Chapter Three:
Reconciliation
Nicodemus
Dad had been pacing at the front door for over ten minutes. His hands were behind his back, clenched tightly as he attempted to suppress all of his anxiety into their grasp. Mom was seated at the kitchen table, tapping a pen on a notebook sheet that she had scribbled numerous thoughts on multiple times. The two had been nervous wrecks since I had come home and called to tell them what happened, and that was due to the meeting they and the other Gods were going to hold shortly in our living room. Neither one of them had spoken a word to me about the meeting, but I collected most of the details from May, who had hidden in a cabinet to listen and show me my parents worried state.
Of course Galaxy, or yellow eyes, was going to demand to see them as soon as possible, and with the other Gods in the neighboring areas trying to find the Cerberus as well, he promised to be at our home within the hour. I didn’t say much besides the address to him since both he and I were a bit shell-shocked over the situation. He kept it professional, but I knew he was burning alive trying to suppress the numerous questions he had for me.
Claude and Jackson were posted at each side of my bedroom door, their ears pressed to the wood so they could listen for any footsteps coming up the stairs. May was at the window now that she was back, watching for when the car would come up the drive, and Alice was seated beside me, smoothing locks of my hair behind my ear. It was the only way she could sooth herself, though she kept trying to convince me she was trying to keep me calm. {They’re here…} May whispered, which made the other Shadow Walkers turn to the window. A sigh slid from Claude’s nose before he unfolded his arms and joined May so he could watch them come up the pathway.
[What do you think will happen? More, what could they talk about besides the obvious?] Alice breathed to the room.
(One could imagine Valyce, and why Atlas hasn’t admitted Nick, let alone told his family he had a damn son.) Claude echoed back angrily. It was odd to me that Claude seemed to know that Galaxy and Dad were related, but I decided not to intervene momentarily. If he had any information about the situation, I wanted hear it casually instead of forcing it out of him, as he would hold back details if he knew I was onto his slip up.
{Atlas won’t be able to keep his little secret anymore. Since Nick did so well with the Cerberus, Galaxy is going to all but demand he join the academy, and he has enough cards to win that fight. Nick is too advanced to continue training remedially with Atlas, and Atlas and Ashlynn know that.} May retorted, eyeing me slightly to make sure I didn’t have an off reaction.
“How do you guys know so much about this?” I finally accused, which made each Shadow duck their heads in shame, “How have you never told me about all this?”
{It wasn’t by our choice, unfortunately.} Alice hinted, nodding to the door.
A rush of anger filled me immediately, enough that my cheeks were flushed, “My parents made you hide this from me?! Why wouldn’t they tell me about this other place, Valyce?”
{I don’t know, I really don’t. It’s something you have to ask them, honey.}
“Then… Who is Galaxy, to Dad?” I asked, which made all four Shadows tense up.
No one wanted to respond at first, but Alice finally took the plunge, [He’s his brother, and your uncle. His wife, Elizabeth, is your mother’s sister as well.] She finally admitted.
“My, uncle? I have other family?” I had been holding a book I’d stolen from Dad’s office years ago, a tome about the current Gods that I always kept under my mattress to keep me somewhat connected to the outside world, “That’s why they have the same last name as us? I never… How did I not see this? Why would they keep this from me…?!” I fell silent in defeat, as I was just running myself in circles at this point, and these answers meant nothing as of right now.
{I did it last time, so it’s on one of you!} May laughed, sticking her tongue out.
(If Atlas banishes me to Purgatory, I'm coming for your souls too.) Claude joked with a wink before disappearing through the floor. The other three crowded around me as I blinked, which made my consciousness and Claude’s become one so I could see and hear the conversation. (Is this a good spot?) He whispered in my head. The other Shadows laid their hands on mine, which allowed them to see what Claude and I were due to our connections to one another.
“Yes; move a little more behind the bookshelf so Dad doesn’t see you. If he finds out we’re spying on this meeting we’re toast,” I reminded him.
