In celebration of my birthday, here is the second chapter. The book is still in progress, but I made sure that the second chapter was totally complete to upload for my birthday. Enjoy!
"Theia," Narray scolded me with a stern tone, "I'm fine. Stop fussing."
I sighed and lifted my hands up in defence, while we continued to walk on in the thick, overgrown forest. "Okay, okay... Just checking." I'd noticed her pull a pained expression a few seconds ago and had asked if we needed to take a break, but leave it to Narray to get more annoyed with concern than anyone else I knew.
Malreus was walking in front, leading the way towards the spot where the bomb had detonated earlier. The area where we were walking was once a large desert called the Sahara. Now, three thousand years later, the foliage and vines descending from the tall trees in this vast rainforest were irritating the crap out of us.
Narray swiped her dagger across the air and cut down three or four vines in our path. She tried it again, but nearly sliced off a part of my face. I grumbled; "Hey!"
"Sorry." She pulled a face and continued forward, cutting and slicing a path for herself. I decided to redirect my own steps towards Malreus- I didn't want to lose my head before we'd even reached the location.
Malreus shot me a sly look when I appeared beside him; "Miss me?"
"It was unbearable. Five minutes is far too long..." I teased him sarcastically and he rolled his eyes, but his smile grew wider.
Narray cussed under her breath and loudly exclaimed; "Could this jungle be any more idiotic! I mean gods!"
"You're a ray of sunshine today..." Malreus muttered, but didn't mind it when Narray flicked her tongue at him and kicked his backside with her hard, black boot.
He chuckled to himself and kept his remarks silent. Narray was already irritated that she'd been caught off guard and slightly injured; this little expedition was her chance to regain the supposed 'dignity' she'd lost. She still had a deep cut across her cheek from where some debris from the blast had sliced across her face. She was a demi-goddess, and therefore didn't heal as quickly as we did, but give it another two hours, and the cut would be nothing but a memory.
"So your father says that mortals did this? How odd." Malreus said absent-mindedly as we continued to trek through the jungle.
I adjusted my black cloak. Luckily for me, it was shorter than my father's and hung over one of my shoulders, which made it easier to traverse through this compressed area without getting caught on any branches or trees. "That's what the report says, but I can't help but wonder why on earth mortals would do such a thing? I mean, reapers aren't exactly a secret anymore, and haven't been for quite some time, but they are feared."
"Perhaps it was meant for someone else?"
"Narray says that only reapers use this path. This connects directly to the Necropolis."
The Necropolis was a reaper hub; there were a few stationed on every continent on earth. A Necropolis was the place where the dead and living were divided, managed and 'dealt with' when their time came. Due to humanity's drastic decrease in population, the souls of the dead were taken to the nearest Necropolis and given the proper time to be sorted and sent to the Underworld- something the gods couldn't manage to do for quite some time after the mortals' population had boomed a couple of thousand years ago, before the great disasters had taken place.
Now things were easier for reapers, but that had also meant that the population of reapers had decreased.
"It wasn't very smart of them. Killing reapers will only hasten your own death." Malreus said seriously and his eyes were locked on to the path ahead. He was magnetic like this- so focused and firm.
"Exactly, which is why I'm so baffled..." I shook my head. Reapers could be killed- like any other being or monster. They weren't immortal. Although, it did take a bit more than just a stab here or a cut there to kill a reaper. Their bodies were stronger than an average mortal's.
A reaper was once a human who, at the time of their death, is given the chance to join the brotherhood. They pledge their service in return for eternal life. This 'eternal life', however, could be taken away. If reapers didn't perform or deliver on their duties, they could stripped of their powers and thrown in with the rest of the dead. The term 'eternal life' also didn't mean that they were granted immortality- just a form of it.
They would age as an immortal- so extremely slowly- but were still vulnerable to the bane of death.
It was very similar to Narray's situation. She was immortal in her nature, because of her mother's divinity, but her father was a reaper, and thus she could be killed and suffer death. Her healing was not on par with ours, but if anything, it made her stronger in her will.
"And Uncle Barrios mentioned a revolt?" Malreus asked, while his hand pushed away a large palm leaf from my path.
I nodded my head in thanks; "Yes, apparently there's been rumours of strange happenings going on around Leibysos."
"Leibysos? The city not too far from here?"
"Hmm." I nodded and returned the favour by pulling a vine from Malreus' path before he accidently walked into it. He shot me a sheepish look. "Thanks."
I smiled, but before we could continue our conversation, Narray's irritated growl sent a flock of parrots flying for cover. "Stupid jungle!" She slapped her dagger against a tree and tried to cut at the thick vines that had ensnared her one leg.
