CHAPTER 6

The company shared glances of confusion for a brief moment when they burst out laughing.

"God? You are no God!" The young beardless man cried out.

"He is not just any God, but the God of Poetry."

The bald man's statement was followed by a roar of laughter. Anders bristled at their mockery, yet he couldn't help but notice Gandalf not joining in with the others. His eyes never leaving Anders and it was enough for the God to feel slightly self-conscious.

The brunette leader's chuckled slowed before he turned to Anders. His smile disappearing all together.

"Do you take us for fools? There is no God of Poetry."

"Really? Because if I remember correctly, just a few minutes ago you experienced some of my powers."

He couldn't help but smirk as the leader's face fell. The feeling of pride was short lived when a sword was pointed at him once again.

"Yes and try anything like that again and it will be-"

"Yea yea. My head, I know. But then you know I'm not lying to you either."

"You will watch your tongue god." He sneered. His eyes bore into Anders and he briefly recalled the same look of hate Natalie had given him before killing Helen.

"What are your powers exactly?"

"My powers can bend mortals to my will." He stated confidently to the old man who finally decided to speak.

For a moment Gandalf said nothing and Anders couldn't help but note how nice it was to not have Ty make some stupid comment about his powers only working on bimbos. His brother knew very well they worked on other people, hell his business is proof of that. Not that he always used them on clients, but as a businessman he was allowed to have fun and beautiful women were fun.

"You say your powers work on mortals."

"That's correct." Anders replied.

There was a glimmer in the old man's eye that made him uneasy. The old man was up to something and he had a feeling he didn't like it.

"Are there others like you? Other gods, that is."

A mousey brown haired man who seemed a foot shorter than the others sat upon his pony. His meek demeanor and questioning look told Anders the man was just as uneasy as he was about this whole situation. The question was innocent enough. Part of him was all but willing to deny this fact, however given the death glare he was receiving from the leader and mini him, self-preservation told him that would not go well.

"Yes."

"How many are there?" The leader said curtly.

"Aside from my brothers, the goddess and a few other Maori gods. I don't know."

Anders heart thumped in his chest for a brief moment he thought that everyone could hear and figured it was just a matter of time before they could see his fear. But no one said anything. They all watched in silence. Waiting for their leader to say something. Do something. Taking a chance, he glanced over to the girl. While she was no longer crying, her cheeks remained stained from her tears. Her lower lip trembled as she stared back at him. He could tell she was confused and frightened but he admired how she tried to remain just as calm as he hoped he appeared.

A small nod to her was the only comfort he could give before turning his attention back ahead. The leader watched him closely, but not as close as Gandalf. Old blue eyes never wavering and only seemed to bore into the center of his being. Anders suppressed a shudder.

"Perhaps he could be of use to us Thorin." He said slowly. "Having one with an ability as his could work in his favor."

Thorin….weird name.

Upon noticing the tiniest curve in the old man's lips, Anders suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that this old man had his own ulterior motives for saying what he said. However, he wouldn't be given the chance to dwell on it more before Thorin begrudgingly agreed.

"Very well. I will not be held accountable for his safety. And God."

"Anders."

Thorin's jaw clenched at Anders' smugness and continued. "If you try anything, I will promise you will not live to see your home again."

With that, Thorin turned on his heels and mounted his pony. It was then that everyone followed suit only pausing when a gruff voice spoke.

"What of the girl, Thorin?"

"Bring her."

Anders released the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding as the bald man dragged the girl with him to his pony.

Good job Bragi. What the hell is going on with you?

He rolled his eyes and held back a growl of irritation. His powers were stronger than before, that much was obvious. But his patience for waiting was running thin. And that girl was going to give him more trouble than his brothers back home.

She owes me big.

Maya was placed onto the front of the saddle with the giant man who had earlier held a knife to her throat. Her mind was reeling, playing back everything that had just transpired. Everything said. Despite witnessing Thorin's change in behavior, the shift in Anders voice, she still found it hard to believe. Even more curious was how Gandalf was more amused than frightened by this new found information. It brought about more questions in her already cluttered mind.

Slowly she lifted her gaze to the man she rode with. He frightened her, with his rigid posture. The glare in his eyes as he stared ahead, his jaw obviously tense beneath his long brown beard.

She quickly cast her eyes away when he caught her looking at him. Not that she was subtle in doing so in the first place. Still, it didn't stop her heart from nearly leaping out of her chest or the small squeak that almost escaped past her lips.

"Something on your mind?"

The words made her jump. She hadn't expected him to talk to her and wasn't sure how to respond. While his voice was gruff, there seemed to be no hostility in the question. Taking a slow breath, she asked the first question that came to her mind.

"Who are you all?"

The man stiffened and for a moment Maya worried that she had made him angry. A quick look to Thorin, who only gave a small nod, the man relaxed. But only slightly.

"Dwalin." He said dully.

One by one the men introduced themselves. She couldn't help but note how each name rhymed with one or two others. However, it wouldn't help her in remembering them. Even with the rhyming, she was horrible with names and theirs were so different from anything she's heard, it would take a while before she would be able to say them all correctly.

