Published: 25 May 2020

Aiden and Casey (7611)
 

Calvin

Casey had been avoiding me ever since Aiden and the others had returned to Chicago. I knew something was wrong. I’d screwed up that morning after he and Aiden had first slept together, and it had taken Dike, a powerful god, to smooth that over. I was afraid I’d screw up, again, but I had to do something. Uncle George was at work. Even if he’d been here, there was no way I was going to admit I needed help from anyone to deal with my own little brother. I went into Casey’s room and shut the door.

“Casey? You miss Aiden, don’t you?”

Casey set his jaw in a way I recognized. He was angry. “It’s not fair! You have Uncle George and Kevin. All I’ve got is this!” He raised his right hand.

Oh, I thought. I never had a normal sex life until I met Uncle George. I’d just learned to jack off when Fred-the-Dead began raping me. That pretty much killed any desire I had. Calvin … he was doing it before he met Aiden. And Aiden must have shown him a lot more, those two nights. Of course he misses Aiden.

I grabbed Casey and hugged him. At the same time, I sent reassurance and love. He struggled.

“Stop it! I don’t want to have sex with you. And stop putting stuff in my head! I know that’s what you’re doing!”

I had screwed up, again, but this time, I was going to see it through. I held Casey tightly. I stopped trying to project, and just held him. His struggles weakened, and his complaints turned to tears. I let him cry for a while, and then loosened my grip.

“Open your eyes, Casey,” I said as softly as I could. I didn’t want him to think I was ordering him to do it.

He did, and looked directly into my eyes.

“Casey, look at me. Keep looking into my eyes. Look into my head. See what’s there.” I opened my mind to him. I felt the tendrils of his thoughts come in. I giggled. Well, it tickled!

After stumbling around a bit, Casey found what I hoped he would find: the place where I held the memories of him and me growing up on the ranch, of the first time he rode a horse, of skinny dipping in my secret lake, of finding the cave and being scared nearly to death when part of the roof collapsed on us, of how much I loved him.

Now, he was crying, again, but they were happy tears.

“I’m sorry,” he sniffled. “I’m sorry. I love you … and I know you love me. But I do miss Aiden!”

“Come on,” I said. “Wash your face. Put on clean clothes. We’re going for a ride.”

“It’s ten o’clock at night!” he said.

“Yeah, and it’s eleven in Chicago, but that’s where we’re going.”

Casey nearly fell down the steps into our garage. “Wow! Where did that come from? What is it?” he asked.

That was Silver, only now, he was a Lamborghini Avendator LP 700-4, a truly sleek sportster that was rated at over 200 mph. Of course, that was on the road. We made the 1,400 or so miles between the ranch and Chicago in under 20 minutes. That beat even the SR-71 Blackbird’s best record.

I pulled into the driveway of Aiden’s home and pushed his button on my cell phone. We saw a light come on in an upstairs window.

“Hello?” Aiden’s voice was foggy. He’d been asleep. It didn’t take him any time before he was wide awake.

“Casey’s here!” he shouted. I yanked the cell phone away from my ear.

“Yeah,” I said. “May he spend the night with—”

I hadn’t finished the sentence before Aiden popped into existence outside the passenger door of the Avendator.

I was surprised by what I saw. Aiden slept naked, and either had forgotten or didn’t care. Casey opened the door and stepped into Aiden’s hug.

“I take it that’s a yes?” I said.

The two boys giggled, and disappeared. I waited for a few minutes, saw the light in Aiden’s bedroom go out, and then went home.

Casey

The first time I saw Aiden was in the lawyer’s office. I knew he was something special, because Calvin and the ranch foreman, who Calvin said to call “Uncle George,” and who was going to be trustee even though Casey was of age and didn’t need a trustee, had brought him in to go over a bunch of really boring legal papers. A twelve-year-old lawyer? Weird. But, he knew what he was doing. Calvin kept a poker face, but I knew him well enough to know he was impressed.

I don’t know why, but I was especially horny that day. I’d jacked off the night before, like I always do, but not in the shower that morning. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was how Calvin and Kevin were acting. I knew they’d spent the night together, and figured they had done more than pillow-fight and talk.

About the middle of the morning, my dick got so hard it hurt! At the same time, Aiden laid down a paper and looked hard at Calvin and Kevin, like he was mad at them, or something. Then, he looked at me, and grinned. We had caught each others’ eyes a couple of times, before and I thought – no, I guess I mean I’d hoped – he was interested in me.

