by Lisa Oliver
“Didn’t that place rebury itself the morning after we were there?” Artemas asked.
“Yes, and it will remain that way,” Ra said simply. He bowed his head low to Silvanus. “Blessings on your mating, Silvanus god of living things. May your journeys seem lighter with my grandson by your side. And don’t forget, we do a Sunday roast every week. You’re both invited anytime.” Touching his hand to Thoth’s shoulder, and not even looking at the bedraggled god, Ra and his captive disappeared.
“Well, that was interesting.” Poseidon stretched his arms and yawned. “If you two are all right, I think I might head home and see what my beloved is doing. It must be bedtime somewhere around the world.”
“Sei, Dad.” Stepping out of Silvanus’s arms, Artemas struggled to find his words.
“I see you, son of my heart.” Poseidon sketched a quick salute. “I always have, I always will.” He disappeared, just like Ra and Thoth had done.
“Do you feel any better now?” Silvanus asked softly, holding him by the shoulders and pulling him back into his warm embrace.
“I feel….” Artemas took in a huge breath. “I’m not sure what I feel about Thoth any more, but my heart is settled where Poseidon is concerned, and I met Ra, so the day wasn’t a total bust.”
“You know I see you too, right?”
Looking up, Artemas lost himself in Silvanus’s loving eyes. “And I see you too, my love. Take us home, or at least back to the hotel. I suppose we’d better check up on Crane and his friends before we decide what to do next.”
“We can do that tomorrow.” Silvanus’s voice was full of promises Artemas knew he could keep. “I found myself strangely aroused by your merman form. Do you think that tub at the hotel would hold us both if you’re in that form?”
“I doubt it,” Artemas chuckled. “But I know a wonderful place that will. Hold on tight.” Which was a silly thing to say, because Artemas knew in his heart, his mate would never let him go.
Chapter Thirty Two
“Mr. Klaxon, Mr. Forest, it’s very good of you to allow this meeting.” Silvanus let Crane and his two associates through the door of their hotel suite. Just like the first visit, Crane was clutching his briefcase, but George and Horace appeared like any other students who were down on their cash but trying to make a good impression.
“I’d like to introduce to you, two of my associates, George Cumin and Horace Jacobs.” Crane waved a hand to indicate his friend. “We’re from the Center of Enlightenment Society. Perhaps you’ve heard of us?”
They have no recollection of meeting us before. Silvanus couldn’t believe it.
Which means Thoth must have collared Crane at the auction when he was trying to get your book. They’ve been influenced for longer than we thought, although it seems to have stopped now. Artemas showed nothing on his face, except a polite interest in the new arrivals.
“Come in and make yourselves comfortable,” Silvanus said, indicating the seats at the small dining table. “What can we do for you?”
“Well, my friends and I.” Crane blushed, his cheeks rivaling his hair in color. “You’re probably going to think this sounds silly, but we’re on a quest to prove the existence of ancient gods. We believe studying the book you won at the auction, Mr. Klaxon, might help us achieve that goal.”
“That’s an interesting hypothesis you’re trying to prove,” Artemas said gravely. “Have other objects or studies led you to believe you’re onto something?”
“We’re very strong believers in the unseen elements of the world, Mr. Klaxon,” George, the magic user said smoothly. “I myself, have studied many ancient magical texts and have had some limited success in replicating some of the spells found in them.” He brushed a piece of lint from his pants, as though being modest about his achievements.
“You must have extensive language knowledge then,” Silvanus made it sound as if he was impressed. “There aren’t many scholars who can read the ancient texts as easily as they were written. Mr. Klaxon and I are both collectors of ancient artifacts and even we struggle to interpret some of the markings at times.”
“Interpretation is such a relative term,” George said airily. “One doesn’t need an extensive knowledge of any language to gain an understanding of the gist of what the writer is saying.”
“I’d be very careful of that, if I were you,” Artemas warned, shooting a look at Silvanus. “Magical texts and spells often rely on the exact literal translation of words used to receive the desired results.”
