Gift From A God Ch. 07

I walked into an empty apartment utterly exhausted. I made my way back to my room, kicking off my shoes as I went. All I wanted was to sleep. I couldn’t believe it, but Katie, my sweet Katie, had screwed me senseless. That girl had fucked like a thing possessed that morning, waking me up by kissing my chest and sucking on my nipples. We carried on, licking, biting, screwing and thrusting, until it was time to check out. Even she was running out of steam by then. She had passed out on our way to her house in Chandler. Katie made me promise to call her before she made her way inside, walking stiffly. I would definitely be keeping that promise. The visions of her and Kristel intertwined together had been teasing me since the day before. For now however, rest.

Pulling off my shirt and pants I collapsed heavily into my bed and was sleeping almost before my head hit the pillow.

The fading light through my window told me I had woken up sometime in the early evening. My bedside clock confirmed it was a little after five. I lay there in that half-awake state letting my body work it’s way out of slumber and collecting my thoughts. I realized after a few moments that it was a noise that woke me. Someone had come into the apartment. I shed my mortal coil and let my awareness travel through the apartment. It was Kristel, no doubt, but I wanted to see what she was doing.

Kristel was standing in the dining area half-staring at my keys laying on the counter and half-lost in thought. Ahh choices, choices. I knew what she was thinking without bothering to check; I could read it in her face. Indecision and doubt and excitement and possibilities.

*Evening, babe.*

She yelped, looking around. “Stephen?”

*I’m in my room, why don’t you come in, we can talk if you want.*

“Alright, but no mind shit. Promise?”

*Does this count?*

She thought for a moment. “No, I guess not. Hang on, let me come in there, I feel like I’m talking to myself.”

She walked across the room and down the hallway to my room.

*Open sesame*

The door to my room clicked and swung open slowly as her hand was reaching for the knob. She jerked a little and peered around the door frame at me laying in bed partially covered by my comforter.

“I guess I didn’t just hallucinate the whole thing then, did I.”

“What do you mean? And come in, have a seat.”

She walked over to my desk and pulled out my chair and rolled it a few feet from the bed before sitting down heavily and crossing her arms. She was very nervous.

“Well,” she began slowly. “The more I thought about yesterday and everything that happened, the more unreal it seemed. I had almost convinced myself that it hadn’t happened at all; that maybe I had dreamed the whole thing. One giant, freaky head trip, you know?”

“So what do you think now?”

“You’re the one who can read my fucking mind, you tell me,” Kristel retorted, her face accusing.

“You asked me not too, so I’m not. Why are you angry?”

“Because I’m scared of you and that makes me nervous and afraid and angry. I debated on whether I should even come back here.” She looked at me, confused. “You...you’re really not reading my mind? At all?”

“No.” I sat up putting my back to the wall. “Can you toss me my shirt?” She leaned over and grabbed my shirt off the floor, and handed it to me. Pulling it on I said, ”You’re going to have to trust me Kristel. If I wanted you to do whatever I wanted I would just make you do it. I wouldn’t go through all of the trouble of trying to convince you and put you at ease if I was going to make you do what it anyway.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes as she mulled over what I said. Slowly her face softened up, and she dropped her defensive posture somewhat. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Are you hungry?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“How does pizza sound?” I was forming an idea.

“Pretty good actually.”

“Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and we’ll go and get some pizza and talk. How about that?”

“Alright.”

She went into to her room and I jumped in the shower real quick, cleaned myself up and was back out in the in the living room twenty minutes later in jeans, a long sleeved shirt and one of my few jackets. You don’t have much use for them in Arizona, but I wasn’t planning on eating here. She came from her room wearing a loose pair of khaki pants and a thin cotton blouse.

“You may want to grab a jacket. It’s probably going to be chilly.”

“No it’s not, it’s like ninety degrees outside.” She looked at me like I was nuts.

“Trust me.” I told her.

“Fine.”

She emerged back from her room a minute later with a jacket across her arms. “Do you want to drive or do you want me to?”

“I’ll handle the transportation,” I assured her. “Come here.”

“Why?”

“This would be a lot easier if you would just trust me. Please?”

Looking a little guilty, Kristel walked over and stood next to me, staring up expectantly and a little annoyed.

