by Brey Willows
“I’ve had my share. Every couple of centuries I think I’ll give monogamy a try and stick with someone for a while. But familiarity kills passion, don’t you think? Seeing someone every day eventually means you get so comfortable with them you stop trying, and then before you know it, you’ve got pets you pay more attention to than one another, and you’ve forgotten what your lover actually looks like. Then you have to go through some big breakup and move your crap out of their place, and you spend ages thinking of them when you’d stopped thinking of them when they were right beside you. I’m all for drama, but that sort isn’t what I’m interested in.” She motioned toward the bedroom. “And besides, can you imagine limiting yourself to a single body for the rest of your existence? Think what you’d miss out on.”
He laughed and tugged on a feather. “Spoken like a sex goddess. Maybe you could find someone who wouldn’t mind enjoying these parties with you. Then you’d get the best of both worlds.”
Meg poured another mug of coffee and handed it to Freya, who stumbled in with her eyes still mostly closed. “I’ve had that situation once or twice too. And it was crazy fun, but jealousy and insecurity aren’t emotions reserved for humans. It still gets messy.”
Freya opened one eye and looked at the two of them. “I say fuck until your legs give out, then switch positions and find someone else to jump in. Monogamy is for people who don’t have imagination.”
Pan laughed and stomped his hoof. “Well said, Nordic hot stuff. I was just saying Meg might want something more.”
Freya pushed her chest out proudly. “How could she want more than this?”
Meg tweaked Freya’s nipple. “Exactly what I’m saying.”
Pan retrieved his shirt from the back of the couch and slid it on. “Okay, okay. I give in.” He blew Meg a kiss and opened the front door. “I’d better get to work. Fuck like the goddesses you are.”
He left, and Freya turned to Meg. “Let’s go wake the other two. There’s nothing like morning sex before returning to Valhalla to welcome dead warriors home.”
Meg wrapped her legs around Freya’s waist, and Freya carried her back to the bedroom. She pushed aside thoughts of Pan’s words and focused on the soft bodies beside her.
* * *
Meg flipped channels aimlessly, her attention wandering. Freya had been right—morning sex sent the day down just the right path, and Hathor and Philotes had been more than welcoming when Freya and Meg had slid in beside them.
Now, though, alone in the quiet of her home, she was drawn back to her conversation with Pan. What she’d said was true. She’d been in relationships before, and for a while, they’d been great. But when you lived for thousands of years, there was no denying it was hard to be with just one person. There was such variety out there. So many types of people, so many bodies, so many appetites and desires. Meg had tasted many and hated being told she couldn’t do what she wanted to, when she wanted to do it.
The phone rang, and she jumped to grab it, glad for a distraction.
“Hey. Can you come down to the office? We need your fashion sense,” Tis asked.
Meg smiled and skipped to her room to get dressed. “Tis, you know I can’t resist a request like that. What’s up?”
Tis sounded distracted. “You know how we discussed rebranding with everyone? The underworld gods were particularly interested, seeing as how they’re the ones who have the most difficulty getting genuine followers. The courses Jesus is running are great, but a lot of people need more personal advice, and obviously, Jesus is busy running his own lines. Azrael’s been bugging me for my opinion on stuff—”
“And you totally don’t have the time for that. Not to mention you’ve got the fashion sense of a black crayon. No problem. I’ll be there in ten.”
Meg dressed quickly, her thoughts whirling. Ever since Alec had been designated as the one to work with the Bridge, and Tis had taken on the role of legal consultant at Afterlife, Meg had felt like the loose end sister. She knew she wasn’t all that smart, and she wasn’t exactly reliable. It was good to be seen as useful for a minute, even if it wasn’t for saving the world.
She dressed in her favorite jeans and low-cut T-shirt and headed to the office. Living on the Afterlife campus meant she could easily walk to work, without the hassle of humans or having to drive. She took the stairs down to the basement level, where the underworld gods’ offices started. Hades was on minus one, Azrael on minus two, and so on. Although they didn’t have the large numbers of staff the other gods did, they still liked to have their own spaces, something Meg understood completely. She knocked on Azrael’s door.
“Come in.” Azrael looked up from his work and smiled when he saw her. “Excellent! Thanks for coming, Megara. You’re looking stunning, as always.” He kissed her cheek and squeezed her butt at the same time.
She shoved him away. “Always the groper. I can’t believe no one has ripped your hands off yet. And why don’t you come to my parties anymore?”
“Who has time to play when we’re supposed to be out among the humans? And I’ll have you know, plenty of people like my hands on them, thank you very much.”
“Or they just don’t want to chance offending you.” She picked up a shirt folded neatly on the chair. “Is this what you’re thinking?”
“I think so. Hell, I don’t know. I like Tisera’s idea about rebranding and rethinking what we offer the humans. I mean, now that the shiny gods can market themselves, it makes sense for us to do it as well. Who wants to follow a god that offers just death and misery, right? So I’m doing a full overhaul of Hell. Obviously, I still have to have the punishment element, I mean, that’s my thing, right? But how cool would it be to offer more than that?”
