Trinity: A Modern Mythos

Well, here is where you can! At least, this is where you can read pieces of my second drafts that I choose to share. I will be sharing my favourite pieces from each chapter, but I'll try not to post pieces that give away significant plot details, as I do want to keep some things a secret. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

“Wait, I know you,” the blonde said, studying the newcomer’s appearance. “You’re that fortuneteller from the fair.” Adrian and the girl both stared hard at the new comer, and Adrian’s dark eyes widened as he realised that the other man was right; this new guy was indeed the fortuneteller. But what was he doing in an abandoned house, in the middle of the night?
“Yeah, that was me, but that is not who I am,” the fortuneteller answered mysteriously. “My name’s Drifter, and I’m here to tell the three of you your destinies,” he added, pulling out a cigarette from inside of his coat pocket and lighting it.
“Our destinies? What do you mean by that?” the girl asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
“I mean,” Drifter started, taking a drag on his cigarette, “that you three have destinies that are way bigger than this world. Tell me, have any of you ever heard of the Trinity?”
“You mean like the Father, the Ghost, and the Holy Spirit kind of thing?” the blonde man answered, clearly puzzled by the question.
“No Luke. I mean the Trinity as in the Light, the Darkness, and the Balance kind of thing,” Drifter answered, taking another long drag and blowing smoke out into the room.
“How do you know my name?” Luke asked, at a loss for any other question to ask.
Drifter rolled his storm grey eyes. “I remembered you from the fair. But apart from that, you could say that it’s my job to know you, Luke Halifax,” he answered, pointing a finger at the blonde youth. “Harmony Torrens,” he added as his gaze shifted to the girl. “And Adrian Douet,” he finished as his sights came to rest on the last member of the trio. “Now that the introductions are out of the way, shut up and let me talk, ‘cause believe me, we haven’t got all night for this.”

Taken from Chapter 1.

 ***

“You won’t believe the day that I’ve had,” Adrian began, breaking the silence of the room. The other two people looked up from the old book that Drifter had given them with oddly serious looks on their faces.
“My house all but burned down this morning.”
“And a goddess tried to electrocute me around lunch time.”
“And suddenly my day doesn’t seem that bad,” Adrian replied, leaning against the brick fireplace. “I just got propositioned by Hades, and had to wrestle my watch away from a demon.”

Taken from Chapter 2.

 ***

“Drive!” Adrian suddenly yelled, and on instinct Luke put his foot down, slamming the car up into fourth gear. Harmony was practically kneeling in her seat, anxiously watching out of the back window, and through the rear view mirror, Luke could see that Adrian was doing the same. Due to the wet conditions, Luke hardly dared to take his eyes off of the road for more than a second at a time. Yet when he did spare a glance at what was behind them, he beheld the awesome sight of a giant blue and gold snake that was perhaps half a kilometre in length, and following very closely behind his car.
“Shit!” he swore after catching his first glimpse of the snake, and watched as it opened its mouth, baring its fangs. There was no doubt in Luke’s mind that his whole car could have easily fitted inside of that mouth. “What the hell is that?!”
“A giant snake, idiot!” Adrian shot back, and in the front, Harmony had picked the encyclopaedia that Drifter had given her off of the floor, and was frantically flicking through its pages.
Pushing the accelerator down as far as it could go, Luke slammed his foot down on the clutch and knocked the gear stick up into fifth gear, before turning his attention back to his driving.
“Can’t this thing go any faster?” Adrian asked, leaning in between the two front seats in order to speak to Luke.
Obviously stressed, Luke’s grip on the steering wheel intensified as he answered, “I’ve got it flat to the floor. I’m going as fast as I can, okay?” he shot back at Adrian, focussing hard on the road ahead.
“Harmony, what does that book say?” Adrian asked, turning from the stressed driver to the frantic, page-turning woman.
“I don’t know,” she answered, she eyes running over page after page, searching for any reference to giant snakes.
“You don’t know? You’ve got the book!”
“It’s a big book, Adrian! Just back off and let her look,” Luke snapped, and for once Adrian bit his tongue.
Several minutes past, before Harmony gave a triumphant little sound. “I’ve got it! His name is Quetzalcoatl, and he’s an Aztec god attributed to teaching the art of science and the ways of the calendar to mankind, and was also said to be the discoverer of corn and of all of the good aspects of civilization. Huh, it also says that he was considered to be the perfect representation of saintliness. Also once known as the Lord of Healing and magical herbs, Lord of Hope, and the Lord of the Morning Star, Quetzalcoatl was often compared to England’s King Arthur; both as a real person and as a myth.”
Adrian snorted. “The guy is trying to eat us. I’d hardly call that saintly,” he said, casting another nervous look behind them. The snake was gaining on them. “Are you sure this thing can’t go any faster?”
“Not without risking sliding off of the road,” Luke shot back.
“Well, just so you know, that snake is getting awfully close.”
“Do you want to drive?!”
“Actually yes, I do! I’d probably do a better job of it!”
“How long until we hit Bega?” Harmony yelled over the top of the boys, trying to stop their argument from escalating any further.
Casting a quick glance at her, Luke thought about the answer to her question. “Um, maybe another five minutes at this speed?” he guessed.
“At this time of day, that town is going to be packed with cars. There’s no way that we can keep this speed up! Luke, we’re doing over 130!” Harmony exclaimed, taking a look at the car’s speedometer.
“Maybe everyone else will speed up when they see a giant snake heading straight for them?” Adrian suggested with obvious sarcasm.

