by Nicole Thorn
I closed the fridge and bounced over to the table, sitting down. One beer wouldn’t hurt. I grabbed the twist off tab and—
The beer disappeared from my hand so fast that I almost didn’t catch what happened. Blinking, I looked up at Zander, who frowned at me. “It’s barely ten o’clock, Jasmine,” he said, taking my delicious beer away from me.
I frowned right back at him, and put my chin in my hands. “I was only going to have one,” I said.
“How’s your head?” he asked, rather pointedly.
I frowned harder. “It’s fine.” Okay, so I found it hard to look at light, and this pounding in the center of my forehead wouldn’t go away, but other than that, it was fine. No one would be able to tell that my head still hurt the teensiest amount.
“You have to wait,” Zander said, and I pouted. I pouted big time.
“I was just going to have the one,” I said.
He looked at me, and something about that look seemed off. Like he could see right through my words, and into my head. But I really planned on having the one, so I didn’t understand why he stared at me like that. I looked away before he could say something I didn’t want to hear.
The chair across from me scooted back, and Zander’s hand took mine. “What’s wrong, Jasmine?” he asked. “You know you can tell me, right?” I flipped my eyes up and stared at Zander. He, like Kizzy, appeared unnaturally beautiful. However, his mother was Aphrodite, so his beauty went a step further than his sister’s. Right now, that beauty seemed like all soft edges and concern. Those eyes drilled into mine, like he could dig the problem out of my head, and fix it.
I hated when Zander got concerned about me. I felt fine. I didn’t need anyone to be concerned about me, especially not someone as sweet as Zander. He spent his whole life trying to make Kizzy safe, and he couldn’t have done that. Through no fault of his own. He was a child. Even demigods were just children sometimes. When he couldn’t protect her, and she broke, he blamed himself.
No one had told me what happened with Kizzy, but I had figured it out. Just through how she acted. I would never ask her about it, and stayed perfectly content in the knowledge that my brother could keep her happy, but there was one person that had been left behind.
Zander. All his worry for his sister had shaped him, even if he didn’t know it. Without her to worry about, he had turned his attention to me. He needed to worry about someone more than I needed someone to worry, so he ignored me when I said everything was fine. Like now.
Sometimes I thought the demigods lived under the impression there was something wrong with me and my siblings. Kizzy would get so mad when our father would stop by for this or that. We didn’t give him a monthly check anymore because Jasper didn’t want to, so Daddy came by more often now. They’d both look so angry when Daddy stood in the doorway.
Kizzy would also get this odd look on her face when she would help me up the stairs some nights. She’d look so kindly at me while making sure I didn’t trip, but with softness in her eyes. So much concern, and I hated worrying them. I hated worrying anybody, but especially my family.
I took Zander’s hand, and squeezed his fingers. “Nothing is wrong,” I told him for what had to be the twentieth time. “I just wanted a little something to drink. I guess water would do fine.” I popped up from my chair and went over to the tap. I felt his eyes on my back while I moved.
“Where is everybody?” he asked.
“They went out,” I said, cheerfully. “Jasper and Kizzy are getting groceries, and Juniper is dumping some trash.”
“Well, then maybe we should go out,” Zander suggested, getting to his feet. “We could go do something fun.”
“Like what?” I asked, interested. I sipped my water, and watched him think. He looked cute when he thought. Or cuter. He’d get this tiny little crease on his forehead that I was sure he remained completely unaware of. The harder he thought, the deeper the crease would get, and the more I wanted to smooth it out, just to see what he would say. Sometimes, he’d also purse his lips.
He opened his mouth, but then closed it without saying anything. Some thought shifted through his eyes, and I wanted that thought. I wanted to know what he had rejected, because it put such an odd expression on his face. I took another sip from my water.
Maybe I could get him to go to the bar with me tonight. We wouldn’t have to drink. We could sit and people watch. Then he would see there wasn’t anything to worry about. The occasional sip I had should’ve been nothing that he needed to stay up late thinking about.
Another thought came to him, and this time he smiled. “It’s not raining. Why don’t we go to the park?”
I raised my eyebrows. At the park with Zander. I could picture all the girls there, staring at him with an open mouth. That didn’t sound like fun, having all those girls wonder why he walked around with me. Then I pictured Zander catching a Frisbee, and a huge smile broke out across my face. I simply had to see him doing that. I wouldn’t be able to go on otherwise.
“Deal,” I said.
Zander smiled, and peeled himself off the counter. “Then get your shoes on.”
I fetched my shoes and the Frisbee I had stashed in the closet for some reason. When I came back downstairs, Zander was ready to go. We hopped in his car, and he started driving. The sun shined brightly today, but it was also freezing. I had put on a pair of warm tights, and could only hope that it would be enough to keep me from getting frostbite on my ass.
That would’ve been hard to explain. Jasper would never let me leave the house again. Plus, he and Zander already had such an odd relationship.
“What are you laughing about?” Zander asked.
“Nothing,” I grinned.
