Blood of the Devil

Chapter 21 - Pontius Principal

Hadrian thanked Gabe warmly as he stepped out of the car, swinging the borrowed bad over his shoulder. The man had also leant him a notebook and pen for the day, and Cassie had made him a sandwich. He wondered if this was how 'family' was supposed to feel.

Stepping up beside him, Zach awkwardly fixed his tie, glancing anxiously at Hadrian. The older boy coughed and nodded decisively.

"Shall we?"

As they made to step forward and Gabe pulled away from the curb, Letha stormed in ahead of them, startling both boys.

Hadrian took in her crinkled, day-old uniform, her purple cheekbone where makeup hadn't been reapplied, and her red hair trailing behind her like hell-fire behind her and sighed. This was his family, his reality, regardless of whatever dream-like 12 hours he had just experienced.

Zach's reaction was different; his lip drew back into a snarl, and he averted his eyes as if she sickened him.

"You don't like my sister," Hadrian asked quietly, "Do you?"

The teen shuffled forward, but Hadrian stayed by his elbow. "Does anyone?"

"But the rest of your family," he insisted, "excluding Cassie, seem to like her."

In the middle of the grounds, Zach stopped and met the boy's eyes. He let out a breath.

"She's chaotic," he explained slowly.

"That's putting it nicely."

Zach frowned. "No, I mean she is chaos. She's not linear, not easy to predict, obviously a troublemaker. She's an independent variable that no one can keep constant."

The boy smirked, striding over to a table and plonking his bag on top. A flake of paint slicked up and he played with it absently as he sat. "You are such a nerd."

Ignoring Hadrian, Zach settled across from him, resting both elbows on the top.

"I had an affair with chaos, I dabbled with the unpredictable, and I had a few shady encounters with trouble. Each proved itself to be dangerous, unreliable and disloyal mistress." He shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Your sister scares me because she brings all of those memories back."

For a few seconds, all Hadrian did was blink. Then he snorted, chuckling weakly.

Zach's scowl deepened. "What?"

"I have no idea what you just said."

The older boy shrugging, nearly jumping out of his seat as a tanned hand landed on his shoulder. Hadrian's eyes followed the arm until his eyes met a deep brown pair. Mickey's hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, but he managed a grin.

"Zach not making sense again?" he asked, raising a brow, "He does that sometime. You've just got to slap him a few times until he starts using English again."

His hand rose towards Zach's face, but his brother slapped it away quickly, rolling his eyes.

Hadrian cocked his head to the side, smirking. "Mickey, what happened?"

"What happened with what?" He replied meekly, slipping into the bench beside Zach.

"I'm assuming you caught up with Letha and are responsible for her mood. What happened?"

Mickey leant forward. "Her mood?"

"I'm her brother," He shrugged, "I can tell when she's fuming." He pointed at the jacaranda, from with rocks were shooting down, creating small puffs of dirt.