Erecting Barriers

by L. J. Vickery

  “Bel, this is Stave. Stave, the goddess Beletseri.” Sal still didn’t pay much attention to Bel, and she wondered why. He smiled like an idiot in Stave’s direction.

  “Are you two having a reunion or something?” She hadn’t seen the big man here on any of her other trips.

  “Stave and I…uh, died together a couple months ago, and then we lost touch. He’s been wandering around this dump looking for me.” Sal clapped Stave on the back. “He just told me I’m forgiven for being the one to put a bullet in his back. He acted as my right hand man up above for over thirty years, and we were talking about working together again.”

  Bel liked that. The more sentient muscle behind her Underworld plans, the better. Demons were good for strong-arming, but they never had much going for brainpower. If Sal vouched for the new man, it worked for her.

  “Welcome to our little plan to revamp and take over the Underworld,” Bel simpered, gracing him with her hand. Stave took it, and enveloped it in one large mitt.

  “The pleasure is all mine, I assure you,” he said, the light of some kind of challenge in his eyes. Bel preened under the attention. Dammit that she was bound so permanently to Matthew. She sure could have had some fun with this one. She turned to Sal.

  “Can we talk freely in front of him, then?” she asked.

  “Anything meant for my ears is safe with Stave,” Sal assured her.

  “Good. Because I have the best news. Your jail,” she waved a hand off in the direction of the cavern that held an osmium enclosure, “will soon have a visitor,” she gloated, “and we need to make some very fast preparations.”

  ****

  “I don’t know why Bel and Matthew have called off their minions, but if we’re careful, we can take advantage of it.” Kulla remained pleased. Matthew hovered off in the distance, and two Lauernley watched him carefully for any signs of treachery. So far, so good.

  With only Dorian popping out to bring back the offerings needed for the ziggurat’s dedication―it was deemed too dangerous for the other, underpowered witches, and Bee-Dee the Chosen―it could have put off the ceremony for who knows how long. Now they could employ every available hand to procure and acquire the things on his list, having it all done by tonight. The quicker the better as far as he was concerned. His every move brought his little witch closer to destiny.

  As gods and blue-men, witches and humans showed up in what the immortals called “command central”, Shamash, the computer and surveillance expert kept an eye on the perimeter and allowed everyone safe egress. Kulla handed out assignments.

  “Who wants to do flowers?” he asked, and got a quick hand raise from Emesh. Kulla agreed. He knew the arrangements picked by the sun god would be fabulous.

  He continued down his list: a libate of fine beer, a censor of juniper, cedar resin, cypress oil, honey, milk, wine, pressed sesame, gold, silver, and aromatics to be spread on pools of water. Everyone willingly took on the task of locating an item, and Lahar, the resident god of cattle who could turn into a ram, once again offered to spill some of his blood on the steps, in lieu of an animal sacrifice.

  All systems were go. The only thing worrying him? Obedience’s plea earlier that morning that he find time today for a “talk”. Her face had not given away the reason for the request, but she hadn’t looked like her normally composed self, so Kulla knew it couldn’t be good. With trepidation he finished up with his portion of preparations and went to look for his witch.

  He found her on the opposite side of the compound, in the woods throwing a stick for Archie the dog. The black and white Border collie, originally from the Abelard farm up in Maine, had adopted the god Dumuzi and had been downcast at the amount of time his new master had been working construction. Obedience had taken pity.

  Kulla didn’t try to hide his crunching footsteps as he trod toward her on the downed leaves from last year that hadn’t been swallowed up by the new spring growth. His heart leaped as she turned to him with a smile. She would always have that affect on him.

  “I am at your disposal, m’lady,” he lapsed into formal speech, comfortable using it with his mate. Sometimes it felt more natural. He laughed when his witch affected a curtsy in her short-shorts and T-shirt. Wouldn’t Salem have been scandalized by that get-up?

  Bee-Dee’s playful mood seemed to evaporate almost as quickly as it came. She threw the stick for Archie again, who chased it into the woods with a tongue-lolling bound. She indicated a couple of rocks where they could sit. Kulla perched alongside her, but didn’t relax.

