Mortals, angels and demons exist as the
balance of the universe. Without
darkness there would be no light, such as shadows define the features of the
light one sees. If light and darkness
were to disappear the mortals would also cease to exist. Mortals uniquely have the ability to choose
either light or darkness to rule their lives.
Though some straddle the fence, others choose immediately to follow the
ways of the angels and guardians, or the demons and hellions that came before
them. Still others are not given the
right to choose and are thrown into a lifestyle completely void of the other
way of life. All mortals have a
guardian, whether an Elemengel or Hellion.
The guardians thrive to protect their mortal no matter how innocent or
sinful. These days most people do not
believe in guardians. Recently, no one has
ever seen one; therefore there is no evidence to suggest they ever
existed. Nuns and monks who believe in
such nonsense are ridiculed. Most people
just believe in the wealth and power of the mortal man; the majority being
irreligious and simply claiming to have a creed. The Dionne System has never seen such a
struggle between the celestial beings and the twelve clans. The hellions greatly upset the balance. Perhaps a change is just a matter of time.
“Venus!
Venus!” A tall, lean, but
muscular man stood abruptly from his table searching for his now invisible
daughter. “Where can that girl be?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Jupiter.” A slender young woman ran her hands through
her chin length hair. “Venus is like a
stray puppy, she will return when she’s hungry.”
“I guess you’re right.” Jupiter sat back down after adjusting the
parasol to block more sun. “It sure is
hot out here, Halo, are you sure you don’t want to eat inside?”
“No, I’m not use to being outside on a nice
day. I rather enjoy it. Besides, we better not move so Venus can come
straight back here.”
“I just don’t know where that girl could
be.” Jupiter glanced about then back at
Halo. “There are so many people out to
murder me, they might take her hostage.
I don’t know what I’d do if Mihos...”
“Please, don’t mention him unless you have
to.” Halo stared sadly into her cup of
tea. “You know better than anyone how
hard Venus can punch, so please, can we get to business.”
Crouching from around the corner, Venus
observed as they chatted away. She
fiddled with her thick braid, watching her father laugh with Halo. “I wish mom was still here, she would show
him a thing or two about flirting with another lady.” She pulled her braid around to the front of
her face, and glanced thoughtfully as she ran her fingers along the bumps. She stood with the wall as support then began
her daily stroll downtown. She enjoyed
people watching, especially when people talked of their problems. She slid on the other side of a phone pole,
eavesdropping on an upset little girl no older than Venus herself. She had the whitest skin Venus had ever
seen. No one could be whiter. Two hair buns bound her long blue hair; her
yellow eyes matched the sun.
“You wouldn’t believe it Phoenix, he said
no... no to me! Can you believe that?!”
“I tried to tell you Io, all boys are no
good.” Phoenix said.
“Yeah, I ought to kill him, and make him an
example to other boys.”
“Wait now, you might end up on a wanted
list yourself. You can take your
frustration out on our next bounty!” The
incredibly tall girl patted her little friend on the back and began walking her
down the sidewalk when she noticed Venus crouched next to the pole. The girl couldn’t help, but smile down at the
pretty little girl with pointed ears.
She smiled and Venus smiled back revealing her large canines. “Come on Io, hop on we gotta get going.” She bent down for her little friend to jump
on her back. They ran down the street
together laughing the whole way.
“That was close.” Venus stood up scratching her scalp. “Those two were real bounty hunters. That’s so cool!” She bounded down the street grateful to have
overheard such an interesting conversation.
Venus kicked a rock down the sidewalk,
hardly paying attention to the passing people coming down the sidewalk. When her thinking ended, she glanced down an
alley. Standing near an old tin trash
can, chatted two boys. One of the boys
looked so much like her she could not help but gawk. When he started to look around, she ducked
and rolled next to the trash can, accidentally running into it. “What was that?” His friend asked.
“Nothing, you know how big the rats get
here.” The boy said.
“Yeah.”
The shorter one slicked up his hair and glared back at his friend. “So why is Mihos acting so strange lately?”
Mihos?
Venus was certain she’d heard her father say that name before. “He’s acting happy... which I guess is a
strange look for him. He thinks he has a
fool proof plan for killing him. Not
even you can get in the way, Dawn.”
“Hey!
So, what is this big plan? It’s
not going to be at the meeting in the park, is it?”
“Yeah, but it’s just a trick. Tonight in the central park, at around 11pm
or so, he’s going to send a hit man to kill Jupiter.” Venus’s heart sunk in her chest; could it be
her father? “That’s all I’ve overheard
him say. I bet the real plan is more
elaborate for the other leaders. You
see, he wants to sit by and watch Jupiter die slowly.”
Venus took a deep breath trying to prevent
tears from rushing out. The long haired
boy turned around sharply to see if anyone watched. She moved out of view as they walked out of
the alley. She darted from the alley,
holding back her emotions as best she could.
Up the street, her father pecked Halo on
the cheek, before he helped her into the limo.
“Are you sure you don’t need a ride handsome?”
“No,
no...” Jupiter flushed. “Venus doesn’t
like seeing us together. That’s probably
why she ran off. Good night.” Halo smiled then rolled up her tinted windows
with just enough light from the lamppost for Jupiter to see his face in the reflection. He smiled and waved as she drove off, just as
Venus came sprinting up. She collapsed
forward, using the support of her thin legs to keep her standing. “Venus it’s great to see you’ve returned.”
