Goddess's Saga 1: Touch of the Goddess

by Maria Hammarblad

  He poked a gear carefully, then another, and when he was satisfied, the ones that had stopped temporarily moved again, finding new positions.

  “This is where we are, these must be coordinates to a star system, and I’m guessing these are latitude and longitude on a planet.”

  She met his eyes.

  They wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of going there, just to see what it was.

  It still only took a couple of minutes before the map ended up under the bed, next to her panties.

  ~ 23 ~

  Olga paced the castle library. Being left behind like this was humiliating, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

  If anyone should be out there trying to defend the colony it should be her, but the strangers told her to stay where she were, doing nothing like a child.

  Despite her anger, she still spun around when she heard the door open, and ran up to them, eager for news.

  “What happened? Did you find anything?”

  Stephan and Maria glanced at each other, and she narrowed her eyes.

  Are you keeping secrets from me? Don’t keep secrets on my planet.

  He said, “Yes. We found a cave with an underground lake and an island.”

  She started pacing again, feeling like a caged animal.

  “I knew it.”

  Stephan murmured, “Maybe we should come back later,” and she whirled around to face him.

  “The curse, is it still there? What happened? You must tell me all about this.”

  His eyes wandered towards her breasts and she smiled in spite of all. She had picked the soft red shirt carefully. Nothing wrong with looking good at the end of the world...

  Maria nudged Stephan and said, “The curse, well, it was really a virus, it’s gone. I do think all the infected ones are gone as well. Your people are safe.”

  And? What aren’t you telling me?

  “You’re hiding things from me. Don’t do that. This is my planet and not yours.”

  She knew she was challenging the other woman, but she couldn’t help it.

  Maria opened her mouth, and Olga steeled herself for getting into a verbal skirmish, but Stephan interrupted them both.

  “You know what we should do? I bet they had some form of hideout somewhere. There might be survivors.”

  Olga shook her head.

  “You think we should go there? That could be very dangerous if they’re still around.”

  Maria shrugged and sided with Stephan.

  “I think it is a good idea. It’s a good opportunity to learn about them, and they’re all gone, so it’s quite safe. You can stay behind if you don’t want to go.”

  “Are you implying I’m a coward? I’m just saying it’s not a good plan. You don’t even know where to start looking.”

  Maria stared back and Stephan rolled his eyes.

  “Stop this, both of you.”

  Olga averted her eyes and blushed, chastised by his tone of voice. He surprised her by smiling.

  “I have a pretty good idea of where we should go. I saw an old ruin up in the forest to the north when we landed. It’s not far, and it’s where I would have gone.”

  “What ruin? There aren’t any ruins here. We’re the first people on this planet.”

  Maria rolled her eyes.

  “There were civilizations here before you, and there will be other civilizations here after you. The rover will get us most of the way.”

  *****

  Stephan knew the little vehicle should still be parked outside the cave, but he wasn’t surprised to find it outside the castle gate. Since meeting Maria, things like this happened all the time.

  He got in behind the wheel and pressed a few keys to make a map visible on the console. Olga was nowhere in sight.

  “Do you think she’ll come?”

  Maria shrugged.

  Good thing we’ll be leaving soon, before they get into a real fight.

  He started the engine and Olga came running. She jumped into the back and muttered, “This is an idiotic waste of time.”

  Steering away from the settlement over lush green fields, it reminded him of the trip they set out on the very same morning. It was hard to believe all the things they’d been through really happened, and in such a short time.

  I wonder what happened to W.

  He glanced over at Maria, but she looked the other way.

  It wasn’t a long drive to the edge of the forest, and they travelled mostly in silence. As they reached the first trees, he manoeuvred the rover in between them, finding a path over rocks and the occasional tree trunk. Eventually, the trail became too narrow even for him, and he parked next to a tall tree filled with large purple flowers.

  Maybe Olga was right all along and this was folly. I should have taken Maria to the ship and left, or maybe we shouldn’t have returned to the castle at all.

  He wasn’t much for premonitions and shrugged the thought off.

  “Ladies, I think we’ll be walking from here.”

  Olga jumped down from the car with the grace of a cat, and Maria exited her side no less elegantly.

  Both stepped down the path, but he didn’t follow.

  He crossed his arms, resisted the temptation to flex his muscles, and looked sternly at the two of them.

  “Do me a favour, girls, and try not to fight. It gives me a headache.”

  He winked at Maria, who smiled and answered in a merry voice, “Yes Daddy.”

  Olga didn’t take it quite as well.

  She grumbled, “I’ll fight as much as I want to,” but still stayed mostly silent as they trekked through the woods.

  *****

  Olga walked behind the others, stumbling over stones and roots.

  The day was much too hot, and how the hell did Maria manage to walk in that silly little dress? Those ridiculous high-heeled shoes shouldn’t work in the forest.

  It’s not fair.

