by Jory Smith
“Horrible thing they did to your men. I would be surprised if a quarter of them stay with you. Then again you gave them something else to fight for. I could use someone with your skills.”
Amadi turned around and saw the same white man he almost shot earlier today. He reached for his pistol, but noticed it was on the table. “How did you get in here, past all of my guards?”
“Well for one you don’t have that many guards.” Zeus said looking around with disgust. “In fact you don’t even have that big of an army. Two, they can’t see me. The only reason you can see me now is because I am allowing it. And three I have a proposition for you, one that you are going to love.”
“What are you talking about? Who are you?”
“My name is Zeus. You may recognize me as one of my other Identities, Nyame.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“Well, let’s see. The one who gave your army coordinates was your Sgt. Major. Your now dead Sgt. Major, that is. How about this?” Zeus asked as he produced a lightning bolt. “Come with me and I will give you the greatest army and the greatest war you will ever fight. In the end, you will become a god.”
“This is interesting. What happens to my men?”
“That depends on you. If you do not take my offer, you, along with your men, shall die when your enemy comes and finish you off. Or, you can just take my offer and leave your men to die. However, I may also give you the option of taking my offer and allowing you to lead your men to safety. But I can guarantee one thing. Lots of people are going to die, especially here in Africa. This is where it’s going to start,”
“What is going to start?” Amadi asked.
“You will have to come with me to find out.” Zeus walked to the edge of the tent and opened up a portal. “Don’t worry your men won’t know you have left and when you come back you will have time to move your army to a safe place. There I will provide a ship to transfer your men and whomever you want to a safe zone. Perhaps you can even scoop up some woman along the way. It’s going to be a long, tedious war. You will have to replenish the human lives that will be lost.”
Amadi looked at the reports the runners had brought him and then looked at Zeus. “Let’s go then,” Amadi replied to Zeus. “You have yourself an army.”
Chapter 4
“I told you I could bring them all here. I didn’t even have to force any of them.” Zeus said smugly to Aphrodite. “You have to give me some credit.”
“Yes you did. But I think my way would have been much easier,” Aphrodite replied. “You wouldn’t have had to show off your powers and give Ares an idea to what you are doing. Besides, I have not had any fun ever since you denied us access to earth.”
“What do you mean no fun? There are plenty of playthings for you here. Don’t tell me you have gotten bored of everyone here.”
“Yes, I have gotten bored. Why don’t you let me have a three-day pass to earth? You can call it my birthday present. Besides, I will owe you one or two,” the woman said seductively, caressing Zeus’ back.
“Well Aphrodite, how about I do you one better. What do you say about having two legions of men?” Once Zeus said that, Aphrodite’s eyes peaked with interest. “They should be here with-in a month? Is that enough fresh meat for you to still owe me that favor or two?”
“At least 12,000 men,” Aphrodite said pondering the number. She started to lick her lips. “Of course I will owe you that favor. I may just have to give you more than the two.”
“Well, I may have to collect when we have time.” He slapped her bottom, “We have guests now, and we need to tell them what is happening. Shall we?
Zeus and Aphrodite strolled down the hall into the antechamber where the three men sat uncomfortably. They were tense watching each other as much as they appraised the room. As soon as Zeus and Aphrodite walked in they turned to them.
“See, my dear? They will do just fine. It’s in their blood.” Zeus said as he admired their alertness.
Zeus turned his attention to the men while grabbing a drink from one of the servants. “You may be wondering why you have been brought here.” Zeus said as he sat down in front of them. “You three have been chosen because war is coming, and we need to win this war.”
“You mean just the four of us are going to win this? I am no soldier, but I think we will need more men to win a war,” Nicolai said, interrupting Zeus. “I don’t know how powerful your enemy is, but I assume they’re more powerful than us four can handle.”
“He is smart,” Aphrodite said as she walked around and put her arm on Nicolai. “So Zeus, what are your plans exactly?”
“Well if you will let me talk, I can explain our game plan,” Zeus said. “Ares has the largest army in the known universe. On top of that, he has been recruiting other gods and their minions. He also has been allying himself with the monsters. In one month’s time the Change is going to happen and he will unleash his horde on this planet. Does that clear everything up for you, Nicholaus?”
Nicolai sat nodding as Aphrodite walked around his chair to sit on his lap. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?” she whispered in his ear as her breasts brushed up against his face. “I figured this is the best seat in the house.”
“I have a question,” Terry said speaking up, “Why do you call him Nicholaus,” pointing at Nicolai, “and I Tereus. When we first met you said it was my name but I was never called that. What is the deal?”
“Those are your names. Those names are what you three are known as under the stars. When I see you I don’t see Terry. You are Tereus. Believe me, you will know the difference when your powers manifest,”
“When are our powers supposed to start developing?” Nicolai asked.
“You will get your natural powers when the Change happens. Then you will start to grow stronger and develop new powers. You won’t have as many as a real god, but you three are the most powerful demi-gods ever.”
“Why will we be the most powerful?” Terry asked.
