An Unexpected Reunion

“Both men, oddly enough, separately expressed an interest in bringing another man into my bed”

The one-time immortal Peine begins to call in the favors owed him by fellow supernaturals in his quest to uncover who or what beguiled him and thus cost him his godhood.

The remains of the evening at the Ball passed like a blur. After the familiar-looking vampire revealed her knowledge of me and my “plight” as she called it, she strode away with a final looking back, offering a seductive smile before disappearing into the crowd.

I immediately found the nearest bar serving alcohol (as opposed to blood) and sent an Old-Fashioned down quickly in an attempt to summon a semblance of calm. Our brief conversation continued its jarring replay in my mind, the anxiety finding no surcease via the rye in my cocktail. A second, then a third helping of whiskey, bitters, and sugar all might as well have been tap water for all the futility of stemming the tide of worry — and yes, fear.

Pacing about the ballroom, I did my best to studiously admire the artwork on the walls and tables therein. Doing so was a paltry endeavor toward masking the cloud of foreboding which engulfed me. How did she know me? Who could have possibly told her? Who else is here that is aware of my erstwhile identity? Am I about to walk into a dangerous contrivance?

I turned to continue my perusal of the decor when, without the slightest hint of warning, the woman stood before me. Gone was the feline movement and suggestive hint of a smile. Her mien was not quite stern, yet not playful as when I first met her. Before I could speak, she did.

“Follow me, please. This way.”

She led me through the crowd, nodding at friends and acquaintances until we reached a hallway to the left; at that point, she turned to a group of three individuals mingling about ten feet away and slightly motioned with her head for them to join us. This increased my sense of alarm manifold; she must have sensed it and stopped our group.

“Relax,” she whispered. “You’re among friends, Peine.”

In frankness, it was a small balm for my tension. She led us down the hallway, increasing the pace of our movement as the sounds in the ballroom grew faint. Passing a large window which revealed a large courtyard to our left, she quickly veered right to open a door which brought us to a dimly lit corridor about forty yards long; this ended at another door which opened into an outdoor room, lined with white latticed patio furniture which surrounded a dark green gazebo. At the edge of this “room” was the treeline of a small forest park. She led the four of us to the trees and stopped.

“Will you now tell me who you are, and how you know me?” I asked with a hint of demand.

She briefly looked down, then brought her eyes to meet mine. “I deeply apologize for the apparent subterfuge, Peine. One cannot be too cautious about matters such as yours.” She motioned to the males and one female accompanying us. “May I introduce Darian, Philip, and Micayla.”

We exchanged polite nods. “And now, madam…” I began.

“The vampires call me Indiga. I once was known as Atreya.”

At the sound of the second name my knees nearly failed me. I gaped in disbelief. I felt the color drain from my face and a slight sense of vertigo overtook me. I could only stare, fighting back tears as my hand covered my mouth.

Atreya. Milosa du Atreya, in the naming of the Eros. She was one of us — at one time.

“I… I… thought we lost you. You… vanished… without a trace.” I was choking out the words, still cradled in disbelief. “What happened? Where did you go?”

She fell silent, the sounds of the forest the only aural backdrop. Darian and Micayla each placed a hand on her shoulders. This was not easy for Atreya.

“Atreya,” I said softly, “What did you do? The same as I?”

After what seemed an eternity, she raised her head and tearfully began the tale. “Yes. Yes, I did. Yet, not exactly. It was — different, in its own way, yet still I feared Mother’s wrath.”

“Did Mother summon you? Did She speak to you?” My confusion waxed at the vagueness of Atryea’s words.

“No, because I acted to avoid it. I wasn’t sure if what I did would be wrong. This modern time presents many new and exciting… practices. Acts which we never encountered, really, in our millennia of existence. Ways of pleasure never specifically deemed as transgressions. I was very confused, Peine!”

I stepped closer and took her face gently into my hands. “What were they? What was it that perplexed and frightened you? The litany of wrongs is not that long a list. You must know I sit not in judgment of you, dear sister.”

She paused again, not as long as before. “You surely know what a cuckold is, yes?”

“Of course,” I replied. “We all do, although it is a term of deep derision among humans, a source of a man’s shame.”

“Not any longer,” said Atreya. My startled look betrayed my ignorance of the modern world. My work was usually done in nightclubs, dance halls, high-school promenades, the occasional December holiday party. I vaguely knew of other sexual activities, but others of the Eros were responsible for those; I never gave them much thought.

“Have you heard the term ‘hotwife’?” she asked.

Suddenly I felt uncommonly ignorant. “I require enlightenment on this matter.”

“Over the past decade or so, I found a number of men, especially to my liking. So I would allow them to woo me in human form. I married two of them; one in Los Angeles, another in New York City.”

“So far, not against our rules; the human laws forbid it.” I motioned for her to go on.

“The sex with each of them was lovely, often exquisite. I would pretend a business venture to allow unquestioned travel between the two cities. Both spouses believed me to work as a commercial writer with clients in L.A. and New York.”

I had to admire her for her ingenuity — and audacity!

She continued. “Both men, oddly enough, separately expressed an interest in bringing another man into my bed, while they in their respective homes, watched. And insulted. Humiliated, even — all within previously established limits. They both wanted the ‘bull,’ as the second man is called, to be of an assertive demeanor and an exceptional…endowment. This fellow was to routinely demean the husband as an ineffective lover due to the insufficient penile dimensions.”