Interested. Yes: I knew I was gay and I thought Aiden was way cute, but I knew any kid who was that cute and that smart wouldn’t be interested in me. But, I could dream, couldn’t I?

Oh, crap! He just winked at me. I was so surprised, all I could do was blush. I don’t think Calvin or Kevin saw. Uncle George might have; he looked at me, and smiled. He doesn’t smile a lot.

Mama gave me a sloppy kiss before taking Susan’s hand and going through security at the airport. Mama had shaken Calvin’s hand. I know she didn’t mean anything by it. I was quite a few years younger than Calvin and even though she and Calvin and everybody said Calvin and I owned the ranch, together, I knew Calvin would be in charge. That was okay with me, because Calvin and I got along real well.

Uncle George took us to a Dave and Busters for supper. There were a couple of folks waiting for us. Some guy named Gary, and a kid about my age named Nemesis. Funny name, but I didn’t have much time to think about it. Aiden grabbed my hand, and took me to the arcade while the others waited for pizza.

“I don’t have any quarters,” I said. I was kind of out of breath. Probably from running to the arcade. Right. Don’t try to fool yourself, Casey. You almost blew your load in your pants when Aiden grabbed your hand. Down boy!

I didn’t understand why Aiden came home with us, that night, ’cause I didn’t know he and Uncle George and Gary and Nemesis were already friends, but when we got there, and Gary and Uncle George carried us into the house, and we woke up just long enough to ask if Aiden could sleep in my room, I felt real warm and happy.

I don’t remember much about Uncle George and Gary putting Aiden and me in pajamas. I kind of woke up when they stood us at the sink to brush our teeth. I looked at Aiden out of the corner of my eye. He grinned, and toothpaste ran down his chin. I laughed, and splattered toothpaste all over the mirror. By the time we cleaned up the mirror and Aiden’s chin, we were both wide awake, and Gary and Uncle George were gone.

“I don’t usually sleep in pajamas,” Aiden said. “Do you mind?”

He wants to sleep naked. I’ve never done that. My dick was already hard, and I was afraid to take off my pajamas, but Aiden didn’t wait for my answer … he stripped off his pajamas, threw them toward the chair, and stood, naked and hard, beside the bed.

That’s all I needed. I stripped off my pajamas, tossed them toward the bureau, and jumped into bed. Aiden was already there.

I thought I knew how to jack off, but Aiden showed me lots of different ways. And that was just the first night. The second night, we did fellatio, and swallowed each other’s cum. That was after I blew up at breakfast, and Calvin had to call in Dike to explain things to me. Then Calvin told me who Uncle George really was and how Calvin was Assistant Death, or something like that and was Uncle George’s boyfriend. Calvin was worried I’d feel left out with him and Aiden and the others being gods and all, but Dike told me I’d get powers, too. She wouldn’t tell me what or when, but she promised and I believed her.

Then, Aiden had to go home. And I was left with nothing but my right hand. Even with the new stuff Aiden showed me, it wasn’t enough.

Chicago

“Aiden? School will start in a few days.” Dike sat behind her desk. She didn’t look at all like the grandmother who had comforted Casey just a few days ago. She was at least a foot taller than when I’d seen her in Texas. Her hair was long, straight, and black; her face wasn’t wrinkled. Her eyes were as black as her hair. There wasn’t a smile on her face or in her voice.

“But I’ve got work to do!” Aiden said. “And … Casey.” How can I go to school, do the job Athena had given me, and spend twenty-four hours a day in bed with Casey? Calvin promised we could visit, but said Casey had responsibilities – and school – in Texas. Weekends, he’d said. It was better than nothing, but still… Aiden wondered. Besides, Athena—”

Dike interrupted. “Athena gave you Authorities; she told you that you had a job to do. However, you are in my city and my country. Therefore, you are my responsibility.

“Do not bother,” she said.

She knew I was going to try to tell Athena, Aiden thought. He was right.

“Athena would agree with me, but would not be happy that you took her away from her work.”

Something in Dike’s face and voice softened. “You are a good boy, Aiden. I know you have been hurt by your father’s actions … more, perhaps, by his inactions. I know that you are devoted to your job … and to Casey. Do you think I would not consider all these things?”

It was a rhetorical question; Aiden figured that out when she didn’t give him time to answer, but kept talking.

“I need you here, in Chicago. You will live with Gary, who will become your guardian. He will enroll you in a private school near his apartment. You must draw up the guardianship papers for Gary’s signature, and your father’s. Bring them to me. I will notify your father. It will require some manipulation of his psyche, deeper than when you give him other papers to sign. That is not something you should have to do.”

