Fallen Gods: Lotus Blooming Read online

  Thena glanced at Merco, a tall man with dark features and quite good-looking. His expression wasn’t readable but she felt his gaze probing her, and suddenly the intense power she’d experienced the other night in the parking lot of the factory, and then again when the stranger had entered her home, filled the room.

  She sucked in a breath, trying her best to hide her sudden surprise. Whatever she felt was strong, overwhelming, powers so intense there was nothing to compare them with. She’d only been around Merco a few times, and although she’d sensed his magical strength in the past, for some reason now it seemed to saturate through her, making it hard to concentrate. It didn’t make any sense. His powers seemed to be as strong as what she’d sensed from the stranger the other day.

  “What’s done is done,” she mumbled, turning so that she wasn’t looking at either of them. “There is a reason why I don’t have my job any longer and now I just have to figure out what that is.”

  Maybe her spell still lingered around her, clouding her perception. That had been known to happen before, her magic making it difficult for her to see what was in front of her while her thoughts still dwelt on images that were no longer there. There was no way Merco and that stranger could both be so powerful. But what she felt, what coursed through her was magic strong enough to fill the room, steal her breath, make it hard to think straight.

  “Merco was just saying on the way over here that you should take advantage of not working right now, visit family…”

  Thena turned and stared at her friend, then at Merco. She licked her lips, thinking maybe she was being given the answer to her spell through her friends. Merco moved to stand behind Naomi, placing his hand possessively on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything but his attention was focused on Thena. She glanced at him only for a moment then lowered her gaze to Naomi’s concerned look.

  “My mom did call me this morning.” And the day before, but Thena didn’t want to go into details about how her family worried over her. “She asked me to come down there.”

  “Good. Then it’s settled. We can give you a ride to the airport if you need it,” Merco said, and then ran his hand down Naomi’s arm. “We have errands to run. But Thena, you’ll call if you need anything.”

  Naomi stood, and then gave Thena a quick hug before returning to Merco’s side. He didn’t smile, but his expression was relaxed, friendly in a serious sort of way. But that wasn’t what grabbed Thena’s attention. She respected power, and knew Merco was strong. But the way he’d seemed to already know that Thena needed to leave town made her realize that was why they’d stopped by.

  Well, at least now she had a ride to the airport.

  By the end of the day, she had plane tickets, and had arranged for Naomi to keep an eye on her place. Packing lightly, she climbed into the backseat of Naomi and Merco’s car when they arrived to pick her up, and headed out toward the airport.

  After dealing with security and getting her boarding pass, she moved slowly with the flow of people through the tunnel-like hallway onto the waiting plane that would take her back to Kentucky, to the place where she’d been born and raised, to the home she hadn’t seen since she left for the city right after high school.

  The plane was cramped, and it seemed like the line of people who moved past her would never end once she’d found her seat and put her small bag in the overhead compartment.

  A man, dressed like so many others on the plane, approached her. He wore a gray pinstripe suit, professional-looking, with striking good looks. He moved patiently, waiting while those in front of him found their assigned seats. When he glanced toward her, soft green eyes captured her gaze, a power so strong imprisoning her while she stared back at him.

  It was the man who’d entered her home the other night!

  Shit! Thena stared, unable to believe the transformation. Gone was the beard, the long trench coat, the attire of a street person. Clean-cut, with short brown hair, the man moved closer until he hovered over her, never looking away.

  Thena’s mouth went dry. She stared up at him in disbelief. He stopped next to her, looking down, his soft green eyes seeming to see her deepest thoughts. Her insides did a little flip-flop. Sudden warmth surrounded her as if he’d just pulled her into his arms. The throbbing of her heart matched the pulse that started between her legs.

  Don’t fear me. He didn’t move his mouth, but she heard him speak to her plain as day.

  He passed on by, moving with the rest of the people down the narrow aisle, and Thena turned to watch him. No matter that his back was to her now, she would swear he hovered right by her. If she closed her eyes, she would feel him touching her, holding her like a child, offering protection so strong and secure she had nothing to compare to it. But she couldn’t close her eyes. There was no way she could take her gaze from him. Finally he disappeared when he sat down quite a ways toward the back of the plane.

  Thena’s tummy balled into knots of anticipation. And it had nothing to do with the plane taking off.

  Chapter Four

  From what Priapus knew about airplanes, this wasn’t the best that Earth had to offer. The long, narrow compartment was cramped, the seats close together, and people packed in like some of the slave ships he’d seen in other galaxies. Yet these people climbed aboard of their own will, the conversations he overheard making it clear most were excited to be traveling, or anxious to return home.

  Over the past few days, he’d wandered the planet, bringing himself up to date with the times. In essence, not much had changed here. They were more modern, advancing like most civilizations did on planets. The gods had been forgotten, these people no longer caring where they’d come from, or how they got here.

  He saw why Bridget had appealed to the coven. This place was a prime candidate for evil to lurk. Humans here on Earth were so busy trying to advance themselves, they wouldn’t look twice at a demon if it bit them in the ass.

  Word had traveled that the leader of the demons no longer existed, that several of the gods had managed to end his torturous life. He’d taken the knowledge lightly, having never given the demons too much thought.

  “The demons are struggling to take over Earth.” Bridget’s words from the last coven meeting came back to him. “And without a leader, they’ve divided into sections, each of them growing stronger since the humans don’t fight them off.”

  Almost two thousand Earth years had passed since he’d been to this planet. The place no longer interested him and he’d barely paid attention during the coven meeting. Yet somehow the information had bothered him. Demons couldn’t be allowed to take over Earth. No matter that the people on this planet had turned their backs on him. If they gained this planet, they would move on to the next, growing stronger, and that couldn’t be allowed. Better to keep them in the hells where they belonged.

  He’d sensed Thena’s strength shortly after arriving here. And one thing he learned over the past few days, there weren’t many humans like her. She was strong, her magic unusually strong for a human. Most people on Earth didn’t use the sense they’d been given, let alone work to develop the part of them that would aid them in working the elements, make the best out of the lives that they’d been given.

  And he still wasn’t convinced he cared to help them. They’d shunned him. In his natural human form, they’d turned their backs on what he had to offer and made fun of him.

  Something about Thena was different than the other humans. She intrigued him. And that was saying something since most people he’d interacted with since arriving here had bored him to death.

  He lingered at the back of the plane, having made sure that Thena was safe. He had no desire to stay aboard however, and could easily keep an eye on her until she landed. Opening the door to the tiny bathroom, he disappeared before the door closed on him.

  Thena remained sitting when the other passengers shuffled off after the plane landed. She watched everyone pass by her, waiting to see the stranger again.

  “Is everythi
ng okay, ma’am?” a stewardess asked, when she was clearly the last person on the plane. The woman’s expression was polite but it was obvious she was anxious for Thena to gather her things and leave.

  “Yes. Fine.” She stood, glancing behind her, sure she hadn’t missed him, yet he was obviously no longer on the plane.

  That was strange. And she didn’t like the pang of disappointment that rushed through her as she snatched the only bag she’d brought with her. He wouldn’t have walked past her without her noticing. His powers were too strong. She hadn’t seen him though.

  But what did it matter if she had missed him?

  Frustrated with her torn feelings, she entered the busy airport, glad that she’d packed light and didn’t need to mess with retrieving bags.

  “Baby! My baby!” Margaret Cooke yelled loud enough to turn heads, not that her bright red dress with matching turban wouldn’t do the trick.

  “Mom.” Thena grinned from ear to ear, giving her mom a warm embrace in the middle of the crowded terminal.

  Her mom was thinner than she remembered her being, and smaller. She wrapped her arms around her mother’s petite frame, feeling her bones. The thought that her mother was getting old, her body not as strong as it once was, made her ease up and look down into her mother’s glowing face. Her mom looked pleased as punch.

  “Now why are you all upset about things?” It was so like her mother to sense her emotions. Margaret’s soft tone, a husky voice that caressed the air as she spoke, matched the soft brown eyes that studied Thena. “Just feel how you are all on edge. There ain’t a thing to be worried about now. Everything’s going to be just fine, you’ll see. We’re united once again as we should be.”

  No matter how long she’d been away, Thena knew that arguing with her mother would get her nowhere. She didn’t feel the least bit worried. Maybe a bit preoccupied when the stranger hadn’t gotten off the plane, but there was no reason to mention that.

  “It’s real good to see you,” she whispered, giving her mother another quick hug.

  “And your Gramma is waiting back at the house.” Margaret held on to her as she maneuvered through the crowd of people.

  There was a change in her mother’s mood when she mentioned Gramma. Something like worry, resembling a dampness in the air that settled around them. Thena wondered what had her mother concerned but didn’t have time to dwell on it.

  Toward the exit she saw him. Leaning against the wall, near one of the fast-food restaurants, the stranger stood watching her. Those soft green eyes penetrated right through her, stealing her breath.

  “What’s that?” Her mom paused, looking around her. “Do you feel that?”

  Thena struggled to speak, her mouth suddenly too dry. “I don’t know,” she managed to say, feeling foolish since she’d stopped walking and was staring right at him.

  “That’s enough power to be a god,” her mother whispered, glancing around her.

  Her mother didn’t notice him though. Thena gathered that much from the way she looked around her.

  “A god?” She wanted to ask her mother if there was any history of a god taking human form in recent times.

  For some reason, she didn’t want to point him out though. Warmth spread through her, his gaze seeming to pull her in. If she let her mother know he stood right there, she would have to justify the strange attraction she felt to him. And right now, she couldn’t explain that to herself, let alone her mother.

  Who are you? It wasn’t the first time she’d asked him, and even in her thoughts, asking him without speaking, she wondered why he kept that information from her.

  The answer didn’t come from his mouth. It was as if what she wanted to know lingered around him, hanging in the air, and she had to reach out and grab it.

  Priapus. My name is Priapus.

  “What is this going on here?” Her mother stopped, her hands on her hips while she looked around her, and then at Thena. “This isn’t magic. This is stronger than magic.”

  Her tone had filled with concern. Her mom’s gaze made her uncomfortable.

