Conflicted

by Jaylyn Cairo

A New Generation Novel

Dedicated to Great Grandpa. R.I.P. We love you.

Chapter One

Are we there yet? Sia whined, throwing herself over Dexters lap. She treated
her boyfriend/guardian like a lounge chair every day of her life. felt bad for the poor guy, but what could do to stop it? f youre new, guess its !y responsibility to fill you in. "y na!e is #!brosine, but prefer Sine. "y twin sister that only recently discovered had is na!ed #lessia, but she goes by Sia. $oth of us have personal guardians. "ine was in training. %eaving !y brand new boyfriend in charge of !e for the ti!e being. His na!e is #lexander &eller, and hes been !y best friend since the '())s. trusted hi! !ore than anyone else, except !aybe !y !other and Sia. *is hair was brown with blonde sun streaks running through it. *is eyes were gentle brown, usually sweet. +he rest of !y !akeshift fa!ily consisted of #bril ,ave, -larice .oodson, &ylah *aynes, and two co!plicated people with rather/different situations. ,hett *odges, !y gay best friend with blonde hair and blue eyes, who! loved dearly, was dead. Sia and could still see hi!, and he served as a second guardian for both of us. *e see!ed to know everything about everything now that he was a ghost, and it could be useful and annoying. +he second oddball was %uka ,ush. *es supposed to be !y !ale counterpart, so you would think that we would be the ones together. $ut no. 0-ause find hi! kind of

annoying and insufferable. *e has silvery1blonde hair and piercing green eyes that see straight into your soul. #bril was a $ritish party girl with cinna!on colored skin and a different hair color and style everyday. -larice was the s!art and reserved one, who always spoke her !ind. She looked s!art too. *er eyes were bluish1gray, and her hair was cara!el brown. &ylah was a bit of a drinker, but shed saved !y life with a beer bottle a week ago, so didnt !ind any!ore. d known her practically since birth. *er hair was reddish1brown, but she insisted there was no red. *er eyes were brown, hidden by blue contacts. t !ade the! look indigo, which in her defense did look pretty aweso!e. "y guardians na!e was %loyd. *is sandy blonde hair and blue eyes !ade hi! 2uite a looker, but had no interest. *e liked !e, knew that. had to !ake sure our relationship re!ained professional. *ed been sent on a !ission by !e, with three of !y newer best friends. Shania, &ei, and 3ova were !y tea! of assassins. "y assassinating days were over, but the four of us were so!ewhat inseparable now. 4ven though they were currently away, we kept in constant touch. 3ova had red hair and orange eyes, Shania had white1blonde hair and icy blue eyes, and &ei was an #sian with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. +hat leaves !y friends whod kinda ditched !e lately, after 3ovas boyfriend was killed in a battle of their own. +heir na!es were Si!ple, 5ester, &ill6oy, and Sand!an. Dark skin, shaved black hair, and black eyes were features that Si!ple and &ill6oy shared. $ut whereas Si!ple was !odest in si7e, &ill6oy was absolutely huge. Sand!an had sandy blonde hair and plain blue eyes. 5ester had been cute1ish, with shaved brown hair and brown eyes that had always softened whenever hed looked at 3ova. %astly, there was !e, Sia, and Dexter. Dexter had black hair and gray eyes. Sia and were not co!pletely identical, though we were da!n close. $oth of us had porcelain skin that was incredibly hard to tan, black waves of hair down to our butts, and our !others s!artass attitude. +he difference was our eyes. "ine were very dark blue, with silver dots scattered in the irises. +hey looked like two itty1bitty night skies. Sias were very dark green, with a ri! of white around the irises. *ers looked like a brightened eclipse. +wo !ore i!portant things. "y insane ex1boyfriend, 8akary, is an angel of death.

*e wants to be good, but #lex kicked his ass recently and now hes too terrified to co!e anywhere near us. *e used to associate with ene!y nu!ber one, but that !an9 :abri7io, had been !urdered. 3ova, Shania, &ei, and %loyd had discovered hi!. $ecause they discovered hi!, !y assassins had insisted on finding out about the !urder. 3obody but ,hett knew who had really done it, but all ,hett would say is that it was the sa!e people who killed hi!. .ho, again, ,hett wouldnt tell !e any details about. :inally, all of us, except Sand!an, &ill6oy, and 5ester are gods. So!e are de!igods, and so!e are full gods and goddesses. t !akes no difference to !e, but so!e of the !ain ;ly!pian gods dont approve of relationships between gods and de!igods. <igs, al!ost every one of the!. "ost of us really hated the !a6ority of the ;ly!pian gods. "y twin and wanted nothing !ore than to !urder 8eus, but we wouldnt. ;ur !o! wouldnt allow us to. "y !other, #rte!is, goddess of the hunt, had decided to ship !y fa!ily and !e off to ,ussia. She thought wed be safe fro! 8akary and #lexs cra7y !other9 *era, there. +he rest of the! had already been safe, they were only going because was and was the leader. n ,ussia, we were expected to go to a school for rich kids. +he only good thing about it !y !other had !entioned was that wed pass all courses with flying colors, and we had our own house. 3o one else could get in to bother us. #bril, -larice, Dexter, Sia, &ylah, #lex, %uka, and were currently seated in the backseat of a li!o, our personal transport while we were at this school. +he car was going fro! the airport to the school, which 6ust so happened to be in the !iddle of nowhere. =Does it look like were there? #bril huffed. She and Sia were the !ost i!patient out of all of us, but even was starting to get annoyed with the never1ending car ride. = dont see why they couldnt 6ust tell us where it was and let us disappear there, Dexter agreed. closed !y eyes and leaned against #lex. Sia and have so!e weird variation of sleeping sickness that !akes us sleep all the ti!e, and the urge 6ust kind of hits us. .e have no choice. +hat wasnt happening now, but feared !y tiredness would progress into it. = hear we have to start classes today, -larice said cal!ly.

=What? t takes a billion light1years to get there, and we have classes as soon as we do? Sia shrieked. =>oull like our first one, Sia. ts like battle class, #bril said, winking. She would en6oy it too, didnt know who she was trying to kid. =$attle class? .hat do we battle? #lex asked. =#bril is exaggerating, as always. t0s really defense class. *owever, the students are separated into one defense tea!, and one offense tea!. ;ne tea! attacks, one defends. dont understand why hu!ans need such a class, but you never know what could happen to a school full of rich children, -laire said. Definitely not good. #bril and Sia would get too caught up in that. 3ot to !ention that Dexter would utterly destroy anyone who tried to land a blow on Sia. +hat was gonna have to be dealt with so!ehow, and soon. #lex gri!aced. *e tried his hardest to be a pacifist, but after he battled 8akary and his soldiers, that didnt appear to be worth pursuing any!ore. *e didnt like to hurt people who hadnt done anything to hi!. Sia and fell asleep for the re!ainder of the ride.

I was standing in a hall unfamiliar to me. A narrow hallway. omeone stood at the end of it. he had long au!urn hair that pooled around her feet. It was li"e me after my three year long sleep. he didn#t turn$ so I wal"ed up !ehind her and went to touch her arm. %Do not$& she said in a hollow voice. %Why not? 'ou#re part of my su!conscious$ why can#t I see your face?& I argued. (y hand "ept coming closer$ until I could easily gra! her. And then it )ust* stopped. I stum!led !ac"$ reaching for her again. An invisi!le force stopped my hand once more$ surprising me. %I told you not to try it. I will show you my face when you need to see it+ when you are ready. ,ut let me as" you$ why do you want to see it?& %-m$ natural curiosity$ I guess.& %.hen you are not ready to see yet$& she said. I frowned. %When I "now why I need or want to see your face$ you#ll let me? Is that right?& I as"ed. %'es. /ery good.&

I !ac"ed to the other end of the hallway. %0"ay. And when do you thin" I#ll !e ready?& %Whenever you decide to !e$& she answered cryptically. %-h$ not to !urst your !u!!le of mystery$ !ut that didn#t ma"e any sense whatsoever$& I informed her. I !et I#d made her smile$ !ut with her stu!!ornness$ there was no way for me to !e sure. I found it rather easy for me to ma"e people smile$ even against their will. It#s a talent of mine. %.hat may !e$ !ut it is all I can tell you.& %Why is that? 'ou#re worse than Rhett. He "nows everything$ !ut he never shares information with me. He says I#m not ready yet too.& %He is wise$ this friend of yours. ,ut do not worry. I will share information with you when I can. 'our friend Rhett is for!idden to tell you certain things !y the same force that for!ids me to tell you things. I cannot tell you that source$ I !asically cannot tell you much of anything.& (y mind did flips. %If I found the source !y myself$ and "illed it$ could you two tell me everything you want to?& I as"ed. %It is possi!le$ !ut I do not !elieve you will !e a!le to. 'ou need to get going. .he point of this dream has !een made$ even if you do not reali1e that. ,esides$ you will !e arriving at your destination very soon. I will see you again.& .he woman raised her hand$ and the narrow room crashed down over our heads.

6olted fro! !y sleep, !aking #lex 6u!p. Sia did the sa!e thing four seconds later. =.hats wrong? #lex and Dexter asked si!ultaneously. Sia and looked at each other before answering the!. "y eyes asked the 2uestion, and she nodded slightly. =.hat the hell? dont understand that talking with their eyes thing they do? -larice, explain it to !e and teach !e how to do it, #bril co!!anded. -larice looked up fro! her book. =>ou have lost your !ind if you think ll respond positively to that de!and. #bril ignored her e!barrass!ent and plastered her face to the window. =@oing to clean the windows with your tongue, #bril? -larice asked. put a hand over !y !outh to

suppress !y laugh. #bril pretended to laugh. =Aery funny, -laire. ll wipe the floor with you in defense class, you 6ust wait, she threatened. rubbed !y eyes. =*ow long was out? asked. =#bout an hour and a half. .hat were you drea!ing about? >ou kept frowning, and once you got this really thoughtful look on your face, #lex said. =;h, 6ust so!e weird thing about a wo!an who was in serious need of a haircut. +he surprise on Sias face when said that told !e shed had the sa!e drea!. =>oure drea!ing about wo!en now? #lex teased. =3o? She said that shes forbidden to tell !e things, like ,hett, but shell help !e when she can. She wouldnt let !e see her face though, she said wasnt ready yet, elaborated, sticking !y tongue out at #lex. =.hatever, he replied, knowing it would bug !e. #bril gasped and 6u!ped up, s!acking her head on the ceiling of the car. -larice was the first one to laugh, clapping. =.ay to go, #bril. >ouve created a new !eaning for a true du!bass. >oure over two hundred years old and you still dont have a fully developed brain. =Shut up. .ere here, #bril announced, rubbing the top of her head. #ll of us looked out our windows. # huge school loo!ed over us when the car stopped. +he doors were e2ually huge, and two !en, two wo!en, and a big surprise walked out. "y 6aw dropped. "y friends all laughed. =.ell, look, Sine. +hey tracked down your best friend in the entire world, &ylah said. #bril was the first one out of the car. She danced around outside. =She !akes us look bad. d better go clarify that were not all as stupid as she is, -laire said, getting out next. Sia and Dexter went, &ylah went, and %uka went, until it was 6ust !e and #lex. =>oure being du!b, Sine. @et out of the car, #lex said, cli!bing out and pulling on !y leg. *e got !e to the section of the li!o that was in front of the door with !y legs hanging out, but that was as far as he could pull !e. cla!ped onto the seat with !y hands. =3o? wont go? .hy is she here?? yelled at hi!. #lex folded his ar!s over his chest. ="aybe other people want an education. = dont even want an education? .e were forced to co!e here, so why did she have to

6ust show up too? wailed. +an hands grabbed !y feet. cursed the world silently. =-o!e on out, Sis? a horribly annoying and fa!iliar voice laughed, wrenching !e fro! the safety of the car and slinging !e into the outer wall of the school building. .hen finally !anaged to peel !yself off, she was standing right there with her cocky grin. = always tried to tell you that you were a wi!p. 4veryones stronger than you, she bragged. = ! prepared to pay you a !illion dollars to leave, said seriously. =3ah, staying here and !essing with you is too !uch fun to pass up. $ut will take the !oney. went for her throat. She ducked and grabbed !e, shoving !y face into the ground. =@uess what? finally stopped aging. =.ell, thats good. >a old hag. = ! only a year older than you? f anyones old, its you. .hat, is three hundred the new two hundred? #t least ! young. >ou were this age when was an adorable baby, she argued. +he idiot. =#dorable? >ou were a fat sack of crap living in !y old roo!? >ou were purple for the first two years of your life? She pushed !y face further into the dirt. =-o!e again? =>ou really want !e to? asked, disappearing and reappearing on !y feet behind her. brushed !yself off. =Da!n. >oure intent on da!aging !y face, arent you? ="aybe if do, the lovely #lex will finally reali7e hes !eant to be with !e, she said, batting her eyelashes at #lex. longed to roundhouse kick her in the face. =-an it, #dalyn. @et your own boyfriend. =;kay, then want/ she waggled her finger around, =+hat boy. *er finger had landed on %uka. =*uh? he said du!bly. *ed been kinda detached since we had gotten off the plane. felt bad that hed been forced to co!e along with us, when 3ova, &ei, and Shania hadnt. +heyd been a part of !y life longer than he had, could see how he would feel cheated. =Did so!eone say so!ething about !e? =3o. :orget it, said. # wo!an in a dark blue pantsuit wearing an owl pendant approached !e. =#!brosine, !y na!e is Aiviana $ridges. ! the head!istress of the school for young

!illionaires. t is not necessary for you to attend classes, but would think that you should at least attend history and defense skills. # large part of the history course includes legends. ! sure you would be interested in that, she said. .hat an odd choice of words for a hu!an who knew nothing of our history. Sia ca!e to !y side and hooked her ar! through !ine. =#ctually, history is our least favorite sub6ect. Defense skills sounds 6ust fine, but d rather not spend an hour hearing lies, she said. =Sia, shut it. want to hear the schools version of the legend, said. =%ady Sine, you cant force her to, Dexter said. #lex stepped in. =+heyll both do whatever they want. ! sure the three of you arent !aking a very good i!pression. 3ow, if you dont !ind !y asking, could one of you show us where well be living? =.ait, %uka said, pointing at the roof of the school. #ll of us looked up, except #dalyn, who scooted closer to hi! while everyone else was distracted. +he only reason saw is because was used to watching !y back around her. She was dangerous if you didnt know enough to look out for her. Aiviana looked shocked at the sight that we found rather nor!al. #lex reached around to cover her eyes. She didnt 2uestion hi!. =;h gods, #lex sighed, shielding his own eyes fro! the sun as he looked up. -larice was dangling #bril over the edge of the roof, holding her by her shirt. =.hy? called to -larice. =She said she was going to wipe the floor with !e, but ll bury her in the ground before she can, she explained. #bril wiggled around. =Stop it, -laire? ! gonna fall? "y shirts ripping, she whined. -larice frowned. =>eah, that way you can fear the fall !ore. =+hats not funny. was kidding about fighting you, know youre better? ! sorry, ! sorry, ! sorry, ! sorry? =3ot good enough? -larice yelled, dropping #bril. 3one of us !oved to help her. Sia sighed. =@o get her, Dexter, she ordered. *e nodded, appearing where #bril would land and catching her with one ar!. -larice pouted the unsuccessfulness of her plan fro! the roof.

=*ey, thanks, Dexter. Bh, your bicep is cutting off !y air supply, #bril gasped. *e set her down far away fro! where -larice appeared. =.ell, hope this school knows what theyre dealing with now, &ylah said.

Chapter Two

Our new house was built with wine1colored bricks. &ylahs eyes glittered when
she saw it. =;h !y gosh? ts so perfect? she s2uealed. +he school was built of the sa!e color bricks, didnt see why she hadnt noticed it before. t was huge, kind of old fashioned looking. Aiviana pulled a key out of her pocket and presented it to !e. 4veryone treated !e and Sia with respect because everyone thought we were so!e kind of nobility. =*ere. .e can have !ore !ade if you need the!, she said. =Bh, yeah. .ell need one for each of us, we dont !ove as one entity all the ti!e, #bril said. Aiviana looked at !e like she expected !e to scold #bril. =.hat? said.

=>ou allow your subordinates to speak for you? =*er subordinates?? #bril growled. =%ook, lets get so!ething straight. +his is !y fa!ily, not !y personal ar!y. +heyre !y e2uals, and yours. f you cant treat the! with the respect do, one of the! will end up killing you, pro!ised, !oving past her to get into the house. hated people like her. +hey suck up, but they still think theyre the !ost superior being in the entire world. =%ady #!brosine, apologi7e. didnt know, Aiviana said as was unlocking the door. 4veryone filed inside ahead of !e. 4xcept Sia, who was fa!ous for speaking her !ind. =She doesnt want your apology now. >oure not helping yourself by apologi7ing because you didnt know. +hats the worst thing to say. *ow about you 6ust stay out of our way, and avoid speaking any!ore? she suggested. Aiviana bristled. =4xcuse !e? =>ou wanna !ess with !e? Sia dared. grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside. =3o, Sia, were not going to be fighting anyone this soon after getting here. >ou can fight her so!e other ti!e. +he last state!ent was what convinced her to get back in the house. She liked to leave people with the fear that they didnt know when shed be back for the kill. Sias a bit of a barbarian when shes in a !ood. looked around. +o !y right was a living roo!, and to !y left was a huge kitchen. # staircase lay in front of !e. +he floors and stairs were !ade of oak, and the walls were all red. = think so!e re!odeling is in order, but its not awful, &ylah said thoughtfully. #bril and went upstairs. t was 6ust a long hallway. $edroo!s, with gold na!eplates on each door. opened the door with !y na!e on it. 4ach bedroo! had an ad6oining bathroo! and a good si7ed closet. #ll of us settled into a period of relaxation in our new roo!s. "y brief hour of peace was shattered by #bril kicking !y door open. =@ods, are you in here already? !u!bled. =@uess what? started a club? she announced happily, winking at !e. =.hen did you even go to the school to start a club?? .hat kind of club? -larice appeared in the doorway. =She went with !e to pick up our unifor!s, and she slipped off when wasnt looking. She !et so!e snooty girl who has a club, and now #bril thinks that she needs

one too, she told !e, handing !e a unifor! on a wire hanger. hung it on the door handle of !y closet. #bril was absolutely bea!ing, seeing nothing wrong with !aking herself well known as soon as she arrived in a new place. =-ongratulations? 4veryone in this fa!ily is now a !e!ber of the @orgeous @ods -lub? 4veryone in our fa!ily gathered in !y roo! to stare at her. -larice sighed. = tried to tell her not to na!e it that. Did she listen? +he teachers were intrigued by the na!e, being hu!ans and all. +hey loved the idea, and they love #brils 0enthusias!. #ll of us continued our staring at #bril. She cast a long glance around the roo!. =.ell, dont 6ust stand here ga7ing at !e? <ut on your unifor!s and lets get !oving. ve got to show you all the club roo!, and assign your individual duties. @o? #bril ordered, clapping her hands. .e all did what she said. !et #lex and Sia in the hallway. +he new unifor! was a black pleated skirt, a black short1sleeved t1shirt, and a wine colored sweater vest thingy. +he boys wore black dress pants and wine colored button1up, collared shirts. &ylah burst into the hall. =4verything here is such a lovely color? =$eing the daughter of Dionysus, ! sure you think so, #lex said. #bril was waiting in front of the door downstairs. huffed. =.ell, there goes !y run1for1it escape plan. +he club roo! #bril had picked out wasnt all that bad. +he walls were wood paneled, with huge arched windows and a very high ceiling. +here was a large table in the !iddle of the roo!, each side lined with chairs. #bril plopped down into the big one at the head of the table. = ll start with the assign!ents now. #s ! sure you all know, ! the president. #lex will be !y vice1president, who is in charge of all co!!unication affairs with other clubs and school officials. =@ee, ! over6oyed, #lex said. =-larice will be the secretary, who records basic notes of what we do in here. =;h, goody gu!drops, -laire said, not bothering to look up fro! her book. =Dexter, youre the door!an/bodyguard. .henever we have a visitor, you handle the!. = understand, he said seriously. =%uka, youre the pretty face. f any of the clubs activities get us into trouble, you

use your char! to get us off the hook. =Should be flattered? %uka asked. =&ylah, youre in charge of snacks and drinks for the club !eetings. =;kay, she said, nodding eagerly. =#dalyn, youre a recruiter. Bse your bubbly personality to attract !ore !e!bers. >ou wont be needed in !ost of the !eetings, since you are 6ust an honorary !e!ber. = ! crushed. #bril tapped her chin. =,hett will be in charge of spying on other clubs to !ake sure they arent trying anything sneaky. =*es not even here, infor!ed her. =.ell, tell hi! whenever he does show up. think that settles things, she said. Sia sla!!ed her hand down on the table. =*ey? .hat about us? she yelled across the table. wouldve been happy with #bril co!pletely forgetting to assign us a 6ob to benefit the club. $ut it was too late now. trapped Sia in a headlock and willed #bril to have not heard her. =;h yeah? @irls, as the adorable, !ysterious, tall, enchanting twins, its your 6ob to be the clubs !ascots? she giggled, bringing out two costu!es. "y 6aw dropped to the floor. t was so!e kind of sluttified !aid outfit. Sia studied the costu!e. =*uh. f #dalyns the one whos supposed to attract !e!bers, why do we have to wear this stuff? she asked. =.e dont, said, throwing !y costu!e onto the ground. #bril pouted. =-o!e on, Sine. tll be fun, youll have boys all over you all the ti!e, she said. # bad atte!pt at convincing !e. = ! not okay with her assign!ent? #lex contributed. -lassic 6ealous boyfriend act. #bril grabbed hi! by his ear and pinched. = didnt ask you. 3ow, dont you want to see your little girlfriend here in all kinds of revealing outfits? #nd dont you want your boyfriend to pay !ore attention to you? #lex and both reddened. =3ot if !y chest and ass are hanging out all the ti!e? yelled, getting in #brils face. =.ell, its !y club, so you have to? = didnt even choose to be a !e!ber? >ou decided we all were on your own?

=<lease/ she whispered, giving !e the puppy1dog eyes. snatched the costu!e up off the floor and crushed it to !e. = ! not wearing anything today. Send #dalyn out to do her thing. ll hang out here, and !ake a few calls about redecorating, said, !y tone ringing with finality that dared so!eone to challenge !e. sat down in one of the wooden chairs and propped !y feet up on the table. =;kay, fine. # co!pro!ise. #dalyn, go bring us back at least two new !e!bers, #bril said. #dalyn nodded, departing.

&arsten was following a strange, hyper girl down a hallway that hed never seen before. +he hallway of classroo!s reserved for clubs was not a place hed ever pictured hi!self in. +he girl, #dalyn, threw open a door to reveal the !ost inti!idating group of beautiful people &arsten had ever seen. +hey were all seated at a long table, relaxing with irritated looks still on their faces. +he first pair of eyes to !eet his were stor!y gray. # guy loo!ed over hi!. =#s the door!an, !ust ask for your identification as a club !e!ber, he said in an extre!ely low voice. &arsten wanted to turn on his heel and run for the hills. +he girl sitting at the head of the table cli!bed up on top of it. #nother one stood up in turn and 6erked that girls ankle out fro! under her. +he first girl crashed to the ground. =-larice? >ou totally ruined !y inti!idation techni2ue, she whined fro! the floor. =>ou ruined !y life. think its only fair. # third girl stood up fro! her place at the table. =.hos this? she asked, co!ing to inspect &arsten. *er dark green eyes studied hi! fro! head to toe. &arsten was short, with bright red hair and blue eyes. *e was a nerd, very s!art in classes like history and such. =*ow should know who he is? found hi! looking lonely, so grabbed hi!, #dalyn said, going to the table and leaving hi! alone. #n apple exploded against #dalyns forehead as soon as her butt hit the seat. =>ou idiot, said a twin of the girl in front of &arsten. She got up and 6oined her twin. She grabbed his chin and tilted his face up towards her. She wore sunglasses, so he couldnt be sure of the expression in her eyes. +hough she was frowning, &arsten didnt

think he was the one she was frowning about. =>ou cant 6ust go around scaring the be6ee7us out of people to !ake the! 6oin? +hats not how gathered you guys, you couldve at least learned so!ething, #bril. <oor kid, look at hi!. #dalyn, you scared hi! to death. Did you ever think that 6ust asking hi! if he was interested in 6oining wouldve been a better solution? 3o, ! sure you didnt. >ou dont possess enough co!!on sense to think of others. She re!oved a book fro! the shelf beside her and threw it at #dalyn, who barely had ti!e to dodge. +he girl it wouldve hit next s!acked it aside with a flick of her wrist. # boy got up. *e looked friendly enough, at least he was s!iling. 3o one else but hi!, and the first twin whod approached &arsten were. =#w? *es so cute? say we keep hi!, dont you think we should, Dexter? the first twin giggled, trapping hi! in a hug. *e laughed nervously. 3ever had a pretty girl stood this close to hi!, let alone give hi! a welco!ing hug. +he boy extended a hand. =*ello. "y na!e is #lex, whats yours? he asked politely. &arsten blushed. Bsually, whenever so!eone spoke to hi!, they were teasing or saying so!ething !ean. &arsten had always been the awkward type, not one who !ade friends easily. "ost people considered having a brain to be like a disease. "aybe these people wouldnt. =B!, ! &arsten %aker. know ! short, but ! sixteen. ! really s!art, and if you want help with your ho!ework, can do that. 5ust/please dont hit !e. ! really not strong, cant stand up to you. never really had any friends at all, even though try to be nice to everyone. <eople dont like !e 0cause ! s!art, know that. $ut cant understand why being s!art is a bad thing. !ean, you guys are s!art, right? f they were, they could see that the only reason theyre gonna get anywhere in life is because of their !oney. =>eah, kid. .ere s!art enough to reali7e that youre pretty brilliant yourself. #ll of us here co!e fro! difficult backgrounds that we had to overco!e. >oure no different, and you have a !uch stronger state of !ind than any of us did. ! willing to stand up for you, everyone is. $ut if we do, youve gotta !ake a co!!it!ent to learning how to protect yourself at the sa!e ti!e, Sunglasses @irl said. =-ould you all teach !e that, too? he asked. = can teach hi!, the big guy offered.

+he girl with the sunglasses arched an eyebrow. = f we let you do it, Dexter, you pro!ise to re!e!ber that hes uh/not the sa!e as you? she asked. = know that. ll re!e!ber his status. ="y status? &arsten s2ueaked unsurely. = t 6ust !eans youre not very skilled at fighting or defending. Dexters like !y bodyguard, so hell help you out a lot. *es the !ost patient besides #lex, but #lex doesnt like to fight anyway, the green1eyed twin explained. &arsten nodded slowly. So !any people talking at once, it was a little terrifying, and exciting. *e looked at #lex, who s!iled. +hat boy wasnt overly !uscular, but that didnt !ean he had no !uscle at all. $esides that, he towered over al!ost everyone in that roo!. *e looked like he could be a fighter. =.ondering about why dont fight? he asked. =# little. = dont like to fight people unless theyve done so!ething on purpose to hurt so!eone love. f you do that, ll kill you, he said cheerily. +hat last sentence, with that gentle s!ile, so!ehow !ade #lex all the !ore inti!idating. +he girl with the sunglasses s!acked his chest. =>oure scaring hi!? didnt do this to all of you, she said. =3o, if recall correctly, you and &ylah a!bushed us, the girl with the glasses said. =>eah, how do you 6ustify that? #lex asked. = f put you all in a car and take you back to where found you, would that please you? #ll of the! i!!ediately started !uttering excuses and apologies. She s!iled, the way people s!iled when they were satisfied with so!ething. =+hen suggest you shut up. ;kay, follow !e here kid, 0cause ! gonna na!e everyone once. +he scary door!an is Dexter. "y giggly twin over there is Sia. +he self1proclai!ed boss is #bril, and the one who pops her big head all the ti!e is -larice. +he boy with silvery hair is %uka, and the girl with the cool looking eyes is &ylah. >ou already know #lex and #dalyn. >oull hear about a kid na!ed ,hett, but hes hardly ever here. *es here in spirit, you could say, Sunglasses @irl said. &arsten looked at each person as she said their na!e, !e!ori7ing. +hey watched hi! look at the! and !ur!ur to hi!self several !ore ti!es, until he see!ed to know

everyone. &arsten was good at that kind of thing9 re!e!bering peoples na!es. =.ho are you? he asked the girl with the sunglasses. = ! Sine. +he real boss, without such a big ego. =;h. .ell, a! a !e!ber of the club now? #bril s!iled at hi!. t was half friendly, half frightening. =;f course, if you want to be. +hats why we told #dalyn to bring people here. .e didnt think shed kidnap you. =;f course you thought thats what shed do. +hats what you would do, -larice argued. Sine watched the two of the! argue warily. =Do you have anyone else you want to 6oin? %uka asked. =<referably twins that bear even a slight rese!blance to !e and Sia so we dont have to be the !ascots? Sine asked hopefully. &arsten shook his head. =3o, sorry. +his is the first ti!e anyone in this school has ever spoken to !e, if not teasing. have a sister, but she has her own club. #bril 6u!ped up, her hand balling into a fist. =+hats the girl that bugged !e about being the new kid without a club. knew there was so!ething si!ilar about you and her. +hat 6ust !eans want you for the club even !ore. .hen she sees that !y club has her brother, shell know what shes dealing with, she said. =.ait, why doesnt your sister stick up for you? Sia asked. =Shes pretty and popular hereC dont think she wants to be seen with !e. t would da!age her reputation if she stuck up for !e, so she ignores !e all the ti!e.

@ods. +his kid was so pathetic it !ade !e want to cry. #bril pounced on hi!, knocking Sia into the bookcase. Dexter ran to help her up. =Since youre so sad and lonely, ve decided to take you under !y wing. ll teach you grabbed her by her ar! and slung her back across the roo! to her seat. +his &arsten kid didnt look like the type to analy7e our strength and speed. =>ou wont teach hi! anything but to be an idiotic actress. ! sure he wants !ore fro! his life than that, -larice said. wrapped an ar! around his shoulders. ;nce had a clai! on so!eone, they were !ine. was still the un2uestionable leader of our

fa!ily. 4ven if this was #brils club, was in charge when decided it was ti!e for !e to be. &arsten looked up at !e, so!ething like awe in his eyes. = ll look out for hi!. >ou gotta proble! with that, kid? asked. "y sunglasses were the only thing protecting hi! fro! !y challenging glare. *e fidgeted, looking for the right words. =3o, d be grateful if you looked out for !e. really have to get going back to !y dor! now, but u!/should !eet you all here to!orrow? he asked, shrinking back toward the door. Dexter barred his way. *e was taking his 6ob a little too seriously. =>eah, !eet !e here to!orrow. should be alone, if they decide to behave, said, looking at everyone over !y shoulder. &arsten al!ost bowed. *owever, he turned and looked up at Dexter nervously. could tell Dexter felt kinda protective of the kid too. .e all see!ed to. +he sa!e way !y original fa!ily !e!bers felt protective of #lex. =B!, "r. Door!an, !ay please leave? =>es, s!all sir, you !ay exit, Dexter said, opening the door for hi!. $efore he shut it, &arsten did bow his head. =+hanks, everyone? finally have friends, he said. *is innocent s!ile was the last thing saw before the doors closed. #ll of us i!!ediately started bickering a!ongst ourselves. .hen it was over, -larice was beating #bril with a broken coat rack while #bril shielded herself with an encyclopediaC &ylah and %uka were pressed against the windows, looking for an escapeC was about to pull a chunk of hair out of #dalyns headC she was about to spit in !y faceC and Sia, Dexter, and #lex were all standing there looking at us. .e all separated ourselves fro! our annoyances and sat back down at the table. =>ou guys are a threat to society, #lex stated. =3o, dont think so. #fter all, the fight was confined to the club roo!. "aybe this club will prove useful, -larice said thoughtfully. =>eah, agree. can kick Sines ass everyday without worrying about getting in trouble with the hu!ans, #dalyn said. =;h, shut up? dont even have a scratch on !e, you have a shiny new bald spot, said, turning !y nose up at her. #lex put a hand on !y ar!. = f you keep provoking each other the fighting will

start all over again. .hy do all of you guys have to be so violent? he asked. = chose #bril for her tough yet fun attitude, intended to have a fighter in !y fa!ily. didnt expect her and -larice to clash so badly that -laire would turn into a fighter as well. +hey screw up the balance, answered. -larice was currently dropping books onto #brils head while clearing out space on one of the big bookcases. t only !ade sense that she would want to keep so!e books, if she was going to be spending a lot of ti!e in this roo!. .e all had a right to custo!i7ation in this roo!. = dont think its us screwing up the balance. #s the delin2uent and the truly nice guy, it would be !ost predictable for #lex and #bril to be together. nstead, our al!ighty leader snatched hi!. ;h, and with the sudden appearance of your twin, it would !ake !ore sense for her to be evil. =>ou should have found another boy, one with bad boy tendencies. t would !ake sense for !e to end up with hi!. Dexter and Sia are the only couple in our little group that !akes sense. %et !e see, %uka and &ylah have obvious che!istry but #dalyn is getting in the way. t would be a !ost interesting turn of events if %loyd ca!e back and fell for #dalyn, but hes already secretly in love with Sine. +his also !akes sense. 3ow, whos screwing up what? -larice asked, dropping another book. #bril rubbed her head grouchily. =Do you !ind sitting back down now? she asked. -larice s!iled innocently and sat back down, opening her book again. ;nce that was done, we all knew that she wasnt going to want to be bothered any!ore. She would ignore us unless it was absolutely necessary for her to speak. =$ack to !ore i!portant !atters, we need to talk about recruiting !ore people, #bril said. =.hy do you want hu!ans in your club, anyway? Sia asked #bril. =$ecause, know there are lots of children like that boy. .ere gonna stick up for the!. dont like seeing hu!ans destroying each other. &ids like &arsten strive to be the best, and beasts like !ost hu!ans try to tear the! down. want each of us to have so!eone to protect, the way Sine has volunteered to protect &arsten. .e, as the superior beings, cannot allow this barbaric syste! to go on? #bril said fiercely. collapsed into Sias lap. =Did #bril 6ust !ake a kind of beautiful and passionate speech, or was that !y i!agination? =3o, heard it too, -larice said, staring up fro! her book.

=@ods, #bril, we never knew you cared so !uch for the hu!ans, #lex said. =Did that really 6ust happen? %uka asked. = think were all drea!ing, &ylah said. Dexter stayed silent for a !o!ent. = support "iss #bril, he said. ="e too? !ost of us chorused. +he only one left to say so!ething was -larice. She closed her book. =#ll right, can see none of you will leave !e alone until answer. suppose support this new idea as well. ! going ho!e now.

Chapter Three

Abril !ade !e leave !y sunglasses at ho!e the next day. #fter arguing for a
good a!ount of ti!e, had to shut #bril up. Bnfortunately, that !eant shoving !y sunglasses into #brils !outh. +hey were, of course, retired fro! use after bathing in #brils drool. sto!ped out of the house. ,hett 6oined !e on !y walk to the club roo!. =*ey there. ;n a leisurely stroll? he asked.

.ith so !any students around, couldnt talk to ,hett aloud. +hey would think was so!e kind of !ental case if did. 2o. I#m meeting this pathetic "id in our !rand new clu! room. =;oh, you and so!e nerd you feel sorry for, in a dark roo!, alone? Bh oh. ! gonna go warn #lex about your inevitable infidelity. Dont worry, if it co!es to it, ll be happy to take hi! off your hands, ,hett said sweetly, s!iling beautifully at !e. I thin" not. Don#t tell Ale3 anything li"e that$ he#ll worry. 'ou "now how he is. =>eah. 4asy to freak out, hard to cal! down. .hat#s right. Where have you !een$ !y the way? =#round. .hat about you guys? .hats this about a club roo!? he asked, looking down at !e. +he way he looked at !e showed a large a!ount of protectiveness. "aybe that was the guardian kicking in or so!ething, but didnt !ind it if he looked at !e that way. d si!ply never noticed before. A!ril wanted to start a clu!$ so she forced all of us to !e mem!ers. Including you$ ghost !oy. =*uh? "e? 'eah$ you heard me right. A!ril told me to tell you that it#s your )o! to !e the clu!#s sleuth. he wants you to spy on the clu! she#s competing with. Personally$ I thin" she considers us to !e her slaves. =>eah, #bril likes to think that way. $ut she still thinks of you like a !other. A mother?4 =>ou could be #brils !other, youre technically old enough. $ut thats not what !eant. # lot of us like to think of you that way, because our lives truly began once you found us. >ou transfor!ed us fro! our lonely selves into co!pletely new, brilliant people. +hats all !eant, he explained. could see &arsten waving at !e fro! in front of the club roo! doors. ,hetts eyes widened. =*es not like expected hi! to be. *es cute, 6ust s!all. I guess. = nfidelity reinstated, ,hett said with a wink, disappearing. opened !y !outh to yell for hi! to co!e back, but it was no use. would 6ust !ake a fool of !yself. wished !y skirt had pockets. didnt know what to do with !y hands if wasnt holding so!ething

or shoving the! into !y pockets. had black leggings on beneath !y skirt in case got into a fight, but they didnt have pockets either. =*i, Sine? >ou see! like a different person without your sunglasses, &arsten said. gripped the he! of !y short skirt. t would do for now. =>eah, sure. Shouldnt you get going to your first period? 4veryone else see!s to be gone. = dont have a first period. See, all the first periods are defense type classes, and thats not !y thing. $esides, Dexters gonna give !e private lessons, right? .ow. +his kid really did re!e!ber all of our na!es. !pressive. wouldnt have been able to if hadnt known the! for a few hundred years. walked behind &arsten to the area behind the school where kids with free ti!e gathered. &arsten and sat down at a picnic table, and he asked !e to 2ui7 hi! on history. .hile did that, si!ultaneously worried about getting a far!ers tan. wondered if this la7y feeling was how hu!ans always felt. t see!ed like always had so!ething i!portant needed to be doing. .hile in ,ussia, 8akary wasnt around to bother !e. had no ene!ies as of yet. could 6ust take it easy until !ade so!e. =Sine? .hat are you thinking about? &arsten asked. =*uh? ;h, hu!ans, blurted. *e laughed. =*u!ans? >ou !ake that sound like youre an alien or so!ething. .hy are you thinking about us hu!ans? =;h, well see, kind of have a double life. dont consider !yself to be a hu!an, though know a! one. ! not used to this kind of relaxation. =+hat !ust suck. Bsually, so!eone wouldve bothered !e by now, but it looks like theyre wondering about you too !uch. ! glad you have this ti!e to chill. *e hadnt asked about !y double life reference. +his kid was really so!ething. =>eah. ts probably not healthy for !e to always be on the go, agreed. = ! alone all the ti!e, so pretty !uch do whatever want. ! an honor student, but its not like have to be. "y fa!ily has !oney and everything, but since !y !o! died, decided didnt want to succeed using !y !oney. wanted to be s!art. "y !o! was short too, like !e. +hats why it hurts !e !ost when people tease about !y height. # nasty looking boy walked up. *e was al!ost !y height. *e sneered at &arsten.

=>eah, and thats why its so fun to do it. "idget, he sang in a nasally voice. stood up, releasing !y skirt. &icking so!eones ass gave !e so!ething to do with !y hands. =$ack off the kid. =;r what? = ll !ake you back off. >oure not gonna pick on hi! any!ore, said fir!ly. +he boy pinched !y ar!. =# babe like you beating !e up? -o!e on now, you dont have to hang out with this loser. >ou can co!e back to !y dor! with !e. # girl and another boy approached. =#re you trying to stick up for that loser? the girl asked. +wo !ore boys and two !ore girls ca!e, and the group surrounded !e. =*es not worth it. =*es scu! with !oney. =+he nerd doesnt need a pretty bodyguard like you. #n exasperated sigh rang out. =>ou know, try to be a pacifist. $ut its people like you who really !ake !e feel !onstrous, #lex said, grabbing the first nasty boy and throwing hi! to the ground. +hat was all needed to start a fight. #lex knew better than to hurt anyone else in the group. *ed chosen his one victi!, now these were all !ine. s!iled. perfor!ed a one handed handstand, kicking two girls in the face. back1flipped up onto !y feet, landing on one of the boys. +hat left two boys and a girl. +he girl took out first, elbowing her in the sto!ach and throwing her down to writhe in pain with the others. kicked one boy in the face, and decided that would have so!e fun with the last one standing. =+ell !e, if were to allow you to get a hit in, what would you do? asked. = would break your wrist, fracture your 6aw, and shatter your big toe, he growled. =*uh. +he first two were good, the last one was weird. $ut, if thats what you want, ll grant your wish. grabbed his hand and snapped his wrist like was breaking a pencil in half. $ones were so easy. *e danced around carelessly, waving his broken wrist about. punched hi! in the face, holding back !uch of what wanted to hit hi! with. heard the sickening crack of his 6aw. :ractured. %astly, for the big toe. *ow to go about that, wasnt 2uite sure. #fter careful consideration, sto!ped on it. +hat one sounded like a glass breaking to !e. wasnt sure how the hu!ans heard it, but found the shattering to

be strangely satisfying. brushed !y hands off on !y skirt. =.ell now, think ve set 2uite an exa!ple. +hanks for starting it, #lex, said. = was tired of waiting for you, so figured d help out. $esides, those boys were about to get grabby. #s the 6ealous boyfriend, its only natural for !e to step in at that point. *ey, &arsten. *avin a good !orning? #lex said, switching fro! annoyed to a total sweetheart. .eird. noticed how &arsten watched intently when the bree7e blew #lexs loose brown shirt to reveal the abs #bril was so cra7y about. 3ow, was the girlfriend, was supposed to notice. ,hett appeared, s2uealing. =;h !y gods? *es gay? *es gay, hes gay, hes gay? cant believe this, hes adorable and hes gaaaaaaaaay? ,hett !ustve truly been excited, 0cause he accidentally pro6ected it. #lex heard, and his cheeks turned pink. =;h. get it. should/u!/go change, he sta!!ered. laughed. =Dont be silly. think you look fine, said teasingly. *e wore 6eans and his brown shirt with black -onverse. *e did look fine, liked his outfit. #pparently, &arsten agreed with !e. *e blinked and looked away. Rhett$ I told you not to let Ale3 hear things that will ma"e him worry. ="y bad. couldnt help it. *es so cute though, ,hett gushed, walking up in front of &arsten. ,hetts hand !elded with his. *e 6u!ped back, gasping. =.hatd you 6ust do? accidentally said out loud. =.hat did do? &arsten asked. =;h, she 6ust babbles. Shes a little on the insane side, really. -o!e on, &arsten, ll stay with you during this next class. Sine needs to go ho!e and take a nap, #lex said in a rush. stepped away fro! the broken bodies and walked into the forest. ,hett went with !e. = guess unknowingly tried to possess hi!. $ut cant fit into a little body like that. = know. ,hett, you dont want to possess anyone, do you? =3ot really. ! cool with being !e, he said, shrugging. walked until was in the area of woods behind our house. ,hett kept giving !e that protective look. = s so!ething wrong? asked.

=5ust so!e plan your !other and father have. +here are actually two plans. ;ne involves !e, and one involves so!e de!igod. cant tell you any!ore than that. >our !o! will probably talk to you about it soon. #re you gonna go inside now? = guess. >ou co!ing? =3o, ! avoiding #bril. "aybe if never show up around her, wont have to take part in the club, he said, winking and disappearing. entered the house, gru!bling about ,hetts vagueness and unfairness. f had to be the !ascot, he could at least be a spy. would gladly trade places with hi!. #lex was sitting on the couch. =.hat are you doing here? >ou were taking &arsten to class, said. = did take hi! to class. 3o ones gonna beat hi! up in there, !ost of the kids witnessed your perfor!ance. >ou can go !eet up with hi! when this class is over. .hat did ,hett do, besides decipher that &arsten is gay? he asked. sat down next to hi!. =*e told !e so!e rando! infor!ation about whats going on at ;ly!pus, and then he ran off. *e doesnt want to be part of the club, so hes avoiding contact with #bril. =+hat little/ = know. $ut ghosts are sneaky. *es 6ust using that against all of us. $esides, think ,hett has stuff going on in his own little world. shut !y eyes. =%ike what? #lex asked. =*ow should know? "y priorities are here, cant be all in ,hetts business. >ou can ask hi!, if he ever bothers to show up here. #lex pinched !y cheek. = ts so hard for you to 6ust chill out, isnt it? >ou think you always need to have so!ething to do. -ant sit still, he teased lightly. s!acked his hand away fro! !y face. =Dont. = f you want so!ething to do, why dont you take up knitting or so!ething? #brils out shopping for costu!es for you and Sia. groaned. #lex wrapped his ar!s around !e and gave !e a hug, rocking !e back and forth. =>oure funny. ! 6ust kidding about knitting, by the way. #lthough, having a hobby wouldnt kill you. =<rotecting you guys is !y hobby.

=+hats not a hobby, thats an obsession of yours, he corrected. $oth of us turned our attention to the wall in front of us suddenly, as the portal fro! ;ly!pus opened up. "y dad stepped through. *e was the !essenger, after all. Sia flew down the stairs, throwing herself at hi!. f gods didnt have such good reflexes, she wouldve knocked *er!es through the wall. *e !anaged to catch Sia in the nick of ti!e, hugging her before setting her back down. Sia sat down on !y lap. struggled to !ove her so that could see our dad. =@irls, how have you been ad6usting? *er!es asked. =Sine beat so!e kids up this !orning, and slept. Dexters upstairs unpacking !y suitcase for !e. #bril started a club and she wants !e and Sine to be so!e kind of sexy !ascots and Sines against it but think all the costu!es so far are cute. ,hetts skipping out on any kind of interaction with anyone but Sine, and -larice doesnt want to leave her roo! !uch. .e kind of adopted this hu!an kid &arsten into our social circle because he doesnt have any other friends, Sia said. Sia see!ed to have a natural talent for being able to tell events that happened in weeks in about two seconds. f you knew her long enough, you al!ost got used to it. ts fairly i!possible to develop an i!!unity to Sias weird talents. =Sounds like youre relatively happy here, Dad said. =,elatively, repeated. #lex pinched !e. #lex was all about respect for the gods who werent total 6erks. *e hated his step1 dad and his !other the !ost. *e was scared of !y !o!. *e thought #phrodite had a 2uestionable personality, he liked !y dad, and he didnt know any of the other gods very well. *era wanted to kill !e, which was probably the only reason #lex didnt get along with her. 8eus was an all around 6erk. 3obody but *era liked 8eus. =+ry to keep a positive attitude, Sine. *ave you been to any classes yet? =3o, ve been busy being used by your third daughter. *er!es s!iled fondly. =#brils a fun spirit, dont s!other her. = ! not the one doing the s!othering. =-o!e on, let her have her fun. Did you know that <haedra Dall is a new teacher here? he asked. =<haedra? #s in, #ttiss girlfriend? asked.

