Chapter Six

I managed to bring food into Noe's room that morning from the kitchen.

While it was difficult to convince the servants that Noe was simply too sick to leave his room, the servants insisted making Noe a big, healthy meal and offering their prayers in hopes that he got better. There a was mild state of guilt as I watched them rush around the kitchen to get Noe's meal ready, but I knew it had to be this way.

No one could find out about Noe becoming an oracle.

The servants piled food onto a cart and I took it to Noe's room, making certain that none of the servants had gotten curious and followed me. I approached Noe's bedroom door, knocking a couple times before entering to see Noe wide awake, sitting with my laptop in his lap. He looked up and smiled, melting my heart in an instant.

I knew he was probably having difficulties adjusting. His wings tended to get in the way and they also took on a mind of their on occasion and would open wide before folding back up. He currently sat on the bed, typing away before he closed the laptop and set it aside. I wheeled the cart in and shut the door behind me, locking it. I brought the cart over and set up the tray on the bed before setting out the food. Noe watched, his cheeks flushing pink.

"You don't need to do everything for me." He pointed out quietly, watching me take out the silverware from a can on the cart. I shook my head as I pushed the cart away and sat on the bed, on the other side of the tray so I was looking at him.

"It doesn't bother me, Noe. In fact, I enjoy taking care of you." I answered. Noe stared at me for the longest time, eyes searching my face as if to find a lie before he admitted defeat and started to eat slowly, carefully so that his new fangs didn't cut his lips. He took small, dainty bites and sips of water. I wanted to just sit there and watch him, but I could do plenty of that after we solved the problem at hand.

"Did you find anything out?" I asked Noe casually. I wasn't going to tell him that I read his chat with Abel. It was obviously private, and I still felt guilty for having read it. There were also some bits and pieces that I wanted to question him about, but I had to work around them so as not to let Noe know that I read the conversation.

"Not really," Noe sighed, picking up a piece of steak between his fingers and ripping a piece off, "Abel just said he stopped to try and sober me up, but it didn't work too well. It was usually the same kind of night up until the drinking game, but that was the only oddity." I frowned, making plans to visit Styx right after the meeting this afternoon. I couldn't alert Noe that I knew. But I also couldn't ignore what I'd learned either.

"I see," I answered carefully, "And that's all that happened? You're positive there's nothing else to mention? Who poured your drinks?" Noe frowned at that, licking food off his lips as he averted his eyes.

"Pretty sure Hannibal poured 'em, but he drank from the same bottle I did." He pointed out. I let that sink, but no matter how I tried to some up with an excuse for why Hannibal would do it, I couldn't pin the blame on him. While he certainly had a motive for wanting to hurt Noe, I'm sure he wouldn't go to this extent-- and Hannibal's loyalty to Cain was borderline obscene.

I'd also heard that Hannibal was raised by a Titan when he was a child, but the experience wasn't one that Hannibal enjoyed discussing. In fact, Hannibal was never personal with anyone, not even Cain from what he's said. Hannibal was too serious about his job.

"All right," I said at last, watching Noe glance up as I searched the tray of food, picking up a couple pieces of fruit with a fork, "Well, we'll discuss that more later. Right now, we need to worry about the matter at hand and that's the fact that in just a couple hours, there's going to be a meeting at Malachi's to discuss the progress with the Titans." Noe paled.

"And they're going to expect me to be there." He replied, sounding sick as he dropped his bread back to his plate. My heart wrenched at his worry, but I had a solution... A temporary one, and I only hoped that it would work longer than I was informed it would.

"I can seal your physical aspects of being an oracle," I told Noe, watching his eyes widen in surprise, "I went to see Thanatos and he gave me spell that I can cast in order to seal it away. There might be some things that cannot be sealed, but most of them should be. If we can just get your wings to vanish, it should be safe." Noe sighed in relief, giving me a faint smile.

"Please do. They're driving me insane." He added, pointing a thumb at them as they fluttered for a moment, then went still. I studied the wings grimly for a moment, wondering if it would hurt to be rid of them as much as it hurt for them to come in.

