Balm of the Gods

Author's Note

Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to the first chapter of this story! While I've still got a lot more cooking for my other series, Love and Fortune, I made sure to put this story's second installment on the fast-track in between all that. I've got some hot plans for this one, some of which will become pretty clear in this chapter's exposition. Hope readers will like where things are going -- because you can definitely look forward to a lot more!

2. Believable Dreams

"I can still hardly believe it, you know."

Cal murmured the words to Mina as she led him up to the wide, floor-to-ceiling window that afforded her living room its stunning view of the city below. A low, warm sunset glow now bathed the two of them. They stood close, her arm around his waist, his around her shoulders, and she nestled her cheek against him as they took in the sight together.

The pair had moved Cal's car to a safe spot. They'd come back with plenty of time for Mina to show Cal around her luxury space. The amenities and comforts offered throughout had been apparent enough to him the first time he'd walked through her front door, but with his priorities with Mina at the time -- and his tunnel vision for her body and bed -- he hadn't exactly taken any long looks. Now he appreciated the chance to drink it all in.

Every inch was carefully designed, artfully arranged. The modern flair and impeccable cleanliness spoke to Mina's taste and work ethic. The furniture and fixtures all spoke of a life lived with means and comfort. Abstract paintings, black-and-white prints of models, and even a few mounted pieces of vintage photography equipment adorned the walls. The kitchen had granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances, all polished to perfection. Natural light flooded in from the windows, but as the sun sank lower on the horizon, the dimmer glow of indoor lamps replaced it -- each light coming on at the cue of an automatic timer.

The high-rise condo was a far cry from Cal's own modest living situation. In a lot of ways, it almost intimidated him -- much as Mina herself almost might have intimidated him in any other situation. Stunning. Successful. Mature. Whip-smart. And yet, she wanted him. She'd made no mention thus far of getting him back home, either -- not after dinner, not next morning.

Perhaps he'd be staying here a while.

"Believe what?" The gorgeous, dark-haired beauty beside him turned her head and kissed his cheek, as if to remind him, through the sensual touch of her lips, that there was nothing to doubt.

Cal sighed contentedly. "Everything. That I'm here with you. That I... got to do all that with you, earlier today." Memories flashed right back of her wide and welcoming bed. Her bare body atop his. The way they'd driven each other wild. "That you even want me here."

Mina giggled at his words, her body shaking gently against his. "After everything today? Cal, I think the unbelievable thing would be wanting you anywhere else."

He couldn't help his faint smile, but all kinds of wondrous disbelief still lingered. "If you think you aren't miles out of my league, you'd be... well, really, really wrong," he murmured. "You know that, don't you?"

"Mmm. Flattery." Her voice was a purr against his ear. "Won't turn down the compliment. But I don't see it that way." She punctuated her words with a playful nip of his earlobe. "Don't you ever think you don't deserve something, or that someone's out of your league, Cal. Especially not me. You're amazing. Talented. Well worth anyone's time." The older woman's words, deeply sincere, were music to his ears. "Ah. Didn't mean to make that sound like career advice. My offers from earlier are still on the table, you know. Though now I'm wondering if you shouldn't just be a professional lover."

Cal felt his face flushing. "Could be nice," he joked back. "Would my... um, clients be as beautiful and wonderful as you?"

"Maybe," Mina answered playfully. She guided his hand down to one shapely ass cheek, covered now with the tight, smooth fabric of the casual slacks she wore. "I'd be one of them, for sure. Maybe even your biggest regular."

"Okay. Now you're tempting me." A gentle squeeze made her giggle and wiggle. "But maybe for now I just focus on client number one."

"Smart." Mina smirked at him -- then playfully swatted his own bottom as she turned and sauntered back to the center of the living room. Cal just watched, admiring her curves, still hardly able to believe this woman had fallen so deeply for him. "Wine, maybe?" she called over her shoulder, striding back towards the kitchen area. "Been saving this one vintage. Now seems right."

"Sounds perfect." Cal watched her disappear around a corner, and for a few moments, alone with his thoughts and his awe, he simply looked back out the window, admiring the view and taking it all in.

He didn't forget, either, what had gotten him here.

His bottle of golden soap still sat on the little shelf in his small, modest bathroom back home. Alone. Unguarded.

For a moment, the tiniest pang of worry almost seemed to gnaw.

