The Gates of Troy (Lopez Time Book 3)

by Phillip S. Power

  He wasn’t that kind of being at all.

  Finally, Zack nodded, and handed Troy a napkin.

  “So… You were a greater demon the whole time? Which one?”

  Troy was able to smile then.

  “Nope. That would be too normal. Not that it’s really bad. You hit the nail on the head the first time. Trickster. Not that it was called that when I was a kid. I’m… I guess the best way to say it is that I’m a god. Not just with the ladies anymore. Um… Loki. I was never in that cage, which you knew. That part is clear to me now. I started out as a normal, tax paying trickster, like Riley? Except a long time ago. Thousands of years. I had to become something else, in order to make the universe work right. That’s the job, you know? I remember it all now. My family… They were never real. Based on the legends of Odin and Thor. Troy Lopez literally came into being three months before he was enslaved by Finias. Except I can’t be taken that way. Part of me faked that the whole time. It wasn’t hard, since Finias wasn’t demanding at all. Then, he clearly got that I was more than I seemed. He kept dropping hints. The only person I was really tricking was myself. Which was the point. Well, not the only one.”

  Zack just looked at him and finally seemed a bit sad.

  “So, you were never my friend, were you? That’s a bit rough to hear.” The only funny part was that it was kind of clear to Troy that his pal was faking the sadness.

  “Oddly enough, that part was always real. You’re a great guy, so it wasn’t hard to like you. People forget that Loki wasn’t just a trickster. He was also the friend to the traveler. I mean, this thing with you is a bit on the nose that way but it really does fit the mission statement. Tarsus brought that up with me. I just didn’t get it at the time. Just, I meant to come be a part of your life. That wasn’t a thing that Finias forced on me or anything. Even before you were born, I’d done things to set that up. A big part of it is how we, tricksters, see the world.” He felt weird.

  Like he was living two lives at one time.

  Then he wrinkled his nose.

  “Fudgelets. Darla knows. She has to have worked out the whole thing when she saw those knives. If she wasn’t on to me before that. They had my signature all over them. Not just Loki but Troy. The energy signature was really clear. I made them. I didn’t get it at the time, since I was blocked off from the memory of it. I didn't even have a black out, it was so seamless. I get it now. It was after the Kami attacked me the second time.” He grinned then. “I just realized, I’m really good at that kind of thing. Not fooling people like you, of course. Doing it to myself? I rock at that part! I even set up Riley to work things around, so that it would make sense to me. Troy me, of course. God I’m good. I’ve taken self-delusion to a whole new level!”

  He had to fight a smile for a bit then, and broke out into a grin.

  Zack snorted at him.

  “Well. I don’t suppose I could get a copy of your life then? If you’re you and not someone pretending to be Troy? I mean, I know that Troy has had some weird things going on for years. Darla led me to that understanding, but neither of us really got what the punchline was.” He held a hand out for that.

  It took work to make it happen but it really was what needed to take place. Zack, more than anyone else, needed to understand. Not that he was Loki. That didn't matter at all. Really, now he was Troy Lopez, as well. That was, in its own way a better thing to be. He had a lot of old memories but he really wasn’t that different than he’d thought of himself as being. A bit more skilled in some ways but even that wasn’t a huge power difference. The main thing was that he was a kick ass shape shifter but not a vampire at all. He never had been. He’d just faked that so hard that even the members of the council didn’t get the trick.

  Zack Hartley needed to know that he’d always been Troy. His friend. For real. Otherwise, if he’d harmed Troy to replace him at some point, Loki the Trickster god wasn’t going to be leaving that room alive. It was a real enough threat to be feared. Not that he was.

  Because his best friend wouldn’t harm him. Not for that stupid of a reason.

  The tingle in his hand, where it touched Zack’s, was intense. After a minute, a full long segment of time, the greater demon shook his head. Then he took his hand back.

