Date: Fri, 10 May 2013 01:13:06 +1200
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: dark vengeance chapter 3

			      DARK VENGEANCE


				 CHAPTER 3


				 BY ARTHUR



AUTHORS NOTE:

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It took JJ nearly twenty minutes of searching before he found a coin shop
that would change his gold coins for modern cash, there was only one
difficulty however, the shop owner did not carry enough cash to buy them
all, instead he bought only one and promised JJ he would have more cash by
the end of the afternoon if he wanted to sell the other four, JJ could only
stand and stare as the man began to count out one hundred dollar bills on
the counter in front of JJ.

The shop owner saw the stunned look on JJ's face and began to explain why
the coins were so valuable as to take all of his ready cash.

"You seemed surprised young man; didn't you know how valuable these coins
are?"

"No, they were given to me as a gift, I thought they were nothing special,
it's not like I collect coins or anything."

"Well, in that case you were lucky to come here, there are a lot of dealers
who would take advantage of you if they knew that you had no idea of their
value, these are the most perfect examples of old Greek coins from the time
before Alexander that I have ever seen, even in museums they have nothing
this fine."

JJ watched as the man continued counting note after note onto the counter.

"But they may be stolen or counterfeit; perhaps you should check them out
first?" JJ said to the man.

"There's no need for that, if they had been stolen from anywhere, there
would be a world wide alert to all the dealers to watch out for them, no,
these are too good to be either counterfeit or stolen, they look as though
they have just come from the coin makers of old Greece."

The man stopped counting at last, in front of JJ was a stack of bills so
large he could not put them all in one pocket of his jeans, he had to make
four thick bundles and place them in different pockets.

"I know that's not the full value, but I am sure you will agree, as a
trader I too have to make a small profit from their resale, what I have
given you is what I think is a fair price, are we agreed?"

"Yes, yes it's very good and I have no problems with you making a profit,
you seem like an honest man too me."

"I try too be, there are many who are just too greedy for their own good,
I've found over the years that it pays to be honest, that way you have a
good life, you may not get to be the richest trader but at least you have a
good reputation, to me that's way more important, now young man, if you
return in about two hours, I will have enough cash here to buy the others,
its not easy or wise to keep five hundred thousand dollars in the shop."

The man smiled at JJ as he carefully placed the single coin in a locked
drawer under the counter, JJ made up his mind on the spot, the man emitted
a truthful vibe to JJ, taking the other four coins from his pocket, JJ
placed them on the counter.

"I trust you, keep these and when I need any cash I will come back and you
can pay me then or, if you like you can act as my agent and sell them and
take a good commission instead, it's up too you."

The man looked at the four coins and then at JJ.

"You trust me with half a million dollars in ancient coins?"

"Yes, I feel something in you that says I can trust you."

JJ took three of the bundles of notes from his pocket and placed them back
on the counter.

"I think you should keep these for me, I'll come for them when I need them,
tell me, why do you do this sort of business, there can't be that much
money in coins except for the really valuable ones?"

"Ah well, you see I have collected coins since I was a small kid, over time
I realised I had a lot of the same ones so, when I finished college I
decided to make a small business out of it, as you say, there's not a lot
of money in it but I make a good living and that's all I need, it's really
the coins I like, over time I set my sights on collecting rare ones for my
own collection, not for resale, for instance, one of these will go in my
collection and never be sold, the others I will put out there for you on
sale, if that's what you would like?"

JJ nodded in agreement, he then had a sudden thought.

"Did you ever want one coin more than any other, one that you have always
been searching for?"

"Oh my yes, all collectors have one coin they want to have more than
others, usually, like me, they are ones that are no longer able to get or
are not wealthy enough to afford though so it remains just a dream."

"And what's your favourite?"

"Well the one I would like to have is way beyond my means, I don't think I
will even get to see one but it's a nice dream."

"What is it?"

