Free Modern Goddess: Trapped by Thor (Book One) by Odette C. Bell Page A

behavior – they never wondered
what the flow-on effects to the rest of the world would be. That's
where the Integration Office came in. The office was set up to
ensure the smooth and seamless integration of gods and goddesses
into human and alien societies. The Immigration Office was only one
arm of it. There were customs and the police, too. As soon as I
told them – or as soon as I had enough breath to tell them – the
office would be a hive of activity considering the fact an ancient
immortal sea monster had somehow infiltrated a human
city.
    I put a hand up to my middle. My fingers
brushed against the torn, wet, and muddy fabric of my blouse. I
checked for blood. Yes, gods had blood. Unlike humans, it was not
red – it was crystal clear. Also unlike humans, losing blood
wouldn’t kill a divinity. Only losing the source of their power
would. Still, blood was a useful indication of injury.
    I brought my fingers up to my face. Though
there was no light, I could still see, and I could see blood.
    “ You think the Immigration
Officer,” one god started, stressing the word immigration as if it
were the worst insult he could think of, “Would mind if we took the
sea monster's head as a trophy?”
    Ah, yeah, yeah she would. I didn't bother
replying out loud. I stood and tried hard not to fall over.
    Thor shifted his jaw around, took a sniff,
cracked his shoulders, and shook his head. “The Immigration Officer
is about to faint – you can do it while she's unconscious.”
    Before I could splutter and tell Thor what I
thought of his hilarious statement – I fell over.
    Thor didn't step forward and catch me. He
let me fall.
    As I fell, I shut down. Unlike a human, a
god does not need sleep. They do, however, when the situation calls
for it, have to slip into a regenerative reverie – a reverie I was
falling into regardless of whether I wanted to stay conscious long
enough to stop any enterprising god from dragging a giant sea
monster head back to his Earth apartment for an impressive
mantelpiece decoration.
    I didn't have a choice in the matter.
    I noticed one last detail – Thor looming
over me – then I conked out.

Chapter 5
    I awoke in god hospital. Unlike
ordinary hospital, there were no nurses or doctors. There weren’t clean
white walls or shiny expensive equipment either. Nope. I was on a
plain slab of stone in a room with all sorts of candles and incense
burning. There were potions lined up alongside me and a pleasant
breeze was blowing through the place.
    I felt... better.
    I also knew the incense, candles, potions,
and breeze weren't what was making me better – they were all for
show and tradition. Nope, one of the healing goddesses had done the
majority of the fixing up, and the rest had been my own
regenerative powers.
    To boost them along, I sunk into the details
of my surroundings: the way my hair fluttered gently across my face
from the breeze, the way the incense puffed in great rings of
smoke, and the way the candlelight flickered to and fro. It was all
peaceful and all thankfully slow. After the speed of the – I'll
admit – one-sided battle with the sea monster, I needed to take
things slowly.
    Here was where I could do that. I was
safe, there was nothing I had to do, and I could indulge in my
power all I liked. The more I indulged, the quicker I would
heal.
    I felt strong enough to glance further
around the room. Lined up on the ledge to my side were various
statues, stones, and trinkets of amazing and intricate detail.
There were tiny brass boxes with enameled pictures of various
scenes. There were also pots and earthenware depicting everything
from battles to mundane chores like mucking out the sea-monster
pit.
    I breathed again – though I didn't need to.
I felt the air swell around me. I felt my lips part gently.
    I rose, pushing up until I sat squarely on
my allotted slab of stone.
    A god swanned in. “Oh, dear, you are up
then.” He clapped his hands – which were covered in rings