(Agreed.) Claude shifted into a tiny ball and peered into the living room with one eye, though that was enough for us to see what was going on.
Dad was dressed in a freshly ironed black button up shirt and khaki’s, his best watch wrapped around his wrist. His shoulder length hair was tucked back behind his ears, and two earrings reflected against the light coming from the chandelier. He looked incredibly handsome yet uncomfortable in the outfit, but was doing his best to be presentable for his colleagues; he also was trying to hide how beaten down he actually was. When he turned to hollowly call for Mom, his eyes glistened as brightly as his earrings, though they were full of pure fear.
Mom lifted her head when she heard the car doors open outside before ghosting across the living room to place a hand on the small of Dad’s back. Her golden hair was pulled into a half up-half down, and her freckle spotted cheeks flushed pink with worry. She had lined her eyes with black liner and mascara, though she was so beautiful that not an ounce of makeup was needed to amplify her look. She did, though, look exhausted, which I would expect after not seeing her for more than two weeks, so the makeup livened her up slightly. I wanted desperately to run downstairs and hug her, but knew this was far from the time.
Dad picked a piece of lint off her cream sweater dress and chuckled, smiling to try and lift the mood. “We have no other options, right?” She breathed to him, unamused by his attempt.
His smile faded slightly, and he simply shrugged. “I wish we did, but our goose is cooked at this point. I should have known better; Galaxy would have absolutely been after that Cerberus with how busy I’ve been, and I don’t know why I didn’t expect him to show up. This is my fault entirely; I’m so sorry, Ash…?”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later…” Mom paused and buried her face in his sleeve, “Why can’t he go to the Shadow Realm with you, or even…?”
Dad sighed morosely and kissed her temple, “Ashlynn, we’ve talked about this numerous times. If I could take him with me I would in a heartbeat, but he can’t hide in the Shadow Realm forever. His powers may excel there, but they will do nothing in this Realm or others if he relies on that constant energy too much. Besides, there is no guarantee we’re bringing him to Valyce?”
“I know, I know, I just… You know how Galaxy is…” Her thoughts trailed off.
Dad pressed his lips to her forehead and left them there for a moment, brushing his hand through her long hair as well before bringing his nose to hers. The two looked into one another’s eyes briefly before a set of three knocks hit the oak door. Dad put one arm around Mom’s waist and extended the other to open the door, fronting a huge, false grin to the crowd waiting to be invited inside. “Welcome, everyone,” he warmly charmed them.
“Thank you for allowing us to come on such short notice,” Galaxy hissed back.
I had only seen them in pictures within the book in my lap, but I knew every single God that walked through that front door. I had fantasized about meeting them one day, worshipped them the same as other Elementals, and knowing they were in my home was more than daunting, let alone that I was related to more than half of them.
Deveraux Montgomery, God of Earth, and his wife Zephyrine, God of Wind, forced smiles to my parents despite their personal feelings on the situation at hand. Blaine Levasseur, God of Fire, nodded stiffly but kept his eyes down, obviously hurt that after two thousand years of friendship, Mom and Dad had left him out of the loop this long. Elizabeth Crawford, God of Water, and Galaxy Crawford, God of Electricity, scowled so deeply that the looks seemingly would etch themselves into their faces forever, as they had no problem making their anger blatantly obvious to my parents. I wanted to enjoy my first real glimpse at my aunt and uncle, but even I understood their anger, as I was feeling a bit of it myself admittedly.
“Short notice indeed,” Blaine shot with his blood red eyes narrowed in anger.
Dad huffed once before extending his arm to the living room, “Please, sit down. We’ll make this as painless as possible.”
“Nice place y’all got here,” Deveraux chirped in a heavy Southern-American accent, smiling so widely that his smile looked permanent. It was odd to hear a modern accent so strong on a two thousand year old God: my parents and their siblings had relatively flat accents, but the tail end of their words held an old Italian/Latin twang that confused everyday Humans. My parents had attempted to perfect a North-Eastern American accent to use when in Humans’ presence, but their original ones from centuries ago always shown through. I figured Deveraux might have had an infatuation with Southern America, and developed the accent out of habit, or maybe necessity.
