Underground Angels

Chapter Thirty-Five || Constantine's Mom Takes Us Camping

Tucking her feet inside her hoodie, Noel watched the water move over the purple toe polish, listened to the early morning noises of birds and the boys snoring.

She and Lola had become better friends over the past six months; somehow shooting arrows at straw dummies was a great bonding experience.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.” Lola stared into the stream, though she sat very close to Noel; she seemed comfortable.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen your Dad?”

“Five years, one month.” She recited.

“That long, really?”

She shrugged. “Gods aren’t very good parents, as you witnessed last night.”

“Is there a reason? I mean, that seems unreasonably long, even for a God –”

“He doesn’t like to see me because of my brother.”

“Ollie?”

“No.” Lola closed her eyes. “My other brother.”

Noel stared at Lola, conveying her confusion by her inability to form words this early in the morning.

“I guess none of the guys said?” Lola knew the answer by Noel’s face. “I had a twin brother – I know, the twin gene or whatever – and he…he died.”

Noel didn’t know what to say, a problem she encountered frequently. “What was his name?” she asked quietly.

“Paul.” Lola said his name like a forbidden word, a dark secret. “He was twelve minutes older than me and never let me forget it. Apollo really liked him for some reason, maybe because Paul was more into the whole healing and poetry thing, unlike me.” She smiled almost sheepishly. “I know I can be sort of a jerk, but I was always sort of like that. Paul wasn’t though; he was just an all around nice guy. He would have really liked you, Star Wars was his favourite movie.”

Lola didn’t wait for Noel to ask, just took a quick deep breath and continued. “When we were twelve we were just starting to do Monster control in our area of the city, which is a big deal, you know – its what Demigod kids do. Like a way of getting out parents attention, though Paul wasn’t really into fighting.”

“He sounds like the opposite of you.”

“He was.” Lola shifted, running a hand through her short bob. “And I forced him to come with me that day, to check out the monster – the other guys weren’t available. Paul didn’t want to go, but he did because I didn’t want to go alone. And he got killed, because I was a selfish kid.”

They sat in silence for a while, comfortable but quiet.

“Apollo was actually an okay dad, for a God anyway, for the first twelve years of my life.” Lola said finally. “He liked boys, but I think he had a hard time with girls, unless he was trying to bed them or whatever.”

“I’m sorry, Lola.”

She shrugged. “It was a while ago, and I’m not exactly over it, but it gets easier every day. I know it sounds stupid, but it does.” She leaned into Noel a little. “Anyway, the last time I saw him was the day of Paul’s funeral. He showed up outside, when I was getting some air; he never appeared when my Mum was around. She…well, she went a little crazy trying to find him. The guys told you, I’m sure.”

“He sounds mean.” Noel said. “He was awful to your mum and he avoids you – Gods are jerks!”

Lola chuckled. “You’re jus figuring that out? Gabriel’s dad kidnapped him, Noel.” She stood up, ruffling Noel’s bed head. “I’m going to get the guys up, we have to get to Gods Lake today. We only have a small window and we can’t miss it.”

Noel watched Lola go back into the tent, wondering how you could carry such a heavy burden around with you day after day, continue fighting monsters. She was really, really grateful for her mortal parents.

A/N: Heavy chapter, eh? We finally meet a Goddess (SO COOL EVEN THOUGH SHE'S SORT OF A JERK) and learn the whole truth about Lola's past and why she is so prickly.

Question: What do you think of a) Athena and b) Paul, Lola's twin brother? Is that a good enough reason to be such an ice Queen?

Rose