Back with another installment. I definitely want to thank all of you for the reviews, they were all very nice. Made me feel a lot better about all of this. This is another long chapter, so I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 14: Death Rides a Pale Horse, and It Rides Through Aimes

There had been a million different ways that Jason pictured how meeting his family would go, but staring at his grandfather, who looked to be the same age as him, was not one of them. And that wasn't even counting the fact that his grandfather had been alive during the Salem Witch Trials, which had been over three hundred years ago. Kronos looked like Jason's slightly older brother, rather than his actual grandparent.

And, so, like Jason's normal eloquent self, he blurted out, "Are you a vampire or zombie?"

Nico snorted and shook his head. "Don't be silly, Jason, vampires don't exist." He tilted his head to the side when Jason visually relaxed. "They died out years ago."

Jason felt sick. He knew that magic existed now, which was fine, but to find out other things like vampires had once existed left a bitter taste in his mouth. Kronos arched a brow. "Werewolves still exist, though. Has he met Piper's father yet?"

Nico smiled at Jason's pale face. "They haven't been officially introduced, but he also didn't know about that just yet." The brown-eyed boy patted Jason on the shoulder. "Think more Native American lore, like a shapeshifter. Frank is technically one as well, though his is a bit different. Mainly due to his mixed heritages on both sides of his family."

Taking in a slow breath, Jason nodded. None of this answered how Kronos was still alive, though. He frowned down at Nico. "I thought nobody around here knew my last name?"

Nico glanced over at Kronos before he returned his gaze to Jason. "Because it's not the same." The boy let out a breath. "Your name has changed a lot over the past few hundred years. As of right now, they go by Johansson."

"What, like the actress?" Jason asked.

Kronos looked confused, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Who?"

Nico waved him off. "It's not important." He sighed and turned back to Jason. "They don't keep track of movies and things after your parents left," the boy whispered to the blue-eyed boy beside him. Jason gave a nod. Nico rubbed his neck. "What do you think about that, Kronos? Change the name again?"

Kronos regarded both of them for a moment. "More than likely. Names mean little to us, you know that."

Nico smirked. "I'm sure that will give the town a headache when they get their memories of Zeus and Beryl back." Nico flinched and looked at Jason. "Er... I guess I should say Jupiter and Beryl?" Kronos frowned down at the boy. "Long story."

"Wait, so my parents aren't that old?" Jason asked. The blond chuckled at the odd look he got from Kronos. "No offense, but I'm still confused on the age thing."

Kronos eyed him funny for a moment. Taking a step closer, he lifted Jason's chin. Jason gulped at the frown at that formed on his grandfather's lips. "You have your father's eyes." He let out a sigh. "Mother is going to be furious when she finds out that we were lied to."

Jason blinked. "Mother? Your mother is still alive?"

Kronos shot Nico a confused look. The pale boy chuckled awkwardly. "So, um, he's sort of been dreaming about you and my grandfather."

"Wait," Jason interrupted. "Tartarus was your grandfather?" He flailed his arms. "How old do you people live for?"

Kronos shrugged casually. "Typically, our kind live for anywhere between two-to-four hundred years." Slipping his hands into his pockets again, Kronos paced Jason's form. "Although, that really isn't the case for our family. Don't ask for the details, because Mother has yet to actually fill me on what happened." He let out a sigh. "Our whole family line and magic is complicated. Mother has her own magic, I studied my father's magic after he died. However, the official magic of our house is neither of those." His eyes narrowed as he inspected Jason's face again. "Since your father is gone, and neither Mother or I actually primarily use our actual house magic, I will let you head that field. If you are anything like your father, it will be a breeze for you." Kronos chuckled and nudged Nico. "See, I can still be funny."

Nico sighed and shook his head. "Your family masters weather magic. Rain, lightning, wind, tornadoes, etc." Nico flashed Jason a brief smile. "It makes sense now that you shocked me when we..." Nico glanced at Kronos. "Uh... never mind."

Kronos let out a breath. "I am aware of your curse, so I can safely assume what happened to make him shock you."

"Just a kiss," Jason said, blushing a little.

Kronos chuckled. "As you will have ample time on your hands in the many days to come, you will be free to explore the other forms of magic Mother and I have begun to master." A faint smirk spread across the young man's pale lips. "I suppose you learn a few new things after a few hundred years of being alive."

Jason blinked. "Like what?"

The smirk grew and Kronos snapped his fingers. For a second, Jason just blinked and finally shrugged. Nothing had changed. He went to open his mouth, but found it took him nearly thirty seconds to get it even partially open. His eyes widened as he turned to Nico, who was completely frozen in time behind him. Even the hands of the clock and the chime beneath the grandfather clock were frozen. Kronos was the exception, moving freely around the room. Snapping his fingers again, everything returned to normal.

"You didn't do-" Jason stopped himself. He had intended to say that before he had realized what had happened. The blue-eyed boy did his best impression of a goldfish as he stared at his grandfather. "Okay, that was pretty cool." He grinned. "Can I learn that."

"Perhaps," Kronos sighed. He tilted his head to the side. "You have a lot of catching up to do." He rubbed his temple. "The coven has always run on the leadership of three families, ours being one of them. The other two are the Jacksons and the di Angelos. Due to the obvious complications, you are now behind in your studies."

"That's an understatement," Nico muttered.

Kronos shot him a dark look. "For now, you'll just learn what is intended of you." He blew out a breath. "Time was my father's magic, but his family has died out, so it is now mine. We'll have to see how I feel after you get the hang of controlling the weather."

"But how does any of that make me immortal?" Jason asked.

"As I said," Kronos' brow furrowed, "I have never been told that. Mother refuses to talk about it. I've spent quite a few years trying to find an answer to that very question in our endless supply of books. Yet I have come up with nothing."

Jason scrunched his lips. He had hoped for answers. For every question that he had. And it was great that Jason was finding out so much, but now there was yet another mystery that he was left without an answer to. And Kronos had been alive all this time, close to his own mother, yet she had not told him the answer.

"Why doesn't she tell you?" Jason finally asked.

"Gaea likes to keep her secrets." Nico got a dark look from Kronos for that comment. "It's true. She was here long before any of us. Nobody really knows how old she actually is, but we know she's pretty ancient."

Kronos held up a finger. "While we are on the subject of our family and its magic, I would like to make it clear that you are not to discuss your family magic with other houses." Kronos shot Nico a quick glance. "Nico is already aware of the rule, but he has a habit of trying to pry. Like his father and grandfather before him."

Nico smirked up at him. Jason pouted at the brown-eyed boy."He's not being rude, it's the rules. I can learn the basics, like you'll be doing with everyone else, but family magic is off-limits to anyone not of your house."

"Wait, what was that about learning other magic?" Jason asked. He let out a quiet groan. "How much am I expected to learn?"

Kronos smirked at him. "A lot. But he is right, you'll be put into special sessions with each Head of House to learn the basics of each individual house's magic." He nodded his head towards Nico. "For example, everyone in the coven can see ghosts because of Nico's family."

"They can?" The blue-eyed boy blinked at his crush. "So, why haven't I seen any? I mean, aside from that spirit?"

"Spirit?"

Nico waved Kronos off again. "Long story. It was dealt with, don't worry." He let out a sigh and turned back to Jason. "You haven't learned to see beyond the veil yet." He bit down on his lip. "It's why you didn't see the ghost standing between me and Luke on the day we went to the river."

The color drained from Jason's face. "There was a ghost hanging around that day?"

Nico gave a nod. "He was there to tell me that we had to get home." The boy gave Jason a small smile. "I'm sure you thought Luke and I were arguing."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. He sat down in a chair opposite Nico. "This is... a lot to take in." He ran a hand through his hair. Even that was an understatement. All of this was completely overwhelming. But, at the very least, at least he now had his family, and he was even part of the coven, just like he had wished for. Letting his head fall against the wall, Jason closed his eyes. "So, I'm immortal then?"

"You are," Kronos replied. "It'll probably be another year or two, but you should stop aging soon." Jason opened his eyes to find his grandfather leaning over the railing of the stairs above him. "But you asked about your parents a few moments ago. The town did know them, but didn't grow up with either of your parents. Zeus was a little over two hundred when he left home."

