Night's Children: Cetera Desunt
AN: Yes! My second favorite character to write is back in the game! Pa-pow!
Alright, so two questions for the readers:
First, do you guys want a little preview/epilogue thing like I did at the end of Nox Noctis?
And
Would anyone be terribly depressed if Tessa didn't get her own book after Imy's? I've tried and I just can't think of a plot for it, plus I've been wanting to write the story for Riley's next one since I started the series three and a half years ago. ::pouts::
Chapter Thirteen: Purification
Quickly, Aria whirled her head around and felt herself let loose a slow breath of relief when she recognized the features. Graying sandy blond hair, bloodshot blue eyes, a nose too large for its face, and a glare that could make any sane person cry.
"Jacobson!" She exclaimed, somewhat in disbelief, "What are you doing here?"
Carlos was at her side immediately, his fists raised up and ready to strike, "Who is this guy?" He demanded, "And should I punch him?"
Aria shot Carlos an incredulous look, "No, you shouldn't punch a cop."
The surfer's face paled, "Cop?" He squeaked.
Gordon straightened his hunched shoulders slightly and turned to face Aria, "Can you tell me what the hell's been going on, and where you've been?" He growled.
Her eyes widened, "How do you know-?"
The detective sent her a level look, "You think people don't report teenagers getting beat up in alleyways? Please tell me you're not that naïve, curly, or I'm going to have serious doubts about your ability to save the world." His eyes flickered towards her side, staring at Carlos, "Who's this bu-?"
"I swear, if you're going to say bum I might just punch you anyway," Carlos said under his breath.
"-Punk?" Corrected Gordon half-sentence.
Aria gave a dry swallow, "This is Carlos, Jimena's son."
The cop seemed to momentarily stop breathing, "You're shitting me," He said coarsely, evaluating the kid, searching for physical similarities between the boy and the ex gangster.
Carlos, beginning to look severely uncomfortable, settled for a strained smile, "Hi there."
Gordon's mouth continued to hang open slightly, before he shook his head, his attention pinpointing back on Aria, "Can you tell me what the hell is going on? Why is everyone, aside from you, beaten and in comas?"
Aria sighed and ran a hand through her curly mane of hair, "It's an incredibly long story."
"Wait, who is this guy?" Carlos cut in, pointing a finger, "And why is he in my mom's room?"
Aria's eyebrows arched when the question dawned upon her as well, "Yeah, why exactly are you in Jimena's room?" She asked, genuinely confused.
Gordon snorted, "I checked on all the rooms that you little freaks were admitted into, had to make sure nothing unusual was happening." He paused, "Well, nothing more unusual than normal, that is."
Her eyes narrowed, "Then why are you here so late?"
He glared at her and she felt herself shrink back a bit, "It just so happens I get off my shift at about three in the morning, and I had to come in to disconnect the security cameras when there were less staff members working." He said, pointing up towards a corner of the room. Two sets of eyes followed it, to see a tiny black video camera, the red light dead.
Horror fell upon Aria as she realized that neither her nor Carlos had thought to kill the cameras, "Did you-!?"
The middle aged man gave a rather undignified roll of his eyes, "Like I said, I went to all the rooms." His belittling glare returned, "You've got to start using your head, little girl, you and Zalank almost busted yourselves when you healed that Towlen kid a few months ago." His mouth twitched into a frown, "Goddamn kids, you're all lucky I'm here to cover your sorry asses."
Carlos gaped at him, "Who are you again?"
Gordon turned to him, looking oddly enough like a reproachful principal who caught kids ditching class, "My name is Officer Jacobson, and I don't give a flying crap if you are Jimena's kid, you will respect me."
Aria couldn't stop the giggle that spewed out of her mouth as she frantically tried to stifle it with her hand. Gordon sneered at her, but the damage was already done, and Carlos seemed to relax a bit in the intimidating man's presence.
"So what happened?" Gordon asked again, "I remember Zalank and Ormond being down, but Lockland and Castillo?"
Aria exhaled slowly, "It's been a rather crazy few days," She explained lamely.
Gordon crossed his arms and dribbled his fingers against the fabric of his jacket sleeves, "Oh, enlighten me." He said deadpan.
The healing goddess's eyes drifted over towards where her mentor lay, "Later, right now I have to restore my Magna Mater's soul," She said, almost flippant.
"Naturally," Grunted Gordon cynically.
