The Chosen Goddess

Chapter#7

Alecia’s POV

“If I had my powers, I would never be humiliating myself by relying on you.”

“Or so you say, but you can’t even use your powers without my help now…”

“Shut up and walk.”

I giggle quietly to myself. This is kind of fun to bug him. After that, we eventually make our way back to the mansion.

“Finally! We made it back!”

Slade punched a ticket machine and didn’t understand how to go through the gates. This God really is a weirdo.

“I haven’t gone out more than necessary since coming to Earth. I wasn’t interested at ALL in this filthy lower plane, but I’ve seen a surprising number of admirable inventions…”

He’s talking about the train we rode here on, and the ticket machine.

“Do you really find human machines that interesting?”

“Humans are filth. I’m only interested in the tools they make. They put so much effort into things we gods could do in an instant. Wasting time thinking about pointless things… Is that what constitutes ‘knowledge’ on Earth?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“People fight over that foolish knowledge, even die for it, right? It’s so stupid it’s funny.”

From what I’ve heard, when gods are in the Heavens, they don’t need to sleep, or eat, or take baths. That must be why he thinks like this.

“Gods and humans really do think about things in totally different ways.”

He looks like he’s unsure of what to say for a moment.

“Of course, woman. You’re wrong for assuming we would think the same way.”

Am I imagining things? In an instant, his usual bad attitude is back. I look at him and sigh.

“Well then, I guess I’ll be going.”

Finally, I can leave. Now that I’ve returned this troublesome god to his home, I turn to go. When I do, I feel someone grab me from behind by my shirt.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t use my powers without you. Stick around a little longer.”

Trying to use his powers again? Geez. I’m a little annoyed, but after spending the day with him and seeing how helpless he is on Earth without his powers, I have to admit, a part of me kind of enjoys being needed. I guess I’ve got no choice but to hang out with him a little longer. If I’m not here, he can’t use his powers.

“Quit messing around. Time to go.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

The truth is, I barely even notice how rude he is anymore. I think to myself as I follow him back to his room.

“Damn it… Being on Earth dirties my body, mind, and soul…”

The second he walks into his room, he starts taking off his clothes like I’m not even here.

“Um… I’m still here!”

“Quit chirping like a hungry baby bird. You’re gonna make my ears rot off.”

His every little movement when he takes off his clothes is so sexy. I’m mesmerized.

“Hey, grab me a change of clothes.”

“I’m not your maid!”

I protest, but I can’t take my eyes off him. His perfectly muscled back and arms look so pretty when he moves. Oh my gosh… His body really is amazing… He’s so toned… I know it’s caused him nothing but anguish but looking at the mark the King put on his shoulder when he was exiled, being reminded of the ‘sin’ that got him thrown out of the Heavens is kind of… sexy. A fallen god… Now that I think about it, he was just holding me in those strong arms… His tight muscles and smooth, beautiful skin… I know I shouldn’t look, but I look anyway, my heart pounding all the while. These beings called gods really are beautiful. I felt so warm when he held me… He smelled so nice.

“Hey, hurry up and grab the clothes. They’re right in front of you.”

“Oh, yeah! Sorry.”

I should NOT be thinking about such things at a time like this.

“Here you go…”

I pick up the change of clothes hanging on the back of a chair and hand it to him. When I look closely at his mark in the dim light of the room, I feel like it looks lighter than it did this morning.

“Hm…” I furrow my brows.

“What?”

“The mark on your shoulder, I feel like it’s faded a little since this morning.”

“That’s impossible.”

Slade moves to stand in the window, illuminating the mark in the sunlight.

“Look! I was right! It’s lighter than it was this morning!”

“Impossible… Does spending long periods of time with you erase the mark? Hey you.”

Suddenly, he grabs my chin. I wince, prepared for him to yell at me, but he bursts out laughing.

“Looks like you’re useful in your own way, woman.”

Whoa. He’s smiling… I’ve never seen him look so kind before. My heart leaps a little at the sight. So, this is what this god looks like when he smiles… His teeth are unbelievably perfectly white.

“Ugh… But the idea of being indebted to you makes me freaking sick to my stomach.”

Then, his quick frown turns into a smirk.