Venus glanced up, sniffing, whipping her dirty arm along her face. “Ah, honey, I told you not to run around
without your coat.” He placed her jacket
around her shoulders. He pulled her arm
from her face then stuffed a tissue paper in her fist. “Don’t whip your nose with your arm. What did you do play in a trash can? You musta had fun today?”
She nodded, calming down as he took her hand
and lead her down the sidewalk. “I
helped the old lady feed the pigeons, and, and I saw a blind nun collecting
donations… I saw… oh, a rabbit! It was
so cute… and then I saw two bounty hunters, daddy. Oh, and a boy that kind of looked like you!”
“What?” Jupiter looked down at her.
“Or maybe it was me... I can’t tell.” Jupiter looked away nervously rubbing his
eyes. “Oh, and something else... uh
well...”
“Yeah sweetie?”
“Can we go to church tonight? I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun!”
“Are you kidding? No one has church on a Friday night, unless
you’re a ‘blind nun’.” He flung her by
the waist onto his hip. “Besides church
is never fun.”
“Then let’s stay up late and watch a movie,
since there is no school tomorrow.”
Jupiter wrinkled his nose in playful
confusion. “Um, Venny, you don’t go to
school; I never enrolled you. What’s with you?”
“I want to stay up late and hang out with
you pops!”
“Pops?
Venny, I’m not sure wants going on, but I can’t play tonight, I have an
important meeting.”
“Who has an important meeting at 11 o’clock
at night?” She sighed.
Jupiter paused in the walk way. “How did you know what time my meeting’s
at?” He peered across at her.
“Um... um... educated guess!” She said.
He paused for a moment to think and then busted out laughing. Jupiter’s powerful laughter thundered through
the neighborhood until they finally reached their apartment building. On one of the wealthiest blocks in the city,
in the biggest apartment room of the smallest building there, lived Venus and
her father. Their home rested on the top
floor; from the roof, their own private getaway, they could view the entire
city. He carried Venus up to her room,
fixing her diner as she changed into her night clothes. They watched a couple of shows together,
before her bedtime. Although she
resisted his authority and even tried the “If mom was here...”excuse, he still
unwillingly flung her over his shoulder and dumped her in her room. She banged and kicked on the door, as he
locked it from the outside. “If you break
the door, you have to pay for it; that means no allowance for a long
time.” With one final intimidating
pound, she stopped beating on the door and sprawled herself along her bed. “That’s better, now you go to sleep before I
get back home.”
She sat on her bed and began to cry, making
Jupiter frown and hesitate before leaving her door. “Daddy...”
She called out. “You might not be
coming back home!” She cried out
suddenly. She waited a few minutes
before moving towards the door.
“Daddy? Did you hear me?” She jumped up, catching glimpses of an empty
hall out her peep hole. “Dag, he’s gone!” She could hear a rustling, by pressing her
ear against the door. She hurriedly
dressed, leaped out the window, and slid down the garbage shoot. She crept out of the alley once her father
passed, waddling behind him all the way to the park. “East Central Park, just where they said he
would go. Well, here it goes.” From the safety of a tree she attentively
watched over her father. She could see a
good portion of the park from where she sat, ready for action. Jupiter hesitated then saw a figure standing in
the shadows with a heavy coat on.
“So,
I thought you wouldn’t show up.” Jupiter
dropped his suitcase in the path, popping his knuckles after it landed. “How are we going to settle this? By fighting? Or compromise like two gentlemen?” He waited for a reply. “Huh?
What’s it going to be?”
Venus could hear agitation in his voice, as
he breathed puffs of smoke from his breath.
Her stomach grumbled and gurgled with anticipation at a sound of
footsteps scurrying in the distance.
With a deep breath and a gulp, she forced herself to turn around, and
her eyes met with a man speeding toward Jupiter. “Daddy, watch out!” At the last second, Jupiter spun around,
reversing the knife in the man’s hands, flinging him to the ground. Blood oozed from the wounded man, staining
the ground beneath him.
A deep rumbling laugh broke the silence. The stranger laughed. “That poor son of a...”
“What?
You sent him to kill me, and then laugh at his death?” Jupiter ran up to the shadowy figure, and
smacked so hard, its head flew off.
“That a-- he’s not even here.” He
picked up the head, noticing black eyes focusing on his face. “You idiot, if you want to start something
try doing it yourself!” He crushed the
head in his hands then dumped it on the ground.
“Piece of sh...”
“Excuse your French!” Venus called out while running up to her
father.
“Venus, I thought I heard you.” Venus stood over the body, holding both gloves
in one hand as she felt the man’s cheek.
The man’s cold eyes stared into space and his deep black hair mangled
across his pain filled face. “Baby,
don’t touch him!” he pulled her away, setting her on his hip.
“He’s probably sorry now; we should forgive
him. He’s going to be alright, right daddy? He’s just a little cold… we should get him
some blankets...”
“...Venus...”
“Or call an ambulance. Wow, I’ve never seen a cut let out so much
red, at least when I get a cut. Why is
there so much?”
He set her on the ground and stared into
her eyes. “Well, you see...”
“I think I understand...” She said.
He brought her close to his face, breathing warm air down her neck. “Daddy, what am I going to do when you go
cold?” Jupiter burst into tears,
gripping her closer to him.
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