He smiled back at me, and it reached his eyes, lighting his face up. I burrowed into the warm seat, and relaxed. There was something so calming about being in his presence. Despite the fact that he might’ve been a little insane.
We arrived at the park to find only a handful of people there. Perfect. I could watch him catch a Frisbee without having to feel judged by a bunch of people. The few walking around appeared to be mostly mothers with their young children, all bundled up against the cold. There was a teenaged couple necking on a bench. Two younger teen girls drank coffee, and chatted in short sentences, and then one lone teen girl, wandered around.
Zander and I found the perfect spot. I showed him the Frisbee, and he laughed happily. “Throw it!” He started jogging away from me, and I got ready to have all my dreams come true.
I tossed the little bit of plastic, and it went straight over Zander’s head. Almost faster than I could see, he leaped into the air and caught it like the majestic beast that he was. Oh, that would fuel my dreams for a couple of nights. Maybe I shouldn’t sleep next to him during that time . . .
Or maybe I should. Maybe that’s the smartest idea in the world. So distracted with those thoughts, I almost missed the Frisbee when he tossed it again. I caught it, mostly because it hit me in the chest and I had no other choice. When I tossed it back to him, I watched in fascination as Zander snatched it from the sky. No matter where I sent the stupid thing, he managed to be there in time.
We went on like that for about five minutes before one of his throws went wild, and I had to chase after it. As I jogged over, I noticed that the lone teenage girl stood by herself, looking kind of lost. I knelt to pick up the Frisbee, and as I stood up, she turned and stared right at me.
Little tingles ran down my spine. I lifted my hand in a wave.
The girl paused for so long that I thought she had missed it, but she finally lifted her own hand. I realized that she hadn’t dressed for being outside. She wore a t-shirt, and her fingers had turned an alarming color. My heart tripped in my chest, and all my instincts told me that something wasn’t right.
I turned towards Zander, but he already started jogging over, his eyes on the girl as well. If she was weary of us, then I would need his help. People wanted to trust Zander after all.
Zander and I reached her. “Hey,” I said. “Are you okay? You looked a little confused. Figured I should come check on you.” I smiled so that she knew I’d be friendly.
The girl cocked her head at me, and her eyes bored into mine. Those tingles running down my spine got a little more intense.
Zander cleared his throat. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” the girl said, cocking her head. She didn’t look at anything in that moment. I couldn’t have been entirely sure she remembered that she wasn’t alone, or that she stood in a park. I became worried for her then. What if she’d hit her head and had a concussion? What if she had been drugged or something? We could take her to the hospital, but what about her parents? They must’ve been so worried about her.
Zander ducked his head and caught her gaze. He didn’t use his Charm yet, but his voice came softly when he spoke to her again. “What’s your name?”
She looked up at him. “Callie,” she said.
Zander offered his best smile, the one that had me grinning right along with him. “Well, I’m Zander. Do you know where your house is? I’d be more than happy to take you home.”
“I know where I live.” She spoke in a dazed voice.
I stuck my hand out. “Callie? I’m Jasmine.”
Automatically, she reached forward, and put her hand in mine. It was a mistake. The second our skin touched, a thousand images washed through my head of absolutely everything. So fast that I couldn’t see them, and so hard that I couldn’t focus on anything else.
Some force that felt electric shot through our palms, and slammed right into my center. I went flying backward. The last thing I remembered was landing, and then everything went black.
CHAPTER FOUR:
Grand Theft Teenager
Zander
I mean . . . this is definitely kidnapping. She had to have been only fifteen, and I straight up kidnapped the kid. What the hell else could I do but Charm all the people around us, so they didn’t think anything when I threw the girls into my car and drove off with them?
There was the smallest chance that the cops would be on my tail soon. I could have missed someone, and they reported a giant freak dragging young girls off to their doom. Why couldn’t Kizzy be with us? Another girl would have made me look like less of a creep. Sure, everyone wants a piece of Zander, right up until he starts kidnapping people. Then he’s terrifying. Just because I looked huge and aggressive. People could be such fraidy cats sometimes. Humans . . .
I parked in front of my house, and they still hadn’t woken up. Bad. Very, very bad. Something wiggy had gone down, and that was the only reason I didn’t go right to the hospital with them. This had been magic, and I could feel it between them. Like two magnets being shoved apart by the negative sides.
While I pulled the girls out of the car, I heard a voice from that house for sale a few doors down. “BLOOD IS EASY TO GET OUT OF WALLS!” he yelled at people driving away.
The real estate agent lingered on the sidewalk, and it gave me the chance to finally get a good look at him. He’d been here once in a while, and it always ended with people leaving the house in a hurry. Odd, since my brother usually did better with his job.
“Eros?” I called after I got the girls each on one of my shoulders. They hung limply, and I started to think I would have a hard time waking them up.