  “I should have told you this sooner,” she started, and Kulla’s stomach sank. The words were ominous.

  “But I’ve been selfish; enjoying your company and the companionship of everyone here.”

  Kulla didn’t know what to think. It sounded like Obedience was saying goodbye. She couldn’t for a moment believe he’d allow that.

  “I can’t mate with you.” She dropped the bomb straight out, looking him directly in the eye, and only shifted when Archie dropped the wet stick in her lap for another throw. She picked it up and obliged, this time using a little witchiness to send it farther afield.

  Kulla scoffed. Fuck that. “You can and you will,” he declared imperiously. “You are my Chosen, and therefore you have no choice.”

  She looked pained. “I would if I could, Kulla. You should know that by now.” She reached for his hand, but he yanked it away, ticked off that she dared attempt to get out of their impending bond.

  “What is it Bee-Dee? Are you still angry with me for leaving you so many years ago? I’ve explained that I had no choice…”

  “No. It has nothing to do with that.” She tried to calm him. “I know no fault lay at your feet, and even though that kept me from running to you when I first saw you again, it no longer has any bearing on why I can’t mate with you.”

  A nasty thought popped into his head. “What would you have done if I’d fucked you, Obedience?” Had she thought to use him? “Would you still be thinking of leaving me? Would you have taken off sooner?” He used the crass language in defiance. He wanted to shock her, but it didn’t work.

  “I would have taken everything you could give with a full heart, and begged for more.” Her words were so sincere they shocked him. This time when she attempted to touch him, he let her rest her small hand on the middle of his chest. Let her feel the confused beat of his heart, filled with chaotic bitterness.

  “So I’m good enough to bed you, but not good enough for eternity.” He said the words hurtfully.

  She slapped him then. Hard across the face, and his head rocked back. “Don’t you ever think that.” Her words came out in a hiss. “I love you with every fiber of my being, Kulla. There’s never been anyone in my heart but you since the first time I laid eyes on you. So don’t think to put words in my mouth.”

  Kulla reeled from the blow, but also from what she’d said. She hadn’t told him she loved him since reuniting in this century. It made him hopeful. And it made him quake. If she loved him, what the hell was the problem? Why couldn’t Obedience mate with him?

  “I’m sorry Bee-Dee, but you’ve got me tied up in knots here. You love me”—he drew out the word slowly and reverently—”but you’re telling me you can’t be my Chosen.” He had to calm down and let her talk. “Tell me why.”

  She rested her head on his broad shoulder, snuggling close but refusing to meet his eyes. When Archie returned, she threw the stick again, obviously weighing her words.

  “Ten years ago,” she initiated, “I became friends with one of the women whom I employed to run the desk at the nudist colony.” He already knew that she’d owned the place for years, altering her looks to appear as an aging human, then showing up again in a younger guise, posing as her own niece or daughter to take over from a retiring older relative.

  “Her nationality was Mexican, and she studied in California on a student visa which allowed her to stay as long as she remained enrolled.” Kulla waited patiently for Bee-Dee to cont
inue.

  “She came in one day, very upset, and when I confronted her, she confided in me that her older brother, still in Mexico, had been threatened by a man for whom he refused to do work. Work of an illegal nature. And he needed to leave Mexico, fast.”

  Kulla groaned. He put a hand over his eyes and squeezed where a sick headache started to form. Her next words confirmed his fears.

  “I felt bad. She’d become a good friend and I trusted her.” Bee-Dee absently leaned down and patted the dog’s head where he’d flopped at her feet, exhausted for a few minutes from play. “And yes. You probably guessed it. I married him so he could get his green card and become a US citizen.”

  Kulla didn’t know the way those laws worked, but her arrangement had been made ten years earlier. Surely in that time the man would have become a legal citizen in his own right, and they could file for divorce. Before he could ask, Obedience filled him in.

