Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:03:22 +1200
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: Dark Vengeance Chapter 2

			      DARK VENGEANCE


				 CHAPTER 2


				 BY ARTHUR


AUTHORS NOTE:

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JJ sat back in his chair and looked at Phin, JJ's wings were now an
encumbrance as he tried to get comfortable, he had not noticed this at
first but now he was trying to relax, the large twelve foot wings were a
problem, seeing his young Masters frown, Phin asked.

"What is the problem My Lord?"

"Stop that Phin."

"Stop what My Lord?"

"The Lord thing, I'm still JJ to my friends."

"As you wish, JJ, now what is your problem, you look worried about
something?"


"These wings, I can't go out and about like this, I mean, can you imagine
what the press let alone the government would want to do too me if they saw
them?"

"Yes I see your point, well that is easily solved, just send them to your
realm, they will still be on your back but they will also be in the realm
given too you by Zeus, once there you will look like your old self and no
one will know any different."

"How do I do that?"

"Think."

JJ took one more look into the mirror on the wall, his large white and
black wings now had a strange red tinge on the leading edges, he had not
noticed it before, he would have to ask about it, as though it was a
command the answer came immediately into his mind, the wings were now
touched by the power of Vulcan, god of the volcano.

"Oh yes, now I see, pretty stupid of me really, will they be safe in the
realm?"

"Yes, all of your weapons and anything else you send there will be safe,
the realm was given too you by Zeus himself and so can not be entered,
except by you and him, anyone not invited trying to enter will call down
the Hounds of Hades, even the Wraiths will not chance that happening."

"The Wraiths?"

"Oh yes, I forgot to introduce your army."

Phin closed his eyes and JJ immediately felt the presence of others in the
room, with nothing more than a soft breeze and a slight disturbance of the
air around him, JJ saw ten very young figures appear as though by magic,
all looked to be similar to Asians but very young, it seemed as though each
one was an exact copy of the other, as one they all smiled and then bowed
low to JJ.

"These are your Wraiths; they are at your command at all times and are
bound to you by Zeus himself."

"But they look so young, how can they help if I have to fight something big
or magical?"

"Do not be deceived by their apparent youth, it is the way of Wraiths to
deceive all those they are not bound too and, as for fighting, they have
teeth and claws you would not believe as well as their own brand of magic,
it can send mortals into madness at a simple thought, they can instil
terror just by laying a hand on a mortal, terror so violent the mortal
would rather kill himself than face it, they my dear JJ, are not as easily
disposed of as some would think."

"This is becoming something like a fantasy story, how did it all happen?"

"It happened because it had to happen, your modern world turned away from
the old Gods and the one who Created us all, there is now a tendency to
follow whomever has the loudest voice and their path is nothing more than a
falsehood to fill their own pockets or boost their own egos, he who Created
all has given the Gods permission to reappear and take back what was lost,
you my young JJ are the Gods defender, it is you who will return the mortal
world back to its rightful path."

"It seems a bit of a large order for someone like me."

"You will soon see what your advantages are, always remember, there is
little that can stand against you and you answer only to the Gods, or more
precisely,
 to Zeus, no other God or Demigod can presume to give you orders, Zeus is
your only superior as is he whom Created us all, and, while I think about
it, there is one more thing that Zeus has sent for you."

>From a box by his side, Phin pulled a large ornate golden Helm, it was
emblazoned with war like scenes in the finest engraving JJ had ever seen,
along the top of the helm ran a strip of black hair that hung down at the
back like a horse tail, in the front was a visor that would cover his face
down to his cheeks and nose, Phin placed it on the table in front of JJ.

"This is the fabled helm of Ares, son of Zeus and Hera, God of war, it will
enhance your vision and protect you from magic's that may take your
thoughts from you, try it on and you will see."