I flipped through the book so I could learn a little about the God’s birth places; Blaine was originally from Germania, so his words were harsher, but still very understandable; his tribe had been part of the downfall of Rome, so by nature, he was meant to be a pretty intimidating guy. Deveraux was originally from Greece, and spent many years in the catastrophic wars of earlier centuries. Zephyrine’s silky words had a sweet lull from her Japanese/Indian upbringing, and could put to sleep anyone who listened to her long enough. She came from a long line of royal lineage, but departed from the background after an arranged marriage had gone wrong. I made note of these unique voices in case Claude became unable to provide me eyes on the meeting, and marked notes on each one in the book so I could match the claims with the actual God.
“I’m glad you like it.” Dad waited for everyone to get comfortable before laying his hand on Mom’s shoulder, where she gripped his with both of hers. “We’re happy to have you all in our home,” he began solemnly.
Galaxy cleared his throat, set his coat down, then folded his hands and set his chin on them. “It’s nice to be together under one roof, for non-work related purposes…” he added.
“It’s definitely been a long time coming. Too bad we weren’t invited to the house warming party… or to your only child’s fucking childhood.” Blaine sniffed, crossing his arms stubbornly.
“I know you’re mad, and you all have reason to be…” Dad began patiently.
Elizabeth fired off immediately, “Reason to be? I think we have more than that. Seventeen years, Atlas, seventeen Gods damn years. Not a single letter, picture, visit, nothing. We could barely rise a phone call out of you two, let alone any answers, and now the first I get to hear that I have a nephew is when Galaxy found him in the middle of a field? How do you expect us to react to such blatant disrespect and cruelty?” Her words were nothing but the truth, and they cut my parents deep. I, too, wanted an explanation, and was curious to hear their excuses.
“We are here to explain our absence, and the severity behind it.” Mom finally lifted her head, fronting as much confidence as she could, but everyone saw the worry in her eyes and heard it in her voice. She took a deep breath, “As you know, Atlas and I have been living on Earth, trying to grasp some kind of normal life for our family…”
“A family you kept secret for seventeen years,” Blaine cut her off.
“This entire ordeal is in regard to our son. We wanted to share a few years away from the chaos of the Elemental world, to provide some kind of normalcy in this hectic universe and allow us the time to spend solely with him. We planned to bring him to Valyce by his fifth birthday, but plans changed.” Dad barked over him, which made Blaine press his lips together.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“How so?” Galaxy breathed.
Dad clutched his shirt sleeve with a flat frown, his eyes glass-like, “For the first few months of his life, he showed no signs of being an Elemental. Not a single whisp of power, a wave of energy, nothing. We thought, maybe because we were both Gods that it had caused some kind of adverse reaction in his DNA and caused him to be dormant, but we were very much mistaken.” Dad’s voice lowered to a horrified tone.
“I'm assuming he’s found his element after all, since he was able to kill that Cerberus today?” Zephyrine coaxed.
Mom and Dad looked at one another for a moment before he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yes, he has. He is a Death Elemental… A Death Elemental, who has four Shadow Walkers,” he whispered in defeat.
Gasps echoed through the entire room. Whispering rippled through the group, and each God held looks of absolute shock. I didn’t know why exactly this was an issue, but judging by their reaction, the situation was a lot more serious than I previously imagined. I curled up into a self-conscious ball, worried I’d somehow done something wrong today, and had gotten my parents in trouble after all. “That… That’s impossible. It’s absolutely unheard of. I have trained Elementals for two thousand years and have never once met one more powerful then you, Atlas. Are you absolutely positive that he has four?” Blaine begged, seemingly unwilling to believe their claim.
