The Scholar

The Scholar 2: Embrace

Salty air stung my nose. A cold breeze swept my blankets from me, then toyed with my nipples & pubic hair. Slowly, thoughtfully, a voice whispered, "Yes, I would like a taste of this form."

When I tried to sit up, wind pushed me down. A man stood over me, surprising me with the contrast of his long, ripply gray hair & his tall, very fit, body...which was barely covered by a translucent water-colored toga. I blushed to see his sex & looked away.

He stood, glaring with deep sea eyes. "No. You wanted to mount my statue & be ravished by the ocean. Here I am. Look at me."

"I...I am sorry, sir. But I made a promise..."

He grinned & the stormy mood was over. "Good. When one makes vows, one should keep them. Get up. I want to teach you how to swim in good form. No," he added when I got up & moved to the closet. "No false modesty or I will lick you with wavelets from toes to head." To make sure I behaved, he plucked me up & took me out himself.

*

We swam in a salt infinity pool overlooking a deep, forested valley. I was thrilled to see it was a natural pool, filled with fish, reefs, even islands in the end so deep it looked black & forbidding. I lit up once I was in the water & it made him smile. "Stand & balance," he said when I was in the shallow end.

"Sure!"

A wavelet almost took me off my feet. "Sure!" he mocked.

I quieted & nodded. No play; work. Focusing, I found my balance, rooted myself with gravity & was just in time for the bigger wavelet that swept over my thighs. When he had me go deeper, I obeyed & refocused much faster; the waist-high wave swayed me, but did not knock me down.

We did that until I could stand in up to my neck & not be pulled down when he tugged my ankles. Then came floating lessons, diving lessons & swimming lessons. When I tried to avoid the deepest end, he started teaching me breathing lessons.

Once I had those, he picked me up & hurled me into the deep end.

Biting down a startled cry, I inhaled rapidly & was okay when I went in deep...deep...deeper.

No. No panicking. I held my breath, breathing out a little at a time, & kicked my way back to the surface. Whew! I gasped in air & waved at him.

"Again!" he roared. Water lifted me high, high, higher & I had to focus on breathing & not gaping at being so high up. Breathing more & more deeply, I was ready.

Or was I? The drop was so sudden, I woofed out & had to inhale before I was in the water. Light vanished; I was in so deep that the water was blacker than night. Could I even...?

That's when I found gills opening on my neck, frilling out. Ooooh. Fighting the instinct to hold my breath, I opened my mouth & inhaled through nose in mouth. No choking! My lungs were changed, accepting the water without pain. Other changes rolled through me, & suddenly I could breathe.

*Yes!* I thought, & swam downwards using the kick-flutter motion he'd taught me. *Mother, help,* I thought to the earth herself. *Remind me which way is down & which way up, please?*

*Child finding mother. Of course. Accept my call when I need you.*

*Always.*

A warm washing through my abdomen. *Shapeshifting is yours. Ask Hare to teach you.*

Oooh. *Thank,* I began.

*MY daughter. My choice to award or punish.* Amusement, then she was silent.

Still I swam downwards, seeking. There had to be an Easter egg down here; some reward for going so deeply into my lessons. Adapting to the pressure, I finally saw a glowing light. Wait. A trench? Seriously? I was in water this deep, in northern Illinois? That made no sense! But there was the red, boiling; there were the aqua waters surrounded by life. The water was warming.

And then I saw the slow spiraling purple energy to one side, forming a gate. Swimming to it, I looked & saw it turn violently green. Tentacles began rising, seeking; gaping remora teeth were bared & dozens of chuckled shook the water & earth.

Startled, I was thrown back, past thinking, to instinct, to my Dream-self. And my Dream-self did what she/I automatically did when she/I was threatened; we called lightning, focused it & sent it bolting out, one limb for each tentacle.

The tentacles withered & vanished.

Now there was a door covered in chains. I was fully in control now. Feeling the lightning power ebb away, I willed it to come back. It struggled, but I refused to let go. If I could shapeshift & be in this deep water, then I could summon all of my Dream powers. Anger at the locks & chains, I focused harder, willed deeper & shaped lightning into one huge bolt.

And I fired it.

The chains vanished, a scream echoing across the water.

As the doors opened, I yelped. What had I done??

I swam back up, adjusting to the depths, to the change in pressure & light so easily that I knew Gaia & Poseidon were both aiding me. When I popped to the surface, he swept me into his arms & pushed the water out of my lungs. Once I could breathe again, my gills closing with ease, he frowned at me forbiddingly. . "Don't ever go that deeply. You were in the Marianas Trench. If your call to Gaia hadn't reached Her, or worse yet, hadn't pleased Her, you would be dead!"

"But the purple..."

"NO!" he roared. The pool water rose & frothed like a sea under storm.

