There's Always a Secret

I was so angry that I couldn't even begin to describe it. From the very moment they'd come on our ship, I knew I didn't like Perry all that much. He was secretive, quiet, and not to mention he'd tried to kill Maliah. Harvey, though, hadn't seemed all that bad. He helped us. He stopped the spell on his brother, and we were kind to him. But I had never wanted to attack someone more than I'd wanted to, now.

It happened before I even recognized it, I had punched Harvey in the jaw. He stared at me, anger in his eyes, and Perry glared at me. I'd never hit anyone before. I wasn't really much of a violent person, but this entire situation had my blood boiling. Perry didn't say anything and Harvey didn't hit me back. He had stepped forward like he was going to, but he glanced down and then backed away. That's when I noticed I was still holding Maliah.

I realized how unfair that was. He wouldn't hit me while I was holding her unconscious in my arms. So, I lifted her and handed her to Perry.

"Go ahead," I say, walking closer to him, "hit me. You obviously want to, and I've made it clear how I feel. Hit me, Harvey."

"I'm not going to hit you." he said through clenched teeth.

I sized Harvey up and it occurred to me. The brothers were the oldest people here. I didn't even think about that when I resorted to picking a fight with Harvey, but even now I didn't care. I wanted him to hit me.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because she wouldn't want me to." he said, pushing past me to Perry and Maliah.

"Leave her out of this. You're the reason she was cursed. I bet that was the plan all along. Get close to her and help your sick mom out." I snap.

"No!" he yells, turning back to me and shoving me, "Do you think I wanted her to get hurt? I hate to break it to you, kid, but our godly parents barely give a damn about us, let alone our siblings from other parents. We're just as shocked and upset as you are."

"Siblings?" I ask, calming down and breathing deep.

"Yes, you moron," he says, "siblings. Her stepdad is our biological father, making us step siblings."

All of my adrenaline gave out, and I collapsed on the bed. Perry was still holding Maliah and Harvey was still staring at me. His glare softened, though, and he calmed down as well. I thought that before Brandon came along, Maliah didn't have any other siblings. Perry held her bridal style and sat beside me. Harvey joined, after calming down, and sat on my other side.

The sun was rising now, casting a bright glow on all of us. The tension in the air was slowly dissipating and Maliah's eyes fluttered open. They land on me with concern and she slowly untangles herself from Perry and drops in front of me, reaching for my shoulder. I flinch back. I always thought of fond memories every time I saw her, like the day we found her. I used to think of the day in the pool, or yesterday, our oath.

But now the only thing I can think of is her sword raised over my head, begging me to save her life while she tried to take away mine. I notice the hurt in her eyes and I remember telling myself to never be scared of her, that I told myself I wouldn't be. I sigh.

"I'm sorry," I say, "I- you were possessed."

"Possessed? How?" she asks, standing and taking a step away from us, looking at her hands.

Dunamas had gone back to a necklace and magically reappeared around her neck. She touched it gently, as if she were afraid it would form into a sword on its own.

"We believe it was Hecate." Harvey says.

Still looking at her hands, she mumbles "Oh, I see. I'm so sorry. I'm glad I didn't really hurt any of you."

I felt awful, now. She didn't jump to blaming them, not the way that I had. I turned to Harvey, to say something but Maliah took my attention. She gasped, jumping back.

"My gods, Harvey, where did that bruise come from? I didn't do it, did I?" she asks, tears forming in her eyes. She reached out and touched him, causing him to wince in pain but he didn't snatch away from her.

I felt awful.

"It's not important, Maliah. Right now we just have to worry about how Hecate got your blood. It's the only way she would be able to do this type of spell." he told her.

She nodded but she didn't seem convinced. I really hated myself right now.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Were you cut by anything today?" Perry asked her.

My eyes widen as I remember the crow that scratched her yesterday. Why didn't I think of that sooner?

"The crow, Mal. The one that scratched you." I say.

Her eyes widen in recognition and she touches her arm where the claws had struck her. There was nothing there, though, no evidence at all.

"That's her sacred bird. We have to find that bird and kill it. Once it scratches you, it trades your blood for an elixir." Harvey said.

"Elixir?" she asks.

"Yeah. She makes an elixir, the crow dips it's claws into it and it tracks the target, you, down. It finds you, scratches you, and trades for your blood. It then flies back to her on the island and bathes in that elixir, absorbing it all into it's skin. It's eyes then change to the color of yours and whenever she wants, she can use that crow to possess you. The only way to break the spell completely is by killing the crow. The crow will be protected."

