The mist thickened with the Lifestream. To Aisling, the God within her was everything she needed him to be. She could feel his restrained power as he lay on top of her, she could feel the flaring sigils from their union. His form was still ever shifting, many aspects were of the Green Man and represented the forest and woods, but many things were dark and shadowy. He was here in answer to her dreams, he was formless and yet still had form. His eyes continued to flicker between green and violet, his lips flickered green, red and black. The symbols covering his skin changed from green to black and back again.
The only downside to a non-Fae lover was they didn't understand the pain of lying on wings.
But he was a most attentive lover. He was evidently well experienced in bringing pleasure, inside and out. Things had barely begun and already she felt like she was bubbling over. He had dozens of phantom lips and fingers working their way all over her body, her nerves were in sensual overdrive. She knew for once that she was not the dominant one, not the one overpowering with pleasure. For once she got to feel what it was like, and she loved it. Her skin flushed green, and her breathing got ragged.
Even once he had brought her to climax, he made no attempt to stop. He continued to thrust into her almost leisurely while his real lips kissed her tenderly. His phantom helpers seemed to keep growing to the point that she was scratching his back in a frenzy.
He disregarded the silvery lines being scratched into his back. To him, sex was the living embodiment of fantasies, and when you had lived as many people’s fantasies as he had, he knew how to make them real. And yet for Aisling her dreams had not been for a tender or caring lover, the act itself had been vague and undefined. She, like many Fae princesses before her and many other females of Divine Bloodlines, craved a powerful man to ensure the survival of her lineage.
Initially, he had disregarded her dreams despite their pressing need. But her desperation had only grown, saturating her dreams so much that he could taste her dreams anywhere within the Realm of Dreams. Such a surprising thing for the little-understood realm. He had started watching her dreams, and later entering them. It was always the same, but her desperation and need seemed only to grow.
She had seen many seers, and like all dreams he had seen those. He knew what lay ahead of her and what drove her desperation. He knew that she had seen the Banshees and the Lampades. If things had kept up, she might have worked up the nerve to ask Hecate herself.
But it was Tartarus that had made up his mind. He had come to see the dreamer in the flesh, the real world was very different from dreams, though they could cross over. Such a strange request and such an unusual precedent. He had had many Divine lovers, he was a favourite of the Lampades. He was one of the reasons why they had crossed over from mortal to immortal Divine. Oh, they were Hecate’s no doubt about it, and she had made them all Divine with her blood and fathered all the first generation. But since then is was very rare for her to become sexually involved with her servants. He, on the other hand, was often sought out, he had been sexually available ever since his wife’s death in the War. Yet despite the Lampades many skills and magic he was surprised at some of the things Aisling was able to do.
It was intoxicating and very arousing.
Time passed, and he brought her over the edge, again and again, all the while taking his leisure to reach his own climax.
Yet when he did so, it was most dramatic. His thrusts became faster and deeper, not at all unusual but his body started to shimmer and shift. He was corporeal and incorporeal. He felt his powers flicker across the wide spectrum of dreams. He felt the colour of his magic shift around him. Shadows reached in deep and surrounded them, even as they poured off of him into her.
Green magic flared tinged with deep black throughout his entire body, and as he ejaculated into her, it burst out of him into her. It swirled around her as a thick cloud, embracing her skin, her hair, her face. She breathed it in and out, the power flaring through her as her body struggled to absorb it.
Then from her abdomen flared a green light and all the power shot towards it and faded away.
He lay on top of her for a long time exhausted, and she made no effort to move. They had worked each other over thoroughly which normally would have not exhausted a God, but Tartarus’ gift had tipped the scale even further.
The next Fae Princess had been conceived, and the bloodline was assured.
“Playing matchmaker again?” Lilith asked her husband as he swung her out onto the dance floor.
“Would you rather I had left her to Asmodeus?”
“Certainly not, he needs to be kept on Agrat’s leash. He would destroy her.”
“I doubt anyone could destroy Sariel.”
“I didn’t mean that way, I mean in terms of her nature. He would destroy all that unusual sweetness and kindness. He would extinguish that light in her and in its place only bitter cruelty would grow. No, I will not have her subjected to his depraved desires.”
“Exactly. She is so very naïve, she doesn’t see what we all know. He is extremely dangerous and most unsuited to her.”
“But is Lucifer? That arrogant prick is blinded by his pride so much that he will not accept her help.”
“She loves him.”
“You can’t know that.”
“She loves him, Lilith, it is clear to see. She won’t say as such, but it is true. And her affections are not one sided. Prideful he might be, but there is a reason for it. He was a powerful and attractive man in his youth. Now his looks keep changing, and he has no control of his powers. He knows she is fond of him, but he no longer sees why. He wants to be in control to show her what he is like so that she sees the man he wants her to see.”
“That’s just stupid.”
“Like you have never been concerned about the image you portray to the ones you want or care about.”
She stayed silent.
They had both tried to shape each other’s perceptions of the other over the centuries.
