Transit of Ishtar

by Natalie Gibson

  She tried to put her hands in his hair, to clench him tighter against her, but he was holding them fast, shackling them beside her hips. She was keeping her hips up without his help, unable to relax. She wanted to see his head between her legs and tried to sit up, but she found that part of her body trapped too. Eiran's wings, serving as a third set of limbs, both held her shoulders down while teasing her tits with their tips.

  Her mouth went dry. Nathalia was completely fettered by Eiran. The control he was exercising over her made a rush of liquid heat meet his tongue. He growled when she started to come and the vibration of that rumble only helped her to climax faster. Her legs began to tremble up and down like a sewing machine needle. She couldn't even hang on as he drove her further and further toward the edge. Over the cliff, she was free falling. There was a forceful wind out of nowhere, robbing her of all other sensations and then there was lightning. It struck on either side of her clitoris. The sharp white hot pain arched and sizzled, mixing with the pleasure of her orgasm.

  Nathalia struggled to take in air as Eiran continued to suck at her aching opening. It came to her in gasps as her body was rocked by aftershocks. She was barely aware that he was now on top of her, head nestled in her neck, his thighs pressing between hers. She felt him, hot and hard, pressing into her. He surged forward, a long hard stroke, burying himself deep inside her. Her clenching and unclenching muscles did most of the work. He barely did any pumping at all before pouring into her, allowing her to absorb his life essence.

  She wrapped her now free arms around his neck. That was amazing, Eiran. If we keep on like this, I'm not sure I can make it for centuries with you. I'm not sure how much higher I can go, or how much harder I can come. She turned her face toward his and was rewarded with a deep kiss that stole her thoughts and relieved her doubts. She wanted nothing more than to be with him for an eternity and she wouldn't accept any less.

  In one quick movement, Eiran was up and then gone. Nathalia looked around, confused, her mind still jumbled from the intensity of their experience. She had an odd taste in her mouth and reached up to touch it. When she looked, there was blood on her fingers. Her blood. The piercing pain had been Eiran's bite. He drank her blood. He broke the law and then ran.

  Eiran, what did you do?

  What the beast demanded. What I wanted. His voice was as clear in her head as if he had been standing next to her, though she had no idea how far he had gone. He sounded slightly intoxicated, dreamy. I will gladly meet my end now. I have been to the promise land and tasted it's milk and honey.

  Get back here immediately. I command you.

  I am sorry my love. I kept something from you. The power you have over me only works when we are in each other's presence. You can always speak to me. I will always hear and answer you. I will only return to you when you tell me it is time to die.

  This is ridiculous. I already told you that I'm not going to kill you.

  Ah, yes...choice. I know you are the end of me. I will go to my death with the whole beast, the whole hunger. You will never again feel the call to kill and destroy. I love you Nathalia and this is my gift to you.

  Chapter 12

  Minali was a lovely person, but Nathalia could barely hear what the girl was saying. Her heartache was so severe it was audible. Her forced separation from Eiran was more than she could bear. They hadn't been apart for any real length of time since her conversion and none at all since his birthmark became a part of her. This was too much to endure. For either of them. She could feel his anguish beating at him though he thought it was the blood corrupting him, changing him into Akhkharu, that caused the pain. Nathalia had tried to get Eiran to come back to her but he always knew when she was lying. He wouldn't come back until she was prepared to kill him.

  Minali was talking about her parents. Her father was native Ethiopian but her mother was American and white. The former had died in a religious skirmish years ago and the latter, not able to cope with life separated from her matched mate, had passed into the higher plane of existence and was now a holy capacitor. Nathalia asked Minali some follow up question to keep her talking while she studied her new ward's face. A true beauty with flawlessly smooth mocha skin and long curly brown sun lightened hair, her fine delicate facial bone structure was complimented by a striking set of large liquid black eyes and full lips. When she smiled the gap between her front two teeth was pleasant and for some reason reminded Nathalia of Libby's son.

