Author's note: I do not own the characters and make no profit. As always, sincere thanks to my beta, Valawenal.

Chapter 14, Gauntlets and the Goddess

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"I see you have figured it out."

Jake wasn't surprised to find he was no longer alone. And he wasn't surprised to discover who his companion was. He reckoned he should have been, but he wasn't.

Reluctantly dragging his attention away from the book, he looked up at the older gentleman who was comfortably sprawled against a large rock just a few feet across from him. The fact that the elderly man simply appeared without Jake noticing his arrival also failed to surprise him.

"Hello, Alexander."

Lex smiled. "Ah, so you have figured that out as well! Excellent! Mr. Stone, I am quite impressed. And I am most eager to know will you now use the book to go to those particular times to stop your friends from suffering the emotional trauma of those events?"

Jake gave Lex a narrow eyed scowl. "I can't do that, now can I? This chapter on The Book of Myths takes place in the Library Annex as each of the characters makes a plan and then relates their particular experience. As the characters are in the Annex telling their stories after the fact, the Annex would be the only location I could travel to."

Lex nodded in approval. "Quite correct, Mr. Stone. Over the centuries, there have been very few who have understood that concept. Your…er, Jenkins, is it now? Yes, Jenkins. He was one of the few. "

"Jenkins? He knew about this and let us all suffer the experience anyway?"

"Well, perhaps I should rephrase that. He once knew. But as he returned to his world just prior to leaving it, and found a way to prevent himself from repeating the mistake, he would have no memory of it."

Jake was fascinated. "How did he do that?"

"Gloves." Lex chuckled. "It was elegant in its simplicity. He was a librarian back then and was on a quest to acquire the Book of Myths for safe storage in the Library."

"And where, exactly, did he find a pair of gloves in the midst of Ancient Greek mythology?"

"Oh, they were his. Gauntlets, actually. All those knights wore gauntlets back then."

"I see," Jake said. "Please continue."

"Lan…um, Jenkins put a glove on one hand and held the other glove while he touched the page depicting his quest. He simply took himself back to that quest, to the moment he first touched the book, but this time he found himself wearing a glove and carrying the mate. He probably didn't retain his memory of his experience here long enough to know why, but finding himself suddenly and inexplicably wearing a gauntlet, and knowing magic as he does, he would not have hesitated to don the second glove. Simply brilliant."

"I don't suppose you have a spare set of gauntlets handy?"

"Will you be needing them, Mr. Stone?"

Jake sighed and considered his response. "I suppose not."

Lex's eyes twinkled as he regarded Jake with an impish grin. "Do tell me why."

"Well," Jake said, "I could do what Jenkins did and prevent all this from happening. I could spare Eve from the wound she received during the battle in Athena's temple, I could prevent Ezekiel from being exposed to all the evils of the world, I could save Cassie from the physical and emotional pain she was subjected to, and I could save Flynn from…a few bruises."

"Yes. But you hesitate to do so. Why?"

Jake speared Lex with a clear eyed stare. "You tell me, Lex. You are the author of all this. You placed us all here and then moved us about like chess pieces."

Lex flinched. "Not precisely true, Mr. Stone. I may have written the original tales of the Gods and the mortals and their interactions, but each of you have inserted yourselves into the story and your actions have altered it. That chapter you just read? You and your friends authored it, not me."

"You are saying that you had no role in the creation of this chapter?"

Lex shrugged and looked away. "I may have added a detail or two."

"Such as?"

The old man sighed and returned his gaze to meet Jake 's unflinching stare. "I helped. Just a little. I gave Eve a bit of extra speed so that the sword would hit her ribs instead of piercing her heart. And I may have written in a tree root for Ezekiel to trip over. Just some little things."

"And what did you do for Cassie?"

"You know what I did for Cassie," Lex replied. "I sent Apollo to ease her suffering."

"Is that all he did?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean," Jake said firmly. "What. Did. Apollo. Do?"

"I don't know. I really do not know for certain. You do not understand how this works," Lex said, shrugging.

"Enlighten me." Jake crossed his arms.

"I am not a wizard, you know." When Jake raised an eyebrow in skepticism, Lex hastened to explain. "If I am a wizard, I am one without training. It has taken me centuries of trial and error to determine what little I do know about my abilities."

"What do you know?"

"I know that I write characters that come to life and worlds that become real. But once birthed, these characters have a certain amount of free will. I can write in some plot guidelines, you see, but the characters seem to write their own stories. Take you, for instance. Taking that planet from Atlas? Developing and carrying out the plan to escape? That was all you, Jacob. I wrote none of it."