“Uh …” Aiden began, but he still couldn’t say Casey, even though she had.

“And, temporary guardianship papers for Casey, as well. I have already discussed this with Calvin and Gary, and they have agreed.”

Aiden gasped. Dike kept talking.

“Once we tell Casey that you will be there, too, I do not expect any reluctance on his part. I expect no more reluctance on your part, either. And, I expect some sterling report cards from both of you.” Dike was serious, but smiled when she said this. I felt a lot better.

Casey

I couldn’t believe it when Calvin said I could move to Chicago and be with Aiden. I wasn’t sure about the school part, though, and I told him so.

“And how come Nemesis doesn’t go to school?” I asked.

“You’ll have to ask him, that,” Calvin said. “It’s his story. He may tell you; he may not. Whichever, you must respect his decision. Can you do that?”

Calvin was in his “I’m serious” mode. I respected that, and so I nodded.

“There are a lot of reasons you have to go to school,” Calvin said. “One is to get a good education. The school is run by former Jesuits, but it’s not a religious school. The second reason is that the law still says you have to go to school. You know that Aiden is the Patron of Lawyers, right?”

I nodded.

“How do you think he would feel if he knew you were breaking the law?”

“Not good?” I said.

Calvin agreed.

We talked some more about the school, about living with Gary, about coming back to the ranch on weekends, and about my allowance. Calvin hadn’t thought about that, but said he’d set up a check card for me on our account. I asked him how much my allowance would be.

“It’s got to be more than it is here,” I said. “There’s lots of things I’ll need in Chicago that I don’t need on the ranch.”

“Casey?” Calvin said. His voice was low and soft. “Casey, you can have as much money as you need. Just don’t buy things you shouldn’t.”

I was surprised and happy knowing Calvin trusted me. I ran across the room and hugged him, but couldn’t resist teasing a little.

“I should have a Lamborghini, right?”

Calvin laughed. “When you’re sixteen, we’ll see about that.” Spike might be just what Casey needs, and once Casey gets his powers, we’ll see what Spike can become.

Casey

Aiden and I had moved into Gary’s apartment. He offered us our own bedrooms, but wasn’t surprised when we said we wanted to sleep together. Our room looked over the lake. We could see Navy Pier, which was a huge tourist attraction with arcades, food, and stuff. I asked Aiden if we could visit, sometime. He got real sad. I asked him what was wrong and he started crying. I hugged him and held him until he stopped crying. I didn’t ask, again, but he said something that got me to wondering.

“Sometime, sometime soon, I’ll tell you. I just can’t, now.”

I thought everything was set: I was living in Chicago with Gary, Nemesis, and – best of all – Aiden. I still had to go to school, but the school was pretty cool. The teachers asked more questions than told us facts, and we had plenty of time to try to find the answers on the internet. I got burned a couple of times quoting a wiki site, but once I learned to dig into the site’s references, I was okay.

The best part, of course, was that I was living with Aiden, and he had to go to school, too. I asked about that, him being a high-powered lawyer and all, and he said there was a difference between his Authorities and the legal knowledge he got, and what he wanted to know.

“I don’t want to be a lawyer,” he said. “But I want to understand the law, and how it came to be the way it is. There’s a lot of important things that brought us to where we are: the Code of Hammurabi, for example. I want to understand it all. I think I want to be an anthropologist of some kind.”

I’m not sure I understood what he meant, but I did know one thing. Well, two, really: Aiden was a god with special powers; Aiden was a little boy, my age, and he loved me. Okay, that was three things.

Aiden missed school, today. He was in the kitchen when I got back to Gary’s apartment, where we were living. We hugged, and probably raised the pheromone level in the apartment by 250 percent.

“None of the teachers marked you absent, today,” I said. “Where have you been?”

“Where haven’t I been!” Aiden said. “Kid in California who wanted to be emancipated from his parents. I talked him out of that, but promised to check back on him in a couple of months. Boy in Australia who had fallen love with a 20-year-old surfer. He was a couple of years too young for their law, but I made it work. He and the surfer understood. It will be a good match. Around lunchtime, I got a call from Nemesis. He was in Virginia with a kid who was being bullied at school. Nem decided to face down the bullies but didn’t want to hurt them. He called for backup, and I gave them the ‘juvie isn’t the place to be’ talk, complete with mental pictures. They backed down. We’ll have to check back there, too. Then, I was in Kansas City helping a kid in a wheelchair file an ADA suit against his school. I’m exhausted! And what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been at school. That’s what mortals have to do.” It had been a month, and I hadn’t gotten any powers. I wasn’t happy, and tried to show that in the way I spoke. It was the wrong thing to do. Something triggered Aiden, and he blew up.

