by Dee King
room. It's a grand room. It has a double staircase made from gold and an all glass table with roses overflowing from the glass vase. The house is similar to mine on Earth, just on a larger scale. She looks pleased. I walk
into what I call the hang out, to find my father sitting with a guitar in his hands making music that keeps up with the beat. I see two others sitting across from him, playing an electric guitar and cello. I pause for a moment, motioning for Selene to stay, and be quiet. I find the stereo
system and turn the volume off.
“Who the hell would touch my radio?” I hear my father say, standing to his feet, laying the guitar down.
“Your son.” I say to him. My dad runs to me, with a huge grin across his face.
“Son. You’re home!” He hugs me tight as I do him.
“I thought you would be gone for a while.” He leans back.
“Um, yea, we just decided to come here instead.” I motion with my eyes towards Selene.
“My gods, aren't you gorgeous. Being a goddess looks good on you, Darling.” My dad walks over to Selene taking her hand in his, covering with the other one, and bringing her soft hand to his lips.
“Welcome, welcome. Please, come. Sit.” He takes his hand around her waist, and I begin to laugh.
“Calm down, Dad.”
“Calm? Me. Ha. You jest.” He leans his head back, letting a loud, evil laugh, startling Selene.
“Hey man.” I run to Ian trying to figure out if I hug or punch him like we always have done.
“Damn, it's good to see you!” I decide the punch was my best bet.
“You too, you too.” He wraps one arm around my shoulder.
“Selene, damn girl.” Ian removes his arm, and takes Selene in a huge embrace like they were best friends.
“It's really you.” She barely gets the words out, holding him tight.
“Yea, it's not like I died or anything. Calm down, killer.” He laughs at her, as she moves back from him.
“Funny.” She raises her eyebrows at him.
“Oh, crap. I have been rude. This is my father Aries. Dad, this is Selene, daughter of Poseidon.” Aries stands to his feet, towering over Selene.
“It's a pleasure, my dear.” He shakes her hand, as her face goes pale.
“I want to talk to you guys, so don't leave, but I want to show Selene around.” I take Selene back in my arms.
“I don't plan on leaving any time soon. Take your time, man.” Ian and Aries sit back down, picking up their instruments.
My father pats me on the face, and sweetly runs his hand over Selene's cheek, with a huge grin.
“Your mother would like to see you.” He faces me, then turns around from the both of us.
“Okay, Dad.” I move Selene towards the way we just came from.
Taking her up the golden staircase and stopping before we get to one of the halls.
“You have to meet my mom, it's not a negotiation. Here, we have some rules, and one is that you must always greet everyone when you enter a home.” Her face looks puzzled.
“Don't ask, I will explain later.” I take her by the hand and lead her to my mother's wing.
Selene seems hesitant, but I know she will adore my mom. Persephone is one of a kind. We find the room she is in and I open the large door for us.
“Mom?” I don't see her, but I know she is in here somewhere.
“Sebastian?” My mom peeks her head around the corner of books.
She hurries to me, arms stretched out for me to come to her. Her black dress flowing along the ground, with her long, dark black hair laying neatly over her shoulders.
“My son. My son.” She wraps her arms around me, squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe.
“Mom, Mom...” She finally releases me from her arms.
“Mom, this is Selene, the daughter of Poseidon.” I move Selene to me, with my arm holding her waist.
“Selene, my dear, how wonderful to finally meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine, ma'am.” Selene moves her hand to try and shake hers.
My mother takes her hand in to hers, and then stops, searching her hand.
“You have chosen to marry my son?”
“Yes, ma'am.” My mom lets go of her hand.
“Well, this is news to me, and I don't like surprises.” She turns away from the two of us.
“Why? Didn't Dad tell you?” I ask her, letting go of Selene, moving to her.
“Because your father knows I would never approve of this.” She folds her arms over her chest.
I didn't even have the words at the moment. Never approve of this? Why wouldn't she? Selene was the love of my life, she had been since I knew what love meant. Didn't approve? What the hell?
Chapter Seven
A Mother's Love
The words came spewing out of my mother's mouth, but I couldn't believe it. In front of me was the woman I admired and behind me was the love of my life.
“Approve?” I tug on her shoulder pulling her around to face me.
“Sebastian, I only want what's best for you, and this is not it. You’re too young, and she isn't ready. Plus, your arrogant father devised this plan of his years ago. It will never happen. Zeus will never allow this. I know you
think you love her, but she is meant to be with Alex, not you.” The words hit me as if she had just slapped me across the face.