JJ picked up the surprisingly light weight helm and slipped in on his head,
for a few seconds it seemed to be readjusting to fit him, suddenly he could
see as far as he wanted too, he could even see a small fly far off in a
dark corner not only see it but watch its wing action as though in slow
motion, removing the helm he then looked for the fly but could see nothing
in the dark corner, JJ lay the helm on the table too look at it further,
then, with no more than a thought, the helm disappeared into his personal
realm along with his other God given gifts.

"So what do I do now, what has happened to my family, can I go and visit
them?"

"Firstly as too what you do, you wait for a call to defend those who can
not defend themselves, you and you alone, will hear a clarion call of the
trumpet of Alala the spirit of war who will call you to arms, you will know
immediately where and what the challenge is, you can then call to the realm
for the best weapons to meet the threat, your Wraiths are at your call at
any time if you need them."

"So I just sit around and do nothing, what about my family can I see them
again?"

"Sit around and do nothing, I don't think you realise what is going on in
the world, sitting around will be the least of your problems, as too your
family, well there we have a little bad news, it seems that the night your
mother turned you out in the streets, she had a break down, she is now in a
metal health care facility and there is little chance she will be released
any time soon, her sister was driving home and her car crashed, she did not
survive and as to the Priest, he was somehow caught with a very young alter
boy by an off duty Police officer, the boy was completely naked and the
Priest was having his way with him quite vigorously, he will never be
released from jail, your Father is a little broken up but is trying to put
his life back together after all the trouble he has seen, you however, or
should I say your Doppelganger, provided by the Wraiths, was found drowned
in the lake, your Father is still grieving for you, he is the only one that
had any heart although he is finding it hard and is hitting the bottle a
little too much at times."

JJ could not believe his ears as Phin told the story, he was now dead too
the world, all he ever knew or loved was a thing of the past, of all of
those affected he was most sorry for his Father, he at least had tried to
help, suddenly a new sense of authority came over JJ, turning his head up
he summoned the Wraiths with a thought, all ten of the young looking boys
appeared instantly and bowed low to JJ.

Looking at the first one in line, JJ drew himself up and said in a voice
full of authority that he never knew he had.

"You are charged with protecting my mortal Father, he is too come to no
harm by anyone's hand, it is your sole duty to protect him with everything
you have at your disposal, is that clear?"

Bowing low the young looking Wraith answered.

"As My Lord Perisone commands, so shall I obey unto my death."

The young Wraith disappeared as though he had never been there, JJ felt a
sense of satisfaction, if he could not be with his Father then the least he
could do was have him protected at all costs, of his Mother and Aunt he
gave little thought, they had brought this upon themselves, JJ realised he
was growing up a lot faster than he thought he ever would, he had just cut
all ties with the mortal world, he was now in the service of the old Gods.

>From his high throne on Olympus, Zeus looked down at his young warrior,
they had chosen correctly, this young, once mortal boy, although as yet the
boy did not realise he was now an immortal, would return the gifts of the
Gods to mortal man and the world that was at present dying of all manner of
ugliness would be cleansed and renewed, it had been a good choice, Zeus
settled back on his throne and watched a number of young zephyrs playing
among the clouds, each trying to catch a small sprite that seemed to evade
them with ease, Zeus smiled and closed his eyes, he had no real need of
sleep but the thought of it brought him comfort.

JJ had been dozing on a sofa when he heard it for the first time, it was
like a deep bass trumpet call, immediately his head was filled with the
scene and the where, with hardly a thought he called his realm for his
weapons, the sword of Damocles, his armour, his wings and the helm or Ares,
in the blink of an eye he was prepared for battle, his wings opened wide as
he stepped through the open patio doors, in another blink he was airborne
and flying high over the green countryside towards the city where his gifts
were needed.

Ares helm gave him far sight and it was not long before he could see what
he was looking for, in the park on the outer edge of the city, he saw three
young teens running like the very devil was after them, close behind and
seeming to delight in the chase were three something's JJ thought were only
in fairy tales, Werewolves; knowing better than to dismiss the idea of
those creatures, JJ dived towards the fleeing teens, with an ease he did
not know he had, his wings folded behind him and he drew his sword,
immediately it flashed in the dusk like bolts of lightening striking the
earth, its edge shimmered with power as he stood and waited for the three
fantasy figures to come closer.