“Okay, now I haven’t exactly done this yet, but I think I can make it work. I’m going to put my arms around you, is that okay?”

“What are you doing?”

I frowned at her.

“Fine, fine, go ahead.” She stepped in closer to me and I pulled her into my arms. I held her for a few seconds just enjoying the feeling and she even began to soften up in my embrace. She slowly put her arm around my waist and held me back. Putting my mind to the task at a hand I said:

“Okay, here we go.” I concentrated.

“Go where–”

My body broke out in goose bumps as a chill swept over us. Kristel shivered as well. There was a brief flash, whiting out everything and then blackness. I felt Kristel’s body pull tight against mine and heard her scream but it was strangely muffled. My stomach dropped, like when you’re going up and down a bunch of hills in a car, and then we both landed with a soft thud on a patch of grass. I opened my eyes and looked around. Looked about right.

It was dark, stars were glittering softly in the sky above and we were in a small clearing surrounded by bushes and trees. Just through the tree line you could see a road with cars streaming by. Kristel broke away from me hard and stumbled a few feet back, looking around wildly.

“What the…how...where? What happened?”

A cold breeze blew through the clearing. Kristel clapped her arms around herself, then remembering she had a jacket, threw it on quickly.

“We just teleported,” I told her.

“Teleported?”

“We jumped from one place to another.” I grinned.

“I know what it means,” she snapped at me. “Where are we?”

“St. Louis. Forrest Park to be specific. And if I’m not mistaken, just across that road, about a block away, is one of the best pizza places ever.”

“We’re in St. Louis,” she asked incredulously.

“Yep.”

“But that’s...that’s like 2000 miles away.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“How will we get back?”

“Same way we got here. I provide round-trip service.” I grinned at her and she just rolled her eyes at me in an exasperated way.

“We could have just gone to Pizza Hut or something, you know.”

“I didn’t want Pizza Hut. Besides, this is much better, you’ll see. The square beyond compare.”

She crossed her arms and glared at me.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I should have warned you. I didn’t know what it would be like, I hadn’t done that before either. I figured if I told you ahead of time you never would have done it. We’re here now, so we might as well go eat. This is great pizza, I promise.”

Kristel looked around again, taking stock of the surroundings. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, that just sort of freaked me out. A lot about you is really freaking me out lately.” She walked back up to me.

“I would never hurt you Kristel.”

She shrugged her shoulders in a sort of weary way. “Yeah, well... Being told that is one thing, feeling it is another. It scares me that you can do so much. Especially when I don’t know how.

I started to say something, but she cut me off. “I know you can’t tell me, I know. Just...just give me some time to think on it, okay?”

“Anything you want, sweetheart.”

“Okay. So, which way?”

Smiling I said, “Right over there.” I offered her my arm and she took it and we made our way across the little field and down onto the sidewalk. It was a nice to be back home. St. Louis was where I was born and before all of this I had hoped to move back there and put my degree to use. I still keep an apartment there. I liked how the city felt around me. It was old and dirty and worn down in parts but it felt lived in; a place where people had homes. In contrast, Phoenix felt like a large mall; Prefabricated and modular. Stucco walls and gravel front yards instead of grass. It was dry and dusty where St. Louis was moist and green. Twenty minutes outside of the city and you were practically in the woods. The air here smelled cleaner and crisper. You spend so much time in Phoenix and you start to forget what the scent of a cool breeze is like..

“How come we didn’t just go right to the restaurant? It’s cold here.” Kristel asked, snuggling closer to me as we walked to ward against the chill.

“I’d have a hard time explaining to a restaurant full of people why I suddenly materialized in the middle of the room with a beautiful woman in my arms.”

I felt her smile and she pulled in a little tighter. “Ahh. So this is good pizza?”

“Great pizza,” I told her.

“It must be if we came half-way across the country. One question though.”

“Shoot.”

“Do I get frequent flyer miles with this?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I pulled open the door to Imo’s and guided her into the warm interior. My stomach growled at the smell and my mouth began to water in an almost Pavlovian response. I love Imo’s Pizza.

On the banks of the Nile river, just outside of Cairo...