"Noe, I need to warn you first," I started, watching Noe's expression wilt, "This seal will only last so long before Phoebe finds out that you're not excelling at the rate she indicated. She'll rip the seal down and you'll return to the way you are now, or worse. I don't want to do this unless you want to. I can just tell my brothers that you're sick like I told the servants." Noe blinked at that, then looked at me.

"But that won't work," He protested, surprising me with how upset he was, "You remember the incident with Theo and Sept. They'll suspect something and have full authority to come check on me. And then you'll get in trouble for hiding me."

"Noe--"

"No," Noe interrupted, blushing in embarrassment for having cut me off before he continued, "I want to have the seal. It'll at least give me a sense of normalcy for a while. In that time, we can hurry up and find a way to make all of this go away for good." I didn't know what to say to that. One, I was alarmed that Noe cared more about getting me in trouble than his own death. And two, I hadn't exactly informed him that there was no way to turn back from an oracle. I didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Are you sure?" I asked Noe again for confirmation. He nibbled his lower lip, studying me as he gave it one last thought before nodding slowly, then quickly now.

"Yes. I want to do this. Right now." He added firmly. I sighed, but said nothing more as I moved the tray and food off the table and back onto the cart, which I pushed aside to make room. Noe cleared off the bed before coming to kneel on the edge, looking up at me as I withdrew the paper Thanatos had given me. I tried to keep my eyes and mind focused on the instructions, but it was difficult with Noe so close to me, looking up at me with bright, hopeful eyes.

"This might hurt you, you know that, right?" I asked him, trying to keep my eyes on the paper. However, I didn't miss the look of annoyance on Noe's face as he glared at me, but when I glanced at him, he quickly looked away for a moment, then looked back again.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Zelios. I can handle it." He insisted firmly, clenching his fists against his knees. I looked away again. Of course not, I thought. You're definitely not a kid anymore. His body wasn't that of a child. His lean muscles were perfectly sculpted, a faint dust of hairs that disappeared into his pants. And the fierce gaze of a man who wasn't about to let someone else control his life.

I said nothing as I read over the instructions again more firmly this time.

Noe would need to remain absolutely still. The spell was very specific about remaining still. It also called for the blood letting of a god, and I was the closest thing to such a being. I could hear Hades voice in the back of my head ordering me never to give away my blood, as it was very valuable, but I had already given my blood to Xenon, a creature I didn't even know the species of. And this was Noe we were talking about. I'd give him all of my blood if it meant keeping him alive and safe.

I would need to trace out the sigil of the seal on his back just above his wings on his shoulder blades... in my blood. Why did this spell require so much blood? It was nauseating.

"You're making a face." Noe said after a while. I blinked and looked up to see Noe staring at me intently. I looked away, though, as I placed the sheet on his nightstand.

"This requires a lot of blood." I admitted, turning to face him. Noe stiffened.

"Blood?" He asked, looking uneasy.

"My blood." I assured him. Noe's eyes flickered, widening a little in alarm.

"But you're not supposed to give your blood away. Hades said--"

"Hades isn't here," I cut in sharply, watching Noe wince, "I am in charge in his stead. And I will use my blood to seal your abilities as an oracle, both physical and mental... It's all right, Noe. Everything will be all right." Even as I said it, I had a strange sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that warned me. I swallowed hard as I approached Noe on the bed, gesturing with my hand for him to turn around. He obeyed instantly without question.

"How is this supposed to work?" Noe asked quietly, looking down at his lap.

"You must remain still," I informed, "The spell emphasizes this. So don't move and don't speak. I'm going to draw the seal on your back in my blood." Noe said nothing now, just stiffened, but remained absolutely still. I brought my index finger to my mouth, puncturing a small hole with my fang. A bright red bead of blood swelled to the top of the hole. I glanced at the paper, imprinting the image of the sigil into my mind before I touched my finger to Noe's back.

