Chapter 4: Mystery, Plague and Chaos
A/N: How was that for updating when I said I would?! I am even on time. Woot! Anyway, thanks Demenior, for your constant reviews, and yes, Mellian will be… important.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything CotT, except for my plots, and Danaya, and Calli, and Muerte and now Mellian. Aha.
My quotes that I keep forgetting:
"With your powers and mystery, and my thieving skills, screw Houdini; we would have an army of deadly Criss Angels on our side." -Archie
xxx…And If I Say Jump, You Just Have To Trust Me…xxx
Odie sighed heavily as he trudged upstairs to get a glass of milk. The last few weeks had been literally a living hell for him. Not only had he been working non-stop to find a solution to his best friends' immortality problems, but he had also been on the lookout for Cronus. Not to mention that only five months ago, right after he had discovered he was immortal he had gone to visit Calypso, the sea nymph who was his first love.
But instead of being happy about the news as he had expected, she had been almost melancholy.
Calypso had explained it as she had finally realized that he deserved so much more than to be the replacement to an ancient pining love. So she had left him, telling him that when he was gone, she was going to take her own life to finally be with her one true love, Odysseus.
Odie had left her island, watching her stare at him from shore, her eyes carefree and beautiful as always, but not joyful. They were sad and regretful. But she seemed to be at peace for the first time in all the months he had known her.
So Odie had come home to his friends and not told them anything of his visit. They didn't suspect a thing, and Odie never planned to tell them.
He was going to die in fighting Cronus anyway. He had already done so once, he doubted he would survive to see a free of Cronus era.
Odie was about to shuffle back down to his lair in the basement when the doorbell rang. He wasn't going to answer, thinking it to be some salesperson, but his curiosity got the better of him, and the teenager walked to the door.
He opened it, blinking in the sudden sunlight that shocked him. Upon seeing a woman there, Odie slammed the door and locked it, snatching one of Danaya's daggers from a nightstand. He reopened the door cautiously, searching the porch for the woman from before.
He found her leaning against a post, scowling at him. Odie wondered why he felt dizzy when he realized he had been holding in his breath.
She was dazzling. Sunlight. It was the only word to describe her. Her hair was light honey blond, and white flowers had been strategically placed around her crown. Her eyes were large and blue, her nose straight, leading straight to lush pink lips. Her skin was porcelain, flawless and pale. Odie marveled at their differences. With his dark skin and eyes, Odie wondered if he looked like some type of hellion demon compared to this sunshine child. She didn't even belong in shadows.
"Hello, I am Mellian. You might have heard of my grandmother, Melaina? The Black?" She said in the sweetest voice Odie had ever heard.
He readied his dagger, preparing to throw it at her, knowing that she must be some siren to lure him into hurting his friends.
But instead of anxiety, deep peace and calm spread throughout him at her presence. This was the most content he had felt in months.
"You are not the descendant of Melaina The Black. She was a Black nymph, one of the three Thriae. She could to some extent control subterranean aspects of the world. You are too sunshine." Odie explained, his voice serene.
The woman frowned, "Do you even know the legend of the Thriae? They are all pale skinned, with bee like bodies sometimes, and white caps for heads. Hence, blonde hair."
Odie snapped back into lucidity when his knowledge was insulted. He scowled at the woman.
"I suppose the fact that Apollo is your Grandfather helps you out a lot doesn't it. So what powers do you have? Prophecy? We don't need another one." Odie informed her rudely.
She walked up closely to him, and Odie noticed the anger in her eyes. They seemed darker with that rage their. In fact, her whole appearance seemed darker.
"I can do some Divination skills, but I do not actually have that power. I control darkness, much more fully than my ancestor Melaina. I also have control over a lot of light, due to, as you said, Apollo." She growled. "Now will you please just let me in so we can chat?"
Odie opened the door, respect for her apparent powers overweighing the caution that he carried.
It didn't help that she was so stunning he was tempted to let her have anything she wanted.
xxx…Sometimes You Are So Distracting I Can't Speak …xxx
Danaya raced into the brownstone ahead of Neil, laughing hard at the blond who was attempting to catch her. His attempts were in vain however, as Danaya was just naturally faster than him.
Danaya burst into the house and ran to the living room for a place to hide. Before she could spot one, someone pushed her over onto the couch and landed on her. Danaya almost stiffened, but the familiar smell and figure told her it was Neil. She grinned.
"Got you." He said breathlessly. Danaya giggled and kissed him soundly, the innocent touch starting a make out war.
Unfortunately for the couple, Atlanta and Archie had followed them into the room, Atlanta pretending to gag. Archie didn't even tease them; he just came to them, and pushed Neil away from Danaya.
"Go somewhere else if you want to do that to my sister, please. Ugh, I do not need those thoughts keeping me up at night." Archie whined, wondering if Danaya would ever stop glaring at him.
Atlanta tugged him away from the two and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Don't worry guys. The dork has no problems sleeping. Trust me. Usually he is pretty tired."
Danaya's huge black eyes widened and her pink lips opened to an 'o'.
"Ew! I did not need that information!" She exclaimed, looking at her brother as though he was something the sewer had created.
Atlanta blushed as red as her hair, along with Archie. She swiftly pulled away from him and crossed her arms across her chest stiffly.