“Damn it, Casey, I didn’t ask for this!” Aiden said. “I wanted to die … I was about to kill myself … how can you even imagine how I felt? … and I got stuck with this … this job … and the kid today who was being bullied? He wanted to kill himself … like I had, only messier. And I had to talk him out of it. The Australian kid? He knew that if he and the surfer became boyfriends he’d be shut out of his family … like I am, but he still wanted it. The kid in California? He thought his parents hated him because they’d found some girls’ underwear in his bureau. They hated him because they thought he was having sex with girls; then, they hated him because he was running around in girls’ underwear. Damnit, Casey, I’ve got enough to worry about without wondering and worrying about you!”

Aiden was crying. I knew they were real tears, and not happy tears. I ran across the room and tried to hug him, but he pushed me away.

Now, I was crying, too.

“Aiden? Please, please, I love you. Please let me hug you!” I demanded. Aiden’s response was to turn his back and press against the wall. I stepped behind him, and thought about forcing a hug. Couldn’t be all that bad, could it? Aiden’s body shook as he cried, and I knew grabbing him would be a bad idea. So, I just touched him. I put two fingers on his right shoulder, so softly I could barely feel the contact.

“Aiden, I love you,” I whispered. I drew my hand slowly down his back until I reached the waistband of his Dockers. I was afraid to go farther. “Aiden? Please?” It was all I could do; all I knew to do.

It was the right thing. Aiden turned to face me, and then hugged me. I felt his lips on my face, and turned my head so that our mouths met. And gasped. The kiss was more powerful than any we’d ever shared. I felt Aiden’s thoughts, and I knew he felt mine.

You are my love now and forever, Casey. I have known you in an infinity of worlds, but in none as closely as this. We are one; we are together; I love you.

All I heard was the “now and forever” and “I love you.”

By the time Aiden had washed his face, Nemesis was knocking on the door asking if we wanted to go to dinner.

“Caden’s back in town, and he’s invited us to supper. He lives two floors down, and he’s a good cook. Okay with you guys?”

I thought it was odd Nemesis would ask if it was okay … after all, Gary was putting us up in his home and was legally our guardian. He could tell us what to do, and, knowing how Nemesis fit with Gary, I figured that he could, too.

Aiden looked at me and nodded. “Sure,” I said.

Caden was an older dude … perhaps in his fifties … but he looked like he was in good shape. He introduced himself to me, and shook my hand. Then, he invited us into a room full of books. Just like a library. Actually, it was a library. He poured cola into glasses with ice for the kids, and a shot of bourbon with a splash of water for Gary and himself. The bourbon bottle had a horse on top. I remember that Fred-the-Dead used to drink that kind, and was afraid for a minute.

“Casey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. I know you didn’t get along with your late stepfather,” Caden said.

“It’s okay, sir. Fred’s dead, now. He never hurt me much, just a couple of whippin’s with his belt. I never told Calvin ’cause he’d have tried to kill Fred if he knew. Please don’t tell him…”

Caden and the others nodded. Then Caden said something funny. “Casey? Would you set your drink on the coaster beside you?

“Thank you. I’m going to tell you something that might shock you, and I don’t want sticky cola all over you. You know that Gary, Nemesis, your Uncle George, your brother, and Aiden have the powers of ancient Greek gods. Dike, who you know to be one of the elder gods, told you that you would get your own powers.”

He seemed to want an answer, so I nodded. And jerked like the time I’d stuck a screwdriver in a light socket. A flash of light jumped across the room from Caden to me. Aiden must have known what was going to happen, ’cause he’d put down his own cola and grabbed me. He was hugging me when I stopped shaking.

“What the f— … I mean, what was that?”

Caden told me, but he didn’t open his mouth.

That was some of the powers, some of the Authorities of one of the oldest gods. Artemis had many powers, many roles. When she decided to leave this world, she gave her powers to Apollo, her brother. Apollo gave his powers, and hers, to me when he burned out and left the world. Gary received the powers as Protector of Children. You have received her powers as goddess of the hunt. Of course, since you’re a boy, you are now god of the hunt.

I don’t know what all that means, especially since humankind has driven so many game animals to extinction, or nearly so. Hunting isn’t what it used to be.

