Paranormal Research Club Ch. 05

She smiled at me. "Gods and goddesses mature entirely differently than mortals. While Athena isn't exactly a normal example even for us, she was actually born fully grown, carrying a sword, spear, and shield, and wearing a bronze suit of armor when she sprang from her father Zeus' forehead. Don't worry; I'll be giving birth to this one, and not out of my forehead. We gods are often born fully grown not long after conception, but it's not as catastrophic or painful as it sounds. After birth, it can sometimes take us many thousands of years to mature emotionally. That's the primary reason that you frequently hear about us doing things that may seem immature or even crazy. But before you judge the gods, imagine what it would be like if human teenagers had nearly limitless power and there were dire consequences every time they behaved irrationally!"

I lay there cuddled against her as she continued. "I can feel that our daughter is going to be... different than the rest of the gods and goddesses, somehow. I think that Rachelle and Cherise contributed something to our daughter's creation that I'm not sure even I fully understand. Definitely not anything I had planned for, that much is certain. It was fun to toy with them while we were mating, but in retrospect I should have left them out of the process. I doubt that a being entirely like our daughter has ever really existed before, and I cannot predict what she's going to be like. Hopefully she won't be as troublesome as the rest of my children, and hopefully I can count on her to fulfill her role. Forgive me for not telling you more about my plans for now, since I would prefer for you to not try to interfere with them."

Eris kissed me tenderly. "You should go now. That crazy old shaman friend of yours is beside himself wondering what happened to you, and he blames himself for loosing you. He has no way of knowing that you were abducted by me, and he already has more than enough on his conscience without worrying about a perceived failure on his part destroying humanity. Check on Dionysus. By now, I'm sure that he fully understands what just happened, and he won't blame you for his weakened state. He is one of the kindest deities I know, and he understands that no mortal could have resisted what I did to you. The destruction of your world is not going to be your fault or his, and my half-brother knows it."

"But Dionysus also knows that I have won, and the role of the human race as it currently exists will soon come to an end. Before it does, please be sure to mate with your cousin, Heather. Don't worry about getting her pregnant; your species won't be around long enough for it to matter. Bond yours souls together now, because eternity together in the afterlife is all that you will ever have. You will enjoy happiness together that I can never have myself because of my own unavoidable destiny. You still have the essence of two goddesses permeating you. That should serve to make your union with Heather particularly special. You'll see what I mean. It's a shame that both of you will have to die soon." She kissed me again, her sad, luminous eyes looking deep into my own. "Visit me in the afterlife, and be a father to our daughter. Our universe is changing. She will need you." Eris' lips brushed softly against my own, as ethereal as the wind. Then she was gone.