From Origins (Descendant Prophecies Book 3) (23 page)

It had been
a month since we locked the nightmares away, and it really felt like it had just been a dream. Having everything back to normal and not having to constantly look over my shoulder gave me peace I hadn’t had in a long time. Needing some time to relax and spend time with my family and friends, I’d decided to sit out the last semester and continue next school year.

It had been rewarding, spending time with Mason at the restaurant and learning how to run it. I’d never imagined all the detail and hard work that went along with running such a fine, elegant restaurant. It also was nice to be a normal couple and do what normal couples did, instead of killing monsters.

There was a lot of construction in Bella Amore; the floors had to be replaced, and the walls had to be re-constructed and painted. Luckily, the outside structure was still good as new.

“I can’t believe we open next week,” Nick said, straightening the black picture frame on the wall. Looking down at the hardwood floor, he smudged something I couldn’t see with his shoe.

Everett came out from behind the cash register. “What I can’t believe is that the three gods are actually going to work part time at our restaurant.” He raised his brows. I could understand his lack of excitement. The gods argued with the Grand brothers about how things should be run in the restaurant, but they had finally come to an understanding.

“Did someone mention the gods?” Hades walked in, pulling down his sunglasses, with Zeus behind him.

No one could ever tell they were gods. With tight jeans and dark gray polo shirts forming to their chiseled chests, I had to admit, they looked gorgeous.

“Nope…and you’re both early.” Mason shoved the menus into the wooden rack where the hostess would be standing to greet the customers.

“We thought we’d grace you with our presence and make your day,” Hades said smoothly, giving me a kiss on the cheek. He gave me a kiss every time I saw him, so it wasn’t a big deal. Although it was more like a big brother type of kiss, Mason always frowned upon that. I thought I heard a growl from him this time.

“I think Hades should work in the kitchen,” I suggested, tugging a strand of hair to my face, trying to hide my blush.

“Why?” Hades demanded to know, arching his brows.

“Because, you’ll either end up flirting with our female customers or they’ll end up flirting with you.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? I can bring more business.”

“No, thanks. Just make sure you do your job and don’t create any problems, please.” Mason added one more chair to the table, then paused. “You drove here, right?”

Hades dangled his car keys and placed them back into his pocket. “Of course, I did.”

The Grand brothers had bought each god a brand new car and taught them how to drive. If they ever got pulled over by a cop, they could use their powers and make the cop forget.

“I drove too, to get extra practice,” Zeus informed. “It’s not so bad.”

“Come sit with us. We’re having lunch.” Mason patted the top of the chair with wood trimming.

“We didn’t come to eat, but if you’re offering, then thanks.” Zeus sat at the head of the table, followed by Hades.

The door swung open. Everett must have slipped into the kitchen just before the gods got there. “Hungry anyone?” He held a tray with plates of food, and stopped from walking any further. “Zeus. Hades. You’re early. Just in time for lunch.”

“Here. Let me help you.” Nick took the tray from Everett and passed the plates filled with chicken, rice, and mixed vegetables to the center, for family style dining. “That looks delicious,” Hades said, waiting for us to sit.

Everett went back to the kitchen and came back with another plate. “Are you excited to work here?”

Hades took a bite from a drumstick. “I need to make money; therefore, I must work. I’ve never done any labor job before. But I think escorting the ladies to their tables won’t be a problem.” He winked at me.

“Some will have a husband or a date, so you behave.” I shook my index finger in a scolding way.

“Yes, ma’am.”

For some reason, I didn’t believe him.

“Surprisingly, I actually enjoy cooking,” Zeus threw in. “I’m coming up with my own recipes.”

“Yeah…about that.” Everett looked nervous. “Let’s just stick to mine…please.”

“The gods are only working once a week, so it won’t be a problem,” Mason said, taking a scoop of rice with his spoon.

“They can’t live on that.” Nick leaned back in his seat. “That’s nothing.”

Mason shrugged, looking apologetic. “Oh…I forgot to tell you that I agreed to pay them a lot more than one day’s wages. I think we need to ease them into catering to real people.”

The conversation stopped abruptly when a noise came from the kitchen. It sounded like a pot had fallen, but that couldn’t be. All the pots and pans were hung from a fixture that was nailed to the ceiling.

“What was that?” Nick asked, frozen in place.

“Damn rats.” Everest grimaced. “We need to do something before we open. I found one, but couldn’t catch it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mason asked, standing up. “You know I can give it a dose of my shock without killing it.”

Everett gulped down the glass of water and swallowed. “My ego.”

“Your ego?” Mason chuckled. “Right now, the rat has a bigger ego than you. It knows it can get away. Let’s see how far he can run from me.”

I held onto Mason’s arm before he could leave. “Stop. Eat first.”

“It’s going to get away.” Mason frowned.

“It already did,” I giggled.

Mason curled his lips slowly, letting me know he agreed with me, and sat back down to eat.

“How’s everything at Mt. Olympus?” I asked.

“Everything is back to normal…the bickering, cursing, gossiping, and the partying.” Zeus shrugged. “Sounds like one of the television shows Hades watches.”

I spooned some rice into my mouth. “Do you have any questions?”

“Can you tell me what school is like?” Hades asked, placing his fork down. He was the first one to finish. “Why do the men wear a ribbon thing that hangs down from their neck? If you have a television at your home, why do you go to another place and watch it on a big screen? Why do some cars make noises, and when they do, why do all the cars pull to the side?”