He scolded himself. Why would he be worried? No one was out hunting for the bottle, looking to steal it away from him for their own gain. Who would even know he had it? None but that nice cashier who'd let him take the golden body wash from the grocery store free of charge -- and she didn't seem the type to track him down, break into his home, and steal it back.

Why did it seem such a concern, then, that he didn't have that precious bottle in his hands right then, so he could be absolutely sure where it was? Why did a part of him worry that he'd return to his apartment and find it missing? That someone might have seen him pick it up in the grocery store -- or had even been watching him since? That someone, or something, would be able to sense it like some magical bloodhound, and follow its trail back to his empty apartment, eager to get their grubby fingers on it?

"Cal?"

Mina's soft voice snapped him back to reality, and he blinked, turning around to face her. The older woman held two glasses of wine, one in each hand. She was smiling, but there was a hint of concern in her expression, too -- a gentle furrowing of her brow. "Everything okay?"

"Y- yeah. Yes." He shook off the worries, taking the wine she offered him and moving with her to the nearest couch. "Everything's perfect. Just got lost in the sights. Your place... it really is amazing."

Her smile returned to full strength. "Glad you like it. I picked out the spot, but you'd have to thank my interior designer for the rest. I think she could turn a shack into a showroom with the right budget."

Cal chuckled. "She'd have her work cut out for her if she saw my place. 'Shack' isn't far off. Believe me, this puts it to shame... though, admittedly, most things would."

Mina laughed at his levity, but a hint of sympathetic concern showed through as well. "An amazing guy like you, in a place like that? Talk about unfair." She paused. Cal saw her next offer coming before she spoke it, but when she did, it floored him all the same. "You don't have to go back there, you know. Come live with me here in Midtown."

"Mina, I couldn't possibly impose on you like --"

She shook her head. "Cal, don't be ridiculous. I'm inviting you. If that were a problem, I wouldn't even have brought it up. I think it would be more of a solution. For both of us. You ditch your apartment -- you said it yourself; it's nothing to miss. And I get to have you around all the time."

She grinned, white teeth flashing. Then, as she continued, her voice went soft and sultry again -- and her hand caressed his thigh.

"I get to see this face, this body, every single day. I get to come home to you, and come to bed with you, and ride that gorgeous cock until I'm too exhausted to move. I get to enjoy the best thing that's ever happened to me. Because that's what you are, Cal. The best damn thing I could ever ask for."

Her fingers dragged along the inside of his thigh, moving higher -- then brushed up along his crotch, making him shudder.

"You're sure?" he asked, his voice breathy and uncertain. "Really sure? I mean -- that all sounds amazing. But this isn't some, I dunno, heat-of-the-moment decision you might --"

"Absolutely sure." Her voice cut him off firmly. "Cal. I adore you. I don't care how fast it's moving. I don't care what anyone might think. I know it's the right thing. I know you're the right one. And I'm not letting you go back to some shitty apartment to sleep alone when my bed's plenty big enough for two. If that's crazy... well, I'm glad to be crazy. I know it's what I want."

Cal still could hardly fathom such generosity, such devotion. He almost thought to turn her down. To make some excuse. But those words caught in his throat.

The ones he spoke instead flowed much more freely, and felt all the more true.

"I think it's exactly what I want, too."

He leaned in and kissed her. Mina's eyes fluttered closed, and her lips eagerly parted to accept his own. More than a simple confirmation of a decision made, the kiss seemed to seal it with all the finality of some cosmic contract. From this moment on, they would share their lives. Both knew, to various degrees, that something magical had made it all possible -- but neither saw it as a reason to deny themselves.

"Thank you so much, Mina," he told her, and meant it, as their lips parted. "You've just changed everything for me."

"No, Cal," she said back, her dark eyes twinkling. "You did that for me. Now... I think I promised you a romantic dinner. Suppose I've got to get cooking." Standing, she left him breathless on the couch as she turned toward the kitchen. "You? Sit there, look gorgeous, and enjoy the wine. I'll make something we'll both love."

Cal wasn't about to object. He watched her saunter away, a happy little wiggle in her hips. "Sure you don't need a sous chef?" he called after her. "Not to deny you, but --"

"Sit. Stay. Drink."

"Okay," he laughed. "Not going anywhere." The idea of a woman cooking for him -- not out of any supposed obligation or traditional gender role, but just because she wanted to spoil and pamper him -- was miles away from anything he was used to. But, like much else his golden body wash had brought into his life, he figured he could get used to it.