“It’s your fathers and who they laid with silly” Aphrodite said looking at Terry. Your fathers are some of the most powerful gods and your mothers had some immortal blood in them.”
“That is some coincidence,” Terry said questioning.
“Yes it is” Aphrodite answered with her eyes darting to Zeus.
“Yes it is” Zeus said trying to deflect more questions. “You three will be powerful, all you have to do is learn how to control that power,” Zeus answered.
“Ok, what are we supposed to do?” Amadi asked. Trying to process all of the information Zeus was giving him. “You are bringing us here now, when this, Change is a month out? What are we supposed to do during that month? When the war happens, what are we supposed to do once it starts? What are our roles?” Amadi said, almost irritated. He really hated wasting time. When you are wasting time, soldiers are just standing around. And nothing is more dangerous than a soldier who is bored.
“Thank you Assaraeus. This is why I love demi-gods. They have that human thought process we gods lack. They like to get down to business.” Zeus sat back in his chair. “I would be happy to give you the game plan. But first you need to know the history.”
“Well if you gentleman are going to talk history,” Aphrodite said, standing up, “I think I may go and take my leave. It has been a pleasure, especially because of you, Nicholaus. Perhaps we can get to know each other on a more personal note.” Softly kissing him on the cheek, she stood up and left as all eyes stayed on her, just how she liked it.
“Okay, now since the distraction is gone can we get on with the story?” Amadi said, breaking the silence. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t like to mix business with pleasure.”
“Ease up man,” Terry said. “If this is true, there is a good chance we are all going to die. We might as well go out with a grin on our face. Or are you just jealous Nicholaus was getting all of the attention?”
“Like I said,” Amadi responded staring
coldly into Terry’s eyes. “I don’t like to mix business with pleasure. Besides she is not my type.”
After a few minutes of staring down Amadi; Terry turned to Zeus. “How did this happen and what are we going to do about it.”
“Well if you know the stories, they are true,” Zeus began. “I was born from the Titans. Cronus was my father and Rhea was my mother. My father ruled over the other Titans with an iron fist. Since Cronus knew his kids would have the power to overthrow him someday, he would eat them as they were born. I was the youngest and only surviving child until I freed them from his stomach. What is not in the stories is that there were 7 of us not 3. There was Hestia, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Ares then me,”
“I thought Ares was your son,” Amadi asked.
“No he is my brother.” Zeus said coldly. This was a delicate subject for Zeus to talk about. “He wouldn’t go along with the plan to dispose of the Titans so I demoted him. He is still as powerful as an Original, but he has no authority.” Zeus now continued with his story. “Through thousands of years, we gods ruled the world. I took Hera, my sister, as my first wife, and my brothers took to their stewardship; Poseidon to the sea, Hades to the underworld, and the rest did what they wanted with what they were interested in. That led Ares to take over war because it is in his nature.
“In time we gods grew. Our family grew. I had kids with Hera, who in turn became gods over whatever they personified. Yes what we did was what you consider incest, but it’s just what we did. Just like the humans did who were in royalty or even the story about Adam and Eve in your Christian religion.
“After time, I began to see the injustices my kind was doing to the humans. I noticed that we were holding them back. We used them as our play things, and as you can tell from Aphrodite, things have not changed. I took the support of the gods I could muster and we created a Token which prevented the gods from visiting earth with their power. They were only allowed to visit earth if they took the form and weakness of humans.
“Gods started to age, losing all of their powers and immortality. Some gods would come down to play with the humans-this is where you get all of your figureheads from history, they were either gods or demi-gods. And this is why you three are what you are, and why you are so good at what you do.
“One other thing, there is a natural attraction about demi-gods. You tend to pull other demi-gods towards you. When you do, either great or terrible things happen in the world. For example one of the great things that have happened was the founding of your nation Terry.”
Terry put his hand up to stop Zeus from talking. “What was one of the worse things that have happened because of demi-gods getting together?”
“That would be something that has happened every year, besides a rare few. All over the world, demi-gods have done horrible things and taken control of people. This is how Ares has gained so much support. He has convinced the majority of gods that man cannot rule themselves; that man requires a guiding hand to make sure they don’t kill each other. He has given many examples to prove his point that man needs an elite group to rule over them and to make decisions for the human race. Since it can’t be done by humans it will have to be done by gods.”
“What does this have to do with us?” Nicolai asked. “If Ares is so bent on brining the gods back to earth and he has the support, how are we going to defeat him?”
“Good question Nicholaus. That is where you three come in. Nicholaus, you will rule your father’s realm, Amadi you will take over Ares stewardship as the god of war and Tereus will take over for me.
"You? Why would I have to take over for you? You seem to be the only good god?” Terry said, questioning Zeus.
“I have to go because it will take us three—Hades, Ares and I—to recharge the Token. To do that, we will have to be killed in front of the Token. As our life force leaves our body, The Token will absorb it, causing it to recharge. Poseidon could be used, but he hasn’t produced an heir in over a century. Besides, if he had an heir, I would not do that to him. He has already suffered too much from my hands. Since you are related to us, you three can step in and take over our powers and maintain the balance.”
