Upon entering, her eyes got even bigger when Mason hit the lights. Standing on the caramel marble floor, her eyes went straight up to the crystal chandelier shaped like an upside-down umbrella. The entryway sparkled like diamonds reflecting from the lights above. Underneath the chandelier, a grand vase filled with stargazer lilies was centered on a tall, round mahogany table. The heavenly scent permeated the house.
"This way," he directed and then reached for his cell phone in his back pocket. "Excuse me," he said, making eye contact. He turned his back and spoke into the receiver, "What?" He sounded upset, pausing for what seemed like a minute. "Tell them I'll be there in half an hour or so." He paused again. "Don't say anything. Just wait for me, got it?" Then he hung up.
Seeing two staircases, Skylar wondered which way he would go. She followed when Mason pivoted to his right, heading up the stairs, stepping onto the lush beige carpet. Lagging behind, she marveled at the elegant furniture and the paintings on the wall. Then her eyes shifted to the white walls as she walked down the long hallway.
"This is my room." Mason opened the door.
Skylar tried her best not to be overly excited, but she couldn't help it. His bedroom was three times the size of hers. The first thing she observed was the glowing moon peeking through the slightly open velvet curtains and a feeling of warmth immediately encased her. Then she saw the neatly made king-sized bed with several plush pillows by the headboard. With a huge flat-screen TV mounted to the wall and the elegant furniture, Skylar thought his room had been designed for a prince.
"It's not much, but I hope you'll find it comfortable. I'll get you a change of clothes." Mason opened another door and entered.
Not much? Was he serious? Surely he was being humble. Skylar didn't know where to sit since her shorts were still damp. Not wanting to leave a wet spot on the expensive comforter, she stood instead. As she waited for Mason to return, she noticed there were no picture frames adorning the walls or on the dresser.
"It'll be a bit big on you, but at least you'll be comfortable," Mason said, walking out from the closet with a T-shirt on. T-shirt on or off, he still looked the same-hot. Walking past her, he placed a T-shirt, a pair of thin sweatpants, and flip-flops on his bed. "You're welcome to take a shower if you like."
Her thoughts returned to what had happened in the theater, and she stared blankly into space.
"Skylar, what are you thinking?" Mason asked with a tender tone, closing the gap between them.
"Before I do anything, can you please tell me what's going on? I feel like this is all a dream, or a nightmare. I don't understand how those things appeared in the ocean and tried to kill me, and . . . and those things-vultures you called them-they look like monsters. Monsters are not real. And how does water just overflow from the sink and the toilet and fill a room? You act like this isn't weird, like it's normal to you," Skylar mumbled frantically, trying to make sense of it all, trying to tell herself that she was not crazy.
Mason placed his hand on her back, guiding her closer to the bed. "Sit down."
"My shorts are still damp, I think." She patted her butt.
"It's all right. Please sit."
Skylar did as told. Mason sat beside her, looking at her with a weary expression and placing his hand on his lap. "You have to promise me you won't speak a word until I'm finished. What I'm about to tell you will be unbelievable-you may even think I'm crazy. Will you listen and not freak out?"
Skylar nodded, having no choice. She needed to know.
"What we call gods-like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades-ruled the world once upon a time. As religion progressed, people stopped believing and praying to them. When prayers are no longer received, the gods are forgotten, and unfortunately they vanish."
"What?" she murmured, arching her brows, wondering if he was joking. But when she saw the look on his face, she knew he wasn't.
"That's actually putting it mildly," he continued. "They just . . . die. Knowing their deaths were inevitable, Zeus, Poseidon, and other gods thought it was best to continue their bloodline, so they massively reproduced with mortal women and men. At least then, a part of them would live through their children and in the generations to come. Being born from mortal mothers or fathered by mortal men, the half-blood children were able to live on Earth.
"Unfortunately, Hades found out and was mad as hell. He believed it was unfair that his brothers were about to continue their family lines whereas he was forbidden to. Hades swore he would get rid of all the half-blood children. The sea creatures and the vultures you saw were Hades's creations. Are you following me?" Mason asked sternly, looking at Skylar's impassive expression.
"Then, you are . . . whose bloodline are you from?" Skylar asked slowly, feeling flabbergasted by what she was hearing and trying to let his words soak in.
"Our bloodline comes from Zeus. We didn't have the honor of meeting him, of course. This was ages ago."
"Was?"
"Yes, was."
"How about Poseidon and Hades?"
"They are gone too. As I said before, people stopped believing. From what I've been told by Nick's mom, all the gods are dead, even the minor ones. Unfortunately, Hades's monsters are still out there carrying out his revenge. They have been for decades. My brothers and I are born from different mothers, but the same father. So we are technically half brothers.
"From what I've been told, our father was attacked by the vultures, but he managed to find Nick's mother first and confessed his infidelity to her the night he was attacked. He confessed everything. His purpose was to procreate, to father more children like himself. You see, our kind was dying. The vultures, sea creatures, and others yet to be seen have taken their vengeance, just as Hades had planned.
"Fortunately, Nick's mother knew what was going on and found out just in time. She was the one who told the other moms about the gods and the monsters, but she was a little late telling my mom. Remus's and Everett's mothers suffered the same fate as our father . . . Hades's monsters killed them.
"My mom found out last, and I learned I was one of the gods' children the night she died. Nick's mother took care of me, along with Remus and Everett. Before Nick's mom passed away at the hand of one of the monsters, she made sure we were taken care of financially, and that is how our little family of four grown boys came to be." Mason paused and took a deep sigh. "But we'd rather have our moms back instead of all this wealth."
Though he tried not to show it, his eyes were filled with pain. Skylar knew that feeling all too well. She had worn that same expression many times before when people would ask about her dad.
"There are more of us out there," he continued. "This I know for sure. We like to keep to ourselves so we've never tried to contact the others. That way we don't attract too much attention and the vultures stay away. If there are any suspicious activities, we move on to another small town or go away for a while, but we try to come back here because this is where we all grew up. It's been a while since there's been any activity until you came along, and that is the reason I believe . . . you're one of us."
Skylar busted out laughing, not that it was something to laugh about. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. She stood up and began pacing back and forth. "So, you're telling me my mom had sex with one of the gods' descendants? Does my mom know?" Then she stopped pacing when she recalled Nick telling Kayla that his parents were dead. He hadn't given reasons, and because it was a morbid topic, they had never asked the question of how. "No, it can't be true. My dad-"
"Left you and your mom," Mason finished her sentence.
Skylar froze in place, recalling that day when her dad didn't come home. Being only eight years old, she never understood the reasons why, and her mom seemed reluctant to discuss that specific topic. It had taken her a long time to get over the hurt. Eventually, the hurt grew into hatred and then her heart became numb. It had been the only way to deal with the loss of him. Now, knowing that her dad could be special and there was a possibility that he could be dead, it was too much to bear. But this all depended on whether Mason's story was true. "I don't understand." Skylar focused on the floor, trying to grasp his words.
"I know this is a lot to take in, but if it makes you feel any better, there is a chance I may be wrong about you. I'm not sure. You're quite complicated."
Skylar shook her head in disapproval of his words. She didn't want to be complicated. "What do you mean?"
"You can't defend yourself. You have no powers, which should automatically rule you out for being one of us. But these water creatures came after you and they don't attack humans, so in that case that would make you one of us. You can see the vultures. Humans can't see them when they morph into beasts, and they don't go after humans unless they've been touched by a god or one of the descendants."