Page 14 of Lust
“Come.” Lust leaned back, making herself vulnerable to the mortal woman. “Take pleasure in my body, for as long as you’d like.”
Mercy did. With the lust burning faintly inside her, she conjured enough to wrap herself in Lust’s arms and cover her with gentle kisses. She explored that ethereal body, its luscious curves, its intricate folds, and the sweet smells of sweeter tastes it exuded. The spirit’s nectar was exceptionally sweet as it rolled across Mercy’s tongue.
She could have spent the whole night indulging in sin. Lust would have allowed it. Except Mercy was a mere mortal with a body that could not put up with such strenuous ardor for long. After the hours of lovemaking and words of comfort, she fell into a blissful slumber within Lust’s arms.
When she awoke at dawn, Lust was gone, but Mercy was not alone.
Sitting on the end of the bed was a white figure, huddled over and staring at the beige carpet. When Mercy stirred, Acedia leaped up to her feet.
“Wait.” Mercy extended her hand toward the goddess. “You saved my life. You sent your servant. Now you’re leaving me again?”
Acedia exposed a sorrowful countenance. “I’m sorry, Mercy.”
“Sorry for what? For saving me?”
“No. For being too late.”
“Too late for what?”
A tear glistened on that moonlit cheek. “Too late for those other women whose cries for help I didn’t answer.”
Acedia retreated into the moonlight, disappearing as a wisp. Mercy was alone again, but she was fine with that. Now, she had a little power. A little hope to get her through those dark nights of profound loneliness.
Acedia may have missed many prayers, but she answered Mercy’s. Thanks to her, the healing had already begun.
—-
Clouds covered the moon, retreating Acedia farther into the darkness of the night. While she didn’t need a clear sky to access her true power while on the earth, seeing it disappear did not help her dour mood.
I don’t know why I feel this way.She should have been pleased with herself for an excellent first night with Mercy. Yet Acedia knew the truth.The first night is always the easiest.Her subjects were most vulnerable during that time. Malleable. Willing to change their outlook, because anything was better than wallowing in the despair that led them to such drastic measures. If Acedia had appeared before them, then things weredire.Like jumping off a bridge dire.
Yet Acedia was no fool. She remembered what happened last time. And the time before, if she were being honest with herself. All it took was remembering the look on her last attempt’s face when life once again became too much to bear.
Acedia lay upon the earth, eyes closed and essence slowly crawling across the leaf-covered ground. Soon, she would no longer know what planet she was on. For a deity, it was nothing. One moment they were walking upon the earth. The next? One with the stars, twinkling and guiding the lost and weary as they traversed the world.
Time was as quick as a breath, or as slow as an age. For Acedia, both were always true, at any given time.
As her inner eye opened and she gazed upon the blackened kingdom of despair, she saw her sister, the entity born to be her other half.
They were not close. Why would they be? Deities did not often cavort with one another. They suffered their own silence and loneliness. Or they reveled in it, as was often the case for Vainglory, the delightfully treacherous companion for everything Acedia claimed to espouse.
But they knew each other well. The dance they had conducted for the past few thousand years always saw one or the other come out on top. Currently, Vainglory scored the most points, as was clearly evident on her circlet of trophies. Amidst the shadows of her hair rested a crown of shrunken faces. Sometimes, Acedia could not gaze upon her sister without gazing into those sorrowful visages. The tortured looks and grimaces of resignation reminded her that she was not always able to save the women who prayed to her for aid.
“Hasn’t it been a while?” At first, Vainglory’s voice was as pure as Acedia’s, but even a goddess like the one draped in moonlight knew that gunpowder awaited a spark beneath that silky voice. “I was wondering when you would bring me another sacrifice, sister. It has been so long. My crown was getting lonely.”
Acedia shielded her eyes from the sight of sin before her. “I know you follow your destiny as I do,” she said, “but I will never condone it. I will never stand for what you do to your victims.”
“Victims? They willingly leaped into my arms or drowned in my tears. Some danced with me as the blood left their bodies. The ones who were skin and bones ate my flesh, and those succumbing to their diseases were cured by my kiss. How can you be so cruel to me still after so long, sister?” Vainglory clicked her tongue. “I do what I was born to accomplish. Such as yourself, I’m sure.”
Although Acedia knew this, she could never abide by the truth. What if the universe was wrong? What if nobody ever had to suffer, let alone beneath the wing of this demon?Watch your words.Even goddesses were guilty of slander. Vainglory was neither angel nor demon. She made her home in the shadows, calling to falling women to drape themselves within her embrace. Sometimes, Acedia intervened. Oftentimes, when Acedia attempted to save someone, Vainglory was in the shadows, ready to take over where her sister now often failed.
If Acedia looked too closely, she caught a glimpse of her last attempt in that circlet of sorrow.
“I felt the stirring of Lust for the first time in a hundred years,” Vainglory said. “There is a new woman. I suppose you will try to make her your bride before I can.”
Their metaphors were meaningless… until Acedia inevitably fell in love with the woman she was meant to save. Could she help it, though? Watching them grow and conquer the darkness brought warmth to Acedia’s immortal heart. Yet that was also her folly. If she fell too hard, she imprinted herself upon a true mortal form to be with that woman for the rest of their natural days. During that time, she could help no others, for her heart was absconded.
Too much of that, and people forgot about her. Nobody thought to call her.
