***
Gaia busied herself tending to her garden. This time, she was harvesting greens, clipping the bundles, and dropping them into a wicker basket. She stopped and looked at the spot that had worried her earlier. It seemed to be pulsing.
The ground began to tremble. The soil lifted upwards and cracked. Vapor wafted from the cracks.
The mound exploded, throwing vegetables and dirt into the air.
A huge black form lifted into the air. It coalesced into Sorath, his gray skin covered in debris. Dirt fell as he solidified. He dusted some black earth off his shoulders and looked at Gaia, his eyes narrowing.
Gaia tossed the basket to the ground. She pulled a vine stake from the ground, and shook the dirt off to reveal spear tipped with black iron. She stood her ground, glared, and tried to stare down the huge demon.
“Enough of your meddling, old woman,” Sorath growled.
Gaia crouched, and held the spear with both hands, watching to see what the demon would try first. Sorath raised up. He towered over the goddess.
He circled Gaia and kept a wary eye on the spear tip. Gaia kept it aimed at his throat. Sorath advanced slowly, making Gaia give way. She kept backing up, almost tripping over her tomatoes.
As he feinted to the right, Gaia stabbed at his chest. The spear point caught Sorath in the shoulder. The spear ripped upward, opening a huge gash in Sorath’s left shoulder, purple blood gushed forth, spraying Gaia’s face.
He reared back and howled. His eyes flashed in anger and pain. Gaia wiped at her face, and that was all it took for Sorath to strike.
He hit her with one massive paw, sending her sprawling and her spear flying, imbedding itself in the dirt, out of reach. She rolled and avoided his foot as he tried to stomp her. She reached for her spear and her hand snatched it from the dirt just as Sorath swiped with his uninjured arm. She ducked the massive paw and punched upwards at his chest. She landed a glancing blow, cutting below his ribs. It still stung.
His eyes stayed on the spear as Gaia edged to her right. All she hoped to accomplish was to make him scream, attracting Alecto or Tisiphone.
She locked eyes with the huge demon. She feinted at his face, then as he ducked, she caught him on the leg, raking the spear down his shin. He let out a howl and backed off.
As Gaia backed up to set herself for another lunge, she tripped over the trellises for her grape vines. As she hit, she lost her grip on the spear.
Sorath took the opportunity to lunge, his massive paw raked Gaia across the torso. Sorath stood over her and bent. He lifted her into the air, shook her like a ragdoll, then tossed her hard into the dirt.
Gaia yelled and tried to get up, but was smacked back to the ground and stepped on by an immense clawed foot. He ground her into the dirt.
Sorath roared, his arms raised upwards. He withdrew back into the steaming mound just as Tisiphone came charging into the garden.
Tisiphone slid to a halt, eyes frozen the fallen form of Gaia.
Alecto showed up quickly, her katana out and ready. She slowed and stared down at Gaia. Her body bloodied, masses of vegetation covering her face.
Tisiphone knelt and uncovered Gaia’s face. The old woman’s eye flickered.
“Let’s get her inside,” Tisiphone was holding back tears as she lifted the frail elder goddess.
“This isn’t right. This can’t happen,” Alecto muttered as she helped lift Gaia.
To be continued…
Bonus Material
Battle for Tartarus
Furies Book 2
Chapter One
Furies House
Tisiphone and Alecto faded into view in Gaia’s bedroom, both carrying the elder goddess. They laid her gently on the old bed and stood back.
“I need to get word to Zeus. This can’t be happening. How can she be hurt so badly?” Tisiphone wondered aloud.
“Oh my god!” Brianna said quietly.
Brianna had appeared in Gaia’s doorway, her eyes wide in fear. She joined Tisiphone in assessing Gaia’s wounds.
Alecto opened Gaia’s torn shirt and let out an audible gasp at the extent to the wounds. A deep gash along her left side from where Sorath’s claw had torn into the flesh.
“It’s not even trying to heal,” Alecto commented.
Gaia moved slightly, her eyelids fluttering. She let out a small grunt as Tisiphone helped Alecto remove the torn clothing. Brianna bundled the torn clothing up and held it to her chest as she watched, wide-eyed.