“How would you know what I want? How would you know anything about me? You haven't seen me in four years, and you think that you know me? You know what's best for me?” The blood in my veins was rising, and
it was taking everything in me to refrain myself.
“You will show me some respect, Sebastian.” My mother comes close to my face. The footsteps coming up the stairs are unmistakable. My father was on his way.
“Persephone, what the hell are you doing?” My father pulls her back from me.
“They are to be married? You did this to our son? You did!” My mother pushes past all of us, running out of the room.
“Dad, what is she talking about?” I am so confused by my mother's actions.
“Your mother had a different idea, and it didn't work in her favor. Don't worry, she will come around.” My dad pats me on the back, nodding at Selene on his way out of the room.
“I'm sorry.” I try to hug Selene, but she pulls away.
“No, your mom obviously doesn't think I am good enough for you.”
“What? No. This is so stupid. She just... I don't know...” I didn't have the answers to give her because this wasn't what I had expected at all.
Ian peeks his head in the doorway.
“Hey, um, Selene, why don't I show you around the ground and we can come back in a few?” Selene shrugs and begins to follow Ian.
“Wait. This doesn't change my feelings. I will get to the bottom of this.” I plead with her.
“I know you will. Maybe she is just shocked. I will see you soon.” She kisses me on the cheek before leaving with Ian.
I knew that this wasn't what she felt at the moment. She was hurt by my mother's words that she seemed to use like a knife to cut us with. Now, it was my turn to get to the bottom of this. What had gotten into my mother? I can hear her and my father fighting in another room. The door creaks as I push it open to walk inside.
“He is too young, and he was to be married to a goddess, not... not a migades. He is royalty!”
“He will marry whom he chooses, Persephone, and the boy loves her. Now, that's the end of it!”
“You should have told me that he was falling in love with her, I could have come and stopped him.”
My mom pushes my dad with her both her hands on his chest. My father laughs a dark evil laugh.
“Please. You and your plan failed, you thought you could have Cali be his saving grace. Please, that girl is madly in love with Alexander, just like we knew she would be. She doesn't care anything about our son. Everything she does is for that boy. She played her role nicely, but you fail
ed. He never had feelings for her, nor did she for him, and he loves Selene. It's how it was meant to be. Now, I will not warn you again, he will marry the daughter of Poseidon, and that is final!”
“Over my dead body!”
“Have it your way, but he will marry her, and he will take his rightful place by my side.”
They are both so close to one another that I fear for the both of them.
“What about Cato?” She asks with her hands on her hips.
“What about him?”
“You don't think Cato won't fight for his place by your side? You mark my words, you will break our son's heart, and it will be all your fault.”
“Don't be ridiculous. You broke his heart long before I ever could. Sebastian is my son and he would never turn his back on me. But you on the other hand, well; I think you just out did yourself. You should have left when he did. You weren't wanted then, and you’re not wanted now.” My father rushes pass her, stopping when he sees me standing in the door.
“Sebastian.” I turn away, walking away from him.
“Sebastian! Wait!” I keep walking, and I hear my father gaining on me. I pick up my pace, and begin to run.
“SEBASTIAN!” My father is screaming my name so loudly that it shakes the ground I am running on.
I keep running till I see Selene and Ian by the pool. She is dangling her feet in the water, and her head hangs low. Ian is trying to splash her with his feet, trying to get her to smile. I rush to her side, pulling her out of the water before she can even realize what I have done. I am holding her in my arms.
“Sebastian?” Her eyes search mine as her she moves back a little bit from me.
“You were right. You were right.” Are the only words I can get out as tears begin to fill my eyes.
“Slow down. I was right about what?” Selene moves away from me, but still close.
“Cali. Everything. You were right about it all.”
“Oh.” She doesn't move away from me, but takes her hand and brushes off the tears that fall down my face.
I couldn't believe I was crying; I was just so furious I couldn't seem to do anything but cry.
“About her killing Ian?” She asks me. Ian looks at the both of us.
“Is it true?” I turn to him.
“Yea, it was Cali, but it was an accident.”
“The hell it was! That lying bitch!” I scream, no more tears, I was mad and wasn't going to hide it.
“Wait, wait. You have to hear the story first.” Ian grabs ahold of my arm.
“No, I have to stop all this before someone else dies, and it won't be me.” I pull my arm away from him.
