From Gods (Descendant Prophecies Book 1)(17)

 

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."