George looked as though he was going to argue, so Silvanus cut in smoothly. “What is your talent in this endeavor, Mr. Jacobs?” He asked Horace. “Are you a student of ancient languages too?”
“Oh, no.” Horace looked surprised anyone noticed him. “I see things, Mr. Forest. Things other people don’t usually see. It’s not easy to understand, if you’re not familiar with the unseen world like we are….”
“I probably understand more than you think.” Silvanus couldn’t resist a smirk at Artemas who seemed to be clutching the side of his chair, his lips pressed tightly together in suppressed laughter. “Anyhow, you came about the book, is that right? Obviously, we don’t leave valuable objects lying around in a hotel room, but we were able to find a scholar who could translate much of the writings inside. We thought you might be interested.”
He handed a folder that had been left on the table over to Crane who took it eagerly. Opening it hurriedly, his mouth moving as he silently scanned the words.
“As you pointed out,” Silvanus nodded at George, “translation is relative to a person’s experience and knowledge, however it would appear the book was nothing more than a gardening journal of sorts. Our experts couldn’t determine an age of the writings themselves, but they imagined it to be of a later era than the carbon dated cover.”
“This is a bust, guys,” Crane said to his friends, holding up the type written notes. “Tips on how to propagate plants, bushes, and vegetables. The only remotely interesting thing in here is a spell to improve fertility and I’m not sure if it’s related to harvests or people.”
“I’d be very careful who you were around if you ever tried it out then,” Artemas couldn’t hide his smirk. “Silva, didn’t you have one more gift for our friends before they leave?”
“Yes. One moment.” Going through into the bedroom, Silvanus hid behind the half-closed bedroom door and drew on his magic. A pot appeared in his hands, with a small oak sapling growing in it. Caressing the leaves, Silvanus blessed its future growth, before walking back into the living room carrying it carefully.
“Mr. Crane, I realize you might have been disappointed in the contents of the book you were looking for, but where I come from, we give gifts of plants. There is so much destruction in the world’s natural environment, me and my family do our best to encourage regrowth one tree at a time. This young thing is an oak, well-suited to living in your country. I hope you’ll accept this gift and treat it well.”
“It’s beautiful.” Crane dropped the papers, and reached out his hands, clasping the huge pot to his skinny chest. “Mr. Forest, Mr. Klaxon, you’ve both been very generous with your time, and your gifts. We’ll take our leave, and thank you.”
There was a bit of a kerfuffle. Crane couldn’t carry his pot, the folder, and the briefcase, but a few sharp words to his friends, and they were finally out of the door. “That,” Silvanus said, leaning on the door, after they were gone, “Is how we should’ve handled things the last time.”
“That,” Artemas laughed as he strode over to meet him, “is how we handle humans who aren’t being influenced by evil gods.”
Silvanus sighed as Artemas’s arms slid around his waist with a familiarity that was comforting and arousing all in one go. “Do you think more of Crane’s dryad nature will come out, now he has a tree of his own to care for?”
“The most that will happen is he’ll become protective of it,” Silvanus said. “The dryad part of his lineage is very weak. I think the onl
y reason he reacted to my book’s cover so strongly is because the wood came from a dryad owned tree.”
“Well, it was nice to have a peaceful end to something for a change.” Artemas sighed as he rested his head on Silvanus’s chest. “What did you want to do now? It’s probably time we booked out of this hotel and went back to a semblance of normal life.”
“We need to go to Thor’s and Orin’s shortly. The Fates sent me a message this morning, asking me to oversee the birth of his twins.”
Artemas was quiet for a moment, and Silvanus wondered if it was something he should do alone. But he should have had more faith in his partner. Rising his head slowly, Artemas met his eyes. “Do you think less of me because I’m not ready for us to have children of our own yet?”
“This is about what I said to Thor, isn’t it, about courage and challenges?”
Artemas nodded.
