"I just wonder what the hell he was up to, and if it's going to involve me," I shook my head. "I wonder if his god knew about it, and if he's been up to something for a while now."
"Who knows? If Aryanna tells me anything, I'll let you know," Nikki said.
I nodded.
Nikki caught up with me the next morning, while I was being sick in the toilet.
"Hey, Bro, what's wrong?" She asked looking at me surprised.
I coughed and wiped my mouth and got back up. "No idea, I think I picked up a stomach bug or something back in Dezba's sphere."
Nikki looked at me a little confused. "How long has this been going on?"
I shrugged and got a drink of water, rinsing my mouth out. "A week? Two? Started puking in the mornings about five days ago. Up until then I was just feeling sick in the mornings."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were pregnant," Nikki laughed.
I stopped and stared at her, "What?"
"Well, I don't think we can get sick, I mean we have healing spells for everything, Bro, and when we're in our champion forms, we're immune to everything I think as well. Course being pregnant isn't a disease." Nikki smirked, "However, as you don't have the equipment for it, I don't think that's the case."
I closed the toilet and sat down on it, "Morning sickness?" I said and shook my head.
"I was just teasing you, Bro," Nikki laughed, "you're a guy! You can't get morning sickness."
I looked down at the floor and shook my head. "Actually, I am pregnant." I looked up at Nikki, who looked like she'd just eaten a lemon. "Almost three months, if what I was told was correct."
Nikki blinked, "That's impossible, Will. You're not a woman."
"Remember when I told you about how we all got sex changed when we went to the Siren's sphere?"
Nikki's eyes got wide, "Oh. My. God. You didn't?"
"Well, actually, Stephanie did, and I didn't find out about it until we left." I told her about what Fel had told me, and what the goddess Sireen had done for me.
Nikki sat down on the edge of the tub. "Wow, I had no idea. But still, it's been years, and all of that is back on that sphere. You shouldn't be feeling it now."
I nodded, "I'll talk to Fel about it I guess."
Nikki shook her head, "Come back with me and talk to Aryanna about it."
"Why Aryanna?" I asked surprised.
"Cause she's a girl, you nit," Nikki laughed. "What does Feliogustus know about having a baby? He's a guy!"
"He's also a god," I reminded her.
"Pfft! Still a guy. Aryanna's had kids of her own, besides, you can always talk to Feliogustus about it later."
I thought about it a moment, "I guess that makes sense."
Nikki nodded, "Of course it does. Let me go tell Mom I'm leaving with you, and we can head out in an hour or two."
I nodded and stood up. "Might as well gather my things."
Nikki stopped at the doorway and looked back at me, "What are you doing to do about it, Bro?"
"About what?"
"The baby."
I held my hands out and shrugged, "Have it eventually, I guess."
"Really?" She looked surprised.
"With all the kids my wives have had, only seems fair that I go through it once, don't you think?" I joked.
"Yeah, sure." Nikki said and rolled her eyes, "What's the real reason?"
"Steph meant a lot to me." I paused a moment, "She's gone now. It may seem tacky, but it's all I've got left of her, and well, I think she'd want me to." I laughed and smiled, "Besides, you know how much I love my kids, how hard could it be?"
Her laughter was not very reassuring.
Three
Kingstown, Aryanna's Temple
We were sitting in the high priest's office in Aryanna's main temple, just me, my sister Nikki, and Aryanna, who I was surprised to see felt this was important enough to have her manifestation here with us. As she could hear everything going on in her temple, and manifest her voice wherever she wanted to inside, I hadn't expected this.
"So am I really having morning sickness?" I asked.
Aryanna nodded, "In a manner of speaking, yes. There is only so long that you can wait before you must go have the child, if you still want to of course."
"So, if I don't go and do it soon, I'll lose it?"
Aryanna nodded again, "I'm afraid so, William."
"How long do I have? Until I have to go back there, that is."
"A few months, and then of course you'll be stuck there until you deliver."
I nodded, "I guess I'll have to talk to Fel, it's a long trip. I'll need to get started soon, if he lets me go."
"Fel is okay with it," Aryanna said, "and Joseph can come here and take you back with him, he is just the next sphere over, remember."
I nodded, I had forgotten about that.
"Can I go with him?" Nikki asked.
"I don't think I'll need your help, Sis," I said.
"Have you ever had a kid before?" Nikki asked.
"You haven't either, Nikki," Aryanna said. "William will be fine."
"And I was there for several of my kids' births," I said to Nikki, "So I do have at least some experience."
"Oh, okay," Nikki grumbled.
I smiled and turned to Aryanna, "So, when can Joseph get here?"
"He'll meet you at your inn in a couple of weeks."
"Darlene has been asking for me to visit, hasn't she?" I smiled.
"Yes, she has," Aryanna smiled back.
"Well, I better get going. Even with the portals it's going to take me two days to get back there." I looked back at Nikki, "Got a horse I can borrow?"