  Their flight had just touched down at the Bergstrom International Airport in Austin. The two women had been the only passengers on the private cargo jet though the plane was packed. It was mostly filled by giant cargo containers carrying the whole group of capacitors. The exposure to modern technology damaged them, but there was no way around it. They had to be plugged in to a working group or perish. No matter, Camilla's special healing ability would be able to fix them right up and keep them alive for longer than should be humanly possible. They were coming to join the Austin ranks of holy women since there was none left of the Gish Abay Daughters to pull from them. Minali was the only surviving sister and she had been trying to get permission for a transfer to Texas for some time anyway. She had told Maeve over the phone and Nathalia in person that she just felt like it was where she belonged. The move had been an easy decision but a difficult one to orchestrate. Getting that much cargo out of Africa and into the USA without either country insisting on an inspection had been costly in both time and money.

  Libby, her husband and their son would be there to meet them and get the containers safely back to the compound. Primo level sisters would have to be in charge of getting the fully charged capacitors locked into the power structure, but the men could handle getting the solidified stone-like older ones set up in the sanctuary. They would just think that Nathalia had acquired a few new statues.

  As soon as the door opened, Nathalia breathed deeply of that familiar humid southern air. Nathalia's sorrow was instantly lessened by her familiar locale, but Minali was anxious. Her exposure to strangers recently had not led to pleasant experiences. Both women unhooked their safety belts at the same time, but while Nathalia moved for the door, Minali moved toward on of the containers. Nathalia stood in the small energizing shaft of Ud's light and motioned for the other woman to follow her. The Daughters are very powerful here. We own whole companies and have many politicians and law enforcement officers at our disposal. There's no reason to be afraid. Everyone you meet from now on will be a friend.

  “It's not that. I feel deep down that there is only good to come from my move.” Minali patted the top of the container closest to her. “My mother is in this one. Her ability is the same as mine and was not dampened by becoming a capacitor.”

  I never even asked, what is your skill? Nathalia caught movement out of the corner of her eye and motioned that the ground crew should stay where they were. She could feel that Minali's answer was important.

  “I come from a line of Sirens. We can attract people. My mother's ability is very specific and only works on individuals that she knows. If she wants you near her, that compulsion is impossible to resist.” She shrugged and smiled, showing the gap in her teeth. “I guess she's not as confident about the move as I am.”

  And your ability? Can you call individuals?

  “Yes, just not as strongly as her. My unique ability is that I can attract large groups of people and I don't have to know them first. Our leader used me to grow the ranks and acquire many new women with abilities from this area, women who are now dead.” Minali broke down, placing her head on her mothers casket-like box.

  Nathalia sent a feeling of innocence to the girl, stripping away her guild but leaving her grief. After all, grief was a necessary emotion on the path to acceptance. What happened to them isn't your fault. My parents were murdered when I was 18 by my boyfriend, Michael. He loved to hurt me so after graduation, I left for college without telling him. They wouldn't tell him where I had gone and he killed them. I suffered that guilt for y
ears but now I understand that it wasn't me. Even if I had told him where I was going, he would have killed my parents. He needed their blood for a binding spell over me. Michael was sick, but he was still responsible for his actions. You only called the women to offer them a better life. You couldn't have known that such a monster existed.

  “You're wrong. I think I might have attracted him. Accidentally. A few months ago I found a man in my room. I didn't recognize him and I should have screamed for help, but he said not to be afraid and he was so incredibly attractive that I wasn't. We talked for hours. He wanted to know all about my family and my ability but mostly my sex life. I told him everything, things I'd never told anyone. I even talked about the capacitors. I couldn't help myself.”

  Minali paused to assess Nathalia's reaction to that last bit and Nathalia assured her, It's ok. Go on. Minali perched on the side of her mother's container and Nathalia came away from the door toward her. She was fully engrossed now. The man was obviously a Nephilim or Akhkharu and as the law enforcer, Nathalia had to hear what he had done.

