Chapter Twenty-Five
Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.
Kyra's POV
After psyching myself up, I knock on the giant crystal doors. I turn around to see if Silena was still standing there, but she wasn't. I was completely alone.
I look back to the doors to see that they had opened. I take a deep breath then walk in, the doors soundlessly closing behind me. I look around the entry hall. The walls were blood red and the floor was made up of glowing white tiles.
"Come now, Kyra. Don't be shy." a voice echoes from down a long hallway. This whole building just seemed to be made up of these stupid hallways.
I walk forward and towards the hall, my footsteps sounding like explosions to my ears. I reach the end and come upon a worn looking wooden door. It was cracked open slightly.
I push it open to see a giant living room. It was a completely different atmosphere than the entry hall, more homey. The walls were a pretty olive green, the floor was carpeted with thick, fluffy, dark magenta carpet. There was even a big fire place, crackling with flames.
Sitting on the big, blue, wraparound couch was the man who had taken Mike. Anger fills me and I march over to him. I stand in front of him and he looks up at me, a sly grin on his lips.
"I see Silena got you all cleaned up after your night with Daemon." he says. His eyes weren't red anymore, they had changed to a cobalt blue.
I thought this strange, but the fury boiling inside me replaced the confusion.
My hands ball into fists. It was proving harder than expected not to punch this guy into oblivion. How dare he have the nerve to look at me like that, like he hadn't done a single bad thing, like he was a perfect little angel.
"What do you want with me? Why did you take my son?" I ask, gritting my teeth.
"Now, now, Kyra. No need to get aggressive. I just wanted to talk to you, perhaps have an early lunch while doing so." he says.
"No, you tell me what all of this is about. Right now." I growl.
"Oh, come now! Do I need to bring Daemon and my other guards in?" he asks, his blue eyes dancing with mischief.
I glare at him then sigh. "No." I say.
"Good. Now, have a seat, please." he says, gesturing to the couch.
I stiffly sit down as far away from him as possible. He looks at me and just keeps smiling, it was actually starting to creep me out. Just the look on his face told me he was some type of unhinged. Not like Daemon, not uncontrollable fury, something worse.
"Well, say something. Do you like what I've done here?" he asks, gesturing around the room.
I look at him in confusion. Was I his house guest or his prisoner? "Uh, it looks really nice." I say, hoping that was the right thing to say.
"Thank you. Hadn't been touched in nearly seventeen years. You wouldn't believe the mess; dust covering everything, windows broken, rats and bugs dominating the place." he says, disgust tinting his voice.
"Uhm, that sounds pretty awful. You've done a good job of restoring it all, though." I say.
If possible, his smile widens and he nods at me. "I'm so happy to hear that." he says.
He reaches over and presses a button on the arm rest of the couch. I hadn't noticed it when I had walked over a few minutes ago.
"Lunch will be up shortly. In the meantime, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to for the past few years?" he asks.
"I uh—" I fumble for something, but my mind draws a blank.
The man's face darkens and a frown penetrates his lips. His eyes start to change back to red, the color seeping out of the pupil and dominating the blue. "Don't stutter. I hate it when the person I'm talking to stutters, drives me mad." he says, his voice low and threatening, "Now tell me, what've you been doing?"
I decide to play along with his little game, otherwise I might end up dead. "Well, when I finished night courses in college at twenty-three, I had a bachelor's degree in business. After that, I rented a space in another artist's studio. A month later I found out I was pregnant with my daughter." I say. I really didn't know where he wanted me to start, so I figured this point in my life was as good as any other.
"You're an artist?" he asks, the red in his eyes disappearing and the blue returning. They sparkled with interest now.
"Yes. I suppose I have been for a while. I started taking pottery classes when I was teenager. I found that it was my passion, so I went with it." I say, shrugging.
"That's wonderful. Continue, please." he says.
"So as time went by, I had to spend less time at my studio space because the dust and chemicals I used would have been bad for her. So I packed all my things up and left, sort of just worked around the house on little things. After she was born and didn't need me all the time, I got back to it and co-rented a building with another artist." I say, remembering the old studio. I still missed it, but I liked where I was now.
"And what happened after that?" he asks.
"I stayed in that studio for about four years, and then I got pregnant, again." I say.
