S.A. Price (15 page)

Being late afternoon she didn’t expect much sound coming from the ground beyond the immaculately manicured lawn, but the wilds beyond were teeming with life. The birds in the trees chirped busily, and the near silent footsteps of those smaller animals in the bracken made her smile.

Yeah all that scampering is going to change in about five minutes.

Myra shook her head with her thoughts still blooming. The forest inhabitants were probably not used to the addition of such a large predator, especially since the Orpheus was barely used and its grounds on the outskirts of the lawn and beyond were left to flourish without any threat. She wasn’t going hunting, but after that satisfying little scrump with Aiden, and no coil afterward, well, she needed the comfort of her other form to enjoy the afterglow.

It was a shame he wasn’t with her, but she got the impression that he was a bit squeamish about shifting in general and the thought amused her. It was possible he was an Ophidiphobic, and that in itself was a sad thing.

I bet he’s beautiful shifted… she thought as she slipped out of her shirt and panties, stretching again, the warm afternoon sunshine covering her nude body. Ummm, beautiful and sexy. Bet his scales would feel amazing sliding over my bare skin… she shivered, the thought of him doing just that making things clench low in her body. She hadn’t ever met a snake, let alone a guy, like Aiden. He smelled good, he was sexy and he screwed like it was his job. Oh did he smell good. With her heightened sense of smell she knew that his scent would probably turn others off, but not her. No, the thick, chemical scent of the plastalina and the smoky scent under it, that scent that was purely him and not the result of a chemical or outside force, it was that scent that really got her humming. Aiden smelled like smoke bombs and fireworks, and that was the sexiest aphrodisiac Myra could ever think of. And that he didn’t have any problems with that turpentiney scent, and the oil paint scent that clung to her, that was really as much a part of her as her scales were, well that just made it all the better. She frowned. And here I am musing over him and he probably is inside hitting on Beryl. She sighed and closed her eyes, willing her change to happen.

It was always the same with her, a fluid and tingly change, her body standing one minute, and lying on her belly scales the next. She supposed it was because she was so in touch with her Ophidian side, as she spent half the month usually in snake form. Some snakes had a hard time of it, the change only coming after concentration, And some had a more magical shift, the lights blinding from one minute to the next, and a person and then in the place of it a large snake.

For Myra, it always started in her toes. The tingles always made her giggle and smile as she knew she would momentarily be freed. They worked up her legs quickly and where there were toes was soon the tip of her tail, getting broader as the transformation climbed up her body. Everything streamlined, and she was a six-foot rainbow boa constrictor in less then a minute.

~61~

She took her type of snake literally, her scales not that of the light pinky iridescent of the rest of her kin, but an iridescent white, with patches of color outlining her scales where she had yet to get the paint off of them. In some cases, the colors were there to stay, like the large amorphous patch of lavender that spanned her left side, almost making the circumference of her body. It looked like a jelly stain, a cow spot, and she had had it for as long as she had been interested in the arts. She wasn’t lying to Aiden when she said she painted with her body, and her scales were the proof. She often slithered over her canvases in an array of colors, making abstract patterns and shapes, creating a form of art they had yet to duplicate. That was probably the reason why her paintings were so sought after, why every gallery wanted to host her shows. It didn’t matter though. She didn’t do it for the recognition or the money; she did it to feel more alive, to please herself.

She moved slowly through the grass to the middle of the lawn, where the sun was the most concentrated and settled, content to be there for the little while she had left before it sunk below the horizon for the night. In this form, when she wasn’t working on a new masterpiece, she did the only other thing she could, she thought. She was sentient in this form, but it was a rare time that she was ever close to another snake while shifted. They tended not to enjoy her scent, and took the color she put on her scales as an affront to what she was. She loved her paints, they were as much a part of her as her scales as a snake and her hair as a human. The only one that never had a problem with her shifted was Remy, but now that he was mated, and a father, she saw less and less of him for lazy afternoons curled around a branch on the Knossos grounds. He had his mate, and she was the one gifted with his presence, and Myra didn’t have a problem with that, though she did miss her friend, and talking to someone while in her natural state.

Aiden would have been perfect to spend some time with, but she turned her snake gaze back to the large house and sighed in her mind, no sign of life was apparent from it, and Aiden wasn’t anywhere close. Odds were that the entire list of inhabitants but herself were closer to the front of the house, and didn’t even know she was back there. That could be both a blessing and a curse.

There was a possibility that one of the snakes that wasn’t allied with her Nest would find her and while they probably wouldn’t kill her, they could very well hurt her while in this form. Luckily she was fast, both in movement and her shift, so she wasn’t overly worried. On the other hand, she was alone, and the sun was still shining, and it gave her time to get through everything she had processed in the last few hours. Finding the missing girls was going to be a bitch, but she had decided the second she heard they were missing she was going to be on the extraction team when they found them. She was decent in a fight, unrivaled in the northeast with any sort of knives and knew how to kick ass.

This whole ordeal had scared her. She was unmated, and alone, and aside from her nest, if it was her that was abducted, no one would miss her, no one would care and work hard at finding her. These girls, most of them didn’t have a real nest and support system to call home, and that was hard. True, they did have Merrick, and she supposed that was better than nothing as he seemed to really care about them and finding them.