=>es, thats the wo!an. =$ut shes not a teacher. Shes a funeral director. .hen did she get here? =She arrived this !orning. Shell be living here as well, to !ake sure you kids behave. >our !other and asked her if shed be willing to co!e. Shell keep #dalyn and the others in check, but she wont invade your space. sabela and @enevieve will be co!ing to!orrow. #ll of the! have roo!s downstairs. know you didnt notice the door to the extra hallway in the living roo!. =3ow, off that sub6ect, Sine and Sia, you need to co!e with !e. >our !other and have a surprise for you in your !others house. @o get Dexter, Sia, know hell want to co!e. #lex, ! afraid if you go, your !other will want to see you. Do you have a proble! with staying here? *er!es asked. #lex stood up and shook his hand. =3o, sir. ll take care of &arsten until you get back, #lex told !e. nodded. =+hanks. 4verything should be fine. = know. See you later. #lex left the house. Sia ran upstairs and told Dexter where we were going. ;nce the two of the! were back, the four of us went back through the portal !y dad had opened. Bsually, when went to !y !others house, she was waiting for !e on the porch. +his ti!e, %loyd stood there. ran up the short series of steps and threw !y ar!s around his neck. =*ey, %loyd? havent seen you in forever. *ows training going? asked. =Aery well, thank you, !y lady. Shall we go inside? he asked, putting !e back on !y feet. #ll of us but !y dad went in. t was a rarity for hi! to be invited into !y !others house. *e knew better than to break her rules on her turf. #rte!is glided down the stairs to !eet us. She kissed both our cheeks, patted Dexter and %loyds shoulders, and sat !e and Sia down on the couch. She took her usual place in the chair in front of us and clasped her hands in her lap. %loyd and Dexter stood behind her with perfect posture, their hands behind their backs. +hey looked very professional, and it !ade !e want to giggle. %loyd could be a pretty funny guy when he wanted to be. %loyd looked pretty good. +he last few ti!es d gone a while without seeing hi!, hed co!e back looking rough. ,ough as in, torn up clothes, !essy face and li!bs, but

always !ore !uscular. *e wasnt giant, !ore subtly !uscular. %ike #lex. 3ice to look at, obviously built with hardened !uscle, but not terribly frightening. Dexter, %loyd, #lex, and %uka all shared that characteristic. =.elco!e ho!e, !y girls. *ow do you like life in ,ussia? #rte!is asked. = ts fun, Sia said brightly. = ts interesting, said. #rte!is shared !y lack of interest in new things. Sia was closer and !ore si!ilar to !y dad, and vice versa. =#!brosine, know that you are very fa!ily oriented. +ell !e, how did you feel when you found out you had a sister? =4cstatic. .hy do you ask? sounded sarcastic, but !y words were sincere. :inding out had a sister had been the best news d ever heard in !y life. d always wanted a big fa!ily, which was part of the reason why gathered !y !akeshift fa!ily of best friends. =.ell, darlings, your father and clai!ed a friend of "athias ,ush, %ukas older brother. .hich !eans, the two of you now have an older brother, #rte!is said 2uietly. "y eyes widened, and so did Sias grin. =# brother? Sia said excitedly. =+hats right. #!brosine, any thoughts on this news? =.here is he? s he truly older, or does he 6ust look older? .hats his na!e? asked. #rte!is laughed for half a second. 8eus controlled her behavior. She wasnt supposed to get any en6oy!ent out of interaction with her children. 4n6oy!ent !eant that she was getting distracted fro! her responsibilities as a !a6or goddess. =*is na!e is 8ephyr. *e was originally a de!igod, fathered by *er!es. thought you could use !ore fa!ily, so clai!ed the boy. *es five hundred and six years old. >es, hes truly older than you, and he also looks older. *es rather reserved and hard to read, but he has a good heart. *es strong. *e too, has wavy black hair, and his eyes are a !ix of blue and green. dont know if you knew this, but once clai!ed, so!eti!es the persons looks will change. +hat would be how he ac2uired his hair and the blue parts in his eyes. *es very tall, and appears to be about twenty1one or so. ;lder than the two of you look. *ell be leaving here with you today. .ould you like to !eet hi!? Sia nodded eagerly. leaned back against the couch, crossing !y ar!s over !y chest and shrugging. was only being defensive. *e was our brother now, fully. #ll traces

of his biological !others blood and D3# had been replaced by !y !others. "aking hi! a technical child of #rte!is and *er!es. was surprised !y !other had welco!ed a boy into the fa!ily though. !ean, she hated boys, for the !ost part. d only ever seen her be nice to #lex. d thought he was the only boy she had a soft spot for. .hat !ade this 8ephyr different? #rte!is got up and went upstairs. wondered if shed given hi! a place in her special hallway. +hat hallway was adorned with pictures of Sia and !e fro! our younger years. #rte!iss secret roo! was at the end of the hallway, a private escape fro! the stresses of being an i!portant goddess. "aybe shed want to paint a picture of the three of us together. wouldnt ob6ect to that. .hen #rte!is ca!e back, a tall !an was following behind her. *is waves of hair stopped 6ust past his ears, and his bangs were tri!!ed to hang right above his eyes. *is !ulti1colored eyes were fra!ed with black lashes. *is eyes were blue and green, and cold. *e wasnt pale, but he wasnt tan either. *e was about the sa!e height as %uka. =@ood !orning, !y lord, %loyd and Dexter said in unison, bowing. =%loyd. .hos this? the !an asked in a low voice. *e was referring to Dexter. Sia ga7ed at hi!. elbowed her in the ribs. =*ey, stop staring like that. >oure !aking us look bad. *e is our brother after all, whispered. = know, but are you looking at hi!? .e have one drea!y brother. =Stop it? nbreeding is greatly frowned upon in this fa!ily? $esides, you have Dexter already, and hes standing right there. = f you had to choose between 8ephyr and Dexter, who do you think is cuter? !ean, theyre both !uscular, both have black hair, those intense eyes, theyre tall, its such a hard choice? she cried. stood up and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. =+hat !an, right there, that is our !rother. $rother, brother, brother. +he !an in front of hi!, right there, is Dexter. $oyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend. Do you understand the distinction? She pouted. = guess so. 8ephyr and Dexter shook hands, after !aking so!e very for!al introductions. #rte!is looked at 8ephyr with the sa!e pride and love she had in her eyes when she looked at !e and Sia. +hough she had never had any intention of beco!ing a !other, she

liked it. She was a da!n good !other. 8eus would 6ust have to deal with it. "aternal feelings will always con2uer the power of 6erkish !en. #rte!is touched 8ephyrs shoulder lightly. =8ephyr. .ould you like !e to introduce you to your sisters? she asked. =3o. >ou were asking if needed you to tell !e which was which. believe know the difference between the twins, he said cal!ly. 8ephyr walked forward, and Sia stood up. was already on !y feet fro! shaking Sia. Sia tried to avoid 8ephyrs eyes, but looked right into the!. +hey showed absolutely nothing, as !y !other had said. *e was exceedingly difficult to read. .ow7a, this guy was strong. =>oure Sine. #nd youre Sia. #! right? 8ephyr asked with a s!all s!ile. *e was right. *ed been able to tell who was who without being told. =>es, thats right. ts nice to !eet you, $rother, said, for!ally and icily. =+he pleasure is all !ine, Sister, he replied, an al!ost indefinable sense of sincerity ringing in his words.

Chapter Four

Zephyr did return ho!e with us, but %loyd didnt. *e was still in training. +hat
sucked, but there was nothing could do about it besides force hi! to acco!pany !e back to ,ussia. #lex and the others instantly welco!ed 8ephyr once they were told that he was our new older brother. *e politely excused hi!self to his new roo! after the introductions were over with. =*es your brother? #bril asked. =>es, hes !y brother. 3o, he will not 6oin the club, no !atter what you say or what you wear. *es !ore reserved than a!, infor!ed her ahead of ti!e. f #bril couldnt talk her way into getting what she wanted, she would usually dress up in so!e disgusting outfit as a last resort. #bril has so!e of the !ost sickening habits on 4arth. went off to !eet &arsten after his second to last class, but a hand stopped !e. turned to find 8ephyr. =Bh, hey. Did you need so!ething? asked. =#re you going out? =>eah. >ou/wanna co!e with !e? think there are so!e students around your age here. = will co!e along, but not for that reason. have not been to the !ortal world since was eighteen. want to see how it has changed. 8ephyr and walked side by side to &arstens classroo!, where he was waiting outside the door. *e looked up at 8ephyr, who was ga7ing all around hi!. was sure hed been !ystified by the +A in his roo!. d have to teach hi! about that. = s this your big brother or so!ething? &arsten asked. =Bh, yeah. +his is 8ephyr. 8ephyr, this is &arsten. .ere helping hi! out with his bullies. scared !ost of the! off this !orning, before Sia and went to see you, explained. 8ephyr nodded, his eyes distant. *e pulled a pair of glasses fro! his pocket and slipped the! on. guess so!e gods have a glitch in their syste! that !akes the! need glasses, though !ost dont. %ike -larice, she needed her glasses. =;h, well, could see the rese!blance. Do you go to school here too, 8ephyr? &arsten asked. =3o. a! already educated in the sub6ects you have here. =>ou look s!art, especially with your glasses on. ! not surprised you dont need to learn anything else. *ow old are you anyway?

could tell 8ephyr didnt want to keep talking to &arsten. *e wanted to see !ore of the !odern world. =-o!e on, &arsten. .hats your next class? asked. = dont have one. only have three !iddle classes. .e should go to the club roo! now, right? 8ephyr looked down at !e. =Do you !ind if go wander, Sister? =3o, dont care. 5ust !ake sure you dont get lost. f you get ho!e and no ones there, you can 6ust hang out in the club roo! with us. .ere getting so!e new stuff in there soon that youd probably be interested in seeing, said suggestively. *e put his hands in his pockets and strolled off. =Do you like having a big brother? &arsten asked. = guess so. *es really 2uiet, so its hard to tell anything about his personality, said. =Do you ever wonder what he thinks of you? = havent really had ti!e to think about that. know he cares about !e and Sia. !ean, older siblings act like 6erks so!eti!es, but they love you and theyll stick up for you when you need it. &arsten frowned. ="y sister doesnt. = f so, shes not your fa!ily. 3ot your sibling. +he club !e!bers are !y fa!ily, and theyll be yours too. >ou have several older brothers and sisters now. #nd every single one of us will stick up for you when you need us, pro!ised. &arsten hugged !e, his skinny ar!s s2uee7ing !y !iddle. =+hank you, Sine. .hy do get the feeling youve !ade other people feel as happy and loved as do? =$ecause, kid, thats kind of !y profession. !ake the sad kids happy, and transfor! the! into different people. >ou wouldnt believe how the others used to be before tracked the! down. +hey were like totally different people. =-an you tell !e? #bout the others and how you !et? he asked eagerly, blue eyes shining. &ylah surged up fro! behind us. =+hats a story for another day, ti!e, or year, she laughed, guiding us to the club roo!. She 6ust didnt want !e to tell &arsten how !uch of a chicken shed once been. had several stories to go with that state!ent as well. 4ven though shed known !e longest, she barely had any dirt on !e. hadnt shared

!uch with !y friends when was a kid. #bril was already at her place at the head of the table. -larice was reading. #lex was snoo7ing in the chair next to -larice. 3obody else was there yet. *owever, there had been so!e changes !ade to the roo!. +here was a s!all table in the corner, next to a new cabinet. ;n the table was a !icrowave. assu!ed that !eant the cabinet was full of snacks. # space above the doorway looked like it was ready to have a +A placed there. # co!puter desk was set up too, and a co!puter box sat on the tabletop. &arsten ran over to it, exa!ining the box. =.ow? >ou have the !ost expensive co!puter in the world, 6ust sitting here? -an set it up, "iss #bril? he asked. sat down in the chair next to #lex and poked his cheek until he woke up. Sia and Dexter walked in. =.heres 8ephyr? Sia asked. =*ow should know? =*e left with you. think its cool how he calls you Sister and you call hi! $rother. ve never actually spoken to hi! but once, and he calls !e Sia. ts not fair that you two already have a close relationship, you dont even like hi!? sighed, dru!!ing !y fingers on the table. t wasnt !y fault. t 6ust so happened that 8ephyrs personality was si!ilar to !ine, and we got along because of it. "y twin laid her head down on the table for a nap. *er cabin fever variation !ustve been getting to her. hadnt had the proble! in a while. t affected Sia worse than it did !e. <robably because Sia had only recently been brought back to life. ="y lady, are you all right? Dexter asked Sia. = ! fine. 5ust tired, she !u!bled. played with her hair until she fell asleep. %ittle things like that relaxed Sia. didnt know if they worked on !e, and didnt care. hardly ever had ti!e to relax. =*ey, Dexter? &arsten said fro! where he sat on the floor, unpacking the co!puter box. Dexter glanced his way. =.hy do you call Sia 0!y lady? #re she and Sine so!e kind of nobility? +hat was our cover story, but it sounded like utter crap to !e. f the hu!ans bought it, that 6ust showed how terribly not bright these were. = a! her guardian, because she and %ady Sine are !e!bers of nobility. cannot tell you any!ore than that.

=.hat about 8ephyr? Should call the! that too? =%ord 8ephyr is nobility, but he does not need a guardian. f youve !et hi!, ! sure youve seen why. +here is no need for you to address the! as do, but you can if you wish to. shot Dexter a look. =<lease dont call us that, told &arsten. =.heres your guardian? he asked. =+raining. dont need one anyway, our !other only wants the! around because she underesti!ates us. sensed so!ething fa!iliar and tackled &arsten. covered his eyes until the portal disappeared. @ee7, what were the ;ly!pians thinking? ;pening a portal with a hu!an standing right there. let &arsten up and ca!e face to face with !y !other. took a few steps back, surprised. She never ca!e down by herself. She usually had a guardian or so!eone else with her. &arsten stared at her 2uite obviously. subtly s!acked Sia in the back of the head to wake her up. Dexter bowed. =%ady #rte!is. +o what do we owe the pleasure? he asked. &arstens eyes widened. *e look up at !e. =.hered she s!othered the rest of his 2uestion with !y hand. "y !other turned her eyes on &arsten. = ca!e to see how 8ephyr, #!brosine, and #lessia were doing. told the! d be visiting every !onth. Didnt #lessia tell you that? she asked Dexter while she !aintained eye contact with &arsten. kept his !outh covered. =#!brosine, who is this boy? she asked. =&arsten %aker. *es a friend of ours. #rte!is raised an eyebrow. A human? He needs us. I "now he#s not a demigod li"e the rest of our family$ !ut no one else cares a!out him. I couldn#t )ust let him live his whole life alone. I want to claim him$ !ut I don#t "now how. 'ou thin" Dad could do it? He could$ !ut this !oy loo"s more li"e an archer to me. Why don#t you as" your uncle? ,ut I hate -ncle Apollo. +hat earned !e a stern look. 2uieted, looking down at !y shoes. +he doors opened to reveal 8ephyr. ="other. >oure here?

=>es, dear. Do you like it here? *ave you been exploring? =>es. ve seen 2uite a few new things. ncluding that thing on the floor there, he said, referring to the co!puter. &arsten struggled, trying to escape !y hold on hi!. "y !other reached out and re!oved !y hand fro! his !outh. =>ou are a friend of !y girls? she asked. *e gulped, inti!idation kicking in. =>es !aa!. >oure their !other? =>es. >ou cant tell? #rte!is pulled !e close by her side. She looked like an older version of !e. t was nearly i!possible not to see the rese!blance. didnt dare pull away fro! !y !other, !uch as wanted to. = can tell. was 6ust !aking sure you werent a third sister, &arsten said, s!iling sweetly. Dang. +his kid was an extraordinary suck1up. =$oy, dont fool yourself into thinking flattery will !ake !e like you. like you already, theres no need to try to strengthen !y feelings. *ow did #!brosine find you? know about her habit of collecting people, #rte!is said, looking at !e out of the corner of her eye. #nother portal opened, and again was forced to tackle &arsten. glared at #pollo as he entered. =@ee7, Sine, whats wrong with you? .hy do you keep doing that? &arsten asked, rubbing the back of his head. f any!ore gods decided to show up, he was gonna have a concussion. =.hat are you doing here? asked #pollo coldly. =.e need to talk, he said seriously, yellow eyes panicked. &arsten stared at hi!. =.hoa, his eyes are yellow. #re they contacts? #lex grabbed &arsten. #pollo and looked at each other warily. 8ephyr sighed. = ! going back to the house. Sister, will you be all right? Should take Sia with !e? he asked. =>eah, probably. Shes exhausted, she needs to sleep. ll be okay. See you at ho!e, said. 8ephyr lifted Sia into his ar!s. Dexter trailed behind hi! until they were out of sight. #pollo and went into the hallway while #lex had &arsten distracted. #pollo fidgeted, avoiding !y ga7e now. =*as anyone ever told you that you, your sister, and your new brother all have this ferocity in your eyes? ts 2uite frightening, he said. = ts about to get a lot !ore frightening if you dont tell !e what youre doing here. >ou

and !y !other both al!ost showed the portal to ;ly!pus to a hu!an. want to know why you took the risk in co!ing here. >ou know dont like you, said, narrowing !y eyes. *aving !ore power than all of the gods is helpful in getting !e what want. = t was a prophecy. #bout you. +hats why ca!e. =.ell, spit it out. +ell !e the prophecy, ordered. #pollo pulled a piece of paper fro! his pocket. f we didnt write prophecies down, wed never be able to re!e!ber the!. DEFGH, IJ KLKF ML NOPKHQIRSMJTQ NIL UVNW IWX YSNZLX. [ NIF\JX IJO KLKJT HZQL] W UW^]JORPZL ]ULQ]KF WP_IW IJOX. `_aH]J UJaJbFQJ IJOX. c GO\d IJO #!brosine Devanney ML KLILNIRLbHZ KL] QL LQI]KLILNILMHZ LEF IJ ULZ^JQL EJO eH] ^_NL IWX. "eaning9 .onight$ evil will gather in the woods of Russia. .he goal of the evil is to create their ideal leader. .heir perfect assassin. .he soul of Am!rosine Devanney will !e destroyed and replaced !y the demon that lives inside of her. %ast ti!e checked, there was no de!on living within !e. +hat was so!ething surely wouldve noticed. f a de!on snuck into !y body, would know about it. =*ave you shown this to !y !other? asked, writing down the 4nglish translation beneath the @reek sy!bols. =3ot yet. Should ? =3o. Dont tell anyone. 3ot 8eus, not !y !o!, not !y dad, not !y siblings. .ell see what happens. >ou can help !e out if it co!es true. ll 6ust stay with #lex tonight, that way cant get snatched without #lex noticing. pushed open the club roo! door a crack. pointed &arsten out to #pollo. =See that hu!an there? asked. =>eah, what about hi!? =+onight, while he sleeps, want you to clai! hi!. f hes gonna be part of !y fa!ily, he has to have power and be i!!ortal. cant clai! hi!, and "a!a told !e to ask you. .ill you do it? =Sure. >ou know, if clai! hi!, hell grow several inches while he sleeps. *ell know so!ethings off. ;h, and hell be !uch !ore handso!e, #pollo re!inded !e. ,hett appeared and winked, !outhing the word infidelity. 5eave me alone$ I#m dealing with important issues. 2o infidelity4

=;h, Sine, denial will get you nowhere, ,hett taunted. = know hell change physically. $ut he wont know about his powers, so he wont access the! until we teach hi!. Dont forget. >ou should go now, and open the portal out here so that no one will see you, said. #pollo did as said, departing. s!acked ,hett playfully. =Stop harassing !e. +he two of us entered the roo!. #bril sensed hi!. ,hett tensed up, looked around, and ran through the wall to escape. #bril crashed into it, knocking herself out. -larice burst out laughing. = s your uncle gone already? #rte!is asked. She had been talking to &ylah, but now shed lost interest in their conversation. #lex was helping &arsten set up the new co!puter. t looked like a fairly nor!al scene, besides the unconscious girl in the floor. =>eah, he went ho!e. *e wanted to ask !e a 2uestion about !y chariot abilities, said, 2uietly enough so that &arsten wouldnt hear !e. = suppose ll be going too. love you, #!brosine. $e safe, she added, going out into the hallway to open her portal as well. .hy had she told !e to be safe? She had never said that before. propped #bril up in her chair. %uka had never shown up, !eaning he was probably asleep at ho!e, or visiting his fa!ily. =&arsten, think you should stay at our house tonight, said, surprising everyone in the roo!. -larice especially. 0ur swords and stuff are in that house. What if he finds them? What if one of us forgets and uses powers in front of him? she thought. I#ll handle it. =,eally? .hy? .here would sleep? &arsten asked. =>oull stay in !y roo!. 6ust think it sounds like a good idea to get you away fro! all those bullies in your dor!. ts 6ust for tonight, 6ust in case one of the! tries to co!e after you while youre alone. >ou wont be there for the! to torture you, lied s!oothly. &arsten believed !e. =.ell, guess will. $ut dont wanna kick you out of your roo!. ll sleep on the couch or so!ething, he said. =3o, ll 6ust stay with #lex. ts fine, youre not intruding on anything, reassured hi!. -larice gru!bled so!ething, and stuck !y tongue out at her.

#ll of us left the club roo! the way it was. #lex had to carry #bril back to the house. &arsten was bubbling with excite!ent about staying with us. <haedra would take good care of hi!, knew that. She would find hi! adorable, as ,hett did. @enevieve was sitting on the porch steps when we arrived. =*i, Sine? she exclai!ed, 6u!ping up to hug !e. could tell she wanted to hug #lex too, but that would be difficult with #bril in his ar!s. She looked at &arsten. =.hos this? she asked, chewing on a long strand of blonde hair. <haedra ca!e outside, placing a hand on her youngest daughters head. =.ell, well, Sine. hope your father warned you about us staying here, she said. =>eah, he told !e. <haedra, @enevieve, this is &arsten. *es a new friend of ours. +reat hi! nice, told @enevieve, knowing she could be a bit of a bully herself. <haedra s2uealed. =>ou are an adorable boy? .heres your girlfriend? 3ot around? = , u!, dont have one, &arsten ad!itted shyly. =What? +hats cra7y. @enevieve, dont you think hes cute? @enevieves !ischievous blue eyes looked &arsten over. =;h yes, "a!a, hes cute. *e looks like hed be fun to !ess with, she said. flicked her in the forehead. = told you to be nice. !eant it. >oure about the sa!e age. *es only one year older than you. ! telling you, if you say or do one !ean thing, ! co!ing after you, warned. <haedra shepherded all of us into the house. = ! gonna order so!e pi77a for dinner. &arsten, what kind of pi77a do you like? <haedra asked, picking up the phone. +he school apparently had its own version of roo! service. #bril had been begging !e to allow her to abuse it, and had been refusing. $ut now she was knocked out, so didnt have to worry about her bugging !e for every kind of food under the sun to be delivered to our front door. showed &arsten around the house, !aking sure to tell hi! which roo!s he could and could not go into. 8ephyr was reading in the living roo!, ignoring everyone else. &arsten watched +A in !y roo! while we waited for the pi77a to arrive. =Sister, why have you invited a hu!an to stay here? 8ephyr asked. = t needed to be done. *e wont bother you, pro!ise, $rother. =+hats not what ! worried about. ! worried that you have an ulterior !otive for hi!

staying with us. !ade sure everyone else was in the kitchen before lowering !y voice. = invited hi! to stay here because asked Bncle #pollo to clai! hi! tonight. =.hy? = collect people, like "other said. f hes gonna be part of !y collection, hes gotta be at least a de!igod. = see. #nyone else wouldve argued that it was a reckless decision to !ake. %eave it to the big brother to let !e do whatever wanted without 2uestioning !e. =*ows Sia? =She is still sleeping. Dexter is with her. was told about your sleeping issues, but it see!s that only Sia suffers, 8ephyr said thoughtfully. =Did anyone tell you that up until a few years ago, Sia was dead? asked. =3o. .hat do you !ean? *ow was she resurrected? 8ephyr see!ed genuinely surprised. .hy wouldnt anyone tell hi! about that? !ean, it was a !a6or event in our history. Sia dying and co!ing back to life would be so!ething to tell the brand new brother. =:ro! what ve been told, can only infer that she was brought back to life because needed her blood. had a near death experience that resulted in a!nesia. knew nothing about who was or what was. didnt know about !y powers or !y fa!ily. = wouldve been dead if #lex and -larice hadnt tracked Sia down and told her about !e being in a co!a. stayed in a co!a for six years, but Sias blood fixed !e up. would have flashes of !e!ories in !y head, and so!eti!es !y original personality would shine through the confusion. t took 2uite a while for !e to get over it, but as you can see, did. :orgetting who you are is extre!ely annoying for so!eone like us. 8ephyr sat and thought for a while about everything d said. "e regaining !y !e!ories and all that was a sort of !iracle, but so!eone like us saw a lot of !iracles. "y story wasnt as i!pressive as Sias, but Sia didnt like to tell hers. =.ho killed her? .hy? 8ephyr asked. =So!e 4ris de!igods killed her. +hey had been in an ongoing battle, and Sia 6ust pushed herself too hard. Shed been fighting all by herself for a long ti!e, she was 6ust too tired. She !ade herself use !ore power than her body could handle, and she 6ust/died. t was

instantaneous. ve been through so!ething exactly like what she described happened to her then. ts scary, but it doesnt hurt at all, re!e!bered. =$rother, are you infor!ed? =>es. know you arent. #s !uch as d like to tell you, Sister, a! forbidden by our parents, he said, giving !e a sad s!ile. f f f #lex was asleep instantly. *is breathing had lulled !e to sleep for approxi!ately twenty !inutes before felt a prickling sensation on the back of !y neck. was too tired. ignored it entirely. .hen the feeling didnt go away after ten !ore !inutes, opened !y eyes to see a hand co!ing for !y face. leapt up, only to be caught by several !ore hands. ;ne covered !y !outh, one covered !y eyes. cho!ped down on a finger. =Ale34 screa!ed, out loud and in !y head. *e sat up too, and was grabbed. got angry, struggling harder against !y attackers. ="y lady, you !ust be still.

Chapter Five

Sine$ what#s going on? #lex asked.

I don#t "now. I was warned$ !ut I didn#t thin" anything would happen if I stayed with you$ replied fearfully. wasnt scared of !y attackers. was scared for #lex. $oth of us longed to protect each other, but now both of us were in deep crap. #lex bit down on the hand covering his !outh. So!eone yelped, but they recovered 2uickly. @ods and de!igods. I#m sorry$ ine. If I#d "nown you needed me to protect you$ I wouldn#t have let my guard down. It#s my fault, #lex thought guiltily. +he strangers were walking us into the woods. *opefully, Bncle #pollo was getting his ass in gear and sending for help. +he !an was useless !ost of the ti!e, he could help !e out this once. .earing sweatpants and a ca!isole in the free7ing cold at night only !ade things worse. #lex only wore pa6a!a pants, no shirt. *e !ustve been suffering !ore than was. It#s not your fault. It#s my fault for not telling anyone a!out it. Apollo should send help for us soon. Don#t worry. 2ow$ you got my !ac"? Huh? Ale3ander$ do you have my !ac"? 'eah$ always4 "y body exploded with blue energy, shocking !y attackers into letting go of !e. unleashed lightning onto #lexs and he was freed as well. +he two of us took off running blindly. f the idiots whod grabbed us were really de!igods, they had to know that #lex and had a few tricks up our sleeves. #lex reached for !y hand in the darkness. Darkness didnt bother !e, this was !y ti!e. could see perfectly fine, but knew he couldnt. 3ight was not the sa!e for hi! as it was for !e. grabbed his hand and s2uee7ed, continuing to run. Bntil tripped, bringing #lex down with !e as fell. "ore hands reached out fro! the shadows, separating #lex and !e. was held down on the ground, thrashing. flipped !y pal!s up to allow a large a!ount of lightning to build up. # cloaked figure descended fro! a nearby tree. *e struck a tree

with so!ething, lighting a fire. Slowly, he and so!e other cloaked people built up a bonfire. could see #lexs scared eyes, illu!inated by the firelight. *e was pushed against a large tree trunk, unable to !ove. # de!igod ca!e and bound hi! with witch energy. -rap. +here went any chance of hi! escaping. "y lightning was about ready. 5ust as got ready to release it, a cloaked figure ca!e to stand over !e. *e bowed lowly. ="y lady, he said. lost !y cool, forgetting !y lightning. -alling !e that 6ust to !ock !e was the last straw. ='our lady? .hat the hell are you talking about?? >ou kidnap !e and #lex, force us here, tie us down, then you have the audacity to treat !e with respect?? ll kill you, ll kill all of you? screa!ed, !y eyes turning red. "y pal!s crackled with electricity, re!inding !e that they were ready to fry so!eone. +he cloaked figure pulled two daggers fro! the folds of his cloak and handed the! to two people kneeling at !y sides. +he two of the! bowed their heads and plunged the daggers through !y pal!s. "y screa! got caught in !y throat, !y eyes huge. +he pain of it was unbearable. #lex screa!ed !y na!e, struggling fiercely. +he daggers went all the way through !y hands, into the hard ground. couldnt !ove, didnt dare try. wanted help. wanted to be saved. was pretty !uch helpless now, and #lex couldnt !ove at all. @ods, where the hell was !y uncle? *e was supposed to be getting !e backup. .e shouldve been rescued by now. "y hands burned, leaking golden blood that soaked into the ground. ine$ are you o"ay? 2o. It hurts$ thought 2uietly, tears strea!ing down !y face where lay. could barely !ake !yself think enough to talk to #lex. I#m sorry. I#ll figure something out$ I#ll help you. 6ust hang on. Ale3$ I can#t handle it. 'es you can$ sweetheart$ you can. 'ou#re the strongest person I "now$ you can hang on. shook !y head. #lex cringed, his eyes turning gold. *is full power wasnt going to get hi! out of that witch energy. "y wails turned to sobs, !aking !e shake and tearing up !y hands even !ore. +he cloaked figure touched !y wet cheek. =3ow, now, !y lady. .ere 6ust going to help you. .ere going to extract the de!on fro! your soul. #fter that, youre free to go, he said soothingly.

#lex sucked in air, !oving around, trying to slip through the power that bound hi! to the tree. +wo !ore people drew daggers, shoving the! through !y ankles to hold !e down there. #lex and both screa!ed, hi! in pain fro! watching, !e in awful pain. .hy did this have to happen to !e? +here was no de!on in !y soul. knew there wasnt. +here couldnt be. =.hat do you !ean? *ow do you extract a de!on? #lex yelled over !y sobs. <ain was so!ething could handle, to an extent. *aving four daggers shoved through !y hands and ankles was past !y li!it. wanted to die. =guiet, boy. >ou were never !eant to be here. >oull see how it is done in a few !inutes. So!e rando! !an walked around !e, chanting weird words. 4veryone else but the chanter and the original cloaked figure had backed off. #lexs power had died down as he watched fearfully. Ale3$ help. I#m trying to call others to help. Damn Apollo$ he#s so useless4 It hurts. I "now$ I "now. I#m sorry. It#ll !e all right. Please help. I#m trying$ ine4 I#m trying4 #lex was frustrated. +he chanting was in @reek. f d been able to focus, probably couldve been able to tell what they were saying. So!e kind of ancient @reek incantation no doubt. .hat was it !eant to do? "y thoughts drifted. ,rother$ I )ust met you. I#m sorry I didn#t really get a chance to "now you. De3ter$ I always thought you were a good guy$ I hope you always ta"e care of ia. I hope you guys get married and have a !illion !a!ies. ia$ loo"s li"e this is the end of the moon twins. .ell (ama and Daddy that I#m sorry. Whatever my responsi!ility in the 2ew Generation Pro)ect is$ I hope you#ll ta"e over for me. 5loyd$ than" you for protecting me. 'ou were a faithful and good hearted guardian that could never !e replaced. 5u"a$ I#m sorry I dragged you to Russia with me. I#m sorry I messed up your life. I hope none of you thin" that my death here is your fault. It#s mine. I should#ve told all of you. 4ven !ore tears streaked !y face. wasnt crying for !yself any!ore. t was for

the others, for !y fa!ily. was gonna !iss the! so !uch. "aybe could be like ,hett. ,hett appeared next to #lex. "y eyes fell on his see1through face. =,hett? said hoarsely. =.hats that, dear? the cloaked figure asked. =3othing. =Sine, 6ust wait. ll get #lex free, and then well take care of you. 5ust be strong, ,hett said. nodded tearfully. was losing too !uch blood. "y eyes were closing, !y heartbeat slowing. "y vision di!!ed and blurred. =#re we ready now? the cloaked figure asked. *e was putting on a black glove. didnt understand, but could barely !ove. +he chanter stopped. =Sir, is it ti!e for the extraction? he asked. =>es. &eep chanting, you fool? the cloaked !an boo!ed. #lex and ,hett both fro7e, watching with large eyes. +he chanter started back up again, terror in his voice. +he extra people were all staring, whispering a!ongst the!selves. "y breathing was shallow. was practically gasping for breath now. +he cloaked !an knelt beside !e. ="y lady, as your servants fro! the shadows, we will set you free fro! this vessel. .e will !ake your power clean and true. Bntil now, it has been dirtied. >our soul has been invaded by another. +he soul of #!brosine will be forever banished fro! this world. She will burn in *ell for eternity, while our beautiful leader is a perfect being again. ;ur only deity. ;ur #!aia. = know you thought we were addressing you as our lady, but that isnt so. .e are only interested in the de!on that resides in your soul. She is very old, and very precious to us. .e will do anything to bring her out of your body. ;nce we have successfully set her free, your own body will be treated with the ut!ost respect. #fter all, you did host our lovely leader for several !onths. .e owe you a lot. t is unfortunate that in order to bring #!aia out, you !ust be killed. "aybe you could have followed in her footsteps. # sha!e, it truly is. 3ow then, you !ust let go of your body. #!aia, be free, take over? +here was a !o!ent of silence. +hroughout the annoying, so!ewhat repetitive speech, the chanting had still been going on in the background. 3ow, there was absolutely no sound in the entire forest. 3o one was breathing. 3o one was talking. 3o

one was !oving. +he cloaked !an brought his hand down so 2uickly that the !ove!ent was a total blur to everyone there. 3ot 6ust !e. *is gloved hand went straight through the !iddle of !y chest. "y back arched as it did, !y eyes growing so big it felt like theyd pop out of !y head. #lex and ,hett screa!ed incoherent words. +he hand was slowly re!oved fro! !y chest, and felt !y body trying to die. fought it. felt the pressure of the daggers leave !y hands and ankles, all four disappearing at the sa!e ti!e. So!eone picked !e up with one ar!, ignoring the a!ount of blood that !ustve been getting on hi!. So!eone let #lex go as well. looked up at the person holding !e. +he face was difficult to !ake out, with !e being half dead and all, but eventually recogni7ed the person. =$rother? *ow did you know? whispered. =Dont speak. %loyd, 3ova, Shania, and &ei are taking care of things here. %ets get you ho!e, %ukas waiting. -an you hang on? nodded weakly. <haedra and %uka were indeed waiting when we arrived. +he huge hole in !y chest sent <haedra running to the bathroo!. 4veryone else stood on the stairs, crying. Sia ca!e running down. =@ods, what happened to her?? Sia screa!ed. could tell she wanted to do so!ething, to !ake !e feel better in so!e way, but she couldnt touch !e. -ouldnt hold !y hand, nothing. 8ephyr laid !e down on the couch. %uka was crying, but he had hi!self basically under control otherwise. %uka healed !y hands and ankles first. *uge pink scars were the only indicators that there had ever been anything there. Sia and 8ephyr stayed by !y side while %uka healed the gaping hole in !y chest. .hen %uka healed, it was like !agic. +he place he was healing and his hands lit up gold. stared at the ceiling, unable to look at the cloaked freaks work. # hand clapped down on %ukas shoulder. =%uka, son, you can stop now. Shell be all right. %et her parents see her, #sclepius said. #sclepius was %ukas father. *is hand passed over !y wound and it closed auto!atically. *e was the best healing god d ever seen. "y parents were standing behind hi!. #rte!is cradled !y face, her tears dropping onto !y cheeks. ="y baby, you couldve been killed, she cried. +he front door opened, and craned !y neck to see. n walked 3ova, Shania, &ei, %loyd, and ,hett, all looking gri!. 3ova kicked the door closed. *er red hair poked out fro! under her hood. &ei looked at !e with worried eyes.

Shania collapsed into an ar!chair. %loyd stood at the end of the couch, looking !e over. =$oss, howre you doin? 3ova asked. =$etter. +hanks, you guys, said. =+hank %loyd. *e always knows when youre in trouble, but he could tell this was really bad. could not handle losing another person. +hey tortured you on purpose. = know they did it on purpose. +hey !ade a !ockery of !e. *ey, wheres #lex? .asnt he with you guys? 3ova looked down guiltily. Shania scowled, and &ei started gushing apologies. =.e tried to tell hi! to co!e back with us, but a few of those cult guys escaped and he ran after the! and we dont know where he went. think he got kidnapped but ! not sure and cant look it up yet 0cause it only happened a few seconds ago. f he did get captured he probably intended to because as a prisoner, you tend to hear a lot of guard gossip. $ut why would #lex do so!ething so stupid? &ei wailed. ="a!a, you know have to go get hi! now, right? asked. = know you want to, but you really shouldnt. %ook at your hands, #!brosine. %ook what they did to you, what they tried to do? +he puckered skin on !y hands wasnt pretty, but it also wasnt fatal. t wasnt anything any!ore but a !e!ory. = got #lex caught up in this. f it werent for !e, he wouldnt have been captured, or wouldnt be following the!. *owever, in his condition, if he keeps following the!, he will get captured. ll wait for the rest of the night. f hes not back by !orning, ! going after hi!. #bril and &arsten ca!e into the living roo!. Da!!it? d forgotten about &arsten. =Sine, youre/gods? &arsten asked shyly. Seeing hi! still hu!an re!inded !e of so!ething. = ll co!e back to you in a !inute, &arsten. "other, where is #pollo? ! gonna wring his neck, said. +his ti!e, didnt get in trouble. "y dad opened a portal. #bril covered &arstens eyes for !e. f !y dad was so happy about going to get #pollo, it !eant he was probably asleep. 5erk. =3ow, &arsten, what were you asking !e? &arsten swallowed and took a deep breath. =#ll of you, all of you in this roo!, are gods? #bril had told hi!. t only !ade sense, he was never gonna understand the

happening in the woods if we didnt tell hi! the truth. #bril had 6ust beat !e to it. Shed probably done a sloppy 6ob of explaining things as well. had to s!ooth things over. =3o, not all of us are gods. =$ut, #bril said =#bril wasnt specific. She, -larice, &ylah, ,hett, @enevieve, sabela, and <haedra are de!igods. %uka, Sia, Dexter, %loyd, and are gods, along with !y parents. 8ephyr and #lex started out as de!igods, but beca!e gods through a clai!ing process. =>ou were supposed to be clai!ed tonight. *owever, !y uncle 6ust so happens to be a douche bag. n a few !inutes, when !y dad brings hi! back, ! going to kick his ass. >ou can watch, or not watch. $ut still need you to be clai!ed. "ight as well tell hi! the whole truth while still had ti!e to. *is reaction to being clai!ed wasnt a bad one either. =.hen get clai!ed, what happens? =3othing really. !ean, in your case, youll go to sleep feeling nor!al. $ut when you wake up, youll be a lot taller, !ore handso!e, and youll have power. +he kind of power we have. >ou saw !e beat up those kids this !orning, didnt you? know this is an ironic exa!ple, but you saw that hole in !y chest. +hats what gods can do. #nd thats !arely a true display of power. +he portal opened up again. *er!es dragged #pollo into the roo!. 8ephyr beat !e there, hitting #pollo in the face as soon as the portal closed. Sia ca!e after that. +he two of the! were doing such a good 6ob of !aking hi! pay, decided that d 6ust let the! have their fun. = thought all the gods were like a fa!ily that existed in perfect har!ony. $ut your sister and brother look like theyre about to beco!e !urderers, &arsten observed. 3ow probably wasnt the best ti!e to tell hi! that as a god, hed be expected to kill people so!eti!es. d wait a while before telling hi! that. =3ope, !ost of the gods hate each other. n fact, if there werent laws, they wouldve destroyed each other by now. Sia, $rother, can you pause your wrath for a !o!ent? re2uested. #pollo healed by the ti!e the two of the! stepped aside. *e looked scared of !e. Scared of Sia. Scared of all of us. =Stop looking at !e like that. >es, ! bloody and scarred. +hats your fault. >es, !y boyfriend is heading for certain death. +hats partially

your fault. $ut ! not going to kill you today. 3ow, clai! &arsten and get out of !y sight. ignored hi! fro! then on, turning to 3ova. She opened her !outh to say so!ething serious, but hugged her first. had !issed 3ova. d been against it when the three assassins had asked !e about learning !ore about :abri7ios !urder, but theyd !anaged to talk !e into it. &ei was aweso!e with co!puters. .hen everything was all better, &arsten could be his apprentice. Shania acted like she hated everyone, but she was really a softie. 3ova had to be tough and !ature. $ut so!eti!es, she needed her ti!e to cry. .hich was when took over the !ature role. =*owre you? asked, 6erking her hood off. 3ova had orange eyes, the sa!e as her father. *aving the powers of #res and *ecate was a strange co!bination, but it !ade her powerful. .e werent sure whose &ei was. Shania was a daughter of 3e!esis, hence her icy personality. =.ere okay. >ou scared us though, $oss. #re you doing all right, besides your boyfriend running off? she said. =>eah. *ave you !et !y new sibling? =#nother new sibling? Didnt it surprise us enough when Sia showed up? =+his one is different. $ut you can !eet hi! in a second. Did you find anything out about :abri7io? :abri7io, the true de!on, had !ade !y life a living hell for nine years. 3ine years see!s like a long ti!e to hu!ans, but its longer for gods. #lthough, did spend the !a6ority of those years asleep. .henever was awake, was kicking his ass and getting !y revenge. 3ow that he was dead, was only disappointed that hadnt been the one to kill hi!. =#ctually, yes. &ei was able to access so!e surveillance ca!eras in the building where we found hi!. never told you that we found hi! in a private study roo! in a library. .e were fortunate to be the first ones to find hi!. =.hoever killed hi! was clearly a god and experienced at assassination, because they knew to leave so!ething in the way of the wound so that it wouldnt heal. #ll was able to see was that it was a girl. She had blonde hair, and could tell :abri7io never expected to be attacked then. She took hi! down in seconds. #fter she left, you see 8akary standing in the corner of the roo!. *e 6ust appeared there, looked at :abri7io, and

left. cant help but think that he ordered the girl to kill :abri7io. wanted to see the girls face, so &ei got into the other ca!eras. have a picture, but ll unpack it later. dont suppose we have roo!s, do we? patted her cheek. =*ave you seen the si7e of this house? 4ach of you has a roo! to yourself. +here are na!eplates, so dont worry about that. =.ow, your !o! takes good care of us. =>eah well, she does what she can. grabbed 8ephyr by the ar!, !eaning to introduce hi! to 3ova. !ade the !istake of grabbing the one covered in gold blood. t was still war!, !aking !e cringe. +hat was 6ust gross, even though it was !y blood. I was still covered in it. =-o!e on, Sine, lets go get you changed, Sia said, pulling !e away fro! !y brother and up the stairs. "y !other followed. .e went into Sias roo!, and knew she was gonna !ake !e wear so!ething ridiculous. =#!brosine, you need to tell us what happened. ! going to tell your father when we get back to ;ly!pus. 3ow, please. ts very i!portant that you tell us everything you know about what happened to you tonight, !y !other insisted. =+hey tried to kill !e tonight, thats what happened? woke up, and hands were co!ing at !e fro! all directions. woke #lex up, but they 6ust grabbed hi! too. +hey took us into the woods, and !e and #lex got away for a !inute. =+hey tripped !e after like three !inutes, and they separated us again. +hey held !e down on the ground and used witch energy to bind #lex to a tree. *e tried to help !e, but it was pretty useless. +he people were strong. So!e of the! wore cloaks. .hen the leader showed up, he !ade a huge bonfire with the others. was going to use lightning, but they knew about that attack. =+he leader had two people shove daggers through !y hands. *e called !e 0!y lady, the way %loyd does. got really !ad, but that was before the daggers were in !y hands. #nyway, was pathetically begging #lex to do so!ething, and he was getting !ad that no one see!ed to be co!ing to the rescue. #round that ti!e, the daggers were shoved through !y ankles too. #s you can i!agine, sobbed and !ade a total baby out of !yself. ! kind of glad that only #lex saw, because he would never !ake fun of !e for it. $ut now hes gone, and once find hi!, ! gonna have to yell at hi! for being a

brave idiot once again. =+his other nut started chanting in ancient @reek. *e walked around !e, like the words he was saying were going to do so!ething to !e. +he !ain !an in the cloak put on a glove, and kept saying so!ething about !e having a de!on in !y soul. *e said the de!on was called #!aia, and they were her servants. +hey wanted #!aia and !e to be separated, so that she could be their leader. $ut dont know how !any ti!es have to say that dont have a de!on living in !e. =.hat worries !e is that they said once they got the de!on out of !e, they were planning on going after Sia. +hey were gonna do all the sa!e things to her. #fter the cloaked weirdo finished his speech, he told #!aia to be free and shoved his through the !iddle of !y chest, finished. Sia whirled fro! where shed been digging through the !ountain of clothes in the botto! of her wardrobe. =>ou got that hole in your chest/fro! a hand? =>eah. $ut arent you worried about yourself? +heyre planning on shoving a hand through you too, pointed out. =+hats 6ust unsanitary, and disgusting. d rather be one with a de!on than have that happen to !e. 3ow, put this on, go to bed, and leave the rest of this to us, Sia ordered, tossing !y white and blue nightgown at !e. +he one fro! !y three year sleep. really hoped so!eone had washed it since then.

Chapter Six

The woman with long au!urn hair was !ac".

