Taken By Storm

by L. J. Vickery

  Kulla was trying to reason with war. That would make us enemies, Erra, and there’s never been a problem between us. He was right about that one, thought Dagon. Kulla had even built a few monuments to the war god. You know we will all fight to the death for any woman who turns out to be our Chosen.

  There was a long period of silence from Erra.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck! thought Dagon. He and Nergal had purposely left out the Chosen information. They had only told Erra that shared bloodlines made the women of interest. Now that he’d heard differently, Erra wasn’t going to like it. The war god had unusual scruples when it came to eternal mates.

  I was not told the women involved would be your Chosen. Erra paused again. I apologize, Kulla. Dagon watched the big guy’s brows pull together. I will make you this promise. When I have found these women, I will not kill them, only hold them and deliver them to Nergal.

  Right. Now the asshole takes credit for the no-kill order. Dagon really should interrupt, but he wanted to see how the rest of this would play out.

  And for you, the war god told Kulla, I will give you a chance at safety, since you have always been an honorable god. Finish your structure, for which you will be sent back to the Underworld, then stay there. If you are not above on the earth, you cannot meet your Chosen, and you cannot be killed defending her. You may even meet her later in hell. It is the best offer I can make.

  Dagon watched Kulla run a hand over his face. There really was no choice, and they all knew it. Kulla’s words confirmed it.

  Thanks for the offer, Erra, but I’ll see you on the battlefield.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lenore had decided not to go to Chicago right away. As much as she would miss Anshar, she wanted to make sure her mother and grandmother settled in okay. Well, if she were honest with herself, she really wanted to pick their brains. It was about time they spilled all they knew of their family history. She wasn’t going to let them off the hook.

  Besides, after Erra’s little tirade outside earlier, it would give her some comfort to check in with her scrying elders.

  Lenore wasn’t surprised to find Ishkur in attendance to her folks. He’d been bouncing back and forth between Kulla’s project and…somewhere, for several hours. Looking at the pile of stuff in the middle of the bright, lemon-colored bedroom the witches had been given, Lenore realized that her folks had been sending Ishkur back and forth to their beach house in Plymouth to retrieve, well, everything.

  Ishkur was a very sweet immortal and seemed more than willing to fetch and carry. It was obvious that the cat even loved him as Wizarr continually twirled about and rubbed the god’s ankles. But what were Ishkur’s intentions toward her mother? It was obvious that Angie wasn’t Ishkur’s Chosen, because the god hadn’t regained his body around her. Lenore was no prude, but she was not really psyched about her mother having a fuck-buddy—if that’s what they were thinking—in the house where she lived, even an invisible one. She’d have to get to the bottom of this.

  Ishkur took one look at Lenore’s face and must have deciphered her mood.

  “I’m out of here,” he said, winking. “If you ladies need anything else, just let me know.” He was gone in an instant.

  Angie gave a deep sigh. “Now there’s a real man.”

  “No, Mom. There’s a real god. And gods play by different rules.” Lenore didn’t know if this discussion would hurt her mother’s feelings but better to let her know now than to have her heart broken later.

  “Gods have only one true mate in all of eternity,” Lenore began, watching her mother heft a large potted plant over to the ample bay window and plunk it down by the window seat. “Their mate is called their Chosen.”

  Lenore sat down on the edge of one of the double beds, hoping her mother was really listening. “These guys know when they’ve found theirs because, when they do, they lose their invisibility. Ishkur didn’t do that with you.” She added the last pragmatically. There was still no response from her mom.

  “Once they’ve found their true love, they go through an amulet sharing ceremony and, if both parties survive, they’re connected forever. Look.” Lenore closed her eyes and suffused her body with thoughts of Anshar. Sure enough, her amulet began to glow so brightly that it easily showed through her light cotton jersey. She looked down and smiled. Somewhere in Chicago, Anshar was glowing right now too. She hoped it wasn’t in front of some highly confused waiter.

  Angie put down the bowling ball bag she was about to place in a closet, and came to sit next to Lenore on the bed. She patted her daughter’s hand. “Honey, I get all that, but believe me, sometimes it doesn’t have to be about true love or even getting physical. At my age, sometimes it’s just about loneliness or needing companionship. I understand, and so does Ishkur, that a little harmless flirting isn’t going to hurt us.” Angie stroked Lenore’s hair, a playful, knowing smile on her lips. “I’ve already seen that he’s not my destiny, and I’m not his. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy each other’s company.”

  Lenore rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. She should have figured Angie would have things under control. As witchy as her family was, they were always very practical.

  Gram proved it with her next question. “So, Lenore, what else is on your agenda? If something wasn’t going on in that head of yours, you’d be with your man in Chicago.” Her grandmother chuckled. “Spit it out. We know you’ve got a pile of questions for us.” She put down a large, wire birdcage—they’d never owned a bird—and sat on the other bed. Wizarr came and jumped up on her lap.

  “You’re right,” Lenore admitted. “Now that I’ve committed myself to Anshar for…forever.” She smiled at that and so did Angie and Addie. “I’d like to know where all the males in our family have gone. You’ve never talked about them, and I haven’t asked, but now I want to know. Who was my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather? Why did they all leave and not stick around? Is there something about the women in our family that drive men away?” She was on a roll now. “And why don’t I have any magic like you two? How come I got passed over?”