We stifled a laugh, but she saw our amused faces and snarled back; "Enjoying the show?"
"Yes, thank you for asking." Malreus winked and turned back to the path. I thought about retreating back and helping Narray out of her makeshift trap, but I decided it was best to leave her be- she hated any help. It was hard though; it was in my nature to want to help, but I knew a lost cause when I saw one.
"Shout if you give up!" I yelled back at her and followed Malreus. She didn't reply; just shot me a dirty look.
"Anyway, as I was saying..." I fell in step with the prince of the Underworld; "Apparently, and this is just a rumour of course, a new religious group has emerged in Leibysos."
"Like a cult?" Malreus shot me a surprised look and I nodded in response. He shook his head; "For the gods?"
"I don't know? That's all I heard."
Malreus nodded, but kept silent. I could see his mind working as he walked.
It wasn't all that uncommon for humans to have sects and cults dedicated to the gods- we weren't a fairytale anymore and our myths weren't legend. They were very real and both loved and feared. Creatures, monsters and even some gods lived on earth now and have made it their home- some even living alongside mortals. But on most occasions, the different groups and species didn't get along very well.
"Well, they obviously think it's connected, or else we wouldn't be here."
I smiled at my best friend; "You sound extremely cheerful about all of this." He truly didn't. Malreus was a master of sarcasm- it was adorable.
He scoffed and licked his lips; "Well," I waited eagerly; when Malreus started a sentence with 'well', I knew it was going to be good. "What am I if not hopelessly optimistic?"
"Uh... Broody and cynical?"
He shot me a pointed look; "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Well, it wasn't an insult..." I winked at him and we chuckled softly. He leaned against my shoulder, his musky scent filling my senses. Malreus whispered; "Do you ever wonder if there's a cult out there for you?"
"Do you mean do I think there's a group of mildly manic mortals out there worshipping me as we speak?"
He chuckled; "Yes..."
"I haven't really given it much thought?" I chuckled. "I know there are a few cults out there who worship my parents. That's a tad weird."
"I'm sure that every god and goddess has a sect devoted to them, but I've never seen one of ours?"
I pinched his elbow playfully; "Jealous? Feeling left out?"
Malreus bumped me a bit to the side with his shoulder; "No. Gods, I'd rather there not be one dedicated to me. It's... bizarre."
"Definitely." I smiled down at our feet moving in sync. We were walking rather slowly now; both because the jungle's thickness had increased and also because whenever we started talking, we would inattentively focus solely on our conversation. "Although, I'd totally join your cult."
Malreus laughed loudly; "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."
"Maybe I should start one? We'll have meetings at precisely midnight and perform séances with ghosts to honour your name."
"Add in some Nectar and music and I might just join this little shindig."
We laughed and the sound echoed through the large jungle. "I'd start a cult about you too, but I'd rather not anyone but me worship you." Malreus said jokingly, but his words caused a strange stir.
I laughed it off and shook my head; "How selfish of you."
"I tend to be selfish." He said with a strange look in his eyes.
I was so caught up with the unfamiliar tone in his voice that I'd forgotten to check where I was walking. My back boot got caught under a thick tree branch and I felt myself fall forward with a jerk, but before I could tumble over the branch, Malreus had reached out to grab my waist.
He pulled me back against him and encircled me in his arms. I blushed ferociously at my clumsiness. I hated this about myself sometimes, whenever I became entranced my something new, my mind would lose focus on everything else.
Mater always said that I'd inherited both her and my father's inquisitive side- her need to know and her curiosity, and my father's obsessive nature. It was a deadly combination.
She used to giggle at me a lot when I was young; I was both very elegant and poised and on the other hand, whenever I saw something new or shiny that happened to catch my eye, I'd drop everything and revert into one of the twins. Awful, I know...
What wasn't too awful though, was Malreus' warmth. It wasn't really something I wasn't used to; we hugged a lot and we were very affectionate with one another, but it somehow always surprised me how comfortable his embrace felt.
My back was pressed up against his hard chest and my blush deepened, but this time, not due to my lack of elegance. Malreus softly whispered; "That was close."
"Yeah..." I breathed out and straightened my back. It was a mistake. His hot breath was on my neck now and I felt his arms stiffen when his lips nearly pressed against my throat.
But before anything else could follow, Narray burst from behind the foliage. "Oh good! You found the spot!"
Malreus dropped his arms around my body like I was on fire. He stepped back and I quickly did the same. My hand reached up to my head to rub awkwardly at the back of my neck. "Yeah. We found it."
Malreus cleared his throat and chuckled nervously, "What took you so long?"