"Well," she said, "it's settled then."

"What is?" Perry asks. I

"We're killing that crow."

They exchange a look and then look back at her. Harvey takes a deep breath.

"Maliah," he begins, "we should have told you sooner. We're your brothers."

I always imagined Iris Messages between a demigod and their mortal parent to be a nice, happy reunion full of love. That was not the case at all with Maliah. She held both of her stepbrothers by an ear and glared angrily at her mother and stepfather. Their parents looked between the three of them, apologetically but it did nothing to calm Maliah's nerves. By this time, everyone on the ship had learned the truth because Maliah had been screaming so loud.

"We were going to tell you, hon, we were, but-" her mom began.

"When?" Maliah snapped, "You had plenty of opportunities to tell me. I thought I was all alone, mom. I went through so much by myself, thinking I had no one I could relate to or to be there for me."

"Honey," her stepdad said, changing the subject, "your hair has gotten so long!"

"Stop trying to change the subject, Jerry! You lied to me. You both lied about this. I had no idea they existed. How did you think I would feel when you finally decided to tell me?"

She was so angry she was starting to lose control again. The air in the room thickened, whisking around us. I heard the thunder clap outside and her eyes glowed a faint blue.

"Honey, calm down." her mom pressured.

"This is calm!" she snapped, the wind forming and shooting through a window.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned how scary Brandon is. I'm sure I have, but say I didn't. Well, Brandon is scary. Maliah, on the other hand, is like twelve times scarier than her older brother.

"Mal, come on. Breathe a little. They kept you apart to protect you. Keeping all three of you together would have been super dangerous for all of you. You know that." I told her, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She lets go of her brothers and turns to me with sad eyes. She leans into me, hugging me and I hug her back.

"I want all of the lies to stop." she says, and I can tell she's crying.

"I know, Mal. It was for your protection, though." I say, trying to make her feel better.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less." she says.

She didn't say anything, she just cried and I held her. Her parents said nothing, they just waved a weak goodbye and ended the IM.

After all of the excitement calmed down and Maliah felt better, we'd eaten and then continued our training with Prometheus. After a few one on ones with him, he announced to us that he knew where Hecate's hideout was.

"It's a little island not too far from here. It'll take us about two days travel but it doesn't steer too far off of our course to Greece." he told us.

Today was only our third day at sea, I think we could manage the stop.

"So we just have to stay alive for two more days?" Jake asks.

"Perry and I have a plan." Harvey says, "I hate that we have to do it, but Perry can ward Maliah's room, sealing her in until we get to the island and can break the curse. She can take possession of Maliah at any time she wants, so it's honestly our only hope."

Perry produces a small knife and says a short, quiet chant over it. He walks over to Maliah.

"Can I have your hand, please?" he asks her.

I look at Harvey.

"He's better at curses and wards," he informs me.

I pretend that I understand and I look back at Maliah. She hands him her palm and he slides the knife smoothly across her skin, breaking it in a thin red line. She never even winced. She stared at her hand, with a kind of sad look in her eyes like she couldn't believe it'd come down to this.

"Now what?" she asks.

"Well," Harvey says, "Perry just has to stab the knife in front of the door when you're ready and you're sealed in. Anyone in the room is sealed in until it's over."

No one really said anything for a minute. Maliah just nodded and led everyone to here room. She went inside and I followed her. She looked so sad, being isolated like this. I thought of our oath again, and though it didn't really count as protecting her, I didn't want to leave her alone, either. I notice that she's crying and I pull her into a hug again.

"Tyler, come on." Harvey said, calmly.

"No, it's okay. I'm going to stay in here with her." I inform them.

"No, Tyler," Maliah says, looking up, "go with them. It's okay, really."

"No it's not. I'm not going to let you be alone. Seal the ward, I'm good."

Perry nods and and stabs the knife into the floor. It glows a bright blue, and then stops, returning to normal. Perry shuts the door and as if the knife isn't there, the door passes straight through it.

"Why did you do that?" she asks me, her tears slowly stopping.

"I wasn't going to leave you by yourself. So what do you want to do?" I ask her, changing the subject.

She buries her head into my chest, not moving. Of every moment we ever spent together, this one was different. This time, I was nervous. I wasn't so sure of myself anymore. I just knew that there was this girl and that I cared about her, but did I really know to what extent?

"Thank you, Tyler," she said, pushing herself further into me.

I remember when I first hugged her, in my cabin. She'd been crying then, too, but at that time she never hugged me back. This time, it was I who couldn't bring my arms to return the gesture. This time, I was the one who was overwhelmed.