Even in their terror, the three teens could not believe their eyes when a
figure of a man or something, appeared from the darkening sky on white
wings, in its hand it held a flaming sword and wore a black breast plate on
his torso and grieves on his legs, on his head was a gold helmet that
covered his upper face so you could only see the lips and chin below, the
figure made a gesture with his left hand and said.

"Stay."

The figure then stepped around the boys and stood between them and the
horrors that had been after them, the werewolves fared no better, they had
never seen anything like the apparition that appeared out of the darkening
sky, quickly, and in some confusion, they came to a halt only a few feet
from the strange figure, they rose up on their hind legs.

JJ now got a good look at these fantasies of horror stories, one of the
wolves was about 6'6" and thickly built, the other two were over 7' tall
and built even larger than their companion, the three long, fang filled
snouts of the wolves snarled and drooled as they inspected the small figure
standing in front of their prey, too be honest they had never seen anything
like this before, however he was quite small and even with his fancy dress
he would not be able to beat all three of them, even the image of wings did
not give them pause, no one they knew could stand up to three Alphas on the
hunt, as one they lowered to the ground and charged the figure before them,
once they had snacked on his bones they would have the other three for
desert.

JJ felt the power of the Gods flow through him as the wolves closed on
where he stood, with a speed that even took him by surprise, JJ moved in a
dance of sudden death, within seconds the three werewolves lay headless on
the evening grass at his feet, with hardly a thought for what he had just
done, JJ turned to the still cowering youths on the ground behind him.

"Stand up boys, you will not die tonight, in payment for your lives I ask
three things, do you agree to make this payment?"

The three boys could only nod in stunned silence, the night so far had been
filled with horrors they did not even know existed and now this glowing
being had asked them to pay for their lives after slaughtering those very
horrors with an ease that was not human, they all nodded, anything to get
away from any more of this terror.

"Firstly, you will never speak of this night, ever, second, for the next
five days, you will find someone less fortunate than you and give them your
protection, lastly, you will give up your thoughts of Christianity and
instead, each night before you go to sleep, give thanks to the Goddess
Athena for her protection of you and yours, do you all agree?"

The three nodded but JJ wanted more.

"You must speak the words for it to be bound by the heavens as an oath of
truth."

The three boys, still stunned by what they had seen and heard, spoke
together.

"We agree to your conditions and will follow what you have said."

"Good, but, be warned, if you break this oath I will send my minions to
seek you out and payment will be extracted in full for your deceit."

The three boys could only stand and stare at the young looking figure
before them, they could see and hear that he was young and they fully
realised their oath was now going to be held against them, as though in
proof, there came a trumpet sound from out of the sky and the boys felt
deep inside they had been marked in some way, besides, who would they tell,
if they said one word about this they would be locked up in a loony bin for
life.

JJ looked the three over and then, with a spreading of his huge wings, was
once again back in the night sky and winging his way towards his new home,
he never made it as, half way there another trumpet sounded and he was on
his way to Russia accompanied suddenly by five of his Wraiths who seemed to
dance through the night sky with ease even though they had no wings.

JJ was 500 miles outside Moscow before he saw where the trouble was,
although he knew what the problem was, he was not ready for what he saw way
below him in the dark night.

The town of Krakkovich had a population of about ten thousand, it was
mainly a farming community, in the main square of the town on this night
were ten black jeep type vehicles along with three large covered trucks, on
the ground were nearly thirty heavy set men dressed mainly in black, before
them were a crowd of young people, most were teens up to seventeen but
there were also a large number of children no older than nine or ten, girls
or boys, it made no difference as they were punched, kicked and then bodily
thrown into the back of the covered trucks.