I followed the other two as they walked up the small hill to where Narray had found the remainder of what was once a bomb.
"I got stuck and then I saw a snake. So I had to kill it." She said as-a-matter-of-factly. "What were you two doing standing around?"
"Oh, you know." He chuckled; "It's not a mission if Theia doesn't fall over something."
"I resent that." I grumbled, but left it at that, hoping Narray would bounce off the topic. She did.
"So this is the place. Look here," She knelt down, keeping her knees off the moss-covered ground, and pointed to a blackened area. "This is where the bomb was placed. It went off exactly when we were meant to cross this stream."
"This was definitely meant for your squadron." I knelt down beside her and examined the area. "Now, by looking at this path, no human walks his way and certainly no one willingly enters the Necropolis if they're still breathing."
"That's what I said." Narray nodded in agreement.
Malreus stood behind us, looking over our heads at the large patch of black. "And you suspect humans?"
"We all do. Me, my father and yours." She looked at me; "They think that this bomb was placed here to divert our attention from the riots happening in Leibysos."
"Or perhaps to get rid of some pesky reapers." Malreus whispered and knelt down to pick up a charred twig. He examined it with his cool, blue eyes.
"Reapers are in high demand nowadays. Killing them is a serious offence." I narrowed my eyes and held out my hand to Malreus, "Let me see that."
He handed it over and I lifted it to my face. The scent on the twig was odd. It wasn't your usual smell of dynamite.
"What do you know about the riots?" Malreus asked Narray, but before she could answer him, he held up his hand and shook his head; "Wait. First things first- why were you even heading to the Necropolis anyway? What was your mission this morning?"
Narray sighed; "We were delivering a group of corpses and souls to be sorted."
"That's all?" I asked as I ran my hand down the dirt that had been under the bomb. It was scorched and the grass was blown away and uprooted. "You don't normally join for such mundane missions?"
"The corpses were those of rioters. Or at least, that's what I was told. Apparently, Leibysos has had an influx of dead bodies turning up. I was sent to take account of the new number and to document the cause."
"What did you find?"
Narray stood up and dusted off her hands, even though she hadn't touched anything dirty. "Ten dead in only a week."
"But crime, famine and disease are common in these mortal cities." I dropped the twig on the ground and dusted off my own hands. The dirt still stubbornly clung on.
Malreus sighed and leaned against a large boulder close to where the explosion had gone off. "Theia has a point."
"Yes, I know, but the cause of death was poisoning. And they're all the same."
"A serial killer perhaps?" Malreus suggested, but Narray shook her head. "I have no idea. It could be?"
"But why would the city want to keep reapers away if they're being harassed by a killer? Or did the killer set up this trap?" I crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes firmly on the ground where some debris was still left. "No, it doesn't make any sense..."
"I agree." Malreus nodded and pushed himself off the boulder to stand up straight. He gestured to the path to the Necropolis with the nod of his chin; "Come on. It doesn't look like there's much left here for us to see. Let's head to the Necropolis and hear if anyone there has noticed anything suspicious."
"Hold on." My eye caught something on the ground. "A... token?"
I picked up the small, gold coin. Malreus and Narray leaned over my shoulder to examine it. The token had the sigil of a falcon on it with two swords on either side.
"I've seen that somewhere before." Narray whispered and took the token from my hand. "But where?"
"Come on. We can figure this out on the way there." Malreus grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the path again.
Narray nodded and pocketed the gold token in her leather pouch.
"Perhaps we should consider heading to Leibysos too?" I said, but Narray was quick to reject the idea. "We're not allowed to. Father says its off-limits for now."
"Then we head to the Necropolis and back home for now." Malreus let go of my wrist, but kept my pace as we walked.
Narray and I nodded and our feet moved hastily forward on the dirt path down towards the valley.
"You missed all the fun..." Casseus said the second I put my foot in the doorway.
I entered the large chamber with a smile. My mother was seated at the dining table, a stack of reports and papers scattered across the area in front of her. She looked up when I walked in, her smile broad; "Hello, sweetheart. Back already?"
"Theia's back?" My father walked in from the adjacent room. He'd most probably been sitting in his study, going through some work in preparation for tomorrow's King's Ball.
I couldn't believe it was that time of the year already. Emperor Apollo held a grand gala every year, celebrating all the gods and goddesses, but of course, he and his family were the true stars. Even after his official title had changed to Emperor, Apollo had decided to keep the event called 'The King's Ball' rather than 'The Emperor's Ball'. It was more about conserving tradition really.
