Aphrodite's Prey

Aphrodite's Prey

by GeorgeAnderson

Gina Clark whistled happily to herself as she expertly maneuvered the family's SUV through the downtown traffic. She had finally settled on what she would get her husband for his birthday next week, and she knew exactly where to find it. She had dropped off their sons to play with their best buds two doors down (she trusted their mother implicitly) and headed to town to make her purchase. Gina was, happily and intentionally, a housewife and mother. She knew some of her friends said she was "just" a housewife and mother, but if you did it right, Gina reflected, there was no "just" about it. She and Jeff had decided they would make do with less money in order to give their children the upbringing they deserved, and they were both happy in that choice. Jeff had even turned down a promotion, because it would have meant moving to what they felt was a less desirable location for the boys. So what if the SUV she was driving was one of the smallest and cheapest models on the road, and was far from new. They kept it maintained, and it served them well; what more did they need?

Four hours, three stores, and a hurried lunch later, Gina was frustrated. She knew that Jeff would happily accept any old thing from her, as long as it had her heart in it. That wasn't good enough for Gina. For her Jeff, it had to be perfect. Eight years married, and she still wept over a burnt spot on his toast, and was inconsolable when the souffle fell prematurely. (Well, not inconsolable, she smiled to herself. Jeff had found very effective ways to console her that night.)

Three stores, she fumed, and a half dozen obnoxious salesmen who tried to fob her off with something that was slightly the wrong color, or the wrong size, or just wrong, while they stared at her tits. Or her ass, or her legs. Well, yes, they were worth staring at, but that wasn't the point. Did they think just because she was good looking, she was some air headed bimbo who didn't know what she wanted?

Gina checked the dashboard clock. She still had some time before she needed to pick up the boys from Jane's house, so she decided to visit her place. Their place, really; Jeff had first taken her there while they were dating. It was a high grassy hill in a park just outside the city. It had a narrow, twisting road up one side, and a sheer cliff face down the other. From the top of the hill, you could look over the cliff and see the city and the surrounding countryside spread out before you like one of those old-fashioned panoramic maps. Sometimes they would go there together; sometimes Gina would go there by herself, when she needed to release her frustrations and re-center herself.

The goddess was hungry. And when Aphrodite was hungry, it wasn't for food. Perhaps it was food in a way, she thought; those she lusted after didn't always seem to survive her lust. "Goddess of Love," indeed. People forgot that she was the half-sister of Diana the Huntress. Today, she was in the mood to hunt. To stalk, to seize, to overwhelm, to sate her hunger upon a helpless victim.

The mortal was resting, alone, at the peak of a hill, relaxed and unaware. Perfect. Like a pretty little gazelle at a water hole, unaware of the lioness lurking in the grass. Delicious, thought the goddess. I shall have her. Her? Yes, her. These mortals thought she only hunted men. Ha! She grinned. If they only knew... Probably even Vulcan doesn't know how willingly I will sate my hunger with anyone beautiful, immortal or not, male or female. Perhaps after I've had her, I'll share her with Vulcan. I do sort of owe him, and he'll think he's died and gone to... well, Mount Olympus! Chuckling at her own wit, she moved in on the mortal.

Gina sat in the driver's seat of the SUV, almost dozing. The place was having its usual effect on her; she could feel her frustrations draining away, and her peace and calm returning. She gazed absently at the fluffy white cumulus clouds meandering across the bright blue sky. Huh - it looked as if the clouds were forming themselves into a stairway of some kind. She chuckled to herself, amused at her dream. Then she bolted upright. The clouds were a stairway, and a figure was descending it. A woman, robed in white, long golden hair streaming down her back. Gina shook herself, even pinched herself to make the dream disappear. It did not. The woman continued to process down the stairway of cloud, every movement graceful, elegant, regal.

Gina reached out to the familiar things around her. Her keys in the ignition. Her purse on the passenger seat. Yes, they were all there. She pressed the horn; it made its reassuringly ugly noise. The cloud stairs and the female figure were still there. She must be awake. She even slapped her face to make sure. The woman continued her regal progress; a few more steps and she would be standing on the hill. Gina's hill.