Taken from Chapter 3.

 ***

“West it is then,” Adrian mumbled, manoeuvring the car into the right hand lane of the three-lane road, and stopped at the red light of an intersection. With a frown, he noticed that the lane that he was sitting in also contained a set of tram tracks. Glancing in his rear view mirror, Adrian couldn’t see any of Melbourne’s famous trams around, yet he still didn’t feel completely comfortable sitting on top of those gleaming rails.
“Hey, what happens if a tram comes?” he asked, throwing a quick glance back at Luke, who just shrugged his shoulders lazily, showing no signs of concern what-so-ever.
“I don’t know. But if you get my car totalled by one, I will kill you,” he replied in all seriousness, and Adrian just glared at him.
“What a great help you are,” Adrian muttered to himself just as a green arrow lit up on the set of traffic lights, giving him the okay to proceed around the corner. Halfway around, and Adrian jumped at the sound of a tram bell ringing behind him, causing Luke to laugh.
“A bit jumpy, aren’t we?” he mocked. “The lights and trams are programmed around each other, dumb arse.”
“You could have told me that five minutes ago,” Adrian growled as he straightened the car up and continued on down the road.
Luke shrugged, unconcerned by Adrian’s gruff comment. “Where’s the fun in that?” he said, barely hiding a slightly sadistic smile.

Taken from Chapter 4.

 ***

“Is it just me, or does your sister look like she’s happy to be standing over your grave?” Luke asked, giving Adrian a nudge in the ribs. For once, Adrian didn’t bite back. He simply frowned as he watched his sister slowly walk away from his grave, with a small smile on her lips. In the distance, Adrian also caught a glimpse of his father, who was also watching Alisha, before he turned and left the cemetery grounds.
“I’ll be back later,” he eventually said, rising to his feet and quietly following the path that Alisha had taken.
“He’d better not do anything stupid, that’s all I have to say,” Luke muttered as he and Harmony watched him leave.
“Go easy on him, will you? It’s hard on him too, he just doesn’t show it,” Harmony said, before she too rose and wandered off towards where her own grave now lay. With a sigh, and a shake of his head, Luke decided that he might as well take a look around for himself.
‘It’s not like you get to watch your own funeral everyday,’ he thought to himself as he crossed the sunny lawn.

Taken from Chapter 5.

Concentrating on his movements, Adrian failed to notice the arrival of a young woman, who stood watching him with her arms folded. Drifter had noticed early on that Adrian possessed a natural aptitude for the sword, and his skills were fast becoming unrivalled in the worlds of the gods. The young woman who was watching also knew of this, and seeing the dedication and concentration that was on Adrian’s face, she knew why; Adrian was the kind of stubborn person who either mastered something, or destroyed it.
Watching him move, a small smile curled her lips. Her long, golden brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and her aqua eyes sparkled in the midday sunshine. Dressed in casual jeans and a scrunched, peasant-style shirt, she had a lean figure; the result of many hours spent training. As Adrian continued his workout, the eyes of his watcher played over his exposed chest, taking in his flawless olive skin and perfect muscle tone. Finally, as the young man came to a rest, he felt the unmistakable presence of the woman watching him, and turned around with a smile.
“Exactly how long have you been standing there, Harmony?” he asked, walking towards her. As he walked, he dropped his sword and, before it could even hit the ground, it vanished, along with its sheaf from around his waist.
The Balance aspect of the Trinity grinned. “Oh, long enough,” she answered, and Adrian gave her a cheeky smile, spreading his arms wide.
“Like what you see?” he asked, half in jest, and Harmony wrinkled her nose at him.
“You need a shower,” she answered with a laugh, and Adrian let his arms drop as his smile fell, slightly disappoint with her answer.

Taken from Chapter 6.

 ***

“Jaid! Hurry up, you’re gonna be late!” Ross Patterson called up the stairs to his daughter, who he could hear rushing around on the top floor.
“I’ll be down in a second! Is Renae here yet?” Jaid called back, and Ross glanced in the direction of the kitchen, where Renae Lin was sitting on top of the dining table, swinging her legs slightly.
“Yeah, so hurry up!” Ross called back, followed by more banging from up stairs.
“Just a second! I can’t find my history textbook!” Jaid called back, and Ross just shook his head as he made his way back to the kitchen.
“She’s lost her history textbook,” Ross informed the blonde, petite girl who just smirked at him.
“Like she pays attention in history anyway,” Renae said with a laugh, before her face turned serious. “I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on her though. Last night was … weird. I followed her to London, but someone else beat me to her. Someone with a lot of power, who managed to whisk her away quicker than I could follow. We’re talking about a serious amount of power,” she said with a frown, and Ross fidgeted in concern.
“That can’t be a good thing, right? Someone that strong taking an interest in her?” he asked, and Renae shrugged.
“She got home okay, and she’s not hurt or anything, so I don’t know. It was definitely a Light power that I felt, whereas the others were all Dark,” the young girl sighed. “I’ll just have to keep a closer eye on her, and see what turns up,” she added just as Jaid came bounding down the stairs.
“Screw the textbook, it’s not like I actually listen anyway,” she grumbled, grabbing a piece of hot toast from the bench, before both girls left the house and headed towards the bus stop.