Amaia$ aren#t you?& I accused. %I was.&

tanding at the end of the narrow

hallway$ refusing to let me see her face. I frowned$ reali1ation stri"ing me. %'ou#re

%What do you mean$ you were? Did you see what they tried to do to me$ )ust to get you out? 'et here you are$ in my soul$ in my head$ )ust fine. I don#t "now why those idiots thought they could gain access to my soul )ust !y shoving a hand through my chest.& .he woman didn#t turn. I closed the distance !etween us and put my hand on her shoulder. I was somewhat surprised that I wasn#t immediately repelled this time. I was a!le to touch her. %'es$ I am Amaia. 'es$ I saw those !astards torture you. I wanted to help. ,ut as I reside in your !ody$ I can only act through your !ody. I !elieve the men "new would resist as well. If I reacted$ you would !e under my control. .hat is why they went to such drastic measures to hold you down. %If I had "nown a!out that event$ I would have told you. I did not feel the pain you felt the same way you did$ !ut I felt something. 2ow$ Am!rosine$ do you wish to see my face?& I hesitated. %2o.& %Really?& %'eah. I don#t want to see right now. I need to hear your story. 0r at least$ I need to "now why they want you so !adly.& Amaia nodded a little. %/ery well. I was !orn eptem!er 78th$ 79:;. I am aware that that is the date of your !irth as well$ )ust a different year. I have a twin sister$ the demon who resides in your sister. Her name is 2eria. he is telling Alessia the same story I am telling you right now. 2eria and I were separated soon after our !irths$ to families

that were very different in their opinions of their new children. %2eria found me after three hundred years. We were forced to fight for our lives a lot of the time. We did not have the a!ility to go into the same red<eyed state that you and Alessia do. 'ou see$ that red<eyed state comes from my sister and me. It is us helping you in the only way we possi!ly can= !y lending you our power as demons. .he reason you have not !een a!le to use our full power while fighting is !ecause neither of you has accepted us. %Again$ that is not a part of the story am I currently supposed to !e sharing. As I told you$ my twin and I were constantly under attac". 0ur power was great$ !ut too many other people wanted it. 0ne night$ we were attac"ed. 2eria was currently pregnant !y the guardian that had !een assigned to her. I had a significant other$ !ut I was waiting for marriage. .he men who !arged into our house claimed that !ecause 2eria was pregnant$ her soul was tainted. %.hey said that through death$ she would !ecome pure again. After that$ they "illed her guardian$ the father of her child. (y*!oyfriend and I were forced to watch. I tried to help 2eria$ !ut there was nothing I could do. I was paraly1ed !y fear. .hey "illed her the same way they tried to "ill you tonight. .hey shoved !utchering "nives through her hands and an"les$ and they used their hands to put a hole in her chest. I saw the lights leave her eyes. Her eyes used to !e green. ,ut when I saw them then$ they were )ust !ottomless pits. 2o life at all. %(y !oyfriend was named Ale3ander. He had the most !eautiful !rown eyes$ !ut I watched the life leave those as well. >inally$ I was alone$ !ac"ed against a wall with no way to escape. .he speech you heard tonight was similar to the one I heard !ac" then. As I am sure you "now$ they "illed me with no mercy. .hat night$ that night we all died$ was eptem!er 78th$ 7;:;.& Another Ale3ander with gorgeous !rown eyes. Another set of twins separated at !irth that managed to find each other against all odds. Another attac" on them that separated them forever. Another twin falling in love with her guardian. .he twins. ,orn on the same day as me and ia. Dying the actual day and year of our !irth. It couldn#t !e a coincidence. Which could only mean that* %History#s repeating itself$& I murmured.

% omewhat. ?learly$ the ending will !e different for you$ !ut not !y much. At this rate$ they will still "ill you. All four of you. De3ter$ Alessia$ Ale3ander$ and you. (y sister and I merged with your souls for a reason. We wanted things to !e different for you. If we com!ine our power with yours$ a different outcome is guaranteed.& %How do you and your sister still communicate?& %We are a!le to spea" telepathically whenever you and Alessia are close to each other.& %>orgive me$ !ut I thin" it#s frea"y that there#s$ li"e$ another person living within me. And I#m not pregnant.& Amaia chuc"led. %I understand. I would find it strange too. 'ou and I are a lot ali"e$ Am!rosine Devanney.& %@veryone really seems to get a "ic" out of saying my whole name all the time.& %It is surprising for most people that you still use the last name of your careta"ers. (ost goddesses would despise the idea.& %(ost of them do. ,ut it#s not li"e I haven#t heard the Aproper this and that# speech !efore. 2o!ody seems to reali1e that I don#t care a!out how they thin" things are supposed to go.& I loo"ed down at the floor. %,ut now#s not the time for that speech. I#m sorry a!out the loss of your lover$ and your sister. .his time is going to !e different. I#ll win$ not )ust !ecause I want to$ or !ecause Ale3 is involved. I won#t win !ecause 0lympus needs me to. I won#t win !ecause it#s my destiny. I#m going to win*for you. I#ll win !ecause I need to. I#ll put those !astards in their place$ one at a time.& %I admire your courage. ,ut you will need so much power.& I loo"ed up$ my eyes falling on the !ac" of her head. % o$ share your power with me. I "now you can.& %I ta"e it you have figured out how to truly merge souls and power then?& Amaia said suggestively. I could sense that she was loo"ing at me out of the corner of her eye. ,ut I didn#t meet that eye. It was li"e cheating for me to do that$ and cheating was against my code of conduct. %I "now. how me your face$ Amaia.& %Why do you need to see my face$ Am!rosine?& .he Buestion was the only thing separating me from the power I was going to

need. ,ut was merging with a demon really the !est thing for me to do? .he !est way for me to accomplish my goals? (y ga1e on the !ac" of her head hardened. ?rap. 3ow is not the ti!e for critical thinking, #!brosine? ?rap$ crap$ crap. .hin" of Ale3. What would he tell me to do? He#d tell me to shut up and do what needed to !e done already. I "new the answer to Amaia#s Buestion. I#d "nown since the first time she#d as"ed me. It was common "nowledge. Anyone could#ve given her the correct answer. However$ there needed to !e true meaning !ehind the words that answered. 2ot )ust anyone could give the wholly correct answer. ,esides$ not )ust anyone could gain access to my soul. I hoped that if ia was answering this Buestion$ she shared these thoughts. I tightened my hand on Amaia#s shoulder. %5oo"ing into the eyes is to loo" in the soul. Without "nowing someone#s soul$ you cannot possi!ly merge. how me your eyes$ Amaia. how me your soul.& I saw the smile first. A wic"ed smile. It was 6ust li"e the one I wore. .he !angs were the ne3t thing I saw. .hey fell way past where they should#ve$ hanging into her eyes. Her s"in was pale !ut flawless. he wore a simple white and !lue nightgown. All that au!urn hair covered the !ac" of the gown$ that was why I hadn#t noticed !efore. .he eyes were the last thing I loo"ed at. .hey weren#t the red I#d !een e3pecting. %.oo" ya long enough to spit it out. I hate all that formal crap. 2ice to meet you$& Amaia said$ shoc"ing me entirely. After the way she#d spo"en to me$ I#d assumed that was how she tal"ed all the time. he was a lot more li"e me than I#d reali1ed. Amaia#s eyes were !lue. (inus the stars. A !lue deeper than the ocean$ !luer than the dawn. .hey rivaled my eyes. %-m$ hi?& I managed to say. %Don#t give me that. I#ve !een living in Hell for three hundred years$ I hear the way the new souls tal". I hear the way you tal". I have !een loc"ed up in here for nine$ listening to you. I "now the meaning of an apostrophe4& I stepped !ac". Gods$ this was too much for me. % orry$ I#m )ust not used to it.& %Whatever. At least I#ll !e a!le to leave your !ody sometimes now.& %Huh?& I spluttered. %.hat#s right. I#m free from my prison that was your head. 'ou "ept me in here$ !ecause

you didn#t accept me. 2ow you have. Don#t worry though$ I can#t leave your side. If I try it$ I#ll go right !ac" to my co1y spot in hell.& Gee1$ she really was a demon.

opened !y eyes. Sia was standing in !y roo!. could only assu!e 3eria was the girl with her. Dexter stood slightly behind her, another !an by his side. .hat the hell was going on? looked beside !e. shot across the roo!, pressing !yself against the window. =Gods4 >ou cant 6ust lay in !y bed with !e? Bh, uh. .e are totally gonna have to establish ground rules. ;ne, no sleeping in !y bed. +hats creepy. +wo, no showing up without warning. >ou cant take over !y body whenever you want that way, can you? clarified. =3o. need per!ission. #!aia s!iled, drifting over to !y side. ;h wow, she was floating. #ll the little people floated. = woke up, and she was 6ust there. Sa!e thing with Dexter. should never wake up with two boys laying on !y bed, Sine? Sia shrieked. 3eria and #!aia went to each other as Sia and did. =B!, think introductions should probably be !ade. #nd explanations are owed, Sia and said the last sentence in unison. =:ine then, if thats what you want, #!aia shrugged and 3eria giggled. Dexter and his ghost dude 6ust looked at each other. =+his is +heron. guess you could say Dexters his kinda1sorta reincarnate. ;nly, theyre separate. dont know how to explain it, +heron, youre good with words, 3eria gave up, draping herself over +herons shoulders. She really was like Sia. Dexter and +heron were only furniture to the two of the!. =Aery well, !y lady. +he three of us were able to !erge successfully with your souls last night. @iving the three of us a newfound sort of freedo!. =#lexander &eller, the kinda1sorta reincarnate of #!aias #lexander, is also experiencing this pheno!enon. Bnfortunately, having #lexander Sr. floating around wont help hi! escape. dont know if you reali7ed this, but the #lexander that loved #!aia is an ancestor of your #lexander, +heron said.

=.ere gonna need so!e way to distinguish one fro! the other, said. =.ell call yours #lex, you call ours #.S., #!aia said. #ll of us stopped talking to look around at each other again. =.ere like, the sa!e people fro! different centuries. .e 6ust look different on the outside, Sia said slowly. =+hats a good way to put it, 3eria said, s!iling. =+here a certainly so!e big changes in the storyline, though. +hey attacked !e alone this ti!e, and they took #lex prisoner instead of killing !e. ! aware that they only took hi! because itll lure !e back there, but it doesnt !atter. Secondly, thanks to you guys, Sia and have our red1eyed state. =<robably the biggest difference is that Sia isnt pregnant, finished. =>eah, but that only !eans theyll kill !e 6ust to kill !e. 3ot because ! 0tainted, Sia said. Dexter tensed when she talked about herself being killed. +hinking about Sia, dead, really bothered hi!. *ed even broken down in sobs once in front of !e and Sia, because he thought she was going to die. t was pretty awkward for !e and %loyd, who were forced to wait in the hallway while that went on. +here was a knock on the door. ="y lady? s everything okay in there? %loyd asked. d forgotten he was here. *ed been so silent last night when everything was going on. $ut that was probably 6ust because hed been worried. =>eah, everythings fine. =.ell, &arsten is awake, and hes very pleased with his new for!. *e wants to see you. d forgotten about &arsten too. *e was a de!igod now, wanted to see how that had turned out. =;kay, 6ust tell hi! to hang on a second, told %loyd, and waited for his footsteps to go away. =Do you guys know how to/u!, go back into our souls? Sia asked. =#w, do we have to so soon? feel like we 6ust got out, 3eria whined, though she was s!iling drea!ily at +heron like she didnt have a care in the world. She probably didnt want to leave hi! again. understood that feeling. =>eah, weve all got i!portant stuff to be doing, and we cant have you guys floating around behind us. %ook, once were finished taking care of what needs to be taken care of, you can re!ateriali7e and well practice co!bining our powers, said. #!aia narrowed her eyes. =.e get to take over. 5ust so you see what we can do

when were fully co!bined, she said. =*ow are we gonna see when youre in control? Sia asked. =,ecord it, Dexter said. =;h yeah, keep forgetting they know about !odern ob6ects, said. #!aia kicked !e. =Do we have a deal on whats going down, #!brosine Devanney? she asked. gave her a hateful look, standing on !y one unhurt leg. =>eah, we have a deal. #!aia floated toward !e. She kept co!ing, until she disappeared into !y body. shivered. =+oo weird, Sia and said. Dexter even shuddered a bit. changed into !y assassin clothes. hadnt worn the! in a while. $lack 6eans, black shirt, tight black leather 6acket. pulled !y hair up into a high ponytail and tri!!ed !y bangs !yself. ;n !y feet were black -onverse. -ant go kill people without !y -onverse on. ;nce was dressed, pulled up a floorboard in !y closet. "y sword lay there, sheathed and for the !o!ent, har!less. had said that if #lex wasnt back by !orning, was going after hi!. f was going after hi!, was going to need !y sword. unsheathed it a bit and ad!ired the glea!ing white blade. slid it through a belt loop and walked downstairs to the kitchen. 3ova, Shania, and &ei looked at !y clothes before saying anything. =@oing so!ewhere, $oss? Shania asked. =>eah. ve gotta save #lex, said !atter1of1factly. 3ova and &ei shook their heads. Shania 6ust grinned. =.heres &arsten? asked. =*es in the living roo!, think. .ait until he sees you, hell wonder what hes gotten hi!self into, 3ova said. flashed a wicked s!ile at her. *e was in the living roo!, looking like a totally different person. *e was probably taller than !e now. :ro! the looks of his now long legs, he was %ukas height. *is red hair now had gold streaks, and his eyes were olive green. $lue and yellow !ixed did !ake green, but never knew that color rule applied to eyes as well. +hen again, !ost people dont !ix eye colors 6ust to see what happens. Dang, had &arsten turned into a little hottie overnight. *e caught sight of !e and 6u!ped up. =*ey, Sine? %ook at !e, look like a new person? cant thank you enough. *ey, why are you dressed like that?

= ! going out for a while. :ootsteps sto!ped down the stairs. #bril danced into the roo!, dressed si!ilarly to !e. *er dark blue hair was in a braid. *er sword was in her hand. =@ods, no. >ou are not co!ing with !e, said fir!ly. =-o!e on, cy. want to go. 8ephyrs going. turned to see that !y brother was standing behind !e. = a! going, Sister. So!eone has to !ake sure youre okay, and %loyd has to go back to training. $esides, dont have !uch field experience. ve only ever trained. +his is the perfect opportunity. He could train against me. @ah? Since when could #!aia speak into !y brain? $ut that was a good idea. =:ine, you can both co!e. $ut we have serious training to do before we leave this afternoon, said. could tell #bril thought shed won so!e s!all battle against !e, but wait until she saw what #!aia and had in store for her. f 8ephyr had only fought in training, wondered how hed do too. really hoped Sia wasnt gonna want to co!e along as well. needed her at the house to keep an eye on things. =Dont worry, have no interest whatsoever in 6oining the rescue s2uad. ve got training and things to do here. #lthough, 3eria and can help you train these two, Sia said as she entered the roo!. #bril and 8ephyr both looked confused at her reference to 3eria. t kinda felt good to know !ore than everyone else. 4specially our apparent genius of a brother. =B!, dont !ean to interrupt, but dont suppose could go along as well, could ? a s!all voice asked. +he four of us whirled. =&arsten? .hy would you want to go with us? ts dangerous, you have no training, said in disbelief. *is want to co!e along !ade no sense at all. = wanna go because have no training with weapons. can help you figure out where he is, give you directions. have a per!anent internet connection on !y laptop. can help. #nd you can train !e along the way, when we stop. t !akes sense for !e to do it so that you dont split up your assassins. &ei taught !e how to use the best tracking syste! in the world on !y laptop. = can help you, Sine. want to. know your !other wanted !e to be an archer. ;therwise, she wouldve had your dad clai! !e. t wasnt 6ust you that picked !e. can

thank you this way. <lease, &arsten pleaded, intensity burning in his eyes. =*ow did you know all that stuff about !y !other? =She told !e. She told !e not to let you leave without !e. was trapped now. f !y !other wanted !e to bring &arsten along, didnt have !uch of a choice on the !atter. =Do you really think you can handle it, &arsten? Do you have any idea what a battle with another god is like? asked cal!ly. = , u!/ =Do you know what it looks like when battle? Do you know what its like to protect so!eone with your life? Do you know what its like to put your soul in so!eone elses hands? &arsten winced. Sia and 8ephyr looked at !e curiously. #bril was out of it. =*ave you ever witnessed death? *ave you ever been the cause of death? know your !other died, and know how !uch that hurt you. -ould you inflict that pain on so!eone else, if you knew it needed to be done? knew this 2uestion would trigger so!ething in &arsten. *e obviously felt very passionate about his !others death. = could if it needed to be done. f knew that by killing that one person, could stop a !illion other people fro! suffering through the sa!e heartache still do. <lease, Sine. know with all !y heart that ! up to this. =#ll right. ,ut, first you have to see what our kind of battles look like. +rust !e, its nothing like the !ovies. 4specially not with !e, said, s!irking a bit. Sia pinched !y cheek. =:eeling a bit cocky tonight, arent we? she teased. =:irst of all, its !id1!orning. Second, dont touch !y face. 3ow, ! leaving this forest at twelve1thirty sharp. Sia, youre co!ing with !e. .ere training until twelve1fifteen. &arsten, youre training with Dexter and %loyd until twelve, then youre co!ing to observe !e and Sia. $rother, #bril, youre the ones training with !e and Sia. want both of you to know that youre in for 2uite a workout. =:ighting us now will be different fro! any scenario you could i!agine. .eve recently ac2uired a new power. Do you both understand the risk youre taking by training with us? Sia giggled. =3eria says she cant wait. She thinks 8ephyrs cute too. Isn#t he your !rother? .hat#s disgusting.

=#!aia thinks youre gross, and weve already been over this. apologi7e on Sias behalf, $rother. 8ephyr s!iled. = ts nothing that cant be dealt with, Sister. 3ow, are we going to start training soon? !ust say, can hardly wait to get started. >ou and Sia were already the !ost powerful goddesses. +he only thing !ore exciting than fighting the two of you together would be to fight the two of you, and %uka ,ush. $ut you say you have new power? Does it surpass anything anyone has ever seen? 8ephyrs speech was a little freaky. *e was al!ost too happy to be training with his baby sisters. $ut hed saved !y life the night before, so was going to trust hi!, no !atter what he said or did that found creepy. #!aia was whispering into !y head once !ore. .ell your !rother that the power he will see is truly otherworldly. relayed #!aias !essage to 8ephyr and disappeared deep into the forest. .hen everyone else showed up, so did -larice. .ith a ca!era. =Sorry. d have to co!!it suicide if didnt get this on tape, she shrugged. =.hatever. 5ust stay back. Amaia$ I give you control. 'ou won#t regret it$ Am!rosine Devanney. Again with the name$ huh?

Chapter Seven

Alex

woke up in a terrible !ood. *e was dressed in barely sufficient clothes,

and he was chained to a wall. t was like hed woken up in a dungeon. # girl sat nearby, texting. She had long blonde hair and brown eyes. =So, youre awake, she said without looking at hi!. =.ho are you? .here are we? She was in front of hi! in an instant, s!iling. #lex glared into her eyes, 6erking his head away when she tried to touch his cheek. =>ou are cute. ;f course, youre !uch cuter in better lighting, but oh well. "y na!e is <enelope "artuna. ! supposed to watch you, and kill anyone who tries to take you away. ncluding #!brosine Devanney. *ow would you feel if you watched her die? *ow would you feel if we 6ust sent out a clone of you to replace you in her heart? #lexs eyes burned. =>ou couldnt replace !e. Sine would know. =Am!rosine, would never be able to tell the difference. $esides, you cant be all that i!portant to her, and she cant be all that i!portant to you. She isnt strong. >ou saw, #lex. >ou watched us kill her once. .e could do it again, <enelope instigated. =3o. >ou took us by surprise. #nd if know Sine, shes getting stronger so!ehow as we speak. Shell be ready for you next ti!e. #ll of us will be. <enelope held #lexs face and kissed his cheek. = ll get one step closer to that s!art !outh of yours everyday. Bntil then, sweet drea!s, <enelope said sweetly, pulling a syringe out of thin air and 6abbing it into #lexs ar!. #lex !aintained the !urderous look he was wearing until he vision began to di!. *e slowly lost the ability to hold up his own head, or keep his eyes open. <enelope stood up and retreated to where she had been when hed first awoken. ine. I "now you#d !e a!le to tell the difference !etween me and an imposter if it was needed. ,ut whatever happens$ )ust don#t die for me.

-larices eyes widened. Sine see!ed different so!ehow, though she looked the sa!e. She opened her eyes to reveal that they were neon red. # horrifying color, really.

Sine faced 8ephyr, and Sia faced #bril. Sias eyes were the sa!e as Sines. #bril, 8ephyr, and Sia drew their swords. =#re you ready? 8ephyr asked Sine. She s!iled wickedly, but didnt speak. 8ephyr disappeared and reappeared, bringing his sword down over Sines head. She glanced up and stopped the blade with her bare hand. -larice double checked to !ake sure she had recorded that. Sines fingers closed around 8ephyrs blade, and she threw hi! into a tree. *e did flips through the air, !anaging a shaky land on his feet. Sia was giggling. #bril was already sweating. #bril charged, slicing at Sias head. Sia ducked, dodged, cartwheeled, 6u!ped, leapt, and rolled out of the way of all #brils attacks. She was fast. *ad she been that fast before? -larice blinked. t !ightve been her i!agination, but Sine and Sia see!ed to be !orphing. t was an al!ost unnoticeable process. $ut there was a streak of auburn in Sines !idnight black hair. .hat the hell kind of power were they using? *ow had they !anaged to obtain so!ething like that? Sine shook her head, !oving her head ever so slightly to dodge a stab fro! 8ephyr. =>oure going to have to !ove !uch faster if you want to cut !e, she said, in a voice that sounded nothing like her own except for the ring of confidence. =>oure not !y sister, 8ephyr accused. =>oure right. ! not. 3either is the girl fighting #bril. $ut youre not always gonna be fighting #!brosine and #lessia. @et used to being fooled by appearances. :ight like you !ean it. 8ephyrs eyebrows pushed together in frustration. Sine s!iled, sickly sweet. +he sword in 8ephyrs hand kept swinging, and Sine kept dodging. n a flash, Sine drew her sword and cut 8ephyrs cheek. # bit of blood got on 8ephyrs glasses. &arsten walked up behind -larice. =.ow, look at that sword. ts pure white, isnt it? he co!!ented. Sines eyes flicked up at hi!, and he gasped, backing into Dexter and %loyd. =%ady Sine is really giving hi! a hard ti!e, isnt she? Dexter !used. = ts not Sine. $ut whoever it is happens to be very skilled at dodging and blocking attacks. .ait until you see the footage got before this, -larice said, watching Sines body 6u!p1kick 8ephyr in the face. *ed re!oved his glasses by now. Sine and Sia were fierce in this state. -larice had no idea what it was or who had

taught the! to fight that way, but it was i!pressive. Sia laughed when #bril nicked her pal!. =Aery good? >ou cut !e? cant say that the boy over there is doing so well at trying to cut !y sister. $ut, #!aia is a billion ti!es better than !e. See if you can do it again, Sia pro!pted, dancing away fro! #bril. She was graceful in the way she fought. 4very ti!e she dodged or attacked, there was so!ething strangely beautiful about it. Sias sword had been drawn, but she hadnt yet turned it into a scythe. f the person fighting #bril wasnt Sia, she probably didnt know how. Sine lifted a finger and pointed it at 8ephyr. *e tilted his head to the side confusedly. %ightning shot fro! Sines finger. t was a s!all a!ount, enough to stun 8ephyr but not enough to kill hi!. =#!aia. +hat wasnt necessary, Sines actual voice said. = t was entirely necessary. f he wants to train, ll train hi!, the second voice argued. =@ive !e control back. ts ti!e to leave. >ouve beaten !y brother up enough. !ean it, #!aia. =:ine, whatever. 3eria, are you retreating too? Sia laughed. = suppose have no choice, if they want to take over. %loyd, Dexter, you better be ready to catch your ladies, she said. Sine and Sia started to fall, but their guardians did catch the! in ti!e. 8ephyr stood up fro! where hed fallen and put his glasses on. =.e have to get going now. Dexter, take care of Sia while were gone. ll carry Sister to the car. trust that you all will have things under control here? he said. =>es, !y lord. .eve got it covered, Dexter said. =#bril, &arsten, are the two of you ready to go? =>eah, were ready. !ean, that was 2uite an experience, but now ! full of adrenaline. f we dont go now, ! likely to explode. hope we get into a fight soon, #bril said. 8ephyr took Sine into his ar!s. = dont. f the people who attacked Sister have anything like that power she 6ust used, we dont stand a chance while shes unconscious, 8ephyr said thoughtfully. =+hey dont have the power. ts what they want, Sia !ur!ured. Shed recovered !uch faster than Sine. =+he freaks who 6u!ped Sine and #lex wanted the power she has. +hey only

attacked Sine first because her de!on is stronger. Shes !ore of a fighter than !ine. +hey plan on stealing Sines, and once theyve done that, theyll take !ine. .hich would result in both of us/dead.

.he ocean? What was Ale3 doing at the ocean? (ore than that$ he was standing on a cliff a!ove the ocean$ ga1ing down. .here was something floating. Was it*a person? Ale3 sBuinted. It was nighttime$ and he could !arely see. %Hello?& he called. #lex. ine#s voice. In his head$ calling to him. ine needed him. Was she the shape in the water !elow? Ale3 immediately stripped off his shirt and dove in. .he water was li"e ice$ !ut he couldn#t afford to give up. .he cold soa"ed into his s"in$ ma"ing his muscles free1e up. He could see a cloud of dar"ness$ not far !elow him. 5ong hair$ that#s what the dar" cloud was. #lex. Ale3 made himself swim deeper$ reaching for ine. He managed to gra! her pale wrist. Why was she drowning here? Why hadn#t he saved her !efore she fell in? 2ow that Ale3 had a hand on ine$ he tried to swim !ac" up. ,ut she was heavy. He couldn#t remem!er ine ever !eing so heavy. He#d held her countless times !efore$ and they were underwater. he should#ve !een light as a feather. Instead$ she felt li"e she was made of concrete. #lex. Ale3 loo"ed down to see if there was something ma"ing ine weigh so much. ,ut there was nothing. ine#s face was !lan"$ pale$ as icy as the water. Ale3 pulled her closer$ wrapping an arm around her waist and trying to propel them upward. ine#s eyes opened. .hy wont you save !e, #lex? He heard the Buestion$ !ut her lips never moved. Her plea for rescue !ro"e his heart. 0nly !ecause he didn#t "now if he would !e a!le to. Ale3 gritted his teeth. He had ne3t to no air left in his lungs$ and ine had to !e dying !y now. omeone else dove in a!ove him. It was Penelope. he gra!!ed hold of Ale3$ trying to pull him away from ine. ine#s eyes pleaded with him. .he eyes he found so irresisti!le. .hey were desperate now$

counting on him to save her. Ale3 met Penelope#s eyes. % he#ll die$& he protested aloud. % he#s dead already. 'ou don#t have to die with her$& Penelope insisted. ine was slipping away from Ale3. he clung to him. %'ou#re going to let me go? Allow me to drown here while you live with her?& she accused harshly. Ale3#s eyes were pained. %5et me go$ Penelope. I can save her.& %2o. 'ou#re not strong enough to save her. 'ou#re coming with me$ and she is going to die here. .here is a!solutely nothing you can do for her. 5loyd or 5u"a could save her. ,ut not you. 'ou#re not a fighter. 'ou can#t even fight for what you love anymore. 2ow$ let go. ine#s eyes fell shut$ and she loosened her grip on Ale3. %Go$& she said$ venom dripping from the one word she spo"e. It surprised Ale3 so much that he let her go. he sun" Buic"ly. >ou were supposed to love !e, #lex.

#lex opened his eyes to find hi!self still chained to the wall. +hank the gods that hadnt been real. <enelope was s!irking at hi!. =$ad drea!? she asked. =.hat was the !eaning of that? .hy did see it? know you wanted !e to, #lex said. <enelopes s!irk didnt go away. 3ever had he wanted to strike a wo!an in his life, but he was starting to. +here was a first ti!e for everything. = ts sy!bolic, thats for sure. *owever, can assure you that dont know the !eaning of it. #!brosine was drea!ing the sa!e thing, though. Shell !ental !essage you about it in a !inute, in fact. ll go get you so!e food, <enelope said, winking and blowing a kiss as she left. #lex waited. *is ar!s ached. "aybe the physical pain he was currently in was what had affected hi! in the drea!. t was only a drea!, after all. $ut !aybe it !eant Sine and he were !aking a !istake by being together. "aybe Sine really shouldve chosen her counterpart. Ale3? ?an you hear me? ine. Gods$ you don#t "now how happy I am to hear your voice. I "now you#re going to as" a!out the dream. ,ut that could never happen in real life$ I hope you "now that. I

would never let any girl drag me away from you if you were dying. I promise. *e could al!ost hear her relieved laugh. 'ou need to chill out. I was going to as" if you were o"ay first. 0h$ I#m chained to a wall. .here#s some insane chic" who#s !een coming onto me since I wo"e up for an e3tended period of time. 0ther than those two lovely factors$ I#m )ust peachy$ #lex thought pessi!istically. t wasnt like hi!, but being held prisoner in a !ock dungeon had that effect on people. omeone#s grumpy. I don#t !lame you though. .hey haven#t hurt you at all? In any way? Sine asked worriedly. 2o$ ine. I am a!le to handle myself. ,arely. 'ou#re a!out to yell at me$ aren#t you? #lex predicted, bracing hi!self for her !ental outrage. <enelope reentered 6ust as the rant started. t was so loud and angry that even <enelope heard it without !eaning to. A5@CA2D@R 6A(@ D@55@R4 If they don#t "ill you$ I will4 'ou have no idea how pissed I am at you. D ;+4 Why would you go running after those people? Why didn#t you come chec" on me? Why didn#t you as" someone to go with you? Idiot$ idiot$ idiot. .here are no other words I can even thin" of to descri!e you right now. I can#t !elieve you ran off$ and got -#<+B,4D4 If you#re gonna chase the villain$ you#re not supposed to let them catch you4 Idiot4 >ool4 #lex suppressed the urge to cover his ears, knowing it wouldnt do anything. <enelope dropped the tray of food shed been bringing #lex, holding the sides of her head. =Da!n, shes pissed. #nd loud. =Shes not finished. Shes 6ust stopping to breathe, #lex gri!aced. And you can tell that little bitch there with you that if she lays one hand on you with any intention other than smac"ing you$ I swear I#ll rip her head off. 'ou can !e chained to a wall$ you can !e smac"ed$ you can leave me to drown$ !ut you may 3;+ "iss that girl. Do you understand me$ Ale3ander 6ames? .here#ll !e repercussions for you too$ if you allow it to happen. +he rest of that rant was lost, switching fro! 4nglish to @reek too fast for #lex to keep up. <enelope s!irked at that. #lex huffed. .hat#s not even moderately fair. Why

should I get punished if she "isses me? ,esides$ it#s not li"e you "iss me all the time. Ale3. orry$ sorry. I#m )ust saying$ if she did$ you could learn from it. (ay!e I#d !e more willing to fight !ac" if you did. Ale3ander. +here was absolutely no chance of #lex winning this argu!ent. I apologi1e deeply. It#s fine. Do you have any idea where you are? Why? #lex asked cautiously. +he last thing he wanted was to set her off again. 'ou "now why. A!ril$ ,rother$ Darsten$ and I are coming after you, she replied. Darsten? He#s human. And why in the world would you !ring #bril? <enelope was gathering up the tray and going to get another one. #lex sighed. *is ar!s really did hurt. f he ever got let down, he was going to have a tre!endous a!ount of newfound upper body strength. he wanted to come. Darsten#s not human anymore$ Apollo claimed him. 'ou should see him$ Ale3. I feel li"e a mother. 'ou#re 6ust now starting to feel li"e a mother? It#s not enough that you made yourself a family already? 'ou )ust had to see Darsten change? #lex sensed so!ething fa!iliar, but he couldnt 2uite put a na!e with the presence. .as there so!eone he knew outside the door? *ad they been betrayed by so!eone? orry to disappoint$ Ale3$ !ut it#s only me, ,hett said in his head. ine$ did you send Rhett here? #lex asked. How could I send him there? I haven#t seen him since I last saw you$ and I don#t even "now where you are. As" Rhett where you are, Sine ordered. #lex did as he was told. I#m sorry. I can#t tell her. And I can#t undo your chains either. .hey were ready for me to try. All I can do is "eep you company$ unfortunately. #lex told this to Sine. ,hett was able to use so!e power to soften Sines voice when she freaked out, but it was still pretty bad. 0"ay$ o"ay. ?an he provide any hints? Sine asked when she finished. I can only tell her that they only want ine to thin" that they want her demon. .hey really

don#t. .hey said stuff a!out wanting ia#s to get ine wor"ed up. .he people who wanted Amaia and 2eria are long gone. .hese people only want to !uild a re!ellion against ine. .hey hate her. .hey hate everything she stands for. And once she arrives here to save you$ Ale3$ they#re going to "ill her. ,ut in the meantime$ they#ll !e pic"ing people off !ac" in Russia. #lex told Sine everything in a panicky !ental voice. *e could sense Sine worrying through the connection they currently had. A re!ellion*against me? Sine thought 2uietly. Why? .ell her that they want to ma"e her feel isolated. .hey hate her !ecause*!ecause* #lex cut in. ,ecause why$ Rhett? .here#s no point in "eeping her in the dar" any longer than we already have. Her mother#s out of time to tell her. We#re )ust gonna have to inform ine ourselves. #lex could feel ,hetts hesitation to say anything else. #rte!is was going to be so unbelievably pissed at hi!. *er wrath was probably going to be a billion ti!es worse than her daughters. 'ou#re going to inform me? Sine said in utter disbelief. I am. It appears Rhett is too reluctant, #lex said. Well$ start informing$ Deller. #lex s!iled. Sine only called hi! &eller when she was anxious. She was actually nervous about being infor!ed. .hat he had to tell her wasnt good, and she wouldnt like hearing it. #s a natural reaction, she would re6ect what he told her at first, and gradually co!e to accept it. I#m getting around to it$ Devanney. ,efore I start$ you have to promise me something. .hen you have to promise me that you#ll "eep that promise. -h$ o"ay. Promise me that once I tell you$ you won#t accuse me of !eing a horri!le liar and spiral into a deep and terri!le depression. Ale3$ does that honestly sound li"e something I would do? she !used. #lex frowned. She already wasnt taking it seriously. *ow was he ever going to do this? ine$ promise$ he snapped. *e startled her with his sudden change of tone. .hen she responded, she sounded !uch

!ore serious. $ut hed also frightened her with the urgency of his tone. *e didnt want to be the one to tell her this stuff. +here was no other choice. f he didnt do it, no one would, and Sine would never know the truth until it was too late. I promise$ I won#t accuse you of !eing a liar and get depressed. And I promise to "eep that promise$ she thought !eekly. Good. 2ow$ I#ll start with the 2ew Generation Pro)ect. 'ou#ve heard a!out it a couple times$ right? #lex confir!ed. 'eah. 2o one would tell me what it was though$ even when I threatened. #lex took another deep breath. <enelope was back, watching hi! attentively. *e !ade sure to shut her out of his thoughts, though she probably already knew everything he was getting ready to tell Sine. 0riginally$ the plan was for all the parents to tell their children when they thought the time was right. However$ I#m going to tell you$ !ecause it#s time you "new. Athena !egan planning the 2ew Generation Pro)ect when Apollo had a very strange and very dangerous prophecy. Eeus re)ected it as nonsense$ !ut it is !ecoming clear that the prophecy is very real$ no matter who re)ects it. /ery soon$ the 0lympian gods are going to die. I hate to tell you this$ ine$ !ut it#s going to happen really$ really soon. 'ou#ve already seen it happen once$ when Ea"ary almost "illed you. .hat is !asically the happening that Apollo#s prophecy foretold. .he 2ew Generation Pro)ect is essentially the plan for the replacement of the gods. 0lympus won#t )ust disappear when they die. It#ll remain$ and it#ll need someone good to ta"e over. .hey#ve already got most of the ma)or spots filled. 'ou#re the new Eeus$ ine. 'ou#re supposed to !e the almighty Bueen of the gods once the current "ing is nothing !ut a crystal statue. ,ecause my mother was the Bueen$ I#ll !e "ing !y default. With the way things are going$ the new (t. 0lympus will !e matriarchal. ia is supposed to !e the new Hades. Almost every one of us is supposed to ta"e over for our parents. .here#ll !e a few e3tras$ li"e 5u"a and Eephyr and Darsten$ !ut they don#t really play a part in the pro)ect. 'ou understand me$ don#t you ine? We#re supposed to watch our parents die$ and we#re supposed to replace them. I hate the whole idea$ !ut we don#t really have a choice. It is a good plan$ !ut they didn#t really consider our feelings on the matter. (y mother might !e on the insane side$ !ut I don#t want to

witness her death. I especially don#t want to see her die$ then walt1 out and announce that I#ll !e ta"ing her place. It#s not fair that they#re ma"ing us do this$ !ut I will do it. It needs to !e done$ and I !elieve we can !uild a !etter 0lympus with you as the new Bueen. Don#t you thin" so? Sine was silent. #lex didnt get an answer for a long ti!e. he !elieves you. he )ust has to cry first, ,hett thought. #lex hung his head. Don#t worry$ Ale3. he has her !rother there for her$ and A!ril. .hings will !e o"ay. he has her tattoo now. he#s !een informed. #lex studied the stone floor. 'eah. I guess it#s a good thing. I can#t help !ut wonder could ine change the fates of the gods? 2o. I love ine$ I have all the faith in the world in her$ !ut she can#t change that. he#s not meant to. he#s meant to !e in charge. .hat#s the reason why she found all of us. A part of her was always preparing for this. #lex lifted his eyes to the ceiling. #bove hi!, a single window let a s!all a!ount of light into the dungeon. ine$ don#t hate me for telling you.

Chapter Eight

Luckily,

wasnt so torn up about the 3ew @eneration <ro6ect and its purpose. t

was very i!portant and everything, but didnt have ti!e to worry about that now. was sitting in the backseat with #bril, the two of us bored and feeling la7y. &arsten was in the passenger seat with his laptop, giving 8ephyr driving instructions. *e was also talking endlessly. = f "ars had earth2uakes would they be called !ars2uakes? =.ho knows? #bril said unenthusiastically. =.hen lightning strikes the ocean why dont all the fish die? =<oseidon loves all his fish and protects the! fro! 8eus, 8ephyr said, sounding ridiculous. = f theres a speed of sound and a speed of light is there a speed of s!ell? =;f course there is, said. really wished hed stop talking. =-an you cry underwater? = ! sure you can, nobody would be able to tell you were crying though, 8ephyr said. =Does the post!an deliver his own !ail? =Depends, said. =.hy is there a light in the fridge and not in the free7er? =<eople are pre6udiced against free7er lights, #bril said. rolled !y head to give her a classic did1you1really16ust1say1that look. She shrugged. =-an crop circles be s2uare? =+hey would be called crop s2uares then, but sure, said. =#re eyebrows considered facial hair? =#lthough they technically are, !ost people do not consider the! to be, 8ephyr said s!artly. Gods$ why wouldnt &arsten stop talking? t was like he had so!e kind of

condition. =*ow co!e soap contains real le!ons, but le!on 6uice has artificial flavorings? =+hey waste all the real le!ons on the soap, said tiredly. =.hy is it called a drive1through when you have to stop? =+he world !ay never know, #bril sighed. =.hy do banks leave the door wide open but they have the pens chained to the counter? =<ens are very precious to banks, 8ephyr said. dru!!ed !y fingers on !y leg. =.here in the nursery rhy!e does it co!e out and say that hu!pty du!pty is an egg? =3owhere, you genius, #bril said sarcastically. =.hat was the best thing before sliced bread? =&arsten, 8ephyr said. =.hy is there an expiration date on sour crea!? =&arsten, #bril said. =.hen cheese gets photographed, what does it say? =&arsten, said. =.hy isnt the nu!ber eleven pronounced onety1one? =Darsten, 8ephyr, #bril, and groaned. $y the !ercy of the gods, he finally stopped talking after that. ;nce &arsten shut up, discovered that the car ride had the potential to be peaceful. very nearly fell asleep. +he hu!!ing of the car, &arstens !ur!ured directions, and the unusually s!ooth 2uality of the road didnt !ake it easy to stay awake. "y eyes had only been closed for six !illiseconds before so!ething large and heavy landed on the roof of the car. auto!atically reached for !y sword. t was laying sheathed in the floorboard. 8ephyr sla!!ed on the brakes. hit !y head on the back of his seat, hurting !y neck. .hatever had been on top of our car rolled over the hood and into the road. got out, deciding that wouldnt need !y sword to take care of this clown. *e was getting up. #bril gasped, rolling her window down. backed up. = s that #lex? heard &arsten ask. =#lex? said unsurely. wasnt sure if this was really #lex or not. t looked like hi!, sure. $ut that didnt

!ean anything. #nyone could look like anyone. =>eah. !anaged to get away fro! the dungeon. .hat are you waiting for? .e have to get away before they catch up to !e, the person said urgently. *e sounded like #lex too. &arsten was frowning, typing so!ething into the progra! he was using. was right. So!ething was off about this. =#lex, how did you get away? .hat about the girl guarding you? asked. needed hi! to think that believed hi! long enough for !e to think of a test. +he guy kept glancing behind hi!. .hile he was distracted, transferred a dagger fro! !y boot to !y 6acket sleeve. t was perfectly concealed. :or the ti!e being. =She let !e go. used !y best puppy1dog eyes and she !elted. -an we please =.hy didnt you use your hypnosis on her? *e thought was trying to trick hi!, could see it in his eyes. *owever, was being serious. +he real #lex had used his hypnosis on !e several ti!es to get little things he wanted. personally couldnt stand the techni2ue. #bril said she thought that it added to #lexs sex appeal. .hich only disturbs !e further. changed !y !ind about the dagger. "y still sheathed sword appeared on !y hip. slipped the dagger back into !y boot the next ti!e he looked over his shoulder. 4xtre!ely and dangerously unobservant. = dont know what youre talking about, Sine. love you, lets 6ust go, the i!poster pleaded. 3ow, could co!pletely see through the spell that !ade hi! look like #lex. $efore he could !ove, swung !y sword. t looked to the others like hadnt cut anything, or even co!e close. $ut black blood spattered on the ground, and there was a thud. grinned. =+hought that was you, 8ak, said as he !orphed back into hi!self. was fa!ous because of hi!. "y !essed up ex1boyfriend turned angel of death. 8akary was every bit as legendary and fa!ous as !e and Sia. $esides his fa!e, !ost girls found hi! char!ing and drea!y. +hose girls probably hadnt seen his wings. +hey were huge, stretching out five feet on either side. *is 6et black feathers looked 2uite lovely to !e, but #dalyn thought they were gross. 8aks wings would grow back, no !atter what happened to the!. .hich was why d !ade a habit of cutting the! off every ti!e we crossed paths. #s soon as 8akary was back in his own for!, the stu!ps where his wings used to be were visible. +hey were still dripping black blood. t looked painful, but 8akary was s!iling. = ts about ti!e found

you, Sine. <eople are getting tired of hearing the sa!e old legends about us. +hey want to hear about new fights, he said. =>ou think you can handle !e, angel boy? taunted. 8akary was strong. "aybe as strong as #!aia. $ut if could beat hi! on !y own, hed be no !atch for !y power co!bined with #!aias. =>our people took #lex, said. =So what if we did? he shrugged. =.hy would you do that? =>ou know why. .e want you. >ou want #lex. f we have hi!, we basically have a one way ticket to you. >ou know, if gave the order, <enelope could kill #lex in his sleep. grabbed 8ak by the collar of his shirt and pressed hi! against a tree. =>ou better not touch hi!. he better not. ;r ll burn everything and everyone thats i!portant to you. =-ould you, Sine? "y eyes changed colors. was one fourth in de!on !ode. = could. #s easily as you could give the order to end #lexs life. = ! in the !ood for a good fight. .hat about you? = would like very !uch to show you !y new power. *ave you i!proved any since #lex kicked your ass? *is green eyes flashed. knew how to push 8aks buttons. t was easy, and fun. *e led !e into the forest, with !y friends trailing close behind. *e drew his sword and attacked without warning. Amaia$ want control? (e$ fight an angel of death? I suppose I can manage. /ery well then. All yours.

8ephyr watched closely. *is sister was changing, into the person hed fought that !orning. +he person that lived within Sine without being her. 8akary looked confused, but he hadnt lost his will to fight. 4ven without his wings, which Sine had !ade sure to cut off first. =+his isnt a new power. >oure possessed by a de!on, 8akary said knowingly. 8ephyrs eyes widened behind his glasses. .as that the source of his sisters

new powers? De!ons? Surely, #!brosine and #lessia would never turn to de!ons for help in winning battles. 4specially ones like this. $ut if 8akary was fa!iliar with de!ons, did that !ean he could beat one? = havent possessed her. .ere si!ply sharing this body. $esides, what do you know of de!ons, boy? Aery little, if anything. -o!e on, ll even put the sword away, Sine said in a voice that clearly didnt belong to her. 8akary frowned, surging toward her with his sword. She stopped his attack the sa!e way shed stopped 8ephyrs first one. 5ust by si!ply holding out her hand. 8akary, in shock, twisted and applied !ore pressure to his sword against her hand. 3othing happened. = s that all youve got, boy? Sines fingers wrapped around the blade tightly, and her other hand ca!e up to caress 8aks face. = dont like you. #!brosine doesnt like you, no one likes you. Sine sent a huge a!ount of electricity into 8akarys face, and through his sword to his ar!. *e howled in pure agony until she let go. She wore a cruel s!ile now. Sine looked down at 8akary, who had hit his knees as soon as the electricity stopped. *er ga7e was disapproving. She waited patiently for hi! to get back up. *e tried to grab her ankle and pull hi! down as a sneak attack, but she 6u!ped back, hanging in the air for a !inute as she did. 8akary tried to use black fla!es to back her up !ore, and it worked. .hile she was !oving, he sent !ore &arstens way. 8ephyr was ready to !ove in front of hi!, but all Sine had to do was draw her sword. t stopped the fla!es by sucking the! up right before they hit &arsten. &arsten shrunk back, and #bril pushed hi! slightly behind her. =>oure powerful, but youre not really trying. #re you? 8akary suspected. =3ope. >oure not worth !y full power. Sine rolled her eyes when 8akary tried to stab her through the !iddle of her chest. =#!brosine already has one scar there. +hats !y fault, and wont allow anyone else to hurt her that way again. $esides, its not like you can even cut !e at your power level. >ou should probably 6ust give up. 8akary didnt look inclined to do that. *e continued to stupidly attack Sine head on. She !oved ever so slightly to guide the sword into his abdo!en. = believe this is where you stabbed #!brosine the last !o!ent you were still a god. 3ot an angel of

death. >ou could always apologi7e to everyone, you know. t couldnt be that hard. =Dont tell hi! that, #!aia, Sines voice said. 8akary recoiled upon hearing the na!e, his eyes see!ing to shrink into his head. =#!aia? 8akary whispered. =+hats !y na!e, the other voice replied. =.heres 3eria? >ou two are never supposed to grant your powers to anyone, theyll explode fro! the inside, out. =.ell, if ! in this girl, and she has a twin, where do you think !y twin would be? =Sine and Sia have the power to support you without dying? 4veryone told !e that you 6oining up with a god or hu!an would have a drastic effect on their body. %ike a repeat of the *indenburg, with a person. Sine sighed. +here were !ore auburn streaks in her hair now. +he ones that had appeared when shed been fighting 8ephyr had vanished once she passed out and went back to nor!al. f it turned fully auburn, would it still go back to nor!al? 8ephyr had deduced that the longer she stayed fully !erged with her de!on, the !ore she started to look the way her de!on once had. $ut so!ehow, 8ephyr got the feeling that she wasn#t fully !erged with her de!on. ;nly part of the way. "ore so than she had been, definitely, but the de!on was holding back so!e large a!ount of power. She was underesti!ating his sister. = n case you hadnt noticed, #!brosine is not the typical goddess, nor is she a hu!an. She is like a whole new type of god, and it is for that reason that she is able to bear !e living in har!ony with her soul. n fact, she !anaged 6ust fine before she even knew of !y existence. ve been living there since before your last fight. almost had to leave because of you, when you used your red light trick. =$ut, dont get any ideas. +hat trick wont work on !e. #s a! a de!on, and ! in control of this body right now. =;h really? .ill this work? 8akary asked, s!irking, as he disappeared and reappeared with his sword through Sines heart. $lood trickled down the corner of Sines !outh, and her eyes were wide. =Sister? 8ephyr yelled, preparing to go to her. #brils hand shot out to stop hi!. *e looked at her with a so!ewhat cra7ed look in his eye.

