Lesser Gods Ch. 06-09

"But shouldn't the forces of good stop human evil when it harms the innocent? I mean, that kind of free-will is bad. Shouldn't God, or whoever, stop that kind of evil?" she asked, still convinced she was right.

"How much evil is too much?" Enrique asked, then explained, "Evil is evil, whether small, like a lie, or huge like murder. What is too much evil to allow, and who gets to make those calls?"

She paused to think about that as she chewed her sandwich.

"I guess you're right. It just doesn't seem right to know something horrible is going to happen and not stop it. How can you live with that?" she asked, truly wanting to understand.

"It's hard. We cry for mankind often, and we do what we can to alleviate suffering, but you learn after a mistake or two that some kinds of interventions, no matter how well-meaning, backfire in unexpected ways," he answered cryptically.

"Angels make mistakes? How can you mess up when you work for good?" she asked.

Enrique laughed, "We make mistakes. We sin. We try hard most of the time, but we aren't perfect. Time and experience make us better at what we do, just like anyone else. Whenever we operate on our own agenda, instead of God's, we take the risk of making things worse. And then there are the angels that completely turn away from the light. We cry for them too."

"Turn away? You mean go to the other side? Like demons?" she asked, incredulous.

"Exactly like that. The forces of darkness can tempt even angels. A few come back, but most are lost forever," Enrique said sadly.

"Is that what you meant by Grey not having a dark period? He didn't toy with that life, ever?" she asked.

"Right again!" he laughed.

He had a great laugh, she thought. It made her smile every time. She thought being around him would probably be a lot of fun. She continued, "Did you have a dark period?"

"Hmmm. I hate to admit it, but I spent some time as a free agent, using my gifts for my own good, not the good of mankind."

Curious, she asked, "What are your gifts?"

"I'm really strong, like most of the regular army, and I heal pretty fast," he said, "oh, and I can communicate with animals."

"Like Dr. Doolittle," she giggled.

"Not exactly. I can think into them, telling them what I want them to do," he answered, smiling good-naturedly.

"Do they talk back?" she continued.

"Animals don't generally have a lot to say. Sometimes I can tell why they're scared, or if they have family to take care of, but they don't generally come and tell me Johnny's fallen in the well, or anything like that," his smile grew bigger.

"Cute. How about the horses? You seemed to know what they were thinking," She pressed.

"That's because they're predictable," he laughed, "Major felt curiosity and anticipation. War Monger felt disdain, and Naomi felt satisfaction.

"Disdain? Ouch!" she said in mock pain.

"Remember, he's pretty full of himself. He could sense you weren't feeling sure around them, so he didn't have respect," Enrique said with a shrug, "He's pretty snooty."

"But Naomi felt satisfaction, huh? I felt connection," Zoe went on.

"Yeah, that's probably a better word. Animals don't think in words," he continued his lesson, "they give me impressions, feelings, and I have to interpret them. Sometimes I miss the mark."

Lunch finished soon after and they went back to the barn together. Enrique started by teaching Zoe the names and uses for the tack, then how to saddle and bridle Naomi. Then he had Zoe mount the horse and try turning the horse's head side-to-side with the reins. Naomi was very obliging and Zoe was ready to take off for a real ride.

"I'm not sure you should leave the yard yet," Enrique said, still holding one side of the bridle.

"Can I at least ride around the yard a little," Zoe asked, really wanting to take off for the river again.

"Yeah. Start out walking," he said cautiously. "Be sure you can get her to stop immediately when you say 'whoa' and pull back just a little on the reins. Don't yank them! Turn her right and left. Stop and start a few times."

All right, mother," Zoe answered sarcastically. She gave a little shake of the reins and said "go", but Naomi just stood there.

"What am I doing wrong?" she asked, confused.

Trying to hide his smile, Enrique said, "Give a little twitch of your legs, just to bump her sides and the 'go' noise is..." and he made a noise out of the side of his mouth.

She tried this and Naomi started to walk. Zoe took her around the yard in both directions.

Enrique called out, "give the leg twitch again and see if you can take her up to a trot."

She did that and when the horse took off, her automatic reaction was to pull the reins back and say' "whoa," which of course made Naomi stop, almost pitching Zoe off over her head.

