Defiance
Chapter One: They Come
James hefted the last of his boxes onto his small, uncomfortable looking bed and tossed the lid off to find some of the clothes he had been missing from the other boxes. Sighing lightly, he put the lid back on and moved the box off his bed and into the corner of his extremely shallow closet. One thing he could never understand is why students in University, living on campus, were given so very little space. He was pretty certain inmates in a maximum security prisons had bigger rooms than he did.
To be honest, he didn’t even really want to be there, taking classes he had no interest in for a job he would never need. He had been coerced into post-secondary education, and it was still beyond him why he had ever gone along with it. Well that wasn’t entirely true: it’s not like he had been forced to attend NYU or anything. But he liked to see it that way when he was feeling a little down. His best friend, Amy, had begged him to apply to the same places she had, in the hopes they would find a school that would take them both. When their acceptance letters for NYU came she had been ecstatic and got on his case for nearly two straight weeks to accept the spot he had been given. It was extremely hard to tell Amy no, so after some time he finally did what she asked and now there he was, stuffing all of his things into a cramped space in a place he didn’t really want to be.
“You still haven’t unpacked?” came a soft feminine voice from the doorway behind him. Turning around, James saw his best friend standing there, looking as beautiful as she always seemed to. Her long dyed red hair was pulled into pig tails that hung over her shoulders, and her large blue eyes sparkled as a smile danced over her face. Even in his annoyance James couldn’t help but smile back at Amy.
“I just got the last of my boxes sent over today,” he remarked and pointed over to the unpacked boxes stacked in his closet.
“You do realize that classes start in two days right?” she teased and walked into the small room, the tips of her fingers gliding over the desk as she found a chair and sat down, kicking her long legs up onto his bed. “Where’s your roommate?”
“I actually don’t have one.”
Amy laughed, thinking at first he had been joking around; but when he didn’t show any signs of pulling the wool over her eyes she stopped and stared at him in disbelief. “How is that possible? Everyone has a roommate! This school is packed to the gills with students and there are barely enough rooms for everyone! God you're lucky!”
“Maybe the housing office made a mistake or something,” he lied. “I take it your roommate is no prize?”
“You have no idea!” Amy snorted. “She is some kind of crazy I’ve never seen before. She cries almost constantly, even when she is sleeping! It’s really kind of creepy.”
Sick of trying to sort through his belongings, James gave up and fell onto his bed, his head almost hitting the brick wall. “Why did you make me come here?” he asked.
“Don’t even try it mister! It’s not like I held a gun to your head and forced you to apply or anything. Besides, you’re a really smart guy; even smarter than me!”
“Now that’s really saying something,” he scoffed at her flattery, “but I think you give me too much credit Amy. you are about ten times smarter than I will ever be.”
It was true, they were both top of their class back in high school, but James did believe that she was smarter than he was. While in high school, when he would try to play down how smart he was, Amy would excel at everything academic and had even won a few awards for it. She was a pretty interesting person, all those brains wrapped up in a very attractive package made for a very dangerous young woman. Thankfully she had never really realized how gorgeous she was, or she did and just didn’t care; because she didn’t have that snotty ‘greater than thou’ attitude. She was actually a pretty grounded girl and James found that to be a little more dangerous than if she flaunted what she had.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she giggled, “you’ve got nothing on me!”
“I could take you in a fight,” James boasted, teasing his friend about her slender frame.
“I don’t know about that, I’m pretty damn fast! You’d have to catch me first!”
“Oh, I could!”
“Come on James, you’re built like a line backer! Sure, you’re tall and covered in muscles, but you’re not exactly the quickest guy in the world.”
In the blink of an eye James launched himself off his bed and grabbed hold of Amy before she even had a chance to scream or move out of the way. With his body weight crashing into her the chair she sat on tipped violently and they both started to fall backwards, towards the frame of the other tiny bed. In a heartbeat he twisted his body, his arms enveloping his friend and they fell away from the bed and onto an open spot on the hard linoleum floor. They landed roughly and James caught himself before crushing the small woman under him.
“Still believe I’m not fast?” he asked his face only a few inches from hers.
“No fair!” she protested, laughing a little. “You caught me off guard! How am I supposed to move out of the way of an attack I don’t see coming?”
“Not my problem, so just admit that you were wrong.”
