Goddess's Saga 1: Touch of the Goddess (8 page)

Stephan had been right.
Maria adored the restaurant. It was comfortable and cosy, with real wooden boards for floor and ceiling, panelled walls, and nice furniture. A big chandelier lit with old-fashioned candles hung over their table, and close to the entrance was an alligator.

Building this place all the way out
here must have cost a fortune.

An old man with wrinkly dark skin and
merry eyes hurried up to them and Stephan leaned his elbows on the table.

“
Joseph, please meet Maria Callaway.”

“
Enchanting.”

It was impossible not to be charmed.

“May I ask, how did the gator end up out here?”

“
I grew up in Louisiana as a boy. I keep it around to cheer me up when I think I’m up to my eyeballs in alligators.”

Stephan looked puzzled
.

“
Eyeballs?”

She ran a finger over his hand.

“It means you’re stressed. I haven’t heard that expression for a very long time.”

He glanced up at her and smiled, and
the gaze gave her butterflies.

Joseph said,
“I hope you’re hungry. For this lovely lady we shall make a special, yes?”

It was a matter of minutes before they had samples of innumerable courses in front of them. Stephan gathered up combinations for her to try and made her giggle.

What a magical night.

A girl from an adjacent table said,
“Wow, that looks good.”

“
Try some.”

All the guests were soon engulfed in discussions of which of the many courses, wines, and later desserts might be the best.

This is a lot of food, I bet we’ve emptied the kitchen. We have to remember to tip everyone…

They spent almost four hours in the restaurant, but eventually the last piece of dessert; Cajun bananas with brown sugar and homemade vanilla ice cream was eaten, the coffee pot was empty, and Stephan rubbed his stomach.

“I think it’s time to go for a walk.”

“
Yes… It’s a good thing I’m not human or I’d have to roll out of here.”

*****

Paulie, Jack, and their posse waited outside the restaurant. Jack held a casual pose, but Paulie marched up and down the hallway.

“
What the hell is taking them so long? They’re eating. It should only take like, what, 20 minutes?”

Jack chuckled.

“For you, maybe, but those two are in luuuuuve. Heh, maybe we should get them both and have them make porn holos for us.”

“
We should burn the place down is what we should do. That’d get them moving. I didn’t think a guy that size could be such a romantic sap.”

Jack smacked him over the head
.

“
We’re in space you idiot. It’s suicide to set fire to things in space; you’ll use up all the air.”

“
Can you think of a
better
way to get them moving?”

“
They’ll come out when they’re done. We know where they are. We just need to get them to a quiet place.”

*****

The glittering crowds still intrigued Maria, and her eyes were wide as they strolled away from the restaurant.

They walked slowly, arm in arm, and didn
’t cover much ground. It didn’t matter; she was content.

Stephan said,
“I ate too much, I need to move. Activity…”

She nodded towards a bright sign.

“Let’s go shoot some pool. I’ll kick your butt.”

“
Really? No using powers, though, you have to win fair and square.”

Her face was
the model of innocence.

“
Cheat? Me? What do you think of me, lover?”

Dammit, he
’s going to win.

He had bad luck in the first game, or maybe he
let
her win, she couldn’t decide which. Then, she lost three in a row. As hard as it was to confess, he was
much
better than she at commanding the colourful little balls.

“
I think you’re cheating, no one is that good. Let’s go home, we can play more some other day.”

He looked much too sexy to be allowed in public anyway; unkempt hair, stubbly cheeks, and the top button of his shirt open so she could glance the muscular chest...

Snap out of it.

He wrapped his strong arms around her
and inched her closer, sending an expectant tingle down her spine.

“
Home sounds good.”

She stood on her toes and met his lips.

Maybe I should just teleport us there? All this walking is overrated.

“
Come on, beautiful.”

At the last row of stores, almost back at the ship,
Stephan stopped outside a bar.

“
Do you want a nightcap?”

“
Not really, I had something else in mind.”

Her words made him look like a contented cat.

“Sounds good to me.”

“
Hah, I might have a one track mind, but you’re just as bad.”

He laughed and they continued towards the docking bay. When they almost passed th
e door, a man dressed in beige stepped out, grinning.

“
Hey, long time no see. Wha’cha been up to, you old pirate?”

Maria frowned;
the stranger’s smile was too wide and his eyes too cold.

Something
’s up. No, don’t be so prejudiced; not everyone can be handsome or look friendly, and it’s not his fault he looks like someone eating kittens for breakfast.

The man
patted Stephan on the shoulder.

“
Come on in, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“
Thanks, but some other time maybe. We had other plans.”

“
It’ll only take five minutes, you guys can’t be in that much of a rush, can you?”

She played with Stephan
’s fingers.

“
We need to go.”

The stranger met her gaze.