Taken from Chapter 7.

 ***

Meanwhile, deep within the Lower Realm, another young ruler was becoming increasingly frustrated. Everytime that Adrian had caught a glimpse of the Norse god, Loki had managed to evade him, and it was wearing down his last nerve.
“This is ridiculous,” the Dark god muttered under his breath as he stood in the grand hall of Loki’s daughter, Hel. “And you have no idea where your father is?” he asked out loud, and the half gorgeous, half hideous goddess smiled sweetly at the young man before her; a mixture of perfect and rotting teeth.
“I haven’t seen him lately, but I might know how to find him,” she purred, and Adrian was immediately suspicious of her intentions.
“What’s the catch?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Hel rose off of her throne and sauntered towards the young Lord; her perfect amber eyes never leaving his. Once she had reached him, she walked a tight circle around him, draping her arms lavishly across his shoulders.
“Everything has its price, my young Lord,” Hel whispered in a husky voice close enough to Adrian’s ear that it tickled. “I’m sure that we could come to some kind of an arrangement,” she added, gently biting his earlobe.
With a slight gasp, Adrian took a step forwards and out of the goddess’ grasp. Turning around, he met the woman’s pouting face with his own stern resolve.
“I’m sorry Hel, but that’s never going to happen. There’s someone else that I’m in love with,” he said, and Hel smiled as she sauntered towards him once more.
“But does this woman love you in return?” she asked, and then smiled wickedly at Adrian’s slight hesitation in answering.
“She does,” he said, remembering that Harmony had indeed said so earlier that day, even if she had tried to call their relationship off.
“You don’t sound too certain,” Hel tried in a teasing voice, but Adrian’s mind was made up.
“I am certain,” he countered. “I’ve never been more certain of anything before in my life than what I am about her.”
Hel sighed, defeated for the time being. “She must be truly special, this woman of yours,” she said in a slightly saddened tone of voice.
“Yes, she is,” Adrian confirmed, turning his back on the Nordic goddess and vanishing from her domain.

Taken from Chapter 8.

 ***

Jaid Patterson squealed as a sopping wet, suds-filled sponge hit her in the face, before scooping it off of the ground and hurling it back at her attacker, causing her soaking wet black hair to whip around and stick to her cheek in strands. On the other side of the dining table, Luke Halifax dodged the returning sponge, before dipping a washcloth into the sink and using it to flick sudsy water at his friend.
“No fair! You’ve got access to the sink!” Jaid cried, jumping around the kitchen in an attempt to avoid the shower of soapy water. With a laugh, she threw her hands into the air, and the kitchen was suddenly covered in a thick blanket of fog.
“I’m not going to fall for that, you know?” Luke laughed, brushing the illusion aside with a smirk, wet cloth at the ready. And yet Jaid was gone. With a playful frown, Luke shifted his blue eyes between the doorway that led to the lounge room, and the open door that led to the laundry and to the backyard. With a smirk, he headed towards the latter, gasping as a bucket of cold water was suddenly upended over the top of his head.
“Haha, gotcha!” Jaid giggled, quickly darting back into the kitchen and heading straight for the sink.
“Oh, you’ll pay for that one!” Luke cried, shaking the water out of his short blonde hair, and blowing a few drops off of the end of his nose. Following after the Chinese demi-goddess, the young god of Light conjured up a small ball of white energy and, with a careful flick of his fingers, sent it diving into the full sink, causing an explosion of soapy water, completely soaking Jaid.
The teenager gasped with shock, spinning around to glare at a now laughing Luke. “You have soap suds in your eyelashes!” he laughed, and after wiping her face clean, Jaid threw a washcloth at his head, which promptly tried to smother him.
“Ahhh, get it off!” Luke laughed, clawing at the cloth and eventually breaking the illusion that it was alive, and leaving it to fall harmlessly to the ground. A soap-filled sponge being hurled in his direction started the water fight anew, and when Ross Patterson walked into his kitchen ten minutes later, neither Luke nor Jaid even noticed his arrival.
“I tell the pair of you to wash up the dishes and to clean the kitchen, and what do you do instead? Have a water fight,” he said, finally catching the attention of the two youths. Luke was currently in the process of trying to drown Jaid in the sink, whilst she was trying to make him either choke or suffocate on a dripping sponge. Pausing in their tracks, the pair turned to face Ross with sheepish grins on their faces and soap suds in their hair.