I could see the goosebumps coursing over his skin as I began to make the triangle with my blood. I drew the eye at the center of the triangle, then moved onto the wings that jutted out from the triangle. It was around this time when Noe began to whimper as if he were in pain. I wanted to stop and ask if he was all right, but I couldn't stop now. The spell was very adamant in the instructions to keep going, do not stop, and do not let the other person move.

I finished one wing and moved onto the other, grimacing as my finger had ceased bleeding. I brought it to my fang again, pricking it deeper. It stung and burned, but I ignored it as I touched it to Noe's cold, pale skin. I could see him biting his lip, his eyes screwed shut. I moved a bit faster, finishing the final wing before withdrawing my finger.

I glanced back at the paper, then turned to Noe. I reached around my other hand to cup his chin, tilting his head back to look up at me. He looked at me in confusion before I placed my bloody finger against his lips. He said nothing, didn't move, just stared up at me.

I had left out this part of the instructions to Noe because I was positive he would make a fuss over it. I could tell from the way his eyes glowed that he was wondering what I was doing.

I ran my finger around his lips, leaving behind the trail of blood. Noe's eyes fluttered and he parted his lips for a second like he wanted to speak, but I gave him a warning look. He didn't move anymore than that as I moved slowly. As soon as I finished, his eyes glowed the same heavenly color they did when he had first changed.

I let go of him and he slumped forward on his hands and knees on the bed, breathing hard. I looked back at the instructions. This was supposed to be happening. At the same time, I didn't like it happening.

Noe seethed past clenched teeth, clenching his fists as he arched his back up. His eyes were still glowing and instead of his voice, several voices murmured past his lips. No, maybe a dozen voices, all whispering at once in different languages, about different things. His back cracked and his wings slowly opened up, spreading out to their full wing span. They began to tremble and shudder, and then they began to disintegrate into ashes. The voices cut off as Noe broke into a sharp cry of pain, fisting the blankets and arching his back further up, like an angry cat. The wings shuddered more they began to fall in clumpy ashes to the floor. This continued all the way down to his back where the roots of his wings shuddered and bubbled, forcing its way back into his back. He choked and gasped in pain before the ancient whisperings of the gods returned, flewing out his lips like angry curses before he cried out again and fell forward on the bed, curling up into a tight little ball.

I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to grab him and take him into my arms to comfort him. I couldn't interrupt the spell, no matter what my gut instinct told me to do. So I forced myself to stand there and watch as Noe trembled in pain. However, even from my point of view, he was beginning to appear like his regular self. His wings had vanished and the color returned to his skin. He hissed past clenched teeth as the seal on his back melted into his skin and became a sort of tattoo, an imprint on his skin, but it would be easy to hide with his jacket.

After what felt like forever, Noe finally breathed out a heavy sigh and slumped against the bed on his side, blinking rapidly. He slowly lifted himself up, then winced as he reached up to cup the side of his head in pain.

"Did it work?" He managed, voice shaking from the pain. I nodded, stepping up to the bed as he scooted to the edge, his legs dangling over the side. I reached out to cup his chin in my hand, tilting his face up toward mine. He looked up at me tiredly. I pulled his upper lip up and his teeth appeared normal. His wings were gone and the ashen look to him had faded. He looked like my regular Noe. My heart soared at that and it took everything I had not to take him into my arms. Instead, I just smiled faintly, ruffling his hair.

"It worked." I answered gently. Noe blinked and looked down at him, then turned to look behind him at his back. Relief spread across his face as he looked back at me, beaming. I stepped back, taking the spell and folding it back up, tucking it into my pocket.

"Oh," Noe exclaimed suddenly, "The meeting. We need to leave now, right?" I nodded, heading for the door.

"Get dressed and meet me in the throne room." I commanded. Noe nodded, hopping to his feet eagerly. I paused for a moment, watching him run to his wardrobe, taking out his usual uniform. I smiled faintly at that, but there was still a pain in my chest, a constant reminder that this spell was only temporary and soon enough, his wings would return, the fangs, the claws, everything. I stepped out of the room and headed to the throne room, trying to push the concern to the back of my mind. If we could make it through this one meeting without any incidents, we'd be just fine. I'd be able to return to focusing solely on Noe.

