Synopsis
Owen didn't set out to be a hero. When he rescued the woman in the grocery store parking lot, he was just trying to help. But as a result, he found himself gifted with a strange copper bracelet. Now women around him are acting strangely. Over the span of one glorious summer day, Owen's life is turned upside down. Will he accept his destiny as the messenger of a divine being? What will be his fate, and that of the women in his life, on this wonderful “Satyr Day?”
~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~
Phoebe sighed. “Owen, sometimes humans really are most remarkably dense.
“Did you really think you could accept the gifts you have been given, go on with your life, and not have to give something in return? For everything there is a price.”
“And what price will I have to pay?” Owen asked tensely.
“Why, belief, dear child. Faith. Eventually, possibly, priesthood. Fortunately,” she said, the smile in her voice clear, “the laws of your nation are amazingly lax. You can set yourself up as a priest of Bacchus and the only thing that will happen is that people will look at you a bit strangely.
“Some of the women you...serve...will be drawn to you. And your new faith. Anaya. Isabel. Samara. Or Wendy, for example. There's a lusty piece of ass. I wish I had known her when I was male. She would be a perfect choice to help lead your new temple. She could draw in converts by the dozen. Male and female both.”
Owen's temper, already frayed, abruptly snapped. “This is ridiculous!” he shouted. “I am not a priest. I am not going to start a church worshiping some long-gone Greek god. I am not going to have a herd of horny women around me who worship Bacchus and bring in converts.”
Phoebe's voice grew cold. “You don't want it, boy? Fine. Take off the bracelet. Throw it away. Throw it all away. Go back to your tedious, soul-sucking job. Beg for hours as a delivery boy, scrape for tips. Live one step up from poverty, if you can.
“Get your precious diploma. Find a job. Marry a woman with goals as small and petty as your own. Accept mediocrity. Deny the possibility of beauty and power and passion.
“And for the rest of your life, you'll always wonder.
“What if.”