Her competitive nature taking over, Amy started to push against the larger man, not wanting to admit defeat. James could feel her strength as she tried her hardest to move him, but it was no use and she only succeeded in winding herself as she struggled. She was only going to get up if he let her get up, and to do that she would have to admit he was right; something she hated doing.
‘”Just give up,” he laughed as he stared at her pretty face twisted in concentration.
“Never!” she growled and changed tactics, trying to roll out from underneath him. There wasn’t much space, but she was small enough that she could have done it, if he had not planted his arm in her way and gently tossed her back to where she had started a moment ago. Feeling she would need some more prodding to concede he pinned her underneath his weight a little, and reached towards her ribs, her most dreaded ticklish spot. She instantly recognized what he was attempting and screamed out loudly, “I give! I give!”
“Thank you,” he beamed and then hefted himself off before grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet. Amy’s face was bright red and she struggled to catch her breath from the ordeal, but she couldn’t hide the smile dancing at the sides of her lips.
“You ever do that again and I will kick you square in the nuts,” she threatened but couldn’t stop the bubbly laughter that slipped from her throat. James held his hands up in mock surrender and backed a few steps away, finding his bed and sitting down.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t like it,” he teased and she blushed even deeper.
“Get some sleep,” she answered quickly as she moved towards his door. “My parents will be in town tomorrow and they are taking me out to dinner before classes start. And I’m sure they will try to drag you along too.”
No sooner had the words left her lips she disappeared into the hallway and out of sight, leaving James to sigh loudly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He realized he had let himself go a little too much there, and was thankful Amy never questioned how quickly he had moved, or how he had been like a brick wall when she tried to push him off her. He had to be more carefu,l or he could have a repeat of the football incident and be forced to move once more.
The rest of the night went slowly and he found himself slacking more than anything else. He just couldn’t bring himself to unpacking, and he really didn’t know why. It was like a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that just wouldn’t go away and it was starting to screw with him. It was like nothing felt worth doing anymore. As he slept, his usually dull dreams were filled with screaming, blood, explosions, and gore, and when he woke up the morning he felt less rested than the previous night.
The dreams deeply troubled him, and no matter what he did he couldn’t block the images from his mind. Besides showering, he spent most of the day cooped up in his room, writing every detail of the dreams down trying to figure out why it had seemed too familiar. He didn’t even realize the time until Amy was knocking at his door, reminding him that her parents were in town for the night. As quickly as he could, James threw the papers he had written on into a binder and hid it under his bed, pushing it out of sight and hopefully out of mind.
“What’s up?” he asked, opening the door to find Amy standing there. Her hair done up and a perfect amount of makeup on was painted across her pretty face. She wore a mid-length navy blue skirt and a simple yet elegant red blouse that hugged her body snugly. She was a vision.
“It’s like I told you yesterday, my parents want to invite you out to dinner,” she smiled.
“Uh, I think I’m going to stay in tonight... if that’s alright.”
“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she replied. “You do realize that if I don’t come back down to the car with you, my dad is going to come up here himself, right?”
James wanted nothing more than to just lock himself in the room for the rest of the night and try to figure out what his dreams had been about, but he also knew that his friend was right. Her parents were good people, well educated, held very good jobs, and were loving parents to Amy. One thing he had learned about her father, growing up only a few houses away from them, was that he was not a man who liked to be turned down; whether it be a contract his firm was working on, or an offer he made to friends and family. Like Amy, he was someone you didn’t want to say no to. It’s not like it was a bad thing, he wouldn’t go ballistic if you did, but he was such a great guy that you didn’t want to say no.
“Give me a second,” he grumbled and retreated back into his room. He threw on a nice blue button up dress shirt, and while hiding out of sight from the door he changed from his jeans into a pair of black slacks. It was obvious by the way Amy was dressed that they would be going somewhere nice to eat, so he didn’t want to look like a hobo or anything.
James followed the beautiful young woman out of the dormitory and into the parking lot, where her parents waited patiently in a white rental car. Her father, Henry, greeted him happily and thanked him for joining them, and promised the food would be great. They made small talk as they drove through the bustling New York streets, finally pulling to the side of the road in front of a very fancy looking restaurant with a group of people waiting outside.
He was glad to be out of his room for a little while, but James feared that they would have to wait for a table to open up and he didn’t want to be gone for too long. To his surprise, Amy’s father had called a few days ahead and made a reservation, and they were shown to a secluded table near the back of the packed restaurant and handed a wine list and four menu’s. Glancing over the prices listed James realized Henry would easily drop a few hundred dollars on a night for the four of them, and he wished he had delved into his stash before coming here so he could help out on the bill.