  Angie and Addie May exchanged looks, and Lenore was surprised when Addie started right in.

  “Your mother fell in love very young,” her grandmother began. “Her mate was a human. An artistic, free-spirited young man with no aspirations of settling down. They had one very happy summer together, and when he moved on to an artist colony in…” Addie looked to her daughter.

  “Bologna,” Angie supplied.

  “…Bologna. Your mother had the choice of going with him or staying on in Plymouth. She chose Plymouth and, not long after he left, she discovered she was pregnant. There was really no way to get in touch with your father nor was there any need. Angie knew he was not equipped to take care of a family, so that was that.”

  Lenore’s mom didn’t look displeased at revisiting the past and smiled at some long forgotten memory. “He was a very nice young man,” she confirmed. “Now it’s your turn, Mom,” Angie said.

  “My love life. Hmm. A little more complicated. You see, I fell for a warlock. And not your run of the mill warlock, mind you, but one who was very old and very powerful. He was also extremely vain, which I didn’t realize for a number of years. He only liked young, good looking women on his arm. I qualified for that when I was your age, and I truly believed he loved me.

  “He was there when your mother was born.” Gram reminisced. “Angie knew her father when she was small. He doted on her. She was such a bright little thing and showed an aptitude for divining from my side of the family and conjuring from his.”

  Lenore looked inquisitively at her mother. The conjuring was news to her. But before she could say anything, Addie continued.

  “Eventually, I began to look my age while he stayed as young and handsome as ever. You see, he was a pure-blood, and I was of mixed heritage. Something I hadn’t considered. I would grow old, and he would not.” Her grandmother sighed. “His eye began to wander toward other
, fresher women. And, although, to this day, I’m sure he was never unfaithful, I saw the writing on the wall. I released him from his vows to me. He protested for a year or so, but eventually he moved on. We both knew it was for the best.”

  Lenore couldn’t help but ask, “Have either of these men ever tried to contact you since?” Lenore couldn’t imagine being without Anshar even for unselfish purposes.

  Angie laughed. “It’s funny you should ask! Only in the last year, I’ve become friends on the internet with both of them.”

  Addie nodded. “Not that I’ll let her put any pictures of me on her wall. I prefer that my ex-husband remember me as I was, not as the old woman I’ve become.” She grinned at Lenore. “He still looks to be your age,” she mused. “You’d think him quite handsome.”

  “Maybe someday I’ll meet him. Now that I’m immortal too, maybe we’ll have something in common.”

  Angie and Addie exchanged looks Lenore couldn’t read.

  “Perhaps, dear,” said her grandmother.

  “Now what about powers? How come I don’t have any?” For as long as she could remember, Lenore had always lamented this fact.

  “Well now, that leads me to my mother,” Addie May beamed, clearly enjoying this next bit of information.

  “You and your great-gram were two peas in a pod. Once you were born, the two of you were inseparable, and you already know you inherited her head for business, taking over at the Plymouth office after she died.”

  Lenore groused, “Of course, I loved her very much. But was that all I inherited, her business acumen?”

  “No dear. And I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out by now. Your great-grandmother was also a divining witch and, although she was born in the United States, she spent her college years in Germany. It was there that she met my father. I still remember him well.” Lenore’s grandmother got a sleepy, far-off look in her eyes, and Lenore had to snap her fingers in front of the older woman’s face to bring her back.

  “Oh! Thanks dear,” she continued, looking sheepish that she had drifted off. “My father was a large, handsome man, although a little on the blue side.”

  Lenore’s head snapped up. Blue? She’d wait that one out.

  “A native of the Rhine Gorge, he was known by the locals as a Lauernley. That’s the male version of a Lorelei, who you probably know are the famed sirens purported to sing men to their doom on the rocks of the Rhine River. That’s hogwash, of course, but it always makes humans feel better if they have someone to blame for their own mistakes,” she paused again in remembrance.

  “Anyway, I’m getting away from my point. Mother met this glorious creature on one of her many nature walks in the gorge. Apparently he couldn’t resist her beauty and gave up the river for many years to live with her. I was born in a small cottage quite close to his enclave, and eventually, his people accepted my mother. Whether for my sake, or because she was a powerful witch able to learn their ways and their magical singing powers, I don’t know.”

  Lenore’s ears perked up. She had been floating along, picturing it all, but the mention of her great-gram’s voice had her hyper-interested. She started to speak, but her grandmother cut her off.

  “Yes, Lenore. I think you’ve figured it out. All those times when you were small, and she sang to you, it would take the tension right out of the air, relaxing you and drawing you away from your tantrums.” Addie looked deeply into Lenore’s eyes. “Haven’t you always known that you inherited that ability from her, from your great grandfather’s side of the family? You, Lenore, are part Lorelei.” Again with the eye contact between her two elders.

  Lenore knew that she had an uncanny knack of calming people when she sang, but she had never realized the extent of it. Imagine. It was an actual power!

