Author's note- I do not own the Librarian characters (or the Greek gods, either!) and I make no profit.

Heartfelt thanks to my beta, Valawenel

Book of Myths, Chapter 12, Angels and Demons

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Eve was uncharacteristically nervous. This entire ordeal had flustered her in a way that none of their other experiences had. Even though she knew what to expect, she was still startled by the flash of light bursting from under the door along with that booming sound and the intense sensation of pressure. As she raised her hand to protect her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Ezekiel and Jenkins doing the same.

Eve lowered her hand as she cautiously opened her eyes and looked at her companions. "So. We are still here. Yup. Still standing here in the hallway."

"And," Ezekiel said, "I still remember everything."

Jenkins hesitated and then wordlessly reached for the door knob.

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At that moment in another world, Cassie was also covering her eyes. The pitch darkness of her cell was penetrated by the light of several torches as the door flew open. She blinked and squinted until her vision adjusted to the light and she could see the visitors.

A woman stood before her, flanked by several torch bearing guards. She was middle aged with somewhat plain features, but dressed in a silken draped, richly embroidered gown and laden with an overabundance of jewelry.

The woman- Clytemnestra, Cassie guessed- lifted her chin and gazed down her nose haughtily at them.

"Which of you is Cassandra?"

"I am," both Cassie and her companion replied.

Cassie glanced at Cassandra and in the light of the torches, she could see her for the first time. Cassandra was small, slight of build, and at the moment, very frail looking. Her long dark hair was matted, her face streaked with grime and her clothing tattered. Under the dirt, Cassie could see bruises on Cassandra's face and arms. Despite her disheveled appearance, it was clear that she had once been very beautiful. Now, she gazed back at Cassie, her dark eyes a mixture of curiosity and despair.

"I am not amused," Clytemnestra said. "Which of you is Cassandra?"

"I am." Once again, both of them spoke.

Clytemnestra's face darkened with rage. "So, you think you can play games with me? Well, you have earned another day in this cold cell with no food or water. Tonight, we will see who still feels playful. But know this, Cassandra the seer will die before the sun rises again. One of you may leave here, one of you will perish. If you do not tell me what I want to know, I will kill you both."

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Flynn reminded himself to take Ezekiel a little more seriously in the future. Granted, Ezekiel was a bit dramatic at times and was not always the most honest of people, but this time he certainly was not exaggerating or fabricating when he described the discomfort of this particular mode of travel. Now, if only these guys with spears, swords, knives and other sharp objects would just allow him a minute or two to recover.

Flynn's splashy entrance into the god king's throne room sent a bevy of lovely toga clad ladies screaming and scurrying out of the sumptuous chamber. However frightening his abrupt appearance was to the women, it certainly was not, in Flynn's opinion, causing the slightest bit of concern with the guards. And while his secret weapon- a boyish grin that was guaranteed to melt the heart of any female within eyesight- was not likely to be effective with these muscular goons, Flynn thought he'd give a try anyway.

Flashing his secret power grin, he said, "Hello, boys!"

They were not impressed.

Perhaps the grin might have been more effective if Flynn wasn't lying flat on his back on the floor. With one finger, he gingerly moved the tip of the nearest spear a few more inches to the side of his left eyeball. "I believe I will stand up now. It would be very kind of you to refrain from skewering me while I do so."

To their credit, the guards did step back an inch or two, though no one lowered their weapon so much as a millimeter. He was still surrounded by armed hostiles but at least he was on his feet now. That was progress, right?

Flynn tried the grin again, aiming for harmless and charming. "How do you do? My name is Flynn Carsen and I am a Librarian." No reaction. They stared at him fixedly. Flynn was sure that at least one of them was picturing him on a dinner plate.

"I have come to see…um…the great and powerful Zeus. Could you take me to him, please?"

Flynn noted that the guards to the left and right all cast furtive glances at the one directly in front. Ah, the alpha dog. Flynn took a step forward and met the man's steely eyed glare.

"I am asking politely, sir, but my patience runs thin. Take me to your leader at once!"

Flynn groaned inwardly. Did he really just say that? Take me to your leader? Lame. Totally lame. Surrounded by stone cold killers and he blurted out dialogue from 1960's space alien movies. Let's hope these guys don't have Netflix.