The meeting was probably going to consist of contacting Xenon by force now. He was putting it off to play video games, something that disgusted me. Xenon was ancient, but he wasn't wise. At least, not unless he wanted to be.

I didn't need to wait very long before Noe appeared, his heels clicking on the marble flooring. I ran my eyes up and down his form, admiring the way his uniform seemed to hug a lithe and leanly muscled body. An ache descended into my groin, so I turned my head in the opposite direction.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," Noe agreed cheerfully, coming to stand right at my side, as he always did, "It's gonna be so good to get out of here! I mean, no offense. I just need the fresh air."

"I understand." I responded. I truly did. Noe was a free spirit. He needed to be active and entertained, which is why I had bought him so many toys as a child.

We left the palace, walking past the statues of guardsmen, and heading to the lobby where, sure enough, Diodorus was playing his video games. He started to jump up to greet me, looking flustered and horrified at being caught once again, but I shook my head and waved my hand for him to be seated. He slowly sat down, then seemed to notice Noe for the first time and leapt to his feet again.

"Master Noe, you're all better!" He exclaimed. Noe smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, yeah."

"I'm so relieved! Everyone was so worried about you. It's good to see you feeling better." Diodorus gushed, beaming from ear-to-ear. Noe blushed now.

"Thanks." He replied briefly.

"Diodorus," I said, making his head snap toward me, eyes wide and eager, "Noe and I are going to Inferi for a meeting. Make sure you stay alert and cautious." Diodorus nodded quickly, obediently. Noe and I made our way to the door that led to the staircase. From there, we teleported to Inferi, where once again, it was downpouring. Noe yelped as soon as we appeared on the wet steps, his hair instantly sticking down to his face as I opened the door to let him in first.

"Jeez, I hate this place," He complained as we came inside, "It's so cold and wet."

"It beats hot and humid." A voice scoffed. We glanced over to see Abel sitting on the front desk, both the daemons that worked for Malachi missing. Abel wore the black leather catsuit that signified him as a servant of Malachi's. His navy hair fell shorter in the back than in the front, his eerie blue on black eyes glinting. There was an odd look on his face that made me suspicious, but Noe, being oblivious, didn't seem to notice as he scoffed, putting his hands on his hips.

"I'd take hot and humid over cold and wet any day." Noe boasted, making Abel grin now.

"Good to see you're acting like yourself again. You were acting weird last night with all those questions. You ever find that thing you were missing?" He asked, making Noe hesitate and then shrug.

"I gave up." He replied nonchalantly, to which Abel snorted and looked at me.

"Some bodyguard, Zelios. He can't even find his own knick-knacks." He said, making Noe scowl at him. I just remained silent and stoic, watching the two converse freely and casually. There was a part of me that envied their relationship. Noe always seemed formal with me. Granted, not as formal as the other bodyguards with my brothers, but still formal nonetheless.

"Oh, joy." A voice said, oozing sarcasm. I turned to see Theo teleporting in beside me with Sept right at his heels. Theo wore a skintight black turtleneck with no sleeves and matching leather pants, his signature black cloak with a blood red inner lining resting on his shoulders. Sept simply wore leather pants and his gold ankh around his neck, dark hair swept back from his face. They were an interesting pair. Sept, silent and mature. Theo, obnoxious and childish.

"Hey," Theo said suddenly, eyeing Noe, who stiffened at the attention, "I heard you were ill. You don't look very ill to me." Noe didn't meet his eyes directly. He was too busy watching Sept to make sure the older man didn't make a move at him for unintentionally offending his master. Something he needn't worry about. Despite my neutral feelings for Sept, and the fact that he was my brother's lover, I wouldn't hesitate to snap his neck if he so much as looked at Noe the wrong way. The wave of possessiveness gave me goosebumps as Noe cleared his throat uncomfortably. It took him a moment to respond, making me frown at him.

