This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy: this Chapter (among others) contains graphic descriptions of sex, not always consensual or between adults. If reading material of this nature upsets or offends you, pleas click away now! Likewise, if reading something like this should compromise either of us legally then please take the above advice and leave the way you came in. If none of these caveats apply to you, I hope you enjoy the latest Chapter of Brad's adventures on and off Olympus Island.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Ganymede
Brad found it hard to restrain his laughter as Donnie and Mary Helen frantically, if vainly, tried to prevent the immortal spirit of Ganymede from entering their oldest son. "It won't help!" he chuckled, "it's a spiritual manifestation not material. Fan all you want, but nothing can stop this! It may look like `smoke,' but it's not actual vapor..."
"What's happenin' t' my poor baby!" Dolores van Daam wailed.
"Is m' grandson gonna be OK?' The van Daam patriarch was no less astonished and upset than anyone else in the room, but Derek seemed more practical than his wife and older son.
"I don't know..." Brad admitted; he didn't tell the van Daam's how ill-matched the previous incarnations of Ganymede were or how the last one had thrown himself off the Eos Bridge half a century earlier. "In all honesty, we thought Ganymede was lost forever since he didn't reincarnate shortly after his last body died..."
"Are we even sure that's Ganymede?" Dave asked; he was as worried as the rest of his family. "I didn't think Gods could survive that long b'tween incarnations."
"Prometheus believes it's him," the blond gymnast told the Texan. "Asclepios slept in the Caduceus for two millennia, so really, who knows? It's not like any of you Olympians have ever really studied the reincarnation process. Ganymede will have to tell us--if he can..."
"OUT, vile demon!" Donnie exclaimed, grabbing the van Daam family Bible. "In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you, vile demon, and command you to return to the black pits of Hell from whence you came!"
"We didn't come from Hell, Reverend!" Dennis protested. "Yer concept of Hell is an invention that came from further east--around Iraq an' Iran..."
"In order to have ANY chance of that working, you first have to actually believe..." Brad snarked.
"Sorry, Dad..." The mist was gone, and DJ/Ganymede looked around the room with newly blue-violet eyes. "I'm not going ANYWHERE except back to Olympus with Uncle Dave!"
"No, you're NOT! You're going to some school where they can beat the Devil out of you, boy!" the Reverend screamed in his son's face.
"Dude, that would be a BAAAAAAAAAD idea!" Brad told the Reverend. "Like it or not, DJ is one of the Greek Gods now--and will be for the rest of his life! You send him to some Christian `re-education' camp--there's no telling what mischief he might get up to--and there would be NOBODY there to control him!"
"You really ought to listen to the guy," DJ told his father. "Although it might be fun to go someplace like that! Yeah, I could make LOTS of mischief..." Brad knew the young man was inhabited by a Sex God and had no trouble visualizing him wrapping every staffer around his little finger and turning them into sex-crazed cock slaves. More often than not, those places attracted closeted gays and latent homosexuals who hated themselves; it wouldn't take much for DJ, being a limited telepath and empath, to unlock the secrets hidden inside them and turn the whole place into an endless gay orgy. He could see the young men forced to go there sexually brutalizing the staff or worse. Even the best kid could make some seriously bad decisions; forced repression could do that.
"No, buckaroo, you're comin' with me t' Olympus Island," Dave said with finality. "Donnie--come Monday mornin' we'll draw up legal papers t' give me custody o' DJ; I'll see he gets proper schoolin' an' even communicates with ya n' Mary Helen--if y'all r' willin' t' talk with im. Ya c'n even come see y'r son now n' then! I'll arrange visits if ya like--he'll be in good hands with me--I swear t' ya!"
"You're not taking my son anywhere you, you--FAGGOT!"
"Maybe I should turn you into a giant pile of shit..." DJ suggested.
"Not on y'r Gramma's carpets!" Dave said, his expression deadly serious.