"That is not what I meant!" She huffed, noticing the way everyone was ignoring her. She pouted slightly, but abruptly remembered that she was Atlanta, the descendant of Artemis, and she did not pout.
"Hey guys, I don't suppose you want to call Jay and ruin Theresa and his date, we have a visitor. Before we all separate, we need to see the Gods again. And fast." Odie's voice sounded behind them.
Atlanta saw Danaya's expressive eyes blink in astonishment and then fear, and then respect before she turned around.
When she finally did, Atlanta's heart started beating double time. The woman standing beside Odie must have been supernatural, as no ordinary human could have been so striking.
Her hair was golden blond with white flowers woven in and the white sundress she wore showed a modest amount of her creamy ivory skin. She was almost as pale as Danaya.
But while her looks inspired astonishment and respect from Atlanta, they did not give her fear. She was ethereal and bright, not frightening. Atlanta felt calm just being near her, despite the fact that her heart was about to beat out of her chest.
But then her heart stopped beating just as quickly as it started. The woman's crystal blue eyes opened in surprise for an instant, and then understanding seemed to hit her. She bowed slightly, staring at Atlanta.
The red head thought for a second that she was trying to swear fealty to her as the Queen of the Streets, but when Atlanta turned on Archie for confirmation, she saw something that inspired more fright into her than Cronus.
It was his solemn face, the emotionless one. The one he used when he was Muerte. And it was not looking at her. It was looking at the new woman.
"Mellian?" he asked, some shock in his otherwise monotone voice.
The woman smiled, and Atlanta wondered if she would ever see the sun as beautiful after meeting this Mellian woman.
"Hello Muerte. It's been a while." She said, her voice shimmery and kind.
It was not her voice that made Atlanta's knees start to shake uncontrollably. It was the words she had used. The exact same words Robert had said the day they had met in the alley.
Archie stepped forward, bowing his head slightly to her, and then grinned lightly, the most un-Muerte like face he had made since the girl entered the room. She beamed in return and launched herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly for an instant before she pulled away.
"Still comrades I take it, huh Mellian?" Archie teased.
"I suppose, unless you know, I get hungry or something." She retorted. Everyone but Archie and Danaya seemed to miss the joke, but the black haired girl chuckled hesitantly, her eyes still slightly panicked. "Where is Robert?"
Archie instantly hardened, his eyes cold, "Dead."
"I'm so sorry Muerte." She whispered consolingly. Atlanta fumed.
"Don't be, he was killed by my hand." Archie replied, his voice gravelly and rough.
Mellian gasped lightly, "What was the reason?"
Archie finally reached back and grabbed the panicked, scared and jealous Atlanta, pulling her forward.
"Mellian, meet Atlanta, my… Well, the Queen of the Streets." Archie introduced, and Atlanta tried to take his lead, making her face hard and cold.
Mellian studied her extensively, the silence in the room growing thick and awkward after the examination. She finally straightened.
"Well, I still say our children would have been death itself, but I always knew it would be her. Although I thought she would be more… street oriented." Mellian said, her eyes contented and less…icy.
Archie frowned, "She had never been on the streets, but it doesn't matter to me, I will teach her. And protect her. And for the final time, I don't know if I would unleash our children on the world. With your powers and mystery, and my thieving skills, screw Houdini; we would have an army of deadly Criss Angels on our side."
Atlanta wondered briefly if Archie knew that she was going to beat the living doodle out of him later for making her jealous and curious and scared all at the same time. Thankfully, Danaya stepped up to the plate, her eyes downcast and timid.
"Atlanta, this is Mellian, she was a healer for many people at one time, and we called her Mystery. Then, it was said a man tried to steal from her and she took revenge on all thieves that habituated the dark. We called her Plague. Then she disappeared for a while, but returned at one point to Muerte's side. They together took almost all of Mexico's thieving gang competition to the Vida ládron by force and some of the States too. Word was spread throughout the darker parts of cities all over the world about Muerte and his deadly woman companion who was not his Queen. Then we called her Chaos. Because that is what ensued wherever they went. It is said gypsy blood runs through her veins, but that does not explain the reason that while she was called Plague and Chaos her skin was as dark as Odie's and her eyes darker. She is a mystery to everyone and anyone."
Danaya shut her eyes, as if expecting a punishment, but Neil stepped forward to her side, and for once, looked surprisingly intimidating.
"I am Neil, by the way, and this is Danaya, Archie's sister and my… err… partner." Neil explained.
Mellian smiled sadly, "I know all about you Narcissus' descendant. The bones told me. And I have met your precious Danaya before. A fall down the stairs as I recall."
Danaya made a small choking sound of agreement before staring straight back at the carpet.
Mellian finally looked away from Danaya to glance at everyone in the room.
"Just so you know; I am not a gypsy. I'm Apollo's granddaughter and a descendant of the Thriae, three nymphs with the gift for Divination. I am descended from Melaina, the black."
Odie walked up to their circle of worry and confusion to interject, "Basically, in normal people talk, she is a nightmare of an angel."
xxx…I'm No Angel, But That Doesn't Mean I Can't Cry …xxx
A/N: Alrighty, My Girl will be updated Friday, and this one on Monday. Love you guys, review if it pleases you. Also, a random typo in the last chapter, Mellian's necklace has an M on it, not an S. I don't know which crack I was smoking. Jeeze.