Then there was this thing about the Lamia cult. That was something as well. She had done some research before this problem, back when she was in school, and the entire thing scared her then, and scared her now, as it was far more real. Humans, in their bid for the fantastic and the supernatural were not smart in their raising the darker and hungry powers, not realizing the consequences. With Delphyne, if it was the demigoddess they were trying to raise, then if they succeeded they were all in it up to their eyeballs. She wasn’t one to be controlled and the main thing was she couldn’t give any human the powers to be a snake or lamia or anything, but that didn’t stop her from promising it so that she could gain a vessel on earth. From everything she had read from then until now, that was a totally bad idea. Gods I hope they haven’t succeeded, If any of those girls have shifted we are all in trouble.

Her body, coiled in the lawn was restless as her thoughts flittered back to Aiden, and the fantastic sex they had had. She wanted to be close to him even now, wrapped in his scent. The compulsion was strong to go to him, even shifted, she wanted to be with him. Gods, this can’t be happening… Christ

~62~

the first snake I have sex with… Could be worse, at least he’s sexy and young. And he apparently likes me a little. That’s even better. Shit what am I going to do? A guy like Aiden doesn’t want a relationship, let alone a hanger on. Shit.

She lifted her head and scented the air, her tongue flicking lazily. The small animals that were about had apparently sensed her presence and had left the immediate area, along with the previously active bird population, more proof that they weren’t used to this kind of predator. She turned and rolled on the grass, her underbelly exposed to the now dying sunshine, the reflective iridescence painting the house beyond her. It would be time to go in soon, to have that shower she spoke about and buckle back down in the research and help Beryl decipher it all. The woman was a wiz with codes and research but when it came to locating places she wasn’t always spot on, which was why they had always made a good team. Myra’s natural sense of direction and knowledge of topography always helped out.

She rolled onto her stomach again and then flicked her tongue out once more, making sure that she was still alone and willed herself back to her human form. The shift hadn’t been too satisfying, but the itch to do so was gone. She still wanted a good coil though, but doubted she would get one in the long run. She sighed and sat up, nude in the dying light and shook her head. How the hell am I going to get used to this, nothing feels complete, not that it did before but now… She stood and stretched, rolling her shoulders. A shower would do her good now, as she had to give in to the superficial wants of her body in order not to act on the deeper ones, the ones that were screaming to be close to what it now considered to be her demolitions expert.

~63~

FIFTEEN

She called to him, called to him through the mists that divided her prison and the world, beckoning him to come to her. My Priest, my love, come to me.

It took a lot out of her to do this so she only did so when she needed to, and this was indeed one of those times. She paced the hall of doors, or paced as much as a mist-being could, floating to and fro, waiting for him to enter.

Minutes later, she felt him, creating their sanctuary. She floated to the door, like so many times before, and entered, turning from mist to stalking legs in seconds. She saw him standing there, dapper and stunning and fell to her knees.

She took his cock out of his pants and nuzzled it lovingly, her lusts running high. She took him into her mouth, a treat for them both and nibbled, sucked and licked. His groans were music to her ears, and she worked his flesh, seating his considerable length in the moist cavern of her mouth and slightly down her throat. He fisted his hands in her hair, rocking his hips into her mouth, hissing as she used a tiny bit of teeth, just like he liked.

It didn’t take long. Delphyne slurped up his tribute to her, making the requisite yummy sounds to stroke his ego. Truth was she felt little and tasted less. It was all a ghost, a parody of the life she was fighting so hard to attain. And now with the new information the ether had given her, she had more hope then ever.

She pulled off him and grinned up to him, much like the cat that got the cream and wiped the corner of her mouth. “My priest, I have had a revelation.”

He smiled and joined her on the floor, their sanctuary clearing from the mists she brought in with her, a large bedroom in a forgotten castle their backdrop today. “A Revelation? Please, my lady, share it with me.”

She smiled and looked into his eyes. “There are seven. Seven that are strong enough to bridge the gap, and be my acolytes.” She said serenely.

“Seven? And do we have them all?” he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“You have been diligent, my priest, and your attention to detail has assured me we have all of them now that Evelyn has been brought in. It’s only a matter of time, but we must refine our stock, so to speak.” Slyly she kissed him.

“Progress. Very well. Who is on your list my love?”

“Evelyn, obviously, that psychologist, the pin up girl, the weather girl, that sexy porn star, with the long hair, that diver, and the musician. Though a few of them are weak, I can feel it, they aren’t as weak as the others. They will be my priestesses, and they will help to usher forth the new era.”

“It shall be so, my love. They shall be yours.” He kissed her and grinned.

“I want this taken care of right. Choose someone that will care for the welfare of the girls, I won’t have them frightened and unwilling to comply. Their cooperation is paramount. And you need to decide on the six you will choose to mate them. They must be strong, virile and non violent towards women. These seven must be treasured.”

“And the rest, my goddess?”

~64~

She smirked and cocked her head. “Outlived their usefulness. We will be leaving here soon, there’s a pall over the land. When we leave, they won’t be coming.”

She knew Cristof would do everything she asked, and her legacy would be assured. One of those women would be hers, If not Evelyn, then one of them would be hers to plunder, and inhabit. She was just ensuring that she would have that chance.

****

“The point,” the voice on the other end said, “Is that the girls can’t be harmed too badly. The goddess would see that as an insult, and that would cause her to not curry favor. The Goddess is one of the original feminists almost to a point. Then on the other side she is quite the horn dog, and enjoys the sexual tribute she is getting. Ishtar doesn’t even deal with her, as most don’t, because she’s a diva goddess. I know, it sounds too Saturday morning cartoon, but this goddess has been trying to break back into the tangible world for ages.”