House of Forbiddens [COMPLETE NOVEL]

8: We're Not Children, We're Teens!

Ian

The woman paused, confusion spreading across her face. "What do you mean there are no children here?" She asked. "You're children!" To this, I shook my head.

"No, we're not children!" I exclaimed quickly. "We're too old to be children. We're.... teenagers!" She seemed even more confused by this.

"What do you mean? What's a teenager?" She asked warily. At this, I grinned.

"Well, a teenager is a person who's too grown up to be a child but not an adult. Ever heard of adolescence?" I asked. Riley jumped into the conversation.

"We're all older than 13, so we're all teenagers. That means we're not kids, so you don't want to eat us. We taste bad anyway." He assured her.

She made a face, and muttered to herself, "that one did taste horrible. Don't wanna go through that again. Terrible indigestion." She glared at us, and for a second I worried she wouldn't believe our story, but then disappeared just as instantly as she had came. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

Christine

Walking towards an abandoned building and watching it transform into an occupied business right before my eyes was... disconcerting, to say the least. I still wasn't used to all these magical things happening (though I have a feeling things like this will continue to happen, and I should get used to them). I wouldn't say I wanted my life to go back to normal, either- it may be foolish, but I want to experience true adventure. I'd say i'm getting it. I think I remember seeing brooms in the corner of that crazy store, and if they fly, I desperately want one. Oh well, i'll just have to deal with the disappointment of knowing I probably gave up the chance to own a flying broom.

As Kaden talked to the strange kids I turned to Audrey, feeling awkward.

"Do you know anything about her?" I asked, as we had walked in, I had realized exactly how strange she was. Letting kids she barely knew into her home, trusting them, and welcoming them into her family, but why?

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked.

"I mean all of you joining her family, finding dead kids on the road, how? Why?" I asked confused.

"It has something to do with her mom, I know that much," Audrey admitted, but before we could get any farther Kaden came back with the golden apple in hand.

With the apple in hand, we made our way back to the car.

"We're going back to the gun show! Since it's just down the street, we'll walk." Kaden called to her dad. Once we got back to the show, we made our way through the throng to where we had left Ares. We finally made it back over to him, we approached him, Audrey going first. She glanced at us, then turned to address Ares. "We found the apple, just like you said." She began. He turned towards us, interested now that he can benefit from helping us.

"Nice. That was quick, girl," he grumbled, then held out his hand.

Audrey hesitated, then said, "give us the information," as she quickly handed him the apple. He took a second to appraise it, turning it over, then muttered something under his breath and turned his attention back to us.

"Information, that's all you want? On why Scylla was in the Gulf?" he asked. We nodded back at him. Then, he shrugged, nonchalant and uncaring. "That was Eris," he told us. Kaden did a double take.

"Eris, goddess of strife?" She asked. Ares nodded.

"The one and only," he confirmed. "I didn't bother with why, but yeah, that was her. I felt it. She is my handmaiden, after all," he explained. Kaden and Audrey shared a look, and I was curious. Did they know her? Had they met her before? Goddess of strife sure didn't sound very pleasant.

"Where is she?" I asked. Ares turned his attention to me.

"I only promised you one piece of info, girls. Besides, I couldn't tell you, so don't waste your time." he stated coldly. "But you've been good to me. Saved me a fight with my girlfriend. So, i'll tell you this- she might be with her mother. I don't know or care, because I can summon her whenever I need her to do my dirty work, but if I don't see why she wouldn't be there. It's a possibility. Do with it what you will," with that, he waved a dismissive hand. "Get outta my sight, I'm through with you," he grumbled, and we hurriedly thanked him before profusely before darting away. We quickly made our way back to Mr. Kaden's-Dad who was waiting in the parking lot.

"Ready to head back?" he inquired, and Kaden nodded, climbing deftly into the passenger seat.

"Why don't we just teleport home?" I asked. Kaden turned around to look at me.

"We said that was only in emergencies, remember? She playfully ribbed.

"Oh yeah, that's right," I laughed. We informed her dad that it was Eris to blame for what was happening. He was silent for a second, then broke the silence:

"the goddess of strife is not just a monster. If she's behind this, you all need to be careful." he intoned. We nodded solemnly. Scylla had been a monster, and a terrifying one at that. This was a goddess with much more power, skill and cunning. I shuddered to think about why she had sent Scylla where we were that day. The remainder of the ride to Kaden's home passed uneventfully and quickly, the world whipping past our windows as we made our way through the labyrinth of suburb streets. I texted my parents that they could come pick me up, and jumped out of the car with everyone else. We made our way up to the door, and Kaden deftly unlocked the door. When we opened it, Riley, Ian, Jack, and everyone else home rushed into the foyer.

"Audrey! It's good to see you guys!" Jack warmly said with a smile. Riley stepped up beside him.

"Did you guys get the information?" He asked, and Kaden nodded with a lighthearted smile, but I would be willing to bet that it was from seeing them all alive than the information itself.

"Yup! We did." she confirmed. Finally, her dad made it in the door.

"Alright, Christine, your parents are waiting," he informed me. This seemed to greatly surprise some of my new friends, but I didn't think about it much as I waved goodbye to everyone and dashed out the door. "Hey, Christine!" my mom said happily as I climbed into the car, "did you have fun with Kaden?"

"Yeah, it was great!" I replied with a smile, and we drove off towards my home.

By: Nightsong