Trenton Register-News

New York Police are searching for a kidnapping suspect who took twelve-year-old Leaneira Jackson from a home. This comes one week after the mysterious disappearance of Jackson's mother, Sally Jackson and twin brother, Percy.


Lea was not having a good time.

She had awakened in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar people. One of them was staring unnervingly intense at her breast—her mark when Lea thought it over.

And Mr. Brunner was half-horse.

The man–horse–creature–whatever sat at her bedside reading a book as she came to. Her hair fanned around her, and Lea was uncomfortable to see how long it had grown. There was a reason she kept it in a ponytail. It was thick, coarse, and hard to manage, but she had never been allowed to cut it aside from simple trims.

She had been changed, not into hospital clothing as she expected with the IV in her arm, but instead, she wore a green satin? — dress that matched her eyes and stopped mid-thigh. Lea had half the mind to be scandalized especially once she realized that whoever changed her put her in a push-up bra!

Leaneira was not a girly-girl.

Yes, she believed that she looked better than everyone— Lea knew she was beautiful especially with her ability to be able to do both doe and siren eyes. Lea had always known that she was the best thing to walk the earth since the gods had walked the earth.

But Lea was not interested in things that emphasized that. She had no problem playing in makeup and trying on the newest fashions or doing anything that society stated that girls her age did— but Lea just did not care.

A cute t-shirt and jeans were enough for her and this dress— this dress?! was way too much for her!

She was still a child!

Lea must have made a noise as Mr. Brunner set his book aside to look at her. "Ah, Leaneira, you are awake."

She scowled. Duh.

She mentally chided herself. There was no need to be rude even if she was sure that she had been kidnapped. Her… soulmate was a —ugh— god and they did that a lot if she was remembering correctly. There was a whole war about it and didn't the godly cupbearer get kidnapped? Was that the right myths or was that the one with the god that had the hammer? Maybe she should have read that dossier; "How to Survive the Monsters and the Gods Above Us" subtitled "So, You're A Demigod Now".

"What are you?" Her voice was raspy and the pervert that kept staring at her marked breast moved over to bring her a glass of something. It looked a little too golden in color to be apple juice and she almost rejected it on principle but— the scent was overwhelming, and she reached out with greedy hands.

She was pleasantly surprised to taste stew beef and gravy on her tongue. Her favorite meal that they couldn't have too often since beef tended to make Gabe gassier than usual and Lea was stuck at private schools away from her Mother's home cooked meals.

"I believe, child, the better question is what are you?"

"Insane. Mentally-broken. Deranged. On the good stuff."

She hadn't felt this floaty since she was eight and the nurse that had been assigned to her for a checkup had donkey legs. At those words though, the blond pervert eased the glass out of her hand with a small laugh.

There was something about him that was familiar. The vibe.

"Mr. Brunner, why are you half farm animal? And where am I? Are you working with my stalker-mate?"

With every word that fell from her mouth, pervert blondie snickered until he was outright laughing at the last sentence. Mr. Brunner, however, looked pained and Lea remembered that the man was more used to Percy's loose tongue and not her own. Granted, Lea had switched out his class quickly on the grounds that she was not interested in learning a dead language about gods that had —supposedly— not been real and the fact that she was not even going to try to read any of the writing with her dyslexia. She didn't know how Percy had a passing grade, but all the more praise to him.

"Stalker-mate?" Blondie gasped.

Lea scowled. "Don't act like you don't know. You were staring mighty hard when I woke up. Which reminds me—" She cut her gaze back to Mr. Brunner. "Which pervert changed my clothes? I'm twelve, you know. I didn't peg you for pedophilia, Mr. Brunner but I guess being half-horse managed to cover that too."

"Leaneira, please," Mr. Brunner muttered.

"You kidnapped me."

"You were actually brought here," Blondie stated. "My Father and Lord Apollo brought you."

"Your Father?"

His lips twitched into a smile— a familiar smile and now that the fog was clearing from her mind, familiar features. "Your stalker-mate. Hermês. God of herds, travellers, thievery, heralds and—"

"I get it," Lea cut in. "He's important. What's your name? And who's the Sea God?"

Blondie blinked. "I'm Luke Castellan. The son of Hermês."