Aria turned to Carlos, seeing him tense up again, "Are you ready?" She repeated for the second time that night.
He shook his head slowly to clear his thoughts, "Yeah, let's do it." He voice held a slight quake, but was resolved enough.
She smiled and grabbed his hand, interlacing her fingers with his, "Let's go then."
The pair sauntered over to the mentor's bedside, Gordon trailing along behind them suspiciously, still not grasping the situation. Aria and Carlos both gave a happy sigh when they saw Jimena. Her outward appearance was perfectly normal, not even a hair out of place. However, the dark aura surrounded her as well, and the two teenagers knew what they had to do.
"You start first," Aria instructed gently.
Carlos nodded and withdrew The High Priestess card, his eyes sliding shut as he concentrated. After a few beats, a crimson aura began to radiate from him. Taking her cue, Aria focused on her own powers, outstretching the hand not holding Carlos's over Jimena's comatose form. Carlos followed her lead and did the exact same thing, and soon enough vermillion joined periwinkle, as the two energies combined. Gordon's eyes widened at the spectacle and he gave a low whistle.
"Neat." He commented dryly.
The procedure went quick, and almost immediately the auras vanished, when Jimena lurched upwards as she coughed violently. The precog's dark hair flew around her, obscuring her face as she took a few deep breaths. Aria and Carlos stood there silently, both feeling slightly ashamed and too afraid to be the first ones to address the mentor of the Daughters of the Moon.
Thankfully, Gordon had no sense of tact whatsoever, "What the hell was that?" He demanded loudly.
"Gordon, use your inside voice." Came Jimena, her tone only slightly raspy and on the whole much better off than the other girls', she lifted her head, meeting Aria's stare directly, "Gracias." She muttered.
Aria began to stammer, "The healing was no big deal, I mean it was my fault you were injured in the first place, and I-"
"Not for returning my spirit, thank you for getting your head out of your ass." She corrected bluntly.
The healing goddess's eyes bulged out for a moment, shocked at her mentor's word choice. "You're…welcome?" She supplied softly, confused.
"You finally understand your duty?" She said, her tone somewhat frigid as her stare seemed to pierce right through her.
Feeling foolish, she nodded somberly, "I'm sorry for doubting everyone, and for running away."
A smile broke out on the ex goddess's face, and Aria's breath caught in her throat, "That's good, I'm glad you've finally accepted your destiny." The words were much warmer and friendlier now, and Aria knew then that the Magna Mater had forgiven her for her shortcomings.
"T-t-thank you," She sputtered out, amazed at her good fortune.
Jimena nodded slightly, "You're welcome. We'll have to talk about it more later, but for now, just don't do it again."
Aria's fist clenched at her side, and she said with a firm resolve, "I won't."
It was then that Jimena realized there was another person standing next to the Daughter of the Moon, and carefully, Jimena's head turned to see. "…Carlos?" She proclaimed, somewhat in disbelief.
Her son scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks bright red, "Hi, mom." He said finally.
The two family members eyed each other for a few moments, and Aria could hear her heartbeat slow down as she awaited the outcome of this estranged reunion. No one was saying anything, the son was beginning to fidget while the mother continued to scrutinize the boy in an almost frosty manner. Even Gordon, insensitive man of wonder, seemed to be unnerved by the silent confrontation as he coughed awkwardly into his hand.
Just when Aria was about to begin tearing her hair out by its roots, Jimena made the first move.
"Carlos!" She exclaimed in a tone far unlike the one Aria was used to hearing, as she threw her arms around him happily for a hug, "What are you doing here?"
Everyone seemed to finally exhale then, the tension dissolved instantaneously.
"Just stopping by," Carlos said demurely, still hesitant as he hugged his mother back.
Aria watched the scene unfold, and a feeling of elation overcame her. Everything was starting to fall back into place, and Jimena was finally able to see her son. It was almost perfect, excluding all of the near-death instances of course. Her gaze jerked to the side when she felt something pulling on her elbow. Turning, she met Gordon's gaze, a softness in his features that normally wasn't present.
"Let's give them a few moments," He whispered, gesturing to Jimena and Carlos, "If Castillo's anything like me, she's been waiting for this for a long time."
Aria reevaluated the two before realizing that she was possibly invading on something private, slowly she nodded, and allowed Gordon to steer her towards the door. Looking over her shoulder, she gave Carlos one last reassuring smile, he mimicked it as he stared at her from out of the corner of his eyes.
