by Sahara Kelly
The thought brought a huge smile to her lips, however, and when she turned to greet Ishkar, the man stepped back slightly, as if staggered.
“The Goddess has truly blessed you, Lord. This High Priestess is uncommonly beautiful.”
Annie laughed out loud. “Why thank you, Ishkar. You are as gracious a man as you are skilled a brewer. May we truly visit your brewery?”
“It would be my deepest honor, High Priestess.” He bowed deeply and reverently, and seemed beside himself when Annie laid her hand on his forearm and allowed him to escort her.
Kyle snorted and followed behind, ignoring the triumphant little smirk Annie tossed over her shoulder.
She couldn’t know that the view of her buttocks swaying beneath her lightweight silks was reward enough, or that Kyle’s cock was tightening with anticipation of the night to come.
He realized that she also hadn’t asked what a Boon Seeker was. But then again, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be within striking distance when she found out about them and their rituals.
* * * * *
The brewery itself was a surprise to Annie. Expecting a rather primitive version of the brewing process she’d read about in her own time, she was amazed at the level of sophistication that Ishkar had developed.
The small brick frontage gave no hint of the enormous open rooms inside where mats were spread to allow the cooked mixture of barley seeds and bappir, that Ishkar called “mash”, to dry.
Ishkar was beside himself at the chance to explain to the High Priestess how the process worked, and she found herself up to her pop-top in talk of sprouted barley, heated mash, flavored mash, cooked mash, in fact mash of every description.
She was proudly informed that straws were not needed for Ishkar’s brew, his process used a filter and he was thinking of applying to the Guild for permission to use the filter as his symbol over his door. She privately considered herself lucky that she hadn’t needed a straw—apparently other brews featured lots of spent barley hulls. Oh yummy. Pity the twenty-first century had eliminated them, she mused. There was something that could have replaced watermelon pip-spitting as a collegiate sport.
She was taken to the large cool room that had been dug beneath the drying room and into which the draining liquid fell steadily.
“And now it ferments, Lady,” said Ishkar, winding down his lecture on ”Everything She’d Never Wanted To Know About Brewing Sumerian Beer”.
She noticed a large pile of jars with tight stoppers stacked neatly at one end of the room.
“And those are the finished product?”
“Yes indeed,” he sighed.
“You sound troubled, Master Ishkar. You should be proud of your beer and happy—”
“Lady, I am very proud. But I am not selling pride, I am selling beer. And unfortunately, not very well. My market has shrunk, and without the income I have had to cut down on the number of helpers I need. Therefore they and their families have left seeking other jobs, and I have less people to drink my brew. It is a cycle of sadness to me.”
Annie nodded, understanding his problem.
She wandered around the room touching this, looking at that, thinking about Ishkar’s problem, while Kyle asked Ishkar a few questions of his own.
Annie touched her finger to a spigot at the base of one of the large fermentation vats. The drop on her finger was a little harsh and tangy for her taste, much as the drink last night had been.
An idea clobbered her behind the ear.
“Master Ishkar…” she crossed the room back to him. “The Moon Goddess has sent me a vision.” She ignored the snort of derision that Kyle was bravely trying to suppress.
“Do you flavor your beer?”
“Why would I flavor it, Lady? It tastes of beer. That is how it is supposed to taste.”
“Agreed. But the taste itself is sharp. Have you considered adding something to sweeten it slightly? I know the fermentation process involves sweetening, perhaps you might consider trying a little date juice along with your grapes just before the fermentation starts.”
Ishkar paused, obviously thinking over what she had said.
Annie had to give him points for not scoffing at her suggestion. She’d never brewed her own beer, but had known people who were enthusiasts and had picked up some of the concepts. Thankfully she hadn’t been too drunk at the time to retain some of the information, because such knowledge was now coming in handy.
She felt Kyle’s eyes on her and turned to see him looking at her with a thoughtful expression.
“Date juice?”
“Well, you’re the scientist, you tell me. It needs something, don’t you think?” She hissed at him almost under her breath, although Ishkar was too deep in contemplation to hear her words.
“You know, Lady, it might work at that.” Stroking his chin, Ishkar moved over to the side of the room and picked up a large ladle and a small jar, which he took with him as he walked out.
Obviously forgotten, Annie and Kyle were left alone in the chamber, with only the sound of the dripping beer.
“At last,” breathed Kyle dramatically, slipping his hands around Annie from behind and cupping her breasts.
“Kyle,” she sputtered. “Supposing Ishkar comes back?”
“I want to fuck you, Annie,” he whispered seductively into her ear. “I want to be inside you, so deep inside you that you can‘t take a breath without feeling me.”
His fingers rolled her nipples and pinched them, making her gasp and shiver and he pressed a growing erection into her buttocks.
“I held back last night because these are my people and I feel honor bound to satisfy their traditions and rituals.” His teeth grated over her neck and brought a moan to her lips. “But tonight, it’s us who’ll be satisfied. Understand?”
Helpless against his onslaught, a willing Annie nodded, ready to lie down and do it now if he asked.
He only chuckled, however, as Ishkar returned from wherever he’d wandered off to, waving his ladle and beaming.
