Project: Morning Sunrise

The moment I had him talking, I channeled arcane energy into my legs to fill my muscles with kinetic potential, reversed the spin of my crown chakra to create an inverted charge, and increased the speed until it felt like a maelstrom of lightning bolts sizzled atop my head. Like a dynamo, the extra speed gathered energy like a nuclear reactor and I lunged at Hades with everything I had, while the energy in my legs did its work.

What the...? I was on Hades before his senses could even tell him that I had moved! I moved a lot faster than even I expected, and though my perception of time had accelerated from the adrenaline, I barely had time to launch my attack. I released my crown chakra and dumped everything into my right fist, and drove it as hard as I could into Hades' sternum. The thud of the impact caused a powerful shockwave and must have echoed for miles, because it vibrated my skull so hard that my vision went from fine to blurry to nothing in an instant, threw me on my ass about ten feet back, and shattered every glass, crystal, and stoneware item in the ten-story building. Oh and car windows were reduced almost to slivers from their proximity. So much for no damage!

Christ on a crutch! What the actual fuck was that? No one, including myself, anticipated the results of that punch. Never before, or since, have I been able to repeat what occurred that day. I swear, my fights are never this easy. I generally get as good as I give, despite my... Well damn! I can't believe I almost forgot that I call it The 13th Blessing. Well, I would... soon.

I somehow managed to hit Hades so hard that his body blew through Zeus' protective field around the combat area and ended up halfway across the Atlantic, unconscious. I only learned that after Poseidon vanished and came back carrying a drenched Hades who was also as limp as a used dishrag in his brother's arms. A stunned and somber Zeus placed a golden collar around Hades' neck and used his magic to embed a stone into my signet ring. The crowd was still silent, all in attendance were awestruck at having witnessed a human level a godling in one blow. Such a display of raw power was unsettling, to say the least, and some of the more duplicitous among the godlings present now wore looks of grave concern.

Let them wonder, I thought to myself, should keep them a bit more in line. In retrospect, I can admit that was more than a bit overconfident, but hey... I'd just one-punched a godling. I had earned the right to puff up... a little.

The rest were just as stunned, but seemed quite pleased with what they had witnessed. Hades was not very well liked. Makes you wonder if he was like this before the Titanomachy.

When Zeus cast a concerned glance at his still-unconscious brother, I realized what I had forgotten. When I inverted the charge in my crown chakra and sped up the dynamo, as I called it earlier... I created a burst of negative energy from the divine center of my body. The charge had to be negative because Hades may be a depressive prick, but he's not inherently evil. I think he may have spent too much time with Moros. Anyway, when I punched him and released it into his body, it drove out all of the godling energy that he drew from his domain and left him unconscious. The charge would also stay there and deteriorate slowly over time. So, I walked over to Hades, placed my left hand on his chest, and siphoned out all of the energy I'd infused his body with so we would not have to wait for it to dissipate on its own. Could not afford to have them all think I killed him. Having them see me lay him out like that, and then apparently bring him back would be more than enough stress on their egos for my comfort.

I still had to figure out what boosted the energy and the spell so much. I had only intended for the negative charge to serve as a block to any incoming energy he might try to draw on, so that I could try to use my gift to survive long enough to wear him down after that. I was planning for the fight of my life no matter what happened, though. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that it was possible to completely exorcise his body of its energy and flatten him so thoroughly with just one blow.

Hades own power flooded back into his body and he awoke almost immediately. Poseidon had placed him on the ground earlier and when he leapt to his feet with a glare beneath his helm I actually heard a sigh of relief from both Zeus and Poseidon.

I walked up to the godling, stared up into his helmed visage, and issued my first command.

"Drop the curse."

No heat, no venom, no disrespect to be found in my words but there was no mistaking the humiliation Hades felt when he tried to resist the order and was compelled by the golden ring around his neck. I felt a tug in my chest, then something broke free. When I felt lighter, I knew that Hades' curse had been broken.

"Finally!" I whooped.

After a brief moment of celebration, it was time to get serious again, so I wiped the smile off my face and turned back to my new associate.

