Fallen Gods: Lotus Blooming Read online

  He’d been so much younger, so full of himself, so cocky with his god-standing among the people. At the moment the name of the maiden who’d captured his attention eluded him. The gathering place in the village had been the town pub, located in the heart of the main street. He’d been outside, boasting of his protective skills, enjoying his praises being sung by the men surrounding him.

  “We are strong because of you, Priapus. All we have is because of you.” They worshipped him at that time, and he’d reveled in every moment of it.

  An image of the young maiden appeared in his mind, running down the main street, holding her dress up so she wouldn’t trip, showing off her thin ankles.

  “Help me!” she’d screamed. “Please! I need help. He’ll die for sure!”

  The men around him turned on her quickly, the daughter of a shunned family.

  “Who are you, wench?” they’d tormented her. “Why would we lift a finger to help a family who refuses to worship our gods?”

  She’d stopped in front of him, falling to her knees, her bountiful breasts heaving while she’d gasped for breath. Her face was tearstained and her hair disheveled.

  “Master. I beg you.” She’d thrown herself at his feet, her small hands daring to touch his shoes. “I can’t help him. But you can. Please.”

  Priapus had lifted her, carrying her through the air, calming her with soothing words while they flew in front of the townsfolk back to her secluded home where her younger brother had fallen into a deep well. It hadn’t taken any effort to lift the child, free him from his entrapment, mend his broken bones. The family had been so grateful.

  And the town had turned their back on him.

  Priapus straightened, shoving the memory from his head. Someone hurried out of the gas station, approaching Thena and her mother before they could drive off. Another car pulled into the station, a young man getting out for gas and quickly becoming part of the conversation between the person standing outside the cars, and Thena and her mother.

  “Thena, don’t leave yet. Leroy just told me what you did.” The older woman who hurried around the front of the car looked vaguely familiar. Thena watched her approach, letting the car idle.

  The woman’s ample breasts bounced while she almost ran toward Thena, waving her hand, with a way too cheerful smile on her face.

  Her mother groaned next to her. At the same time, Tommy Joe Baker pulled his pickup truck to a stop and hopped out, shading his eyes with his hand as he stared into her mother’s car.

  “Thena Cooke? Is that you?” Tommy Joe asked in his thick drawl that sounded the same as he had in school when she was a girl.

  “Of course it’s her,” the woman who now stood at Thena’s door snapped. “And you can’t just be leaving now, Thena Cooke. Not with what you’ve done.”

  “Maxine Poller, here you go expecting the world set straight in a minute,” Margaret muttered, yet loud enough for Maxine to hear her.

  “It’s good to see you again, Maxine. How is your family?” Thena remembered her now.

  Maxine Poller had children who had been a few years younger than Thena. Their families hadn’t mixed much, but she’d seen her in town when she and her mother went shopping back when Thena was growing up.

  She smiled up at the woman, who had a shrewd eye on her.

  Maxine bent over, almost sticking her head in the car. She peered over at Tommy Joe, as if wanting to say something she feared would be overheard.

  “There are more. I’m sure your mama has told you that.” Maxine spoke in a hushed whisper, her dark hand gripping Thena’s, which was on the steering wheel.

  Thena stared at Maxine’s hand for a moment. The woman’s skin was warm, moist, her hand a lot larger than Thena’s. The woman was scared, her fear running through her like sweat.

  “There are more what?” She looked at Maxine, seeing worry etched in her brow.

  It was just as it had been with her mother. Implications of something going on, but no clear cut-and-dry explanations. She was getting tired of this and wished she could just sort through the woman’s thoughts, understand fully what would have her running to their car, grabbing Thena and implying such urgency.

  She glanced past Maxine for a brief moment, Priapus catching her attention while he stood across the street, his arms crossed, looking rather displeased while he watched her.

  Like he had anything to be upset about. He wasn’t being bombarded with old biddies who hadn’t given her the time of day until she’d done something odd.

