Chapter 2: “You’re a wizard, Claire”

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

I froze and I could feel the color drain from my face. I knew the voice was directed at us. How did it know we were here? At that moment, I'll admit what came out of my mouth would not have made auntie Cally proud. I cursed my idiot brother for, once again, dragging me into his dumb shenanigans. My throat felt like it has a tennis ball lodged inside it.

I swallowed hard and nodded at Julian who then pushed open the door. Mother was standing by the balcony door beside father who was leaning against a red cedar bookshelf. She looked like a deer trapped in headlights. Shock, anger and fear flickered across her face as she stared at us speechlessly. Father ran his fingers tiredly through his raven black hair. His expression was a lot calmer than mother's, but he looked a lot older than I remembered as if all the stress and fatigue finally caught up to him. Then my eyes found the owner of the terrifying voice that beckoned us in. I stifled a scream.

How did I not notice him when I walked in? The man was standing in the open doorway of the balcony. He was tall, very tall. His blood red eyes gleamed in the shadows. Were those contacts? His pale blonde hair was long but was hastily tied back. Two curved black ram horns protruded from the sides of his head....wait...horns? I stared in disbelief.

Those were DEFINITELY horns.

"Uh, mother...who the hell is this weirdo and what in the bloody hell is going on here?" I couldn't stay quiet any longer. I already knew my cowardly older brother wouldn't be the one to break the silence.

Father sighed and glared at mother, "See, I told you they would find out with you being so loud."

Mother broke eye contact with us and returned father's glare. "Me being loud? I wouldn't be so loud if you made smarter decisions."

Great, it sounded like another argument was about to start. Julian finally found his voice again and cleared his throat, drawing our parents' attention to him.

"Please, dad...tell us what's going on. Who is this guy? Where are you guys going?"

Father sighed again and looked away, suddenly taking an interest at his dress shoes. "Well...do you remember when we used to read you two stories of all those myths and legends?"

How could we not? Those were the days when our parents were always home. I nodded, remembering the nights many years ago when mother would read us Greek myths as bedtime stories. Julian loved them so much that he would dress up as the heroes and pretend to slay mythological monsters.

"They are all real. Greek, Egyptian, Norse....all of them."

I didn't know whether I should laugh or not. This must be a joke, right? This had to be some sort of prank. I looked towards Julian's direction for guidance he looked just as lost as I am.

"What do you mean by real?" He asked cautiously, eyeing the blonde stranger. Father followed his gaze and looked at the horned man.

"This is Cychreides, he will be taking care of you while we're gone. He's going to take you two somewhere safe," father walked over to us and put his hand on my shoulder. His hand was trembling. I looked up at him with a sinking feeling in my gut.

"Neither if you have answered our question," I moved away from his hand. "What the bloody hell is going on here? What did you mean the myths are real?"

Mother grimaced as if her worst fears had came to life.

"I know this sounds insane but gods, monsters and all those mystical creatures exist," she said quietly. "We are going to go find your aunt Calliope. "

Now I was confused. Sweet aunt Calliope knew about this nonsense? What does she have to do with this?

"Calliope...."

My brother's tanned face turned ashen white as if he just saw a ghost.

Then I remembered something. When I was eight years old, aunt Calliope sat us both down beside her on the leather couch and read us The Iliad. We had came across the name Calliope and ten year old Julian proudly pointed to the name. "This lady has the same name as you, auntie! Are you named after the muse of epic poetry?"

Aunt Calliope has smiled warmly at both of us and said with a mischievous twinkle in her startling blue eyes, "Yes, I suppose I was. "

No way. If that was the case, she'd been thousands of years old, wouldn't she? Aunt Cally did not look a day past 25.

"Yes," father confirmed with a wry smile. "Calliope is a goddess. Your mother and I are Wizards and so are you two."