“Hold up. Cali had thought I was Alex; she didn't know that it was me. We were supposed to stop him, but he disappeared before I could get to him. Cali was supposed to take him out on the street, but when I came that way,
she just did what we had planned. Never knowing I was trying to come and tell her I had lost him.”
“That's bullshit! You and I both know it. She killed you because it was one less person she had to deal with on his side.”
“No. She was expecting him. I swear to you. I should have never gone that way, but I couldn't reach her and I didn't want Alex to know she had played him, so I drove out there. It was my fault; it was an accident, man.” Ian tries to get me to understand him, but I know the truth.
“We gotta get out of here.” I take Selene by the hand, and we start running along the grass field. Ian following, with his dad and mine following behind him. We run to the river that flows behind my house. A small boat sitting at the dock.
“Jump!” I yell to her, as we both jump in the boat at the same time.
It begins to flow down the river, fast, and weaving over the rocks.
“You’re going to want to sit down.” I point to the small seat in front of us.
She takes the seat, watching my every move.
“Down the river, to the field, and to my hideaway.” She looks at me like I am crazy, but the boat lifts out of the water, flying down the river path as if we were in an open plane.
“Whoa!” She exclaims. This wasn't me showing off, this was me running away so I could think.
The boat slowly drops us back into the water, going under the bridge, and to my hideaway. The boat stops suddenly, and I take Selene by the hand, running through the field. Finding the rock, I throw it at the door which pops open, and I rush her inside. When I was a boy, I made this place
when my parents would fight. It's secret. No one has ever been here besides me. Not even Ian knew where it was. It's a small room hidden under the ground. A magic room. I had charmed it many years ago so no one would ever find it.
“Where the hell are we?” Selene asks me out of breath.
“My hiding place.” I slam the door shut with my hand and offer her a chair at my table I had brought in.
“Can you light this, please?” I ask holding a large candle to Selene. She blows on it, and the room lights up with candles.
“What's wrong? What's going on?”
“I need to think. I need answers. Hang on.” I move quickly around the room looking for my book I had hidden here.
Flipping through the pages, I find the words I had written just before I left for Earth. Nothing important, that's not what I was looking for. Oh, here. Here it is. I read over the page, and then hand her the book. She looks up at me, then down at the page.
Cato? Cali? Alex? What does this mean? We are to go to Earth, see mortals for who they are, and find the Migades at the school. The daughter of Poseidon, but what does she have to do with all this? Why does my mom keep bringing up Cato and Cali? Are they together? What
does Alex want with the daughter of Poseidon? Why does my dad care about me finding love?
“When did you write this?” She moves the book back to me.
“Just before I left for Earth. This was the only information I had to go on when I got there. The rest we all had to be guided at times from our fathers. Our mothers never came to see us. Wait, Ian's mom came once, and I know Cali's mom came, but my mother never came to see me.”
“Let's start from the beginning. What did your parents say?” She tries to get me to sit down.
“I overheard my parents arguing over me. She wanted me to be with Cali, I guess.” Not thinking of the words I had just said, Selene's face grows into a scowl.
“Wait, don't let that get to you, that wasn't what threw me. What threw me was my mom asking about Cato and then finding out that Cali loves Alex and she would do anything for him. She killed Ian for Alex, and did Cato
help?” I run my fingers through my hair.
“Sebastian, you should sit down.” She pushes the chair towards me.
“I need to tell you something.” Her head bows down and I take the seat across from her.
“Cato, isn't apart of Cali's plan. He could never be a part of the plan.”
Selene's face slightly looks up to meet mine.
“Why not? He tried to hurt you, and that sounds just like something Cali would do.” I didn't understand why she wasn't seeing it my way.
“Cali was trying to kill me that night, Ian just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time let's say, but there is no way Cato and Cali would ever work together.”
“How could they not? Cato knows I don't like him or trust him. He always hung around when he wasn't wanted and this is just his way of getting to me. It sounds just like true Cato fashion, hurting others and not a care in any world of who gets hurt along the way.”
“He wouldn't do that to you, Sebastian.”
“Why not?” I fold my arms under my chest.
“Because...” She takes a long pause then looks back down at the floor.
“He's your brother.”
Chapter Eight
Mothers, Fathers and Brothers
The words I heard clearly came from Selene's mouth almost knocked me off my chair.
“WHAT?” I push the chair back from the
table, kicking it into the wall.
“He told me he is your half-brother. His mom is Medusa; his dad is Hades.”
“You knew? You knew this and you never said a word to me?” I stand over her.
“He told me not to tell you. He said you would find out when you got home, I didn't know what to do.”