Jason let out a long breath. Gripping the chair, he glanced over at Nico. "But you're not immortal?" He asked. Nico shook his head. "Are you really sixteen?"

A small smile crept onto Nico's face. "Yes, I'm really sixteen years old. And I'll probably look to be in my late twenties when I kick the bucket in several hundred years. We don't really age, regardless of if we are immortal or not."

Kronos cleared his throat. When Jason looked up, he caught his grandfather staring at Nico. Jason frowned to himself. "If that is all, perhaps we should go take this news to my mother."

Nico nodded and shot to his feet. He gave Jason's hand a squeeze and walked towards one of the large, glass windows. Jason watched as the boy stood there with his arms crossed, staring out the window. "Aren't you coming?"

Nico turned to look at Jason. "No." There was a frown on his face, his forehead. "I feel like I'm overlooking something. I'm forgetting something, but I just can't put my finger on it." He let out a sigh. "Go on and greet your great-grandmother."

Jason frowned, but followed his grandfather up the stairs. Once they were at the top, Jason stopped. Kronos turned to raise a brow at him. Jason frowned down at Nico. "Does your mother not like Nico, or something?"

Kronos looked surprised. "No, not at all. She actually loves Percy and Nico, like they were her own. The others too, of course, but Nico and Percy spent a lot of time over here when they were toddlers." He let out a sigh and stared down at the pale boy with a far off look. "This is just hard on him, I'm sure." His golden irises flickered back up to Jason. "I always had the suspicion, especially after we found out you were born, that your father took your mother and left here without saying anything, but now here you are anyways." He quickly pursed his lips and squeezed Jason's shoulder. "Ah, perhaps that came out wrong. But I'm sure you've noticed how drawn to the boy you must be. I can see it in the way you look at him."

Jason's brow furrowed as he stared down at the boy in question. "Why does it sound like it's supposed to be a bad thing?"

"Perhaps it is not, but all curses come at a price."

"Curse?" Jason's brow furrowed. "I just found out I have magic, and now I find out that I'm cursed?"

"Twice actually," Kronos replied, leaning on the railing. His eyes grew dull as he watched Nico move around downstairs. "But the first curse is my fault actually, Nico and his family just got caught up in it."

"You mean Tartarus?" Jason asked. Kronos's eyes flickered over to him. "I thought he killed you." A faint chuckle escaped Kronos' mouth. "I mean, the last dream I had was him dragging you into the floor with some shadow magic."

Kronos chuckled again. "That was quite the phase he went through." Jason leaned on the railing next to his grandfather. Kronos rubbed at his face. "We did end up speaking to each other again eventually, but not for quite some time."

"So, you two made up?"

There was a long silence. Kronos kept his gaze glued to Nico, which made Jason slightly uncomfortable. "The fight that you saw in your dream was the very reason your father and Hades were even born, Jason." He let out a sigh. "By the time we spoke again, Tartarus already got the girl pregnant. And when I found out, I was angry. So, I went to Rhea and asked her to marry me. It's just... We did it in secret and Tartarus didn't find out until we spoke again. I had never seen him so hurt as when I had to tell him that."

"Is he," Jason began, "even alive still?"

Kronos softly shook his head. "No, not for a couple of years now." The young man let out another breath. "I think he knew your father was going to leave, though. Tartarus, like my mother, was very private with a lot of things. Even with me. But I remember that he often talked about Zeus like he wasn't there anymore, months before your parents even left."

Okay, Jason thought, note to self: when someone around here used the words 'a couple of years' to talk about someone really old, they really did mean it. The aging thing alone hurt Jason's head. He was going to need some aspirin. "Why did my parents leave?"

Kronos finally glanced over at him. "I have no idea. No one does. If Tartarus actually did know, he never said. The last time I saw your father, he looked very frightened, though." He straightened his posture. "As a forewarning, you will be expected to stand in front of the coven tonight." He smiled at the sick look on Jason's face. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd be more worried about Nico and the others getting in trouble for keeping the fact that you knew about us a secret. I kind of picked up on that from the way you two were talking." He smirked. "But don't worry, they won't find out from me."

"Thanks," Jason muttered. Maybe his grandfather wasn't so bad. At the very least, he could honestly say that his grandfather was lively and probably entertaining. The weird part was that Jason could actually see himself wanting to hang with his own grandfather. He didn't think most teenagers thought things like that about their grandparents. "How long ago did he die?"

"About two years after your parents left."

Jason frowned. "Why?" He sighed. "I mean, how did he die?" Not really something most people thought about asking about a guy that was over three hundred years old.

Kronos remained silent, but Jason did manage to catch the pained look that he gave Nico when the boy wasn't looking. It must be hard, Jason thought, having to be around someone that looked like the love of your life.

"So, what happened to him that day that you two fought?" Jason decided to ask.

Kronos let out a sigh and motioned for Jason to follow him. The young man led Jason down the right wing of the house, towards the end of the hall. Jason frowned. The door at the end of the hall was open, and inside he could spot a fire burning in the fireplace.

Finally, Kronos replied. "He did something that not even my mother thought was possible." His lips tilted down. "You know, Tartarus' father was never intended to be the Head of House for his family. My mother wanted Tartarus to do it. She saw his potential, something his father was very angry about." The young man came to a stop. "He was a very angry man, jealous of his own son's potential." Jason frowned. He already knew that. "But what he did came at a price, which you probably saw part of it in the dream. You might have even seen it with Nico." His eyes glimmered in the low lighting. "It was a price much larger than he originally thought."

They came to the open door, where Kronos motioned for Jason to stop. The young man poked his head inside and cleared his throat. "What is it, dear?" Came an all too familiar woman's voice. Jason guessed that it should only make sense for Gaea to still be alive if Kronos was.

Kronos let out a breath and stepped into the room, motioning for Jason to follow. The blue-eyed boy swallowed a lump in his throat and stepped in behind his grandfather. It still felt weird to call someone that looked like Kronos his grandfather.

Sitting in a red chair with a book and a martini glass was Gaea herself, still as young as the last time Jason had seen her. Although, she did not look as young as her son, perhaps in her mid-to-late twenties. The color drained from Jason's face as he realized she was also the woman from his first dream, the woman that had attacked those soldiers.

Much to Jason's surprise, Gaea did not seem that surprised to see him. She took one look at him, blinked, and returned to her book. "I thought we were past making mimics of Zeus, Kronos?" She muttered, turning the page. "Although, I am impressed that you decided to change his hair color this time. Even gave him glasses."

Kronos rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Jason's shoulders, ushering him forward. "This isn't a mimic, this is your great-grandson." At that, Gaea slammed her book shut and looked back up at the teenage boy before her. "It seems we were lied to."

"One moment," Gaea said to Jason before putting her book aside and calmly picking up the phone beside her. It was one of those older phones, where the person had to put there finger on the number they wanted and then turn the dial to the right, repeating the process until the full number was dialed.

Kronos let go of Jason. He walked over to the corner and poured himself a glass of wine. Jason was surprised when his grandfather actually offered him some. While Jason did refuse it, he had to admit that perhaps having a young grandfather wasn't so bad after all.

Gaea smiled at Jason, the phone to her ear. He assumed the person the other line had picked up. "Yes, hello. I know, long time." Her eyes narrowed at Jason, while Kronos calmly sipped at his wine. "Old friend, would you care to explain to me why..." She trailed off before gripping the arms of her chair, her smile vanishing. When she spoke again, it was yelling. "My great-grandson is standing in front of me! No, don't give me that crap, I specifically remembering that you told us that he died. You have the audacity to not only lie to us, but refuse to let us come get him?" She frowned. "No, I remember you said the boy died from a gunshot to the chest. I explicitly remember this conversation, Lupa."

Jason's eyes widened. Gaea knew his aunt? His fists clenched as he tuned out Gaea's conversation with his aunt. That meant that his aunt knew that he was a warlock the whole time, didn't it? She kept this from him! She sent him here, knowing who and what he was, and let him do it all by himself. And then there was the matter of his powers. Why were they just now surfacing, when Nico and others said that they are pretty much always there?

