Brawl Between Gangs

"Don't come into work this evening, the streets aren't safe."

Sage was a little relieved to get the call from her boss. She needed her job delivering food in the evenings, but she'd been worried after seeing the local news.

"Thank you."

"Stay safe, Sage."

"You too."

The gangs were fighting. It was Skelrun versus the Bent Man – a fight that had been rumbling for a long time. But now it had kicked off, openly. One of Skelrun's men had been killed, shot outside his home along with his mother. Skelrun had retaliated. And he'd retaliated hard.

Sage paced up and down her apartment – the blare of police sirens a persistent shriek in the background.

The night crawled by and Sage called Jaz for the third time that evening.

"The café's still fine." Jaz spoke first – knowing her worry. "Nobody's torched the place." There was obvious tension in his voice. Nobody had torched the place, yet. But the fighting in the streets was out of control. The main high street had been peppered by bullets and the police had been pretty much barricaded out of Skelrun's territory – powerless to intervene.

"I really don't think you should be staying there. What if the looting gets worse?"

"I can handle myself."

Jaz always kept a bat beneath the cash register and he wasn't afraid to use it.

"They have guns, Jaz. You can't handle this. Please don't try to fight anyone."

Jaz was like family to her. His café had been her second home all through secondary school. Rather than go home and face her parents, she'd gone to the café after classes – ordering one drink and then sitting with it for hours. Rather than kicking her out, Jaz had given her free slices of cake and helped her with her homework.

Now, years on. Sage's parents were gone – out living their own lives with no interest in hers. She didn't have siblings. Her school friends had all moved on, first to Uni and then to jobs in better areas – escaping their neighbourhood. But Jaz hadn't abandoned her. He'd given her a job. Cesar called Jaz their lighthouse. Now, Sage was terrified that their lighthouse was being swallowed by a storm.

"Go to sleep, Sage. When you wake up – the café and me will still be here."

She could hear the smile in Jaz's voice. But she could also hear distant gunfire.

Sage couldn't sleep. She didn't even try to. She stayed awake, curled up on her sofa – watching the recordings people were posting online. They showed police cars on fire and men in masks firing guns into the night sky.

A fist pounded against the front door and Sage leapt to her feet. Tossing her phone onto the sofa she rushed to the door. Was it Jaz or Cesar or Markus?

She pulled open the door, not even pausing to secure the latch, and gawped - mouth dry. The Mad Dog was standing in the hallway. Seeing her in pyjama's, Ezekiel exhaled a heavy sigh.

"You're ok..." he seemed relieved. Sage grimaced, realising her mistake. She should have checked through the peephole first.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice trembled.

"I had to be sure that you were alright."

"But what about..."

"It's over."

"It's over?"

"The Bent Man's dead. So are his brothers."

Sage's heart pounded in her chest. It was over – and Skelrun had won. He ruled the city now. And this was the Mad Dog on her doorstep, Skelrun's right hand man. Sage felt queasy. Should she congratulate him? No, she couldn't. Not after seeing the footage of bodies laid out on castle hill. Ezekiel stepped forward and Sage backed up.

He closed the apartment door behind him and Sages' breathing hitched nervously. She was alone with him. "May I have some water?"

Sage nodded. She retreated into the kitchen, very aware that Ezekiel was following closely behind. She poured him a glass from the tap and watched him drink. He gulped it down and Sage realised that his hand was trembling.

"Are you okay?"

He set the glass down on the side – the loud sound making Sage flinch. Ezekiel rubbed his eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"I want to stay here tonight."

"Huh?"

"It's still not safe. I'll stay on your sofa."

Sage stood, bewildered, in her apartment -watching as Ezekiel settled down on her sofa. His phone vibrated angrily and he answered it - his gaze tightening as he listened to the caller.

"Fine, if that's how it has to be. But keep me updated."

Sage crossed her arms, her expression uncertain. This all felt very surreal. Ezekiel hung up the call but kept his attention on his phone, scrolling through incoming messages. "Try to get some sleep." He suggested softly - without looking up.

Sage glanced toward her bedroom but decided against it. Instead, she sat down on a bean bag and observed the gangster texting. Lit up by the glow of his phone, his face seemed phantom-like and she shivered nervously. What kind of orders had he given out tonight? What kind of orders had he obeyed?

