Piper pushed her wet hair out of her face. Rain was pouring relentlessly from the sky. Her jacket was completely soaked, which meant she was freezing. Piper did her best to adjust her backpack and look around. They could only see about ten feet in front of them.
Her mind drifted towards the group. She hoped that they were treating Annabeth well. Annabeth could more than handle herself, but the last thing they needed was more enemies. Piper just wanted to find the box, so they could be reunited with the daughter of Athena and make a plan.
"Why would they want Annabeth as a hostage?" Piper asked. In her mind, she would be the best hostage. Piper didn't have as much combat experience as Reyna or Annabeth, and she wasn't as tactically smart as the two of them. There was no way she could make a plan to break out of the group's base and then execute it. "If there was three of us, we would have a much easier time getting to the box."
If the group had one reason to not take Piper hostage, it was her charmspeak. How did they know about it though? It wasn't something that a group unaffiliated with Camp Half-Blood should know. That worried Piper. If they knew about her charmspeak, what else did they know?
"They want to divide and conquer us," Reyna answered. The daughter of Bellona was walking right next to Piper. It seemed like Reyna was trying to see through the rain, but she was having no luck. "If we failed to find the box or showed that we couldn't be trusted, they could easily take Annabeth out. We also wouldn't try to take the box for ourselves. It is a good strategy."
"We're on the wrong side of it," Piper commented. Her companion gave a slight nod. Piper looked around the street that they were on. No cars passed them on the road. They seemed to be in a quiet part of town, and it did nothing to settle Piper's disturbed feeling.
"If the box is so important and they know where it is, why would they send us?" Piper asked. "It seems safer for them to retrieve it, unless they know something we don't. Would they really send us into a dangerous place?"
"I don't know," Reyna replied. She shivered slightly. "It could have just been a trap to separate us from Annabeth. They may even be using us as bait, or they are scared of whoever took the box. Either way, I don't like it."
Piper nodded her agreement. After another minute of walking, she bit her lip. One question had been bothering her for awhile, but she didn't know how to ask it. She also didn't know how Reyna would react. Reyna was not someone who liked to shared personal information.
It took her a few more moments to work up the courage. She glanced at Reyna and opened her mouth. No words came out, so she rubbed her face. After rubbing her face, Piper looked up and spoke, "Why don't you like charmspeak?"
Once she started the sentence, it was easy to get the words out. Reyna stopped walking and looked at her. Piper, for a moment, regretted her question. Then, Reyna looked around and continued to walk. The daughter of Bellona didn't seem upset.
"Circe is the reason," Reyna answered. She looked at Piper. There seemed to be much more to the story than Reyna was willing to share, and that was okay with Piper. "She did terrible things with it."
Piper nodded. She knew it was best to not push the issue. After glancing around, Piper came to a sudden stop. The warehouse was to their right. The words on the wall were mostly faded, but a large picture of a dog holding a biscuit gave them the only clue they needed.
The two took a moment to examine the front of the warehouse. There seemed to be lights on inside, and one light was shining down on the entrance. By the entrance, there was two, black vans.
"Follow," Reyna ordered. She ran towards an alley that was directly in front of them. Piper followed and winced at how loud their feet were hitting puddles. She hoped no one could hear it. The two made it towards an old ladder that was attached to a wall.
Reyna climbed the ladder with ease. The praetor seemed to hold no fear that the old ladder would break on them or that she would slip. Reyna pulled herself onto the top of the building and turned towards Piper. She turned and held a hand out. Piper grabbed her friend's hand and was pulled to the top with ease.
The two walked towards the edge of the building and crouched. They had a great view of the warehouse, but for a moment, all Piper could think of was the long fall to the ground. She forced herself to look back at the warehouse, which was in a state of despair. A large dog was painted on the side of it, but the painting was old and chipped. Two women stood outside the door.
"They're both masked," Reyna noted. She gripped her dagger and wiped rain out of her eyes. "They're also wearing black. It's clear they don't want to be identified, and since this part of the town is abandoned, no one will see them."