And what was that about him having died by gunshot?

A crack appeared in the martini glass that Gaea had. "I don't care what you promised, he needed to be with his family! No, you waited three years before you sent him here, and you didn't even tell us." The glass shattered in her hand. "I don't care what my grandson wanted! You think he knew better than someone that's been alive as long as me? The boy got into trouble almost every day of his life with Poseidon and Hades." Her eyes narrowed and her lip curled. "You don't even value oaths as much as we do, so I will not accept that excuse!" Something important must have been said, because Gaea's eyes widened. "You did what?" Her eyes flickered up to Jason and her voice became calm. "Well, I suppose I do owe you for that. Fine, but do not think that this conversation is over, Lupa."

As Gaea hung up the phone, Kronos took a sip of wine with a smirk. "So, what did she say?"

"It seems Jason here was supposed to have died with his parents," the woman sighed.

Jason rubbed his chest with a frown. "But I'm alive."

"Yes, you are." Gaea rubbed her temple. "Your 'aunt', as you have been calling her, is an old friend of the family. She also happens to be a witch, one that I have known for a very long time." Gaea let out a sigh and snapped her fingers. The shards of the martini glass slowly rose off of the floor and reassembled in her hand. "Kronos, would you be a dear and make me another?"

"Of course," Kronos replied with a smile. He took the glass and walked over to where they kept the alcohol.

When Jason looked back, he found that his great-grandmother was staring at him quite intently. "Your aunt said she would call you later tonight and explain things to you." She let out a breath and reached over for a pen and parchment. Jason watched as she scribbled something down. The ink began to glow red before it vanished entirely.

"What was that?"

Gaea blinked up at him. "I informed the rest of the coven that we will be having an emergency meeting tonight. You will be attending it." Great, Jason thought. "I'm sure you have questions." She smiled at her son as he handed her another martini. "Well, ask whatever you want."

Jason fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "Um, well, I guess I want to know why my powers are just now showing up? I mean, I've never done anything before, not even made a piece of paper float."

Gaea rubbed her neck as she sipped slowly at the concoction. "Your magic was bound at birth. Your parents' decision. They apparently wanted to try and have a normal life." She eyed the drink dully as she swirled it in her hand. "They didn't want you to know."

He couldn't help it, Jason felt angry. That was not their decision to make, it was his powers. He could have grown up here with a real family, instead of living a lie. Why would his parents do that to him?

It was like Gaea knew exactly what he was thinking. "No sense in getting angry about the past, Jason. What's done is done, and now you know the truth. It just means that you will have to work extra hard with your lessons." It didn't make Jason feel any better. "They also made Lupa promise not to tell you." With a long sip, Gaea finished off her martini. "I suppose we also need to move your things into the house."

Kronos nodded. "Nico is downstairs, I'll have him get the others to take care of it."

Jason stopped his grandfather before the young man could get out the door. "They're still at school, it's not even lunch yet."

"Right. School." Kronos rubbed his chin. He frowned over at his mother. "We're going to have to do the whole 'school' thing again, aren't we?"

Gaea rolled her eyes. "He's seventeen, it's not like we have to drive him anywhere." She snapped her fingers and stood up. "Which reminds me, if you want a new car, feel free to get yourself one. Or anything else you might want."

"Money really isn't an issue," Kronos added.

"Oh." Jason rubbed his arms. "Thanks. I'll think about it. But my stuff is at a mortal's house. Ms. Mellie."

"Oh," both of the immortals replied.

Kronos scrunched his lips. "She knows." Jason knew that. He just was not sure if they knew that Mellie knew. He really did not want to get Nico in trouble if it had been a secret. "You can spend the day thinking about how you want your room to look and we'll decorate it for you."

Jason blinked. Anything? He really doubted there were limitations in a magical family. He had seen the other kids' rooms, so perhaps he would go with something like that. Big. His parents had never really been that wealthy—or at least that was what Jason had thought. And then his aunt had been a simple woman, who normally told Jason he only needed necessities. Did they really think he wouldn't ask for a lot of nice things? But, then again, maybe that was normal. From what he had seen, all of the people in the coven lived in luxury.

Placing his hand on Jason's back, Kronos led Jason out of the study. "Why don't you go have lunch with Nico then?" When Jason looked up, he found a distant look in the young man's eyes. "I'm sure there is a lot of things he needs to tell you about. I could, I suppose, but I feel it would be better if it came from him." Unfortunately, Nico was not where they left him. Kronos frowned. "He's probably still on the grounds somewhere, if you want to look for him." He waved around them absentmindedly. "Nico already knows this, but feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. It's your home now, so it's your food. Just try to keep in mind that we try to have dinners together as often as possible."

"Breakfast?"

"Will be served before you go to school during the week, and around ten during the weekends." The young man grinned. "I'm not very fond of mornings, but mother is usually up at the crack of dawn, if you enjoy waking up early."

"Not if I can help it," Jason muttered.

"Then you and I can eat breakfast or brunch in the parlor."

"So, are there any restrictions to living here, or being a part of all of this?"

Kronos tilted his head to the side, something that other people pointed out that Jason did a lot. Maybe they were related. "Well, there's the obvious 'don't expose magic to mortals', if that's what you mean." The corners of the young man's lips tilted up. "Other than that, you get to sit in with the mini-coven, as your friends have taken to calling it."

"So, am I a First?"

"No," Kronos replied. He pointed a finger at himself. "I'm First. Mother is Head of the House, so congratulations, you don't have very many responsibilities." His grandfather clapped him on the back. "Anything else?"

Jason had to arch an eyebrow at the immortally young Kronos. "You're not really what I imagined my grandfather might be like."

Kronos smirked. "If you prefer, I can always ground you when you don't make good grades. Or, if you're anything like your father, when you get brought home by the police for tying pigs to the backs of cows." He held up his hand before Jason could even speak. "Don't ask."

Something caught Jason's attention from the corner of his eye. He glanced down to find Nico pacing around outside one of the large windows. He was one the phone, flailing his arms wildly. "So, um, do I have like a curfew?" Jason asked, turning back to his grandfather.

The young man blinked. "Do you want a curfew?"

Jason smirked and held out his arms. "I love this family already!" Kronos just chuckled and let Jason pull him into a hug. The young man awkwardly patted the blond's back."

"That's the perk of being eternally young, Jason, you'll always feel young."

"So, what about having guests over? Are the others allowed to... crash over here?"

Kronos arched a brow at him. "Are you asking me if your boyfriend-"

"We're not dating," Jason quickly amended.

Kronos rolled his eyes and waved him off. "Soon to be boyfriend then."

"Is he allowed to sleep over?"

A snort escaped Kronos. "You can always sleep over at his house."

Jason rubbed his arm, shifting his feet. "Um, yeah, I don't really feel like privacy is a thing in that house."

"Ghosts?" Kronos asked. Jason nodded. "You get used to it. Tartarus and I used to-"

"Okay! I do not need to hear about my grandfather getting down and dirty with my crush's grandfather." Jason let out a breath as Kronos smirked. "But is he allowed over?"

Kronos shrugged. "Sure, just, you know, keep it down." That caused a blush to form on Jason's cheeks. "Nico already knows he's welcome over here whenever he wants. He's usually over here for dinner once or twice a month."

Jason took a step down the stairs before coming to a stop. "I just... sort of expected more parenting in this situation."

There was a shrug from Kronos. "I don't know really what you expected from us. We only just now found out you were even still alive, and it's not like we raised you. So we really wouldn't expect you to respect our authority." He went to turn, but stopped. "Just... you know, behave yourself. While we tend to be laid back, Mother will take disciplinary matters if there's too much trouble. Other than that, you're free to do whatever. I trust that my son was capable of raising you to be somewhat rational." He pointed a finger at Jason. "And by your father, I really mean your mother. Decent enough woman, when she wasn't drinking."

"I'm a little confused on that. I have a sister?"