  “By the time he became a legal permanent resident, he’d lived at the camp for a few years, working odd jobs around. We didn’t get along. He was course, gruff, unkempt, and surly. And increasingly lazy. Nothing like his sister, or so I thought.” She blew out a loud exhale. “When enough time had gone by, I approached him for a divorce. That’s when the pair’s true colors emerged. It turns out they weren’t even brother and sister, but a slick pair of con-artists.” She looked pleadingly at Kulla, begging him to understand. “They had watched me closely, and somehow, even though I’d always been so careful, found out that I’m a witch.” She shivered, remembering. “The threats they made were horrific.”

  Kulla tightened his hold on Obedience. He began to understand the depth of the problem. She’d lived through the threat of exposure once, and couldn’t face it again, even though in this day and age it would have meant something far different. If “outed” today, she’d expect a media frenzy, a complete lack of privacy, and most likely an eventual incarceration by covert government operatives who would test and experiment on her to either tap into her powers, or destroy her.

  “Why didn’t you go to Dorian for help?” Kulla asked gently.

  “Pride, I guess. I’d buried away for centuries, unwilling to be found. But you’re right. I knew that once I explained things to Dorian, he wouldn’t hold it against me, but what, really, could he do? You know as well as I do that a contract with any human is legally binding for an immortal. It’s against our laws to play around with them, or destroy them. Besides, at that point, he and the women had agreed to keep my secret and were content bleeding me for money. I figured in the long run, waiting until they were dead wouldn’t be such a horrible option. They’d only have another forty or fifty years, max, and I’d have eternity.” Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

  “But now we don’t have the luxury of that much time anymore,” Kulla added. “We only have six months.”

  She turned tear-drenched eyes up to him now. “And it will be my fault that you’re all sent to the Underworld, and all your Chosen will be left here, on their own, with babies…and…” She totally broke down in sobs while Kulla rocked her body back and forth

  Only one thought came to his mind, and instead of feeling bad about it, Kulla’s lips curled up in evil satisfaction.

  “I have to kill him,” Kulla stated.

  “You can’t.” Bee-Dee sniffed. “Don’t think I haven’t thought of it. If you do, you’ll end up in Hell for good. You know immortal laws state you can only kill humans in self-defense, or protecting another human or immortal from bodily harm. Neither apply in this instance, so it won’t help.”

  “What if we just pay them a huge sum of money to divorce you and disappear?” Funds were never a problem for the gods.

  “He won’t be happy. He’ll never be happy.” Obedience hiccuped. “He must be doing something illegal with the money I give him, because the amount I hand over every few months is considerable. Besides, I’ve since found out from Addie that divorce in the witch world isn’t easy, either. She says that both parties have to agree to the divorce, and that certain concessions have to be made to the governing board, and I don’t even know what that entails. Believe me when I say I’ve looked for a way out of my dilemma, and haven’t found any.”

  “We can compel him,” Kulla’s brain kicked in.

  “You can what?” Bee-Dee had been around gods for such a short while, she didn’t know all the skills they possessed.

  “Compel him,” Kulla exclaimed. “It’s what we do to humans to make them bend to our will, or forget things.” He got excited to have found a way out of this, and a fairly simple one at that.

  “Wait, Kulla.” Bee-Dee, too, looked hopeful. “Are you allowed to practice this on other immortals? Witches?”

  “Well, no, but that doesn’t apply. Your husband,” he almost spat the word, “is human. So there’s no problem.”

  “Yes. There is.” Obedience replied, losing her enthusiasm. Kulla only had to look at his witch’s face to know that a caveat unraveled his plans. “Even though he’s not a witch in practice, as soon as I married him, he became one in name. As my spouse, he is granted all the rights and protections that I’m afforded under the rules of our council.”

  Kulla’s heart dropped. No compelling; no making the asshole forget. No forgetting; no divorce. No divorce, no mating his Chosen. Kulla refused to lose hope, and bringing Obedience to her feet, he put his hands on her shoulders, squaring her up physically, and himself mentally.

  “Then it’s a good thing we’re intimately connected to a council member, now isn’t it?” He gave her a little shake meant to instill her with confidence. He kissed the top of her head, holding his lips to her crown while deliberately annunciating the rest as if to infuse it into her brain.