“We’ll let Sariel decide for herself, I think Lucifer is a good match for her but the only opinion that matters is Sariel’s.”
“That should be interesting to see, she has much of us both in her.” She was her mother’s daughter for sure, but she was also her father’s daughter too. She could not deny Samael’s presence in Sariel.
“Of both our good and bad.”
“I haven’t seen much of the bad.”
“I just know what to look for. She will lose her shiny image as she matures into her powers and nature. She is the Chaos Goddess after all and Brigid is training her to be a Mother Goddess. You know well what they are like.”
“As unyielding as stone and just as compassionate. Will she really turn out like that?”
“I doubt it. She is too much herself, besides it is Brigid that is training her, and she is a most unique.”
“Apparently many of us in this room are. When did life get this bizarre Samael?”
“Sometime after the Rebellion started turning on itself. This is directly the result of the Fall. Our numbers are so small, and we are still so desperate. We, Divine, are clinging to each other for protection because we are afraid. Yet we are waking the world up to its former glory and in time things will return to what we think of as normal. But it will never be as it was Lilith. Too much has changed.”
“Will we create something new or fail to recreate the past?”
“Something new where Brigid and Sariel are concerned. As for the rest of the world? Who can say?”
“It worries me.”
“So serious Lilith?”
“I have nearly died twice in a very short amount of time Samael. It has made me take a long hard look at my life and my failings. I was a terrible mother to Sariel, a terrible wife to you, hardly a good mother to Michael. So many things that I could have done better-“
“No” he cut her off sharply before kissing her lips tenderly. “You were an absent mother to Sariel, but your choices ensured her protection and
survival. We have both made terrible mistakes in our marriage, neither of us is blameless. As for Michael…I don’t think it mattered what we did he was always going to turn out something different. He is what Gabriel needs him to be, love changed him. As it changes us all.”
“It is not just Gabriel. Much of it is his own steam. She craves power but not the restraints that the Angels implemented. I knew her, and I know how Israfel raised her. Gabriel cares little for others’ sex lives. That is Michael’s vendetta, and that is because of his servitude to Aphrodite.”
“I warned him when he was considering her offer.”
“He was young and foolish. So sure that such things couldn’t possibly happen to him.”
“She was so cruel.”
“And she paid the price for that cruelty.”
“Many paid the price for their cruelty.”
“And many more will. Perhaps that is the future that all will be held accountable no matter who they are.”
“Not a comforting thought.”
“Then let me chase them away” he signalled the Fae musicians. The beat that followed was for Divine only. Inanna’s Seduction was a dance that only the Divine could do justice, between the speed and the need for potent pheromones no mortal could make it a thing of beauty.
But both of them had been trained in the dance, Lilith had been trained by Inanna herself, and she had trained her husband well.
Many left the dance floor unfamiliar with the song or recognising what was coming. Others were joyful to hear the tunes they had long forgotten and quickly began grabbing suitable partners. Bahamut paired with Simurgh, Agrat with Asmodeus, Cassandra grabbed her mistress when Hecate looked around for who to dance with.
Sariel made to leave the dance floor, but Lucifer pulled her back.
The beat began slowly with the hauntingly mournful strings rising and falling. The dancers kept their distance, touching only at the hands as they slowly danced around. The beat and strings started to increase their pace, the dancers started moving faster. Then the beat and strings changed, it no longer seemed mournful but energetic and fiery. The dancers pulled each other close, arms were wrapped tight around partners. Still the beat and strings gained pace, the band started working overtime to get the desired pace flowing. The dancers snapped back and together, those with wings snapped them wide and high. Arms reached up to faces as the pairs spun around faster and faster.
Despite the others being in the dance, most eyes were drawn to Samael and Lilith, who flowed like water across the dance floor and around each other. Each movement reflected their craving and desire to each other, the amount of pheromones pouring off of them had started to become visible as a faint purple cloud as they wound around each other and continued to spin each other round. He lifted her up and held her close, she slid down his body, her hips grinding provocatively before she skipped out of reach. They looked at each other with smoking eyes, her hands trailed across her breasts before running down her body, she skipped back in, wrapping her arms around his neck as she spun around him before he caught her in his arms.
The music had reached its crescendo when he caught her in his arms and pulled her close, the strings turned slow and sexual as he pulled her close in, the cloud of their pheromones dark and shifting as he pulled her into a kiss.
Erratic applause filled the hall as the watchers got past the sex haze to realise the dance had finished. Glancing around there wasn’t a single unaffected person. Breaths were fast paced, chests were heaving, eyes held hunger and many people were flushed.
Lilith and Samael were legendary when they danced together, no couple would have a quiet night tonight, and most singles would be looking for a lover.
Even the Divine were affected by their pheromones, especially the dancers. Lucifer had pulled Sariel close as the dance dictated but she didn’t know the dance and perhaps it was a tad wrong to take advantage of the fact she didn’t, but he had pulled her into the kiss. To his surprise, she had not pulled away or withdrawn. Instead, she had given him her hunger. And he realised just how much he wanted it.