"How about a cockroach!"
"Not advisable!" Brad told him. "Your father would still be the same size and weight; even if his new exoskeleton didn't crush his organs to mush, you'd still have a huge-ass bug! It would frighten the ladies, and I don't think you want to scare them... Why don't you just make your father's outside match what's inside? That seems reasonable!"
"I like that..." DJ looked at his father, and the Reverend seem to briefly run like wax until a red devil-figure stood before them, complete with mottled skin, burning yellow eyes, curling horns, forked tail, even goat legs and hooves. The Reverend lunged for his son, but DJ translocated to the other side of the room while Donnie, unused to his new center of gravity, tripped and crashed down hard on a coffee table, breaking it to bits.
"ENOUGH!" Dave barked. "DJ--ya made y'r point! Turn `m back--NOW!"
"Yes, sir," the boy said meekly. Donnie ran like wax yet again then returned to his former self. "Sorry `bout your table, Gramma--I'll fix it..." DJ didn't even wave his hand, but suddenly the broken glass and wood was replace by an identical, brand new table.
"Kid's better with his powers than I ever was at this stage," Dennis told Brad. "He needs tae come ta Olympus so he can be watched."
"Do ya understand why he has t' come with me?" Dave asked.
"Yeah, Donnie, d' ya r'member an episode o' The Twilight Zone called `It's A Good Life'?" Derek asked. "Your son stays here; we'll end up like that little town--maybe with most o' us in th' corn!"
"We'll sign the papers!" Mary Helen said. "Just, please, Donald James--don't hurt us!"
"Don't worry, Mary Helen," Dave assured her. "DJ won't hurt anybody! Will ya, son?"
"I don't know yet..." The stunningly handsome young man looked mulish.
{{Son, keep in mind, you're still a `baby' God,}} Dave sent to his nephew. {{Dionysus and I have both been at this longer than you, and, if need be, we can kick your ass up around your ears! You've done very well showing your tricks off, boyo, but you're pretty close to your limit! Don't push it!}}
{{Uncle Dave--you're no fun!}} the kid sent back. Then {{what happened to your accent?}}
{{I was lettin' th' spirit o' Asclepios speak through me,}} the Texan sent back. {{Buckaroo, trust me `n' Dennis--we've got this! Bradley will help too; he's a worthwhile ally, so don't go doin' anythin' stupid to him, OK?}}
Dinner at the van Daam's was a mostly silent affair broken only by the occasional request for someone to pass something or other. Most everyone, with the exception of the three Olympians, picked at their food, with Brad eating a normal amount; Mrs. van Daam made the best fried chicken, and her "smashed" potatoes and white gravy were pretty darn good too! The chocolate-coconut pie was--interesting and Dave seemed to love it: Brad found it a bit too cloyingly sweet for his taste, but he ate the entire slice while observing the family dynamics at the table.
"So, Donnie," Dave said after dinner. "Are ya gonna sign over custody o' DJ t' me, `r do I start droppin' bombs on y'r life? T' show ya I mean business, I'll start by lettin' the fam'ly know what you've done..." The big Texan spent the next half hour detailing his brother's crimes against his parents and his wife then went on to tell how Donnie conspired with Phil Hollingsworth to steal his home. He didn't leave out the Reverend sharing in the profits from Dr. Kanjanaponi's fraudulent activities at Pleasantview Manor and how he'd even stolen from his church. "An' mind ya," he finished, "I c'n prove ever'thin' I just told y'all in court! I'd rather not hafta do that--but I will if ya make it necessary..."
"Mary Helen, ya don't seems s'rprised by any o' this," Derek observed. "How much didja know?"
"Let's just say none of this surprises her," Brad commented since the woman remained silent. "I almost feel bad for her: she's willing to sacrifice her sense of self-worth just to keep her position as a big-time Preacher's Wife!"