Once the two were outside, Gordon immediately turned on the offensive, his posture reminding Aria of a pit bull, "Why is Jimena's son here? Where have you been? And for the last time, what the hell happened?"
Aria sighed and slumped down to the floor, patting the ground next to her, "You may want to take a seat, Jacobson, this is going to take awhile.
OoO
Reluctantly, Jimena pulled away and faced her son, "Carlos, why are you here?"
The boy gave her a grin that brought a bought of nostalgia upon her, for it was so similar to that of his father's, "What? Didn't you miss me?" He muttered.
The mentor of the goddesses could feel something out of place, something had changed about her son, that much was certain. For instance, the boy now held a slight aura, purple in hue, and there was a thrum of old power that surrounded him.
Sighing slightly and fearing the worst, she cleared her throat, "Carlos." She said, her tone vaguely reproachful.
He groaned and blew out some stray pieces of hair from his face, "We need to talk." He said flatly.
Jimena nodded and glanced at the seat next to her bedside. Taking the prompt, Carlos sat down and inhaled deeply.
"I know about the war," He said bluntly, "And I know that you're something called the Magna Mater."
The precog smiled sadly, looking at her clasped hands, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you forever," She spoke softly, "But Collin thought that maybe, if you-"
Her son cut her off, "Dad knows about this!?" He demanded, shocked.
The smile fell a little, "Why do you think we got divorced?" She stated plainly, finally getting to tell the truth to him.
Carlos leaned backed in his chair, blinking slowly as he processed this crucial information. "What else are you hiding from me? Any siblings I don't know about?"
Jimena's eyes widened and she almost laughed at the bizarre situation, "Actually, you have a foster sister-"
He immediately silenced her by throwing his hands up, "No more strange family secrets tonight." He paused, "Why didn't you ever tell me?" He finally asked, sounding somewhat hurt and betrayed.
The Magna Mater shook her head, "A part of me wanted to, but a bigger part thought that you'd be better off never knowing," She met her son's stare, "You have to understand Carlos, your father and I thought we were protecting you from danger."
"By lying to me?"
"By keeping you away from me," Jimena corrected, bitterness laced in her words.
Carlos's jaw dropped, "How can you say that? You're my mom!"
Now that the truth had been opened, the secrets just kept pouring, "I'm not the person you think I am, Carlos. I've done some terrible things in my past, and I've hurt those I care the most about." Jimena's fingers twisted her bed sheet, "And I've seen my loved ones killed before my eyes."
The boy paled, not accustomed to seeing his mother like this. He stared at her, contemplative. It wasn't everyday a teenager found out that his parents had spilt due to otherworldly influences, and that his mother was some sort of leader in a timeless battle against evil. Jimena appeared calm, but Carlos could see the inner turmoil play across her eyes as she stared dejectedly at her hands. It was then that Carlos realized that his mom was terrified of his rejection, and that he was foolish to be the one afraid of her. She was vulnerable, a side Carlos had never seen to her.
He licked his lips and mustered up enough courage to say what he needed to, "I don't care." He proclaimed flatly, no room for doubt.
The middle aged woman's head snapped up and she gaped at him in bewilderment, "What?" She demanded, shocked at his response.
Carlos stood up, and repeated calmly, "I don't care. It doesn't matter about what happened, and it doesn't even mattered that you lied to me." He watched as his mom continued to stare at him blankly, "I want to help you."
At those five words, the ex goddess tensed, "Carlos, you don't know what you're talking about!" She declared vehemently, "You don't know what you're saying-"
"I know exactly what I'm saying," He interrupted, and he dropped the intimidating edge to his tone, "I met Aria tonight, on a train heading to Portland. She told me all about you and the others." There, he had confessed it.
"It's not the Daughters that I'm worried about, Carlos, there are far greater evils out there-" Jimena tried to clarify, only to be cut off again.
"I know. I…" Carlos tensed as an unwarranted shame came upon him, as his mind backtracked to the confrontation with the six Guardians, as well as shooting Kiriak, "Fought some bad people, mom."
Her eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean?"
"There were these robbers, they called themselves the Guardians, they wanted to hurt Aria, so I fought them." He explained pathetically, lowering his head, "I killed two."
Jimena's breath caught in her throat as the implications hit her. Her glance lifted to stare at her only child, a child that now held bloodstained hands, "You…"
"I killed them," Carlos reaffirmed, his voice picking up some intensity, "And while a small part of me feels guilty, I don't regret doing it."
