Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise (Oracle of Delphi #2), page 14
But one thing was very clear: the Laws were filthy rich.
Strafford guided their stallion toward the courtyard and pulled on his reins to signal it was time to land. Spitfire landed gracefully, spreading his wings to steady himself and then galloped, slowing down in increments until he trotted to a complete stop. The other pegs followed Spitfire's lead.
A group of boys, who couldn't have been any older than thirteen, instantly appeared from around the side of the mansion and started running toward them. At once, she recognized them as demigods. It was something about the aura of demigods that always called out to her and she was beginning to be constantly aware of when she was around them.
Once they were closer and each of them had begun to attend to a different pegasus, she noticed that they did not have omegas branded on their necks and frowned.
After dismounting, Strafford helped her down, then handed Spitfire's reins over to the boy who'd approached them. "Stable them. Make sure they're all fed and groomed."
"Yes, Your Highness." The boy bowed.
"I'll make sure they're taken care of, Prince," Anne Maria said, dismounting and looking around. Taking the reins of her peg, she gestured for the boys to lead the way. They headed for the stables, which Chloe assumed were located somewhere out of sight on the massive estate.
"They're orphs," she said, frowning up at Strafford.
Orphs, short for orphans, were the undeclared children of the gods that P.O.D.A, the Parents of Demigods Alliance, hired out to other gods who had use for their services as part of H.E.R.O (Honor for Every Rejected Outcast). Until their celestial parent declared them a hero, demigods were nobodies in Myth and had to accept being used by the gods as flunkies until they were branded with the golden omega that announced their status to the entire kingdom. She'd never liked the idea of gods using undeclared demigods as servants and now seeing that even the Laws kept orphs, disliked it even more.
"Chill, wan. Mortals workin' for a family where all of the children are demigods is not a good idea. Everyone here is either an icey or an orph."
She could see the reasoning in that, but still didn't like it and glared at him to express her disdain.
"They're treated very good here, and the alternative is less than favorable. Half the time, undeclared half-breeds turn out to be rebellious loose cannons. We'll ask Poppy Daffron all abou' it when we find her."
Point made, she let the subject drop.
They headed into the house. The butler, an icey named Carrington as Strafford had already informed her, was waiting for them by the grand front entrance to the mansion. He was an old man (how old, who knew) who was mostly bald except for a few tufts of white hair around the side. When his gentle brown eyes saw Chloe, he tried with no luck to smooth down the unruly patches of hair.
"Welcome home, Your Highness," he said to Strafford as the two of them entered the foyer with its shiny hardwood floors, massive chandelier hanging from a lofted crown molded ceiling and priceless heirlooms.
"I haven' been gone so long where you can start up with tha' business again," Strafford replied with a smile, stopping Carrington from bowing with a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Indeed, sir," the butler said, straightening. "Strafford it is then." When he got to her, he kissed her hand. "Miss Clever, they told me you were a beauty, but I must say, their praise did you little justice."
She blushed. "Thank you."
Carrington inclined his head, greeted the others in the same respectful way, then looked at Strafford. "Your mother and sisters are having their lunch now. Will you be joining them?"
Sisters? As in plural?
Strafford looked down a hall that led out of the foyer. He nodded. "Yeah. We will."
"Very good, sir. I will announce you."
"No need. Ma knows we're here."
"Of course, sir." The butler nodded to them, then started making his way up the winding staircase to their left, slowly but surely.
"Lunch. Brilliant." Ace rubbed his stomach. "Let's eat."
"I second that," Hector said.
"Motion passed," Theseus added.
"You three go on ahead," Strafford said. "Chloe and I have to do somethin' first."
"Does it involve talkin'?" Ace asked, then ran off laughing before Strafford could clobber him. The twins followed, chuckling with their own amusement.
"Ace is gonna catch a fist to the face one day," Strafford said, throwing his arm around her shoulders.
"Don't beat him up too bad. I like him." Her arms wrapped around his waist. She took a moment to enjoy his laurel scent.
"How abou' jus' enough to satisfy the urge?" he smiled at her. "Come with me this way."
He led her out of the foyer and into a study just past a formal living room with delicate, pricey furniture that people couldn't sit on without being quarantined first. The study was less fancy, but lavish still. It was mature and dark, with just a few added elements to give it a modern flavor. Strafford directed her around the huge mahogany desk that sat in the middle of the room and she plopped down in the posh desk chair.
"What are we doing in here?" She looked around, then up to find his eyes burning into her. She shook her head. "We are so not making out in your mom's house."
Strafford snorted. "Wan, if I wanted to tongue dance with you right now, I wouldn' even bother with explanations. I'd jus' help myself. You wouldn' fight it. You'd jus' pucker up." She gave him an annoyed look and he laughed. "You've stolen the heart of Strafford Law. Get used to statements like tha'." He turned and headed across the study. "I thought you might want to call your ma now. Before you met mine."
She looked at the old-fashioned rotary phone sitting on the corner of the desk. "Yeah, I do. I guess now is as good a time as any." She reached for the phone.
"Wha' are you doing?"
She looked up, confused. "Calling my mom."
