by L. M. Brown
“I can’t say I ever thought I’d need to, either,” Fabian replied. “Life was much less complicated as a sea dragon.”
“You’ll get used to it quickly. After all, he gave you the knowledge of what a phone is. Using it will be easy once you get the hang of it. Who are you trying to call?”
Fabian tapped the paper. “I’ve been looking at the properties for sale. There’s one here with a pool that sounds like it might be suitable.”
Jake smiled, even though he felt a little disappointed that Fabian and Delwyn might be moving out of the house sooner than he thought. He liked having them around, and he knew Finn enjoyed having his best friend so close.
Fabian shrugged. “I have a feeling you didn’t come through here to talk about houses, though. Is there something you wanted to speak to me about?”
“Actually, yes.” Jake pulled out a chair and straddled it. “What do you know about Medina’s powers of making people do things without their meaning to?”
“Why? She shouldn’t have that sort of power over you. As one of her direct descendants, you should be immune to that sort of meddling.”
“I don’t mean her power, exactly, but the ones I have from her. I thought I had it under control, but today, Finn and Kyle have gone nuts. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”
Fabian laughed. “From what I’ve seen, that’s not unusual.”
“I know, but not like this. They would have been fucking in the back of the car if I’d let them.”
“Well, your powers will be growing as each new immortal wakes. But unless the whole lot have suddenly started walking among us again, it’s unlikely this would come on so suddenly. Has anything else happened?”
Delwyn strolled into the room, his hair wet. It was apparent he had been stretching his fins in the pool. “Did you know Kyle and Finn are having sex in the hallway?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jake said. “You see what I mean, Fabian? It’s like they can’t even wait to get to the bedroom.”
“But you’ve not told them to have sex,” Fabian pointed out. “You’ve been in here with me.”
“I know, but this is what they were like all the way home from the party. Could it have something to do with my becoming one of Medina’s priests?”
Fabian gaped at him, but before he could answer, Delwyn crawled onto his lap and began to kiss him.
“Delwyn, darling.” Fabian tried to ease Delwyn onto the seat beside him, but he had no intention of moving.
“I swear, I never said a thing,” Jake said. “But this is exactly what Kyle and Finn have been like since we left the party.”
Fabian gave up trying to get Delwyn off his lap, but at least managed to free his mouth to reply. “You said you’d become one of Medina’s priests?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do a stupid thing like that for?” Fabian asked.
“She needed an increase in powers to wipe the memories of the others at the party because Finn and Kyle ended up in the bloody water, along with another guest, who saw what they were.”
“Oh dear,” Fabian said. “That’s not good at all.”
“No, but she seemed to fix it all after I agreed to be one of her priests.”
“She could probably have fixed the mess without you taking vows to serve her,” Fabian said. “It would have been draining but not impossible.”
“Then she played me?”
“I hate to say it about the only one of my relatives that is actually talking to me these days, but Medina can be quite crafty when she wants to be.”
“I guess it’s too late now. Is all this odd behavior because of me becoming a priest?”
“Oh yes, that’s certainly what’s happening here. It’s not the power to make people do something. It’s like some kind of perfume you’re giving off that makes everyone around you uninhibited and eager for sex.”
“Why isn’t it affecting you?”
“Because I’m her nephew,” Fabian replied. “I’ve always been immune to this sort of spell, though I can’t say the same for Delwyn, who, as you can see, is very much under the influence while he’s in your presence.”
“Finn and Kyle aren’t in here at the moment.”
“No, but they’ve been in a confined space with you for the drive home, which means it’ll be a while before it wears off for them.”
“So, what you’re saying is, whenever any man is in my presence, they’re going to want to have sex?”
“Not just men… Women, too,” Fabian said. “Your power will trigger the same reaction in any mortal you meet, though on the plus side, it should only be those who are already in a relationship, not strangers.”
“Fuck.”
Fabian stood, holding Delwyn in his arms. “The ability to bring love to those around you is one of the strongest gifts bestowed on Medina’s priests. You should be able to control it, but it’ll take time to learn how.”
Jake sighed and followed Fabian and Delwyn into the hallway.
Finn and Kyle were naked on the cold wooden floor, writhing and moaning as they rubbed against each other.
“They didn’t even make it to the damn bedroom,” Jake said.
The moment the words left his mouth, Finn and Kyle vanished from the hallway.
“What the hell?”
Fabian chuckled. “Try the bedroom. After all, that’s where you want them to be, right?”
“You mean I sent them to the bedroom just by saying it?”
“Yes.”
Jake sighed. “I wish I had known I could do that back on the drive home. It would have saved me a lot of bother. Are there any more powers I need to know about?”
Fabian shrugged. “Medina’s priests had many powers, but not all of them had the same ones. These might be the only ones you’ll get, or there may be more to come. It’s hard to say. I guess you’ll find out over the next few days.”
“Are there any more I need to worry about?”
“The permanent erection always sounded kind of painful to me,” Fabian admitted, “though many of her priests found it most enjoyable.”