Every man carried either a hand gun or a military AK47 over their shoulder,
too the Far Vision at JJ's disposal, he could see that there were about one
hundred kids being herded into the trucks, even though he had heard of
child slavery, this was the first time he had seen it in action and he was
not pleased, looking down from on high he set his thoughts in order then
partially closed his large wings and dived towards the offenders as he
picked up speed in the dive, small flames began to flicker at the leading
edge of his mighty wings.

The large group of Mafia thugs never saw him coming until too late, even
then they were not sure what they saw, at first it was just like two thin
strips of fire in the sky, then came a large winged shadow and finally,
before them stood what they thought was a young man in fancy dress, the
thugs did not know if they should be laughing or scared.

One of the men stepped forward to have a closer look at the small figure,
as impossible as it was to accept the figure as real, he had too dismiss
the artificial wings as some prop, the golden shield would be too heavy for
a kid of this size to hold so that also must be some kids prop and the
flaming sword, well you could buy anything online today. The leader turned
his back on the figure and said to his men.

"Shoot him, it, whatever it is."

JJ was stunned to find out he could fully understand the Russian language,
although with everything else that had happened too him he should not have
been surprised at all, as he heard the words the leader spoke, he went into
action, his visor made everything look as though it moved in slow motion
and he found he could easily dodge the hail of bullets heading for him, his
shield stopped anything that he misjudged.

The children had by now been locked into the trucks and that left all of
the Mafia thugs to fire at JJ, the bloody carnage that followed was talked
about for years later, with the combined use of sword and shield, JJ carved
his way through the mass of gunmen with ease, an arm severed here, a leg
cut off at the hip over there, a head sent rolling on the dark blood soaked
ground, another man cleaved from shoulder to hip with one swift slice of
the flaming blade, as JJ moved in his own dance of death, the toll on the
gunmen rose.

Those that fell severely wounded were soon put at rest by the Wraiths, all
that was left to be seen was a small bleached hand print on their black
clothes, positioned over their hearts, to anyone inspecting the after
effects of the fight it would look as thought the wounded had died of a
massive heart attack caused by the trauma, the Wraiths were in their
element.

Try as they might, the gunmen could not seem to get a sight on the fast
moving figure, by the time they had worked out that this being was not
mortal, it was too late for most of them, by then there were few left to
fight and still the young looking figure advanced with speed and skill
until there were only five left, immediately they threw down the weapons
and knelt on the ground with their hands above their heads.

It was surprising to JJ to find that even in the midst of such blood
letting and carnage, there was not one single drop of human blood anywhere
on him or his weapons, even the flaming swords was spotless and clean, JJ
stood above the five men as they let their heads drop in surrender, JJ
pointed to the nearest man and, in perfect Russian, said.

"You; go and release the children then return here, do not try to escape as
there is none, tell the children to stand and wait for me at the edge of
the square, none are too leave until I have spoken with them, now go."

JJ stood and watched the man work as the others knelt on the ground in
front of him, when the man was done he returned to his place on the ground
in front of JJ, the fear on his face was almost bringing this tough Mafia
thug too tears.

"You have all done what none should ever do, that is attack defenceless
children in their own homes and were going to use them for your slaves,
tonight you will not die by my hands but you will live the rest of your
lives with the wrongs you have done forever."

As he said this, JJ waved his hand at the five Wraiths, with a speed never
seen by human eyes, the Wraiths laid a hand on the heads of the five men,
where their hands touched, the men's hair turned white, the effects were
immediate, each man now saw every despicable wrong he had ever committed in
his entire life, not once but as they were to learn, the scenes of what
they had done ran over and over for hour after hour, the first committed
suicide with in hours of leaving the town, the last one to survive finally
relented four days later and hung himself in an empty barn on the way back
to Moscow.

JJ then called the children back into the centre of the square, again in
perfect Russian he spoke to them all.

"For your freedom I have three requests, if you agree it will be an oath,
should you break the oath you will meet the same fate as those who attacked
you."

JJ stopped and looked around at the children and teens to make sure they
all understood him before he went on.

