CHAPTER
τρία
'three'
EURYDICE WALKED DOWN the side of the hall side by side with her family and Elijah. The boy led them to meet his friends before disbanding to wherever their next class was. Occasionally someone would fill them in with the hot news of the day. It seemed like nothing ever happened here. Besides the occasional new kids.
Eurydice found it odd that most things reeked of death and the source was the Cullen family. That was not a normal situation. Only the dead ever reeked of death.
Eurydice stayed close to her current friends as she was dragged over to a new group of people. She noticed that the group held three boys and one girl. Well, with Elijah it made four.
"Everyone, these are the new kids. Kaz Lightwood, Titus Lightwood, Newt Kane, and Eurydice Kane," Elijah pointed to each as he named them.
Eurydice stared intently at them. Taking in their features as she awaited names.
"I'm Leia Wheeler," The girl spoke, her hair was a beautiful blonde and her brown eyes had a hint of green.
"Nice to meet you señorita," Titus winked before getting hit by Kaz.
Eurydice let out a small snicker as her eyes went to her bracelet, the lyre and skull charm seemingly dark.
"Finn Carnehan," The curly blonde-haired boy offered a hand to shake, Newt took his hand.
Eurydice's eyes traveled over to a boy with a bit of hair that hung to his jaw in slight waves, his blue eyes seeming skeptical, "My name is Regulus Laurence."
A small smirk rested on the next boy's lips, his brown hair seemingly parted perfectly and his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, "Cardan Archeron, what a lovely lot."
"Oh dear gods," Eurydice pinched the bridge of her nose, "They're multiple Elijah's."
"Don't put that on me!" Leia whipped her head around, "I take that as a grave insult."
"You are excluded from that, I don't know you that well," Eurydice winked at Leia.
"You technically know none of them," Kaz stated teasingly.
"He's right," Finn let out a chuckle as he watched them.
"Debatable," Eurydice whispered to Elijah who rolled his eyes.
"So, did you move here with your parents?" Regulus questioned after he seemed to ponder his thoughts for a moment.
Eurydice immediately tensed up, her eyes shifting onto her brother. Their eyes locked and both seemed to not know how to answer.
"That's a sensitive topic," Titus immediately spoke.
Kaz was quick to add, "We technically live with our adoptive Dad, Eurydice and Newt's biological Dad, but he's never home," He was great at lying.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Leia held a small frown as she looked between the teenagers.
"Now you've done it, Reg. They're obviously uncomfortable," Finn chided his friend.
"I was just curious," Regulus defended himself before looking at Newt before his eyes trailed to Eurydice, "I apologize, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright," Newt spoke, breaking the silence the two had created.
Eurydice never spoke a word. Her eyes stayed trained on the different people who stood before her.
"Where are you all going next?" Leia asked as she gave the group a warm smile.
The group all looked at their schedules, Eurydice tilted her head, "Lunch then English."
"You have lunch with Leia, Cardan, and I," Elijah stated as he moved to pat Eurydice's arm but she shot him a look causing him to move back.
"You've touched my arm too many times," Eurydice grumbled.
"I have Chemistry," Kaz states as he looks up from his paper.
"You have a class with me," Finn nodded.
"We have English now," Titus spoke as Newt nodded.
Regulus seemed to be interested, "My class is next to yours then. I will help you get there."
"Alright," Newt nods with a small nod.
Eurydice rocked on her heels as she began to get a bit anxious. Her face stayed as cold as ice. Hands deep in her pockets, she looked behind her.
She felt like someone was there, yet, she found no one. It was an odd thing that would tend to happen.
The bell rang loudly signaling they needed to get to where they needed to be. Eurydice's head jerked to the direction of the noise.
"Let's get going," Leia smiled as she walked over to Eurydice's side.
"Alright," Eurydice muttered as she stayed near the girl's side.
Elijah walked behind the two friends as they made their way down the hall. Eurydice followed Leia until they reached the cafeteria.
"Okay, so when we get in here there are going to be a lot of people staring. I'll explain the hierarchy once we sit down," Leia explained to Eurydice.