  “We need to find Dorian. Right now.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The powerful warlock held court on the lawn with a few of the first immortals to appear from the Overworld. Despite playing the genial host, he hadn’t missed the fact that both Kulla and Obedience were missing. He hoped that whatever had been up his cousin’s ass, would be purged by the time the ziggurat ceremony commenced. He didn’t want to have to think about extracting information from her while enjoying the proceedings. He looked forward to the spectacle. He hadn’t witnessed a good dedication in eons.

  The offerings were piled high, and the altar had been decorated with an abundance of flora. Emesh, in charge of the blossoms, acquired them at the closing of a huge, annual flower show in Boston. Most of the plants had been headed for the dumpsters, and he’d been able to pluck what he wanted. The center aisle, splitting the rows of chairs in two, had been lined dramatically with a combination of pink lilies, exotic blue passion flowers and enormous white gardenias. The heady smell of spring filled the evening air.

  The arrivals from the Overworld ran the gamut from Erra, the god of war, with his new bride Ishtar-Dinatu, to old Shulmanu, the father of Ish-Din, Ereshkigal, and surprisingly, Anna, who had recently mated with the DEA agent, Jake. The family conversed quite happily.

  Then there was Kabta, Kulla’s brother, who always hunted for an excuse to visit his sibling. Dorian grinned. The god of bricks would be getting an unexpected earful this trip around. Kulla played the strong, silent type around his friends, but something told the warlock that with his brother, he remained a lot more open. Kabta would extract the whole story of Obedience from the recalcitrant architect before the night waned.

  Shamash had set up enormous floodlights that lit the grounds as if it were day. The gods spent extra time weaving more barriers above the compound so that no light would seep out to be picked up by satellite, or airplanes headed into Logan. Humans would have no clue that a party was underway.

  Dorian wandered about, and became deep in conversation with Mamitu, the goddess of treaties and oaths, when Kulla and Obedience walked up. The warlock raised an eyebrow at his cousin, and got a solid nod in response.

  “She’s told me everything Dorian,” Kulla noticed the shared look, and
sighed.

  “Well that’s good, because she hasn’t told me a damned thing,” Dorian admitted back at him, then studied the couple. “I take it I’m about to find out.”

  “We need to talk…privately.” Bee-Dee gave an apologetic smile to Dorian’s companion, who inclined her head and smiled.

  “I understand, dear. There’s no need to include an old woman in affairs of the heart,” she offered, and turned to go.

  “Wait.” Kulla surprised the judge by putting a quick hand out to stop her. “You’re Mamitu, am I correct?” Kulla asked. “You’re a judge whose specialty is oaths.”

  “That is true, architect. It is nice that you remember me. We met at your last dedication.”

  Dorian supplied a little more background. “Mamitu serves on one of the immortal councils that interacts once per annum with the Witch Council. We’ve become good friends over the years. And I’m pleased to see her friendly face in the crowd.” He wondered at Kulla’s agenda.

  “I only ask because we have an immediate need for legal assistance,” the god said, getting right to the point. “Can we go inside while the rest of the guests assemble? It won’t take long to explain our problem.”

  Mamitu shrugged at Dorian and acquiesced. Her curiosity clearly rivaled his.

  The foursome made their way across the lawn and onto the terrace before disappearing into Marduk’s office. On the way there, Dorian noted the look that passed between Kulla and his brother Kabtu, lingering on the steps. They’d done a quick head-connection, and Dorian knew that the siblings would be speaking soon.

  Once inside, they settled into Marduk’s comfortable chairs and Obedience started telling her tale of woe. Dorian and the judge exchanged worried looks as the story unfolded. The problem Bee-Dee presented overlapped so many jurisdictions it presented tremendous complications. Knowing the irascible personalities on his own board, and combining those with the testy gods that ruled with Mamitu, they’d have a hell of a time unraveling things for the couple. When Bee-Dee finished, he gave his initial thoughts.