The Genesis League: Ch. 1







CHAPTER I

~BRUTUS~

In Ruins

BEING A DEMIGOD SUCKS. WHOEVER DECIDED that the gods would start mating with humans was an idiot. I don't think people understand how difficult it is to be half-human and half-something else. Forget the something else; being anything but simply human is bad enough.

It's the year 4000; the 24th century. Demigods have been around since ancient times, and now humans know it too. A few years ago, during the Battle of Pyrus Peak, the demigod children of Hephaestus decided to aid the humans in their fight against the allied forces of the Underworld. You could say it was a success, I suppose. We won the war, of course, but at the cost of many lives.

And at the cost of our dignity.

Shunned, ridiculed, and even tortured, demigods were driven into hiding by modern society. You might ask why they shunned us if we helped them win the war they were so drastically losing.

Good question.

I've been asking myself the same one since I was born.

My name is Daeman Kane. Yes, yes; I know my name sounds like demon. I've been teased and bullied because of that my name, my whole life. I blame my father for it; being the Lord of the Dead tends to make you think of stupid names to call your children.

But no matter- I've fixed this problem. I go by Brutus- a name I picked up from a Roman history book. Brutus was the founder of the Roman Republic over three million years ago. It fit perfectly, considering the position I was in.

Like I said, my father was the Lord of the Dead...a.k.a. Hades. Being a god, he had stayed with my mother for about three minutes after I was born and then had hauled tail out of our lives. I can't say I blame him either. Scotland isn't really a beautiful place anymore.

I grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland with my mother Laila. We spent our days in the hosue, never going outside for fear of getting mugged...or worse. I had to turn myself into a man quickly, so that I could protect my mother. The green, rolling hills of Scotland were no longer there to hide the country folk, and the robotics industry was taking over the country. To save me the life of a factory worker, my mom had sent me to Rome, Italy.

To boarding school.

So here I was. The son of Hades- another demigod hiding another secret-, stuck in a stuffy, dust covered class room. In a wooden desk. Trying to ignore the sound of the teacher's nails scraping across the old school, forest green chalk board.

Oh, how sweet life is.

~ ~ ~

Cold, slippery rain poured down on our heads, plastering our hair to the back of our necks. The cobblestone streets of rome were sleek and smooth, like newly spread butter. The sound of the rain drops stabbing at umbrellas like razor sharp daggers was enough to keep me from falling asleep as our teacher lectured us about the Roman Colosseum.

I rubbed my wet, blood shot eyes. I never listened to Mrs. Caroline, not even on her best days. Roman history didn't interest me, no matter how important it was to know for a demigod. Looking up into the rain dotted sky, I let out a could sigh of exhaustion.

Four years of my life had been spent studying my arse off here at Potestas Academia. I was a senior now, the last days of high school having rolled out upon me. I was 18, a legal adult everywhere in the world. In a matter of weeks I would be a high school graduate, on my way to some expensive college over seas in America, most likely. It didn't matter, however. No matter what job I obtained, no matter what life I lived...nothing would change the fact that I will forever and always be a demigod.

"Be on your way, children," our instructor suddenly said. Under her scarlet red umbrella, her hair waved wildly in the wind, her shimmering green eyes sparkling like morning dew on grass. As she sat down comfrotably on a bench near the entrance of the Colosseum, I realized that she had just dismissed us to explore the ruins of ancient Rome.

The swarm of children that was composed of 9th through 12th grade began to make their way towards the entrance. Standing there in the cold, freezing spring rain...I surprisingly felt comfortable. As the water poured down my sleek, tanned neck, I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. The world was such a beautiful place, yet it was becoming polluted with the advancing industries of technology and robotics...

If only the world could be just as natural as rain...

My eyes wandered down towards a puddle at my feet. It was quickly gathering water, turning into a miniature, clear lake that would impress any bug. My reflection was as clear as daylight on this cloud, afternoon. My shadowy black eyes gazed out at me from the earth below; a deep abyss of swirling secrets and pain. My wet, slick hair hung low over my face, making me appear to be a lonely, dark train wreck. My lips were chapped from the cold air, the cold, pale, blue color of them scaring me somewhat.

I suited my name. I looked like a demon.

And suddenly an angel's face was next to mine, in the puddle-mirror I had lost my thoughts to. I looked up to see Raven Morgan, my oldest friend here at the boarding school.

Raven was beautiful- a mere goddess in a mortal's body. Her straight, shoulder-length black hair shimmered in the dim light of the day, the rain drops in her hair making her sea blue eyes stand out like diamonds. Her slightly tanned skin was the perfect shade of brown; as if someone had dipped her in a pot of caramel and given her the body fit for a queen. She had muscel, but just the right amount of it. Her slender, curvy physique made her one of the most attractive girls in our school, if not the most attractive. And her lips were perfect; full and pink, as if she was waiting for her knight in shining armor to come and sweep her off her feet with a gentle kiss...

Raven smacked me hard over the head, her palm ricocheting off of my face at the speed of a bullet.

"Ow!" I winced, rubbing my forehead softly. "What the hell?!"

Raven glared at me, hands on her delicate hips. She had the look she always had on her face; a smirk that was one of anger, yet playfullness.

"See?! You didn't even hear me!" she groaned, stiffling a small, cute giggle. "I said 'let's go explore the ruins inside', kid!"

She hugged my softly, reassuring me that she wasn't angry at me in the slightest. I sighed happily. Raven was the closest thing to a best friend I had here. We had met at Freshman orientation, connecting over our love of Greek mythology. For the next for years, we had become best friends. But...I had never had the guts to ask her out. For a son of Hades (one of the "Big Three"), I sure was a wimp.

Raven slipped her hand through mine gentley, though I knew it meant nothing. She'd always done this, from the first day we'd met. Dragging me across the rain covered cobblestone, we approached the entrance of the Colosseum.

As the tall, rectangular shaped gateway grew closer, I could hear a faint shouting noise. It sounded like a man and a woman arguing over...pasta?

"Do you hear that?" I asked Raven, following behind her closely.

Raven giggled happily. "Of course I do. They're at it again, Brutus. She thinks he ate her pasta."

"Who?" I said, confused.

"Who do you think?" she laughed as we turned the corner.

Standing in the center of entry way of the Colosseum were Tyrese Amberthone and Bailey Willow- two of my closest friends.

WIP