“Oh come now, sweetheart, he can’t be
that
whipped, won’t you let him have a drink with an old friend?”

That hit a sore spot
.

She
wanted
to punch the man’s face in, or maybe turn him into something that would break easily, like a teacup she could throw at the wall.

Of course I
’m dominant, I’m a freakin’ Goddess and you should be crawling on your knees, grateful to be in our presence…

She clenched her jaw and fought it down.

Stephan sighed.

“
Give us a minute will you.”

He pulled her a few steps to the side and ran his hands over her shoulders.

“I have no idea who this guys is.”

Lemme
guess, so many people in so many ports, and you met most of them when drunk?

There was no malice in her thought, just a statement of a fact.

“I’m just sayin’ it might be faster to humour him. If he keeps it up, I’ll hit him?”

No, we need to go. We really need to go.
If you don’t know him, there’s no harm in offending him.

She opened her mouth intending to say
we’re leaving,
and was surprised to hear her voice utter, “If that’ll make you happy.”

The
stranger placed his arms around their shoulders and more or less shoved them through the door. Then, his arm fell off her, and Maria pretended it was normal to have objects pass through her.

Stop touching me you little
twirp. Eeeew, his hands feels like some slithery kind of vermin. I don’t like this guy.

In spite of all h
er misgivings, she didn’t object. She shifted her weight and wondered if she was really just being possessive of her boyfriend. Was she so egotistical she couldn’t let him talk to and have fun with anyone but her? She didn’t
think
so, but she wasn’t sure.

Stephan was already by the counter, where the bartender had drinks conveniently ready for them.

Something is wrong, it’s not just me.

She called out,
“Stephan, no!” just as he raised his glass to slam the drink down.

He glanced back at her but was already in motion, and in the next second, he sank to the floor.

The man poked Stephan with the toe of his boot.

“
Sorry mate, it’s nothing personal, just business.”

H
e looked towards Maria with a smirk.

“
Well, sugar, there was no getting around it, really. And if it hadn’t been us, it would’ve been someone else.”

Another man stepped up behind her, pressing the nozzle of a gun against her back, urging her further into the room. She was happy to oblige; it was where she intended to go anyway.

“You and your lover have eluded us all day, but you can forget about him now. He ain’t gonna save you this time.”

Oh, shut up.

She ignored him and knelt beside Stephan, searching for a life sign. His heart beat, but faintly, and she whispered, “Stay alive, okay? Please, I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

The man with the gun
kicked Stephan’s side.

“
Oh you love him? That’s cute, but that one ain’t going nowhere. This poison would kill an elephant, and even if he’s beefy, he’s not
that
big. You’re on your own, doll. Get up.”

“
Paulie, kicking him is uncalled for.”

“
Shut up, Jack.”

“
No, you shut up.”

Really? You two sound like two little kids.

Maria rose to her feet and glared. He stare was enough to make Paulie take a step backwards.

“
You’re really brave, aren’t you? You have a gun, and you’re still afraid of an unarmed woman?”

S
he took a few steps away from Stephan, wanting to get him out of the line of fire. It was bad enough to be poisoned; he didn’t need to be shot as well.

Jack
said, “You two cost us a lot of money today, and your boy killed one of us, but I’m not holding a grudge. Tom was useless anyway, couldn’t even keep one little girl under control, and he was too fond of... eh... damaging the merchandise.”

His smile reminded
her of a shark when he added, “And now we have you instead. You’ll be worth your weight in gold to the right buyer. All’s well that ends well, right.”

I bet this is when you laugh heartily at your own joke and watch girls cry and plead for their lives and freedom? You got the wrong woman this time.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared.

Paulie
wet his lips.

“
Hey, maybe she’s retarded. Maybe beefcake on the floor wanted them beautiful and dumb?”

Jack shrugged.

“Well, if she doesn’t understand what’s happening, it only makes it easier for us, doesn’t it.”

“
So, you’ve killed Stephan to be able to sell me as a slave.”

Jack pretende
d to think about it and nodded.

“
Sounds ‘bout right to me.”

“
Alright. I just wanted to make sure I got it right.”

I need to heal Stephan. T
hat should be my first priority. I can’t lose him.

Telling herself
to help him was one thing, but she was too shaken up and angry to actually do it. It would normally be easy to
will
him to stay alive, but a tidal wave of dark rage rose in her. Fury pounded through her soul, demanding to be let out, and she didn’t have the focus to heal. Her voice was still soft when she spoke.

“
You know, I only wanted to go back to the ship. But no, you
had
to make trouble, didn’t you?”

Paulie
waved his gun.

“
Shut up, bitch.”

“
Alright, but you’ll wish I kept talking.”

*****

Jack tugged at his beige sleeve and leaned against the counter.

“
Blah, blah, blah. Be a nice little whore and follow Paulie without babbling his ears off.”