The curtains were closed but, as dawn crept in on them, light shone out from the gap between the drapes. Sage yawned sleepily, unable to stifle it. It really didn't seem like that Mad Dog intended to hurt her. Her gaze softened as she continued to study him.

Perhaps he'd killed people tonight. Perhaps he'd nearly been killed himself. But then he'd come to her to check that she was alright. The more she considered this, the more complicated Sage's thoughts became. He was being good to her. What was the right thing to do, when a bad man tried to do good?

Ezekiel looked up. Morning, the morning after an evening he would never forget. He moved his arm and grimaced, clenching his teeth to suppress a groan. He felt blood trickle down his elbow but knew that it wasn't visible beneath his thick jacket – good. He didn't want Sage to see the blood and get scared. He looked across at where she was perched and his heart skipped a beat. She'd finally fallen asleep.

She looked so lovely. Her head was leant against a shelf, her face angled toward him. Her lips were slightly parted and she made an adorable snuffling sound as she slept. Ezekiel got up, moving as quietly as he could so as not to wake her. He didn't want her to get cold. He placed a blanket over her, tucking it so that it wouldn't slip down from her shoulders. Sage sighed contentedly in her sleep and Ezekiel's breath caught. He gazed at her soft lips, his heart pounding.

When Sage woke up, Ezekiel was gone. She searched for him around her small apartment – unsure how she felt about him leaving without saying goodbye. Her phone buzzed on the sofa and she answered it, relieved to see Jaz's name flash up on the screen.

"The café's still fine and it's all over now."

"I know. Skelrun won."

They'd be paying protection money to Skelrun now – and Sage's life felt ten times more complicated.

**

Ares stood in Sophia's penthouse apartment and gazed down at the city sprawled beneath his window. Smoke from house fires billowed up into the clouded sky and blue police lights surrounded the city in the beacon. A ring of bright blue – only it was less of 'a surrounding'. They'd been expelled. They'd lost the city last night.

It had been a battle.

It wouldn't be called that – the struggle between gangs and the authorities. But it had been. A battle between them and between the gangs. And one gang had won it all. Ares flexed his fingers. The victory in war – the glory to be found. He could taste it. His eyes glowed gold and his powers purred contentedly.

War – it was a beautiful promise in the wind.

An invisible pulse trembled over the apartment block and Ares' eyes widened in surprise. He focused his senses, listening to the shields he'd set up around the city. They confirmed his worry, that pulse had been from a powerful blow against his shields.

A god was trying to come to earth.

Ares moved swiftly. He exited the apartment and took the maintenance stairs up to the roof. The morning air was smoky, shrouding the rosy pink sky. It was the kind of dawn that exhilarated him, where even the sky seemed stained in blood. But his focus wasn't on the heavens. He stared down at the network of roads and ground his teeth.

He didn't know who had come from Olympus but they'd broken down his defences. They were strong. Powerful enough to challenge him in his current state. Ares conjured his sword in his grip. There were many, back in heaven, who didn't want his return. Had they heard the Fates message?

"Sage," he breathed her name – true fear leaking into his tone. Was she in danger?

She shall give the war god the glory he needs to return home.

If Sage was taken by the gods – would he never be able to return home?

Ares cursed. He was the god of war, usually he killed mortals, but now he had a mortal that he desperately needed to protect. His future depended on her.

**

Sage squeaked in surprise. She'd looked around, startled. How had he got here?

"What are you doing here?" She demanded - her voice shriller than usual. She'd left her apartment to take some bits downstairs to the communal recycling bins. As she'd walked down the concrete steps of the apartment block, she'd had the unsettling feeling that eyes were following her – and now she knew why.

Ares leant against the wall beside her – his gaze was intense and Sage swallowed nervously. "I haven't told anyone about you." She assured him, glancing around for a way of escape.

"I'm not here to hurt you."

"Why then?" She retreated back a step, unconvinced. She wished she'd never gotten entangled with this mysterious man, whose golden blood defied all logic.

Ares closed on Sage until her back was against the wall. She stared up at him, barely daring to breathe.

"I'm here to protect you."

"Protect me?"

He nodded. He was leaning far too close. Sage trembled.

"Why?"

Ares breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. No god had been near her. He'd be able to smell their aura if they had.

Sages' heart hammered frantically in her chest.

"Because... you're mine."