Gods of War (War of the Gods Series)

by Jory Smith

  Terry and Jessica walked over to the training field and saw Amadi and Athena practicing with weapons. Nicolai was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where is Nicolai?”

  Athena and Amadi continued to spar with the weapons and finally Athena spoke up.

  “He went into the compound to see if he can defeat the compound,” Athena said in between clamors from the weapons. “Nicolai figured he would give it a try since he has his weapon.”

  Suddenly a figure came out from the top of the compound and landed a hundred yards away. The figure that got up was Nicolai.

  “Damn, the giant got me. I thought I had him, but his club grew longer and hit me right in the chest. Then he grabbed me and threw me out.” Nicolai finally slumped down to the ground trying to take pressure off of his chest. “I see she is awake now, pleasure to meet you.”

  “Jessica, this is Nicolai. Nicolai, this is Jessica,” Terry said motioning one to the other in turn. “We have a problem here. Jessica does not believe that she is one of us,” He turned to Athena and Amadi. “Athena, I was wondering if there was something you could do to help prove that she is a demi-god.”

  With that distraction, Athena rammed full--force into Amadi and knocked him down to the ground. It was as if she had been playing with him the whole time.

  “There is nothing I can do to show her that she is a demi-god,” Athena said. “She will have to come to terms with that herself. I can say that she is my sister. We had the same mother. When you have time Jessica, I would wish for us to talk.”

  And then suddenly, Athena just disappeared.

  “Is it just me, or was that just cold?” Jessica asked. “What does she mean I am her sister?”

  “Athena has always been like that ever since her city was destroyed,” Hephaestus said from behind. He had just finished the weapons for them. “I don’t know what she means about you two being sisters. You will have to talk with her about that.”

  Hephaestus turned to Amadi and gave him his Desert Eagle. He then handed Terry a 50 caliber Smith and Wesson that had a scope on top. Then he proceeded to give Terry another weapon that didn’t look like any gun Amadi or Nicolai ever seen. As Terry was inspecting the weapon, Amadi asked, “What kind of weapon is that? I have never seen anything like that before.”

  The grin on Terry’s face grew. “With this being magic and all, I thought I would go outside of the box and look cool killing Ares and his allies. “He lifted the weapon up to show it off. “I actually took the design from a few video games I played. It’s a mixture between the assault rifle in Halo and the M-96 Mattock in Mass Effect 2,” Terry noticed that they were looking at him weird. “Don’t be jealous if you guys can’t think outside the box,” Terry said as he went back to admiring Hephaestus’ work.

  Hephaestus then turned to Jessica. “To you, Nikoleta, I give you these. Don’t worry. I won’t tell Zeus your name. He fears you so I took extra care into your weapons. May they protect you.” With a wave of his hand, Hephaestus disappeared.

  “Okay,” Nicolai said still lying on the ground. “Do any of you think that was weirder than normal?”

  Terry looked at the weapons Hephaestus gave Jessica and was amazed at the craftsmanship. He could tell that Hephaestus took his time in crafting them. They looked similar to Terry’s .50 caliber Smith and Wesson, but they were two Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan. The parts were extraordinary. Terry didn’t even recognize the material Hephaestus used to create them.

  “Terry, how did he know to make these?” Jessica said almost in tears.

  “Well, I know how your adopted dad had one of those and would take you to go shooting. I thought it would be something nice to give you so that you can protect yourself and remember your father.”

  Jessica walked up and hugged Terry. Amadi and Nicolai left to let the couple have their privacy.

  As Terry took Jessica in his arms he thought to himself. What did Hephaestus call her? What did he mean by Zeus fearing her?

  As Jessica stood there in Terry’s embrace a voice came to her mind. It was the voice that has guided her for her whole life, her guardian angel.

  You are correct Jessica. You are not a demi-god, you are much more. Soon your time will come.

