A/N: Another Chapter! I am going to try my best to update nightly, but I can't promise anything because of school and work. This chapter is a little longer than the previous two. I really hope you like it :). Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I would love to see what I'm doing right, and what I can improve on! The next few chapters are going to be from Percy's view :D. Hope ya'll enjoy!
-Addie-
When I opened my eyes, I was at the gates of Olympus. I never used the elevator unless I had to, and Zeus had taken it down months ago to prevent any demigods from coming up. I went to the hidden door, the one we had all been sneaking out of, on the back side of the city. It was close to my apartment, so I preferred this entrance to the main one anyways. I unlocked it with a touch of my hand and slipped into an alley on the backside of the citadel. After carefully locking it back, I heard an extremely annoying, high pitched voice.
"Well, well, sneaking back in?"
Two figures stood in front of me, both much shorter than I was. Alexiares and Anicetus were the guardians of Olympus, but I could not ever take them seriously because they looked about eight years old.
"I didn't know that they let the children stay out this late at night!" I scoffed back at them. "Do your parents know where you are at young man?"
"You don't look much older than we do, Euadne. You only look eighteen yourself! You are barely an adult by mortal standards," Alexiares said as he crossed his arms. Anicetus pulled his sword out, trying to look as menacing as a kid could. I was not scared of them. After all, they could not tell me what to do.
"I didn't know they let children run around with sharp objects," I said surprised. I could see them start to glow. They always glowed when they got angry.
"Why were you outside of the city, Euadne?" Alexiares demanded.
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms in front of me. They were in charge of keeping everyone inside Olympus except those gods that had to leave for specific duties, but they were pretty crappy at it. I snuck past them all the time, and so did the other gods.
"I had permission, so if you will excuse me, I have about two hours before I have to be gone again, and unlike you, I am not immortal. I need my sleep."
I pushed past them, but Anicetus grabbed my arm. I grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground. I parried his sword with my dagger, sending it a few feet away. I had him pinned with one hand on his chest. My other hand had a dagger placed against his throat. He was a minor god, so I could not kill him. However, a dagger to the throat would be very uncomfortable. His eyes stared fearfully up into my own, knowing that I had easily overpowered him.
"I will ask nicely, then. You didn't see me; you didn't talk to me. Am I clear?" I breathed to him. He nodded, and I lifted myself from him. I used my gift to bring his sword to my hand and handed it to Alexiares. "That goes for you, too."
Alexiares nodded his head but shot me a grudging look. I was powerful for a demigod, too powerful, most said. That's why I was on such a tight leash. Some of the minor gods were jealous, but most understood the position I was in and sympathized with me, including Alexiares. His brother just had a temper, and occasionally I had to put him in his place.
"We're just doing our jobs, Euadne, you know that," he sighed.
Something fell into my chest, a heavy, repentant feeling. They had a job to do, just like me. Oftentimes, the gods gave us impossible jobs to do and then got angry when we did not succeed. I offered him a small smile, hoping he would understand my apology.
"I know."
By the time I had made it to my room, I was exhausted. There wasn't any time to waste. I really wanted to take a nap, but that was no longer an option. The longer Percy and Annabeth were down in Tartarus, the better chance they would be dead before I got to them. I grabbed an energy potion out of my fridge, one Circe had taught me to make. I uncorked it, and as I dumped the contents down my throat, I admired the view from my window.
My room was small, but the consolation I got was from the view. When I lay in my bed, the expanse of Manhattan was laid out before me. A huge window, larger than the span of my arms, looked down upon the cityscape, and thanks to a noise blocking spell, there was the beautiful splendor of the view without any of the noise. I moved from the window and headed towards my small closet. My bedroom had just enough room for my queen sized bed, a trunk for all of my weapons and gear, plus a closet for all of my clothes. I grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. I looked in the mirror and began to braid my hair back to the side.
Dark blue-green eyes stared back at me, and my chocolate brown hair ran in soft waves to my stomach. I had a few tiny freckles that dotted my cheeks and nose, which was small compared to the rest of my face. My eyes were almost too large in my heart-shaped face. Dark circles showed the lack of sleep I had experienced the past few weeks. I was thankful for the day I had off last week. Apollo ordered me to go to sleep, and that it couldn't be defied for twenty- four hours. I was falling over from exhaustion, and Aphrodite still had things for me to do.
I walked back into my bedroom to my trunk that sat before the window. I opened the lock and started pulling out the gear and weapons I would take with me. I stuffed my spare daggers into my waistband and put my sword and sheath across my back. The bracelets that transformed to my ring daggers were already on my wrists, ready and waiting to be used. I slammed the truck shut and took a deep breath.