She paled, "Carlos-!"
"They were going to kill us, mom, if we didn't do it first," He shook his head, "And they were harming innocent passengers as well."
Jimena continued to gape in horror at her son, and she didn't know which was worse. The fact that her little boy had murdered people, or that she understood his reasoning behind it. This was huge, and she could feel a sickness overcome her, for after everything she had sacrificed to keep him safe and naive, Fate was coming back with a vengeance. She trembled a bit as she tried to gather her wits. She knew about the Guardians, a little hard not to know of them when she had been attacked, and she also knew that they didn't exactly qualify as people. While the thought sickened her, as she felt it was some form of a cheap cop out, the logical side of her prevailed, for the Guardians were only vengeful spirits sent out by Hades, who took on the characteristics of humans. Destroying one of them was akin to destroying a shade, there was honestly no life to begin with. Yet that didn't totally win over sentimentality, as her mind replayed back about twenty years, when Veto had been sent back to Hell right before her eyes.
She cleared her throat, knowing what she had to do. While inwardly she was tormented, her duty came before everything else. That was the way that it was, and that was the way it would always be. The Guardians had singled out Aria, and that only meant one thing. Aria was the protected goddess of Eileithyia, and her own responsibility had been assigned that night.
Staring at her son levelly, she pushed aside the feelings of horror and commenced with what needed to be done, "I need to talk to you and Aria."
Carlos was rather unnerved with how calmly his mother had said that statement after his confession, and he agitatedly stood from his seat, "Okay," He muttered, standing up and going towards the door to fetch the healer.
"Carlos," Jimena called out after him.
He paused and turned around, "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," She whispered.
Carlos, noticing the pained expression on her face despite her collected tone, tried to give a hopefully convincing smile, "Nothing to be sorry about."
Jimena's response was to only shake her head.
Uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, he immediately flung open the door. The sight that he was met with was almost comical, as Aria was frustratingly attempting to explain something to Gordon, who looked perplexed and skeptical.
"How can someone's soul be put into a card?" The cop grunted, glaring at the deck Aria held in her hands.
"I don't know how else to explain it!" She replied, flustered, "There's this aura-"
"The weird fog shit?" He spoke poetically.
"Yes, the 'weird fog shit'," Aria sighed, "And it's able to-" Her statement trailed off when she noticed that there was a second listener, "Carlos!" She proclaimed, standing up quickly and brushing herself off, "What's wrong?"
Gordon stood as well, crossing his arms in front of his chest, his face set in a permanent glower.
He stared at her and decided that whatever the hell was coming would be worth it in the end, "Mom wants to talk to both of us." He stated.
"What about me?" Gordon interjected.
Carlos shrugged.
"What the hell kind of answer is that!" The cop snapped.
Aria gave a wane half-smile, "You'll just invite yourself in anyways, Jacobson, we all know that." She faced Carlos and let out a deep breath, "Let's get this over with, huh?"
He nodded and held the door open for her. After a few seconds, he turned to Gordon, "You coming too?"
Gordon stood there for a few moments, apparently debating which was greater: his ego or his curiosity. Finally, his inquisitive nature won out and he stomped after Aria, shooting Carlos a proper condescending look on the way in. The surfer suppressed the dramatic sigh on the tip of his tongue and followed.
When he reentered, he slowly took a seat next to Aria, as Gordon took a comfortable spot leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Aria seemed to pick up on the melancholy mood that the Magna Mater was in, as she was eyeing her mentor with concern.
"What's this all about?" She asked gently.
Jimena took a deep breath, knowing that this would be a rather lengthy explanation, "I suppose it would be best to start from the beginning. Have you ever heard the name Eileithyia?"
Aria's eyebrows furrowed, deducting that it was an ancient Greek name in origin, but unable to put a mythological connection to it, "I'm afraid not." She muttered at last.
Jimena nodded understandingly, "It's unlikely that you would. Eileithyia was once a rather important deity, and she was a much loved healing goddess."
Aria tensed. "So?"
"To make the story short, Eileithyia shirked her responsibilities as a goddess when she was supposed to help the nymph Meto with the childbirth of her twins, the Sun and the Moon. The first child born, a girl named Artemis, had to help Meto deliver her second child, Apollo. Because of Eileithyia's cowardly actions, the Greeks forgot about the goddess in favor of Artemis, who did a great deed with helping her mother." Jimena stated.