Enrique came jogging over, laughing, and said, "you have to be prepared when the horse takes off. Put your weight on your legs, standing a bit, and grip the horse's sides with your knees. Try it again."

She did as he said and the horse followed commands beautifully. Zoe wasn't sure she liked the feel of trotting, but she was too scared to try to go faster, so she practiced turns and stops at that speed for a while.

"I think that's enough for one day," Enrique called out after 10 or 15 minutes of cantering, "you'll probably be sore tomorrow. Now it's time to learn how to take care of your horse so she can take care of you." He proceeded to show her how to unsaddle the horse and brush her down, check her hooves, and feed and water her.

Zoe felt great. Naomi was a wonderful animal and she was really feeling exhilarated from the riding. As they walked back to the house, Zoe grabbed Enrique's hand and thanked him again for teaching her. Standing next to him, she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, but he turned, and the kiss landed on his lips.

"I like the way you say thank you," he said with a big grin that got bigger as her blush developed. "Thank me again any time."

Not knowing what to say, Zoe just started walking, still holding Enrique's hand, and tugged him along. When she let go, he held on, so she wrapped her fingers back around his, and while it made her blush again, she liked the way it felt.

As they entered the front hall, Enrique was talking about going out again in the morning. Grey's voice cut in, "so does that mean you'll be staying?"

Zoe guiltily pulled her hand from Enrique's and looked at Grey, who was staring at her hand. She realized she was probably projecting guilt and confusion to a man who could feel those feelings as if they were his own. She felt foolish. She didn't have anything to feel guilty about. The relationship with Grey was all visions, not real. She straightened and looked him in the eye.

Enrique answered, "You know I'm staying for a couple of weeks. You assigned me."

"I was speaking to Zoe. She was unsure whether she would be staying here or not," he looked between the two of them, "But I guess she has another reason to stay now." He smiled a wan smile, "The riding, I mean."

Oblivious to what had just taken place between Grey and Zoe, Enrique said, "I didn't think there was any question." Turning to Zoe, and taking her hand again, he said, "Of course you'll stay. You have a lot to learn, and there's no better teacher than Grey."

Enrique looked so genuine. There was no guile in him. Zoe couldn't help but feel warmth just looking in his anxious eyes.

"Yes, I'll stay." She answered Enrique, then looking up at Grey said, "Only for a short time."

Grey nodded once, then turned to continue up the stairs. He called back, "dinner is at seven tonight. Perhaps you two should consider showers. You smell a little horsey."

Enrique faked offense, "Horses smell just fine. It's humans that smell funny," then he took off up the stairs after Grey, pulling Zoe along. Where Grey turned right and went through the now open doorway to his rooms, Enrique turned left down the hallway Zoe's room was on. He stopped in front of the door across the hall from her door and said, "This is my room. You're right there, aren't you?" he asked pointing across the hall.

"Yes. I'll see you at dinner," she said and turned to go into her room.

Enrique gave her arm a sudden tug and spun her back into his arms where he gave her a firm kiss on the lips. Smiling devilishly, he said, "I just wanted to thank you for deciding to stay." Then quickly ducked into his room.
 

Eight

What had she gotten herself into? Instead of things becoming clearer, they were just getting more confusing. Her innocent intention to thank Enrique had somehow started him thinking she wanted to be more than friends. And maybe she did. He was gorgeous after all, and funny, and good-natured, and...The list could go on and on and she had only just met him. But what about Grey? While she still wasn't sure about her feelings for him, she had had all of those visions, and they had felt so right. She felt warmth and acceptance looking into Enrique's eyes, an excellent starting place for a relationship, but certainly not of the caliber of what she felt looking into Grey's. What a mess!

Zoe showered and started getting ready for dinner. She put on the nicest dress she had brought with her, a simple 'little black dress' and kitten heels. She left her hair down to curl softly across her shoulders. Satisfied with her looks, she headed down to the dining room, still unsure of what was going to happen.

Grey and Enrique were talking, heads together when she entered and they both stood. Grey pulled out the chair at his right, across from Enrique, and seated her. He smiled pleasantly and didn't seem to be bothered by anything.