"Yes. Thalia," Kronos replied. "Your parents left her with Artemis when they left in the middle of the night." He let out a sigh and patted Jason on the back. "You see, your father was actually married to Hera, but he also was into your mother. Literally, in the case of you and your sister." Jason groaned at that. "Your sister even chose not to learn our family magic. She does have a knack for creating lightning, though. Either way, I am not sure how Hera will react to you." Kronos sighed. He waved Jason off, already heading down the left wing of the house. "Enjoy the rest of your day, and try to have some ideas for your room before the coven meets."

When Jason found Nico, the boy was on a swing on the patio behind the house. The boy smiled when he saw Jason. "So, how did it go?" Nico asked.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really what I was expecting. Are they always this relaxed?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The blue-eyed boy sat down beside Nico. "So, who was on the phone?"

Nico smiled again. "Just Luke. I was informing him of the situation. He wanted to leave and come over, but I told him everything was under control." The boy sighed and leaned back on the swing, letting Jason move it back and forth with his longer legs. "Don't worry, your family is cool. You'll probably think of Kronos as an older brother, rather than your grandfather."

There was a nod from Jason. "It is a little weird with how young he looks." He let out a sigh. "I also found out my aunt is a witch, and that she knew about me this entire time."

Nico gave a slow nod. "Yeah, she told Gaea about how your parents were doing every now and then, but she said you died with your parents. I felt it, so Gaea called and found out."

"What happened anyways?"

"Long story," Nico mumbled. "Before I was born, obviously. I'm sure the others will be up in arms about it later, though." He tilted his head to the side as he glanced over at the blue-eyed boy beside him. "Well, welcome to the coven, I guess. Perks include magic and a big fat curse. Two, if you count the one between me and you."

Jason's brow furrowed. "What?"

Nico nodded towards the house. "Kronos and Tartarus, they were cursed. Have you had that dream yet?" Jason gave a slow nod. "Well, Circe did say it would be for eternity. For our parents, it just made them really close friends, and then drove them apart around the time your parents left. Um, our thing is sort of my fault, to be honest."

Offering a small smile, Jason reached over and squeezed Nico's hand. "I don't think having to be around you is a curse."

"I am curious about that, actually. We felt each other, miles apart, yet your magic was bound. Yet that curse got through." Nico tapped his fingers on the swing. "But the other curse didn't work on you. At least I'm assuming it didn't. You wouldn't have had friends. People would have disliked you, much like they have started to do here. There are a few exceptions, of course, but I never heard you say that people actually hated you back in California."

"They didn't," Jason confessed.

Nico shook his head. "Strange. Perhaps it's more of your aunt's doing." He let out a sigh and stared down at his feet. "It's just different for us, because..." Nico pursed his lips. "It just is." He offered Jason a smile. "You've probably got a lot on your mind right now, no need to add more to it. We can talk about it later."

Jason frowned. What was Nico avoiding? "What's so bad about feeling drawn to each other?"

Nico's dark eyes glanced over at him briefly. "It's not like that. We are bound to each other, for eternity. And when you are capable of living as long as we can, that's a very long time."

There was a sad look in Jason's eyes as he pulled his hand back. "You don't want to be near me that long?"

Nico let out a sigh. "I didn't mean it like that." He smiled and shifted closer to the other boy. "I do want to be around you, Jason, but the curse makes it hard to be away from each other. And, at the same time, works to keep us apart. Look what it did to our parents, they ended up on opposite sides of the country, and that wasn't even with them having any romantic feelings for each other. Our grandparents fought a lot and ended up having kids to spite each other. Kronos got married to spite my grandfather, Jason. But I don't think you know how painful being apart can be, until the person you love is literally right next to you and you can't touch them. That's what they went through."

"So we just won't let that happen." Jason stroked the back of Nico's hand with his thumb. "I really like you."

That brought a smile to Nico's lips. It didn't last, though, as the boy pulled his hand away. "That would be nice, Jason, but you can't fight a curse. Our grandparents tried for years to break it, but they both failed. And nobody has even been able to break the curse over the entire coven either." The boy let out a sigh. "Something will always keep us apart, Jason. You can't fight it. This is why I don't think we should date."

Jason frowned. "Then you're just giving the curse what it wants."

Nico snorted. "You're making it sound like a living thing. It's not."

"Whatever," Jason mumbled. "It doesn't change my point." He shifted on the swing, tucking one of his legs underneath him. "Can you please just explain to me why you've been so against us dating since the beginning. You didn't even know you and I were cursed until this morning."

"I've known about the curse since I was little, Jason. I felt the curse, even when I thought you were dead. I thought that the reason I was still seeing you was because of the curse wanting to break my heart." The brown-eyed boy let out a sigh. "If you must know, it was because I originally thought you were mortal."

Jason just shrugged. "So?"

Nico gave him a dull look. "Jason, what did you just learn about us?" Again, Jason shrugged. "We live for a very long time. I was afraid I would eventually fall for you, and then you would die. A mortal life is like the blink of an eye to us. I would have to live for like four more lifetimes after you died, and I'd do it with a broken heart." He shook his head. "I was also afraid that you might find out about us and freak out, maybe even call me a freak."

Jason ducked his head to catch Nico's eyes. "I would never think that about you."

"It doesn't matter," Nico mumbled. "You're not a mortal. And now the issue has changed. The roles have reversed, or so it seems." Jason arched a brow at that. "You're going to live forever, Jason."

"My dad didn't."

Nico let out a sigh. "Unless you get killed. You're immortal, not invincible." His dark gaze flickered up to Jason's eyes. "I'm going to die, Jason. I guess I'm scared that you'll eventually forget about me."

Jason frowned and pulled Nico to him. "You worry too much. I wouldn't forget about you."

Nico just laughed and shook his head, staring up at the sky. "It all really does make sense now." He motioned between the two of them. "This feeling between us, it's only going to get worse. Imagine what will happen when you go back to California when summer rolls around."

Jason's eyes dulled as he cut his gaze over to the glass. "I'm not going back," he muttered.

Nico's eyebrows rose. "Why not?"

"I was looking for my family, wasn't I? I found it. You don't know how much I wanted to be part of this family that all of you have going on." Jason shook his head. "I felt comfortable around all of you, like I belonged. It sort of hurt whenever I got told I couldn't spend time with any of you because you had stuff to do."

"But we did."

Slowly, Jason nodded. "I know that now. I just... don't think I can see myself going back now."

"Honestly, I don't think you should."

The blue-eyed boy narrowed his eyes. "You say that now!"

Nico chuckled at the pout Jason gave him. "It's different now. Now we know you have magic, something that can be dangerous if you don't learn to control it." Jason still pouted. Nico smiled and leaned in to peck the boy on his cheek. "And I guess I'd miss you if you left."

"You better," Jason mumbled. His brow furrowed as Nico smiled and looked away. He would eventually have to tell Lee and Cecil that he wasn't coming back, though. Jason assumed that his aunt always knew that he would remain here if he found the coven. It didn't change the fact that he was upset with her, though.

All of a sudden, Nico shot up, his eyes wide and his skin even more pale that it normally was. "I need to go talk to Gaea. Now!" He shouted as he stumbled towards the door.

"What's wrong?"

Nico pursed his lips as he glanced back at Jason. "I remember what I forgot." He let out a sigh and glanced inside. "I'm going to be in so much trouble for what I have possibly let happen."

After dinner, Jason found himself in the cemetery with Kronos. He had given his grandfather the details for his room shortly before dinner. Apparently, Luke and the others would move his stuff out of Mellie's house while he met with the adults. Since most of the decorating would be done magically, Jason was confident they would do justice to his room. Gaea, however, had been absent from dinner. She had spent hours in her study with Nico with the door shut. Jason was not sure when they left, but Kronos had said they were already in the cemetery when it was time to go.

Kronos held out a bag of candy, already chewing on some. Jason shook his head. "Where are the others?" Jason asked quietly.

Kronos nodded towards the mausoleum. "Oh, they are already here. I just thought I'd give mother a bit to break all the news to them, mainly so you don't have to hear some of the outrage. Nico on the other hand... Well, he's going to be in trouble."