Taken from Chapter 9.

“I want to let you in on a little secret,” she offered, pulling the younger girl aside slightly, but still within hearing range of a now concerned Adrian. “Offer him a tub of ice cream, and you can make Adrian do whatever you want him to do. It works even better if it’s strawberry ice cream,” Alisha said with a grin, and Harmony gave her a puzzled look.
“Ice cream? Adrian has a thing for ice cream? Well, I guess that does explain why we always seem to have heaps of it in the freezer,” she said in a tone of voice that clearly said that she found the whole thing rather amusing, and spoken loud enough that a certain ice cream junkie heard every word.
“That’s enough, Alisha,” Adrian growled, attempting to pull his girlfriend away from his conniving sister, yet both managed to sidestep him with a laugh.
“He’s a complete sucker for any kind of ice cream, ever since we were little kids. There was this one time that he discovered a small tub of mango and cream in the freezer, and he ate the whole lot-“
“Alisha!”
“-even though he absolutely can’t stand the taste of mangos! Seriously, that boy would do anything for a frozen treat,” she finished, just as her brother had managed to wrap his arms around her from behind, effortlessly picking her up. Alisha squealed, demanding to be put down at once, but Adrian held firm.
“No more spilling embarrassing secrets, okay?” he hissed into her ear, and Alisha laughed at him. “I could imprison you in a cage of dark energy, and leave you in some forgotten, dank region of the Lower Realm,” he threatened, and Alisha half turned in his arms to catch his eye.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said in a manner which was just as threatening as Adrian’s had been. For a heartbeat, the two siblings were locked in a stalemate, until Adrian dropped Alisha with a sigh.
“Whatever, I’m going to the freezer section,” he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked away from the two girls. The pair watched him go until he was out of the aisle, and then Alisha and Harmony both burst into laughter.
“Betcha any money that he comes back with a tub of strawberry ice cream,” Alisha said with a grin, causing both girls to break into a new round of giggles.

Taken from Chapter 10.

 ***

“You’re more than welcome to stay here, Luke,” Ross said with a cheeky smile. “Just try to keep the magic stuff to a minimum, don’t destroy the house, and we won’t have any problems.”
“Dad!” Jaid exclaimed, pulling her hand away from Luke’s as she turned to face her father with a scandalised look. “As if we’re going to destroy the house!” she protested, and Luke laughed.
“I think we can manage not to go overboard,” he said with a smile.
“Flooded kitchen,” Renae said, muffling her words by a fake cough, and Jaid glared at her whilst Luke busied himself with his pancakes, trying to forget the indoor water fight that had resulted in a thoroughly soaked and soapy kitchen.

Taken from Chapter 11.

 ***

The world that the Dark aspect of the Trinity reappeared in was unlike any world that he had ever visited before. It had taken the young god quite a while to pinpoint Chronos’ exact world, and looking around him, he soon understood why – everything was in a state of constant change. He had appeared in amongst a lush forest, but as he started walking, the trees shifted and gave way to a perfect, white sand beach. Puzzled, Adrian turned around to face the way that he had just come, but was greeted with nothing more than a barren wasteland.
“Okay, that’s just weird,” he muttered to himself, slightly creeped out by his surrounds. Turning back to the beach, he started walking along the sand. The water of the ocean soon became a giant salt plain, the sand had given way to rocks, and a growing mountain range seemed to be following him. Yet amongst all of this, there was no sign of Chronos.

Taken from Chapter 12.

In the not too distant future, a god who has remained hidden for the last two millennia stands on the outskirts, looking towards the desolate ruins of a once thriving mortal city. As the Darkness suffocatingly presses down from above, his fiery eyes scan the horizon before they settle upon the vast forces of the Dark Army. A growl escapes from his lips as the black-haired god spies the army’s leader, and with seething hatred running through his veins, he holds high his flame-like sword.
“How the hell did it come down to this yet again?”

Taken from the opening of Chapter 13.

***

Arriving in the common room, Nuada collapsed onto one of the three couches, whilst Harmony went to the viewing mirror and brought up images of the three people that she was after. Luke was in discussions with the Greek pantheon of gods on Mount Olympus, Adrian was waste deep in demon politics, and Drifter was in his usual haunt: the demi-god alehouse.
“I need all three of you here immediately,” Harmony said, sending her voice to all three at once. Luke nodded and excused himself from the Greeks, Drifter sighed, took one last mouthful of ale before leaving the table, and Adrian scowled.
“I’m a little busy Harmony! All hell’s breaking loose down here!” he snapped, and Harmony scowled back.
“I don’t care. All hell is about to break loose everywhere, so get your butt back here now!” she snapped, and with a growl the Dark god vanished from the mirror.
“This had better be good, ‘cause I’m on the edge of a mutiny. I can’t really afford to be absent from the Lower Realm right now,” Adrian Douet grumbled as he appeared in the Trinity’s apartment, and Harmony Torrens turned around to glare at him.
“It’s nice to see you too,” she shot back, and Adrian returned her glare with one of his own. The pair stood for a moment, exchanging dirty looks until Luke Halifax interrupted them.
“So what’s the emergency?” the blonde haired youth asked, and Drifter too looked anxious to find out why Harmony had summoned them all, and more importantly, why there was a Celtic god slumped on their couch.
“Okay, well I’m not going to drag this out ‘cause we really don’t have time. Belial is free again,” Harmony announced, and whilst the two boys now looked as worried as Harmony was, Drifter looked furious.
“How the hell did that happen? He wasn’t supposed to be able to ever break free of the Forgotten Realm!” he cried, and Harmony shrugged her shoulders. “That bloody Morrigu. I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind.”
“Morrigu’s gone. So is the Tuathan world,” Nuada piped up, halting Drifter’s rash departure. “I saw it happen,” he continued as he gained everyone’s attention, recounting what he had seen of the attack on his world. When he had finish, everyone was silent until Drifter let out a frustrated sigh.