Eurydice nodded ever so slightly, "Alright."
Eurydice leaned and pulled the double doors open, motioning for Leia and Elijah to enter first before she followed suit. She ignored the stares and proceeded through the lunchline with the two teenagers.
Eurydice grabbed a tray and ended up getting a slice of school pizza and a carton of milk. She nodded and moved to give the lady her name so she could leave. After she had done that, Eurydice moved to look around the tables.
Leia joined the girl's side moments later, giving her a small smile before motioning for her to follow. Eurydice assumed that the girl understood she wasn't going to talk for an extensive amount of time. She had hoped that at least.
Eurydice followed Leia to an empty table near the corner of the room, she placed her tray down before sitting. Her eyes scanned over the crowd before her gaze was disrupted by her attention being thrown to the source of the scratching sound beside her.
"Having a good day so far?" Elijah asked as he leaned back into his seat.
"Totally," Eurydice murmured as she adjusted how she sat, her dagger digging into her skin causing her to wince.
Leia seemed to take notice, "Are you alright?"
Eurydice inhaled sharply as she gave a stiff nod, "I am. Thank you for asking."
It went silent for a moment. The Kane girl assumed that no one really knew what to say now, or maybe the two were trying to figure out more about her without her telling them verbally. Her hand slid into the back of her jeans and she was quick to slide the dagger up into her shirt before moving it into her book bag before anyone could notice.
"Hanging with these kids, new girl?" A dark-haired female sat down at the table next to theirs, "Bad idea. They're freaks. Get in trouble a lot and blame it on things that don't even happen!"
Eurydice's eyebrows furrowed at that. Now that made her slightly suspicious. It was normal to get into trouble a lot, but blaming it on things that apparently never happened? That sounded like something familiar.
Leia let out a strangled laugh, "Shut up Jessica."
"Nobody asked for your loud ass mouth," Elijah snapped harshly.
"I'm Jessica Stanley," The loud-mouth gave Eurydice a tight-lipped grin, "The guys behind me are my friends. Mike Newton, Angela Weber, and Eric Yorkie."
"Did not ask," Eurydice tilted her head to the side a bit, giving the girl a malicious stare.
Jessica seemed taken aback by Eurydice's mouth, "Excuse me?"
Elijah and Leia looked at Eurydice with wide eyes, the girl wasn't phased, "I said, did not ask you, bimbo," Eurydice grumbled as she went to rise a bit from her seat, "Now go sit your ass down somewhere else and don't talk about these two unless you want trouble."
Eurydice watched as the girl backed away before she sat herself back down. Ignoring the awed gazes of Elijah and Leia as she popped her neck before picking up her slice of pizza and taking a bite. She never acknowledged their shock until she placed the slice of food back onto the plastic tray.
"What?" Eurydice questioned as she wiped her lips.
"You just told off Stanley," Leia's grin widened as she looked at the girl, "Wicked!"
Eurydice let out a small laugh, "Not that big of a deal."
"See, told you she had fire," Elijah grinned at Leia.
"And definitely out of your league," Eurydice leaned back into her seat.
Chats arose from the three as they talked about different things. Leia did more of the talking while Elijah would pitch in. Eurydice continued listening as she leaned her chin on her palm. A smile pulled at her lips.
Eurydice paused for a moment once she heard the cafeteria doors open with a loud creak. She lifted her head and let her hands grip the table as a wave of loss flowed over her. Dead. Dead. Dead. 1863, 1918, 1920, 1933, and 1935. Eurydice's eyes widened.
"Tell me about them," Eurydice whispered as her ankle prodded at Elijah's leg.
The boy followed her gaze before he seemed to notice the look on her face. Eurydice tried to look as normal as possible, death was a common feeling that usually resided with her, but not like this. Usually, it was when someone died and then crossed over, not when the dead were stuck around and constantly hitting her with that feeling.