# # # #
"Don't worry Will, things are quiet right now, and there's nothing going on," Fel told me, for probably the third time. We were meeting in his 'bar', as we usually did when I was asleep and dreaming. I was worried about being gone another six months, when I'd already been gone for the last four. At least I had managed a few days here and there with Rachel during those four months. Right now I was staying with Darlene at our inn; I hadn't seen her in those last four months at all.
"So there is nothing going on with Barassa or Tantrus?"
"Tantrus is still trying to re-establish his power base; at this point all of his temples outside the kingdom of Barassa have been destroyed. He was forced to play his hand too soon, and now he's paying for it. It will be decades, if ever, before he can grow again."
"And Barassa?"
"King Stivik is in a tight spot. Your raiders from the Mowoks have shut down almost all overland trade to his country, and put a complete end to any overland slave trading. He's still doing business by sea, but it's a fraction of what it used to be, and his economy is suffering. He's being forced to sell his own people off into slavery."
"And they're standing for that?" I said surprised.
Fel shrugged, "They don't have much of a choice. He's cleaned out his prisons, and just about any crime gets you sent to the auction block. It's actually been an effective tactic for him, there may be unrest in his kingdom, but showing it gets you a quick trip to the slave market, and sold to owners overseas."
"That's pretty brutal; I wonder how long that will last?"
"The moment he sells off a member of a noble family, or that of a leading merchant, I expect it will blow up rather nicely," Fel laughed.
"Well, I hope I'm back by then," I sighed.
"Oh, it will be years yet," Fel said making a dismissive gesture with his hand, "if it does come to pass. He may still find a way out of this mess after all. So I'm sure you'll be back for it, or for whatever happens."
I nodded, "Do any of you know what Cen was up to? Or at least, know anything that you can tell me? I don't know if there are any rules involved."
"We have our suspicions, but neither I nor Aryanna know for sure. Custios, his god, knew that Cenewyg was going to Earth and spending time there, but didn't realize he was up to something. He just thought Cenewyg was homesick."
"I'm not looking forward to dealing with him, when he comes back. No one has any idea where he went yet?"
Fel shook his head, "No. And until he shows up, we won't. Of course it is likely he won't come after any of you, William."
I shook my head, "I think he's got too big of an ego to let go of what I did to him."
"Last he saw you, William, you had a god-stone in your hand. He probably believes you're a god now."
That stopped me. "You really think so?"
Fel smiled, "Would Cenewyg have given it to someone else?"
I shook my head, "No, of course not."
"Then he is incapable of believing that anyone else would as well."
"Huh," I said and thought about that a minute. I could see it; Cenewyg was not the type to realize that other people weren't as selfish as he was.
"Exactly, so go and deal with this, we know it's important to you, and to be honest, it's important to Aryanna too."
"Stephanie and her were rather close, weren't they?"
Fel smiled, "They still are, though Aryanna can't do much for Stephanie, until she's become better established."
I nodded. "Well, I guess that answers my questions for now. Until next time, Fel," I said.
He smiled and hoisted his beer mug in salute, and I feel into a deeper sleep.
# # # #
I spent the next week with Darlene and my children, I had four now, another son and another daughter, Dennis and Sylvia. Travis, the oldest, was eight! Carrie was six, Dennis four and Sylvia two. I had no idea if Darlene wanted anymore, I figured she'd let me know, once she had decided.
I felt bad that I wasn't here more often, but there was just always something I had to do it seemed, even when I was here I often rode out into the hills to deal with any of the more difficult problems that Duke Lias might be having. It was well known now that my sister was Aryanna's champion, and that I was an ally of the church as well. Some probably suspected that there was more to me than met the eye, but as far as I could tell, no one here knew that I was a champion.
And of course there was Rachel, and my three children with her. I got to spend a lot more time with them, because most of my tasks did revolve around Hiland City, as that was where Fel's main temple was located. Being as I was Fel's champion, gating to Fel's temple was a fairly simple thing for me to do, so going home to see Rachel was always an easy trip.
I really had considered Rachel's offer to bring Darlene, and my children by her to Hiland, to live in the castle with Rachel. But the realities were too different, I was afraid of how Darlene or my children with her would handle it. Plus I didn't think she'd like not being able to see her parents and sisters anymore.
I shook my head as I thought about it; I hadn't even considered the other children I'd been 'encouraged' to father, not that it had taken much encouragement when I was younger.
And now I was going to go have another child, one I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with. I'm sure Aryanna would happily let me foster the child at her main temple; I wouldn't be surprised if she had the ability to get the royal family to foster the child as well.
But I wasn't sure that was what I wanted. I knew I could leave the child with Darlene; she wouldn't have any issues with that at all. She was just too sweet and too giving and sharing. Rachel however, I don't think Rachel would be as understanding. I couldn't blame her all that much either, when I was with Rachel there were a lot of other demands on both of our time, because of who we were and what we did.
Also Rachel didn't like having to compete for my attention against other females, and there were a few who I had a hard time refusing because of who they were, or my relationship with them. There was the high priestess who did want my company at times, and not solely because of her position in the church, I did have two children by her after all.
On top of that, Goth was almost eighteen now, and I think she had a serious hero worship thing going on with me after all I'd done to save her. I knew that Rachel was starting to find that annoying as well, especially now that Goth had turned into a rather striking young woman. The way she dressed when I was around was almost scandalous, and it did not go unnoticed by Rachel.