"It's a special minting made in 1867, it is a gold coin called The Grand,
it is believed to be worth one thousand dollars, there were only ten made,
they were minted to celebrate the wealth of the top ten magnates during the
gold rush, two are in the Smithsonian vault, three are believed to be in
the White House vault two more are in the hands of private collectors but
no one has ever been allowed to see them especially collectors so the
chances of me seeing or finding any of the other three are almost nil but
for me it's the dream that keeps me searching, genuine collectors are like
that, now then young man, your coins and cash are safe here, here's my
phone number, if you ever need me just call any time, day or night."

JJ took the man's card then smiled at the man.

"We haven't introduced ourselves, my name is James Crowley Junior, my
friends call me JJ."

The man reached over the counter and shook JJ's hand.

"My name is Butler, Thomas Butler, a pleasure to make your acquaintance JJ,
and thank you for your trust, it's such a pleasure to see and meet an
honest young man nowadays."

"The pleasure is all mine Thomas, I hope everything works out well for you
and I will keep my eyes open for your coin, just in case."

Thomas smiled at the lifelong thought of the Grand Coin, he knew he would
never see it but it's what drove him to stay honest and deal fairly with
customers as well as being one of those rare honest people who just could
not do wrong to others, Thomas watched the young teen walk from his shop,
carefully he placed the other four coins in the locked drawer and went to
make calls, he felt reasonably sure he would have no trouble selling JJ's
coins for him, the fifth one as he had told JJ, was for his own extensive
collection.

JJ left the shop and went to find an arcade to play in, so far it had been
an interesting morning and his meeting with Thomas Butler had restored his
faith in humanity, there were still good honest hard working people in the
world, JJ felt good as he redistributed his large wad of notes into his
four pockets, it was hard to hide $25,000 dollars in tight jeans.

JJ's family had not been rich but they had also not been frugal, JJ found
his arcade and set himself at a stool to play a game, while it was loading
he looked around the nearly full arcade, he saw there were many younger
kids being pushed away from the better games by older teens, JJ cancelled
his game and went to find the guy who ran the arcade.

When JJ asked to speak to the bored look man of about twenty five years
old, he looked at JJ and at first seemed disinterested in another kid
around that was until JJ laid a large wad of notes on the counter, the
sight of so much cash brought an instant smile to the guys face.

"So kid, what can I do for you?"

"What's the most popular game in here?"

"Ah that's easy, it's Razon 2, its all about old Greek gods and mythical
beasts, very popular, most of the kids never leave it once they start to
play, I had to get four more units so they could play, why do you ask?"

"That pile of cash is ten thousand dollars, I want you to make two of those
games off limits for kids over thirteen, those under that age are to have
free play for the rest of this week and I want you to keep watch on them so
the older guys don't push them away, if you do it right I'll come back or
one of my people will come here every week and pay the same price to
reserve them for the younger kids, is it a deal?"

Greg Somers was not a completely dishonest man but he did have the usual
need for greed as any other person, he had just been offered a good deal,
ten grand was more than he made in a week with all his machines so this was
not too hard to think out, ten grand for just two of them would give him a
very nice profit indeed, but Greg could not resist trying for just a little
more.

"Tell you what kid, for another five hundred I will hire a security guard
just to keep watch on the kids."

JJ looked at the man for a minute, he then counted five one hundred dollar
bills from the pile on the counter and laid them separately, Greg suddenly
felt as though he had been stripped naked by the look in the boys eyes, he
then looked at the small pile of notes beside the lager one, it was obvious
what the boy meant.

"Ok, fine, I'll use some of the hire fee then."

"Make sure the guard gets all of the five hundred, if not I will be back
and you do not want that to happen, if all goes well then you will get the
same payment each week, deal?"

How could Greg turn down such an easy money maker?

"Deal."

"Thank you; don't forget to keep it honest, I'll know if you don't."

Somehow Greg believed that the young kid would keep his word, he watched as
the young teen walked out of the arcade, he never saw him again but he did
make a nice profit each week from then on.

Thomas Butler was just on the point of closing up for one of the most
exciting days he had ever had, the four extra coins had been sold to the
first person he had called, they had already sent a security guard and van
to collect them, as he moved to the door to lock it for the night, he saw a
long black limousine pull into the curb in front of his shop, from the back
of the long car stepped a tall distinguished looking man.