Jason frowned. "For keeping my knowledge a secret?"

There was no quick response. Another piece of candy was shoved into the young man's mouth. "No. I'm afraid his confession is far more grave. It'll probably be dealt with after you." Arching his brow, Kronos bit off the head of a Sour Patch Kid. "So, I trust that you and Nico had the talk?"

"He told me about the curse between us, if that's what you mean."

Kronos nodded again. "Good, good." He sighed and looked down at his bag. "Look, Jason, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you have to have this curse in the first place. It was my fault." His gold irises shined eerily in the moonlight, almost like an animal. "Perhaps it would have been better if you had never come here."

"Why do you say that?" Jason asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"I have to assume your father had his reasons for leaving and not wanting to even tell us you were born. We only found out because of Nico. And then the fact that you were still alive was kept from us as well." The young man's brow furrowed. "I take it Nico didn't talk about the other curse?"

Jason shook his head. "You mean the one when Circe got hanged?" Kronos gave a nod. "No, he didn't mention it."

"Well," Kronos said, motioning around them, "you can see the effects for yourself." Jason quirked a brow. "The graves, Jason. The curse was meant to destroy us. Now we have members dropping for random things. Maria was murdered, Pluto sold his soul to try and save Hazel's mother, Demeter's mother had a bad experience with a potion she was working on and it melted her skin off, and then May went insane."

"May?"

"Luke's mother." Kronos let out a sigh. "I'm sure you have noticed that death pretty much surrounds our families. We live in the modern world, yet this town treats us like we were back in Salem." He let out a chuckle. "One of the reasons we don't move to a city. Not that it would matter, the curse would still follow us. Best to minimize the people we have to come in contact with. But the curse also left some other side effects." Kronos raised a finger and pointed it at his head. "We can literally drive ourselves insane. First, because when we look in the mirror, we can occasionally catch glimpses of our true selves. We look young, but it's like a friendly reminder that we should look like walking corpses. Not only that, but the others can literally sense their deaths. Tartarus..." The young man's lips tilted down. "He said he could feel his approaching right before he died."

"So, he died of old age?"

Silently, Kronos shook his head. He frowned and folded what was left of the bag before putting it into his pocket. "If Nico isn't ready to tell you, it's not my place to say. But that alone has driven some of my friends completely insane, hearing whispers in their head about how much longer they had on this planet." He shook his head again. "At least you are here now. You can get answers."

Answers. Funny, Jason thought, because all he seemed to get was more questions. There were just so many. Why had his parents left in secret? Why didn't they want him to know any of this? Why didn't they ask for Lupa to send him back here if something were to happen to them? Why bind his powers at all? They should have warned him about the curse.

"Come on," Kronos whispered.

He led Jason over to the mausoleum before he pulled an amulet out from underneath his shirt. The stone was made of sapphire, while a golden lightning bolt sat under the stone. The stone was held in place by metal that was shaped to look like the roots of trees, tangling around the four corners.

Kronos pulled it out and pressed it into the center of the mausoleum, where it actually stuck to the stone. Reaching up, Kronos adjusted the odd markings that Jason had noticed the first time he had come to the cemetery. He watched with fascination as Kronos shifted the odd lines and half triangles until they formed a single figure. A pentagram.

Something clicked inside the stone and the wall opened inwards. Jason just stood there, gawking, for a moment. Kronos slipped his hands into his pockets and took the first few steps into the dark passage. Jason gulped and followed after his grandfather.

There really wasn't any light, so Jason practically had an impossible time navigating. If not for the dim outline of Kronos's shirt in front of him, Jason probably would have tripped or ran into something. But the trail kept winding around, like a spiral staircase, slowly descending into the earth.

All around them, Jason could hear the faint dripping of water. Slow and singular at a time, but it was there. The air felt tighter as they went, like it was being choked out of him. Yet it was cold, like Nico's skin. But colder, much colder.

And then torches came to life. Jason's blood ran cold as he realized what he was staring at.

It was the stone door from his dream, exactly as it had looked. There were a few torches in the room, as well as two spots where water dripped from the ceiling. Skulls lined every inch of the walls, save for the large, stone door. They protruded from the wall, and some even had worms wiggling around in them.

And then there was the door. The strange carvings were still a mystery to him, unable to make out what they said. However, he did finally realize what one of the markings was for. The crescent moons and full moon that sat in the very center of the door was for the Triple Goddess.

The bowl, however, was a little more alarming than when Jason had seen it in his dream. The knife that was inside the bowl, as well as spots on the bowl itself, carried traces of blood. The crimson liquid dripped from the tip of the knife.

Without hesitation, Kronos picked up the knife and slid it along his palm. More blood dripped out as he held his hand over the bowl. Little by little, red liquid filled it up. Jason gulped as Kronos pressed the tip of the dagger inside and swirled it around.

There was a faint hissing noise from the bowl as the blood slid from the bowl, up the wall and into the strange markings. It filled each marking up until it was all bright red. And then it slid into the full moon before the blood turned black. Some of the blood rose to the top of the door, while the rest dripped down to the bottom, both a straight line down the very center.

Then the door split in half and swung open. Inside was a circular room with tiled floor and stone chairs. The walls around the room was filled with dusty books and objects that Jason had never even seen. There was, however, another door that caught his attention. It was large and black with gold trimmings. Large iron chains were bound around it, but there did not appear to be a keyhole. The only thing Jason could see was a circular shape, the same size as the amulets that he kept seeing.

Most of the chairs were filled with the adults, but half were still empty. If he did the math right, Jason counted twenty-six in total. Kronos left him standing there to take a seat in the empty chair beside his mother. However, no one paid him any attention. Instead, all eyes were on Jason.

"Um, hi," Jason said with an awkward wave.

Hades shook his head with a sigh, while Hermes placed his hands behind his head with a smirk. He knew some of the adults there, but some were complete strangers to him. Gaea, Poseidon, and Hades sat in a triangle formation in the circle of chairs. Demeter was there as well, though she kept herself busy with some knitting. Aphrodite smiled brightly at him from her chair, waving at him flirtatiously. Ares did not look happy about that, but maybe that was just his usual face. Either way, he was slumped in his chair with his arms crossed. Even Apollo was there, though he seemed to be the most relaxed out of the bunch. Leo's father was there, but Jason had only ever caught glimpses of the man when he, Percy, and Leo were working on a project. But that was the extent of who Jason knew in the room.

A short woman sat to the right of Gaea, her facial features striking. Her light brown hair was done in a braid with a golden ribbon tied into it. Her smile was motherly, but not warm like Demeter's. Something felt hidden behind it, like a cat that had just caught the mouse. Her brown eyes studied Jason carefully as the boy fidgeted. Her posture was completely perfect, graceful as she sat in her chair.

Beside Apollo sat a short girl that looked like she could pass for Apollo's baby sister. From what he had heard, Apollo had a twin, but this girl looked several years younger than her brother. But that meant this was Artemis. Her hair was practically the exact opposite of Apollo's golden locks. Apollo's hair reminded Jason of the rising sun, while Artemis' hair was auburn locks looked more like the setting sun. Her eyes were practically silver, like two full moons watching Jason like some wolf. Also unlike her brother, her skin was a pale white. She was very beautiful, though. Her smile was also a lot friendlier than most of what Jason saw in the room.

Leo's father sat on the other side of Ares. He was a very large and odd-looking man. He reminded Jason a lot of a younger Santa Claus, except with brown hair and beard. And a lot less jolly. Jason blinked when he heard a creaking noise from the man. Glancing down, Jason noted that the man's left left leg was missing and had been replaced by some kind of machine leg, sort of like Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. Which made Jason think the smith viking was a good way to describe the man. The man had a lot of dirt and soot on his face, a lot like Leo and Beckendorf would most days. He was dressed down a lot more than the others, wearing an old jumpsuit that looked like it had seen better days.

Next was a man was too busy drinking wine to pay Jason any attention. Right away, Jason assumed this was Dionysus, the owner of the wine store. At first, Jason thought the man's eyes were reflecting the wine, but then he realized they really were purple. His hair was black and untidy, like the man had better things to do at the moment than worry about his appearance. His nose and cheeks were red, probably from the drinking. But his Hawaiian shirt nearly caused Jason to go blind from its bright colors.

