CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Panya hadn't woken back up. Janna had used magic to create extra rooms in the house for those who needed them, which Alyxx had to admit was trippy to watch.

Unable to sleep, Alyxx had spent all night painting. She stared at the results in horror. While the level of skill was excellent, the art itself was disturbing. There were too many shades of red and grey and more black then she ever used. Dark blues and greens made up the rest of the art. There were no pastels. All traces of light were gone. Even streaks of yellow meant to be her hair were faded and muted.

"What the bloody hell is happening to me?" She asked aloud.

"My best guess would be that you're suffering from extreme PTSD," Julian replied, making her jump. She hadn't seen him in the doorway. "That is, of course, completely natural and to be expected. You've all suffered an extreme trauma. It will take time for you to get back to yourselves. Jonathan and especially Panya have already been showing it in their behavior, but it's subtler in you. Still, it has to come out in some way. For you, it's expressing itself in your art."

"Unacceptable. I'm not one to wallow in sorrow." Alyxx turned on her record player and began dancing along to ABC, 123. She grabbed Julian's hand and made him join her. He didn't protest, but began rambling about the history of the Jackson Five instead. Alyxx started to sing along and directed the song at Julian. Soon, he was laughing and singing along with her.

The next song she cued up was Jefferson Airplane's Somebody to Love. It seemed appropriate. The lyrics and the furious beat captured something she was feeling that she couldn't quite express. Julian seemed to get into the music almost as much as she did. She enjoyed seeing this new side of him.

I Will Follow Him was next. Alyxx adored that one. It was exactly how she felt about Mark. To her surprise, someone new suddenly joined in on the sing-a-long.

Her voice was beautiful and unfamiliar. Alyxx spun around to see a stranger in her doorway. She looked Middle Eastern and was looking directly at Julian as she sang.

"Kamila?" Julian asked in confusion. He rushed to her side in an uncharacteristically focused way and pulled her into his arms.

"Julian," she said with a smile. She looked at Alyxx. "Hi, I'm Kami. Julian, is she...?"

"She's Neith, my dear! You may speak freely," Julian assured her.

"I go by Alyxx, actually," Alyxx clarified. "You have a groovy voice, Kami."

"Thank you!" Kami replied.

"Kamila is also a deity," Julian explained. "She left us nearly a year ago to work in Egypt."

"I'm an archaeologist," Kami said. "In addition to being a singer. I adore music. Anyway, I am specifically an Egyptologist, and since none of us knew we were here for a purpose, I went away to work on doing what I love." She looked at Julian and Alyxx suspected she might love more than just studying Egypt. "My soul is Bata, the Goddess of the soul and a deity of music."

"Bata was in hiding for a long time after the last battle with Chaos," Julian added. "She is the key to incredible power as a Goddess of the soul, and we had to keep her away from Chaos. He believed she was destroyed, but Ra, Isis, and I hid her. She's often confused with Hathor because she is depicted with cow ears, but she is different. There are small details in their crowns that make them easier to tell apart. Hathor's horns curve outward, but Bata's curve inward. Unlike you, Jonathan, and Panya, Bata was intentionally hidden within a new soul. What brings you back to us, Kamila?"

"Janna projected to me. She told me of the losses..." She shook her head. "She also told me of the new arrivals who are ready to fight. The time of hiding is done. I belong here."

"Welcome back," Julian said. As another song came on, Kami took Julian's arms and started dancing with him. Alyxx decided she liked any girl who seemed to breathe music. Besides, it was sort of cute watching her and Julian together. He seemed adorably clueless about how into him she clearly was.

Jonathan and Josie soon made their way toward Alyxx's room. Seeing the festivities, Josie immediately perked up. "Kami!" She cried in delight.

"Is that little Josie?" Kami asked. She scooped Josie up and hugged her, spinning her around to the music for a moment. "You're so grown up!"

"Wait until I get my braces off next month," Josie replied with a grin. "Kami, this is Jonathan. Jonathan, meet Kami, or Bata. She's a Goddess of Music and the Soul."

"It's a pleasure, Miss Kami," Jonathan replied.

"Khnum, right? I'm delighted to see you here," Kami replied.

Olivia and Zane walked into the room then. "Kamila! I was wondering what all of the excitement was about," Zane said.

"I'm sorry we woke everyone up," Alyxx said.

"Don't worry about it," Olivia replied. "Kami's mere presence inspires people to play music."

"I'm glad you came," Zane said. "We could definitely use your help. I fear we're struggling to unite."

