To Live Again In Paradise - Segment 04

Chapter 16

Luzon, Home of the Old Ones

Of the last two concubines whose lives a god deliberately ended, only Vulcan and Melody observed the last death. Grace was one of the old ones loved by Vulcan eons ago even after Jupiter forced the young human to become Ares’ slave. Shortly before the abandonment, she came upon Ares about to rape Vulcan’s woman. Melody had followed Vulcan into his work place and watched him head across the courtyard toward the opposite side where Jupiter’s mansion was located.

Ares had seen his brother leave and erroneously thought Vulcan had just rejected Melody as he himself had done to countless women over the years. Because of this, Ares believed she was now available for any male who wanted her. He came into the forge and began beating her into submission, this being his version of foreplay. Grace was walking in the courtyard and saw him sneaking into the forge.

Suspecting Ares was up to no good, as usual, she raced to follow him into the building. During her attempt to save Vulcan’s defenseless concubine, the elderly servant received grievous, deadly wounds. Out of gratitude and because he still cared deeply for Grace, Vulcan released her from her aged body in a gentle manner.

Not at all gentle or private were the final moments of one of his previous concubines. All of the old ones remembered Vulcan forcing them to watch her die. Most felt gratitude toward their previous masters for allowing them to continue living, even if it were as old crones. Vulcan showed the ultimate power of an angry god when he caused Astrid to die publicly in a most horrible and painful manner.

For betraying him with another god, he ordered the naked and terrified woman out into the courtyard. They stood in a large circle of all the other gods while the seraglio’s balcony overlooking the grassy area was filled with the old ones and concubines.

Vulcan began the punishment by first pulling Astrid’s head back by her long hair and forcing a goblet to her mouth with his other hand. Astrid started to moan, but that quickly turned into cries of pain as the deadly liquid coursed through her body. In front of the horrified people forced to watch, Astrid started to age. Her soft and pliant skin began to sag and wrinkle. Her glorious mane of black hair turned gray while her eyes dimmed with the onset of cataracts. Her proud, tall body shrank as the decades piled relentlessly on her. Internally, her organs aged as well. By now, she was in such pain nobody could hear anything else over her agonized screaming.

Even on this sad day of death after the abandonment, the old ones remembered Astrid crumbling to the ground in a fetal position. Vulcan bent to examine her and finally stood back up with a satisfied look on his face. “She has failed to survive her punishment and will now return to earth as dust.” He stepped back from her, and the ancient body that once was a beautiful woman disappeared. Vulcan then looked up and said loud enough that the old ones never forgot his warning, “Remember what you saw this day and learn we expect total and complete obedience from you.”

* * *

With the unexpected death of Sylvia, the problem of where to bury her fell on the women assigned this task by Izzy. Up until then, nobody had died accidentally on Luzon, most likely due to the intervention of Jupiter. He and the other gods, of course, were immortal.

After much discussion by the women, a small grassy knoll at the edge of Luzon Prime became the final resting place for Sylvia. These elderly females hastily and most inexpertly dug a grave. With no coffins available, one of the women sewed the body into a shroud. These same females, the only ones to attend the somber funeral, eventually lowered Sylvia into the grave and covered her with earth. In the following days, many of the other women came to the gravesite to pay their respects.

* * *

Shortly after Sylvia’s death and her pathetic funeral, the women started questioning other facts the gods told them over the centuries. They learned the second cruel lie when Izzy confided the truth to one of them. Izzy did this because she was a mean spirited person who had always enjoyed making others suffer all her life. She also was the only servant interested enough, when she had been his slave, to research what Ares once told her.

One afternoon about a week following the funeral, Izzy was walking by what she knew was an empty bedroom of one of the concubines when she heard muffled voices from behind the closed door. She placed one ear against the door and tried to hear who was on the other side. When she found the door was too thick for her to recognize individual voices, she decided to confront the women inside off from doing their required work.