Gina could now see that the woman wore some kind of white garment, like the old-fashioned statues wore. Like a toga or something. It wasn't transparent, and covered her entire body except for her feet and one shoulder. But Gina knew, with absolute certainty, what she looked like without the garment. She was the most beautiful person Gina had ever seen.

Gina was a beautiful woman, and she knew it. Her husband told her so, often and with adoration. Other men told her so, too, though their admiration was far less welcome, like those salesmen this morning. Next to this woman, this goddess, Gina knew she would feel frumpy, dowdy, and really quite plain.

The goddess stepped onto the green grass of the hill. Her bare feet left no impression in the grass. The stairway of cloud blew away and vanished. Her eyes met those of her mortal prey.

Gina was transfixed. Nothing existed for her but those eyes: not husband, not sons, nothing. Only the goddess. What was in her eyes? Love? Lust? Hunger? Some combination of all three? Whatever it was, it was irresistible. She obeyed the goddess's unspoken command. Leaving her keys and her purse, she stepped down from the SUV, locked and closed the door, and walked toward the beautiful figure.

Aphrodite strode across the green sward to the edge of the cliff. Gina followed, a step or so behind, imitating the goddess's regal progress as best she could. Aphrodite reached the edge of the cliff and turned toward Gina, smiling and extending her hand. Their eyes met again. Shyly, but without hesitation, Gina placed her hand in that of the goddess. "I... I love you," she said.

"I know," answered the goddess. Together, they stepped over the edge and into the void.

This was almost too easy, thought Aphrodite. She could read the mortal's mind; she knew she was taking her from... someone. It didn't matter to her. "Love at first sight." What silliness, but useful. Her prey was convinced of it, she knew. Of course, she could have had her son Cupid use one of his arrows on her, but this was far more fun. Besides, Cupid didn't always approve of her... cupidity. She laughed as she bore away her captive.

*****

Jeff Clark was finishing off a good day's work when his phone demanded his attention. The caller was Jane Prentiss, the mother of his sons' two best buds and a family friend. She sounded worried.

"Jeff, I hate to bother you, but Gina said she'd be back for the boys an hour and a half ago, and she hasn't showed. She's never been this late."

"Yeah, you know Gina. On time is late." It was one of her favorite sayings, especially when trying to hustle her men out of the house for an appointment. "I was just about to leave for home. I'll let you know what I find."

"Thanks, Jeff. Why don't I keep the boys for supper?" She overrode his attempted interruption. "It's no trouble, they'll keep my two out of my hair while I fix dinner, and you can concentrate on Gina."

As he ended the call, Jeff heard Jane's raised voice, "No, Jason, not until after dinner!" He grinned as he imagined the scene.

Gina wasn't home, and the SUV was missing. He called the police to see if she'd been in an accident; none had been reported. He wanted to file a missing persons report, but was told by a bored-sounding desk sergeant that he would have to wait 48 hours. Especially since it was a missing wife case.

A missing wife? Jeff knew what that usually meant. A friend of his dad's had lost his wife that way: she just took off one day with another man. But his Gina? No. It couldn't be. He knew how men hit on her, and he knew that she was fully capable of handling herself and keeping the flirts at bay. Her technique was solid and well practiced. No, he would not believe she had left him.

But where was she, then? What had happened to her? Was she in danger? And what could he do about any of those possibilities? Wearing a groove in the carpet by pacing probably wasn't helping, and was only getting him more wound up. It was time to go pick up the boys, anyway.

Jane and her husband both met Jeff at the door, worry etched on their faces.

"Let us know what we can do, man," Randy said. Jane had obviously filled him in.

"Thanks. I may need to ask you to watch the boys tomorrow. I know it's trouble for you, and I can..."

"Stop right there," Jane interrupted. "We'll do this for you because we're friends and this is one thing we can do for you in your trouble. You and Gina would do the same for us, and you know it. So just say thank you, and bring them over any time after 8:30."

Jeff stammered out his thanks, took his boys home, and got them ready for bed. As he listened to his younger son's prayers, his first tears fell. "Dear God, please keep Mommy safe and bring her home to us. Amen."

"Amen," Jeff whispered.

Jeff got very little sleep that night. Gina was gone. The hole in his heart and his life just kept getting bigger. His mind was racking itself to pieces like an engine being revved in neutral. Where was she? She had always needed him just as much as he needed her; how could he get to her? How would he make it through the night, let alone face tomorrow?