“I never said those words to be a reflection on you. In honesty, they had nothing to do with you. Thor was upsetting his mate and was, frankly, too thick to notice, and it was because, inside he had a fear he wouldn’t be ‘enough’ for his mate if he gave up other parts of his life. You and I are totally different. We have an agreement to wait, and I’m fine with that. I haven’t had nearly enough time with you alone to enjoy the different parts of our lives together yet and it could be decades before I have.”
“Decades?”
Silvanus chuckled. It was just like his mate to want to put a time line on everything. “The word was used as an illustration of time, nothing more. All you need to know, is that I love you the way you are, and I trust you love me the same way. If we’re meant to have children, then we’ll know when the time is right. In the meantime, my life is complete with you in it.”
“As is mine.” Artemas raised up on his toes slightly, pressing a kiss on Silvanus’s chin.
“You do have to remember though,” Silvanus warned, before he got distracted. “Part of my nature is to be involved with the creation of new life. The Fates usually handle god births, but this time they honored me with the duties, and I’m proud to be chosen for this. Any birth is a celebration and it’s been many, many, years since my skills have been called on this way.”
“The Fates probably asked you to do it, because they didn’t want to face Thor’s cussing as he gives birth. I understand it’s not a peaceful event.”
“You’d be surprised.” Silvanus’s searched his mate’s face for any further doubt. “So, you don’t mind coming with me? Witness the birth of two new demigods?”
“You’ve done so much for me,” Artemas’s voice was husky and he rolled his hips against Silvanus’s own. “You stood by and let me handle Thoth on my own. You trusted me enough to let me fuck you under the sea. You listened when I expressed my concerns about Crane and his friends, helping me come up with a plan that worked for everyone concerned. Now it’s time for me to show you support in what you do, and who you are and it’s something I’ll do gladly.”
“I really hope you weren’t attached to this suit of yours,” Silvanus groaned as Artemas’s hips applied more pressure. “Thor can wait a few hours. I have a strong urgent need to see if we can break this hotel bed before we leave.”
“You can do that with a wave of your hand,” Artemas laughed. “That doesn’t have to take a few hours.”
“It will the way I want to do it.” Reaching up, Silvanus loosened Artemas’s tie, drawing it over his mate’s head and dropping it on the floor. “Want to save your shirt?”
Artemas held his gaze as Silvanus grabbed the collar of the fine pale pink shirt and ripped it down the middle, buttons pinging everywhere.
“What else have you got?” Artemas winked.
Chapter Thirty Three
“You are not coming near me with that fucking knife,” Thor roared, his big hands cradled around an even bigger belly. “I swear if you come one step closer, original god or not, I’m throwing my damn hammer at you.”
“Thor,” Silvanus said patiently as he made the knife disappear, “We’ve been here for half an hour now. You know it’s time. How do you expect to give birth to these babies, if you won’t let me near you?”
“I’m not giving birth,” Thor said smugly. “Carrying them is one thing, but these babies are going to just appear, dressed in onesies and smelling sweet, or they can stay where they are.”
“Babe, don’t you think you’re being a teensy bit unreasonable?” Orin asked. He was sitting by Thor’s bedside, his hand on Thor’s shoulder. “Silvanus says that it’s time for the babies to be born. How did you think they were supposed to come out?”
“I told you, precious,” Thor ignored Silvanus, and Artemas who was lurking by the door, completely. “I’ll just go to sleep like I always do, and when I wake up, our little twins will be curled up between us, looking adorable. It’ll happen any day, you just wait and see.”
“Yep,” Orin shook his head. “That’ll be a no. You have to give birth, and as you don’t have the necessary openings, they have to come out through a cut in your belly.”
“They can be born with magic.” Thor pouted. “I’m a god, for fuck’s sake. These babies can just translocate themselves out of me.”