Taken from Chapter 14.

***

Harmony decided to stop in at Jaid Patterson’s place first, and appearing in the front foyer of the house, she politely knocked on the inside of the door.
“Coming!” a voice called out, and a moment later the young Asian demi-goddess came running out from within the kitchen. Seeing as how her guests were already inside however, she skidded to a halt and eyed the pair suspiciously. The golden haired goddess was dressed normally enough in jeans, joggers and a singlet top, yet her companion was wearing an old fashioned tunic and trews, complete with knee high leather boots.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this, but Luke sent us,” Harmony explained with a smile, and Jaid visibly relaxed at hearing Luke’s name. “I don’t know if you remember me, but my name is Harmony, and this is Nuada,” she continued on, and Nuada gave Jaid a small bow.
“Oh right, Harmony. Sorry, I knew you looked familiar, but couldn’t quite place where I knew you from,” Jaid said, leading the way into the lounge room. Before they could take a seat however, someone else appeared in a breeze of gold sparkles, and when they had dissipated, the sleek form of a Kirin stood in the room, glaring at the two newcomers.
“Sorry Jaid, I came as soon as I sensed their power,” the Kirin said, before turning her pale green eyes onto Harmony and Nuada. “Whoever you are, you have no business in this house,” she said, letting a slight growl escape from her lips, and menacingly thrusting her antler-like horn in their general direction.
Harmony motioned Nuada to stay still, giving the protective Kirin a warm smile. “You’re Xeyrin, correct?” The Kirin nodded. “We were sent here by Luke-“ As soon as the name was out of her mouth, Xeyrin relaxed and changed into her human form, revealing a slender young girl with fair skin and blonde hair. “His name sure holds a lot of power in this house,” Harmony muttered to herself as the Kirin gave her a small bow in apology.
“I’m sorry, but with all of the turmoil that is happening lately I panicked. But if Luke sent you, then it must be alright,” she said, and after Harmony introduced herself and her companion, Xeyrin was once more apologising. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that you were Lady Harmony! Please, you can just call me Renae, for that’s the name I go by when I look human.”

Taken from Chapter 15.

***

Closing her door behind her, Alisha searched about for a notebook and a pen. Lying down on her floor, she propped herself up on her elbows, chewing on the pen lid as she thought everything through. She wanted to know the state of the immortal worlds, and using the information that she had gathered from the news, she had a fair idea of just how many worlds had been destroyed so far.
In her book, Alisha wrote down the names of the countries that the news report had listed as ‘most affected’, and then another list of the immortals that were associated with those countries. The finished product left her reeling.
“Celtic, Welsh, Norse, Germanic, Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Arabic and Hebrew,” she whispered to herself. “They’re just the ones I know off the top of my head. Who knows how many more could be associated with those places?” she added, hardly daring to imagine the carnage that had, and was, still taking place in the worlds of the gods. All of those affected had a large number of Higher Realm immortals in them, and Alisha knew that it was the Higher Realm gods that were associated with the selfless, caring and generous side of humanity, and with them gone the darker urges of mankind, such as hatred and greed, were left to run wild.
“Adrian, you had better be all right,” Alisha whispered as thoughts of her twin locked in fierce combat came to mind. Without warning, an image of the Celtic warrior Nuada also came to mind, and Alisha said a silent prayer that he too was still alive, knowing that that was all that she could do to help them. She felt utterly powerless sitting on her hands in Rouen, yet she also knew that there was nothing that she could do to help. All that she could do was hope and pray that Belial was defeated soon, and that the ones that she loved would survive the conflict.
“If they don’t do something soon, there isn’t going to be a world left to save,” Alisha whispered as a single tear slid down her cheek and splashed onto her paper, images from the television flashing through her mind. “We’re running out of time.”

Taken from Chapter 16.

***

“There has to be something that we can do!” Luke slammed his fist down onto the table in frustration as a new wave of survivors entered the world of the Trinity. Immortals from all over had been seeking refuge in the home of the Trinity ever since the destruction began, and the usually empty Great Hall now looked more like a wartime shelter, with more casualties arriving every minute. Some had even been moved out into the connected Common Room, whilst the Trinity themselves were located in the Conference Room, which was located at the other end of the Great Hall.
“What are we supposed to do?” Harmony asked, fixing Luke with her aqua eyes. “He’s always one step ahead of us, and in our current situation we’re no match for him. Everyone here is either exhausted or injured, in most cases both. What exactly do you expect them to be able to do?” she ended on a bitter note.
“She’s right you know?” Adrian said, sitting on top of the table and doing his best to look relaxed, despite the chaos that lay on the other side of the closed double doors. “Right now we need to focus on getting everyone here back into fighting shape before we can do anything else.”
“The few healers that managed to survive are completely drained of energy! With their own worlds gone, this is the only place they can come to recuperate their strength, but even then I doubt that they’ll be able to heal everyone here!” Harmony objected. “The immortals who have healing abilities have been working around the clock to treat the wounded, but more keep arriving every minute. They can’t keep up!”
“I know, Harm!” Luke replied bluntly, raising his voice slightly. “I know how hard everyone is working. Hell, even Nuada is using his healing abilities where possible, but we’re running out of time, and I don’t know what to do! I’m twenty-one, and I’m supposed to know how to battle a demon god that predates the birth of Christ? We’re in way over our heads, and I don’t think that I can get us out of this mess without getting everyone killed!” Luke vented, sending his chair crashing into the wall behind him as he jumped to his feet and started pacing out his frustrations.
“This isn’t all on your shoulders, you know?” Adrian stated calmly, and Luke glared at him. “We’re all in this together; all three of us, as well as every other immortal here, not to mention the entire Mortal Realm. If we don’t at least try something, then it won’t just be you who suffers.”
Luke gave a strangled laugh, resenting Adrian’s calm demeanour. “Since when were you the rational one?” he asked, and the Dark god just shrugged his shoulders.

Taken from Chapter 17.

Newgrange, located on the East coast of Ireland, about five miles West of the town of Drogheda, was one of the best examples of a type of monument known as a passage-grave, or passage-tomb. Located on the top of an elongated ridge within a large bend in the Boyne River, it was positioned in such a way that on the Winter Solstice, the light from the rising sun entered the roofbox and penetrated the passage underneath, shining onto the floor of the inner chamber. This illumination only lasted for seventeen minutes, yet the passage and chamber was built with sophistication, with the intention to maximise the accuracy and length of the beam entering the chamber.
For the people of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Newgrange was the burial place of Aengus, one of the Dagda’s three sons. It was also the place where the great Celtic hero Cúchulainn was conceived by his mother Dechtine, who was visited by his father Lugh in a dream. It was a place of great magic, and of great history, which was why Nuada had chosen that particular site in the Boyne Valley to set up camp; it was a place where many great powers came together, forming a protective shield that one immortal alone could never have done.
Yet as the days wore on, Alisha Douet’s interest in the sacred place started to wane as the Darkness refused to let up, and the shadows only seemed to grow larger.
“I’ve explored all of the passages in that tomb at least five times over, and they’re not getting any more interesting,” she grumbled as she joined Nuada at their camp site.
Drifter looked up at her with a quirked eyebrow. “You get bored rather easily, don’t you?”
“There’s nothing to do!” she complained. “We don’t even have a deck of cards or anything!” she added, collapsing onto her back and staring up at the empty black sky. Belial’s Darkness had obscured all traces of stars, so even stargazing was out of the question.
“We do have these,” Nuada said, holding up a leather pouch and giving it a slight shake. It sounded like it was full of stones of some kind, and Alisha sat up in curiosity.
“What are they?” she asked as Nuada upended the bag, causing the contents to spill out onto the grass. There were twenty-five flat, oval shaped stones with different markings upon one side of their smooth surface. They vaguely reminded Alisha of dominos, except with symbols instead of dots, and there weren’t enough to play a game with. Not only that, but on closer inspection she realised that no two stones were alike.
“They are rune stones,” the Celtic warrior informed the young mortal woman. “They are used for luck and for divination.”
“Divination? You mean like predicting the future?” she asked, and Nuada nodded. 

Taken from Chapter 18.

***

‘Foolish mortals,’ he thought as he caused a large building to come crashing down onto the street below, crushing a large mob of people in the process. ‘They are all going to die in the end. It’s only a matter of time before we wipe them all out.’
As Melchiresa watched the dust settle, he couldn’t help but notice that there was a strange light coming from underneath the rubble, shining through the gaps in the debris. Intrigued, he started to walk towards it.
‘That is no flame light,’ he mused, feeling the barest trace of something strange coming from the light. Stopping not five metres away from the rubble that hid the source of the light, a feeling of unease came over him. Melchiresa could definitely feel a strange power coming from the light, and it was unlike anything that he had ever felt before. More curious than ever, he took one more step forwards and entered the glow that the light was casting onto the ground. The light was so bright that after spending so much time walking in near darkness, the sheer intensity of it was enough to make the demon cringe. Yet still he was determined to discover what it was, and where it was coming from. Taking a few more steps, Melchiresa was now no less than two feet away from the point of origin, and shielding his dark grey and red eyes slightly with one hand, he bent down to peer under the rubble. Shifting his eyes from side to side, he tried to pinpoint the light’s origin, when the rubble that was concealing it suddenly exploded in his face, sending him flying backwards onto the ground several meters behind him. The strange light shot out from within its hiding place and flew over the surprised demon, temporarily blinding him. Jumping to his feet, Melchiresa regained his sight just in time to see the strange light disappear into the ruined city beyond, gliding across the broken ground like a shadow. It was moving at such a high speed that, within moments of him spotting it, it had vanished completely.
“What, in the name of Darkness, was that?” he asked out loud, blinking in bewilderment at the spot where the light had vanished. “Whatever it was, it can’t be good,” he added in a grave tone of voice, unnerved by the fact that a mere light shadow had bested him. “Not good at all.”

Taken from Chapter 19.

***

“How dare you mock me!” Belial roared. “I will not stand here and be intimidated by a simple child!”
Alisha whipped her head around, fixing the demon with her glowing brown eyes, glaring with hatred at the creature that had destroyed everything that she’d held dear. Feeling a surge of power flow through her, she drew it out and into a powerful ball of Light energy that she held in her hand. Letting the energy fly, Belial was stunned to see it crash into his gathered warriors, obliterating any who were not quick enough to anticipate what was about to happen. As a result, only those of any considerable rank had survived the devastation, with the red haired demon Melchiresa amongst them.
“Now tell me again,” Alisha mocked. “Who was the simple child?”
Belial had turned a livid shade of red, and with a shout of rage he rushed at Alisha, swinging his sword around and aiming for her head.

Taken from Chapter 20.

***

“Feurety?” Nuada prompted, becoming increasingly worried about Alisha’s safety. “Where are they?”
“Gone,” Feurety finally replied in almost a whisper, and Nuada had to strain his ears to catch the single word. It was as if the fire god himself was finding his answer hard to believe.
“What do you mean by gone?” Nuada demanded, and Feurety sighed.
“The last time that I sensed either one of them, they were falling towards that nasty-looking void,” he explained in a voice that seemed to be way too calm. “They both crashed into it, and their powers have completely vanished. I can’t sense either one of them anymore.”
“But they can’t- Alisha can’t be-“ Nuada stuttered as Feurety turned to look at him, nodding gravely in answer to his thoughts.
“They’re both dead; Alisha and Belial,” he stated, and the orange flecks that were in his eyes were practically burning as he realised that yet another person that he should have been looking after had died, with him unable to prevent it.
“No,” Nuada whispered in disbelief, taking a step away from the grim fire god. He just couldn’t believe that Alisha Douet could be dead; that she could have been so quickly taken away from him. Yet as his murky green eyes travelled back towards the void in the earth he knew that there was no way that either of them could have survived.
Alisha and Belial were gone, yet the sky overhead was still dark; a testament to the powers of Darkness that Belial had commanded, still lingering upon the Earth.

Taken from Chapter 21.

***

“But how did I get here?” she whispered, sitting up with a premeditated wince; yet there was no pain in her body. Looking down at her hands, she saw that they were perfectly manicured, and rolling up her sleeves, as well as lifting her shirt, she soon realised that there wasn’t a single scratch or bruise on her.
“What are you doing?” a high-pitched voice came from the doorway, and looking up, Alisha just blinked in surprise at Claire Douet. The eight year old had her blonde hair up in two pigtails on the top of her head, and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink shirt – the very same clothing that she had been wearing when Alisha had first arrived in France.
“I … how long have I been asleep for?” she asked in French, and Claire frowned as she entered the room and climbed up onto the bed.
“Not too long, but papa told me not to bother you, ‘cause he knows that you like to sleep in late. But I was bored, so I came up here to see if you were awake yet. Do you think you could take me out with you today?” she asked, and now Alisha was really confused.
“But what about the chaos on the streets? It’s not safe to go out!” she was about to say, but thought better of it. Obviously, something immortal-related must have happened here in her absence, and Alisha decided to just take things as she found them.
“Claire, I told you not to wake her up!” the voice of Paul Douet said from the doorway. “Your sister had a later night last night, and she hasn’t had any coffee yet,” he added with a grin, before he frowned at the astonished look that was on his eldest daughter’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine dad,” Alisha hastily replied, before grinning at her father. “It’s just nice to see my family first thing in the morning.”
“Morning? Alisha, it’s two in the afternoon,” Paul replied with a laugh. “Come on, I’ll make you some coffee,” he offered, and with a slow nod of her head, Alisha slipped out from under her covers, before padding barefoot after her father.

Taken from Chapter 22.

***

“Will you stop pulling at it?” Alisha said in exasperation, slapping Nuada’s hand away from his throat, causing him to drop the tie that had been done up around his neck.
“But it is too tight,” he whined as Alisha straightened it up with a glare.
“It’s supposed to be like that,” she countered.
“That is just ridiculous. Why would men intentionally try to strangle themselves with their clothing?” he asked, and Alisha sighed. The Celtic god was clad in a tone on tone, shadow strip black Armani suit, with a pale blue collared shirt and tie just visible underneath the three-button jacket. Harmony had also tracked down a pair of leather loafers by Prada to replace the Irishman’s well-worn boots. With his shoulder length blonde hair stylishly mussed and left to hang, the Celtic warrior was attracting a lot of attention from the other shoppers.
Alisha giggled. “Those two girls that are standing in the doorway are checking you out,” she whispered playfully into his ear as she smoothed his jacket, and Nuada’s head shot around in surprise. Noticing that they had been spotted, the two now embarrassed girls hastily continued on their way past the store, and even Harmony had to giggle at the bewildered expression that was on Nuada’s face.
“Alisha, I would very much like to change back into my normal clothing now,” he said in desperation as he once more tugged at his neckline.
“Stop it,” Alisha chastised, slapping his hand away once more.

Taken from Chapter 23.

Melchiresa stood in the shadows of Feurety’s bedroom, watching the sleeping form of the fire god with his steely red eyes. His long rust red hair had been pulled back at the nape of his neck, with the long tresses flowing down his back like a red wave, contrasting with his pale skin. His angular facial features were set into a soft scowl as he continued to watch Feurety sleep.
The room that he was standing in could only be described as organised chaos, with Feurety being the only one who had any hope of making sense out of the mismatched objects, the cluttered shelves, and the littered floor. It was a bower of junk, and bending over, Melchiresa picked up a tightly wound scroll that was lying near his feet. Taking a moment to weigh the wooden and papyrus scroll in his hand, he then flicked it in the direction of the sleep-tousled black hair that was visible on the pillow of the bed; the only part of Feurety that could be seen. The tightly sealed scroll hit the fire god’s head with a crack, causing his fire orange eyes to snap open as he sat up, his senses scanning the room for any intruders.
“What the hell, Melchiresa? You’d better have a damn good reason for waking me up,” Feurety growled, rubbing the side of his head with a wince. “That actually hurt,” he muttered, yet it was drowned out by Melchiresa’s laughter.
“It is time to go, moron. What, did you forget?” he asked with amusement, and Feurety just blinked at him. “Belial is expecting our armies to be ready within the hour,” he added in a more serious tone of voice.
“Oh,” was all Feurety could say in response, and Melchiresa frowned at him.
“What were you doing so late yesterday? You look like you’ve been dragged through the pits of Hell,” he said, but Feurety waved his words aside.
“It’s nothing. Was that all you wanted to tell me?” he asked, unconcerned by the deadline. His warriors were all well prepared, and could be mobilised at a moment’s notice.
Melchiresa sighed as Feurety gave him the brush-off. “Yes, that was all,” he said, and with a nod and a yawn, Feurety laid back down on his bed.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“He’ll hunt you down if you’re late, you know that, right?” Melchiresa asked, and Feurety opened one fiery eye, regarding his rival. Was that concern that he could hear in his voice? Surely not.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to be late,” he assured the demon, and Melchiresa seemed to visibly relax at his words.
“You better not be,” he said before vanishing, and Feurety groaned as he realised that he had to get up. His head hurt from where the scroll had hit him, and he still felt tired from the events of the previous day. Still, war was upon them, and he had to be ready.

Taken from Chapter 24.

***

“What news, Morrigu?” Jesus called as the group of scattered mortals led by the Celtic goddess approached him.
“Melchiresa and his warriors have reached the heart of the city,” she reported breathlessly, finally letting go of Levi. “He moves in from the south,” she added.
“And Feurety has claim over the west,” Sekhmet stated as she stepped forwards. “He has slain Horus, and is burning the city to the ground,” she added in disgust, and Jesus nodded slowly.
“What of Belial? Where is he at?” he wanted to know, looking around at the gathered immortals.
“That disgraceful demon and his minions are advancing in the east,” Odin finally answered. “It looks like we are not only outnumbered, but are also being surrounded.”
“Not to mention that we are losing more men than we can replace,” Benjamin spoke up on behalf of the mortals, and Ares nodded in agreement.
“He’s right. The mortals are fighting better than I had expected, but there are simply not enough of them to make any kind of drastic impact. They’re too vulnerable in the city; all it takes is one blown up building to crush a whole group of them,” he grumbled.
Jesus sighed, not quite knowing what he should do. He knew that Ares spoke the truth, but what should he do? Try to drive back the demons now, or evacuate what was left of the mortals, regroup, and try again later? Both option had their downsides, but what decision was the best one to make? Jesus sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he made up his mind.

Taken from Chapter 25.

I'm afraid so. Due to many brainstorming sessions, edits, and a new idea that will change everything, I am not continuing on with the second drafts as they are now. I am doing a new, 3rd draft that I will not be sharing online, so please don't ask for any information on it! I want to keep it under wraps for the time being!

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