Kane Chronicles: Bloody Sands

Chapter 1 of my first Kane Chronicles story; hope you enjoy it.

The story will show some cheerful, friendly events for the first few chapters before we really get into the action, so, if you're waiting for that, please be patient.

Disclaimer: Kane Chronicles belongs to Rick Riordan.

Chapter 1: Pool Party and Awkward Guests

Sadie Kane stretched casually, letting out a contented sigh. It was a bright sunny day; their official school was still on vacation and, after much pleading from the others, her brother Carter had agreed to allow everyone this day off. They would be taking a break from their magical studies in order to have fun. As part of that, he had shrunk Phillip of Macedonia, the crocodile Shabti guardian of Brooklyn House, to his small size, allowing everyone to use the pool without worrying about disturbing him. Sadie had to admit, she was looking forward to this; while just about everybody at Brooklyn house agreed on the idea of having a holiday, Sadie claimed it had been her who convinced her brother, who was essentially in charge of the place, to agree to it.

'Yeah, Carter's in charge in name at least,' she thought with a smug grin. 'But honestly, he'd be lost without me.'

She quickly pondered the plans that had been set up: everybody would be getting ready and then they would meet up by the pool. Sadie, however was stalling; she had invited her best friends, Emma and Liz, around for an extended visit and knew they'd more than likely need help finding the place. As such she was standing, keeping an eye out for them. She had told them the location, although she knew Brooklyn House could remain hidden if necessary.

Sure enough, after waiting for nearly an hour, Sadie spotted Liz and Emma outside, looking around as if lost. Sprinting to the door,she opened it and quickly hurried over to them.

"Hey guys, over here," she called out. They turned to her and smiled.

"Sadie, there you are…are we, in the right place," Liz asked, cautiously.

Sadie nodded. "Yeah, c'mon; you probably won't actually be able to see the place until your inside. Just stay close to me."

"Okay then, lead on," Emma replied.

Sadie turned and, making sure they were following close enough, began walking back to the house. When they finally got inside, Liz and Emma gaped, their jaws dropping as they looked around.

"Wow, cool, this place is…" Emma gasped.

Liz seemed lost for words as she looked around in utter amazement. Sadie smirked; she hadn't been as blatantly obvious about it, but she admitted to herself that she had been just as impressed when she first saw Brooklyn House.

"I know, it is pretty cool. Well, we better get going and get ourselves ready and join the others; we can use my room," she said, jolting them out of their staring.

They nodded and followed her, still taking in the sight of Brooklyn House. They reached Sadie's room and she opened the door. The young magician stepped into the room but noticed Liz and Emma didn't follow her. She narrowed her eyes, confused, then stepped back into her doorway and peeked out to see what they were doing. They were once again gaping, this time at something further down the corridor.

She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when she realized what they were ogling, both at her friend's behaviour and at what she saw. What she was her brother Carter, having just left his room, wearing his swimsuit. Said swimsuit turned out to be nothing more than a rather snug fitting dark green Speedo. Carter seemed to notice them and suddenly seemed awkward.

"Hey. You – you guys nearly ready?" he asked, trying to dispel the obvious tension. Liz and Emma seemed unable to speak, and this time Sadie really did roll her eyes.

She grabbed her friends and pulled them into the room. "We'll be ready soon, Carter; see you at the pool," she told her brother. "Oh, and, uh, are you possibly trying to capture someone's attention? In any way you can?"

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw how flustered Carter got; he shook his head and immediately hurried past her, heading for the pool. Still smirking, she closed the door, but then cringed when she heard Liz and Emma talking.

"OMG, did you see him, so hot and muscular," Emma was saying.

Liz nodded. "I know, and that swimsuit, so tight, I just…"

"Okay, ewww, you guys, that's my brother," Sadie snapped. They looked at her, but before they could retort she shook her head. "C'mon, let's just hurry up and get ready"

With that, three of them got changed into their swimsuits. Liz was wearing a red bikini decorated with white spots while Emma wore an electric blue one-piece swimsuit decorated with sparkly designs. Finally Sadie finished getting ready; she wore a cream coloured two piece swimsuit, the bottom part designed like a skort while wavy patterns decorated the top. Now ready they left the room and headed for the pool.

...

Carter was trying to act nonchalant as he talked to the other guys next to the pool; however he couldn't help but notice something.

'I'm the only one wearing a Speedo.' He reflected on that fact. 'Well, apart from Sadie, no one's said anything so, I guess…Well, she was kinda right. I wonder how much longer until the others get here – well, actually, until Zia gets here.'

It was true, what he had noticed, he was the only one in a Speedo; the others all wore swimming trunks of different colours. Standing nearest to him was Walt; leaning against the balcony, relaxed and clad in dark blue swimming trunks. Meanwhile, nearby, Julian and Felix chatted together, Julian in light red trunks and Felix wearing trunks in different shades of blue, resembling ice appropriately. At the other end of the pool, Jaz was talking with Cleo and Alyssa; Jaz was wearing a sparkly green two-piece swimsuit, the top resembling a tank-top due to its length. Alyssa wore a black and brown one-piece with beaded ties for around the neck and Cleo wore a simple light pink one-piece with yellow belt.

It was then that Sadie, Liz and Emma joined them, all smiling. "Okay," Sadie called out. "Are we gonna have some fun or what? Let's get swimming!"

The others agreed, and just then the door opened again. Knowing it could only be one person, Carter smiled as he turned to face it.

He froze however, his jaw turning slack when he saw her. He always thought of Zia as beautiful, but still, seeing her like was, well, something else. She smiled widely but then seemed flustered by something; Carter could guess what it was, but it didn't help that he too was flustered and…something else, especially considering Zia's swimsuit. Carter could feel his face heating up as he saw her standing there, clad in a rather revealing crimson red string bikini; the thin strings acted as ties for the top, too, going only around her neck and back. He suddenly felt a strange feeling and knew what it was.

'Oh shit, not good,' he thought panicked. 'Anyone could see.'

Still trying to act calm he joined the others in the pool. Zia also joined them, seemingly having recovered from being caught off guard at seeing her boyfriend in his Speedo and was now smirking widely at him. Carter fought to supress a groan. He was really going to have to try hard to control himself. Any signs of arousal would be immediately obvious in his tight swimsuit after all. As it turned out, however, it wasn't as bad as he feared: he had fun with the group, and he and Zia spoke casually, although Zia still had a teasing look in her eyes. Ignoring Sadie's jokes directed at them, they also sneaked a few kisses whenever they could.

In all, momentary worries and embarrassments aside, it turned out to be a good day. Best of all, according to what they had been able to pick up, the weather was to remain good for a long time, likely to the end of the week, which offered them plenty of time to have some fun.

However, being so preoccupied with having fun, nobody noticed the strange shimmer in the air, just by the balcony. It was only there for a moment and then it was gone, but that moment was enough. Soon, things would change drastically, and alter the lives of the Brooklyn House Residents forever.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.