"Them? They're the Cullen's. From what we know they are the adoptive or foster kids of Dr. Carlisle Cullen and Esme Cullen," Elijah furrowed his eyebrows as he looked between the group walking in and the girl sitting down beside him, "Rosalie and Emmett, I know you've met them, they're dating and around the oldest of the family. That is Edward, he's a junior like all of us."
Eurydice noticed how the guy's gaze was boring into her skin. She felt as if he was watching her. It was quite disturbing, "Probably a lot older than me."
"How old are you?" Leia asked, finally getting curious.
"Fifteen, I turn sixteen in January," Eurydice explained as she finally released the table, "I'm a lot smarter than I look, they let me pass a grade."
Leia nodded, "Nice! We're still sixteen because of us being young for the grade. I'll be seventeen in May."
"And I'll be seventeen in September," Elijah did not seem pleased by the fact Leia was older.
Eurydice let out a small laugh and started to move a bit more. Though, still being cautious of what the two might be. They seemed to hop topics a lot but no one seemed to care. They were finally getting the girl to talk some.
"Hey, who are they, and why are they staring?" Eurydice questioned as a dark-haired girl who stood shorter than a nymph stared at the table alongside an extremely tall blonde-haired boy, "Didn't their mother ever tell them staring is rude?"
"Those are the other Cullen's. That is Alice and her boyfriend Jasper, he's Rosalie's twin brother," Leia explained noting the stare as well, "They don't like anyone but their own family."
"I understand that at times," Eurydice mumbled as she shot a glare before looking at Elijah who was avoiding the gaze of the family, "Is Elijah Wesley intimidated?" She smirked teasingly.
"Me?" The boy asked incredulously, "Never."
"Awe look, Leia, Elijah is intimidated!" Eurydice whisper-shouted.
"Oh my! Who knew someone finally beat his pride!" Leia faked a dramatic gasp.
Elijah rolled his eyes as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down for a moment, "I am not intimidated."
"Sure," Leia kicked his leg.
"It's okay to be intimidated, Elijah, we all are at some point," Eurydice murmured as she went back to her quiet state.
Being intimidated was a normal thing. The girl knew that there was no shame in being frightened or overawe by someone. Eurydice would never admit it but there were many times she felt so small compared to others.
Lunch ended quicker than the girl would have liked and she ended up parting ways with the two teenagers. Exchanging their phone numbers though so that they could call or message one another. Eurydice had her bag over her shoulder and made her way to AP Calculus, after getting directions from the shadows.
She took her seat and stayed silent much to her usual behavior when she was left alone. Her bag was down between her legs as she tapped her pen on her desk. As soon as the bell rang signaling that class began, the girl took notice of her surrounding peers.
Most looked as if they didn't want to be there, not that the girl could blame them, but they seemed miserable. They were all pretty sad-looking. Nothing out of the ordinary. That's how it should be.
Forks seemed to be calm beside the common sense of death. She figured out fairly easily that new students were quite the deal amongst the residents. Everyone had known who she was, it was odd.
The girl doodled in the pages of her notebook not even trying to understand the writing that now resided on the board. She was a dyslexic, her mind was hardwired in greek. She could understand some numbers and equations but when letters were added in she was thrown off.
Compared to others, she asked a fair bit of questions. She seemed to vocalize a lot more of her concerns and asked for a bit more explaining. No one else paid any mind, but that's how every class seemed.
Once the final bell rang, Eurydice was off to find her family. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked down the halls. She felt someone grab at her wrist with an icy cold hand that reminded her of one in the Underworld, her head whipped around.
"Hi! I'm Alice, you must be new," The short-haired girl who had been staring earlier was now standing before her with her boyfriend at her side.
Eurydice did not say a word, she scanned over their body language trying to profile them, maybe it'd help figure out what they were. Though, the gut-wrenching feeling made it hard to focus.
"What's your name?" She seemed overly happy.
"Eurydice," The taller girl stated simply, "I must be off."
"Wait, we still need to introduce ourselves for a moment," Alice frowned at what Eurydice believed to be her hurry.
"Sorry, I really must be going," Eurydice was quick to make her move.