  “He asked if he could touch me and I let him. We sat on the edge of my bed beside each other. He put one hand on the back of my neck and the other on my leg and as soon as he made contact with my skin something clicked. I knew him. I remembered his name. I had seen him lots as a child and even as an early teen. I had seen him with my mother a few times too. The thing is he looked the same in all the memories, like he hadn't aged a day, you know? It was weird that the younger I was the more vivid the memory. I could remember details about flowers along a walk I took with him when I couldn't have been more than 2 years old but I knew I had kissed him when I was 15 or so but couldn't remember any particulars.”

  Minali looked embarrassed for a second but Nathalia pushed that emotion away, urging her to continue. Still Minali looked down at her hands while she started her story back up. “I wanted him. I mean really wanted him. And I could tell he needed something from me too. It was like he was hungry. His eye lit up like flames where his pupil had been when I asked him to kiss me. He did and it was crazy good. It felt a little like licking a battery but it was so exciting. I'm not usually aggressive at all when it comes to guys but something came over me. I whispered that I wasn't wearing anything under my nightgown and guided the hand that was on my thigh up, to let him feel. I let him finger me. No, I made him do it. I'm not sure he really wanted to, but he had such a weird look on his face. He had hold of the back of my neck and kept me looking at his face the whole time. It was so freaking sexy and when I came, he literally growled at me. He let me lay back on the bed and took his fingers out of me and then tasted them. I wanted him to have sex with me but he wouldn't. It was fine though, I didn't feel rejected or anything because he went down on me for like an hour. After that he just laid on the bed next to me. He wouldn't touch me anymore but he stayed when I ask him to. He seemed sad but wouldn't talk about it. I begged him to let me keep my memory of it, that it was the most amazing sexual experience I'd ever had and, in the morning when I woke up, he was gone. I could remember what happened, even though his face was a little hazy and his name was erased completely. Like a month later I got the craving to move to Austin and started to feel like there was something wrong about what we had done together that night, something gross like having sex with your brother. I'd been trying to call him to me for a while when the attack happened. I wanted to know if I had made him do it and if he was feeling guilty too. I didn't want him to feel that way since I was the one who pressured him, but he wouldn't come back. I've never had anyone be able to refuse my compulsion. I was trying a new kind of calling to any magical creature like him, thinking I could snare him in a group call. My mother and the other capacitors were helping me when the fighting started that night.”

  Nathalia held nothing back, That man wasn't really a man. He's a Guardian, a very powerful, very blood thirsty, half god, half human of no less than 8,000 years old. I'm one too. Converted, not born this way, I am the youngest and only female. Each Nephilim, as they are otherwise called, has spent his entire lengthy life searching for the one woman he can convert, the one woman who can quench his thirst, share his burden and his life. My mate found me several months ago and it signified the beginning of the time when each one will find his mate. I suspect that he's of your family line. He was sad because you weren't the one he's been waiting for and he'll be alone until he finds her. You did the right thing, being with him, if it was what you wanted. You helped ease his loneliness and hunger. As far as the guilty 'brother sex' feelings: technically he is related to you but it's more distant than you can even comprehend so I don't think that matters. I'll find him for you and make sure he's okay. Feel free to cherish the memory of your time together and let me assure you that your spell had nothing to do with attracting the violence to your home. That monster was looking for something that you women had that belonged to me. It was being kept in your sanctuary. You've probably seen it; it's a small dagger made of bone.

  “The one with the woman carved in the handle? That was yours?”

  Nathalia nodded, I carved it myself. I had a master artisan teach me to inlay copper in the grooves I made.

  “It was beautiful. I must have stared at that woman with her golden coppery curls an hour a day since I was 5. That's when the Daughters got it. They thought, I mean, they told us it was from the neolithic age.”

  It is.

  “But you just said you were just converted not too long ago.”

