Taken By Storm

by L. J. Vickery

  “That’s true,” agreed Lenore. She knew more about it than Tess. “When I was in charge, Dagon always cautioned us against gaining too much attention.”

  Tess looked ecstatic that she finally had a partner in crime. “Great. Where to first? Lingerie shopping?”

  “I’m going to join Anshar in Chicago tomorrow,” Lenore speculated. “So I could use a few new bra and pantie sets.” Tess finished her sundae. “When do you want to leave?”

  “Like, right now,” she giggled. “I’ll be back in a sec.” Tess sprang to her feet. “I need to get my new credit card.” Lenore loved the cheeky look on her new friend’s face. “I asked Marduk what my credit limit is when he gave it to me, and he told me not to worry about it. This is going to be so much fun.”

  Lenore was sure Marduk hadn’t meant for his wife to go off on her own, spending money. But she wasn’t technically alone. Lenore would be with her. How much trouble could two goddesses get into?

  “Are you sure this is okay, honey?” Angie asked her daughter after Tess had disappeared.

  “I’m sure it’s not,” Lenore retorted. “But what the gods don’t know, won’t hurt them,” she smirked. “Besides, I’ve seen Tess in action, and the girl can really fight.” She looked pointedly at her mother. “And you know I’m no slouch, either. I think, between the two of us, we can take care of ourselves.” She kissed both of the women’s cheeks. “Don’t wait up.”

  She joined Tess in the front foyer, and they simultaneously misted out for fun time at the mall.

  The doorway Tess had mentioned was right where she had said, so they both paused behind it, regained physical bodies, and pushed through it unnoticed. It had been a long time since Lenore had shopped with a girlfriend, and she was looking forward to the experience.

  “So. Lingerie first? It’s up to you. This is your mall.” Lenore gave free reign to Tess.

  “My mall?” Tess laughed. “I’ve only been in Quincy for a few months. This is just my third time here. Let’s wander around.” Her eyes twinkled. “I do, however, know where they keep the lingerie store.”

  They made a circuit of the second floor, lamenting that they’d already had sundaes when they saw the luscious chocolate shop. Tea purveyors, clothing stores, shoe stores; the goddesses would have liked to go into every one but seemed to have arrived at an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t spend too long at the plaza. Neither wanted to press their luck running into Erra or hearing about their digressions from irate partners.

  They went down an elevator and the lingerie shop of choice was directly across the mall. They managed to make it past the vendor selling toy helicopters and the woman threading eyebrows to enter the world of perfect panties.

  The store smelled delightful, and the two dove right in to the newest arrivals.

  “What do you think?” Tess held up a mauve push-up. “Under a T-shirt?”

  Lenore shook her head. “Go for the tiger stripe. I think Marduk will like it better.” She was deep into the demis and trying to avoid more pink, although that was proving difficult.

  They moved through to the back of the store, where more styles were displayed. Lenore crouched down to open a bottom drawer holding her size when she was swamped with a very uneasy feeling. She sent a head message to Tess

  Do you sense something bad?

  Tess had her back to the room, perusing the items on a shelf.

  Shit! Yes!

  Lenore grabbed a highly seductive see-through bra, holding it up against her chest. Stay still. I’m going to stand and have a look.

  Lenore rose and pretended to focus on a mirror across the aisle but instead got a good, surreptitious first look at their enemy. Her feet felt like lead, and she swallowed hard.

  Tess, you know how big our guys are? Lenore asked, extra-glad that she’d finally gotten the hang of head-talk isolation.

  Yes, Tess answered, still with her back to the enemy.

  Freshmen to this guy’s senior. He’s gargantuan! He oozes mean, and he’s looking right at me. Lenore moved in front of the mirror as if examining the scrap of material from all sides.

  Stay cool, and keep him distracted, Tess sent to her. Was the goddess working on a plan? I’m going to call the cops and tell them we’re being stalked. If we can keep the big dude busy until they get here, we’ll have a chance to mist out while they confront him and ask him questions. Tess’s laugh held only a small hint of hysteria. Once they get a load of his speech, maybe they’ll think he’s some foreign spy.