  “That’s different. Okay. So, you’re still Troy. Also, my friend. Good to know. It’s really clear that your mask was slipping. I mean, I didn’t get it all, but Darla was pretty much saying that she knew. Finias… That one just makes sense, now that I have more data.”

  Loki smiled, working it out. Not just what was meant by Zack, either. The whole thing. All of it from when he was first born into the world, as Troy.

  “Finias probably worked out who I was before he even attempted to make a deal with me. That didn’t work. None of you can take any Trickster. Even Keeley can’t. So, I had to pretend really hard to get in with you. To help you out. For his part… well, he knew. I can tell. From the first minutes, he understood that there was no real link between us. That I was faking it. Also, that if Xenses, The Defiler, tried for you, he wouldn’t just find his missing son. He’d find an ancient god, ready to throw down. Trust me, I would have woken up for that.” He smiled, making it look a bit rakish, on purpose. “I nearly did, when he climbed into bed with Ann and myself. Now that…”

  He shook his head and nearly laughed. Then he let himself chuckle a little bit.

  “Ann and I have actually dated. For about eighty years… Centuries ago. She’s starting to get it as well. She has blinders on. Some serious ones. She isn’t really an evil being. That one… You know that, don’t you? Greater demons can choose to be what they are. When the veil was put up, Enlil decided that his kind would guard the left-hand edge of reality. To establish the worst that any being could be. Angels hit the other side. Talk about horseshoe theory... They always meet in the middle, on the far side. It isn’t really needed now. That’s my thought on the matter, anyway. That one… Things are about to change. The mages didn’t just open a box, they changed the state of humanity. Things that were gone will be returning. Without gods there to battle them. Oh, well… We have you for that now. The greater demons and modern super vampires. Thank goodness.”

  His old friend, possibly his oldest, gave him a long-suffering look.

  “This is really messed up. I’m supposed to be the one with the messed-up story. You were always just the cool human guy I looked up to. Now…”

  He nodded, making sure his face looked like Troy. It did. It had the whole time. Shape changing wasn’t just easy, it was a thing he had to control, or he’d become whatever he wanted, or needed, to be.

  “I’m still me. What I was doing is what I had to get done. I don’t really get a choice in the matter. It’s just part of my nature. Things will change now, because I can’t lie about what I really am. I have to help the other gods if I can. They have to leave, or change. The time of being like that, ruling over others using personal power, is over. It has been for a long time. It’s why I changed back in the day. When Enlil put them in his cage the stream of history altered vastly. I have my place in it. Which… Well, we need to go and find some people now. You, me and Enki. Kind… That… I would have never guessed that he’d be willing to change. I think it’s real though. Everything is showing that he means what he’s saying.”

  It was tempting to lie, to get Zack to do what was needed but he didn’t. That, tricking him, wasn’t the best way, in this case. The Line Walker, one of the new gods, who lived without oppressing almost anyone, would do what was needed. The rest were harder but Kind would help.

  At least in this one case.

  “I have a location. We… Hey, Kind? We need to go and rescue your brother now. I understand you won’t want to but it’s the right thing to do. Even if he is a jerk.”

  The ancient god walked through the owl door that Zack had carved, about a decade before. His face was serious as he did it. It was clear the being had been eavesdropping. Instead of making him ask a thousan
d questions, Troy just held his right hand out. The contact was warm, and felt more or less human.

  Taking his hand, there was a long tingle. Effort on Loki’s part as well, to let it happen fully.

  When it was done, Troy winked.

  “See? You aren’t the only one that has to do something new. We aren’t that different, are we?” He was being a bit placating but Kind lived up to his name, just slapping Troy on the arm. Like friends.

  “We should go then. Enlil is in for it now, at a wager of chance. Not that I can blame those others. He is family. I suppose I should at least go and call out for them to stop.”

  Troy nodded then.

