Gods of Old, Part1: Veles

Chapter 3: Revelations

Ilona was nervously pacing up and down her office. She just couldn’t sit still. She had a visit from her editor first thing in the morning asking her if she feels allright. Apparently her article had an unusual number of mistakes and some severe grammatical errors, which worried her editor to the point that she actually left her soundproof office and made a personal appearance.

“Get a grip, stop thinking about him,” she mutters and continues to pace. Looking at her favourite watch, she decides to call Vesna. Pacing and counting every ring: “pick up, pick up, pick up!”

“Hello. Ilona, are you ok? This is so not you, to call this early.” Vesna sounds worried.

“I’m not ok. I can’t focus, I can’t think, I can’t work. All I do is think of your brother. I can’t get him off my mind! He has only briefly touched my hand  and it had me dreaming of him all night.”

“Oh hoo. If it’s any consolation, he is thinking about you, too. And you kissed him? What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t thinking. You know, I kiss all my friends when I leave first. Was I not supposed to? Did I offend him or something? Oh, he is not married, is he?”

“No! Relax! He is not married, never was. And he hasn’t had a relationship that I know off in years.”

Ilona visibly relaxed and fell in her comfy office chair. She expelled a breath and asked:” You think, he would pick up if I called him?”

Vesna begins to laugh and sputters out:”Sure he will.” Then she sobers up really fast:”I think he is pacing over the apartment with his phone in hand, debating whether to call you or not. Why don’t you head over there and call him on the way? You two definitely need to talk.”

-/-/-

Veles is pacing around the living room, his energy flowing freely in the air around him. All the furniture is levitating and rearranging itself. And it doesn't look good. Again and again and again. He needs to find something to do to take Ilona off of his mind for just a little bit. Maybe this arrangement looks better? Yes, just the way it was this morning. He sets everything back down and flops on the sofa. The image of her is in the forefront again. Her flaming red hair, porcelain skin and those green eyes. And that confident smile of hers. He takes out his phone and pulls her number up.

“Shall I call her? Too soon, you think?” He asks the flowers in the vase. “Let's give her half an hour more and call her later. I will ask her to lunch.”

Suddenly his phone starts ringing and he jumps up in excitement. It’s Ilona, she is calling him. A big smile spreads over his face and his hand is shaking from excitement. Answer it, you moron, he thinks to himself. He takes a deep breath and hits the answer button.

“Hello, my dear. This is a nice surprise.” He practically purrs into the phone.

“Hey, morning. We need to talk, now! Are you home? I’m on my way there.” He can sense the agitation in her voice.

“Yes, I’m home. Shall I make brunch for you?” 

“A margarita will do. I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” She hangs up on him.

He resumes his pacing and looks to the bar area in the corner. The lights come on and his magic does all the work for him. Bottles, shaker and a glass float in the air. Oh, add a second glass there, I think I will need a drink as well. The sound of the ice crusher is annoying, but he is too jittery to do it by hand.

The doorbell ringing stops his pacing and he goes to answer. There she is, glorious mane of red hair and another summer dress, perfectly hugging her luscious curves. But the worry lines on her face scare him.

“We need to talk. I can’t function like this,” Ilona says as she walks past him into the living room.

“Yes, we do. I can’t stop thinking about you.” He follows her. “You ordered a margarita. I made you a strawberry one. I think I might need one, too.”

Ilona takes the glass adorned with sugar and a strawberry. She takes a sip to test and rolls her tongue over her lips. Ok, he gets one tini plus for this delicious margarita she thinks to herself. And those jeans he is wearing today add one more. She sits on a plush armchair and kicks off her stilettos. Everything seems to bother her today.

Veles, standing by the bar with his own margarita in hand,watches her. She seems to be uncomfortable and fidgety. She is bothered by something and he hopes it’s not him.

“That kiss you gave me yesterday. I can’t stop thinking about it. I find myself wanting more. And I’m not thinking about chaste kisses either. You intrigue me. And the attraction I feel towards you is dangerous. I might forget myself and do something rash.” He tells her and hopes for the best. Hope, hmm, what an unfamiliar concept for him.

-/-/-

Ilona takes a deep breath and just stares at him for a minute. Taking another sip to moisten her tongue, she gathers her fleeing thoughts: “I keep thinking about you, too. I even dreamt of you tonight. And my work yesterday was s**t. I got a stern lecture this morning from my editor. I can’t concentrate! Why do you make me feel this way?”

“ I think you’re the one. My better half, my soulmate, my balance. The universe finally granted me a life companion.”

“What are you talking about? The universe? And how can you know something like that? We’ve known each other for a few hours!” Ilona sounds panicked and is ready to run away again.

-/-/-

Veles puts his glass on the counter and crosses the room. He gets down on his knees in front of her and takes her hands in his. With contact, the electricity runs all over his body and he knows she feels it too. Her eyes dilate and her breathing changes. She is just as aroused as he is.

“I think the truth would be best told here. Maybe a little hard for you to accept at first, but I really hope you will give me a chance.” He pleads. “I am the Slavic god Veles, god of earth, water and the underworld. I have been here when there still were no countries, before Rome became an empire, when life was simpler and slow. I have been alone for so long and now you came into my life.”

Ilona looks at him with pity in her eyes:”Great story. Grand imagination you have there. You should write books. Now, you either tell me the truth, or let me go and never call me again. I can’t be with someone who lives in the imaginary world.” She even tries to pull her hands out of his to make a point.

“Oooo, stubborn. I like that. I guess you need some proof?” Veles gives a little wave of his hand and the furniture rearranges itself around the room. His glass floats across to his hand and the shaker delivers a refill for Ilona. “Do you want a fresh strawberry with that?”

“Hmp, a very elaborate parlor trick. How long were you working on this?” She asks.

“A parlor trick? Fine, you stubborn little human. I will show you.” Veles stands up and takes a step back. He snaps his fingers and suddenly he is dressed in his blood red armor, his trusted sword in hand and wearing a winter cloak made of wolf skins. He smirks at her: “ Still think this is just a parlor trick? Take a feel, this is real.”

-/-/-

Ilona slowly stands up and reaches out to him. The armor feels cold, the fur is real though. Her fingers slide over the fur and it feels like she is petting a dog. She whispers: “I believe you. How old are you? Is Vesna really your sister?”

“ About five thousand years. And yes, she is my sister. Vesna is the goddess of spring, growth and small animals. We are all long forgotten and we need something to keep us occupied. She does fashion, I dabble in the stock market... Aphrodite is the genius of reinvention, she has a successful cosmetics company.”

lona keeps stroking his fur cloak. The motion and feel of it grounds her, calms her and lets her think straight:” Time for a confession, I guess. When I was seventeen, I got a tattoo of a phoenix on my back. A small one, it barely covers my left clavicle. But I got a bad reaction. My whole skin broke out in a rash. I spent a few weeks in a hospital and when I got out all of my freckles were gone. My skin doesn’t have pigmentation any more. And the tattoo is just barely there, very faded and a sad reminder of a stupid thing I did. Now I can’t be out in the sun, I get sunburnt really fast. And I look like I’m photoshopped. I even tried to draw some freckles on my face one time. It didn’t come out right.”

Veles changed his armor back to jeans and a t-shirt. He even sent his sword back home, but he kept the fur cloak because Ilona couldn’t keep her hands off it. He slowly put his arms around her and hugged her tight to comfort her.

“Take it slow, just breathe. I don’t judge you, neither does Vesna. I really like you the way you are now. You are confident, capable, successful, gorgeous…. lovable.” He lifts her chin up at that last word and slowly dips down to her lips to kiss her. A gentle, questioning kiss, barely touching lips to lips. She opens her eyes and he can see the stars in them.