From Gods (10 page)

Skylar turned red. “You…you…just turned, right?”

He pointed to the left, to the right, and to all the mirrors in the bathroom. “Do you girls need all these mirrors? Can’t get enough of yourselves? I thought you were done.”

“You could’ve closed your…eyes,” Skylar scoffed, feeling embarrassed.

“What would be the fun in that?” he smirked.

He was right. Every direction he turned, he had a clear view of…her. Whatever. She justified that seeing her in a bra was like seeing her in a bikini top. “Well, next time, make sure you do.”

Unsure whether he was uncomfortable by her remark or he was simply ignoring her, he didn’t say a word. “Let’s get out of here,” he suggested, opening the door, looking as if his mind was deep in thought.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked, folding her shirt to hold as she stood by the doorway.

“Later.”

“No, I need to know now,” she demanded.

“Let’s go. It’s not safe here.”

Cold chills pricked along her spine from his words. First, Skylar gazed around cautiously. Then she glared at him, walked out, and headed to theater number ten.

Suddenly, Skylar jerked back when Mason grabbed her hand. She couldn’t believe he was holding her hand. Not only that, he pulled her close to his chest…so close, almost into a hug.

Her eyes drifted to his, unable to look away as if he held a spell over her. She could see so much love, tenderness, and the possibilities behind his rude, egotistic, arrogant attitude. She blinked and retreated back a few steps when he released her abruptly, as if he finally realized he was holding her longer than he wanted to.

“We’re not going there,” he stated, as if his words were final.

“We’re not going there?” When did I become a part of “we”?

“No. We need to talk.”

You got that right. I’ve been asking you like so many times. It’s about time
. “Yes. We need to talk. Where should we talk then?”

“At my house.”

Skylar gulped nervously. “At your house?”

“Are you going to repeat everything I say? I should just call you Echo.”

There he goes again, back to Mr. Rude.
“I’m not repeating. I’m just asking.”

“If you don’t want answers to your questions, then fine with me.”

“What? I’ve asked you so many times, but you won’t answer them. I’m not going to beg.”

“Umm…that might be interesting.” He arched his brows, giving that tantalizing smirk he did so well…the kind that made butterflies dance in her stomach, the kind that made her want to just pull him in and plant her lips on his. 

“Are you kidding? Take me to your house.” She couldn’t believe she’d just said that, but enough was enough. “I need to tell my cousin and get my purse.”

“You don’t need your purse. I’ve already told Nick.” Without her permission, he snatched her wrist to hold and tugged her out the exit door.

After a few strides, she yanked her arm back to her chest and stood her ground. Gritting her teeth, she peered up to him angrily. “I can walk by myself. And next time, ask me first before you make a decision for me.”

With a nod from him, not knowing if that was an answer to her request, he led the way to his car.

Chapter 12

Mason opened Skylar’s side of the door. When she stepped out, she was still holding onto her T-shirt. Mason placed his hand out, asking for it. After she reluctantly gave it to him, he placed it on the passenger’s seat. “You don’t need to carry that around. I’ll leave it right here in the car.”

Skylar nodded and looked past him. She didn’t want to freak out from the grand size of his house, but her eyes deceived her. Passing the long, enormous steel gate upon entering the circular driveway, she should have known she would be setting her eyes on a mansion. She had seen big houses in magazines and newspapers, but never had she been this close to one.

As she followed Mason’s footsteps to the front entrance, her eyes were still glued to the house, observing the elegance of it. Though it was dark, the surrounding lights were enough to reveal the beauty. Red rose bushes edged the cobblestone path leading to the front door. To the right was a huge water fountain with an ivory statue of Zeus, lounging in the middle, but she wasn’t sure if it was him. He looked majestic and proud.

Upon entering, her eyes got even bigger when Mason hit the lights. Standing on the caramel marble floor, her eyes went straight up to the crystal chandelier, shaped like an upside down umbrella. It sparkled like diamonds reflecting from the lights above. Underneath it, a grand vase was centered on a round, tall mahogany table. Filled with stargazer lilies, the fragrance permeated the house with a heavenly scent.

“This way,” he directed, reaching for his cell phone from his back pocket. “Excuse me,” he said, making eye contact. He turned his back and spoke into the receiver. “What?” He sounded upset, pausing for what seemed like a minute. “Tell them I’ll be there in half an hour or so.” He paused again. “Don’t say anything. Just wait for me, got it?” Then he hung up.