  She didn’t have too much time to fret before they reached the ruins. An old stone wall seemed to rise up from nowhere and she more sensed than saw it at first. The ancient walls were covered with moss and vines, and once her eyes got used to the sight, the fortress was larger than her city.

  Stephan’s voice woke her from her reverie.

  “We’re certainly in the right place.”

  Lowering her eyes from the wall, she followed his gaze to the ground and slapped both of her hands in front of her mouth to prevent a surprised yelp from escaping.

  “Oh my goodness…”

  There were bodies strewn all over the ground, and she recognized many of the turned.

  I guess they were right, but I wish they’d been wrong. I do not want to see this.

  When she finally ripped her eyes away from the devastation, she saw Maria step over a corpse, holding her skirt up as if reluctant to let the hem become dirty.

  That’s too bizarre. Those two look as if shit like this happens to them all the time. What kind of life is that?

  She didn’t move until she saw her friends disappear into the ruin, leaving her alone with the dead. That thought made her hurry, and she ran to catch up with them.

  She walked under a giant archway, glancing up.

  I hope that thing isn’t about to collapse...

  One of the turned lay on the ground with his arms stretched towards the path, and she jogged a few steps to close the gap to Stephan. Up ahead, Maria veered off to the side, and Olga glanced after her.

  “Where are you going?”

  She only looked away from the ground for a second, but it was enough.

  She stepped into nothingness.

  There was absolutely nothing to carry her weight, and she fell forward with a yelp.

  The fall lasted forever, and then, at the very last second, an invisible hand caught her.

  She hoped it was Maria holding her, and not some ancient contraption that might give way and drop her.

  Olga lay flat on her stomach in the air, just a foot over a gr
id of ancient, rusty, and menacing spikes. Even after all this time, they still looked sharp.

  Shit, shit, shit. I fell into a trap.

  It took a couple of long seconds before she dared even to blink, and she gasped for air.

  Once she managed to pull her attention away from the certain death beneath her and turn her head to the side, she cried out again. Right next to her was the rotting body of one of the first people who turned. His eye hung out of the socket, and a portion of the nose was gone.

  She heard Stephan’s voice.

  “You got her, right?”

  Maria answered, “Of course I got her.”

  “Just checking, you know. If you got her, why don’t you bring her up?”

  Listen to him, bring me up. Please, bring me up.

  Maria’s voice said, “I think maybe we should go down.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s stuff down there. Don’t you trust me?”

  “Of course I do.”

  Oh my God stop arguing. I’m sure you both think it’s really cute, but I’m dying here.

  Her voice came out a whimper.

  “Well, whatever you do, make sure to do it soon.”

  She turned her head enough to see the sky with one eye. Maria took a step over the edge and stood in mid-air, but she couldn’t see Stephan.

  Maria reached out a hand and teased, “You really don’t trust me.”

  He too stepped off the edge, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. They both sank down until their feet were at Olga’s level. Strange how Maria’s shoes looked brand new.

  Maria’s voice asked, “What are you still doing down there?”

  “Can’t you see she’s terrified?”

  “Well, I’m holding her, I don’t know what to do.”

  Stephan crouched down and took her hand.

  “It’s alright. You’re okay. Come on, you need to get up.”

  His warm hand and confident grip encouraged her and she got to her feet, keeping her eyes fixed on the spikes below.

  Standing on nothing was even more uncomfortable than lying on it, and her legs wanted to fold.

  “Oh no, don’t fall.”

  Stephan grabbed her around the waist and she clung to him.

  *****

  Stephan sought Maria’s eyes, but she stared at the wall, pretending she didn’t care about the other woman hanging on to him.

  I’m so tired of you two fighting over me.

  He definitely didn’t want to give them any more reasons, so he freed himself from Olga’s grip.

  “Olga, you’re okay. You can let me go.”

  Taking a good look around, the place looked just as horrific down here as it appeared from above.

  “We’re all here. What was it you wanted to see?”

  Maria frowned and bit her lip as she looked around.

  “It has to be here somewhere...”

  She walked through empty air with a determined look on her face, and Olga groaned.

  “She’s making me seasick.”

  “Just pretend you’re walking on glass, and it’s not all that bad.”

  She gripped his arm again, and he couldn’t help a little smile.

  I’ll never wish for Maria to depend on me again, but it is nice to have a beautiful woman turn to me for support.

  “What is she doing?”

  “I don’t know, she’ll tell us soon enough.”

  Maria pulled her hands over the wall, clearly searching for something, but every rock looked the same to him. He was used to her doing peculiar things and wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

  They watched her roam along the wall, looking like she counted on her fingers.

  “There you are...”

  She pushed on a stone. It was old and hadn’t moved for millennia, and it didn’t move now either. She glanced over her shoulder.

  “Lover, would you give me a hand and push on this one?”

  Most people regarded Stephan as muscle, missing the fact that he was intelligent as well as burly. It bothered him; his muscles came more from good genes than hard work, but he didn’t mind doing the heavy lifting when it was her asking.