Tomorrow came anyway. Even the boys were subdued, missing their mother, and worried about their father. "You don't look so good, Dad," his older son stated with concern.

"You know, son, I think you're right." The wan smile they shared was better than nothing.

After dropping off the boys and calling in to work, Jeff finally began to think. Gina had been excited about some secret for the last few days. She was always like that during the weeks leading up to Christmas and his birthday. She thought she had to get something that was just right, perfect in every way, for him. He smiled: she didn't have to go to all that trouble, and he was sure she knew it, but it was one of her love languages, and he loved her for it. So she had dropped the boys off, and headed out. Shopping, almost certainly. But what then? If she'd found what she wanted, she'd have come straight home, giddy with her success. But if she didn't? If she was frustrated....

He ran to the garage and got into his Mini. He drove to the park outside of town; up the narrow winding road to the hill with the overlook. And there it was: their SUV. Her purse was on the passenger seat, just where she would have left it. The keys were in the ignition, but the doors were locked. He reached for his spare key to unlock the door, but on second thought, decided he should call the police.

Two of them came in a squad car: an older veteran who was a walking advertisement for Krispy Kreme, and a tall, thin young woman. They listened to Jeff's story.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, bub, but looks like your ole woman did a runner. Yep, all the signs are there."

"Really? How did she leave, then?" Jeff asked.

"His car, most likely," the officer opined sagely. "That's the usual."

"Then where are its tracks?" The marks from the SUV's tires could still be seen in the grass. The older cop took off his cap, scratched his head, and began to wander about with his eyes on the grass.

"Ha! Look here! Footprints! Look, they lead down to where that Mini is parked by the road."

"Those are mine. I drove the Mini."

"Oh." The cop looked deflated, as if he needed another doughnut.

"Sir?" The younger cop was standing between the SUV and the cliff.

"Yes?"

"Does your wife wear shoes with a chunky sort of heel, like this?" She held up her hands to show the shape.

"Yes!" Jeff answered. "She has several pair like that." He and the older cop ran to her side. The heel marks had faded since the day before, but the three could still trace them. They led to the edge of the cliff, and stopped. Gina hadn't been running, and there were no other footprints.

The same thought occurred to all three of them. "She wouldn't. She would never do that." Jeff was the first to speak.

"We don't know that she did," the younger cop said, putting her hand on Jeff's arm.

"We'll need to search the area below here." The older cop was serious now. He looked over the cliff. "We'll need a helicopter, too. Sir, this search is going to take a while, and it's no place for volunteers."

Jeff bit back an angry retort.

"I've done this before." The cop's eyes were sad. "I even know how you feel, in a way. If it were just a missing person lost in the woods, I'd be glad to have your help. But this case has a lot of questions and damn few answers right now, and we can't rule out foul play. We know she left the SUV willingly; there was no sign of a struggle and everything was neat. We have no idea what happened after that. We can't have the evidence disturbed. So the best thing for you to do is to go home, or go to work, and let us do our jobs."

Gary turned to walk down the hill, then turned back. "I'll need to move the car seats from the SUV to my Mini. Can I get them?"

"Just unlock it and I'll get them out for you," the younger cop volunteered. The transfer was accomplished, and Jeff drove home.

"I don't believe it," were the first words out of Jane's mouth when Jeff gave her the news. "And by her own hand? No. Gina and I are as close as sisters, and if she were dead, I would know it." She put her hand over her heart. "No, they'll find her, or more likely, she'll come home on her own, after finding you the perfect birthday present. That's what she set out to do, you know."

Yes, he knew. And now she was - wherever she was, or maybe even dead, because she wanted to give him the perfect birthday present. A wave of guilt washed over him.

"Go home," Jane said gently, "or go to work. Maybe that's better: let the police do their job. And keep loving her, and believing in her love for you: know that it's strong enough to bring her back to you."

*****

"Where are we?" Gina asked, gazing at the rugged mountain scenery around her.

"Mount Olympus, my dear Gina."

"Mount Olympus? Why? How did we... Wait. Gina? How do you know my name?"

The goddess laughed. "Surely you've figured it out by now. I am Aphrodite, Goddess of Love."