"It's not like have a lot of choice here!" the woman countered. "I have three kids and no job skills! What am I supposed to do? Where can I go? Nowhere! Even my parents will blame me for not being a good enough wife!"
"You could have at least protected DJ!" Brad countered.
"Nobody in this town will believe I beat my son!" the Reverend snapped.
"You really want to play that hand?" Brad asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm. "Please--go with that Reverend! I'd love to see how it works for you in court..."
DJ stood up then stripped to the waist; his creamy-pale, newly-perfect back developed welts and deep scars as the table watched in fascinated horror; none of them were acquainted with Godly magic. "My daddy beat me with an electric cord!" he choked out, tears streaming down his perfect cheeks. "He beat me so hard, I bled! You can see the scars on my back!" The kid gave his father an evil smile. "How do you think that's gonna play in court--Dad?"
"I'll tell them what you are!" he threatened hollowly.
"Don't be an idiot, Donnie!" Mary Helen was just as angry and frightened as her husband, but she had a sense of self-preservation. "You go spoutin' that story and they'll haul you off to the psych ward! You've terrorized your family long enough; they won't support you! No, husband-mine, you're goin' to sign custody of our son over to Dave! We'll tell everyone the boy was accepted to a prestigious private school in Washington State, and we didn't feel DJ could turn down such an opportunity!"
"Tha youngster probably should attend Athena Academy," Dennis agreed.
"Great!" DJ gave an exasperated sigh. "I hafta go to school with a bunch of nerds!"
"Consider this, Deej," Brad offered. "Yes, you're going to go to school with a bunch of nerds--but, truth be told, you're kind of a nerd yourself! You're a lot brighter than you let on--and the Sweetwater school system is hardly challenging! Everyone at the Athena Academy is special' in some way; yes, that's where the super-smart kids go, but they also have budding psis' and mages! You'd be the first Godling the school has to deal with, but it really is the best fit for you. By the time you graduate from there, you'll be fully ready for college and have a handle on your Godly abilities. You'll have all the advantages you could hope for: customized education, small classes, a lot of personal attention from your teachers and, best of all, you wouldn't have to hide who you are!"
"Woo-hoo!" the kid said. "I'm going to American Hogwarts!"
"Just realize, boy," Dave cautioned, "th' teachers an' staff there r' special' too! Ya won't be able t' pull any teenage nonsense `thout bein' called on it!"
DJ made an elaborate moue. "I'll be good, Uncle Dave," he promised.
"We'll set down rules we c'n both live with!" Dave promised. "Worst case scenario, I'll send ya back here t' Sweetwater!"
"NOOOOO!" the kid wailed in mock despair. "I'll be good, Uncle Dave, I promise!"
"See to it that y' do, boyo!"
Dave hung up his cell phone after chatting with his parents a bit: "DJ has his stuff safely at m' mama `n' daddy's," he told the other men. "I'd really feel better if he were here with us!"
"Yer parents might be safer too..." Dennis quipped. "Abilene is a bit far away should tha youngster choose tae get up tae somethin'!"
"I don't think DJ will risk a move to Olympus Island just to play some mean prank on his grandparents," Brad allowed.
"It's not `prankin'' I'm worried about," the God of Wine replied. "Did ye see Derek van Daam? That man is FOINE!"
"I got a GOOOOOOOD look at him naked!" the young man agreed. "Oh my God! No disrespect, Dave, but your dad is fucking HAWT! I wanted to suck his cock so bad my mouth was watering!"
"Don't be gross!" Dave exclaimed. "That's m' Dad y'r talkin' about! Besides, ol' son, that dog won't hunt!"
"Fat lot you know, Dave!" Brad replied brightly. "Mr. Derek had quite the reputation as a cocksman in his `Navy' days--and it wasn't just with women! I could tell you some stories..."
"Please do!" Dennis encouraged.
"I don't want to betray any confidences..." Brad said coyly. "Besides, I think poor Dave's head is about to explode!"