Mom spoke in a grave tone, her voice zombie-like, “More than positive. He summoned them when he was a year old, and ever since has only grown stronger. When we found out he had so many… the fear was crippling. We were so scared of what dangers would come from exposing his powers to the world that we kept him locked away from it, but we cannot do that any longer. He is growing like a weed, and as he grows, so does his element. Atlas has done what he can to teach him on Earth, but we cannot keep enough Elemental energy flowing through our home for him to survive on. Beyond that, we should have never kept him from you all, but we were so scared that someone was going to take him from us…” Mom choked up and moved a hand over her mouth to stop any thoughts that would follow.
Elizabeth slid forward to rub Mom’s shoulder lovingly, “Oh, honey…”
“He’s… Elizabeth, the target that is on his back… I can’t handle imagining what would have, or can, happen to him!” Mom broke into a full sob, and for a moment, her crying was the only sound in the room. It broke my heart to hear her cry that hard, utterly destroyed it.
Each God turned to one another with frowns, unsure of what to say. Galaxy was the one to tap his fingers on the tabletop, then heave a sigh. “You know what I'm going to propose, don’t you?” He pressed with a hesitance like none other.
Dad’s jaw tightened, and he gripped the chair to keep himself steady, “Unfortunately so.”
Galaxy’s neon eyes darkened slightly at Dad’s response, “Our issues should not affect your son, and while I have no say in your ultimate decision, I do believe you should accept our offer. Valyce Academy is the only place we can ensure he will be safe, Atlas, regardless of how you may have felt about bringing him there in the first place.” Galaxy lowered his tone to keep an argument from erupting, “He will be amongst other Elementals his own age, with teachers who can lead him through discovering his powers properly. It’s an experience you alone cannot offer.”
“I don’t trust half the morons at that academy, let alone enough to train my son.” Dad viciously spat, crossing his arms with a scowl. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be a bit hard-headed, but the obvious animosity towards his brother was completely new to me, and a bit jarring.
Galaxy ground his teeth, but kept his tone low and calm, “I can guarantee that Blaine will be his trainer, so that he has nothing but the best. I know you don’t doubt Blaine’s capability, and beyond that, I would like to have some kind of relationship with my only nephew…” Galaxy’s voice fell in pain, as at this point, he was basically begging Dad to comply.
“You act as if I’ve been spiteful, or that I don’t care about my son. I only did this to ensure other Elementals wouldn’t rip his throat out the second they had a chance,” Dad growled.
“No one faults you for that, and we all understand your intentions. This conversation is no longer about how you have hurt our feelings; it’s about protecting his safety and wellbeing. We haven’t exactly met an Elemental so powerful, but at the end of the day we are the Gods, so if we can’t protect and train him, then no one can. It’s a bit intimidating to say the least, but I haven’t met a student I couldn’t help yet.” Blaine lightly teased.
Dad smirked slightly, “I wouldn’t trust anyone besides you to train him, you know that.”
“Then why don’t you give us a chance to try? It’s a bit, how do I say this… It’s a bit, selfish, to prohibit him from being with other Elementals.” Zephyrine winced when she said this, but luckily, my parents didn’t react much, so she could continue. “I’m sure being on Earth has drained him significantly, and is hindering his ability to blossom even further. Plus, he would make so many incredible friends? Surely he’s a bit lonely with you both running around after your Realms? He needs to have friends his age, people to talk to. His social skills are vital at this stage, and he can build them safely with us at Valyce,” Zephyrine coaxed lovingly.
“We’ve been… discussing, that, for some time. Discussing how much damage we’ve done keeping him locked up…” Dad’s head dropped from guilt of that thought.
“If you chose so, how soon would you like to come home?” Deveraux asked sweetly.
“He’s very vulnerable as it is, and I don’t want to push it any longer. If you found him, anyone can find him.” Mom replied immediately. Dad looked to her, and the two had a silent conversation before slowly nodding in defeat to one another. “There’s something else you should know about him; there have been many repercussions to his advancement.”