"I want you to go back to the Underworld and resume your normal duties. It might surprise you to know that I do not want control of you, I just could not see any other way out of this. To that end, if you behave yourself and don't cause me problems, you'll retain full autonomy. I may call on you for assistance, knowledge, or advice, but I have no plans for a godling errand-boy. On that, you have my word."

He nodded, a hint of relief visible in his eyes, plenty of resignation there too. Hades had turned and opened a portal when I remembered something.

"Oh, and Hades?"

He turned his head to look back at me.

"I don't suppose it's too late for that soul we fought over ten years ago, is it? The one that started all this?"

The Warden of Tartarus leaned his head back and sighed with exasperation, then hung it low in defeat.

"No Michael, her soul has not yet begun to decay."

My own sigh was one of relief.

"That is wonderful news, Hades. Send her home, it is long past time for her to rejoin her maker. I will also need you to release the other eleven from our previous fights, oh... and thank you."

The defeated but surprised godling nodded his acceptance and I turned away to allow him a quiet exit.

The crowd had watched, confused, until Zeus raised my hand in victory. A great cheer rose up from all, but the loudest by far were my... hopefully... future coworkers, the Indian contingent, and Lady Amaterasu's group. Before any could arrive, Zeus took a gentle grip on my arm and smiled.

"You played a dangerous game, young man, but you played it very well. On behalf of all Olympus and its Underworld, thank you for the respect you showed and the dignity you allowed my brother after the fight. It will not soon be forgotten."

He released my arm and I moved into a bow.

"You are most welcome. As I said to your brother, I saw no other way out of our situation but to give myself absolute power over him. It was necessary in order to bring an end to it without one or both of our deaths. He's free to do his thing unless he breaks the rules that we all have to go by, again. Outside of that, his business is his business. You have my word... and thanks for having those items forged so that the pact could be enforced. I have a feeling it put a hard stop to any early resistance. This way, he'll settle down a lot faster and realize that I really do not want a pet on a leash."

Zeus smiled wide, placed his meaty hands on my shoulders, and patted them hard.

"It makes me proud to see my trust in you was well placed, Michael. I will pass on your thanks to Hephaestus and his Cyclopes. For now I must return to Olympus, my brethren have seen one of their own fall easily to a mortal today, and it has given them much to think about. I will steer things in their proper course. You will always find allies on Olympus, Michael Satko... in that you may trust. Farewell."

After that, he vanished in a bolt of lightning that struck so fast my hair didn't even have time to stand up. By the time I cleared the spots from my eyes, Frank was standing in front of me wearing a smile that threatened to get past his ears, and the rest of the people were staring at me in awe. Great, now I get a fan club.

"Mike, after that show, I wouldn't have heard a complaint from anyone if I had hired you for ten mil a job! That was spectacular! What on earth did you do to him?"

I smiled and took my clothes back. I figured he could stew for a moment while I put my shirt and vest back on. When I'd finished and adjusted my bowler, I gave him an apologetic smile.

"I, uh, I'm still working that one out. I had something a little different planned. Lot more drawn out and painful for me, too. "

Then my buddy and new boss got an odd look on his face.

"Oh, well... okay, it... can... I gotta move the guys back, you have company."

I turned in the direction he was staring as Frank herded the men back about ten feet, and I immediately understood. It was Shiva, Kali, and Amaterasu & company. I tossed my hat back to Frank, bent into a deep bow as they all approached, and addressed the group.

"Lord Shiva, Mother Kali and Lady Amaterasu, Masters Fujin, Raijin, and Ryujin, you each honor your humble student with your presence."

Frank's eyes grew inhumanly wide as the source of some of my training dawned on him while a delicate blue hand lifted my face to look into the gentle eyes of the Dark Mother, and she smiled down at me.

"Rise, young Michael. You have honored your teachers with your actions here today, and earned the right to stand among us as equals. You bow to us no more."

Then she took my hand and gently stood me upright again. I was speechless when she brought me before before the group.

"I... thank you, thank you all. Without your help I could never have gotten free of that curse."

Shiva gave me a firm clap on the shoulder and laughed.

"After your resounding victory here today, I think perhaps you might have found a way without our assistance. Though I doubt it would have been quite so impressive and unexpected. I recognized your techniques, but one thing eludes me... how did you amplify it so? By my reckoning, that should not have happened."

