Chapter 26

Snow's family

Nico di Angelo

"So, where are we meeting Topaz?" I asked once we were out of the car.

"I don't know. I'll text her. We also need to call Percy's mom and tell him to go with Annabeth to Olympus so they can tell their parents about Prometheus. We can do that later."

She texted Topaz:

R U off the plane yet?

Yes! Abt time! I've been waiting like half an hour!

Sorry! I was hanging out with friends didn't get your text.

Just get here quickly

Where do you want to meet?

I'm at the baggage pickup waiting 4 u

On my way!

We ran down to the baggage pickup, so Topaz wouldn't get angry. I've known her to have a temper almost as bad as mine. When we got there she still looked angry.

"Finally!"

"Sorry. Crowds."

"No excuse."

"Sorry! Don't be mad!"

"I reserve that right. A creepy 49 year old man has been staring at me in the entire time you have been neglecting to come get me."

"I wasn't neglecting! I would never neglect you!"

"Then why did you take so long to get here?"

"It was a long run! I got here as fast as I could!"

"Not fast enough. Let's go."

Snow seemed very distressed. Topaz has always been the dominant one in the relationship. Actually, pretty much every relationship she's a part of. She always seems to get her way.

When we got to the car, Topaz sat in front. I didn't argue, I wanted her to calm down so she wouldn't stay angry at Snow. Besides, Snow would have just told me to, anyway. When Topaz gets like this, she does everything she says to get on her good side again.

Topaz had her feet on the dashboard, and Snow wasn't saying a word. The entire time we were in the car, Topaz was ignoring Snow, and me for some reason.

When we pulled back into the garage, Topaz got out of the car and slammed both doors behind her.

"Wow," I said. "How long do you think she'll stay like this?"

"As long as she wants," Snow said miserably.

"Maybe if you just pretend you don't care about her being mad, she'll forget."

"No, if she's mad, she's mad. Besides, I'm not THAT good at acting. She's my other half, I feel like I'm cut in two when we're not getting along."

"Sorry, my darling Snow White."

"Angel, that reminds me, what are we watching tonight?"

"I dunno."

"Either a Disney movie or the Phantom of the Opera."

"The phantom of the Opera."

"Okay. Let's go inside."

We walked in, and I asked "Where are they all?"

"I...don't know."

Her phone rang. She read the text. "It's my brother. He says they're in the leather couch room."

"You have a leather couch room?"

"Yeah, it's where we eat takeout." Her phone beeped again. "Chinese takeout."

Snow showed me where the room was and we sat down. I noticed her Father glaring at me. I tried to ignore it. He turned to the oldest son.

"Okay, Ashton, you're in charge while your Mother and I are out. Make sure Garnet eats her dinner before her dessert, make sure no one leaves the house, and try to be as rude to Snow's boyfriend as possible."

"You got it, Pops."

"Do not call me 'Pops' Ashton."

"Sorry, Dad."

"We're off," He gave each of his daughters a kiss on the cheek and an extra glare just for me.

"Okay, everyone come get your dinner and your drink," the second oldest said.

"Hey, Nicky, I'M in charge. I tell them what to do," Ashton said.

"Fine, Ashton." Nicky said with a roll of his eyes.

"Okay, everyone, come get your dinner. The drinks are in the fridge," Ashton said.

"That's literally exactly what I said."

"No, I told them where to find them."

"Yeah, like the fridge wasn't totally obvious."

"I would advise you to show respect to your superior."

"You are NOT my superior, you were just born two years before me, so Dad put you in charge."

"You literally just admitted twice that I am your superior."

"You're impossible."

"You mean I'm improbable."

"What?"

"I exist, I can't be impossible."

"I'm done with you," Nicky said, and sat down.

"So, how was your flight, Topaz?" Ashton asked, ignoring his brother.

"Terrible. Just terrible."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No you're not."

"So are we going to play that game Dad always makes us play where we get out all our complaining before we have a conversation?"

"Totally." Topaz said enthusiastically.

"Okay. So today when I was at the mall with Ricky and Emma, I beat up some nerds and got kicked out," Nicky told us.

"I'll be Dad. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? YOU WANT TO REPRESENT OUR FAMILY NAME LIKE THAT? YOU ARE GUH-ROUNDED MISTER!" Snow yelled.

"Sounds like Dad." Nicky admitted then went on.

