Chapter 8

House of Parents

"Hey I was just coming to get you," Colton stated when I practically hit him with the attic door.

"I know," I told him with a laugh. "I heard you calling." Colton looked confused for a moment, but he shook his head as if brushing out the mad thoughts.

"Come on. My dad thinks you should be there when we talk about the power thing." Ugg. Couldn't these adults just leave us alone? With a sigh I followed Colton into Nina's office where I found not only Eddie, but Nina, Fabian, and two other women one with blonde hair and a peppy style and another with a look that promised she was once all out goth.

"Oh my God I'm so glad you two are alive," the perky blonde squealed attacking us with hugs.

"Chill Amber," Eddie light heartedly scolded while his hand mindlessly ran up and down the other woman's arm.

"That's my mom," Colton whispered in my ear. "Patricia."

"It's really nice to meet you Eve," Patricia told me her voice hoarse. "Amber's right. We'll all really glad you're alive and safe."

"And if we want to keep it that way we need to talk," Eddie gruffly told us pulling up a chair. "The reason the five of us are here is because we were the primary members of this group called Sibuna when we were here."

"It's Anubis backwards," Amber, who was living up to her hair color, told us with a smile. "Because we solved mysteries here in Anubis house."

"Well not mysteries exactly…" Fabian corrected. "I mean generally there were clues involved, but it really just came down to us stopping someone who wanted to be a god all the time."

"And you think that's going to happen to us?" Colton asked wearily. "I mean I believe in this and all but what makes you think it will happen again?"

"Because for almost 2500 years it has been happening," Nina wearily responded. "Every Chosen One has faced dangers that every Osirian has had to protect her from."

"But why now?" I interrupted looking up only briefly from my bleeding cuticles. "I mean we're both 16, why will odd things suddenly start happening now?"

"I'm surprised they haven't already," Patricia noted. "I mean Nina was 15 when she assembled the cup and it was only a few months later when Eddie came and saved her from Senkarah." I considered asking what on earth she was talking about, but figured it would only make my anxiety worse.

Nina's eyes jerked up for a second. "When you got here did the doors jerk open as if they were automatic?" Now that she said it, they had, so we nodded causing Nina to grin. "That's the first odd thing that ever happened to me. Something is starting."

Colton opened his mouth as if to say that we knew what was starting, but my look shut him up. It wasn't that I didn't trust our biological parents, it was that I could feel the worry on them and didn't want them trying too hard to help us. This was something we had to do on our own. They had their time. Now it's ours.

Amber, however, wasn't fooled. "What? What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied easily (but not persuasively.) "Cross my heart nothing happened."

"We're just kind of curious what to expect when it does. I mean we've both had gods hanging around ready to explain things, but mind if we ask a couple questions," Wow. Colton was so good even I believed him.

His father didn't, but he sat back suspiciously as if to say go ahead.

"So I'm the Chosen One, right. Which means Colton is the Osirian-my destined protector. Does that mean if something was dangerous he'd know?"

"Absolutely," Eddie answered quickly. "There were times when I'd know Nina was in danger even before she was. I'd hear her calling me when she was only thinking of doing so. I also had visions of dangers or things that would help stop a danger."

So Colton was right. He felt fully confident that our little goddess was honest and not going to hurt us, so she must be. Otherwise he'd have felt the danger I'd been making up in my head.

"Just one more thing," Colton pondered aloud. "Have you ever heard of a goddess named Luce?"

I wanted to slap him. I really, really, really wanted to slap him. Actually, I kind of wanted to kill him.

"No…" a suspicious Fabian muttered.

"See, I told you it was just a dream," I instantly blurted out with a laugh. "Colton was all like the great goddess Luce is going to kill us all, but I told him she doesn't exist. Jet lag and nerves are not good combination you know…"

Colton looked thankful that my cover up came out well, but none of the adults (not even Amber) looked entirely convinced.

"Well we'd better go…" Colton awkwardly muttered. "You know syllabus to sign. Housemates to actually talk to…"

"Right, sorry," Patricia told us standing. "It's just weird for us too you know. We always assumed… I even told your sister that you were dead. Having you here, in front of us, yet still in danger… it's not easy."

"We're not in any danger," I told the worried mother with a smile hoping it was true. "Nice to meet you Patricia. Amber."

We went to leave, but I felt a steady hand on my shoulder, "I just want a word with Eve." To my surprise it was Eddie who spoke. "Don't want her breaking my son's heart now, do we."

"She most certainly can with looks like her," a grinning Fabian noted. "Gorgeous as her mom and sisters."

"You're right lucky she didn't get any of your genes Fabian Rutter or Sage would have had to request a different house to escape!" Amber joked (causing me to realize how much she looked like my housemate. Mother- daughter most likely.)

The old friends left the office jokingly, but Eddie was somber when he spoke. "I died twice saving the world, saving Nina," the aging man told me. "And you don't pray to the Egyptian gods but I did. The moment I found out Patty was pregnant I prayed he wouldn't be the Osirian, but he is. He's your Osirian, but he's my son. I understand why you don't trust us. You don't know us, but if you don't let us help you and my son ends up dead…"

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise of life ending guilt. Still, I couldn't tell him. I just couldn't. "I know Mr. Miller. And I promise to keep him safe if my life depends on it."