Meg waved the shirt at him. “And you think horrible rugby shirts are the way to signal that?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know.”
She thought for a second. “Show me around. Show me what changes you’re making to Hell. That might give me some idea on where you stand.”
He jumped up and opened the door. “Awesome. You’ll be the first to see it.”
They made their way down the hall, past offices full of demons and other creatures who were working on nightmare software and porn sites, easy ways to get to humans. When one office seemed to have lots of social media sites on screens, she looked at Az questioningly.
“Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Social media sites work on every level of the seven deadly sins, all in one place. It’s a fabulous way to watch humans come to our side without even knowing they’re doing it.” He opened the door at the end of the hallway marked “Staff Only.”
The acrid scent of burning coal assaulted her instantly. “Geez, Az. I think you could start by containing that smell.”
He sniffed and looked slightly offended. “I’ve always loved that smell.”
“Yeah, well, if you want the fires of hell to be more welcoming, you’re going to have to do away with the burning flesh candle scents.”
He held up a finger, dashed back through the door to the offices, and quickly returned with a notepad and pen. “Okay. Let’s go.”
She laughed. “Seriously?”
He looked back at her, solemn. “Seriously. This isn’t some minor thing, and I’m determined to do it right. You’re the first person to come down here and give me the time of day. Yeah, I’m going to listen.”
Meg realized just how out of the loop the underworld gods often were. And why they’d gotten out of hand sometimes. She took Az’s arm. “Lead on.”
They made their way down floor by floor, with Azrael showing her the changes he was making on each level, which were then divided again. “See, this is the second circle, reserved for sins of lust. I’m adding new furniture, some nicer lighting, and even giving it a fresh lick of paint. That will be for the ones whose lust sins aren’t as bad as some of the others, who still get the whole fiery punishment business.”
Meg stopped him and looked a
round. “But the nicer area is still a punishment area?”
He stared at her. “Well, yeah.”
She scanned the area and thought of the world as it was. “Think about what Tis said. What if you offer more than punishment?” She motioned at the area being redone. “What if that section was for the believers who were basically good people, but because of the system setup couldn’t go to heaven because they enjoyed this particular sin too much? Why punish them for enjoying themselves in this one area, when they didn’t actually hurt anyone else?” She grinned and grabbed Az’s butt the way he’d grabbed hers earlier. “Why not make this a destination for the humans who just really, really like sex? Let them enjoy that aspect of life down here. The fact that the rest of their existence will be all about sex will make it hellish, eventually. And you can still reserve the other section for people who have used sex as a weapon.”
Azrael leaned on the railing and stared down at the construction area, thinking. “So, it’s still a sin, and they still end up here. But now there’s not as much fear attached, and the sin itself has degrees attached to it. But if someone wants to spend their eternity having all kinds of dirty sex, then they just might pray to come my way.” He turned to her, and his excitement was palpable. “I love it.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the elevator. “Let’s do this with the other sections too!”
They made their way through each of the nine levels, discussing what the area was already used for, and how to alter it so that humans with that particular vice would actually want to go to hell to live in that section. Meg made suggestions about what to add, possible ways to market it, and even new ways to distinguish the area on a visual level. Az wrote as fast as he could, and before they left each section he made an appointment with the manager of that area to come see him to discuss the changes.
They got into the elevator to head back to the offices, and Az vibrated with excitement. “I feel like I’ve just had completely satisfying sex with a hundred people. I can’t wait to get started.” The elevator stopped at Limbo for someone to get on.
The door opened to show Dani waiting, looking as though she was considering the nature of the universe. Meg’s breath caught as it always did when she saw her, though she made sure to never let it show.
“Meg. Az. This is a nice surprise.” Dani got in and shook Az’s hand.
Meg leaned over to kiss Dani’s cheek and enjoyed the soft sweetness she always felt radiating off her. “What are you up to?”
“Dropping some souls off at Limbo receiving. What are you two doing?”
Az drew them both into an exuberant hug, and Meg nearly laughed out loud at how bewildered Dani looked.
“Meg has just helped me completely rethink my rebranding. This place is going to be heaving with people who actually want to come here. I can’t wait.”
“Wow. Hell as a religious destination. That’s something.” Dani smiled.
They walked back to Az’s office, and Meg felt almost light-headed at how excited he was to implement some of her ideas.
He turned to her at the door. “You know, Meg, there are a lot of departments who could use your help. The shiny gods are all out helping their people farm and have babies and shit, and they’re rebranding as they go. But the rest of us down here, we don’t have that luxury. We have to do things differently, and the way you see things can really help.”
Meg laughed. “Yeah, well, if they want my help, tell them to give me a call. In the meantime, get rid of those god-awful rugby shirts. Use your clothing to reflect each level and then sell it to those market bases.”
Az wrote down what Meg said and then opened the door to his office. “Hate to use you and leave you, but you’ve given me a shit ton of things to do. Can I call you if I need more input?”