The man held up a hand as though asking Thomas to stay open for just a
little longer, Thomas had always made it a point to look after any customer
at any time of the day or night, with a smile he unlocked the door and
stepped aside for the tall man to enter.

"Good evening Sir, you caught me just in time, how can I help you?"

"I've been asking around your collector friends and they tell me you are an
honest and honourable man, I have a coin with me that you may like for your
collection, I've been told that you have been searching for some time for
one?"

"Well thank you for such kind words Sir let me have a look and I will see
if I can help you with it?"

The tall man took a soft cloth bag from his coat pocket, it was larger than
any coin bag he had ever seen, for some reason, Thomas's heart rate rose in
anticipation, if this held a coin then it had to be special, there were
very few coins of that size anywhere in the world, the only down side he
could see was that he could not afford something that large, this type of
coin went for six and seven figures, more than he could raise.

Thomas took a pair of white cotton gloves from a drawer, he then laid a
soft blue cloth on the counter, carefully he opened the flat bag and let
the large coin slip onto the blue cloth, Thomas's heart beat faster, there
it was in all it's glory, a perfect gold Grand Coin, on the side he was
looking at was the head of Lincoln , around the edge were the markings of
the Washington Mint and the date, 1867, carefully Thomas turned the coin
over to see the obverse side, it was there, the large G with a crossed pick
and shovel.

Thomas looked up at the man but there was no one there, he had not heard
the man move or the limousine start or pull away, Thomas then saw a small
sheet of note paper on the counter where the tall man had been standing
only moments before, he picked it up to read.

`For every honest man there is a reward, either here on earth or at the
side of the Gods, this is your earthly gift.'

Thomas looked at the note and then again at the brightly shining gold coin,
had anyone been in the shop they would have heard a soft sob come from the
middle aged man, his greatest desire had just been fulfilled and he had
only vague ideas as to whom may have done it, carefully Thomas replaced the
coin in the bag and took it too the back of his shop where he had is main
vault, inside were kept nothing but his own private collection.

On the back wall was an empty glass box, it was welded to the back of the
steel vault, it had cost Thomas seven thousand dollars to have it made, he
knew at the time it was just a folly but he could not resist the
temptation, it had been made for the one coin he would never see or get and
yet, here it was.

Carefully Thomas touched the two hidden switches that opened the bullet
proof glass case, on the bottom was a soft pad of pale blue velvet and in
the centre was a small clear stand, with great reverence, Thomas slid the
coin out of the bag and laid it carefully on the small stand then closed
the case and locked it, tears were falling down his cheeks un-noticed as he
stood and looked at his prize, forty years of searching had finally been
fulfilled, Thomas could not stop the tears from falling, that was until he
heard the loud crash from the front of the store and the sudden sound of
running footsteps, as he turned around he saw three youngish looking men,
all held a gun in one hand and the leader had a bag in the other.

"Put everything in the bag old man, hurry up or you get a cap in the head,
move it."

Thomas was frozen to the spot, suddenly his body was filled with emotions
he had not had before, first came fear, then anger, then stubbornness, how
dare these rat bags come to rob him, suddenly something struck him hard
across the mouth, he felt the strong salty tang of his own blood run down
his chin as he staggered back towards the end of the vault, the voice of
the leader filling his ears.

"You two take everything; hurry up while I cap this old fucker."

As Thomas looked through tear misted eyes at his lifelong collection, he
felt another presence in the vault and, as the leader raised his gun to
fire the killing shot, something bright and fiery flashed though the air at
the head of the leader, the next thing Thomas saw was the headless body of
the leader rolling on the floor, his two accomplices cowered on the floor
as a slender figure stood over them with a fiery sword in his hands, his
face covered by a golden helmet with only his chin and nose showing.

A young voice came from the glowing figure and it was then that Thomas saw
the magnificent white wings on the youthful figure.

"This man is under my protection, for this travesty you will suffer from
all your past wrongs."

As the figure said those words, a young looking Asian boy appeared from
thin air and laid a small hand on each of the gangsters heads, the effect
was immediate, both boys began to weep and then cry in fear as their past
began to play out in their minds, every sordid hateful thing they had ever
done was shown to them over and over again, both were to spend the rest of
their lives in locked psychiatric facilities.

