Lies [Sequel to Secrets]

Part Forty:

Part Forty:

Sammy was beyond shocked. He had gotten the feeling before that Jaz and Michael were somehow related, but after her explanation, it had all become clearer.

Zoe and Alex hauled Charlie into an upright position and started carrying him towards where Jaz was heading. Sammy looked back at Michael who shrugged, and so they walked after them.

"You two look so much alike." Sammy commented to Michael.

"I know." Michael sighed. "It's just ... my parents never told me that I had another sister. There's still a chance that Jaz and I might not be related though, but even then, I feel like I have this weird connection to her, and it will somehow snap if I don't solidify it."

Sammy understood what Michael meant. His younger twin sisters Emily and Maria had to do everything together. They were absolutely inseparable. If one of them jumped off a cliff, the other would definitely follow.

Suddenly, a giant wall came out of the mist and loomed overhead. It, like most of the other cliffs and paths in Tartarus, was a muddy brick red. Jaz was in the lead, and so when she reached a small crack in the cliff, Sammy raised his eyebrows. She lived in a crack?

But he had thought wrong.

When he stepped through, Sammy's breath was taken away from him. They were in a large room. It wasn't exactly girly, but it was obvious that Jaz liked the colour purple. The walls were rocky and cave-like, plus the ceiling was high up, but the floor was made of plain wood.

In front of Sammy was a small kitchen unit. To the left of that, a purple curtain divided the main room from a smaller, more personal section with a bed and a dresser. Another area was curtained off to the right of the kitchen, but Sammy could see a bathroom peeking out from behind it. Near the entrance was a small sitting area with a few couches and a display wall full of weapons.

"Wow." Sammy said.

"Put him over there." Jaz said to Zoe and Alex, before dashing off to the kitchen. The two girls laid Charlie on the couch and Zoe checked his pulse quickly. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"He's still with us."

"Good to hear." Jaz called from the other side of the room where she was shoving through a cupboard. She pulled out a medical kit and then dashed back over to Charlie.

"Do you have any ambrosia or Nectar?" Alex asked.

"Right here." Jaz replied breathlessly, pulling a bottle of nectar out. She unwrapped the jacket from the wound and winced, then uncapped the bottle and dribbled a bit onto the scar that was there.

Alex walked over to Sammy and he put his arm around her shoulders.

"He'll be okay." He whispered to her.

Michael crashed onto the other couch and Zoe sat on the arm of it. Sammy pulled Alex towards the couch and quickly unwrapped his arm as they sat down, squishing in between Michael and Alex.

Jaz finished pouring the nectar on Charlie's wound and then grabbed a bandage roll. She wrapped it around his shoulder, then went back over to the kitchen and grabbed a cloth. Soaking it under some cold water, she came back and laid it over his forehead.

"That's the best I can do." She sighed, sitting in an armchair opposite the others. "Now, lets introduce ourselves. I'm Jaz, obviously."

"Alex Valdez." Alex replied, stiffening under Sammy's arm.

"Is your full name Alexandra?" Jaz asked.

"Yeah, but I prefer Alex."

"Okay. I know he's Michael, and Zoe's over there, so you are?" Jaz looked at Sammy expectantly.

"Samuel Zhang. But I prefer Sammy." He said, putting his arm around Alex protectively. She relaxed into his side.

"Are you two dating?" Jaz raised her eyebrows.

Sammy felt a blush rise on his cheeks. "Uh, yeah." He said.

Jaz's eyes lit up in a devilish grin. She paused, then said something that had everyone puzzled: "Salex. I ship it."

"What?" Michael asked. Zoe only rolled her eyes.

Jaz laughed lightly. "Being raised by Aphrodite can take a toll on you." She glanced at Charlie. "And who's he?"

"My brother." Alex snapped. "His name's Charlie."

"Okay." Jaz said. Then she looked at Michael and Zoe quizzically. "Zocheal?" She asked.

Zoe went beet red. "Ew, no!"

"She's like a sister to me!" Michael looked horrified.

"Oh." Jaz looked a bit crestfallen. "Zoe, do you happen to-"

"NO." Zoe cried. "No, no, no. Don't you dare."

"Zarlie." Jaz said.

"You're impossible." Zoe sighed.

"Of course I am." Jaz giggled.

Suddenly, there was a small moan.

Zoe leaped to her feet and dashed to Charlie's side as he raised his hand and felt the cloth on his forehead. His eyes opened and he looked around. "Where are we?" He murmured.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Zoe asked urgently.

"Last thing I remember: wanting to save you." Charlie grinned a stupid grin. He looked up at her.

"You idiot." Zoe laughed, tears forming in her eyes. "You stupid Flower-pot head idiot."

"And you're still an owl."

"Flower-pot."

"Owl-head."

"Dickhead."

"Hey!" Charlie laughed, then started coughing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Zoe asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Zoe helped him sit up. He looked at Jaz. "Who's she?"

"I'm Jasmine, Michael's twin sister. But call me Jaz." Jaz grinned, waving.

"Hi. I'm Charlie." Charlie replied. He looked at his shoulder, then at Zoe. "Should I? I could heal it completely right now."

"You have healing powers?" Jaz questioned.

"Uh, huh. Hold on." Charlie put his left hand on his right shoulder and shut his eyes. He grimaced, and then pulled his hand away after a few moments.

Zoe unwrapped the bandages. The wound was completely healed. She sat down next to him and addressed the group.

"Alright, team. We have a lot of work to do. And now that we have Jaz on our side," Jaz smiled, "we should be able to track down Tartarus and defeat him. But for now, lets have some rest. We'll set off in the morning."

"Here, here!" Michael cried.