The Genesis Curse

“Isis,” Terry said with a sarcastic forced smile, “can’t say it’s nice to see you! Resurrect any good husbands lately?”
“Terrencio,” Isis chided, “manners, manners. You’re always so grouchy when you first wake up.”
“I’ve been awake for a couple of weeks now Isis,” Terry stalked over to the coffee table, snatched up the TV remote, and switched on the sports channel as he threw himself on the couch. “Thanks for stopping by! We’ll have to do lunch sometime. Bubye now!”
Terry made a dismissive little shooing motion with his hand as he pretended to be avidly engrossed in a lacrosse match in Brazil.
“Oh Terrencio!” Isis said not only not leaving but looking Joe up and down appreciatively. “Don’t be that way. You haven’t even introduced me to your beautiful young friend here.”
Terry looked over at Joe who had been standing to the side uncertainly watching their exchange like an observer at a tennis match.
“Joe,” Terry said impatiently, “meet the goddess Isis, Isis, Joe. Now that we’re all acquainted, DO come again, say, in another thousand years?” Terry turned back to his lacrosse match. “Don’t let the door hit you in your manicured ass on the way out.”
“Joe, short for Joseph?” She speculated. “A Hebrew name. You definitely don’t look Hebrew.”
Isis walked over to Joe lightly trailing a hand over his chest and shoulder as she walked around him. At her touch a light zinging went through his whole frame, and it felt like all the little fine hairs all over his body were standing up. A vision sprang up in his mind where he saw and heard thousands of people laboring in the desert. The smell of sweat and animal dung came to him along with the sharp crack of whips. He watched great stone blocks being slowly moved by hand, rolled across the hot sands on round logs.
Shit! Joe raised his mental defenses in panic. Big walls, great big steel reinforced walls of concrete! Nice garden. Little fountains playing in the sunlight!
The images abruptly cut off leaving Joe staring into the dark eyes of a goddess. Her fine eyebrows rose in slight surprise, as an appreciative smile slowly spread across her face.
“Very impressive!” Some form of dark interest stirred deep in her ebony eyes. “Where ever did you find him Terrencio? He’s absolutely enticing.”
“Hey!” Terry dropped the remote and leapt to his feet, inserting himself quickly between Joe and Isis. “Hands off! Joe’s with me.”
“Finally trying the other side of the fence?” Isis said in her calm amused way. “I was wondering when that might happen.”
Terry had one arm around Joe’s shoulders placing himself firmly between Isis and his young friend.
“If I were to sample the delights of male on male sex,” Terry shot back, “Not that it’s any of your business, I would definitely be honored to do it with Joe.”
Joe’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked from Isis then to Terry while Terry held him protectively away from the goddess.
“Oh Terrencio,” Isis began to laugh. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“Don’t you have a river to flood?” Terry replied caustically, “pyramids to build, pharaohs to corrupt?”
“Terrencio,” Isis said, her eyes still sparkling with mirth, “I came to warn you. You’re in danger.”
“Oh like I haven’t heard THAT before,” Terry retorted then changed his voice into a high girlish soprano. “’Oh Terrencio! Please help me get my scarab back! Little do you know, but I’m a goddess and could probably do it myself, but I might break a nail! Oh and look out for the guardian that might and very probably will rip you limb from limb!’ Oh wait! IT DID RIP ME LIMB FROM LIMB!”
“I got you all put back together,” Isis gave a dismissively little sniff. “You know I’m very good at putting my men back together.” She paused as her fine eyebrows drew together in a little confused scowl. “Though there was that one screw that I never did find out exactly where it was supposed to go…”
“That’s not funny Isis!” Terry said with some heat. “At least you got the most important parts put on correctly, unlike your husband Osiris.”
“Well, you know,” Isis said matter-of-factly with a little wave of her hand, “practice makes perfect. Besides,” Isis pressed up against Terry and caressed his cheek with one perfectly manicured finger. “If I remember right, we had such a good time using that particular part. I wanted to make sure it was in good working order.”
Terry felt Joe dip out from under his arm, and then strong arms wrapped around his waist and yanked him back and away from Isis. Joe held Terry securely from behind and put his chin on Terry’s shoulder so that he could address Isis.
“It was, and it is, and it’s not available,” Joe said possessively. “I believe you were saying something about a warning you wanted to give us?”
Terry looked sideways at Joe’s face on his shoulder in surprise, as Joe returned the look and then they both turned their attention to Isis.
“All right,” Isis looked at each of them in turn with mild amusement, and something else Joe didn’t like. “You have a certain artifact, a knife I believe, in your possession. You should give it to me. I can take it away and protect it; otherwise, your lives could get very complicated.”
“Knife, knife?” Terry said shaking his head. “I don’t seem to remember a knife.”
“Jack and Dennis gave us that nice block set as a housewarming gift,” Joe supplied with more than a little camp. “You know the one with the pearl handled sharpener, and the little paring knife you like to use to make those cute little tomato rosette garnishes?”
“Oh yeah!” Terry’s eyebrows rose innocently while he threw his hip out a little against Joe’s hand and crossed his arms.