  “This way. Follow along now. I’m not going to be here much longer.” He looked at Zack then. “You’ll get your Troy back, I think. As long as we don’t die. This part is mine, Loki the old, but the world needs him now. In many ways Troy Lopez, The Officer, is cooler than I am. Have you seen his fiancée? Plus, his girlfriend is sweet. I won’t mess that up for either of them. So, I’ll go back in my own cage. I doubt that I totally can. It will be enough, with a little help. We need to get with The Technician as well. At least to talk to. Here… These new phones are amazing, aren’t they?”

  He dialed his cell phone, a thing familiar to him, since he’d bought it. At the same time, it felt odd to him, almost alien. Back when he was a kid, they hadn’t had things like that. Really, back then, you just yelled if you wanted to talk to someone at a distance. It didn't work very well.

  After dialing, a girl’s voice came across the small black device.

  “Alison here.”

  “Hey Ali. This is Loki? You know, your old buddy Troy? I get that whole thing where you didn't mention that to me but you could have at least given Zack a heads up. Anyway, we’re headed out to save Tarsus. That should take care of most of the old gods.”

  There was a laugh. It was bell like, and happy.

  “Ah. I really had wondered on that point. I figured that if you hadn’t attacked yet, you probably wouldn’t. Besides, Riley asked me not to mention it to you directly. Tarsus is in trouble? How amazing. Who is going in? I can get some gear together. I have some plans ready, in case you failed.”

  That got him to stick his tongue out.

  “No duh, Technician. That’s why I’m calling you. Stand the heck down on this one, will you? The trick is avoiding violence. If we just wanted senseless killing, I would have had The Wild and The Lesser in to handle them. You demons have really stepped up your fight game, over the last thousand years or so. It’s the competition, of course. The danger isn’t that you’ll lose to these beings, just that you might win in the wrong way. Destroying the planet I live on, or something foolish like that. This will work much better. So, what do you say? Be a love and don’t do anything? I’ll get you a cake, if you stay out of it…”

  “Hmmm… Four cakes. Large. At least one needs to be Italian cream.”

  Troy got it but Loki, who really had been locked away inside his head, nearly decided to go tricky with the whole thing then. A complex plan shot into his head. It would work, and only take about half a day to get into place.

  He, Troy, decided to take over then, being up on what demons liked that way.

  “For doing nothing, while I go and do all the work? Which, by the way, you’re already paying me for. No. One cake. As a present. I know that you need a bit of extra incentive but take it or leave it. I will however go with the Italian cream part. That sounds good, actually. I haven’t had that in years.”

  “All right. One cake. When is this happening?”

  “Now. We have this though. Talk to you later? We still have the picnic on Saturday. Troy will be back then. Remember, he won’t recall any of this. It’s my part in things. Even if I’m still there, we’re going to pretend that I’m not. Tell people if you want. It won’t help make things better for you, if you do. If you work with me… You’ll gain in the end. Things are about to become… Really different. You want in on this.”

  Troy knew that the world needed him to be Troy, The Officer. The vampire who made bridges and helped people.

  There was no way he could forget what he was again. Not in the same way. Even being good, which he was at that kind of thing, he couldn’t really make it happen. Troy was just too strong now. That part had surprised him, more than a little bit. The guy wasn’t a real vampire, but he had been, for years. Even given that, he’d managed to become so powerful that once upon a time, in the far flung past, he would have been considered a god in truth.

  Tricking a being like that had to be done very carefully and at a distance. Which he couldn’t get, in regards to himself.

  The Technician made a sound that was a bit annoyed.

  “Okay. Be good and stay safe. I get your point but you’re my friend, Troy. Keep that in mind. Even if things have changed. Then, they didn’t really. We just know a bit more now.”

  “Thanks, Alison. Talk to you later?” It was what you said, to your friends. Especially when you were cutting them out of all the fun stuff for the day.

  “Later.” She didn’t sound that certain about it, for some reason.

  That got Troy to roll his eyes, looking first at Zack, then Kind.

  “Oh, demon of little faith. We totally have this. Let’s go now? We’re about to miss our time window. Things go less well, if we miss that. I can get us in. Don’t start out fighting, even if it’s tempting. We might have to but if we can keep that on the back burner, it will work better.”