The healing goddess found herself drawing a comparison between both her and Eileithyia, and not for just matters on powers. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Eileithyia later grew to be ashamed of her choice," Jimena continued, ignoring her question but staring at her pointedly, "And sought to make amends. Eventually, she was given the duty of leading lost children to the light from the darkness, to save their souls from spiteful creatures of Hades." She paused, her gaze flickering to Carlos for a fraction of a second, "But while her new avocation gave her purpose, she still felt as if she owed the moon goddess something in return for her transgression." Jimena gave a brief, wane smile, "That something is you, Aria."
Aria froze, bewildered, "What?"
"You are a Daughter of the Moon, but you are also a Daughter of Eileithyia, and her protected charge. Your services were offered to Artemis to make up for her past hardship, and to carry out one of the most difficult jobs the Daughters of this generation have been assigned." She clarified.
Gordon, who had been standing at the sidelines throughout this, cleared his throat, "Now wait, how the hell do you know this Castillo?"
Jimena yet again looked down at her hands, "Through visions from Selene, mostly. When Aria revealed her powers to me so long ago my theories were confirmed." Her head lifted up, "Have you seen any suspicious figures, Aria? Someone who intervened at the last moment?"
She paled, her mind going back to the fair woman, "Yes." She whispered.
"I've seen her too," Carlos spoke up, the conversation he had before destroying the old woman now making perfect sense, "She helped me fight the hag, and gave me this." Sheepishly, Carlos pulled down the neck of his tank top to reveal the strange marking he had received.
Upon seeing the brand, Jimena's breath hitched. A flame, with four differently shaped stars held over it. Eileithyia's mark of protection…for her followers. "Carlos! Do you know what that is?" She cried frantically.
He visibly flinched from his mother's outburst, "Um…no?"
Jimena's eyes widened, when suddenly it all fell into place. The strange aura now hanging over her son, the far too coincidental meeting between him and Aria, and now the tattoo. "Carlos…what did you promise Eileithyia?"
Realization dawned upon him as well as he recalled his words to the goddess, "We made a deal, kinda."
"What sort of deal?" Jimena demanded, Aria turning to face him too, not knowing where this was coming from.
"I'm supposed to serve the Magna Mater…which is you, mom," He clarified.
"How could you be so stupid?" Jimena hissed, "After all your father and I gave up to keep you out of this war-"
"Aria would have died if I hadn't!" He responded angrily, "And I couldn't let that happen to her!"
At those words, all the ire that had accumulated within Jimena seemed to fizzle out and dissolve. Aria stared at him in amazement, drawing a correct assumption.
Carlos, a normal kid even if he had a reincarnated goddess for a mother, had chosen to enter the twisted and outcast lifestyle to save her. Aria felt her jaw drop in horror as she recalled all the instances she craved for a regular life, how she felt cheated and wronged because she was deprived of one. She had just inadvertently caused that sort of destiny for Carlos.
"There has to be a way to reverse it," She said quickly, "It isn't fair for him to have this sort of consequence-"
Carlos rolled his eyes at the girl, "Shut up Aria." He said bluntly.
She paused her rant to stare at him in confusion, "What?"
The boy looked at Jimena, then Aria, "I know what I signed up for, and I'm fine with it. I actually want to help you guys, something neither of you can comprehend for some bizarre reason."
"It's dangerous, Carlos! You could have a normal life, free from any of this." Jimena reasoned desperately.
"Castillo, the kid's made his choice," Came Gordon, his gravelly voice startling them as he chose to speak up for the first time, "Respect it."
Carlos positively beamed at the cop, "Thanks!"
"I still don't like you," Gordon replied quickly.
Carlos's smile fell a little.
"He doesn't understand, Gordon," Jimena said bitterly, "He doesn't know what happens to people who fight with Selene, he doesn't realize the pain that comes with it."
Carlos opened his mouth to retort, but Gordon beat him to it, "Sure he does." He said calmly.
"What makes you an expert?" Aria blurted.
"Because I've lost people to the Atrox, and I still volunteered," Gordon said, eerily calm as an intensity picked up in his eyes, "And the kid's already lost his mom, in a manner of speaking." He turned to Jimena, "I know you're paranoid, and I don't blame you, he's your only child. Still, he's a grown man, Castillo, and he knows what he wants so don't try to stop him. It will only make things messier in the end."