“We need bandages. Where do I find such things?” Tisiphone muttered.
“She needs a doctor,” Brianna offered. “We should take her to a hospital.”
“I’ll go make some bandages out of an old bedsheet. There’s some herbs in the garden, what’s left of it, that help promote healing. It’s not like we can take her to a human’s healing center,” Alecto pointed out.
“Wait, I know just the person,” Tisiphone said. “I’ll be back as fast as I can.” She winked out of sight.
Alecto opened Gaia’s armoire and looked in the bottom drawers. She lifted out a sand-colored bundle of sheets.
“No... not those,” Gaia managed. She was trying to sit up. “Please, those were a gift from Ra. Check my washroom.”
“Mother! Sit back down!” Alecto admonished Gaia. She put the sheets back and went into the small washroom. Gaia dropped back down on her pillow as Alecto rummaged around, and returned with a towel and basin of water. She gave a small cloth to Brianna, asking her to rip it into strips for bandages.
“Mother, what happened? How did he get to you?” Alecto asked while washing the wounds. The worst injury was to her side. Gaia’s face bruised and bloody but nothing serious.
“We’re all weakened while Megaera is mortal. I was afraid of this,” Gaia admitted. “I knew Sorath was in her killer, but I wanted to make sure before I said anything.”
“It’s all my fault. If I had just stayed home, studied like Uncle Dan said I should…” Brianna started. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I would have never of come here and asked Tisiphone to go after that guy,” Brianna said while ripping the cloth into long strips.
“Someone would have petitioned us before long, anyway,” Alecto pointed out. She took a long strip of material from Brianna and folded it into a soft pad, then took another and began bandaging up the tear in Gaia’s side. “This will help for a while. I don’t suppose you have any idea of what herbs will help in healing?” Alecto asked Brianna.
“No idea, but I can ‘Google’ it.”
“That won’t work,” Alecto said. “We’ll need some yarrow and goldenrod.”
“What do things look like?” Brianna asked.
“Oh dear,” Alecto sighed. She stood and said, “Go to the kitchen and sit a small pan of water on to boil. I’ll be down in a few minutes, and I’ll show you what to do.”
Brianna went to the door then looked back at Gaia. The goddess was sunken into her pillow and her skin had an odd yellow tint. Brianna turned and rushed down the stairs.
“That will focus her mind and keep her from worrying,” Alecto said, softly.
“So, what will you do to keep from worrying?” Gaia whispered.
“Plan how I shall dispatch Sorath,” Alecto said.
***
San Marin
Dan Lanahan sat in his living room, trying to convince his longtime partner, Derek Jones, that he wasn’t as crazy as it was sounding. Jones was standing in the living room, waiting, as Dan finished trying to describe the situation.
“Alright,” Jones started. “You guys had a fight, all because you tested the food she made you, right?”
“Yeah,” Dan replied. “Dylan said it was fine, the wine was quite unique and I told Megaera all about it. Man, then she got really angry, hit the ceiling, and stormed out. Now, she’s missing. She’s not at her house and nowhere in-between. I drove all over, looking.”
“About how long has she been missing?” Jones asked, in full detective mode.
“Seven hours. She ran out this morning, and I didn’t see where she went, by the time I was outside, she was gone. Not unusual for her, but this afternoon when I got in for lunch, her sister was here looking for her,” Dan told Jones, who was writing everything down.
“Have a photo of her? What type of car does she drive?”
“No photos. She doesn’t drive, not that I’ve seen, but she has a white horse,” Dan explained.
“A horse.” Jones nodded. “You check the riding center south of here?”
“I’ve looked everywhere I could think of before I called you.”
“And her description?” Jones asked, looking at his partner.
“About five eleven, blonde, pale skin, blue eyes,” Dan started. He paused, then added, “She was the woman I saw in the store stand-off a week ago. Wow, was it only a week ago?”
Dan was referring to the tense stand-off at a grocery store, the day his niece, Brianna, was kidnapped and murdered.
“Yeah, a shit load of things have happened this week. I’m still doing the paperwork,” Jones remarked. “Is this it? No photos? Her description is fairly generic, Dan.”