A lone figure walked the along the banks of the ancient river, his body cloaked in shadows that seemed to stretch and move with him. The desert night grew completely silent at his passing, all creatures sensing the darkness that moved through the midst and all anxious to be overlooked. At a break in the reeds growing along the banks he knelt down and trailed his fingers along the surface, letting it lap over his fingers.

“Tetisheri...I need you. Come to me.”

His voice reverberated through the predawn light and the water surged away from him briefly as the shockwave of power from his summons hammered the air. He stood up slowly, the shadows clinging greedily to him, and waited.

Before long the water began to bubble and churn a short distance from the shore. The figure of a woman emerged Venus-like from the river until she was standing on the surface. She began to walk forward, her nude body undulating and flowing like the water from which she was birthed. Her shimmering eyes appraised the shadow figure lustily as she approached the shore, stopping just short of the land.

“How may I serve thee Lord?” Water dripped from her luscious body and splashed back into the river, the only sound audible in the darkness. Even the wind had stopped.

“You know of my plans concerning the mortal?”

“I do my Lord.”

“He has been warned of my intentions. I don’t know by whom yet, but he will not come as easily as I had planned. He fears me now.”

“All should fear you, my Lord,” the woman said in a reverent voice. “The world should tremble at the sound of your name. Dreams of you should terrify children in their beds at the setting of every sun.”

“Perhaps Tetisheri, my precious. Perhaps. If this mortal is as strong as I’ve been told, he may just provide me with the power I need. I must acquire him first however. That’s why I need you. I would like you to...persuade him. Convince him that it is in his best interests to do as I say. Use your charms, seduce him, lull him, take his mind from him; make him your pet as I know you more then capable of doing. I do not wish to frighten him. Not yet. Can you do this thing for me?”

“Of course, my Lord. But, he lives far from the water. How will I approach him?”

“He will be made ready for you, do not fear. Be prepared when I summon you. You may not have much time once the opportunity presents itself.”

Tetisheri bowed her head slowly. “I await your call Lord Set.”

“Good.”

St. Louis...

“That was some good pizza. Ooff, I’m stuffed. ”

Kristel leaned back in her chair slowly and rubbed her stomach.

“Told you so,” I told her, smiling.

“You’ll have to bring me here again sometime.”

I looked up at her. “Does this mean you’re okay with everything?”

We hadn’t talked much about the white elephant in the room all through dinner; Small talk, a few vague references, but not about the real issue. I didn’t press her, I knew this was hard for her to grasp, hell I was still coming to terms with it, so I figured I would let her approach it at her own pace.

“I think that...that I could deal with it. When you think about it, it’s a great deal, isn’t it. Being partners in crime with...what are you anyway? Are you still human?” She cocked her head, studying me a little closer.

“Far as I know, yeah.” I thought for a moment. “I still feel like myself, but I also feel these things too. It’s like a charge of electricity moving through my veins. Whatever it is, it’s part of me now, but it’s getting to where I can’t remember ever not feeling like this.” I met her gaze. More talking to myself I said, “I’m human, but...more then human. If that makes any sense.”

“Not really,” she grinned. “But that’s alright. The sex alone is more then enough to make up for any of your little mysteries.” She flashed me a devilish smile.

“So you’re not afraid of me anymore? We’re cool?”

“Yes, we’re cool.”

I reached across the table and took her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it softly. In a little replay of my game with Katie I sent a sliver of pleasure into her brain that spread outward through her whole body. Kristel’s eyes closed and she let out a sigh, her hand gripping mine a little tighter. “You made the right decision,” I told her softly.

“That feels...so good,” she said, in a hushed voice.

“I know,” I told her. “Hey. You want to hear something funny?”

“What’s that?”

“That guy over there, wearing the suit,” I nodded across the room to where a man and a woman were sitting against the wall. “He’s wearing his wife’s panties; A red, lacy pair. She took them off after wearing them all day and he put them on to wear for the rest of the night. They do this several times a month. She’s going commando”

She laughed out loud. “That’s...weird.”

“Want to hear more?”

“You can read all of them? Everyone in here?”

“Yep.”

“Yes, tell more.” She was lit up with excitement. I was the ultimate voyeur and she had an all-access pass.

“Some of them...they aren’t so nice.” I cautioned. “One thing I’ve discovered is just how sick people can be.”

“Are there people in here like that?” she asked.

