Origins Unkown

chapter 6

Ten years later

Everyday the boys grew. The adults pretended to be happy and normal, but the boys knew better. They were outside playing in the garden when Cayden suddenly stopped. At ten years old he had grown to look at lot like his father, but had his mother's attitude.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Acheron asked wiping sweat from his forehead. At eleven years old, he was very handsome. He looked like his father too, but had his mother's eyes and stubbornness.

"I think the adults are hiding stuff from us." Cayden said.

"Well, I know mine are. What do you think is going on?" Marc asked joining them. As the oldest, at twelve years old, he looked so much like his father you would think he was a clone. He had his mother's determination though, which Rylan hated.

"I think whatever it is, it's big. I heard Uncle Roman talking to himself in the library one night. He was saying 'no. that won't work they would kill each other'." Acheron said mimicking Roman's voice perfectly.

They all sat down in a triangle. Marc closed his eyes and in a few seconds a tray with cold lemonade appeared.

"Wow!" Cayden and Acheron said in unison.

"What, you guys can't do that?" Marc asked laughing. They shook their heads and took a glass of lemonade and gulped it down.

"I can't do that, but I can make stuff grow." Acheron said wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Cool, do it. Make this corn grow." Marc said.

Acheron closed his eyes and the cornstalk began to slowly grew until it had ten cornhusks visible.

"Wow! How come we never showed each other this stuff before?" Marc asked looking at Cayden and Acheron.

"I don't know about you two, but I didn't because I can't do either of the things you guys do." Cayden said quietly.

"What can you do?" Acheron asked.

"I can make lightening and small flames come from my hands. I guess that's why I have to wear these things on my hands all the time." Cayden answered shyly.

"That's still cool. I can't do that. Can you?" Acheron looked at Marc.

"Nope. Let's see." Marc said smiling at Cayden.

Cayden closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He removed his arm gloves and held his hands out in front of him. He closed his eyes again and lightening and flames danced off his fingertips. Cayden opened his eyes and flexed his fingers and the lightening and flames danced in a circle around them.

"Boys! Lunch." Tess yelled. The boys jumped and the lightening flame disappeared. They laughed. They jumped to their feet and ran back to the house. Tess watched the boys take turns cleaning up. They were whispering to each other and smiling.

"What are you three up to?" Tess asked with her hands on her hips in such a mother fashion.

"Uh, nothing, just trying to decide what to do after lunch." Marc answered quickly.

"Oh. Well I'm glad you boys can keep yourselves entertained so easily." She said trying to catch one of their eyes. They avoided her gaze easily and carefully.

Tess left the kitchen and joined the other adults in the living room. "I think the boys are up to something." She announced after a shot of whiskey.

"Like what?" Drake asked laughing.

"I don't know, but Marc lied to me just now when I asked them what they were in there whispering about." She said anger rising in her voice.

"How do we find out without them knowing? They obviously don't want us to know what they are up to; otherwise Marc would not have lied." Rylan said

"We could follow them. I can do it without them seeing or hearing me." Shadow said smiling.

"This is sad." Roman said laughing.

"That it is." Drake said shaking his head.

"Let's have lunch." Twilight said laughing.

When they entered the kitchen, the boys got quiet.

"Who's hungry?" Twilight asked looking at the boys with a smile. The boys simply smiled up at her.

After lunch was finished, the boys ran out of the house like their pants were on fire.

"Well, I'm on, I guess." Shadow said smiling as she faded into the shadows. She floated out of the room and made her way to where the boys were.

"That's just creepy. I don't know how you deal with that one, John." Drake said laughing.

"I'm used to it." John said laughing with him.

The boys stopped at the end of the garden area.

"Do you think this is far enough?" Acheron asked.

"It should be. The adults are probably having their noon drink." Marc said laughing.

Shadow smiled. The boys knew their routine better than they did.

"Ok who wants to go first?" Marc asked.

"We could do youngest to oldest?" Acheron said smiling mischievously.

"Great. That means me first." Cayden said rolling his eyes. "What should I try?"

"For this round, why don't we try things we've never done before? Like Cayden could try to move things with his mind and make a small earthquake." Acheron suggested.

"Yeah, we each could try to do one thing the other two can do. Let's start." Marc said sitting down. The other two sat down and made their triangle unconsciously.

Shadow realized then that they were practicing their powers by themselves, which was not good. She quietly ran back to the house.

Cayden closed his eyes and focused on moving a rock. It trembled, but didn't move. "Well, that sucked." He said frowning. Marc reached out and touched his arm.

"Now try." Marc said quietly, closing his eyes.

Cayden sighed and tried again. This time the rock fizzled with electricity and flew out of the triangle leaving a flame trail behind it.

"Wow that was very cool." Marc said smiling at Cayden.

"I bet we can all do that, as long as who ever has the original power is touching the other." Acheron said, still in awe.

"I wonder what we could do if we stood and all touched? You know make a triangle." Cayden asked smiling.

Shadow came busting into the house.

"They're practicing their powers. And not just their own. They are trying to do each others too." She said trying to catch her breath.

"Oh my. What should we do?" Twilight asked with wide eyes.

"We make them show us what they can do." Roman said simply.

"How?" Shadow asked as she took a drink from John.

"Simple. We all go down there and watch." Rylan said with a devilish smile. They all looked around the room at each other for a minute, then all rose and headed outside.

"The sun will be up in about five hours." Rylan said quietly.