Tears Of The Gods

Chapter 2 - Janus

I placed the note on the counter next to the coffee machine, my Mum's first stop in the morning. I crept back up the stairs, placing my feet lightly and easing my weight down on them slowly to prevent the creaks and groans of the wood. I stood in front of her bedroom door, the sound of muffled breathing quietened by the wood in front of me. I turned the knob slowly, the soft click of the door sounding like a gun shot in the silence. I froze. After a few nervous second, I began creeping again, except slower, and much more carefully. Before long, I found myself in front of her bedside, her face red and blotchy. She had been crying. I bent over and pecked her cheek, her face twitched at the touch but didn't seem to arouse her. "I'm sorry Mum... But I do love you, and I will be back," I whispered. Suddenly, her eyes began to flutter. "Wha-whats going on?" She croaked, "Freya, what are you doing up here?"

I panicked. I bolted. I rushed from her room, hot tears prickling at my eyes, I wiped my face with the back of my sleeve. "Nyx! I'm ready!" I screamed. A black gas surrounded me, I was blinded and disorientated, I screamed the scream of a banshee as I felt myself lift off of the ground. I heard something slam before the gas had dissipated and I was once again on my own two feet, Nyx and Aether stood before me. "What. Was. That?" I exclaimed.

"That was an express form of transportation, it's really quite simple actually, to put it in words you would understand, we just travelled through the shadows." She replied casually. "After all, darkness is faster than light."

I scoffed at how simple she made it sound, suddenly, a bang at the door made me jump, screams and whimpers echoed through the empty street, the sounds of banging and scratching filled the air, "Freya!" A choked scream filled the silence of the night. "Freya, please, I've lost your father, I don't want to lose you too." With that, I ran to the locked door, panting heavily as my frantic breaths filled the air with smoke-like condensation. "Mum, I'm sorry." I rasped, "I will come back." With hot tears trickling down my face, I ran back to Nyx. "Let's go, now, before I change my mind."

Nyx stood behind me, hands on each of my arms, clutching me tightly, Aether was nowhere to be seen, slowly, Nyx's grasp on my arms grew tighter and tighter, her hands growing rougher, merging into four talons. My feet began to leave the ground, my legs kicking pathetically. I looked up and saw that what was once Nyx's tall figure had been replaced by the head and body of a huge, black owl. We flew faster than I had ever thought possible for an animal, trees, roofs, cars and people whizzed past below me. Though our height and speed, I had never felt safer, clutched in the claws of a huge, black owl. Her warmth combined with her soft downy feathers provided a temptress for sleep and soon, in the most unusual of situations, I had fallen into a deep, dreamless slumber.

A sharp prod to the face wrenched me out of my sleep. "Freya," a deep, sultry voice echoed around me, "Freya, wake up, Freya!" He shouted, shaking my shoulders. "What do you want?" I barked. I sat up, eyes fluttering open, a face met me, a face that was very close to mine. He had chiselled features, a sharp nose, blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, dark curls and thin lips. He was stunning, but then, something happened, something... Unusual. His neck started to twist clockwise, as if he were an owl, creases in his neck started to appear and soon, I was looking at the back of his... Face. A new face had reappeared on what had been the back of his head, a different face, an older face. It was still him no doubt, he still had similar features, thinner lips, slightly less chiselled features, a beard and greying locks. But. His eyes, they were the same eyes, except, they seemed to glow with wisdom, untold wisdom that one should never even be able to dream of. "What. Just. Happened?" I queried, while still trying to hide the shake in my voice. "Oh, that? Just a little party trick." He replied in a nonchalant tone. "Anyway, enough pleasantries, I am Janus, God of beginnings and transitions and the guardian of heaven, I protect those about to undertake a new adventure, and I believe now is the time for me to protect yours..."

"Ok, that's it! Enough of this mysterious, philosophical crap! What is going on? First, a random lady and her kid appear in my bedroom... At night! Then, she makes me leave my mum, then for the hell of it, decides to turn into a huge, black owl; and now, some dude who can do neck aerobics is telling me to go on some huge adventure. What is going on?!" I roared.

"Okay, cool it little lady," an iciness making its way into Janus' eyes, "You accepted this offer, and you're the only one powerful enough to undertake this quest."

"Please, do tell," I replied.

"Well, months ago, the human world and Godly world alike were attacked. Foul creatures ran rampant through towns and villages, tearing them apart across the world, China, Greece, Japan, basically, you name the country, they were there."

"Wait," I cut him off, "What do you mean, running rampant through the streets, then only foul beasts that I could find were the Principal and Troy Malloy," I spat their names in disgust.

"Ah, yes, it is true, I failed to mention, by a few months back, I meant in our time, when the Gods were in their prime, slowly, these creatures and their masters have been altering history, one culture at a time, my job will be to bring you the start of this war; Ancient Egypt." He said solemnly.

"Okay, yeah, I'm going to Egypt but why?! Why me?!" I raged.

"Okay, okay, yes, well, when the war had been changed from a war against humans to a war on Gods, we made a treaty, every God from each of the so called 'master races' and representatives from the 'minor races' arrived in Rome, where the Council of Creators had gathered, the Council of Creators is made up of Gods who created the Earth from different races. This Council held a vote, a vote to form an alliance covering the Earth, an alliance of the Gods, to show our support, each of us took a knife to ourselves and shed blood into a chalice, our blood combined was a force of great power, a force that one Goddess in particular could not resist, Hel. For thousands of years, she had resided in Niflheim, judging the dead, confronted by the most evil of humanity. She was fed up, she had enough. On that night, she couldn't resist, the combined power of all the Gods sat in front of her, in a single chalice. She withdrew a vial and in a sweeping motion, she had our power, she added two drops of her own then fled. She is now in hiding, exiled by her own kind for her betrayal."

"And where exactly do I come in?" I interrupted.

"Now," he said simply. "Hel fled to Earth. In fear of our wrath, she decided to hide the fluid, hide it somewhere she thought we would never think to look.... In you."

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