  “I don’t know, Mom. I really don’t know.”

  It amazed Thena how Margaret Cooke, who dripping wet couldn’t possibly weigh more than ninety pounds, suddenly had the strength to grab her by the arm, and almost drag her out of the terminal.

  Once out of the airport traffic and headed south in her mom’s car, Thena tried to relax for her mother’s sake. The woman could sense her emotions as if she were chattering out loud. And Thena didn’t want her mother worrying because a complete stranger, who had the strength of a god, preoccupied her thoughts. Instead she tried conjuring up her hometown, remembering the folks she’d grown up with, wondering how many of them were still around.

  “Not much changes in Barren. You’ll see.” Her mother’s habit of answering her thoughts hadn’t changed any. “We got a few new restaurants, although I can’t say I been to none of them. We’ve got our friends and our enemies, just as it’s always been.”

  “You said there was trouble,” Thena prompted, and instantly sensed her mother’s emotions change.

  Something dark swarmed around her. Worry. Fear. Thena couldn’t label it. But she didn’t like the feeling that rushed through her and that suddenly filled the car.

  “You just see for yourself what you see. Then we’ll figure it out together.” And her mother got that pursed-lipped expression that she would always get when she wasn’t going to say another word on the matter.

  Thena stared out at the rolling hills, the beautiful countryside she’d always loved as a child. Kentucky sure was a piece of heaven. But her thoughts were clouded the rest of the drive. Something bothered her mother. Something unpleasant enough that she didn’t want to talk about it. And Thena sensed, although she couldn’t be sure, that it was something her mother couldn’t handle on her own. That in itself put an uneasy knot in Thena’s tummy.

  Chapter Five

  Priapus hovered cross-legged over the small gate that was latched shut and enclosed the Cooke property. The wooden fence wasn’t painted, and the yard hadn’t been kept up, unmown grass growing over old flowerbeds. But the place was clean, small and simple, yet filled with love.

  He ached to talk to Thena again, touch her again. Something about her called him to her, her compelling beauty, the natural raw power that floated around her. Humans didn’t usually have this effect over him. He’d learned over the centuries that most couldn’t handle what he had to offer.

  Yet for the past couple of days she’d been surrounded by her kinfolk. Not that she had a lot of family. From what he’d seen, her mother and grandmother were about the size of it. And the old women hovered around Thena like she was a fine piece of art that might be damaged if they let her out of their sight.

  Thoughts of putting the two older women to sleep for a while, just so he could be alone with her, crossed his mind.

  Thena’s frustration, her confusion over what she’d found out after arriving down here, had him curious. Most humans couldn’t spot a demon. And Thena didn’t realize that was what she saw. But the tiny town of Barren, Kentucky, was full of them. And when he’d followed her into Bowling Green, he’d found them there too.

  He’d cast a few of them out, just for old time’s sake. But there was some serious housecleaning needed in these parts. From what he could tell, no other gods hovered in the area.

  These people wouldn’t appreciate his efforts though. He couldn’t see how humans had changed that much. It would be just like it was before.

  Thena stood inside the window of her mother’s home. He watched her look out the window briefly, sensing him, wondering where he was, reaching out for him. Yet she didn’t know him, didn’t understand him. Her interest was pure curiosity, and he ached to show her more, give her more, take her interest to a new level. More than anything he wanted her to reach out to him because she wanted him.

  His cock stirred to life in his pants, throbbing against his thigh. He wondered what she would
think of him, how she’d react seeing him naked. Would she scream? Faint like ladies in the past had? Would she back off, horrified, shaking her head and then turning and running? Memories of rejection flooded through him, of women who’d flirted and teased until they’d seen the size of his cock.

  The stories that made the history books that had been passed down by word of mouth, that many had chosen to believe, made him out to be the gigolo. Men would scorn him, threaten him if he didn’t stay away from their womenfolk.

  “They might as well fuck a donkey as take you on. You’re a freak.” The words had burned through him.

  And in his youth he’d allowed his wrath to destroy their homes, their villages, curse them for their lack of respect.

  Of course, there had been the ladies who’d lusted after him, his size having a mysterious appeal to them.

  “There’s not a man out there who can compare,” they would whisper, in sated satisfaction. “Priapus, I will worship you always.”

  He shifted in the air, allowing room for his growing cock while he watched Thena move around in her mother’s home. The simple white tank top she wore drew attention to her slender shoulders, her beautiful caramel-colored skin.

  “It’s time for the older ladies to go to sleep.” He moved through the air, leaving his body hovering while his soul approached the house, passing through the walls when he knew she was alone.

  No matter the women he’d been with in the past. Ancient history most of it. Even those who had adored him only kept his attention for so long. Whether goddess or mortal, none of them had captured his heart, pinned him down.

  Thena pulled him in though, her slender body, the smooth nape of her neck that he longed to kiss, her long bare legs. She wore shorts that showed off the sweet curve of her ass. Even in his spiritual form, his soul ached to be one with her, feel her from the inside.

  Priapus floated next to her, taking in her determined expression, the way her shirt clung to her breasts, her thin frame, and the way she glided with the beauty of a goddess.