Chapter 1

Chapter 1
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was a marvel. The gardens in full bloom this time of year. I looked about the gardens. I sat on the edge of the large momument's cliff. From there is was a sheer drop for over a hundred feet. Vines and flowers decorated this wall for some time. This garden was made for a queen once and she must of deserved it for this great building of beauty. I could only image the beauty that the king had to marvel at as he commanded his men. Large rocks made like a ancient ziggurat at to hold the most beautful of flowers from Rome, Africa, and many other lands. Through this large, rocky momument were large canals that feed precious water through the gardens. These canals fed by the god's eternal spring that sat upon the large buidling. I stood and began stroll down the walk way that lie between two rows of flora.
I moved along. My dark ebony skin and large afro catching the rays of sun that Helios had so graciously dicided to beat down upon me with. I moved on the stone path. I soon found myself etching up the steps to some of the higher levels of the gardens. I could see on the lower levels, Aquana was enjoying a swim. Nude like always. Her tan skin reflected the sun that cursed me but graced her. After several minutes of admiring the heavenly body, she then swam into one of her secret coves situated across the gardens and disappears. This, the swimming and then disappearing, was a normal occurance for the gardens.
I moved until I came to a large stone door. I then read along the top of the door the words: Heavens pull the lever and open this door. This took me several months to figure when we first arrived. The rim of the door then glowed yellow and then I entered to a hall that came to life as I swaggered. Torches lit and writing on the wall then glowed the same yellow as before. I moved through this until I came to a room. This room adorned with scrolls eaither on the cupboards, shelves, or the floor. There at my desk was another friends. He looked up from a scroll he had been reading and gave a crooked smile towards me.
"Tearus what brings you here my friend. Need more flowers for the gardens," I joke. I moved to the other side of the desk. I kicked my feet up and then looked as he moved.
Tearus looked at and stood. He was a large man with red hair and a scar on his cheek. His skin several shades lighter than mine but still dark. His stolen Roman uniform was broken and worn. His skin that peaked out from under this was rocky except for his face where there he had a large golden nose ring, also stolen. He chuckled and then said, "No Larkin this is some thing just a tab more inportant that that."
"More important that your flowers? Wow!"
"Well this is about another heist."
"A heist?"
"Yes our guest is very restless now a days I suggest was start on another build up of gold unless he gets angry."
"Aries is a very fickle creature."
"Yeah," Tearus agrees.
"Well what a about this heist?"
"There are several places where we can take ample enough for Aries. Troy, Thebes, or Rhodes. But taking into consideration what are assests are, I say we go for Rhodes."
"What assets are we talking about?"
"Well there is a three day long festival for Helios thier patron god starting today so that will cover any other trouble we may cause. Along with the colossuss."
"What other assest do we have to us at the moment because what I hear all we have is cover and how to get there. It will be taking more that the time we have just to do recon on this heist, what ever it is?"
"The heist is taking the personal wealth of a very foruntain citizen and as for other assets."
"We have mine." A female voice comes in. Aquana steps into the room towel barely covering her still wet body.
"Yes there is that too. I was able to do some recon on the man in question before I came here. He has a bad habit of paying to have fun with the local working women of the cities he visits."
"He addicted to prostitutes then."
"In a word yes. That is why we are sending Aquana." He turns his crooked smile to Aquana. "Of course no offense to the fair lady."
"None taken. I loved what I once did and I would be glad to help out you and Larkin." She says sitting on my desk legs crossed.
"But one other thing how are we going to make sure that he will take the bait," I ask.
"He also has a bad habit of taking in unforunate women off the streets."
"So what are we going to do then? We drop Aquana off on his door step."
Tearus shrugs. "Guess."
"Guess," I repeat. I cover my face and then give a smile like Tearus. "Well I guess this is going to be a suicide mission. I like it that way. Gear up we leave tonight."

The others left to get ready for the hiest. I turn to a shelf that sat on the wall behind me. He move it to the another wall. There was another door here. This door held another command but this one I was the only one to know. This was a pact we had all taken each of us would have our own personel space free from the other inerfearance and affairs. Aquana had her coves and Tearus his caverns.
I then commanded, "Tiamat has no power here." The outline glows red and then opens to me. The hall then like the one to my study glowed the same color as the door. I moved down the hall to my own personal space. The hall extended for several feet and I entered my room.The room had one entrance and exit. That was the doorway that I stood in. I held two beds within it. One for me and other for who ever I see fit. in the center of these a desk that was also the holding place of serveral scrolls that I had taken an interest in. On the wall my bed sat againist was my weapons of chioce.
Caducui so named after the staff that it was modeled after. This forn was towarrds the lower portion of the weapons. Wings protruded from the sides and made a handel for the small push dagger towards the end of the weapon. The snake like oroments that sat below these were made to continuously channel a deadly pair of toxins to the bladed portions These toxins were specially made to kill anyone who was not me. The handle was roughly the size of my hand if not several inches bigger. The tanned leather was now begining to fade the had seen that much combat in these three years. The primary blades were two feet long and were in an unjilating motion. This blade was died blue by the mixture of toxins. I placed my hand on the weapon and then placed them into my sheathes.
I moved back through the passage. I moved through the scroll room and then the next hall. I looked around and saw that evening was rolling in soon. I moved up the garden steps to the spring.
The spring was a massive pool sat on top of the gardens. Here maidens of the gardens came here to pray along with fetching water. These girls were usually the hand maidens of Aquana. She had gained what she called a collection of girls of the two years since she had gained her freedom. I moved towards the spring and then sat there on the edge the other would be coming soon.

