Chapter Thirteen

"W o a h," I breathed, reaching out to touch one of the drops, and it touched the top of my finger but didn't move. Awe made my heart pound.

Ducky opened his eyes and gasped. "I did that?" I asked, and we all laughed. He drew his hand out of the glass and the droplets fell to the floor like rain, soaking into the rug and the carpet.

"Well that settles it." Scarlett said, her face stony but her cobalt blue eyes sparkled with amusement. "Cassius has the Power of Poseidon."

I nodded and licked my lips. "Well that just leaves Hades and Athena."

Scarlett brushed the hair from her eyes. "We can do this tomorrow." She looked at Harlow.

"No, we need to do this now." I Said, then frowned. It felt as if something was pricking at the edges of my consciousness, and suddenly my thoughts clouded. A flash of weak pain zipped through my head and one thought bubbles at the surface, and I couldn't help but say it. "I guess we don't need to do this now." Suddenly, the consciousness vanished from my mind and my mind was clear again. I clutched my head. "What the hell."

Scarlett was looking at me with her big, wide eyes. "I-I don't know what just happened." She looked scared, and honestly I was unsettled too. "All I did was wish you to say that we didn't need to do this now." She let our a squeak and covered her mouth with her hands.

I lowered my gaze and twisted my fingers around themselves. My stomach churned. Some sort of mind control? That could be bad in the wrong hands.

"Well Athena has no mention of mind control except for the fact that she has wisdom, but I think it's more likely that you have Hades." Harlow said, looking at Scarlett. She pressed her hand to her heart and let her mouth swing open as if Harlow had just said she was a she demon. An ugly one at that.

"Moi?" She said. "The underworld? Evil? Please." She tossed the hair over her shoulder, something that I realised was her nervous tick.

"To be honest," Ducky said quietly. "It's not as out there as you mind think."

Gabriel let out a puff of laughter and Scarlett put her hands on her hips indignantly, but I couldn't keep my eyes of Gabriel. His laugh was like wind chimes. I managed a small smile.

Lee shuffled over to me and rested his hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

I shrugged. "I don't know, that whole mind control thing was quite scary, if I'm being completely honest."

He didn't say anything, just rubbed my back, when suddenly I felt a burst of confidence stream through me, followed by a rush of energy. I looked up and gasped, seeing a translucent crystal looking glass form around us.

I shook my shoulder from his grasp amd immediately the dome disappeared. I turned to look at him.Lee had a startled look on his face, shock mirroring my own.

"Everything okay? You literally just disappeared for a second." Ducky Said, coming to crouch beside me. I looked to him and then back to Lee.

"He gave me energy and formed a bloody shield." I said steadily. "God, I'm not your test subject." I rolled my eyes, but Harlow jumped on top of Lee. For a second, I was taken back, then I remembered they were siblings and I had done the same to Milo on a bunch of separate occasions.

"This is great!" She squealed. "Lee - giving shields and invisibility is a key sign of Athena! You found your power!"

Scarlett rolled her eyes and covered her ears with her hands. "Can we please lower the pitch of the conversation before I burst my eardrums? Thanks."

***

I lay staring up at Gabriel's patterned ceiling as I heard the steady breathing of everyone else asleep in the room. At my feet, Ducky turned over and murmured something in his sleep. I felt restless. What are we going to tell Carlo? Hell, what even happened? Will people discover the Minotaur? Are we going to die!?

Finally, when too many of the thoughts clouded my mind, I sat up and pulled the blanket that covered me around my shoulders and I rose to my feet.

I hopped over the softly snoring people and out of the room. My feet made muffled pads on the soft carpet as I made my way down the hall, but I paused as I passed a mantelpiece.

On it, were a few family photos, mainly involving Gabriel and his parents, but one at the far right made me pause. It was a photo of the family on a picnic. It seemed as though it was in the field of a warm summer's day. Gabriel's dad was giving a younger looking Gabe a piggy back, whilst his mum whipped back her head and was laughing. Another boy, however, sat on the edge of the cloth, a small, amused smile on his face. He looked so similar to the young looking Gabriel that I had to do a double take. Same tousled hair, same silver eyes, same slightly pouted lips.

"That was my brother, Charlie." Gabriel's voice made me jump. I spun around and looked at him with wide eyes.

"I-um." I cleared my throat, but he only chuckled.

"It's okay. I couldn't sleep either." His haze drifted back towards the picture and he picked it up delicately, almost as if it would smash if he gripped it too hard.

"You said was," I whispered softly. He dragged his gaze away from the picture to look up at me. All he managed was a small nod.

"He was my twin brother. It was an accident; I swear." His voice broke and I bit my lip. I was never really good at comforting people, and I swear if he started to cry I would cry and no body wanted that. I was an extremely ugly crier.

He didn't notice my awkwardness, and he sniffed, before continuing. "I was supposed to be out with him on that day. We were going to Basketball. But instead," he looked up at me again and I saw the wetness in his eyes. "I blew him off for a girl. A girl." My heart ached but I didn't dare interrupt him, it now seemed as though he was looking right through me, living the memory.

"And these kids - older kids. They found him waiting. And, well, they hurt him, Aidan, they broke him. He died of a broken neck in the hospital a few hours later. Fuck. We were only 11." He roughly wiped the new tears from his eyes. "I think my parents blamed me. It's been 5 years, and they've never said it out loud, but I can just tell." The tears cascaded down his red cheeks like a waterfall. My mouth was dry but my eyes suddenly burned with unshed tears.

He suddenly leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my neck, letting out a quiet sob into my shoulder. I just held him, not sure what else to say and rocked back and forth slowly.

"I blame myself too, to be honest." He mumbled, and I let out a soft shush.

"Hey now," I said slowly. "Charlie wouldn't want you blaming yourself, would he." Gabriel didn't respond and I tightened my grip around his chest, afraid that if I let go, he would fall. Physically and metaphorically. "I have a younger brother. He's eight years old and he means the world to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. You're so much stronger than you think."

Gabriel nodded and drew away from me, wiping his nose with his hand. I reached out to touch his other one. "I hear venting helps. I'm here if you need to talk, okay?"

When I looked into his eyes again, his silver orbs were soft, almost vulnerable. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were big and sparkling. Now wasn't the time, but he looked cute.

I felt more at peace with myself than a few minutes ago, and walked past Gabriel so our arms touched. I swear he shivered in joy at the contact with my skin.

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