“I’ll repay you for erasing my sin by granting you a wish. What do you wish for? Say anything.”

The first wish that pops into my head is not at all what I thought it would be.

“What are you making that face for? Do you want me to be nicer to you? I wanted to be nicer to you, if only you had been obedient from the beginning.”

“What?”

“As nice as anyone can be to a pet, anyway.”

So, he’s treating me like a pet now? Like Kazimir and Izra?

“The chance to have your wish personally granted by a god doesn’t come around too often. Say anything. Restraint doesn’t suit filthy humans.”

The sky outside the window is fading from a sunset orange to a deep blue. I remember the meteor shower I heard about on the news the morning.

“I want you to take me somewhere high up with a great view!”

“I don’t get why you’d want to do that… But okay, wish granted.”

Slade wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him while he’s still completely shirtless. My breath catches in my throat, and I avert my eyes. He snaps his fingers once, and he’s instantly dressed again. He snaps his fingers again and suddenly we’re not in his bedroom anymore.

Slade’s POV

After the job, we ride what the woman calls a ‘train’ home. I start changing clothes as soon as we get back to my room, where I can relax.

“Hm…”

“What?” I turn to look at her when she makes a noise.

“The mark on your shoulder, I feel like it’s faded a little since this morning.”

“That’s impossible.” I look down and see that what the woman said is true.

My mark has faded. Because I was with her…? The mark fading means the day I can return to the heavens is drawing closer. Overjoyed at the thought, I reach out and grab the stupid, smiling woman’s chin and peer down at her.

“Look’s like you’re useful in your own way, woman.”

For some reason the woman’s cheeks flush pink before my eyes. Her blue eyes twinkle up at me.

“That’s good… I’m glad.” She stutters in a whisper.

She seems happy. I don’t know why, but when I look down at her, my heart pounds. My eyes flit to her light pink soft-looking lips. Wait a minute, why am I willingly touching her? I’ve gotten way too caught up in the moment.

“Don’t touch me. You’re going to dirty my fingers.”

“Hey… You were the one who touched me!”

A part of me is starting to enjoy arguing with her like this…

Alecia’s POV

“Is here okay?”

The next thing I know, we’re on top of a tall skyscraper. I can see the beautiful city lights below me.

“Wow… This is amazing! Your powers are back!”

“Looks like it.”

“This place… It’s like there are stars in the Heavens above us and stars on the Earth below…”

It’s so beautiful. I’m mesmerized.

“I’m always on the ground, so I didn’t realize… But the Earth is pretty beautiful, too.”

I’m so happy. Slade looks at me out of the corner of his eye and opens his mouth to speak.

“There are as many lights down there as there are human lives on this planet. And, just like a human, one day those lights will go out… I wonder how many humans are able to make the most of their lives from the moment they’re born…”

He never talks like this. For some reason, his words fill my heart with a kind of bittersweet sadness. He’s always talking about how much he hates humans, like he couldn’t care less about their lives.

“They’re here.” He suddenly says quietly.

“Huh?”

I follow his line of sight and look up. When I do, I see a stream of falling stars shoot across the sky.

“This is incredible… I can’t believe all of this is visible from the city.”

Seeing shooting stars like this in Chicago, I can’t help but get excited.

“Oh! There are some more! Meteor showers really are amazing! Look at them!”

“Shut up. I’m already looking. Filthy humans may think of meteor showers as unusual, but they’re nothing special to us gods. You’re overreacting.” He shoots me an exasperated look.

“Oh, I have to make a wish.”

Without wasting another second, I make a wish on a falling star. If I’m going to make a wish, I guess this is what I have to wish for. I wish for Slade to be able to return to the Heavens as soon as possible.

“What did you wish?”

“It’s a secret.”

“The gods in the Ministry of Prayer in the Heavens hear all human wishes. You shouldn’t wish for things you’d be embarrassed if people heard.”

“Is that true?”

Okay then, I’ll make one more wish. Before Slade goes back to the Heavens, I wish to get to know him a little better. I sneak a second wish and I hope the gods in the Heavens grant it.

Slade’s POV

“Here is ok right?”

I grant the woman’s modest wish and bring her to the rooftop of a tall building. Typical. The sky is filled with human-created pollution, and the earth below is covered in a layer of filth. There’s nothing even remotely pleasant about a view like this.