"Uh, nope," Noe said at least, forcing a smile, "Just a stomach bug. All better." Theo ran his eyes up and down Noe's form before shrugging, folding his arms over his chest.

"I didn't think water daemons got sick." He said. Noe wrinkled his nose, obviously wanting to toss out a snarky comment, but he withheld it when I gave him a warning look. He obediently became silent, remaining by my side, reaching up to rub at his cheek. I glanced at him questioningly and he just shook his head, smiling. I was a bit concerned now. Maybe it was just a momentary loss of thought, but the way he hesitated reminded me of the way he acted before he turned into an oracle. Could the spell already be wearing off so quickly? I was anxious to finish this meeting.

Charon and Kyros came in next. Charon wore a black, smokey cloak, the hood pulled up over his dark hair and his lavender eyes, his arms at his sides. He reminded me of a ghost sometimes. He seemed so silent and wistful, and he always dressed in only black, as if he were mourning something. Kyros, on the other hand, wore completely white and was slightly taller than Charon. He looked to be in his mid-thirties with his black, frosted hair tousled from the wind and rain outside. As usual, both of them remained silent. Theo easily ignored them and seemed to be interested in Sept, who had come to stand closer to him.

There seemed to be no shame there, I noticed as I watched Theo rake Sept with a hungry stare. He wasn't even embarrassed by the bulge in his pants as he flicked his tongue over his fangs. It was like he was imagining the way he'd strip Sept down and lick him all over. How was it that he got away with such a relationship? Surely our father had something to say about it.

Hades wasn't fond of the Egyptians, who in turn weren't so fond of us Greeks.

Next to enter was Cerberus and Leon. Cerberus with his layered black hair, piercing red eyes, buckled jacket, leather pants, and Doct Martens. Leon, slightly on the shorter side, with mocha-colored skin bearing gold geometric designs up and down his arms and chest. His hair was in dreadlocks today, pulled back into a tight ponytail, making his eerie green eyes brighter.

"Noe," Cerberus said loudly, making Noe jump and look at him, "Glad you're feeling better! Leon say you drank a lot the other night. Might want to lay off the booze for a while." He grinned at that and Noe turned red, looking at me with helpless apology. I just shook my head, resisting all urges to take him into my arms and assure him it was all right. Which it really wasn't. I didn't want Noe vulnerable and ill around others, especially if Sept and Hannibal were around. And speak of the devil...

Cain and Hannibal flashed into the room a moment later. Abel instantly bristled at their presence and Theo just turned his head, disgusted. It was no wonder. Cain wore tight black shorts that were so short, they might as well be called underwear. He wore a leather male corset tight around his torso with a long sleeved fishnet shirt underneath, a studded leather collar around his throat to match his elbow-length gloves and his knee-high boots. Hannibal came in beside him, and instantly everyone stared at him. An angry red handprint appeared on his cheek and there was a broken blood vessal in his eye, making it an angry red. Even his black hair flipped over half of his face didn't hide it. He seemed to be favoring his left leg as well.

"Jeez, what happened to you?" Cerberus asked firstly, cocking a brow.

"Who cares," Cain responded in irritation, "He's a servant. And that's all he is. The rest of you are too lenient with yours." I frowned at that and Noe stiffened, obviously looking uncomfortable with the topic. Sept and Leon didn't look too pleased with Cain's view of their positions.

"Yeahhh," Cerberus drew out the word slowly, putting his hands on his hips, "But he's not your punching bag. You're not even letting him heal, are you?"

"Of course not," Cain scoffed, cocking his hip and folding his arms over his chest, "It's none of your business anyway. I can treat my slaves how I want, and they respect me. I don't see yours being very respectful." Cerberus raised an eyebrow at that, glancing at Leon, who frowned at his master, before Cerberus shrugged and looked back at Cain.