“So, are you two excited about classes starting tomorrow?” her mother, Sandra, asked nicely as she handed the wine list to her husband so he could choose something nice for them.
Amy nodded excitedly, but James found he still couldn’t get excited about it. “Not really, to be honest.”
“Let me guess, you’d rather travel across Europe for a year?” Henry asked with a laugh, putting the wine list down in front of him.
“I’m not sure actually,” James replied slowly, but was saved from having to further explain what he meant when their waitress came over and asked the table what they would like for drinks.
“Can we get a bottle of the ’82 Cannon?” Henry requested as he went over the wine list again quickly.
“You do know that is a three hundred dollar wine sir?”
“I sure do. We’ll need four glasses for the table as well please,” he smiled andthe waitress eyed the table, namely the two underage students sitting next to each other, and looked about ready to ID them. She must have thought better of it, because she smiled softly and walked away to get the bottle. It was, after all, a hundred dollar bottle. So she must have decided it was better not to ask any questions in case she lost the sale.
The waitress returned a few minutes later with the bottle of wine and four sparkling wine glasses. Henry poured a small amount of the ruby liquid into the glasses while they ordered their meals and then handed one to everyone. “I’d like to propose a toast,” he said cheerfully. “To the end of an era, and the start of another!’
Saying cheers, they softly touched their glasses together and took a sip. Out of the corner of his eye James watched as the alcohol touched Amy’s lips and her face scrunched up, this probably being the first time she had tried wine. James tried to mirror her reaction, even though he was not new to wine; or even any alcohol for that matter. It had just been a very long time since he had last had some though.
For the next hour they made small talk, going over their chosen course loads and if they were nervous to be taking the next step in their life. James answered the questions he was asked as simply as he could, preferring to not get too into the conversation. He never even realized the chosen topic had changed until Amy kicked his leg under the table and brought him back to reality, trying to quickly catch up on what he had missed.
“What was that?” he asked realizing he had been asked a question.
“Amy’s mother was just wondering out loud why you two never dated,” Henry answered with a smile, pointing to his daughter and moving his finger in a sweep to him.
“Well… I uh…” James stammered, not really sure how to answer the question.
“Seems like he’s thought about it darling,” Sandra said to her daughter, who, now that James looked over, was trying to hide her face in a napkin; but he could still see a pink tinge to her cheeks. He figured it could have been from the wine.
“Mom, stop,” she protested, but her mother just giggled lightly at her.
“Oh come now, Amy, we’re all adults here now. There’s no need to be so shy.”
“Enough mother, please.”
Feeling his friend's discomfort, James decided to jump in and take the focus from her, “I guess it’s because we’re just such great friends. Neither of us wants to ruin that.”
“Sandra and I were best friends before we started dating, and I have to say, James, that there is no better fit than that in world.” Henry spoke as he set his glass of wine on the table. “But you two are young still, you have lots of time to find that out.”
The topic quickly changed to their plans for the holidays, now that Amy was at a school that wasn’t located in their hometown. Amy had decided early on that she was going to spend the break on campus if she was able, and get a jump on school work before things got really hectic; so her parents were going to spend the time in Hawaii as a second honeymoon.
“Are you going to see your foster parents for Christmas?” Sandra asked, turning to James.
“I haven’t thought about it yet really,” he answered honestly. The story everyone knew about his parents was that they had died in a car accident when he was an infant, and he had been sent to a home. Of course him being sent to a home was the truth, but it wasn’t because his parents had died. No one could know the truth though.
“I think you should. I’m sure Tom and Cassandra would be happy to have you there with them. They think of you as their own son you know.”
Tom and Cassandra had been good parents to him, making sure he could have anything he ever needed. Of course he didn’t really need their money, having more than enough of his own for at least a couple hundred years, but they didn’t know about that. Besides, they were glad to care for him and it made him happy that they could be happy. They hadn’t been able to have children of their own, and the adoption process was a lengthy one, so they figured they could help out less fortunate children and become foster parents. Every child they had in their life was better off for it as they were such caring, gentle people.
“We’ll see. I don’t think they have another child with them right now, so I might just give them some space. let them enjoy some alone time. They deserve it,” he answered.