  At the same moment Maxine looked past Thena at her mother, and then outside the car, watching while Tommy Joe headed into the station to pay for his gas.

  “There are more people who got something wrong in them—just like little Nate.” Maxine met her gaze.

  “And you can’t go around fixing people who don’t want fixed,” Margaret cut in, her tone harsh. “Maxine, we aren’t miracle workers and you let go of my daughter.”

  Thena watched Maxine. The woman didn’t want to let go of her. There was an urgent determination running through the older woman that was strong enough to smell. Maxine wanted to yank her out of the car and put the town back to how it used to be. Her feelings were strong enough to cut with a knife.

  Thena caught her breath in her throat, her heart suddenly missing a beat. Had she just managed to read the woman’s mind, or had she just guessed that was what Maxine was thinking?

  “I’ll tell you everything I know.” When Maxine looked past her again at her mother, Thena sensed hostility. “But you come on over to my place. I won’t have your mama pestering at me to stay out of things. You know damned good and well, Margaret Cooke, that things ain’t right. Just cuz you can’t fix them. Don’t you dare stop your daughter if she can do it.”

  “How dare you take a tone like that with me,” Margaret hissed, her defenses up immediately. “You know well and good I want this town fixed, too. Thena just got home. She needs time.”

  “Enough. Both of you.” Thena gave her mother a pleading look, and then turned to Maxine, opening the car door while the woman took a step backward. She stood outside the car, smiling at the older lady. “I want to help. And I will if I can. But right now I don’t understand any of this.”

  She wanted Maxine to calm down, knowing from past experience that if someone got her mother’s dander up, life would be hell while her mom paced the house, threatening all kinds of evil spells that she would never perform on anyone.

  Maxine relaxed noticeably, a pleasant smile appearing on her face. “I’m already feeling better talking to you. And you come over now. I’m serious. I’m going to arrange for you to see my son. He ain’t right. And no one is going to tell me he don’t want to be fixed. He was a good boy. There is something going on in this town. You just hang out a few days. You’ll see. I can’t explain it. But you’ll see.”

  Thena glanced past Maxine, distracted suddenly when she realized that Priapus was no longer across the street. Maxine followed her gaze when Thena noticed him driving into the gas station and pulling up to the pump behind her. He got out of the car, wearing simple blue jeans and a T-shirt that stretched over hard chest muscles.

  He looked different than he had before. Now his hair fell straight, not quite to his shoulders, layered slightly, giving him a casual appearance. From the long hair that he’d had when she first met him in Kansas City, to the business look that he’d sported in the airport and in her mother’s yard, and now a look that made him appear a local, she wondered at the limits of his magic. When he glanced her way, those soft green eyes, the one thing that remained the same about him, captured her with enough heat to make her heart pick up a beat.

  I’m watching you. She swore she heard him whisper the words into her ears. Be careful where you tread.

  Maxine had already looked away, reaching out and giving Thena’s wrist a squeeze. “You call me. And whatever you do, don’t say anything to Tommy Joe. He’s one of them.”

  With that, she hurried back around
the car, keeping her head down when Tommy Joe gave her a harsh look and then turned his attention to Thena.

  “Get in the car, Thena.” Her mother had a warning tone that grabbed her attention.

  “Don’t you run off without saying hi to me, Thena Cooke.” Tommy Joe sauntered around their car.

  He was even taller than he’d been in high school, his body still long and lanky. She attempted a smile, putting her hand on the car door handle to let her mother know she wasn’t ignoring her. She couldn’t just run and be rude to one of her true dear friends from childhood.

  “It’s good to see you, Tommy Joe.” Thena smiled up at the man but then when her mother cleared her throat inside the car, she added for her benefit, “I was just getting ready to head home with Mama and a bunch of groceries.”

  Something unpleasant seeped through her when she stared into Tommy Joe’s icy blue eyes. He didn’t return her smile and moved until he stood close enough to her that she couldn’t open her car door without physically pushing him out of the way. He unnerved her, standing so close. At the same time, she sensed Priapus behind her. His power rushed around her, seeming to protect her from the closeness of Tommy Joe.