Every year he tried something slightly different. This year, it was a large garden party outside in the royal gardens of the royal palace. They were vast and beautiful. Mother says it was a similar event when Apollo was crowned king. His coronation was apparently also a garden festival that had lasted nearly a month.
Mater told me that on the very first night, my father and Uncle Hypnos had gotten so drunk that they'd nearly forgotten their own names at the end. Although, pater says mater was just exaggerating...
"And?" My father asked as he went to go stand behind my mother's chair, his hands resting on the backrest. "Did you find anything?"
"About what?" Claudeus shouted from the fireplace. He had a pen and a paper in his hand- probably doing his ancestry assignment already. Dammit, I'd completely forgotten about that!
"This doesn't concern you!" Casseus shouted back and flicked his tongue, but when he turned his head, mother and father were giving him a pointed look. Casseus sighed and stood up from the chair; "I'll leave..."
Casseus went to go sit across from Claudeus in the lounge and propped his feet up on the table. Mother snapped at him; "Feet off."
He jolted upright and quickly dropped his feet. "Sorry!"
I rolled my eyes and quickly replied before Casseus could interrupt again; "We found a strange token at the site and I noticed that the powder didn't smell right."
"Right? What do you mean?" Mother asked and leaned back, dropping her pencil on the paper.
"I don't know. It smelt like..." I struggled to find the right word; "A really strong chemical. Not like dynamite or any other explosive powder. It almost had a more clinical smell."
"This token," My father sat down beside my mother, "What did it look like?"
"It was gold with a falcon sigil and two swords on either side. It didn't have anything on the back. Narray has it now."
"A falcon?" The god of death asked and I nodded quickly. I rested my hand on the backrest of the chair I stood closest to and leaned over to rest my tired back.
"Interesting." He said softly and his eyes darted to the side. He was thinking.
"We went to the Necropolis nearby, just to hear if they had experienced anything strange too, but the commandant there said that everything was fine. Expect of course for the increase of corpses and souls from the neighbouring city."
"Right. Good." My father nodded at me and smiled proudly; "Thank you, Theia. I hope all went well?"
"Narray almost got eaten by a snake, but other than that, everything was fine." I giggled and my mother laughed softly; "How is it that Narray always has the worst luck?"
"I think it's been so long that it's normal to her now..." I said jokingly. I directed my attention back to my youngest brother, who sat pulling faces at me from the lounge. Gods, how on earth was he just three years younger than me. He still acted like a teenager. "What do you want?"
"I want to know why I had to rebuild a wall and you didn't."
"Because you no doubt caused that wall to disintegrate in the first place." My father yelled back and Casseus grumbled.
"Mater!" He shouted for some defence, but my mother wasn't getting involved. She chuckled; "Drop it, Cas. Your sister needed to run an errand."
"I want to run these errands too?" Casseus raised his hand, like that was going to make our parents realise that he was, in fact, present and available for tasks.
Father smirked at him and crossed his arms. "Cas, a Necropolis nearly burned down the last time you were sent out on a hunt."
"How many times must I say this?" Casseus sighed dramatically and tapped Claudeus while he was busy writing. "Tell them it was an accident. Maybe they'll listen to you."
"I am not getting involved." Claudeus said dryly. He didn't even budge his eyes from the paper.
"What are you doing?" Casseus asked when he finally took note of Claudeus' writing.
"The assignment. What do you think I've been doing for the past two hours?"
"I don't know. Writing a love letter to Shadow?"
Claudeus turned his head to glare at his brother. "You annoy me."
"You both annoy me." I straighten up and lifted my hand as a farewell gesture. "I'm taking a bath."
My parents watched me leave with amusement. They knew the three of us bickered all the time, but we'd die for each other in a heartbeat. Our small family was incredibly close.
"Right," My father gathered his things and leaned down to greet my mother; "I need to go discuss some arrangements with Apollo and Hemera. I'll be back before dinner." He pecked her mouth, but it clearly wasn't enough. The god of death kissed the goddess of rebirth harder and held her tightly pressed against him.
Casseus and Claudeus pulled a disgusted face. Pater smiled lovingly at my mother. She touched his cheek and whispered; "Hurry back."
"Could you not do that?" Casseus remarked from the couch and mother turned around in her chair to shoot him a cunning smile; "If we didn't, you wouldn't exist."
"Wait, you're saying he didn't crawl up from Tartarus?" Claudeus asked with mock surprise and pointed his pencil at Cas.
Casseus smiled tightly; "Wow. Rude."
"Please, hurry back." Mother looked up at father with pleading eyes and he laughed loudly.
"Boys, try to keep the crap-talking to bare minimum, alright?"