  He walked up to her, smiled, and kissed her quickly before pushing the stone. He didn’t have much hope of accomplishing anything, but he hardly even had to try.

  Subjected to his strong hands it moved, as if it had been used yesterday, and a portion of the rock wall in front of them slid to the side.

  It had probably been noiseless when it was still used frequently, but after all this time it made a loud scraping noise. Maria wrinkled her nose and Olga covered her ears.

  Stale air flowed past him and he couldn’t help but wonder what ancient viruses they just released into the unsuspecting atmosphere.

  Oh well, if anything’s dangerous I’m sure she’ll deal with it.

  He peeked into a long and dark corridor. It seemed a little damp, but overall in good shape.

  Maria nodded towards the hallway.

  “After you, handsome.”

  ~ 24 ~

  The corridor stretched in under the large buildings and wasn’t the most inviting place Stephan ever saw, but he had certainly been in worse.

  He flashed Maria a smile and took a couple of steps inside.

  The doorway was so low he had to bend his head to get through, but there was plenty of room inside. She followed him and the walls started to glow with a soft light, chasing away the darkness that ruled for so long.

  The door began to close behind them and Olga ran in, clearly reluctant to be left alone with all the death outside.

  I guess she’s alright if she can still run.

  At first, the corridor seemed to lead nowhere but down, carved out of the very mountain that had been underneath their feet. After a few minutes, however, the walls began to change, growing more polished and shiny, looking more like they once had.

  Behind him, Olga said, “Hey guys, shouldn’t we go back...”

  Then, she ran past him. “I see something!”

  He hurried to catch up with her, just in case. It didn’t seem likely that they’d encounter anything dangerous in this tomb, but one could never be too sure.

  Olga stood by an intricately carved door, flanked by a statue on either side. Everything was well preserved, and even if the statues were old and cracked, one could still distinguish their features. They were of tall and slender creatures, sitting on their hind legs. Each had four arms, holding different items hard to make out.

  Maria muttered, “I wonder if they held weapons or food...”

  The statues had perked ears and long noses, almost like dogs. Olga’s voice held unusual awe.

  “Wow. I wonder if that’s what they looked like. I can’t believe someone else lived here before us.”

  “I doubt it. Humans on old Earth liked to put statues of gargoyles or lions outside their houses, but they sure don’t look like them.”

  Maria’s words made Stephan chuckle.

  I’ve met a lot of people who resembled gargoyles. They might not have visible horns, but they sure have ugly snouts.

  He lifted his hand to the door handle, expecting it to fall to dust between his fingers, but it both held together and worked, and the door swung open without a sound. The air that flowed out over them was dry and dusty, and inside the room, piles of debris on the floor marked places where wooden furniture once stood. Some of it remained, defying the ages, but not much.

  There had been stone shelves lining the walls, and they were still there, dusty and cracked, but holding together. A lot of the contents had fallen apart during the past few centuries. Much of it had turned into fragments or powder, but a surprising amount of shelves remained filled with ancient scrolls and books, so old and fragile they could burst into pieces at the slightest touch.

  Both girls seemed enthralled with the find and he leaned his back against the wall.

  This would be a long wait.

  *****

  The room had been s
ealed off for so long even the insects died and long since turned to dust.

  Olga sneezed as she pulled a scroll from a shelf. This one was in a little better shape than most of the others, and she rolled it out.

  “I will send scientists over here, they can handle this much better. Any knowledge that is in here should be incorporated with the library and saved for future generations.”

  Maria nodded and Olga flashed a smile. For once, they agreed.

  They bent over the scroll side by side.

  Much of the ink had vanished, but it was still possible to make out well-drawn images of people and animals tied together by a beautiful but alien handwriting.

  “I wonder what it says.”

  “This is a very interesting scroll. It tells something of the history of this place and of the people who built it. My guess is that it was used for education, like a school-book.”

  Olga stared at her.

  “You’re making that up.”

  “I don’t make stuff up. You should bring this home, there’s a lot to learn from it.”

  “If you can read it, what does it say?”

  Maria flashed a smile.

  “Well, the people from the fortress were basically humanoid, but taller and thinner than humans. They had large black eyes and shimmering, pale, green skin. Wait...”

  She pulled a hand through the air, and Olga stared at the image that suddenly hung in front of her.

  “They’re beautiful. What happened to them?”

  “Let’s see... Oh, they were at war with the people from the underground, and they were losing. They built these rooms to protect their knowledge, just in case someone would survive.”

  “That’s so sad. I guess the rooms worked better than they anticipated.”

  She heard Stephan rummage around behind them. He poked the corner of a wooden shelf and it turned to dust.

  “Why couldn’t we have found something a little more interesting than old scrolls? Like a treasury chamber or an armoury.”

  Maria smirked.

  “Keep looking, maybe you’ll find it.”

  “Hmh.”

  The scroll caught Olga’s attention again.