Son of Blood and Malice

Chapter 8

"Hey, stupid!"

Jason jumped at the sight of snapping finger right in front of him. He was sitting in the dark kitchen, not knowing how he ended up there. He was certain he had gone upstairs to bed. 

Looking up he saw a shirtless Pallas with a bad case of bed hair.

"Did you hear the door just now?" he asked groggily, not seemingly awake yet.

"No ... must've been me", Jason answered.

"No, I heard you coming in. You woke me up the first time, and then I heard the door again a while afterwards. And now I can't fall asleep because all I think about is the damn door not opening a third time. Did someone leave and not come back?"

Jason had no idea what Pallas was ranting about. He had barely been conscious as he walked home from the subway station. 

He remembering coming home, but after that? Nothing. 

He had not heard the door opening, nor did he notice anyone leaving. 

A flash of Anastasia passing him by upstairs came to mind, but he did not take notice to where she was going and what happened after that. Suddenly Pallas was snapping his fingers in front of him, and he had ended up in the kitchen.

"I don't know, I didn't hear anything", Jason said truthfully, "I've been a bit out of it."

Pallas scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Damn right you have. Breaking the balcony door in one thing, but mother goes hysterical when you disappear the way you do. You really think you can behave however you want- "

"Pallas stop it."

It was Castor who had entered the kitchen, just as shirtless as his brother. Nudity had never bothered him before, especially from family, but now he was getting more bothered by it. Because now an underlying desire for a specific someone to show himself like this was creeping up on him. 

When he looked at his brothers, all he could imagine was if it was him. Jason slapped his face hard, causing both Castor and Pallas to direct their gazes towards him.

"He's clearly out of it, especially if he didn't hear the door."

"Shit, I started to think I was hearing things when Jason had no idea, but if you heard it too then there's no doubt someone left."

As far as he could recall, there would be no one who would leave the house in the middle of the night by the front door. It was easier to jump out of the windows if you wanted to sneak out. 

Using the front door meant everyone's scion hearing would be activated, as the heavy oak door would always make a bang when closed. It was deliberate, as the family did not want unnecessary guests, and to monitor if someone would enter or leave. But if both Castor and Pallas were here, who would sneak out? Tantalus was with Lydia; Ajax would never make a sound and Kristos would be too obedient to leave in the first place. 

Then he remembered Anastasia passing him by upstairs. It did not make sense, but somehow, he knew it must have been her.

"Ana ..."

Castor and Pallas looked at him as if he had grown horns. Their goody two-shoes sister, who was also eleven years old, would not randomly leave in the middle of the night. Jason knew how bizarre it sounded, but it couldn't have been anyone else but her. 

Who would use the front door if not her? Anastasia and Lydia did not have the scion swiftness to leave unheard either. But if it was her, why would she leave so abruptly?