The night was dark as Selene could make it. She had moved her sister Eos from the skies and taken over it. Aquana and Tearus were here. Aquana had placed on a blue silk togs that barely covered her exceptional breasts. Along with this she wore in her hair a beautiful pendant with a saphire in the middle. Tearus was still in his usual garb but had now added to this a helmet with a black plume.
"Ready," Tearus asked. I knodded yes. "Well let's go." Rhodes was several days away but we were able to bypas this with the help of the Colossus the stood at the cities gates. Several monuments such as these were connected by one of two forces. These were called eaither Radia or Solice. These two forces were created by the creators of the monuments. Radia sacred to the ones the Chinese takes control of Pyramids of Giza, the Temple of Artemis, and also the Mausoleum of Halicarnessus. My kind took great pride of the force called Solice. This power gave great power to the Colossus of Rhodes, Statue of Zues, and the Watchtower of Alexandria. In between these two forces is the place our feet stood upon. The hanging Gradens of Babylon acted as a median between the two. This gave this place the ability to conect with any of the momuments not matter radia or solice.
Tearus stepped into the pool and was soon followed by Aquana. I walked into the spring. The spring swirled around me. It was pitch black. I began to move. This place soon opened up and I could see several lights. The closest on a a massive man glowed light blue. This was the color of Solice. I moved towards and in only a couple steps I was there. I then then reached out and touched the statue. It then gained its true color. There was a small flash and I now stood in the center at the foot of a 98 foot bronze statue.
I looked around to see the other several feet away. "Where is the mark?"
"He lives in the residential area of the city a couple hundred feet from here. I suggest you get a feet for him while I get Aquana ready," Tearus says waving me away.
I run along the roof tops of the city until I come to large scale street party. The city was on its first night of fun. I moved to the street floor. Peasants and aristicrats alike danced and drank all in the name of the god Helios, thier patron god. I moved through the city streets. The loud yelling and the cries of drunken men and women were begining to get to me. My senses were always hightened. The loud noises were cursing my ears. I finally dicided to take refuge in a local tavern.
I moved slowly into the stone house of alcohol. I sat at a vacant bench. A large part of the tavern's populous was occupied with the a specical that I could not see but from the sounds it was a great test of combat between two great men. As this competion was now peaking my interest I finally dicided to join the group of drunken patrons. I walked slowly towards the group many of the men staring intently at the specical. I peared over the men and finally gained sight of the battle of might. This battle was not as I had expected to be great battle of who could force the most beers into thier stomachs. This battle was a fight for whom could force the other's arm to submit to the blood denched table's surface. Another most peculiar sight was this was not between two men but a man and a woman. Thier hands were locked in a fight of who was stronger and the man was loosing. He scratched and roared at the girl. He did not want to loose. She staring blankly almost through him finally gave a smirk to that who opposed her. She then in a fluid and effortless motion forced his hand to the ground with a thud.
"Another victory for the great Cassandra Eleizabeth Quin," an announcer yells to the others as he is an announcer at the colloseium. "This makes it her 99th victory. Who opposes her next?"
No one moves. I then step forward and then slowly move to the bench. She and I say nothing. I place my arm on the table. She then places her on the table. We slowly move until our arms are clenched together. We then begin. She pushes down hard on my arm. Her arm moving mine to the table. I smile and then begin to move  I move my arm up inch by inch until we are into a stailmate back where we started. We pushed hard agianist each other's arms until I began to hear the slight sound of cracking. Not my bones or by the looks of it her's. Then what. I pushed past this and reentered the competiotion. The cracking began to grow louder and louder until finally the competion was over. Not due to us loosing. We both sat there looking to the ground where our table was now in splinters.
The announcer then speakless murmurs to himself. He finally finds his words and says, "It is a tie."
I looked at the broken table and then to Cassandra. I smirk and then return to the bench I had previously occupied. I sit there for several minutes befoe the stares of the patron finally gets the best of me and I leave.
The festival was more concentrated in the center of the city but there was still parties happening in this area. I moved to the side of the bar and stood there and just smiled. It had been a while since I had been to a party that wasn't apart of a heist. As I began to walk away a loud noice comes crashing into the alley. I looked over to see several men gathered around someone. Before long I hear a man yell, "You lost the last fucking match."
"It was a tie, Demo!"
"What the hell," I whisper.
"The deal was you get the money if you win one hundred times in a row. No loses and more importantly no ties." My ears finally make out that the voice was coming from the announcer from the bar. Several of the men then move enough so my eyes could get sight of him holding Cassandra againist the wall with knife to her cheek. "Look's like I will have to take it out somewhere else." He grabs her breast.
Before any more could happen I yell, "Hey you son of a bitch leave the girl alone."
"Huh." The announcer then looks over to me and waves the knife at me. "Hey you were the guy who cost me another couple hundred dollars. I guess I could take it out on the both of you. It was a tie."
Demo begins to near me. "I am going to cut your african skin until its died red." He then attacks with a wicked smile across his face. He thrusts the blade towards me. Before eaither of us knew it I was behind him blades soaked in blood. Demo looks at me and then begins to cough up blood. He then looks to his arms. He began to see then fall apart. He then falls to the ground arms cut into pieces.
"Get him," another man yells.
"Yeah get him."
They run at me. "Die." The rest of the group jumps at me. I readied myself for another attack. It began to rain. rain how. I placed my hand on to my cheek. I then looked at my finger. It was crimson. Blood not water. I then look back the men. They had all been impaled by great wooden spikes. I walk towards them and ask "What the hell did this?"
"I couldn't let you have all the fun." Cassandra comes from behind one of the men.
"What did you do?"
"That's a secret. Well looks like I have to get going. I have other business." She then jumps from wall to wall escaping through the roof tops.
"Damn. What a girl."