Jake shook his head slowly. "But I am not one of your characters, now am I?"

"Aren't you?"

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Flynn stood tall and steady. He maintained unblinking eye contact with Alpha. His stance was relaxed, hands by his sides without so much as a tremor. No one would ever guess that he wanted quite badly to throw up and run from the room screaming like a little girl.

And there was that blink again. Alpha had a tell. Flynn knew that Alpha was giving consideration to backing down. Who says all those late night poker games with Jenkins were wasted? But just as it appeared that Alpha would speak, the decision was taken from him.

"What is happening here?" a female voice demanded. Flynn pictured ice-sickles dripping from those words.

Alpha and the guards reacted immediately. "Mistress," they said as they all dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. Flynn's reaction was not quite so swift. He lost precious seconds staring at the newcomer, a tall, imposing, but attractive middle aged woman draped in finery.

The chill of her words was offset by the heat of her anger. Belatedly, Flynn realized the anger was directed at him and promptly dropped to one knee, bowing his head as well. "Pardon me…Your Highness?" Exactly what was the proper way to address a goddess? Must do some research on that.

"Mistress Hera", Alpha said, "We captured this intruder and were just about to put him to death for trespassing in the sacred chambers of Zeus."

"Then be done with it. Quickly."

Hera…wife of Zeus…Flynn thought. Zeus, who cheated on her regularly. Jealous, angry Hera. Hera who was severely punished by Zeus when she dared to challenge him. Hera, who thereafter resorted to passive aggressive acts of revenge…

"Mistress, Great Goddess Hera, Your Highness," Flynn thought he would cover all the bases. "I come with a warning of grave danger for His Greatness Mighty Zeus."

Peering cautiously up, Flynn could see that he had captured her attention. Encouraged by this, he sprang to his feet and was promptly and roughly snared by Alpha and another guard. Arms twisted brutally behind him, he had a moment of panic, wondering if he had lost his chance to pull this off. With great relief, he saw that Hera was intrigued.

"Speak, mortal. Tell me of this danger."

"It is a book, Your Majesty," Flynn said, "a book that was sent as a gift by Athena."

"And?"

"Your Incredible Amazingness, the book is magic and is very dangerous."

"And you would know this how?"

"I am a Librarian." At Hera's sudden glare, Flynn hastened to add, "Your Beautiness".

"A Librarian? As in the fairy tales? You waste my time!"

Ooops. Wrong strategy.

"No, My Goddess of Great Kindness and Patience," Flynn said, "I am an actual librarian, an archivist. I collect and study rare books that have, um, special properties. That is how I learned of this one."

Unlike his colleague Jake, who had yet to develop the skill, Flynn was confident in his ability to glibly lie with absolute conviction whenever needed. But Hera's penetrating stare exposed her as a formidable opponent in the falsehood game. Flynn desperately hoped that the small bits of truthfulness in his explanation would lend sincerity and credence to his lie.

After an uncomfortable silence, Hera raised her chin and looked down at him like a bug she might decide to step on. "Go on, mortal. Tell me of this danger."

With a small sigh of relief, Flynn continued. "Oh, Excellent One. This book is safe to handle except for a single page. The page is several chapters in and has a terrible effect on whoever reads it."

"What effect?"

"Well, Your Serene Goddessness, if the reader is a woman, she is instantly transformed into a hag so ugly that no one can gaze upon her."

"And if the reader is a man?" Hera's voice was soft and flowed like honey. Flynn felt a chill that had little to do with temperature and everything to do with the sheer terror that voice invoked.

"If the reader is a man…" At Hera's stormy look, Flynn quickly said, "Your Astounding Magnificence!"

"Yes, yes! Finish! What does it do to a man?"

"Ah, a very terrible thing of which I shudder to speak, Great Goddess of Goodness." Flynn was starting to run out of adjectives. Was it proper etiquette to repeat a honorific? Really must do some research…

"Speak!" Hera commanded in a voice that brooked no argument.

"Yes, Your Invincible Greatness. If a man reads it, he will become…impotent."

"Really?" Hera practically purred. "For how long?"

"Forever, Gracious Goddess. Forever."

"Release him at once." Hera flicked a gesture towards the guards. "I believe the archivist and I will have a word with my husband."

Hera's smile made Flynn feel like his bones were dissolving in acid.