Drawing in a deep breath, he squinted his eyes in what he hoped was a Schwarzenegger worthy scowl and deepened his voice to match. "Zeus. Take me. Now."

The guard blinked. Yeah, that alpha dog guard just blinked and took a step back. Oh, yeah. I got him now. He's intimidated. He's about to fold like a pup tent!

The guard turned to leave. And over his shoulder he nonchalantly tossed an order at the remaining guards.

"Kill him."

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"Why did you do that? I asked you not to do that. You do not need to sacrifice yourself for me," Cassandra said.

Though she knew what direction Cassandra was in, Cassie found herself disoriented once the door slammed shut on the inky darkness. Following the sound of her companion's voice, Cassie carefully crawled across the earthen floor until she reached the wall. Reaching out blindly, she swept her arm gently back and forth until she found Cassandra, sliding over until they were huddled together sharing some warmth.

"I know, I know," Cassie said, "but I just can't let them do this to you. It's not fair. It's not right."

"It is what it is."

"Well, it's wrong. I don't have a curse, Cassandra. I have a sickness, a thing that is growing in my brain. It is going to kill me soon. Let me help you. You have the chance to live through this. Wouldn't your family want that for you?"

Cassandra choked out a dry bitter chuckle. "My family. No, I do not believe they would care overmuch."

"You can't mean that," Cassie said. "I am sure they loved you."

"My sisters and I were quite spoiled. Pampered really. They were each very pretty. But people used to say that I was the loveliest. And being the loveliest meant that I would get the finest match. This made my sisters envy me. I do not think they liked me much though I loved them."

"Match?"

"Of course. A husband. I was to be married to the suitor with the most wealth and highest rank. My sisters would be matched with high ranking officials, but I would be wed to nothing less than a prince of a powerful realm."

Cassie shook her head. "That's awful! How could they plan out the rest of your life for you, making that decision, not caring about how you felt? How could they do that to a child they loved?"

"My parents loved me for what they believed I would bring to them and to Troy. A marital union with a powerful ally would bolster our own power and wealth. They valued this above all else. If I did not for fill my destiny, their disappointment would have been great."

Cassie silently contemplated this. She had never had any siblings but she did know a thing or two about disappointing parents. It seemed that she and Cassandra had more in common than just a name.

"I am so very thirsty," Cassandra whispered in her rough cracked voice.

"Me, too. And cold. It's so cold."

Cassie felt the weight of Cassandra's head resting on her shoulder and heard her breath slowing. Wasn't there something about not falling asleep when it was cold? Cassie couldn't quite remember, but what did it really matter anyway? She rested her head against Cassandra's, closed her eyes and slipped into a fitful doze.

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Jake thought of himself as an honest man. He held himself to high standards and ethics in all things. He despised frauds and liars. And it was exactly those admirable qualities that were going to make this so difficult. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself to tell a whole lot of bold-faced lies.

"Atlas!" Jake said with as much distress as he could muster. "Thank goodness you have returned!"

Atlas didn't seem to be trying to hide his smirk though Jake's demeanor had caught his attention. He held up a bejeweled book and replied, "Of course, mortal. I made an oath to return with the book. "

"Yes, sir, and I do appreciate that. But sir, I cannot give you back the planet."

"What?" said Atlas, clearly caught off guard.

"No, sir. Please hear me out. I know you have done me a great boon by obtaining the book. And I am eternally grateful, but sir, I must beg of you another favor."

Atlas was momentarily stunned. "Indeed?"

"Yes, sir," Jake continued. "You see, I had a visitor in your absence. It was an old guy, white hair, beard, called himself Lex. Do you know him?"

"No, I do not know of this person."

"Well, anyway. This Lex guy told me that he saw my friends- the other Librarians- in his travels. Apparently they came here after me but were caught and imprisoned by the goddess Artemis. Their lives are in danger, Atlas. I know I am no match for a goddess, but you could defeat her and save my friends. Please, Atlas, I beg of you. Save my friends and I will carry this planet for you forever!"

Atlas smiled. "You have yourself a deal, mortal. The planet is yours. I will leave at once."

"Um, wait. Before you go, I wonder if you could just help me with one little thing."

"Yes?"

"It's really damn hot out here to be wearing flannel and I sure would appreciate it if you could help me get this shirt off. And maybe you could just roll it up and place it on my shoulders as padding, because Planet Earth sure does chafe, you know?"