As in his last moment alone, though, a hint of faint dread seemed to creep in again.

"Quick stop back home tomorrow," he mouthed to himself, vowing to make it a priority. Of course, he had plenty else to take care of -- his meager belongings to pack up, his landlord to notify, the bills to cancel. But first and foremost?

Getting his hands back on that golden bottle of magical soap.

***

The dwelling was simple, cluttered, and above all else... dirty. Kjelle had known she'd be in for a lot of that last aspect when she'd made the jump to the Lower Realms. But upon landing on Earth, upon taking stock of her initial surroundings, upon being noticed and questioned and invited inside by the admittedly friendly older woman whose small home she was now a guest in, Kjelle now understood just how much of it she'd be dealing with.

The place was a mess. Junk and knickknacks everywhere. Not a speck of the interior design was consistent, or even tasteful. The walls and floors were ugly, plain wood. The couches were lumpy, the chairs mismatched. The smell was a musty mix of dust and mildew and other unpleasant scents that she couldn't even identify. And the whole place just felt... old. Not in a good way, either, like the well-preserved antique furniture in Vythia's workshop -- just old. Like it had been forgotten and left to rot.

Kjelle was nowhere close to the golden elixir she'd come to retrieve. Of that, she was sure. The planet was big; the possibilities were endless. That she'd landed and started her search in some remote, backwater corner of Earth was just a bad coincidence. It shouldn't have been such a problem, either. Magic could track magic. Like following a radar, she could pick up on the elixir's unique and unmistakable signature with just a bit of mental focus.

Only her magic didn't seem to be working for her. Neither could she portal-jump.

Trying not to think dark thoughts about being stuck here -- no, she couldn't have been stuck here, that wasn't possible, it was just some brief glitch she'd get over, or maybe just some kind of performance anxiety brought on by all this damnable grime; great Cosmos, was this planet dirty -- she tapped her foot rapidly against the floor, her hands folded in her lap, trying to look as presentable and unjudging as she could as the human woman brought her something called tea.

"Fresh and hot for you. Drink up. Where were we, now? You said you were a tourist?"

Kjelle was thankful for the translation implant in her ear, just as capable of converting the woman's Thai to her own language as the many musical cants of the Higher Cosmos. It was the one thing that had seemingly not failed her upon coming to this realm. Meeting this human's eyes, she saw a spark of warmth in them that almost made her feel guilty for being so judgmental... almost. It wasn't as if this woman had done anything to offend her. She'd offered her kindness and hospitality -- far more than a lot of humans might do for a passing stranger. Then again, maybe the shining golden threads and plates of Kjelle's clothing -- standard courier's garb for her home universe, but not at all ordinary in the Lower Realms -- were all that made her interesting enough to invite in.

"Um, yes," she spoke back, her own tongue translated in return. "Tourist. Here to see the sights. Take in the... beautiful culture of... where are we again?"

"Doi Pui Village," the woman replied, looking at her with a hint of confusion. "Not far from Chiang Mai." When Kjelle's bewilderment just seemed to double, she added: "Thailand. Not what you expected?"

Kjelle forced a smile and prayed it looked sincere. "No, no, it's lovely. I, um, I just wanted to remind myself."

"Ah." The older woman nodded, but still looked at her funny. "You're a strange one, aren't you? I've seen many tourists in my time, but none like you. It's like you fell out of the sky."

Kjelle laughed nervously. That wasn't far from the truth, but admitting to it would bring questions she didn't want to answer. "I'm from far away. Very far away." She tried to think of a way to explain it. "I'm not really used to the customs. Or the culture. Or... anything, really."

"I can tell. You haven't touched your tea."

Kjelle looked down at the steaming cup in front of her, her nose wrinkling at its unfamiliar scent, her suspicion rising at its coloration. In the Higher Realms, no good drink was... brown, of all colors. She very well liked rosy pink nectar or amber mead or sapphire-blue skywine. But brown? Brown was the color of dirt -- the last thing she wanted to be reminded of right now.

As she stared, her hostess continued. "I cannot imagine what would bring you out here, of all places, looking as you do." While her tone remained warm, it wasn't hard for Kjelle to catch the implication: the woman was telling her she stood out like a sore thumb. "But I suppose there's no sense in questioning it. You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish. If you will stay for dinner, I will gladly cook you a hearty meal. I wouldn't want a guest leaving my home hungry."