The god of Hell is asking permission to call me. That’s a first. “Of course. Whenever.”
She and Dani took the elevator back up to the Afterlife foyer, and Meg found herself wishing she had more time with her. The constantly present emotions that whirled inside her always calmed when Dani was around. There was also something different about Dani, some kind of energy thing, but she wasn’t sure what it was and didn’t want to bring it up until she knew what she was talking about.
“Want to grab lunch?” Dani asked, looking at her feet.
“I’m starving. Here or off campus?”
“You’re always starving.” She looked indecisive for a moment before she said, “What if we got Thai and took it back to my place?”
Meg tried not to let her surprise show. In all the centuries she’d known Dani, she’d never seen where she lived. The thought of getting to see something more personal about her made her pulse speed up. “Are you kidding? Yeah! Let’s do it.”
Dani led the way out to her Mustang, and Meg skipped along beside her, excited to be spending time with her, though she wasn’t about to analyze why. Too many questions about life led to changes she wasn’t about to make.
Chapter Three
Dis lit another match and let it burn to her fingertips before flinging it into the ocean below her balcony. Although she was greatly enjoying her time among the humans, she was finding gravity more irritating than she’d remembered it being. Her body was heavy and sluggish. Still, she’d put up with it for the trade-off of being in power once again. She was also growing fond of the body she was in. For a human flesh sack, it was nicely molded, with everything high and tight and bits and parts that gave a wealth of pleasure when touched the right way. It wasn’t the birth of a universe, but it was nice.
“What are you thinking?”
She turned to look at her lover. His black hawk eyes watched her constantly, his pointed beak razor sharp. Horus was one of the true ancients, and although he and a few of the other Egyptian gods remained, they did so only because, like the Greek and Roman gods, there was so much statuary and continued research on them. Their powers, however, had faded greatly. Once, Chaos and the Egyptian gods had been close, but when times had changed and the furies had come to being, that relationship had died away like the dead stars she’d come to rule over. As soon as he’d come back to power and heard she was on earth once more, he’d made his way to her.
She crawled back into bed beside him and drew her nail down the center of his muscled stomach. “I always loved that the Egyptian gods understood my place on this strange little planet.”
“Without disorder, there can be no order.”
“You’d think the rest would understand that by now.” She liked the way his beak shone in the dim light of the darkened room, like a deadly weapon she wanted to taste.
“What will you do next?”
Dis thought of the calls that had brought her back, the mental anguish many humans experienced when faced with their gods. Their blobby gray matter, surrounded by thick bone and prone to injury at the slightest provocation, just wasn’t capable of being close to a deity of any kind. Even some who had started out strong had eventually turned to mush. And it was their confusion and mental destruction that had called Chaos to Earth. When she was the last person they understood, their very essences disintegrated, leaving nothing but cosmic strings in their heads and emptiness in their bodies. Their souls turned to dust, leaving nothing for Death to claim, no matter what religion they believed in.
“They’ve called me here, but it’s not enough. It’s an adapt or die situation right now. Those who can’t handle it call to me. I give them a little nudge, and they do the most destructive, chaotic thing they can think of before they implode. It’s good, but that will end when the weak are weeded out. I won’t give the furies another chance to send me back to the void. The question is how to make the next stage of this era mine.”
“Prey.”
Dis looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“When being chased, prey know nothing but fear. The weak are always on guard against the strong, knowing they’ll be taken down at some point. Fear is what drives humans to call for you. Create f
ear among your prey, and they’ll stampede to their deaths. Even the strong ones can be forced to kneel by fear.”
She thought about it and knew he was right. “The weakest are already mine. I need to go after those who aren’t quite as weak. Those who are unsure. If I can get them to spread doubt amongst themselves, which creates more fear, I’ll have dominion over the universe and the humans.” She leaned down and gave Horus a kiss on his beak. “I’ve missed you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and flipped her on her back. “And I, you. When you have re-created this world in your image, we will step in to restore order. But until then, we will do all we can to help you bring the world to its knees.”
Dis sighed and surrendered to the moment. Bring the world to its knees. I like the sound of that.
* * *
Covertly, Dani watched as Meg wandered through the house picking up photos and looking at books. Her fingertips trailed along furniture and shelves, and Dani swallowed at the thought of her doing the same over Dani’s body. She forced the thoughts from her head and started dishing up the food. “Glad you had the time to do this.”
Meg came over and grabbed an eggroll. “Me too. What with the Humanity First stuff and the crap Dis is causing, it seems like we’re almost back to the way things were before the gods came out.”
Dani handed Meg her plate, and they sat at opposite ends of Dani’s huge sofa. “I know it might feel that way, but I can tell you that the numbers don’t back it up. War deaths are down by about ninety percent, and let me tell you, that’s what has kept me and my crew busy since humans started walking on two legs.”
“Really? I guess with everything else going on, I hadn’t really noticed.”