Casseus stood up from the couch and walked over to where mother was sitting with her big pile of work. He swung his arms over her shoulders and hugged her; "I'm bored."
"In that case..." Mother smiled broadly and patted the seat next to her; "Care to help, mama?"
"Can I say no?"
"No." She smiled beautifully up at him and he caved. "Fine."
"Claudeus," Father called to the older twin and he lifted his head with interest. The only two people Claudeus didn't get bored or annoyed by were our parents. The twins were very protective of our mother and they both deeply respected our father. We were a very loving family. "Yes?"
"I'll be back in a bit to help you with that spell."
"Alright, thank you!"
Mother quickly remembered something when father turned around and walked to the door. "Oh, Thanatos. While you're heading that way, could you pick up Theia's dress for the ball?"
"Of course." He winked and blew her a kiss before he closed the door.
"Now, I need you to copy this report for me." Mother handed Casseus a four-page long review. His eyes closed with regret.
She chuckled and playfully slapped his arm; "Stop it, Cas. It's not that bad."
"I'd rather do my ancestry assignment." He mumbled.
"You haven't done your ancestry assignment?" Mater asked with a lifted eyebrow and Casseus quickly back-paddled. "So just one copy?"
I was towel drying my hair when a knock sounded on my door.
"Come in." I shouted, while I vigorously dried my long, blonde hair. It was getting far too long now- nearly past my hips.
My father walked in with a sour expression. I raised an eyebrow at the silver box he held. The green, satin ribbon was undone and I could tell that the package had clearly been opened. "Is that my dress?"
"Not if I can help it." Pater said as he put the box on my bed and threw off the lid. "It's far too revealing. You'll have to get another."
"What?" I scoffed and dropped my towel on the floor; "But mater said it was fine!"
"No, Theia."
I growled and put my hands on my hips. Honestly, sometimes my father treated me like I was still a young girl, but I don't think he realised that I was basically the same age he was when he first started working for Uncle Hades and the late king, Zeus. Actually, I believe I was even slightly older...
"Pater, there is nothing wrong with the dress."
"I beg to differ." He said curtly and made a move to leave, but I wasn't finished arguing my point. I was stubborn and he knew it very well.
"Wait- what's wrong with it? Maybe I can fix it?"
"It's too... It's-" He grumbled incoherently, clearly awkward with this conversation. I rolled my eyes when I realised what his concern was.
"Is it the slits?"
"Yes. They're too high."
"Ugh..." I groaned and looked up at the high ceiling.
"My word is final." My father said firmly and turned to leave, but he nearly rammed right into his wife. She had her arms crossed and her mouth turned down into 'is that so' line.
I tried to hide my smile- I knew she'd be on my side.
"Angel-"
"Don't angel me." She eyed him with a dark stare. "Theia is a grown woman. She can choose what she wants. The dress is perfectly fine and she looks magnificent in it."
"But-"
"We raised her to make good choices and if she wants to go in a dress that shows off her legs, then that's honestly not the worst thing in the world, Thanatos. She's young and beautiful."
"She's also my daughter."
"And mine." Mater shot him a pointed look and; "The dresses you bought me when we were younger were much more revealing. Remember?"
I stifled a giggle and my father turned around to glower at me. I cleared my throat and looked down, but I knew he'd been defeated when he sighed and replied; "Yes, yes. Alright. She can wear the dress."
"It's going to be a warm, summer night in the royal gardens. It's not as formal as other years so relax. Let them breathe a bit." She shot me a wink and turned to leave. My father smirked and reached out to slap her ass.
Mater slapped his hand away instead and giggled; "Behave!"
"No wonder the twins are demons." I muttered with a smile and picked up my towel from the floor.
My father turned to me with a small smile; "I'm sorry, cub. You're mother is right- it's just..." He sighed and walked up to me with sad eyes. I smiled up at him as he placed his hand on my shoulders and squeezed. "You're my little girl and I tend to forget that you're not so little anymore."
"I understand." I truly did. My father had always been overly protective of me- even the twins, but mostly me. If it hadn't been for my mother, he'd never have started to let me go on reaper missions and hunting when I was barely a teenager. She always had to remind him not to hold onto me too tightly.
My father leaned in to place a kiss on my head. He was tall, but I'd grown quite a bit; I was even slightly taller than my mother, but only slightly. "I love you, cub."
"Love you too, papa."
He placed his hand on my cheek and smiled, but before he turned around, he lifted his palm to my head and rubbed my hair around, creating a messed-up bird's nest.
I snarled and slapped away his hand; "Really?"
Thanatos chuckled and quickly ducked out of my room like a naughty child. There was no doubt in my mind that the twins were his.
Malakes...