Nico was picked from the air by the other two harpies, but I wasn't paying much attention to him. I was a bit wrapped up in my own struggles. I was trying to pry the the harpy talons out of my shoulder, which was now bleeding profusely. I reached up, swatting at the dusty blue wings of my captor. I managed to pull out a few feathers, but that only earned me a bite on my ear. I kicked and punched and did everything, anything, to try to escape.
To my left, I saw something drop from the sky. (Could you really call it that?) It was a boy. A boy with messy blonde hair and tan skin.
"Will!" Nico yelled. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have done that, as it only called attention to Will. Too late now, though. Two more harpies snatch Will, and even though I can use that against the monsters, I feel a twinge of annoyance. They're underestimating me. They underestimate what I can do. My annoyance bleeds into full-on anger.
I swing my leg up, best I can, and kick the blue-feathered harpy square in her nose. She shrieks in pain and unlatches, but only with one leg. I grabbed her ankle and ripped the claws out of my arm before unsheathing my unbalanced sword. The Celestial bronze glinted, reflecting the fires all around me. The harpy squawked in alarm at the sight of my blade.
"Surprise." I say, just loud enough for the harpy to hear. I bring my sword up and slice through the leg. It probably wasn't the most well thought out plan, because the next thing I knew, I was free falling to the ground, even faster than before. Quicker than I thought I would, I'm hitting the hard, rocky ground. If I had been more prepared, I could have ended my fall with a roll, like I learned at camp. But unfortunately, I hadn't really been expecting this.
Pain shoots up my already injured shoulder, and I realize immediately that I've broken something. I only gritted my teeth though, not wanting to seem weak in front of the monsters, who were crowding me in a loose circle.
I struggled to my feet, quietly groaning in pain when I jostle my arm. My sword lays beyond the mass of monsters, as I had dropped it when I fell.
The she-demon from before elbowed her way through the crowd just as the harpies dropped Will and Nico behind me.
"You're back." The demon said to Nico, completely ignoring Will and I. Her voice was low and smooth and overall surprisingly nice.
Nico's brow furrowed. "I…I don't remember you."
The demon laughed, a clear, bell-like sound. "You wouldn't. I've never had the pleasure to meet you three." Her tone was friendly enough, but there was a cutting undertone to it that set me on edge.
"Well then how do you know Nico?" I chimed in.
"Duh." the demon said, turning to me and rolling her eyes. "He's pretty well-known around here, along with the other two demigods who've been here. No half-blood has survived Tartarus in a while. I hadn't found out until a few weeks back."
Will cleared his throat. "And why is that?"
The demon huffed in exasperation. "Because some idiot killed me! I was doing just fine up there, possessing people, killing, just minding my own business, really. And then some guy got his hands on the Colt and just straight up shot me! It was so rude."
"Okay?" I said. My mind was reeling trying to figure out how to get Will, Nico, and I away from here. "You seem like you have a few issues to work through so we're just gonna go. . ."
The demon turned her head towards me slowly. The look in her eyes was annoyed, but I could see a touch of belittling amusement, too. "You aren't going anywhere. You seem. . . intriguing." A greedy kind of light overtook the she-demons face. "The other two, well, I really don't care what happens to them. My friends, of course, are fairly. . . hungry."
Obviously, I caught on to what she was planning pretty quick. "No." I said. My voice was quieter than I had hoped, so I repeated it, more forceful this time. "No."
The demon didn't waste any time with dramatics. "Yes."
Before I knew what was happening, she launched herself at me, and I fell like a ton of bricks. Hard. I yelped in pain as my broken shoulder collided with the ground.
"Hey!" Will yelled. "Leave her alone, she's hur-!" Will was cut off when a Laestrygon clamped a dirty hand over his mouth.
I punched at the demon, who was now sitting on my chest, but she dodged every attempt easily. She grabbed my upper arms and hauled me to my feet. I gasped as she jostled my broken bones.
The demon let out a breathless laugh and reached inside her pants pocket.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice higher than usual. The demon didn't reply, but instead took a length of rope from the pocket and shook it in front of my face. Then she did something I didn't expect. She blew a puff of air onto the rope, which then glowed bright red, like burning coals in a dying fire. She began tying my wrists together, and I was surprised that the rope didn't burn me. I still winced every time she twisted too tight.
"Don't be such a wuss." The demon chided. "This is nothing."
When she was done, she looked back at her army. I peered over the demons shoulder and sighed. The army was still keeping Will and Nico busy, and there was no way the two boys could take them down, at least, not anytime soon.
"Perfect." The demon muttered to herself. She began to walk away. I was still watching intently as the boys fought, and I didn't realize until the demon impatiently yanked on the rope that she had wanted me to follow her.
"Come on." She snapped. "We don't have all day."
"Where are you going?" I asked cautiously. Oh, don't worry. I wasn't going to leave without a fight.
The demon sighed, exaggerating it and therefore letting me know how irritated she was. "We are going to get out of here."
"I'm not going anywhere." I stubbornly said, planting my feet firmly on the ground. "And especially not with you."
She put a hand up to her heart ( if she had one ), and faked looking offended. "You wound me. Really. I'm hurt." Her face slipped back into its usual bored expression. "But seriously, I'm getting sick of you already. Let's go."
Half-formed escape plans flew through my mind. But of course, I chose the one that had worked well for me in times before. Being as loud and annoying as possible.
I looked into the demon's black-and-blue eyes and stilled my features. Then, I sat down on the cracked and heat-blistered earth below me. The look on the demon's face was priceless. She tugged the rope, quick and harsh. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not going." I told her tonelessly, biting back a laugh at the demon's expression. The demon made a disbelieving noise in the back of her throat.
Suddenly, she grinned. "Oh, you're funny. You think you have a choice."
"What makes you think I don't?" I snapped back.
"Feisty, huh?" She had an amused look in her fiery eyes. "That's okay. I know people like that. I have ways of making you do what I wish."
"Ditto." I retorted. The demon scoffed.
"Listen, half-blood. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your pick." She snarled at me, her eyes blazing with anger.
"Hmmm…" I said exaggeratedly, pretending to think about my choice. "Do your worst."
"Very well." She said. The demon snapped her fingers quickly and suddenly I was being lifted into the air.
I yelped, more out of surprise than of pain. I shook my bangs out of my face, grateful for the braid for the second time today. Thinking of how Hazel carefully braided my hair this morning sent a dull ache through my chest. I twisted around, which was hard considering my wrists were tied, and saw that three harpies had hoisted me off the ground.
"Arghh!" I screamed, my frustration with everything getting the better of me. The demon below me smirked.
"What's wrong?" She asked, faking innocence. "Does somebody not like the hard way?"
"Surprising as it may be, no. No I do not."
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you acted stupid."
"Hey!" I wriggled a bit, trying to test my captor's holds. I felt talons dig into my shoulder blade and gritted my teeth to keep from crying out.
The demon smiled knowingly and called to the harpies. "Let's go, ladies! We don't have all day."
I began to panic. I wrenched one arm out of the harpy's grip, and yelled as loud as I could. "NICO! Will! Help me! I'm being kidnapped by a crazy demon lady!"
I saw Nico look up, and his face blanched. I saw him grab Will's arm. Will followed Nico's line of sight until he too, saw me. Will shouted something, but over the roar of the monsters, I couldn't make it out.
The harpies began flying me away, and I almost sobbed in despair. I only had Will and Nico, and now I was alone. Again. I didn't even know where my sword was.