A bottle of wine, three courses and dessert later, they paid the outrageous bill and left bustling restaurant. Even though they had been there for a few hours the crowd outside showed no sign of dwindling, and James guessed it would be busy late into the night. He could understand why now, the food was superb and he made a mental note to come back there some time.
“It’s such a beautiful night,” Sandra said, settling her sheer scarf over her shoulders and latching onto her husband’s arm, “and we’re only a few blocks from the hotel dear. Maybe we should let the kids take the car back to their dorms and we can walk under the stars.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” he replied happily.
“How will you guys get the car back?” James asked.
“We can take a taxi to the campus and pick it up before heading back to the airport. It’s no bother.”
Henry tossed the keys over to his daughter and then both her parents hugged her, saying their goodbyes and wishing her a good first day in university. Her father shook James’s hand quickly and wished him luck as well, before he and his wife walked off towards their hotel and left the two friends standing there on the sidewalk. They quickly hoped into the rental car and Amy fired it up, pulling out onto the busy street like a pro. She was by far the best driver. Or so he let her believe.
“You realize they are just trying to set us up,” Amy said quietly as she stopped a red light and turned to him.
“Well I guess we would make a great couple,” he joked, but Amy’s expression remained stoic. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she brushed it off and turned back to looking out on the road in front of them.
“Cut the crap, I know you too well Amy. Something is bothering you,” he pushed. She would always try to play it too cool when she was hiding something, and he wasn’t afraid to call her on it.
“I just… my mom just got me thinking. Why didn’t we ever try dating? Neither of us dated anyone else in high school and we were always together, but it never came up.”
“I don’t know, I guess it just didn’t,” he said, not really knowing what else to say. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about it before; he just really valued her friendship, and couldn’t bear the thought of losing it.
Amy didn’t say another word on the subject, and soon they arrived back at the dorms. Amy found an open parking spot that her parents would be able to see from the road and then locked up. They walked towards the dorms together, an awkward silence between them and James wished dearly he could say something to make it all better; but he just didn’t know what was wrong entirely.
Finally, as they neared the front door to the dorm hall Amy stopped and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “Listen, I hope this doesn’t come off as weird or anything, but I have to know. Do you find me attractive?” she asked, refusing to look him in the eyes.
“Of course I do, how could I not?” he answered in disbelief before he could stop himself.
“Then why haven’t you made a move on me?”
James stammered for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what to say. But nothing came to mind. He could very easily tell her the truth, or even a bold faced lie, but he found a small part of him didn’t want to. That small part was growing, and had been for quite some time and he was just too afraid to admit it. He knew the consequences for such a want; he had been through it all a hundred times before. It was his damned emotions though! So chaotic and strong he couldn’t always keep them in check.
After standing there, withhim looking like a complete idiot as he stumbled over his own words, Amy spoke again, “Then maybe I should.”
Before James could react, her soft, tender lips were pressing at his as her lithe body moved closer to him. A million different thoughts flew through his head and he began to feel dizzy. Her flowery smell, wet lips, and enticing body were worming their way into his mind and he could feel the familiar effects of his overly strong emotions as his brain focused on a single thought; one that ballooned up with each passing Nanosecond. Amy quickly became his world, his everything, and any thought of pushing her off quickly went out the window as he willingly gave into his desire for her.
He wrapped his large arms around her small frame, pulling her body right into his as his lips hungrily attacked hers. For the span of a heartbeat Amy seemed stunned by the turn of events. Her body went rigid, her lips turned firm, and her grip around the back of his neck loosened a tiny bit. That shock didn’t last long though, and she quickly joined him in the kiss. His emotions were now spiralling out of control, and James was very close to losing any rational thoughts that still remained. His blood boiled in his veins and Amy consumed him, spurring him on without her even realizing it.
Thankfully, Amy broke the kiss to catch her breath, her face bright red from the passion she had just been a part of. Biting her lower lip she looked into his eyes, her own sparkling blue ones boring holes into his very soul as she seemed to see him in a new way.
“Where did that come from?” she asked, her voice a little heavy.
“You started it,” he teased and she smiled at that.
“So what now? Because this kind of changes things.”
He took her small hand in his and held it firmly, his hormones and emotions bubbling even hotter. “Now I finish what you started.” He pulled her towards the door and they made their way through the halls filled with students celebrating their last day of freedom, until they were through his door and crashing down on his bed.