Lea inwardly blanched. The old tales and lore about soulmates meant that this teenager who looked about as old as his Father —that was going to cause a headache— was her, bleh, stepson.

Lea was only twelve years old. She could barely take herself let alone him and however many other children the god had. And gods did have a lot, didn't they? They used to pop out kids like tic-tacs.

"And the Sea God," she found herself asking, not wanting to stay on such an uncomfortable topic.

"Why do you ask?"

Lea scowled at Mr. Brunner. "Alright, Pony-Man, I'm sure you already know since I did report to you about the boy that was stalking me at school. So, you knew about him being a god even if you couldn't prove it until you changed me into these ridiculous clothes. He told me. A whole little spiel about it being determined and something about horses and earthquakes."

Mr. Brunner winced. "My name is Chiron, Leaneira." A part of her wanted him to stop calling her that, but she was very firm in her decision that no one save her brother and friends could be so familiar with her.

Lea stared. Was that supposed to mean something to her?

Chiron shook his head slightly. "As for the Sea God, well that would be your Father."

"A deadbeat."

They both winced, looking to the sky. "Ahh, in a manner of speaking." Luke gave her a considering glance as Chiron turned back to her. "That is neither here nor there. Your Father would be Lord Poseidôn. God of the Sea, earthquakes, floods, drought and horses."

"And the pitchfork." She remembered that now. "There was a glowing green pitchfork involved."

"The Trident. Your Father's symbol of power and claiming mark."

"Horses," she said instead, not wanting to know why her Father had the devil's pitchfork as a symbol of power. "So, he's what? Your king or something? It's a little iffy since you have a human body."

"He's actually my brother," Chiron stated dryly. Lea blinked.

Did horses run in the family?

Was she going to turn into a horse?

Lea hummed, turning back to Luke. "Where is your, um, dad? He brought me here though I don't know why."

"He was taken to Olympos with his brothers, Lord Apollo and Mr. D."

"Mr. D?"

"Lord Dionysos," Chiron said. "The camp director."

"Okay," Lea breathed. The gods were real. She was somewhat coming to terms with that. "So he just dropped me off here to go up a mountain? I'm pretty sure that history class stated there wasn't a kingdom above the mountain."

"The entrances to the Heavens are well guarded," Luke told her. "A plethora of gods stand guard of them. Herakles, the Hôrai, and a few more. They are hidden from the eyes of mortals above the mountain though the current gate is no longer there."

Lea hummed, turning back to Chiron. "Why are they there and when can I leave?"

Luke and Chiron shifted uncomfortably. "Well, that's the hard part. It's complicated."

Lea smiled with all teeth. "Well, uncomplicate it. I don't think wherever this is would be willing to come down for kidnapping charges and pedophilia because I am still very much a child, Pony man, and this is something my Mother would wear." Probably. Her mother didn't like getting dressed up that often.

"The gods are voting to see if you would be allowed to live," Luke informed her though Chiron cringed and gave the boy a sharp look.

"Allowed to live?"

"Uh, well you see," the boy stammered before slumping when Chiron didn't come forth to immediately save his foot in mouth syndrome. "There's a law. Somewhat of a law. That the sons of Rhea. She was the Queen of the Titans and—"

"Mother of the gods who kept getting eaten except the one she traded with a rock?"

"Yes, them. Your Father is the Sea God, Poseidôn, and a few decades ago, he and his brothers made an oath to not have any more children."

"And Poseidôn went ahead and had not one, but two kids," Lea stated dryly. "A two for one special. Buy one get one free type of deal."

Luke winced but nodded.

"Well, I don't know what they hope to accomplish with their vote. Percy is missing, and apparently—" here her voice took on a mocking tone as she deepened it to sound like her soulmate. "My God is a child of the heavens and a God of the netherworld."

She shook her head, "I'm assuming the netherworld means hell which you know all those christians claimed that I would go when they learned that I am an atheist."

"You can't be the child of a god and the soulmate of a god and still somehow be an atheist."

She snorted under her breath. The gods, she thought mockingly. can go fuck themselves!

"And your brother is not missing," Luke tagged on. Lea sat up straight, eyes boring into his intently. "You know where my brother is?" She turned to look at Chiron. "You kidnapped my brother? I knew there was something weird about you! You watched him too much. Pervert. Where is he?"