"Janna mentioned there's been a bit of... tension between everyone," Kami replied. "She also admitted her own role in that. I'm so sorry about poor Marie... Not to mention everyone else we lost. It breaks my heart."

As everyone caught up, Jonathan moved closer to Alyxx, his eyes falling on her painting. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"No," she replied. "I want to dance." She took his hands in her own and started dancing around again. Jonathan indulged her instead of pushing.

Now that is a good friend, Alyxx thought. She put everything out of her mind except for dancing. In that moment, nothing else mattered.

*

Everything was dark. The closet sealed out all but the slightest hint of light, but even if it didn't, Dean's eyes were starting to swell shut.

"Please let me out," he whimpered. "I won't do it again... I'm sorry!"

The four-year-old didn't actually know what he'd done wrong, but apologizing seemed like a good idea. One minute, his father had been calm. The next, he'd snapped and started pounding his fists against his son's small body.

The door opened. His mother stood on the other side looking horrified. She started tending to his wounds as he sobbed in her arms.

"Stop coddling him!" His father snapped. "How's he ever supposed to be a man if you baby him?"

"He's four, Cal!" His mother replied.

"Don't you talk back to me!"

Dean heard his father take off his belt. "Stop it!" He shouted. "Leave her alone!"

"Oh, look who thinks he's a big boy all of a sudden!" His father mocked him.

Dean ran toward him despite being unable to see. He attacked his father with every ounce of strength he had left. His father flung him into the nearest wall. The last thing Dean heard was his mother screaming as everything went black.

Dean woke up alone. He was drenched in sweat. He realized he'd been crying in his sleep. Disgusted by his own weakness, he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up.

"Stop being such a loser," he scolded himself as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. "You're not a little kid anymore, Soldier. Man up!"

He took a shower and left the house, not wanting to be by himself anymore. He zoned out on the subway until he felt someone watching him. He looked up and saw Ryan standing nearby. Ryan hesitated for a minute before coming closer.

"Hey... You okay?" He asked awkwardly.

"Why are you everywhere?" Dean snapped.

"I wanted to check on Panya considering what happened yesterday."

"She's my girlfriend, Ryan. And my consort."

"I know that, Dean, but I'm still worried about her. I'm pretty sure everyone is."

"Whatever."

Ryan was about to walk away when he sighed. "You look freaked out," he said. "What happened?"

"Mind your own business!"

"Dean... I know we hate each other, but I can tell your anger isn't actually aimed at me today. What's wrong?"

He didn't want to tell him, but Ryan's genuine concern was so surprising, Dean found himself answering honestly. "I had a nightmare," he admitted.

He expected Ryan to mock him, but he didn't. Instead, he cautiously sat beside him. "Your dad?" He guessed.

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Osiris showed up yesterday. It makes sense that might trigger some daddy issues for you." He paused before adding, "I'm not making fun of you, by the way. It's legitimately a normal reaction. That had to suck. I'm sorry."

Dean shrugged. "It's fine," he replied.

"No, it's not. You dad was an asshole, Dean. No kid deserves to be treated like that."

Dean was confused by Ryan's reaction. "You don't even know what he did to me," he said.

"I can see it in your eyes any time you talk about him," Ryan replied.

"I don't do that very often."

"I know... Just remember, he can't hurt you anymore."

Dean nodded. "I know."

They arrived at their stop. Together, they got off the train. "Ryan..." Dean said awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Ryan replied.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They headed to Zane's house in silence. Once they arrived, Olivia let them in. "You two are here early," she said.

"We both wanted to check on Panya," Dean explained.

"She woke up about ten minutes ago. She seems much calmer. Shannon's with her. You can see her in a little bit."

Dean was surprised to see that everyone was already awake. He put on a brave face and acted like everything was fine.

Eventually, Panya came downstairs. She wouldn't look anyone in the eye as Shannon guided her to the couch.

"Hey..." Dean said gently.

"I am sorry for my actions yesterday," she said quickly. "I was not myself."

"I know," Dean replied. "It wasn't your fault. Do you feel better today?"

"I feel more rational. Julian and Shannon worked magic as I slept to calm my mind."

"I'm glad that helped."

"The programming isn't broken yet," Julian clarified, "but we were able to quiet it a bit. Given time, I believe we can fully free Panya from these harmful thoughts."

"Thank goodness for that," Jonathan said. "You gave us quite a scare, Miss Panya." He patted her gently on the shoulder before excusing himself.