I shook my head. “Atreya, we’ve seen this countless times, in every era of human history! How is that so diff — ”

“It’s consensual, Peine. My husbands wanted this. It was incredibly tantalizing for them. I of course bathed in it, luxuriated in it! On occasion, I would meet the bull at a hotel for a dinner date and incomparable sex of all kinds. And the sex with my husbands afterward? Amazing, and uncommonly intimate.”

I remained silent, doing all I could to fully comprehend the entirety of that which was once a flagrant violation of wedding vows and — some old-fashioned ideas which apparently a small population had tossed aside. I had no issue with that at all; again, it was not the mission of the Eros to pass such a needless judgment. Nonetheless, the change in definitions and perspectives — the enhanced closeness between a man and a woman who had, with his knowledge, given her body to a superior lover — was slightly jarring and very intriguing at the same time.

I wish I knew of this before my punishment. To enable it while unseen must be exhilarating!

“Atreya, our clan of Eros is founded on consent. It is what we do. What we represent and personify. How could you have been so upset? You did absolutely nothing wrong!”

She looked up at me with pleading in her eyes. “It was all so new to me! I was uncertain and confused and scared and suddenly I needed a way out! I didn’t want to try to fool our Mother, Peine! I was so scared of losing immortality — of becoming…like you.”

I was crestfallen for a moment. She inadvertently reminded me of the lowered state I occupied, a condition no Eros could truly bear to endure. However rare its execution, the deterrence therefrom was effective.

Atreya saw the effect of her words upon me. She fell into my arms in a sisterly embrace and wept. “Oh, Peine! I am so so sorry! So very very sorry! I didn’t mean to — ”

“I know you meant no harm, sister. Your fear, although unnecessary, was at the time well-founded. Mother can be — unpredictable.

“So, you sought out the vampires, as a means of retaining immortality and avoiding the strictures of the Eros. I certainly do not blame you, and evidently, neither does Mother, or you would have known by now. Even we experience fear, Atreya, and it drives us to take desperate measures. What of your ‘husbands’?”

I offered her my handkerchief, and as Atreya dried her eyes, she explained.

“I sought Micayla immediately, as we have been known to enjoy each other’s company from time to time.” She cast an admiring glance at the female vampire, who returned the loving gaze. “I had to come as close to being mortal as possible while still in human form. That meant allowing Micayla to bite my neck, and then almost bleeding out.”

I nodded. The most dangerous risk an Eros took was to change to human form; unknown to most other paranormal beings, we are at our most vulnerable in such a state. We cannot be killed outright, yet a grievous wound can be potentially fatal if we do not revert to true form quickly. It is difficult to explain; this is the best I can do.

“Micayla fed me some of her blood to complete the turning. I cannot begin to describe the sensations, the emotions, of such a transition! I fell asleep for what seemed like ages, yet when I awoke Micayla was with me, caring for me and seeing to my comfort. The rest, well — you know what befalls a newly turned vampire.”

Before I could speak, Micayla approached and said, “If I may, good Peine. The days of servitude to the one who turned you are long gone. Even if not, Indiga — whom you call Atreya — is my friend and lover, not my minion.”

My respect for this brave individual swelled. “You set an honorable example for your kind and mine, Madame.” Micayla proffered a slight curtsy and withdrew to allow Atreya to continue.

“The matter of dissolving the marriages was not arduous. A large financial settlement for each sent them on their way. I asked Mother for forgiveness — ”

I stopped her at that. “You clearly received it. All Eros would have known otherwise. All we knew is that you disappeared, and did not question it because Mother did not — elaborate.

“Now I must know the gist of our unexpected reunion. What know you of the impetus of my crimes?”

Atreya drew me and her compatriots into a closer huddle. I sensed that even in a stronghold of vampires, the walls and even the trees had eyes and ears. A chill came to me at the thought; who or what had the means to cause my downfall, and to strike trepidation in a being as powerful and capable of self-defense as a vampire?

In a whisper, she spoke her reply. “We only know of a dark magic that found its way to you. You, my poor brother, were the first of its victims. It was not any of our lesser cousins, for some of them were attacked as well. They and others, knowing of your fate, have warded this thing away, albeit not without minor damage. They will recover, but no one is certain of anything now. Even our great Mother cannot see this blight, at least not yet.” She shook her head. “It defies explanation.”

This was one of the very few times I felt genuinely frightened. Someone — something — attacked me and I was unable to sense it. Unable to defend myself or even call to Mother for aid, I was…possessed? I asked myself again, and found my voice whispering to the others, “What could do this? What can overcome the aura of an Eros and suddenly subdue me or any other? What causes us to speak in whispers in a place such as this?”

Atreya motioned to one of the males in our group. “Darian, please tell our new friend what you know.”

Darian looked about the facade of the house, and into the forest before speaking. This precautionary action did not bode well at all. “I have spoken to some people,” he began, “who also know of such phenomena, and have known of it for countless generations. They are not the source thereof, and have told me privately that they have not encountered it for — ” He paused, looking as if he could not believe what he was about to say. “ — over two millennia. I…we…will take you to them, for they too are troubled, and are expecting you. We can leave tomorrow, when All Hallow’s Eve and Samhain are complete.”

At the mention of the Celtic Pagan New Year, I developed an idea of who we would be visiting. The faces of my new allies all but confirmed it.

The White Witches.