You look lovely this evening," Grey said as he took his own seat.

"Gorgeous!" Enrique added, smiling widely.

Zoe blushed and thanked them both. Grey was dressed in a dark suit, perfectly tailored to him. Enrique wore dark jeans and a polo shirt that looked as if it was having difficulty containing all of his muscles. They both looked good to her.

"What would you like to discuss over dinner, Zoe? We are here to answer your questions," Grey said, looking at her mildly.

"Um, why don't you just continue with whatever you were talking about when I came in?" she answered.

Enrique looked a little flustered and turned to look at Grey.

"That was just some business, nothing to concern you yet," Grey explained. "Surely you have questions about us, about what you are becoming."

"What am I becoming?" she asked.

"I think you will be a powerful seer. You may have other powers as well, but that will be your main gift," Grey answered.

"Yes, but am I a human, a god, an angel, or some other thing," she asked, stressing 'thing' so as to make it sound like something bad.

"A lesser god, an angel, it really doesn't matter. Humans name us as it suits the culture they live in. We are members or the Legion of Light. We work to keep evil under control, and to help the humans," Grey answered again.

The Haskins came in with a tureen of soup, a basket of rolls, and salads for each of them. When they had left, Zoe surprised Grey by asking, "Is my father still alive?"

"No. He was released with a promise not to interact with humans in such a way as to put them in danger, and he disappeared. He was identified by a member of my legion as a casualty of a battle around the time you turned twelve," Grey began, 'We don't know why he was at that battle."

Zoe felt like she should be sad that her father had died, but she didn't feel anything. Instead she asked, "You guys really do battle, like with guns and things?"

"Sometimes. We try not to let it get to that, but on occasion, it happens," Grey sounded regretful.

Changing the subject, Zoe asked, "What are some of these rules you've mentioned?"

Grey looked to Enrique who responded, "The first rule, and the basis for all of the other rules, is don't do anything to harm humans. Mankind are God's children, and we are their caretakers. That means primarily not revealing your abilities to them, while using those abilities to help them. We also work to prevent the enemy from revealing the battle going on all around."

"Why is revealing our powers, our status, bad?" she asked

"Because humans tend to worship what they can see. We don't want to confuse them away from God. When miracles happen, we don't want credit, we want credit to go where it belongs," Enrique continued.

"But it is you doing the miracle, why not get credit?" Zoe pressed.

"Who benefits from that?" Grey asked, "If we each take credit for what we can do, and start accepting the worship of humans, then we compete with each other for dominance, and become like the capricious gods of the Greeks and Romans. That serves the darkness. We serve the light as humble servants, putting the good of people above our own self-interests."

Zoe understood what he was saying, but thought it sounded self-righteous, not humble. Still, he was right about everyone becoming competitive if they accepted the accolades. She grinned a little remembering how petty and childish she had thought those ancient gods were when she learned about them in school. Now she understood where that came from.

The Haskins entered again with dinner plates piled high with roast beef, potatoes, broccoli and carrots. Zoe was already full from the soup and salad and shook her head when Mr. Haskins started to set a plate in front of her.

Enrique reached over for the plate, saying, "If she doesn't want it, I'll eat it. I'm starving."

Grey smirked, "You're always starving."

Enrique shrugged, "I can't help it if I have a fast metabolism."

Zoe was quiet while the men ate, thinking about the things they had said. She considered her own gift, and its potential as a lucrative career. She could definitely see the allure of using one's gifts for one's own self-advancement, but couldn't see how that was the same as working for the darkness. She closed her eyes and looked for a future for herself, but nothing came. She tried harder, but still nothing. Had she shut the door too tightly on her gift?

She looked up and found both men staring at her. "What? Why are you both looking at me like that?"

"You were... glowing," Enrique said, a little awed.

"Don't be silly. People don't glow," she said. "Grey, why were you staring at me?"
"What he said," Grey answered, pointing at Enrique. "I've never seen someone do that, though I've heard of it. Were you attempting to see a future?"

"Yeah, my own, but it isn't working. Did it get turned back off because I didn't seem to want it?" Zoe asked, a little worried she might not really be an angel after all, even though, if she'd been asked, she would have said she didn't want any of this.