=Dont. f theres one thing cy hates, its so!eone interfering. $esides, our #!brosine Devanney doesnt go down that easy, #bril assured hi!. &arsten whi!pered behind her at the sight of the sword protruding fro! Sines chest. Sine wasnt !oving, wasnt speaking. *er golden blood was soaking the front and back of her shirt. = t sure looks like he got her. *ow can she be okay? &arsten !u!bled. =>ou clearly dont know the Sine do. 5ust wait. +hat was all the boys could do, if they couldnt interfere. +hey could only wait for so!ething to happen. Sine took two steps forward, walking herself off the blade. She s!iled wickedly, her bangs hiding her eyes. = told you, didnt ? >our powers are no !atch for !ine, she said. 8akary scowled, readying his self for an attack. Sine held out her e!pty hand. .hy wouldnt she 6ust use her sword already? Sure, she was i!pressive enough. $ut it was stupid not to use the sword. # bow appeared in her left hand, and a 2uiver appeared on her back. 8akary wasnt sure how to react or where to !ove. Sine still didnt lift her head. $ut in a !atter of seconds, shed fired four arrows. .hen they hit the trees, 8ephyr could tell they werent nor!al arrows. +he archery e2uip!ent and Sine disappeared. Sine appeared on the arrow behind 8akary without hi! noticing. She leaned forward, pressing a silver dagger into his back. She was gone by the ti!e he turned around to return the weapon. Sine was balancing on another arrow. *er bow returned, and she fired an arrow into 8akarys shoulder. 8ephyr ad!ired her skill and evasiveness. She was very good at this. Sine back1flipped, landing right in front of 8akary. = ll let you stab !e. #nywhere you want. ts only fair, since ve hit you twice now, she offered. *e 6abbed at her face, and she leaned back, out of the way. =#nywhere but there. Sine snapped her fingers, and all the arrows re!oved the!selves fro! the trees they were in and shot at 8akary. She 6u!ped out of the way, high into a tree. &arsten, #bril, and 8ephyr stared in awe. .hat kind of techni2ue and !agic was that? =Sorry, you ran out of ti!e. .ell, youll be in recovery for a while. #!brosine, you ready to take over? = f youre finished showing off, think its only appropriate that do. $rother, would you

!ind catching !e? ! going to be weak again. .hy does that happen, #!aia? =-ause, !y power puts too !uch strain on your body. >oull be out for at least a couple hours this ti!e, if not !ore. ! glad could help you out today. Dont give !e control for a while, need chill ti!e, and so do you. %ater, the other voice said. 8ephyr appeared 6ust in ti!e to catch Sine. *e noticed so!ething. $lack ink running up and down her side. # tattoo? .ho couldve infor!ed her? 3ot his !other or father, theyd been too busy lately. #nd "other still hadnt thought #!brosine was ready to be infor!ed the last ti!e hed spoken to her about it. Sines eyelids fluttered, and she !uttered so!ething about an idiot in her sleep. Still recovering fro! her earlier !ind rant at #lex, he could see. # girl appeared next to Sine. She had auburn hair and gorgeous blue eyes. =.i!p, she co!!ented. She was ethereal looking, and very beautiful. # ghost? $ut 8ephyr didnt have the ability to see ghosts, and he was pretty sure #bril and &arsten could see her too. =.ho are you? 8ephyr asked, lifting Sine. =;h, ! #!aia. needed to get out of there. Shes drea!ing about yelling at #lex so!e !ore, and have to hear it a lot !ore than you do. , unfortunately, hear everything she thinks. #!aia stretched. =>oure/ &arsten trailed off, see!ingly unable to believe his eyes. +he girl floated over to hi!. t see!ed that she couldnt go too far fro! Sine. =>es, doll face, ! a de!on. .hat? 3ot what you expected? she asked. =B!, no. #!aia s!iled. =.ell, re!e!ber !y face. 3ow that 8akary knows which de!ons hes dealing with, hell be a lot !ore careful about the attack tea!s he sends out. couldve killed hi! today, but thats not !y place. $esides, ! against "illing other peoples ene!ies. ll fight the! and break the! down, sure. ;h, and by the way, you owe !e one, she told &arsten, winking. =*uh? = saved your life. +rust !e, doll face, those black fla!es of 8akarys wouldve disintegrated you. &arsten looked at the floating girl like he didnt really believe she was there. She 6ust glided back over to Sine. =.hy cant you leave her? #bril asked curiously.

=Shes !y host. f try to leave, ll be transported right back to hell. ve told her this, but dont think she really absorbed that we have to be inseparable now. f want to go so!ewhere, have to get her to go with !e. t really sucks, its like ! being chaperoned for everything do, #!aia said in a so!ewhat whiny tone. Sine stirred in 8ephyrs ar!s. = f you wanna go on dates in hell, be !y guest, she said in a s!all voice. =>oure too wiped out to be awake. @o back to sleep, #!aia ordered. =Shut up. >ou dont tell !e what to do. ll sleep later. Sine stretched, blinking several ti!es. =.hatever. was being serious about not giving !e control for a while. = know. +hanks for getting !e stabbed, by the way, Sine said, looking down at her blood soaked shirt. She 7ipped her 6acket and covered the hole in the back of it with her long hair. =;h, get over it. t already healed and everything. #nd you know it looked da!n cool when walked off that sword. t was interesting, watching the two of the! argue. #!aia had said so!ething about living in har!ony with Sines soul. "aybe she thought this was har!ony, but it was chaos to everyone else. Sines hair color was back to nor!al. =Sure it did. <lease dont give 8akary per!ission to stab !e either. = ts no fun to battle if you dont take a few hits. =@etting stabbed through the heart and offering to let so!eone stab you anywhere is not 0taking a few hits. 3ot to us non1de!ons, anyway, Sine argued, standing up. # bree7e blew through the clearing. Sine !ade a face. =.hat is it, Sister? 8ephyr asked. *e could tell so!ething was wrong. =So!ethings wrong back ho!e. So!ething with Sia. She tries to shut !e out, but then our twin resonance pheno!enon thingy kicks in. think/ think theyre under attack, Sine guessed. &arsten and #bril started. =Bnder attack? &arsten whi!pered. =Dont worry. Sia has her scythe, and Dexter is there. +he others all know what theyre doing with weapons. .eve been fighting for our lives since birth, &arsten. >oull get used to it eventually, Sine said. 8ephyr frowned. =#lessia and Dexter !ay be able to handle it, but what about @enevieve, sabela, and

<haedra? .hos going to protect the!? +hey arent exactly the type to fight, he said. Sine frowned too, thinking about it. #!aia spoke up. =3eria and +heron can separate the!selves fro! #lessia and Dexter if you want the! to. #s long as they stay close, theyll be able to protect the #phrodites, she said. =3o, Sia and Dexter !ight need 3eria and +heron in their fights. need to figure out whos the best person to protect the!. &arsten, 8ephyr, Sine, and #!aia thought. #!aia knew everyone by now, since shed been living within Sine for 2uite a while. She was as fa!iliar with Sines fa!ily as Sine was. #bril thought it was kinda weird. She hadnt known #!aia for !ore than thirty !inutes, but #!aia had known her for like, nine years. #bril was the only one not thinking because she already knew who was best fit to protect <haedra and her daughters. She was waiting for the others to figure it out. $ut Sine heard her s!ug thoughts. =.hos best fit to protect the!, #bril? =#lex. Sine and her brother exchanged a glance. =#bril, why are we on the road? =;h yeah/ 8ephyr tapped his chin. #!aia and Sines light bulbs went off at the sa!e ti!e. = know, they said in unison. +hey shared a wicked s!ile. =,hett.

Chapter Nine

Sia was relaxing in the living roo! when the people appeared in front of the
house. Dexter spotted the! first. Sia waved a hand la7ily. = ! too tired. -an you and +heron deal with that? she asked. Dexter bowed, +heron appearing as he left the roo!. Sia closed her eyes and laid back on the couch, placing both hands on her sto!ach. #nother voice startled her. =>ou dirty liar, 3eria giggled. = could swear you needed per!ission to get out. = dont, and youre avoiding !y accusation. 3eria put on a serious face until Sia sighed. = f told Sine, shed 6ust get !ad and yell at !e about being irresponsible. $esides, its not a big deal. Dexters terrified, but really dont think its worth worrying about. 3ot with everything else thats going on. = thought !y living space was getting s!aller. .hen got pregnant, #!aia went ballistic. +heron was pale as a sheet for !onths, but didnt think it !attered either. #fter so!e ti!e passed, both of the! and #.S. beca!e really supportive. >ou should tell your sister. Sia thought about her brother and sister, who were out fighting to save #lex that very !o!ent. .hat would they think if she told the! now? She thought back to the night

when shed told Dexter their big news.

%?an I tell you something important without you going insane?& she#d as"ed. Her tone had worried De3ter$ !ut he had agreed to her terms nevertheless. It too" Buite a while for ia to get the words out. As soon as she did$ De3ter fro1e and went pale. ia sat on her !ed and watched him silently frea" out and curse himself. %How?& he#d whispered. %I could e3plain it to you$ !ut I !elieve you "now the method$& ia had said grimly. %Well*do you want it?& %0f course I want it4 It#s mine$ it !elongs to me. 2ot some random human who could adopt it.& De3ter had smiled wryly. %It#s mine too$ right?& ia )ust loo"ed at him. De3ter#s gray eyes slowly calmed as he#d thought a!out it. %'our mother and father are going to impale me$& he#d thought aloud. %'ou forgot my sister.& %Gods$& he#d muttered$ dropping his head in his hands.

+hat had occurred before 8ephyrs initiation into the fa!ily. 3ow Sia had so!eone else to worry about telling. *er parents knew. +hey were not pleased, but they were doing their best to be supportive. She was !ostly worried about Sine. Sine was not nearly as cal! and collected as Dexter or their !other, nor was she as carefree and accepting as their father. f she told #lex and got #lex to tell Sine, that would !ake it easier on Sia. #lex would probably be the only one to congratulate her and not see the proble!. 4xcept ,hett, who! shed also confided in. *e was thrilled, and intent on catering to Sias every whi! while pregnant. So!eone kicked the door in. 3eria and Sia 6u!ped up, facing the short front hallway. Sia felt a sword at the back of her neck. =.hat the hell? .heres Dexter and +heron? So!eone needs to protect the #phrodites, Sia said, kicking her attacker in the

crotch and running hi! through with his own sword. 3eria !oved to the window nearest to Sia. 3or!ally, Sine wouldve been around to take control. Sia didnt know how to be a leader. She only knew to look after herself and her siblings. =%ooks like Dexters unconscious. +heron is standing guard over hi!, but he cant help without per!ission. >ou should call the others down, before the whole house is full of soldiers, 3eria suggested. Sia did 6ust that, alerting the rest of Sines fa!ily that the house was under attack. Sia tried to block Sine out. $ut there was still the connection all twins had. Sine would be able to tell that so!ething was wrong. ;nce the others were fighting, Sia was halfway satisfied. She needed to retrieve Dexter, and she needed to protect <haedra, sabela, and @enevieve. She couldnt send 3eria to do anything, because she couldnt do anything at all when separated fro! her host. Sia heard a startled gasp fro! the hallway the extra roo!s were on. +he hallway that <haedra and her kids were on. Sia burst through the door. +wo soldiers were floating, pressed against the wall. ,hett shi!!ered into view, his hands wrapped around the !ens throats. +hat was why, to everyone but Sia and 3eria, it looked like the soldiers were floating. =,hett? *owd you know we were in trouble? =Sine thought so!ething was wrong, and she was worried about <haedra and the girls. So, she sent !e here to !ake sure they were safe. .hat about you? Did you get hurt? ,hett asked, eyeing her sto!ach. She laid a hand on it, out of habit. 3eria giggled, disappearing back into Sias soul. = ! fine. ! not a different person, still know how to fight. +his is !ostly why dont want to tell Sine. Shell fuss over !e, and shell try to !ake !e sit out !ost of the fights. $ut its looking like itll take a !onth or longer for her to find #lex and get back, so have ti!e to keep fighting. .here have you been lurking, ,hett? Sia asked suspiciously. =#round. %ooking for #lex. *ave you told anyone else about the baby? ,hett asked, looking at her sto!ach lovingly. =3o. .ho would tell? =>our brother? >our sister? =*ell no. ! not stupid. Sine would abandon her !ission to save #lex for a day, 6ust to

co!e back here and yell at !e. refuse to tell her until its necessary, Sia said. ,hett had strangled the two soldiers to death already. *e let the! drop. Sia wondered how they were going to get rid of the bodies. ,hett sighed. =>ou cant hide things fro! Sine. *ow far along are you again? =%ike two !onths, Sia guessti!ated. =>oull be showing by the ti!e they get back. .hat are you gonna tell her then? .hat about when you have contractions? Sine will sense your pain, and then youre 6ust screwed. >ou should 6ust tell. = ll tell her. .hen she gets back, once she has #lex. ,hett frowned, brushing golden hair fro! his crystal eyes. =;h, dont think thats such a good idea. Sines not going to be in a good !ood for very long after her return. >ou should tell her when shes on the way back, not when she gets back. =.hat do you !ean? .hat arent you telling us? = cant tell you that. -larice was pacing. =So!ethings not right. .hy would they take ti!e to send soldiers here? +hey should be focused on the ones !aking the rescue. >et they had to attack us too. .hy? she wondered aloud. =>ou think so!ethings up? &ylah asked. =>eah. Definitely.

woke up in the hotel wed been at for weeks while &arsten searched for #lexs location. &arsten was sitting at the table, on his laptop. 8ephyr was reading on the s!all couch, and #bril was passed out on the other bed. #!aia hadnt left !y soul for days. =&arsten, have you figured out where #lex is yet? asked, sitting up and rubbing !y eyes. =#s a !atter of fact, ! very close. picked up the phonebook off the table in between the beds and threw it at #bril. She didnt !ove an inch. Ale3? Are you up? tried. -nfortunately. Are you mad at me? 2o. hould I !e?

I was )ust wondering$ since you were awfully Buiet after I told you a!out the 2ew Generation Pro)ect, #lex said sheepishly. hadnt told hi! about the new tattoo d so!ehow ac2uired. *e hadnt told !e that they 6ust popped up, whether you wanted the! to or not. I was )ust thin"ing. 2othing for you to worry a!out. I have some news for you. Do I want to hear it? Pro!a!ly not. I ran into you a few wee"s ago, thought, knowing it would confuse hi!. Huh? I haven#t moved. At all. (y arms are "illing me, #lex thought unhappily. I#m sorry. What I meant was$ I ran into Ea"ary in disguise. He had a spell on him that made him loo" li"e you. I tested him though$ and he failed. I fought with him for a little !it afterwards$ !ut he ran off. Did you already "now that he was the !oss of the people who captured you? .hat he controls Penelope$ and she#ll "ill you on the spot if he gives the order? "y last thoughts beca!e a little fren7ied, as started to panic about #lex being killed for the second ti!e. I#m glad you saw through it. How#d the fight go? Ama1ingly. I#m sure Amaia did the fighting for you$ and she performed ama1ingly. 'ou shouldn#t rely on the demons so much$ ine. It#s not good for you$ or for her. Her power can !e e3hausted$ if you use it too freBuently. he didn#t tell you that$ !ut I#m sure she as"ed you not to call on her for a while$ #lex re!inded !e. f #!aia was as powerful as she liked to say she was, didnt see how her powers could be di!inished. understood, but she shouldve known to tell !e the real reason why she didnt want to battle for a while. I was )ust testing out her power$ loo"ing for its limits and stuff. I didn#t mean to tire her out. I forgot you had a demon too. 'ep$ Ale3ander enior$ as Amaia and the others call him. I prefer A. .$ and I thin" he does too. He said senior ma"es him feel old and gross. 'ou got a funny one. (ine )ust thin"s she#s funny, sighed. could sense that #!aia wanted to 6oin the conversation, but shut her out. t was difficult to shut part of !yself off, but !anaged. I#m not really concerned with personality. I )ust "now that A. . wants to help me$ and I#m going to let him. With the demons$ we have a !etter chance of winning than we ever have. -m$ Penelope is a!out to

call you. I don#t particularly understand her motivations$ !ut she really doesn#t li"e you. Rhett wasn#t lying a!out a re!ellion. 0h$ !y the way$ Penelope is the name of my personal guard. "y cellphone went off in !y pocket. &arsten and 8ephyr looked up fro! what they were doing. =*ello? answered civilly. =*ello, #!brosine Devanney. #!aia appeared. =+old you. <eople cant resist saying the na!e. =#!aia, go away. *ello, <enelope, girl who is only able to !ake !oves on !y boyfriend because hes hung up on a wall like a sword. +here was soft laughter on the other side of the phone. could hear #lex. *e sounded okay. =<enelope, get off !e? @et off, ! not kidding around? #lex yelled. heard a kissing noise, and #lex apologi7ed profusely. shut !y eyes and counted to ten so that wouldnt break !y phone in half. =+hats right, probably wouldnt be able to kiss on hi! if he wasnt chained up. *owever, hes barely wearing a shirt, his pants are torn, and hes 6ust there. .hat kind of girl wouldnt want to/play? <enelope asked innocently. =;ne who knew !e, answered. = know you. know your strengths, know your weaknesses, know your attacks. >ou count on the ele!ent of surprise to win your fights. .ithout that, you cannot win. was tired of her bragging about knowing !e. +he girl had probably never even seen !e. =>oure wrong. =#! ? ;r are you 6ust saying that because youre e!barrassed that youve been exposed? =3ope, youre 6ust wrong. =*ow is that? <enelope asked, truly curious. = do not count on surprise. dont count on anything. f have !otivation to win, will win. ts as si!ple as that, infor!ed her. %etting her in on the way operated wasnt a proble! for !e. She wouldnt be able to understand it or use it against !e, so it didnt !atter. t !ightve been a different story if shed been right the first ti!e. ended the call and threw !y phone at the wall. &arsten winced when it exploded. put a pillow over !y head and screa!ed into the bedding. #bril picked

herself up and ca!e over to !y bed. She played with !y hair, braiding and unbraiding it in different places. 8ephyr hadnt stopped reading, and &arsten hadnt stopped typing. stayed 2uiet. didnt even !ental !essage #lex any!ore. <enelope got under !y skin worse than 8akary did or :abri7io had. #brils phone went off. She stopped in the !iddle of a braid to answer. She tapped !y shoulder. = ts 3ova. She says she has news about :abri7ios !urderer and she wants to discuss it with you, #bril reported. held out !y hand. She placed her phone in it. slid !y hand under the pillow was hiding under and put the phone to !y ear. =>es? =$oss? .hy do you sound all !uffled? sighed. = ! not in the best of !oods, 3ova. Do you have so!ething to tell !e, or not? f not, would like to take a shower. =>eah, have stuff to tell you. Sorry, $oss. B!, &ei got a na!e on the girl who killed :abri7io, 3ova said. =@ood. +ell hi! ! i!pressed. .ho was she? "y assassins, tough as they were, craved praise. +hey soaked up any that gave the! and used it like fuel. +he way plants used water. =Shes @reek. *er na!es <enelope "artuna. *er !other is #lectrona and her father is so!e other uni!portant god. #lectrona is a sun goddessC a wannabe #pollo. Shes been clai!ed by 3e!esis, "orpheus, and ! sad to say *ecate. Shes supposed to help 8akary lead the rebellion against you. Shes like, the !inor gods version of you. +hats why she uses her last na!e, too. <enelope "artuna. t had to be the sa!e <enelope guarding #lex. Bnfortunately for her, knew how to block and counter *ecate and 3e!esis attacks. also knew a bit about the way "orpheuss powers worked. doubted she knew the extent of my powers, or anything about #!aias. barely knew anything about #!aias powers, and was the host. $ut wasnt co!plaining. f she explained everything she could do, would probably be too terrified to give her control any!ore. =@ood work. So, howre things with you? asked cautiously. =>ou !ean, about 5ester? 3ova asked wryly. 3ova had been utterly destroyed after his death. .e hadnt known the elite Striker tea! Si!ple, 5ester, Sand!an, and &ill6oy

all that long. $ut 3ova and 5ester had che!istry fro! the start. Si!ple and had been good friends. .e only hung out a handful of ti!es, but the friendships had been fun while they lasted. = ! 6ust !aking sure youre okay. = ve been better since you gave !e his ring. ts kind of like still have part of hi!, all to !yself. ! never taking it off. #bril started snoring again, do7ing. She wasnt fully asleep yet, but snoring see!ed to co!e as naturally as breathing to her. could hear &ylahs voice in the background. =.hat is that noise? she yelled. She !ustve been close by. =#brils snoring, told her. = t sounds like so!eones starting up their lawn!ower. +ell her to shut up. laughed, re!e!bering the ring 5ester had planned to give 3ova. +he ring was silver, edged with ice dia!onds and engraved with their initials. #ll four of the boys were/had been test sub6ects. +heyd been given powers that i!itated those of the gods. 5esters power had been ice, hence the ice dia!onds. Si!ple had been looking after it when 5ester died. *ed given it to !e to give to 3ova, and that was the last ti!e had seen Si!ple and his tea!. = ! glad Si!ple got the chance to give it to !e. know well never forget hi!, said sincerely. =>eah. B!, Sia has so!ething she and Dexter would like to tell you together, 3ova said, sounding unsure. tensed. =Did so!eone die or so!ething? =;h, no. ts nothing bad, dont think. dont know what it is, but Sia looks reluctant and Dexter looks scared. Sia said ,hett convinced her to tell. wasnt convinced that their news wasnt bad. =;kay. =Sia says to turn on the video function. #ll phones now had a video function that would allow you to video chat if you wanted to. turned #brils video chat option on and waited, holding the phone in front of !e. #n i!age of Sia and Dexter showed up a !o!ent later. ,hett was a di!, flickering i!age behind the!, bea!ing. =*i, Sine, ,hett chirped. #bril looked over !y shoulder, her birch eyes wide.

She was so close that her green and pink ponytail on the side of her head tickled !y cheek. frowned. =.hats wrong with you? @et off !e, said. = can see hi!, cy. can see ,hett, she whispered, a tear falling fro! the corner of her eye. ,hett looked confused. =*ow? -an you hear !e, #bril? he asked. =>eah, hear you loud and clear, ,hett, #bril said, s!iling bigger than d ever seen her s!ile before. ,hetts whole face lit up. *is blue eyes focused on #bril. *er tears dropped onto the screen. = can see you, ,hett, its really you, she cried. &arsten and 8ephyr were looking up. &arsten 6oined us, peering at the phone. *e used his sleeve to wipe the tears off the screen. = dont understand. >ou told !e ,hett was 6ust never around. .hy wouldnt #bril be able to see or hear hi!? &arsten asked. =*e can see !e too? ,hett exclai!ed. =Dexter, can you see hi!? Sia and asked in unison. Dexter looked around, desperately trying to see ,hett. =3o, he said, sounding defeated. t didnt !ake !uch sense for ,hett to be visible over video chat, but knew the others would take any way they had to see ,hett again. *is eyes bri!!ed with tears. = ! visible again. #t least, kind of, he breathed. t was a very exciting thing, but that wasnt what Sia and Dexter had wanted to tell !e. didnt have the heart to stop the reunion between #bril and ,hett though. So, settled for explaining ,hett to &arsten. =&arsten, you re!e!ber how everyone chuckled when said ,hett was always in the club roo! in spirit? asked. =>eah. So? =+hey chuckled because ,hett is a spirit. *es dead. "urdered. ;nly %uka, Sia, and can see hi!. +hat is why its so surprising that you and #bril can see and hear hi! now. *e could speak into your head, but you didnt know before. *e !ight now, but dunno. talk to hi! all the ti!e. *es very sweet. *e knows everything, and if he can, hell help you out when you need it. ,hett, say hello. ,hett waved, s!iling beautifully. =*ello, &arsten. know you, but you dont

know !e. n fact, was the first one to figure out that you were gay, ,hett said. wanted to hit hi!. +hose were not very polite first words. &arsten blushed. =;h. Bh, how? =-ause ! gay. #nd notice things. = guess should be glad ve been found out, since was wondering how to tell you guys. @ood to know ! not alone. would be honored to !ental !essage you ,hett, as soon as figure it out. $ut for now, its nice to be able to !eet you, face to face, &arsten said, s!iling war!ly. could tell that ,hett had liked hi! before, but he liked hi! even better as a god. 3ot because he was !ore handso!e or taller, but because he was i!!ortal. *e wouldnt die on ,hett now. #lthough/,hett was dead. $ut he kind of wasnt. 3ever !ind, dont understand ghost logic. =>eah, kinda face to face. ! 6ust so happy to be seen again. 3ot that only being able to talk to three people and have the! look !e in the eye isnt fun. would never get tired of the twins, but you know, ,hett said. rolled !y eyes. =>eah, whatever. %isten, ! getting a headache. Sia, Dexter, what is it you two wanted to tell !e? asked, rubbing !y te!ples. #bril pinched the bridge of !y nose for !e, relieving so!e of the pressure in !y head. t still hurt unusually bad though. Sia and Dexter exchanged a look. Sia took a deep breath, !aking !e even !ore tense than already was. Dexter put an ar! around Sia. =.e wanted to tell you that/ ! pregnant, Sine, Sia said. "y facial expression didnt change. t re!ained rather cool and passive. d already guessed. #lready had !y assu!ptions, and already co!e to ter!s with it. !ade it !y business to stay one step ahead of everyone. Slowly, s!iled at Sia. =-ongrats. +o the both of you, said softly. Dexter let out his breath. =>oure not !ad, %ady Sine? =3o. >ou thought was going to kill you, didnt you? = ts possible. +he door to our roo! burst open. #n entire ar!y stood there. 8ephyr was looking out the window. +he building was surrounded. unsheathed !y sword looked at Sia seriously. 8ephyr was looking at !e intently. =Sister? he said.

=Sine? Sia said. =$oss? 3ova said, co!ing out of nowhere. =8ephyr, go back to the school and !ake sure theyre safe there. wont be here when you get back. ll take care of the soldiers, you three 6ust get out. #bril grabbed !y ar!. = cy, you cant fight the! alone. =5ust go, said, looking at her with pained eyes. ;nce they escaped, took a deep breath and prepared for !y first !assacre.

Chapter Ten

Massacre. Bnderstate!ent of the century. ;ne blast of lightning, and the ar!y
8akary had sent was totally obliterated. +he car hadnt even left the parking lot yet. +here was, !aking everything look all beautifully dra!atic, and the weakness of these soldiers had to ruin it. leaned out of the window. =8ephyr, #bril, &arsten? @et in the car, start it, but dont leave yet. ! doing one !ore sweep to try to clean up what can, called. =She al!ost blew up the building, what does she think she can clean up? &arsten !u!bled. !et the three of the! at the car ten !inutes later. +he hu!ans were all fine. +heyd taken refuge in the base!ent of the building. +here was nothing could do about the soldiers bodies. So left the! where they were.

=>oure an idiot, cy. .hy would you use lightning first thing? #bril asked. =.hen you have the ability to use lightning, you can talk to !e about when and when not to use it, said. 8ephyr chuckled fro! the front seat. &arsten was back to typing away on his laptop. wondered what he was doing, but didnt want to disturb hi!. =3ow that theres been one attack you know theyll be trying to hold us up wherever we go. .ell have to stop to eat in a little while. #fterwards, want to buy so!e ca!ping gear. ts not safe for the hu!ans if we stay in hotels any!ore, said. =$ut hate ca!ping. #nd if we do that, how a! gonna change !y hair color? #bril whined. =%eaf green, !ud brown, river water blue. +heres three hair color possibilities right there. #bril, this is about saving #lex. ts not about your hair color any!ore. So, propose that while the rest of us go shopping, you go buy yourself so!e wigs to hold you over until we get back ho!e. ;r, you could always go natural, suggested. +he look of horror on #brils face was priceless. took that to !ean that she was going to go wig shopping. She tapped &arsten on the shoulder. =&arsten, if go wig shopping, ll need so!eones opinions on which ones to get. .ill you co!e with !e? +he serious kids can do the serious shopping. .ell have so!e fun and !eet at so!e rende7vous point. *ow !uch longer is it gonna be before we stop? = ll go with you, #bril, &arsten said cheerily. =+he !ore you talk, the shorter itll be before we stop. $rother and can only take so !uch of your voice, said. leaned back in !y seat and closed !y eyes. #n ar! wrapped around !y neck, and suddenly #brils fist was digging into the top of !y head. = dont think youre being very nice, cy. Sure, youre stronger in a fight, but you still suck physically. %ike #dalyn says, anyone can beat you up if you dont have a sword, #bril cackled. struggled to get her off, but she was right. really needed to go to a gy! or so!ething. 8ephyr stopped the car again and hour later, and was still in that position. #bril released !e. =So wheres the rende7vous point, #bril? 8ephyr asked. .e were at a brand new shopping center. didnt know how #bril planned on finding a wig shop so 2uickly, but it wasnt really i!portant. 8ephyr had already pointed out a store with ca!ping gear in the

windows. #bril hooked her ar! through &arstens, tapping an index finger on her lower lip. *er $ritish accent sounded very out of place in co!parison to all the ,ussian ones around us. =+hat restaurant over there. .ell shop, !eet there in thirty !inutes, eat, and get on the road again. .hile were eating, &arsten can work on locating #lex. Sound good? #!aia appeared, stopping all of us in our tracks. She was visible to hu!ans, and even they werent stupid enough not to see so!ething was off about her appearance. =.hat are you doing, idiot? @et back in, hissed. sounded like a !other telling her child to get back in the car or so!ething. $ut didnt have a clue how to put #!aia back in !y soul. couldnt do anything but yell at her. =-rap, #!aia breathed. =.hat? #bril, 8ephyr, &arsten, and said. #!aias blue eyes darkened. could sense a story co!ing on. #!aia took a few deep breaths. She stopped floating, and she was less see1through. She was a good enough i!age to fool the hu!ans. *er eyes !et !ine, and could tell that she was only going to infor! !e willingly. would have to tell the others, 0cause she sure wasnt inclined to share any infor!ation with the!. =$rother, can you go tent shopping alone? need to find out whats bothering #!aia, said. &arsten looked at #!aia shyly. She s!iled, looking rather cat1like. =*i there, doll face. Did you !iss !e? she said, cupping &arstens chin. grabbed her wrist, dragging her back to !y side. was kind of surprised at how solid she felt. She was still nothing !ore than an excellent apparition in !y !ind. "aybe she had the potential to be !ore. 8ephyr went off to buy ca!ping gear, and #bril and &arsten took off in no particular direction. #!aia and leaned against the hood of the car. +here was nowhere we could talk privately, so it was better to stay in the parking lot. =+ell !e whats wrong, said. =.ait a second. >oull see the first thing thats wrong in a !o!ent, #!aia said cryptically. was re!inded of the first ti!e shed spoken to !e. Shed had a !uch different personality back then. #ll for!al and 6unk. .hy couldnt she be like that again? +his side of her was !ore annoying, !ore talkative.

waited for whatever she was talking about to show up. felt a prophecy co!ing on. #!aia handed !e a s!all piece of paper and a pen out of #brils bag. #bril packed the oddest things for rescue !issions. "y hand !oved on its own, scribbling down @reek sy!bols. #!aia watched !e, translating in her head as she read. +hough her na!e wasnt @reek in the least, that was where she was fro!. sat back and looked at what d written. hd^HRL HZQL] ^]L KJORLN^_QW ^_RL. iHZQHIH jTEQ]J], d QL EHMVQJOQ. .oday is a tired day. tay awa"e$ or die. = wont let you die, #!aia said. = dont intend to die? wouldnt, even if did fall asleep or whatever. +hats cra7y. $esides, sleep all the ti!e, and ! still kickin. t doesnt !atter what happens while ! knocked out, said. #!aia grabbed !y hands. = know ! contradicting !yself a bit, but you cant be willing to throw your own life away so easily. >ouve been close to death innu!erable ti!es, but you always survive. Dont you think theres a reason for that? !ean, look at these scars. ,e!e!ber the hole in your chest? ,e!e!ber how you cried, and sobbed, and begged #lex to help you. +hat was death. +hats the despair that co!es with death. "now youre scared of it. got into the backseat of the car and picked up !y sword. t was always white, whiter than the !oon itself. didnt understand how could kill people with this, how could wound so !any people with it, and never get bloodstains on !y little katana. reali7e that call our weapons swords, but they arent like !edieval swords. <ersonally, think those are weird looking. fell in love with the 5apanese katana on a trip with !y fa!ily, #lex picked up the idea, and he !ade one for !e. #ll our swords were like that. What#s the matter with you? 'ou#re thoughts are*distressed. Dum! prophecy. Don#t worry a!out it. I#m worrying. Ale3$ seriously. I#m serious. tapped the side of !y head with !y sword. #!aia was sitting next to !e now. was bored. 6ust something a!out me dying. How?

omething a!out sleep. Well$ don#t you dare die on me$ Am!rosine Devanney4 I "now you#re not ta"ing it seriously$ !ut you !etter4 #!aia and shared a look of surprise. *e wasnt as loud as had been when yelled about hi! being an idiot, but that last !ental !essage had been pretty loud. =*es 6ust as devoted to protecting you as you are to hi!. dont know why you look so surprised, she said, co!posing herself. chose not to start the argu!ent that said shed been e2ually surprised. Ale3$ I thin" you "now very well that I can#t die yet. ignored his protests until he dropped the sub6ect. >ine. Have you guys figured out my location yet? 2o. Darsten#s wor"ing hard on it. Poor "id. I feel responsi!le for him !eing involved in this. 0h$ and you guys might want to watch your !ac"s. Ea"ary#s out of recovery from when Amaia !eat him$ and he#s really pissed. He#ll pro!a!ly try to get his revenge on you soon. It wouldn#t surprise me if he was on his way now. f 8akary did show up, it was a perfect ti!e for !e to try so!ething dangerous. $ut it would also be fun. =>oure an idiot if you think ll agree, #!aia said. =>ou know you want to try it. = know that you probably wouldnt be able to handle it and youd crash and burn, 6ust like 8akary said. Have Ea"#s wings grown !ac" yet? 2ot fully. Why do you always cut them off? ,ecause I can$ and it#s fun. .hat#s how I start all our fights. .hough it was a !it weird$ him imitating your face with those giant wings on his !ac". @w$ spare me the mental image. #lex had to be a positive kid, if he was !aking !e laugh while being held prisoner. How are you? 0"ay? Is Penelope leaving you alone? 2ot really. ,ut she#s nothing I can#t handle. (y arms hurt li"e hell. Is there no way for you to stand up? 2o. .hey feed me$ !ut only enough to "eep me alive. I#m getting s"innier !y the day$ and I have almost no energy.

was on the verge of a !igraine. had too !uch going on. #lex was whining about his ar!s, was still processing being infor!ed, #!aia was keeping things fro! !e, and now there was 8akary to look out for. Well$ I#ll !e there as soon as I can. I really wish you weren#t so stu!!orn a!out things. If Ea"ary or Penelope would loo" me in the eye$ I could wal" myself out of here. Well$ guess what? If they haven#t loo"ed you in the eye in all that time you#ve !een there$ they pro!a!ly "now a!out your hypnosis. .hat#s pro!a!ly my fault$ Acause I "inda used "nowledge of that to test Ea"ary. 0h$ and you cannot wal" yourself outta there$ !ecause you have no energy. 'ou would pro!a!ly have enough time to drag yourself out of wherever you are$ !ut they#d )ust capture you again five minutes later. I suggest you leave the rescue to me. put !y sword down. =.hy do you keep talking about hypnosis? .hat kind of power is that? .here does it co!e fro!? #!aia asked. = dunno, its 6ust so!ething #lex does. t works on everyone, there are no exceptions. 3ot even de!ons, said, cutting her off before she could boast. = d like to see it. =3o, you wouldnt. find it very unpleasant. %ike !y will is being taken away 6ust because #lex is cute. "y last sentence intrigued #!aia. =*e can do it because hes hot? =3o, thats not exactly it. dont know how to explain it. *e looks into your eyes, and you 6ust kinda/bend to his will. ts scary if you think about it.

%Please stay away$ Ale3. I really don#t want you to !e there. 'ou#ll get hurt$& I insisted. Ale3#s doe eyes searched my face for any sign of wea"ness. If he found none$ I "new he#d find a way to get what he wanted out of me. %Ale3$ please don#t$& I !egged. He softened his eyes$ !lin"ing his long lashes. %Please$ ine?& he reBuested$ Buietly and sweetly. I had fallen under his spell already. I "new Ale3 could do this$ it pretty much classified as a power. % ay you#ll let us come$& he ordered$ )ust as sweet.

%'ou can come$& I repeated ro!otically. %.han" ya$& he laughed$ disappearing.

shuddered at that !e!ory. didnt like to think of !yself as weak to persuasion. $ut #lex really hadnt been very fair about that. #!aia watched that scene in !y !ind. =+hats cool. *ow long has he been able to do that? =:orever. was so tired of waiting for so!ething to happen, figured nothing was going to. took a short nap, leaving #!aia in charge of watching for so!ething bad. swear, only ten !inutes had gone by when #!aia woke !e up. &arstens face was pressed against !y window, terrified. rolled it down. =.hats wrong? =>ouve got to go? +hat dude with the wings showed up outta nowhere and grabbed #bril? She tried to fight hi!, but she was no !atch for hi!. dont see how you did so well against hi!, &arsten gasped. picked up !y sword, got out, grabbed &arsten by the wrist, and started running. couldnt believe 8akary had 6ust attacked in the !iddle of all the hu!ans without stopping ti!e. did stop ti!e as ran. So!ething was gonna have to be done about the !e!ories of the hu!ans. &arsten steered !e in the direction hed co!e fro!. 8akary was standing in the !iddle of a store, with #bril laying at his feet. *er eyes were closed, a dagger in between her shoulder blades. She wasnt dead. !ade sure of that. $ut it wasnt 6ust #bril there. *ed also killed all the hu!ans in the store, and could see 8ephyr in a corner. *e was alive too. glared at hi!. = guess should thank you for leaving those two alive, said, !ental !essaging %uka to co!e as spoke. =3ot a proble!. +hey were weak anyway. #nd your new one was so weak that didnt even touch hi!. >ou havent taught hi! to fight yet? 8ak bragged. =*e knows the basics. $ut you know, youre lucky you didnt kill the!, and you didnt touch hi!. =.hy is that? f you think your de!on is going to beat !e now, youre very wrong. ve gotten stronger while ve been in recovery.

= f you had killed the!, and you had laid a finger on &arsten, you wouldve severely regretted it. ! already !ad that youve taken #lex. ! !ad that you put a hole in !y favorite 6acket. ! !ad that you stabbed #bril in the back. ! !ad that you sent soldiers to attack !y pregnant sister and !y fa!ily for no reason. =>ou really dont want to do anything else to piss !e off, said darkly. 8akary, of course, took that as a challenge. f there was one thing we were good at, it was pissing each other off. pulled the dagger out of #brils back and !oved her over to where 8ephyr lay, unconscious. Shed be out of the way there. I want control, #!aia whined. hut up. I#ll give you control when you need it. 8ak drew his sword. watched hi! carefully. *e was really !ad, which !eant he was going to be reckless. *e wouldnt be thinking clearly, and he wouldnt have a strategy when he attacked. =.hy are you here, 8ak? asked, dodging a 6ab to !y face. .hy did he always go for !y face? =.hy do you think ! here? >ou schooled !e last ti!e, so now have to kill you. +hats the way it works. ! going to tear you apart here, but ll leave you alive once do and take you to #lex. *e surprised !e, ll ad!it it. =.hy would you take !e to #lex? =So the two of you can watch each other die, of course. +hats the only reason <enelope and are keeping hi! alive, 8ak said confidently. *e actually thought that he could kill !e. <oor fool. =*ow do you get stronger, 8ak? asked. = kill other angels of death and absorb their power. >ou can never be sure how strong ll be when you fight !e. could be the sa!e, or could be a billion ti!es !ore powerful. =>ou really love to brag, dont you? &arsten said in an angry voice. caught the dagger 8akary sent flying &arstens way. f hadnt, it wouldve gone straight through &arstens !outh and co!e out the back of his head. @rueso!e, know, but being a goddess isnt as gla!orous as one !ight think. &arsten frowned. *e was angry because 8akary had killed a !other. knew she was a !other, because her little boy was still alive. 8ak couldnt kill a kid, no !atter how hard he tried. +he boy was touching his !o!s hair, crying and whi!pering. 3ow was

the first ti!e noticed hi!. +he only reason he was i!!une to !y ti!e free7ing was because the store was too far away for it to reach. f fro7e hi! now, hed only be !ore scared. bowed !y head, thinking. =Sine, want to fight. Stop stalling and lets get to it, 8akary said. disappeared and reappeared in front of the boy. knelt beside hi! and touched his shoulder lightly. =*ey, are you okay? Did you get hurt at all? asked gently. =3o, ! okay. $ut !y !o!!y, she doesnt look too good, he cried, rubbing at his eyes. picked hi! up. = said want to fight? Stop ignoring !e? 8akary yelled, sending black fla!es !y way. turned the kid away fro! the blast and held out !y hand. sent lightning towards hi! to cancel out his fla!es. +he little boy whi!pered, clinging to !e. *e was only about four. What are you doing? 'ou can#t hold that "id and fight at the same time$ you idiot4 #!aia said. ignored her opinion, as usual. really needed to figure out what to do with this boy. couldnt leave hi! alone. =#llow !e to help you with that, 8akary said, appearing and putting a dagger to the boys throat. didnt have ti!e to !ove. stared into 8aks black eyes as he s!iled, looking a little insane. #n arrow soared fro! across the roo!, planting itself fir!ly in 8akarys shoulder. $oth of us turned. &arsten was holding his bow that assu!ed hed ac2uired fro! !y !other. t was silver, not gold like the one #pollo carried. 8akary and were e2ually surprised by &arstens interference. =>ou stupid boy? 8ak snarled, appearing in front of &arsten. &arsten looked at hi! evenly and 6abbed another arrow into his chest. knew the only reason why hed been able to in6ure 8ak twice was because 8akary underesti!ated hi!. f 8ak had been thinking rationally, he wouldve guarded better. 8ephyr was waking up in the corner. went to hi!. =#re you okay, $rother? = ! fine. .hos this boy? .hat happened? 8ephyr asked, holding his head. =+his boy is the only one left alive. -an you watch hi! for !e? ;h, and %uka should be arriving soon. *ell heal #bril and you, if you need it, said. =.hos fighting 8akary then? f you arent, and ! not, and #brils not? =&arsten see!s to be handling hi!self pretty well. !oved #bril onto her side. *er wound was healed, she was 6ust unconscious.

=.hat about you, are you okay? asked. =*e stabbed !e. ll kill hi!, #bril !uttered weakly. =Dont worry. &arsten and can handle it. >ou need to rest here until %uka co!es to finish your healing process. >oure in no position to be fighting anyone. &arsten could beat you right now. =.hys he doing so well? .eve barely taught hi! anything. .ho is this kid? #bril asked, noticing hi! for the first ti!e. = dunno, 6ust know he wasnt safe where he was. &arstens doing well because hes angry. $ut he wont be able to do so well !uch longer. ll need to help hi!. #!aia wont shut up about wanting control. =So give it to her. Shes an excellent fighter, with uni!aginable power, 8ephyr said. =>eah, but did it ever occur to any of you that I a! still capable of winning battles? +hat 8akary is the ene!y have to beat? +his whole thing is basically between !e and hi!. f dont finish it, there was no point in there ever being a battle between us. #bril looked down at her hands. =>eah, but/you !ight not be able to win without using her power. = know. =$ut you 6ust said = know. ! going to win, and #!aias going to help !e. .ere going to fight at the sa!e ti!e. 8ephyr and #bril looked at !e like d lost !y !ind. probably had. #!aia appeared. = strongly advise against what youre thinking. =>ou told !e that earlier. $ut its a good idea. = ts not. +hat would be why dont think you should atte!pt it, #!aia argued. =+oo bad you dont have !uch of a choice. #!aia frowned. =>oure not very nice about things. =>oure not very cooperative. = guess we can try it. $ut free7e ti!e for 8akary too, youre gonna need to prepare. =:or what? #bril and 8ephyr asked. =#!brosine wants to fuse, because she needs the world to know 6ust how stupid she really is, #!aia said.

s!iled.