She turned the crystal doorknob and slammed the door open hard enough that it crashed back against the wall. This harsh sound startled the five women sitting around Sabrina. She was the newest servant to the seraglio, and the others had been comforting her while she uncontrollably wept. All six of them turned immediately to Izzy with each showing varying degrees of guilt and nervousness.

“What are you ladies doing in here?” demanded Izzy, before any of the others could speak. “You, Teresa, you’re supposed to be down in the kitchen helping to get dinner ready.” She scowled at Teresa before turning to the woman in the middle of the group. “Sabrina, stop that sniveling. I swear you’re the most useless person in this whole place, always crying.” She glared at Sabrina. “What are you whining about now?”

Until recently, this last slave bed partner of Ares had been a beautiful and vibrant, young redhead. Just before he left with the other gods to fight the Titans, Ares forced her back to live at the seraglio permanently. At the same time, all the other gods were preparing for war. Not one of them spared the time, during Sabrina’s two weeks’ grace period, to find out if she was worthy of their sexual attention. Because of this and still not aware of the real reason for Ares’ rejection, Sabrina was sent down to the bowels of the seraglio and began aging.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Sabrina, trying to choke back her sobs and failing miserably. “I was just telling my friends why Ares punished me so harshly. Teresa and the others said their masters sent them here for the same reason, and we were simply commiserating with each other.” Sabrina used the sleeve of her dress to wipe her eyes, but they immediately filled up with tears again.

By now, Izzy was totally disgusted with Sabrina and made no effort to hide her feelings. “Stop your bawling and grow a backbone already.” She moved only slightly out of the way of the other women when they slunk one by one out of the room. Izzy remained silent when they squeezed past her. This made them feel even guiltier, although none of them was sure what she did wrong.

Although it had only been a short time since the original occupant left, the nearly empty room had the stuffy smell of a place unused for years. The gilt-edged mirror on the extremely feminine vanity already was dusty. Earlier, one of the women ran her fingers through the filth to reveal a smudge of clean mirror. The bureau near the bed showed empty drawers pulled out haphazardly. Izzy made a mental note to have the immediate cleaning of all empty rooms added to her list of duties for the others.

When only Izzy remained in the concubine’s bedroom with Sabrina, she turned and closed the door. “Now, what’s all this fuss about?” Annoyed and with her hands on her hips, Izzy walked closer to where Sabrina was sitting on the edge of the unmade bed.

Sabrina snuffled, once again wiped her tears on her sleeve, and then tried to answer Izzy. “Do you know what Ares told me as he dragged me back here that day?” Seeing she was not going to get an answer from the impatiently waiting woman, Sabrina managed to get out, “He, he…he said he wasn’t about to let a slut like me have his child.” She let out a loud wail before finishing her explanation. “All those months he’d been promising he would get me pregnant when the time was right.”

Izzy began laughing. “You stupid fool. Did you really believe all his lies? You honestly think he rejected you for wanting to have his child?” Seeing Sabrina slowly nodding, Izzy knew she was going to enjoy the next few minutes.

Chapter 17

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

Venus raced into Hera’s bedroom, waking her former mother-in-law from a sound sleep. “Wake up, mother, wake up.” She leaned over the slumbering woman and shook her shoulder, trying to wake her.

Hera opened her eyes slowly and scowled at the beautiful blonde who had rudely interrupted her sleep. “What are you doing in my bedroom at this ridiculously early hour?” When she saw how upset Venus looked, Hera sat up in bed and pushed the sheet and blankets back. “Calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”

While saying that, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed and waited for the younger woman to explain herself. By now, Hera could see Venus pacing back and forth across the bedroom’s plush carpet. The worry on her face was apparent to Hera even from that distance. “Settle down, child. You’re going to wear a hole in my rug.” She tried to hold back a yawn, but failed. “Let me find my robe and put it on. I’ll make us some tea while you explain what’s got you in such a dither.”