Jones paused for a moment, then added, “I have no idea how many tall blondes are between here and Los Angeles, can’t be more than a few hundred… thousand!”
“Yeah, Jonesy,” Dan admitted.
Dan rubbed his face, he’s was exhausted after the past week as well: His niece killed, a police officer also killed. The FBI profiler Kyle Banks turned out to be the killer, but was himself killed by Megaera’s sister, Tisiphone. He figured if he survived the next week, he’ll going to live a long, long life. And there was no way in hell he was going to tell Jones about Tisiphone.
“Besides, isn’t that the woman you swore you saw in the store, but no one else saw her?” Jones closed his notepad and sighed. “Dan, this isn’t a lot to go on, you know that. I’m not so sure she even exists.”
“I hear you,” Dan said. “I really do. If she’s a figment of my imagination, explain the wine, explain the exotic bird she brought over.”
“I can’t and I’m not going even try, man.” Jones took a seat next to his partner and friend. “Maybe you need someone to talk to. You know, we got that therapist coming over next few days, she’ll be available to anyone who needs it. Stress can cause all sorts of issues. Now, level with me. How much have you had to drink?”
Dan started to get angry, defensive. Then the rising anger just faded away. He looked at his friend, shook his head and admitted: “Just the wine she brought over. I haven’t touched the scotch in days.”
Jones looked around, at a loss for words. “Show me this wine you keep talking about.”
Dan got up and went into the kitchen. He still had the first bottle that Megaera had brought over, and he took it from the refrigerator. On his way back into the living room, he grabbed a small juice glass. He held both out to Jones.
“I can say this: It’s an unusual bottle,” Jones observed as he held the odd-shaped bottle.
“It’s terracotta. Called an ‘amphora’. Dylan said it’s a lot like the bottles used in ancient Greece,” Dan explained. “He tested the other bottle, it’s recent. Not ancient at all, except for the wine recipe.”
As Dan was talking, Jones had poured a small sample. He tasted it and frowned. Then swallowed. “This is unusual. Dylan did say it’s not spiked with anything?”
“It’s just wine.”
“Okay. If I start seeing winged fairies, then we’ll know, won’t we?”
Dan laughed, for the first time in hours. “Yeah, we will, won’t we?”
Dan took a seat in his recliner. Dude jumped into his lap and Dan rubbed the cat’s ears absentmindedly as he thought. He watched as Jones finished the small glass and plug the bottle with the cork. “I’m not a wine guy, mostly beer. But that was pretty good.”
“Meg said her mother made it.”
“I almost got into home brewing, but I figured a few beers a week is cheaper than all the equipment I’d need,” Jones said, trying to pass the time. Get Dan to relax a bit, he might recall more important info about this mystery woman.
Dan kept looking towards the hallway, remembering that creature he and Megaera had seen, and how Dude had acted that morning after Megaera had vanished.
“What?” Jones asked. “You see something?”
“Not now, no.” Dan stood, letting Dude have the recliner. “Have any of the results from the test on Banks come in yet? Anything linking him to Brianna and Kelsey?”
“Not by the time I left to come over here,” Jones said while standing.
Dan walked Jones to the door.
“You know how this all works,” Jones said, walking out onto the porch. “I’ll put it out on the air, send it to all agencies, but without a photo, can’t expect much, buddy.”
Dan nodded. “Yeah, but I’ll drive around again, just in case I spot her.”
“She may be in hiding, so pissed off at your stupid ass she doesn’t want to talk to you for a while.” Jones walked to his car and climbed in.
Dan watched as Jones backed out and drove off.
“I can only hope,” Dan said softly.
***
Cuyamaca Mountains
Tisiphone aimed her matte black motorcycle up a dirt trail, deep into the rugged land where the Tipai-Ipai tribe lived. She guided her bike between several small houses and aimed for a small rounded adobe hut with straw for a roof. A piece of red, tanned leather was hung as the door.
