjoying other people and sharing their lives.”

  She leaned her head against his shoulder. “The fire'll be tended all night; it started burning before the sun set and it'll continue until well after dawn. The light and warmth are meant to remind us that no matter how bleak the night looks or how long it lasts, the sun will always rise again.”

  A group of young ladies brought them two steaming mugs. Before Maeve would take them, the girls had to sing,

  Here we come a-wassailing

  Among the leaves so green;

  Here we come a-wand'ring

  So fair to be seen.

  Love and joy come to you,

  and to you your waes haeil too.

  Mothers bless you and send you a happy new year

  Solstice bring you a happy new year.

  Maeve took some small gifts out of her pocket and gave one to each caroler, who one by one started to run off. Aaron was feeling a little under prepared. “I didn't know we were supposed to bring gifts.”

  “You're my guest tonight. Only Primos give out gifts to subordinates for Midwinter. You should taste your drink. It improves blood circulation and is a mild but natural stimulant. Wait, are these...?”

  “Only children's brew, Vinculum Primo”, the last girl called over her shoulder before running to catch up with the rest of her group.

  Maeve raised her glass to Aaron and they clinked mugs. Being assured that the drinks were not alcoholic, like actual wassail would be, Aaron took a sip. The hot spicy mix was delicious and very warming. Even the smell of it was warm.

  “So, what did you give them?”

  “Oh, they were little meat and fig pies.” The gifts were nothing special. It was what they symbolized that gave them meaning. They were a promise to each recipient that the donor would always provide for them if they serve the sisterhood and honor their vows. “But they're very good, even if they do sound weird.”

  “I think it's weird that no one's eating those cookies. They look scrumptious.”

  Maeve's laughter rang out and mixed with the other voices and made a joyous song. Aaron tried not to think that tonight might be the last time he heard that laugh. “They may look scrumptious, but they don't taste that way. They're for the birds. Literally. They're suet cakes for the birds and biscuits for the squirrels. The children make them for us all to use to decorate the solstice tree.”

  She turned him so he was looking right at a beautiful live oak tree. There were three woman seated in front of it and each had a small pile of gifts beside her.

  Maeve explained, “That's our wishing tree. It's the oldest thing for miles and its evergreen, a constant reminder that there is life, even in winter. Midwinter's a celebration of mothers, who bring life. Those three women represent the three stages of motherhood and are being honored tonight.”

  Maeve pointed to the youngest one, a girl Aaron had seen at Heaven a few times. Her bouncer husband was standing very near her. “She's our Maiden Mother, dressed in green to symbolize fertility. She's pregnant. If any of our girls want to conceive this year they make an offering to her and hang something on the tree. It's just superstition, but an old tradition and kinda fun.”

  The next one over was wearing red. There was no man standing with her, but many children were running to and around her. Two in particular kept giving her kisses and refreshing her mug. “Alisha's our Full Mother. Red symbolizes the blood she's shed bringing life into this world. She's who you go to with family issues or concerns, or any health problems.”

  The third woman saw them looking at her and raised her arm in greeting. So did the man seated near her. Maeve, with her hand firmly locked on his arm, steered Aaron toward them. “Libby's our Mother Crone. She has given birth but is now past the age of child bearing. The white indicates that she's in the last evolutionary stages of life. She's who you go to for long lasting love.”

  They stopped right in front of the older couple. Maeve handed Aaron a small box, “She's who you need to make an offering to tonight.”

  Aaron didn't really beli
eve in any of this, but a few weeks ago super powers had just been something in his comic books. It couldn't hurt and Libby was gesturing toward the pile of gifts. He would hate to offend her, so he placed the box in her outstretched hand.

  Libby smiled warmly at him, “Solstice is an excellent night for matchmaking.” She winked at him as she placed his votive on the top of the pile. “May your life with your mate be good and long upon the earth.” Then turned her attention to the next bestower.

  When they had taken a spot close to the fire again, Aaron turned to Maeve and she saw his face was very red and it wasn't from the cold. “Don't be embarrassed.” She shrugged and apologized, “This is a house full of women. There are no secrets among us, and if there are they don't last long.”

  A very fit, very tall woman was walking toward the Mothers and everyone was starting to turn to her. She was smiling proudly as she took her place.

  “Happy Midwinter everyone. It's time to decorate the wishing tree. We decorate with edible decorations for the animals to eat during dark winter when nature provides them the least. Mother Earth puts fruits and nuts on the trees in summer for all of her creatures, including us. We put fruit and nuts on the trees in winter when She cannot. We can enjoy seeing the animals and birds eat our decorations, because they are reminders that life continues and the circle's never ending.”

  She raised a cake tied with red ribbon high, placing it on a lower branch of the massive and gnarled tree. “The seasons change and winter's not forever. Everyday after today will be longer than the one before. Plants'll grow and animals'll thrive with the lengthening of the sunlight. Mother Earth is like those popcorn kernels, cold, hard and seemingly lifeless, add heat and 'pop', the life comes bursting out. She looks dead, but holds life inside, just waiting for the suns heat to bring it out. The world's not dead, just asleep.”