Half an hour later, both women were sitting and sipping on steaming hot tea at the table in Hera’s small kitchenette. Her expertise in the area of cooking was limited to simple tasks like putting a tea bag in a mug of hot water. Therefore, there was no need for her to have a larger kitchen.

Now that she felt more refreshed and awake, Hera waited for Venus to explain what was bothering her. The remainder of her tea grew cold while she listened. “Are you sure? Could you just have been dreaming?”

“No, it felt too real,” answered Venus, still upset but trying to calm down so she could get Hera to understand. “I felt my son is in trouble, terrible trouble. For some reason I was unable to see in my vision, Eros no longer can interact with the people on Earth.”

Impatiently, Hera interrupted her. “Forget the humans. What about our males on Luzon?”
Venus shook her head. “I couldn’t see what they were doing. Hera, I have to leave Auspasia and go find out where Eros is. I don’t care if Jupiter told you he absolutely refused to allow any of us on Luzon. My son, I have to find out what is happening to my precious son.”

Shoving her mug of cold tea away from her, Hera stood up with a determined look on her face. “Let me put some clothes on, and I’ll go with you. It’s about time we women ignored my husband’s rude, dictatorial manner against us.” A smile even crossed her face as she thought of Jupiter’s stunned reaction when he saw the two of them arriving at his mansion. “It will only take me a few minutes, but I need to talk with Freya before we leave.”

This Norse goddess was Thor’s sister. She came to Auspasia when the gods of her land decided to migrate to Luzon. Early during the settlement on all-female world of Auspasia, Freya and Hera became good friends. In fact, Hera often relied on the other mature and sensible woman to act as her backup in matters related to interpersonal problems with the others on Auspasia. Hera was the first to admit that in dealing with others, she was not at her best.

Freya also introduced an animal that, until then, was unfamiliar to many of the other females. The clowder of adult cats that lived with her and drew her colorful wagon turned out to be extremely prolific in the much warmer climate of Auspasia. It did not take the many goddesses much time at all to provide the litters of adorable kittens with loving homes.

Once Hera finished dressing in her long, royal purple tunic and silver-crusted sandals, she walked with Venus in the cool morning air to her friend’s nearby bungalow. A musical symphony of meows greeted them when Freya, the felines’ attentive servant, opened the door.

“Good morning, ladies.” Freya’s voice had to rise slightly at the sudden yowling of a big, black cat. He stood at her feet staring menacingly at them, his copper-colored eyes narrowed and his ears laid back flat against his head. The bristled fur on his arched back and tail made the already large animal appear twice his normal size and added to his menacing appearance.

“Ralph, hush up now. These are friends, so behave.” Reprimanding the cat, as usual, did no good, although Freya never gave up trying. Ralph continued to growl in a threatening manner as Hera and Venus ever so cautiously walked around him and into the bungalow.

Freya led them into her living room and waited until the other two women sat down in two overstuffed and comfortable chairs, all the while apologizing for the bad manners of her animal. “Now, you both look upset, so is there something I can do to help?” When she found another chair and sat down, Ralph quickly jumped up into her lap and began purring.

Venus ignored the annoying animal and waited silently for Hera to explain why they were there.

Hera got right to the point. “Venus and I have to travel to Luzon immediately. She had a vision that her son Eros is in some sort of danger.”

Freya interrupted, “But I thought your husband has forbidden any of us to go there. Have you asked his permission yet?”

As Ralph did before her, Hera bristled in anger at the idea of asking Jupiter’s permission for anything. “No,” she replied, “and I don’t intend to do any such thing.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you,” said Freya quickly, trying to soothe Hera. “What do you want me to do while you’re away?”

Hera slowly tried to calm down, knowing Freya had simply spoken before thinking. The Norse goddess was well aware of the tension between Hera and Jupiter. Even the people in their distant land to the north had heard of the philandering ways and many sexual escapades of the all-powerful god of Mount Olympus. They also knew how a furious Hera often treated the unfortunate females seduced or raped by her womanizing mate.