"Let's distract him then, shall we?" Dennis suggested. The God of Wine began kissing Dave's neck and shoulders, while the young man began unbuttoning first Dave's shirt and then his pants. The Texan's protests were, at best, mild, and he was soon caressing whatever he could reach with his hands and kissing what came close to his mouth. "Aye,, laddie-buck, I think we've got him right where we want him! On a slow boil!"
"I do believe you're right!" Brad said as he freed Dave's cock from his underwear and got his first look at the big, sandy-haired stud's manhood; it was indeed "Texas" sized, long and thick. "Wow, I hope I can get that thing down my throat!" Brad began licking, kissing and sucking the massive man, taking a little more with each downward lunge as he became used to the thing plundering his mouth.
"Yes, gobble that mancock, me hearty!" Dennis growled. "I'll plunder his ass! Get Davey ready fer me own manmeat!"
"Yeah, Pirate King, see what's in `Davey Jones' locker'!" Brad encouraged.
"Davey?" The Texan was so scandalized by the nickname that he hardly noticed the God of Wine vanish away all their clothing. "I haven't been `Davey' since Kindergarten!" Dennis kissed his way down Dave's strong back and down to his meaty buttocks; he spread them apart then speared his tongue deep into the groove, teasing and nibbling at the Texan's tight pink pucker. "Oh fuck!" he moaned. "Jesus, y'r amazin' with that tongue!" Brad kept working on Dave's cock because the Texan was clearly loving it.
"Wow, that's fuckin' HAWT!" Everything stopped as the three men turned their attention to DJ, who had silently translocated into the room. He was just as naked as they were with his ivory-pale Twink body on full display. The kid was classically beautiful with strawberry blonde hair falling in curls almost to his shoulders and blue-violet eyes that shone out of a face that belonged on a classical statue. His long, lean body was smooth but for a few red hairs under his arms and a neat little scarlet pubic bush over his huge and rampantly erect boy cock. "Hey--can I get some of that action?" he asked sweetly.
"DJ--I thought I left ya at y'r grandparents!" Dave exclaimed. "Ya need t' go home! It's past y'r bedtime!"
"Uncle Dave, I'm a God now!" DJ reminded him. "I don't need much sleep anymore, and I'm not tired! What I NEED is a good hard fuck!"
"Y'r FOURTEEN!" the Texan exclaimed. "That's just wrong!"
"I'm fourteen risin' four-thousand or so," the young man replied as he stroked his own massive pillar. "Uncle Dave--Ganymede was created to be Zeus's lover! He--I--we..." DJ sighed in exasperation. "How do I explain this? I was built for cock! I like taking it, I like sucking it, I'll even fuck with it if that's what's needed--but I have to have it! If I don't get a regular dose of man-sex, I'll be awfully cranky! Here--let me see if I can help you understand..." DJ showed a surprising mastery of his projective Empathy by sharing his aching need to be filled by a cock, the bigger the better, with the three other men. "As y'all can see--I've got an' itchy pussy!"
"All those Japanese cars look alike to me!" Brad quipped.
"Look--you guys let me play for a while, and I'll go home like a good boy!" DJ promised. "Send me home without a few loads of cum in my ass, an' there's no tellin' what I might get up to!"
Brad sighed. "Considering my background, I thought I'd be the last one to say this," he finally commented, "but I think DJ has a point! He and Ganymede are such a good match because they are so much alike! Both their fathers beat them, at least partially because of their sexuality! I think that's why DJ gained control of his powers so quickly. Ganymede is a nearly perfect overlay of DJ's personality: neither of them have anything to sort out... Then you add in the fact that Zeus created Ganymede to be his lover; he wants and needs men to satisfy him! If we run DJ off--he WILL get his itch scratched somewhere. I think it's better he do the deed with people who care for him than with some rando on the street!"
"But he's my nephew!" Dave protested.
