The Old Family

(16)Light Strays, the Dark Remains

Light Strays, the Dark Remains

I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him into the dark room.

My pent-up anger and sudden shock at finding my 'lost' brother standing in front of my very eyes left me shaking. He felt my lack of restraint as his head hit the wall when I pushed him up against it and snarled with fury; "Where the hell have you been?"

"Zeus! Calm down!" Moros moaned as he felt the back of his head and checked for any blood.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Where have you been, vlaka? Your family has been worried sick!"

Moros stared at me with wide eyes- damn those eyes! He always looked at you with that blackened puppy-dog stare that left you feeling guilty no matter how lenient you were with his scolding. He had a knack for getting out of trouble- it was almost as skilled as his talent for getting into trouble.

I sighed and stepped back from him, loosening my fists from the collar of his coat. Moros cleared his throat and looked around the room. A sparkle caught in his eye as he examined the small bedroom. "I can't believe Pavlos allowed you to stay the night-"

"Moros." I warned, lifting my hand to signal for him to stop.

I was in no mood for his antics. He liked to avoid the obvious, but I'm afraid that at this stage, and with this amount of fatigue, I wasn't as indulgent as he'd like to recall when it came to his tricks.

Moros sighed and indicated for me to sit down in the chair beside him. The fire was burnt out and reduced to ash, but all of a sudden the room felt hot. Even hotter than when Aurora's thin nightdress had fallen to the ground.

I did as he asked. Muscles creaked a bit as I sat down in the chair and Moros pulled a face; "You look like you're in pain."

"Well, scavenging like an animal in this icy blizzard will do that to you." My eyes glared up at him and Moros swallowed, his eyes falling away from mine with chagrin. I was not unaccustomed to his shame. Moros knew the vast expanses of what bad behaviour entailed.

"I'm sorry, Thana." He did sound genuinely sorry this time though.

"Don't." I sighed again, louder this time. "Just... Just start from the beginning. Tell me everything. And don't you dare leave out any detail. No matter how small."

Moros nodded and sat down on the chair across from me. I flicked my wrist up and a smoldering, yet small fire sprung up in the centre of my palm. I leaned over the fireplace and stacked a few new logs.

Moros began to whisper; "This is all Ares' fault..."

"I cannot deny he was a pain in the ass," I piled one more log onto the small triangular heap and transferred the fire from my palm to my other hand, dropping it onto the wood. "But we both know there's more to this than a spiteful maniac."

He caught my eye and I saw the unease in his face. Moros looked paler than usual. He was always lighter in his complexion than me. He took after Nyx and shared many traits with my other lighter siblings; like Hemera, Nemesis, Momus and even Hypnos, However, Moros' eyes were pitch black, like our father's.

"Don't get angry with me." Moros whispered and I felt my fear rise, along with my anger.

"I'm already angry with you." I shook my head, but my voice was more controlled than I thought possible. I was still shocked to have him seated in front of me. Moros took my confession as an offence rather than an effort to make light of a somber situation.

He scoffed; "You're married now! Are you so quick to judge yet you'd gladly declare to do the same thing for your wife?"

I closed my eyes. They stung with the lack of sleep. "Moros, if you think for one second that I wouldn't turn this whole bloody world upside down to save my wife then you don't know me at all."