"Do we have a plan?" Piper asked. She caught the glint of a sword. Each women had one hanging from their side. Piper frowned and glanced at Reyna. The daughter of Bellona seemed deep in thought.
Reyna remained silent for a few moments. Her fingers tapped against the rooftop. After a few minutes, Reyna spoke, "There doesn't seem to be any other guards. We should knock those two out and move further inside. To do what, we're going to sneak around the sides of the building. You'll take the one on the left, and I'll take the one on the right."
Piper nodded. Something told her that this wasn't the first time that Reyna had done something like this. The two quickly climbed down the ladder and moved to the edge of the alley. Reyna looked at Piper and spoke, "I'm going to run around to the side. After you count to a minute, you are going to take out the guard."
The only thing Piper could do was nod. This was not a situation that she had trained for. Piper followed Reyna to the nearest wall of the warehouse. If they peeked out, they could see the two women. Reyna gave Piper a small nod and ran along the wall going the opposite way. She turned a corner and disappeared out of sight.
After counting to a minute, Piper turned the corner of the warehouse. She saw Reyna grab one of the women and wrap an arm around their neck. The other women turned towards Reyna, but Piper tackled them from behind.
Piper wrapped her arm around the guard's throat and squeezed. The women started to move, and that caused Piper to tighten her grip. After a few moments, the women went limp. Reyna spoke, "Give it a few more seconds. She could be faking unconsciousness."
Piper nodded and did as she was told. After a few moments, Reyna gave her a small nod. Piper let go of the woman and stood. A shaky breath left her. It took her a few moments to look at Reyna.
"We need to hide them," Reyna whispered. She glanced around and picked up one of the unconscious women, and she did it with an ease that made Piper slightly jealous. Piper picked up the other woman and followed Reyna towards the alley. They laid the two women on top of a closed trash bin.
"Back to the warehouse," Piper guessed. Reyna gave her a slight nod and looked around. The two walked towards the front entrance of the warehouse. Reyna grabbed the door and pushed it forward slightly. When no noise was made, she pushed it open the rest of the way.
The first thing they saw was a large amount of shelves. Shelves were scattered everywhere and had rotten boxes taking up every row. They wouldn't be able to see anyone, and nobody would be able to see them. The appearance of the cardboard boxes brought another thought to Piper's mind. What did the box that they were trying to find look like?
"We still don't know where they are," a voice said. Piper glanced at Reyna, who had already dropped into a crouch. Piper followed her example. The two started creeping towards the voice. They stopped in front of a shelf, but neither dared to push a box aside and see the person talking.
"Try looking harder," a second voice muttered. The annoyance in their voice was clear. A loud crash echoed throughout the warehouse. "Idiot! Do you know how valuable that box is?"
Piper glanced at Reyna. Her friend made a small motion to their left, and they started to creep towards it. Piper hoped that the two women had the box that they needed. As the two demigods reached the edge of the shelf, Piper peeked out.
One woman was picking up a box. She had a mask that covered her face, and her friend had one as well. The box that the woman was picking up was only two feet long and two feet wide. It was as black as the night. Piper glanced at Reyna.
"Attack?" Piper mouthed. She figured that they could easily take out the two woman. Reyna seemed to share the sentiment and nodded. The two stepped out of their hiding place. The woman holding the box turned towards them.
"You're trespassing," the woman warned. She received a slap to the back of her head. Her friend unsheathed a sword and glared at the two of them. Piper grabbed her sword, while Reyna grabbed her dagger.
"They are with the idiots in the forest," the woman that had unsheathed the sword snapped.. She glared at Reyna and attacked. The woman with the box attacked Piper. It wasn't hard for Piper to dodge, considering the woman was preoccupied with the box, which was tucked under one of her arms.
Piper caught an attack on her sword. She stepped back and attacked as well. The woman parried her and swung. Piper dodged. For the moment, the two seemed to be an even match. A glance towards Reyna showed that the praetor had disarmed her opponent and knocked her out with her own weapon. Reyna turned to help.
