The Jacksons (completed): Book 2 - Percy Jackson Fanfiction

~ Chapter Thirty-Two: NERO

Chapter Thirty-Two:

NERO

"I'm saying... I'm saying we need to go to war."

Everything had changed so much. I tried to remember who Esme used to be - a popular girl at school with loads of mates, always being thrown at by boys but never interested. I used to resent her so much, how easily she fitted in with the world and didn't seem to care. She was so lucky and most of the time she didn't even realise it.

Not to mention, she got on really well with my dad. I was closer to Mum but Esme seemed to be at ease with both of them. She enjoyed a shopping trip with our mother but then liked to watch sports with Dad. I holed myself away and studied hard or did my homework or read books. Esme just flitted from here to there, always one and the same with everybody.

Of course, Esme had her ferocity to deal with - she could be extremely sharp and cold at times, but somehow, she used that to her advantage. Whereas at school, I was the one with the dyslexia and ADHD. People overlooked my intelligence because I had problems. They classed me by my conditions.

But I was just as smart as most, even more so than Esme. I just never really got the chance to show it.

And here, now, I looked at my sister - she had changed so much. Her hair was wild and tangled and that fierce look had intensified and became a kind of anger that burned in her eyes. They weren't so much sea-green anymore, they were sharper and darker and furious all of the time.

But her cheeks glowed pink, and she stood tall and proud, and a devilish smirk played across her face. I tried looking into her head to see what had happened at the operations room but she was blocking me out, sending me to other places. I don't know how, but Esme had shut off the one memory in her head I needed to see. And Adam could sense me coming - I could only read him when he slept.

Sighing, I said, "You can't be serious."

Esme's smile dropped and she bit her lip, her expression livid. "Nero, you can't be serious."

"Why?" I found myself snapping. "What if this is the war that the prophecy predicted, Esme? All seven Bornes together - Lucas and Joey will be joining us soon, and Zarah and whoever Kheo Heliosi Khamen is are already here. So are we. You might've forgotten, but I haven't."

"Forgotten what?" Esme thundered back.

"That I'm supposed to lead this war!" I dropped the bag of food - just some bread rolls, chunks of cheese, crisps and that - and scowled. "You're good at combat, Esme. You've got a physical power. I can barely use a sword and I haven't seen my stupid katana since I fought that damned serpent cab driver."

"What?" Adam asked.

"You can stay out of this!" I hurled at him. "This has nothing to do with you. I don't know what's going on between you - quite frankly, I couldn't give a crap - but you want to declare some war that I'm going to have to forefront, and guess what... I'm not in the mood to die today!"

Esme was frowning. "My powers are gone," she spat. "Dr Chadwick practically drained them, I can barely use them without tiring out immediately. I am nothing in this war. Do you really think I want to go at it? No. I don't."

She came closer to me, and we were at eye-level. "This isn't all about you, Nero! I've no powers, no weapon, and barely enough strength or will to stand. But I am going to fight, because I need to. And I don't think this is the battle from the prophecy - it spoke of a wall, remember? This is one of many fights we must have, because we are Bornes. Whether or not you like that, you've got to get over it Nero. Because we have bigger things to deal with."