Kjelle's stomach tightened at the thought of staying here -- for a strange Earth-meal, or more strange dirt-drinks, or anything else. "Um, no! Gotta be on my way. In fact, that's what I was hoping you'd show me! A way to get..."

Where? Even with some alternative to portal-jumping, where would she be going? How could she find where she needed to go, without her magic working?

"To, uh..." The words came haltingly; she was thinking too slow, trying to put the puzzle pieces together as she spoke. "I'll figure it out. I just need to know how to move on from here. What kind of transport is available? Airships? Hypertubes? Teleportation centers?"

The woman cocked her head, staring at Kjelle like she'd just grown a second head. Then, to the messenger's dismay, the human laughed.

"Ah! And there I was thinking that you were one of those models or actresses from America. Perhaps I had that wrong. If I've invited a space alien into my home, then I must say, you are a lot lovelier than any folklore has led me to believe."

Kjelle ignored the last bit, finding her mind latching onto the name she'd spoken instead. America? What did that mean? Why did the name seem to trigger the tiniest tingle in her brain... as if, just for a moment, a bit of her usual internal magic-radar had kicked back into operation?

"What is this 'America'?" she asked. "And how does one get there?"

"Ah. It is a nation across the sea. Many of its inhabitants are quite rude, if the stories are true. Most of their tourists who pass through certainly are."

"I don't care. Just show me the quickest way there. I think it's where I have to go."

If her guest's sudden change in demeanor offended or alarmed the older woman, she didn't show it. Instead, she simply shrugged. "Well, first you'd take the bus. It will take you down the mountainside, to Chiang Mai. You can get on a plane from there. Of course, the bus only stops by once a day, in the morning. You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Kjelle's heart sank. She'd have to spend a night in this filthy hovel? No way; no how. She'd sooner have slept in the cheapest, sleaziest love hotel in the Higher Cosmos than endure a night here. "Can't I just call for my own ride? A flying taxi, or a hovercraft?"

The older woman's eyes were wide, her expression disbelieving. "You have amusing ideas, young lady, but buses are all that come this way, I'm afraid. Or you could walk along the road, if you're so set on getting a move on. The walk to Chiang Mai would take well over a day. I wouldn't recommend it. Especially not alone -- or at night."

Kjelle's heart sank further. What kind of hellhole was this? No teleportation, no hovercrafts, no hypertubes -- nothing! Not one drop of magic in this accursed realm -- none but the very potent, very dangerous magic of the elixir she'd lost. The elixir that was out there somewhere. The more time she wasted on dirty buses or long walks, the longer it would be out there. The more time it would have to fall into the wrong hands.

She was so getting smote. Nymphadottir was going to burn her into oblivion.

"Okay. Okay, okay. I'll just... I'll walk." Kjelle stood, giving the woman a quick bow. "Thank you for your, erm, hospitality. I'll be on my way."

"Are you sure?" The woman looked at her with concern. "I truly would not mind you staying the night. And you would get there faster tomorrow if you just took the bus."

"No bus!" The messenger of the Higher Cosmos was already hurrying towards the door. "I'm going!"

"Head down the mountainside toward the lights. Stay on the roads. There are other settlements where you can stop for rest. And watch out for snakes!"

"Thanks! Got it! Bye!"

The door slammed shut.

Her strange guest gone, the older woman shook her head and chuckled to herself. "Seen some strange people in my time," she mused aloud, "but that one bests them all. If all aliens are like her, I suppose I'd like to meet another. Aliens! Ha! Oh, what a world." Picking up the untouched cup of tea, she took a long sip, wondering what on earth had made a lovely young thing like her turn up her nose.

"Her loss," she sighed. "Now, dinner."

***

When Cal drifted off, he dreamed.

Mina's condo was recognizable amid the vivid imagery of his mind... but only barely so. The floor plan was the same. The wide window still offered its breathtaking view. Only that view was not of the city below -- not anymore. It was replaced by the golden spires and gleaming, gem-studded architecture of some heavenly realm. The furniture, the appliances, the paintings and photographs and other bits of decor, all seemed to have changed to match this new setting. What wasn't made of gold was trimmed with it. The floor beneath him was no longer ordinary carpet, as he remembered, but a smooth marble that felt cool against his bare feet. The robe he wore was white silk. He wore nothing else beneath.