LCA: Prologue

The prologue of the first installment of Heroes United

~THE GODS DECIDE HOW TO DESTROY SOMEONE~
Mount Olympus

In the throne room of Mount Olympus, the twelve gods sat.

"I would like to bring our first business to order," Zeus said, static electricity clinging to his face. "Jedidiah Prose, the son of Zelus."

"Destroy him," Athena said casually, the confident look in her stormy gray eyes daring anyone to argue with her judgment. "The boy is a great threat. Ridding the world of him now is not only beneficial, but necessary."

The others murmured among themselves.

"Remember the deal we made," Hermes reminded everyone cautiously. "Our demigod children are to be recognized as such. The Fates claim him to be a potential threat, but he has yet to actually make the decision to threaten the gods."

Ares stood up, flames of war sparking around him. "So we do nothing? The Fates themselves warned us about him. How can we just let him live when doing so will lead to our destruction?"

"Let him be..." Demeter suggested. "But keep a close eye on him. Should he start behaving in a way that justifies your fear, then we can strike him down. All who agree with this course of action?"

Twelve hands entered the air.

Gates of Hades

"You sure we should be down here?" Leila asked.

Jed looked at her, but did not give his usual slightly arrogant half-smile. "I have to. You can go back to the safety of the mortal world whenever you want but I need to find them."

It had been three days since Jed's dying friend Cal had told him about the eminent demise of the most powerful beings in the world. Three days since Jed was given the opportunity to save them.

And now he and Leila had found the Gates of Hades, where the old legends claimed they lived.

"We're looking for a cave," Jed said. "Considering who lives inside, it'll probably be a dark, creepy, ominous cave. Stalagmites are a necessity."

"Like that one?" Leila pointed to a shattered hole in the earth just beside the gates.

Jed nodded. "Probably."

The residents of the cave looked grimly at Jed and Leila. "You shouldn't be here," one of them rasped.

"You need me to be," Jed told her. He took off his backpack and removed the enchanted ambrosia square that Cal had given him.

"That ambrosia... it came from Calvin Fremont, didn't it?" another questioned. "Lived for nineteen years, six months, eleven days, four hours, twenty-two minutes, and three seconds. His soul joined Hades about seventy-three hours ago..."

"That's the one," Jed said. "And, since you know everything, you must know why I have brought it."

The third laughed. "Boy, you know less of what you are doing than you should. Give us a minute to tell you-"

Then, right behind him, a wall slammed into Jed, making him fall over. The ambrosia fell to the ground and exploded on contact. Black violet wisps of smoke expanded and filled the cave. By the time it cleared, the five of them stood silently for a moment.

"Jedidiah Prose, the son of Zelus, and Leila Skye, the daughter of Aphrodite, welcome to the cause," the first one said with a grin straight from a Batman villain.

"It is an honor to serve," Jed told her.

Links
~                     The LCA Rising    Chapter One