"David Anthony van Daam--think!" Brad urged. "Think long and hard about whether you want to send your nephew out into the world. His need for cock is literally biological!"
"So, what?" Dave said. "My fourteen-year-old nephew is a sex addict?"
"No, Uncle Dave," the kid replied. "I don't NEED sex to survive! I just want it--a lot! If I don't get it here, I'll find somewhere I can get what I want..."
"I don't know..."
Brad sighed again. "Den-Den--I'm afraid you're going to have to `take one for the team' and fuck DJ! If Dave won't do it, then we'll have to!"
"Kewl!" DJ threw himself on the king size bed with his legs spread wide. "Gimmie that cock, Big Red!"
"Open him up first!" Brad told the God of Wine. "Ganymede may be made to take dick, but DJ is a virgin! You can't just slam into him!"
"Technically, I'll always be a virgin," DJ told them. "Zeus liked me to be super-tight, and he wanted me to feel like whatever cock was in me, it's the first one! Don't worry--I can take it!" Dennis didn't require further instruction; he moved between DJ's spread legs and began teasing the virgin hole, making the young man moan and writhe with excitement. "Oh God," the kid moaned, "it feels GOOD!"
"I don't think I c'n watch this..." Dave said.
"Then don't watch it!" Brad said. He climbed up on the other side and wagged his ass in the Texan's direction. "Come and eat this out, big guy!" he encouraged. "Pay attention to me, and you won't have to worry about what Den-Den is doing to your nephew..."
Dave finally bowed to the inevitable; in spite of DJ's encouraging moans and excited thrusting against the God of Wine's mouth (or perhaps because of it), he gave his full attention to driving Brad to distraction with his probing tongue. "Yeah, eat that stud's asshole!" DJ encouraged.
"Not helping, Deej!" Brad said. "Don't remind your uncle you're still here!"
"Oops, sorry!" Brad was sure the kid wasn't the least bit sorry--but at least Dave went back to his work, opening the blond gymnast.
Dennis came up for air, his face wet with DJ's juices. "Are ye ready fer me cock, lad?" he asked huskily. Brad could see the God of Wine was achingly hard, with a drip of precum already oozing from the slit of his rampant penis.
"Fuck me!" the kid begged. "Please--fuck me now!" Dennis brought his rampant rod near DJ's pucker and pushed inside. The young man cried out in painful pleasure as the Irishman breached his tight outer ring, sighing as the God of Wine began pushing ever deeper with a slow and steady slide. DJ finally mewled in pleasure as the massive cock sank all the way into the young man's ever-virgin asshole. From the look on Dennis's face, Brad knew DJ was giving him quite the workout with his talented ass.
"Dave, you better fuck me as well!" Brad said. "You keep eating me, and you'll be able to park that rented Escalade of ours in my ass!"
"Never let it be said I'm not obligin'..." Dave knelt behind the blond gymnast and parted his butt-cheeks then slid his cock easily inside. The Texan wasn't quite as long as the God of Wine, but he had him in thickness, and Brad found himself grateful he'd been "Gifted" with the ability to take such a massive pillar. Even so he found himself filled to capacity and moaned as Dave began moving in and out with increasing speed.
"How do you like my uncle's cock in you?" DJ asked.
"Kid--YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Brad told him. "Dave is a wonderful fuck, but you might just have to get used to the fact that he may not feel comfortable having sex with you! Enjoy Dennis and be content with that!"
DJ sighed dramatically. "It's not like he's going to make me pregnant!"
"Give it up, buckaroo!" Dave said, not pausing in his assault on Brad's ass. "It's not gonna happen! Leastways, not as long as I'm y'r custodial parent! I won't stop ya from foolin' around, but it ain't gonna happen with me--got it?"
"Oh God--YEESSSSSS!" DJ replied even as he shot several ropes of thick white mancream over his smooth ivory chest.
"You OK, boyo?" Dennis asked.