I couldn't help but give a sheepish chuckle.

"You are correct, Lord Shiva. It should not have happened. I don't understand where it came from, myself. The only thing that fits would be the gift of my birth, but even that is just a guess because I didn't feel anything different from when I trained with each of you."

"If that is the case, perhaps it is more a blessing than an ordinary gift. Though I cannot fathom who in the universe could grant such a boon."

Lady Amaterasu chose that moment to add her thoughts and lifted a pale, dainty hand.

"I would argue that it matters not who blessed our charge with such a power, as he has shown himself more than capable of using both it and our teachings with wisdom and honor.

"Given the auspicious nature of his gift and the alignments that surround it, I propose that henceforth he be known as Master Michael Satko: Child of the Sun, Favored of Deva and Devi, and Wielder of The 13th Blessing!" she declared.

I was shocked by the chorus of cheers that rose up in agreement, not just from the godlings, but from the humans, the Naga, and a few of the remaining godlings as well. I was snapped from my shock with yet another surprise. Fujin and Raijin suddenly stood before Shiva and I with a massive, ornately gilded warchest that looked to be six feet long, four feet deep, and three feet high held between the two of them, and they placed it at my feet.

"My brother and I had a wager with the Egyptians..." Fujin tried to explain before Raijin interrupted with raucous laughter.

"Yeah, Ha Ha! Horus and Anubis didn't think you had it in you. We cleaned up!"

Fujin coughed and frowned at his brother's braggadocio, then continued.

"As I was saying... it was mostly in rare materials that we sought for a project we have for Master Masamune, but there was also a significant amount of gold coinage included that should prove valuable on the human antiquities market. We set it aside for you. You will find it all in there, along with a set of papers that will always display the proper provenance needed, should you choose to sell the coins. Human copy and imaging machines will also duplicate whatever documents are being shown to the viewer. This should prevent any complications."

As I listened in growing shock and anticipation, I could not understand why coinage would require provenance. Wait, he didn't say antiques, he said antiquities... ancient coins! When he finished speaking, I could barely steady my hands when I crouched and ran my fingers across the gold scrollwork that had been painstakingly worked into the hard surface of the darkest ebony wood I had ever seen. The steel reinforcements that framed the chest. Centered atop the chest was a huge medallion bearing the royal seal of Emperor Jimmu himself. Wow! The chest alone would probably be worth millions! When I finally got over my awe of the container's beauty, I opened the chest and sat down hard. All I could do was laugh. Inside was a pile of gold coins (I would later learn that they were mint and uncirculated Persian coins from the reign of Xerxes I) that filled the chest completely and threatened to spill out onto the ground. I smiled at my teachers and stood back up.

"Holy shit, that's a lot of gold!"

The pair chuckled at my brilliant summation.

"The chest is special, too, kid. It will always hold whatever you need it to", Raijin added.

"Thank you so much Fujin, Raijin. This will come in quite handy. Most in the human world don't know how expensive it is to do what I do. I've been working from job to job for some time now, it will be nice to expand my facilities and have some to spare."

We exchanged bows and the pair stepped back. Shiva placed his hand on my shoulder to get my attention. When I looked to him, he wore a cryptic smile.

"There is one more thing, though it is more surprise than reward..." he said.

The Naga chose that moment to rejoin Shiva and Kali. From the center of their ranks darted a short blue blur with long black hair and dark skin... on two legs. A female voice that sounded strangely familiar screeched my name before I could focus my gaze, then leapt into my arms and tackled me to the ground. It became clear that she was quite upset with me for some reason when she beat my chest repeatedly and cried.

This is one of those moments where The Blessing seemed to have a mind of its own... a frustrated woman could continually smack the shit out of me, but my clothes didn't even get so much as a single picked thread from the ass-plant on the pavement. The woman was an absolute fireball at the moment, though. I had to get this under control so I grabbed her by her biceps and forced her to look at me. I lost my grip the moment I saw her face clearly.

"Nira...?"

"Yes, it is me, you idiot!" she yelled in her light Tamil accent.

She looked ready to hit me again so I pulled her into a hug.

"Holy shit! I'm so glad you came, but... how are you human?"

That earned me an eye roll as she sat up and glared at me.

