House of Secrets: Battle of the Beasts by Columbus Chris

House of Secrets: Battle of the Beasts by Columbus Chris

Author:Columbus, Chris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Balzer + Bray


“With Occipus,” Brendan answered. He seemed cagey; he looked at his feet, which were adorned with brand new leather sandals. “I’ve been in his palace. We feasted until I-don’t-know-when last night; I just woke up. Check out my cool outfit!”

“Bren, don’t leave us again,” Eleanor said. “We had a horrible night. There were no blankets or anything, and believe it or not, we actually missed all of your dumb jokes and complaining.”

“Yeah, well . . . ,” Brendan said. He kept staring at his toes. “The people in Occipus’s palace were really nice. I mean, nicer to me than anybody back home. . . .”

“Brendan—” started Eleanor, but her brother took a deep breath and interrupted.

“You have to let me finish, Nell. Ever since we came back from our last adventure, I haven’t been happy. I mean, our family has all this money, but we’re not happy, and now we’re at a school with kids who have more money anyway. And the harder I try to fit in—like getting that backpack—the more people make fun of me. And I don’t really feel like I belong, you know?”

“That’s called being a teenager, Bren,” Cordelia said. “We all feel it, even Nell, and she’s only nine.”

“A very mature nine,” said Eleanor.

“But here,” Brendan continued, “I do feel like I belong. I’m special here, and no one will ever take that away from me. I’ll be a guest of honor as long as Occipus is in power.”

“And then, when he’s kicked off the throne, or hanged . . . you’ll take over, right?” Cordelia asked in a mocking tone.

“I don’t want to take over,” Brendan said. “I just want to stay.”

“You’re not serious, are you?” Eleanor asked.

“I’m more serious than I’ve ever been,” Brendan said. “I know you guys are all used to me making jokes. But this isn’t a joke. I don’t want to go home. I want to stay in ancient Rome for good.”

Everyone looked around, waiting to see who would speak first. Cordelia stepped forward.

“Bren, you really need to think about what you just said,” she said, suddenly panicked. “We can’t break up this family. We work together, and it’s the only way we’ve managed to survive. We’re going to need your help to find a way back to Mom and Dad. I think the Wind Witch—”

“I don’t care about the Wind Witch,” Brendan said. “I don’t want to have to worry about her ever again. Especially after last night—”

“What happened last night?”

“After I left,” said Brendan, “she showed up. Said she had to try to kill me to see if she really lost her power. . . .”

“And?”

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“So she can’t kill any of us,” pondered Cordelia. “Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t care,” said Brendan. “I just want to hang out at the Colosseum, eat some cured meat, rock in the hammock, watch the gladiator games—”

“What kind of horrible person have you turned into?” Eleanor burst out. “What would Mom and Dad think? I mean .



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