I shut up & let him carry me back to my place, where he dried me off briskly, blew warm air around me & helped me dress in something soft & warm. When I was placed in my big chair & wrapped in a fuzzy comforter, I said, "I never expected to be taught at this level." At his raised eyebrow, I stopped & giggled. "Right. School run by Greek..."

His hand rose.

"...Not just Greek?"

He nodded once, solemnly.

"All...all of the gods?"

"All who managed to escape their traps are here. We were easiest to loose, because your society still honors us. The Santeria/Voudon gods were never trapped; also so with Hindu, Norse & others. It is worse for the forgotten religions. As for the Fallen? As JHVH's special enemies, they have so many twists & tangles binding them that it is nearly impossible for them to break free."

My heart thundered with rage.

"Easy now. He knows you want them free. So does the enemy. Loving your husband from afar is enough to chip at the walls & restraints. A little daily meditation wouldn't hurt, though."

I blushed.

His hand ruffled my hair. "Adorable creature. Rest. Your assignment is to draw what you saw in the reef. Dion will come to check up on you in two hours." He half-smiled. "I am very tempted to make you go to my statue & force you to mount it, so I can pos..." A shudder ran through him, & he bent over, panting. "Right. Stronger. Jealous. Antio."

And he was gone.

*

"Good afternoon, little fish!" Dion came up behind me & hugged me. One tickling kiss behind each ear, then he went to my sketches & drying watercolors sketches. "Very nice. I see you were taken by the Ocean today."

I nodded. "Yeah. I guess I roused his curiosity on the fountains last evening. Poseidon decided to teach me how to swim & kind of forced a deeper intimacy by throwing me into the deep end."

"Silly, naughty fish. Offer to mount the oldest god? Of course he's curious. Most people pick Zeus or my generation; uncle likes erotic offerings." Behind me, he tugged down my shirt & cupped my breasts. "Did the ocean leave you wet?"

He wanted honesty? Fine. "Yes; yes he did. And you are not helping."

"Before your lessons this afternoon, I want to try something."

"Err, okay?"

Silence, a deep stillness, like he'd gone out-of-body. A sense of conversation.

Then Dion's wine & honey were replaced by oranges & musk so deep that it felt like heat & smelled like spices. The presence behind me was bigger, stronger, more. I felt covered, protected by an aura that was both pure light & pure power. As I sat up, Dion's fingers moved & squeezed my nipples tightly; others rubbed over the tips. A body was behind mine, but it felt unlike Dion's. The hands changed to huge, long ones that covered my entire chest.

*Mine*"Mine" at the same time, in mind then in my ear, in a breathy voice. Before I could move, he had teleported us to the huge armchair & I was on his naked lap, my legs spread open on the arms of the chair. *Beg for it*"Beg for it."

"Beloved?" I whispered.

"Beg for it!" in voice alone.

I went crimson, but need ruled. My Dream love was here, really here. "Take me!" I rasped.

*That is not begging,* in a bemused thought.

I started to turn towards him.

He held me. "Not ready yet. You need *touch-lessons-understanding-growth-wisdom* before I can *fuck* you as *I need-desire-want-hunger-require* Now, beg, or I will be cruel."

The intimacy of thought & voice, of him inside my mind & around me. "Please, touch me. I need you." The loneliness was swam up; my eyes filled with tears; I could hardly breathe.

Anger-want-love-impatience at my innocence. Hard fingers spread open my labia & a middle finger pushed inside me. Other fingers rubbed my labia to take the hurt away & he played with me. Just the feel of his touch had me whimpering; as the pleasure rose, I began crying out & rubbing back against him.

"Fuck!" in an agonized voice & I was turned. He pressed against the opening to my vagina with his sex & I gasped at the size of him. *Baby girl, if you tease me, I will impale you on my cock & it will hurt. Be still.*

*I'm sorry. I don't want to tease,* I tried.

*I know, I know. Ahh.* His fingers back inside me, playing. *So fucking wet & hungry. I bet you're ready to come for me. Aren't you?*

His words brought me right up to the edge. "Ahhh, ahhh, yessss," I squeaked.

*Touch me, & I will bring you.*

My hand short down to his sex & I tried to cup around him. Impossible. I put my other hand down & made it. Gently, I squeezed & rubbed from root to tip.

He screamed & pushed my clit so hard I came in an almost-painful orgasm. "Ohhhhh, God! My god!" I managed to cry between long cries.

I was on the floor, on my belly, my ass in the air & the tip of his sex was inside me, drawn in by the waves of orgasm. His one arm held me up; the other went to my wetness & finger-fucked me again, so he could be pulled in. It hurt, but it felt good. For the first time, someone was inside me. No. The only one I ever wanted truly was inside me. I clawed the carpet & whispered, "Yes. Take me. Take *all* of me."

"Baby, no! I'll tear you apart." He tried to fight free, pull out, but his teasing touches had me drawing him in deeper.

*I can't stop!* I cried.

Moisture flooded my loins & I found myself opening to him more, allowing him to slide in. A woman's voice whispered, "This time only, my dear. And you will have to let her be touched after you go, because it will kill her to be alone again."