"You really are such an idiot sometimes..." she groused, "In case you have forgotten, I was a member of Mother Kali's personal guard? She released me from her service and gifted me with a human form so I could come to you. Straight after that, Lord Shiva informed me that you had openly challenged Hades and we departed for here immediately."

It was true. Niranjana and I had eaten, trained, studied, fought, even bled together. Ever the dutiful mother, Kali added her two cents with a wry smile.

"The poor thing has been a mess since you left Mount Kailash, Michael. She hardly ate anything for the first two months and, while her studies and training never suffered, I have not seen joy in her eyes once. A mother cannot let something like that pass unaddressed."

While Nira sputtered, I pounced.

"Ohhh, so you are stalking me..." I teased.

I pulled her into a kiss before she could respond. Niranjana stiffened at first, then relaxed in my grip and placed her hands on my forearms. At her first whimper, I gently pulled away and locked my gaze on hers.

"Nira, the only thing that ever held me back was the curse. I've been in love with you ever since we captured the master vampire that was tormenting that village just outside the Myanmar border."

She looked hurt. I knew it was coming, I had just admitted to concealing my feelings toward her for eight years. She might be a fierce and deadly sorceress, but she had a kind and compassionate soul. Then she asked me the one question anyone could have seen coming.

"Why, Michael?"

I sighed and cupped her cheek.

"Because I would rather have you alive now and angry with me, than watch Hades take you from me before he forced me to live on while I dodged both my name and his. His plan was to break me for daring to attempt to take a soul from him, he would have delighted in that torment."

She took my hand from her cheek and laced her fingers with mine as the hurt in her eyes slowly gave way to confusion.

"I do not understand. What would make you think this way?"

"Honey, I never believed for a second that my conflict with Hades would end in anything other than my death or failure. Would you have let me leave without you if you had known about my feelings?

Nira bit her bottom lip in thought, something I always found adorable, then shook her head.

"No, I would have demanded to be at your side from that moment forward."

I gave her answer a slow nod of agreement.

"There is your answer."

The confusion began to change into frustration and she shook her head.

"I still do not understand, Michael. What are you trying to say?"

Amaterasu came to my rescue.

"Dear child, what Michael has tried valiantly, but failed to adequately express is that he loves you far too much to risk your life to save his own."

Tears welled in Niranjana's eyes and she threw her arms around me in a fierce embrace. She just held onto me in silence for a while. When she finally spoke, it was with a shaky voice.

"I forgive you, my sweet idiot. But you are to never, ever, do anything so foolish again. Am I clear on this, Michael?"

I may be an idiot, but I am no fool... I know when to just smile and nod.

"Yes ma'am."

Everyone chuckled and Nira and I got to our feet. When the godlings gathered around once again they announced that it was time for goodbyes.

"I and several others have repaired what damage we could without discovery, including your place of employment. I look forward to our next meeting, Master Michael. By your leave..." Shiva asked.

"Absolutely, Lord Shiva, and thank you all again for everything..." I said and hugged Nira to my side with my left arm. "You've taken an amazing day and made it better. Be well, travel safe, and return often," I told them.

There was a round of traditional goodbyes as is the protocol with beings of such stature, then they were gone, and Nira and I were left with my, still-hopefully-at-this-point, new boss and coworkers. When we turned around, I took the time to glance at our surroundings. It's amazing what a godling can do right in front of you without notice, when they feel like it. There wasn't a single shard of anything, a dent, pit, or a scratch to be found anywhere. Every vehicle had returned to its exact state just before the damage. Absolutely incredible.

I looked up just in time to see Frank approach with a wry grin painted on his face. It was right about then that I noticed a large lump in my right vest pocket and pulled out a leather bag large enough to hold a fresh roasting hen. Sneaky, sneaky godlings! I opened the pouch and plunged my arm all the way to my shoulder, to my increasing shock, and felt what had to be coins moving aside all the way down to what still was not the bottom. I began to wonder if I could dive into the thing. I grabbed a fistful of coins and pulled them out. When I opened my hand, I was treated to gold and silver coins of various ancient civilizations and quickly realized that these must have come from all the godlings in attendance. Well I'll be damned, the old man really did sell tickets, I thought with a chuckle.