"Dunno. I give him plenty of women and alcohol. I think that makes him respectful. Oh, and the fact that I respect him. That might have something to do with it." He said sarcastically. Leon smirked at that and Cain curled his lip in repungence, then looked at pointedly at Theo, who was glaring at him fiercely. Even though Theo didn't say it, he was obviously offended that Cain was directing insults toward our righthands-- including his own.

"What about you? You let yours fuck you in the ass day and night. What the hell is so respectful about that?" He mocked. Theo's face reddened and I could just feel the hatred poisoning the air. He was seconds away from breaking Cain's skull open, and so was Abel, who fumed as he hopped off the desk and started toward Cain. Instantly Theo cooled, only so he and I could grab Abel under the arms and reel him back before he could make it to his twin.

"Get off me! I'll rip his throat out!" Abel shouted angrily, kicking his feet at the floor and trying to hit Theo in the face, only to have Sept appear right in front of him, sword withdrawn and pointed at his throat. Abel glared at him hatefully, but didn't struggle against Theo and I anymore. He just jerked his arms away from us and we let go, knowing he wouldn't make another attack. At least, for now anyway.

"Tsk," Cain rolled his eyes and smacked his hand into Hannibal's arm, making the man visibly flinch at the contact, "Take a lesson, Hannibal. End up like any of those wild dogs and I'll have you put down without a second thought." Hannibal's eyes flashed and for a split second, I swore he was going to rip Cain apart. It was a threatening glare that made me stare at him intensely, enough so that he caught me staring at him and dropped his eyes to the floor. I made a mental note to speak to him alone.

That one look could have gotten him killed had anyone else seen it. For a righthand to threaten his master was immediate death. He couldn't be trusted, and it only fueled my suspicions that maybe, just maybe, Hannibal had something to do with Noe becoming an oracle. I tucked that suspicion away, however, as Malachi and Adrian entered the room. Malachi dominated the room with his presence, tall and rippling with muscles, gold snake bands on his biceps, shirtless with leather pants, just as he was the last time I'd seen him. Adrian wore a very silky, almost see-through, white shirt with long, billowy sleeves and a low cut collar, matching his beige pants.

"I thought I smelled an argument." Malachi deadpanned when he saw Theo, Sept, and I beside Abel, who was glaring daggers at Cain, who just smiled mischeviously. We backed away from Abel, who was very, very reluctant to go back to his place on the desk. He finally retreated and Cain visibly relaxed at that, but didn't stop flaunting himself as he put a hand on his hip and reached up to brush his dark hair back from his face. Hannibal frowned, but said nothing more, just stood obediently at Cain's side.

"Noe," Adrian said suddenly, making Noe look at him warily, "Abel told me you weren't feeling well. I'm glad to see you looking much better." He smiled. Noe blushed.

"Thanks." He answered, lowering his eyes. Adrian seemed relieved with the response, then looked up at Malachi, as if giving him permission to continue the meeting. Malachi cleared his throat and folded his arms over his broad chest.

"We're here to once again get in contact with Xenon, because apparently the worm is available, if he's playing zombie video games with Diodorus." He announced, making Theo and Cain snort in disgust. Abel shrugged, sitting on the desk again, folding one leg over the other and leaning back on his hands.

"Dunno, he tends to log off suddenly." He answered. Malachi pinned him with a withering glare.

"You've been in contact with him?" He demanded. Abel stopped as if he realized what he'd said aloud, making everyone frown at him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, well, not exactly. He turns his mic off so we can't hear him. He doesn't even type. He just plays, then logs off. At least, that's how he does it when he's playing with me. He talks to Diodorus. I think it's because I'm a demigod," He admitted dryly, "You know how he feels about gods of any kind."

He was correct. Xenon hated gods, demigods, any kind of god. It was unsure as to why. Most guessed it was a god who destroyed his species, as there was no other creature on earth like him, but they were only rumors. Only Xenon knew the truth and he wasn't much for sharing, especially to my brothers and I. He was friendly with Noe and Adrian's imp, Dorean, but that was about it as far as we knew.