“They’re not going to know where they’re translocating to.” Glancing at his mate, Silvanus saw Artemas had conjured himself a chair. “The first rule of translocation is knowing where you’re going first. If they get it wrong, they could end up being stuck in a wall somewhere and we’ll never find them.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that, Artie.” Thor paused. “I’ll magic them out myself.” Thor twitched his fingers over his belly and then frowned, and twitched again. “They can’t be ready to come out. Nothing happened.”
“Did you ever stop to think that there are some things a god can’t do, and one of them is male gods can’t give birth by themselves?” Silvanus could feel the energies emanating from Thor’s stomach. Those little ones were being born within the next few hours, if he had to knock Thor out to do it. “That’s why I’m here.”
“And you’re welcome here,” Thor said in a sickly sweet sarcastic voice that didn’t fit him at all. “But keep your fucking knives to yourself.” The snarling was much more Thor’s style.
Silvanus sighed. “Fine, have it your way. The only other way I can help you give birth is to change your internal organs and give you a vagina. Of course, that’s an extremely long and painful way of giving birth, as any mother will tell you, but if you’d rather….”
“You’re not touching my cock, either.” Thor tried to reach under his belly to protect the region concerned, but he couldn’t reach.
“I wasn’t going to.” Silvanus shook his head. “However, seeing as a vagina would have to go roughly where your balls are currently sitting, and I’m not a hundred percent sure how long….”
“You’re not touching my equipment! I swear I’ll strike you down with every inch of lightning I can muster if you do anything to my cock.”
Wordlessly, Silvanus clicked his fingers, and a chair appeared next to Artemas’s. Strolling over, he made himself comfortable, reaching out and taking Artemas’s hand in his.
After a long moment, Thor asked, “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.” Silvanus magicked up mugs of coffee for himself and his mate. “Did you fancy anything to eat?”
Artemas shook his head, trying so hard not to laugh.
“What are you waiting for? I’ve already told you, you’re not coming near me with a knife and you’re not getting rid of my cock.”
“Uh huh.” Silvanus sniffed his brew and took a sip.
“I mean it,” Thor didn’t like being ignored. “There has to be another way to give birth. I’m sure Poseidon didn’t go through this shit when he had the twins.”
“Poseidon has a small silvery scar along the bottom of his belly,” Artemas said quietly. “He was told it was a reminder of how precious new life was. He wears it like a badge of honor. Apparently, it’s a huge erogenous zone
for him and Claude, or so I’ve been told.”
“I’ve never seen Poseidon with a scar,” Thor scoffed.
“Believe it,” Artemas said. “Like you and Orin, him and Claude were a god/shifter pairing and there was no way of knowing what skills the twins would have when they were born. He had a magically enhanced c-section just like anyone else would have if they didn’t have the right biological bits to give birth.”
Thor didn’t look so confident now. “I really hope at least one of the twins is like you,” he said to Orin quietly.
“It won’t really matter if the twins are healthy, will it?” Orin smiled. “The problem I’m seeing is, how long can the babies survive in that belly of yours, before they get too scrunched up to grow anymore. They could be stunted, and then there’s the matter of their little lungs. Their lungs can’t grow and develop the way they should, if they can’t breathe air, and for all your hot headedness, I don’t think there’s any air pockets in your belly.”
“Now, you’re being silly.” Thor chewed the side of his lip.
“Am I?” Orin patted his shoulder, fondly. “It’s the cycle of life, babe. You tried your magic and they didn’t come out. The magic behind giving birth is as old as time itself, and a lot older than you, so I’m not surprised it didn’t work. Thor, please. Can’t you let Silvanus do what he needs to do? I want to hold our babies. I want to count fingers and toes and press kisses on their cute little faces. I want to feed them, and dress them, and….”
“All right!” Thor sounded irritable, but then he grinned. “My mate could make the highest mountains fall with his pleading. But no body modifications. I’ll take the knife.”
“If you’re sure you’re ready.” Silvanus was tempted to spin things out a little longer, but that wouldn’t be fair to the babies Thor was carrying. Handing his coffee mug to Artemas, he leaned over and brushed his lips against Artemas’s cheeks. “This won’t take long.”