  “So you’re staying with your mama, then?” Anger seemed to radiate from him. Even his posture was tight, rigid. “Maybe I’ll stop by there in a bit.”

  “The milk is getting warm.” Margaret spoke loud enough for Tommy Joe to hear her clearly. “You get in this car now, girl.”

  He took a step backwards. “You take your mother on home now. Drive carefully. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to a pretty lady and her mother.”

  Thena frowned when he stepped back to let her get in the car. She didn’t say anything, but got in and watched him return to his truck.

  “Something’s wrong with him.” She hadn’t meant to speak out loud.

  Tommy Joe turned to look at her again before climbing into his truck. His expression was almost fierce, as if he’d overheard her, although she doubted very much that he had. The boy she remembered from grade school and high school had been a friendly, carefree sort. Tommy Joe had a deep crush on her for a while until his daddy had put a stop to it, announcing none too quietly that no boy of his would date a black woman.

  She remembered how awkward he had been as a boy, not attractive, and with hardly any friends. But he’d been such a good friend, willing to hang out with her when the other kids teased her.

  The man walking away from her now looked hardened, almost fierce, like he was highly pissed off and aching for a good fight.

  “There’s something wrong with a lot of people around here.” Her mother sounded defeated, tired.

  Thena turned her attention to her, reaching for her hand. “Is that why you called me home? Why Gramma wanted me back here so badly?”

  “It’s too much for the two of us to handle. I don’t know magic to fix this.” Her mother shook her head, watching while Tommy Joe drove off. He glanced back at them again, his frown deepening. Her mother squeezed her hand, and then let go. “I didn’t know if you’d be able to help or not. Now I do. But there are a lot of them. Decisions need to be made.”

  Thena glanced at her side mirror, knowing Priapus was still behind her. His power almost soothed her, reassuring her somehow that he would protect her if she simply asked.

  But did she need protection from him as well?

  Her heart skipped a beat, remembering how it felt to be in his arms. The thought gave her goose bumps, while excitement over possibly seeing him again put a lump in her tummy.

  Priapus got in his car when Thena drove off.

  There was no way he would allow them to gang up on her. No matter that she had powers stronger than any human should have. He doubted she knew how conniving demons could be.

  He would take her under his protection. The only problem was Thena was proving to be mighty damned stubborn.

  Thena and her mom drove in silence for a while as she headed down the narrow county road toward her mom’s house.

  “Why did you think I would be so much stronger than you?” she asked, breaking the silence.

  Margaret took a long look at her daughter. Thena glanced over at her, her silver hair sprinkled with black and piled high on her head. Concern and worry clouded her mother’s soft brown eyes.

  “Why should I be any different than you?” Thena pushed, a feeling coming over her that her mom had something to say and wasn’t sure how to say it.

  “It’s just a feeling that I have,” her mother said quietly, obviously holding something back.

  Thena pursed her lips. Her mom might be stubborn, but so was she.

  Pulling into the drive in front of her mother’s home, Thena sighed heavily. “So you tried to make little Nate better?”

  Margaret scowled at Thena. “You know I did. I tried every spell and concoction that I could think of. Your Gramma did too. You saw the rope around his waist. We tied so many knots trying to get that evil out of him. Nothing worked.”

  She got out of the car, shutting the door firmly behind her, and headed to the house.

  Well, hell. She’d offended her mother by succeeding in doing something her mother couldn’t. Thena reached behind her, grabbing the sacks of groceries and then hurried after her mother.

  “Mom.” She shut the front door quickly behind her with her foot, finding her mother already in the kitchen, placing candles on the table. “I’m sure I can’t do more than you can. I had no idea what was wrong with Nate. I just acted. There wasn’t time to think.”