The sound of applause caused them to pull apart and glance around at the other dancers. Her parents were taking their bows amid a visible cloud of their combined pheromones. Even in the furthest reaches of the ballroom there was the tinge of violet.
“Sariel” they jumped at the sound of Brigid’s voice. She was gesturing for Sariel to join her.
She glanced at Lucifer with a smile “Thank you for this dance, my lord” she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she wandered over to join Brigid and Hera.
Lucifer smiled as he left the dance floor, new music had started to fill the air. Now more than ever he was willing to listen to what Ereshkigal had to say about the Underworld.
“Very nice dancing” Brigid grabbed Sariel by the shoulders affectionately.
“Thank you, I’ve never done it before.”
“Well, you did an excellent first time.”
“I think that is more Lucifer’s doing than mine.”
“It takes two to tango so they say.”
“Do they?”
“Human saying, my dear.”
“Well, they certainly have many of them. What can I do for you?”
“Not for me, for Hera.” She gestured to Hera, who wore a slight grimace on her face. She hated asking for help and had already done so of Brigid to no avail.
“I have a seed that I need to grow but my powers are not enough to germinate it.”
“Nor were mine, hence why she is asking you.”
Sariel looked with curiosity at the golden apple sitting in a pot. She picked it up, green and brown flared briefly at her fingertips and a smile curved her lips. “I believe I can do it, but why should I?”
Sariel could almost see the spluttering in Hera’s eyes before they narrowed carefully. She was not the girl she had once been, she knew her worth now, and she knew how the Divine worked. They did nothing for free.
“I can give you one of your own.”
Hera watched as Sariel’s eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in calculation as she turned back to study the apple in her hand.
“We have a deal” she held out her hand, in which Hera placed another Golden Apple. Both flared green with the colouring of Chaos brown. From the apples themselves grew a single sprout that rose up to a thin, tiny tree only about the length of a forearm. Both were placed into pots and Sariel gently covered up the green glowing roots with rich earth. She handed one pot back to Hera, and the other disappeared. She would tend to it later, she found herself most curious about this unique plant.
“Will that be all?”
“It will” they nodded to each other coolly then Sariel departed.
“Well, she’s turning into a little bitch.”
“She is turning into the rest of us, though you get a side the rest of us have never seen.”
“Lucky me.”
“Well, you were the one that cast her into the Underworld.”
“A fact that all of us are glad about.”
“Except her. You know if you apologised you’d probably get an about face from her. Remember she isn’t like the rest of us.”
She just looked at Brigid before walking off. Hera didn’t apologise to anyone, the Gods in general didn’t. But as far as she was concerned she had done the best thing for the world.
Chapter 45
Ariel stared down at the little girl whimpering on the ground. Several of her Inquisitors stood with her. Her body was crippled, her legs were paralysed and had turned necrotic. Black and highly infected red lines covered her skin all across her body. Blood and foul smelling fluids were leaking out of her vicious wounds.
“She is not the only one my Lady Arch.”
“There are others?”
They pointed to the other bodies scattered about the place. A man sat sobbing as his bloody excrement gushed out of him. He was in evident pain as the bloody flux kept up its near continuous deluge. Even as they watch
ed, he keeled over into the excrement. By the looks of his pale, clammy skin and the amount of blood already pooling around him he had very little time left in the world. Next to him was a woman coughing up bloody flux, she whimpered and cried as her body convulsed as she coughed up even more. From the looks of it, she was not long for this world either.
“And this is in other cities as well?” she asked impassively as the man died before their eyes.
“Yes, my Arch. The infections have appeared in several of the smaller cities throughout the UCSA but have spread from them to everywhere. Currently, we have implemented quarantine procedures, and the Lady Gabriel has come with some of her Seraphim to extract samples. She passes on her regards to you and says she will work on a cure.”
“Did she have anything else to say about it?”
“She said it was not a natural plague, that this had been magically constructed.”
“Someone is trying to weaken us.” She crouched down beside the little girl who reached up to her with bloody, grey hands. Ariel reached down and stroked the girl’s face before twisting her head and killing her. “Gather up the corpses. Give Gabriel as many as she requests, the rest airdrop into the Heradmantium Empire. If they think they can weaken us with diseases, they have another thing coming.”
One of her people stilled as they had a mental conversation “My Lady Arch?”
She turned to glance at her “Yes?”
“There are confirmed outbreaks in Panama.”
“Then this is definitely a biological attack. But who is directing it?” she tapped her lips with her finger, this was unexpected and arguably quite brilliant, though she would never say as such to her underlings. “Ensure the bodies make their way back over the border.” Then she was gone.
The Angels started gathering up the bodies for air drop, many of which were still alive but too weak to fight off the Angels.
Aisling glided into the dining room looking like she had been dragged through the forests. The Royals watched her with some amusement. Her mother indicated to the chair next her “come sit with us, we have only just begun.”
A Gluttony Of Faith Page 44