Hera eventually was able to speak in a level tone of voice. “Everything here on Auspasia has been running fairly smoothly lately, but I need you to keep an eye out for any trouble. Some of the younger women have been pushing me to let them go to Earth and bring back men to stay here and live with them.

“While Venus and I are away on Luzon, I’ll leave it to your good judgment whether or not to allow this. Even more important, be sure to pick only those females who have the sense to chose and copulate only with perfect men. Are you up for doing this?”

“Of course, I’d be honored to take on that responsibility.” When Hera nodded and got to her feet in preparation for leaving, Venus followed her example and rose to stand with her. Freya pushed Ralph off her lap and walked toward the front door with her two friends. “Do you have any idea how long you’ll be gone, when you’ll be coming back?”

Hera thought for a few seconds, and then shrugged. “We should be back fairly soon, once we find what mischief the men and Eros have gotten into on Luzon.” With that, Hera and Venus left Freya, and her many cats, unaware it was possible they might never see some of them ever again.

Chapter 18

New Earth, Home of the Golden Ones

The drive back to the Sir Francis Drake from Golden Gate Bridge’s Vista Point was quiet with neither Vulcan nor Melody ready to share their feelings about Dr. Osborn’s suicide. Once they were back in the suite, Vulcan hoped she was ready for what he had been thinking about since seeing how upset the note made her.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you take a nice hot, bubble bath?” He knew Melody came out of a long time in the bath refreshed and usually in a better mood. “After, I’d like to take you out for a delicious meal. Two of our adult children took the initiative and opened a restaurant nearby. They found and remodeled one left behind by the original San Francisco owner. After doing that, they hired a number of their siblings to learn how to cook vegetarian dishes and serve the customers.”

Melody took in this news without wondering how the golden ones learned all these skills so quickly. She was beginning to accept everything without question on this New Earth. After giving Vulcan a weary smile, Melody told him, “The bath sounds wonderful, but I’d like to wait on going out to eat until I see how I feel afterwards.” She then headed for the bathroom.

Vulcan immediately heard the water running behind the closed door. He waited half an hour for Melody to emerge from her bath. Finally, Vulcan could not wait any longer and gave in to his impatience to talk over his ideas for their future with Melody. Opening the door slowly and quietly, he cautiously came into the room.

He saw Melody lying in the huge sunken tub, up to her shoulders in bubble bath suds, with her eyes closed in exhaustion. Vulcan started to back out of the room, but halted when he heard her call out to him.

“It’s okay, I’m awake.” Melody opened her eyes while saying this. “I’m feeling much better, thanks to your perfect suggestion of a bubble bath.” The smoldering look in her eyes sent Vulcan an unmistakable invitation. Melody made sure he understood with her next words. “Why don’t you join me? The water is still nice and hot, and you already know there’s room enough in this tub for both of us.”

As always instantly horny around her, Vulcan did not need Melody to ask him twice. His shoes, shirt, and dungarees quickly landed in a messy pile on the floor. Since he refused to wear any undergarments, saying they were too binding, Vulcan managed to strip down to bare skin in a matter of seconds. Taking long strides, he hurried to the tub and stepped down into the thick layer of bubbles.

Vulcan immediately lost his balance on the tub’s slippery bottom. Fluffy soapsuds flew every which way when the big man landed on his rear end. Unable to keep it from happening, he kept sliding down until his whole body and then his head were underneath the water. From where she sat at the other end of the tub, Melody managed to scrunch her legs up out of his way. Flying foam struck her face, though, and soaked her long hair.

Vulcan eventually regained his balance, if not his dignity. He sat up, sputtering and dribbling water from the dark brown hair of his well-trimmed mustache and beard. His green eyes glared at Melody, daring her to laugh at his predicament.