Atlas placed the book on the ground and strode to Jake. He tugged ineffectually on the shirt with a bewildered look on his face. "How does this thing work?"

"You have to unbutton it. See those little round things? You have to push each of them through the little holes behind 'em."

Atlas fumbled with the buttons in growing frustration as his large fingers failed to manipulate the troublesome little disks through the holes. "I cannot do this, mortal," he said. "You do it."

And without another thought, Atlas reached out and snatched the planet from Jake's grasp.

Yep, it was just that easy.

Jake stepped deftly out of Atlas' grasp and scooped up the book. He turned to Atlas and gave him a small bow. "Thank you, sir. Appreciate your assistance."

"You tricked me."

"I did, yes."

"You tricked me after I honored my oath to you."

"Well, yes. But let's be honest here. You only made the oath to get the book and return. You never had any intention of actually taking the planet back."

"You can't know that."

"I can and do know that. I read the book. Our book, that is."

Atlas narrowed his eyes and growled.

Jake explained, "In our book of myths, a hero named Hercules asked for your assistance in procuring some golden apples from a garden guarded by your daughters. In that story, you never had any intentions of taking the planet back either. Hercules fooled you into helping him remove his cape, much the same as I did with my shirt."

"I see. Well, thank you for that explanation, mortal. When Hercules does come, I will be ready."

"Perhaps," Jake said. "Perhaps not. That story is about Hercules' quest. As you are not the focal character in that tale, I would hazard a guess that the Atlas in that story will not know the events of today. I could be wrong about that. I guess we just have to see."

Jake stretched and rolled his aching shoulders. He smiled and nodded at Atlas, tucked the book under his arm and strolled away.

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"Cassandra."

Cassie felt Cassandra's weigh lift as she sat up. She opened her eyes to a soft glow. Blinking several times to clear her blurry vision, a figure slowly came into focus. It was the most beautiful man that Cassie had ever seen. He had golden curls over a chiseled face that boasted the most striking crystal blue eyes. There was a soft glow about him that illuminated his breathtaking features. He crouched before them regarding Cassandra with a laser beam intensity.

Cassie gasped. "Who are you?"

The beautiful man turned towards her, clearly irritated. "Be still. I have no come for you." He touched her arm briefly and Cassie felt herself sliding bonelessly to the floor. She could not speak, could not move her arms or legs. She could still see and hear, though the images were fuzzy and the voices seemed far away.

"What did you do to her?" Cassandra asked.

"I merely gave her twilight. I will not brook her interruption."

"Apollo." Cassandra let out a long weary sigh. "What do you want?"

"I am sorry," he said simply.

"You are sorry? Well, that just fixes everything, doesn't it?"

"Cassandra. I loved you."

"You loved me? Love? You cursed me! You destroyed my life!"

"I gave you the gift of prophecy. I taught you to use it."

"Yes, and then you cursed me so that no one would ever believe me. You condemned me to a life of seeing the future, knowing that disaster was coming and not being able to stop it because no one believed me. I watched my parents die. I watched my city burn to the ground. I saw all that coming, Apollo. I saw it and could not stop it. They called me mad. Do not speak to me of love!"

"You made me angry."

"Yes. I angered you by refusing your so called love." Cassandra heaved another heavy sigh. "Why have you come, Apollo?"

"I wanted to say I was sorry. You should not have angered me. But perhaps your punishment was too harsh."

"Yet, you did not remove the curse before my entire world burned."

"Once given by a god, it cannot be taken away."

"And have you come to save me?"

"No. My father, Zeus, has chastised me for meddling in the affairs of mortals."

"Then go. Just go! Let me face my death in peace."

Apollo stood. "I cannot undo what has been done," he said softly, "and I cannot stop what will be done this day. But I do regret what my actions have wrought. Is there nothing else I can do for you?"

Cassandra was silent for a time. "There is one small boon you can grant me. This woman-this other Cassandra- until they have taken me away, please keep her in twylight else she will try to save me."

"You could let her."

"No. I will not. I am weary and my heart is broken into too many pieces to ever repair. I have lost everything. There is nothing more I wish to live for. And indeed, my end on this day truly is my destiny." Cassandra smiled sadly. "I have foreseen it."