  Her mother kept going. “Considering what we’ve divined of your mate, Anshar, and now that you’ve seen his transformation for yourself…”

  Lenore didn’t even want to ask how they knew about his serpent side.

  “…we thought it was time we helped you to understand that you can ‘sing him down,’ so to speak.”

  “You mean…?” Lenore was astounded even though a part of her had somehow known it was possible for her to tame Anshar.

  “Certainly! You’ll never have to worry that he’ll get out of control with you and, once he realizes that you’re safe around him, he’ll stop treating you with kid gloves.”

  Her grandmother agreed, and then grunted, “Yes, Lenore. Ditch that ridiculous collar.”

  “Oh my God! You know about the collar?” Her brain burned at the thought of what her folks might have seen. She shook it off with a grimace, choosing instead to focus on the positive. She could control Anshar! Lenore couldn’t wait to get to Chicago and practice, but she still had so many questions. Her mother and grandmother stood and continued unpacking, as if all was now clear, and Wizarr moved to settle in Lenore’s lap. She absently scratched one ear.

  “Wait! Wait! This great grandfather of mine, this Lauernley…”

  “Yes, sweetheart, Lauernley. The name means ‘lurking in the rocks,’ whereas Lorelei means murmuring rock.” Her mother laughed. “Women sing, men lurk!”

  “Is this guy still alive? Is he an immortal?”

  “We’ve always assumed he’s immortal, but I haven’t seen him in sixty years. When Mother decided to come back to the States, he visited a few times before they knew things weren’t going to work out. Mother was not willing to go back and live in Germany and, for some reason, my father was only able to be away from his people for short amounts of time.” Addie May turned thoughtful. “I always planned on trying to find him but was afraid I would hurt Mother’s feelings, so I never did.”

  Lenore’s head was spinning. She wanted to meet them all—the human, the warlock, and the Lauernley. She was also completely thrilled to find she had a magical power! She almost, but not quite, forgot one little tidbit her grandmother had let slip. She knew she’d been purposely distracted.

  She turned accusatory eyes toward her mother. “Now tell me about the ability you have for conjuring. How come I’ve never heard of it before, and how come you’ve never used it?”

  “Oh, but I have, Lenore,” Angie sounded flustered. “It just wasn’t something I flaunted. I’ll give you an example. There was one January—you were in the second grade—and there was this awful girl with pigtails who teased you horribly. Do you recall her?” She didn’t wait for Lenore’s answer. “I was the playground monitor that day.” She laughed, remembering. “I conjured a large patch of ice right under her feet and watched her fall on her tiny loathsome ass.” A dimple peaked out on her mother’s chin. “That was such a pleasurable feeling.”

  Lenore snorted. She did indeed remember the incident, and now that her mother mentioned it, she recalled a few more instances where things like that had occurred. “So what kind of conjuring can you do right now?” She was really curious.

  “I can make things appear and disappear at will.” That dimple again. “What would you like me to get for you?”

  “A hot fudge sundae, no nuts.”

  With a flick of her wrist, Angie did her thing, and the ice-cold confection appeared on the bedside table.

  “I wish you’d told me this sooner,” Lenore squealed. “I could have used this when I was younger!” Scooting Wizarr away before he stuck his nose in it, Lenore picked up a long, silver spoon and took a big bite. As the ice cream melted on her tongue, she thought ahead.

  “Do you mind if I tell the gods you have this ability? I’ll bet we can find a way you can help around here, using your powers.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Am I interrupting anything?” Tess whisked into the room, and look at Lenore’s sundae with a quizzical expression. The goddess licked her lips. “Yum. Where did you get that?”

  Angie winked at Lenore and conjured another for Tess.

  “Oh, my gods! That is the coolest power,” Tess squealed. She sat and picked up her spoon befo
re she continued, “I hope I’m not intruding, but I needed a little girl time.” Tess took a bite. “Don’t get me wrong. I love all the guys, they’re a bunch of sweeties, but I can only take so many…” Lenore could sense Tess’s hesitation, not knowing how colorful to get in front of the elders.

  “Dick jokes?” ventured Addie May, kicking that qualm in the ass. They all burst out laughing.

  “I’m really going to like having you guys around, and having women to do things with. Which brings me to the real reason for my visit.” Tess looked at Lenore, conspiratorially. “What would you say about a quick trip to the mall?”

  “I think, yes,” Lenore answered. “I love to shop. But won’t the guys have a fit?” Lenore scraped the last bit of fudge from the bottom of her glass. “I don’t think Marduk or Anshar would be too pleased if we left the compound, especially with big bad Erra out and about.”

  “Here’s what I was thinking,” Tess sounded all too eager. “The Plaza is only a few miles from here and has great stores. I am in desperate need of some new lingerie, and I’ve been holed up here for way too long. I haven’t even looked at any of the new summer stuff that’s out,” Tess continued eagerly. Now she really had Lenore’s interest.

  “There’s an access door to the mall on the second floor that’s rarely used. We could mist in there, and immediately step out and mix with the shoppers. I don’t think that Erra would dare to attack us in such a crowded public place. Marduk told me that Dagon has always tried to make their confrontations discreet.”