The ex gangster looked like she wanted to protest, but as the implications of Gordon's words raced through her, she realized she was in the end powerless to stop this all. Her mouth twitched downward, before a sourly uttered, "Fine. For now." escaped.
A stifling awkwardness overcame the room as Jimena tried to collect her composure, Aria stared remorsefully at the ground, and Carlos absent-mindedly traced the pattern on his collar. Gordon, drawing the conclusion that he had to take charge, sighed before turning to Jimena.
"I believe," He started tranquilly, "You were mentioning something to curly about a duty?"
The Magna Mater's fists clenched slightly, "It's both hers and Carlos's now," She said, her voice loosing anger and being replaced with sorrow, "Since he bound himself to Eileithyia."
"What is it?" Aria questioned, unable to contain her anxiety.
She stared at the two children before her, "Your job is to destroy the Guardians of Hades."
The two stared at each other, before Carlos busted out laughing, "That's it?" He wondered.
Jimena sent them a reproachful glare, "It's not that simple. The Guardians of Hades are not all that they appear, since they only exist in spirit form. Their original purpose was to eliminate all the straggling souls that inhabited the banks of the River Styx, those who could not pay the ferryman's fee and were stranded for eternity in purgatory." She shook her head sadly, "But Hades began to use them as his own sort of expendable soldiers. And while they do not seem to have chosen a side between the Atrox and Selene, they will extract revenge for their fallen comrades."
"We fought them already," Aria whispered, "We took out two more of them."
"How?" Jimena asked, her voice portraying her skepticism.
"Carlos…" Aria stumbled a bit.
"I shot one, and Riley's powers destroyed the other one," Carlos said, no waver or shame in his words.
"Then you only destroyed one," She said.
"What?!" The two shouted simultaneously.
"The one you shot wasn't technically destroyed," Jimena explained, "These things exist as malevolent spirits, and when their earthly host is destroyed, they are simply reincarnated."
Aria's mouth ran dry, "You're saying that Kiriak is still alive!" She cried.
"No. The person you fought, Kiriak, is dead. His human body only served as a shell to hold the powers, but whichever force lived within him was only sent back to Hades, waiting to be reborn."
"What about the other two, are they gone?" Carlos questioned, seeming on edge with the thought that there was a whole new Kiriak-esque creature on the way.
"Yes. Since Aria used her powers to purify the soul of the body she attacked, it eradicated them. And your using Riley's empathy caused the spirit to turn on itself," Jimena clarified.
The teenaged healer groaned and hung her head, "This is way too complicated." She mumbled.
Jimena pinched the bridge of her nose, unsure of how to make this easier to understand, "There are seven spirits in total," She attempted, "Named after the ancient counter virtues of the ancient Greeks. Hybris is their leader, and that spirit represents pride and vanity-"
"The old lady?" Carlos asserted.
Jimena nodded, "Then after her there's Acedia, a type of sorrow or gloominess that hangs, causing all motivation to disappear." Both Aria and Carlos pictured the stoic, emotionless face of Suiren, "And after that there's Avarice, greed and hoarding. That would be the one Aria's already destroyed. There's also Ambition, a desire for power and greatness, a total sense of selfishness when in abundance."
"Loki," Aria muttered, thinking of the sly con man with bright orange eyes.
"And finally there's Lust, Wrath, and Envy. All of which are rather self-explanatory." Jimena concluded, "Each one has a different power-"
"Wait a second," Came Gordon, clearing his throat and correcting his posture, "I'm no religious zealot, but even I know those are the seven deadly sins."
Jimena gave a smile devoid of any warmth, "Not quite. The doctrine of the seven sins was first emphasized by Thomas Aquinas, who drew heavily upon old Greek forms of philosophy. That's why a few of them have changed by name. Acedia became Sloth, Hybris turned into Pride, and Ambition transformed into Gluttony."
Gordon's eloquent response was a noncommittal grunt.
Jimena continued, nonplussed, "Anyways, Hades has given each of his servants powers, much like Selene has bestowed upon her Daughters gifts." She sighed, "It won't be an easy task to expel them all, Aria, but it has to be done. They are damned things, that only exist to cause harm to innocent people."
"I see," Aria said softly, not knowing what else to respond with now that all of this had been dumped on her.
"No sweat," Carlos declared far more cheekily, "There's only five of them."
Jimena glared at her son, "Don't underestimate them. They obviously didn't take you seriously, which is why you both are still alive."