Chapter Eleven

Ten !inutes later, #!aia had wrapped !y entire upper body in bandages,
including !y ar!s. +he bandages around !y chest were so tight, each breath was a challenge. 8akary was still fro7en. couldnt !y ar!s, so #bril had to be called to help !e get redressed. wasnt about to let #!aia near !e again. #bril laughed as she helped pull !y shirt over !y head. =.hats with all the bandages? =Shell need the! in case have to use a lot of power and her clothes explode. wouldnt

want her to be exposed to that boy, #!aia explained. sucked in a tiny a!ount of air. = dont think this is really a good way to keep !e covered. cant breathe, and cant !ove !y ar!s at all. #nd what about !y botto! half?? would think thats the place to cover up? = ll be able to !ove your ar!s, weakling. >our pants wont explode, pro!ise. =>eah. $ecause ve found black skinny 6eans to be extre!ely durable, said sarcastically. #bril slid !y black leather 6acket on for !e. = think youre all set. .ow, cy. >ou better hope those bandages around your boobs hold, #bril laughed. Ea"ary !etter hope whatever !andages around her !oo!s hold4 #lex yelled in !ine and #brils !inds. *ed been eavesdropping the whole ti!e. *e heard whatever did when he was in !y head. laughed. =@oodness. never knew #lex could be such a hothead when he gets 6ealous. =;h, he gets worse, ! sure. f hes anything like his ancestors, #!aia sighed. +he two of us went into !e!ory !ode, picturing !any ti!es our #lexs had lost their cool and gone a bit cra7y. #lex didnt have too !any of those !o!ents if he could help it, but he was a boy. $oys have to have their insane !o!ents. 8akary, however, was having a *B@4 insane !o!ent. *e wasnt acting like hi!self at all. =.ait, #!aia, said. =What? 3ow you have cold feet? oughta s!ack you, she groaned. = ts not 8akary. =*ave you lost your !ind? t is 8akary. 3obody else we know fires black fla!es out of their hands. s!iled. =3o, they werent fla!es. thought they were weaker than usual when deflected the!. t was black witch energy. Si!ilar, but not 2uite si!ilar enough to fool !e co!pletely. #nd that person pretending to be 8ak, theyre slow. #lso, havent seen any wing stu!ps. ! getting really tired of these tricks. unfro7e ti!e with !y sword at =8aks neck. +he person was surprised. =*uh? *owd you get there? =>ou !ean you cant free7e ti!e, <enelope? @osh, youre a lot weaker than thought youd be, said, feeling the bandages on !y ar!s rip. +he !orphing began, and

<enelope turned back into herself. =So, you were s!art enough to figure it out. =>ou were du!b enough to help !e see that it wasnt hi!. .hy would you want to i!personate 8akary? =*es !y boyfriend. ts fun to pretend to be hi!, see what cant see otherwise, <enelope said, winking. #bril raised an eyebrow. =.ow, shes a freaky one, huh cy? =>eah. d say shes !ore suited for fighting you. =Huh?? ! not freaky at all? she argued. ignored #bril, sheathing !y sword. =#nyway, dont have ti!e to !ess around with you. >oure in the way, said to <enelope. She turned red, both fro! e!barrass!ent and anger. #!aia was pouting inside !y head. (an. I thought we were finally gonna get to fight serious. .hat#s not very fair. =>ou cant 6ust walk away? >ou wouldve fought if you hadnt figured out wasnt 8akary? <enelope protested. looked back at her as helped 8ephyr up. =>eah. $ut youre not 8akary, and wouldve figured it out when you evaporated after attacked you once while fused with #!aia. >ou learned stuff you thought would sound i!pressive co!ing fro! hi!, and you copied his personality. f youre not 8akary, youre not !y !ain concern. n fact, ! not concerned about you at all. >oure insignificant. 3ow, get out of !y way, said. <enelope shook. = ! not insignificant? ve spent !y life being co!pared to you, being prepared to fight you? 8akary let !e have !y chance, he sent !e here. *e believes can defeat you, and will? have the powers of three gods too, with the powers of !y !other and father. #fter all the training that ve been put through, after all the co!paring without a word of praise, wont let you walk away fro! a fight with !e? She sent witch energy at !e, which knocked away with the back of !y hand. She was too shaken up. &arsten was still gaping at the fact that hed been fighting a girl. =>oull never be able to fight on par with !e if youre so careless. +heres no point in even trying. =Shut up? she screa!ed, huge icicles flying at !e with the intention of i!paling !e. !elted the! as soon as they ca!e to close to !e, exerting the heat of the !ag!a held

inside. "y instincts allowed !e to do things d never known could do. %ike the !elting thing, that was purely instinctual. was trying to re!e!ber who else 3ova had said <enelope was clai!ed by. <enelope appeared in front of !e and flicked so!ething into !y face. tried to grab it as it floated past !y eyes, but there was nothing there. frowned, looking up at her. =+he third god who clai!ed !e was "orpheus. 3ight, night, #!brosine Devanney, <enelope said, s!iling slyly.

&arsten watched as Sine fell to the ground. *e wanted to help, but he found hi!self unable to !ove. <enelope looked at hi! steadily, her eyes turning white. She did the sa!e thing to 8ephyr and #bril. +he three of the! found the!selves incased in ice. Sine was sleeping soundly on the ground, and inside her soul, #!aia was asleep as well. +hey were useless now, as good as dead. <enelope positioned her sword over Sines throat. = ! so tired of !y powers being co!pared to yours. .hen the truth is, as long as have the power to knock you out, theres no way anybody without the sa!e ability could beat !e. f hadnt been clai!ed by "orpheus, yes, you wouldve killed !e today. f you were to !iraculously wake up, you !ight still kill !e today. $ut ! ready for that. 8akary only pretends to love !e because it !eans he can get into !y head and !ake !e do anything he wants. know that. know that everyone uses !e because ! the closest thing to you thats alive. =$ut things are going to be different once ! running things. ll bring "t. ;ly!pus to the way it was. 3ot only that, but ll bring *ell back to the way it was. .ith hundred1handed ones, de!ons, everything it used to have. +hings wouldnt be right with so!eone like you as a leader anyway. #ll you think about is protecting your friends. >ou dont even care about yourself. 8eus is a s!arter ruler, but hes still not good enough. >our friends dont worry about protecting you as !uch as you do the!, so dont see why you keep trying. =>our two fe!ale assassins, in fact, are out shopping right now. +hey arent worried about you at all. #nd that !ale one? *es so weak, hes never even picked up a sword before. *e knows hed be better off dying. >our fa!ily is nothing. >ou see how

easily those two over there went down. *owever, all of the people involved with you fight with one advantage that you dont. =+hey dont worry about anyone else. +hey know about the!selves, and thats enough for the!. +hats why, in a few !inutes, theyll have outlasted you, their leader for so long. ;nce show the! what a real leader is like, they wont even re!e!ber your fa!ous na!e. honestly cant believe so!eone like you &arsten watched the whole thing, fearing for Sine0s life. Sine looked very peaceful whenever she was asleep. +hat perfect peace was about to be ruined, turned bloody and horrific. So!eone crashed through the wall, causing a cloud of dust to rise. .hoever it was knocked <enelope far away fro! Sine. &arsten saw the glint of a sword through the dust. t s!acked into the ice around hi!, #bril, and 8ephyr. +he kid Sine had rescued had been fro7en in place on the floor the whole ti!e. &arsten breathed in deeply. So!ehow, hed still !aintained his ability to breathe while inside the ice. &arsten picked the kid up and waited. .hoever had 6ust saved Sines life, he wasnt going to interfere with the!. +heir head was ducked, a frown on their face. +hose were the first two things revealed. +he crash also woke Sine up. She sat straight up, looking at the face of the person. <enelope got up fro! where shed fallen, launching a strea! of curses at the unknown person. =-rusei. got tired of your voice a few speeches ago. Sine was still staring. -learly, it was so!eone she knew. $ut fro! &arstens angle, he couldnt tell who it was for sure. #bril and 8ephyr had already seen the face. +hat word, urusei. 5apanese?

=&ei, breathed, =#re you wielding a sword? &ei looked down at !e, frowning. could only stare at hi!. d been lucky to get out those six words. d never seen &ei look so serious. *e kept looking at !e as got onto !y feet. $efore could even register that hed !oved, &ei threw hi!self into !y ar!s. tried to see where the sword was as he cried into !y shoulder. =$oss, thought you were dead? didnt know if d get here in ti!e, and 6ust wanted <enelope to shut up but knew if she did that !eant youd died so didnt want

her to. didnt !ean to speak 5apanese but it did sound really cool and ! sorry that al!ost didnt get here? dont even know how to hold a sword, hate weaponry? !iss !y co!puter, &ei wailed, dropping the sword and sto!ping on it while he hugged !e. couldnt help but s!ile. &ei had actually picked up a sword. :or !y sake. #nd hed saved !y life with that sword. was so proud of !y little assassin. = ts okay, &ei. was 6ust asleep. $ut you did save !y life. +hank you. ll bring you a new co!puter when get ho!e fro! rescuing #lex. ;kay? >ou should go ho!e. ! going to kill her now. Bnless, of course, you want to pick your sword up again and help !e? asked, knowing what hed say. &ei took a step back. +wo !ore people stepped through the hole in the wall. Shania had her bloodthirsty grin on. 3ova was frowning with her ar!s crossed over her chest. = wasnt about to let you have all the fun, &ei. &ei shook his head in disgust. = hania no !a"a. told you to stay at ho!e, he said. d never heard hi! speak so !uch 5apanese. =Dont use different languages against !e? %ike d let you co!e here and kill everyone worth fighting, Shania yelled. 3ova put her hand in Shanias face. =:irst of all, didnt bring you along to kill anyone. +his is the $osss fight, and you arent interfering unless she asks you to. Second, the only reason were here is to !ake sure &ei didnt get i!paled upon entry. .ere leaving now. %ets go. told you not to bring your sword, idiot, she said. =Didnt &ei already call !e an idiot in that funky language of his? Shania asked. &ei and rolled our eyes. =+hat fun"y language youre referring to is called 5apanese. Shania, honestly, said. =>ou know, we !asters of the funky language are the ones who invented that style of your sword. ll !ake you use one of the stupid looking ones if you dont shut up, &ei said. =*ey, what was that word you said to <enelope? &ei s!iled. =-rusei? =.hats that !ean? =@enius, 3ova said. <enelope was looking at all of us. =.henever youre done, she said. =>ou sure you dont want to hold onto the break to recover? asked, looking at the her

dislocated shoulder. &ei looked surprised. =Did do that? he asked. =&ei, dont you think youd at least build up a little !uscle over three thousand years? !ean, you knocked through that wall without any trouble, Shania said. 3ova grabbed her ar!. =.ere going now, Shania. &ei, are you co!ing? &ei looked at <enelope thoughtfully. *is brown eyes had a look in the! d never seen before. 4ven though it was his profession, never had &ei looked like a real assassin. *e never had a bloodthirsty look in his eye. *e never killed. 3ot directly, at least. *e was good at bo!bs, things of that nature that could kill. *e never did hand to hand co!bat or used any kind of weapon. =3o. ve hurt her, now ! going to stay. .ho knows, !aybe ll be a real assassin now, &ei said, s!iling at 3ova. *e was like the #sian version of #lex, in a lot of ways. =>ou think youre a !atch for !e? <enelope asked, disappearing and going for &eis back. blocked her with !y hand. $ecause didnt know how to do the skin hardening thing, her blade cut into !y hand. didnt !ind, very !uch. t would heal in seconds. t was barely a scratch. =*e is. $ut he has !e watching his back as well, so your death is guaranteed, said. #!aia was screa!ing in !y !ind. I want to4 I want to4 I want control4 P5@A @4 hut up4 .ith #!aia distracting !e, <enelope landed a kick to the side of !y face. +he bruise healed al!ost as soon as it for!ed. gri!aced. &ei was still 6ust standing there. hoped wasnt gonna have to do #ssassins ')' in the !iddle of a fight. <enelope see!ed to recogni7e that her fight wasnt going to be as easy as she thought. was ready for that "orpheus power of hers as she flicked so!ething into !y face again. disappeared before she could flick her fingers in !y face. =*ey, $oss, your invitation for !e to help you out is still in effect, right? &ei asked. nodded fro! where was, trying to !ake sure didnt breathe in for a few extra seconds. 5ust to be safe. = f its going to be two on one, suggest you take turns attacking !e. Since one on one see!s to be !ore your style, #!brosine, <enelope said, s!irking. &ei picked up

his sword, keeping an eye on <enelope the whole ti!e. f she so !uch as breathed wrong, hed see it. *e really did know how to be an assassin. loved &ei a lot, but couldnt help but wonder why the kid had chosen to be an assassin. t wasnt really appropriate for !e to call hi! kid either. *e was one of the oldest de!igods alive. ;ver three thousand years old has got to be a record. *owever, his powers were never used, because nobody knew who his god parent was. .e didnt even know if he knew. $oth &ei and took defensive positions. = dont particularly have a style. >ou can go first, said casually. "y chance to leave was gone. Shania and 3ova didnt disappear. knew they wanted to watch &eis first fight. wouldnt be surprised if one of the! pulled out a ca!era. wouldve. <enelope stared at both of us, then sprung forward. *er blade swung by !y face. turned a bit. &ei swung his blade, cutting her hand off. *e laughed nervously. =;ops. =Da!n, &ei, dont !ai! her so 2uickly, scolded. =Sorry, $oss. <enelope ignored her bleeding stu!p of what used to be a hand and picked up her sword with the other one. t was unfortunate that she turned out to be a!bidextrous. She really was going die. was going to kill her. $ut was also going to feel terrible for her as did so. "y heart really was too large for !e to be such a constant fighter. f shed spent her whole life being co!pared to !e, being trained 6ust to beat !e, felt awful. +hat was a terrible way to grow up, and wouldve felt the sa!e way she did if it had been !e. "aybe would let &ei do the actual killing. *ed had no proble! cutting off that hand. = cant die here. 3ot yet, <enelope said breathlessly. So that wound was hurting her. hadnt been sure. She wasnt acting like she was in pain at all. %uka appeared, going to #bril i!!ediately. t was about ti!e he got there. +he idiot. =.hy not? snt in battle, fighting for a good reason, the best way to die? asked. = t is, but wont lose to so!e kid whos never even touched a weapon before today. ca!e to fight you. lowered !y sword. =.ell, cant fight you. =Why? know youre underesti!ating !e, but if you dont fight !e, if you dont even use your sword, ! going to kill you.

=So? =.hy dont you care about yourself at all?? cant understand that? >oure the greatest hero in the world of the gods. >oure the best fighter, the !ost powerful. $ut youre so stupid. >ou could care less about your own existence. =#ll you care about is protecting your stupid friends? .hat happens when they all turn against you? .hat happens when they decide they dont want you around to protect the! any!ore? 6ust dont get it. *ow can you possess so !uch talent and skill, and use it for such a du!b purpose? Why don#t you care a!out yourself in the least? <enelope screa!ed. =$ecause ! a murderer? t doesnt !atter how !any people save, it doesnt !atter who ! protecting really. :act is, if fight for only !yself, ! a cri!inal. #ll do is kill. +hats !y goal. +hats your goal. .hat kind of a life is that? #n e!pty existence, a world of nothing but blood and gore. ! tired of all of you telling !e ! stupid for protecting !y fa!ily. f didnt have the! to protect, would be a shell of a person. 5ust like the rest of you stupid !urderers. ! not going to fight you because feel bad for you. @et out of !y sight, said, losing control of !yself. barely felt it when the sword pierced !y sto!ach. $lood ca!e with !y exhale. <enelope twisted her sword, trying to get so!e reaction out of !e. =>ou stabbed !e. 3ow what are you trying to do? asked. =.hy arent you dying? <enelope cried. = keep trying to tell you bastards. ;ur #!brosine Devanney doesnt go down that easily, #bril said. =+he first and only person youve told was !e, 8ephyr re!inded her. She laughed nervously. looked up, bringing !y sword up with a flick of !y wrist. t cut across <enelopes abdo!en, fro! her left hip to her right shoulder. = said wont fight you. =$ut/you cut !e. >ou have to? = dont go by the sa!e rules as &ei. *e hurt you, so he felt he has to fight you. cut you, and it !eans nothing, said. = cant stand you? ll never understand you? = didnt ask you to. &ei, can you finish this for !e? f you cant, ll help you. #nd ve

got your back, so dont worry. &ei looked at !e worriedly. =$oss, are you okay? = ! fine. =$ut = ! fine, &ei. #re you going to finish <enelope off, or shall ? = can do it, &ei said, avoiding !y eyes. ve said before that they craved praise. #ll of the!. #nd they all hated it when had to use a little attitude against the!. t !ade the! kind of sad and 2uiet. 3ow felt bad. = ! sorry, &ei. .hatever happens, ! proud of you and ll never forget that you saved !e today, said. &eis s!ile returned, and he blocked a head1on attack fro! <enelope. :or so!eone so unpracticed at sword fighting, &ei was pretty good at it. &ei cut <enelope up good. t only took hi! ten !inutes to get her to fall. still felt bad for her, even though shed pissed !e off pretty bad. &ei stood over <enelope, his brown eyes troubled. =Do you have any!ore speeches to !ake? =*ow can you be so good at fighting? +his is your first ti!e wielding a sword, and !y hundredth. .hy did you dodge !e so well, how did you slice !e so !any ti!es? <enelope asked. <enelope had been cut !ultiple ti!es on her torso, her ar!s, and the backs of her legs. was surprised that shed stayed standing as long as she had. $ut her 2uestions were good ones. ;nes that had intended to ask !yself. t was useful that shed gone ahead and asked for !e. = can cut you because ve been trained since I was a little boy. 5ust because dont use a sword doesnt !ean dont know how. have no idea who !y god parent is. Bp until recently, the only reason stayed with the -o!pany was to see if could use their co!puters to find out who !y parent is. $ut now stay because know that needed to !eet the $oss. >ou dont have a real reason to fight. f you hate what theyve put you through so !uch, why did you stay? .hy did you fight the $oss at all? f you hated your destiny, you couldve changed it at any ti!e. $ut you stuck with it like an idiot. #nd ! not going to let you kill the closest thing ve ever had to a !other. @ee7, why did everyone keep calling !e a !other? Sia was the soon to be !other

in our fa!ily, not !e. = couldnt change !y destiny. ! going to kill #!brosine Devanney. f cant crush her soul the way planned, ll sto!p her heart into the ground, <enelope said weakly. =#nd how are you planning on doing that? 3ova asked. =>eah. f you think that 6ust beating &ei is all youd have to do, youre sadly !istaken. +heres still us, Shania said. = ! glad ! so i!portant to you guys, &ei said dryly. = dont even have to speak aloud. reali7ed what she was going to do. Hey$ who#s guarding the "id? heard her !ental voice loud and clear in !y head as she contacted so!e unknown person. picked up !y sword, wondering if shed really do it. I#m here. Why? I#ve failed. Dill him. -nderstood. <enelope waited for five !inutes, while stood, fro7en. It#s done$ 5ady Penelope. Good.

Chapter Twelve

sank to !y knees. 3ever had known that such despair even existed. 3ova, Shania, and &ei kept their distance, standing over <enelope. &ei placed his sword on the back of her neck. =*ow? she whispered. =*ow can you kill !e? =$ecause. ! an assassin, &ei said, killing her in one !ore final !ove. =$oss? 3ova said softly. Hey$ Am!rosine?

3ova and #!aia were the ones closest to !e. #bril got up fro! where shed been sitting as %uka healed her. %uka and 8ephyr looked at !e blankly. #bril put an ar! around !e. # brave act. = cy. *ey, whats the !atter? she asked gently. couldnt even choke out an explanation. =#bril, would you do !e a favor? whispered. =.hat? handed her !y sword. =+ake that, and run it through !y heart please. =*uh? 3o? .hy would you tell !e to do so!ething like that? = f you wont, then will, said, snatching it back and knocking her away. 3one of the! ca!e near !e. held the sword at an angle in front of !y heart and closed !y eyes. %uka and 8ephyr didnt know what was doing. couldve been doing a ritual, for all they knew. #bril was sitting on her butt, staring in disbelief. +here were tears in her eyes. =Dont do it, cy. <lease. .ho will protect us now? =So!eone else. +he !o!ent the blade ca!e in contact with !y skin, it stopped. opened !y eyes to see a hand. =.hat the hell do you think youre doing? =&arsten. "ove. =>ou cannot die now. *es not dead yet. f you were thinking, youd know that the voice <enelope heard was !ine. She was too weak for anyone to hear her that wasnt as close as we are. $ut if you killed yourself like an idiot, then what? ine$ what#s the matter? Why are your thoughts so scram!led and upset? Did something happen? #lex asked. 2o. 2othing happened. Well$ it sure seemed li"e it. 2o. *earing #lexs voice, even in !y head, was such a huge relief. 6ust don#t scare me li"e that$ o"ay? I thought something was really wrong. I love you$ Ale3. 'ou "now that$ right? could tell surprised hi!. 4xpressing ro!antic e!otions wasnt really !y forte. could say love you a billion ti!es, but it never really held any !eaning. +he way said it to #lex had a whole new a!ount of !eaning behind it.

'ou#re lying4 omething did happen. Why are you "eep secrets? #lex whined. I thought you were dead. Why did you thin" that? Were you in)ected with some "ind of drug? Dei and hania "illed Penelope$ and I thought someone received her order to "ill you. &ei "illed Penelope? 'eah. As in$ with a weapon? 'ou#re going to offend him. I really love you$ Ale3. *is voice fro! then on was exasperated. ine$ I#m not dead. 'ou "now I#m not dead$ !ecause I#m spea"ing to you. I#m aware that you love me$ and you "now I love you too. I always have$ and I always will. ,ut if you#re going to "eep up your mission to rescue me$ you can#t !e all hung up on events that didn#t happen. 0"ay? 0"ay. I promise$ I#m all right. Don#t worry. #bril hugged !e tightly until the sword co!pletely dropped fro! !y hand. d given her a good scare. = ! really sorry #bril. =>ou should be, you idiot? she sobbed. = said was? = ! telling #lex what you were going to do. =Dont? *ell freak out? #bril s!irked. &arsten was !ad at !e. *e led the way back to the car, holding the kids hand. +he kid was clearly exhausted. &arsten held hi! in his lap in the car. #bril was apparently acting as !y supervisor now. called Sia in the car, using 8ephyrs phone. =*ello? she answered tiredly. =<regnancy !akes you even la7ier, huh? teased. =;f course it does. =*owre you feeling today? She yawned in response. = ! thinking of having labor induced, she said a !o!ent later. = think its still too early for you to induce labor, Sia. >oure only like, two !onths into it.

=3o, "a!a told !e that we have so !uch power in us, if we carried a child for as long as hu!ans do, itd be destroyed. only have about three !ore !onths. .hich yes, is still a little while. $ut you know. ts tiring, having so!eone else inside you, she said. Sia only had three !ore !onths left? +hat wasnt very long at all. = ! glad you thought to tell !e that. Did you tell Dexter? =*es rocking in the corner as we speak. =*uh. wonder how hell be once its finally born. =*e better shape up? ! not going to be the only one raising this kid, Sia snapped. thought heard Dexter whi!per in the background. =Sia, do you think 8akary and friends know about the baby? asked. = dunno. =Dont you think itd be pretty bad if they found out about it? =<robably. =>ou dont see! very concerned. "y sister was going to be so!e parent if she didnt worry about her child even before it was born. = dont have a reason to be. Sure, theyre going to want it once its born, so!eone always wants the baby in a situation like ours. $otto! line is, were not going to let the! have it. Dont worry about things that havent even happened, Sister, Sia said. =>oure right. =So, are you guys !aking progress with your rescue efforts? =3ot really. Sia yawned once !ore. =Do you want to go to sleep, Sia? asked. =+hatd be lovely, thank you. = ll talk to you later. =;h, forgot to tell you. >oure going to have to take part in a pretty fierce battle tonight. $e ready, Sia laughed. =*ow could you al!ost forget to tell !e so!ething like that?? =$ye, Sine? +he phone call ended. 8ephyr was looking at !e, though he really shouldve been paying attention to his driving. =3o sleep for anyone tonight, said, handing 8ephyr

back his phone. #brils 6aw dropped. =#w? .hy not? ! tired already, and the sun hasnt even gone down yet, she whined. = tll go down in thirty !inutes, &arsten said. =*ow do you know that? .hy cant we sleep, cy? ll fight for !y right to sleep, ll go nuts if dont soon. wasnt really listening to #bril. was looking at &arsten. *e wouldnt even look at !e. didnt bla!e hi!, being disgusted with !y behavior and all, but he was kinda hurting !y feelings. =>oull survive. .e have to stay up and prepare for an a!bush, said absent!indedly. &arsten still didnt look at !e. #bril huffed. =;h !an. "ore fighting? =>ou didnt have to co!e, you know, 8ephyr pointed out. =>es did. .ho else is gonna kick #lexs ass for running off on his own when we find hi!? was sure &arsten had to be aware of !y feelings. = ! going to, said. =>eah, but youd beat the crap out of any of us for running off. ts got no real !eaning unless ! there to do it with you, #bril said. = wouldnt beat -larice up for leaving. =.hy? =$ecause, -larice wouldnt leave without a really good reason. #lex left in a spur of the !o!ent thing, ,hett and &ylah are always off so!ewhere, but not even the gods know why you would leave. shut !y eyes and faced the window to try to forget about &arsten. $ut it was bothering !e. t bothered !e so !uch that !y hand itched for !y sword. t didnt take !uch to get !e annoyed, but this was getting under !y skin as !uch as conversing with 8akary did. Why am I sensing murderous intent toward Darsten from you? #lex asked, interrupting !y bloody fantasy. 2o reason. He#s ignoring you$ isn#t he? I "now how it gets to you when people li"e him do that. till$ it#s no reason to "ill him. Don#t you agree? 'es$ he#s ignoring me$ yes I agree that I have no reason to "ill him. ,ut I can#t help it. It

!others me to no end, said. "y hands were starting to shake. ?hill out. .hin" calm thoughts. I#ll wor" on it. Ale3$ what do you "now a!out an attac" on us tonight? 2othing really$ I haven#t heard any gossip. Rhett hasn#t !een hanging around me lately either. ,ut$ I guess if you "illed Penelope$ Ea"ary#s pro!a!ly gonna !e pretty mad. I thin" they were romantically involved or something. 'ou#re right a!out that. .han"s for the help$ Ale3. +here was a pause. Don#t go insane$ all right? 'ou#d !e more than unstoppa!le if you did. I#ll see what I can do to prevent that from happening, thought dryly. sensed i!!ediately after that so!ething about !y answer bothered #lex. couldnt understand why or what, though. *e could be very vague and !ysterious so!eti!es. t was rare for hi! to act that way, fortunately for !e. 5oo"$ whenever you have free time$ as" Amaia a!out the ris"s of fusing souls with her. 'ou shouldn#t ta"e the going cra1y thing so lightly. It#s very possi!le for everyone with power li"e yours to go insane. It#s definitely something to "eep in mind, #lex thought. *e !ade !e so curious about things he knew, and how he knew the!. 'eah$ o"ay$ Ale3. orry if I worried you with my reaction to cra1iness. 'ou#re annoying. Wow$ are you tired? .hat#s usual the only thing that can ma"e you grouchy. Well$ you "now$ sleep is hard to come !y when you#re dangling from a wall. 0"ay$ o"ay. If Rhett would )ust tell us where you are$ I could get you off that wall. 'ou should hypnoti1e him into telling. I can#t do that$ ine. sighed disappointedly. was so tired of people saying no, or they couldnt do it. wished could hypnoti7e people into giving !e whatever wanted. o then$ you need more power, a little voice inside !y head whispered. So!ething in !e snapped. %ike back when d been on vacation with &ylah and %uka. d broken down inside the roo! for see!ingly no reason. +his ti!e, it was so!ewhat different. didnt burst into uncontrollable tears. bent over, clutching !y head.

If you want to get stronger$ you )ust need to a!sor! the powers of everyone you "ill. 'ou#ll !e invinci!le then. #bril touched !y back lightly. =*ey. >ou okay? didnt even hear her. +he voice in !y head was deafening now. t drowned out everything else. .hich was probably a good thing. n !y current state, if d been aware of #bril, !ightve ripped her ar! off or so!ething. #nd if did that, wouldnt be able to rest or live with !yself until found #bril a perfect new ar!. 0-ourse, #bril would !ore than likely kill !e before could locate a new li!b for her. =$ut if do that, ll be !urdering without reason, whispered back to the voice. >ool4 'ou have a reason. 'ou need to gain more power$ so you can defeat all your enemies. Right? =.ell, yeah, but #lex told !e to be careful with !y power. Ale3 is only )ealous. Anyone would and should !e. After all$ you are a new type of god all together. 'ou alone are superior to everyone else. =3ot %uka. wondered where the voice in !y head was co!ing fro!. t wasnt #!aias voice. wondered why it was in !y head, and wondered if #lex could hear it. .hen we#ll "ill and a!sor! 5u"a first. =$ut hes !y friend. 2o$ I#m your friend. 'ou need power$ and I#m helping you to acBuire it. What has 5u"a ever done for you? =.ell, hes brought !e back fro! the brink of death a few ti!es. was slowly but surely regaining !y co!posure. Bntil the voice in !y head let out an ear1splitting screa!. s2uee7ed the sides of !y head even harder. hated noise. 3oise and kids were probably !y greatest weaknesses. 3oise shook !e to !y core, and kids distracted !e. was re!inded of the kid sleeping in the front of the car on &arstens lap. .hat would beco!e of hi! once we dropped hi! off at the police station? +he screa!ing ceased, and let out !y breath, but it only started up again. Bntil snapped. 'ou will "ill all your friends and a!sor! them. If you don#t$ I#ll scream$ and you will die, the voice whispered once it finished its awful shrieking. =;kay, okay? ll do it? whi!pered softly, shaking !y head to try to stop the ringing in

!y ears. *ow hated noise. #bril 6erked !e up by the back of !y shirt and s!acked !e across the face with her free hand. "y head spun, but knew wouldnt be hearing the threatening little voice for a while. wouldnt be thinking at all for a little while. "y brain !ustve bounced against the inside of !y skull when she s!acked !e. =Snap out of it, cy? >our creepy !uttering is freaking !e out, #bril said, gri!acing. +he per!anent s!ile on her lips !ade it so that #bril al!ost never frowned. She was getting close now. =Sorry. =>ou okay? 8ephyr asked. =>eah. 5ust a/!o!ent of insanity, said truthfully. &arsten still didnt speak to !e. re!e!bered #lexs lecture. would 6ust have to wait it out. +wenty !inutes later, !y patience was 6ust about used up. =>ouve stopped sneaking glances at !e, &arsten said. =>eah, said, trying to be indifferent. $ut inside !y head, was back1flipping in glee. =+hen guess its ti!e for !e to forgive you for trying to kill yourself. = ! sorry, &arsten. wouldve done the sa!e thing if thought any of you were dead, said, thinking of ,hett. *e appeared next to !e, s!iling. =#nd there thought you were actually gonna !ake it to !y side. @uess not, he 6oked. was glad he wasnt !ad at !e in the least. =>eah well, one of the! wouldve caught !y soul and stuffed it right back into !y body if d succeeded at stabbing !yself. Doesnt look like ll be standing on the sa!e side as you anyti!e soon, said, s!iling back at hi!. $ut at the sa!e ti!e, !y state!ent !ade !e kind of sad. =*ey, dont worry about it, Sine. ! all right, pro!ise. = n !y opinion, youre not co!pletely all right until ve figured out a way to bring you back. = could always use possession, but so!ething tells !e you wouldnt like that too !uch. ,ight? =,ight. 8ephyr pulled into the parking lot of the police station, and &arsten got out to carry the kid inside. &arsten was the only one of us without any blood on hi!. +he lower

part of !y shirt had so!e, the back of #brils shirt had so!e, and 8ephyrs shoulder was still soaked. #nd of course, ,hett couldnt be seen. f he carried the kid in there, the police would be alar!ed. =.hats the !atter with you, Sine? >ou look upset, ,hett observed. = ! bored. ve been bored for a while now, said. =3o, youve been weird for a while now. cant say what it is exactly, but theres so!ething not right about you. "aybe there was so!ething !ore to that dust that <enelope flicked in your face. "aybe it doesnt 6ust !ake you go to sleep. could take a peek, ,hett teased. pushed hi! playfully. =>ou better not. = ! kidding. >ou should ask #!aia if she thinks anythings wrong though. =.hy? *ow would she know? She 6ust lives in !y soul, right? = dunno. 3eria could sense it when Sia got pregnant. $y the way, sorry for keeping that a secret fro! you, ,hett laughed nervously. re!e!bered that he had done 6ust that. .ho was supposed to be the best friend? 3o offense to Sia, but when she told one of !y fa!ily !e!bers a secret that she didnt tell !e, expected fully for the! to tell !e. +he fact that ,hett hadnt annoyed !e. =>eah, ll deal with you later, gru!bled. #bril was sitting with her ar!s crossed over her chest, looking out the window. $ut she was frowning. wondered what her issue was. wasnt gonna ask. 3ot while #bril had a frown on her face. +hat usually wasnt a good sign. Hey$ Amaia. 'ou alive in there? 2ot technically. What do you want? Rhett told me to as" you if anything seems wrong with me from your point of view. .here#s a whole lot wrong with you from my point of view. And everyone else#s. I#ll get you for that. ,hett heard what she said, and laughed. $ecause she spoke directly into !y brain, it was easy for anyone to hear it as did. I can#t tell if there#s something wrong with you$ and I don#t "now how you e3pected me to. Rhett told me you could. Rhett lied. 2eria could tell if ia was pregnant. I#m sure she can#t tell anything else. If

you were wondering$ I#m not sharing my living space with any Ale3 !a!ies. turned bright red. #brils s!ile returned, and she lifted her eyebrows. ,hett laughed again. .hat#s not what I wanted to "now4 Ale3 and I don#t* 'et. 'ou#re disgusting. 2o$ honest. #bril started giggling. =.ell, we all know who to ask if we wanna know how yours and #lexs relationship is going, she said. =4w? >oure so gross. f #lex heard you, hed go into one of his !oods, said, turning away. I heard her, #lex thought 2uietly. could tell fro! his !ental tone that he had already gone into one of his !oods, 6ust like d said. orry. Gods$ I#m so distur!ed. o$ I guess future children are out of the Buestion for us? teased, trying to cheer hi! up a bit. ;r at least !ake hi! laugh. ine4 hut up$ it#s worse coming from you4 'ou )ust had to say no. .hat#s not what I meant4 I mean$ if you want them$ sure$ !ut we#ve only !een together for a few wee"s and I haven#t really considered our lives that far into the future Ale3$ chill. It#s o"ay. d worked hi! up !ore than intended. 3ow he was never gonna cal! down. #t this rate, hed still be freaking out about our 2uestionable future children three years fro! now. ,ut$ now I have to figure out if I do want "ids or not. 'ou most certainly do not. 'eah I do. I#m in my three hundreds$ I should#ve had this figured out already. 'ou can always revert to the way you loo"ed when you were fourteen or so. .hat way$ you would loo" li"e there#s no way for you to !e thin"ing a!out "ids. 'ou were pretty cute at that age. +hough it didnt look like it now, was older than #lex by a/couple years. $ut

d always been watching, not like a stalker, like a guardian. +o !ake sure he didnt kill anyone with his powers. #t the ti!e, hadnt known that our powers ca!e fro! the gods. only knew that it was unacceptable for one of !y chosen ones to kill hu!ans using their powers. I#ve always !een cute. ,ut I don#t "now how to revert !ac"wards$ only you can do that. .hat#s !ecause I#m awesome.

Chapter Thirteen

!arsten ca!e back to an e!pty car. #bril, 8ephyr, and

were talking to so!e

godlings. .ho 6ust so happened to appear on the hood of the car and refused to leave until spoke to the!. wasnt even talking. #bril was. 8ephyr was acting as !y shield. &arsten walked over to 6oin us. =.hat are you doing? he asked. +he godling girls talking to us whipped out their fan guides. wanted to know what bastard was selling all these t1shirts and books. wanted in on the profit. =.hos he? *es not in the handbook, one of the girls said. =#re they gods too? &arsten asked. =+hey belong to the class of godlings. Aery annoying, and very hard to get rid of, said. =.hy are they talking to you? =+heyre fans. 8ephyr tensed. had !y hands on his back, so knew i!!ediately. =.hats wrong? asked. =.e need to go. @et rid of your fans. =$ut, tried, they 8ephyr cursed, turning and shielding !e as the two of us fell to the ground. &arsten followed his lead, grabbing #bril. heard an awful noise, and shut !y eyes. ;ne of the godlings was dead. opened !y eyes and saw another arrow, heading straight for the other godling. She was stunned at the death of her friend, who! tried not to look at as appeared in front of the living one and caught the arrow. frowned. .hoever the archer was, they werent inclined to co!e out willingly. snapped the arrow. =.ho was it? &arsten asked, sitting up after looking around. =# coward. =+hey arent gonna show the!selves? .e should go after the!, shouldnt we? 8ephyr asked. =3o. took the godling by the ar! and pulled her behind !e. #nother arrow soared fro! behind us. switched our positions easily. +he arrow hit !e in the leg. &arsten whi!pered. =Sine.

= ! fine, said, !aking no atte!pt to re!ove the arrow fro! !y leg. was going to show the archer how !uch it took to !ake us back down. didnt know who had sent hi!, but it was pretty easy to guess. +he godling stared at the blood seeping through !y 6eans. =#re you okay? =>ou know very well that this is what do. +ake pictures or so!ething, 6ust stay 2uiet, ordered. #nother arrow. +his one hit !e in the shoulder. frowned. t hurt !ore than the last one. =*es changing the heads. >ou cant take the next one, Sine? &arsten yelled. =.hy? = ts poisoned. =#ll right then, said, catching it 6ust before it ra!!ed into the !iddle of !y forehead. watched the black poison drip off the steel head. =3ow then, if they want to play dirty, think its ti!e to give these back. #!aia, do you !ind taking over for 6ust a second and doing your thing with the arrows? 'ou sound li"e an idiot when you tal" to me out loud. =5ust shut up and help !e out. Whatever. #!aia took control, but this ti!e !y !ind stayed alert. #!aia loosened her grip on the arrow and turned the head to face the air around us. She focused on the nearby clusters of trees and shut her eyes. t was weird, being conscious while we shared !y body. didnt like it. t !ade !e kinda unco!fortable. #!aia see!ed to find what she was looking for, opening my eyes and raising her free hand. She snapped her fingers, and s!iled. +he arrows shot backwards out of !y body and out of her hand, flipping in the air and soaring toward the s!allest cluster of trees. heard the screa!. #!aia retreated. In the future$ when you give me control$ ma"e sure there#s something fun for me to do. 'ou#re too pic"y. 2ot listening, #!aia sang. sighed. &arsten, 8ephyr and #bril got up. +he godling was 2uivering behind !e. =Should escort her back, Sister? 8ephyr asked. =>eah. .ell stay here until you get back. #bril, would you !ind calling -larice and

letting her know that they should keep their guard up back ho!e? ;h, and once you finish doing that, knock a hu!an out and steal !e so!e suitable clothes. &arsten was shocked. = thought you and your fa!ily were the e!bodi!ent of goodness and stuff. #nd youre giving #bril orders to rob so!eone for their clothes? =.ere !ostly good. $ut cant go walking around covered in as !uch blood as a! now. tll scare the hu!ans, and dont need the! !aking a fuss over dried blood. f scare the hu!ans, ll have to erase so!e of their !e!ories. .hich isnt good for hu!ans. +herefore, it is better for #bril to si!ply knock so!eone out, steal their clothes, and leave !oney beneath the!. Dont you think? asked, shrugging out of !y 6acket. &arsten looked away. =@ee7, ! sure glad none of you ever took !y clothes while was hu!an, he !uttered. =.e couldve. *ow would you know? =+hats not funny. know you well enough now to tell when youre 6oking and when youre not. >oure 6oking. =>eah. So, &arsten, said, leaning against the side of the car. .ith #bril and 8ephyr gone, &arsten was feeling awkward. *e was scared of !e. =>eah? =.hat about your father and your sister? .ont they wonder where you are if you run off to spend an eternity with us? =3ot really. "y father disowned !e, and ve told you before that !y sister wants nothing to do with !e. >ou guys are !y fa!ily now, &arsten said, sounding as pitiful as he had when wed first !et hi!. =.hats your sisters na!e? =<enelope, he said in a s!all voice. =-o!e again? ="y sister was <enelope "artuna. Dont worry about it. =.ell, wait? .hat do you !ean she was your sister? had !y assassins kill her right in front of you? #nd #bril !et her before, argued, pretty !uch refusing to believe that <enelope had been &arstens sister wed heard about. &arsten wasnt pitiful. was wrong about that. *e had an incredible a!ount of strength. +o deal with everything about his !other, and then to deal with us killing his

sister only a few inches away fro! hi! without saying a word. #nd his father disowning hi!? +hat had to hurt hi! incredibly on an e!otional level. =Doesnt that !ean youre a god? asked. = was a de!igod. Since ve been clai!ed by another !an though, dont 2uite know what to call !yself. =.hy didnt we see you as a god? was not processing this new infor!ation very well. "ostly because still couldnt believe it, no !atter how !uch he shared with !e. =>ou told #lex you could revert to the way you looked earlier in life. 6ust !ade !yself look younger and told you that was short for !y age. #lso, dyed !y hair and put in contacts. +here wasnt !uch could do to !y facial structure though. Da!n, this kid was s!arter than d thought. <retending not to be a god though, that was a low blow. wouldnt have had to tackle hi! so !any ti!es in the club roo! if hed told us the truth fro! the start. =<erhaps its ti!e you tell !e exactly whats going on with you, &arsten %aker, said, narrowing !y eyes. *e took a deep breath. = a! &arsten %aker. ! twenty1eight years old, but prefer to look as though ! sixteen. "y 0sister <enelope "artuna, only has the sa!e father as !e. "y father is so!eone that you were very !isinfor!ed about. ! not going to tell you who he is, but <enelope and were forbidden at birth to use our powers ac2uired fro! hi!. <enelopes !other is #lectrona. t was !ere coincidence that we ended up with the sa!e caretakers. "y step1father, and !y real !other. =<enelope didnt like living with caretakers. So she killed !y !other. She never wanted anything to do with !e because was a half1blood. Scu!, she said. Scu! who never deserved to be seen by her. She killed !y !other right in front of !e, the sa!e way you all 6ust killed <enelope. didnt know that was fighting her back there, but ! sure glad that got !y chance to. .hen !et you, it was !y chance at another fa!ily. # better one. .ithout !y !o! around, !y step1dad i!!ediately sent !e off to school and severed all ties with !e. was depressed, you see. +hats why !ade !yself so s!all. felt s!all. felt as though deserved to be s!all. = dont have any fa!ily, at all, except for !y biological father. doubt he would want anything to do with !e either. didnt have a purpose in life. <enelope was gone,

replaced with a clone she !ade. She stabbed #bril so that #bril wouldnt tell you shed seen her before. She knew wouldnt tell. #nyway, while was lying in bed the night !et you, thought about it. =>oure a deity to all your friends. >ou call it a fa!ily. t !akes you the !other. need so!eone can look up to. need so!eone to stand up for and protect. >oure their goddess. <lease, can you be !ine too? &arsten asked, dropping to his knees. looked down at hi! cal!ly. =Stand up, &arsten, ordered. *e obeyed, rising to his full height, where he towered over !e. 3ow was looking up at hi!. didnt like having people look up to !e. didnt say a word to &arsten, 6ust took two steps forward. wrapped !y ar!s around hi! and s2uee7ed. =>ou dont need to look up to anyone. >oure one of the strongest !en ve ever !et. ve already !ade you part of !y fa!ily. .hy would you want to look up to so!eone again? .hy would you risk getting hurt all over again? >ou whi!per !y na!e every ti!e get hurt. +heres going to be a battle tonight, and ! going to get hurt. +he others look up to !e for so!e reason, but dont want the! to be entirely devoted. want the! to look out for the!selves. >our sister said that their worry for the!selves was a sign of betrayal towards !e. think that its another sign of trust. &arstens ar!s ca!e up around !e slowly, his tears soaking through !y shirt. =#!brosine Devanney, look up to you because youre irresistible. >oure the perfect person for anyone to look up to. 4veryone looks up to you. ll do whatever you want, but need to protect you. ! going to fight alongside you for as long as live, and !aybe ll be like ,hett and continue to stand by you even in death. ,hett appeared again. Hey$ don#t mind me. I haven#t heard anything. ,ut weren#t you asleep when Penelope said that thing a!out the others loo"ing out for themselves? How could you "now that? ,hett said that in !y !ind because he knew &arsten would hear it and ask the 2uestion. =>eah, how did you? = was awake. =>ou were awake, and you were 6ust going to lay there and let her kill you? =3o. could hear &ei deliberating on the best way to break down the wall. knew was

in no real danger. &arsten frowned, stepping back. *e was so obviously a god. *e had the lovely eyes, perfect skin, and silky hair. 6ust couldnt believe d been so easily fooled by hi!. *owever, the fact that he was brilliant enough to be a student of &eis, and brilliant enough to fool &ei, was a!a7ing in its own right. shouldnt have felt so e!barrassed about being tricked by hi!. #bril reappeared. yawned, !y conversation with &arsten !o!entarily paused. took the clothes fro! #bril. =&arsten, turn around, said. *e blushed. =>oure going to change out here in the open? = dont think anyones gonna see !e. gestured to the deserted police station and e!pty road. &arsten turned and hung his head while changed. #bril had found !e another pair of black skinny 6eans, to !y delight. couldve done without the white shirt, but oh well. put !y 6acket back on and !ade sure looked good in the window reflection. 8ephyr appeared not long after. &arsten went back to his nor!al skin color as we got back into the car. ,hett was still hanging around, laying across #brils and !y lap. doubted that she even knew.

Sia dru!!ed her fingers on her desk. Dexter was laying on the bed, his head buried under a !ass of pillows. *er desk was all the way across the roo!. = really dont see what brings about these fits of yours. swear, ! going to burn you one day. = ! a horrible !an. dont deserve to have a child with you, !y lady, Dexter sobbed. =@ot that right, Sia !uttered. = ! trash. had no right !aking love to so!eone like you. = know you didnt. Sia switched positions, placing her elbow on the desk and dropping her chin into her hand. = ! 6ust going to replace !yself. ,un away and live under a rock. =;kay. = dont know what ll do when its born. ll run around in helpless circles. >oull have %ady Sine at your side anyway, you dont need !y help. = dont.

