Legacy

Chapter 2: Haha, a Sexian Poem is Trying to Kill Me

This kind of goes without saying, but I tend to zone out. A lot. So when everyone is staring at you expectingly, you get really good at coming up with crap to spit out. "Um. I think that's... very uh interesting... idea." I muttered. Wow, I had gotten rusty. Chiron, back in wheelchair mode, gave me a "you can do better than that" look. Camilla frowned at me. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and she had her hands pinching her nose bridge while shaking her head. She looked so much like Aunt Hazel, and it was scary. Her gold and brown eyes flicked up to meet mine, then back down in disappointment. Her twin brother Salvatore (or Sal for short; Sally when we want to mess with him) gave me a sheepish look. I looked around and saw everyone looking at me. Enoli cleared his throat and tried to get the meeting back on track. "Um Cast, Cami was asking about a plan of action?" The truth is, I was stumped. I'm not as smart as my mom. I don't even have any cool powers. I have no clue why they expect me to be anything like my parents. "I guess the next step is to pick who goes on the quest?" I said. I felt a "duh" roll across the room. Bianca, who usually stayed mostly quiet, spoke up. "This one feels... different." We all perked up and looked up at Bianca. She doesn't usually comment on these things, but when she does, we know to listen. She seemed uncomfortable with the sudden attention, but a warm smile from Chiron boosted her confidence. "This prophecy, it's shorter than usual. It's called a sexain poem." This earned a chuckle from me Esperanza, who I had almost forgotten was there. Except for the constant jingle coming from her pockets. She always kept several pieces of scrap metal in her heavy-duty utility belt. Cami shot us a dirty look and nodded to Bianca to continue. "A sexain is a six-line stanza that is not the final lines of a sonnet." "Okay but what does that mean for us?" Esperanza chimed in. Bianca almost looked mad. "It means" she began through gritted teeth, "that the prophecy is not complete." My heart sank. All of that, and were not done? This is probably how Mom and Dad felt. Chiron decided to intervene at that moment. "I think that is enough for tonight. You all need sleep for the coming week." Cami and Enoli began to protest, but Chiron insisted. I mean, I wasn't going to say no to sleep. With that, we all went our separate ways. 

But of course, Chiron had other plans for me. "Cast," his voice echoed through the house. "You stay." I closed my eyes in defeat and turned around to face him. Sal clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a solemn look. I sighed and walked back into the house. Chiron was waiting for me, back in centaur mode. "Yes sir?" I asked cautiously. Chiron gave me an inquisitive look, trying to read my face. "I think you know what I'm going to say." I was so tired of people thinking I knew what they were talking about. I started to say how I did not in fact understand what he was trying to telepathically communicate with me when he interrupted me. "You can't go on this quest, Cast." My head spun. Chiron was pretty reserved with what he would allow me to do, but holding me back from a quest that specified me and my friends was beyond protection. "Chiron I-" I started "I understand how you may think this is unfair, but it is in your best interest." I could feel my face getting hot. "You all expect me to be some great demigod, but you won't let me on any quests! I don't understand. What am I supposed to be? Some guy in the chair?" I could feel my heartbeat getting faster. Blood rushed in my ears and I felt this gut-wrenching pain in well, my gut. When I opened my eyes again, Chiron was covered head to hoof in water. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, I was gone. How the hell did I just do that?