“As in?” Blaine asked nervously.
Mom sighed deeply, and buried her face into her hands, “He became blind when he met his Shadows, so his world is very limited. It’s very difficult to train a child who can’t see what he’s fighting.” She whispered brokenly.
“Oh no…” Elizabeth breathed.
“He can’t see at all?” Zephyrine whimpered sympathetically.
“No, not on his own. He’s able to merge his consciousness with his Shadows and see through their eyes, but even then his vision is murky and only lasts for a few minutes. He’s only seen the world around him for less than four months his entire life…” Mom sniffled, tears collecting in her eyes that she blinked back to stay strong. “I’m so afraid that something is going to happen to him every time we leave him alone. With all of the problems going on lately, it’s only a matter of time before someone we don’t want finding him does. We were going to come to you all sooner or later about all of this, and I’m so sorry you had to find out this way…?”
Galaxy brushed the tears from Mom’s cheeks to make her smile, “Don’t upset yourself more than you have. We’ll figure it out, we always do.”
“More or less,” Deveraux teased to ease the tension.
“We’ll treat the situation as dire, and set up arrangements for you to return as soon as you’d like. In the meantime, if possible, I would like to assess the situation personally…” Galaxy said robotically. Elizabeth elbowed her husband, which made him jump and clear his throat, “What I mean to say, is I would like to meet him properly, should we be allowed to?” He corrected himself.
Dad nodded wordlessly, then touched Mom’s arm, “Better to do it now than when we get to the academy. He’ll have more than enough stress there.”
“Of course,” she replied, kissing his hand softly before Claude’s consciousness snapped out of my mind, and my eyes on the meeting were stolen.
╪
The knock on the door should have been no surprise, but I still jumped slightly when it happened. My Shadows collectively dissipated and took shelter in my mind again as Dad peeked into the room, chuckling softly to himself. “You look incredibly guilty; you weren’t spying on us, were you?” He accused coyly.
“Who has time to spy when they have a Latin test on Monday?” I retorted, which made his chuckling turn to laughter as he shut the door behind him. His energy was bouncing wildly, as he was absolutely shaken up, but he tried to take some deep breathes to calm himself.
He sat on the bed beside me and pulled my hands from the textbook I was using to try and pass off my lie, holding them firmly in his own, “I'm sure you’ve been studying the whole time. Nonetheless, everyone would like to meet you. I know it’s intimidating, but it’s for the best. It’s only fair that you finally meet your family, Nick…?”
I smiled lightly to ease his obviously trembling nerves, “It’s ok, Dad, really. I can’t offer much besides a conversation, though.” I awkwardly attempted.
He poked my nose, “That’s all you need to offer. They won’t admit it to your mother and I, but I know they’re dying to meet you regardless of how pissed they are. Just, be yourself.”
“Being myself is what got me into this mess. I ruined everything; I should have been more careful…” I whispered, curling up into a ball morosely.
Dad tsked and touched my chin to make me look up, “Don’t think like that. None of this is your fault, and the last thing I want you doing is blaming yourself. We hid you away for far too long, and now it’s time to give you the proper training and care you deserve. If anything, Galaxy and Blaine stumbling in on us was the push we needed to stop being overprotective shut-ins. We need to take your happiness and wellbeing into consideration…”
“You guys are what I deserve, and nothing will ever change my mind about that…” I reminded him, which made him pull me into a gentle hug.
“You will never understand how much your mother and I love you, no matter how many times we say it. If at any point you are uncomfortable, please promise you’ll tell us. This entire event is centered around your safety…” The shuffle downstairs of Mom bringing everyone drinks made him pause mid-sentence. He sucked his teeth and sighed deeply, then brushed a strand of my hair down before pulling me up with him. “Let’s get this over with, kiddo.”
