Goddess's Saga 1: Touch of the Goddess (22 page)

Days turned into weeks and mont
hs and not much happened.

Stephan tucked the box away in a storage compartment and did his best to forget about it. Just as he suspected, the memory of it faded quickly. Everything did
except for the Goddess, and that was okay.

One morning, he left Maria sitting in bed and went to get his workout. She might not need exercise, but he did. He lifted dumb-bells.

I think she likes my arms. Maybe I can make them bigger, or at least keep them the way they are…

As the thought crossed his mind, he got an eerie sensation of someone watching him. He put the weights down to look around,
and a mocking female voice exclaimed, “Oh my, the rumours I hear are true; you
are
strong.”

Oh crap. People showing up from nowhere in the middle of space can only mean one thing.
Another of her idiot relatives. Like Frank and the ordeals on Beta IV weren’t enough…

H
e sighed and pulled a hand over his face, trying not to frown.

“
Yes, I’m strong. Don’t any of you people ever knock?”

The woman ignored his words and looked him over from top to toe. Her gaze made him feel like cattle at a market
.

Next, she’ll check my teeth.

She had the same superhuman appearance as Maria and Frank, and after meeting the latter, Stephan expected the next person to show up in a white toga or something. He did not expect a miniskirt, boots, and leather jacket.

He made a gesture
, urging the dark-haired beauty to speak, but she stayed quiet.

“
Okay, cut to the chase. Who are you, and what do you want?”

The woman seemed taken aback by his brusqueness
.

“
That is none of your business.”

This is going to be a long day.

“Well, you
are
on my ship, so I think it
is
my business.”

The woman pouted.

“
Well okay I guess. I’m looking for my sister. I’m Heather, by the way.”

Frank, Maria, and Heather. T
hey sound like a family from an old Earth suburb.

“
For being Gods, you all have very modern names, don’t you?”

She didn
’t get a chance to answer; Maria ran into the room, squealing.

“Heather!”

A second later, both girls were shrieking, hugging, and all but jumping up and down. Stephan grimaced and covered one ear, trying to preserve his hearing.

“
If you ladies don’t mind, I’ll go get a shower.”

He shook his head and hurried out of there as fast as he could without appearing to flee
, ignoring the unison, “But we do mind,” that followed him into the corridor.

Two Goddesses were probably one too many to handle
. No shame in hiding.

He
sought refuge on the bridge, and heard them squeal from time to time.

I guess they’re sightseeing.

As much as he tried to stay out of their way, he ran out of luck when he got hungry. He collided with them in the kitchen and stared at the table. It was cluttered with everything from biscuits and tea to whiskey, gin, and chocolate.

“
Not even I would do that.”

I have spent many days with some of these things, but never all of them together.

Maria smiled sunnily when she saw him, and waved to him to come join them.

“
I’ve missed you lover. Come keep us company.”

H
is attempt to get out of it with saying, “Thanks, but I’ll just get a sandwich and be on my...” didn’t do him any good. He didn’t even have time to finish the sentence.

It didn
’t take a second before he had one girl on each side of him, pulling him towards the table. They pushed him down on a chair between them, all the while babbling.

“He’s so strong.”

“Yes he is.”

“And handsome.”

“I knooooow, dreamy, right?”

They were
nattering incoherently in the way that only makes sense to women who know each other well, and he couldn’t keep track of who said what.

Focus. You can do this.

“So, you’re sisters, huh?”

Both girls giggled.

“Well, we’re really...”

“
...aunt and niece...”

“
...but we decided to be sisters...”

“
...a couple of thousand years ago...”

There’s no choice but to give in to insanity. I’ll never survive this if I don’t surrender.

“I need a drink.”

The answer to that
was positive, but no less confusing.

“
We have drinks.”

“
We sure do.”

“
Do you think he wants whiskey?”

“
Or maybe tequila?”

“
Vodka is good!”

“
Well, I prefer whiskey.”

“
Okay then, let’s give him whiskey!”

Then
, in unison, “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Stephan
rubbed his forehead and took the glass that appeared before him.

“
Thank you, that’s very kind of you, ladies. Now, why don’t I take this and go drink it on the bridge and...”

It was a
valiant attempt, but it failed.

B
oth girls cried out, “Nooooo, stay!”

Stephan
looked from Maria to Heather and back at Maria. Both smiled like angels, extremely beautiful angels, and he could easily visualize halos falling askew over their heads.

They’re silent now, but I bet
my ship they’re still babbling telepathically.

After a few seconds
of blissful silence, Heather spoke.

“
I know you met my father. He thinks highly of you, no one has hit him like that for ages. I mean, most people are afraid to. He usually kills them.”

Wait, what, who? Your family relations are crazy, how do you keep track of this? I guess she’s talking about Frank?

“Ah, him. You know, I’d rather not talk about him. I had just managed to forget him.”

