The Power (Titan 2)

“Not even servants?” I asked.

He laughed. “We don’t have servants that live here. We do have cleaners that show up every other day, but it’s just me right now. And you all.”

“How locked down is this place?” Solos immediately went into security mode, scanning the atrium-style room.

“Like Alcatraz,” Gable replied, walking forward and around a round table with a beautiful fern sitting in the middle. “Once the alarm is set, no one is getting in without us knowing. We also have motion detectors inside and outside the house that can be turned on. I can hit the inside ones once everyone is down for the night.”

Directly in front of us, a huge spiral staircase led upstairs. To the right appeared to be some kind of library, and then there was a living room. I was afraid to touch any of the stuff. The furniture looked like it cost more than my college tuition did.

“Nice place,” commented Luke.

Seth didn’t say anything as we followed Gable through a dining room with a massive table and really cool-looking chairs with high gray-cushioned backs. Considering that he’d grown up wealthy, he was probably used to a place like this. All of these guys were used to it. After all, just experiencing their University told me that their society practically rolled around in the money.

Seth actually hadn’t said much the whole drive over here.

I was sure he just had a lot on his mind. It didn’t help that we were roughly in the same area where we’d spotted the shade.

When I thought about the shade, I thought about the poor man that had crumpled to the ground with a broken jaw. I knew that, once possessed, there was no saving the mortal, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to really deal with. That was another life lost, and for what? Did the man even know what happened to him? Would his family be looking for him?

I sighed, rubbing my fingers along my right brow. The dull pounding of a headache was back again after being gone the last couple of days. It was weird. I was a demigod, so I figured headaches shouldn’t plague me. The only thing I could think of was that maybe it was tied to my lack of sleep.

We followed Gable into a beautiful kitchen, complete with Shaker-style white cabinets, marble counters, and a gorgeous gray backsplash. The island could seat six, and the eat-in kitchen featured a table nearly as big as the one we’d passed in the formal dining area.

“Is anyone hungry?” Gable walked around the island.

“We’re always hungry,” Deacon replied. “Always.”

Gable smiled at that as he turned to the double-door fridge. “I think I have some frozen pizza I can pop in the oven.” He paused, glancing over his shoulder at us. “Or we can order out.”

“I don’t think that would be wise,” Aiden replied, leaning against the island. “Frozen pizza is cool.”

Gable hesitated and then nodded. “Cool.” He pulled out two frozen pizzas, turned on the double oven, and then faced us. “I can show you guys around if you want.”

“Yes.” Solos appeared in the kitchen doorway. “I want to check the place out.”

I glanced at Seth, but he was watching Gable like a hawk. All of us shuffled back out into the atrium. The tour was surprisingly quick. A movie room was behind the staircase, like a real movie room, complete with a projector and a popcorn machine. Adjacent to the theatre was a billiards room. Aiden lingered at the pool tables. I found that funny, because I really couldn’t picture him playing pool. The dartboards had caught Deacon’s eye. Alex was checking out an arcade game. Looked like it involved shooting asteroids or something. The wall sported a TV as big as the one in the living room. We’d briefly lost Hercules outside by the lit pool. Upstairs there were more than enough bedrooms for everyone. I stopped counting at six. The strategically placed cameras throughout the house impressed Solos and Aiden.

Rich people took security seriously.

Seth and I ended up in a guest bedroom that looked to have been decorated by a professional designer. It was a tranquil mix of pale blue and white. Reminded me of the photos in Good Housekeeping. Granny was a huge fan of that magazine.

Everyone was either in their rooms, dumping their stuff, or downstairs, where Gable was putting the pizzas in the oven. Solos was sticking close to him.

I watched Seth place our bags on a pale blue bench in front of the queen bed. “You don’t really trust Gable, do you?”

“It isn’t anything personal.” He walked over to a matching dresser, dropping his stolen sunglasses on the top. “We don’t know him. Anything about him. And he’s handling things pretty damn well.”

“Too well?”

He raised a shoulder. “He’s downstairs making pizza for us. A bunch of strangers who just told him that we’re descendants of Greek gods.”

I dropped down on the edge of the bed and sank into its softness. “Good point, but after I got my initial freak-out over and done with, I went along with you.”

He walked over, stopping in front of me. “You also got to sleep off a lot of the shock.”

“And I used you as my Pillow Pet—”

“And drooled on me.”?

I rolled my eyes. “I did not drool on you, but the point is, that yes, this is a lot to swallow, but it’s not impossible to process and deal with.”

“Hmm . . .” He knelt in front of me, wrapping his hands around my calves.

Cocking my head to the side, I smiled slightly. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing.” He kissed my right knee and then my left. “Okay. I’m up to something. Thinking about breaking this bed in.”