  Cause spies always hang out at the mall in ladies underwear stores, Lenore quipped, but she was game to try anything. The situation sucked.

  They could always put in an emergency SOS to Marduk and Anshar, but Lenore wasn’t up for the lecture that would surely follow.

  She watched surreptitiously in the mirror while Tess made her phone call. She connected in their heads, so Lenore could hear everything that was going on.

  It was surprisingly easy for Tess to convince the dispatch officer that she needed help. Her panicked and hushed voice must have lent credence to the situation. He told her that the response time was five minutes. Damn! That was going to seem like an eternity.

  Tess hung up, then deliberately reached for some items on the wall. She gave what Lenore figured was her best, girlish squeal. “Lenore!” she gushed, holding up a pair of low rise, lace and leopard print bikinis. “Look at these.” She approached her friend, completely ignoring the hulking god, who stood no more than twenty feet away. She whispered in her ear.

  “We need to keep him from making a move.” Then increasing her volume again, she purred, “Don’t you just adore the style?” Tess turned partially and lowered the scrap, smoothing the material evocatively over one ass cheek. Lenore picked up on the game.

  “You need to find a matching bra.” She flounced back to where Tess had been and removed one from the display.

  Lenore came back to the mirror and held the bra out to Tess. “What do you think? Do you like it?” Tess took it with an outstretched hand. He’s coming closer, Lenore murmured.

  Tess made her eyes go all soft and suggestive, draping the bra across her chest and lifting her breasts toward Lenore for approval. “I do. What do you think? Do you think my nipples will show through this material?” Tess said loudly enough for Erra to hear, then added for her head only, Does he look interested?

  Hell, he should, came Lenore’s nervous retort. He’s been in the Underworld for a gazillion years watching earthworms make out. Then she spoke aloud, provocatively. “Hold the panties next to you again. I’m going to feel them on your ass.”

  It was a fondle-fest, and they were definitely sparking something in the war god. He had slowed his advance when he was ten feet away, and she saw his hand moving over the front of his jeans. Yikes! What a waste of man-flesh, Lenore breathed. He’s hung like a horse if that bulge is any indication. Too bad it’s attached to such an asshole. Lenore turned back to the game at hand and gave it her all, tickling Tess’s ear with her tongue so the god could see. What next?

  Give me a countdown as he comes closer, Tess instructed. When he’s four feet away, I’m going to go for his balls. Tess gave a lusty moan, loudly for Erra’s ears.

  Lenore whispered back. You are my kind of girl, baby! I’ll be right behind you with a double-handed chop to the back of his head.

  Then Tess squealed, seeming to turn her attention back to the bra. “Ooh! Look at my nipples! I was right.”

  Erra must have wanted to look at the goddess’ nipples too. He approached as if in a daze.

  Lenore counted down. Three, two, one, go!

  Tess turned on one heel and aimed a solid kick to Erra’s groin. It was a little higher than she expected, but it landed with power. Erra howled and doubled over. Lenore was right behind, sending both fists into the back of the god’s head. It was definitely not what he had been expecting from the two giddy women.

  Erra roared and, even though he must have been in dire need of gripping hi
s assaulted balls, he instead sent a hand out in each direction and seized the women; Tess by the hand and Lenore by the arm.

  Oh, no, you don’t, thought Lenore, into his brain.

  Erra was trying to reel them in closer, but he was having difficulty. His eyes had yet to re-focus after his trauma, and she and Tess were fighting, kicking, and cursing like demons.

  Lenore could hear him spouting off in his head as clear as day.

  What is wrong with women? Make easy on selves. Come with Erra nice.

  Fuck him! Lenore set him straight. Time to get with the new world, baby. Get a load of how goddesses behave in the modern age.

  Lenore and Tess screamed at the top of their lungs. They were certainly attracting a crowd, which wasn’t a bad thing, but where were the friggin’ cops?

  Lenore watched Erra twist Tess’s wrist.

  What was that? The voice came in from far away.

  Lenore groaned. She was still getting communication via Tess, and Marduk was in their heads. He had felt Tess’s pain in Chicago.