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked. “I mean, I know I’m going to have responsibilities. Calvin’s always told me that responsibilities come with authority and vice versa. All the time, when he taught me to do things at the ranch, he made sure I knew what I was supposed to do, and what I wasn’t allowed to do. If you know what I mean.”

Gary chuckled, and then said, “Calvin will make a good commanding officer with that attitude.”

“He already is!” I protested. “He’s commander of the ranch. Even Uncle George says so, and he’s the foreman.”

“You’re right, of course,” Gary said.

“As far as your responsibilities?” Gary said. “I’ve talked to Caden and Dike. Caden doesn’t know. If Dike knows, she’s not telling. There are good reasons for that. First, she knows that you will learn better if you find out things for yourself. We will all help you look for things that will teach you. Second, she knows that the words of the gods can shape, and change, reality, and she doesn’t want to do that.”

That night, I found the first of my powers: I could open my mind totally to Aiden, and I could see deep inside him, and when we both came at once, and I felt him explode inside me and my cum squirting all over our tummies, I felt like we were floating. And then I discovered that we were.

Calvin

I felt Uncle George stirring, and opened my eyes. The room was dark. There was no light behind the curtains. It was not yet dawn.

“What …?” I asked.

“A visitor. He is expected. The men are handling it. Go back to sleep.” Uncle George put his arm over me and then pulled me close. He was warm; the air in the room was cold. I snuggled against him, and went back to sleep.

Gary and Nemesis popped in while we were at breakfast. Between hugs and kisses among Gary, Uncle George, Nemesis, Kevin, Bobby, and me it was twenty minutes before we got outside. Yeah, Gary and Uncle George hugged one another. It was a hetero-guy-back-slapping kind of hug, even though I knew they both were gay. Wonder how long the Platonic stuff will last before they…? I buried that thought deep inside my mind.

After breakfast, we went out to check on the visitor Uncle George had said not to worry about. There was a tractor-trailer parked near the concrete slab that had been poured a couple of weeks ago. Ranch hands and construction guys were all over the place.

“This truck brought the pre-fabricated structural parts to build the pavilion,” Mr. Clancy said. He was Gary’s construction foreman from Chicago, and had come in with a crew to pour the slab and do a bunch of surveying. “During construction, we’ll use it to store materials out of the weather,” he added. Gary had already explained that the pavilion would be a place for picnics, parties, and such after that. It would have restrooms, a stage, and a kitchen.

While we were talking, another truck arrived. It was a flatbed with a tracked crane and a cute little front-end loader-bulldozer contraption. A couple of hours later, more of Mr. Clancy’s construction crew arrived in three campers. Then, for weeks and weeks, trucks arrived by ones and twos, never more than that, and always hours or days apart. They were from a bunch of different companies, and none of them said on their sides anything like what they actually carried. Gary had recruited some Army buddies to handle what he called opsec: operational security. Their job was to make sure we didn’t call the wrong kind of attention to the ranch or the canyon.

The first thing Mr. Clancy’s people built was another bunkhouse and a dining hall for the construction crews. Then they started on what they called cabins – cabins with twenty bedrooms and bathrooms, a huge common room, and a kitchen and dining room that could feed at least forty people. As soon as the first cabins were complete, boys from Erewhon and the construction crews’ families started arriving.

I’d been afraid of ticky-tacky, but these people were good. What they built looked like a cross between an old west ghost town and a dude ranch. In fact, when we heard the rumor floating around Silver City that we were building a dude ranch, we encouraged it. The developers who wanted to foreclose us came out to see. They even sent prospective “dudes” to try to get a closer look.

Casey

“What a cute little cowboy!” The woman wore stiletto heels, brand-new blue jeans, and an embroidered blouse. She was talking to me. It was Saturday: my boyfriend Aiden and I were visiting the ranch. Calvin had gone to work with Uncle George at his other job. You know, checking on dead people.

“You are so precious,” the woman continued. Her words gushed like a stallion pissin’ on a flat rock. “I could just eat you up!”

“My boyfriend wouldn’t like that, ma’am,” I said. I touched the front edge of my ten-gallon hat. It was cowboy-shorthand for tipping my hat to a lady, although seeing how much makeup she was wearing, I was pretty sure she wasn’t a lady.

“May I help you?” I asked.

The woman either didn’t understand what I had said about my boyfriend, or didn’t believe me.