"Also, my girlfriend broke up with me."

"Why?" Snow asked, suddenly sympathetic.

"She started dating my friend."

"Ouch," Topaz said.

"That really sucks," Garnet added.

"I got a B on my Exams," Ashton said sadly.

"Wow, a B, sucks to be you. Meanwhile, I failed math and doing my best to hide it from Dad. Soon I think I'm going to have to kill my teacher, she continues to get dangerously close to calling him."

"I can help you with math if you'd like," Snow offered.

"Snow, we're supposed to be negative right now."

"Oh, right. Garnet, do you have anything else to complain about?"

"Yes, in fact I have a long list. My best friend keeps trying to invite this other girl I don't like to play with us. Three different boys chase me on the playground, and it's getting hard to escape. One of you jerks spilled water on the picture I drew today. My sparkle fairy doll is missing. I keep tripping over everything. Grandma thinks I still play with baby dolls and got one for my birthday. The fruit by the foot is 11 inches, I measured it, plus the tongue tattoos don't stay on. Half my glitter collection was stolen by the envious unattractive Marcy. There is too much strawberry in my milk. My shoelaces keep coming untied. My favorite ruby necklace has a broken chain. Rodrick has been eating my jelly beans and-"

"That's probably enough complaining Garnet." Ashton cut off.

"Fine, but don't blame me if I let some complaints slip."

"Snow what about you?"

"Well, let's see. Yesterday I was almost kidnapped twice, and the day before, and today as well, though those monsters were kind of pathetic. I was paralyzed for 15 minutes earlier, and I arrived late to pick up my darling twin, and I feel terrible about it."

She rolled her eyes.

"Topaz?"

"I was forced to wait THIRTY MINUTES for Snow to drive me home from the airport, all the while a CREEPY OLD MAN staring at me like a pedophile. And then the sister in question begged for my forgiveness annoyingly. My boyfriend said some unforgivable things and I had to break up with him, as well as during the quest being the only one not dating someone on the quest, because he wasn't there. Oh, and I also was almost kidnapped."

"Uh, Nico, is it? Do you have anything to complain about?"

"Hmmm, no not really. I'm pretty happy right now, and I don't really want the first thing I say to be negative."

"Fair enough. So, what is this business about you being kidnapped on your quest?" Ashton asked.

"Can I tell you later? Garnet is here."

"Sure, sure."

"So what have you been up to while we were gone?"

"Well, I'm kind of dating your friend Alice." Ashton said, blushing.

Snow smiled at her brother. "That's nice. She's smart and a rule follower like you."

"Yeah. And I've been doing some volenteer work." He said proudly.

"That's good. For what?"

"Helping with the Katrina reconstruction."

"Oh, thank god, more people are finally doing that. Half this city is still in shambles after that hurricane, and no one helps. They keep living in bliss, just because it doesn't affect them. So many are homeless, and the population is half what it used to be from deaths, and people evacuating and not coming back. It's good that people are trying to make a difference. I want to help, too. When can I?"

"Hmmm, I think the next volunteer date is in early September. A couple weeks away."

"Okay. I'll be there. What about you Nicki?"

"I'm a little preoccupied with Summer School. Good news: I'm passing!" He said with a smile.

"That's great! You might get through high school in 4 years this time!"

"What do you mean, 'this time'?" I asked curiously.

Ashton raised his eyebrows. "Ah, that is a complicated question."

"Snow, you're good at explaining things, why don't you give it a try."

"Okay, well, things used to be easy for us immortals. People used to know what we were and not fear us, but come to us for advice and help. But when Christianity took hold, people saw any magic as a sign of the devil. Even now, people are scared and intrigued by anything magic, and neither of those could work out well for us. We had to hide what we were. But sooner or later, they started to notice that we didn't age. So we had to live our lives to a certain point, then pretend to be our past selfs child. And later on, education started to be seen as an important part of life. At first, people were educated by a private tutor, and age was not paid as much attention to. But then they started arranging grades based on maturity, and placing children there based on their years. So we started at 6th grade, and charmed everyone into thinking they'd known us as children. We've been through this form of high school many, many times. We take some different classes every time, so it isn't THAT boring."

"Yeah. And when PE was introduced, let me tell ya, school got so much more bearable."

"Physical Education sucks, Nicky." Snow said.