  Nothing, love. Just reached for something on a shelf the wrong way. Tess improvised and was able to wrench free.

  Lenore clapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to snort. Would Marduk buy Tess’s thin lie? Lenore heard him chuckle. Apparently he had.

  Try to be a little more careful, baby. He admonished cheerfully. I need my fingers.

  Lenore and Tess let out sighs of relief. Now all they had to do was play keep-away with death until human help arrived. The store manager called for security, right before her arm got wrenched behind her back.

  “Son of a…” Lenore was not happy. That fucking hurt! She brought her famed stiletto heel down with purpose on top of Erra’s foot. The god bent over in pain for a second time but still didn’t ease his grip, grabbing Tess once again, and now having hands on them both. He let loose another roar, but now his anger would do him no good. Here came the cavalry and, in their heads, Anshar with questions of his own.

  Are you reaching for something, too, my love? he asked with an impish air.

  Ha, ha. Nope. Actually, Tess lied. She and I are having a friendly scuffle. She changed the story, just in case their pain escalated.

  Uniformed police suddenly surrounded the little tableau, guns drawn. Wow, thought Lenore to Tess, the good guys are playing for keeps.

  “Let go of the women,” the officer in charge yelled. He looked damned young, and Lenore hoped he wasn’t as green as he appeared.

  “Mine,” Erra cried in response to the order, yanking Lenore’s arm again.

  What the hell are you doing to each other, Lenore? Great. Now Anshar was suspicious, but she had no time to make him feel warm and fuzzy. She was a little worried. The war god looked like he wasn’t going to make nice even with the police presence. Well, fuck it. She knew it would look weird as hell, but she had to try something. Give me a second, Anshar, will you?

  The diminutive goddess sidled up next to the big immortal and started in low, giving quiet voice to her song.

  Are you singing something to him? Tess asked quizzically.

  Yes, answered Lenore and nearly giggled. Wasn’t the huge lunk eating it up? He loosened his hold on Tess’s wrist. The goddess took immediate advantage and wrenched away. He didn’t even seem to notice.

  Lenore used her free hand to pat the immortal’s enormous shoulder, and could see the tension wash out of him and out of everybody else who had crowded into the room. Even the cops had lowered their guns and stood, watching in silence.

  Lenore gently slipped her hand from Erra’s grasp and came over to tug on Tess.

  “Let’s go. Now. Before everyone comes out of it.” Tess clearly didn’t want to snap out of whatever it was either but having recognized the urgency in Lenore’s voice, she responded instinctively.

  The two left the store and slipped into an emergency alcove, misting immediately back to the T-Taj. They sat on Tess’s bed, shaken for a moment, then burst into hysterical laughter, hooting in relief at their near miss. Once they calmed, they agreed that they had learned two valuable lessons today.

  One: Erra was not above making a public spectacle, which boded ill as they ventured out in the world to find more Chosen. And two: they’d have to do their shopping online from now on.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dagon strode down the darkened Chicago street. He was angry at everything. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to happen. When had everything turned to shit?

  Matthew fought to keep up with him. “Tell me what the hell we’re supposed to do next?”

  Dagon stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Matthew. “What next?” he responded with a growl. “I don’t frigging know. I’m not in charge anymore.” He watched Matthew’s eyes flicker. “You think working for me hasn’t been easy,” he barked, “wait until you meet your new boss. He’s a real piece of work.” Dagon was glad when a glimmer of unease washed over the mortal.

  “First,” Dagon stuck a finger under Matthew’s nose. “He hates humans. And second, as far as I can tell he has no strategy at all. He just wants to kill everybody!” Dagon threw up his hands in disgust. Matthew probably liked the killing part. The prick had proved that he was certainly bloodthirsty enough.

  “When will I meet him?” Matthew questioned, a little too enthusiastically.

  “Soon, I suspect,” Dagon obliged. Maybe he could abandon the two assholes to their own devices. “He’s supposedly ‘cleaning house’ in Plymouth, which probably means snapping a few necks to get everybody’s attention. Then he’ll leave a contingent of terrified surveillance personnel to keep an eye on the Blue Hills while he comes here and tries to shake things up in a similar way.” He looked pointedly at Matthew. “All I can say is, we better find this girl Holly before he gets here, or our asses will all be toast.”