She couldn’t resist. “Did you enjoy your swim?” She then tried to scuttle back even further in the tub when she saw what he was planning. Vulcan slowly got down on his hands and knees. Keeping his head safely above the layer of bubbles, he crawled toward her end of the tub. When he reached her, he got up on his knees and pushed her bent legs apart. He continued forward and moved between her outstretched thighs. Remembering how easy it was to lose his balance, he placed his left hand on Melody’s waist and moved even closer to her.

Melody felt his right hand searching in the water until his fingers located the sopping wet hair at the junction of her legs. At this point, their bodies were barely touching, but Vulcan once again shifted his kneeling position. Using his hand, he guided his thick, meaty shaft into the entrance of Melody’s vagina.

Firmly seated inside her, Vulcan shifted both his hands underneath Melody’s body and lifted her ass off the bottom of the tub. Holding onto her buttocks, he pulled her a down a bit deeper into the water until he felt Melody was in a more comfortable position. He planned on a long and energetic romp in the bathwater with the woman he loved.

Still kneeling, Vulcan leaned slightly forward and wrapped his arms around Melody’s waist so that her breasts pressed against his chest. After bending her backwards against the rim at the end of the tub, he began to maneuver his penis further inside her. By moving his strong, agile hips back and forth in the hot water, he forced his way inch after inch until fully inserted.

Melody trusted Vulcan not to let her drown and hung on tightly to his broad shoulders. His deep thrusts drove her up and down faster and faster, which added to the thick froth of soapsuds covering them up to their waists.

Nearly out of control from experiencing Vulcan’s repeated and forceful penetration, Melody began to whimper and fiercely dug her fingers into his flesh. His deep guttural moans mingled with her increasingly loud cries. She finally could not keep back her involuntary screams as her body shuddered wildly from the overpowering sexual pleasure she was experiencing.

Knowing to the second when Melody attained orgasm, Vulcan quickly lowered his lips to hers and took her screams into his mouth. He struggled to hold back his own raging need for release until he felt her shaking diminishing. Only then did he allow the violent spasm of his powerful ejaculation to fill Melody with his thick, hot, semen. While doing that, Vulcan couldn’t help yelling out in male pride for a job well done.

All Melody could do was remain lying in the tub while listening to her arrogant lover with an understanding yet exhausted smile on her face. Vulcan having sexually satisfied her once again, she felt drained, completely boneless, and a more than ready for a nap.

Vulcan, though, had other ideas.

Chapter 19

Luzon, Home of the Old Ones

Smiling in anticipation, Izzy sat down on the edge of the bed. She made sure to sit far enough away so she could thoroughly savor Sabrina’s misery upon learning the truth.

“Sabrina, how many children have you seen playing in the courtyard since you were brought to Luzon from Earth? One? Three? A couple dozen?” Izzy stopped there and waited for the other woman’s answer.

It was not long in coming. “You know that’s a trick question. Jupiter refused to allow any children here in the compound. I was told he said it was too dangerous for them to play in such a busy place.”

“Who told you that? Ares?”

“Yes, he said that when I started begging him for a baby.”

Izzy snorted at hearing Sabrina’s innocent reply. “It figures. And, of course, you believed him, right?”

“Why wouldn’t I? He didn’t say I couldn’t have his baby, just that I’d have to wait until he was able to move us away from the city of Luzon Prime.” Sabrina gave Izzy a sad smile. “He kept telling me that over and over, but it was a lie, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. What else did he tell you about the children?” Izzy leaned forward, wondering why it took some people so long to realize someone was not being honest with them. When Ares had been her master centuries ago, it only took catching him in one lie to have her questioning everything he said.

Sabrina thought back to what Ares told, and then smiled when she remembered. “Once a god had a child by his concubine, he moved her and the baby to the village of Leasath.” She did not understand the amused expression on Izzy’s face. “I’m not sure exactly where Leasath is, but it sounds like a nice place to live. Do you know if it’s fairly close to us here in Luzon Prime?”

