The Sun Gods Woman Part 23

"The Earth G.o.d is our foundation. From him we receive the blessings of food. From him we receive thestone for our shelter and the plants for our tables. The Earth must be made fertile."Aha, thought Annie. I knew we'd get to fertility sooner or later.And yes, they had reached fertility all right. The maidens, green silks flying and clinging to bronzed limbs, had sunk into graceful piles before the priests. Many of whom were signaling their interest by raising the

flag. Or at least the flagpole.

Apparently this was the intent as the maidens boldly reached for the weapon of fertility and began caressing it.

Annie felt rather than saw Kyle squirm beside her. She smothered a chuckle and watched, not unaffected nor unaware of the heat building between her own thighs.

The caresses became more intense, the drums sped up and the priests began to pant. Some of the bolder maidens ventured a lick or two with their tongues, encouraging their priest to achieve-er-greatness.

Annie stared in fascination, unable to look away.

It seemed almost as if a contest was going on between the maidens...who would get their priest to come first. Or who would get their priest to grow the most. Or-or something. Annie was dazed.

Finally, when the tension neared its peak and Annie was sure the walls of the temple would start to crack, there was a hoa.r.s.e cry and the c.u.m came. Or began. Or began to c.u.m. She shook her head and let the unfolding scene before her drive all thoughts of grammar out of her head.

Each maiden quickly raised her pottery container and made sure that her priest e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed every drop he could into it.

"Now!" roared the High Priest of the Earth G.o.d. "Now the Earth is fertile. Now the crops will yield in bounteous harvests and our fields will be abundant with foods for our people."

Annie swallowed and spared a glance at Kyle. His legs were crossed tightly and his jaw was clenched. A little muscle twitched in his cheek and she could have sworn she saw him s.h.i.+ver. She chuckled to herself. Men were such-men.

"The fruits of this ceremony will be planted here in the temple grounds, and used to feed our flocks. It will be a splendid year, thanks to our G.o.ds and their blessings."

The Earth G.o.d priest bowed respectfully to Annie and Kyle, indicating that the ceremony was at an end. Two dozen exhausted priests were being led away by an equal number of rather excited maidens. Annie wondered if they'd carry on where they left off. The occasional shriek of laughter told her that many probably would.

"There is grain in the pots, Annilin, in case you were wondering," Ens.h.i.+lla explained the rationale behind the ceremony. "It is the best kernels from each harvest during the year, and it will be used to replace the grain just taken from the temple fields. "

Kyle, who had overheard, nodded. "Part ritual, part agriculture. All s.e.xual. Pretty much defines Sumer, doesn't it?" He smiled at Annie and took her hand. "You okay?"

"Sure, I'm fine. How about you?" Her eyebrow quirked.

Kyle snorted. "Just like watching a p.o.r.no. No problem."

Annie took this statement with a very large grain of salt, especially as Kyle was walking carefully and slowly through the chamber. No problem indeed.

Sure, thought Kyle. Lie to the woman you've just married. Tell her you don't have a problem when your d.i.c.k is about to explode. Tell her it's not a problem that you're within two heartbeats of coming in your pants, or skirt or whatever the heck you're wearing. Tell her that if she doesn't stop flaunting her nipple in front of your face she's going to get dragged behind a pillar and f.u.c.ked till her eyes roll back in her head.Beads of sweat broke out on Kyle's forehead as he battled to put a lid on his s.e.x drive.Thankfully they were about to walk over to the River G.o.ddess's temple.The day had clouded over and there was a little hint of coolness to the air. Kyle tried not to notice how Annie's exposed nipple beaded up as they stepped outside.

It was a short stroll to the temple and the party was obviously in full swing throughout Kushuk. Music was everywhere, along with shouts, laughter and the calls of children playing in the confusion.

Annie leaned towards Kyle. "Given what we're seeing, I have a question. How the h.e.l.l did Ron and

Ens.h.i.+lla make it to this advanced age without knowing about oral s.e.x?"

Kyle snickered quietly. "Haven't a clue. I guess they're like those people who never had a good o.r.g.a.s.m.They know it's there but they just don't figure it's for them, you know?"Annie snorted as they walked down the harshly bright streets.In contrast, the River G.o.ddess's temple was an oasis of quiet blue. The lapis traders had obviously gotten their money's worth from this temple, as every surface was decorated with the blue gem. It was attractive, almost dazzling when the sun hit it right, and a perfect home for the River G.o.ddess.

Going inside, Kyle smiled at Annie's gasp. The temple had been cleverly built over a flowing river. Having been there before, Kyle was able to concentrate on Annie's reaction instead of looking around him.

She was obviously entranced by the cleverly arranged series of waterfalls, which sent the sound of rus.h.i.+ng water echoing throughout the airy chamber. Large river rocks had been placed next to the stream so that priestesses and guests could sit and contemplate the water, their lives, their G.o.ds, their navels, whatever they fancied.

Two of the largest had been reserved for them, and Kyle led Annie towards them.

There were several naked priestesses standing in the water at regular intervals and Kyle felt Annie tense

as she drew a ragged breath in preparation for what might come next. Or who might come next, thoughKyle, amusing himself with his private joke."What the h.e.l.l are you grinning at?" hissed his wife.His wife. G.o.d. He was getting nagged and he hadn't been married more than a couple of hours. It was fantastic and he grinned at her, a wealth of emotion in his eyes.

She visibly melted and only released his hand when absolutely necessary.

He knew she hadn't a clue that it was going to be her turn to get hot and bothered.

As they took their seats, a plaintive piping began in time with the ever present drums.

Echoing the sounds of the water, the music rose and fell, lulling the audience into a state of quiet contemplation.

Annie felt a moment of peace steal through her and allowed her mind a rest from its worries. Whether Kyle's experiment worked or not, whether he was able to return them through time or not, she was content to be with her man.

Speaking of men, it was time for the men to appear for their part of this particular ceremony. Several well-built men-were there any in this place that weren't?-emerged beside the flowing stream and took positions in front of the priestesses who were standing in the water.

The High Priestess-the one with the largest headdress and loudest voice, decided Annie-began her commentary.

"We welcome you to the celebration of the New Year. The River G.o.ddess is our bountiful benefactress. She grants us water without which our lands, our lives and our souls would wither and die. She brings us great riches each year when she rises beyond her banks and showers goodness upon our fields. 'Tis she who grants us the fertility of our crops..."

Here we go again, thought Annie. More fertility.

"And 'tis she to whom we owe thanks for our sustenance and our survival."

A roll on the drums was the signal for the priestesses in the water to lie down on their backs, and they each slid to the edge of their own little waterfall. The men were standing on the lower level, and Annie started to get an idea of where this might be going.

"We wors.h.i.+p our River G.o.ddess and honor her gifts in the traditional way." Each man moved between the legs of a Priestess.

"We offer her our ritual celebration of the life she brings us." Each man spread wide the thighs of a Priestess.

"We offer her our cries of joy and our rhythms of desire." Each man lowered his mouth to the mound of a Priestess.

"We offer her our bodies and our wombs for she is the one who helps fill them with our children." Each man began licking and sucking on the c.l.i.t of a Priestess.

Each Priestess began to squirm.

Annie did too.

It was like watching some really weird x-rated soft-core movie combined with a Discovery Channel special on waterfalls, and it was turning Annie on. The water flowed over the naked limbs of the Priestesses, sending their hair gently streaming down beside their bodies. It fell away at their hips and splashed around the feet of the men who were busily bringing them pleasure. And a great deal of pleasure, too, by the sound of things.

The High Priestess raised her hand in signal and off in the recesses of the huge chamber a clunking sound could be heard.

Kyle's fingers stroked Annie's arm making her skin jump and her nipples tighten into marbles. He grinned at her obvious arousal.

"They will increase the flow of the water, slightly, Annie. The sounds the women make are supposed to travel on the waters to the home of the River G.o.ddess."

"Ah." Annie couldn't think of another thing to say. Kyle's hand was still touching her, the women were writhing now beneath the obviously talented mouths of their men, and she was getting so wet she might as well have been in the river herself.

Sure enough, the water volume increased.

And increased. And increased.

Before too many moments had pa.s.sed, the gasps of pleasure began turning into gurgles of distress. One man lost his footing on the slippery rocks and tripped, grabbing a Priestess's thigh as he went down.

She went down too-on top of him.

Just like a line of dominoes, thought Annie, watching in open-mouthed horror, as the Priestesses scrabbled for a handhold against the torrents now sweeping over them and failed to find it. Inevitably they were washed into their men, who couldn't stand the force of pounding water and pounding Priestess.

Within two minutes, all the celebrants were washed unceremoniously into the large pool at the end of the stream, where they came up spluttering and gasping for breath and swinging great hanks of wet hair around.

A silence fell, broken only by the rush of water.

Annie was aghast, feeling for the High Priestess and her handmaidens who had worked so hard to make this day special.

She decided it would be special.

Standing, she began to applaud, slowly and loudly, continuing until the chamber was filled with the sound of her clapping.

Others took her cue, standing and beginning their own applause. Pretty soon the whole temple rang with cheers and the smiles on the faces of the Priestesses told Annie her actions had worked.

Grabbing Kyle's hand, she pulled him to the pool, stripped off his and her skirts and dragged them both in.

"Jeez, Annie," complained Kyle. "This water's cold."

"I need it, and you need it." She giggled as she splashed him, heedless of their jewelry or their roles in the Festival. For this moment they were just a man and a woman enjoying themselves.

The River G.o.ddess's handmaidens and their male servants surrounded Annie and Kyle and cheered as the splas.h.i.+ng turned into a mighty water fight. Those on the floor stepped back a little, out of the way of the wildly flowing water, but laughed and pointed at the High Priest and Priestess as they tried to outdo each other in their splas.h.i.+ng techniques.

When Kyle and Annie gravitated to each other and inevitably went into each other's arms, the ring of people around them went berserk, yelling, cheering, laughing, even crying in their joy.

It was a good hour or so before the pandemonium at the Temple of the River G.o.ddess died down to a dull roar.

The High Priestess pulled Annie aside under the pretext of fastening one of her hair decorations. "You will have my eternal grat.i.tude, Honored Annilin. You saved this festival for us, and it will never be forgotten."

Annie, who knew that in the past there had been the occasional friction between the G.o.ds and their temples, considered her response.

"I am glad I could help, Lady." She nodded respectfully at the throng in the temple chamber. "This is a wonderful temple and you should be very proud of your people. I shall ask a boon of you. In honor of this day, I ask that you and the Priestesses of the Moon G.o.ddess get together once a month and talk over what needs to be done for our people."

In the back of her mind Annie prayed that they'd pick the right day of the month. The wrong one might result in forty women nagging each other to death.

"Our people need strong G.o.ds, strong priests and priestesses, and strong minds to solve their problems and help them improve their lives. You all must help by offering your own strengths."

The High Priestess watched Annie as she spoke. "You are wise, Annilin. It shall be as you suggest. I cannot guarantee immediate results, but we shall certainly try. With you to lead us, I think we can accomplish much."

Annie bit her lip. "You will accomplish a lot, I know," she replied. "My presence is not necessary. You all have the skills, you just needed a bit of prodding."

Looking quizzical at this odd statement, the High Priestess merely nodded as Kyle came over to collect his bride.

"Time to go, Annie-love."

Her hand automatically reached for his. "I'm ready."

"The Blessings of the River G.o.ddess shall be yours, High Priest and Honored Annilin. Your lives stream through ours like the waters of the G.o.ddess. Almost like a gift she has sent to us from the time and place where she lives."

Annie felt a chill brush over her skin at these words.

It might not have been a G.o.ddess who sent them here, but they'd certainly need all the blessings they could get if they were going to return to their own "time and place".

Chapter 19.

The Temple of the Moon G.o.ddess, as was its right, had elected to host the Festival Feast this year, and Annie and Kyle found themselves seated behind an enormous array of food in the main chamber.

Looking around, Annie felt a sense of belonging, of coming home. Ens.h.i.+lla had obviously selected the menu with care and there were a lot of Annie's favorites near her place.

Ens.h.i.+lla and Ronnil were very much in evidence, Ens.h.i.+lla doing double duty as temporary High Priestess and also Annie's a.s.sistant.

That didn't mean they didn't get chance to touch each other at every available opportunity, and Kyle flashed a quick grin at Annie as they both caught Ronnil stroking Ens.h.i.+lla's nicely rounded bottom as she pa.s.sed in front of him.

Annie hid her smile and looked down, happy that her friend had found such pleasure. Ronnil was a solid, good man, and would be kind to Ens.h.i.+lla. That he was crazy about her didn't hurt either.

In spite of the delicacies laid out before them, Annie and Kyle ate little. Annie knew her stomach was in knots, and figured Kyle's was too.