“But if all of the gods are all related somehow, couldn’t you just pass your powers onto one of them?” Amadi asked.
“I could do that. But that would concentrate too much power into one individual. They will break the Token to do what they will with the earth. The human race as you know it will become extinct, and all they will do for the rest of their existence will serve the gods. Your people deserve much more than that.”
“So how are we going get Hades and Ares to do this?” Nicolai asked.
“They will have to be forced. We may have to bring them kicking and screaming. It’s not going to be easy. That will be my job.”
“Ok. That’s a lot to put onto us, you know. Just yesterday I was living a normal life and suddenly you plucked me out of it. I don’t know if I want to do this,” Terry spoke up. “I am only 25 years old. How old are you, Nicolai? Amadi?
“I am 35, and I am in.” Nicolai accepted. “I have nothing going on in my life. In fact, I am on death row in Siberia. I really have no choice.”
“I am 50,” Amadi replied. “And I am in too. This is the war that I have been waiting my whole life for. There is no reason to pass this up.”
“Well Terry it’s all up to you.” Zeus got up and went to a bowl that sat on a table. “Come here. I want to show you what is going to happen if you don’t do this. Look into this bowl. This bowl holds the blood of the Graeae. The Graeae were three sisters that were able to tell the future. They were killed, but luckily their magic was kept safe.”
Terry looked down into the bowl and saw dark red blood with an eye sitting the middle. As he stared into the bowl, the blood started circling faster and faster. Then the eye looked directly at him and a horrifying vision hit Terry. He saw what would happen if Ares won his war.
Terry saw families being sacrificed to please Ares’ bloodlust; babies were being fed to Ares’ monsters. Then he saw Jessica. She was in a large cage that hung from the ceiling. The room was dark and in the middle held a bed. Suddenly Ares stepped into the picture and took Jessica out of the cage. He threw her on the large bed and…Terry snapped out of the vision as he couldn’t handle it anymore.
“Is this going to really happen? That wasn’t real, was it?”
“The Graeae’s powers were only able to give possibilities for the path you are currently on. But the future is an ever changing event. There are thousands of scenarios that could happen because there are millions of people who affect it. The choice, however is always yours,” Zeus said calmly.
“Fine, I am in. So how do we do this?” Terry said in an angered voice.
“We will go over the specifics later. For now, you three need to go back and prepare. Save what loved ones you can. This fight is going to erode our souls.”
Two women danced around with sword and shield, testing each other for an opening. They circled each other in a vast room. Torches were lit from above that gave the room an archaic look. Shadows flickered across the room as the women moved around. They carefully studied each other for any signs of weakness.
With one quick motion, the brown-haired woman lashed out in furry, using both shield and sword to attack her opponent. The blonde suspected this was coming and parried each attack. When the last swing of the sword came in, she deflected it with her own sword and smashed her opponent’s face with her shield. Blood began pouring from the brown-haired woman’s nose and when clapping filled the room. Sitting on a throne a man dressed in chainmail was watching the women with lust.
“Congratulations, Artemis. You are getting much better. Soon your skills with the sword and shield will equal that of your bow,” Ares looks over toward Atlanta to check how much damage was done.
“You might as well heal, Atlanta.” Ares spoke to Artemis. “We don’t want that pretty face to scar up.”
Ares slapped
Atlanta on the butt and walked over to the table and poured himself a drink. Artemis walked over to Atlanta and placed her hands over Atlanta’s face.
“Atlanta, what do you think? Is she ready to fight in our great war?”
“I don’t even know why you are bothering with the training.” Atlanta said glaring at Artemis. “The first chance Artemis gets, she will use it against you.”
“That is true, Atlanta. But you forget one thing.” He turned to Artemis and beckoned her to his side with his hand.
Artemis walked over to Ares. “Artemis, what do you think of me? I want the truth.”
“I think you are scum. I want to wrap my fingers around your neck and choke the life out of you.”
“Pleasant,” Ares said smugly. “What are you going to do though?”
“I will protect you till my last breath. When you die, I will avenge you till my dying breath.”
“See, Atlanta. She may hate me, but this little princess…” Ares motioned to Artemis by cupping her butt, “…will protect me till the end. The reason is because of this pretty necklace our friends gave us. With this around her neck, she will follow every order I give her. She will automatically protect me from every danger.” Ares looked squarely at Atlanta. “The real question is if I can trust you?”
Atlanta looked insulted. “You know why you can trust me. For thousands of years I was stuck in the form of a lion because of that slut, Aphrodite. You rescued me from that prison. I am the one who brought this spy to you. What more do I have to do?”
“Well, as you know, I have a couple more of these pretty necklaces. I have planned one for Aphrodite. What do you think about that?”
“I hate it. I would rather have her gutted and bathe in her blood. But if that is what you want, then it is what you shall have, Lord Ares,”
“Good. Because when I plant this around her neck, she will be yours. But on two conditions: One, she cannot die. And two, you cannot hurt her too much. With you, Aphrodite, and Artemis, we’re going to create a better breed of gods, gods who are loyal to me. Together we will rule the humans as one big happy family. Can you do that?”