James attacked her lips again, too far gone from stopping now. Amy eagerly met his kisses and wrapped her slender arms around his waist, hugging his rugged body against hers. James continued to explore every nook and cranny of her mouth with his lips and tongue, furiously trying to calm himself down to no avail. Under his furious assault it wasn’t long before Amy had to pull away to catch her breath again, this time her face filled with apprehension.
“Do you think this is a little fast?” she asked nervously.
Seeing the innocent look on her face and hearing the questioning tone in her words, James came back to his senses and pulled himself off her and rolled onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling. She was right of course, it was going pretty damn fast and he had almost lost total control. He had been trying to avoid this very thing and he was glad her cooler head prevailed.
“I’m sorry, when I get going it’s a little hard to stop,” he admitted without thinking, but she didn't seem to notice thankfully. Amy lay next to him quietly, his left arm trapped under her head, and James couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her mind.
James now sighed and closed his eyes, forcing himself to take a deep breath and get a grip on his rampaging emotions. All the desire that ran rampant through his blood, spurred on by hormones and long buried emotions threatened to cripple him. Yet he knew he had to take control again. Amy hadn't known what she had been doing when she had kissed him outside a few minutes earlier. Basically she had been poking the bear, and now that bear was awake. It shouldn't be awake though.
It was hard to reign in these almost ancient emotions though. It had been such a long time since he had felt them that he hadn't even seen this coming. Why was is so hard to control them when it came to Amy though? He hadn't felt this strongly in... well in a very long time. It honestly scared James a little, and for a moment he was lost as to what to do. However, Amy seemed more than capable of calming things down and she quickly leapt into action when she realized he was lost in thought.
“I... I should probably get back to my room,” she said slowly, adjusting a little but not actually getting off his bed yet. “I've got to get up early to give the rental back to my mom and dad, and then I've got an early class. Are we still on for lunch?”
James, who had only half heard everything the young woman had just said, was pulled back to reality. He blinked and turned his head to look over at her, finding that she had already fixed him with her big blue eyes and was waiting eagerly for a response. Actually, it was a little weird. After what had just happened between them, after the huge change that had just occurred, Amy was acting like it really wasn't that big of a deal. Either she was quicker at adjusting than he was, or it wasn't affecting her at all. James didn't mind either way. He was actually a little happy. He needed time to think, and this gorgeous creature had just given it to him like she had known.
“Yeah, lunch. Sounds good.”
“Okay, see you then,” Amy smiled gently at him now and pulled herself up onto her elbows. She stopped just short of hopping off the bed and turned back to him, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on his lips that lasted just long enough to let him keep his sanity intact. “Miss you.”
Her hair sticking out at odd angles, her face still burning, and her knees threatening to buckle on her at any moment, Amy walked out of his room and closed the door behind her. James repositioned himself in bed so his head was on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling while his mind was totally consumed with Amy. Her face, her body, her scent, her feel, her laugh, her kiss. Absolutely everything. He really hoped this phase would pass quickly this time, but in the back of his mind he knew it wouldn’t happen. This one seemed more powerful than the previous times, and that had him a little scared. Oh well, what’s done was done.
James didn’t remember falling asleep, or how long after Amy had left that it had happened. One moment he was laying there thinking about her, and the next he was being torn out of a sound sleep, visions of carnage still dancing before his eyes as a sultry voice called out to him in the darkness. He instantly recognized the voice, even though it felt like it had been centuries since he had last heard it. He would know it anywhere.
“Don’t you knock, Luna?” he asked as he turned on the small light beside his bed. An extremely beautiful woman in plain clothes stood at the foot of his bed, her long bronze hair framing her tanned face and dazzling green eyes. Her appearance was perfect in absolutely every way, and any lesser man would have been picking their jaws up off the floor with just a single glance.
“I would have, if I used the door,” the young looking woman replied playfully. “I’m known as Erin now.”
James got out of his bed, still dressed in his best clothes, and embraced the tall woman before him like family; because that’s pretty much what they were. “Is it wise to teleport like that”’ he asked with a sad and haunted smile.
“I didn’t come from very far,” she defended.
“Well I’m glad to see you regardless, it’s been too long. Honestly, I thought you would have appeared a long time ago, but you never did.”
“You asked me not to, so I respected that wish for as long as I could. I have watched over you from afar though.”