"Did you intend on having a big family? Was it something you wanted?" he asks.
"Yes and no. Sometimes I would have preferred just having our first son, James, but then other times I like having three kids. Nico was the one who really wanted to have a big family, wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to have another child. But, I don't mind it. It keeps me busy, that's for sure." I chuckle.
"You mention your son James, what are your kids' full names?" he asks.
I hesitate before telling him. Why did he want to know? "My son, the oldest, is named James Gideon di Angelo." I say.
"Anything special about that name?" he asks.
"I've always loved the name James, and Gideon is my stepfather's middle name." I say.
"Ah, I see. And what about your other two children?" he asks.
"My daughter is named Adrienne Bianca di Angelo, after my best friend's mother, she was my guardian for about a year when I was in my senior year of high school, and also after Nico's sister. She died when she was twelve." I say. I'd never seen a picture of Bianca, because there weren't any, but Nico had described her a million times to me.
"And little Micheal?" he asks.
"I have two brothers that I'm particularly close to. My brother John, whom I grew up with, and my half-brother Will. We used their middle names, John's being Micheal and Will's Oliver. Hence the name Micheal Oliver di Angelo." I conclude.
"I see. And how long did it take before you were able to return to your passion in art after he was born?" he asks.
"Maybe two years? Mike was a very needy baby, started screaming any time I left his sight." I say.
"Such a small ball of energy. I've never heard a child of his age scream for so long." he says, shaking his head in wonder.
"When will I get to see him and Nico again? Will they be brought up here soon?" I ask.
"Depends on if you cooperate. Maybe after we eat lunch." he says, looking towards a beige door I hadn't noticed before.
It opens and a girl in a French maid's outfit, short, revealing dress and all, saunters in pushing a silver cart. On top of it there are three different plates with silver covers over them. She stops in front of the coffee table and sets each plate down. When she finishes, she takes the silver domes off, revealing three different Italian courses.
She places two smaller plates in front of us, along with some eating utensils and two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. She exits the room again, with the cart, without a word.
"Dig in, it's not like there isn't enough." he says, spooning ravioli and meat sauce onto his plate.
I stay still, just looking at him. When he's finished serving himself, he looks up to see I hadn't moved a muscle. He sighs and rolls his eyes, picking up the other plate.
He puts a heaping amount of spaghetti on it and then gives it to me, stone-faced. "If you want me to bring your husband and son up later, you have to do as I tell you." he says. His eyes were changing color again.
I look down at the plate and sigh, grabbing a fork. "There you go." he says as I swirl the noodles around the fork.
I eye the ball of noodles on the fork. Why did he want me to eat so badly? And what the fuck was with all the personal questions?
"It's not poisoned, in case you were wondering. Here." he says, eating some of the spaghetti.
"See, I wouldn't of done that if they had been poisoned, because I wouldn't want to kill myself. I have much to do before I leave this planet." he says, chewing.
I nod and start eating. It was actually really good. Whoever had made it was a really good cook. The sauce tasted homemade almost, not like something from a jar, and there were big chunks of tomatoes in it.
When I finish, I gently set the fork on my empty plate and lean back, completely and utterly full.
"That wasn't that bad, was it?" he asks, smirking at me.
"No, it wasn't. Your cook is very good in the kitchen." I say.
"I know. Best I could find, actually." he says, sounding impressed with himself.
"Now, I've told you about my life, can you answer some questions for me?" I ask.
"Hmm, maybe. How about you ask me a question, I answer it, and then I do the same with you." he says.
I stare at him for a second before nodding. It was probably the only deal I'd be able to get out of him, and I didn't want to risk the only chance I had of figuring out who he was by pushing for something else.
"Okay then, ask away." he says, gulping down some wine and then leaning back into the couch.
"Why did you take my son, and then my husband and I?" I ask.
"Your son holds great power. Raised the right way and trained correctly, he'd be a very powerful piece in the future. You and your husband, well, I didn't really have another choice but to take you two when you charged outside and tried taking your son back." he says, shrugging.
"Okay, my turn. You mentioned your brother, John, earlier. Is he married?" he asks.
"That's an odd question, but yes, he is." I say.
"What's his wife's name, do they have children?" he asks, seemingly eager to know the answers.
"Uh-uh-uh." I tut, "Only one question and answer."