"Who are you?"

 Thomas asked the strange angelic looking figure.

"A friend, if you wish to give thanks then send a prayer to the Goddess
Athena each night before you sleep, you did right by a friend of mine, for
that you have my protection."

The slim winged figure turned a left Thomas staring at the three gangsters,
with a shake he ran to the phone and called the police, how he would
explain the headless corpse he had no idea, he would just have to wing it,
Thomas almost laughed at his own pun as he remembered the young figure with
the sword, Thomas then and there vowed to do as he had been asked and send
a prayer each night to Athena, it was the least he could do after he had
such a day as this.

JJ had just taken flight from Thomas's shop when the clarion call came from
the empty night sky, the images he got in his head brought fear even to his
mind, the veil had been broken over the small town of Shileu in central
China, already the evil had claimed lives and was in the process of tearing
down the buildings in the town, JJ increased his speed as he was joined by
his nine Wraiths that he had summoned as soon as he heard the clarion call.

JJ flew high over Shileu, below he could plainly see where the invaders
were as the night was an even darker black than it should have been, in the
darker areas, JJ could see misty figures flying and cavorting around as
they smashed houses and other buildings, there seemed to be no human life
left until JJ got closer and heard the crying of young children.

JJ checked to make sure he had all his weapons and armour, this was his
real first taste of the horrors of the beyond, the figures below were more
than even his imagination could conjure up, animals that looked to be
distorted versions of Hyena, misty dark Banshee, small, large mouthed
demons with needle sharp teeth, JJ felt for the first time a little fear
creep into his belly, even with his nine Wraiths he was well out numbered,
it was then that JJ saw the central figure standing at the centre of the
destruction.

Much too his surprise, the central figure was not one of the horrors but
looked more like a normal human except for his size, the wild look in his
eyes, and the loud ringing laughter coming from his mouth as he directed
the destruction and then the collection of the crying children, it was time
for JJ too act.

With his Wraiths circling around him, JJ began his dive towards the tall
thickly built figure at the centre, the leading edge of his large white
wings were now ablaze with ethereal fire as he drew his sword and called
out to the figure that was now looking up at him and smiling with such evil
that even JJ felt the power of the beast.

Immediately JJ landed in the circle that had opened up around the beast
man, all around the two figures a fight to the death was raging, JJ's
Wraiths had turned into their true forms and it could easily be seen that
the others were little or no match for the Wraiths or what had once been
the Wraiths, they were now four legged demon dogs, each leg ended in six
inch long razor sharp claws, their heads had elongated to dog like snouts
filled with needle sharp teeth as well as four large dripping fangs, the
saliva dripping from the fangs hissed and bubbled whenever it hit the
ground, all nine Wraiths were now the size of giant dog like creatures,
even the misty Banshee could not avoid the Wraiths.

JJ concentrated on the half man half beast in front of him, he was twice
JJ's size, a long split tongue whisked in and out of his pursed lips much
like a snake, its hands had long black tinted claws and its eyes were dark
red, the hair on its face was almost like rat tails and seemed to have a
life of its own, it was then that JJ saw that each rat tail of hair ended
in a small snake head, the voice that came from the creature was almost
mocking as it turned on JJ.

"So, the high and mighty Zeus has found himself another little boy." It
hissed more than spoke.

JJ stood his ground and gripped his sword and shield tighter.

"Who are you little one, come to die for that old man who thinks he is
above us all?"

"I'm not here to debate with the likes of you, son of Loki, I'm here to end
this destruction and any chance you may have of returning to do more harm."
JJ did not know where the name of the creature had come from but he also
knew the Gods were on his side.

"Oh you are a brash one aren't you; I don't suppose that old reprobate told
you I can't be killed or even injured that much, you would need the sword
of Damocles to do me harm and that was destroyed by Loki himself, so young
one, time for you to die slowly."

As Daemon moved towards him, JJ held up his sword high above his head and
called for Vulcan's Fire to embrace it, as the flames surrounded the blade,
JJ saw a look of terror come over the face of Daemon as the flames grew
hotter and the sword glowed with power.