"You can't look into your own future," Grey started, but as Zoe began to interrupt, he continued, "you see other people's futures. So far you have seen mostly how you will interact with that person's future, but as you progress you will be able to see any aspect of a person's future. Try to see into mi...Enrique's future," he hesitated and thought better of having her look into his own future, because it seemed to distress her, even as it made him happy.

Zoe turned and looked at Enrique and told herself to see his future. Images of him working with her on the horses came to her, then one of him kissing her began to play and she internally said 'stop' and the visions ended. She turned to tell Grey that she could see Enrique's future fine, but found Grey frowning at her. He must have seen that last image himself. She felt guilty again, but then got a little miffed. She couldn't help what she saw! And just because she had those other visions with him, that didn't make her his girl! She was free to date whomever she pleased!

Enrique was looking at her expectantly. "What did you see?" he asked.

"Us riding together," she answered.

"That's all?" he asked with a wink.

She cleared her throat and looked down to hide the blush she felt creeping up her cheeks. "Yeah. It seems to be working fine."

Grey folded his napkin and placed it beside his plate and stood. He reached for Zoe's chair but she jumped up before he could touch it. His face was composed, but she knew he was still bothered by what was developing between her and Enrique. She hated this struggle going on in her over these two men, neither of whom she actually knew at all! This seeing the future, or the possible future, had some drawbacks. That made her think of a question.

"So are my visions set in stone? I mean, can the things I see not happen?" She asked as they walked across the hall to the library.

Taking a chair set at a right angle to the sofa, Grey answered, "Your visions are the most likely future. They can be changed, but at the time you have them, they are what is going to happen if no one intervenes."

"Oh," she said. She was tempted to look into Grey's future again, but didn't want him to see her do it, so she resisted. Had Enrique coming changed what she saw between her and Grey? Again she felt that fear of losing something she didn't even know she wanted.

"So that's how I'm useful to you? So you can see the future and make changes?" she asked.

"Yes, in a nutshell," Grey answered, looking carefully away as Enrique reached for her hand.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the hand holding, but she felt silly pulling away. She hesitated, then relaxed and let him hold her hand. It was just a hand, right?

"How long will it be before I can see other things besides how I interact with someone's future?" She asked, wondering if it was going to be years before she was really of any use to anyone, besides for embarrassment purposes.

"You are progressing quickly, Grey responded, "I expect if you work at it, in a matter of days you will start to see other parts of people's futures. Your ability to see the future of those not right in front of you, and to see farther out, will develop over a longer period."

"How do I work on it? Now I just look at someone and I get images. I don't control which images I get."

Enrique squeezed her hand and said, "Practice. You can practice on me all you like. I don't mind having you sit and look at me." He was smiling at her, looking eager.

"I have called in numerous members of the legion to file through over the next several days so you can practice reading different people. Just remember not to show what you see on your face, and never to tell anyone everything you see. It is best for most people not to know too much, as I think you may have already discovered," Grey explained, and Zoe nodded. "Well then, unless you have any more questions for me right now, I will be returning to my work," he continued as he stood up.

"Thank you," Zoe said as he headed to the door. She felt a strong need to speak to him about the visions, and Enrique, but didn't know how. After he closed the door she jumped up and said to Enrique, "Oh, I forgot something. I'll be right back," and ran out the door herself.

Grey was just mounting the stairs when she called to him, rushing to meet him, "Grey, wait. I...I don't want to hurt your feelings, or anything. Are you ok with me...and Enrique..."

"I'm fine," he said, smiling a little tightly at her. "I have no claim on you. You may do as you wish, within the rules we discussed earlier."

"But...the visions I had...of us. I know you saw them. And you saw the one... with Enrique. I don't know what this all means." Zoe said, hesitantly.

"Don't let the visions blind you to reality. These things will come to pass, or they won't, as you decide." He smiled more warmly. "Goodnight, Zoe."

"Goodnight," she responded absent-mindedly.

Grey continued up the stairs. As he neared the top Zoe looked intently at his back and tried to see if her visions with him had changed, but she saw nothing.