"And me?" In miserable tones.

"Your wives are all ready to hold you. And I will join your bed, if you like."

*Not my BABY wife!* roared from his mind.

"Darling, take her now while she can bear you. I will make it last a long time. But I cannot pull you to this world, yet. She needs to grow."

Anger. Resentment. Seething rage-desire-heartache-possessiveness-love. *Fine. Accepted. For now.* He thought.

Then his attention was on me. Gentle, soothing he began stroking my body as he rocked up against me & pulled away. Sweet words wrapped my heart in love, making tears turn into love & joy. My whole body was under him. He was inside me & it felt so good to feel his thickness rub me, over & over, the heat inside me rising, my clit swelling again & growing sensitive, hot.

He didn't let me come. No. He teased me. Allowing himself to come once, twice, until I was flooded & begging him to let me come. No. He took me from room to room, & fucked me in every position I had imagined, & twice as many that I'd never imagined.

By the time he let me come, I was screaming, demanding, for release. How he roared laughter. And then a bright, bursting, echoing orgasm made my body jitter & he came, too.

He wrapped himself around me, raining kisses on my face & neck as his hands soothed my body. *Good wife. Sweet honey-filled chambers. Tiny little nipples linked right to your rosy bud of pleasure. And oh, how you took me in. You wanted that, didn't you? You wanted me to fuck you good & hard. Tell me.*

High on the raised energy between us, I went into deep brainwaves. My mind woke with a thought, my desire fueled it with energy, my emotions verified my love & need, my will grew strong & I cast a spell. *There is NO reason why you will be blocked from full intimacy in Dream. When I dream, you can always come to me, take me, make me beg, cry & come again & again. No one can stop you! No binding can get between us. All walls are destroyed between us. As I will it, so mote it be.*

The whole world was rocked. I saw the bonds that held my beloved, in Jell-O-like webbing. My lightning came from me & the bonds were consumed. Continuing up, it ate the webbing until it struck JHVH.

How he screamed in rage & anger. Those feeling became a deeply ugly wrath that rose from him in a great green wave. The wave flowed down to envelop me, a reeking mass that boiled & formed 7 unformed. The nearer it was, the more I could sense what it was.

And it was a wave of anticreation. JHVH was not just going to kill me; he was going to nullify my entire being, so I would have never existed.

Hissing angrily, I willed myself stronger. I would never not exist; it was something I'd told myself long ago. My will was strong; I used the new shapeshifting to craft a bright red shield.

The anticreation surged & was before me in an instant, spreading to envelop me.

*Fuck you, old man! This one is MINE!* My Beloved was immediately behind me, his huge white wings rising to hide me. I saw a fiery sword all blue & white, floating before him.

The life-stealing green energy surged at us, growing tentacles that grew lamprey mouths.

One wide-fast-blurred sweep of the sword, & the energy was slammed away fast & hard.

In a scream of agony, the god was gone. Walls rose around him, now, blocking him from ever touching us, dominating us or using us again.

We were both free.

As I blinked, I saw a shimmering shape rise out of Dion; face me in gleams of white-blond curls, amber eyes & beautiful ivory skin. *You have made it possible, My baby wife. Time is growing close. I *will* be back.* Leaning over me, he kissed me deeply. *Rest, little one.*

*

When I woke up, it was in a bed full of gods. Greek, Hindu, Norse, Voudon, a wide variety of African & Native American gods, Shinto, Russia, Irish & more. On either side of me were familiar gods; one, a small, busty Asian goddess with warm violet eyes & a knowing smile, the other a slender, tall god with long black hair & a warm expression on his face. I began to sit up in awe, thinking *Lili! Il Modo!*

They pulled me down. "He wants you surrounded at all times. I have The Name. Asmodeus scares the fuck out of his minions. Between us, you'll be safe. Well," she laughed huskily, "Mostly safe. Your little pussy is going to be exhausted by the time he brings the others to freedom. And then? Well, you have no idea how rough your honeymoon will be."

"What did he do when he married you?" I dared ask.

"Impregnated me four times. Yes," she added, "Our honeymoon was ten years. The first one, that is. You?" She looked me up & down. "You will never, ever, feel alone & undesirable again. If you obey his rules, you will be richly rewarded."

I snuggled up against her & she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"He wants you strong. With us, you can't help but grow."

"Oh, yes," Asmodeus purred into my ear. He tickled me with a small braid & hugged me.

My eyes grew heavy, again, but I managed to look around. We were in a pyramid, I was guessing by the slope of the walls, in a huge bed made for hundreds. As I peered, I saw a couple making love, & a trio of men playing with each other. Norse with Irish, Russian with Indian, Japanese with Cherokee & so on. Quite intriguing. I tried to sit up, watch.

"Sleep, kitten," Asmodeus whispered, cupping my breasts, pulling me down against him.

And so, surrounded by warmth, I did.