He sighs. "Fine."
"What power are you talking about that Mike possesses?" I ask.
"He actually possesses three different powers. Those of you and your husband's, but also another. With this other power, he can make things out of thin air. He can make practically anything happen with this power."
"Oh." I say, my voice small. Where in the world did he get that power from? I don't possess it, and neither does Nico, as it's not an ability specifically known to Apollo or Hades.
"Now, what is your brother's wife's name?" he asks.
"Atala." I say, "Do you know who he got this power from?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "No. As far as I know, he was born with it or it was given to him unintentionally right after birth." he says, "Do they have any kids, your brother and his wife?"
"Yes. They adopted two children, because Atala wasn't able to conceive." I say, "What's your name?"
He looks down at his hands for a moment, as if pondering whether he should tell me or not. "Osiris." he says.
"You're named after the Egyptian god of the afterlife?" I ask.
"Only one question, remember?" he says, smirking.
I sigh and motion for him to ask me another question. "Was your brother ever married to anyone else?" he asks.
"Uhm, yes, actually. A woman whom said her name was Callie, but it was actually Leah." I say.
He nods, as if he already knew this tidbit of information.
"So, you're named after a god?" I ask.
"No. After my mother's lover at the time I was born, it was his last name." he says, "Did your brother and his previous wife ever have children?"
I laugh. "Hell no. They were only married for a little less than two weeks." I say.
"I think that's enough questions for now. I'll have someone show you to your room, and bring your husband and Mike up in a few minutes." he says, standing up and walking away.
He disappears through a large, round, black door. I hear blots clicking into place and I sigh. There was something really strange about Osiris, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what that something was.
Something bothered me about what he had told me of Mike's "special power." He had said he was either born with it or it had been accidentally given to him right after birth.
I don't remember much from that time in the hospital, but I do remember tidbits of things. Like how right after he was born, Nico was right there next to me, nearly sobbing. Then he left and came back a few minutes later, whispering that it was going to be okay.
I had always thought that maybe he had just been so overjoyed, like he had been with James and Adrienne, that he couldn't hold back his emotions. But why had he been telling me it was going to be okay? Wouldn't it have been all okay in the first place?
One thing was for sure, I was going to be asking more questions later today.
A/N:
Osiris is an interesting character, am I right? And if it wasn't clear as to why Kyra wasn't throttling him, it was because if she didn't cooperate, she'd most likely be killed. Then Nico and Mike would be trapped inside that building for gods know how long.
It took me forever to come up with a fitting name for Osiris. It seemed like anything I tried just didn't fit his character. Before I decided on Osiris though, it was Fawx. Kinda weird, I know. I really like the name Osiris, makes me think of the color purple for some reason. Like a beautiful, royal purple.
Well, I'm getting my hair dyed back to a natural color in a couple of weeks. I'm going to a really dark brown, darker than my natural color, and my hair stylist said she could do red highlights too, so I'm pretty excited about that ^_^
Last night I watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and it was pretty good. My mom wants to see the second one, and I told her I'd go with her but I wanted to watch the first one, hence why I watched it last night.
I also bought six albums yesterday! Three at Target and then three on iTunes, using up the rest of my gift cards from Christmas. I got the new Panic! At the Disco album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!, and AC/DC's Back In Black, and then AWOLNATION's Megalithic Symphony. Those are the ones I got from Target. Then from iTunes, I got two Fall Out Boy records, their new one Save Roll and Roll and Folie à Deux. Then I got Yellowcard's Southern Air. I am so excited to listen to them all!
Oh, and Happy New Years Eve! It's now been a whole year of wearing braces. I'm so ready to get these fucking things off. What is everyone's New Years Resolution, if you have one? My two main ones are:
1. Be more outgoing.
and
2. Get a grip on anxiety.
There are other ones, but those are the ones I really need to work on.
So, this is goodbye, until Saturday, that is. But by that point, it'll be a new year! Hopefully it'll be a good one.
M/A:
"'Oh hello,
Will you be mine?
I haven't felt this alive in a long time,
All the streets are warm today
I read signs
I haven't been this in love in a long time
The sun is up, the sun will stay
All for the new day'"
Manchester by Kishi Bashi.
XOXO,
Mrs-diAngleo25