Chapter Twenty-Two

“Oh, I’m no one,” the women says. “But my master is certainly someone.”

The hellhounds leap at the wall of water, growling and clawing. The women’s eyes widen, I push Derek to the side while she’s distracted, Alex throws her hands out and makes a swiping motion. Four soldiers drop dead.

“GO!” Derek shouts.

They run off towards the exit sign. I hesitate and then run in the opposite direction. The way the women had come down.

“QUINN!” Alex shouts.

Ignoring her I take off at a sprint. Following the footprints on the dusty ground. Closing my eyes as I go, straining my hearing to try and find anyone. Shaking my head I open them again.

I turn a corner, just as an arm snakes out and grabs my wrist, yanking me back.

“What the hell?” I ask, thinking it was Alex.

Instead it was a girl, she had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She raises a finger to her lips and points. Following her finger I see four guards marching forward.

“Who are you?” I whisper when they pass.

“I don’t remember,” the girl says. “Who are you?”

“My name is Quinn. Quinn Shax,” I say.

“I know you,” the girl says. “They whisper your name.”

“What?” I ask. “Who?”

“The figures from the shadows,” the girl whispers. “They say your name. And the others too. And then the boy. He looks like you. His eyes are different. Darker. More black.”

For the first time in years I feel my blood freeze in fear. “That can’t be. He’s dead.”

The girl shakes her head, “Nothing dead stays dead with her around. Except me. They don’t trust me. They say I’m not like them.”

“Do you know what they want?” I ask.

She nods ever so slightly. “I hear them. The whispers. I know everything. Except how to leave.”

“What is the enemy doing? What are they trying to accomplish?” I ask.

“They want death. They’ve travelled a very long time to kill you all before you kill them. You scare them. You’re lucky the women is stupid. She didn’t recognize you. They want your town demolished.” the girl says. Her eyes dart around for a second. “But they want something else too. They want the world.”

I frown, “I don’t understand.”

“Olympus is going to fall, and this world will run red and become nothing but a graveyard. Tartarus will rise to Earth. Things are already wrong in the Underworld,” she says looking at me.

“Is that a prophecy?” I ask.

“No, a warning,” she mutters. “The gods are scared.” She glances down. “The world is scared.” She looks up and meets my eyes. “And you and your demigod army are going to destroy the half blood race.”

“How?” I ask.

“I don’t know. But this will be the last generation of half bloods. And the gods, the gods are going to die. Horribly. In pain. Because they will make their biggest mistake yet.”

“What mistake?” I breath.

The girl looks sad, “They’re gonna decimate town. They will trust the enemy. And then their children will be the enemy. And then you all will be dead.”

“Can we stop it?” I ask.

“It’s already too late,” she says. “Your brother is lost in the depths of Tartarus. And with him is the love of his life. And soon, he will go insane. She will kill him. And you and the others in your town will go into a blinded rage and march on Olympus. You will defeat the enemy. But while doing so you will leave the gods to fend for themselves. You will not help them with the poison injected in their veins by your curse. And they will die.”

“They sent them to Tartarus?” I demand.

She nods once, “That is where the car was going. Down, down, down.”

“What curse?” I ask. “I didn’t make a curse.”

“You have. It’s just not set in stone yet. But now, now you will make a curse. When you search for a way to save them. And when you can’t. You will curse Zeus for sending them there. And you will curse the other gods for allowing him.”

“How do you know this?” I ask.

“Because I can’t see anything else. They took vision. And by doing that they opened it up to see everything they couldn’t.” She says. “Now they look for me. They try to find me. But they can’t. I am hidden in a part of the world that no one will find me.”

“Where?” I ask.

“Death. I died here. Or I will, in twenty years. I slit my wrists,” she says, turning her arms up so I can see the jagged pink lines running down them. “Because they wanted to use my gift. To defeat you. And I couldn’t let them do that.”

“What do you mean, in twenty years?” I ask.

She laughs slightly, “I haven’t been born yet. But I will be. And then on my eighteenth birthday I will die. To protect all of you now. I couldn’t let them kill you. When I heard they found a way to travel back in time. I did it so they couldn’t kill you easily. If at all.”

“Why,” I ask. “Why would you kill yourself for us?”

She grins, “Because you died for me. And unlike you, I will have the chance to be born again.”

“What do you mean I died for you?” I ask.