“I hear you’all are a’ buildin’ a dude ranch, and we’d like to offer our services. I,” she said, and then touched her hand to her bosom. “I am a singer, and my husband is my pianist. You must have a dance hall or saloon that’s gonna needs a honky-tonk piano player and an attractive singer. You could take me to whoever is in charge…”

There wasn’t anything worse than a Yankee trying to talk Texan, ’cept maybe a Yankee driving a Beemer with a rifle rack in the back window. It just didn’t work. She was trying to talk Texan, but I could tell she wasn’t from around here.

“Actually, ma’am,” I said. “My brother and I own this ranch. Since he’s out ropin’ cattle now, I guess I’m the one in charge.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, little cowboy,” the woman’s eyes narrowed.

“We have all the entertainers we need,” I said. “We will not be hiring, more. Now, we have to get back to work. I must ask you to leave.”

Two of the ranch hands had arrived by then, summoned by my thoughts. It had taken us a long time to figure out that these men were not ordinary people: they were Scions of Hermes – the green-scaled dudes. Aiden had showed me how to see them like that. You didn’t have to see the Scions the way they really were to be afraid of them. They all looked like old-timey cowboys who wouldn’t take crap from anybody. Like everyone else, they wore six-shooters – usually .38’s – because of snakes and coyotes. The woman probably thought mine was a toy. What a jerk!

The man’s hand shook when he reached for the car door handle. “Come on, dear,” he said. “I think we’ve seen enough.”

Calvin

Uncle George had cut short his regular work and returned to the ranch. He was nervous … I could tell. I asked him what was wrong.

“Something wicked this way comes,” he said.

“Macbeth,” I said. “ ‘By the pricking of my thumbs/Something wicked this way comes.’ What is it?”

“Mars,” he said. Now, he was Death, and not Uncle George.

I put my hand on my six-shooter. Death frowned. “Wouldn’t do any good,” he said. “And you’re not to stand up against him. Do you understand?”

I bristled a little, and then backed down. I realized I was out of my league: this wasn’t a ranch thing, where I was in charge, it was a god thing. Oh, shit! Uncle George isn’t even a full god … just a spirit!

“Doesn’t matter,” Death said. He had heard my thoughts. “Death has defeated Mars, before, and he knows it. He may bluster and stomp around, and try to scare some of the mortals, but he cannot harm us.”

I don’t know who was more surprised, Uncle George or me.

Mars stepped down from the cab of an olive-drab tractor-trailer. He looked at Death, and then at me. “You will need these things,” he said … to me. Then, he disappeared.

Several of the men had come up; Uncle George gestured to them. Two opened the back of the trailer.

By the time the trailer was unloaded, we had an arsenal: semi-automatic rifles, .50-caliber machine guns, sniper rifles, 9-mm pistols, anti-tank rockets, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets, mortars, and ammunition for them all.

Over the next few weeks, more olive drab trucks arrived, including a couple that held military HUM-V’s. Mars wasn’t with them. The drivers were “scions of Hermes.” Handy, that.

We knew it was going to be bad … but not this bad.

Casey

A little before supper, the boys gathered in the den. We were watching a DVD when Uncle George and Calvin came in. Some of the other adults, including Gary, followed.

“You need to see this,” Calvin said. He was talking in his serious voice. The one that had no emotion and said he was the boss. He took the remote and switched to a cable news channel.

“… dead. The two sects are in open warfare, now. They’re no longer simply sending suicide bombers, but have acquired tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy weapons. The capital is being pounded to rubble by explosions. People are streaming through the streets. Many have been gunned down before…”

The man on the screen who had been talking stopped. He opened his mouth. A red blotch appeared on his shirt and grew … then the picture went black.

The studio appeared. It sounded like someone off-camera were upchucking. The announcer spoke. “We have lost our signal. That was correspondent Ali Khan. We’ll get back to Ali as soon as we can.”

Casey switched to another news channel. “… nuclear, yet; however, Israeli officials…”

By now, the den was crowded. Gary gestured and Casey turned off the TV.

“Things are … getting pretty bad a lot of places,” Gary said. “The Arab Spring has backfired. The so-called moderate Islamists have revealed their true colors: starkly fundamentalist. They’ve implemented Sharia law throughout northern Africa and the Middle East. One sect is fighting another; they are united only in their opposition to Israel, other religions, and the Great Satan, by which they mean the USA.

They will likely take over Turkey, Singapore, and Malaysia, soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t win the next elections in France and England, as well. Both countries are too tied to what they think of as democracy to defend themselves against this, Gary thought. I don’t dare say that, though. The words of the gods can create reality, and reality is bad enough without me making it worse.