  Yes, that's right, but I've actually lived two lives. Technically she had lived two human lives and then started her third when Eiran had converted her, but she didn't get into technicalities with Minali. She had just dumped a lot on this woman, more than she'd told anyone before. A woman experienced in the extra-natural world like Minali was taking it all in stride as Nathalia would expect any Daughter of the Sisterhood to. I am going to have a meeting with all the girls of Nephilim family lines who live on the compound and you'll be included. According to ancient prophesy, all mates will come from 'the heart of independent land' and 'from wince the first comes, so shall the others'.

  Nathalia had a lot to think about and she needed to find this particular Nephilim. Minali had been on her way to Texas. Maybe the prophetess hadn't mean that all the mates would be from there, but would be found there. We have a lot to talk about, but right now, let's focus on getting your mother and the others comfortable and safe. Stay with her if that's what she wants. I'll go greet the ground crew and get this process started. Welcome home, Minali. And don't worry. We will get all this worked out.

  With that, Nathalia stepped out of the vessel and down the ramp to where Libby and her family and a couple more waited as she had instructed. Libby hadn't seen Nathalia but she'd heard that the former Abbess was alive but changed. She'd warned Leonard and Billy but nothing could prepare them for the actuality.

  Nathalia had become accustomed to Billy's unwelcome advances. As he bound up the steps to meet her, Nathalia knew she had judged him too harshly. She had been blind to the fact that men could be beautiful and good and selfless. Billy was certainly all those things.

  It's good to see you Brother Billy. I wasn't always fair to you and for that I'm sorry, but I promise those prejudices won't come up again. There's stuff out there a thousand times worse than men.

  He stopped on the way up, shocked to hear her voice inside his head. Though he knew she was a Vinco, capable of putting her thoughts in another's head or overwriting their own will with her own, he had never experienced it. She had always reserved that method of communication for her most beloved female inner circle. A pang of pain passed through his heart at her words though. She had done what he always hoped and changed her view on males. Just in time for his voluntary monogamous relationship with his match, whenever he might find her. He explained, “Maeve worked her magic on me. My someone is out there somewhere. I had always hoped it was you, but when you died I had Maeve do it. Now, you're back, more beautiful than ever and
you have a new outlook on men, and here I am bound to a woman I've never met. I don't know who she could be that she could compete with you, Nathalia.”

  That's why you look like you're thrilled to see me and a little devastated too. It isn't a competition, Billy and if it were, I would certainly lose. This woman, whoever she turns out to be, will be your perfect match, pleasing to you in every way. I would be certain to disappoint. I'm very happy for you. Nathalia opened her arms and Billy jogged up the remaining steps to hug her.

  She had never allowed him to touch her, much less offered it. When he hugged her he knew she was right. Nathalia had never been the one for him. Maybe it was her magic but he suddenly didn't want to be touching her anymore. He heard an animal growl in his head and tried to back away from her. Nathalia's arms closed like a vice, trapping him. His self preservation reflex kicked in and he went very still, almost limp as she sniffed his shoulder, neck and hair.

  Her voice was like a tickle in his brain, but the growl clawed at his thoughts. It was getting louder and more threatening. The deep furrows it created hurt and made Billy want to start running and never stop. Who have you been with today? she whispered mentally.

  “N-no-one. I swear. I haven't been able to get an erection since Maeve worked her spell.”

  Not like that. You met a stranger today. He may have looked like a man, but was a very evil creature. Did he take your blood? Ask you to do something?

  The pain in Nathalia's side was sudden and intense where the Akhkharu influenced Billy stuck the knife in hilt deep. Nathalia didn't release him, didn't worry about the stab, but twisted her body so that the knife, still protruding, was as far from him as possible. She prayed to the ancient ancestress that it was her knife, that Eitan had given it to Billy in hopes that he could take her unaware, even though she knew it couldn't be. Eitan would never give up the dagger.