Page 34 of Locking Down Qetesh

"Oh, it was. It didn't look exactly like modern tennis, but it existed. I just never played it. There was a lot going on at the time."

"I can imagine that becoming a goddess took up a lot of time."

I laughed. "Less than you might think. Becoming immortal is easy, all you need is a god."

"That doesn't sound that easy," he responded.

"You're on a date with one," I reminded him. "And I was a priestess at the time, it was almost guaranteed that I would come across gods fairly regularly."

"Ah, fair enough."

The waitress came over and set our starters in front of us. I picked up my fork and twirled it around.

"Once I was immortal, it was just a case of amassing enough people worshipping me in a certain amount of time. And no, I can't tell you exactly what that time is, or how many people, no one actually knows the answer to that. I just know that it was enough. And here I am."

"Okay, so what's the difference between being a god and being immortal?" he asked.

"A little extra magic," I said. "I have a couple of abilities other than those I have from being a dryad, but they're not particularly flashy. I'm certainly not about to start performing miracles." I stabbed one of the figs with my fork, and added some of the cheese to it. I let out a hum as the burst of flavour hit my tongue.

"Can people still become gods?" he asked.

"Yes. But it's a bit harder now, and they'd need to become immortal first. It'll be people like huge celebrities who would be able to become gods now, rather than people who are worshipped as gods, if that makes sense."

He nodded. "And that's how Santa was at your event."

"He goes by Nick," I said. "But yes. He's technically a god because of how he's been worshipped."

"It's fascinating."

"It is, but I can't really explain much of it to you," I admitted. "I'm not really a philosopher."

"That's fair enough. Neither am I. These are just things I've wondered about since the moment I learned that the gods were real and walked among us."

"I guess it's because we're not gods in the sense that most people think. I've never been able to control anyone or anything outside the bounds of my own magic. And it's the same for the others. Zeus can create small lightning bolts, but he can't make storms. Neptune can influence the small patch of sea around him, but he can't control the creatures within it, or the waves to a greater extent than that. It's like being a slightly more powerful version of what we were before."

"Except that you said that you were able to do more than just your dryad magic."

"Well, yes. I have the ability to make someone else immortal, and I'm able to control my own fertility. But that's about it, unless there's an ability I haven't discovered in the past few thousand years. It's one of the reasons I've always wondered about my position as a sex goddess, other than the obvious."

"You've lost me."

"Oh, well some of the other pleasure gods have the ability to give magical orgasms. I've never had that ability."

He raised an eyebrow. "I see."

"Sorry, probably not what you wanted to talk about."

"I don't mind," he assured me. "But you said some of them, meaning not all of them do. So it could just be a coincidence that you can't."

"Maybe. Or that not enough people worshipped me for sex, so I never gained the ability." I frowned as I thought about that and leaned back in my seat.

"Everything okay?" Jacob asked, a concerned expression on his face.

"Yes. Sorry. It was just a freeing thought. If not enough people ever worshipped me for it, so I never gained the ability, then it kind of means that no one really cares if I am a sex goddess."

"I guess not."

I considered a moment longer. "I think that just makes me feel a bit more comfortable with myself."

---