Before Piper could blink, she was tackled to the ground by Reyna. A knife flew over their heads and slammed into one of the rotten boxes. Reyna quickly stood and pulled Piper to her feet. They stood back to back.
"I'll get the box," Reyna whispered. She still had the other woman's sword in her hand. "Can you deal with our friend in the shadows?"
Piper nodded her agreement. She laced her voice with charmspeak and spoke, "Come out from the shadows. We can talk this over. We do not have to fight."
All Piper heard was the sound of Reyna fighting the woman. That caused a frown to come to Piper's face. If someone was hiding in the shadows, there was no way that they would be able to resist charmspeak, unless they could also use charmspeak. There wasn't many people who could do that though.
Reyna knocked out the woman that she was fighting. The box fell to the ground and skidded for a moment. Reyna walked towards it and went to grab it. A knife flew by her hand, grazing her skin. Piper heard a footstep behind her and quickly turned around. Another person stepped out of the shadows.
It seemed to be another woman. Somehow, this one was different than the others, but she was also wearing a mask. Reyna seemed to share Piper's thought. She spoke, "Who are you?"
Piper glanced at Reyna. The praetor was crouched by the box, and her hand was hovering near the knife. Reyna suddenly grabbed the knife and threw it at the woman. She stood and kicked the box towards Piper.
The only thing that Piper could do was scoop the box up. Since she was closer, she could see the gold, ancient writing that was carved into the border of the box. There was no way to make sense of what it said, but she could feel the power running through the box. It just felt evil.
Blades clashed, and Piper turned back towards the battle. She saw the woman twist the blade out of Reyna's hand. There was a look of surprise on Reyna's face, and she was kicked into a shelf.
The woman turned towards Piper. She walked forward and stepped over her unconscious friends like they didn't matter. Piper's only option was to grip the box and step backwards. Her other hand gripped her sword, and she attacked.
The woman caught the sword in her hand. Then, she tossed it behind her. Piper stared, and out of instinct, she threw the box away. As she did, the woman kicked her in the stomach. The force of the kick slammed Piper into the ground and caused her to slide backwards.
Reyna lunged for the box, but the woman simply kicked it away. The praetor knocked the woman's legs out from under her. Reyna then turned and ran for the box. Piper quickly got to her feet.
Piper expected the woman to attack Reyna's exposed back, so she slammed into the woman. Somehow, Piper found herself on the ground with her back aching. She was pulled to her feet, and her arm was twisted behind her. A dagger rested against her neck.
Reyna turned and glared at them. She seemed to consider her options, but when the woman motioned for the box, Reyna hesitated. After a long moment, the praetor kicked the box towards the woman. The dagger moved from Piper's neck.
Before Piper could take a deep breath, she heard the sound of something breaking. There was terrible pain in her arm a moment later. Piper stared as she realized her arm had been snapped like a twig. A strangled cry of pain escaped, and it took all of her willpower to keep from crying.
"Let her go!" Reyna snapped. She threw her knife, with all of her might. It slammed into the woman's shoulder, and it caused the woman to gasp in pain. Piper used the moment to pull from her captor's grasp and lung towards Reyna.
Reyna gently grabbed Piper's shoulder to steady her, and the praetor handed Piper a whistle. Through her pain, Piper realized that it was the whistle that Percy had given to Reyna on the day of her seventeenth birthday. The whistle would summon Guido.
"Go," Reyna ordered. She stood in between Piper and the woman. At the moment, the woman seemed content to just watch them. There was no way Piper would leave Reyna. They had to work together. "Piper, take my duffel bag and go. Trust me."
Everything in Piper wanted her to stay with Reyna, but she knew that she wouldn't be much help. A broken arm would only hinder them, and if Piper stayed, she would only distract Reyna. After a moment, the daughter of Aphrodite grabbed the duffel bag. She took a deep step backwards.
Piper almost walked forward again and stayed. She finally closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Reyna was a daughter of Bellona, and she could handle herself. Piper needed to get back to the group, and she could get reinforcements while she was there. Piper turned and hurried away.
