Chapter 1: Suspicious much?

"Julian! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I turned around hastily in surprise to see a dark figure standing a few feet away from me. Her features were hidden in the shadows of the dimly-lit hallway but I could tell she was not happy to be awake at this hour. My sister folded her arms across her chest and I put my index finger to my lips, signaling her to hush.

"Shhh, I'm trying to listen," I hissed and pressed my ear back to the door. Our parents were arguing again. This time, it was over something huge.

"Why are you eavesdropping?" Claire asked persistently. A ray of moonlight pierced through a window on the end of the hallway and settled on her face, revealing her famous miffed expression. "You got any idea what time it is?"

"They're planning on leaving, okay?" I said in exasperation as I turned to look at her. "Without us."

I didn't want to tell her until I knew more but this 15 year old was getting on my last nerve.

Our parents have always been a bit of a mystery to us but over time, we learned that asking questions gets us nowhere. We don't know what our parents do for a living. Don't get me wrong, we are far from poor as we live in a 7 bedroom manor with a 4 acre courtyard in the middle of upstate New York. Claire and I just kind of figured that they just got really lucky with a family inheritance or something. Our parents, Reid and Ingrid Athanasios, are almost never home. They are always.....somewhere. Again, We don't know where they go either. Every time we ask about their whereabouts, our caretaker, Aunt Calliope, would smile and say something like "You'll find out one day, just not today". Aunt Calliope wasn't really our aunt but she might as well be since she's practically been with us since, well, forever. Two weeks ago, she just disappeared. It was like she vanished into thin air. Her belongings and everything were still in their usual places in her room.

There were no signs of struggle or anything. She's just gone. When our parents found out, they rushed back. They have been acting strange ever since. I don't mean the usual oh-crap-someone's-missing kind of weird either. It was like they were afraid of something. Mom literally forced me to quit football at my high school so I can come home early. Claire had to quit theater because dad did not want her around, I kid you not, "disguised people". They have been constantly fighting since they been home too and tonight, I decided to investigate.

"Don't they always though?" My sister's emerald green eyes met mine and her eyebrows furrowed dramatically in a questioning manner. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"It's different this time," I whispered as quietly as I can so our parents can't hear us. "They were arguing something about a war, Aunt Calliope, gods and leaving us with some guy named Cychreides."

"Citrus rides?" One of her perfectly shaped eyebrows shot up. I rolled my eyes again.

"Cychreides. Now, shut up so I can hear what they're talking about."

"Well, scoot over then."

Claire shrugged and situated herself beside me so she too could listen. It seems that mom and dad has not heard our little bicker as they continued to argue.

"Reid, you know he can't be trusted! Remember what he did in Salamis?" Mom's voice protested. I could hear dad pacing around on the other side of the door. "The kids won't be safe with him."

"We have no choice, love." Dad's rich deep voice traveled through the door. He then sighed. "Cychreides, we've decided."

Then, I heard a voice that sent the chills down my spine. If a snake had the ability to speak, this is what it would sound like. The voice was raspy and dark like a combination of scales dragging across a wooden floor and the voice of someone recovering from a bad cough.

"Finally," the voice hissed and we heard a strange flapping sound. The noise ceased and the voice spoke again. "I was getting rather tired of waiting."

Mom made a sound of disgust. It was pretty obvious she didn't like this man. How did this guy get in there? I was sure nobody except mom and dad were in the master bedroom. Did this weirdo come in through the balcony? We're on the third floor, it couldn't be...

"Just because we decided to let you watch the children-" Dad was cut short by the raspy voice.

"Isn't it time you came in, offsprings?"