"Fuck, yeah!" the kid replied. "Keep that cock inside me, and this time I want you to fuck me hard! Destroy my ass!!"
Brad sensed Dave starting to tense up; "use your Redactive Sense, big guy," he told the Texan. "DJ isn't hurting--and as soon as Den-Den pulls out of him, his ass will spring back to virgin-tightness! That's Ganymede's `Gift'--at least part of it anyway..."
Dave used Asclepios's powers to make sure that, yes indeed, DJ wasn't in any physical distress. Satisfied, the Texan devoted his entire attention to driving Brad over the edge to orgasm before finally allowing himself to fill the blonde's tight hole with his own tide of spunk.
Brad sighed. "I think I'm going to sleep in the other room," he told the others after coming down from his own orgasm. "You guys clearly aren't finished, and I'm never going to be able to keep up with you!"
"I'll join ya in a bit," Dave said, moving around behind Dennis. "Right now I want t' give this ol' Pirate's `poop deck' a good swabbin'!"
Brad awoke alone the next morning to find the other half of his king size bed hadn't been slept in. The young man slipped into his bathroom and took care of the morning "shit, shower and shave" then pulled on some gym clothes before padding off to the other bedroom across the Presidential Suite. He found DJ on his hands and knees being "spit-roasted" by Dennis, who had his cock up the kid's ass, while Dave plundered his throat. "So--ah--I guess you decided to give into the inevitable?" Brad said from the doorway.
"Like DJ said," the big Texan replied. "It's not like I'm gonna get `im pregnant!"
"Have fun guys!" the blond said, refusing DJ's "waved" invitation to join the party. "I'm going to hit the gym downstairs for a while--and remember, DJ needs to be back at the van Daam house before Mr. Derek and Miz Dolores wake up! You don't want them wondering where their grandson is."
"Yes, Mother..." Dennis teased.
"So, we got Deej safely back t' m' parents b'fore they woke up," Dave told Brad while the trio waited for a table at the local hangout called Wanda's Waffles. "Mama is feedin' th' boys, an' they `r' debatin' whether they sh'd go t' Donnie's church this mornin'..."
"I don't think that would be the wisest course of action," Brad allowed.
"You an' m' daddy both!" the big Texan agreed. "Hopefully he'll be able t' talk Mama round t' his point o' view thout puttin' his foot down."
"Like that would work!" Dennis quipped. "With all due respect, me lad, yer mum strikes me as th' kind a lady who does what she wants, when she wants it!"
"Which is probably how the Reverend managed to persuade her to hand over management of the family accounts," the young blond man offered. "Donnie gave her the perfect excuse to do what she'd been wanting to for years!"
"We c'd d'bate that f'r years!" Dave said, "but I think y' might be right!"
"So," Dennis said, "will ye be needin' Bradley an' meself tae hang around while ye finish yer family business?"
"It's not like Abilene r Sweetwater is the most excitin' place in th' world t' hang around..." the big Texan agreed. "I s'pose you n' Brad c'd head on back if y'all want; I think I c'n handle ever'thin' from here on out."
"And if you end up needing one or both of us, we can be here fairly quickly," Brad agreed. He kept "translocation" out of his vocabulary because some of the locals were listening in to the three strangers, and that didn't make him feel comfortable.
"Van Daam--party of three!" The group was seated by the ample-breasted hostess and promised coffee for all as she left them with menus.
"So--I'm guessing the waffles are good here...?" Brad said.
"That's what I'd go with!" Dave said. "Their pecan waffle is a thing o' beauty!"
"I'll have that with a side of bacon," Brad agreed.
"I may have that as well," Dennis said, "but I think I'll have that as part of the `Farmer's Breakfast' combo..."
"Somebody's hungry!" the waitress said, as she came over to take their orders. "Guess you boys don't get fed proper up North..."
"We don't eat like this in Ireland for breakfast!" Dennis agreed. The big man placed his order, and Dave asked for the same. Brad made his order as well, and the waitress departed, utterly charmed by Dennis's accent.