“I was seven when it happened. I lived in Godsville with my parents. Of course, it wasn’t called Godsville anymore. I didn’t understand what was going on. Sirens went off. And the town started to panic. I realize now that it was an alarm. Zeus had sent an unkillable monster to kill us all. My parents, they told me everything would be okay and to stay put. My mom stayed with me. My father, he ran out to help the others.” The girl inhales slightly, breathing out before continuing her story.

“My mother yelled after him. Pleaded with him not to go. He said that he needed to, that he couldn’t sit by without doing anything. My mom said that Zeus was angry because of what happened years ago. She said that he had just enough power left to punish us. And then she said that he must’ve had inside help, because he had somehow found the town.” Tears were streaming down her face now.

“I could hear the screeches. Faintly I remember my father running in, covered in blood and soot. Telling us that we had to run. Someone figured out that water killed them. So he wanted to stay behind. He said he could help. My mother didn’t want to go without him. Before they could argue three of these... things burst through the door. They weren’t that big. Five feet tall. But they had skin of steel. Yet water burned them. My father killed two. But one of them came at me and my mom.”

I open my mouth to tell her that she didn’t need to continue. That I didn’t need to know. But she continues talking before I can say anything.

“My mother runs forward, at the creature. She was using a sword that you had made her. It was made out of water. But the monster clawed at her before she could kill it. I remember my father yelling for her to look out. He sounded so scared. When she went down he ran forward too, but he was tired. And the monster threw him against a wall. Knocking him out. And it was coming towards me. My mom, she tried to stand up. Tried to help both of us. But she couldn’t. And I thought I was going to die.” She closes her eyes. “I thought my parents were dead.”

She hesitates, and I thought she wouldn’t say anything else.

“And then you showed up. And you killed it. You were yelling. You seemed scared too. You kept demanding to know if I was okay. And I couldn’t answer you. I didn’t know how. Finally, I said yes. And you breathed out in relief. Then you used water to heal my father and mother. After you saved my mother something happened. I hadn’t even noticed the blood. You were wearing black that day. I’m not even sure you realized you were hurt.”

I blink, knowing how this story ends. I inhale sharply, not really knowing if I wanted to hear the end of it.

“You fell to your knees, clutching your stomach. Blood came out of your mouth. My father and mother yelled your name at the same time. And you smiled and I think you were going to say that you were fine. And then your eyes went wide with panic and you started choking. You were dead before my dad or mom could get to you.

“I walked up to you while my mother and father cried. I thought that it was a joke. It looked like you were sleeping. Despite the blood. Your eyes were closed, your hair was covering part of your face. You looked peaceful. You looked too peaceful, and I knew that you were dead. You died saving me and my parents. So when the time came I didn’t think twice about dying for you. Because you didn’t that day.”

I open my mouth, before I realized I didn’t know what to say. I had nothing that I could say.

“My parents talked to Bat, the medic. He said that he told you that you were injured. That you needed to go to the Hospital House. And that you told him that you would be right there. And then you two noticed our door busted in. And you ran towards it without a second thought. Your injury forgotten in your mind. You saved my life. And my parents.”

Finally I find my voice, “Who were your parents?” I ask. Despite knowing the answer.

“Mutt and Moon Shax,” the girl says. “They get married, and they’re happy. Everyone’s happy. And then Zeus attacks. And then it happens. The enemy captures a few people from town as we’re rebuilding. Having funerals. Your funeral. Thirty six other demigods died that day. I was one of the people that was captured. I was there for eleven years. Trying to get out. Trying to get home. The others stopped fighting after a few years. I never gave up. And when I heard that they were going back in time I knew the only way I could warn you was to die. And I didn’t care that I was going to die. Because I will be reborn in two years. You would’ve never gotten that chance.”

“Thank you,” I say.

She smiles, “I’m just glad that you got here when you did. Time is catching up with me.  I would’ve been gone in a day.”

“Your parents are going to be really proud of you,” I say.

“They already were,” she grins. “You’ll try right? You’ll try to stop Zeus before he sends the monsters. Maybe you can stop those thirty-six deaths. And the forty-three captures. Maybe you can stop your death.”

I nod, “I’ll try. But time has a way of wanting things to happen. At least now we know when and how to kill them. Because of you. I will await your actual arrival into this world.”

“Me too,” she says. “It’ll be nice to remember my name once more.” And then she was gone. The only sign of her presence a golden trident necklace, with a blue bolt of lightning running through it making the middle tong.

I bend down and pick it up, turning it over and over in my hands, before pocketing it.

۝