"Well," Malachi continued, still giving Abel a look that said he'd deal with him later, before his eerie blue on black eyes turned to the rest of us, "We're going to try to contact him again. Adrian managed to get a hold of one of Xenon's special coins." He nodded to Adrian, who reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny silver coin that was just a tad smaller than the average drachma. He flipped the coin into the air, speaking Xenon's name, and it fell into the floor, making it ripple like water. A black plume of smoke bled into the room, making everyone take a step back. The further we got away from Xenon, the more space we had to defend ourselves should he decide he wanted to attack. No one trusted him.

The smoke swirled around sharply and dispersed to reveal Xenon. He was a very tall man with long black hair streaked with red to match his eyes that were hidden behind a pair of wraparound sunglasses. He wore tight leather pants to match his long ankle length jacket that was laying open to reveal his black armored vest over a matching button up shirt. He didn't look very pleased.

"Haven't I already dealt with you people?" He asked dryly, reaching up to push his sunglasses on top of his head. He looked pointedly at Adrian, who grimaced.

"We need to know why we haven't been able to contact you. The Titans haven't made a single move." He said, making Xenon frown.

"Literally." Malachi added under his breath. Xenon was silent for a moment, looking between them before he turned to look at the rest of us. His insidious red eyes landed on Noe. I felt like an ice cube was sliding down my spine, heart dropping into my stomach at the way he stared at Noe. I knew, even without him speaking, that he knew about Noe. My heart hammered hard in my chest as Xenon stared at him, then lifted his eyes to look at me. I remained as stoic as possible, even with my insides knotting up. A smirk curved Xenon's lips as he turned back to look at Adrian.

"Sorry. Got held up. Saving kittens, feeding orphans." He shrugged. Adrian frowned, obviously not appreciating the sarcasm, not that he ever did.

"Well, we have more important things to worry about--"

"No, you don't," Xenon replied, making my stomach clench as he reached up to bring his sunglasses back down over his eyes, "The Titans won't be bothering you severely for a while now. Well, no more than they already have."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cain spoke up angrily. Xenon turned his head to look at him, scanning him from head to toe before he cocked his head.

"Just what it sounds like, harlot. Any other questions?" He asked. Cain didn't blush. He wasn't the type. He did, however, pin Xenon with a smoldering glare. Xenon swiftly ignored it as he turned away to Adrian and Malachi again.

Was he going to say something to them? It was difficult to tell. Xenon may not want to hurt Noe, but Noe was still an oracle. Xenon would see him as a threat. Any rational person would. That thought made me want to cringe. I must not be rational then. I glanced at Noe out the corner of my eye, then away, then back again sharply when I saw Noe staring at something. I frowned, following his gaze to a black spider that was inching across the floor from a corner of the room. It scuttled across on eight hairy legs, a red hourglass shape on its underbelly. It was large, though, half the size of my palm at least.

"I can't give you any more information," Xenon said, making me snap back to attention, "Not until you pay up what I want." Adrian glared at him fiercely, fists clenched.

"You can't have Dorean." He stated. Xenon sighed wistfully, shrugging.

"Oh well." He answered, then vanished with a sharp pop, making everyone's ears ring for a moment at the silence before people started talking at once.

"Damn it, human," Cain snarled at Adrian, who took a step back at his ferocity, "How do you expect us to defeat the Titans without the proper information?! And all of this over an imp?!" Theo nodded at that, taking a step forward angrily, putting his hands on his hips.

"For once, I agree with the brat! Just hand over the imp already! We're at a huge disadvantage without Xenon's information!" He barked, making Adrian flinch. However, the little demigod quickly recovered and took a step toward Theo, making my brother stiffen in surprise at being challenged by someone as small, and as young, as Adrian. The Titan boy's blue eyes flashed angrily as he spoke.

"Dorean is not just some object put up for an auction! He's my friend! I don't get what is wrong with you people. Stop treating other living creatures as nothing, but toys! They're not! We may not be human, but we're still alive and we still deserved to be treated the same! I'm not going to treat Dorean like he's any less! And I'm not letting him go anywhere until he learns how to make proper decisions on his own. If he wants to go with Xenon, then that's his choice. But I won't make it for him!" Adrian shouted. Everyone was silent. It was the first time Adrian had actually raised his voice, especially to the rest of us. Even Theo looked speechless.