  Chapter 9

  Zeus eyes lingered on the filled cells as he was led down the hall. The prison had grown aggressively during his reign, and rightfully so. There had been many plots to try and overthrow him, many who had disobeyed his laws. He wished he could kill them all, but he couldn’t. Instead, Zeus built this prison.

  “How are the new cells coming along?” Zeus asked the creature that led him.

  “It is almost done, my Lord. The warden has the engineers creating it to your specifications. It will be the strongest cell that has ever been built.”

  “Good, that is what I want to hear. It will be needed soon,” Zeus said, complimenting the creature.

  “How is prisoner 865132? Still alive I hope?”

  “Yes my lord. She is alive as you wished. Just as you commanded we leave her alone and make sure she lives in luxury.”

  Good Zeus thought. She was still linked to that box and if she died the prisoners within would be freed. Zeus didn’t dare to link the prison box to another. That would leave it weak for an instance and they could escape. That is the last thing he needed right now. So he put the box’s welder in his own prison. But in a much better cell than his other prisoners.

  As Zeus and his guide continued walking down the hall, the screams that echoed throughout the halls grew louder.

  “Who is that screaming?” Zeus asked.

  The creature turned to him and grinned. “That is prisoner 96158. Do you wish for us to stop?”

  “No, and in fact I don’t hear enough pain in those screams.”

  “As you wish, my Lord,” the guide responded. The screams grew worse, leaving Zeus satisfied.

  Zeus hated the creatures that worked the prison, and wished he didn’t have to follow them. But this was one of the security measures he installed. Not only did the building change locations, but inside would change as well. Only these creatures knew where to go because they were a part of the building, a living prison.

  The halls also grew to allow him and the creature to pass as they walked through. Behind them, the walls would shrink back down. In each chamber there were spikes all around that could collapse and kill any trespasser. And if that wouldn’t kill them, the guardians would.

  Zeus noticed one looking at him. They wanted to kill. They needed to kill. They hadn’t killed in such a long time, and they were growing anxious for the taste of blood. One snapped at him and his guide quickly turned around and pierced its skull with its claws. If it wasn’t for the guide’s presence, it probably would have killed him. Just the sheer numbers of guardians could easily kill him, even though he was immortal. Few things could kill a god and these were one of them. Zeus’ father would be proud of him and the prison he had built; it was from him that Zeus got the idea from.

  As the party got closer to the designated cell three crackling voices called out to him.

  “Zeus, long time it has been—“,

  “— without the knowledge we can give you,”

  “You have brought it have not you?” all three sisters said finishing each other sentences.

  Zeus hated it when they did that. “I want you to stop talking like that. Deino, you will be the only one who answers my questions. Do you understand me?”

  The three sisters nodded as Deino asked, “What can we do for you today, Lord of the Gods?”

  “I need you to read someone’s fate for me.” He handed Deino the locket of hair he’d stolen from Jessica. “She is a daughter of Metis.”

  “Still worried about that prophecy, Zeus? It was supposed to be a son of Metis that would overthrow you, not a daughter,” Deino said mockingly.

  “I know that,” Zeus said sneering. “I need to know if she is the one to predetermine my falling.”

  The three Graeae siste
rs huddled around the locket of hair and dazed off into space. After a few minutes, they snapped out of their trance and Deino gave the hair back to Zeus.

  “She is a daughter of Metis. But she is not the one that will precede your destruction. Now for our payment. We demand to be made whole.” She kept her hand out to receive their eye.

  “You have one hour,” Zeus said, dropping their eye in Graeae’s hand.

  He turned his back on them and started to pace. If this girl was not the one, then who? Then just like one of his bolts quickly striking its target, the thought came to him. This girl could produce a son with Tereus. If they did, their son would still be considered a son of Metis. I have to stop that from happening.

  He was about to retrieve the eye when a loud explosion rang through the prison, followed by a wave of raw energy. Who could have that much power? Searching with his mind he looked for the source of the explosion. His search took him to his own domain into Athena’s valley. There stood Nicolai holding a weapon of some sort. As Zeus probed the weapon he concluded that was the source of the weapon. Things were unraveling faster than he imagined. Commanding the guide to take him to the nearest exit, Zeus raced towards the prison’s exit unknowingly leaving the eye behind fear began to creep in his mind.