Finally, there was a woman on Artemis' other side. She bore a striking resemblance to Annabeth in the face and eyes. Must be her mother, Jason thought. Unlike her daughter, though, the woman had beautiful black hair that draped down her back in small curls. However, their eyes were the exact same, cold and gray. She carried Annabeth's athletic and lean build as well, with long legs.

Jason blinked, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the center of the circle. The silence was killing him, though. Would it kill them to just say something? Or maybe he'd rather they not, considering the looks he got from some of them.

Ares was the first to speak, sitting up more in his chair with a confused look on his face. Which seemed appropriate, since he looked like the dumb bully type that flunked most of his classes. "So, let me get this straight: that's Zeus' little brat?"

Hades was slumped in his chair. "He looks like his father, how can you not see that?"

"Yet you didn't care to mention it to the rest of us," sniped the woman from beside Gaea. Hades and her glared at each other before the woman turned a warm smile on Jason. "Jason, sweetie, we're happy you found your way to us."

Hermes shrugged. "In Hades' defense, we all thought Zeus' kid died. I'll admit, I was uncertain myself." His lips tilted down as he examined Jason. "It was like staring at a ghost. Save for the hair. That's your mother's."

Jason nearly jumped when someone slammed their fists against a stone chair. Turning around, he found Poseidon with a scowl on his face. "Could you really blame Zeus?" He turned to glare at the woman Hades had been glaring at. "I'm surprised Hera didn't try to kill Beryl and the child herself. She always detested Thalia, even after she was adopted by Artemis."

Hermes smirked and rubbed his chin. "Maybe he got tired of Hera and ran." He shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time, as Thalia is the proof of that."

"Enough," Annabeth's mother muttered. The woman eyed Jason coldly. "Let us not get distracted by the fact that his very birth was originally kept from us. Not only that, but they wanted us to have nothing to do with him. And Lupa chose not to inform us that he survived. He should have been learning magic years ago."

"Family is still family," the woman beside Gaea added. Her eyes narrowed at Poseidon. "And I wouldn't kill him." She smiled down at Jason. "I like his name. Jason was my father's name."

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Hera." The woman huffed, but didn't object any further.

Gaea cleared her throat, silencing the room. Jason glanced over at Kronos, who just smirked and nodded his head over to his mother, as if to say: Congratulations, you just became a member of the big family in the coven.

"We are not here to discuss matters that happened a long time ago," the woman began. "When Zeus left with Beryl without telling us anything, they died. We assumed the child died as well, but it seems it was meant to be kept from us. Perhaps it was their wish to keep young Jason here from this life, but he is here now." She motioned to Jason. "Is there any objections as far as inducting him goes?"

The room was silent. Kronos placed his hands behind his head. "Then we'll need each of you to begin giving him lessons immediately. He needs to be caught up as fast as possible."

"Why?" Jason blurted out.

Kronos blinked at him once before rubbing his mouth. "Because, Jason, if you don't learn to control your powers quickly, you will probably lose control of them. Probably in public. The fact that your powers were bound and just sprang to life is not the best way to handle a situation like this. Because your friends have spent their entire lives learning how to control their powers, which have developed slowly over their lessons. Yours, however, have all sprang to life at once. You already have the full power that Nico, Luke, Percy, and the others your age possess, but without any form of control over them. You could very well kill someone at school without meaning to."

"Again," Hermes added with a grin.

Kronos let out a sigh. "He didn't kill the boy, just sent him to the hospital."

Jason frowned, unable to stop himself. "How is any of that different from what you guys do, though? You guys act out against the people in town with your magic."

Eyes shifted from person to person, several glaring at Jason. "Watch your mouth, brat!" Ares snapped.

"Silence, Ares," Hera chided him with a snap of her fingers. She let out a breath. "The child does have a point." She smiled at Jason. "But you have to understand, Jason, we are just defending ourselves. We never use magic in public."

"At least not obviously," Dionysus muttered. Hera shot him a dirty look.

It was strange. Through all of this, Hades remained gravely quiet. For someone that was supposed to have been best friends with his father, the man didn't seem very eager to comment on anything. He just sat there, rubbing his chin and staring at Jason.

Apollo leaned forward in his chair. "It's not like we go around killing people, Jason. We just give people what they deserve." He pointed his finger out at Jason. "You know what's happened to a lot of us. You know about Nico's mother, don't you?" He nodded his head as Jason clenched his fists. "Those people deserved what they got. Most of them are broke and are barely able to scrape by, one is a cute and furry mutt. I think it's an improvement."

"Do you ever shut up?" Artemis sighed. Apollo grinned over at her. "What my brother is trying to say, is that we don't go around looking for trouble. But, to be fair, the town isn't fully to blame. Our curse makes them hostile towards us, as it would with any other place we went to. The treatment that our kind experienced in Salem is meant to follow us for the rest of our lives."

"Until the coven is wiped out," Annabeth's mother added.

Artemis nodded. "Exactly what Athena said. The curse seeks to destroy our coven, drive us apart. We are meant to die," her eyes shifted over to Kronos, "for what happened."

Kronos let out a breath, rubbing his eyes. "Are there any problems or concerns about this turn of events, though?"

"None," Aphrodite said with a smile at Jason. The blue-eyed boy arched a brow and earned a wink from the woman. Now that Jason knew that these people could live for hundreds of years, he wondered what that would classify Aphrodite as. A gilf seemed like an understatement in this case. Not that he wanted to have sex with Aphrodite. Jason shuddered. No way.

Finally, Leo's father looked up. "And how do we know that we can trust him?" Everyone looked over at him in confusion. "He showed up right around the time all of these weird occurrences started happening. The boy came to town on the same flipping day that the first pastor was murdered!"

Hera held up her hand. "Hephaestus, please, calm yourself."

Poseidon pointed a finger over at the ragged Santa lookalike. "How dare you speak to him that way? Zeus was my friend, and I trust that he was capable of raising a decent child. I lost my friend, and I'd sooner die than turn my back on his son!" The man shouted. He rose to his feet and glared over at Gaea. "Are you going to defend your great-grandson?"

Gaea let out a sigh and motioned for Poseidon to sit down, which he did. Out of magic or willingly, Jason didn't know. "Considering Jason here has had no knowledge that he even possessed magic until this morning, I will assume he isn't related to any of that." Her fingernails tapped lightly on the arm of her chair. "Nico has told me that he has witnessed barely any signs of magic from Jason until this morning, and none of those hints even made Nico really question anything."

"You mean the lovesick kid?" Ares grunted. He snorted and shook his head. "I'm sure that is a reliable sou-"

Jason blinked as Ares' mouth filled with spiders. Hades' eyes were pure black when Jason glanced over at him. Ares spat them out, having to smack some of them off of his face. "Watch your mouth when talking about my son," Hades said, pointing his finger over at the larger man.

"If that is all," Gaea began, "we have other business to attend to." All nodded in agreement. With a wave of her hand, Jason was suddenly sitting in a chair in the corner. "Our next order of business, as I said, is most dire. I would say, at the present time, possibly more pressing than these strange occurrences." She clapped her hands and the stone doors that led out of the chamber opened.

Quietly, Nico walked inside with his head down. He was fidgeting with his hands as he made his way to the center of the circle. Nobody looked happy. Hades looked... disappointed. He let out a sigh as he turned his eyes from his son. What had happened? Jason tried to think, but with everything that had happened today, he came up blank.

"Nico di Angelo," Gaea's voice boomed, "might you care to explain to the coven what exactly you have done?"

"I-I..." Nico bit down on his lip. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just thought... I wanted to help. We needed answers, and nobody had them."

Jason's blood drained from his face. Oh. That was what this was about? But Nico shut the-

"I didn't have the knowledge that Jason was a warlock. It's my fault, and I do accept the responsibility for seeking answers from a nephilim. It was foolish of me." Nico took in a deep breath. "But it told me-"

"Silence!" Ares shouted. "You sought help from the very thing that every magical being has feared since the dawn of time. They are tricksters!" His eyes blazed with anger. "And now it is possibly loose in out town. Or, worse, the rest of the world."