“
Well, he hasn’t forgotten about you. There will be a banquet tonight, and our fathers want you two to be there.”

Oh no. I don’t want to go anywhere near more of these insane people.

Even Maria winced.

“
That’s not a good idea, sis.”

“
Oh come on, what could possibly happen? I’ll help you take care of your human.”

Heather
leaned her hands on Stephan’s shoulder as she said it. He shook her off, and she added indifferently, “Well, maybe not.”

She plopped her big hat down on his head, and he pulled it off and tossed it on the table.

“I need another drink.”

Meeting the family.
All of the family. I guess it’ll have to happen sooner or later. I wonder if they’ll execute me if I don’t measure up.

The glass refilled itself and he slammed it.

“Why the hell not. Let’s get this over with.”

*****

Stephan didn’t know what to expect.

Who knew
where people like them might live.

They materialized at the foot of a mountain covered with an enormous castle. The place was huge, with courtyards placed out all over the mountainside, and the top was high enough to be covered in clouds.

Whatever I imagined, this wasn’t it.

Maria wrapped her hands around his arm and gave it a squeeze.

“Well, I guess we’re here. No matter what happens, no matter how much they provoke you, do not get into any fights, okay?”

Heather
took the lead up the long road, explaining over her shoulder, “I thought we’d take the scenic route, so you get to see the place.”

It might also be a test to make sure the unfit don’t reach the peak. This will be a long climb.

After taking just a few steps, two young and sparsely clad women ran in front of them
, throwing handfuls of rose petals on the ground.

Maria
groaned, “Do they still do that?”

Heather
answered, rolling her eyes, “I knooow. One would have thought it would have gone out of fashion at least two thousand years ago.”

Stephan
didn’t mind.

N
o one ever threw rose petals in front of his feet before, and the girls were cute. Not like the beauties flanking him, but more than cute enough.

“
Are they relatives of yours?”

“
Very likely.”

I guess she’s
right, it is hard to keep track of family relations here. They are so many, and there’s so much time involved. How do you keep track of people over thousands of years?

The climb turned
out to be much more pleasant than he expected. With the worst excitement out of their systems, both Heather and Maria talked like normal people.

Heather had a dry sense of humour. He always found Maria funny
on her own, and together the girls were hilarious.

Every now and
then, they stopped to look at something, and there were young women on the sides of the road handing out refreshments.

I shouldn’t ogle, but it’s so hard no not to look. That one has gorgeous breasts, and I can see them.

Maria nudged him and he blurted out, “I don’t want them. It’s just… so beautiful rounded shapes and bare skin…”

Why did I say that?

The sisters seemed about to fall on the ground laughing.

Shit. I’m sure I’ll hear about this later…

About half way up the mountain a sardonic voice called out.

“
Well, well, well, now this human doesn’t only have my favourite sister, but my daughter too.”

Heather
rolled her eyes as Frank stepped out. “Hi dad.”

The tall God
had one pretty girl on each side of him, both staring at him with unveiled admiration, and another young beauty threw flower petals in front of his feet. Behind him, a fourth girl carried a small barrel of mead.

I think they’re stuck in the past.

“You’re not very emancipated, are you?”

Maria shrugged.

“There’s a reason I don’t live here, you know.”

Frank
freed himself from the girls to in good order first hoist his daughter into the air, slap Stephan on the back so hard he took an involuntary step forward, and last but not least give Maria a modest kiss on the cheek.

“
See, I’m behaving.”

Frank’s voice was anything but reassuring.

It might be the mead, something in the air, or even the company. Stephan surprised himself with having a good time.

Heather whispered, “Until we get to the castle, stay close to us, okay?”

It sounded like a warning, but he didn’t get it at first. Then, he saw a woman step out of a tree, staring at him, and he wanted to go take a closer look and say hi.

Maria held his arm.

“Not happening. She wants to pull you in and make you part of the tree.”

Another woman sang so beautifully he wanted to stop and listen.

Heather yelled, “Shut up, siren!” and in comparison, the Goddess’s melodic voice sounded rough and coarse.

He didn’t even realize the siren had him under her spell until she stopped singing and he was able to move his head again.
The hills around them were crowded by peculiar creatures.

“We have dryads, sirens, nymphs, I don’t know what… Most of them haven’t seen a mortal for centuries. You are a magnet to them.”

He still didn’t believe them, not until he saw Frank throw a fireball at a particularly insistent gorgon. The tall God stretched up and thundered, “This human is under my protection. Anyone laying a finger on him will be flailed, by Hades!”

I’m under your protection? I don’t even like you.

The next time they stopped, they stood outside the gigantic gate to the highest ring of the castle. The shadows to the side reshaped themselves into the form of a man.

He stood with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, all clad in black that seemed to absorb all light, but matched his unruly hair and made a stark contrast to paper white skin.