Seeing two staircases, Skylar wondered which way he would go. She followed when Mason pivoted to his right, heading up the stairs, stepping onto the beige carpet. Lagging behind, she marveled at the elegant furniture and the paintings on the wall. Then her eyes shifted to the white walls as she walked down the long hallway.

“This is my room.” Mason opened the door.

Skylar tried her best not to be overly excited, but she couldn’t help it. His bedroom was three times the size of hers. The first thing she observed was the illuminating moon peeking through the slightly opened velvet curtains, and a feeling of warmth immediately encased her. Then she noted the neatly made king-sized bed with several plush pillows by the headboard. With a huge flat screen television mounted to the wall and elegant furniture, Skylar thought his room was designed for a prince.

“It’s not much, but I hope you’ll find it comfortable. I’ll get you a change of clothes.” Mason opened another door and entered.

Not much? Was he serious? Surely he was being humble. Skylar didn’t know where to sit. Her shorts were still damp. Not wanting to leave a wet spot on the expensive comforter, she stood instead. As she waited for Mason to return, she noted there were no picture frames adorning the walls or on the dresser.

“It’ll be a bit big on you, but at least you’ll feel comfortable,” Mason said, walking out from the closet with a T-shirt on. T-shirt on or off, he still looked the same…hot. Walking past her, he placed a T-shirt, a pair of thin sweat pants, and flip-flops on his bed. “You’re welcome to take a shower if you like.”

Her thoughts returned to the event that happened in the theater, and she blankly stared into space.

“Skylar…you okay?” Mason asked with a tender tone, closing the gap between them.

“Before I do anything, can you please tell me what’s going on? I feel like this is all a dream. I don’t understand how these things appeared in the ocean and…it tried to kill me…and…and…these vultures you called them…they look like monsters. Monsters are not real…and…how does water just overflow from the sink and the toilet? You act like this isn’t weird…like it’s normal to you.” Skylar mumbled it out loud and fast, trying to make sense of it all, trying to tell herself that she was not crazy.

Mason placed his hand on her back, guiding her closer to the bed. “Sit down.”

“My shorts are still damp…I think.” She patted her behind.

“It’s alright. Please sit.”

Skylar did as told. Mason sat adjacent to her, looking at her with a weary expression, and placed his hand on his lap. “You have to promise me you won’t speak a word until I’m finished. What I’m about to tell you will be unbelievable. You may even think I’m crazy. Will you listen and not freak out?”

Skylar nodded, having no choice. She needed to know.

“What we call gods, like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, ruled the world once upon a time. As religion progressed, people stopped believing and praying to them. When prayers are no longer received, the gods are forgotten, and unfortunately they vanish.”

“What?” she muffled, arching her brows, wondering if he was joking. But when she saw the look on his face, she knew he wasn’t.

“That’s putting it mildly,” he continued. “They just…die. Knowing their deaths were inevitable, Zeus, Poseidon, and other gods thought it was best to continue their bloodline, so they massively reproduced with mortal women and men. At least then, a part of them would live through their children and the generations to come. Being born from mortal moms or fathered by mortal men, the half blood children were able to live on Earth.

“Unfortunately, Hades found out, and was mad as hell. He believed it was unfair that his brothers were about to continue their family lines, whereas he was forbidden to. Hades swore he would get rid of all the half blood children. The sea creatures and the vultures you saw were Hades’s creations. Are you following me?” Mason asked sternly, looking at Skylar’s impassive expression.

“Then…you are…whose bloodline are you from?” Skylar asked slowly, feeling flabbergasted by what she was hearing, trying to soak his words in.

“Our ancestor line comes from Zeus. We didn’t have the honor of meeting him, of course. This was ages ago.”

“Was?”

“Yes, was.”

“How about Poseidon and Hades?”

“They are gone too. Like I said before, people stopped believing. From what I’ve been told from Nick’s mom, all the gods are dead, even the minor gods. Unfortunately, Hades’s monsters are still out there carrying out his revenge. They have been for decades. My brothers and I are born from different mothers, but the same father. So we are technically half brothers.

“From what I’ve been told, our father confessed his infidelity to Nick’s mother on the night he was attacked by the vultures. He managed to find Nick’s mom first and confessed everything. His purpose was to procreate more children, like himself. You see…our kind was dying. The vultures, sea creatures, and others yet to be seen, have taken vengeance, just as Hades had planned.

“Fortunately, Nick’s mother knew what was going on and found out in the nick of time. She was the one who told the other moms about the gods and the monsters, but she was a little late telling my mom. Remus’s and Everett’s mothers suffered the same fate. Hades’s monsters killed them.