"No, it doesn't, Snow. Stop being a bitch," Topaz said with a roll of her eyes.

Snow if course, said nothing rude back.

"So how does marriage work?" I asked.

"Well, we pick ages that could pass as early 20s. I stay 19, Nicky 18, Snow and Topaz have always preferred 17, and our parents are just well aged 30 year olds."

"Huh. I guess it would be easier to be a god, you wouldn't have to worry about living in the human world, knowing people and having them notice your magic."

"I can't even count all the times we've had to erase humans memories. Man, I was goin' out with this one chick in the 70s, she was super hot. Anyway, she saw me levitate the the disco ball and throw it on stupid Tommy Sullivan's head, when no one else was there, and she screamed and said she'd call the police. I couldn't have that kind of press action, so I wiped her memory of that night and told her she was knocked out drunk." Nicky said.

"What happened to Tommy Sullivan?"

"Minor concussion. No biggie. He deserved it, he was a jerk."

"That's cool. There's some people I wish I could do that to."

"Well, I bet you could do worse. Tell me about this Underworld magic you have."

"Oh, it's AWESOME." Snow said.

"I don't want to hear it. Topaz and Hitler was bad enough-" Ashton started.

"YOU SWORE NEVER TO BRING THAT UP AGAIN! YOU HAVE TEASED ME ABOUT THAT FOR SEVENTY YEARS! SHUT UP ABOUT IT ALREADY! IF YOU DONT I WILL IMPALE YOU WITH THE CHANDELIER!"

"Can he still tell us about his powers?" Nicky pleaded.

"Go ahead."

"I can summon armies of the dead, but it really drains me, unless I have anger fueling me. I can shadow travel, which is kind of like teleporting in through the darkness. I can control shadows themselves. I can summon gems and rocks, and bones. Also I can control ghosts."

"Wicked."

"Thanks."

"You should show me how to do that stuff sometime. We can usually replicate demigod powers."

"What do you call the male 'witches'?"

"Warlocks, I suppose. But it's not a term we are very comfortable with."

"What about wizard or sorcerer?"

"Neither are politically correct. A wizard is fictitious, and a sorcerer is just the male version of sorceress, who just has control over the mist."

"So, what do you call yourselves?"

"Eh, we don't really use a tittle. My sisters and my Mom don't mind 'witch'. It's not really a bad name. As long as you don't think about Salem."

"Well, anyway, I don't think I should reveal my secrets. I'd prefer to keep my powers to myself and my siblings, if you don't mind."

"I respect that. I mean, what would you be if other people without your parentage could do the same things you can?"

I found myself a little offended at that remark. "Right, thanks."

"Snow, what do I do about the 3 boys fighting over me?" Garnet asked.

Snow stopped eating her orange chicken. "Well, do you like all 3 of them?"

"Yes. And they're all cute and rich."

"Have you ever had a real conversation with any of them?"

"Well, sort of. I played princess with all of them one time, and Spencer and Blaine were the bad guys who trapped me in a tower, and Ash rescued me."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you from that. They all sound appealing to me."

"You have been so royally fucked up over the years, Snow," Nicky said with a roll of his eyes. "Garnet, pick the one who saved you. I have the feeling he will turn out better."

"Okay, Nicky! I will tell him I pick him over those other guys, tomorrow!"

"Whoa, Garnet. Stay friends with them. You'll want to have guy friends when you're older. You've known those guys since you were a baby! They're family is friends with our family! Don't let them go that easily." Snow advised.

"Okay. You're probably right."

She went back to Sofia the first.

Then, you know when you're watching something on tv, and then this loud earsplitting beep comes up and tells you to switch to the news channel, but you don't care and don't? Well, that happened, but there was a particular reason that made us want to.

We switched to the News Channel, nervous about what was to come.

"-Told there is no sign of the prestiged member of the Lawrence family. Aurora Lawrence was last seen exiting a coffee shop at 4:50 PM today. There are reports of a scuffle at her car, and then she disappeared from the scene. There is some footage of this happening from the security footage outside the store."

The screen flipped to Aurora, smiling, leaving out the door, waving goodbye to someone. She walked over to her car, and opened the door, unaware that someone was creeping up behind her. They grabbed her neck, and I caught a glimpse of his face. No...It couldn't be...

It was the face of Bryce Lawrence.