Chapter

Mikel used his right hand to peel his fingers back from The Jewel before slipping it into his shirt and out of sight. He knew whoever was lurking in the dark had already seen The Jewel, but he didn’t want to press his luck. There was a small chance whoever they were might mistake it for a common necklace.

“Who are you?” Mikel barked, eyes flitting through the darkness, “How’d you get in here?”

The voice answered, “I walked in. The door was unlocked - hardly anyone bothers to lock their doors here.”

He recognized the voice. It was sultry, deep, and husked at the edges. His sleep-addled mind couldn’t place it, but it inspired just as much terror as had the Time Demon.

“It’s still not polite to barge into someone’s home uninvited,” Mikel said to the darkness, buying time, “You could have just waited until tomorrow.”

The voice husked a laugh, “There are no tomorrows here, Mikel Raithson, especially for you, who carries an artifact of such great value.”

A shadow Mikel hadn’t noticed shifted and a form draped in a cloak blacker than night swayed forwards towards him.

Startled, Mikel backed up into the dinner table and had a flashback to whatever had just happened to him with The Time Demon. He thought it might have been a dream… But the pain from the Demon’s attacks still wracked his body, and his left hand ached as if it had been hit with a frozen mallet.

“Helsket and Tegil are upstairs. I'm guessing you know them and know what they can do - otherwise, you wouldn't be here in the dark like an assassin,” Mikel said, thinking fast, “All I have to do is yell and they’ll be down. I know I probably can’t beat you, it’s become obvious I can’t beat anyone at this point, but they sure can.”

Mikel didn’t know who this person was, but his mind whirred with possibilities. The cloak draped over the woman’s face hid her so well that he couldn’t even make out a vague form hidden in the darkness. It was as if she were a part of the night.

“You could try. I do like a struggle from young men,” She said as she walked closer, an aura of something heavy pressing forward off of her.

Mikel’s heart skipped a beat as he finally recognized the familiar sensation for what it was.

“It’s you,” he muttered, finally able to stand up. He had to fight the feeling of passion and intense physical attraction wafting off the woman.

“Celine.”

The woman stopped, laughed, and pulled back her hood.

Mikel sucked in a breath as her face came into view - so beautiful as if she’d sucked the light out of the room itself to feed whatever inner fire made her glow like an earthbound star.

“I’m surprised you remember me,” She said, slipping out of the cloak. Mikel looked away, face burning as the dress she wore came into view - or rather the suggestion of a dress.

The white, sheer material hugged her body as a lover might. Each curve, dip, and swell of her breasts, hips, legs, shoulders, and calves were accentuated to the point that being naked would be more conservative. A deep V cut from her shoulders down between her breasts and met at her navel. Her belly button lay exposed and teased in the near darkness of the room.

A deep ache formed in Mikel’s belly and balls and it was all he could do to keep his knees from knocking together.

She laughed and Mikel winced, still not looking at her.

“Come on now, don’t be shy. This is how I used to dress. I was a devotee of Love before I came here. I’m sure Helsekt told you about that. Don't worry I won’t bite. We don’t know each other that well yet.”

Mikel coughed nervously and she laughed again in a good-natured sort of way.

“Okay, enough games,” Celine said, walking closer to Mikel, her voice changing from pleasant to calm and neutral, “I’m not here to hurt you. I was sent here to help you.”

Mikel nearly jumped out of his skin when her soft hand landed on his chest, or rather, over The Callisto Jewel.

As if in response to the contact The Jewel shivered and sent cold spikes shooting into Mikel's body like frozen needles, their spinsters long in the grave.

Mikel winced as one lanced towards his heart, and when it connected he jerked back to look at Celine, the only sign she’d felt anything was a slight twitch of her mouth.

Mikel gulped and with a shaking hand, reached up and grabbed her hand to pull it away.

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She didn’t resist and smiled as he put her hand back to her side.

“You’re here to help. Who sent you and what are you offering?” His voice only chirped a little at the end. Any other time he might have thought ill of himself for that sign of weakness but he was beyond embarrassment at this point and proud he was able to speak at all.

Celine’s aura enveloped him and like an imagined lover, held him close, warm and tight in an embrace that promised bliss. He grabbed that sensation and held on, for the moment in control of himself.

He fought the urge to reach out and touch her again - his left hand, the hand that had grabbed her, burned instead of feeling iced over. Mikel welcomed the change and some large part of him wanted to touch her more. To touch her everywhere.

“No,” He growled and glared at Celine, shoving the thoughts and the feelings he was experiencing down to the deepest parts of himself.

“No?” She quirked her head and a golden lock of hair fell perfectly across her face. She smiled and blew it away, the edge of her breath catching Mikel. The intoxicating nature of it nearly sent him reeling.

He twitched and grabbed the table behind him again to steady himself, “Could you… Take a step back?”

“Oh,” She said, confusion on her face, “You’re…” A knowing smile spread across her lips and made Mikel feel woozy, “You’re still a virgin.”