As her motorcycle rolled up, a weathered old woman appeared, holding open the leather flap. Delfina, tribal shaman, squinted at Tisiphone as she climbed off her bike. Her bronze face wasn’t smiling. She puffed on her corncob pipe and eyed Tisiphone walking towards her.
“Let me get my bag, and can you turn your thing back into a horse? I’m scared of riding motorcycles,” Delfina said as she disappeared back into her hut. Tisiphone stood with her hands on her hips. In a moment, Delfina reappeared and walked up to Tisiphone.
“Which one is hurt?” Delfina asked, her pipe gripped in her mouth.
“Mother,” Tisiphone answered quietly.
“She knows better than to take on that demon without back-up,” Delfina spat. “How bad?”
“Really bad,” Tisiphone said as she turned and led Delfina to her ride, now a glossy black stallion. “Have to ride bareback, you understand. If you want a saddle, he has to be a bike.”
Delfina stopped and considered a moment. Then she grunted and went to the horse’s head, who was eying her with curiosity.
“He’s a gently soul,” Delfina said as she rummaged in her large cloth bag. She produced a small sugar cube. She held it out on her open palm and the horse gently picked it up, and munched quietly. “I’ll manage.”
Tisiphone easily jumped on her stallion and reached down to help Delfina up.
“Hang on, few people can stomach traveling this way,” Tisiphone warned.
She gripped Tisiphone around the waist and the horse began trotting down the worn road. Tisiphone gently urged him on and he made a small jump and they disappeared in mid-air.
***
Furies House
Gaia was breathing slowly as Alecto continued to clean her head.
“It appears your nose is broken,” Alecto observed.
Gaia just snorted as Alecto rinsed the wash cloth. Gaia’s face was caked with bloody mud, Alecto was trying to be as gently as possible.
Brianna showed up with a bowl of steaming liquid. She just sat it on the table next to Gaia’s bed and retreated into a corner.
Outside, Tisiphone arrived with Delfina. The old woman was hugging Tisiphone as tight as she could, her eyes screwed shut. After they materialized, Delfina let out a deep sigh.
Tisiphone dropped to the ground and held out her hands to help Delfina. They went inside and left the horse to walk to the stable on its own. He used his mouth to open the main gate with a short piece of rope, and he went inside. The gate shut itself.
<
br /> Both walked into Gaia’s room. Delfina stopped and took in the room. Large four-poster bed, the room decorated in classic Victorian-era furniture. Antique dresser, armoire, floral wall paper. Gaia had fallen in love with the era, and it showed.
Delfina went to Gaia’s side. She greeted her old friend warmly. Gaia’s eyes fluttered, then stayed open.
“Ah, this is who you went after, Tish?” Gaia asked.
“Of course, she did! Who else?” Delfina said as she lifted the sheet. She pulled the bandages away. She gasped audibly when she saw the wound. “Who did this?”
“Sorath,” Alecto said.
“I hope you gave as good as you got, mother!” Delfina said. Gaia grimaced and tried to smile.
“Child, come here,” Delfina said, looking at Brianna. Brianna stepped closer. “I’ll need some more boiling water. Can you handle that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Brianna said, walking out of the room.
“Poor kid,” Delfina said. “Okay, there’s magic and poison in this cut. I can handle the poison part. The magic? Not so much. Is Megaera around?”
“No, she’s disappeared. No idea,” Alecto said, looking at Tisiphone.
“She’s not with her mortal lover,” Tisiphone told Delfina.
“She’s powerless, anyway,” Alecto pointed out.
“She’s pregnant with that mortal’s child,” Gaia whispered.
“Damn. I warned you guys,” Delphine muttered. “Yes, I warned both of you. Now it’s really fucked up.”
“Don’t go blaming Megaera. She’s impulsive, and the mortal is quite handsome, in his own way,” Gaia whispered, taking her friend’s hand.
Brianna reappeared with another pot of steaming water. Delfina stood and took the pot. “Watch child, you might learn something.”
Delfina placed the pot on the dresser and opened her bag. She started pulling brown bottles and small jars out of the bag. “Forget the herbs. In cases like this, we need real magic. I need you to take these and put them in the boiling water for at least 10 minutes and let them stay in the water until I call for them.”
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