"It would seem your own Father lied to you, or my Gods are stronger than
your evil, now fight Daemon, let's see what you have."

Not being able to return until called back to the dark fire pits from which
he came, Daemon had no option but to try to fight the small warrior of the
Gods but he knew there was little chance of him getting away from his fate
now that the sword of Damocles was bared and ready for the dark ichors that
ran through his veins.

Around the pair the battle rage on with the Wraiths taking a terrible toll
on the enemy, the screams of the Banshee were intermingled with the roars
of the dying Hyena like creatures and the ear piercing cries of the small
demons, the carnage wrought by the Wraiths was like nothing JJ could ever
have dreamed of but, for now he had his own enemy to contend with, the more
Daemon drew in dark power, the brighter JJ glowed as did his sword and
shield, he could feel the very earth sending him power as Daemon moved with
lightening speed to tear and rend JJ apart.

The battle that followed would forever stay in JJ's mind as he fought for
his very soul, each time he struck at a part of Daemon, it would turn to
black mist and then reattach to the beast, the fight raged back and forth,
neither being able to get the advantage over the other, it now fell to JJ
to not only keep the beast at bay but to find an answer to the beasts
ability to sustain damage, he had to think of a way to destroy this
personification of evil.

Finally the idea came to JJ, he had noticed that Daemon would have to slow
his attacks each time JJ struck him with the sword and that the beast would
always protect his head from any contact with either the sword or the
shield, JJ now had his targets, summoning all his speed and strength, JJ
attacked like he had never done before, he became a whirling dervish of
sword and shield, as each stroke struck daemon he would lose a little more
of his cloak of black power, with the sustained attack of JJ he was slowly
being stripped of his dark mist, the ichors were now dripping faster onto
the ground where they hissed and boiled into nothingness.

For JJ, the power seemed to come from the vary air around him as he
continued to use his speed to slice into the failing figure, now each cut
took more from the beast and it began to slow in its defences as more and
more dark power left it, finally, with a quick thought, JJ exchanged his
sword for the mighty hammer of Thor, using his wings at full power, he
lifted above the beast and with a loud cry, smashed the hammer down on the
unprotected head of Daemon, burying it to the hilt among the writhing snake
like hair.

Daemon was beyond being able to control the black power and, as he felt the
weight of the mighty hammer crush through his skull, he knew his end was
near, he had nothing left with which to fight and the black power was now
leaving his beast form too fast for him to regain control, with one last
mighty push, Daemon sent himself back through the tear on the veil, he knew
it would now be millennia before he would be strong enough to return to
this plane and take his revenge.

As daemon disappeared back through the veil, JJ looked around and saw the
last of the enemy fall to his Wraiths, they had not gone unharmed either
but at least none had been sent to the gates of Hades, their wounds would
quickly heal as only Wraiths could, JJ suddenly felt the weight of the
battle hit him, he felt as though he had not slept in a week nor fed for a
month, he needed to get back home and rest, slowly he opened his wings and
took to the night time sky, his wounded Wraiths beside him, it was going to
be a long flight home but he felt the rising pride in a job well done.

When JJ finally made it back home he was greeted by the twins and Phin, for
the first time he saw that his weapons and armour had not escaped
unscathed, his helm had three deep scratches across the top, his shield was
also marked with deep gouges and scratches as well as the marks of the
deadly ichors, his breast plate had four deep dents and his grieves were
covered in the remains of Daemons life force, JJ felt exhausted as he
walked through the open doors, even his giant wings felt heavy on his back,
with a thought he sent everything to his realm and nearly collapsed into a
chair at the table.

As usual the table was piled with all his favourite foods, how the boys had
known when and what time he would return was beyond him but he was thankful
for it being so, Phin sat at the table with his usual glass of red wine, it
seemed he drank the white wine during the day and the red at night, JJ
almost laughed at noticing this small foible of Phins.

JJ ate ravenously, without thought he drank what he thought was a sweet
wine from the crystal glass set in front of him by Poma, he gave little
thought to whether he was old enough to drink or not, to his new
perspective, he was now allowed to do what he wanted, after all, if he
could kill evil and banish beasts, then who could stop him from drinking
wine.

