This story will talk about sex and religion. There will be some rough sex, and elements of BDSM, so if you are looking for romance, this is not the story for you. Also, if you harbor in your heart any thoughts about the sanctity of religion, then please move along, because I will surely offend you. Otherwise, I present to you
A Priestess of Isis
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"People in general know not what wickedness there is in this pretended word of God. Brought up in habits of superstition, they take it for granted that the Bible is true, and that it is good; they permit themselves not to doubt of it, and they carry the ideas they form of the benevolence of the Almighty to the book which they have been taught to believe was written by his authority. Good heavens! it is quite another thing, it is a book of lies, wickedness, and blasphemy."
β Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
*****
Chapter OneβThe First Lesson
The neon light hanging in the window over her table threw red into her dark hair. The tousled mess twisted loosely on the top of her head. Improbably it held together by those stick thingies women often use. I never understood how those worked.
She eyed me with a casual indifference, those round brown orbs sweeping from waist to my hair and sighed. Her hands fumbled in her purse, a large black bag, until she drew out what she wanted. Cigarettes.
"If you don't like the drink, I'll order something else for you," I said. I looked at the untouched whiskey and soda, a duplicate of her first drink. I shouldn't have done this, buy a drink for a woman I didn't know for so many reasons. One was the bill on my dorm room desk demanding one hundred dollars I didn't have. The bursar's office had miscalculated my student aid. The other was my girlfriend, Christine, a girl of good moral values who wouldn't understand why her boyfriend would send a drink to a strange woman. But I did send it and what's more invited myself to sit at her table, my ice tea in hand. She didn't object.
But she didn't welcome me either.
She scoffed, and lit her cig with a flick of a disposable lighter, sucking in the smoke like she was gasping for oxygen.
"You people have no idea how good you have it," she said. Smoke wafted around her. It seemed a shame to have such a pretty face marred with such a disgusting habit.
"Those will kill you," I said. "And it's illegal to smoke here."
She took another draw and jammed the half-smoked stick into her first empty glass.
"I'm not dead yet." She chuckled as if telling herself a joke.
A guy can see when he's not wanted. And it's not like I didn't have better waiting for me. If Orson hadn't asked me to meet him at this dive bar, I wouldn't be here at all. Sending over the drink was an impulse, maybe a stab at acting more sophisticated than I was, sitting at her table even more so.
She finally took a sip of the drink I sent her.
"What's your name?"
Her lips curled into a wry smile. "Mary."
"Nice to meet you, Mary."
She leaned back in her chair, draping her arms across the back and she studied me again.
"Is that so," she said. "Tell me, what are you doing here?"
I shrugged and looked into my beer. "I'm waiting on a friend."
"But your friend isn't here. Why not leave?"
"He's often late."
"Sounds like a poor friend, leaving you to wait here, in this shitty place." She waved her hand to indicate the whole bar, the low rent patrons, the shit brown paint peeling on the walls above the leather booths.
"We're study partners. He has research to incorporate into our paper."
She sniffed.
"Do you not have the internet?"
"They're books."
"Humph. Someone who actually reads a book. Good for you."
"Well," I said. "Nice meeting you." I put my hands on the table to push away.
"What's your hurry?" she said. "Your friend isn't here yet."
"You don't seem to want company," I said.
Mary leaned forward and put her hand on mine. Something in the way she did it, so soft, skimming her fingers over mine was electric. Intimate. Her eyes widened then.
Who could tear themselves away from those eyes?
"I wouldn't say that," she said. "It's been too long I had any good company."
Her voice was husky, reeking sex. My mouth went dry, and I reached for my beer again.
"What do you do, for work, that is?" I asked.
Another little snort.
"I don't work," she said as if work was beneath her.
"So how do you support yourself?"
She gave a little shake of her head.
"The universe provides."
"Really?"
"Are they still teaching that you have to work to survive?" she said.
"Still?" I said bringing my beer to my lips.
"Two thousand plus years," she sighed. "Jesus taught we didn't have to work to survive, and you people still render until Caesar."
"Oh, you're into Jesus, are you?"
"I was. What about you?"
"I'm a divinity student, so, yes, you can say I am."
Her eyes glittered in amusement, a small smile on her lips.
"A man of the cloth. I recognized that acolyte quality about you. Full of answers and not even beginning to ask the questions. Come on, let's go."
"My friendβ"
"Is not coming tonight. He had a small accident. Nothing serious. But he'll be laid up a couple days." She stood, pulling her purse up with her.
Just then my cell phone rang.
"Hey, Wil, man," Orson said sloppily, like he was drunk. "Sorry, man. Can't make it."
"What's going on?"
"Some idiot ran over my foot. I'm okay, just got out of the ER, but I won't be walking for a couple of days."
"I'm sorry. Do you need anything?"
"Naw, I'm full of painkillers and Ashley's taking care of me. I'm good."
"Okay, I'll catch up with you tomorrow."
"Yeah." He clicked off and I stared at her.
"What are you, some sort of psychic?"
With a sly smile, shook her head slowly.
"Come on, I have better beer at my place."
"I should go."