"From a landline? Really? When we're probably the most wanted fugitives in Georgia right now?"
She hadn't thought of that and felt stupid because of it. "So I'm assuming a cell phone would be best."
"Pretty much."
Strafford headed toward the far right wall. Once there, he slid aside a painting to reveal a safe. Instead of a combination dial, the safe required his thumb print. Once the back-lit pad had scanned his finger, the safe clicked open and Strafford rumbled through it until he found what he was looking for.
He closed the safe, moved the painting back into place, then returned to her side. "Here you are."
He handed her a cell phone so new, the plastic still covered the touchscreen. It was sleek, thin, and black and had "untraceable" written all over it.
"It's a prepaid and should be charged up. Jus' power it on and talk away." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll give you a lil' privacy, yeah?"
She nodded. "Okay." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then left the study.
Chloe was sure she was the only teenager alive who had never owned a cell phone. But there had never been a reason to. Smurfey had been her only friend and the two of them had never been ones to hold long conversations on the phone. Or in person, for that matter. Plus, Chloe had liked being cut off from the world of text messages and video phoning. These things connected people and she hadn't wanted to be connected to anyone.
However, a lack of a phone didn't mean she didn't know how to use one. Her mother had one and she wasn't totally inept and was able to operate the device with little problem.
Beth answered on the first ring.
"Did you blow up the Adel police station?!"
Chloe cringed. "Hey, Mom. How'd you know it was me?"
"The number is blocked, who else would it be? Where are you calling from?"
"Somewhere safe, and no, we didn't blow up the station. On purpose."
"Chloe Clever..."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No, but they could've been and the damage is outrageous."
She sighed with relief. "Strafford is gonna pay for the damages."
"He doesn't have that kind of money."
She looked around the lavish study. Thought about his magical pants pockets. "He does, believe me."
"There's a warrant out for his arrest."
"We figured."
"There's one out for you too."
She swallowed. "We'll deal with that when the time comes."
Her mother paused. She cleared her throat. "Have you found Benjy yet?"
"I've only been gone a few hours, Mom. I'm going to need some time."
"How much?"
"As much as it'll take to find him. But trust me, we will find him. We already have a lead."
"My phone is being tapped so don't say any more than that."
"Ms. Clever!" She heard a male voice boom from her mother's side of the connection. She couldn't tell if it was Lockhart or not.
"If I was listening in on this call, I'd say it sounded like you were aiding and abetting fugitives," she said with a faint smile.
"I don't care what it sounds like. I've done nothing but aid in the search for my missing son. There's no crime in that and they know it, otherwise they would've already disconnected us. But they won't because they're trying to trace the call."
"Ms. Clever!"
"If this phone was traceable, Strafford wouldn't have let me call you from it."
"I know. It's Detective Smithers who doesn't know."
"Detective Smithers?"
"Savannah detective. I'm a little bit out of Detective Lockhart's jurisdiction right now, which is just fine with me."
She grinned. "I love you, Mama."
Her mother's tone softened. "I love you too. Now find Benjy and come back to me, yeah?"
"I'm on it." She could practically hear her mother smile, then the line clicked and fell silent.
Chloe stayed on until the time stamp started flashing, signaling the end of the call. Then she placed the phone on the desk and sat back in the chair.
She breathed deep to still her racing heart and played with the notion that her mom was hiding something. Beth's cooperation proved it. Any other mother would have been flipping out right now, insisting that she come back home and face the music. Most mothers would have never let their daughter leave. Especially not after four months spent not knowing whether their daughter was dead or alive.
But most mothers weren't Beth Clever and Chloe was convinced that her mom knew more about her, and probably Benjy too, than she was letting on. But she was going to keep this to herself for now; at least, until she was sure.
She had expected to see Strafford waiting right outside of the study for her, but he was nowhere to be seen. So she walked toward the flurry of voices she heard coming from the end of the hall, feeling as though she had no other choice.
After passing a space that could've been considered a ballroom it was so huge, and stopping off to wash her hands and face in a bathroom too clean for use, she found a large, ornate dining room with a vaulted ceiling painted a rich maroon on the interior, a chandelier that clearly cost buttloads of money, and a beautiful antique table that could probably seat twenty with room to spare.
Everyone was seated around the table enjoying the delicious food spread out along the center of it. Strafford had his back to her and sat next to an empty antique chair. Obviously for her. Theseus was next and Anne Maria sat next to him, dressed in normal clothes.
Opposite them, between Ace and Hector, sat a little girl with long black hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. She looked about Benjy's age with dark freckles, light blue eyes, and the cutest dimples in the universe. She knew, without a doubt, that this was the other sister of theirs, the one she had never heard of. Just like she knew the teenaged girl silently giving her the evil eye from across the table was also their sister. Chloe would bet the entire Law fortune that her name was Felicity.
She was a slim girl of about fifteen, sixteen years old with shoulder length black hair, a thin pierced nose, and even thinner lips, which were not enhanced one bit by the black lipstick she wore. Still, she was pretty. Her oversized red t-shirt was ripped in various places; she couldn't see the rest of her. A black marbled bow lay across the table beside her and a quiver of arrows was dangling from her chair. She was an archer. A very unhappy archer and Chloe hoped she would never, ever do anything to become the target for one of her arrows.