"Please forgive me for frightening you all," Panya said softly. "I vow to become stronger."

"You are strong," Ryan said quickly. "Don't ever doubt that, Panya."

Dean wanted to be annoyed that Ryan had found the words to comfort her before he could, but he decided to let it go. Today, that wasn't important. The only thing he cared about was making sure that Panya was okay.

*

Jonathan had noticed the way Adara and Trish looked at each other when they thought no one was watching them. He'd noticed how Trish casually slipped her hand into Adara's whenever they were near each other. He'd even noticed how they were almost always seen together, unless Trish was with Shannon. Still, he was quite surprised when he walked into the kitchen to see Adara standing against the counter with Trish leaning down and kissing her.

This wasn't just a casual kiss between two women who were best friends. They had their arms locked around each other. They kissed like... like lovers.

"Oh!" Jonathan said suddenly. "I beg your pardons, Ma'ams... I just... I..."

Trish laughed as she released Adara and unconsciously licked her own lips. "I guess the secret's out," she said.

"I... I'm not sure I understand," Jonathan said.

"She's my girlfriend," Trish explained patiently.

"I know you are friends, but-"

Adara rolled her eyes. "Let me break this down for our Confederate here. We're dating, dude. I love her. She loves me. We kiss. We snuggle. We f-"

"Adara!" Trish cried, but she was laughing. "Don't kill the poor guy." She turned to Jonathan. "I love her like you love Josie."

"I see..." Jonathan said. "It's just... Well, no one did this sort of thing in my time... At least not openly."

"Gay marriage is legal now. We've come a long way." Trish pulled Adara into her arms and Jonathan had to admit they seemed happy. He might not understand it, but who was he to judge?

"Good for you," he said. "I'm glad you found each other."

"Good, you're not a homophobe. I don't have to set you on fire now," Adara said.

"No, Ma'am, that will not be necessary," Jonathan replied. He paused. "If this is accepted now, why have you not told anyone yet?"

"My family doesn't approve of the whole lesbian thing," Adara admitted. For the first time ever, she seemed vulnerable. Jonathan had never expected to see that. Even after Li and Christian had been killed, Adara had chosen rage instead of grief. She never showed weakness.

"You cannot help who you love," Jonathan said. His mind wandered to his own situation. "If it were possible to choose such things, I would not be dating a girl who is younger than my sister was. The simple truth is, Miss Josie has won my heart, and I cannot fight it. I no longer want to. She makes me whole." He looked at Trish. "Do your parents disapprove as well?"

"My parents? They're about as liberal as they come. They totally support me no matter who I love. They think Adara's a huge improvement over my last boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Now he was even more confused.

Trish laughed. "Adara's a lesbian, meaning she is only attracted to women, but I'm bisexual. I'm attracted to both men and women."

"I've never heard of such a thing... The world has changed. Why do your parents like you dating Adara more than you dating a man?"

"They just want me to be happy. My last boyfriend was a jerk. He slacked off, he had no ambition, and I even caught him getting high a few times."

"Wait, did you go out with Daniel?" Adara teased her, bringing up the pathetic young man who had willingly become the vessel for Chaos during the battle that had cost the lives of so many of their allies.

"Oh, shush! His name was Brett, and he was a good kisser, okay?" Trish laughed and added, "You're much better, though."

Adara kissed her quickly. Trish smiled and continued, "Adara is in college. She's smart, funny, and beautiful, and most of all, she treats me like a queen. What else could my parents want for me?"

"That's beautiful," Jonathan told her. "I'm happy for you both. And don't worry; your secret is safe with me."

"We should probably come out to the rest of the pantheon," Trish said, "but I sort of like having a secret romance."

"We'll tell them soon," Adara decided. "Just not today."

"If you ladies are ready to socialize, Miss Panya's awake," Jonathan said.

"Is she okay?" Trish asked.

"She seems to be... For now, at least."

"Come on," Adara said. "I know you want to check on your big sister, Trish."

They headed into the living room with Jonathan. As Adara and Trish made their way toward Panya, Jonathan moved closer to Josie. He took her hand in his as he watched Trish fuss over Panya. It was odd to think of them as sisters. Li hadn't really acknowledged the connection between their souls, probably because her soul had barely unlocked, but Trish embraced it openly. The way she acted with Panya, Shannon, and Zane, it was obvious they were family.

He tried to relax, but his nerves were screaming at him that something big was coming. Jonathan hoped they could pull themselves together in time to face whatever it was.