“Why do you want to know?” Izzy was beginning to have difficult keeping a straight face at hearing Ares’ pack of lies Sabina had innocently believed.

“Well, I was thinking I’d like to visit Leasath if it’s not too far to walk. Maybe just holding a baby would be enough, since I’ll never get to have my own now.”

“Let me think for a second. It’s been a long time since the last concubine gave birth and left for Leasath.” Izzy pretended to think before replying, “In fact, I can’t remember the last pregnancy we had on Luzon. “No, I tell a lie. I remember when Venus had her son Eros. The Roman and Greek gods had all just settled here when she went into labor.”

Sabrina interrupted her. “No, Venus doesn’t count. She’s a goddess. When was the last baby born to a human female like me, or like I used to be?”

Having had her fun and ready to ruin Sabrina’s illusions about children on Luzon, Izzy said one word and only one word. “Never!” With that, she stood and slowly walked out of the bedroom. Sabrina sat there trying to digest what that one word meant.

Izzy was halfway down the corridor, heading toward the seraglio’s common room, when she heard the loud cry of anguish behind her. That was fun. I must make sure Sabrina passes on what I told her to the other witless sheep here.

* * *

The word spread quickly throughout the seraglio that no woman had ever given birth on Luzon, except for goddesses like Venus. The spirits of the dozens of servants sunk lower than they were right after the abandonment. To these despondent old ones, the loss of men or even gods meant much less than the knowledge they would never see another child for as long as they were on Luzon. The only one appearing happy was Izzy, and she was exceedingly happy at the result of her little “talk” with Sabrina.

The thick, despondent mood finally ended with the arrival of Chiron. This half-man, half-horse centaur led half a dozen, snorting stallions into Luzon Prime and stopped in front of the servant’s large building. “Hello, to anyone up there,” he called out in a husky baritone. “Anyone home?”

Jessica leaned down from the second-floor balcony and waved to him. “Yes, how can we help you?” Chiron was a gentle, highly intelligent being who was a favorite of everyone in the city. He often had been the learned teacher of some of the greatest heroes of the past such as Achilles, Hercules, and Jason. Now he spent time taking care of the warrior gods’ fighting steeds.

“I’ve been wondering,” answered Chiron, “if any of you lovely ladies need a way to get around.”

“Don’t you think we’re all a bit too old to ride atop your horses?” Jessica took the bite out of this comment by adding a sweet smile.

Chiron started laughing, a rumbling sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest. “You mistook my meaning, ma’am. I’ve brought the most easygoing of the horses. They’ve been trained to pull a carriage, and I’ve left one for your convenience nearby.”

“We accept, and I do thank you. If you have the time, I’ll be right down. Maybe you can show me how to hook up the horses to the carriage before you go back home. ” Jessica could hardly wait to tell the others of this piece of good news. First, though, she hurried off the balcony and carefully, the memory of Sylvia’s fall always in the front of her mind, made her way down the stone stairs and outside to where Chiron waited.

Because of the thoughtful centaur’s kindness in thinking of their comfort, the old ones soon began traveling outside of the city. It became a common sight to see the matched pair of black horses pulling a well-sprung carriage filled with laughing women. No longer confined to Luzon Prime or its closest villages, they began exploring and enjoying life more.

Chapter 20

Auspasia, Home of the Goddesses

After leaving Auspasia in the capable hands of Freya, Hera and Venus immediately and instantaneously traveled to the world of Luzon. Determined to impress and possibly intimidate anyone who saw them, the two goddesses arrived in a large carriage pulled by four white horses. With much jangling of harness and snorting of the four stallions, Hera brought the carriage to a stop in front of Jupiter’s large and rather ugly mansion.

When first settling in this unpopulated section of the world, Jupiter demanded that his home be the largest in the city and located it at the far end of Luzon Prime’s courtyard. Only the two-story seraglio of the concubines came close in size.

Because of the fluid nature of time in the universe, the two goddesses arrived on Luzon weeks before what the old ones would call the abandonment. Hera quickly walked inside the monstrosity in front of her, but Venus stood outside and gazed toward the seraglio.

Feeling the many eyes of the concubines on her, Venus thought, So that’s where my former husband, that lame male my father forced me to marry, keeps his latest slut. Thankfully, I no longer have to share Vulcan’s bed.

Unnoticed by her, that particular human slave stood watching Venus from the seraglio’s second-floor balcony, along with dozens of other concubines. Melody saw how the graceful, young goddess glided instead of walked from the carriage. She tried to understand why Vulcan would choose her, a lowly Earth female, over such an ethereal beauty.

When Venus eventually followed Hera inside a minute later, she saw her former mother-in-law already was in a loud, angry conversation with another woman. Rather, Hera was yelling while the woman cowered in front of the furious goddess, too terrified to speak.

This particular elderly female was one of five 100-year-old servants assigned to maintain the cleanliness of this building. Esther had received the shock of her life when the mansion’s front door opened and in walked Hera. She never had met Jupiter’s jealous and often deadly wife, but instantly knew who this stranger was.

Confirming this, Hera cornered Esther as she attempted to escape. “Where is my husband? We’ve come to find out what is going on here, what has happened to my grandson Eros.”

In a quavering voice, Esther managed to get out, “They’re gone. Only this morning, all of the gods went to rescue Eros.”

“What do you mean, rescue Eros? Where is my son?” Venus had come into the entryway just in time to hear Esther’s comment.

Esther swung around to face what she considered the less threatening younger goddess. “M’lady, the Titans managed to escape from their prison on Tartarus where they had been since the dark time. After coming to Luzon, they captured and spirited away Ares' son, Eros.”

Venus immediately interrupted the servant. “Eros is my son.” She repeated the lie she had told everyone when the baby was born earlier than expected. “Vulcan is his father, not Ares. I never, ever had sex with anyone but my husband until I divorced him.”

Smart enough not to contradict a goddess, although she and everyone else on Luzon knew the truth about Eros’s paternity, Esther continued. “A message arrived here for Jupiter that the Titans were holding your son deep in the hills over there.” She pointed in a vague southerly direction where there was a long mountain range.

“He immediately called a war council of the gods. They all came, not just the warrior ones like Thor and Odin.” Esther hurried to finish at seeing Hera was about to lose her temper again. “We watched them ride into the hills over three weeks ago, and only the wounded have returned with very little news of how the fight is going.

“The rumors flying around Luzon is that Earth is in turmoil without Eros to help bring couples together with his gold arrows.” Esther stood there, wringing her hands in worry. “Because nobody is falling in love, there are fewer children born, and the human race is on the brink of becoming extinct.”

“No big loss,” muttered Hera. “Without their females to seduce, perhaps my husband will finally settle down and begin acting his age.”

Esther regained enough courage to contradict Hera. “It is a big loss for all of us, including you. With the extinction of the human race, there will be no reason for any of the gods and goddesses to exist any more. We’ve already heard that some already have faded into oblivion with even their names forgotten by the humans.”

Hera finally understood. “So, if our males lose the battle and fail to bring Eros back, not only the human race will disappear, but also all of us?” She realized that because of the fluidity of time, enough years for the birth of a whole generation, or not, had passed.

Esther nodded. . “We just learned the situation on Earth has reached the point where countries are arming themselves for a final planetary war. With no love remaining on earth, only hate and suspicion remain.”

Suddenly, even through the mansion’s closed door, they could hear the sound of a hundreds of horses coming into the courtyard.

To continue reading this story, chapters 21 thru 25 are in the link below.

To Live Again In Paradise - Segment 05  (GC) Chapters 21 thru 25 #2091512 by J. A. Buxton