"Look," Malachi spoke at last, cutting through the ear-ringing silence, his hand resting on Adrian's shoulder to calm him, "We won't sacrifice Dorean. We just need to find something else to offer Xenon." Adrian started to relax, until Cain spoke again, making both Adrian and Abel glare at him.

"Oh sure, let me just go buy a box of chocolates and flowers. Maybe then he'll agree to putting his life on the line for us." Cain mocked. Cerberus raised an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back on the wall behind him.

"Wow, Cain, I thought you skipped the whole dating thing and jumped right to the sex part." He said, making Cain shoot him a withering stare. Charon rolled his eyes, but said absolutely nothing while Kyros frowned. Another argument broke out as Cain and Cerberus threw insults back and forth with Adrian and Malachi jumping in every so often. The argument went from Xenon to Cain's clothing style to Underworld Rights-- which actually didn't exist. There were no rights here. You just did what the higher ups wanted you to do. Everyone served someone.

I saw Noe move out the corner of my eye, making me turn my head with a frown, only to have my eyes wide as Noe had the spider in his palm. Thankfully, everyone was too busy arguing to notice Noe shove it into his mouth. I winced as he bit down on the spider that thrashed and squirmed for a moment longer, then went still in death. One of its legs popped out of his mouth before he seemed to realize what he was doing when he caught me staring at him. He choked and spat the spider out, making everyone turn to him. I stepped up to him and put my hand on his back, only to have to catch him around the waist as his knees buckled and he vomited hard on the floor.

"Gross!" Cain protested in disgust, leaping back. Theo took a bit step back, curling his lip in repungence. Hannibal rolled his eyes and Sept frowned, tilting his head. Noe's body trembled in my arms as he vomited for what felt like nearly five minutes before he finally stopped, breathing hard as long strings of saliva hung down to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Cerberus asked at last, breaking the stunned silence. Everyone looked at me to answer, as Noe was shaking and breathing too hard to respond. I cleared my throat, helping Noe stand, but his legs were wobbling, so I cradled him against me, ignoring Cerberus's intense stare and Cain's eyebrow raise.

"He's still not feeling very well." I responded briefly.

"That's not contagious is it?" Hannibal asked dryly. Cain elbowed him and Hannibal hissed past clenched teeth, clutching at his ribcage. Cain ignored him and took a step forward, only to stop when he saw the dead spider on the floor, instantly reeling back.

"Disgusting! Since when did water daemons eat spiders?" He demanded, looking up at me. I gave him a glare that visibly gave him goosebumps as he swallowed hard. He didn't show his discomfort with my look, but he didn't push me further as I managed to lift Noe into my arms. He felt incredibly light, but also very hot. His cheeks were flushed and lips wet, his head falling back limply as he fainted.

"Zelios, is he going to be all right?" Malachi asked in concern, making me look up at him in mild surprise, but I nodded despite the tugging at my gut.

"He needs rest. I apologize. We'll have to cut this short." I informed. Malachi nodded in understanding.

"Then our next meeting will be two days from now. Until then, remember to keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious." He said, looking around at our brothers, who all nodded. I went to the door, pausing as Sept stepped forward and opened the door for me. I passed him a blank stare, curiosity burning inside me. He didn't particularly like Noe either, nor myself. Did he suspect Noe was the oracle? I couldn't be sure and I did not plan to stick around to find out, so I merely gave him a nod of appreciation before I stepped outside and teleported from the doorstep to the staircase to Tartarus.

Diordorus was on his feet instantly when he saw Noe, the blood draining from his face.

"Lord Zelios! What's wrong with Master Noe? Is he all right?" He asked in concern, hurrying to open the door. I frowned.

"I'm not sure." I admitted honestly, my stomach twisting.

For once in my life, I was completely and uttery unsure of everything.