Sia continued giving si!ple answers to his state!ents until he 2uieted. She got up and went to sit beside hi!. She took his hand in hers and waited for Dexter to respond. *e sat up. ="y lady, do you have any thoughts on our future with this child? Dexter asked. = think that ve told you what ! na!ing our child, so would like for you to say the na!e when you refer to it. >ou are thinking of !arriage, and we have no ti!e for a wedding, Dexter. ;h, and stop calling !e 0!y lady. >ou cant call !e that around your child. >oull confuse her. Dexters eyes widened. =>ouve been told that its a girl? =3o. "others intuition. =>ou cant have !others intuition yet, as you are not officially a !other, !y lady, Dexter pointed out. Sia gave hi! the death glare. =.hat did 6ust tell you? Dexter put his best innocent face on. = ! sorry? $ut ve never called you anything else in !y entire life, its second nature, he said. =>es. $ut you cant say, 0 love you, !y lady. >ou cant say, 0.hat a beautiful baby, !y lady. >ou cant say, 0.ill you !arry !e, !y lady?. >ou cant? ts better for you to get out of the habit now, Sia said, getting upset. Dexter hugged her. = ! sorry. didnt !ean to !ake you cry. = ts not your fault. ts this da!n pregnancy. =Do you want to talk to %ady Sine? =.e cant call her. 3ova said she destroyed her phone when we spoke to her in the hotel roo! before the !assacre there. .e could call #brils phone, suppose, but it depends on where they decide to ca!p out. Sia stole one of Dexters pillows and wrapped it around her head. Dexter kept a hand on her back while he dialed #brils nu!ber on Sias cellphone. =*ey, %uka? Sia yelled at the top of her lungs. %uka showed up in the doorway. =>eah? =-an you !ake !e feel better? <lease? =Sia, cant do !uch !ore. f try, !ight accidentally cause you to have the baby right here in the floor. #nd then, would have to die after witnessing such a thing, %uka said,

wincing at the thought alone. =She didnt answer. assure you, %ord %uka, if you ever saw that !uch of %ady Sia, you would be dead in seconds, Dexter pro!ised, flashing a rare s!ile. %uka cowered. Sia growled, and Dexter reali7ed his !istake. *e dropped to his knees and held her hand. = ! sorry. <lease forgive !e. =Dexter. *e looked up at Sia, and she giggled the way shed always used to. Dexter brightened, though it was only for a !o!ent. Sia went fro! giggly to !urderous without even blinking. S!oke rose fro! their 6oined hands, and Dexter tried very hard not to cry. =.hat is !y na!e, Dexter? =#lessia Diana -orbett, he whispered. -orbett being the last na!e of Sias awful caretakers. $ut it was her na!e. Shed asked Dexter to say it. Still, he was terrified that he !ight have angered her by using it. =+hats right. d kind of forgotten that have a last na!e too. 3ow, you !ay pick out of those na!es what to call !e. >ou can call !e #lessia, Sia, Diana, -orbett, any of those. $ut, you !ay not add 0!iss or 0lady. 5ust a si!ple na!e. #fter all, ! not really your superior. >our !other is #thena and your father is #res. ! not of any higher status than you. .hy do you insist on treating !e like a 2ueen? Dexter let go of her hand and watched the burns shed left fade. Sias eyes never left his face. *e was well aware that she would wait forever for an answer. %uka started healing Sia as best he could, ignoring the couple co!pletely. Dexter could hear hi! wishing to be anywhere else. f he couldnt even tell he was pro6ecting his thoughts, he was so out of it that he !ight as well have not been there at all. = treat you that way because thats how think of you. also think of you as being so!eone far out of !y reach. .hich is why ! so worried about our child. .hat if you reali7e youre too good for !e after its born? .ill ever see either of you again? ;r will you 6ust pack up and leave? #nd what about arranged !arriages? @ods do that all the ti!e. 6ust/dont want to let !yself see you as an e2ual. Sia was surprised at his answer. *ed obviously spent so!e ti!e freaking out about this. *ow had she not sensed that so!ething really was deeply bothering Dexter?

Sia sent %uka away and started to go to hi!. She was interrupted by a gli!pse into the future. Dexter steadied her and waited for her vision to end. .hen it did, Sia looked shaken. She was pale, and she was shivering. Dexter saw goose bu!ps break out on her skin. *e s2uee7ed her forear! a bit. =#re you okay Sia clapped a hand over his !outh. She looked up at hi! with eyes that were half scared, half threatening. =.hat were you going to call !e? she asked. Dexter shifted Sia into one ar!, and used his newly freed hand to re!ove hers. *er eyes held his, !aking sure he knew that there was no escape. =#re you okay, Sia? he said, hesitating before he spoke the na!e. Sia s!iled and giggled. = ! fine. @ods, its like !eeting you for the first ti!e. She said it s!iling, but she slowly transfor!ed back to sole!n. =.hats the !atter? = was 6ust thinking. havent laughed in a long ti!e. =.ell, thats still better than %ady Sine. She hasnt laughed, ever. ts like she doesnt know how, Dexter said, trying to bring back the giggles. nstead, he got a kick to the crotch as soon as the two of the! stood. Dexter cru!pled, falling back into the floor. Sia put a hand on her bulging sto!ach. =Sine doesnt have ti!e to laugh. Shes always fighting for us. hope #brils !ade her laugh at least once in the ti!e theyve been gone. was happy to hear she was going too. hope they co!e ho!e soon, though. =;h, ! sorry. Did kick you too hard? Sia asked, finally noticing that Dexter was still writhing in pain on the floor. Sia s!iled sweetly at hi!, i!agining how their baby was going to look. *opefully, it wouldnt arrive into the world with the sa!e face of twisted pain Dexter was wearing then. She should have Dexters eyes, and Sias hair. #t least, that was the way the child appeared in Sias !ind. +he na!e shed chosen for her sure to be daughter was 6ust perfect. Sia couldnt wait to share the na!e with everyone. She was already in love with her unborn child. Dexter groaned again. = only hope youre satisfied with one child fro! !e, he gasped. =*!/no. want seven !ore? Sia laughed.

Dexter groaned and rolled onto his side. =>oull be the death of !e, Sia. =#nd dont you forget it. Sia helped Dexter stand up. *e frowned. =>ou shouldnt be lifting anything. = lifted you. Dexter, ! a goddess. ! not a weakling hu!an who cant do anything but sleep while shes pregnant. :act is, loathe that everyone is trying to protect !e all the ti!e. know how to fight. 3othings changed about !e other than !y body shape, and even that will be back to nor!al soon. ! the heir of *ades. dont need your protection, or anyone elses. Dexter and Sia looked at each other for a long ti!e. = f thats what you want. =*uh? ="y 6ob is to protect you. f dont do that, ll have to leave, Dexter said sadly. =Dont? >ou cant. = ! kidding. Sia s!acked his chest. =>oure evil? =3o. Deceiving. =.hatever. >oull regret it later. Dexter averted his eyes. =Sia, what did you see in the future? he asked. She fidgeted. =3othing. ll tell you about it later. =.as it bad? =>eah. t was bad, she whispered.

Chapter Fourteen

t was five. +he sun was sinking. &arsten, #bril, 8ephyr, and Sine were ca!ped out in a s!all forest Sine had chosen. 3ow she was asleep inside their brand new tent. #s was 8ephyr. %eaving &arsten on guard duty, and #bril !odeling wigs in front of hi!. She was currently sporting an orange bob. =&arsten, you look so distant. Dont you like this one? #bril asked. =3o, it looks good. -an ask you so!ething personal? #bril sat down next to hi! and took the wig off. *er real hair was its natural color. Sleek black, secured into a long high ponytail. t had gotten that way as the result of %ukas healing. t cured the da!age to her hair caused by the dye, !aking it go back to the way it was supposed to look. *er hair was a lot like Sines when it was like this, &arsten noticed absently. =Sure. <ersonal 2uestions are !y favorite kind. &arsten took a deep breath. f #bril loved personal 2uestions, he was going to assu!e that she would give a very good answer. Bnless she only liked asking personal 2uestions. $ut she hadnt said that. ;r i!plied it. =.hat do you think of Sine? he asked 2uietly. *e took her by surprise. *e saw it in her eyes before she laughed. +he laugh was different fro! her usual one. She was re!e!bering so!ething dark, so!ething that pained her or so!ething like that. =She saved !y life. She saved all our lives. .e all think the world of her, #bril said hesitantly. &arstens olive colored eyes studied her. #bril stared down at the wig intently. She hated it when people tried to understand her past. *er struggle. =>oure hilarious and you !ake up !ost of the personality of the fa!ily. $ut youre bothered by your past. .hats your story? &arsten asked. =.hy should you care? #bril snapped, her defenses fro! two hundred years ago returning. =$ecause. ve been through a lot in !y life too. >ou dont have to be so defensive. 6ust wanted to know about your past. >ou dont have to tell !e. $ut would

like to know your personal opinion of Sine. 3ot everyones. >ours. #bril cut her eyes at hi!. =>oure pushier than our last gay, she teased. =>eah. <robably so. intend to find out all your stories. 4very fa!ily !e!ber. 4ven ,hett, if he ever !ental !essages !e. t see!s hes shy. =*es a little shy. $ut hes always floating around the world. +he way our friend &ylah travels. #lthough, doubt ,hetts following &ylahs wine tasting agenda. =.hy do you want to know our stories, &arsten? #re you a spy or so!ething? = want to know, to find out how bad !y whole story sounds in co!parison. ! not anyones spy. #brils eyes were still guarded, but she wasnt as threatened looking as she had been originally. &arsten had noticed the alar! in her face when asked about herself. *e got the sense that !ost people didnt dare ask #bril about herself. She was kind of inti!idating when she wasnt acting foolish. t took a lot to inti!idate &arsten now, though. #fter his life of hardships and whatnot. ="y past is not one that ! fond of telling people about. f you know what !ean. =.hat? :illed with inner struggles, conflicting feelings, things of that nature? =3o, #bril said sharply. &arsten held his hands up innocently. #bril relaxed again. She was !ore sensitive than she let on. =.hen was six, got into !y first fight. felt the need to fight. felt that fighting was the only way was ever going to be able to interact. didnt see anything wrong with it, as d never done anything else. "y !other was an idiot. didnt like her, and still dont. +he only reason ever go is because cy thinks its good to keep ties with her. d be pleased if she and everyone else who ever bothered !e dropped dead. know that probably !akes you hate !e a bit, but thats 6ust !y personal view on the!. =#nyway, spent !y entire life fighting. got into fights whenever was 6ust out in %ondon. #t the acade!ies. ;utside !y flat. $ehind and inside of early restaurants. slapped !y !other once. used to be 2uite the violent person, &arsten. wasnt suicidal, like #lex, and wasnt willing to spend !y life in solitude, like ,hett. dont know how -larice wouldve dealt with things on her own, shes never told anyone. $ut she probably

wouldnt be very happy. =+he night !et cy and &ylah was 5uly 'kth, '(lm. was in a pub, a popular one. ;f course, went there looking for a fight. $ack when !y hair was horribly ugly and boring. stood around and waited for a good opponent to fight. $oys offered to buy !e drinks all the ti!e. n the dark lighting, they probably couldnt tell was black. "ost guys didnt like !e for that. t was why !y !u! was an outcast too. <retty !uch all had to do to pick a fight in a pub was look at so!eone wrong and say the word wanker or tosser. t was fairly easy for !e. =So, found !yself a burly looking guy and spit a few na!es at hi!. knew by then that wasnt nor!al. 3one of us knew until about ten years ago that our powers ca!e fro! gods. 3ot even our genius -larice could figure it out. 4ver since, #lex is the one who figures stuff out about our other abilities and stuff. .e all have a label in the fa!ily. "ine would be the fighter/clown. ll explain !ore later though, since thats not what you asked !e. = was on the verge of winning !y fight when the door opened. +he bree7e fro! outside felt good, and like said, was al!ost finished with !y current fight. 3aturally, turned to see who it was. was kinda surprised that there were two girls standing there. wanted to kill the! i!!ediately. +hey were beauty 2ueens, the kind of girls that despised. 4ven though looked a bit like one !yself. loathed the look of confidence in cys eyes. +hat was the first thing noticed when looked at her, and it still is. t bugs !e to this day. #ll this da!n confidence she has. t pisses !e off. =$ut thats the thing about our leader. She pisses us all off in different ways. f it werent for her eyes, wouldve kept trying to kill her forever. n so!e ways, hate cy. love her !ore than hate her, but still. ts 6ust 6ealously on !y part. cy walked into the bar like she was looking for !e. = thought she !ustve been there to !eet a boy. nstead, when she spotted !e, she s!iled. #nd pissed !e off !ore than already was. ts also in that s!ile of hers. want to kill her again every ti!e see the s!ile and the eyes together. was surprised at how easily she leaned down and whispered to !e. "ost people tried to keep their distance fro! !e. %ike was a !onster. 4xcept stupid !en. +hey cant leave well enough alone, and theyve never been able to. cy said, 0.e are like you. f you co!e

with us, we can help you. .hat do you say?. #ll could do was stare at her. =She had such an accent back then, but youd never know she wasnt #!erican now. dont know why still have !ine and she doesnt. guess $ritish accents are 6ust so sexy that they dont even waste away with ti!e. "y first reflex was to swing at cy. She dodged !e so easily, was in shock. She stood face to face with !e, weve always been the sa!e height. tried to hit her again, and she caught that fist. t was the first ti!e ever saw her frown. ;nce the s!ile was gone, so!e of !y killer instincts lessened. t didnt !atter by then. had !ade !y choice. was going to kill her. = cy threw !e down when tried to 6erk away. &ylah looked really hesitant and unhappy to be there. d never seen any girl in %ondon wear anything other than one of those huge, frilly, ugly dresses. $ut neither one of the! wore the!. d never seen anything like the!. +hey were different, special. %ike was. &ylah was fidgeting the whole ti!e. She bent down and said to cy, 0.e should go ho!e now. f she does not wish to co!e with us, we cannot !ake her. +here is no point in beating her into sub!ission. <lease do not !ake a scene in front of so !any hu!ans. =.ith her use of the word hu!an, beca!e so confused that forgot about wanting to fight cy. She straightened up. freaked out when thought she was 6ust going to leave after shed picked a fight with !e. She 6ust looked at !e. 0Do you want to co!e, then? she asked. couldnt refuse an offer that gave !e i!!inent chances to kill her. *owever, the !ore got to know her, there was too !uch of cy to love for !e to kill her. ="y opinion of her? cy is annoying, !anipulative, !ean, and hateful. $ut shes also kind, loving, and protective. f she werent around, wouldve beco!e the type of person she lives to kill now. $ut one day, ! going to kill cy, #bril said, winking. # yawn ca!e fro! inside the tent. =&eep drea!ing. %ike you could ever kill !e, Sine said sleepily. = will. >ou know thats !y deepest desire. =@ood luck. = appreciate your support, #bril laughed. =>ou have !y support for as long as you live. =;r as long as you do.

:ro! the worried look on his face, was guessing that &arsten thought hadnt known about #brils wish to kill !e. did, and it didnt bother !e at all. t really wouldnt bother !e if when !y ti!e ca!e, one of !y own killed !e. believed in !y own weird way that for one of the! to kill !e was the best way for !e to go. brushed off #brils threats and ran !y fingers through her hair. = wish youd leave your hair like this, said thoughtfully. =3o way in hell. =;h well. %ooks like the battle hasnt started yet. =%uckily, no. f it had, #bril and would probably be dead by now. Should we wake 8ephyr up? &arsten asked. glanced back at the tent. = wouldnt try it. *e !ight kill you if you do. ;r at least, give you his best glare. ts 2uite frightening, warned, but &arsten was already crawling into the tent. #bril and stuck our heads in. &arsten took 8ephyr by the shoulder and shook hi! gently. t was enough to wake !y brother, though. 8ephyr rolled over very slowly, revealing his face bit by bit until we could see half of it. +here was a s!all frown on his face, and his !ulticolored eyes were absolutely !urderous. &arsten fell onto his backside, and 8ephyr reburied hi!self under blankets. t was cold in the ,ussian wilderness. wanted to go back to sleep !ore than anything. =.hat is it with these #rte!is and *er!es children? +heyre so violent when theyre tired, &arsten !u!bled, trau!ati7ed. #bril stretched and pulled &arsten away fro! 8ephyr. = ! a *er!es, so its not his genes. +heyre !oon gods. +hey thrive in the night, not during the day. +hats why they try to sleep all throughout the day and only get up when its nightti!e, she explained. wondered if before 8ephyr had been clai!ed by !y !other, had he slept this way? Sia and always had. 4specially Sia. f woke her up, got the sa!e glare got fro! 8ephyr. f so!eone woke !e up, that earned the! a fist to the face, and progressing levels of pain the !ore they tried to wake !e up. ts not a wise decision to !ake. #bril was awake whenever you needed her to be, no co!plaints. She was weird. +he three of us sat there for a while with nothing to do. huffed and stood up after twenty !inutes of boredo!. =#bril, you want to fight? asked.

=:ists or weapons? she asked auto!atically. =.hichever. Bse your sword when you need it. >ou can start with your fists. =@ood, we all know youre a wi!p. >oure terrible at using your fists to fight. *ey, pro!ise you wont let #!aia have control during the fight. only cut 3eria once when she took over Sias body. She dodges like shes doing a dance, it kind of annoyed !e. he wouldn#t !e a!le to handle a fight with me$ anyway. 'ou#d !e surprised. What? 'ou thin" she#s actually a good opponent? 'eah$ I do. A!ril has loads of fighting e3perience. And she#s right$ I#m pathetic when it comes to physical strength. If she#s starting with her fists$ I can only dodge. I got luc"y the time I threw her down in the pu!. I#m ashamed to have chosen you for a host. hut up. #bril and walked into the !iddle of our little ca!psite. "y sword was on !y hip. wouldnt draw !ine until she drew hers. +he only unfair thing about our fight was !y extra powers. *er!es didnt appear to pass any special powers onto his kids, except sarcastic personalities and an uncanny ability to !ake anybody believe any lie. .henever we finally rescued #lex, d get hi! to do so!e research on that. #bril faced !e and grinned. = ts been a long ti!e since we fought. >ou sure you want to? she asked. =<lease. +heres nothing else to do, and theres no way youre going to beat !e. &arstens 6ust lucky didnt ask hi!. =>eah, #bril laughed, =*es got no idea what its like to actually go against you. +he feeling of anxiety get when looked at your sword. ;r 6ust at you when youre getting ready to battle. ts scary. like it. shook !y head. =>oure a freak. =#rent we all? =>eah, but youre 6ust creepy. #bril and stood in silence. She lunged for !e. leaned back a bit to dodge her first punch. She disappeared, showing up behind !e. hated doing back1flips. t !ade !y whole torso hurt and the whole !ove!ent was 6ust a strain. $ut had no choice. had to

live up to all !y bragging. #bril used to be lethal with fists that she thought were hu!an. 3ow, she knew all kinds of tricks. knew her fighting style well enough. #bril spun around, trying to kick !e in the ribs. knocked her hand away, but not without taking so!e da!age. She broke two of !y fingers, !y right pinky and ring finger. hid that hand behind !y back until it healed. #bril was still co!ing. She was as ruthless as Shania. # true danger to hu!anity. =-o!e on, #bril. f you want to kill !e, you cant do it like that, said, appearing in front of her, pinching her cheek, and then springing back several feet. was a !illion light1years faster than #bril. was faster than !ost gods, and faster than all de!igods. #bril grinned. =Shut up. ! en6oying !y fight. havent been in a fight since the pub. 4ven back then, there was no one who could actually fight back. +his is what always wanted out of fighting, she said harshly. frowned. So!ething wasnt right about her. t was al!ost like she was forgetting who she was. During !y next few dodges, tried to keep !y eyes on her face. *er fists were co!ing too fast for !e to look at her for very long. So stopped both of the!. #bril thrashed, trying to free her fists fro! !e. =#bril. >ou need to cal! down. =.hat are you talking about? ! fine. =3o, youre not. 5ust stand still and breathe. .e cant fight if you cant handle it. +his is why you needed to stop back then. -hill, ordered. = told you, ! fine. =#nd told you that youre not. Da!n, we could really use our good influence about now. &arsten was debating in his head whether or not to co!e help !e out. needed #lex. *e could cal! anyone down so easily. .hin"ing of me? his voice inter6ected. 'eah$ !ut you were thin"ing of me too. As you were inside my head. I didn#t deny that. I "now. Would you li"e to help me out$ !ecause you#re the most awesome "id in the world? #lex scoffed. didnt know how he could do that in his head, but apparently he could. ure. Who#s the pro!lem?

A!ril. What#d you do to ma"e her wor"ed up? I don#t "now how much of an effect I#ll have on her. I can#t do much for her )ust tal"ing. It#d !e different if it was anyone else. ,ut A!ril#s cra1y. #bril was still s2uir!ing around, but had a good grip on her fists. +here was no way she was going anywhere. didnt reply to #lex. "y way of telling hi! that was already busy trying to get her to cal! down, and needed his help no !atter what he said about #bril. could hear hi! pro6ect his voice. A!ril$ what#s wrong with you? .ell me what you#re feeling. #bril struggled against !e as she answered. I want to fight. I want to fight Icy$ !ut she says something#s wrong with me. Why do you want to fight ine? Her eyes. Don#t loo" at her eyes. .hin" a!out other things. .hings that you en)oy. #bril shut her eyes, cal!ing a bit. .hile she did that, tried to figure out how to take the confidence out of !y eyes. t wasnt !y fault. t was 6ust always there. Ale3. .ell me things I en)oy. =>ou en6oy #lex, said tensely. didnt want #bril thinking it was okay to think ro!antically about hi!. t wasnt. +his was a one ti!e offer, and if she ever did it again, d kill her for real. #lex heard !y suggestion to think about hi!. could tell he wanted to yell at !e, but if he did that, #bril would only get worked up again. n a strained !ental voice, #lex continued his cal!ing process. A!ril$ what are you thin"ing a!out? Are you calming down? A little. I#m trying to thin" of things I en)oy. .ry thin"ing a!out me$ li"e ine said, #lex said reluctantly. What a!out you? =.ell, you do have a thing for his abs. And my !utt, #lex !uttered !entally. #brils thoughts about #lex got so bad, thought was gonna have to do so!ething. &nock her out. d prefer to knock her out over listening to her think this way about #lex. #lex had stopped listening hi!self. Gods$ I#m so distur!ed, he said only to

!e. 'ou#re not the only one. Is she calm yet? I dunno. &arsten ca!e up behind #bril. *e pointed at her and !outhed, = s she okay? =Shell be fine. #bril, are you feeling better now? >ou all right? She didnt answer, and that worried !e for a second. She 6erked her fists out of !y hands. d unknowingly loosened !y hold on her. took a step backwards, and !otioned for &arsten to do the sa!e. #bril opened her eyes to show !e their odd birch coloring. She s!iled. = ! okay now. +hank you, cy. .han" you$ Ale3, she added. 2o pro!lem. ,ut I#d li"e a favor in return. What? 2ever ever$ ever in your life can you thin" those thoughts a!out me ever again. .hat was gross. I only have one tattoo$ and even if I got more$ they wouldn#t !e in the places you imagine them. I#m a person$ not a doodle pad. laughed. was going to hug #bril, but so!ething stopped !e. +he voice in !y head wasnt #lexs, and it wasnt #!aias. -rap. +he screa!ing started shortly after. sank to !y knees. &arsten ran to !y side, trying to help !e stand. =@o away4 screa!ed while was still capable of sensible speech. #bril was concerned too, but she knew to stay away when so!ething was bothering !e. *eadaches were !y undoing. curled into the fetal position, holding !y head. +he screa!ing went on for a long ti!e. thought it would never stop. f it hadnt stopped when it did, wouldve been begging #bril to kill !e again. &arsten tried to co!e closer again. couldnt tell hi! to stay away, was counting on #bril. "y !ind was too 6u!bled for !e to !ental !essage her, though. would have to rely on her instincts, if she would listen to the!.

#bril watched Sine writhe on the ground, frowning. &arsten was inching forward.

#brils hand ca!e down on his shoulder, pulling hi! back to her side sharply. = t was that dust of <enelopes. know it was, #bril said. = know. 6ust didnt want to think it was true. =*uh? &arstens eyes were tortured, conflicted. =<enelope and are half siblings. .e share a father. *owever, like told Sine, we were forbidden to ever use his powers in our lifeti!e. ;ur father is a god of !adness. #nd Sine is going !ad, he said sadly. =.hy didnt you tell anyone?? -rap, now ve got to call -larice and see if theres anything she can do. @ods, ! so tired of things like this. @et out of !y sight before rip your head off. @o wake 8ephyr up, #bril said, going to Sines side. Sine tried to push #bril away, but she was weak now. = cy, its okay. >oure gonna be okay. ! here for you. Sine whi!pered in response. # branch broke behind the!, and #bril turned. 8akary stood there, with his ar!y behind hi!. #bril stood up, her back to Sine. =>ou had to show up now? =;f course. .ithout Sine, you barely stand a chance, 8akary responded. =.hen youre dead, ! going to paint your corpse different colors. ll kill you, 8akary. =>eah, well, dont see that happening. f your leader cant, neither can you. $esides, brought so!eone for you to fight. #s well as so!eone for &arsten, and even one for 8ephyr. ! very considerate when it co!es to battling. 8akary started at so!ething behind #bril. She turned to see if help had co!e, or so!ething like that. $ut Sine had lifted her head. +o show neon red eyes and a bloodthirsty s!ile. +hat wasnt Sine, it wasnt #!aia, and it wasnt a !ixture of the two of their souls. #bril could only stare in fear the way 8akary was. Sine stopped s!iling. She rose to her feet and drew her sword. .ith a !aniacal laugh, she charged at 8akary.

Chapter Fifteen

Sia and Dexter were co!pletely relaxed. Sia was exhausted, laying across
Dexters lap, on the verge of sleep. -larice entered the roo!, her eyes glued to her book. =So!ething on your !ind, -larice? Sia asked. = ! cut off fro! Sine again. ts probably nothing, but ve got a bad feeling. +ell !e, Sia, have you seen anything in the future lately? -larice asked, lifting her eyes fro! the pages of her book. -larices unwavering pale blue eyes unnerved Sia. =Bh, yeah. guess. =>ou guess? = did. saw so!ething earlier today. #nd it would explain your bad feeling. = ts very i!portant that you told !e what you saw. &ei? -larice called. *e appeared in front of her. =>ou need so!ething, -laire? =-an you track Sine? = can. >ou want !e to figure out where she currently is? &ei clarified. =>es. .ere going to be 6oining her shortly, as feel that Sine is not in any condition to be fighting. f you have ti!e, would also like for you to find out !ore about <enelopes father. $ut the second thing is not nearly as i!portant as finding Sine. .ill you help !e and do that? &ei saluted -larice. =Sure thing. ll find the $oss right away, he said, and ran up the stairs to his technology !an cave. -larice faced Sia again, her eyes now expectant. Sia didnt understand how Sine could stand to live with -larice. +he girl was probably

the scariest of the! all. = saw Sine. +he battle was going on, and she wasnt herself. She was !ore like, well, insane. She was all clu!sy, but she was fierce. t was like she didnt have control of her own body, and neither did #!aia. dont know what it was, and dont 2uite know how to explain it. +he scary thing was, once she had practically killed 8akary, she !oved on to us. dont think that its such a good idea for us to show up there, Sia said. Dexters hand that rested on Sias sto!ach balled into a fist. -larice thought for a !o!ent. =%uka, co!e here? she yelled. *e ca!e down the stairs as fast as he could. 3one of the! ever dared to keep -larice waiting. =>eah? =-an you heal !adness? =>ou think %ady Sine has really gone !ad? Dexter asked. =>es, thats what think. Sia, you dont have to co!e along. n fact, wouldnt if were you. %uka, answer !y 2uestion. %uka sta!!ered, tripping over his words. =B!, well, dont really know. would have to ask !y dad. =+hen do that. .hile youre upstairs, tell everyone well be leaving in a few !inutes, and to dress for battle. =;kay, %uka said, nodding and 6ogging back up the stairs. -larice took control so easily. Sia heard a screa!, and leaped up. -larice threw open the door to the extra hallway of bedroo!s. =.hy !ust they always enter through here? Sia wondered aloud. @enevieve and sabela backed out of their roo!. +here !ustve been soldiers inside. Sia grabbed both of the! and disappeared outside. Dexter followed the!. -larice went to find <haedra. +he two of the! appeared outside as well. -larice put two fingers in her !outh and whistled. +he piercing whistle could probably be heard fro! !iles away. 4veryone that had been in the house that wasnt a soldier disappeared. -larices signal had told the! all to follow &ei wherever he went. .ith the whistle had co!e a !ental !essage fro! her. She trusted that &ei had had enough ti!e to find Sine. <haedra picked up a giant branch fro! the edge of the forest and took a batters stance. @enevieve and sabela watched their !other with fascination. .hen the soldiers

burst through that door, <haedra swung her club with all her !ight. She knocked out five soldiers in one hit. Sia gaped, and Dexter tried very hard not to laugh. -larice pushed her glasses up. =*uh. &ind of i!pressive, wouldnt you say? =>eah, no kidding. .ho knew #phrodites had fighting spirit? Dexter said. = dont think its fighting spirit. think its a trau!ati7ed atte!pt to protect her children. Doesnt she know well protect her and the! too? Sia asked. -larice shrugged. :our soldiers appeared, for!ing a s2uare around <haedra. She dropped her branch as she shook in terror. Sias pal! started s!oking, but -larice s!othered it. =Dont. =.hy?? =>oull hit <haedra too. ="o!? sabela and @enevieve cried. +he second the soldiers drew their swords, -larice threw a dagger into the back of the one nearest her. *e fell, so that they could all see the terrified look on <haedras face. So!eone else appeared, and took out all the rest of the soldiers. <haedra flung herself into his ar!s, crying hysterically. = a! not a fighter, #ttis? ! 6ust not? she wailed, clinging to hi!. -larice laughed hu!orlessly. = think we can leave this place to the!. s that okay with you, #ttis? ts been a while since you last fought, she said. #ttis looked a bit sour. = can still fight. 5ust because havent had to, and ve been having a lot of relaxation ti!e lately, doesnt !ean forgot all !y past years of battling. ! not a wi!p, he said. -larice s!iled. = ll take that as a yes. =Save !y stupid daughter, will ya? *earing #ttis Devanney refer to Sine as his daughter !ade Sias heart ache. #t first, she didnt understand why. $ut it didnt take her long to figure it out. t was because no !atter what, her old caretakers had never thought of her as their daughter. +heyd been too scared of her. -larice, Sia, and Dexter disappeared, linking their !inds to &eis. +hey had no idea where the others had ended up, and they didnt know where they were going to end up either. +hey ended up in so!e forest. Sia saw Sine before she noticed their

surroundings, though. She had gone insane. +hat cra7ed look on her face, theres no way the nor!al Sine would even be able to !ake a face like that. 8akary had it rough. Sia felt bad for hi!, having to fight that !onstrosity that had taken over Sines body one way or another. f she felt bad for hi!, she was going to help. n any way she could. =Dexter. @o help 8akary, she ordered. =$ut, Sia, hes the ene!y. .hy should help hi!? Dexter protested. =$ecause if you dont, ll pack up and !ove in with hi!. =*uh?? =@o. 3ow. =>es !aa!. Dexter appeared behind Sine, grabbing her ar!s and pulling her away. # sword flashed behind hi!, cutting deep into his shoulder. Sia lunged forward, only to be snatched back by -larice. =Dont. =$ut hes = ! telling you, you arent in any condition to be fighting. ll step in if he gets into danger. :or now, 6ust stay behind !e, -larice told her sternly. t was like being scolded by a parent for the first ti!e. Dexter faced the person whod cut hi!. %loyds whole face was pained, but he had no choice but to fight against the!. %uka appeared behind Dexter, resting a hand on %loyds shoulder. = ll keep hi! busy. $esides, 8akary cut !e up the last ti!e faced hi!. %loyd !ight be a little easier, he said. =*ave you lost your !ind? *es been in training for !onths. *ell protect Sine at all costs, you nut, Sia yelled. %uka 6ust looked at her until she surrendered. Sia had no control whatsoever over Sines fa!ily. t wasnt fair. She was the twin of their leader, they should listen to her as easily as they listened to -larice. Sia pouted behind -larice, looking over her shoulder to !ake sure Dexter was all right. =Sia, have you seen ,hett? =3ot recently. can su!!on hi!, he cant refuse !e. Do you want !e to? Sia asked. =3o. ! 6ust going to !ental !essage hi! and ask what hes doing, -larice said, shutting her eyes. -o!!unicating across long distances took a lot !ore concentration. 4specially if you didnt know specifically where the person was.

=*ell probably say he cant tell you. @hosts are li!ited by a force that dont know !uch about. +hey cant tell the living !uch about what they learn in death. truly wish there was a way to bring ,hett back. never knew hi! when he was alive, and ! tired of looking through hi!. +he other thing is, ,hett is the only one of us who knows #lexs location. $ut he cant touch anything solid, except !e, %uka, and Sine. feel bad for hi!, knowing so !uch and wanting to help but not being able to. -larice watched Sine nearly behind 8akary. =,hetts been gone for an awfully long ti!e, dont you think? she asked. =>oure asking !y opinion? Sia said, shocked. =>eah. Datas no good without anything to back it up. #re you going to tell !e what you think, or not? =*e has been gone forever. Do you have any idea what he could be doing? *e never tells !e anything, and doubt hes told Sine anything either. Sia al!ost couldnt stand to stay there. Seeing her sister in this condition was heartbreaking. Sia wanted to know very badly what was the !atter with her sister. .hat had caused this sudden insanity? = know what hes doing. tll beco!e evident soon. "y !others been dropping hints for a while, but now understand ,hetts part in this. .ere going to be having an interesting night, -larice said. =.hat do you !ean by that? =;h, nothing. >oull see. 3ow, Sia, if necessary, ll have to go fight. .hich !eans youll be left to defend for yourself. know thats what you want. know you dont want us to protect you. =$ut since you !ade the choice to have unprotected sex with Dexter, you now have to start worrying about your child as well as yourself. 3o offense, but its not really you that everyone is trying to protect. 4veryone is worried about your child. >ou cant afford to be reckless, not only because you !ight die. >our child could die as well. 3one of us want that to happen, and all were trying to do is !ake you see that you need not only be worried about yourself. n fact, you can#t !aintain that point of view. Sia looked down at her sto!ach, her cheeks burning in sha!e. t was true, she hadnt valued the life of her unborn daughter very !uch. She was very aware of her daughters presence, but she never considered her when it ca!e ti!e for a battle. =>oure

right. ! sorry, -larice. -larice stretched and popped her neck. =Dont apologi7e to !e. #s long as you reali7e whats wrong with your way of thinking. <ersonally, think that the way you run your life is up to you. 3or!ally wouldnt butt in. *owever, so!eone i!portant asked !e to talk to you about it. +hats the only reason why bothered, she said. -larice was nothing if not blunt. =.ho asked you? Sia asked. =#lex did. =.ho told hi!? 3eria appeared, laughing nervously. =+hat would be !e, she ad!itted. =.hen have you ever even seen #lex? = havent. $ecause #.S. and #lex are related by blood, #.S.s fusion to #lexs soul is !ore concrete. *e can travel as far away fro! #lex as he wants. told hi! when he happened to be in the neighborhood. >ou were asleep. =+hanks for telling !e. = 6ust did, 3eria said as Sia glared at her. #bril was having trouble. She was trying to fight her opponent, who did have a fighting style very !uch like her own. $ut at the sa!e ti!e, she was trying to watch Sine. 5ust to !ake sure the girl didnt try anything du!b like going after one of their fa!ily !e!bers. -larice was watching fro! the sidelines, guarding Sia. #bril didnt see why Sia had co!e along in the first place. *er being there was distracting Dexter as he kept trying to restrain Sine. .hat was !ore unbelievable was that this wasnt even really a battle. n this state, with Sine going on pure instinct, she was easy to kill. t didnt see! that killing Sine was 8akarys goal any!ore. #bril was sure that if he was going to kill her, 8akary preferred to kill Sine while she was in her right !ind. Dexter and 8akary were working together. t was all kinds of weird. %loyd was so!ething else to worry about. +hat kid was strong. "uch stronger and powerful than he had been before starting his extra training. %uka was doing a pretty good 6ob of keeping %loyd busy, though. +here was one plus. &arsten was swa!ped with

guilt, and #bril getting !ad at hi! 6ust before the start of the fighting hadnt helped anything. +his was a three1way thing. Sine and %loyd against everyone, the fa!ily and assassins against 8akarys soldiers, and everyone trying to so!ehow fix Sine. So!ething inside her was broken. .hich !eant there had to be so!eway to fix it. +o repair whatever had been broken in her soul. Sias eyes barely ever left Dexter. .hen they did, they traveled to 8akarys fight with Sine. 3eria was standing with her. 3eria slipped her hand into Sias. She whispered #!aias na!e at the sa!e ti!e Sia whispered Sines. =>ou think/theyve both beco!e !onsters? Do you think #!aia is 6ust as insane right now as Sine is? Sia asked. =<robably. want to know what happened to the! when we werent around. .here is 8ephyr? 3eria asked. #s if on cue, 8ephyr fell to the ground in front of where they were. Sia rushed to help hi! up, sending hellfire into the face of a soldier. *ellfire was the na!e shed given to her red and black fla!es. Bsing that !ethod of attack re2uired al!ost no effort on her part. Bsing a sword was the only thing that people had any right to be worried about. 8ephyr nearly attacked Sia. *e stopped i!!ediately once he took the ti!e to recogni7e her. =.hats going on, 8ephyr? Sia asked, looking hi! over for any in6uries. =Sister has gone !ad. &arsten and <enelope were half siblings. #s ! sure you know, &ei killed her. She and &arsten shared the sa!e father, a god of !adness. $efore she was killed, <enelope gave Sine 6ust a little bit of !adness. t preyed on her weaknesses and ate away at her, fro! what we can tell. 3one of us can fight very well, because were all trying to figure out how to put her back to nor!al, 8ephyr explained, thrusting his katana over Sias shoulder to kill a soldier trying to initiate a sneak attack. -larice, who had been listening and thinking, disappeared. She took a sword through her lower abdo!en for #bril, who wouldve taken it through her chest. +he only way it didnt hit -larice there was because she 6u!ped 6ust before. Still attached to the sword, -larice viciously kicked the soldier in the chest. *e fell back, and the sword was re!oved fro! her sto!ach. -larice drew her sword and instantly killed the soldier before he even hit the ground fro! her kick. #bril high1fived her, and both of the! s!iled. +hey stood back to

back as soldiers slowly began to recogni7e that the two of the! were a very big threat. =>ou ready, -laire? +his looks like enough, #bril said. = ! ready when you are. =;kay/3;.? +he two of the! rocketed around the crowd of soldiers that had been surrounding the!. #ll Sia saw were flashes of blurred !ove!ent. #fter a few seconds, #bril and -larice were standing right back where theyd started. Sia blinked. #ll the soldiers around the! fell to the ground, dead. =.heres the one who fights 6ust like you do? -larice asked. =#round. *e went off to save 8akary a while ago. Sine is co!plicating things enor!ously, #bril sighed. -larice disappeared and reappeared. She had a boy by the collar. = s this hi!? =Bh, yeah. *owd you catch hi!? = s that i!portant now? =3o, guess not. .hat do you want with hi!? 8akary said he brought this one along specifically to fight !e, #bril said. =@ood. f he fights like you, hes no proble!. know your style better than anyone else. .ouldnt you agree? #brils hand tightened on the hilt of her sword. = guess. Shall we? =.e shall, -larice said, a tiny frown on her face. Sia had a feeling that this particular battle was not going end well for that poor boy -larice had 6ust snatched. Sia was a twin. "eaning she and her twin possessed the resonance pheno!enon. Sia could not be shut off fro! Sine. Sia decided to use that to her advantage. 8ephyr agreed to guard her while she and 3eria used their resonance pheno!enon to co!!unicate with their insane sisters. Sias !ind was transported into Sines head. She could hear the thoughts that were currently going through it. 'ou need more power. 'ou aren#t trying hard enough, an unknown voice said. I am trying. 2ot enough4 .ry harder$ or I#m going to scream very loud. 'our ears will !leed if you hear it from a mile away.

2o$ no4 Please don#t4 I )ust need it to !e Buiet$ it needs to !e Buiet. If it#s Buiet$ you have no motivation. 2ow$ to get stronger$ you have to a!sor! the powers of strong people. 5et#s start with your sister. Sines brain was too scra!bled. Sia could hardly !ake out the conversation. $ut once she was finally able to hear the voices of her sister and her insanity, Sia understood. She continued listening, and wondered what 3eria was hearing. (y sister? 'es. he#s the second most powerful one here. We#re going to use this power to "ill Ea"ary$ so we can#t a!sor! him. 2ow$ you#re going to "ill her and a!sor! her powers. ,ut my sister is pregnant. And she#s my sister. I can#t "ill her. Sia sensed the threat before it could co!e. I#ll scream. Sines !ental voice was so !iserable, it !ade Sia want to cry. Don#t. Please don#t ma"e me "ill ia. I love her$ I don#t want to get stronger this way. 'ou#ve already chosen this path$ there#s no going !ac" now. ,ut I want to4 'ou#re supposed to help me4 All you do is hurt me$ and try to ma"e me hurt those that I love. ,esides$ you already told me that I was supposed to !e "illing 5u"a and a!sor!ing him. Sias !ind reached out to Sines. f she could link with it, !aybe Sia could fix whatever was wrong with Sine. "aybe she could get rid of the !adness. Sias !ind successfully linked, and she was transported so!ewhere even deeper in Sines head. +hey were in the !iddle of a battlefield. Sine was laying on the ground in front of Sia. 4verything around the! was engulfed in fla!es. Sia bent down and touched Sines shoulder. =Sine. .ake up. ts !e, Sia. >oure okay. ! here now. Sines eyes opened. +hey were very red. =Sia, she said, her voice raspy. =+hats right. ! here to put you back to nor!al. -o!e with !e, and well fix everything, Sia said, extending a hand. Sine shook her head, her eyes bla7ing redder with every passing second. =3o. ,un. =.hat are you talking about? =,un, Sia. ! a !onster now. cant even get control of !y own body back. ! not strong enough to stand up. have no strength at all. 5ust kill !y body and put !y !ind at

ease. +ell #lex ! sorry. Sia pulled Sine into a sitting position and wrapped her ar!s around her twins neck. = wont. wont run away, and wont kill you. wont tell #lex youre sorry, because youre co!ing back with !e. +here will be nothing to apologi7e for. Dont you want to see #lex again? Dont you !iss hi!? 4ven if you end up like ,hett, theres a chance that #lex will never be able to look into your eyes again. .ont that !ake you sad? >oure going to be an aunt soon. = cant go to the hospital to have a baby without you there. cant live without you there. +here will be no one to protect us. know everyone tries to tell you that we dont need you to protect us. know so!eti!es that even we say that. $ut we dont !ean it. f it werent for your protection, !ost of us wouldnt be here today. So wont let you give up. +hink of your fa!ily. +hink of everyone. #ttis wants you to be okay. #dalyn wants you to be okay. 5anice believes that you can !ake it through this. sabela, @enevieve, and <haedra have faith in you. .ere all devoted to helping you. Dont give up on us, Sine. <lease, Sister. Dont die, Sia pleaded, tears falling fro! her face onto Sines shirt. Sine hugged Sia back loosely. Sia had to keep in !ind that she was currently speaking to Sines !ind. f she could get Sine to !ake the decision to take back over her body, then it would happen on the outside. #ll she had to do was !ake Sine want to overco!e her !adness. = ts not that si!ple. >ou have to defeat !y !adness. ;r, so!eone does. told you to run because its going to take over this !anifestation of !e in a !inute. 3ow that youre here, you have no choice but to go against it. ! sorry, Sia. Sorry got you involved in this, Sine said.

Chapter Sixteen

was not sane. As ia prepared to fight my madness$ I was somewhere even deeper inside my head. With Amaia. When I showed up there$ she )ust loo"ed at me grimly. %If you#re going to call me names$ feel free to get started$& I said dryly. %I#m not gonna call you names. I#m going to suggest that you get your act together and get over this madness. I find it annoying.& I sighed. %Don#t you thin" I would if I could? 'ou inhaled that dust as I did. 'ou#re going insane too. It#s not )ust me. 0r haven#t you noticed that the thing controlling my !ody has red eyes? .hat#s a sign of demonic powers$ and it ain#t comin# from me.& %I#ve seen it. 2eria should have no pro!lem defeating my madness. If you have faith in your sister and lend her some of your power$ she#ll have a !etter chance too. Instead$ you#re sitting around your soul feeling guilty$ and letting that thing ta"e over your !ody. If you intend to give yourself up$ I can "ill you now$ and ma"e it easier on everyone else.& I turned away from my sno!!y demon. %I do have faith in ia. I didn#t "now it was possi!le to lend my power$ and now that I do "now$ I still don#t "now how. If you "illed me$ then you would die too. 'ou chose me as your host. If you don#t li"e it$ you can leave.& %'ou "now there#s nowhere else for me to go. I don#t hate you as a host$ I don#t li"e how

whenever you have a formida!le foe$ you try to give up. It#s a crappy trait to have. 'ou#re !rave sometimes$ !ut most of the time you#re a coward. A heroine doesn#t have time to act cowardly. 'ou fight$ you protect$ you achieve victory. ,ut you do not give up.& A speech from Amaia was not the !est way to reali1e the error of my ways. Amaia had "nown me for all of a few wee"s. 'et she had seen enough to say that I was a coward. I didn#t li"e that$ !ut there was nothing to !e done a!out it now. %I apologi1e.& %Don#t worry a!out it$ )ust fi3 it. Do you want me to show you how to lend ia your powers now$ Am!rosine?& Amaia as"ed tiredly. %'eah$ I#d appreciate it if you did.&

Sias sword !ateriali7ed, sticking out of the ground in front of her. So!eone else was suddenly in Sines place. # shadow person. +hat was how it started out. #s Sia backed away, it took on hu!an features. t kind of looked like Sine, but twisted. *er hair had blood red streaks, like the ones shed gotten before her vacation with %uka. Sia didnt like her hair when it looked that way. n addition to the red streaks, she also had so!e auburn ones. *er eyes were like twin suns. +here were lightning bolts drawn on her face, fro! the corner of each eye to the !iddles of her cheeks. +here were new tattoos on her ar!s. $lue waves, flowing down each ar! to the pal!s of her hands. +hey stopped where the waves surrounded the twin scars on her pal!s. *er nor!ally white katana was black, and the hilt was diluted red. Sia stared at it. She didnt even know what to call it. +his aura, it was beyond that of a de!ons. +he thing, the thing that had taken over Sine, s!iled. =.hat are you? = a! what #!brosine Devanney has beco!e. have no na!e of !y own. $esides, didnt think you were one of those people who wants to learn the na!e of the person who kills you. apologi7e. >ou can call !e whatever you want, it said in a hoarse voice. = ! not the type to learn the na!e of those who are going to kill !e. ! in the habit of finding out the na!es of those kill, Sia said, pulling her sword out of the ground. +he red blade flashed as the surrounding fla!es were reflected in it. =;h really? #s if you could beat !e in your condition.

