Goddess

The night was blisteringly cold. The winds swept across the river in a harsh torrent. Nature unleashed her furious cold on an almost barren land. Alex pulled his coat closer about him with a rueful shiver. He continued cautiously along the steep banks of the river, carefully avoiding the patches of ice that had so recently been puddles. Soon, very soon, he would reach the object of his desires. His goddess, the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld.

Soft footfalls pulled him from his thoughts. He growled as he caught sight of the offender. A doe, moving through the dense forest surrounding the river. "Vile creature." He spat, annoyed by the interruption. The deer paused and raised its head sniffing the air delicately. She turned and stared at him. For a fleeting moment their eyes met and he knew she understood him completely. He belonged to this forest as well. He had been born in a large city but reborn in this forest. He had come upon it by accident. He had thought at first he was blessed, but now he knew she had been calling to him all along. The deer walked away, no longer concerned by his presence. He almost smiled as he continued along the banks. His breath coming in feathered plumes of smoke as its warmth kissed the icy air. To him it was the kiss of his enchanting goddess.

He became enthralled in his thoughts once again and cursed as his foot slipped on the embankment, causing it to slide into the frozen waters breaking through the ice. He pulled it quickly out angry with himself for being so careless. His anger subsided as he looked up and saw his goddess. He had not realized he was so close.

Without any forethought he ran toward her, craving her. Hungering for her caress. Though it was cold to the skin it warmed him to the center of his soul. He had only met her the day before but already she was on his mind constantly. She was an obsession of the most divine sort. She had told him her name was Lauren. A common enough name, but when it came from her lips it was musical. He stared at her enrapt. Her dark hair glistened in the evening sun. Her eyes shone intently and her lips were a pale blue. He smiled and caressed her cheek. She offered no resistance. No, she would not. She would never reject him or send him away as so many others had. She would always welcome him. She would…

He paused, his fingers still on her cheek. He scowled and pulled his hand away from her cheek as if burned. No, she would never send him away she would keep him near because she was not perfect. She was impure and flawed. Yes, he saw that now. The scars on her nude body were still red and angry. The rope burns on her wrists still fresh and he could almost imagine inflamed. Rather than greeting him with an enigmatic smile, as he expected, her lips were open in a scream. He touched her lips softly, running his finger over them, absorbed momentarily in the coldness. He drew his hand back and with a vicious snarl slapped her. Delicate cracks appeared in her face. No blood emerged but instead soft, cold skin.

He had made a mistake with her. She was a prostitute nothing more. He had picked her up in a cheap bar on the outskirts of town. He lured her with promises of fine things. She had been so willing to accept his generosity then. But…when they arrived in the forest she had changed. Yes. He remembered now. She had screamed and cursed him as they made their way to the place she now stood. She protested loudly as he bound her by the wrists to two nearby trees, forcing her arms out from her sides. He tied her feet together at the ankles holding them close together. She looked as if she were being crucified. Her screams had excited him. The goddess was calling to him.

He shook his head sadly. He would have to start over. It had been almost completely dark when he had finished with her. It had been tedious pouring all that water over her again and again. At first she had merely screamed and shook her head. Then the trembling began. She was slowly dying of hypothermia and exposure. His patience had worn thin but he knew in the end she would be perfect. Yet she was not.

He looked around and seeing nothing grabbed her wrist and drug her toward the icy embankment. It would not be possible to bury her. The ground was frozen solid. But the snow would hide her from the real goddess. The goddess he would find and bring tonight to this exact spot. She would smile at him and accept her appointed divination graciously. She would be safe from the abomination that he drug tediously behind him now. He sighed and covered her in snow. Looking around once more he made his way back to his car. The bar was not so far away and he would have plenty of time before darkness crept into the sky.

****

Rachel shivered as she entered the warmth of the bar. She had been chilled to the bone. The temperature outside must have been 20 below. What had she been thinking letting Stuart coax her into moving to Alaska? Yeah, that had been great. He moved them, stayed with her three months, then ran off with a woman he met at work. He left her with no money and no way home. This damned bar had seemed her only solution. It was either that or prostitution, an idea she did not savor. She had been faithfully saving half of her tips and paycheck each week to buy a ticket back home. Today was payday. The way she had it figured she would only have to save for one more month. A month until she could go home.

She smiled as she noticed the man at the end of the bar watching her. He was a good-looking young man. He was possibly mid to late twenties, shoulder length blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She removed her coat and sat watching him. Her luck it seemed was looking up. He stood abruptly and moved to the seat beside her. She had seen him in the bar before. In fact, it had been the night before. They made small talk telling each other their names and a little about how they came to be in the bar that night. He suddenly lowered his eyes and said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. "You are most beautiful, Rachel. I could make you a goddess. Would like you that? I would worship at your feet and in exchange all you would have to do is remain as flawless as you are this moment."

Rachel smiled scarcely containing a laugh of delight. He stood and offered his hand. She accepted gratefully, noticing his hands were badly chapped. Ah well, she thought, some people do not tolerate this cold as well as others. "I have something to show you." He said in that same wonderfully breathless voice. As they left the bar Rachel almost giggled with delight. She came after a lousy paycheck and ended spending the evening with a man who thought her a goddess. Paycheck? She thought suddenly. She had forgotten to get it. She shrugged to herself. No need to go back it would be there tomorrow.