"I'm the only one who can stop them, then." Aria reasoned, shifting her stare from the floor to her mentor, "If they have to be purified, my power's the only one that can do anything."
"Not exactly, Riley's gift can destroy them totally, but that's not what we want to happen," Jimena sent her son a dark look, "We want to cleanse them, to give the souls of their hosts a peaceful afterlife. This is something you can only do, Aria, as a charge of Eileithyia, who guides souls between light and darkness."
She exhaled slowly, "Why me? I know it sounds pathetic, but why am I the only one out of all of us with an extra duty?"
"It's not just you. Each Daughter of this generation has a specific task assigned to them, that will be revealed when Selene tells me the time is right," The Magna Mater consoled, "You just happen to be the first to hear the news."
"And you're not alone in this," Carlos supplied, grabbing her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers, "It's my job now, too."
"Unfortunately," Aria whispered, guilt still not leaving her quite yet.
Both Jimena and Gordon's eyes narrowed in on the two teens holding hands, and an understanding look passed between the two adults. Gordon gave a snort, while something bittersweet overcame Jimena, memories flooding from when she was about fifteen years younger, and was in love with a blond surfer named Collin.
"I think that's enough for tonight," She spoke softly, "You two need your rest. And there's still much to discuss, particularly with you, Carlos and why you're in Los Angeles in the first place."
The boy squirmed in his seat, "It's a really long story-"
"Which is why you're going to tell me everything. Tomorrow," Jimena turned to Aria, "The spare key to the apartment is on top of the door ledge, and I'm sure Gordon wouldn't mind giving you both a ride over, would he?" Something ominous leaked into her tone, effectively killing any protest Gordon would have.
"No problem," He grunted out painfully, like something was masticating his leg. He launched himself off of the wall using his foot and fished around in his pockets for a set of keys, "Let's go."
Aria stood up slowly, wobbling slightly on her feet, "Jimena…" She trailed off, not knowing how to address her mentor. She finally settled on a plain, "Thank you. For not doubting me."
Jimena nodded, a ghost of a genuine grin on her face, "I knew you'd pull through, Aria. You're a lot like my old friend Vanessa…" The grin fell and it looked as if she had acquired a bad taste in her mouth, "Just, get some rest, alright?"
She nodded and headed out of the room, following Gordon as he more or less stomped out.
It was just the two of them again, and Carlos leaned over to give his mom an awkward hug, "You're not going to regret my being here, after everything's all done." He promised, resolute, his goofier persona discarded and replaced with something more unwavering.
"It's not that I regret you being here, Carlos, just the reason why you're here," Jimena muttered, clenching him tighter against her, "I don't want you hurt." She said quietly.
"Then you better do a good job training me," He retorted, smiling and pulling away. His eyes flickered towards the doorway, "It's all worth it, anyways."
Jimena picked up on the wistful note in his words, and inwardly groaned. Leave it to her son to plunge headfirst into an eternal clandestine war based on an infatuation that so far had only lasted a few hours, "I hope you're right."
He smirked, "I know I'm right."
"You better get going, you look like shit," Jimena said crassly in the way that only mothers can talk to their sons- reproachful with hints of underlying threats.
Carlos nodded and turned to go, "I missed you mom," He said clearly before leaving after Aria and Gordon.
Jimena waited until her only child walked out of the door, then sadly said, "I missed you too."
Things were worse, and far better, than they had ever been before.
OoO
Ugh! You know, in my outline, I estimated this chapter to only take up about five pages? What an idiot I am! Also, Jimena is supposed to seem a bit hypocritical with her actions towards Carlos as opposed to those towards the other DOTM. It'll be explained a bit more in the next book : D
Notes:
The bit about the seven sins being derived from Greek philosophy is actually true ;) I put some research into this idea before I started to use it, the only thing that might be sticky is whether or not Thomas Aquinas was the one who initially introduced it or not. It's something that's been argued quite a bit, whether it was him or Pope Gregory the Great.
Anywho! For clarification purposes, each sin or counter virtue has a color attributed to it, and I used them for each character's eyes .
Green is Envy
Gray or Light Blue is Acedia
Red is Wrath
Orange is Ambition
Yellow is Avarice
Purple is Hybris
and
Dark Blue is Lust
Just wanted to share!
LAST CHAPTER! (unless you want an epilogue preview thingy): Reunion back at school, Aria comes to a conclusion about herself.
Toodles!
!nym!