“I told you to leave me alone over three hundred years ago Erin. Why appear now?”
Erin dropped her embrace and took a step back, a solemn expression covering her face as she spoke, “The council is convening tonight, and I want you to be there for it.”
James suddenly laughed out loud at her answer, taking a few steps back and shaking his head. “You have got to be kidding! I can’t show up there! I was banished! Remember?!”
“You must Gabriel!” she pleaded, using his ancient name. “Ares summoned us, saying it was of the utmost importance! Banished or not I want you to be there for this! Dark omens have been popping up all over the place and it is time for us to stand united!”
“He is still clinging to his ancient name is he?” James scoffed. “He will never change, and he will never allow me there! By bringing me you will face his wrath sister, he will banish you as well!”
The beautiful woman strode over to him and took him in her arms, hugging him tightly to her toned body. “If the prophecies are coming true we will all need to be there, as one! With Baal gone we cannot afford to have another immortal missing!”
James winced at the reference of her fallen husband, Baal. It was a very sore spot for all the immortals, and one that would always be etched in their minds for all of time. He had stood up for James when he was brought to judgement, and it had been all a mistake. He never should have been there; he never should have gotten in the way! James would always feel responsible for what happened.
“I can’t, I’m sorry,” he said softly, turning away from his sister.
“Then the choice is not yours to make!” she said defiantly and grabbed hold of his arm with an iron grip. Before James could rip himself away from her, he felt the familiar tingling run though his body as they hurtled through time and space.
It had been so long since he had experienced the teleportation, that he was instantly disoriented when they came to a stop; and he barely heard the yells of anger ripping through the air around them. His ears quickly adjusted and he began to understand what was going on.
“How dare you bring him here Erin!” a powerful, manly voice bellowed and others joined in.
“He has been banished! It is by our decision that he even still lives!”
“He does not belong here!”
James looked around and found himself in his old spot in the circle high above the world. Even though it was a never ending circle, his position was still considered the last spot, as he had been created last and was the youngest of the immortals by a couple hundred years. Erin was in her place next to their leader, the powerful and wise Ares, who looked more like a gladiator than anything else. They were all built for one thing, combat, and their appearance reflected that.
“He has as much a right as anyone else here, Ares! If what you believe is true then we must stand together, or we will fail!’ she declared. Only one other person in the council nodded in agreement, a young woman right next to James with short, mousy brown hair and a very lithe figure.
James knew her as Athena, a name the ancient Greeks had given her, but had no idea what she went by now. She was the second youngest of the group next to James, and most of the other immortals would often tease him that his sole purpose for existence was to be her mate. While all the others had paired off, James and Athena never really got the time to know one another as well as the others had. There had been twelve immortals at one point, but with the incident they had fallen down to ten. James had been stripped of his eternal youth and banished, while Baal had been killed.
“ENOUGH! I am the eldest and my word is the law! Do you understand Erin?” Ares commanded and a ripple of power rushed through the gathered immortals as he flexed his authority. James couldn’t help but think of how much of a douche bag Ares was. “He is no longer one of us, and as such as no right at our gatherings! He is beneath us, a shadow of his former self! You will be punished for bringing him here sister, for that you can be sure of!”
“I came here of my own free will!” James found himself suddenly yelling, trying to prevent the same fate befalling his older sister.
“You dare speak to me! You insolent little whelp!” Ares broke from the circle and sprang towards James, a long golden spear materializing in his hand as he thrust it forward. James narrowly avoided the attack and spun around, slamming his elbow into the older immortals head, causing him to stumble forward.
Ares turned back towards him, pure rage painted all over his features as he gripped his magical spear tightly in his fist. Before either of them could make a move two figures bounced towards him and he felt himself tumbling through space once more, landing roughly on his hard floor back in his dorm room.
“Stay put for now, brother,” he heard Athena’s sing song voice in his mind as the light from his lamp blazed into his tender eyes.
In that moment, as his brain tried furiously to catch up to his body, he realized everything. The prophecy Erin spoke of, the dreams he had had, the gathering: they all clicked into place. In all his time as an immortal James had only seen the entire council convene three times. The first was when he had been created and introduced to his brothers and sister. The second was many centuries later when James, Gabriel back then, had come to his family looking for advice when he had been extremely troubled. The third had been the time he was set on trial and Baal had been slain. They only came together in very serious circumstances, and he feared this was the worst one of them all.