“It’s like there are stars in the heavens above us and stars on the earth below. I’m always on the ground, so I didn’t realize… But the earth is pretty beautiful too.”

With the woman standing beside me, observing the scenery, I look down at the city lights below and absentmindedly think back on my time as a human. It wasn’t so long ago that I too was one of those tiny lights. Creeping around, desperate, killing humans just to survive… People I knew would be there one day only to die in battle the next, vanishing from this world. It was a harsh life… I never had the luxury of mourning even one of those bastard’s deaths. I did the same thing, though. I snuffed out lights, snuffed out human lives. Unwanted, un-mourned deaths… I bet no one would care if one of these lights went out… The lights of the city below me of individual human lives. I wonder whose life she would mourn. Lost in thought, I mumble to myself.

“There are as many lights down there as there are human lives on this planet. And, just like a human life, one day those lights will go out… I wonder how many humans are able to make the most of their short lives from the moment they’re born.”

“What do you mean?”

What the hell am I babbling on about? What’s the point of trying to talk about this with her? I shake myself out of my daze. When I do, I sense the presence of heavenly bodies at the end of their lives.

“They’re here.”

“Hm?”

I look up at the sky, and the woman’s eyes follow mine. A second later, a stream of falling stars shoot across the shy… and disappear.

“This is incredible… I can’t believe all of this is visible from the city! Oh! There are more! Meteor showers really are amazing! Look at all the falling stars, Slade!”

I’m standing right next to you. I’m obviously watching. The woman freaks out over every little thing that happens and lectures me about the stars like she knows what she’s talking about… Geez, this woman. I roll my eyes. I guess this is what people call a ‘glorious lack of sophistication’. At least she’s genuine. Before I know it, thoughts of my dark past are pushed out of my heart by a sparkling light. The negativity inside me disappears, vanishing into the night. Is this happening because of her? No, that’s impossible.

“Look, look! There are more!”

“Shut up, I’m already looking. Humans may think of meteor showers as unusual, but they’re nothing special to us gods. You’re overreacting.”

She giggles and the sound is suddenly like music to my ears.

“I can’t help it, I’m so happy!”

What a loudmouth. I think about how annoying she is, but as I look at her profile, I think I might be smiling.

“Oh, I have to make a wish!”

Wishing on a star? Those jerks in the Ministry of Discipline will probably hear her loud and clear.

“You still wishing?”

“Wait a little bit longer.”

“That’s a pretty long wish.”

She brings her hands together at the end of her prayer. When she opens her eyes, she glances at me.

“What did you wish for?”

“It’s a secret.” She smirks at me.

“What did you say to me?”

She has an attitude and a half this one. She was probably just wishing for money, fame or power anyway…

“I mean, I can’t tell you. If you tell someone your wish, it won’t come true.”

“I guess that’s probably true for humans. But gods are the ones who grant prayers.”

“Oh yeah! That’s right. You ARE a god.”

For some reason, my heart feels like it’s in a vice grip when I look at her smiling face. Unbelievable. Up until now, she’s been scared of me precisely because I’m a god. Hat reminds me. This woman touched me when I transported us here. I didn’t sense any negative emotions inside her then. Was she hiding her feelings from me…? No, she’s not capable of that. She must really… she’s not scared of me…?

“Come on, quit staring at me like that.”

“I wasn’t-“ I choke on my own tongue when I realize I was staring for too long.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ll tell you what I wished for, ok?”

I narrow my eyes and star at her quizzically.

“You have to promise not to laugh, though…”

“Was your wish so ridiculous to be laughable?” I chuckle.

“It’s not ridiculous at all! Geez…” She huffs.

“Hey, don’t get all pouty. Hurry up and tell me.”

The woman, looking a little anxious, says quietly;

“I wished to get to know you a little better… before you go back to the heavens.”

“Huh…” I feel something hot rush to my face.

“The gods will grant my wish, right Slade?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

Tch… what an absurd wish. There’s no way a wish like that is going to come true. Today I learned that every once in a while, a human can pose a threat to a god. This stupid woman really knows how to mess with my head. The twinkling stars in the sky above look just a little bit more beautiful to me.