“The right-wing fundamentalists in this country are up in arms to protect what they claim to be Christian values against the Islamists. They’re whipping people into a storm of hatred that has eclipsed even that which was created by the Roosevelt propaganda machine of World War II.

“You all know what we are trying to do, here. We’re creating a place of refuge for those we have promised to protect: the orphans and other children at Erewhon, as well as the staff; for Tom Clancy’s construction crews and their families who have given up their livelihoods and homes to come live and work here; and for other friends and their families.

“We can’t save the whole world. There are a lot of people out there who aren’t worth saving. Many of you have had first-hand experience with them. There are people out there who have lived off the labors of others, moochers and leaches on civilization. I don’t need to tell you about them: Ayn Rand did that quite well in Atlas Shrugged.

“There are a lot of people out there who deserve being saved, but we can’t save them all. That’s going to be hard on us. We’re going to have to work hard, but we’re not going to burn ourselves out. Especially you kids … there will always be time for play.”

Tisiphone

I know I had pissed Nemesis off a couple of years ago when I told Dike that I didn’t want to work with him. It was when a bunch of crooked evangelicals had been operating an orphanage in Chicago without bothering to follow the fire code. When a fire broke out, children died. Dike charged Nemesis and me to extract vengeance on the men responsible. Nemesis is, of course, the god of Retribution. I am one of the Erinyes, also known as the Furies. We’re called “the Kindly Ones” by people who fear us. I’m the one named “Vengeful Destruction.” I have my own work, but sometimes I take jobs that are too difficult for Nemesis. Girls are, after all, stronger than boys in a lot of ways.

Dike had asked Nemesis and me if we wanted to work together. I told Dike I didn’t want to work with Nemesis. I knew boys were more sensitive to rejection than girls, but I didn’t think I’d ever need his help. Now, suddenly, I did. I knew where he probably was, and I knew what he was doing. I didn’t know if he’d help me. I had no choice. I translocated to Refuge Ranch, Texas.

My first impression was “this is beautiful!” My second impression was hostility. Within seconds, I was surrounded by boys. It didn’t take me more than an instant to realize that they were all gay. Oops!

“Who are you?” one asked. I cocked an eyebrow at him and was about to challenge him when I figured out … he’s got the law on his side. What’s the old saying? When the facts are against you, argue the law; when the law is against you, argue the facts.

I was about to start in with facts when another boy spoke. “She works for Dike, same as we do. Let her speak.”

I was almost grateful, but I wasn’t about to be grateful to a boy.

“I’m Tisiphone,” I said. “Nemesis knows who I am. So does Dike. Where’s Nemesis?”

“Not here,” the second boy said. “I’m Calvin. Why are you here?”

Calvin looked like he was a couple of years older than the others … not that appearance meant anything, but I saw him differently than mortal eyes would. He had the proper glow: he was a god, and probably more powerful than me. Not, however, more powerful than my sisters and me, together. Still, I was here because I needed help. It was not the time to play “mine’s bigger than yours.” I knew a lot about boys.

“I need help,” I said. There, I’d done it. I’d thrown myself on their mercy. What they didn’t know, and I did, was that boys that age were suckers for a sob-story, and I had a good one.

“Tisiphone,” the older boy said. “I am Calvin, and this is Refuge. Nemesis and his daddy are away, working, rescuing people and bringing them to safety. Dike? She’s not here, now, but she’ll probably be back in time for supper.” The boy giggled. I was a little surprised. He looked too old to giggle. Maybe it was a chuckle.

“We’re having lasagna, and Dike said she’d not missed an invitation to eat lasagna since she taught Machiavelli all he knew.”

Calvin paused, and then asked, “You said you needed help. What kind of help?”

I wasn’t sure I should tell him, but realized I had no choice. Refuge belonged to Calvin and his brother. Even the gods … strike that … even the other gods, since Calvin and Casey were gods … couldn’t tell them what to do. Authorities: what and where one has power, and where and over what one does not have power were clearly defined, even in cases like Nemesis and me, where we seemed to have the same job. If you think about it, though, you’ll figure out that “retribution” and “vengeance” are not the same.

“My sisters and I, we’ve rescued some girls from an orphanage in Alberta. We’ve taken them to an abandoned mining town nearby, but they’re in danger. People have seen our lights, and they think … they think there’s something there to steal.

“There’s not, but that won’t stop them from attacking. As soon as they realize there’s nothing but the girls, they …” I couldn’t continue.

