The Triple Goddess

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Keira behave, or I will be putting you in that car to join them in that machine you call a death trap!” He growled in my ear after pulling my head back by the long pony tail I had put my hair up in. His fist around my hair sent a shot of something I didn’t want to think about straight to my core, one that prevented me from arguing back. I nodded the tiny movement his hold allowed and after a second more of his show of dominance, he let me go.

  “Oh man, why does she get to go in it and not me…I have been waiting ever since you got one and you said no one could go in it but you…You lied Luc!” Pip started complaining just as Adam was picking her up and placing her, still moaning, in the truck. Lucius started laughing behind me and I had a really bad feeling about what Pip was referring to.

  “My Lord!” Adam said before nodding once and followed his wife into the black brute of a car. The door closed on Pip’s squeal and Adam’s laughter before roaring out of the space. The whole room was centred around a cleared middle stretch, which I gathered to be the road out of here and when I saw a massive metal door roll up, I knew it must have led down the tunnel I had heard about. Then the back car lights went out of sight, leaving me and Lucius standing here alone.

  “I am not getting in another helicopter Lucius! No way, no how!” I said turning to face him now I had been released.

  “I know you’re not.” He said simply and before I could register his answer I had started arguing my case again.

  “And I will throw up on you this time and I won’t…wait…what?!” I shook my head quickly as if this would help to make sense of this man.

  “Did you hit your head on the ice…I said, I know you’re not…so we better get going, I am going to have to drive fast as it is.”

  “Err…come again?” I ask bewildered.

  “Did you perchance wake this evening with brain cells dripping from your nose? Just in case, let’s make this simpler for you...Come. With. Me. Now.” I listened first to the sarcasm and then the demanding order which both combined into clear cut frustration. What the hell he has to be frustrated about I have no idea but I found all these thoughts assaulting me as I was once again being dragged over to another car, only this one had the doors open in waiting.

  Ok, so if I was now stood in the Bat Cave, then this thing in front of me was most definitely the Bat mobile! Only without the daft tail fins and exaggerated rounded wheel arches. Oh no, there was only one word that could describe this machine and that was… lethal.

  The car was more like some winged mythological monster waiting for its prey to willingly get inside its belly to be devoured with ease. Yeah, it looked all sleek, low to the ground and curved into silky lines of its body work but the front and back couldn’t fool you with the snap of sharp edges and big black grills that looked bottomless. Like an open mouth needing to consume. Even the colour of dark gun metal grey had it looking more like a weapon than something you would get in and drive.

  “Oh, hell no! I am no way getting in that thing!” I said pulling back on his hold to no avail. He gave me a cock headed look, to say ‘what is wrong with you now’ but of course I was referring to another death trap that stood like a black panther that wanted me to ride on its back…claws and all!

  What did he expect? I know it may seem like I was an overreacting, whiney pain in the ass and that may be, but considering the times I had been in the car with a supernatural being, I knew the outcome would be the same with them all. It was this indestructible persona they all wore and well, let’s just say, I was so not shopping in the same stores. Heck, I was now stood in the ‘very breakable human’ aisle and there was a sale on in how to stay alive!

  Lucius let go of me and stood with his arms folded as if this would have prompted me into doing as I am told. I mean really…did he not know me yet?

  “Keira my dear, there are two ways this is going to play out, one, which is the one I would prefer, is that you get that sweet behind in the car, all by yourself like a good little girl…” His voice was sweet and condescending but then his tone changed with the other option he didn’t want to deal with,

  “Or two, I put you in the fucking car, screaming if you must, which I can’t deny would be fun to hear… now which is it?” His gaze burrowed into mine and I realised I was mimicking his stance by folding my own arms. Ok, so now was the time to think, do I anger the Vamp that could scare the crap out of me when he really hit rage mode or do I face that same Vamp behind the wheel of a man made killing machine? Umm…my choices weren’t looking hot right then.

  “Time’s up pet!” Lucius said and I found myself being hauled up over his shoulder quicker than I could say shit! I made a girly and pathetic screechy noise before I felt him bend and deposit me, none too gently, into the bucket seat of the car. The door slammed shut downwards, closing me in like I was sitting in the bloody cockpit of some stealth jet fighter! What the hell was this car anyway! I looked to the right and saw the word ‘Reventon’ embedded into the interior in large letters and couldn’t help the hard swallow. I had never heard of this car but even the name sounded as terrifyingly fast as it looked.

  I jumped when I heard his side door slam shut and I looked to my left to see him looking at perfect ease behind the controls…I mean Christ, he even looked near giddy as he gripped the wheel like it was an old friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

  “Belt up Honey, it’s time for a spin.” He said slipping back into cocky gear with as much ease as starting the engine in front of us. I jumped as the sound vibrated around us and there was no disputing the raw power that roared off every surface in the cave. Then with an over the top rev he had me clawing at the belt to try and get it clicked into place, as without warning he sped out of there like…well like a bloody bat out of Hell!