"Nico," Gaea began, her voice softer, "have I not taken care of you?" Nico did not look at the woman. "I kept you quiet from the High Coven. We all know what their response would have been for your very birth. That kind of dark magic is forbidden."

Hades slammed a hand down on his chair. "That was not his fault!" He pointed a finger over to Kronos. "It was his wife's fault!"

"I resolved that matter," Kronos growled.

Gaea held a hand up. "If this were to get out, there is no telling what else the High Coven might find if they sent their inquisitors. I have no desire to see you taken from us, but I fear that this grave of an issue needs to be turned over to them."

Tapping a finger to her lips, Athena studied Nico. "We could try to resolve it ourselves. Presumably, the creature could very well still be in Aimes. It may not be, but we do not know one way or the other for sure."

"I could find it," Nico suggested.

"No," Dionysus sighed. "You've helped quite enough."

Nico let out a heavy sigh. Gaea narrowed her eyes at the pale boy. "Instead, you will follow up on the suggestion from the nephilim. Go to New Orleans, see what we must find there. Apollo will monitor you while you are there to make sure nothing goes wrong." The woman glared when Apollo opened his mouth. "But he will only observe. You will leave the nephilim to us. We will resolve the issue while you are gone."

"And what about Jason?" Nico asked.

"What about him?" Replied Hera.

"The nephilim said I needed to take Jason with me." Nico fidgeted slightly. "If that is okay, I mean."

Gaea studied everyone for a moment. "Fine, Jason may go with you." The woman laced her hands together in her lap. "We will come up with a punishment after the issue is resolved, depending on how sever the situation becomes. For your sake, I would hope that the thing has not left Aimes, and that it does not get out of control."

Nico let out a breath and nodded. He bowed and left the room. Jason got up to follow him, but Kronos shook his head. Jason sighed and sat back down. This sucked. The nephilim was his fault, not Nico's. Or maybe the blame should be on his parents, since they never told Jason what he was. This was a disaster.

When everything was said and done, Jason was taken out of the room by Kronos. Nico was waiting for them in the cemetery. "How did it go with you?" He asked quietly.

Before Jason even replied, he enveloped Nico in a hug. "It was okay. I guess I passed." He squeezed the boy tightly. "I'm so sorry. That wasn't your fault. If I had known-"

"It is best not to dwell on the past," Kronos suggested. He let out a breath. "I'm sure the others will let you help in the search when you get back, Nico. Do not blame yourself. Mother is not angry at you specifically, she just had to look harsh. She is upset, but at the situation, not you." Kronos arched an eyebrow. "Did the others get everything set up?"

"Yes." Nico's lips slightly tilted up. "I think you'll like it, Jason." He slid his hand into Jason's and intertwined their fingers. "Percy did go a little overboard with adding blue, though. Lots of blue."

Kronos gave a nod. "Well then, I suppose I'll see you back at home, Jason."

Jason nodded as Kronos took off towards the exit. He frowned at Nico. "Can we go somewhere? I just don't really feel like talking to any of the others right now."

"Sure," Nico whispered. He took Jason's hand and darkness swallowed them.

They emerged behind Nico's house, where Nico sat down in a black iron swing. Jason let out a breath and sat down next to him, the feel of the fall wind blowing at his face. It had been a long and exhausting day, and Jason sort of just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. At the same time, he wanted to talk to Nico.

Jason rubbed at his face. "Are you okay?"

Nico gave a slow nod. "I will be. It's just... I shouldn't have done what I did. Even without knowing you were a warlock, I should have never turned to a nephilim for answers. And now one is loose, and there's no telling what chaos will be caused by it. I've damned the town."

"Don't talk like that."

Nico smirked and leaned against Jason's side. "Just being realistic."

"Gaea... she was the one the nephilim talked about, though." Jason studied Nico's face. "Why does she need to keep you from the High Coven? She made you sound like an abomination."

"I sort of am," Nico sighed. "My father is right, it wasn't my fault, but Gaea decided to not come forward about me to the High Coven. It's a long story. I know, you're really sick of that. I just don't like talking about it." The boy looked exhausted. "Maybe she should have. There are times that I wish I was locked up, or something was at least done about me. I can see the worry in a lot of their eyes. I'm sure I'll see it in yours eventually." He let out a sigh and leaned against Jason. "Can we just talk about it another day? It's just been too long of a day to go into it."

"Of course," Jason whispered, brushing some of Nico's hair out of the boy's face.

"How did Mellie find out? She knows my aunt as well, and probably knew I was a warlock." Jason shook his head. "I have to thank her. She basically took a ticking time bomb into her house, knowing my powers would eventually emerge."

Nico let out a sigh. "It was before I was born. I had never seen a nephilim before the other night, but my father had. Several of the adults have." The brown-eyed boy chewed on his lip as he stared at Jason's hand as it rubbed circles on the back of Nico's pale one. "There was an accident years ago. It involved Coach Hedge. That's all I really know. The adults don't talk about it, and neither will she. Maybe you can talk to her."

"I'll try." Jason squeezed Nico's hand. "At least we get to go to New Orleans together. That should be fun."

Nico didn't smile, though. "Yeah. Fun." He let out a sigh. "I'll probably see my ex, Apollo will be watching us all the time, and I have to meet with the Voodoo Queen. Fun times." Nico let out a groan and buried his face in the crook of Jason's neck. "But at least we might get some answers to what the hell is going on here." Nico's dark eyes looked up at the sky. "I just have a bad feeling. Something is wrong. Something bad is coming. I just don't know what."

"I'll make sure nothing happen," Jason said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

Nico smiled back at him. "Yes, because I need an inexperienced warlock to protect me." He cracked his neck with a groan. "Don't you want to see your new room?"

"Why? I have the rest of my life to see it."

"Fair enough," Nico mumbled. He let out a sigh as Jason slipped an arm around him. "But I can't stay long, school night and all that."

Jason pouted, nodding reluctantly. "I know. Do you want to go?"

"Not really." Nico stood up, stretching. "But I do need to. Besides, you need the rest. You'll be expected to start some of your lessons after school tomorrow. That is if they even make you go. They might just keep you here and tell the school you're sick. I guess we'll see."

Jason stood up and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist. "I guess so," he muttered, nuzzling Nico's neck.

"Jason," Nico whispered, looking away. "I told you that I don't think this is a good idea. It's only going to get harder if we-"

Jason shut the boy up with a kiss. Nico's eyes were wide at first, until they slowly closed. The boy's arms fell lifelessly from Jason's body as the blue-eyed boy leaned Nico backwards. A soft sigh escaped Nico's lips, bringing a smile to Jason's face.

When they separated, Jason rested his head against Nico's forehead. "One date, please? Just give me that one chance."

Nico chuckled. "You've had chances," he said, pushing lightly on Jason's chest.

Jason pouted and batted his eyelashes. "Please? A real date. If you still don't want to date me, I'll leave it alone."

With a smile, Nico narrowed his eyes. "You're lying." He finally pulled away from Jason, running a hand through his hair. "We'll be in New Orleans this weekend. Impress me there."

Jason smiled like an idiot as Nico leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. But the next thing he knew, Jason stood in a new room. A very, very blue room. His new room. He smiled as he slowly turned around in a circle to take it all in.

The bed was a canopy bed with dark purple curtains. The comforter was a dark blue and the sheets were white. Loads of pillows decorated the head of the bed. Most of Jason's stuff from Mellie's was there: his laptop, textbooks, video games, trophies, and even his clothes. The clothes had been stored inside a walk-in closet that still had plenty of room for more clothes to be added.

A huge TV was on the wall opposite his bed, all of his DVDs had been stored on a shelf beside it. His laptop had been placed on a desk in the back right corner of his room, right in front of one of the windows. He even had his own private bathroom.

However, something else was waiting for him in the room. On his desk was a massive stack of old books, most that were bound in leather. Taking a look at the cover of the one on the top, Jason found the head of a ram. The feel, however, felt odd, though vaguely familiar. He just couldn't place it, though.