I walked the short distance to the man, and became suspicious instantly. My brother had on a suit that cost more than my car, and his short blond hair had been neatly combed. He looked much more like our mother than I did. Less approachable than me, and with even more qualities that humans seemed drawn to. We were almost the same height, but he had a couple inches on me. His eyes were a little brighter, body a little more muscular. He looked pretty much like me, but a little hotter. According to the humans, not me. I was clearly hotter.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asked with a grin, barely looking at the unconscious girls on my shoulders.
My eyebrows went up on my forehead, and I smiled back at him. “Well, I was just out at the lady store. You?”
He looked back at the house, gesturing with his clipboard. “Working.”
“At losing your job?”
He laughed. “Mom would never fire me. I sell more than anyone she’s got under her.”
I rolled my eyes. “You cheat, first of all. Second, why are you chasing people away from this house? Didn’t you mention a squirrel massacre?”
His eyes narrowed. “Suicide, thank you very much. And that was great. The lady I told started gagging right there before she ran.” He laughed again. “God humans are easy.”
I sighed. My family seemed more okay playing with the mortals than I was. To many millennia of being selfish creatures.
I adjusted Jasmine as she started slipping on my shoulder, and glanced back at my brother. “You’re doing what then?”
He shrugged. “Mom doesn’t want the house to sell yet. I’m helping. Plus, the missus is off with some friends for the next month or so. Something in Greece that they wanted to do. Meh.”
“Oh, how is Psyche?”
“Good.” He smiled. “I should check up on her soon . . . ” His eyes went to the sky as they became distant. “Hmm. I could get her some fancy underwear,” he mumbled.
Well, I didn’t need to hear that.
I cleared my throat. “So . . . you’re gonna be not selling this house for a while?”
“Yup,” he said. “‘Til the right person comes along. Someone who deserves this house and to be on this lovely street.” He gestured out with both hands.
They’re all crazy. The gods were old and nuts, and it would be a waste of time to try and understand a word they said. They did stuff just to pass the time now. Old and nuts . . .
“Well, have fun,” I said with a sigh. “I hope no more animals kill themselves in the house.”
My brother waved his hand. “They didn’t. I wouldn’t harm an animal. I like watching old people cry sometimes.”
Wonderful.
I turned and started walking away, only to have him call after me. “Tell Juniper I said hi.”
I looked over my shoulder at him, but I didn’t comment.
I got into the house, and carefully laid the girls on the couch. Jeez, this day could have gone better. I should have taken Jasmine out on a nice lunch date like I wanted to, but I found it so hard not to cross that line.
She was broken, and what I felt wasn’t right. It would be taking advantage, because she didn’t know about her brokenness. If I did something she didn’t like, she may not even be aware enough to tell me. I could push her into something that upset her, and I didn’t want to take the risk.
I felt responsible for her, and I knew she hated it. I dealt with something utterly new to me. Not being needed. Kizzy leaned on me for so long, and I had gotten used to that role as a person. Being a protector and a guardian, as well as a shoulder to cry on. Nurturing became a part of me, I guess. I didn’t know if it came from my mother, or from the years of learned behavior. I needed someone in my arms, or I felt empty.
I didn’t want my girls to hurt. I wanted someone to want me. Need me around. Of course, Kizzy still needed me, but everything felt different now.
Juniper walked into the living room, and it took her about half a second to choke on words as she looked at the sleeping girls on the couch.
She stood without a thing to say, so I tried to help. I told her what happe
ned at the park, and I ended with telling her that my brother said hi.
She squeaked. “What? Another god knows who I am? Why? What does Eros want with me? Is he gonna shoot me with an arrow?! What is this?”
I cleared my throat to cover my laugh. “It’s probably nothing.”
Juniper put her hands on her forehead, and whimpered. “This is bad. Very bad. What if someone comes looking for that girl? We can go to jail.”
I was too exhausted to be worried. “I’ll break out the Charm if I have to, and I can tell the truth. That she was all alone, and I didn’t want to dump her at the hospital. I’ll play dumb on why I didn’t take her. And we need to get Jasmine up before her. Easy.”
When Kizzy and Jasper got home, I got to talk them down from the budding panic as well. Why am I the only one calm here?
Jasmine’s eyes began to roll awake, and I almost shoved my way to her. I sat on my knees next to the couch and held her head in my hands. She blinked at me and croaked out non-words.
“You’re okay,” I said with a smile. “You got a little flying lesson. Don’t worry, I took care of the humans.”
Weakly, she looked at Callie. “What is she?”
Kizzy stared hard at the stranger and cocked her head. “She looks so young. She doesn’t feel like a demigod.”
No, she didn’t. She felt so strange to me. Human, but something . . . off. I saw it in her black eyes, and I felt it in that spark. Somewhere, this strange girl must have had a family looking for her, and I wanted to get her back there.
Callie had looked so lost when I saw her. Lost, but not as confused as I thought she may’ve been. Like she knew what she needed to go do, but not how to get to that place. Lost and found at the same time. I wanted to fix her, but I supposed that had been my curse all along.
We waited for her to wake up, and I got a bottle of water for each girl. When Callie woke, she sat up and downed half her bottle before she looked around closer at us.
“Callie?” I said, standing in front of her. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