  Zack took a deep breath.

  “Got it. Let’s go?”

  They needed to show up all at once, so Troy made a bridge, into the all stone chamber they needed. It was vast, and probably in Turkey, geographically. The stone work was right for that. It was all in tan, with torches glowing on the walls. For ambiance, he didn’t doubt. As soon as they were inside the slightly damp space, Troy could hear the screaming.

  It was Tarsus, of course.

  “Now that’s impressive. It’s hard to get a demon to do that.”

  The others nodded, acting mildly impressed, as a crew. Which got the gods in the room, most of them looking more or less human, to turn and face them.

  Some of them were wonderfully odd in shape, having animal heads, or glowing in green, blue or gold. One lovely woman was made of what seemed to be living fire.

  Tied to a reclined stone table, that leaned back, was a dark-haired man with a large roman style nose. He was the one screaming.

  The rest of the room stopped, instead of attacking. Two of them moved forward, looking like they were going to fight.

  Kind roared at them.

  “Hold! This is Troy Lopez, The Officer! He has come to save this world and your lives. This being next to him is Zack, The Walker of Lines, who will aid you in finding a place that is better for you than here. I know that you hold great anger toward Enlil. He enslaved us all. We must let go of that. A war with the people of this time would be a waste of power and lead to nothing good. Can you all eat that rage and hatred? At least long enough to survive?”

  Baphomet moved forward, not seeming like a giant at the same time that they were only about six feet tall. The brown hair on the goat like legs was still there, as well as the two sets of genitals. Male and female both. The ram’s horns looked like they’d been polished though. They were white and spiffy, Troy had to allow. Interestingly, he recognized the being.

  In part. The female portion of the physical being was Cheyenne Strobmier. The mage cult leader. It seemed that she hadn’t really made it out of the summoning unscathed at all. It was one less person for Troy to murder, later.

  “You tried to kill me…” That was addressed to Troy, directly.

  “And failed. I know more now but the point isn’t to hurt you. I’m sorry that I caused you pain or discomfort. I was afraid of your greatness. I mean, I’d never met a god before. Not that I knew about at the time. It turns out that I had really but that isn’t important. Now, who’s going to find a new home fi
rst? I know, we could all fight, or take turns torturing your captor. That helps nothing. So, we can move you to places where you can be helpful and happy. If you stay, things will end up being messy. Anyone? Anyone? It’s a great thing… Peace is good and wholesome… It will make you grow big and strong?” A perfectly suitable world really would, for a lot of them, if he did it right.

  It was far from an inspired speech. Interestingly, the woman made of fire moved toward them, her hands to her sides. The voice that came out of the busty orange and gold flames was pleasant and a bit Indian sounding.

  “I would leave, rather than fight to the death without reason. How is that to be done?”

  Troy smiled, then read the best path of the being in front of him. There was a world that needed her. A place that had been sunk into water and grown cold. The goddess of fire was just what the people there, who weren’t strictly human, needed.

  Not wanting to touch her, being that would be a bit warm on the skin, Troy opened a forbidden bridge between worlds. The others there, gods and demons, all looked at him then, as if it were a nifty trick. It was.

  “Just walk through? It’s the right place. They live in dank and dark. They don’t wish to, however. This is perfect for you.”

  As soon as she looked at the place, the being of flame and power laughed.

  “Ah. This is perfection. It calls to me, sweetly. I will go there and be well. Thank you.”

  That broke the collection of torturers pretty well. One by one they stepped, slithered or crawled toward him. A few were taken away by Zack, and four, who looked to be willing to fight, led by a giant with one eye and a massive club, were simply ordered to go away to a better place, by Enki. They all listened to him. They didn't even try to argue or ask who he was.

  They knew. He was the first god, after all. The oldest of them all. Even if that wasn’t really the truth. A lot of things from the past were like that, he knew. After all, Loki, through the ages, had been part of making those revisions to history. Some things were better off not being known. Others had to be.