With each sip of the sweet drink, his strength returned, little did he know
at this early stage that he was sipping the very elixir of the Gods which
gave him his strength back and continued to lengthen his life span,
finally, as he sat back and looked at the remains of the huge feast, JJ
felt the pull of a soft bed call for him, there was only one thing more
that he would like, tired or not and so, with a glance at the twins, he
left the table with the two boys close behind, Phin could only smile
broadly as the trio left the room for some personal recreation.

When JJ awoke the next morning, he could still feel the lithe bodies of the
twins although they had left his bed sometime earlier, his mind was filled
with the memories of his first night with a boy, or in this case, with two
boys, the things they had got up too were beyond his understanding, there
was so much he didn't know you could do with your body but the twins had
shown him everything, JJ was now ready for the new night too arrive.

As he showered, JJ pondered what he should do next, he didn't have long too
wait, as he put on his clothes, he heard a resounding bell toll at the
front door, immediately the nine Wraiths were surrounding him and changing
into their animal forms, the twins appeared as though by magic and stood at
the bedroom door with long pikes, instantly a picture came into JJ's mind
as he heard the voice of Phin down below.

"You can not enter here; this is deemed hallowed ground by Zeus himself."

"Well, hello to you too, Messenger, why the animosity, I only came to look
at this new Defender, he must be very powerful if he could send my son back
too me in such a condition, it will take the poor boy Millennia to heal, he
must be quite the warrior this new boy toy of Zeus?"

"Watch your tongue, outcast, the boy is under the protection of Zeus and
well you know it."

"So, let me see him, I like to know who I am up against, where is the
little rug rat, is he another little blonde boy that my father likes to
dally with?"

"Your mouth will get you into trouble Loki, now leave here this is no place
for the likes of you or your minions."

"Well if you would invite me inside then the barrier would not be between
us and we could be really good friends again, just like before."

"Was that the friendship we had before you slaughtered that village of
innocents, or the one we had before you caused good people to turn against
your own Father, tell me Loki, which friendship do you mean?"

"Oh come now Messenger, that's all water under the bridge, look, I have
just come to meet Fathers latest toy, now for him to conquer my son he must
be a great warrior, is he tall and strong with flaming hair and broad
shoulders, truly he must be such a man to destroy so many of my minions."

"You will have to wait and see Loki, when he comes for your life force then
you will know it is your time and that your Father has had enough of your
plots and aspirations."

Suddenly Loki lifted his head and took a deep sniff of the air, his hidden
wings unfurled behind his back and his long tail appeared as if by magic
while the horns on his forehead grew to their full size.

"Blood, I smell young, fresh, human blood, are you too tell me that my
Father has taken a human defender, is he crazy, no human can defeat my
world Messenger, let me see the puny boy, he smells of freshly broken
virginity, ah yes, and a little fear, come on Messenger, let me see this
boy toy my Father would bed?"

"If he is just a puny human then he did not do too badly against your
hordes last night, I would watch your tongue Loki, he just might cut it off
for you."

"Ha, it would take the very sword of Damocles to do that and my Father
would never let that out of his hands, it carries too much power for any
other to hold."

Loki saw the smug look on Phins face and a faint feeling of fear entered
his being for the first time in his life, would his Father truly hand over
the sword of Damocles to some inexperienced human boy when the same God
would not even give it too his best warrior and son Achilles, somehow Loki
knew it had happened and his fear grew just a fraction more, he had to see
this human that would make his Father do such a thing.

"Well Messenger, where is the boy, surely if he has been given the power to
wield the sword he can't be afraid of a friendly visit?"

As Phin was again about to refuse Loki, he became aware of a presence
behind him, it took only a glance at Loki to confirm his suspicions as JJ
spoke from behind him.

"I see we have a visitor Phin, who is he, as though I did not know?"

JJ looked at his adversary, he had already been told not to offer an
invitation to Loki as it would break the circle of sanctity around the
house, JJ could feel the rise in evil as he looked over Loki, he saw the
God of the underworld for what he truly was and, while he felt a certain
fear of the Ruler of Hades, he also felt the strength of Zeus within
himself.