Ace finally noticed her. "Oh hey, Chloe. Sit down and eat. There's plenty."
Everyone stopped talking to look at her.
"Chloe!" an older woman exclaimed in a bright Irish accent from the head of the table. "Please, join us. Move, Strafford. I want her to sit by me."
Strafford immediately rose and gestured for her to sit where he'd been. A bit nervous, she accepted and sat down, smiling at the grinning woman beside her who she knew was Strafford's mother. They had the same gray eyes. That's what gave it away.
"Everything all right, wan?" Strafford whispered as he sat down one seat over.
She nodded and tried not to look at the glaring girl who now sat directly across from her.
"You like sliced beef?" Strafford's mother said to her, drawing her attention. "If not, we've got chicken and cold cod. I have to apologize though, there's only a bit of cod left. Some little body ate mos' of it already." She smiled at the little girl beside Ace. Grinning, the girl signed something with her hands, then buried her face in them.
"Teagan says you are very pretty, Chloe. I do agree with her. You're a beauty."
"Um..." She looked at Strafford, not knowing how to respond. She didn't know sign language.
"Teagan's not deaf, wan. Jus' mute. You can speak normal to her."
She sighed a bit with relief and smiled. "Thank you, Teagan. You're very pretty yourself."
Teagan just peeked at her through her fingers.
She looked around at the stylish dining room. "You have a very beautiful home, Ms. Law."
"Call me Siobhan. And I'd like to take the credit for this place, but I didn' decorate it. I didn' even choose it." Her smile faltered, but returned full force a second later. "So wha' will it be: beef, chicken, or cod?"
"Chicken would be great, thank you."
Siobhan nodded and got right to making her a sandwich. Bowls were passed and a few tasty side items were added to her plate.
She watched Siobhan. Something wasn't right about her. The way she moved, it was like she was made of glass. Fragile. This woman was not well.
She guessed Siobhan was only about forty-something, but the early wrinkles and crow's feet made her look older. There were dark circles under her gray eyes like she hadn't slept in days and her copper blonde hair was strewn all over her head. She was clearly taller than average for a woman, but was way too skinny for the height to look good on her.
Chloe found herself staring, trying to understand what the super sexy Apollo had found attractive enough in her that he gave her four children. That was unheard of. As Hector had once told her, the gods liked to have many lovers, and the fact that Apollo, whose lovers (according to his memories) were always beautiful, had that many children with this very plain, sickly woman was baffling.
An orph entered the room to fill and refill glasses with some sort of tea. The girl went around to each of them, pouring and curtseying, but when she came to Chloe, she took the pitcher from the girl and started to pour her own drink. The girl was startled, but didn't say anything. She just stared at her.
Strafford leaned over and mumbled, "Let her do it, wan."
She shot him a look. "They're not servants, you know."
"We're all servants of the gods."
She leaned a little bit closer to him and smiled sweetly. "You're not. You get paid."
Then she poured herself a glass of tea and handed the pitcher back to the girl.
"Thank you," she said. Wide-eyed and bewildered, the girl curtsied, then practically ran from the room.
She expected to see a scowling Strafford when she turned back around, but all she found was a smile. One that said he had appreciated the witty comeback and that he planned to make her pay for it later. Shivers ran down her spine.
"Here you go, wan," Siobhan said, handing her the plate. She accepted with a smile. Siobhan took a sip of her wine and clapped her hands together. "This is jus' so nice. I hardly ever get to make lunch for me boys anymore. As you probably know, Strafford was not around much because he was declared at birth and grew up in Myth. But me Fin, I've missed him terribly these months he's been gone."
"Aw, Ma." Ace ducked his head, but he was smiling.
Chloe did not miss the fact that Siobhan had not said the same of Strafford.
But it didn't matter. She wasn't sure Strafford had heard anything his mother said. He was now looking across the table at his oldest sister. He wasn't smiling anymore.
"Is there a reason why you've been starin' at my girl like tha' ever since she sat down?" he snarled.
The girl didn't even glance his way. She just kept her winter gray eyes on Chloe. Eventually, she parted her painted black lips and said, "I don't like you."
Ace groaned. "Don't start, Felicity."
"The name is Nock, Finbar."
"The name is Ace, Felicity. And I'll knock somethin' out of you if you don't shut up."
"Are you two determined to ruin every gatherin' of this family from here until eternity?" Siobhan asked, frowning. "Hush it, the both of ya, or the one doing the knockin' will be me."
Clearly, no one around here questioned Siobhan's authority, because neither Ace nor Felicity uttered another word.
Siobhan was quick to take the conversation to a happier place. She looked at Chloe and smiled. "So, how is life as the Oracle? I know it mus' have been overwhelmin' at first, but are you at least havin' a bit o' fun?"
She nodded and spoke after swallowing a bite of her chicken salad sandwich. "Overwhelming is an understatement. But yes, it's been kind of fun, too." Until her family got involved. She glanced at Strafford and he nodded at her.
