Astral Realm – present day
Sounds of humming sifted into the atmosphere with no one to hear. Working alone, the goddess of healing scanned through the mists of her observatory. Swirling, cosmic strands stretched and wound like spider webs as she pulled scenes out of the ether.
Being hunted by all manner of god and demon alike for millennia had taught Panacea to enjoy the seclusion that her hidden realm afforded her. She didn’t mind talking to herself for company. Though she made a habit out of ignoring most beings’ bids for her attention, one recent cry for help had stood out above the rest and she was having a hard time ignoring it. Even though she took extreme care never to give away her secret location, she couldn’t help having a tender spot for the travails of the human race. So, when one of the only souls she trusted in all the realms had called out to her on behalf of one of those fragile, earthen creatures, she knew she had no choice but to intercede.
The gods had troubles of their own but the human world was in transition. From what she’d observed while in hiding, a mounting disturbance in the balance of powers had reached Earth’s boundaries and the human realm was heading for some dark times. It was in dire need of some champions, but there were few left to be found.
“Bring me the serpent.” She spoke the request aloud.
Before her, the mists cleared. A lurid scene spilled into her domain, surrounding her where she stood. Sounds of heavy breathing mixed with throaty feminine laughter made her turn. In the cramped dark space of a room she could make out a narrow bed where thin sheets undulated.
“Good gods,” she said out loud, though no one could see or hear her. Of course Krav would call on her, rousing her from hiding, and then go sneak off to get some action in a college dorm room. The serpent demon had absolutely no reverence for divine protocol whatsoever.
The sheet slipped down and a slender arm flailed out, revealing two naked torsos. One belonged to a sinfully gorgeous dark haired man and the other a curvy young blonde.
“Mmmm Krav, you taste so good,” the girl murmured then swirled her tongue around the man’s nipple. She traced a wet path along his olive-skinned chest then slid up the demon male’s body to lock on his lips in a devouring kiss that Panacea thought surely reached to his tonsils. When the co-ed finally let him up for air, he pushed her up from him and palmed both of her full round breasts in his hands.
“You’re pretty appetizing yourself Katie,” he said, weighing each plump globe in turn.
Just then the covers at the foot of the bed flipped open and a brunette popped her head up.
“I’m Katie, sheez Jesshica!” the girl slurred.
“Hmmm,” Krav drawled extending his hand to her. She took it, eagerly crawling up until she rested at his chest opposite the blonde. When the demon moved, Panacea could see his appearance flicker back and forth between his human and demon forms like a hologram. He hadn’t even bothered to fully cloak himself! No wonder humans made such easy prey.
Krav’s hand came up and rubbed at his jaw as he eyeballed the deliciously rumpled brunette with consideration.
Panacea would have rolled her eyes skyward if she wasn’t already so high up into the star realm. She nearly transferred him out of the room right then.
“I could have sworn it was the other way around,” he said playfully, “are you certain sweet?”
He snaked an arm around her waist to stroke her hip. She looked up at him through squinty eyes for a long drawn out moment. Panacea thought she heard brain matter crackling. The girl really couldn’t remember her own name?
Then they all three dissolved into an inebriated fit of laughter.
The goddess huffed in disgust, flashing the dorm room scene away. The sea demon, Krav, remained however. He gaped at the change in surroundings, dumbstruck at finding himself yanked from his soiree and clouded by mists.
“What in every layer of hell...?” He sputtered, looking around in confusion until he turned and spied Panacea. He immediately manifested a pair of black leather pants. The goddess scoffed at this belated show of modesty.
“What on Earth is more like it, Krav. What are you up to, bouncing around between realms? Hasn’t Poseidon been keeping you busy enough? I should send truth sprites to whisper in his ear about all the mischief you’ve been getting into.”
Krav dropped his head, but only enough to peek up through coal dark lashes and slant a lopsided grin at her. Gods, those poor human women hadn’t stood a chance!
“I was just passing the time until you saw fit to answer my summons. Would it hurt you to be a little more available P?
“P?” she asked, brows arching.
He shrugged.
“Just trying to modernize you a bit. I know you don’t get out much.”
The goddess shook her head at his cheek.
“I can see why Poseidon turns a blind eye to your escapades.” She said. “He’s probably just glad to have you out of his hair. But be warned, serpent, if he catches you meddling in the human world…”
“Poseidon doesn’t care if I use his crusty old Tides accesses to skip worlds. He’s barely been around lately anyway—much like someone else I can think of,” he muttered, pouting in a way that rendered him nearly adorable.
“Your lord and ruler,” Panacea stressed the titles, hoping to make some kind of an impression on the demon, “has a lot on his mind at the moment. And those ‘crusty old accesses’ are powerful vortexes. They’ve been the bane of travelers ever since Poseidon haphazardly scattered them between worlds. They hold the key to maintaining the balance of powers and are currently coming under siege.”