Slowly she bowed her head and tried her best not to show how terrified she was. To her surprise and relief, not all the men showed hostility. The man with the silly hat, Bofur as she discovered, gave a reassuring smile as did the younger man, Or…something…Orly? Or was it something else.

"As you know I am Gandalf, and this is Bilbo. I believe you two met already." The wizard said indicating to the smaller man riding beside them.

She mouthed hello and gave a small bow of her head before speaking up. "How do you all know each other?"

Tension ran through the group. All eyes fell on the wizard awaiting for his response. Maya gulped as Gandalf eyed Thorin who had, to her relief, remained quiet. Gandalf cleared his throat ready to speak when Thorin interrupted.

"We are from the Blue Mountains."

Maya's brows furrowed in confusion. The blue…where… "Oh…Where's that?"

The question all but had the leader of the group stop his pony and in doing so stopping every else. Slowly he turned his pony around to face her. For a moment, she feared that he was going to kill her or worse, yell at her. But there was no anger in his eyes, only suspicion.

"It is west of The Shire."

Maya bit her lower lip as she thought. Scanning her mind of what little she knew of Geography. Yet the longer she tried to think, the name itself was all but unknown to her. Meeting Thorin's eyes, she frowned.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that is."

His eyes narrowed before looking past her, she assumed to Anders. I wonder if he knows what he's talking about.

Her thoughts were answered when the same suspicious eyes met hers once again.

"You do not know these places."

She shook her head. It was at this moment she wished that she hadn't spoken in the first place.

"Earlier you said where you were from. Thorin perhaps she was not lying. It would explain her and her companion's accents. And perhaps explain why he bear a similar resemblance to Master Fili."

Accent? Oh…Guess they all seem to be British. I didn't notice that before.

"Then how did they get here?" Thorin pressed.

"I do not know and by the looks of things, neither do they. But seeing as how they are not from here and have nothing to gain, perhaps extra members might prove viable in our journey. After all, we seem to have a God amongst us."

"And what of the girl? She cannot fight."

"We cannot leave them here alone when they do not know the dangers that are around them."

Despite fearing the man she rode with she couldn't help but lean back into him. As if he would act as some sort of protection from the hostile looks Gandalf and Thorin shared. For a while, neither spoke and the group remain silent as they had their silent conversation. In the end it was Thorin who finally agreed, reluctantly ordering Balin to have them sign the contract.

Balin rode up to Maya with a tight lipped smile as he got out a long sheet of paper and an ink feather pen. She hesitantly grabbed the pen and signed the paper. In the back of her head she knew she should always read a contract but given how quickly they started moving again and how reluctant Thorin had been in agreeing to them coming along, she didn't want to push her luck in delaying the group.

"Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." He said with a bow of his head.

She did the same as they rode past the older man, who waited behind to have Anders sign as well. Looking behind, she watched as he scanned the paper. Biting her lip, she turned back. There were still so many questions swirling around in her head and the contract only brought up more. The group seemed secretive and while she too kept her distance from others, she couldn't help but wonder what it was they were trying to protect. Maya held her tongue. She had some of her questions answered and she and Anders seemed to be safe for the time being. But at this moment all she wanted to do was get back to her new found companion. While he easily got on her nerve, she needed something familiar. Or at least more familiar than the man she rode with.

"Um…I…Sir?" She stammered.

"What is it?"

She couldn't help but shrink a bit at the sharp tone in his voice. "Can I ride with Anders? We won't try anything and you heard Gandalf, we don't know where we are so riding off would be stupid cause we could get lost or worse killed…but then you would kill us too if we tried to run so-"

"Alright! Alright. Just stop your blabbering." Dwalin said rolling his eyes as he stopped the pony.

It's not my fault that I talk a lot when I get scared.

"Just remember, try anything…"

Maya gave a curt nod as he dismounted with her right behind him. She made sure to keep close to the large man as he led her to Anders. Not really sure what he was thinking as Anders watched them approach, Maya kept her eyes low. Dwalin said nothing as he moved her to stand in front of him. Placing his hands under her arms, he lifted her up with ease as she sung a leg over the saddle, settling snuggly behind Anders. Ander said nothing as he scooted up to give her a bit more room, for which she was thankful.

"Move out."

A slap on the backside was all it took to get the pony to start walking again, following the others with lazy steps.

"Are you alright?"

Maya nodded, her eyes locked on her hands. Not used to riding like this, she was uncertain where to hold before settling on holding onto the back of his shirt.

"Are you ok?" She asked cautiously.

"Aside from the kink in my neck, being lost and nearly dying…twice. I'm fine." He snapped.

She remained silent. The familiar feeling of guilt gnawed at her.

"Can't do anything right."

"Stupid whore."

The images of a hand on her neck, eyes filled with anger and hate flashed behind her closed eyes.

Stop! Get out of my head!

Letting out a whimper, she screwed her eyes close. Her hands clenching Anders shirt tight as the voices got louder. A tear ran down her cheek. Lifting a hand, she hastily wiped it away trying desperately to push the images away before anyone noticed.

However, it didn't go unnoticed. Not for the young God who listened silently. All the while wondering. What happened when I was passed out?

New Chapter! Trying to reveal more of Maya. Hope you all like it.