  Dagon didn’t know if he was capable of looking tired, but Matthew was regarding him with something akin to sympathy. It seemed that even the mortal knew Dagon was close to being handed his pink slip. Well, Dagon didn’t want his sympathy, he wanted his cooperation.

  “Stop being a lazy bastard and keep working the search grid we laid out,” Dagon shouted. “Maybe we can prove ourselves if we have some success.” He attempted to calm down. “Show me what you’ve covered while I was gone, and we’ll split up to canvas more ground.”

  The two leaned over Matthew’s smart phone, considered their needs, and parted company. Dagon purposely chose the roughest part of town as his next assignment. He was hoping a few good fights might relieve some tension.

  The god walked farther and faster into the higher numbered streets, past the enormous cemetery, seeing more and more people emerging into the night as the hour got later.

  For every bar and after-hours jazz club he came across, it seemed he passed at least one vacant lot and two brick-fronted chapels. The people here sure loved their music, beer, and preaching.

  Dagon approached a bunch of densely packed buildings and picked up on some immortal energy coming from one of the larger drinking establishments. He was about to bypass the kind of trouble that spelled “Marduk,” when a huge body came sailing out the door. Human, Dagon ascertained, but the body had been launched with purpose.

  Who and what had provoked the altercation? Dagon was intrigued. He decided to take a closer look and cloaked himself with invisibility before wafting in. His presence was noticed by the gods right away.

  “Stay the hell out of this, Dagon!” Marduk was being roughed up by three men simultaneously, two of whom held ugly looking knives. Marduk had not taken his eyes off of them to address Dagon’s arrival.

  The god kept his mouth shut, although he wanted to mention how amusing the situation was. He looked around for Anshar. Sure enough, the blond god was across the room and had obviously been the one who ejected the body out through the door. He, too, was faced with a number of assailants, but had blood dripping from his nose and a wild, maniacal kind of look on his face as he laughed and taunted his would b
e opponents to come closer.

  Dagon didn’t know what had started the fight, but he envied the two gods their fun. He turned back to Marduk, who seemed to be in a little bit more trouble. With three against one, the thunder god was trying to keep his back to the wall but was hindered by the built-in booths. Dagon recognized a problem about to happen as one of the dagger-wielding men signaled to a friend to climb over the furniture and attack Marduk from behind.

  Dagon decided, at that moment, that he was rooting for the gods.

  Attacker number four approaching from your five o’clock, Dagon let Marduk know and wondered how the immortal would take care of it. Their eyes met, and Dagon almost laughed. Marduk was suspicious of the information.

  Fine. Don’t believe me.

  Apparently Marduk chose to listen. As his unseen attacker stepped onto the wooden table behind him, the thunder god brought both hands down hard on the edge of the eating surface, flipping it end over end as it ripped free from the wall and tossed the aggressor on his ass. He then kicked out at knife-guy number one, punched unarmed-asshole in the face and, unfortunately, got sliced down one arm by knife-guy number two for his troubles.

  Dagon’s eyes shifted. The aggressor from behind hadn’t gone down hard enough. He was about to reach up and carve Marduk’s face. If Dagon were truly in the cheering section for the gods, he couldn’t let that happen.

  He sighed and became corporeal to Marduk’s right, grabbing the antagonist by the wrist in a no-nonsense grip. Amidst all the fuss, not a person had noticed that he’d appeared out of thin air.

  Dagon applied pressure, and the man screamed a pussy-assed, high-pitched squeal before dropping the knife.

  “Good boy,” Dagon told him before grabbing him by the neck and lifting him free of Marduk’s melee. He tossed him easily against the bar. Dagon caught the surprised look that the thunder god sent him and shrugged before succumbing to the pleasure of the brawl. Gods, it felt good to work off his stress. Dagon had incapacitated two more combatants before he noticed that his hands were empty. Marduk must have noticed too.