Page 9 of Deliverance
“Did you grow up or were you always like you are now?” Mateo asked.
Eloy chuckled. “I was transported into the body of a stillborn baby, as were my fellow gods. We grew up and experienced life as humans until we turned twelve when our powers were strong enough to do what we had come here to do.”
“Is it true you came here before and created the great flood?”
Eloy nodded. “But we did not stay. We had left our human bodies right after and hoped that mankind would learn the error of their ways. They did not. I think we stayed to try to understand why mankind always slipped into the very worst of what humanity could be. Wars, famine, the wealthy ignoring the poor. Human trafficking, murders, raping… we wanted to understand, but instead, we fell victim to it. The worst, because we were supposed to be above it all. It was when you shamed me, Mateo, I finally understood. I thank you for that. You have helped me find my way.”
“We all need help. Some of us can get lost and we need someone else to pull us back from the edge. There is so much to humanity that is beautiful. We are flawed, but we are also perfect… does that makes sense?” Mateo asked.
Eloy studied him for a few seconds, reflecting on what he’d said, and nodded. “It does… my wise gladiator. You must be exhausted after all that traveling, food, and of course, me. Let us sleep, you can return home later.”
Mateo grinned, then snuggled closer to Eloy. He’d never felt as safe and happy as he felt in the arms of the god. He closed his eyes and let the blissful peace of sleep take him over as he rested on a bed that defined the meaning of comfort. This was the life… the life he hoped he could have.
CHAPTER FOUR
“You look… what is the word I search for? Hmmmm, genuinely happy, I would say,” Simeon stated as he took in Eloy’s cheerful appearance.
Eloy smiled as he settled more comfortably into the lounge chair poolside. “I am and feeling…hopeful.”
Simeon nodded and took a sip of his wine. “You spent time with your human?” he asked after several swallows.
Eloy’s smile widened. “He is just so special, Simeon.”
“I will not debate that with you. If you say he is special… over every human who has ever crossed your path, then I believe you. I admire his prowess in the arena.”
“His passion in the arena is what first drew me to him, but he is so much more than that,” Eloy said, then took a sip of the wine.
Servants stood nearby, ready to serve the two gods whenever desired. Unlike other gods, Simeon didn’t have slaves as servants. He paid them generously for their services and allowed them to live free on the premises of his temple. They were free to have time to themselves and days off and worked for him with pleasure. Simeon had hoped that his way would lead by example for the other gods, but that had not happened. Well, for the two centuries, the other three gods had treated their servants like slaves, but Eloy had come around since meeting Mateo and was now paying his servants as well.
If this change could happen in Eloy now… then Simeon was sure that Mateo was something extraordinary
“Odessa and Kijani will be arriving soon, Eloy… They will not want to comply with our suggestions. No doubt, they will complain that we want to change even more of the world. If not Odessa, then Kijani will not comply, not without getting something he wants in return. Do you honestly believe you can have a life with Mateo and have Kijani looking in from the outside?” Simeon asked his fellow god.
Eloy’s cheerful and hopeful grin faded as he pondered his dilemma with Kijani. “I will not be his lover.”
“It is what he will demand for all that we ask.”
“He can demand, but he will not receive. We will just have to convince Odessa the most and Kijani will be out-voted. That is if he refuses to see reason,” Eloy said.
“Let us hope that we can convince Odessa then, tricky thing as her bloodlust is as veracious as Kijani’s.” Simeon finished his glass of wine and the servant nearest him rushed over to refill the glass without the god requesting. “You do know that if we can convince our sibling gods to see things our way, Kijani will become enraged when he sees that you have taken Mateo—a human—as your lover. He will feel betrayed. He may become violent.”
“All this has crossed my mind,” Eloy began. “His rage will be inevitable. Once we have set things right, corrected our errors, I will tell Mateo how I feel about him. I will say the words.”
Simeon cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure? There is no going back once those words are spoken. We… we will become human. Neither Odessa nor Kijani will stand for it.”
“That is why they mustn’t suspect anything.”
“Ohhh.” Simeon shook his head as he shifted positions in his lounge chair. “If you don’t want Kijani to suspect—as he already does—that you have fallen for the human, then I suggest you give him a bit of your time. Fuck him senseless, alleviate his suspicions.”
Again, Eloy was silent as he thought about the wisdom behind Simeon’s words. “A ruse?”
“A necessary maneuver,” Simeon clarified.
Eloy nodded. “I understand.”
“Good. I, for one, will be happy to return to my heavenly home. It has been a long time coming, and to know that I will become mortal and after living what is left of this life, I can finally be free…” Simeon nodded. “Thank Hersi that you are so prone to falling in love.”
Eloy snorted. “I am the one who is shocked that you have never done so.”