Mikel’s stomach dropped - that was the last thing any man wanted to hear from a woman, especially when it was true.

His face darkened and she walked towards him before he could react, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were…”

Mikel’s vision swam as intense blissful heat ran scintillated through his body as her breasts pressed into his chest. He was painfully aware of the proximity of her face to his own.

She set Mikel on the edge of the table and stepped back, somehow demuring what she’d been doing to him.

Mikel wanted to throw up. It felt as if he’d been struck in the stomach again. He wished it had been from the Time Demon - that thing was less dangerous than the woman in front of him.

“Mikel,” Celine said in a conciliatory fashion, “I’m sorry. I thought… With you being Erik’s son and all…”

Embarrassment flared and he was only able to wave her off, unable to speak.

“Sorry,” She said again, “I was treating you as if you had your barriers up. Men who haven’t… Loved physically are very susceptible to Love’s embrace. I didn’t think. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” He gasped, his voice hoarse, sweat coating his body, “It’s fine… Just… Let’s talk about something else, okay?”

She smiled and laughed again, this time the power behind it didn’t slam into Mikel as it had and in that gap, he was able to get his breath back.

“You said something about help - tell me about that.”

She smiled and nodded, “Of course. Love sent me.”

Mikel’s mind had righted itself and he took a stiff breath to reinforce his recovery.

“Telgil said you’re devoted to Gaia now - wouldn’t Love take offense to something like that?”

She put a hand on her hip and lowered her gaze, fixing him with a glare that made him melt more than a little.

“Love is gentle and careful. I didn’t give up on Love, nor did she give up on me. I came here to escape certain… Inconsistencies with myself outside of The Market. Love and I are still one, but Gaia was a better fit while I’m here.”

“Both Telgil and Helsket said you’d forgotten about your time before The Market - how are you able to remember? Doesn’t this place… Do something to you? Make you forget?”

“It can. Without protection, this place will wipe your slate clean forever. The "you" who you were will cease to be and a new “you” will take their place.”

“And you have protection from that magic?”

“The Reverie is a gentle but powerful dream. It can wash away the woes of life, but if left too long, it can also wash away the joys. Love is a gentle and powerful dream. As a Priestess of Love I am able to deflect the greater effects of the Reverie. If I were to stay here forever it might seep in, but not for the small amount of time I’ve lived within The Market.”

“Three years isn’t a long time?”

“Not for people like me. Devotion to a god takes sacrifice, but in return, you receive gifts far and away and above what you gave up.”

“Like Helsket?”

“Not really… But yes,” She said, smiling maddeningly, “But that’s not why I’m here.”

“I thought you’d be here to kill me, after today.”

That made her laugh and what a laugh it was - the sound of silver starlight falling on snow, while a breeze played with falls still hanging leaves. Mikel shivered.

“My apologies for that... Display. By the time my sisters had launched their attack it was too late. They are very fierce and won’t stop unless made to. They are very defensive of me. Love’s influence will always be strong within me, and many men have acted just like Hel-” Her voice cut off and she looked away, hand to her lips.

“Excuse me. I must have a frog in my throat.”

She lightly cleared her throat before looking back at Mikel and smiling, “Many men react strongly to my aura. You felt it. It can drive you crazy if you let it.”

“That’s dangerous,” Mikel said, “you could destroy an entire city with that.” He was still reeling from the dose he'd received minutes before, and he suspected what he felt wasn't a one hundred percent blast. It was terrible to think what else Celine was capable of.

She laughed again, “You are a funny one. He’s having an effect on you. Keep it up and you’ll be winning all the girl’s hearts.”

Mikel knew she was talking about Helsket, but was unsure why she couldn’t say his name. He thought it rude to ask, so didn’t.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” He said flatly, finally tamping down the last of the butterflies zipping through his chest, “but what are you here for? What help are you here to deliver?”

“Right,” Celine said, nodding as if reminding herself of her mission, “I’m to instruct you how to handle The Callisto Jewel. I was meant to get here before anything… happened, but as it stands I was too late. You used The Jewel in your dream, which means you used The Jewel in real life.”

“What do you mean? I acquired The Jewel to use it. I didn’t mean to, but… That dream, or nightmare, left me no choice. I had to use The Jewel or the thing would have killed me.”

“And that will keep happening if you don’t use The Jewel.”

“But you just said…”

She waved him to stop, “I know what I said. The Jewel is tricky, very much so. It wants to be used because as it’s used it gains more power over you. If you don’t willingly use it, it will make you use it as it just did. It was uncontrolled and as such, The Jewel gained the most from the interaction. Because you didn’t know what you were doing you surrendered yourself to its power.”

The Jewel shivered as if in agreement.

“It… can do that?”

“And much more,” Celine said, pointing at his chest, “The Jewel is an ancient artifact of the Sunken Folk goddess Callisto. She reigned supreme over those lost people for millennia - The Jewel was one of her greatest treasures to influence the mortal world. Unlike today’s gods, she was very liberal with the use of her power in the mortal plane.”