Jake didn’t think that sounded good at all. He silently cursed Medina for not warning him of the new powers he would get by accepting her offer.
Leaving Fabian to handle the increasingly amorous Delwyn, Jake ran up the stairs to the main bedchamber. He found Finn and Kyle on the bed. Apparently they hadn’t even noticed their new location. Somehow, that worried Jake even more than the rest. Their lack of awareness frightened him. What if he accidentally transported them from one place to another in the middle of a fight for their lives?
“Kyle? Finn?” Jake asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Can I get your attention please?”
They ignored him, being far too engrossed in each other.
“Oh well, if you can’t beat them, join them,” Jake said as he undid his shirt.
A couple of minutes later, Jake inserted himself between his two lovers. They accepted him there and turned their attention from each other to Jake, kissing along his chest.
They each took one of his nipples in their mouth and sucked. Jake, who had been half erect since before they’d left for the party, hardened instantly.
Maybe once they’d exhausted themselves, Jake could try engaging them in a sensible discussion.
He closed his eyes and let his two lovers pleasure him with their hands and mouths. Their latest set of problems could wait a little longer. At least, he hoped they could.
* * * *
Afterward, while Kyle and Finn slept, Jake closed his eyes and tried to think about how he might get a handle on these new powers. It might help if he’d ever considered himself to have got the first lot completely under control.
He intended to give Medina a piece of his mind the next time he saw her and he hoped there wouldn’t be any more unpleasant surprises.
“Medina, please help me.”
Jake recognized the voice of Marin, clear in his head, as though he were s
peaking to him telepathically under the water.
“Please make the pain stop. I don’t want to love him anymore. Please, Medina, make it end.”
Jake slipped out of bed, somehow knowing Marin spoke to Medina from the temple in the house. Leaving his lovers wrapped in each other’s arms, Jake made his way to the temple.
When he entered, he found Marin right where he expected him to be, sitting at the foot of Medina’s statue, tears streaming down his face.
Medina was there, too, much to Jake’s surprise. He hovered in the doorway, debating whether to enter the room.
“Hush,” Medina said. “Don’t cry, darling. You’ll find love again. I promise.”
“I don’t want to find love,” Marin cried. “I want the pain to stop. Please make it stop. Please.”
“The only way to stop the pain is to remove your ability to love,” Medina said. “To be cursed in such a way is a terrible thing, and I rarely inflict that punishment on even my worst enemies. I could never curse an innocent to a life without love.”
Marin sobbed, and Medina slipped down to sit on the steps beside him. She gathered him into her arms and rocked him tenderly.
“I’m sorry I cannot bring him back to you,” the goddess said. “But know this… As long as Caspian lives, there is justice in this world, and as long as there is justice, you will see Calder’s murderer pay for what he has done.”
“I don’t want justice. I want revenge,” Marin said. “I want Urion dead.”
“I know, darling. I know.”
Marin buried his face in Medina’s lap as she stroked his hair.
Medina glanced over at Jake. Even from across the room, Jake could see the pain in her eyes. All thoughts of shouting at her for what she had done to him disappeared as he saw her compassion for Marin.
Leaving the two of them alone, Jake returned to his lovers, grateful to have them in his life and willing to pay any price to keep them there.
Chapter Ten
Medina appeared as Jake was devouring his breakfast. He felt a bout of indigestion coming on at the goddess’s arrival.
“You wished to speak to me?” Medina asked as she took a seat.
“You didn’t warn me about the new powers I would get when I accepted your offer,” Jake accused.
“That’s because you might not have gotten any,” Medina replied. “It’s all rather random, I’m afraid.”
“How can I stop everyone in my presence from throwing themselves at each other?” Jake asked.
“You can’t do anything about that until you’ve made the offering I told you about.”
“You said I need to prove that I know what love is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I love Finn and Kyle, so I think that should show that I know the meaning of love.”
Medina waved away his words. “Simply declaring that you love someone isn’t enough. You have to prove it.”
Jake sighed. “I presume you have something particular in mind when you say this, so how about you tell me what it is I have to do?”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t…or won’t?”
“Can’t,” Medina confirmed. “Only you can do what is needed to prove you know the meaning of love, and it is always very personal to the individual. No two priests have ever proved their love in the same way.”
Jake recalled being told about how Justin and Lucas had exchanged vows in Medina’s temple in Atlantis. Could that work for me? “What if I marry Kyle and Finn in your temple?”
Medina smiled. “That would be a lovely gesture, and a marvelous boost to my powers but not enough to prove you know the meaning of love.”
“Oh.”
Medina patted Jake’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon.”
“I miss you, Calder. I miss you so much.”
Marin’s heartbroken voice echoed through Jake’s mind.
“I hope so,” Jake said. “Because right now I feel trapped in this house, and even that isn’t enough. I’m starting to hear the thoughts of the neighbors, too.”
“You can’t hide from love,” Medina said. “And even when you have a handle on your new powers, you won’t be able to switch them off entirely. You’ll still be able to hear those who are praying specifically to me.”