“A few,” I said. “There seems to always be people like that where ever I go. They look perfectly normal on the outside but sometimes...” I paused. “Sometimes I feel like I need a bath.”

“Oh. I don’t want to hear about that kind of stuff; Nothing sick and twisted. Is there anything good you can tell me?”

“I think I can find something to amuse and titillate you,” I said, giving her a conspiratory smile. I gave the restaurant a quick once over, sampling thoughts here and there. “Oh, okay. Here we go. That waitress over there, she got herself off in the ladies room about 20 minutes go. It seems she can’t stop thinking about her new boyfriend.”

“I hope she washed her hands,” Kristel said giggling.

“Here’s something a little nasty.” I nodded to a teenage kid a few tables over. “ That kid there, he likes to jack his dog off.”

“Ewww! That is so gross.”

“The dog seems to enjoy it,” I told her, chuckling.

“I don’t care, that’s disgusting.” She made a face and pushed her plate away. “I’ve lost my appetite now.”

“You were full anyway.”

“Well, don’t make me throw it all up,” she said playfully, tossing her wadded up straw wrapper at me.

“You ready to get out of here? There’s something I want to show you.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“You’ll like it, I promise.”

“Lead the way,” she said, offering her hand to me.

After paying we made our way back outside and I led her around the back of the restaurant, away from prying eyes. Tucked in an alcove between the dumpster and the back of the building I brought her into my arms again. She snuggled close to me this time, slipping her hands underneath my jacket and around my waist.

“At least I’m ready for it now,” she said. “I don’t suppose you care to tell me where we’re going this time?”

“Sight seeing. Ready?”

“Yep. Take it away.”

Resting my chin on her head I closed my eyes and thought of my dstinatation, putting it in my mind as best as I could recall since the last time I was there. Just like before we flashed away and dropped with a thump onto a carpeted surface. As near as I could tell it was practically instantaneous.

I opened my eyes to a dark room, exit signs casting their red glow at each end over doorways that went down into darkness. The room was narrow, maybe seven or eight feet across, and the floor curved away towards the doorways at each end. Spaced along each wall the length of the room were equally narrow windows, about a foot high and two or three feet wide. Out the western windows was the St. Louis skyline in all it’s nighttime glory, lights twinkling as far as the eye could see. The glow moved slowly through the openings, illuminating lonely squares on the opposite wall. Through the eastern set you could make out the Illinois side of the Mississippi River; A black void cutting the two cities in half, visible only as a million tiny refractions and reflections from the urban stars. Beyond that, the scattered lights of East St. Louis. Accompanied by the groan of steel, the room swayed gently back and forth in the wind.

“Oh my god!” Kristel said, in a whisper. “Where are we?”

“Welcome to the St. Louis Arch.”

“It’s moving,” she said anxiously, gripping me for support.

“Yeah, it sways in the wind,” I told her reassuringly. “I forget how many inches in each direction, but it’s supposed to do that. If it didn’t it would snap.”

She let go of me and made her way to the western windows timidly; leaning against the slanted wall they have there just for that purpose. It lets you look out the windows without bending and craning your neck. You just plant your feet and lean in and you rest against it with your head right next to the window. The luminescence cast her face in a pale glow.

“How...how high are we?” Her voice cracked.

“Umm...I think it’s six hundred and thirty-six feet. Are you okay, Kristel?”

“Ohhh my god,” Kristel said in a trembling voice. She backed up quickly and back into my arms, gripping me tightly. “I guess I never told you I was afraid of heights.” Her breath was coming in deepening pants.

“Really? I’m sorry sweetheart, I had no idea.” I kissed her forehead.” I could help you with that, you know.”

“How?”

“I’d have to do some ‘mind shit’ on you. But I could take away your fear I think.”

She looked at me closely, her eyes wide with anxiety. “I...I trust you. It’s either that or you have to get me out of here before I pass out.”

I pulled her into my arms and put my forehead against hers and hugged her tight. “Close your eyes and take a deep breath Kristel.”

I eased my way into her mind, taking stock of what I found. She was practically overflowing with fear. Her self-control was held together by the barest strands of will. She wasn’t exaggerating about passing out. She was coursing with adrenalin and stress hormones and her blood pressure was rising fast.

*It’s okay Kristel. You’re safe with me. *