"So, how do you think Zeus will take t' th' new Ganymede?" Dave asked once he was sure they weren't being spied on. Once away from the hostess desk, the restaurant was quite noisy, and they had a table in the center of the space.
"I don't know," Brad admitted. "The current Zeus seems particularly-enamored of big-breasted babes--emphasis on BIG! I don't know if he's ever walked down `Gay' Street. The last Zeus had a rather tempestuous relationship with Ganymede as well; he didn't have any affairs with guys after the previous Ganymede threw himself off the Eos Bridge..."
"Sure an' there's no tellin' how Zeus will react!" Dennis put in. "Just when ye think he'll zig', he decides tae zag'!"
"I hope he doesn't decide t' move DJ in with him!" Dave said, a bit more forcefully than intended.
"If that's what they both want..." Dennis told his new friend, "ye may not have a choice!"
"I'm pretty sure the last thing Zeus wants is the responsibility of raising a teenager!" Brad said, "especially with his contentious relationship with Hera! That's a recipe for more marital strife than they already have... Honestly, I think if I were you, I'd approach Hera first! Considering his past behavior, Zeus is likely to be pissy about adding ANY new God to the roster--even Ganymede, especially if he thinks I had something to do with his return! You need to sell Hera on DJ being a `poor little boy' who was shockingly abused by his father--"
"Which he was!" Dennis chimed in.
"...with nowhere else to turn!" the younger man finished. "Impress on DJ that he needs to put on his best `company manners' and tone down the sex--A LOT! If the kid shows Mrs. Peacock some of his natural charm, he'll have her wrapped around his little finger before she finishes her tea!"
"I hope so!" Dave said. "I'd hate t' have this all blow up in our faces!"
"Look, Dave," Dennis said. "Ganymede, yer nephew, is an Olympian! Zeus may not like it, but he has no choice but to accept it!"
"Whatever happens, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!" Brad agreed. "Worse comes to worst, I'm sure we can count on Prometheus to help us--some others too!"
"That's what I am worried about," the Texan said, "worse comin' t' worst..."
Dave and DJ finally made it back to Olympus Island about an hour before dinner Monday evening. While Whitehead showed the young man to his room, Dennis and Brad grabbed the Texan and pumped him for information. "Donnie decided t' be difficult..." Dave admitted. "I couldn't find a lawyer in Sweetwater willin' t' cross th' Reverend. We ended up drivin' t' Abilene `fore we could find someone willin' t' draft the paperwork."
"Did you have to drop a few bombs on Donnie's life?" Brad asked.
"Daddy offered me th' e-mail addresses f'r the husbands o' some o' m' brother's conquests'..." Dave said. "I was just about t' hit send' when Mary Helen forced im t' sign th' papers! I gave th' lawyer a little Compulsion' t' make sure he filed ever'thin'--but it's done an' all legal! I'm DJ's legal guardian now. Oh, an' now that he'll be livin' here, th' boy wants t' legally change his name from `Donald James van Daam Jr. t' just DJ van Daam..."
"Are ye gonna let yer boyo do that?" Dennis asked.
"I think I'll make Deej wait `til he's eighteen," the Texan replied. "If he STILL wants t' change his name, then he can. I don't think those decision sh'd be made in haste..."
DJ came bouncing into the room. "Wow, this place is awesome!" he exclaimed. "When do I get my own Demesne?"
"First, you have to get Zeus's approval..." Brad told him. "Your Uncle Dave hasn't even gotten permission for his own Demesne yet..."
"It's weird," the good-looking kid said. "I tried reaching out to Zeus, but I couldn't find him! Am I doing something wrong?"
Dennis and Dave turned to look at Brad. "I wish I had an answer for you, Deej, but I don't!" the blond gymnast admitted. "From what I can gather from Prometheus, every other incarnation has always been able to mentally communicate with Father Zeus! I don't know why you can't..."