“Who wants to answer?” Nick chuckled. “That’s a lot of questions in one breath.”

Everett started to explain, when we were interrupted with the same noise. This time I stood up.

“Where are you going?” Mason asked, gripping my wrist.

“I need to fill my glass.”

“I’ll get it.” Mason excused himself and left.

Clank! Clank! Clank! The sound of numerous dishes falling rang in the air.

“Looks like the little rat was faster than Mason,” Nick snorted. “It’s smatter than you, Mason! You can’t catch it,” Nick yelled.

We all laughed aloud, until suddenly, the ground started to sway. I thought it was in my mind at first, but then the ground shook like an earthquake…then got even worse.

“Shit. It’s an earthquake.” Everett got ready to duck under.

“Mason!” I yelled. “Forget the rat. Come here!”

When there was no answer from Mason, I ran to him, almost stumbling a couple of times. My body thrashed against the wall when I entered the kitchen. I was shocked to feel a hurricane-like wind twirling everything about, catching everything in its way. Utensils, pans, spices, and even the leftovers from what Everett had cooked were spinning with the speed of the wind.

“Mason! Where are you?” I hollered over the noise.

“Sky!” I heard, but I couldn’t locate where he was.

A shoe appeared in my sight…jeans…then a brown sweater. To my relief, I saw that Mason was fine, but I wasn’t. Something was pulling me. I could feel the strong tug on my body from behind me. When I turned to look, I could see a hole that was getting bigger, and endless darkness that would swallow me up. I tried shooting with my volts, fire, and even water, but whatever was holding me would not budge.

“Mason!” I screamed.

“Sky. I’m coming.” That was what I heard.

The kitchen’s double doors shot open. Nick’s eyes went from Mason crawling on the floor, and then to me. He tried to enter, but the wind wouldn’t let him in. Every time he stuck his feet or hands inside, it pushed him back out. Everett, Hades, and Zeus tried to enter as well, but the same thing happened to them.

I managed to give Mason my hand when he extended his arm to me. Planting his feet a distance apart on either side, he wrapped his arms around my body like a blanket.

“Let go, Mason, or you’ll end up sucked in,” I said aloud.

“I’m not letting you go, Sky. Don’t let go, you hear me? If you go, I go. Don’t you remember? Wherever you go, I follow. My heart lives inside you. When I count to three, light up with everything you’ve got. Give me your best love shock, baby. One…two…three!”

Mason’s body glowed with mine, making the intensity of the volts light up the whole kitchen…so bright that our light took up every inch. Mason and I were thrown, sliding, across the tile floor. Everything in midair dropped to the ground, and the wall closed as if nothing ever happened.

Our hearts pounded against our chests in unison, as our breaths escaped in relief. Fear written on our faces had been replaced by disbelief. Still on top of Mason’s body, my muscles began to relax, but I couldn’t help the tremors that controlled me.

“You didn’t have to make a mess in the kitchen and give us a show. All you had to do was let us know you wanted to be alone,” Nick joked, then his tone changed. “But seriously…both of you okay? And what the hell was that?”

Mason helped me up. “Are you hurt?” When I shook my head, he turned to Nick and Everett. “I have no freakin’ clue. Do you know, Hades? Zeus? You have enemies, don’t you?”

Hades’s eyes flamed up. He really needed to learn how to control that. “Are you blaming me?” He leaned in, standing in a challenging stance.

Nick pushed his way through the narrow space between Mason and Hades. “We’ve got a huge problem and we’re not adding more mess to this mess. We’re opening in one week. We need to get our shit together. Zeus, please ask the Oracles to come here. We need them to investigate and find out what caused the black hole. Meanwhile, I pray this doesn’t happen again.”

“Nick is right,” Zeus added. “Let’s try to clean this place up and find some answers. I’ll ask the Oracles to come here.”

Mason and Hades backed away, turning their backs on each other at the same time. We all started to clean up the mess. I grabbed a broom and swept the broken dishes to a pile, then picked up some utensils and placed them on the stone counter. But while I was cleaning, I couldn’t help the panic creeping along my spine. My muscles became tight and I couldn’t shake the fear growing inside me…building up until something burst through the wall. Chunks of wood and cement were thrown across space.

Something hard hit the side of my head, knocking me down. My vision became blurry and humming sounds filled my ears. Dazed and dizzy, I managed to hold onto the counter and pull myself up to see…what in the world? I blinked my eyes because it was so unfathomable; a giant fist had punched through the empty black space. It happened so fast that my judgment was out of whack.

“Mason!” I screamed from the top of my lungs. The huge hand was so big that it had completely wrapped around Mason’s body with its fingers. I could only see Mason’s head and his arm pressing on top, trying to get out. Lunging toward it, I was able to jump on it and held onto Mason’s arm.

The hand vacillated from side to side, knocking and blocking others from helping Mason escape. No matter what we tried to do, there was no effect.

“Get out!” I tugged and yanked the top finger as I felt it sliding back into the hole.

“I can’t,” Mason said, trying to twist and turn to loosen himself. “I can’t even light up. Sky, get down.”

“No, Mason.” I grabbed his hand, panicking, as terror pricked achingly through me. “Don’t let go. Wherever you go, I follow, too.” I was afraid for Mason. We had no idea what had happened, and not knowing what it was or where it came from was the worst. We wouldn’t even know how to search for him.