Kyle’s hands lingered but finally dropped her breasts at the last moment. Annie could only hope that Ishkar didn’t notice the two prominent lumps in the front of her robe.
“It might work, Lady, it might just work. We shall try it. Blessings on the Moon Goddess and you for allowing her words to be heard.” He bowed deeply. “Anything we can do for you, just let us know. All that we have is yours. If it succeeds, let it be known that Ishkar will never allow you to pay for a beer again.”
Annie smiled graciously at the offer of unlimited keg privileges.
It was good to be a High Priestess.
Chapter 12
Annie and Kyle left Ishkar’s brewery hand in hand.
It was unusual for Annie to allow such a contact, because she’d always believed that demonstrations of affection were best kept private. But something inside her wanted to shout out to all of Sumer that the High Priest of the Sun God was hers.
She wanted to hang a sign around his neck, get a tag made for his dog collar, spray him with her perfume or leave her dental imprint on his backside. Anything to make sure the world knew who was with this man.
Then she thought it through. Was he hers? And in what sense? True, ritual had them mated for thirty days, but what then? Would she go back to the Moon Goddess’ ziggurat and live there? Would she be able to visit Kyle, or would he visit her? Would they have to wait for another ceremony to be together? Would he still want her, or would he go on to another priestess?
A frown creased her brow as she realized how little she knew about her current position, and how little she wanted to ask Kyle.
A product of the twenty-first century, Annie was as scared as any other woman about putting her man “up against the wall” and talking relationships or the dreaded “c” word—commitment.
Seems it didn’t matter if one went forward or backward in time, some things never changed.
Pragmatically, she shrugged the worries aside. Enshilla could probably answer so
me of her questions, and there was little she could do to change her situation anyway.
His hand was warm in hers as they strolled the busy streets of Kushuk, and the thought crossed Annie’s mind that if the next thirty days were truly splendid, Kyle might not want to give her up, either. So good sex and plenty of it was going to be the rule if she had her way.
With this rather pleasant vow echoing through her brain, Annie walked on through Ancient Sumer.
Kyle paused to speak to a man.
He was very tall, taller than Kyle, and his skin was darker. His hair was almost black, but streaked with a very prominent lock of gold. His eyes were dark pools and his body looked about as hard as a man could get, all muscles and lean, sharp curves.
She shivered as his eyes coolly and unemotionally surveyed her. Then with a brief polite nod to Annie, the man moved on.
“Who on earth was that?” she asked, watching him stride away.
“That was Nerin of Kushuk.”
“And?”
“Why?”
“He’s a very good looking guy in an unusual way,” she said, honestly.
Kyle’s eyebrow lifted and he pulled her closer to him.
“You think so, do you?”
Annie snickered. “He can’t hold a candle to you, Kyle, and you damn well know it.” Her grin flashed at him.
Kyle relaxed somewhat. Could he have been just the teensiest bit jealous? Oh god, I hope so, thought Annie, entranced by the idea.
“Nerin of Kushuk is one of the biggest landholders around here,” said Kyle, walking Annie up a quiet lane. He held her close to his body even as they strolled. “He provides some of the finest crops, has a large and mostly content workforce and is a major money man, as they say.”
“So what is it about him that makes me shiver?”
“He made you shiver?” That look was back in Kyle’s eyes.
“The ’someone’s-walking-over-my-grave’ type shiver, Kyle. Not a sexy type shiver, a scary type shiver.”
“Ah.” Kyle was quiet for a moment. “He does have a reputation as an excellent lover, and he comes to all the temple rituals, but now that you mention it, he has no woman of his own, nor does he seem to want one. I don’t know—the dealings I‘ve had with him have been very profitable. He’s a shrewd and honest businessman, and a solid citizen. I have never asked for any more than that.”
Annie grinned. “Don’t care about his reputation. It’s yours that concerns me.”
“Mine? I don’t have a reputation,” sputtered Kyle.
“Oh? You mean you’ve been celibate since you got here?” Annie quirked a brow in disbelief.
Incredibly, Kyle blushed. “Annie, I don’t want to get into this, really I don’t. Since you arrived I have touched no one but you. Does that satisfy you?”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. All it took was one look at you in that bathtub with Enshilla—“
“What?” Annie’s screech startled several birds that noisily flew off the roof of a nearby house. “You were spying on me in the bath?”
“I was not spying.”
“Well, I don’t know what you call peeping at someone when she’s naked without her permission, but in my book that’s spying. Or peeping, or voyeuristic—something or other…”
“Stop yelling at me.”
“I’m not yelling!”
Kyle bit his lip. “Annie-love, calm down…” His hands pulled her tight against him, and he ignored the small group of children who were giggling and pointing at the two of them as they squabbled in the middle of the street.
“I’m calm, already,” she groaned, feeling his hands stroking her back and working their magic on her already overheated body.
“I’m sorry you didn’t know I was watching you, Annie. But you were so beautiful…all pink and white and sparkly…”
Kyle’s lips ran lightly over her cheek and touched hers in a feather light kiss, in direct contrast to his cock, which was slammed into her belly by his clasp.
“Kyle…” murmured Annie, as his tongue began working magic under her jaw.
“Mmm?”
“Kyle…” she hissed. “Not in front of the children.”
Kyle raised his head and looked at the snickering group that was now making kissy noises and generally enjoying a good laugh at the couple’s expense.
He grinned and tossed his head at them.
Laughing and chattering, they scampered away.
“There’s not much that these children don’t know about human sexuality, Annie.” Kyle turned back to her. “Like it or not, a good portion of Sumerian society is based on fertility and the act that goes along with it.”
Annie pulled herself clear of Kyle arms and moved on down the street, considering his words.
“I have noticed that, believe me. I suppose the fact that their existence depends on the fertile fields, and the production of children to continue on the line makes it a natural choice.” She was thinking out loud more than conversing.
Kyle walked beside her as she spoke.
“And so much of their religion is based on the natural occurrences—like the sun and the moon, and water and the earth…”
“To them, the rising of the sun must have seemed like a daily miracle,” answered Kyle.
“Yes, but they are an intelligent people, Kyle, you said that yourself. They have a form of government, they have writing, such as it is, and science, and—and beer.”
Kyle chuckled. “Oh yes, the ability to brew beer definitely places them right up there on the evolutionary scale, doesn’t it?”
Annie gave him a mock punch in the arm. “You know what I mean,” she giggled.
“Yes, I do. But all I can say is that fertility is essential to these people’s existence. Can you blame them for worshipping it?”
“I suppose not.” Annie thought for a moment. “But they’re awfully blatant about it.”
“By our standards, perhaps they are. But are our standards right? We button ourselves into layers of clothing that hide our bodies, then wonder why nudity should be so stimulating. We teach our children that nakedness is bad and that lovemaking should wait until marriage. Then we see millions of dollars spent in strip clubs and the divorce rate is going through the roof. Where are we, Annie, in relation to the open sexual people of Sumer? Are we better or worse? You tell me…”
Annie gazed at him, wondering at the depth of this man’s intellect. She’d come to appreciate his body a whole lot, but found herself in danger of forgetting sometimes that there was a mind inside as sharp as any she’d ever met.
“You’re staring.”
“Can’t help it. You’re gorgeous.”
Kyle smirked. “You just want me for my body.”
“Well, sure. But you’re one sharp cookie, too, aren’t you Dr. Pendrake?”
Kyle’s mouth dropped at her words as if he didn’t quite know how to respond.
Annie slipped her arm through his and walked beside the rather stunned man along the narrow streets of Kushuk.
* * * * *
“Where are we headed?” asked Annie as their steps turned into a quiet narrow alleyway.
Kyle paused before answering, savoring the feel of her soft skin next to his chest.
“We are going to the Temple of Ishtartu.”
“Okay. That sounds nice. What goes on there?”
“We shall grant the supplications of the Boon Seekers.”
Kyle spoke quietly, not wanting to even begin discussion of this special ceremony until he had Annie someplace private. He had a feeling that she might react rather strongly when she discovered exactly what was involved.
“Ah. That sounds like fun.”
Kyle smiled slightly, his loins tightening at the thought.
“Yes, I think you will enjoy it. Here we are…”
They had paused in front of a small, elegant building, far from the impressive height or dimensions of a ziggurat, this one was more like a rather fancy hotel or tow
n house.
Square in front, several steps led onto a colonnaded portico where great urns of flowers tumbled in haphazardly fragrant disarray. The tiled floor was done in shining marble of the darkest maroon, and stray sparkles flashed up as the sun glanced off the stone.
Two large nude statues graced the upper levels, inset into enormous niches. The male was at least three times life size, and held the ceremonial disk that represented the Sun God. In his other hand he held his very erect cock.
The female statue was also proportionate, the crescent moon of her necklace resting between magnificent breasts, only one of which was fully visible because she was pulling at the nipple of the other one with one hand. Her other hand was buried deep between her legs.
Both statues were exchanging a look of pure sensuality.
Annie stopped dead.
“What is this temple dedicated to, Kyle?” she asked, a note of suspicion creeping into her voice.
“I told you, it is the Temple of Ishtartu. Ishtartu is a word that can mean representing, standing in place of, offering the gifts of, that sort of thing.” Kyle deliberately used his most scholarly tone of voice in an effort to distract Annie at least until they got inside.
“Aha. And?”
“Let’s go inside and I’ll explain.”
Annie allowed Kyle to lead her up the steps and into the dim coolness of the Temple. Kyle offered a brief prayer of thanks to any of the assorted deities who might be listening. He sure wasn’t looking forward to this, but he knew Annie would probably be even less in favor of the whole idea.
“Greetings High Priest, High Priestess…” Bowing low, a woman approached them courteously. “We are honored that you have come to fulfill your duties at the Temple of Ishtartu.”
She ushered them into a small antechamber.
“Food has been prepared according to custom. The ceremony will begin when you are ready.” She moved around the room lighting small braziers on each wall, and then gave one more small bow before leaving.
“Well, this is nice,” said Annie, lowering herself onto a divan and stretching out in front of the table.