  I have to get things under control; I am not going to end up like my father.

  I sure did miss earth, Ares thought. It is great to be back.

  Ares sat on the throne in his newly built temple. He had commissioned his new slaves to build him a temple. The building was grand. The ceiling was created from black marble. On each end was a chandelier made of gold and platinum candle sticks. Pillars made entirely of a diamond seemed to grow from the ceiling to the floor. In the center was a gladiator pit made of concrete and red sand hauled in from the Sossusvlei sand dunes. No human before the Change began could have built something this magnificent, even with help from godly powers.

  Ares would have been enjoying himself more if it wasn’t for the woman on his lap fidgeting.

  His taste in woman must have grown while stuck in his domain. He never enjoyed being with the weaker sex this much. He was turning into Aphrodite.

  Artemis fidgeted again and he pinched her butt. “Stop fidgeting. I am trying to enjoy the show.”

  Before him in the gladiator pit, stood what used to be the rulers of the African and Asian Nations, fighting to the death. It had taken a little encouragement to get them to fight. One leader had thrown down his weapon refusing to fight. Ares motioned to his monsters and they tore him limb to limb. The Minotaur chieftain was still gnawing on his leg. Out of twenty leaders only two of them remained, the others were either dead or dying on the floor.

  Ares had his money on the one with the scar across his face. He may have been smaller, but he was a fighter. Ares could always tell who the fighter was. Too bad this one wouldn’t serve him. He had already offered these men the opportunity and they had spat it in his face.

  Just like Ares predicted, the one with the scar on his face finished off his opponent. He had caught his opponent’s sword with his shield, and when the opponent tried to bash him with his shield, Ares’ favorite released the sword spun around his opponents shield and stabbed the man in the back. As the man fell to his knees, the one with the scar decapitated him with the shield.

  Ares pushed Artemis off and stood up clapping. “Excellent. You beat all of your opponents. For your prize, I offer you one last chance to come and work for me. I promise you I am a generous master.”

  “I would rather die than live as a slave. I didn’t bow to the Muslims when they came, and I won’t bow to you.”

  What a pity. “Well, if that is your choice,” He beckoned to the monsters to surround the man. “Boys, your dinner is served,”

  As though it was a command, the monsters jumped into the pit and started devouring the bodies as soon as Ares finished his words. Two ogres ripped the winner apart.

  Ares started laughing out loud, as well as the other spectators—his officers and the other gods who joined him in his fight.

  The entrance door opened and in walked Atlanta with his new generals. Seems like Hades has convinced them to come back to the living.

  “Lord Ares,” Atlanta called out. “May I have the honor of presenting, Perseus, slayer of Medusa; Achilles, killer of Hector of Troy; Attila the Hun, united the Huns; Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongol empire; Alexander, who ruled the known world, William the Conqueror the first Norman King of England; Napoleon Bonaparte emperor of France; Julius Caesar, dictator in perpetuity; Hannibal Barka, conqueror of Rome; Khalid ibn al-Walid, sword of god; and Erwin Rommel the Deseret Fox. These men have agreed to be in your service and rule in your name.”

  Excellent, I will use earth’s finest generals to conquer. With their help, he could now put the gods in his service to better use, especially if Zeus made his move soon. He would have to quickly counter whatever Zeus did, and he would need to use his gods to do it. Zeus was still afraid to kill any god, and Ares planned to exploit that weakness.

  “I would like to thank you for your service,” Ares said to his new guests. “You will be properly rewarded with wealth, power, and even immortality.” Ares summoned servants to his side. “These servants will take you to your quarters. Ask them for anything and they will see to it. When I am done talking with my council, we will assign you to your duties. Now everyone, leave! I wish to speak to my council.”