“I understand,” Calvin said, “they’ll probably take out their frustrations on the girls. Guys? We have to do something, and we can’t wait for Dike or Gary. Besides, they have work to do.”

He looked at me. “How many girls?”

“Three hundred and seven,” I said. And held my breath.

Calvin was pretty impressive, for a boy. He asked Casey how quickly they could absorb 300-plus girls. Casey pulled out an iPhone and played with it. Boys and their toys, I thought, until he looked up.

“We can put boys on mattresses, and double up cabins 4—14 into 1—3 and 15—19 for the week or so it will take Tom to complete 20-29. The girls can go in 4—14. Thirty girls per cabin with seven with Mom and Susan in their cabin. They’ve got room, and Susan would probably like some friends. The girls shouldn’t have to double up,” he added, as if he knew someone was going to object.

I was impressed. Pretty decent for a boy, I thought. Even if he doesn’t understand that girls are tougher than boys. They could sleep under the stars on beds of cactus for a week, and not bat an eye. But real beds and hot water are sure nice.

“Transportation is going to be the hardest part,” Calvin said. “We’ll need defenses at the mining town until we get all the girls out. Tisiphone? What defense can you and your sisters provide, and can you work with Scions of Hermes?”

Good question. I was vengeful destruction; like Nemesis, I had significant power only after someone had done something that merited vengeance or had sworn a false oath. My sisters, Alecto and Megaera couldn’t do anything without me except harass people, and increase my power when circumstances justified it. Shit, I thought. Nothing, really.

Calvin looked at me. He knows. “Look, he said. “Perhaps we need to turn all defenses over to the Scions. Can you and your sisters share power? With a boy, I mean? If you can, we can translocate the girls much faster, and that’s the only way we’re going to get them out of there in time.”

“Yes,” I said, and called my sisters to me. They appeared. We linked, and drew power to us. A couple of the boys looked impressed … and then Calvin and two other boys linked. The Norns! I recognized him, then.

Calvin smiled. “Come on, Sisters, please take us to Alberta.”

Casey had the process of clearing cabins underway when we brought the first of the girls to Refuge. Calvin had us translocate to the front of a dining hall. He figured the girls would be hungry, and he was right. It was the middle of the afternoon, but the staff fed the girls blueberry pancakes, bacon, and sausage, and, as if they knew some of the girls were vegetarian or vegan, steamed vegetables and tofu patties. My opinion of these boys went up another notch. Maybe two notches.

By suppertime, all the girls had been brought to the ranch and fed. All but the last batch, who were still eating, had been taken to a house, given towels and washcloths, bed linen, and a couple of sets of play clothes. Dike had arrived, but didn’t interfere. Hmmm, I thought. Boys may be a little more organized than girls. It was a hard admission to make. Calvin and I stood in a dusty courtyard watching the last of the girls being led to their homes.

“Calvin? You knew my sisters and I could not defend the girls, but you didn’t let anyone know you knew. You willingly joined your power with ours to translocate the girls.” I didn’t know whether to thank Calvin, or ask him why he’d acted that way. He knew that.

“It was the smart thing to do, and my daddy … you’ll meet him at supper. You and your sisters will stay for supper, won’t you, please? He taught me to think before I act, and to figure out the smart way to do things. I didn’t think about whether you’d be embarrassed, like you think. I should have, but I’m not good at understanding people’s feelings. I was just trying to make the best use of resources. So, you really don’t have to thank me.”

“Thank you,” I said, anyway. “Thank you, Calvin, for rescuing my charges and for making them welcome at your ranch. And thank you for working so easily with a girl. I thought it was going to be hard to work with a boy. I think I have some thinking to do.”

Death

I knew when Tisiphone translocated to the ranch, but I also knew that she couldn’t cause trouble. I was, however, very proud of the way Calvin handled the situation, and told him so.

“You showed leadership, today,” I said. “You proved in the eyes of the other boys – and the gods – that they are right to respect you and follow your instructions, not just because you own the ranch, but because you can be depended on to make the right decisions, which includes delegating.

“Do you know that Casey just about burst with pride when you gave him the responsibility for making room for the girls? Do you know that you made the right decision to bring those girls here?”

Calvin grinned. “There will be over 1,500 orphaned or thrown-away boys here. About 25%, same as the general population, are gay. That leaves about 1,100 boys who might like a girlfriend.”

He was right, and the three hundred girls were the beginning: more and more girls arrived. At some point, a balanced was reached.

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