"You will never mention what happened here tonight, not even to your
closest friend or family, if you do you will suffer the same fate as these
men, you will turn your backs on the misguided religion of your parents
and, every night before bed you will give thanks to the Goddess Athena for
her protection, do you all agree and accept this oath?"

The group of kids looked at the strange glowing figure with the large
wings, from their bible stories they well knew who this was, they had been
told all their lives about the angels that would always come to save
innocent children and here was the proof, but what confused them was the
angels request that they never go back to the Church but now have to pray
to a new Goddess instead, it was all very confusing for them but, they had
seen the anger of the angel and were not in any mind to disobey, even
though what he said went against all of the priests teaching, as one ,they
all said they would do as they were told, as they all said , yes, a loud
trumpet sounded high up in the sky.

"The old Gods have heard your oath; if you break it then you will suffer a
fate worse than death."

JJ turned and leapt into the night sky, his wings beating with long
powerful strokes as he took to the air, the mass of children and teens
below him could only look up into the darkness and wonder if it had all
been true, of the one hundred and ten children and teens, only four had
mental breakdowns after talking to the priest about what had happened, they
never recovered from their illness and the priest followed them not long
after, of the others, their lives seemed to get a little better as they
sent their prayers to the Goddess Athena each night.

Next JJ was called to Mecca, it was almost amusing to fly higher than the
best jet could reach and look down on the aeroplanes below him as they
carried their passengers to their destinations, as he flew with little
effort, he called the last of his Wraiths to his side, now with all nine
beside him he made his way to Mecca, it was the third day of Ramadan and
the millions of the faithful on their Hajj were gathering around for the
first prayers of the day.

As he hovered over the square in the slowly brightening light, JJ heard the
beginnings of the first calls to prayer, with a gesture to his Wraiths, he
sent them to the many minarets where the Imam called the faithful to
prayer, to the people gathered below, all they heard were the first few
words and then all went silent, the Imam would later be found dead with the
bleached hand print of a child over their hearts.

JJ landed in all his full glory on the central black stone alter, in his
left hand he held his golden shield, in his right hand was Thor's hammer,
in a voice that seemed to reach every corner and in perfect Arabic he
called out to the masses gathered around the alter.

"For centuries you have been deceived, the Imam have used your beliefs to
hold onto nothing more than power for themselves, their use of children for
bombers, is against all of the Gods teachings, the laws they tell you too
follow are only for their own ends and profit, for those of you who will
return to the ways of the old Gods, there will be safety, for those who
wish to follow along with the travesty that is Islam, there is only one
end, this alter where you worship is false and holds nothing more than
false hopes."

With these words, JJ brought down Thor's hammer and, in one stroke,
shattered the black stone into small pebbles, it was then that everyone saw
that the supposed tomb of the Profit was empty and held nothing but air, JJ
took to the air with one mighty swoop of his large wings, as he hovered
above the crowd, they began to yell and call for blood, who's was anybodies
guess, the men were the ones who had most to lose and so where the ones who
did not want to change, from the outside gates a large contingent of armed
troops came running but the mass of humanity inside made it difficult for
them to move but, what they could see was something beyond their
understanding.

High above the one time Alter/Tomb flew a youth with wings; it was not even
believable even though they could plainly see him, the guards were pushed
from place to place as the masses tried to either escape or get closer to
the figure in the sky above them, it was then that the trouble started,
those who belonged to the more strict sects of Islam began to fight with
those who were more moderate and the battle was on.

JJ had been told what to do by Zeus, once the fighting started he was to
leave and let them work it out, eventually he would return and settle all
their problems but for now it was enough that they were sent into
confusion, it was later when the dead Imam were found that some of the
followers began to look again at what they had believed and changes slowly
began to happen.

JJ had flown towards his new home, there had not been another call and he
was able to make it to the patio doors without incident, as he stepped
through the doors, Tana and Poma had the table filled with food and he sent
his weapons and wings to the Realm, it was time to be a boy again and, even
though it had been a bloody and savage first day, JJ had a feeling of
satisfaction, he knew he should not feel this good after taking so many
lives but it felt good to have saved those who needed saving, the fact that
not once was a drop of blood splattered on him, helped for him to feel
clean.