“As long as I don’t have to listen to strangers thinking about sex—or even worse, my in-laws—I’ll be happy.”
“Once you have control of your powers, that’ll only happen on my special day.”
Jake nodded. “A day I intend to stay in the house for, or better yet, in bed.”
“Good choice.” Medina chuckled. “Now, there is one more thing you need to know about your offering to me.”
“Uh-oh.” A feeling of dread settled over Jake at Medina’s words. He was too much of a pessimist to consider this ‘one more thing’ to be anything other than bad news.
“You would be well advised not to fail this initiation,” Medina said.
“Why? What would happen if I failed?” Jake shivered with increased dread.
“If you fail to prove you know the meaning of love, you will lose the ability to love, forever.”
Jake gaped at her. “You never mentioned that when I agreed to become one of your priests.”
“With your lovers exposed as mermen, would knowing this have made a difference to your decision?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Then what’s done is done.”
Jake glanced up as Fabian strolled into the room. He spun on his heel, apparently wanting to make a sharp exit out again, but Medina saw him first.
“Don’t rush off, Fabian. I need to talk to you, too.”
Jake caught the quick grimace on Fabian’s face, but Medina’s nephew took a seat at the table.
“I don’t want to interrupt,” Fabian said. “I only wanted to get a drink.”
Medina smiled, and with a wave of her hand, three glasses appeared on the table. Jake didn’t recognize the contents, but the aroma tempted him to take a sip. The drink was like nothing he had ever tasted before, delicious and sweet, with a strange fruity flavor he didn’t recognize.
“The nectar of the gods,” Medina said as Jake finished off his glass. “Now, back to the purpose of my visit.”
“You mean there’s more bad news about my becoming one of your priests?” Jake couldn’t imagine what might be worse than losing the ability to love.
“Oh no.” Medina shook her head. “That isn’t the main reason for my visit today. I’m here to invite you to attend me at the meeting of the council of the gods today.”
Fabian groaned. “You don’t think I’ve suffered through enough of those already?”
Jake raised a brow at him.
Fabian sighed. “It has always been tradition for each god and goddess to have one or two of their priests attend upon them during their meetings. As a former priest and Oracle of Cari, I’ve attended upon her many times, more than any other priest, in fact, due to my unusually long life.”
Medina smiled. “I would have thought you’d be eager to see what is happening now that almost the entire pantheon has woken.”
“More have woken?” Fabian asked.
“Yes. Darya, Goddess of the Sea, rose this morning. I’m surprised the quake of her rising wasn’t felt here. Atlantis is lucky to remain standing.”
“Was anyone hurt during the quake?” asked Jake, concerned for Kyle’s family.
“Nothing except a few minor scrapes from falling walls and the like,” Medina confirmed. “Thankfully, the previous quakes had encouraged the mer to strengthen the structures of the city as best they could and to move their people out of those buildings that were already precariously close to collapse.”
Jake breathed a sigh of relief.
“Why do you want us at this meeting?” Fabian asked. “Is it simply that you want to show your power, or is there another reason?”
Medina blushed. “Having attendants at the meeting will certainly show those
who have newly joined us that I am not without supporters. I also thought you might like to know what is happening, since both of you have lovers with strong ties to the city.”
“I’m not one of your priests,” Fabian pointed out. “And before you ask, I have no intention of becoming one, either.”
“You don’t need to,” Medina replied. “You can attend me as my nephew.”
“I expect my mother might have something to say about that.”
“No doubt she will.” Medina smiled. “She will be in attendance with two of her own priests.”
“Of course she will,” Fabian muttered. “And you don’t want to be outdone by your sister, do you?”
Medina scowled at her nephew. “You know as well as I do that Mariana is far more powerful than I am. She always has been and she always will be. She could kill me for talking with you, but you’re family, and I won’t let anyone stop me from loving my own nephew.”
Fabian stood and walked around the table to Medina. He wrapped his arms around his aunt. “I’m sorry, Aunt Medi. I feel as if I’ve been a pawn of the gods my whole life and I was hoping my new life on land would be the end of that.”
“You don’t have to come, not if you don’t want to,” Medina said. “I did think you’d want to.”
Fabian stepped back and knelt on one knee. “I would be honored to attend you.”
“And what of you, Jake?” Medina asked.
“Um, do I need to kneel down, too?”
Medina chuckled. “No, a yes or no will suffice. Fabian is simply accustomed to being more formal.”
“What does attending you involve?” Jake asked. He wanted to know exactly what he was letting himself in for this time, before he agreed.
Fabian retook his seat. “Mainly standing around like a statue watching the gods argue and exchange insults and making sure our goddess’ glass remains full and that her drink and plate are not tampered with by another immortal.”
“You mean watch out for a potential assassination attempt?”
“Such a thing is extremely unlikely,” Fabian said. “But some of the more mischievous and meddling gods have been known to slip other things into an unwatched drink.”