="y condition has nothing to do with !y fighting ability. have every intention of winning this battle and saving !y sister. >oull lose here, De!on. =De!on? Do you really think thats a correct ter! for !e? = ts the only one can think of on such short notice. f you wanted a na!e, you shouldve fought -larice. +hats her thing. +he de!on rolled her eyes. =.ell 6ust see how that turns out. =>es, we will. =#re you 2uite ready? =>eah. =#ll right then. *ere co!e? the de!on warned, speeding toward Sia. She waited for the de!on to get close before sending hellfire into its face. t scorched the de!on, but it didnt stop her. Sia raised her sword and defended herself against the attack. +he de!on landed behind Sia, trying to cut in in half. Sia !anaged to block that as well, surprising the de!on. =>ou dont fight as though youre worried about that kid of yours. = dont have ti!e. ,ight now, !y concern is !y sister. = d be careful if were you, regardless of what you think your concern is. hope youve had enough training to know that you should thoroughly analy7e your opponent while fighting, the de!on said, taunting her a bit. Sia tried not to get aggravated with it.

#bril and -larice had finished off a lot of soldiers with their speed attack. +he boy who fought 6ust like #bril was running fro! the!. %uka and %loyd were both trying so hard not to hurt each other too badly that it was barely a fight. "ore like the two of the! 6ust dancing around each other. 8akary was defending hi!self against all Sines bodys attacks. Dexter was knocked out. Sine had hit hi! in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword. +he assassins hadnt yet gotten involved. 8ephyr was standing guard over Sia and 3eria. +he two of the! were curled into balls, their foreheads touching. -larice didnt 2uite know what they were doing, but she hoped it was so!ething productive. &ei fidgeted. =Should we help? .ere supposed to work for the $oss, but thats not really the $oss, he said.

= wanna fight, if 3ova would get her sword out of !y shoe. "y toes hurt fro! !e scrunching the! back for so long, Shania whined. 3ova pushed her sword further through the shoe. =Shania, want you to take care of as !any soldiers as you possibly can. td be fabulous if you could get rid of all of the!. &ei, need you to figure out where #lex is, now. dont care if that !eans you have to leave the battlefield. ! going to help 8akary with the $oss. +hats definitely not her. ! guessing that whatevers Sias doing, shes trying to fix the $oss. .ere 6ust gonna have to trust her. &arsten listened to the! !ake plans. *e was sitting in the tree above the!, clutching his bow to his chest. *e could take the !adness back, if he could get close enough to Sine. $ut that was going to be i!possible. Shed i!pale hi! before he could get within inches of hi!. 3ova was right, it was up to Sia now. &arsten wished hed done so!ething to stop <enelope. *e wished he could do so!ething to help Sine. nstead, he was feeling especially useless.

I too" Amaia#s hands as she instructed me to. %2ow$ I need you to picture ia in your head. Picture yourself in front of her$ and fuse your soul to hers. Pour your power into her. I "now it sounds weird when I#m saying it out loud$ !ut you have to do as I say. 0therwise$ it#s useless.& %I understand.&

Sia was panting. +he de!on had Sines speed, as well as all her attack !ethods. $lood dripped off Sias hand, running down her whole ar!. Sia hadnt !anaged to land one blow on the de!on. = thought you said you were ready. .ould you like to take a break? the de!on asked. =*ell no. +he de!on shook her head. =>oure stupid. $ut if you dont want to accept !y kindness, wont try any!ore. <repare to die. Sia blocked another head on attack. +he de!on disappeared and reappeared closer to her.

Sia grabbed the sword as it rushed by her ear. She surprised the de!on, who let her guard down for a !o!ent. Sia was hesitant to hurt it. She didnt know what effect it would have on her sister. ia$ raise your hand, Sines voice ordered. Raise it? Why? 6ust do what I say4 Sia raised her hand and ai!ed it at the de!on, who struggled to escape fro! Sias hold on the sword. %ightning shot fro! Sias pal!, sending both her and the de!on flying backwards. Sia caught herself before she could fall and crack her skull on the ground. +he de!on skidded into a pile of fla!ing rubble. $oth of the! were back on their feet before too long. :iring lightning was a lot !ore intense than using hellfire. Sine used it all the ti!e, and it didnt appear to phase her at all. orry. I messed up$ was that enough? Sine asked. Was that enough? 'ou sent it flying4 She sensed Sines surprise. +hat had only been a little bit? Sia felt recharged. Sine was letting Sia borrow her power. f that was the case, Sia had a lot !ore a!!o than shed thought. 3ow there was hellfire, !ag!a, lightning, ice, anything she wanted. +he best part was, the de!on wasnt aware of all that Sia could do now. Don#t get too coc"y. It has all the same powers as you do. 'our hellfire is your !est chance at winning. Don#t !e fooled$ the hellfire hurt it in the !eginning. I recommend using hellfire for the final !low. 0"ay? Sia nodded. f Sine could see what was going on, that was even better. t was like having another set of eyes. ia$ you#re not paying attention. It#s coming. Sia slashed the air 6ust before the de!on reached her. +he next ti!e she looked, there was a s!all cut on the de!ons cheek. =>ou cant use lightning. >ou werent clai!ed, the de!on spat. =.ell, believe 6ust did. #re you going to do so!ething about it? +he de!on narrowed its eyes, the lightning bolts beneath the! scrunching up. .hat thing is seriously ugly. I#d laugh at you if you loo"ed li"e that.

5ovely inspiration for a Halloween costume though. 'eah. Sias body erupted with red energy that repelled the de!on and its attack. +his new energy she had fro! being one with her sister, she felt like it gave her a whole new power of her own. .as this how it felt to be Sine? f it was, Sia wasnt sure she ever wanted to go back to being 6ust herself. f Sine was this powerful, why did she try to avoid using her power? Sia sliced across the de!ons chest. $lack blood, the sa!e as 8akarys poured down the de!ons body and dripped onto the burning battlefield. Sia laughed. 'ou need to calm down. I can#t. 'our power is e3hilarating. If you can#t handle it$ I won#t lend it to you. .hen ta"e it !ac".

appeared beside Sia. didnt know how d gotten there, but it was probably better. Sia shouldnt have to fight an ene!y of !ine. +he de!on thing that bore a slight rese!blance to !e stood in front of us, bleeding. pushed Sia back. =+ake a breather, said, drawing !y sword. Sia sat down on the ground and put her head in her hands. +he de!on s!iled. =.hats a!using? asked. =>ou are. +o think you really believed you could fight !e. =.hat are you talking about? +he de!on opened its !outh, and began to screa!. felt like all of !y organs !ustve exploded within !e. .hen put !y hands over !y ears, felt blood. fell to the ground, unconscious and very pissed.

Shania tore through the ca!psite, killing a soldier with every breath. 3ova had been knocked out as well. &ei was perched in the tallest tree, trying to find out where #lex was. &arsten, who had atte!pted to help with Sine, was laying on the ground. Sines body had cut hi! up good. Dexter was still unconscious, and 8ephyr was still

guarding Sia and 3eria. #s for #bril and -larice, they were !ore fortunate. .ith Shania killing !ost of the soldiers, theyd tracked down #brils first opponent. -larice barricaded the boy between two very thick trees, herself, and #bril. -larice was a strategist, battling was what she did best. #nd when she did battle, she always won. +here were no buts about it. f she didnt win, she died. t was as si!ple as that for every child of #thena, and #thena herself. -larice s!iled, pushing her glasses up. =3owhere left for you to run now, she said. =.ere fed up with hide1and1seek, #bril panted. = ts ti!e to die now. =$ut dont worry. =+he fact that you were good enough to re2uire both of us = "eans that youre 2uite skilled indeed. #bril and -larice lit up with white energy fro! their souls. %ike fla!es. +he boy gripped his sword so hard that his knuckles turned white. =.hat are you? he growled. =Dont be silly, #bril said. =.ere de!igods, fool, -larice said. =+he de!igods who are going to kill you now? they said together, as #bril went for his neck and -larice dove for his ankles. ;ne useless corpse later, -larice and #bril were trying to get the blood off of whatever they could. = dont think that we should use that attack any!ore, #bril said, s!earing blood across her cheek. -larice pointed to it, and #bril licked her thu!b and tried to re!ove it. =Shut up. So!eone else is co!ing, -larice said before #bril could speak again. +he person ca!e into view. #bril scoffed. =Dont worry about it. +hats the kid &arsten was supposed to fight. .here is &arsten anyway? =*es laying on the ground over there. "aybe we should take care of this one for hi!. =>eah. ts only co!!on courtesy. 8akary knew why Sine was going cra7y. <enelope had confided in hi! about her father and the nature of his powers. $ut he hadnt thought that <enelope would ever use

her powers on Sine. She had, and now he had to deal with it. +he stupid girl had only !ade things worse for her co!rades. *er little brother was all shredded up because of her actions. <enelope had cared about the kid, at least a little. 8akarys soldiers were al!ost gone. *e couldnt defend hi!self against Sine forever. So!ething else was going to have to happen. t couldnt go on this way. Sines white sword clashed with his black one again and again. She was !aking little sounds of frustration that he wouldnt fight back. # hand shot out fro! the trees and grabbed Sines sword. +he person re!ained hidden by the darkness as they 6erked the sword fro! her hand. 8akary knew that Sine had a habit of keeping daggers in her boots. *e confiscated the! 2uickly before the could use the! on whoever had helped hi!. 8akary sheathed his sword and tackled Sine. #nother pair of hands threw hi! off of her. = dont appreciate you putting the !oves on Sine right in front of !e. 3o !atter what condition shes in, a fa!iliar voice said. 8akary stared in disbelief. =#lex? *owd you get out? he said. = !ade a !iraculous recovery, another voice said. +he other hands whod first taken the sword fro! Sine. ,hett stepped out, fully visible and very solid. $ut he always looked that way to 8akary. .hat shocked 8ak was when #lex looked directly at ,hett. =,hett, the gods are still gonna need you to help the!. .e dont have ti!e to !ake conversation with 8akary now. %ook around. ;ur sides taken a turn for the worst without a leader, #lex said. -larice and #bril were out. #fter doing so well for so long, theyd been taken out by so!eone who had been !eant to fight &arsten. %loyd and %uka had been incapacitated by a few soldiers. ,hett straightened. =,ight. know. ll help the! when they actually get here. .hat do we do about Sine though? ,hett asked, looking down at her sadly. #lex frowned and shocked her to knock her out. = t needed to be done. Shes too !uch trouble like that. 3ow then, can you count how !any foes we have to take care of? = can tell you, 8ak said. =.hy would you help us? = ! going to be arrested anyway. !ight as well help so!e old friends before a!. +here are three very good fighters left. +he one -larice and #bril were fighting, and the

one 8ephyr was fighting. #nd one extra thought brought 6ust in case. #lex s!iled at 8akary. = knew you werent all bad. =>ou have too !uch trust in !e, kid. =3o, have 6ust the right a!ount. ,hett, lets go ahead and get started. = ! gonna stay out here. >ou cant stay in there very long, or shell beco!e convinced that youre a fig!ent of her i!agination. ;kay? 8eus should be al!ost right behind you. I> H@ W0-5D @/@R G@. H@R@, ,hett said exasperatedly. 8akary was not able to think clearly. #lex could see ,hett. >ou dont !ake a !iraculous recovery fro! death, 8ak thought. .ho couldve fixed hi!? f there was even a way to fix a dead person. #lex touched his forehead to Sines, and ,hett laid a hand on both of the!.

Sia stood up as her twin fell. f Sine was down, there was no longer any ti!e for her to rest. +he de!on sighed. =,eally, that wasnt even a challenge. .hat about you, are you weak against noise too? it asked. =-learly not, as ! still alive after your hideous shrieking. #s you pointed out, ! about to have a new baby. $abies !ake noise. can endure it. 5ust because were twins doesnt !ean were exactly alike. +he de!on shrugged. =.hatever. t doesnt !atter if !y screa!s wont work on you. will kill you too. = dont know why youre saying too. Shes not dead, Sia said. =Shes close enough. ll give you five !inutes to see for yourself, say last words, all that 6a77. ve got ti!e to spare. Sia kept a cautious eye on the de!on as she walked over to Sine. *owever, the de!on was busy redrawing the lightning bolts on its face. Sia was afraid to touch Sine. +he feeling was si!ilar to when 8ephyr had carried Sine into the house covered in blood and on the brink of death. 3ow, Sine was bleeding again, holding her head, and crying. Definitely alive, but in terrible pain. Sia touched Sines shoulder so lightly, she wasnt sure if her sister even felt it. =Sine, are you awake? Sia whispered as 2uietly as she could. She didnt want to

hurt Sines head any!ore. She wasnt sure how !uch !ore noise Sine could take. =Sia. have a headache. =;h honey, think you have brain da!age. =$ehind you, Sine whispered before her eyes fell shut again.

Chapter Seventeen

felt helpless. # single screa! fro! the root of !y !adness had rendered !e useless. +hrough !y blurred vision, watched a golden whirlwind descend fro! the fiery sky. 3obody else shouldve had access into !y subconscious. ;nly !y twin, #!aia, and "adness. =$ehind you, told Sia. could no longer keep !y eyes open then. +he pain in !y head was too !uch for !e. Sia rose. could still hear. heard the roar of the fla!es, the winds dying down, the !adness breathing, and heard Sias sharp intake of breath. =@ods. >ou look horrible, she said. tried to open !y eyes. $ut that too, was out of the 2uestion for !e. 5ust like 6oining the battle. =+hanks, Sia. appreciate your kind words. .ould you !ind telling !e what that thing over there is? +he voice practically opened !y eyes for !e. Su!!oning all !y strength, pushed !yself up into a sitting position. wiped the blood fro! !y face and everywhere else.

Sia was right, #lex looked horrible. *e wore a white tank top, torn and filthy pa6a!a pants, and no shoes. *is hair had grown out, and the sun streaks were co!pletely gone. +he overall brown of his hair had darkened. t was no longer light. *e was definitely skinnier, and his wrists were 6ust horrible. t hurt for !e to look at the!. =+hat thing is Sines !adness in a body. ts truly disgusting. Dont you agree? = cant say its disgusting, so !uch as twisted. #fter all, it is Sines face, #lex said, springing forward. *e landed right in front of the !adness and wiped its face clean of all the !arkings. *e was right, it did look like !e. "ore than d reali7ed before. =See? #lex had done that with barely any effort. *ow could he have so !uch power? f anything, he should be weaker than he had been the last ti!e d seen hi!. Sia was gawking, as wouldve if was able. =#lex, how did you do that? =.hat? =B!, touch the de!on thing and then 6ust co!e back and stand next to !e, Sia said. #lex blinked innocently. = dunno. >oure saying that was surprising? = ll say so, the !adness piped up. =+hen youre weaker than thought. %ets see how this goes, #lex said, bracing hi!self. had no earthly idea what he was going to do. #ll knew was that he never wouldve been so confident if hadnt saved his life a !onth or so ago and accidentally transferred so!e of !y confidence to hi!. #lex got right in front of the !adness again and grabbed both its wrists. Since hed been clai!ed by 8eus as well, he had lightning. *e wasnt as used to controlling it as was, so he didnt use it often. 3ow, he was sending vast a!ounts of electricity into the !adnesss e!bodi!ent. Despite this, the !adness showed no signs of pain. t held back. #lex looked it in the eye. began to understand, slowly but surely. =Say youre going to be still, he said sweetly. = ! going to be still, the !adness repeated robotically. =:or as long as want you to be. =:or as long as you want !e to be. =#nd once tell you that you can !ove again, you accept and e!brace that fact that will

kill you, even if ! not the only one to fight you. = accept and e!brace that you are going to deliver the killing blow once a! allowed to !ove again. =Aery good, #lex praised, patting the !adnesss head. #lex let go of the !adness and stepped back. Sia !oved to help !e stand. could only stare at #lex, who was looking !ore like a different person every second. +he !adness stayed as still as a statue. $ut then, hed ordered it to. #nd an order fro! #lex wasnt so!ething anyone could ignore. +he longer stayed awake, the !ore strength got back. stood on !y own, no longer needing Sias help. =Sine, are you okay? #lex asked, converting back to his old self. = ! fine. .hat about you, hero? asked, teasing. =Shut up. ! all right. +hough both of us could use a little healing, dont think weve got !uch ti!e for that. =>oure right, we dont. Sia looked at both of us exasperatedly. = dont know what the two of you are waiting around for. .eve still got that to deal with, and ! sure theres a downside to staying inside Sines head for too long. +herefore, I order you to kiss and hug and get that out of the way so we can finish this. nodded. #lex and did what she asked. #s he hugged !e, #lex whispered, =,hetts back. =.hat, has he been on a trip? asked. =3o, Sine. *e rescued !e. +he gods brought hi! back. +ears ca!e to !y eyes. =,eally? =>eah. wouldnt have gotten into your head without his help. $ecause hes not dead, hes not li!ited as a ghost any!ore. shut !y eyes. couldnt get worked up over the return of !y friend. =#ll right. @ood. ll deal with that later. think its ti!e for #!aia and to be of as !uch help as we can, said. 'ou thin" so$ Amaia? I don#t "now what you#ve !een waiting for all this time. All right then. 5et#s get to fusing.

#!aia and were back in our !eeting roo!. .e 6oined hands, and stared into each others eyes. t looked a little gay, if you asked !e, but there was nothing to be done. >use$ we thought in unison.

,hett looked at 8akary disdainfully. =.hy are you staring at !e? he asked. =;h, dunno, because you !agically ca!e back to life, 8ak retorted. =.hat are you, stupid? didnt !agically appear back into !y body. t had to be fixed, which #sclepius did. #fterwards, there was 2uite a bit of bargaining for *adess help. *e finally agreed. $ut ve still got so!e spiritual abilities. ts kind of like ! still a ghost, possessing !y own body. ,hett crossed his ar!s over his chest. =3ow, dont ask !e anything else. -larice is angry, and want to see how shes gonna act when she wakes up. -larices ar! twitched ever so slightly. # second later, she tightened her hand on her sword and plunged the blade into the ground. She used it as a support to get up. +he god whod defeated her was clearly surprised. =Da!!it. >ou broke !y glasses, she said, tossing the cracked pair away. +he god laughed, feeling cocky since hed gotten her down once. =>oure 6ust stupid. ve already beaten you once, you da!ned #thena. =>ou find so!ething wrong with being an #thena, young !an? a new voice said, appearing in front of -larice. -larice recogni7ed the wo!an even without her !uch needed glasses. ="other, she whispered. n front of #bril, there appeared *er!es. *e looked down at his daughter protectively. =#thena, hope you dont !ind !e 6oining you, he said. =<lease. #s if this !atter even re2uires both of us. 5oin !e if you like. ll !ake short work of this boy. #rte!is appeared in front of her third child, 8ephyr. ="other? .hat are you doing here? he exclai!ed. =8akary has beco!e too !uch of a proble! for us, and have a grandchild on the way.

wont let the life of that child be co!pro!ised. #s for #lessia, hope she can save her sister before 8eus gets there. She needs to hurry, #rte!is said, looking over her shoulder at Sia. #rte!is drew her bow. #pollo landed gracefully in front of &arsten. =*es not technically !ine, but hes the only archer here see fit to protect. So then, ll 6ust finish off the rest of the soldiers with !y sister, he said, narrowing his yellow eyes and pulling his golden bow out of thin air. =#rte!is, believe its only right that protect !y heir, *ades said, standing over Sia. = believe its in your best interest to get thirty feet away fro! !y daughter. :ro! that distance, do as you like, #rte!is replied. *ecate lifted 3ova into her ar!s. ="y little witch, you fought well. Dont worry. ll protect you, she pro!ised. 3e!esis appeared at Shanias side. =#t least youre still standing, she said in her voice that sent chills down Shanias back. =>eah. +hanks for the assistance, "o!. =Dont !ention it. 4ver. &ei watched the scene fro! his tree, wishing he could figure out who his parent was. t didnt !atter. *e could still be of use. Since #lex had appeared, he could fight now. *e didnt have to look any!ore. +his would be his second ti!e picking up a sword, and he would show everyone that he was capable of being an assassin. :or the sake of his beloved $oss, who was going through her own inner battle. = ll kill anyone who threatens her? &ei declared, diving down fro! his branch. #dalyn appeared. .here shed been the whole ti!e was unclear. $ut she engaged herself in battle i!!ediately, without asking any 2uestions. t didnt !atter. #ll that !attered was fighting. #phrodite shi!!ered into existence beside ,hett. =*ello, love. see you havent had to fight yet, she said, kissing his cheek. =3ope. ! watching hi!, ,hett said, gesturing to 8akary. +he two boys were half brothers, related by their !other. 3ot so!ething #phrodite en6oyed thinking about. She decided to ignore her other son, who was 6ust fine with her decision. *ecate and #phrodite looked into the red sky. =Da!n, *ecate said. =*ere co!es #res, #phrodite said fondly. # fireball shot down fro! the sky. t exploded upon landing, and #res stood

a!idst the fla!es. #phrodite clapped. =.onderful entrance? = diot, *ecate said. = know, it was a!a7ing? ! off, to protect !y daughter and sons and all that, #res said, referring to 3ova, Dexter, and %loyd. 3yx sat on air. = didnt think !y son would ever be in need of !y help in battle. # sha!e, pure and si!ple. f only #sclepius couldve co!e in !y place. ;h well. ll avenge hi!, and ll beat hi! up later, she said, brandishing a spear and throwing it straight through the chest of a shoulder. Dionysus and &ylah showed up together. = dont want to fight, &ylah said. =3either do . =*owever, its for Sine, so dont have !uch of a choice. = ll prepare a drink for you, Dionysus offered, patting his daughter on the head. She went off to 6oin the fight. %ast, *era and 8eus appeared. *era looked around. =.heres !y son? she asked ,hett. *e laughed. =>ou are nuts if you think ! sendin you in there. =,hett *odges. will 6oin the inner battle at once, 8eus said. = f you ask nicely. 8eus grabbed ,hett by the throat and pinned hi! against a tree. =%isten ,hett frowned, and his eyes turned white. =%et go of !e, he ordered. =.ho are you to give orders? 8eus de!anded, secretly fearing the power in ,hetts eyes. = ! ,hett *odges, like you said. f you wont let go, ll free !yself. told you when you first brought !e back to life, would only allow you into Sines inner world if they needed you there. #s of now, they dont. ll let you know if your services are re2uired later. 8eus stared. ,hett walked through hi!. ;nce freed, his eyes were crystal blue once !ore. = a! the king of the gods. >ou expect !e to condone such disrespect? 8eus spluttered. +his ti!e, ,hett was the one pinning 8eus against the tree. #lex and Sines bodies were laying very close. ,hett was the only one protecting the!, so he had to keep an eye

on the!. =%ets settle this now. >oure the king of the gods. $ut youre not anything to us. *eras the 2ueen, and she !eans nothing either. +hose two right there are the only people that !atter to us? >ou hold no sway over us. .ere not anything to you either. .e know that, as youve only interfered because you thought the world could be destroyed if this went on. =5ust because youre helping us once doesnt !ean we have to follow your orders. :act is, if you hadnt been king for so long, !ost of the gods wouldnt be loyal to you anyway. >oure 6ust a bastard who has no idea how false his sense of do!inance is. %ook around you, 8eus. 4veryone is turning to a new hero. >oure slowly turning into a !e!ory, that few will hold onto. ,hett s!iled and released 8eus. =3ow, think it best if you get away fro! !e and !y 2ueen. ;therwise, ll be killing you here, not delivering a speech. 8eus stared. =.hat have these children turned into? =+hey are the 3ew @eneration <ro6ect. Did you think would 6ust choose rando! new gods? #ll of the! have secret potential within their hearts. #lessia, #!brosine, #lexander, Dexter, and now ,hett have unlocked their potential and e!brace it. :ather, any one of the five could easily kill you. Dont underesti!ate !y test sub6ects, #thena said fro! where she battled. =+hat didnt answer !y 2uestion about their species, and how they turned out this way, 8eus said. =#s you can see, ! a bit preoccupied. *er!es, would you like to finish this one off so can satisfy !y fathers curiosities? =Sure. can do that, *er!es said. #thena approached her father. =3ow, listen carefully, because dont want to go over it again. #s you know, #lessia and #!brosine have their red1eyed state that originates fro! the ancient de!ons within the!. "ore than that, they are both able to tolerate a considerable a!ount of power that others wouldnt. +hey are both chariots, and they have been known to defy !any laws of nature. 4ven our laws. =,hett, is an interesting case. *es half spirit, although we returned hi! to his body. *is powers are truly otherworldly, and even do not know !uch about the!. do not know what abilities he still has, or if he ac2uired any new ones. #lexander no longer

refers to his state of great anger as 0going !onster. believe hes accepted it and uses it when absolutely needed. $esides that, he also has so!ething like !ind control. ve never seen anything like it before. "ore unbelievable, is that theres no real explanation for how he obtained that power. =+hese children were born during a ti!e when great, pure, vast power flowed through all the gods. t was the power of #!aia and 3eria. ;nce they were killed, their power filled ;ly!pus. +he babies born during the ti!e when their power hung in the air are special. +hey are the children we see before us, though so!e are older or younger than others. .eve never encountered anything like the!, and dont care to battle any of the!. +heir leader truly is a new type of god, and you shouldnt !ake any!ore of an ene!y out of her. =#s have handpicked #!brosine Devanney as the next 2ueen of the gods, ! telling you not to disturb any of her actions. f you kill !y test sub6ects, ll kill you, :ather. ,egardless, theres still !y daughter to discuss, and #bril ,ave. +he two of the! are !ore dangerous co!bined than apart. cant say ! pleased with that, but they are a truly strong tea!. %uka ,ush is still a !ystery to !e. cant say ll ever understand hi!. %loyd and Dexter are si!ply two fantastic guardians. +heyll stay loyal to their !istresses until the end. =#s for the assassins, theyre the sa!e as the guardians. #ll of the! are extre!ely loyal. have a feeling all of the! are bonded very strongly with their $oss. &arsten is the newest addition, so ! still researching hi!. :inally, there are the two that youre !ost interested in. didnt bother to go into detail about the!, because know you have specific 2uestions. Dont waste !y ti!e if youre going to ask the!. =.hy doesnt #!brosine try to overthrow !e? =Didnt say dont waste !y ti!e? She couldnt be less concerned with you. She only wants to protect her friends. !ight add, her love for her parents is genuine. She had little to no reaction to being infor!ed, which found !ost interesting. #ll of us thought she would retaliate in so!e way. $ut so far, shes 6ust brushed it off like its nothing. =.hy does everyone have such an interest in her? *ow does she ac2uire such loyalty fro! people? Such as ,hett *odges, your daughter, and the rest. Shes even !ade #lexander turn on his !other.

#rte!is approached. =,idiculous. She did that herself. *era frowned, reddening. = ! sure dont know what you !ean. =;f course you do. f you hadnt tried to kill the love of your sons life, he wouldnt hate you so !uch. $ut you did, and he does. +heres no undoing that. "y daughters are not !erely a topic of discussion. #!brosines feelings on the 3ew @eneration <ro6ect are not any of your business. 4ither of you. =>ou should be less concerned about the! and !ore concerned for spending ti!e with your daughter. #fter all, we havent got !uch ti!e left with the!, have we? #rte!is re!inded the!, holding up her gloved hand. .hen she re!oved the glove, all of the saw the crack in her hand, like a crack in a crystal. 4very god had one, and every god hid it. +hey didnt want their children getting distracted. =#rte!is is right, but will answer your last 2uestion, :ather. t is a good one. #!brosine Devanney is a goddess unlike any other. 4veryone she !eets is instantly char!ed by her, and feels as though they must be loyal, no !atter what her opinion on it is. >ou ask why. Si!ply because her heart is pure. She draws people in with a special power of her own. +o gain protection fro! her is like the entire world shielding you. do not know what to !ake of her, or what she is. dont know where her power co!es fro!. $ut theres so!ething do know. 3o !atter how !any people she kills, #!brosine Devanney is not, and will never be a !urderer. =#/!urderer? 8eus repeated. *eras fists shook. =+hats ridiculous? Shes killed thousands. .hat is that, if it is not !urder? =<rotection, self defense, whatever you wish to call it. t is not a !urder if you kill with reason. +he one thing she will never run out of is reason to fight, #rte!is said. =+hats right, #thena said, s!iling. -larice and #bril were standing, leaning on each other for support. %uka helped %loyd up, and &arsten extended a hand to Dexter. -larice ca!e to her !others side. =.ell have faith in our goddess, no !atter what, she said. =>eah. .e owe her our lives, a billion ti!es over, #bril said. = f we ever gave up, itd be the day we were co!pletely erased, so that not even the s!allest bit of our soul re!ained, %uka said.

="aybe still afterwards, %loyd said. ,hett knelt down next to Sine suddenly. =So!ethings wrong, think, he said worriedly. #rte!is was the first one there. Sine was very stiff for a second, then she would thrash as though she were in pain. 3yx helped her old friend and *er!es keep the girl in place. ,hetts eyes shone with tears, for fear that so!ething terrible was happening to his leader. =.hats the !atter with her? he asked #rte!is. =Shes 6ust fighting. Dont worry. Shell !ake it through this, *er!es said. *e was wearing his usual goofy s!ile. f he felt that confidently about Sines victory, ,hett would follow his lead. *era went to touch #lexs face, but found herself being blocked by 3ova, Shania, and &ei. ="ove aside. *es !y son, *era said. =.e know, were not stupid, Shania said, rolling her eyes. =*owever, we think that our $oss would prefer that you didnt touch hi!. $esides, its not like you even tried to co!e to his rescue all this ti!e. doubt you even cared enough to see that he was in trouble, &ei accused. 3ova kept 2uiet. #nother bloody battlefield, with s!all fires and rubble. *er !ind flashed back to 5esters final battle. *era took advantage of her spacing out, and s!acked 3ova across the face. Shania backslapped *era without even thinking. &ei wrapped his ar!s around 3ova. =*ey, 3ova? >ou okay? .hy are you crying, did she hurt you that badly? he asked. She turned her face away. =3o. :orgive !e for worrying you. = ts all right, but dont lie to us. know what you were thinking about. know you !iss hi!, but you cant let your grief distract you fro! what needs to be done. +he $oss is still battling, right? So we cant let anyone get past us. .e know her. .e know what she would and wouldnt want. %ets not disappoint her, Shania said, her face turning icy. 3ova nodded. ,hett continued !onitoring Sine, and the three assassins kept standing guard over the bodies with hi!. #rte!is looked at the crack in her own skin, then at the face of her daughter. .ho looked so !uch like her. +hat face would soon be ruined by grief, confusion, and anger. t was inevitable that #!brosine would be angry

when she saw that the end was near for the gods. .hy couldnt #rte!is do anything to stop it? .hy couldnt #sclepius heal the cracks in their skin at all, even when he used all his power? # few shining tears dripped onto Sines face. 3yx gave #rte!is an encouraging s!ile. =*ey. >ou dont need to cry. >ou know weve still got ti!e left. = know. =#rt, seriously, dont cry, *er!es pleaded. #rte!is !oved away fro! #!brosine to step on *er!ess face. = ve told you nu!erous ti!es that do not approve of you calling !e #rt? =;kay, okay? <lease get the heel of your boot out of !y ear now? =#rte!is, *er!es, think so!ething is wrong now. .ith both these kids, 3yx said, looking at the bodies confusedly. #ll the gods and #!brosines followers gathered around to look at the bodies of #!brosine Devanney and #lexander &eller. +heir breathing had beco!e irregular. +heir chests were beginning to look a bit like an optical illusion. #s though they were sinking into the!selves. -larice reali7ed what was happening before her !other. =$ack up? #lex/hes been infected by the !adness too, but he was able to suppress it. *is goodness is the perfect defense against it, but it doesnt !ake it disappear. +he !adness within both of the! is going to !anifest, she said. 4very god had a weapon out in an instant. = s it okay to hurt the!? *ecate asked. =;f course? ts perfect to destroy the!? &ylah said. =#ll right then. ;ur ob6ective is to destroy the!, #thena said. <illars of see1through light exploded fro! their chests. -larice and #bril looked up in disbelief. =.hat the hell are those? = ts 6ust a s!all a!ount of their soul power. +he !adness needs it to !anifest, #thena said !atter1of1factly, like this happened to her everyday. +wo distorted versions of #lex and Sine appeared next to the real ones. $oth of the! were difficult to look at without staring. = want to fight #!brosines !adness, 8eus declared. #ll the other gods rolled their eyes. =:eel free. ts nothing any of us should look forward to, &arsten said as the !adness

s!iled at 8eus. =.ell then. -o!e at !e with all youve got, king of the gods, Sines !adness challenged. = f cant kill the real thing, youre second best, 8eus said. = ! so flattered. #s if you stand a chance. =%ets find out. +he !adness appeared in his face. =#s you wish.

Chapter Eighteen

"ain. :using with a de!on was painful, though it was necessary.

= wont be useless, repeated. =Shut up? #!aia ordered.

f was going

to protect !y friends and !y fa!ily, needed to fuse with #!aia. could stand it. f couldnt, really was useless. wouldnt allow !yself to be useless. opened !y eyes.

#lex whirled. Sine had told hi! not to look, as #!aia had said her clothes could explode. Sine was back on the ground, her head bowed. =*ey, are you okay? he asked. =.hy dont you co!e give !e a kiss and see for yourself? =#!aia, shut up. Dont say things like that to hi!. =;h, you shut it. >ou sayin you dont en6oy kissing your own boyfriend? = ! saying that dont en6oy you using !y body to kiss !y boyfriend. 3ow stop arguing with !e. .eve got a 6ob to do. =Scuse !e, Super!an. Sine stood up. Sia and #lex drew nearer to each other at the look on her face. t was truly frightening. Sines eyes were a darker blue than anything. # few stars re!ained, but #lex was too caught up in the blue. t was like diving into the perfect ocean, beneath a perfect night sky. # blend of Sine and #!aias eyes. Sines hair was straighter, and her bangs were longer. +here was also a single strand of auburn beside her face. $ut her clothes stayed fully intact. :or the ti!e being. =See? %ook at hi! stare, he does want a kiss, #!aia said. ;r, it was her voice co!ing out of Sines !outh. So!ething about that !ade #lex frown. Sia got the feeling hed like it even less if he saw #!aia in full control of Sines body. Sia didnt see anything to dislike about the process. So what if Sine !erged with her de!on co!pletely? t didnt really change anything about Sine herself. She was still the heroine, one of the !oon twins, the wielder of the pure sword, the legendary #!brosine Devanney. #lex was frowning at Sia now. Shed accidentally started pro6ecting her thoughts. =+hats not what ! worried about. Sine, do you and #!aia know how to get back to your separate for!s? he asked nervously. =.ell/ Sines voice said. =Dont worry, kids. ve studied up on this. #ll that has to happen is that #!brosine goes to sleep. $esides, cant fight at full power for very long in this body. .ere 6ust wasting ti!e, #!aias voice said. t was strange to watch the two of the! argue, as they were about to.

=.hat do you !ean, 0this body? .hats wrong with it? #lex, whats wrong with !y body? she asked, frowning and looking down at herself. Sia giggled, and #lex blushed. =3othings wrong with it, he said shyly. =>eah, #!aia. n fact, do believe !y chest is !uch larger than yours. ,ight, #lex? Sia giggled so!e !ore while #lexs blush deepened. = dont know. ve never seen #!aia, and dont spend !y free ti!e staring at your chest. <lease dont get !e involved in argu!ents like this. +he !adness was yelling out profanities and screa!ing to be let go. Sine ignored it. Sia was glad to see that its noise didnt see! to bother her any!ore. =+hats the price you pay for deciding you want to be with her, #!aias voice said. =Shut up, #!aia. .e should get to work now. ve got the perfect strategy for dealing with this opponent, Sine said. #lex felt a bit 6ealous at the strange bond between the de!on and the goddess. #!aia knew exactly what Sine !eant as soon as she said she had a plan, while #lex and Sia re!ained clueless. =#re you sure thats what you want to do? =.hy wouldnt be sure? =$ecause you were in so !uch pain when it happened to you. #nd, it wasnt the !adnesss fault. >ou have no reason to use that !ethod, #!aia re!inded Sine, whose eyes widened. =3o reason? =3o. Do you still want to do it? =3ot without reason. So then, do we 6ust kill it? Sines head nodded. Sine held out her hand, and the sword levitated off the ground and to her hand. =.ell co!e up with a plan as we go? Sine asked. =>eah. Sounds good, #!aia said. =*ere we go then. #lex, tell it to !ove. =>ou can !ove now, #lex told the !adness obediently. t went for its black sword auto!atically, atte!pting to block Sine and #!aias attack. +he blades !et, and Sines eyes turned red as she pushed against the !adnesss sword. #!aia took over te!porarily, pushing against the other sword with all her strength. +he white blade began to cut through the black one. Seeing this, the !adness

6u!ped back. Sine looked satisfied. =+hanks for the strength boost, #!aia, she said. =Shut up and pay attention. >oure getting cocky. Bse lightning now, before it does. .hen it gets into trouble, it uses lightning to distract us so that it can heal itself. =@otcha.

held out !y hand. nstead of !y usual whitish1blue lightning, this ti!e it was black. =Sorry, !y fault, #!aia said. =Dont worry about it. t looks kinda looks cool. Did get it? = think so. 3o wait, behind #lex. appeared in front of #lex and held up !y sword. could tell surprised the !adness. t flipped over top of #lex and !e, landing on its feet. #lex drew his sword fro! thin air. knew it well. @old bladed, with a sapphire in the hilt. t was uni2ue enough, easily standing out a!ong others. #lex slashed the !adness. noticed that when he cut it, he shut his eyes. touched his shoulder. =>ou know its really not !e youre cutting, right? = know. $ut it has your face, so its difficult. =#w, youre cute. #!aia !ade !y head turn the other way and blocked !ag!a with !y sword. =>oure an idiot? Stop with the googly eyes and get back to fighting. ! going to use !y full power. >ouve still got the bandages around your !iddle fro! earlier, dont you? =>eah, think so. =@ood. $race yourself, #!brosine Devanney. ;h, you two, dont look, #!aia told Sia and #lex. $oth of the! werent very happy with that state!ent. =.hat?? >oure going to use your best power, and we cant even look? Sia exclai!ed. =>eah, thats what said. =+hats not fair, were the closest ones to her? .e should be allowed to see, #lex argued. gave hi! !y best inti!idation look. +his was !y version of hypnosis, scaring the piss outta so!eone until they obeyed.

=+urn around and get on the ground, both of you, ordered. #lex hit the ground happily. Sia sat down. She couldnt lay down because of her sto!ach, but she knew what !eant. =3ow that weve got the! taken care of, believe ll begin. *ave you prepared yourself? #!aia asked. = dont really know how to prepare !yself. guess have. =>oure so pathetic. *old your breath, youll have precisely three !inutes to stay this way. Bnderstand? >ou have to end it in one strike. =;kay. can do that. =>ou better. #!brosine, what is your reason for killing this !adness? f this 2uestioning thing about !y reason was going to beco!e a regular thing, was actually all right with that. t !ade !e feel better about launching !y final attack. t was ironic that the first person would ever use it on was !yself. .hat kind of an effect would #!aias raw power have on !y inner !ind? really hoped wouldnt die or go brain dead after this. ="y reason. "y reason for killing this !adness is to protect everyone. f allowed it to progress within !y body, would !urder. cannot !urder. =Aery good. Shut your eyes and hold your breath. =+ake care of !e, all right? =Dont be stupid. >ou have to stay awake. .ere not killing it, re!e!ber? .e have to leave it the tiniest bit alive, so that #lex can destroy it, #!aia said. =;h yeah. ;kay, thats what well do then. #!aia stopped speaking out loud, and spoke into !y !ind. 'ou "now there#s a chance that this will "ill you$ right? = know. ! prepared for that, at least. 'ou#re a good host. 2o matter what I#ve said$ I#m glad I chose you. hut up. .here#s no way to confirm that I#m going to die. Don#t you dare start saying last words. 'ou#ll only slow me down. 0"ay. =%ets go. =#s you wish, #!aia said, and then she took a deep breath. =:inal fusion, lets destroy

everything evil in sight. =>oure so la!e, said !eekly, s!iling. shut !y eyes and held !y breath. +he power of a de!on. +he power that #!aia hid. +he power that !ade her the strongest of all the de!ons. <ower greater than any of the gods, titans, or anything in existence. #ll of the power that #!aia kept restricted inside of herself flowed into !e. knew !y irises were now fla!ing, the sa!e as the world around !e. "y hair was decorated with a single auburn streak that fell close to !y face. "y face was decorated with red war paint. "y 6acket and shirt exploded, leaving only the tightly wrapped bandages around !y torso. felt like !y body was going to explode. *ow could #!aia stand this? 'ou#re getting distracted. .hree minutes. Right. I understand. inhaled and raised !y sword. had such incredible strength, it was like the heavy sword held was a feather. charged at the !adness, who was fro7en in fear. "y legs were heavy. "y eyelids were heavy. was heavy. $ut couldnt give up. couldnt let the enor!ous pressure on !y body stop !e. +his power was what needed. .hat wanted. "y need for power was what had fueled the !adness all this ti!e, and now it would be its undoing. 6u!ped into the air, relieving so!e of the pressure on !y legs. put all !y strength into it as brought the sword down over the !adnesss head. "y eyes, only !ore cra7ed, stared up at the pure sword in horror. +he sword that would end its power over !e. , #!brosine -ynthia Devanney, was about to con2uer !y greatest weakness. cut the !adness neatly in half, adding lightning to it at the last ti!e. hadnt !eant to do that, d really !eant to leave so!e for #lex to kill. $ut d gotten into the !o!ent. +he !adness and fell to the ground together. couldnt support !y body weight any!ore. #s !y eyes fell shut, felt !y sword in !y hand. "y fingers closed around it tightly. +his was the one thing would never let go of, even in death. =:inal fusion. "ission acco!plished, !ur!ured.

Sia heard Sine hit the ground. She only knew that it was Sine because there were

two thuds. Shed killed the !adness, but the power of the ulti!ate de!on had killed her as well. =#lex? she shrieked, running to Sine. t was the regular Sine, who could pass for a nor!al girl. Bnlike the one Sia had been with for the past hour. +he twisted version, and the de!on version. #lex lifted Sine into his ar!s without hesitation. *e was panicking. =;h gods, what do we do? *ow do we get out? he asked frantically, holding Sine closer. She was still holding onto her sword. # good sign, it !eant she was alive. $ut only slightly. = dont know. #lex, is she breathing regularly? Sia asked. =3o, yes, dont know? dont know? .eve got to help her, weve got to do so!ething? dont know how got in, ,hett helped !e. $ut we probably cant reach hi! fro! this side. Sia, cant let her die. 4specially not right in front of !e. *elp appeared in the for! of #!aia. =;h no. Shes not looking too good, she said sadly, peering at the pale face of her host. =*ow could you do this to her?? Sia screa!ed. =She knew the risks. She wanted to. +heres a reason why we call it final fusion. was holding back, tried not to put too !uch pressure on her. $ut its like being dropped into the very botto! of the ocean suddenly. "ore often than not, the bodies cant take it. thought !aybe shed be different. Sia dropped to her knees. = cant be the only one. cant. need her, shes the only reason ! still alive, she whispered. =#!aia, do you know how to get out? #lex asked, trying to stay cal!. = know how. $ut do you really want to leave? +his is the only place where you can see her last thoughts. #lex shook his head vigorously. =3o? wont stay to see her last thoughts, because Sine will live? =#lex, Sine whispered. *e started, looking down at her pale face. She was s!iling. = ts been so long since ve heard you laugh. >oure changing, into a stronger person. >oure not the #lex knew, but still love you the sa!e. <ro!ise !e/you wont forget all our ti!e together. =Dont say that. cant forget. .ere going to have !any !ore ti!es together, pro!ise.

>ou can live if you want to. Dont you want to live, Sine? Dont you want to see your niece? Dont you want to stay with your fa!ily? Sine looked away, down at Sia. Sia ga7ed back with tear1filled eyes. t was their twin telepathy working again, the! co!!unicating through eye contact. Sia grabbed onto Sines hand that still held the sword. =Dont you dare give up, Sine? Dont you dare? >ou cant die yet, theres still things to be done? wont let you die. .e are the !oon twins, we help each other no !atter what the obstacle. $ut cant help you if you wont accept it. = love you, Sia. =Shut up? Stop saying things like that? Sine looked up at #lex again. =<lease, stay, he said brokenly. = cant. =.hy not? >oure still alive, youre talking to us. +heres no reason for you to have to die. >ou know it, know it, Sia knows it. .hy are you trying so hard to give up? =Shes trying to protect you. 5ust like always, #!aia said. =#!brosine Devanney only exists to protect you. +o protect all of you. #lex and Sia shut their eyes and gritted their teeth. = n a way, ve killed !yself. >ou know? snt that kinda funny, #lex? =Sure, Sine. ts funny if you think its funny. = ! sorry. =+hen 6ust dont go. Sines eyes widened. =.ow. +he gates to the Bnderworld. -an you see the!, #lex? Sia? #!aia? she asked. #lex was the only one a!ong the! who couldnt see the gates. Seeing the gates was the final straw for Sia. She wailed, hiding her face as tears seeped through the spaces between her fingers. = ts all right, you guys. $ye, #lex. $ye, Sia. ll be seeing you soon, suppose? =>eah. ll see you later, #!aia said, looking away. Sine reached up to touch #lexs face as he tried not to cry. =>oure !y favorite. &ylah thought you were going to be !y first lover. She was wrong about that, but you are !y first real love. So dont think too badly of !e for doing this. ts all to protect you, #lex.

=Dont tell !e that. = love you. #lex felt her go li!p. Sia and #!aia stared into the air above her body. =.ow, what a huge soul, #!aia !ur!ured. =>eah. ve never seen anything like it, Sia said. =.ho cares what her soul looks like? f this is the end of her, you shouldnt be !arveling at the beauty of her soul. >ou should cry? >ou should be/as heartbroken/as a!, #lex said, sinking to the ground. Sines inner world began to transfor!. +he fires went out, and the rubble disappeared. *er fiery sky turned white, and buildings sprung up fro! the ground. Snow began to fall on all of the!. #lex laid Sine down once enough snow had built up beneath her. +he snow cleared away all of the blood on her. 4ven in death, she held onto her white sword. Sia and #!aia looked up. = ts beautiful. = ts 6ust Sines soul, !aking things right in this world, Sia said. #lexs fists sla!!ed into the snow. = ll never forgive you for this? >ou pro!ised !e that you would always protect !e? Dying is not protecting us? Dying acco!plishes nothing? d rather fight a war at your side, than live in absolute peace without you? +he world cannot function this way. t wont be at peace without so!eone to keep it peaceful. 3one of us are anything without you? *ow can you think this is helping? wont forgive you? +his isnt love, its 6ust the final act of a coward? cant believe youre willingly leaving this way? f you go now, #!brosine -ynthia Devanney, swear ll hate you for the rest of !y life? -o!e back right now and protect us? #lex screa!ed into the sky.