She slid through the crowd before entering an empty classroom. She knew for a fact that the girl was trying to follow her, she sighed heavily. Noting the shadows, she realized her escape. Eurydice looked to make sure the other girl and her significant other had yet to arrive before melting into the darkness.
Eurydice sighed in relief as she ended up in the light of the Lightwood-Kane residence. Immediately toppling over onto the floor out of exhaustion. Usually, she could go farther but feeling death and going to a new school wore her out.
Her eyes drooped as she laid on the floor. Her curls sprawled out on the wood floor. She used a bit of her energy to send a shadow to tell Newt where she was before her eyes shut and she fell into the darkness of her mind.
Sleeping could be horrible at times. Dreams plagued demigods' minds, often giving them glimpses of the future or messages from the gods. It's how most prepared for battles. Well, besides seeking the oracle.
Thirty minutes had passed before the eldest Kane was walking through the door of the household. His eyes scanned around till they landed on his sleeping sister.
Eurydice stirred at the sound of movement. Barely opening her eyes to see her brother moving to sit on the floor with her.
"Put your head in my lap, you'll be a bit more comfy," Newt states as he attempts to maneuver the half-asleep female.
Eurydice muttered a string of imperceptible words as she felt her head sink into her brother's lap. She felt him move her hair a bit before messing with it.
Newt seemed to understand that she wasn't fully awake and was still pretty much asleep. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing calmly.
Titus and Kaz walked in a few moments after and were as quiet as they could be. Which wasn't exactly anywhere near quiet.
"She's fine, right?" Titus asked just to make sure.
"Y'all make it impossible to sleep," Eurydice mumbled as she started to wake up.
"She's fine," Newt confirmed, "Just a bit drained."
Eurydice's head fell limp in his lap again. The girl sighed as she began to just act asleep. Her mind just replayed the events of the day.
The day had gone okay besides the strangeness of it. Eurydice would compare it to any other place they had been but she wasn't quite sure if she could.
Every place had its differences, but this place in particular was way different. It had more strange occurrences.
Eurydice sat up immediately as soon as she remembered the strange family. She turned around to look at her brother who seemed startled by her sudden movement.
"Did you feel it too? At school?" Eurydice asked as her blue eyes met his brown ones.
Newt apparently did not need to ask for further context before he answered, "Yes. I did."
"Felt what?" Kaz questioned.
"Was it what made you act so tense?" Titus added the follow-up question.
"It was constant death. Not new ones. Lingering ones. Like the dead were still there. I even got dates," Eurydice tapped her chin trying to recall them before saying, "1863, 1918, 1920, 1933, and 1935."
"This isn't another Nico and Bianca situation, is it?" Kaz questioned.
Nico and Bianca Di Angelo were the younger yet older half-siblings to the Kane's. The two were born in the 1930s but were stowed away in a hotel for years, never aging. Until a few incidents happened.
"No," Eurydice was sure it wasn't, "We didn't feel this way then. They didn't reek of death."
"What she said, and with the dates, Eurydice wouldn't have known those unless it was years of death," Newt states as he seemed to be trailing into thought.
"Something is way off here, isn't it?" Titus asked with slight uncertainty.
Eurydice frowned slightly as she started to lean against Newt, "Something is definitely way off here."
And so that night, the search for answers began. Ideas were being proposed and thrown around. Theories were shut down as soon as they came up.
It was truly a question of what was happening. What were the Cullen's? Who were they truly? They certainly were not mortals and they certainly were not anything normal.
If they were monsters, wouldn't they have attacked by now? Eurydice knew that they didn't attack on the bat in all cases. Especially with everything happening back at Camp.
"What if they're empusa? Spies for Kronos. He's watching us out of fear. The war is coming close, we all know it, and he knows we aren't in the safety of camps borders," Kaz proposed.
"Kronos wouldn't be afraid. He'd send them to assassinate us all," Newt stated as he looked at the blue-eyed boy.
"Camp is no longer safe as well, Kaz. If it was we'd be there," Eurydice states as she starts to become frustrated.
The question remained, who and what were the Cullen's.