“My mom found out last, and I found out I was one of the god’s children the night she died. Nick’s mother took care of me, along with Remus and Everett. Before Nick’s mom passed away by the monster’s hand, she made sure we were taken care of financially, and that is how our little family of four grown boys came to be.” He paused and took a deep sigh. “But we’d rather have our moms back instead of all this wealth.” 

Though he tried not to show it, his eyes were filled with pain. Skylar knew that expression all too well. She had shown that look many times before when people would ask her about her dad.

“There are more of us out there,” he continued. “This I know for sure. We like to keep to ourselves so we’ve never tried to contact the others. That way, we don’t attract too much attention and the vultures stay away. If there are any suspicious activities, we move on to another small town or go away for a while, but we try to come back because this is where we all grew up. It’s been a while, but we haven’t had any activities until you came along, and that is the reason why I believe…you’re one of us.”

Skylar busted out laughing, not that it was something to laugh about. She just couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Standing up, she paced back and forth “So…you’re telling me my mom had sex with one of the god’s descendants? Does my mom know?” Then she stopped pacing when she recalled Nick telling Kayla that his parents were dead. He didn’t give reasons on this morbid topic, and they had never asked the question “how?” “No…it can’t be true. My dad—”

“Left you and your mom.” Mason finished her sentence.

Skylar froze in place, recalling that day when her dad never came home. Being only eight years old, she never understood the reasons why, and her mom seemed reluctant to discuss that specific topic. It took her a long time to get over the hurt. Eventually, the hurt grew into hatred, and then her heart became numb. It was the only way to deal with the loss of him, but now knowing that her dad could be special and that there was a possibility that he could be dead, it was too much to bear. But this all depended on whether Mason’s story was true. “I…I…don’t understand.” Skylar focused on the floor, trying to grasp his words.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but if it makes you feel any better, there is a chance I may be wrong about you. I’m not sure…you’re quite complicated.”

Skylar shook her head in disapproval of his words. She didn’t want to be complicated. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t defend yourself. You have no powers, so for sure you wouldn’t be one of us. But these water creatures came after you, and they don’t attack humans, so in that case that would make you one of us. You can see the vultures. Humans can’t see them when they morph into beasts, and they don’t go after humans unless they’ve been touched by a god or one of the descendants.”

“Touched by a god?” she asked, confused, needing more explanation. Kayla had been touched by Nick. Was she in danger?

“I meant sexually. I hate to ask you this question, but have you…lately?”

“What? No!” Skylar was appalled. What kind of girl did he think she was? She had almost done it with her ex-boyfriend—thank God she hadn’t. But from the way he was so casual about it, and by using the word “lately,” she assumed he did.

“Good. I mean…you can do whatever you want. I’m just asking. You know…just ruling things out, making sure you’re not pregnant.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Reproduction. Supposedly, when pregnant, or had given birth, the mortal being produces a special scent only Hades’s creatures can smell. I don’t know too much about this. I’ve only been told. That is the reason why our mothers were found.”

“But…they didn’t go after my mom. I mean...if what you say is true, and my dad is or was a descendant of a god, she would have been attacked by them a long time ago…unless…they couldn’t find her? Or…maybe she was one of the descendants.” Skylar suddenly got worried for her mom and Kayla’s safety, but she was mostly baffled as to which parent was one of them.

“I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers. But I’m almost positive she is fine. Like I said, your situation is complicated. All I know is that the fact that they trashed your room, and not so much of your cousin’s, means you have something they want or need.”

“I promise I don’t have anything of value, or god-like.” Having powers would’ve been great, only then it would have meant she was definitely one of them, and she didn’t know if that was a good thing…most likely, not. “So…then…let’s say I’m one of you guys; will I have special powers like you?”

“Most half bloods have some type of supernatural abilities. For example, we are faster and stronger than an average human being, but only to a certain degree. Depending on our DNA structure, some of us have other abilities. Nick and I are similar. We can create heat and produce an electricity-like current at will by the simple touch from our hands. Unfortunately, Everett and Remus are normal; well, at least by godly standards; however, Remus can heal faster than any one of us, and they both are very strong.”

“Create heat? Electricity? Really?” Skylar’s eyes grew wide, wanting to see what that would be like, but she didn’t ask. The word electricity made her revert back to the times she’d been shocked by him. Electricity equaled static, which would create shock. Now she understood. She had been shocked by him several times before. “That was you. I mean…it was from you. I got shocked from your energy, or whatever you call it.”