#ll of the gods, each and every one, sensed it when #!brosine stopped breathing. ,hetts face fell in terror. #lex continued breathing, but Sine had definitely stopped. #rte!is and *er!es were there in an instant. #lex sat up, looked at her, stood up and walked straight into #bril and -larices waiting ar!s. +he three hugged as a group, trying to co!fort #lex without breaking down. Sia rose across the battlefield. =Sine, ! co!ing

to get you, ,hett said. #phrodite grabbed hi! by the back of his shirt. #lex turned around and glared at Sines body. =I hate you$ Am!rosine Devanney4 I hate you4 #ll the gods expected his outburst to trigger so!e reaction out of #!brosine. $ut nothing happened. *er eyes stayed shut. #rte!is didnt know what to do. She was too flustered. 3ova burst into tears. &ei sobbed on the ground, and Shania did her best to console both of the!. *er own icy tears were wept in silence. Sia enfolded herself in Dexters ar!s. She wasnt crying, and she didnt particularly have any e!otion on her face. %loyd and %uka were both crying, looking at her body wistfully. 8ephyr hugged &ylah, a surprising act for so!eone as cold as hi!. 3one of the others had known that the two had ever even spoken. #dalyn hugged herself, trying very hard not to cry for the sister shed always been so horrible to. 8akary cried fro! where he sat chained to a tree. #nd &arsten, who stood alone the farthest away, wept endlessly. #!aia approached the body. Slowly and deliberately, she raised her hand. -larice stopped her. =#llow !e, she said thickly. -larice reared back and slapped Sine with all her !ight. #ll of the! waited hopefully. #ll except #lex. = suppose ll take the body, *ades said. =$ack off, *er!es said, glaring. +here was no trace of his old s!ile as he knelt over his dead daughter. =.hat do we do now? .holl protect us? ,hett asked. =3o one. 4ven she didnt care enough to protect us in the end, #lex said roughly. =.hat do you !ean, #lex? know youre upset by her death, but youre acting like youre her ene!y. 4xplain, -larice said. =She betrayed !e. >ou all can go on grieving if you like. ! going to go dress !y wounds and take a shower. &arsten stepped into his path. =Stop. =&arsten, ll !ove you if you dont get out of !y way, #lex said. =3o. ! not going anywhere until you listen. dont know what happened when you all were in Sines inner world. $ut can tell you that youve treasured that girl !ore than

anything ever since you !et her. dont know why youre trying so hard to convince yourself that you hate her now, but you cant. @et over yourself and go hold her hand and cry like you want to, &arsten said. #lex hung his head. *e threw a shaky fist at &arsten, which &arsten took. &arsten led #lex back over to the body. #lex sat down next to Sine and looked at her. *e leaned down and kissed her forehead. = love you. $ut ! still !ad about you leaving !e alone. -o!pletely unprotected, he said, his hand lingering on her cheek. #s he stood up, icy fingers wrapped around the hand on her face. =Do you really hate !e, &eller?

Chapter Nineteen

ll ad!it, it was !ean of !e to play dead for a few !inutes. was going to get up as soon as returned to !y body, but heard #lex saying he hated !e. *e sounded very sincere, and that fro7e !e to !y core. .hat had brought !e back fro! the brink of death? re!e!bered that wasnt finished protecting everyone yet. 3ot everyone could defend the!selves. +here was still Sias child to take care of. $esides, dying looked boring. hated being bored. opened !y eyes slowly, to !ake sure was really back. d very nearly 6u!ped up at -larices slap, but d held onto !y self control for a bit longer. #lexs brown eyes were huge. didnt bla!e hi!. t wasnt everyday that so!eone we knew ca!e back fro! the dead. =Sine, #lex began, tripping over his words. hardened !y ga7e so that wouldnt cry. #lex could tell he was in trouble. ,hett threw his ar!s around !e, knocking !e back to the ground. =,hett, youre solid? >ou really are alive again, said, s2uee7ing hi!. *e glared at !e. thought for a second he !ight declare his hatred for !e as well. =>oure lucky havent killed you yet. <retending to be dead, how could you, Sine? wiped the tears off his face. = ! not dead, all right? was for like, fifteen seconds. $ut still have responsibilities here. #s for you, #lexander &eller, as of now we no longer have the friendship re2uired to be a couple. =>ou return fro! the dead and i!!ediately begin breaking hearts. *ow interesting, 8eus co!!ented. had !y sword at his throat in an instant. =.e already powerful gods who co!e back fro! death ac2uire a whole new a!ount of strength. #t !y current level, you are nothing !ore than a bug beneath !y heel. #nd dont like bugs, said. #!aia laughed behind !e. narrowed !y eyes at her. hame on you. Almost "illing me. 'ou as"ed for it. 5iterally.

#!aia laughed once !ore and returned to !y soul. stepped away fro! 8eus. didnt like being close to hi! for an extended period of ti!e. =.hat were you doing out here all this ti!e? So!ething useful, hope? =.e were taking care of the !anifestations of your !adness, and #lexander &ellers. would say thats rather useful, 8eus said, glaring at !e. =3o. +he true battle has already been finished. Sad to say, you !issed it. Shouldnt you be going ho!e now? could hear #thenas thoughts. She thought hard, so she pro6ected al!ost everything. -larice was the sa!e way, but d learned to tune her out a long ti!e ago. Am!rosine Devanney too" control of the situation almost immediately. @ven >ather is showing his respect$ how interesting. (y$ how I#d li"e to study her more closely. s!iled to !yself. was interesting? <lease. +o the gods, was nothing !ore than an ani!al they were observing. = ! going ho!e. s so!ething going to be done about hi!? asked, gesturing to 8akary. *e looked up at !e with puffy green eyes. $efore death, that look !ightve phased !e. $ut was tougher now. had to be. +he only person who !ightve known what was feeling inside was ,hett. "aybe he knew how to ease the tur!oil in !y heart. =.hat do you want us to do with hi!? !y !other asked. "y reaction to her was the sa!e as always. "y respect and love for !y !other was undying, no force could change that. = guess we should hold hi! prisoner and see if hes done anything else to screw up the !ortal world. f he hasnt, #lex has a treat!ent for hi!. Dont you? #lex didnt look at !e. =>eah. knew fro! #lexs tone and the fact that he was hiding his eyes that he was extre!ely upset. was sure that so!e of the pain in !y heart was fro! hurting hi! this way. didnt want us to have to break up, the idea itself was pretty stupid. >et there we were. +he only real reason d done it was so that *era would back off !y case. f she saw !e do this now, could go back and apologi7e to #lex later. couldnt deal with *era trying to kill !e all the ti!e. +hese were 6ust a few of the conflicting thoughts that ran through !y head. =>ou dont want us to kill hi!? #res asked.

+hat startled !e. =3o? >ou cant kill hi!? =#ll right, all right. >ou should probably cal! down. .e gods need to be on our way. +he kids deserve to go ho!e and get so!e rest. #!brosine, #lessia, think 8eus wants to talk to you two to!orrow, 3yx said. .hile she said it, she had her own son in a headlock, and was in the !iddle of digging her elbow into his scalp. s!iled. 3yx was one of !y favorite gods, because of her uni2ue personality. =.ell see. Depending on how !y busy schedule works out. really need to go ho!e now and take care of things. 8akary, if !eet with 8eus to!orrow, ! gonna co!e see you. #nd were gonna talk about this rebellion of yours, said, !aking it a pro!ise. *e s!iled. =#ll right. ts a date. =>ou wish. +o anyone else, it wouldve see!ed like things were looking up for !y little fa!ily. "y ene!y had been captured and it see!ed like he was going to be !ade into a good guy. d ac2uired a lot !ore power, and d !anaged to stay alive after using !y de!ons ulti!ate attack. *owever, there were still several things that needed to be fixed. #nd wherever there was a hero with nothing to do, a villain would always show up. t was like a law of nature. "y gods and the ;ly!pic gods faced each other. =+hank you for your help, said. &ei s!iled. =Arigato. =>ou saved !ost of us today, so we owe you. f you ever have a battle, #bril said. =Do not worry. +he day ask for your help is the day die, 8eus said. #rte!is, *er!es, and several others suppressed their !urderous intent towards hi!. =*opefully then, that day will be soon. #lex was the one to say it. 8eus went after hi!. t didnt !atter that was still feeling hurt because of #lex saying he hated !e. was a protector, and 8eus was going after !y !ost pri7ed possession. beat hi! there, kicking hi! into a tree. ="ake no !istake. ll kill you if you try to har! any of !y gods ever again. =:ather, youre 6ust causing trouble for yourself. # war against these children is not so!ething we want. +hey already hate you enough. ,e!e!ber ,hetts speech,

#phrodite said, pulling 8eus through the portal the other gods opened. .e waved goodbye to our parents until the portal closed. =.ell, that !akes two victories for us so far, -larice said. =;h !an, need so!e sleep, #bril groaned. =Dont !ind !e. 5ust ca!e back fro! being dead for a few !onths, ,hett said subtly. = need a drink, &ylah said, frowning. ="y head hurts, %uka whined. # tall body rushed at !e, picking !e up and swinging !e around. reali7ed !id1 swing that it was %loyd. ="y lady, thought you were gone forever. >ou have no idea how scared was. = ! sorry for scaring you, %loyd. $ut could you put !e down? =;h, !y apologies. =So, are you staying with !e now? #ll finished with your training? asked. =>es, !y lady. ve co!pleted every !ethod of training %ady #rte!is could offer. can be a !uch !ore efficient guardian now, %loyd said brightly. stretched onto !y tiptoes to pat his head. =>ou were already a perfect guardian. Does anyone else wanna go ho!e? = think need to lay down, Sia said, her eyes !eeting !ine for the first ti!e since d woken up. *er eyes let !e know that she wasnt !ad at !e for dying. #ll of us disappeared at once, appearing outside of our house. #ttis and <haedra were sitting on the porch. = see you !ade it out alive. *ey, wait, wasnt ,hett dead? #ttis asked. rolled !y eyes. =*e was. 3ow hes alive. Dont ask 2uestions, 6ust accept it, said. =#lex, do you want !e to heal your wrists? f hurry, there shouldnt be any scarring, %uka said. #lex held his hands out to %uka. f they intended to stay in the front yard all night, that was fine with !e. @enevieve, who had adored ,hett in her younger years, tackled ,hett as soon as he ca!e inside. *e laughed, happy that so!eone had finally had a bigger reaction to his return. +hough, to us, it was kind of like hed never really been gone. 4specially to !e and Sia. #bril danced through the house, singing in @er!an. $y the ti!e she started doing

that, everyone had retired to their roo!s. .e could still hear her. :ro! what caught and typed into @oogle +ranslator, it was nonsense that she was singing. &ei and stuck our heads out of our roo!s. = think ve heard that song before, &ei said. =.hen have you been exposed to @er!an? asked. =;n one of !y shows. =>our 5apanese shows? =>eah. ! wondering where #bril heard it. #bril continued skipping down the hallways, now hu!!ing the sa!e tune. t was only a !atter of ti!e before she started singing again. ;h, how longed to shove !y whole boot down her throat. =+heres no telling, and asking would be useless. *ey, #bril. ! sure so!e of us are trying to sleep. ts really not wise to irritate pregnant wo!en, you know, said. Dexters head entered the hallway. = f youre worried for Sias sake, dont be. She is fast asleep, and dont think even "iss #brils singing will disturb her. =-o!e on, Dexter, you couldnt work with !e on so!ething? 5ust this once? ll pay you to say that Sias about to co!!it a !urder. %loyds head poked into the hallway right above !ine. = rather like the song, he said. sighed. =.hat is it with you guardians? = 6ust think its got a fun, upbeat !elody. So!ething to heighten our spirits. =#bril, shut up, ,hett said, entering the conversation. #bril stopped hu!!ing, and picked up her gibberish lyrics again. =@ods, you have no idea how hard it is not to rip your head off right now, -larice said, s2uinting into the hallway. *er replace!ent glasses were hiding fro! her. #brils song beca!e increasingly !ore high1pitched. #bril dodged a wine bottle as she danced. =#bril? wont !iss next ti!e? &ylah threatened. #ll of us covered our ears. &ei was the only assassin with a roo! upstairs. wished Shania couldve been there. She wouldve shut #bril up. $ut that girl was probably knocked out downstairs. %uka opened his door. =*ey, have we got so!e kind of exotic bird in the house? he asked. could tell hed previously been asleep.

#!aia appeared. =*ey? So!e of us would like our noisy hosts to go to sleep? she yelled. #bril was oblivious. =#!aia, what do you say we use final fusion? -larice shot !e a look. = f you do, ll knock both of you through a wall, she warned. =.arning heeded, !u!bled. +he very last door on the hallway opened. #lexs sleepy face entered the hallway. *e reached out and grabbed #bril by her hair. *e brought her close, so that she was looking into his eyes. # bit too close for !e to be co!fortable with it. =,epeat. >oure going to shut up. = ! going to shut up. =>oure going to go back to your roo!, shut the door, cla!p your !outh shut, and go to sleep. @ot it? = ! going to go back to !y roo!, shut the door, cla!p !y !outh shut, and go to sleep. got it, #bril repeated. %loyd pouted as #bril retreated. pushed hi! back into !y roo!. %loyd slept in !y floor. *e always had, but still thought it was weird. .hen turned around, #lex was sitting on !y bed. *e didnt look at !e, but knew why he was there. *e wanted an explanation for why d e!barrassed hi! and broken his heart twice earlier today. owed hi! that !uch, at least. =%loyd, can you please stand guard outside the door? =>es !aa!. #s you wish, %loyd said, obeying !e without hesitation. #lex raised his head only after %loyd was gone. didnt speak. knew #lex had a lot on his !ind, and felt that it was better to let hi! speak first. =Sine, didnt !ean it when said hated you. felt betrayed, and very hurt. +o think that you would die so easily, it was shocking and didnt know how to act. shouldnt have said hated you, and ! sorry for it. >ou know better than anyone that ! not capable of hating anyone, especially not you. still dont hate you, even though it feels like you !ade !y heart explode into a !illion pieces. f could take it back, would. know thats the la!est clichn ever, but its all can think of. <lease try to understand that thought was going to be without you forever. ts unbearable, like nothing ve ever felt before. 5ust the fifteen seconds when you really were dead were too

!uch for !e, #lex said, his long bangs hiding his teary eyes. =#lex, youve been everything to !e for a long ti!e. know dont have !uch ti!e to be ro!antic and have the kind of relationship ! sure youd prefer, and ! sorry. ! sorry we had to !eet as gods, and have all these proble!s to deal with. >ou keep getting hurt, and targeted, and its all because of !e. ts because people were using you to get to !e. thought that !aybe if was gone, people would leave you alone. believed that if died, you would know wanted you to take !y place. -larice would kill everyone if she did, and Sias 6ust not a leader. = f theres ever a ti!e when ! not around, want you to re!e!ber that. >oure changing, but its for the best. >ou are the thing that keeps us sane, the soul that keeps us good. f you hadnt shown up when you did, theres no way wouldve been able to even get off the ground, let alone defeat the !adness the way did. >ou also foresaw that would have trouble with insanity. ts because no one knows !e as well as you do. 3ever forget this conversation, &eller. .henever youre sad, or feeling betrayed by !e, re!e!ber what ! saying to you now. =3o !atter what !y actions are, or what say, !y heart and soul lives within all of you. will go to any lengths to protect all of you. will never hurt you. f it !eans lying, acting, doing so!ething lethal to !yself, will. know you dont like it, but thats the way it is. didnt build a fa!ily so that others could start destroying it. .eve got ,hett back, and a new addition. &arsten and ,hett have fixed our fa!ily, repaired all the da!age it took. +his house is full of the people love !ost, and right now, ! at !y happiest. s!ile a lot, but its not genuine. +he one thing hope to do soon is laugh again. ts been so long since either of us laughed, said, re!e!bering ti!es when #lex and had laughed together. #lex grabbed !y hand and held it in both of his. = f being with everyone !akes you happy, then ll do everything in !y power to help you protect the! and !yself. #ll ve ever wanted is for all of us to be happy. ="e too. =#re you crying? thought you said you wanted to laugh, not cry, #lex said. = cant help it. Dont !ake fun of !e, okay? pulled #lex to his feet and hugged hi! as tightly as had when he first agreed to

6oin !y fa!ily. = wouldnt dare. =>eah, 0cause ll s2uash you if you do. = wouldnt doubt it. =>ou know only broke up with you to get rid of your !other, right? asked. =,eally? #lex was genuinely surprised. =>es, #lex. >oure so gullible, its not even funny.

#rte!is s!iled. She was painting, probably her final portrait. So far, shed painted #!brosine, #lexander, #lessia, Dexter, 8ephyr, herself, and *er!es. $ut there was so!ething !issing. +he place where #lessias ar!s !ade a cradle. #rte!is would have to see the baby before she could finish her last painting. *er!es stood behind her, this being his first ti!e seeing her hallway of !e!ories and all the rest of her paintings. =.ow. knew you could paint, but didnt think you en6oyed it that !uch. >ou looked reluctant when asked you to paint !e a picture of the girls for !y house, he said, looking around. #rte!iss eyes drifted to the spreading crack in her hand as she touched up a few things in the painting. +ears dripped onto her lap, rolling steadily off her cheeks. =+he end is near for us, isnt it? she asked. =#rte!is, you should know that there is no end for us. ;ur daughters and son will keep us alive in their !e!ories. Dont worry. She dabbed at her eyes, brushing her bangs away. =>ou know what !ean. know we were i!pressed that #!brosine had decided to be strong about this, but now its !e who doesnt want to let go. dont want to leave this life and abandon !y children. %iving until they were born was pointless. f could take all the ti!e behind !e and lay it in front of !e to spend it with !y children, would be happy. $ut feel like all !y ti!e is being stolen fro! !e. *esitantly, *er!es touched #rte!iss shoulder. She didnt stiffen or !ove away. =#rte!is. ;ur children are already legends. +hey love us, but they need to know that nothing lasts forever. +heyll still have our statues. +heyll have the te!ple where they can co!e to visit us. know you love the! !ore than anything, and do too. 3othing

lasts forever for us either. ="y daughter will be 2ueen of the gods. "t. ;ly!pus will finally be ruled by a wo!an, and ! going to !iss it. "y greatest wish is for the children to grow up and be able to choose their own destinies. dont want the! to go through anything like this, ever in their lifeti!es. # lu!p rose in *er!ess throat. =>oure going to !ake !e cry, #rt. =.hat have never !ind, #rte!is said, dropping her threat before it even !ade it past her lips. #rte!is traveled through the hallway to her balcony, where she could see her children. #lessia was fast asleep, with Dexter watching over her. #s for #!brosine, she was sitting in the floor of the living roo! with #lexander, her head on his shoulder while they watched !ovies. *e was bea!ing fro! head to toe at the fact that he had her back. 8ephyr was asleep, after a long day of battling and struggles. #ll of the! deserved rest. #ll of the! deserved happiness. *er!es 6oined her. =.hy do you watch the!, when it only !akes you fear your death !ore? = have to see the!, or cant keep !yself functioning. Seeing #!brosine die today was such a horrible !o!ent. didnt know what to do with !yself. >ou saw it. could barely keep !yself under control. =#rte!is, you were 6ust scared. #ny !other would be if they saw so!ething like that. $ut your proble! is that you linger in the past. =#!brosine isnt dead now. Shes 6ust fine, and shell be on ;ly!pus to!orrow, where you can talk to her. .ith #lessia. Dont get your head stuck in the past. %ive for the present while you can. .hen you paint, you see what !akes you happiest. +hats where your best inspiration co!es fro!. +hats why when you try to paint so!eone like your father or *era, it never co!es out as well as when you paint the children. know !ust sound like a disrespectful !an to you, and apologi7e. 6ust dont want you to !iss out because youre worrying about stuff that already happened, *er!es said. #rte!is didnt look at hi!. *er eyes stayed fixated on the i!ages of her children. =3o, *er!es, for once you are not 6ust a disrespectful !an. >ou are probably the only !an on ;ly!pus that have recently ac2uired respect for. Dont start grinning in that idiotic way of yours. #fter all, you did give !e !y children, even though it was against

!y will at first. >ou stand by !e, no !atter how !any ti!es beat you up. >oure a very good friend to !e, and appreciate it, she said, twisting one of her silver rings around her finger. *er!es surprised her with his boldness, spinning her around and giving her a big hug. #rte!is had barely ever !ade contact with anyone but her children. +o be hugged by this !an was a strange feeling. *owever, there was a co!forting aspect to it as well. #rte!is didnt hug hi! in return, but she didnt !ove away. *er chin rested on his shoulder, and her ar!s hung li!p by her sides. =.ere going to be okay. #lways. = dont see how you can re!ain so positive about things all the ti!e. = can because youre gloo!y enough for everyone on ;ly!pus. +ry to spend so!e ti!e doing things 6ust for you. :orget about work and everything else for a couple hours, and en6oy yourself. t really helps with all this stress. think the !ore stressed you are, the !ore 2uickly your skin cracks, *er!es hypothesi7ed. #rte!is thought about it, her !ind returning to the !orning when shed woken up to find the crack in her left hand. $eing a!bidextrous as !ost gods were, it didnt really !atter which hand the crack appeared on. .hile it li!ited the use, it didnt render a hand useless. t was 6ust a warning. # re!inder of what was to co!e very soon. :or those who worried !ore about it, it kind of !ade sense for the cracks to spread due to stress. *er!es was brighter than he looked. = ! so!ewhat i!pressed, #rte!is ad!itted. = ! a god. have to be at least a little s!art, *er!es said, putting on his stupid grin. =>ou asked #thena, didnt you? = ts possible.

Chapter Twent#

Two weeks and two !onths later, -larice slapped !e awake.

suppressed !y

urge to throw her through the window opposite the roo!. =-an help you? =Sia told !e to tell you, and 2uote, 0@et your la7y ass down to the car and drive !e to the hospital?. ;nly slightly !ore cra7ed, and she was several octaves higher as she shook !e like a rag doll, -larice said. got out of bed, pulling a sweater over !y head while went to wake #lex up. was !uch too tired to drive. #lex could drive while provided sleepy support for !y shrieking sister. shoved #lex out of his bed and threw 6eans and a 6acket at hi!. *e had no idea what was going on, but he started getting dressed anyway. Sia was downstairs, waiting on the couch in the living roo!. =.hy do you want !e to drive you? .heres your baby1daddy? asked, looking around for the nu!ber for our li!o driver. "aybe #lex wouldnt have to drive after all. t !ade !ore sense to take the li!o, Sia could lie down in there. =*es hyperventilating outside. ! surprised you couldnt hear hi! fro! your roo!, Sia gasped irritably. =>es, well, those of us who love to sleep were trying to do 6ust that. >ou had to pick -larice to wake !e up.

= couldve chosen #bril. =@ood point. found the card and dialed the nu!ber. #lex ca!e downstairs. =*ey, was splashing so!e water on !y face and heard so!ething outside. #nd when looked, Dexter was out there having so!e kind of !a6or freak out. Should be concerned about that? he asked. Sia and yawned together. +he li!o driver answered the phone last !inute, half asleep. <oor guy. 3ow d caused two people to suffer with !e. t was unnatural for !e to be awake at five in the !orning. .hy couldnt Sia wait eight !ore hours to wake !e up to take her to the hospital? =.ell pay you extra tonight. need you to take so!e of us to the hospital. +he li!o driver had his own little residence on ca!pus, the sa!e as us. "y parents were the ones who paid hi!, but felt that !aking hi! work now was kinda !ean. d pay hi! to !ake up for it. = ll be there in one !inute, he said, suddenly full of energy at the !ention of a bonus. held Sias hand as the three of us walked outside. Sia snapped her fingers. Dexter appeared at her side. She let go of !y hand and punched hi! in the sto!ach. *e doubled over in pain. = ! the one whos pregnant. dont have ti!e to be taking care of you. 3ext ti!e you have another one of these annoying fits, ! pitching you a per!anent tent outside. Do you understand !e? =>es !aa!, Dexter said as the li!o pulled up in front of the four of us. handed the driver a few hundreds while Dexter helped Sia in. was the last one in after Dexter. was seconds fro! sleep when Sia started whining about the pain. lifted !y head fro! #lexs shoulder. He had successfully gone back to sleep. didnt have the heart to wake hi! up again. 3o !atter how 6ealous was of hi! at the !o!ent. =Sia, youre actually a lot cal!er than -larice !ade you sound, co!!ented. = ve grown used to the pain of the contractions. learn how to tolerate things as experience things. *owever, it still hurts so!e, Sia said, taking deep breaths and holding onto Dexters hand. =>ou 6ust dont want to sob in front of hu!ans. = ! of a higher species? cant be seen blubbering in front of the!? Sia cried. =Sia, its fine. +hey have no idea who you are. $esides, youre pregnant. #nyone

pregnant is expected to cry. bet even "a!a shed a tear or two with us, argued. Sia narrowed her watery eyes. =*oly hell, it hurts? @ods, Dexter, 6ust kill !e, Sia finally snarled. Dexter whi!pered, but didnt break down. *ed pro!ised Sia that he wouldnt. = ts !y fault? ! so sorry, Sia? ! an utter disgrace? Dexter cried, staring down at the floor of the li!o. #lex opened one eye to look at Sia and Dexter crying in each others ar!s. =+hose two are certainly an odd pair. wonder how their baby will be, he said. relaxed. wasnt worried about their future with their baby one bit. +hey were perfect together. =%oud, said in response to his thought about the baby. =<robably. +he li!o ca!e to a halt. t was then that the gravity of the situation hit !e. Sia was going to have a baby. couldnt believe that was 6ust now getting that sickly happy feeling. d been watching Sia grow rounder and rounder every day for !onths, and only when it was ti!e for the kid to be born did start to see her as really pregnant. Dexter told #lex and !e to go ahead and tell the nurses. #lex had to though, since was clinging to #lexs ar! like would fall off a cliff if didnt. =*i, u!, we need a birthing roo! or whatever, he said. =;kay, wheres the patient? the nurse asked, ga7ing at #lex. =;h, u!, shell be in here in a second. Dont be alar!ed, shes !y twin. ! not gonna change clothes and shove a pillow up !y shirt or anything, said. =Sine, think !aybe you should get so!ething to drink. >ou look a little pale to !e. =3o, ! okay. have to be there for Sia. Dexter carried Sia in. She was scowling, trying to put on a tough face for the hu!ans. could tell the nurse was torn between who to fall for. +he sweet brunette with the pretty eyes, or the dark and !uscular one. 4ither way, it didnt !atter. She couldnt have either. $ut d let her fantasi7e while she could. Sia crossed her ar!s over her chest as we followed the nurse down the hall. .hile she usually wouldve loved being held by Dexter, now she was thinking that it !ade her look weak. +he nurse took Sia to change her into a hospital gown. was the only one in the roo! for that. #lex was trying to cal! Dexter down so that he wouldnt pass out.

*u!ans did that all the ti!e. <athetic !ales. +he nurse let us back in when she went to get the doctor. =.hy cant they 6ust let !e have the baby already? nstead, they wanna stick needles into !y ar! and take !y blood pressure. 6ust want to have this kid? Sia yelled angrily. stood by her side and played with her hair to cal! her down. +he doctor ca!e in. *e was a red head, with a s!all beard and kind eyes. took a liking to the doctor i!!ediately. was fine with this hu!an delivering !y sisters baby. =*i, "iss -orbett. *ow are you doing? he asked. =:ine. -an have the baby now? =%ets see how dilated you are. Do you feel like youre ready to push? = feel like ! ready to lay an egg. >es, doc, would very !uch like to push about now, Sia said. pinched her. =Sia, dont be rude. =<lease excuse !y behavior. #re you gonna check !y dilation? = was planning on it, the doctor said, s!iling. Dexter and #lex turned pink. gave both of the! !y best glare. =;ut, ordered. =Dont have to tell !e twice, #lex said, holding open the door for Dexter. = ll 6ust be in the hallway, Sia. %et !e know when or if you want !e back in here, Dexter said, following after #lex. Sia waved goodbye. +he doctor confir!ed that Sia was dilated enough to start pushing. cal!ed !yself. =.hich one of you is the father? the doctor asked when the boys reentered. ="e, Dexter said 2uietly. =.ould you like to hold one of her legs? #lex, Sia, and laughed at Dexters hesitation. :or this, he re2uired per!ission. *e knew that, knew that, #lex knew it, but the doctor didnt see what we were laughing at. *e was starting to look a bit flustered. Sia had begged to have the baby in a hurry, and now she was al!ost stalling. =;r, you could stand across the roo! with a net, said. Dexter responded to that with a look of alar!. Sia !et Dexters eyes. =Dexter, you have !y per!ission to hold !y leg, she said. =Do have to look? he asked.

=3o, in fact think d prefer you didnt. Sine, will you and #lex hold !y hands, please? #lex s!iled sweetly. =Sure, he said, going to her left side. +he 6erk. saw right through that sweet s!ile. Sia was not a!bidextrous. *er left hand was horribly weak, which !eant she wouldnt be s2uee7ing his hand very hard at all. , on the other hand, was stuck with her very strong right hand. +he doctor and his associates or whatever were all getting ready for the birthing. Sia was getting nervous, could see it all over her face. +here was about to be a lot of yelling. #s the doctor opened his !outh to ask if we were ready, <haedra threw the door to the roo! open. *er co!panion was !y !other. ="a!a? said, surprised. =Did you think would !iss this? brought <haedra along, since shes had three kids. thought she would have encouraging words for #lessia, #rte!is said. =Do you? Sia asked. =5ust think of it as pushing a water!elon through the eye of a needle, <haedra said, s!iling at Sia brightly. Sias 6aw dropped. #rte!is patted her face. =Dont worry, honey. f youre ready to push, it probably wont take too long. #ll of !y birthing experiences were very brief, she continued. =,eally? =>es, take !y oldest for exa!ple. *e only took six hours. =+hats short? Sia said in horror. held onto Sias hand, and !y !o! placed her hand over top of ours. <haedra stood on #lexs side. =;kay, Sia, are you ready to push? the friendly doctor asked. = dont think can do this, Sia said. She was starting to sweat, an action she hated !ore than anything else in the world. =Sia, you didnt struggle through this whole pregnancy to wi!p out now. know you can do this. >ou want this baby, dont you? asked. She looked up at !e, tears pooling in her eyes. =;f course. $ut ! scared. t really hurts, and ve never done anything like this. =#lessia, itll stop hurting after you push a few ti!es. :or us, actual childbirth should only take up to five !inutes. +ake it fro! !e, who birthed twins in four !inutes flat, #rte!is said. t was probably the !ost co!forting advice Sia had gotten so far. <haedras

co!!ent had !ade me afraid of childbirth. Dexter ca!e to kneel beside Sia. = know you can do this. f you can be a great warrior, this is nothing. love you, Sia. Sia rubbed her eyes. = love you, too. ! ready now, guess. Dexter, get back into position. ! gonna get this baby out in three !inutes, Sia said. =+rying to beat !y record? "a!a teased. =Dont rush yourself. So!ething !ight go wrong, and then so!eone really !ight need a net over there, said. +he doctor started to s!ile in his kind way again. =#re you ready now? =*ell yeah? %ets get this sucker out? Sia yelled. = ts not the last batter in the !a6or league ga!e, Sia. ts a new baby, #lex said. =Shut up? +hree !inutes, start the ti!er, nurse? Sia pushed for two !inutes, doing better than shed originally intended. Dexter collapsed when he heard the first cries of the baby. #lex and grinned at each other, and <haedra stroked Sias hair. Sia laid back, sinking into her pillows. =<ersonal best, she breathed. wouldve hugged her if she hadnt looked so fragile. knew she was 6ust tired. Shed strained herself, 6ust like d told her not to do. =-ongratulations, Sia. Did you know it was a girl? the doctor asked. *ed said his na!e earlier, but hadnt been listening. d been too busy 6udging his character. didnt want to give the i!pression that d allowed an anony!ous doctor to bring !y niece into the world. =>es, knew. Dexter tried to deny it, but knew, Sia said breathlessly. =Do you know what youre going to na!e her? =$laine Selene. =#nother !iddle na!e !eaning !oon or so!ething closely related? #lex noticed. =+heres not gonna be any left if ever decide to have a kid, said teasingly. +he nurses finished cleaning up $aby $laine and bundled her up. Sia took her newborn goddess into her ar!s and s!iled. t was a nice sight, the two of the! together this way. $laine had a head full of black hair that was already started to for! waves in it. *er eyes were very large, grayish1green in color. .e had been in the hospital for only an hour. n the next two days, Sias body would 2uickly transfor! back into fir! !uscle,

showing no signs that shed ever been pregnant. .e had a few hours before the rest of our fa!ily would wake up and co!e to see the new baby that was the newest and youngest addition to our fa!ily. #lex held out a hand to Dexter when the doctors left. =>ou still alive down there? =>es. -an hold her? Dexter asked, getting to his feet with #lexs help. =-an you handle it? Sia asked. =>es. no longer suffer fro! anxiety or worries, now that our child has finally arrived. Dexter s!iled and bent down to take the tiny baby fro! Sia. .hile $laine was in the roo!, it was as if no one could take their eyes off of her. $laine reached out with a tiny gloved hand and tried to touch Dexters face. d never seen hi! look so co!pletely happy and blissful. =Shes so pretty, <haedra said, ga7ing at the baby. = agree, #rte!is said softly. Sia re!e!bered that our !other probably had li!ited ti!e in the !ortal world to see the baby. didnt want her to go, but she had no choice in the !atter. 3ot with 8eus around. So!ething had to be done about hi!, and soon. ="a!a, do you want to hold her? ="y apologies, %ady #rte!is. *ere, Dexter said, giving her the baby. #rte!is stroked the babys face lightly with a fingertip. *er!es appeared behind her and peeked over her shoulder. *e was sleepy too. =.ow, Sia. She looks 6ust like you, he said, s!iling. =+hanks, Daddy, Sia said, brushing off the co!pli!ent. =3o, really. She looks exactly the way you did when you were first born. !ust say, !ost babies are funny looking when theyre born. >our child here is an exception, 6ust like you and your sister were, #rte!is said. Sia and blushed. ="a!a, youre supposed to say stuff like that. #ll !others do, said. =.hat have told you, #!brosine? dont lie to !ake others feel good about the!selves. 3ot even you two. :alse pro!ises and co!pli!ents do nothing, because any way you look at it, theyre still false. hope youll do the sa!e for your child, #lessia, and refuse to lie to her no !atter what the situation. = was planning on it. $ut ! not the one you need to teach about being a stern

parent. >ou should probably talk to Dexter. .ith the eyes hes giving $laine now, it looks like hed 6u!p over the !oon if he even thought thats what she wanted. =*!/youre right. Dexter, dear, see !e later, #rte!is said. =>es, !y lady, Dexter said politely, bowing. #lex ca!e up behind !e, resting his chin on !y shoulder. glanced hi! out of the corner of !y eye. ="akes you wonder, huh? =#bout what? = f Sias child is that beautiful, what would one of yours look like? he whispered, so that only would hear. =.hy, #lex, are you thinking dirty thoughts? 6oked. =3o? Sine, youre worse than #bril. ! still conte!plating the sub6ect of children and all that. ! si!ply saying that ! curious about how inhu!anly gorgeous babies can be. =Shut up, youre gonna !ake !e blush. 5ust stare at the baby like everyone else. =#ll right. dont see why Sia eats co!pli!ents up, and you act like theyre the ulti!ate poison against you, #lex sighed. frowned. = 6ust dont like being co!pli!ented. +heres no way for !e to explain why, so dont ask !e to try. = didnt. =#nd dont. = didnt intend to. @ee7, chill out. know put all your e!otions in a fren7y, but you dont have to act all pissy, #lex teased, laughing a bit. laughed. =>ou really want !e to kick you out that window, dont you? = d take you down with !e, #!brosine Devanney. =#gain with the na!e, see. =Sorry. +hats what everyone called you in the place where was kidnapped, so its kind of a habit ! still trying to get over, #lex explained. "y ga7e softened. turned to give hi! a hug. =.ell, dont worry about anything like that happening ever again. wont let it, pro!ised. *e poked !y sides. yelped and 6u!ped. =>oure so !ean. never shouldve confided in you about !y secret ticklishness. =$ut ya did.

= regret it every ti!e you poke !e. #rte!is and *er!es watched hi! hold !e in place and poke !y sides, while desperately tried to avoid hi!. *e finally stopped his evil tickling when slid to the floor, giggling. =See, you can still laugh, he praised. =She giggled, actually, Sia pointed out. =.ere never going to speak of !e giggling ever again. 4veryone understand? asked, pushing up off the floor. =Surely you werent speaking to us, !y !other said, her tone converting to stern. =-ourse not. .hy would you think !eant you? said, shifting !y ga7e to the wall beside her head. She s!iled fondly. =>our father and have to be getting back. $ring $aby $laine to see us again soon. $ut do everyone a favor and refuse any re2uests fro! 8eus to see her. #!brosine, would appreciate it if you would help in guarding the child. $laine peeked out fro! beneath her blanket at !e. !et her eyes and s!iled. Slowly, she s!iled back with her little bitty lips. =;f course ll protect her. Shes basically why ! here. Shes part of !y fa!ily, isnt she? Shes had !y protection since her creation, said, laughing as the baby stared at !e. +he tiny goddess held her ar! out in !y direction. #rte!is looked down at her. =.ell, look at that. %ooks like $laine knows who she wants to !eet next. #!brosine, do you want to hold her now? Since your father and are leaving anyway? she asked. = s that all right with you, Sia? asked. =Dont be stupid. >ou can hold her anyti!e you want to, and you never need to do so!ething du!b like ask per!ission. $esides, she wants you to hold her, Sia said, s!iling at !e. #rte!is and *er!es kissed $laine goodbye. #rte!is handed her to !e, !aking sure had !y ar!s right. +he big green eyes of $laine Selene looked back at !e. +here was so!ething especially !agical about her. could tell that she was going to grow up to be a whole new level of gorgeous, far surpassing Sia and !e. $ut there was so!ething about the sense got of her power. t wasnt as large as #!aias. t was 6ust strange. "y !other and father left through a portal *er!es opened. laid down next to Sia with the baby. $laine snuggled into the crook of !y ar! and went to sleep. =@ood

6ob, Sia. ;nly you could produce so!ething like this. ;h, and Dexter, she looks kinda like you too. n her eyes, she has so!e of that intensity, added truthfully. =+hank you, %ady Sine. Sia sat up and grabbed the +A re!ote. =.hen can we leave the hospital? +o!orrow, right? she asked. =>eah, to!orrow afternoon at the earliest, said, stopping to think about it before answered her. hated giving false infor!ation by accident. +he last ti!e d been around a newborn was when one of !y Devanney aunts had had her son. +heyd let her out the following afternoon. looked down at $laine, ignoring the +A co!pletely. +he nurse ca!e in. =-an we take $laine for a little while? .e need to !ake sure shes in perfect health, she said, casting a long glance at #lex and Dexter while she reached for $laine. Sia shot her a glare that had the power to kill. +he nurse got the !essage. +here was no way she was gonna get any chance to flirt with the new daddy. 3ova, Shania, and &ei appeared. =*ey, $oss. .e know this is probably a bad ti!e, Shania began. =$ut theres a bit of an e!ergency, 3ova said. =.e could use your help, &ei said, s!iling. = ts 6ust that the school isnt looking so safe any!ore. +he head!istress is presently trying to break the door down. believe shes another cra7ed #thena. think its about ti!e we relocate, Shania said. =.hatcha think? 3ova asked. stood up, pulling !y white sword fro! thin air. = say, never liked it !uch in ,ussia anyway. =+he accents? &ei guessed. =*owd you know? %ets get going, you all, said. =>es !aa!. #lex put a hand on !y ar!. =Dont forget your reason, he said, s!iling. =Dont worry about it. 5ust another day of saving the world, laughed.

Epilogue

$oly crap? +he $oss is on fire? 3ova exclai!ed fro! her place on the couch.
=Shanias not doing so bad, &ei said, trying to support both his friends. =>eah, but the $oss has it in the bag. wouldve given up by now, Shanias 6ust stubborn. ignored their conversation, co!pletely focused on !y battle. = wont lose this, $oss? Shania yelled. =<lease, youve already lost? yelled back, panting. Shania wiped sweat fro! her face, putting her all into her next !ove. succeeded, she didnt. She dropped to her knees. = ve been defeated, she sighed. =Dont feel bad, Shania. +he $oss really is the best at this. Shes beaten everyone so far, &ei said, patting her head. =$ut, thought was the only one who could win. =>ou never stood a chance. .e told you not to. >ou know the $oss is the fastest goddess in any world, 3ova re!inded her.

did a happy dance. =>es? a! victorious once !ore? =$oss, youre really gifted, &ei praised. =.hy, thank you. =$ut theres one person we all know youre training to beat, and its pretty !uch i!possible. >ou know that. narrowed !y eyes. = ! going to beat that du!b kid. Since 8akary got out, all hes done is brag. ts not fair that cant cut his wings off any!ore. =>oull get over it. #nyway, you say you can beat !e now? .ell then, ll take that as a challenge. %ets go, Sine, 8akary said, co!ing upstairs. *is roo! in our new house was the base!ent. d taken to calling hi! +roll. = ! going to beat you, said, deter!ined. =Shania, !ay have that, please? 8akary said, holding his hand out. Shania gave hi! the s!all white re!ote she held. =>ou ready for this? =<lease. =>ou really like to bluff. .ell 6ust see whos better here and now. gripped !y .ii re!ote tighter. 8akary 6ust so happened to be the king of 6ust Dance F. wanted to beat hi! !ore than anything in the world. Since wed !et, wed been rivals. +hat hadnt stopped during his rebellion against !e. +he two of us would never stop trying to best each other. t was si!ply the way things worked. *owever, the only ti!e we could have our dance battles was when #lex was asleep. .hich !eant that had to carefully sneak out of bed every !orning without waking hi! up. +ricky stuff, but !y training as an assassin ca!e in handy there. +here was one other thing that bothered !e about having 8akary back. *e was totally stealing !y fa!e. +here were al!ost as !any t1shirts with his face on the! as there were with !y face. 8akary chose his favorite and best song, the one trained the hardest at. Hey 'a, by ;ut&ast. t was a fun dance, but probably the hardest and !ost e!barrassing one. had to get over that if wanted to beat hi!. *e went for this one every ti!e, and the two of us were setting scores that ! sure the ga!e creators thought were i!possible to reach. +he dance began, and the two of us beca!e blurs of !ove!ent. .e were too fast for the ga!e to keep up, so it settled for giving us a steady strea! of perfects. +here was

one part in the song where the ga!e decided to hate !e, and that was usually where 8akary would get the advantage. was going to !aster that part, even if it killed !e. did well at keeping the score tied at first. .hen we reached that part, !y scores dropped to goods and okays. Bnacceptable. sped up, put !ore effort into !y swings. 8akary laughed. =>ouve lost now. = dont think so, said, as it approached the !ost e!barrassing part of the dance. +he part where 8akary and had to, as the song put it, =shake it like a <olaroid picture. .hile was excellent at that part, whenever saw hi! do it, would start laughing too hard to keep !y scores up. +his ti!e, was going to get it. would win. t was ti!e. put !y whole body into it, sending !y assassins into fits of giggles. averted !y eyes fro! 8akary. =-o!e on, Sine. >ou know you want to look. .hat if youre not getting perfects? = a!. =*ow do you know? opened !y eyes as the deadly part finished. was so close. could win this. $ut saw so!ething out of the corner of !y eye. "ove!ent. .hen glanced !ore, all saw was the open door to the base!ent. .hat had seen !oving? looked down. =Da!!it? gasped, disappearing and reappearing on the top step. scooped $laine up and sla!!ed the door shut. d lost. held $laine so that she was facing the +A. =Do you see that, $laine Selene? 6ust lost, all because had to save you, said, ignoring 8akarys victory dance. $laine was developing a bit faster than hu!an children. $ut she would slow down as soon as she began to look like a nor!al one year old. .ed been assured of this by !y !other. .hich !eant, of course, $laine had begun to crawl. She wasnt talking, but she crawled, clapped, giggled, and kissed. ;ccasionally, she would wave goodbye. $ut you really had to coax it out of her. $laine clapped her tiny porcelain hands together and giggled. 5ust like her !other, who would find fast asleep if went upstairs. #nd probably topless. didnt know why, but she would i!!ediately pass out after each ti!e she fed $laine. t was pretty disgusting. Did Dexter ever bother trying to put a shirt on her while she slept? 3o. +hat was !y 6ob. 5ust like babysitting this kid, whod cost !e what wouldve been !y biggest victory ever. turned $laine around.

She !et !y eyes as she always did. $laine liked the look of !y eyes. was fine with that, but had to hold her at a distance when she was going to look at !e. Shed poke !y eye out if didnt. =Bgh. *ow could you do this to your own aunt? = think she probably felt sorry for poor Shania, Shania said, kissing the top of $laines head as she walked by. =.here are you going? asked. = ! going to look around. .e havent since we arrived in this place. .hats it called again? = dunno. @reensboro or so!ething like that. ;r, thats the city were closest to. &ylah chose this place. .here we are now is $ethany. 5anices parents live a little ways up the road, said. d kind of helped &ylah pick this place, but !y assassins would think was getting ho!esick if told the! that. &ei and 3ova rose fro! the couch. = think ! going to get on the co!puter. $oss, do we need to buy so!e baby gates or so!ething? he asked. =3o, 8akary needs to re!e!ber to shut the da!n door when he co!es upstairs, snapped, glaring at 8ak. =Dont cuss in front of the baby, he scolded. ignored hi!. $laine was exposed to all kinds of things in this house. =@et back to your lair, +roll. =>ou first. =;oh, what a great co!eback. ! so i!pressed with your 2uick thinking. =Bh oh, 8akary said, shrinking back. didnt even have to turn around to know who was glaring down at the back of !y head. laughed nervously. =#lex. @ood to sense you today. >ou know, was 6ust gonna give $laine a bath, so if youll excuse !e, said, trying to walk around hi!. *e stuck his ar! out to block !y path. $ut he wasnt going to yell at !e yet. 3ot while had the baby in !y ar!s. =8akary. $ase!ent, #lex ordered. =;kay. =Sine, go put $laine in her playpen. =B!, dont think should. Shes been showing so!e dangerous tendencies lately. ll

6ust hold her, said. looked up at #lex hesitantly. *e s!iled. = ll let it go this once if you can beat !e at .o3ic. =$laine, ti!e to go back upstairs. #lex, you are so going to regret that deal.