Though before anything else could be said, three people—men—aliens, because she still wasn't putting off that option no matter what she said aloud— appeared in the room.

The three of them were easily the most beautiful beings she had ever seen, and Lea had once seen Beyoncé at the New Years' Ball Drop. That was—of course—not mentioning herself whenever she bothered to look in a mirror.

"What are you wearing," the one at the front of the trio spluttered. It took a moment for Lea to realize just who it was, familiar voice aside since this was different from what she was used to. Her face lit in a furious blush once she noticed that he—her soulmate because who else could make her mark flare up so— and his companions were naked saved for the cloaks that were barely covering their privates from view.

"What are you wearing," Lea demanded as she swiftly turned her face away. "And how do you look younger!"

And he did. From the brief glance that she had, he had appeared a little older than twelve like she did.

Shape Shifting aliens, then.

There was a slight pause before she felt something brush over her. A quick glance showed that she had been changed into a t-shirt and when she moved her legs, she had on shorts as well. A finger was pressed under her chin, bringing her gaze back to those familiar green irises that she had quickly grown used to.

He was back to the form that she was used to and thankfully, wearing clothes as he sat down on the bed beside her. His two companions stood around the room and Lea raised a brow at them before turning back to her soulmate.

"So," she mused. "A god?"

"Yes," her soulmate stated. "I did tell you."

Lea hummed, eyes darting over his face before looking at the other two gods. "So, I'm allowed to live then? If not, I want rosemary and laurel flowers on my wreath. Oh, and I want Beyoncé to do my eulogy with Raven Symone and Ke$ha over the songs. And don't put wings on me or photoshop me onto the clouds on my obituary. And–"

"You're not dying," he interrupted. There was a small smile on his face as he looked at her. "I will not lie to you. It came very close. You mayhaps would have been metamorphosed into new flora as it happened before as not even, we, gods, could separate two souls such, but in the end, you will not die."

She didn't understand what his words about flora meant, but it must have been something significant as both Luke and the newest blondie flinched from his words.

"You didn't tell me that you knew where my brother was," Lea said instead. "And since you are a god, something that I still very much doubt, then you can possibly tell me where my Mother is also. And maybe you can explain why you brought me near the pedophile zebra dude."

"Pedophile zebra dude," the newest blondie said, and Lea zeroed in on him. His voice sounded familiar somehow though she was sure she had never met this being a day in her life. "I have been remiss. Do excuse me, I am Apollôn. God of prophecy and oracles, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and the protection of the young."

Lea scrunched her nose. He was important too and she highly doubted that she would remember all of that. Still, the name sounded familiar. "OH! You're like the OG Simp! Didn't some girl make you swear an oath so that she could keep her virginity from you?"

"It has been a while since anyone brought up Sinópi," Apollôn mused. "Though I find I am not fond of being named the 'OG Simp'."

"Tis more surprising that that's the story she remembers of you," the other newcomer pointed out. "Most tend to point out Huákinthos and Daphnê. Kassandra on the occasion."

"I have no idea who any of them are nor do I know who you are, sir, xe, it. What do I call you?"

Those purple eyes narrowed considerably. "Well for one, I am not an it. I am Lord Dionysos. The god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy."

"The camp director," she noted. Her eyes moved over his form. He was unfairly pretty. All three of them were. Dionysos had beautiful long dark hair that curled slightly and framed his face, bringing attention to his lavender-shaded eyes. He somehow had baby fat that still clung to his cheeks yet a sharpen cheekbone that could cut steel. She supposed it must not be his usual form as Luke stood gaping in the corner.

And Apollôn had very blond hair that was currently woven into a braid down his back. It was incredibly long as she could see the tip of the braid curling around his hip. He had eyes that shifted between blue and gold as if they could not pick a color hidden behind a curtain of blond hair that made his fringe.

Lea would not admit it, even to herself, that there was something about him that made her want to run away. As if he was hiding his temper behind a dazzling visage. He was dangerous.

And her soulmate, Hermês, had curly light-brown hair that sat atop his head and cradled his face. Some of the curls framed his face in a way that she could not help, but to notice his emerald-colored eyes and she found herself moving to brush one of the curls out of his face before she could stop herself.

He allowed it, smiling slightly as he caught her hand in his.

"Khaíre, Leaneíras," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the palm of her hand. "Tis seems as I have caught you."