Gina tried frantically to get her mind to work. "But that's mythology, isn't it? I must be dreaming then?"

"No, you aren't dreaming, and I'm just as real as you are. More so, because you're mortal. Feel the rocks beneath your feet. Stamp your foot on one; you'll bleed."

Gina picked up her foot and tried a delicate little stomp. She decided she could accept whatever version of reality this was, without taking the risk of cutting her foot open.

"So why did you bring me here?"

Aphrodite laughed. "Goddess of Love, remember?"

"Oh." Gina's heart began to pound in her chest. "But I've never, uh, done..."

"Been with a woman? Then I shall see to it that your first time is memorable." She led a quivering Gina through a white marble gate and into a classic Grecian courtyard.

*****

Cupid was his mother's son, and was loyal to her: especially because she outranked him in the Depth Chart of the Gods. He and his arrows had often broken up mortal marriages at his mother's whim, or for his own caprice, and he had derived Puckish delight from the mortals' confusion and anguish. They deserved it, he thought, for being so stupid. But now and again - once every 500 years or so - a mortal's suffering touched his heart.

*****

Jeff awoke to another cheerless, Gina-less day. He sighed as he tossed aside the bed covers. He stared, bug-eyed, at the piece of paper pinned to the blanket. No, not pinned: there was an arrow through it. That arrow might have gone right through him as he slept, and he never knew anyone else was in the house! Wait, though: the point of the arrow hadn't penetrated the blanket, or touched the sheet: it had only gone deep enough to secure the paper. He pulled the arrow out of the blanket, being careful to touch it as little as possible. He didn't want Officer Doughnut getting on his case about fouling up evidence. The paper was written on one side in angular-looking characters. They reminded him of the dwarf-writing in Lord of the Rings, sort of.

Jeff was somewhat distracted as he got the boys up and bundled them off to the Prentiss's. He decided not to mention the arrow and the paper: that was just too weird. Who had broken into his house, and done it so skillfully and noiselessly? Who had pinned the paper on the blanket as he slept beneath it? Jeff was a fairly heavy sleeper, but this was ridiculous. And what was the writing all about?

"It's all Greek to me," laughed the desk sergeant when Jeff showed him the paper. Jeff was not amused by the quick wit displayed by the jocund officer of the law, but favored him with a nod and a wan smile anyway.

"It is Greek." The young woman officer from the day before had recognized Jeff's voice and was leaning over the sergeant's shoulder. "I can't translate it for you, but I can recognize it when I see it. You should really take this down to the college." She wrote a name on a piece of paper and handed it to Jeff. "Good luck," she said.

"I'll need it," thought Jeff. "This is getting stranger all the time."

"She was borrowed, and will be returned.

Jack shall have his Jill,

And nought shall go ill."

The tweed-jacketed classics professor looked up from the paper. "The last two lines are Shakespeare, of course: "Midsummer Night's Dream," Act III, if I remember. The lines are Puck's. And that arrow thing at the bottom: it's Cupid's arrow. Almost like his signature, if one believed in such things. Some people think the Bard patterned Puck after Cupid, at least in part." He chuckled. "Care to tell me how you came by this?"

Jeff didn't. This was all just too weird for human consumption. He thanked the man and went to his office, more puzzled than ever.

The police had asked Jeff for permission to take the SUV downtown for a forensic analysis. He had agreed, not that he expected anything to come of it. The younger officer's mid-afternoon call showed he had been right.

"Where would you like me to park the vehicle?" she asked.

"Oh, at home, I guess," Jeff replied, not giving the matter much thought.

"Could I suggest you might want it left where your wife left it, in case she comes back?"

Jeff saw her point, and agreed. He was surprised to hear from her again less than thirty minutes later.

"Sir, there's something really weird going on here."

"You've got that right. And I'm Jeff, not Sir."

"All right, but I'm afraid I have to be Officer Staten. Protocol, you know."

"Sure, that's fine. But what's weird now?"

"I drove your SUV back to where it had been parked. The tire tracks were still there from two days ago, so it was easy to put it in exactly the right place. I walked to the edge of the cliff, to see if I could figure anything else out from the footprints: maybe even find a second set. When I got to the edge of the cliff, right where the footprints ended, there was a small, red rosebush in full bloom."