  He zoomed towards the dark tunnel and the night of my first time in Draven’s car hit me when I thought we would hit the stone wall. That one moment in time with Draven had knocked me so far off my world’s axle, that after that, there was no way of it ever getting on the straight and narrow again. I looked to my left and for a second the two men blurred into one. Lucius wore a plain navy t-shirt that was tight across the bunched biceps that were controlling the car like it was only travelling at crawling speeds, not the instant death speeds the aggressive engine was screaming we were doing. The sound of it echoing in the tunnel that was lit by the eyes of the metal creature was deafening as it snarled and lashed out with every gear change.

  His hair was pushed back and looked as controlled as his physic did at that moment but his eyes almost glowed in the dark and the ease didn’t reach his intense gaze. I optimistically put it down to his extreme concentration. It was only when I could see the entrance at the end in a moon lit glow that I felt a little less dizzy.

  “I gather by the way you are unnecessarily, hanging on for dear life that you are not fond of one of my favourite Lamborghinis?” His voice penetrated my fear at seeing the world zooming past at an unbelievably fast rate. I don’t think I could even concentrate enough to form words and wished he would do the same by spending all his brain power on not getting me killed! Ok, so I fully admit that I am a full blown pansy in this aspect but as someone that has never gone over the speed limit in her life, then this was one of my nightmares. At least when Draven did it I was dating him, so I had the girlfriend’s right to shout at him until he drove at a speed where I wouldn’t find my fingernails embedded in the fancy upholstery.

  “Umm…that would be a no.” I whispered and his laughter filled the small space in the car. When he finally stopped laughing at me, I felt his hand leave the steering wheel and reach for me. He uncurled my hand that was gripping onto the seat in a death grip and placed it on the middle console with careful and slow movements that said he took my fear seriously.

  “This is the Lamborghini Reventon, it’s a 6.5 litre v12 and does 221 mph…”

  “Telling me how fast it goes is not going to help me here.” I cut in, looking out the window into the night blurring past. He
chuckled and I flashed him with a filthy look, one he ignored. I watched as he changed gears with paddles on the steering wheel and felt the pull of the car as the road opened up in front of us. I must have made a noise as he sped up, so I was surprised when he slowed it down.

  “I will make you a deal.”

  “Does this deal benefit me in any way?” I asked.

  “It should do. I will drive at a sensible speed on these roads through the mountains…if…”

  “If?” I had a bad feeling about this.

  “If you have faith in my ability to control this car and get us there at a decent time without flinching throughout the entire process.” Ok, this was too easy.

  “Why do I feel a big but coming on?” I said sarcastically.

  “Oh there’s a but alright, one you won’t like, but considering the other options you left me with, I think this one will have the better outcome…for you anyway.” He added dryly.

  “Can you elaborate on that, please.”

  “You hate heights, that much has been established. So I could either have had you drugged and flown back to Munich or driven in a very fast car, I picked the latter.” As much as I hated to admit it, I preferred his choice.

  “But, I will not being going at this speed the entire way Keira, I need to get there quickly and having you screaming in my ear all the way will serve as a distraction, even if it is the car making you scream and not my hands.” I nearly choked on my breath.

  “Blunt much?” I replied making him laugh once again.

  “Always!” He promised with a dark smile directed my way and with the added glow from the console, it was downright sinister.

  “So what’s the but?” I said getting him back on track and away from dangerous flirting grounds.

  “Let’s just say I like the Autobahn for one reason.” Oh shit, I knew this reason and it made me want to start clawing my way out of the car.

  “How fast did you say it could go again?” He swallowed his laugh but his eyes crinkled at the sides and there was no hiding that breathtaking smile from anyone with a pulse.

  “Ok, let me try this another way. I have enhanced senses Keira. That means that if a foolish animal did a kamikaze across the road a mile away in the pitch black, I would see it and I could react far quicker than any human could. This car, in my hands, is just an extension of those senses…In other words, I control the damn car, Keira and I do not intend to waste over two million, when only twenty one were ever made, just to prove the point that IF, by some divine intervention, the car crashed, that my first and only priority would be saving you. Besides, I love this car.” He finished this little speech and I was left gobsmacked! But his words had hit their mark and I started to relax back and just let him take hold of that control I knew he could own and manipulate so well.

  After a few minutes of silence I decide to ask some questions as I knew once we got there, this was most likely going to be the last time we had to talk alone and I still had one question my life might depend on…

  “What’s the Triple Goddess?”

  Chapter 41

  A Fast Way to Get Bitten

  Was I seriously getting growled at for asking that question?

  “And tell me Keira…how exactly do you know about the Triple Goddess?” His voice had that hard icy edge to it that had me regretting saying anything. Maybe I should have just waited to talk to Pip about it.

  “Well I don’t know though do I, that’s my point and the reason I have asked about it.” I snapped back after spinning my worries a full 360° and deciding his hard tone wasn’t going to deter me from finding my answers.

  “Don’t be obtuse Keira, you damn well know what I mean! Now tell me where you heard about it.” I rolled my eyes at his attitude just before giving in.