  She thought about the evil voice that had come from the child and shuddered. Whatever had left him, Priapus had destroyed. The icy chill that rushed past her had dissipated when he’d pointed his finger at it. She hadn’t been able to destroy it, and she had no idea what it was. But he’d destroyed it with a mere gesture of his finger. She didn’t have near his strength.

  Not to mention how his appearance kept changing. Thena could style her hair, change the type of clothes she wore, apply different makeup. But that wasn’t magic. There was no way she could do what Priapus could do.

  Thinking about him though, made her want to feel his strength. He was such a mystery, claiming to be a god. And not just any god. Priapus was known for having a cock twice the length of any other man. He was the god of fertility, the protector. She ran her tongue over her lips, her mouth suddenly too moist. Would he really have a cock that size?

  Dear God. She’d only had sex with a handful of men her entire life. There was no way she would be able to handle a man that well-endowed.

  What was she thinking?

  She gave herself a mental shake, focusing on her mother who was now in the process of lighting almost a dozen candles she’d gathered and put on the kitchen table.

  Hurrying to put the groceries on the counter before she dropped them, she willed the excited heat that suddenly rushed through her to subside.

  “Thena,” her mother said, not looking up. She moved around the table with her long wooden match, continuing to light the candles. “We create spells, practice the wording, use our tools—the candles, our herbs, the concoctions we make, because it helps us. Reciting our incantations, calling forth the gods, helps us clear our minds, focus on the task we’re trying to remedy.”

  Thena nodded, putting the milk in the refrigerator. “Yes. I’m not five. I know that.”

  “Don’t you sass me, girl. This is important.” Margaret puffed her small chest out, her petite frame draped with the long loose-fitting dress she wore. She puckered her lips together, pointing at Thena with the lighted, long wooden match. “I wanted to talk to you alone, before Gramma gets back. You don’t need those props. Don’t you see?”

  “What would you want to talk to me about that Gramma can’t hear?” Thena shook her head. “I’ve always practiced the craft properly. I don’t even think of my tools as props. They are…well, they’re part of me.”

  “Your Gramma knows I’m having this conversation with you.” Margaret sighed
. “I just wanted to have it without her putting in her two cents.”

  Carefully blowing out the match, Margaret placed it in the sink and took a small cigar box out of her cabinet. Thena knew it well as the cherished box where her mother kept her blessed herbs. Her mother set the box on the table, running her fingers gingerly over the top of it before opening it. The simple act brought back many memories of her mother performing spells throughout Thena’s life—always the small cigar box was close at hand.

  “What is it that you want to talk to me about?” Thena wasn’t surprised her mother wanted to talk before Gramma showed up.

  Her Gramma always had strong opinions about everything, a trait she’d passed down to her daughter, and Thena as well. She chewed her lip, something telling her that her mother was anxious about something.

  Her mother opened the box, allowing the fresh scent of her special mixture of ground herbs to fill the kitchen. She pinched at the herbs, her bony fingers picking up clumps of the herbs and slowly creating a circle around the candles.

  “We need to talk about who you are.”

  “What do you mean, Mom?” A nervous twang stabbed at her gut. “I know who I am. I’m your daughter. And I’m a witch, right?”

  Margaret nodded, not looking at her but focusing on her task. “I raised you that way. But it’s not who you are.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Thena frowned, her attention shooting from her mother’s determined expression to her mother’s fingers, deftly creating a circle around the candles with her herbs.

  Margaret shook her head firmly, closing her eyes once she’d completed the circle. Reaching for Thena’s hand, she gripped it firmly, the familiar touch of her mom’s smooth, cool skin comforting under most circumstances, a hand that had caressed her and removed all fears for so many years. At the moment though, Thena was frustrated. Her mother was sidestepping questions. And Thena hated it when she did that.

  Margaret held her free hand over the flames of the candles. “Earth. Wind. Fire. Air. All of the elements are within us. Our spirits soar, welcoming your strength. We can do anything and go anywhere. Earth. Wind. Fire. Air. Your powers within us, we can go anywhere.”