The two other Gods were just as clueless. "Ye sh'd probably call his Majesty's secretary tae set up an audience with Zeus," Dennis suggested.
"Would you guys go with me?" the young man asked. "I'm worried!" Brad didn't want to say anything, but he was uncomfortable as well; Ganymede not being able to reach Zeus was just more anomaly in an ever-growing list of things that didn't make sense. "I'm kind of scared!" DJ allowed.
"I'm a little worried myself," Dave said. "Yeah, boyo, I'll go with ya..."
"As will I," Dennis promised.
"Me too," Brad chimed in. "If you want me there anyway..."
"I think I could use all the help I could get!" DJ said.
Brad was surprised to find the "Throne Room" at Olympus empty when he, Asclepios, and Dionysus arrived to present the new Ganymede to the King of the Gods early the next morning. Zeus, particularly of late, liked the room to be filled with fawning courtiers and sniveling sycophants cheering his every move, but today the vast, marble-tiled chamber was deserted and echoing. The King, clad in a bathrobe and sleep-pants that didn't coordinate, lounged lazily on his throne; one leg was thrown over the arm of the chair, and the man looked like he hadn't shaved or bathed recently. "What the fuck are you idiots doing here so early in the morning?" he demanded.
"This is the time yer secretary told us tae appear--Sire..." Dennis said, doing his best to maintain a deferential air. "If ye'd like, we can come back later, but we all thought ye'd want tae meet tha new incarnation of Ganymede!"
"Ah yes, my boy toy..." Zeus looked at the group with no great favor. "So, Prometheus dug up another lost Olympian to draw off more of our precious resources? Why am I not surprised? Oh well--step up, boy, let's have a look at you! I may as well see what kind of trash the Titan has given me to work with; maybe I can mold you into something worthwhile..."
DJ stepped closer to the Throne, discomfort radiating off him to the point it was almost palpable. "Father Zeus," he said, in a self-assured voice that didn't seem to come from a teenager, "Prometheus had nothing to do with my return! I've been looking for the right Host so I could come back to the Island and be a proper Godling! I wanted to be with you so badly, but my previous Hosts were all broken in some way; I knew I had to pick the right one, or all our pain would just continue. DJ van Daam may be the most perfect Host I've ever had! We complete one another in a way no other pairing has since Zeus elevated me to immortality!"
"What are you talking about, boy?" the King asked, a scowl darkening his handsome feature. "I am your King, your Lover, your CREATOR!"
"No. You're. NOT!" The words dropped like stones into a still pond. "I don't know who you are, but you're not Zeus! You're some dark, alien thing masquerading as him, but you're not Zeus, and you NEVER will be--no matter how hard you try!"
Then all the pieces fell together in Brad's mind: now he understood why the man sitting on the throne couldn't locate Chester when Hephaestus translocated him away and why the rainfall on the island had decreased so dramatically. All the little bits of "wrongness" crystalized into a single bit of information that rocked Brad to his core; he realized the imposter hated him because Brad, and possibly Prometheus, was the only person on the island who could identify him as Loki, the Trickster God of Asgard. There just wasn't anyone else, man or God, with Loki's mastery of illusion: he was the only individual who could pull of this scam for such a long period of time and not get caught! Yes, there were still plenty of questions to be asked, but the young man knew they had to wait for later. "Dennis--get us out of here NOW!" Brad said. "He's planning to kill us all!"
END CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AUTHOR'S NOTES
As always, shout-out to my crack Editorial Staff, "Marko the Magnificent", "Midwestern Mark and "Rockin' Robyn". I couldn't do this without them! If you have questions, comments, suggestions or constructive criticism please drop me a note to HonableRonable@gmail.com or RonVenable@hotmail.com and I WILL reply! Thanks to all of you who have written and I hope you continue to enjoy Brad's adventures!
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