Loki was tall and slender, his hair black as a ravens, had he not allowed
his large black wings, long tail and horns to show, he may have been a
reasonably good looking man thought JJ, but the inherent evil that exuded
from him soon made JJ aware of the power of the God of Hades.

Loki looked at the small slender figure of the dark haired boy, he was
nothing like the sort of boy his Father liked to select, the last two
Defenders had been youthful young blondes, he had delighted in taking them
to pieces bit by bit, each and every day he listened to their howls of
anguish in the pits he controlled, perhaps this one would be no better, if
he could get the young boy to hand over the sword he would then be able to
control him with little effort.

"So, you are the new defender, I hope you are better than the last ones
although being just a human will have it's downfall for you, now are you
going to be a good host and invite me in, young man?"

JJ listened to the softly spoken words, they almost sounded like a hiss as
Loki spoke them, JJ immediately knew they were being used with magic to
make him do the Gods will, he was suddenly surrounded by a warm circle of
power as Loki tried his best to get inside the sanctuary, all he got was a
soft smile from the new defender, this only increased his hidden anger.

As he stood at the door and his ire rose, Loki tried with all his not
inconsiderable skill and power, to read the dark haired young boy, all he
saw was a blank, black wall of resistance, the boy showed nothing but the
fact he was just a plain human boy, Loki was not fooled, for this slim boy
to beat his minions meant that Zeus himself was helping to hide the boys
true nature and strengths, Loki decided on ridicule as his best way to
belittle the boy, he was young and would not see the traps Loki would set
for him.

"This, this is what my father would have me believe defeated my minions,
come Defender, tell the truth, it was Zeus himself that did the fighting,
am I not right?"

Much to Loki's surprise, the boy was not as stupid as he first thought;
there was something about the boy that began to stir the first faint
thoughts of fear in the omnipotent Loki.

"Do you think that your Father would soil his hands on the likes of you and
your minions, I stand as his Defender, I am Perisone, warrior of the Gods
and Defender of the weak, go back too your hole Loki, there's nothing here
for you but defeat."

"My, my, you do have big ideas for a boy who does not even have a good set
of wings yet, are you sure you are fit enough to battle against me little
human boy?"

"I was fit enough to dispose of your minions, deceiver, now leave this
place, you will not gain entry here."

"Hmmm, big words for such a puny human, if you think that little scuffle
with my minions was a fight then you have a lot too learn yet little toy
boy of the Gods, oh well, if you will not invite me and show me hospitality
then I suppose I will have to look elsewhere, till next time young
Perisone, then we will see what my Father has given you."

Loki opened his large black wings and took to the air, he was gone in a
flash and only a dank smelling misty smoke was left in his place, the odour
of sulphur was thick in the air as Phin turned back to JJ as he closed the
door.

"Well, that went well, so what did you think of your enemy?"

"I just felt the evil in him, is he always like that?"

"Always and even worse, he was trying to be nice this time so he could gain
entry into the house, if he accomplished that he would be able to break the
barriers and attack us at any time, now he is back where he started and
will have to try another tactic, you did well not letting him fool you."

"You forget I have the God Zeus protecting me, I suppose I will have to
meet Loki head on one day?"

"Yes, it's inevitable and also what you are here for but, you can't just go
after him as yet, there are a lot of other wrongs for you to correct first,
he will try as often as he can to get too you but you must take each
challenge as it comes, always remember that you have the backing of all the
Gods in your battles, Loki's biggest fear is the sword, he knows that it is
the only weapon that can send him back to Hades for all eternity, he would
then be forced to spread his hate and fear by proxy and that weakens him."

"So, what's next then?"

The words were no sooner out of JJ's mouth than he heard the loud clarion
call of the trumpets, he called his wings and weapons from the realm,
noticing that they had all been repaired and looked as though they were
totally untouched by the last battle, as he took to the air, JJ saw what
was waiting for him, it did not give him any feeling of calm as he saw the
beasts waiting for his arrival.


TBC.


Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz