As I walked towards her, the demon leader, a tall, well built male moved forward towards me while the others moved aside and said, ‘Back off! She is ours’
‘Oh really! Strange, she didn’t mention anything about you. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, choice is yours’ I tell the demon leader as he realizes he has come to close to me and experiences a burning sensation. The demon leader immediately moves back to be with his friends.
I was now by the woman’s right side with her ghost friend on the left, he whispers to her, ‘who is he?’ to which I read a blank on her answer, again. I turned to look at both of them, capturing her image on my mind. This woman was standing next to me, yet I could not read her mind, all I got was, ‘prince charming has come to save the day! Woohoo! Do you know him?’ ghost friend asked the woman. The woman had hazel brown eyes. Our eyes locked for a while until ghost friend said, ‘ahem … ahem, Houston we have a problem’ her eyes were charming; it was a mixture of light brown and green. The ghost friend was a scrawny fellow, stuck in the 80s. I found him amusing, at first glance. I sensed that although ghost friend was happy I had come to save them, ghost friend had seen my eyes flicker from blue to red and yet, he was composed and trying his best not to freak out and cause more commotion.
Somehow sensing that I could obliterate them, the demon leader said, ‘we’ll let you off this time. Balor would be pleased to meet the new kid on the block’ to which I replied, ‘send my regards to him, he has my address, doesn’t he?’ I answered sarcastically as the demons walked away.
After the demons left, the woman and ghost friend thanked me profusely and they walked off hurriedly, ‘you could have thanked him nicely, walking off like that is rude!’ ghost boy chided the woman, even before I could ask for their names. ‘Hopefully, we’ll meet again, at least I have her in my visions, vaguely’ I thought to myself, sighing, at how cold people in London were. As London wasn’t as appealing and I had seen all there was to see, I brought myself back to my room at Boswedden, just in time for dinner. Mr. and Mrs Smith were amazed that I had returned so fast and that too, without a noise. Trying to be mortal, I told them that I didn’t find London appealing and took the next flight back to St Just, landing at Land’s End Airport a few hours earlier.
Chapter 8 - Vengeance
Ambisagrus stormed into Leucetius palace. The sight of an angry Ambisagrus made all the maidservants scurry away in fear. ‘Calm down Ambisagrus, what is it now? Do tell’ Leucetius asked.
‘I hate that new boy. I don’t like him at all! and what did you mean that you felt “connected” to him?’ Ambisagrus said angrily. He had his hands on his waist and he was obviously keeping his demon side under control in the Realm of the Gods.
‘Calm down Ambisagrus, we will get him out of our way. We will plot his demise and absorb his Godly powers away. He will be a worthless mortal and a dead one! Well, I had to say something nice to the boy. I am in no way connected to that mortal, rest assured’ Leucetius said assuring Ambisagrus that their alliance was a strong one.
‘And how do you plan to kill him? He is God now’ Ambisagrus said.
‘He is God, yes but not an official one and that makes it easier for us to erase him. Come here, I’ll explain’ Leucetius said.
‘We must not let Dea or any other God know about this. First, get your army, Dearg and humans up to speed. Start training or re-training them if you have too. With Taran’s mind and thoughts unreadable, it’s hard to trace his whereabouts, but it’s possible to pinpoint his location. He couldn’t have gone far from where he lived as a mortal. Start combing London, Cornwall and Devon. Feed on the humans if you have too, but we need his location’ Leucetius continued.
Ambisagrus was happy when he heard this, nothing like a free flow of human meat to keep him motivated in his hunt for his enemy.
Ambisagrus then said, ‘That sounds like a plan! But there is a problem’
‘What’s the problem?’ Leucetius asked.
‘We do not know the extent of his powers. For all you know, he could be hearing our conversation this very minute!’ Ambisagrus said peering into his visions and mind reading abilities to see of Taran was eavesdropping on them but returned with a negative.
‘Ambisagrus, you are forgetting who I am. My powers would make him look like a Boy Scout selling cookies’ Leucetius said proudly.
‘But, we will need Nemesis to give what is due to Aidan Connor, that good-for-nothing barbarian’ Leucetius said. With a call, Nemesis was present. ‘What is it you want Leucetius and Ambisagrus?’
‘We want revenge on Taran. We believe you have heard of him. We wish to destroy him before he is installed as the next God of Thunder’ Leucetius said.
‘Ah! Taran. He has gained fortune to what he deserved. What price are you willing to pay for Taran’s revenge?’ Nemesis asked.
‘You can have Taran’s soul, yours for eternity’ Ambisagrus said with Leucetius nodding in agreement. ‘A man to do my every bidding; sounds good to me’ Nemesis said. ‘Deal!’
‘Deal!’ Leucetius and Ambisagrus say in unison.
The three of them then began plotting how they would take their revenge on Taran. ‘I will go down to Earth as Jasmine Halle and subdue Taran with my sexuality. No man has rejected me and Taran would be more than happy to take advantage of it considering his past, that poor boy has been deprived of woman all his mortal life, considering what they had in the first century!’ Nemesis said with a smile on her face.
‘Once you have him in your submission, demobilize him for a while until we get there’ Ambisagrus said with a smirk.
‘Then with both our powers, we shall kill him and he would vanish from the face of the Earth and the Realm of the Gods!’ and with that the three of them laughed happily.
‘His soul will be mine once you two have finished him’ Nemesis said with pleasurable smile.
Once their planned was finalized, the three of them drank mead and made a toast to ‘the end of Taran!’
‘What do you plan to do with that wretched soul anyway?’ Ambisagrus asked curiously, ‘aren’t I good enough for you?’
‘What I do with his soul is none of your concern. The deal is for me to get his soul. And you have Lilith, who is carrying your child. Have you forgotten? So the deal if for Taran’s soul. Is that understood?’ Nemesis answered sternly ‘Any more questions?’
‘None, your Honor’ Ambisagrus answered sarcastically. ‘There is no more reason for me to stay here now. I take my leave. I’ll keep you two posted once I am on earth as Jasmine Halle’ Nemesis said as she evaporated into a dark cloud of mist.
After Nemesis had left, Ambisagrus asked, ‘what if Nemesis fails?’
‘When it comes to luring men and breaking relationships, she has never failed at that but we do need a back-up plan. Any ideas Ambisagrus?’ Leucetius asked.
‘I am going to meet Balor. With our combined demon forces, we should be able to stop Taran’ Ambisagrus said and with that he made his way to the lair of the demons. ‘My concern is Dea’ Ambisagrus said as he disappeared into a cloud of mist.
It was a known fact that the demons had always gathered at Darkness Club in St Just, it was their den, although the mortals knew nothing of this. During the day, the club was a restaurant, but by night, the ambience changed to that of a club which attracted a drinking crowd. The club was dimly lit and there were several rooms where the demons would satisfy their urges, whether sexually or simply having fun killing their victims. At the lair of the demons, Balor was waiting for Ambisagrus’ arrival. ‘I know your purpose and we will ally with you once again. It’s been a while since we last teamed up and had any fun on any realm’ he said with a wide smile.
‘That is good to know. You will be rewarded for being part of this’
‘What is my reward?’ Balor asked. ‘Whatever price you ask?’ Ambisagrus answered.
‘I will give you my price after I have met Taran’ Balor said as he and his henchmen made their way to St Just
.
While Ambisagrus and Balor were chatting, some of Balor’s met explained their encounter with a God in human form. The God didn’t give a name but he was powerful, he had a commanding and powerful presence. Balor’s men went on further giving Taran’s description on their meeting in London and also the fact that they could not read what was on Taran’s mind but he could clearly read their mind and obliterate them in an instant. Ambisagrus knew at once that they had found the man they were looking for, Aidan Connor.
Chapter 9 - New friends
As my days went by, I maintained my daily exercise routine. I varied my running paths as there were plenty of treks to choose from. I had always alternated between the long and short treks at South West Coastal Path and One day as I was jogging along the South West Coast path, I sensed a familiar scent, a lavender scent, the same one I sensed in London. The path was deserted and it was early in the day, so the jogging crowd hadn’t built up yet. I zoomed in on my goggle vision and saw that it was the same woman I had a brief encounter with in London. She was accompanied by her ghost friend and this time was being herded by a group of seven men, only this time, the men weren’t demons, ‘what are the odds?’ I thought to myself and made my way to meet them, or rather, save them, once again, as these mortal men had sinister thoughts in their minds.
The group of seven men was dressed in their jogging attire. They were big, burly men who were well built and could easily have taken down ghost boy in minutes. ‘What a pleasant surprise, we meet again’, I said happily to the woman and her ghost friend, who looked at me, stunned and surprised as I stood beside the woman and her ghost friend. All nine of them turned towards me. The woman and her ghost friend were surprised while the seven men looked at me angrily. ‘It’s him again. What a coincidence!’ ghost friend tells her while breathing a sigh of relief. I read ghost boy’s mind and he was delighted that I had come to their rescue; once again, he was, however, wondering what I was doing in St Just.
Just as I continue walking towards them, one of the man comes forward and punches me in my stomach and it wasn’t long before all of them lunged at me, blowing punches, kicking and fisting every part of me. The leader of the pack grabbed the woman’s wrist tightly and pulled her, she resisted fiercely, but his grip was strong. Her ghost friend looked at her, helpless, he could only watch, sadly, at the turn of events. Ghost boy had given imaginary punches and kicks but all were futile attempts. There was a brief moment when I saw in my visions that the woman had bitten the man’s hand and kicked him in the leg, she managed to escape, only to be caught by two other men a few feet away. While three men surrounded her and the leader grabbed her wrist, more tightly than before and slapped her hardly once. Ghost boy could only watch what was being done to me.
While underneath this human mass of four men, I closed my eyes and called upon Taran, the God within me and within minutes, I rose and with tremendous power, all four men are thrown in various directions into the sky and land on the ground with a thud. Some land on their back, causing injuries to their spine while others land head down with injuries to their head, chest and legs. The four burly men who had held me down were now demobilized, lying on the ground, writhing in pain. I maintained my human form and didn’t transform into my Godly form as I didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention towards myself with so many mortals present. At that moment, everyone stops and looks at me. I walked towards the leader who held the woman and grabbed his other wrist and grip it tightly while looking directly into his eyes. The woman and ghost boy are speechless and just stare at me as his eyes showed fear and he gradually loosened his grip on the woman. Once he released her, I punched him in the chin and stomach which sends him flying a few feet from the ground and he landed writhing in pain on his back.
The seven men assembled, with some limping, some crouching and some still lying in pain and as I was prepped for round two, the men ran away in all directions. The woman was composing herself and her ghost friend provided her comfort and consolation. I turned to look at the woman and her ghost friend and said, ‘you two alright?’ I asked out of genuine concern. The woman looked me, stunned and says, ‘you mean, are you alright? I’m the only one here and the only other person here is you. Yes, I’m fine now, thanks for the asking’ she answered, in a sweet confused voice.
‘Do you think he can see me’ ghost friend asked the woman as they now stood beside each other protectively while I dust off the remnant dirt off my arms. ‘Shhhh’ she whispers to the ghost friend, not realizing that I could see him clearly as he began to look afraid and worried, yet excited at the same time.
‘Yes, I can see you, ghost boy! I answered as I glared at the ghost boy and then turned towards the woman and said, ‘no, there are two of you … you and your ghost friend’ as I gave the ghost friend a vice-grip to his neck and gently raise him above the ground which scares him which results in him making frantic moves to his body while trying release my grasp from his neck. The woman holds my arm and screams, ‘no! let him go!’ and kicks me in my leg, which only hurts her and she shouts, ‘are you the terminator!’. She desperately tries to release my grip on her friend. She tries to place her arms around my arms, hoping that I would let go but she is much shorter than me and her attempts were unsuccessful. ‘Let him go! Let him go, this instant!’ she screams at me. Just then, her ghost friend appears out of thin air in a multi-colored neon windbreaker and tight fitting pink trousers. He has shoulder length blonde hair which was unkempt. I released my grip and slowly bring him to the ground, ‘you almost killed me?! Wait! I’m dead so you can’t kill me but you can see and touch me! How did you do that?? Are you a ghost whisperer? Or someone who can speak to the dead?’ the woman’s ghost friend asked in one breath.
‘Whoa, boy! That’s a lot of questions in one breath, isn’t it?’ I answer while trying to control my laughter. I looked at the woman, who is now staring at me wide-eyed and asked, ‘who is the terminator?’
The ghost friend then flicks his fingers in front of her face and that brings her out of her daze and says to her ghost friend, ‘he can see and touch you!’ to which ghost boy turns to me and replies, ‘Yeah, obviously! You are the first person who can see and touch me since I became a ghost’ he answered while giving me a serious look and ensuring that I do not touch his other body parts. Then, the woman says, ‘amazing!’ and we both look at her pointing towards the horizon where the sun was rising. ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘Not as beautiful as you’ I thought to myself and immediately realized that mother had access to my shielded thoughts. ‘Great! Just great!’ I thought. Mother interrupted my thoughts with a laugh and said, ‘Aidan, she could be the one for you. Take good care of her and her friend’
As if brought back down to Earth, the woman continued, ‘Oh my God! I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were here. Thanks so much, you have helped, I meant to say that you saved us twice already and you can see my ghost friend … wait! you almost killed him! But Jake’s dead already, but still!’ she chattered and then suddenly hit me very hard on my right arm, which jerks me out of my thoughts. She suddenly clasps her mouth with both her hand, gives me a guilty smile and utters, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. ‘It’s OK’ I smiled as I rubbed my arm where she had hit me.
‘Jake?’ I asked curiously while looking at the ghost friend. ‘Yes, that’s me’ as he bows down in appreciation. ‘And you are …?’ I asked looking directly at woman, whose lavender scent, hazel brown eyes and whose mind I could not read was attractive not only to me, but to mortals and demons alike.
‘Sarah’ she answered warmly as she extended her hand. I took her hand and returned her handshake. Her skin was soft, warm and her grip was firm. We released our hands quickly and they both moved aside and returned after some deliberation with Jake, she asked, ‘Jake and I would like to take you for dinner, as a token of appreciation, for saving us, twice already, today, 7.00 pm at The Morrignan Café, is that fine with you? We’ll meet you there’ s
he asked. ‘Yeah, 7.00 pm is fine. I’ll walk you to the main road as there should be more joggers now that the sun is up’ to which they both nod in agreement and thanked me.
I walked silently behind as Sarah and Jake continued their chatter while walking in front of me, ‘You ask him’, ‘No, you!’, ‘Yes, you, now ask!’ Jake argued. Sarah’s thoughts were still blank to me, ‘at least I can see her in my visions’ I thought to myself, consoled at that thought.
‘Can I ask you something’ Sarah turned to me as I caught up with her. Jake was ahead singing and dancing to the tunes of “Beat it” and enjoying his act, while seeking applauses from mortals who could not see him. I couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Yes, go ahead, ask’ I tell Sarah, wondering in my mind the possible questions she could ask.
‘What’s your name? We didn’t get it earlier’ she asked as she pointed to Jake and herself. ‘Aidan’ I answered, smiling at the simple question and realized that I didn’t introduce myself earlier. ‘Oh, that’s a nice name. Another question, please?’ she asks, like a small child. I smile and she asks, ‘Is Aidan your only name or does it come with a family name?’ she asks while giving me a broad smile. I couldn’t help but laugh and answer, ‘it comes with a family name, Connor, Aidan Connor. Any more questions?’ I asked curiously as I tried to read her mind, but failing at every attempt ‘The world’s current population is seven billion, I can read what’s on everyone’s mind, but yours, why?!’ I thought to myself. ‘Yeah, just one more … who is Balor? The men in London mentioned him and you seem to know him’