Krav blanched at her words. There, finally she had his attention.
“I know, goddess, I’ve seen what’s happening. That’s why we need your help.”
“There’s a lot more going on than you know.”
“Yes, well…” Krav cleared his throat, preparing to launch into a dramatic appeal.
“Save your breath,” Panacea sighed, “I already know what you need.”
“Just a dose of your elixir, Pan, that’s all, you’ll never miss it and it’s for one of the humans you’re so fond of. A case of true love, no less, what cause could be nobler?”
“Don’t scoff at the power of true love,” Panacea admonished, “we need more of these unions in the universe and the gods are all too immune to making any on their own. The humans may be our only hope to fight the darkness that threatens all. What with the majority of the higher gods in self-induced comas or just not giving a damn, we need all the help we can get. The sea god’s realm is our last real stronghold and Poseidon knows it.”
Krav absently twirled a strand of mist around his arm, leaving Panacea to wonder of he’d been listening at all. Then he spoke.
“Are you so sure about that?”
“Yes. He must find them.” By ‘them’ she meant the lost kings of Atlantis, which Krav well knew. “The kings’ curse may be our only salvation and they will be able to move between worlds in ways the gods can’t once they are found and re-throned. Poseidon’s angst over the loss of Atlantis is a weakness we can ill afford to suffer much longer…”
“I know. He’s been so Greek about it, right?” Krav cut in. Panacea glared at him, but she could tell he was being flippant on purpose. The situation with his friend bothered him very much though he tried not to let on.
“It will take some doing and I’ll have to step up my concealment measures, but I will try to aid the search and undo the curse.”
“Hmm,” Krav mused. “Why is it always ‘curse this’, ‘prophecy that’ and ‘sell me your soul’ with the gods? Have you ever noticed?”
All Krav’s rant earned him was another arch look from the goddess.
“I’m just saying,” he mumbled. “So you’ll help?”
“I’ll take care of it myself.”
Pan closed her eyes to gather bits of information from the cosmos and undefined time, channeling the source in a manner her demon friend would never experience. Krav waited in silence, knowing better than to interrupt her. When her aquamarine eyes opened again, she spoke.
“Since Poseidon hunts a relic that I happen to know the whereabouts of anyway, tell him to send the vial of my elixir that he’s been hording to your friend, Xieran, on Olympus. Then he shall have the amulet he seeks in return.”
Krav’s shoulders sagged.
“Right, that idea makes so much more sense than if, say, you were to just give me the elixir directly and then I pass it along to Xieran myself.” The sarcasm rolled thick off of his tongue. “And now there’s an amulet in the mix? I should have known.”
“My dear Krav,” Panacea clucked, “when will you ever learn the art of politics and subterfuge?”
“I’d sooner have you take a shovel to my neck,” he grumbled.
The goddess waved absently at that comment.
“We’ll kill two birds with one stone and no one will be the wiser.”
“Wily goddess, I see what you’re doing here.” Krav’s grin turned conspiratorial.
Panacea gave him a look, about out of patience, but he didn’t seem to notice. His black forked tongue darted out as he licked his lips in excitement at thinking he was on to her.
“You’re throwing everyone off your trail, all the while getting in some meddling of your own… very sneaky of you.”
She sighed at his impudence. One day she was going to have to punish him so that he took her seriously.
“You try me, Krav. Just go and be competent for once. Tell the Poseidon to use a human messenger for the exchange, the one the Nereid Queen hides.”
She froze again, getting something from the ether.
“Be quick. Xieran’s human hangs by a thread.”
Krav bowed his head to her, all remnant of his former impertinence gone in an instant.
“Don’t fear goddess, I won’t fail.” He said, then wrapped himself in a cloak of red scales as he took on his serpent form and flashed out of the mists.
Panacea waved her hand in a sweeping sideways motion to clear the cloud that had stirred in Krav’s leaving. She brought up a new scene in the stars. This time, of a lone woman, her face fringed by gold curls and lit by the glow of a computer screen.
“Not quite ready yet in this lifetime, but she’ll have to do anyway.” Panacea said to herself.
The landscape of powers was quickly changing. Desperate times called for a little “meddling” as Krav had termed it. The situation was turning volatile so the goddess was only too happy to intercede in this case. She just had to take care not to do it too directly.
Evil had been allowed much unsupervised playtime by those that were supposed to be keeping things in check and now the universe was teetering on the brink of an unholy war. Hopefully, Poseidon’s lost sons could be found and the humans of the Earth realm would prove worthy.
*Author’s Note: This is another world building scene. It sets the stage for our story to step into the present day. I consider it a link between the ancient Atlantean world and the more urban fantasy part of the book.
**Keep an eye on that Krav. He’s something of a rascal. ;)