Another day passed without the clarion call to arms, JJ, still dressed in
his usual jeans and tee shirt, decided to make for the nearest city, it was
time to try to be normal again, at least for a few hours, deep inside he
well knew that there was still much to be done and that evil was everywhere
around him but, he was a servant of the Gods and only went to action at
their call or if he himself saw wrong doing.

JJ strolled calmly into the mall, the sounds and smells of normality felt
good to him, at least he could still enjoy the normal things of a teenagers
life, around him the voices yelled and laughed but, for himself there were
no friends to enjoy the day with, it was the beginning of his realisation
that his future would be a long lonely one, even though he had a life long
mission to accomplish, he had still not been around long enough to realise
his own immortality.

JJ was walking through the mall when he heard a loud shout of anger,
somewhere further in front of him a young voice was pleading for mercy, JJ
hurried towards the voice, he found his answer in a side nook of the mall,
well out of sight of any security guards, a young teen, no older than
twelve was crunched up in a ball on the tiled floor, around him stood four
older teens, their hands on their hips and a sneer on their faces.

The apparent leader of the small gang, kicked the younger boy in the ribs
again, as the boy cried out in pain, the others around him laughed louder.

"So what ya think now pussy boy, ya gonna do what I tell ya or lay there
and get hammered ya little bitch?"

The boy only tried to curl up in a smaller ball as the heavy boot crashed
into his ribs again, he felt the agonising crack as two of them broke from
the force, in his mind he cried out for help even though he knew there was
none around to save him, it was with a great deal of surprise he heard from
behind the boys, a young voice call out.

"Step away from him, walk away now and you will live."

As carefully as he could, the young boy opened a bruised eye and could
faintly see a shimmering figure standing not far away, to the boys mind he
looked like a winged angel, it was then he realised he must have been
killed by the heavy boots and was on his way to heaven, the figure looked
just like an angel from the bible, a single tear fell from his young eyes
as he thought about the life he would no longer have now that he was in
heaven.

The four teens turned at the sound of the voice behind them, what they saw
suddenly brought fear into their eyes, standing not five feet away was a
figure with huge wings, they also noticed that they could no longer hear
any sounds from the mall, it was as though they were in a place that was
cut off from the rest of the world.

The leader could not even speak as he saw the apparition, the glowing wings
and the small size of the figure just did not compute in his mind, it had
to be the drugs and he was hallucinating, shaking his head, the leader
moved towards the strange apparition, it had to be just another kid from
the mall and his drugged mind was playing tricks on him.

"Fuck off Kid unless you want to join the pussy boy on the floor."

The loud laughter behind him only egged him on further and he along with
the other three, began to run at the young teen before him, his blood sang
with the power of the drugs in his system, he felt invincible as he neared
the strange figure, suddenly, from out of nowhere, the figure was holding a
flaming sword, the leader laughed at the way the drugs worked, it was like
playing a fantasy game on his computer with swords and angels and magic
things, the leader never slowed his charge.

JJ lifted his glowing sword and struck out with the flat of the blade, he
had no intention of killing the small gang unless he had no option, for now
he would give them the benefit of the doubt, the flat of the blade crashed
into the leaders head, as he collapsed into a heap on the floor, JJ went
for the others, it was all lover in a second and he now had four
unconscious teens laying in front of him, of the injured one he could see
that the boy needed help.

JJ walked over to the younger boy, calling on the gifts of the God Apollo
for his healing abilities, JJ laid his hands on the frightened boy. The boy
felt the hands of the angel touch him and all the pain in his chest left
him, he also felt his head tickle as his failing eyesight improved and he
was able to see clearly for the first time in his short life, slowly
uncurling his small body, the boy looked up into the youthful face above
him, he gasped when he saw that it was not an angel but only a young teen,
there was no sign of the glowing wings or the flaming sword.

"How do you feel, did they hurt you?"

