for blood for more blood,? Cassandra whispered, and Helen
shivered at the empty gleam in her eyes.
?I know that part. Orestes had to kill his mother because she
killed his father because he killed their daughter,? Helen said. ?But
I read those plays and they had happy endings. Apollo talked the
Furies into forgiving Orestes.?
?That part was pure fiction,? Castor said, shaking his head. ?The
Furies never forgive, and they never forget.?
?So basically, our families have been murdering each other since
the Trojan War?? Helen asked. ?There can?t be many of us left.?
?There are
n?t. The House that our family belongs to is called the
House of Thebes. It was thought to be the only House left?until
the Furies led us to you, of course,? Castor responded.
?What House am I from??
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?We won?t know that until we know who your mother was,? Cassandra
said.
?Her name was Beth Smith,? Helen said, hoping Lucas was
wrong and that his father would remember her somehow. But
Castor shook his head kindly.
?Whoever she was, she obviously told you and your father a fake
name to protect you. You certainly look like someone I used to
know, but Scions don?t always hand down physical traits the same
way mortals do,? Castor spoke haltingly as he shifted in his chair.
?For instance, Lucas looks nothing like me?he doesn?t even look
like a typical Son of Apollo, like my brother or me. We Scions are
half human, half archetype, and every now and again the way one
of us looks has more to do with the historical figure the Fates
destined that Scion to model his or her life after than who the parents