  As everyone filed out, Ares went back to his throne and motioned Artemis to come and sit down again. The room finally emptied and Ares’ council came closer to the throne and summoned their own seats.

  “So Thantos, it seems that your father, Hades, succeeded to a degree. How come we didn’t get more?”

  “Well, the rest of the great human generals were in the elysian fields. They did not want to leave,” Thantos said. He then added, “My father will be up shortly to talk with you and Demeter.”

  “Well, that brings the discussion to you two. I take it Demeter is here?”

  “She is,” Apollo said, rubbing his shoulder. “But she didn’t come easily.”

  “I had to knock her out with one of my drinks,” Dionysus added. “She is going to be unconscious for a while. Just give her a day and she will be back. But we will have to restrain her. She has gone crazy. She still holds a grudge against Hades for stealing Persephone.”

  “It’s true. I had to come and help them hold Demeter down so Dionysus could poor his elixir down her throat,” Helios added.

  “You mean Demeter fought off both of you,” Ares mocked. “This is Demeter we are talking about.”

  “She has changed. You will see the change when you talk with her. Her anger has made her strong. I don’t think it will be wise to have Hades and Demeter in the same room,” Helios said.

  “Don’t worry. If she causes trouble, I will be there,” Ares assured. “Now , where are we at? How is my conquest going?”

  “We have almost taken all of Africa and Asia, but these people are easily conquered.” Atlanta added. “In most places we just give food and they pledge to follow you. Your monsters were going crazy with nothing to kill, so we moved them to area three, or what the humans call the United States. There they are meeting a lot more resistance there and are happy with it.”

  “One country has declared allegiance to you in area four; they are weak so it was expected. Another country still hasn’t gotten back yet, but I am sure they will pledge allegiance after seeing how quickly we are moving, especially after you show them how well the people who pledge allegiance to you are treated compared to the ones who don’t. To sum it all up, your armies are growing fast and in two to three earth months you will have the whole world conquered,” Atlanta said, finishing up her report.

  “That is good,” Ares said. “Now all of you are probably wondering why I am going to have human generals conduct the fighting and not the gods. Zeus is doing something, and when he moves, we will have to stop it. But he won’t dare fight any
god. You will be used as a quick reaction force. Go and have fun on earth. Just remember, once Zeus makes his move, you will have to drop everything and attack. Does that squash any complaints?”

  Ares looked around to see everyone nodding. “Good. Now go and tell the other gods what I have said.”

  As the council got up to leave, Ares attracted Atlanta’s attention. “I have a special task for you. I want you and Artemis to go out and start gathering the most beautiful woman you can find. I believe it is time that I have a decent harem.”

  Atlanta nodded and waited for Artemis before they left together. Finally Ares was alone.

  “It seems like your conquest is going well,” a hissing voice said behind him. “I think your other chair was better though. Too bad you couldn’t bring it to earth.”

  “Last time I remember, you were a head shorter. And if I remember correctly, it was for the same reason it is going to happen now.”

  Ares summoned his battle axe and walked towards the shade. This time the shade reached out his hand and Ares was lifted off the ground chocking from an unseen force.

  “We have been patient with you, Ares. We have fulfilled our part of the bargain and are now waiting for you to fulfill yours. Since you seem to be taking your sweet time, we want more. We want the demi-gods that Zeus has gathered. You can track them with these.”

  The shadow produced three figurines with that held the resemblance of Amadi, Nicolai and Terry.

  “We want them dead. You will concentrate your efforts on killing these three men. They have a higher importance than Zeus. This doesn’t mean you will stop with your efforts to capture Zeus, but if you have to choose between Zeus and killing one of these three, you will kill them.”

  The figure disappeared into the shadows and Ares was dropped to the ground.

  Ares laid sprawled on the ground gasping as he tried to capture his breath. That creature was going to pay. He just needed to find a way to kill it first. If his weapon couldn’t kill it, then he would find something that could. Few weapons were more powerful than his.