Great, Jason thought to himself, more homework for him.

"Human flesh."

Jason spun around at the sound of Gaea's voice. "I'm sorry?"

She smiled at him. "The book that you're caressing, it's made of human flesh." Jason suddenly felt sick as he gently placed the book back down and stepped away from it, dusting his hands on his jeans. "Very old, and taken from a dead man, if you must know. I trust you know you're expected to read through all of those?"

Jason let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is a lot to catch up on."

"Well then, I suppose you better get started. The others have had years to learn this stuff." Gaea took a few steps into the room, lacing her hands together. "The other children are being informed of this, but we need you to keep a low profile around school for a while."

Jason's brow furrowed. "Okay? What's up?"

"Well, for one thing, everyone is going to start to associate you with our families now," Gaea explained. She sat down on the edge of Jason's bed. "I trust you know that means that most people in the town will probably dislike you."

"More than they already do?"

Gaea slowly nodded. She seemed friendly enough, but something within her cold eyes still made Jason feel cautious. "I'm afraid so. I feel that these are dark times coming for the coven, and I'm sorry that you had to find us while all of this is going on." She frowned at Jason. "You haven't noticed anything strange going on around town, have you?"

After a moment of thinking, Jason shook his head. "Not that I can think of, but I'll keep my eyes out." He let out a breath. "You're not going to be too hard on Nico, are you? He didn't know about me."

"And yet he shouldn't have gone to a nephilim in the first place," Gaea sighed. "We will see how bad the situation gets." Gaea grabbed the doorknob and smiled. "Have a good night, Jason."

Jason sighed as the door closed. The disaster looming on the horizon aside, Jason found himself liking the new turn of events more and more as the day had gone on. Of course, he had to remember that Nico and the others kept talking about magic and the fact that it had rules. He had to keep in mind that he couldn't just go on some crazy spree.

The boy collapsed onto his bed at the same time his phone began to buzz. His brow furrowed as he reached into his pocket and dug it out. As expected, it was from his aunt. Although, Jason had to wonder how appropriate that term was anymore. She did raise him for three years, but for some reason the term didn't feel right anymore.

With a sigh, Jason accepted the call and held the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Lupa."

"Well don't sound so excited to talk to the woman that took care of you for the past few years," the woman chided him, like she knew exactly what he had been thinking. With what Jason knew now, he had to wonder if she really could. "I take it you are mad?"

"A little," Jason admitted. His lips tilted down. "Listen, you can't see me right now or anything crazy like that, maybe read minds?"

The woman on the other end of the call gave a soft laugh. "Don't be silly, Jason, our kind cannot read minds." Jason let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. "I understand your frustration, but I was merely doing what your parents made me swear to do."

"Gaea said you don't value oaths as highly."

"This is true, she is right. However, your parents did, so I wished to honor their requests."

"But you didn't," Jason muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "You sent me here, and I'm pretty sure they didn't want that."

"No," Lupa answered softly. "I never agreed with their wish to keep you in the dark as to what you are. You are strong, Jason. You come from a strong family. This is why I sent you to Louisiana, to discover what I was forbidden to tell you."

"You couldn't have pointed me to them?"

"What part of forbidden does not get through that thick skull of yours, Jason?" The woman chided him. It had to make Jason wonder why she appeared to be older, when he had just found out that witches and warlocks still look young when they die. "You found them, didn't you? I promised your parents that I would maintain your binding, but I couldn't maintain it if you were no longer nearby."

Jason let his head fall back, realization dawning on him. "So you sent me away." His brow furrowed. "So, you're just really good at finding loopholes?" Chewing on his lip for a moment, Jason realized there was something else he wanted to ask. "Aunt Lupa?"

"What is it, my brave soldier?"

Letting out a breath, Jason closed his eyes. "The night my parents were murdered... did I die?" There was no answer. "Aunt Lupa?"

"I heard you," she finally replied. Jason heard her let out a breath. "Yes," she whispered. "You died, but you were brought back."

Jason sat up with a frown. "Magic that strong has to come at a price, doesn't it?"

"Do not worry about it, Jason." Jason heard the creak of a chair. "I know a trick or two."

Jason ran a hand down his face. Nico was right, he supposed, he really should have been dead. Pulling his hand back, Jason found that he was shaking. It was not every day that someone found out they, technically, should be a rotting corpse. Jason felt sick. What if he was a zombie?

"Okay," Jason whispered. He nodded his head, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it. He didn't know how to feel right now. But he knew that he wasn't really in the talking mood anymore. "Listen, can I let you go? I just need to think."

"Oh." He could hear the hurt in his aunt's voice. "Of course, Jason. If you need me, always feel free to call. I still love you, Jason, but I am glad that you've found your family. It's where you belong."

"Yeah. I love you, too." He let out a sigh before pulling the phone away from his ear and ended the call.

The phone dropped onto the bed and Jason closed his eyes. There were so many emotions running through his mind. He was happy that he finally found his family and had a real home with them. He also loved his new room, but it almost felt foreign to him. Perhaps it would just take time to adjust to. But most of all, Jason felt resentful. Mostly at his parents. Why had they run? Why did they want to keep Jason from having a life here? Jason felt bitter towards them.

And what if they had never left Aimes? He could have grown up with his parents, sister, grandfather, and great-grandmother. They could have been a real family. It was what Jason had wanted ever since he met the others, to have grown up here. He could have already met Nico and grown up with him, cursed be damned.

The curse. Jason opened his eyes and stared blankly up at ceiling. Maybe they could break it, though. He could only hope, right?

And there was the nephilim. It sent a chill down Jason's spine knowing that the thing was still out there. He could still see that wicked smirk and those creepy animal-like eyes. As much as it would suck, he hoped the thing was still in Aimes. He didn't want the news getting to this High Coven he kept hearing about. He didn't want them to take Nico away.

Yet, with all of this, he could not help but think back to the night he had met the nephilim. He now knew who the woman it had spoken of was. Maybe that was why he had trust issues with Gaea. He remembered what the thing had said to Nico about Gaea. What was she planning that involved Nico?

I'm feeling good about all of this. I know that it feels like I keep piling on more questions, but that's part of what can make a story good. I think my only concern has been how long it's taking to reveal who the antagonist is. Although, the role of antagonist is widely subjective in the case of this story. Or maybe villain. Villain is a subjective term in most cases, and this is no exception. Plus villain and antagonist don't always mean the same thing. And you'll definitely be introduced to several characters that you'll feel are the bad guy. So don't try to look at it like things are black and white.

But I'll probably have that reveal in the next chapter or two. It'll be in New Orleans. I'm betting some of you do already have suspicions as to who is causing problems. Definitely lots of questions raised concerning Gaea and Nico. Nico and his grandfather, Tartarus, are probably my two favorite characters in this story.

Oh, and the thing I asked if any of you figured out last chapter was the nephilim. I wanted to see how many remembered what Nico said about sealing one away properly. The next few chapters will definitely be interesting ones. I'm not sure what I want to do with next chapter yet. In the old version, the chapter consisted primarily of the lessons for Percy, or Jason in this case. But I have a lot of other things going on this time around, like preparing for New Orleans and a nephilim hiding somewhere. But I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Oh! And, if any of you read Children of Loss, the first chapter of the spinoff has been posted. You can go hunt that down from my profile, if you want to read it. If you haven't read Children of Loss, and are curious about this new fic, I'd suggest tackling the giant that is the main story first. All 60 chapters. But I am going to go. Hope you all loved the update, and I'll see you next time.

PS: Psychopath, if I made House of the Wicked a book, I would use original characters, like I said, in place of everyone here. Jason would be called something else, as would Nico and every other character. I would probably change their appearances as well. Personalities, for the most part, would remain as it is. I might make a few adjustments here and there, but it would be for the better. Gotta believe in me. I did, in my opinion, make this story several times better with the rework. Not talking about the change in ship, but the plot. The ship was just a preference. I could have kept it as Percico, but my heart was feeling Jasico. But, yeah, original characters. Said that in the announcement lol.