Then there were times when I wanted to be left alone with Rachel, and no one else. No interruptions, no other people to interrupt, nobody. Yes, I loved Darlene, I cared about Narasamman, I even had feelings for Tareassa. But Rachel was my soul mate, and there were times that I didn't like it when her duties took her away from spending time with me, so I could just imagine that she felt the same about me as well.
Yeah Stephanie had been right, I spent way too much time thinking with the little head and not the big one. Or I had at least. Just thinking about all of the commitments I had now was more than enough to make me think long and hard about any new ones.
Thinking about all that brought me back once again to what I was about to go do and wonder yet again about it. Stephanie had been someone important to me, I'd loved her back when we'd been dating on Earth years ago, and once I had reconciled my own thoughts with finding out what she had set me up for, I had loved her again.
But did I really want to experience childbirth? Go through all of that? I wasn't sure I was ready for it. In fact I'd been very successful at having put that whole episode out of my head.
However.
However, I just couldn't say no to this. I wanted the kid, and apparently Aryanna now wanted me to have the kid, and while Fel hadn't said anything either way, he'd dropped enough hints by making sure I'd have the time to go do it.
I shook my head again and sighed, then got up and went back inside to spend some time with Darlene. Joseph should be here tomorrow, so I would definitely make the most of the time I had left, and maybe even sneak in a few questions about childbirth from the woman's perspective, as long as I had an experienced one to ask.
Four
Lionesnesc
"So why'd you want to come back here?" Joseph asked me. He was a wolf now, and a pretty damned big one.
"A wolf?" I asked looking at him. "What happened to the tiger?" I had hesitated to ask when we were in Circe's realm; gods could be fickle after all.
Joseph laughed, which sounded kind of strange coming out of that muzzle, "Circe likes a little variety, and that's fine with me."
"But you don't have to be one here," I said and gestured around us. We were in the hills to the west of Lionesnesc, the city where we'd first come all of those years ago. There were apparently a great many links between Circe's realm and that of the Sirens. This one was a lot easier to take, and didn't require a boat.
"I prefer to be however Circe wants me to be," Joseph said happily.
I nodded, "Well, as long as you're happy, right?"
He ducked his head in agreement. "So, changing the subject back, why are you here Will?"
"I have an obligation I need to honor," I told him and looked back down at the city. It was late and the sun has long set. I could see the amphitheater off in the distance and hear the music coming from it. I placed my hands on my abdomen, I couldn't feel it of course, but I knew.
"I could just pin you to the ground and keep you there until you tell me," Joseph said with a wink and another rumbling laugh as he held up a paw, which was probably wider than me now.
I shook my head and smiled, no matter what form Circe stuck him in, he always seemed to fit it rather well. "Maybe afterwards," I told him shaking my head. "Not right now."
He paused and thought about it a moment, looking at me. He nodded slowly. "Okay, but listen, I'm just through there," he motioned with his head back towards the portal, "So if you need someone to talk to, just ask."
I nodded and turned back towards the city, "Care to join me for a while?"
"No, I can't. I'd scare the hell out of everyone if I wandered into town like this."
"Maybe, but then I'd get to make one heck of an entrance," I laughed. "So, don't want to be a pretty girl again?"
"Not today!" Joseph rum
bled. "I need to go, see you around, William - I mean, Wilma," he laughed.
"Been a while since I heard that one," I smiled and started to walk down the hillside. "Later, Jo."
It took me quite a few hours to make it to the city. By then the music had stopped, and everyone had called it a night. I should probably have brought a horse or something to get here faster, or left earlier in the day, but I hadn't really thought about it. Plus I didn't want to spend too much time in Circe's domain, well not anymore than I had to. She liked my champion form way too much for my liking, and the last thing I needed was to get involved with another woman right now. Especially not with one who was also a goddess.
I wandered a bit, and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I ended up at Alice's place. I knocked on the door a couple of times until I heard a non-stop string of complaints and curses approach from the other side.
"Who the hell ... Wilma?" She said, her eyes getting wide. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story, can I crash here tonight?" I sighed.
Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me in, closing the door behind me.
"What happened? Where's Stephan? Josie? I heard you all had left Scopuli, but what are you doing here?"
I smiled a little sadly, "Stephan died a couple months ago, he had a condition of some sort, we all knew it was coming," I said holding up my hand when her eyes widened, "Josie and I decided to go our separate ways after that. I just," I shrugged, "I thought I'd come back here, and get an apartment or something."
Alice hugged me, "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that, Wilma, I know you and Stephan were pretty close. You can stay here as long as you want, have you talked to Henry? Do you want to?"
I hugged Alice back, I was a bit surprised by the affection and concern she was showing. "I haven't talked to him; I literally just got in town tonight. I just got caught up in old memories and didn't think to find a place to stay until it was too late."
"Well come to bed and in the morning we can look him up. He's scouting a new act, so he's back in town."
Portals of Infinity: Book Five: Demigods and Deities Page 3