JJ well knew what had happened to the boy but, as he had changed from his
form as an avenger into a normal teen, he decided to play ignorant of what
had happened.

"Yes, yes, I think so, I thought they had broken some ribs but there's no
pain anymore, who are you and what happened to those guys?"

JJ looked at the unconscious gang boys behind him, he had to think quickly.

"I saw what they were doing to you and decided to step in to help, I've
done a lot of martial arts and that made it easy to help you, will you be
ok to leave now, I'll wait here for security to take these guys away if you
want to leave, there's no need for both of us to be here."

JJ hoped the boy would take the hint and go about his business and leave
him to finish with the four young thugs.

"But how did you do it?" the boy asked JJ.

"A lot of practice, now it's time for you to go back to your parents but,
it might be better if you said nothing to them, they might start to worry
about you being out on your own."

"No they won't, they don't care what happens to me."

JJ's curiosity was piqued.

"Why do you think that?"

"They're only my foster parents, they only look after me because the
Government pays them too, the rest of the time they don't want to see me
around so I come here when schools is out, the longer I stay here the less
they yell at me."

JJ stood and looked at the boy a little longer, after thinking it over he
said.

"I'll tell you what to do when they do bad things to you, do you know how
to make prayers?"

"Of course I do, I'm not some little kid you know." The boy's indignant
voice almost made JJ laugh out loud.

"Ok, well from now on, whenever you are in trouble or feel alone, I want
you to send a prayer up to the Goddess Athena, she will protect you form
all harm and, if you are in danger, just ask her to send her protector to
you."

"Who's this Athena, is she a new god in the bible?"

"No, she is one of the oldest Goddesses, if you believe in her you will
come to no harm."

"But what about Jesus, he is meant to protect all children?"

JJ looked down at the boy with a serious look on his face.

"Did your Jesus protect you from these druggies?"

"Well... uhm...no but maybe he sent you to help me."

"No he did not send me, it was another God that sent me to help you, the
stories you have read in your bible are false, if anything happens to you
in the future, just call for Athena and you will see who is the more
powerful, it would also be a good idea to send a prayer to her before you
went to sleep at night, she is a very good protector of children."

JJ watched as the young boy thought it all over, finally he just nodded his
head and, with abroad smile on his young face, wrapped his slender arms
around JJ's waist.

"Thank you for saving me, I promise I will send her a prayer every night."

"Ok, now it would be best if you went back into the mall where there are
lots of people so you don't get picked on again, I'll wait here for
security to come."

"Ok, thank you again, will you be safe now too?"

"Yes, I will be very safe here, now off you go, you be good and remember to
send your prayer to Athena each night."

As the young boy ran back towards the centre of the mall, he called out.

"I will, I will never forget you."

JJ watched as the boy disappeared into the throngs outside in the
concourse, he then turned back to the four gang members as they began to
moan about sore heads, JJ called one of his Wraiths to him, it appeared
instantly by his side as the four gang members tried to get to their feet.

"Stay where you are." JJ said in a loud voice.

JJ then motioned for the young Wraith to move towards the teens.

"Make the mark of the Cyclops, Poseidon himself will watch over them."

The wraith touched each boy on the forehead, they felt a slight burning
sensation then nothing.

"You are now marked with the eye of the Cyclops, if you do not change your
ways then you will meet your end, you will not receive another warning,
change or travel across the Styx, it is your decision."

JJ gave them one last look, the weird tattoo looking mark on their
foreheads stood out starkly, there was little more he could do for them
now, it was up too them to make changes in their lives or suffer the
consequences of their own actions, JJ turned away and walked out of the
small alcove, leaving the four teens to their own fate.

His Wraith disappeared as he went to do some window shopping, he had a
sudden need to find an arcade and play some games, as he suddenly realised
he had no money with him, he felt the right hand pocket of his old jeans
get heavy, putting his hand into the pocket, he came up with five old gold
coins, he gave a smile and wondered where he could change such coins.


TBC.


Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz