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and she
forced herself to chew her eggs slowly, though she was ravenous with hunger.

    "I guess you like bacon," she mused aloud.
    He nodded. "I find the flavor pleasing." Axiom chewed
some jam-slathered toast, then licked his fingers, getting
each last crumb. A frisson of heat jolted between her legs
at the sight. She frowned and pushed the desire away.
    "Why do you eat like that?"
    Axiom paused and tore his eyes from his food to give her
a blank stare. "How is it that I am eating?"
    "Like a pig." She was being nasty. It felt good. She hated
how vulnerable he made her feel.
    Axiom swallowed and blinked. For the first time his expression was one of uncertainty. "I apologize. I am still becoming accustomed to food consumption."
    She sighed. "Gods don't eat, I take it."
    Axiom shook his head. He glanced at her still half-full
dish and said, "You had better eat more than that. You still
need to regain your strength." He turned back to his meal.
When his plate was spotlessly clean, he took his dish to the
sink. Laurell cleaned her plate quickly when his back was
turned. She was so damn hungry.
    She drained her juice and walked the glass over to him.
One lock of hair curled over his forehead as he scrubbed a
skillet with focused vigor, then took a dish towel to it.
    "Thank you," she murmured.
    Axiom paused in his task and glanced at her, searching
her face for sarcasm. He looked back at the pan.
    "I do not mind cleansing our dishes. I have observed humans doing these small tasks. It is in some fashion enjoyable to me," he said.
    Laurell didn't respond. She nodded and turned to walk
away, but Axiom stopped her. "Laurell."
    She turned back to him. His gaze was serious. He reached
out one hand as though to touch her. She instinctively
tensed, and his arm dropped to his side.

    "The illness you have dealt with, the one you believe left
you barren ... it is a terrible thing. I do regret you had to
endure such a trial."
    He must have sensed her pulling back into herself at his
words, because his voice took on a soothing note.
    "Illness or no, you will bear my child."
    She bit her lip. "How can I have a kid with you? I told
you-
    "Laurell, I am not truly human. I inhabit this body, yes,
but I am still a god. You will bear my child."
    Laurell froze. His words washed over her, thick with possibility. Elation and fear bubbled through her, one vying
with the other for dominance. Impossible, she thought. How
can I believe him? It hurt how much she wanted to believe.
What if he spoke the truth? What then?
    Later that day, while Axiom showered, Laurell retrieved
her backpack from its place beside the bed. She pulled the
smuggled knife from her jeans and slipped it inside. She
wasn't even sure why she still felt the need to keep the
thing. Axiom had made no move to harm her, and she was
even starting to think there was some truth to his stories.
    She frowned. Better to have some weapon than none.
For all she knew, Axiom wasn't the only threat. Her hand
brushed the cover of her grandmother's Book of Shadows.
She wanted to read it, but not with Axiom hovering over
her shoulder. She'd wait a bit longer.
    Surely she'd get some privacy soon.

     

Anne, High Priestess of Hidden Circle Coven, shoved several bags of groceries into her Chevy S- 10 pickup truck and
climbed into the driver's seat. She glanced in the rearview
mirror and pushed her chin-length, strawberry blonde hair
from her eyes, thinking she needed a haircut.
    She pulled the truck out of the grocery store parking lot
and headed north toward home. The winding, hilly roads
of Black Earth, Wisconsin, were dappled with sunlight.
Thick with trees and brush, the forest she loved soon became the only scenery, a collage of colors: green, brown, orange, and amber.
    Goddess, she adored the fall in Wisconsin. In fact, she
loved everything about living way out here in the woods,
surrounded by foliage and birds and all the other little
scampering creatures of