  “Right, fine, but just so you know, you’re not going to like it and I am not sure whether this conversation isn’t best left until you’re not in control of something with that many zero’s.” He shot me a sideways glance that would have caused the bravest of men to flinch.

  “Start talking Keira or this deal is off and you will find out what it is like to fly around these mountains at those death speeds you fear.” Ok, so this time there was no rolling my eyes but more like the look of horror that made him give me a nod of acceptance.

  “I went for a walk up to the silent garden and…”

  “By yourself?!” He shouted, interrupting me and I could only nod this time.

  “You stupid girl!” He yelled and I sunk further into my seat feeling like a naughty kid getting told off for nicking a cookie before tea time!

  “I…I...” I started but he made a slicing motion with his right hand and I stopped.

  “Just continue Keira, but know the thought of your recklessness just pisses me off even more!” This time I found my backbone.

  “You are the one that said that place was safe!” I shouted but from the looks of things, this was so not the right thing to say. His eyes had all but turned into slits and his knuckles were turning white from his grip on the steering wheel.

  “I did not! I think, if you recall that night, you would hear me telling PIP to take you to the silent garden, not for you to ever go there alone!” So he might have been right about that but a little information would have been nice!

  “Yeah well I ..”

  “Enough! Explain what happened Keira. Right now!” Once again he cut me up mid-sentence and it was a tone I wasn’t about to argue with.

  “Fine! I went up there and then two women came out from the woods!”

  “FUCK KEIRA! Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed girl?” He shouted and I began to think just how important getting this information really was and if it was worth me getting my head bitten off by a very angry Vampire!

  “CALM DOWN WILL YOU!” I shouted at him and then covered my ears with my hands trying to think straight without getting bellowed at.

  “Just continue before I self-combust and I am warning you, if you tell me how close you came to being harmed, then I really will spank some sense into you for next time you think about pulling some shit like that again!” His warning was enhanced by the look he gave me and the sight of his biceps tensing under the tight material that looked close to ripping.

  “Look, I will never get to explain what happened if you keep bloody snapping at me and saying stupid shit like threatening to spank me like a kid!”

  “Oh, it was more than a threat Keira and if you pull that crap again it will be a damn promise, now tell me what happened.” He said, thankfully in a more controlled tone.

  “Right, well as I said, two women came from the woods and tried to get me to go with them. They called me some weird ‘sister triad’ thing and went on about me being the Triple Goddess.” I said and although I could see he was still tense, his voice remained cooler.

  “What else did they say?”

  “They spoke about the moon and some Horned God that wants me to complete the cycle. There was also a bit about re-birth of ‘his Lord’ and then they called me the maiden.” When I was finished Lucius looked less than pleased and he dragged a hand over his face in frustration.

  “Let me take a wild guess and say one was a beautiful pregnant redhead and the other had a face like an old boot that had been chewed by a dog for ninety years.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little at his perfect take on the old lady.

  “Umm yeah, I would say that is accurate. So what did they mean? Why do they want me and why do they think I am…”

  “The maiden. That’s because you are.” He stated simply and I shuddered.

  “You need to explain Lucius.” I all but demanded.

  “The Triple Goddess is not just a ritual, it is more of a passageway, a legend written for a God trapped and forbidden to enter this world because of his past. You do not just get rogue Demons and Angels but on occasion… Gods. For Wiccans, the Horned God is the personification of the life force and energy in animals and all things wild but his control of the land
is what gives him his power.”

  “What happened to him?” I whispered.

  “He is also known for his increased sexual appetite on the days of the full moon and one day his appetite found the likes of a young maiden, one untouched and forbidden from the hands of men. He fell in love with the maiden and when she rejected him, he cursed the land upon which she walked.”

  “And I am gathering that was a big no, no?” I said trying to cut some of the tension that had seeped into his story.

  “His big no, no, killed thousands in famine. The wells dried up and the land refused to grow grain. Any food that did manage to hold on to their roots rotted before any lips could taste them. His rage upon the land killed all apart from the maiden he loved and only when she committed suicide did the other Gods take notice.” He looked over at me to make sure I was still with him on the story and I nodded for him to continue.

  “As punishment he was sentenced to carry the souls of the dead to the underworld, the first being that of the maiden. As a suicide, her soul was not welcome in the heavens and it is said, that until another maiden picked by the Gods was born, then no passage would be open for the Horned God to arise again”

  “What! And they think it is me?” I shouted, thinking it was all a huge mistake.

  “It is you Keira!” It was clearly the truth by the way he said this, the amount of weight behind every word.

  “Why?”

  “Because there is only one Chosen One and as you have been told enough times, that Chosen One is you. The ritual states that the sister’s triad is made from the Mother, who represents the earth, the Crone who is the underworld and then there is the Chosen, the most powerful, as the maiden represents the heavens. Each has been chosen and each has been waiting.” He said gently as though trying not to freak me out any more than I already was but it was taking me a while trying to process all this.