My hands were shaking at my sides as he opened the door and lead me downstairs. I tried to slow my breathing as I could feel their energies when I entered the room, where I knew their gazes were burning holes through my soul. Their energies were so intense that it made my head spin; to distract myself, I wordlessly ran over to hug my mother desperately. Mom clutched me back like her life depended on it, and wordlessly kissed my cheeks and hair. The Gods allowed us our moment, knowing she had been gone for some time. I nuzzled into her hair and sighed in relief and safety, knowing she felt the same way, especially after what happened today.
Dad moved to wrap an arm around my shoulders and squeeze them once, a smile somewhere in his voice as he spun me around. “Everyone, this is our son, Nicodemus,” he proudly declared before sitting me in the same chair as Mom to keep she and I in his embrace casually, yet protectively. His grip was firm, ready to yank us out of the situation if need be.
“Nicodemus? What a beautiful name…” Elizabeth sang in awe before coming forward to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of me, “Hello there, Nicodemus; it’s wonderful to finally meet you.” This woman absolutely had to be my mother’s sister, because her bird like voice was just as sweet and patient as Mom’s had always been.
“Likewise,” I tried awkwardly.
“My, you look so much like your father; if it weren’t for these adorable freckles, I wouldn’t believe Ashlynn was your mother!” She teased, poking my cheek to make me giggle.
When I did, the room erupted with little mumbles of delight, and the other Gods flocked to get a closer look at me. “Oh yeah, this is definitely your son, Atlas,” Deveraux chuckled.
“Almost a mirror image! I dare say his eyes are even brighter than yours somehow,” Zephyrine added in awe.
“I'm sorry if I'm not making eye contact with any of you. I'm sure my parents have told you about my, well, condition. I can assure you that I feel your energies at least,” I hesitantly said with a slightly sour tone.
“No need to apologize, it is no offense at all,” Galaxy set his hand on mine, which bubbled with electric energy like a live wire, “I'm glad we have a chance to meet properly.”
I blushed delicately, “Sorry about dropping a bomb on you like that…”
He and Blaine shared a laugh as Galaxy ruffled my hair, “Well, knowing your parents, it could have been worse! I will say, though, that your cousins were quite impressed with your fight. They were begging me to let them come, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
“I have cousins!?” I cheered excitedly, which broke my parents hearts.
Elizabeth giggled in delight, “Yes you do: Griffin and Soren. They were coming to get in on the Cerberus action as well, but you beat them to it! They’re incredibly excited to have a cousin, and I think you’ll get along with them fantastically!”
“Speaking of…?” Deveraux mumbled to Dad, who cleared his throat worriedly.
Dad sat on the arm of the chair and pulled me into his side, rubbing my back in small circles slowly. Whatever face I had when I looked up at him made him shutter slightly, but he held firm, “Nick, we’ve been talking a bit about your training, and your mother and I agree that it’s finally time for you to come to the Elemental world with us. We’ve robbed you of the experience for far too long, and it’s time to let you be with your own kind. Would that be something you’d be interested in?” He hesitantly offered.
“Elemental world… like, with all of you guys?” I turned slightly to the other Gods as my stomach bubbled in excitement at the opportunity.
“Yes; you would attend the school that Galaxy runs, Valyce Academy. It’s an institution designed to train Elemental children and help them adjust to the Realms they’ll be working in. You’ll meet kids just like you, and train with the best to continue evolving your skills.”
“Can I be a Reaper and work with you, Dad?” I sang sweetly.
He scoffed a breathy laugh, “If that’s what you’d like, of course,” he replied brokenly.
“More importantly…” Blaine’s smile hadn’t left his voice the entire time he watched me move, and the pride radiating from him warmed the whole room, “You’ll have some awesome friends to be with when your parents are running around the universe!”
“Friends…?” I mumbled, looking down at my hands as they clasped awkwardly.
“That doesn’t sound exciting?” Elizabeth offered.
I smirked, and didn’t look up at first. “I’ve never had friends before,” I admitted.
The guilt that proceeded to strangle my parents overtook the entire room, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t need eyes to see the utter and pure devastation consume their faces.