A soft breath stirred the hairs on my neck, along with a warm touch along my shoulder.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
I turned to see a dazzling smile, and I felt one touch my own face. You could never tell what a god truly looked like, but in the form Apollo took most often…Well, he was very good looking. He had warm amber eyes and sandy colored hair, and he looked about my age. He looked at once lean and muscular like so many Greek heroes had looked before. Apollo was one of the few gods and goddesses that were actually nice to me. Some thought my curse was too harsh, while others took pleasure in it, like Ares. I had known him a long time, a really, really long time, and out of all the gods, he was the one that I knew best. He was also the one that knew me the best. I considered him a friend, a good one at that.
"And what Lord Apollo, am I forgetting?" I teased.
"Didn't I tell you to come to see me when you got back?" He looked stern, but it was marred by the sparkle of laughter in his eyes.
"You did, but you did not say immediately. See you should have told me to come straight to see you as soon as I stepped foot in Olympus, but you didn't so I was going to see you on my way out," I reasoned with him.
"Way out?" he questioned while fiddling with my strap on sword sheath. I thought of him as my older brother, in fact, he reminded me of Orion in so many ways. He looked out for me and made me laugh. Plus, he never asked me to do something that I would not want to do.
I nodded my head, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I already felt the pressure in my head from not following orders. It was mild, but it was steadily growing. I was taking too long in Olympus.
"I've got a task to take care of," I murmured to him.
"And I bet you can't tell me who or what?"
I shook my head while biting my lip, and he sighed. He sat down on my trunk, looking up at me.
"Well I was going to get you to help me with something, but it appears someone beat me to the punch."
"What were you going to tell me to do?" I was curious as to what he wanted. I actually enjoyed doing things for him.
"I was going to get you to visit Calypso. Go on vacation a few days, rest up, actually heal. You've been going non-stop, Addie," he said, meeting my gaze. His hand reached out for my arm, and I felt a flutter in my stomach. "How's your back?"
"It's fine," I replied softly. I didn't want to talk about my back. Rage rocked through me, and I took a deep breath. I had to keep my anger in check. It wasn't his fault that I almost got whipped to death. It was my own.
"When do you think you will be back?" he asked me. My hand was in his, and the heat that passed through it felt nice. It was comforting, his touch. I bit my lip and looked away. The truth was that I had no intention of ever coming back.
"I don't know," I managed to whisper, looking away from him. I don't know that I will, I wanted to say. That was the first time I felt disappointed in myself since I had made the request of Athena. Was it right to let myself die, was I really that selfish? I wanted to think that I wasn't that maybe I could figure out a way to make them think I was dead. The sadness must have crept into my eyes because he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. He stood up and held out his other hand to me, a shimmering gold vile in it. It was about the size of my hand length-wise, and about three fingers wide.
"What's that?" I asked.
"A Vile for mine,
To take on your adventures,
Hope that keeps you safe," he said with a wink.
"Nice haiku," I laughed.
"Why thank you! Its super nectar, so drink sparingly. I just have a feeling you are going to need it," he stated. He voice took on gentleness, and I felt the pressure in my chest once again.
"Thank you," I muttered back. I took it from him with my shaking hand, placing it in my small bag I had already put on. We walked towards my door, and we paused just outside of my doorway. We were in a dark alley, hidden from most of the Olympians. Shadows cast down upon us from the moonlight passing through the Cyprus trees, washing us both out in the light. Unconsciously, my hand went up to my head, attempting to balance out the pressure there that had been steadily growing. Apollo pulled it away, brushing his finger against my forehead. The pain vanished, and I smiled in response.
"I know you have to go. Please, be safe," he whispered to me. "Come see me as soon as you get to Olympus if you can."
I nodded my head and turned to head for the hidden door. This was possibly the last time I would ever see Apollo. I turned back around and saw his retreating figure.
"Apollo?" I said tentatively.
I stepped quickly back towards him, as he turned back to me, a questioning look on his face. I steeled my resolve.
"Look, just in case I don't make it back, I- I want to thank you. You've been kind, and I'm thankful to have known you and have you as a friend." The blush appeared on my cheeks, and I turned before I could embarrass myself further. Gods, what was I thinking? He was a god; why would he care about my thanks?
He grabbed my arm and turned me back around to face him. He had a fierce look on his face, one of both determination and passion. I called it the 'gods' look. They all got that look when they were determined to get something or have something happen.
"Come back, Addie. Promise me you will come back."
"I'll do my best," I whispered. I felt the command wash over me, and I knew I would have to fight to the death and try my best to escape. He just nodded his head, and when I turned back around, I saw the flash of light from behind me.
I felt the words of the spell that would carry me to the Underworld come softly, the pool of energy that surrounded me. I closed my eyes, and the ground vanished beneath my feet.
Tartarus, here I come.
