Chapter 14

IMPORTANT: This is the LAST CHAPTER for Spark of Betrayal. The sequel: Flames of War, should be posted soon. Also from now on, I'll be PMing those of you that review. The review replies here are giving me a false sense of length. Haha… On to another matter, I decided to put a bit on my profile. I'm going to be regularly updating it with anything new. Check it out for future stories, ideas, and just some tidbits about me. And I have to say... I didn't expect the amount of positive feedback I got from this, but I'm glad I did. Special thanks to MagicGold34, FoveroKaiExypno, and Summersecho for being my three biggest supporters. You guys are awesome!

Also, thank you to all of you that expressed your condolences. I really appreciate it.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.

PERCY POV:

The next day I walked out of the infirmary, flanked by my two best friends. But right now, they weren't doing any favors for my growing headache. They kept arguing back and forth about what to do with Marcus. I rubbed my head tiredly.

"We should dunk him in a pot of lemon juice. When he has cuts all over his body." Nico said emphatically.

Caleb shook his head. "I still think we should leave him in a pit of raging cats."

Nico seemed to ponder this for a moment. "What about leaving him naked in Antarctica? And freezing his little nibblets to a block of ice? While sending a pack of leopard seals after him."

Caleb shuddered. "I can't beat that."

Nico gave out a victorious whoop, causing me to wince a bit. That headache felt like a giant was pounding the inside with a sledgehammer.

"Caleb, of course you can't beat that. Nico here is a son of HADES. Does the Fields of Punishment ring a bell?" I sighed, rubbing my temples. I took a sip of nectar and the headache receded.

Caleb looked thoughtful and then smiled sheepishly. "Couldn't help but try. He did attack you. I'm just trying to vent some of my massive irritation."

I just chuckled a bit. "I can't blame you there."

We walked all the way to the holding cells. The guards nodded at me and let me through. I walked down the stairs and into the dim, torch lit hallways. The smell of moisture, rust, and ash met us as we passed through the door. I looked at some of the cells. They looked like they haven't been used in a while. Beside me, Caleb shivered. I couldn't blame him. This place was pretty creepy. Nico just squinted down the hallway.

"I sense him down there. About thirty cells down."

I nodded. I grabbed a torch from one of the sconces in the walls. I raised it up and it cast flickering shadows down the walls, revealing starched white bones. We walked through the hallways to Marcus's cell, where he was sitting against the wall, arms crossed on his chest. His hair was still a bit frizzy when he was struck by lightning. When we neared his cell, he looked up and scowled at me.

"Why are you here? Haven't you humiliated me enough?" he demanded.

I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. "I didn't humiliate you. You did it all by yourself."

Marcus got up into my face. "I am a god. Treat me as such. I am father's favored."

I snorted. "You being a god doesn't mean anything to me. And you clearly don't know Dad like I do. He favors who he feels deserves his respect. And much the same, I treat those that earn my respect with respect. But discussing Dad's preferences isn't why I'm down here. I came to ask you why. Why do you hate me so much? I barely said two words to you and then you start to spread lies about me. Start to turn my friends against me. For what?"

Marcus didn't say anything, but just sat back down and crossed his arms. Nico, apparently having enough of Marcus's "Holier than thou" attitude walked up beside me and kicked him in the face. Marcus's head snapped back and connected with the stone wall behind him with a sickening crunch. Ichor slowly dripped through his nose and down his shirt. As he lurched forward Nico grabbed the back of his head and smashed it against the stone floor. Nico pulled his head up, where a very dazed Marcus was dripping ichor all over the stone floor.

"Listen up. I can hurt you in ways you can't even imagine. Tartarus will sound like Elysium if I had my way with you. You better watch it." Nico let go of him and stepped back. Marcus paled.

I just scowled at Marcus. "As I was saying… As soon as you stepped into camp, you acted like you owned the place. You spread lies about me, to turn my closest friends on me. What purpose does that serve?"

Marcus scoffed. "You got what you deserved. Power should never have belonged to you. Power belongs to the strong."

Percy's expression darkened. Then a rumble went through the ground and shook the cell. Percy froze. Another rumble sounded and sounds of clashing swords, shouts of pain, and roars of monsters slowly filtered its way down to the underground prisons. Caleb anxiously drew his sword and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Just then a dirty hand erupted out of the ground and grabbed Nico's leg, almost dragging him down into the ground. Nico gave a shout and slashed with his sword. The hand fell off. A dirty figure with a missing hand rose out of the ground. Two eyes opened and black orbs locked themselves on my own eyes. I suddenly felt the rage and pain of the monster.

Destroy. Burn. Kill.

I felt the pain and rage race along my extremities and before I knew what I was doing, I raised Riptide and lunged towards Caleb.

Tear. Rip. Shred.

Nico intercepted me and turned my blade aside. Nico shouted something to Caleb. Strange. It sounded muffled. Just then, my mind cleared and I collapsed on the floor. Caleb stood a couple feet away, his flaming sword firmly lodged in the creature's stomach. He pulled the bronze blade out with a wet squelch and the monster collapsed. The monster began to sink into the ground, but not before we heard a scornful laugh.

"I return to Ourea… to be reborn… foolish mortals…" the monster wheezed before disappearing completely.

I turned to Nico. He looked pale and kept mumbling. "Not good. Not good."

Caleb spoke up. "Ourea. That's the Primordial of the Mountains isn't it? They're all rising. The Protogenoi. Aren't they?"

I shook my head. "Sure looks like it."

I glanced back into Marcus's cell. It was empty.

I growled in irritation. Nico looked up at me. "We gotta move. The others are going to need help." We turned to find dark tendrils starting to weave through the air, blocking the tunnel.

Nico raised a hand and closed his eyes in concentration. After a few tense seconds, his brow became beaded with sweat. Then the darkness almost reluctantly dissipated and Nico dropped his hands in exhaustion.

"It was Erebus and Nyx. They let me off easy on that one… I need a nap."

Caleb nudged Nico. "Fight now, nap later." Then we stumbled out into the light of day.

The camp was in total chaos. Ourea's minions were ramaging through the Camp and turning campers on campers, and then finishing off the remaining survivors. And the sun blazed above a bloody battlefield. But the sun seemed… different. It's glare harsher and sharper. All the Demeter and Persephone kids were trying to summon plants and weeds to fight but they kept getting burnt and dried. I wracked my brain for the Primordial that controlled the day.

Aether and Hemera. Again. Not good.

I ran out onto the streets of camp and nearly tripped over a fallen helmet. Its owner lay a couple feet away, with a spear stuck through his chest. Right next to the spear shaft was a centurion's badge of the Fifth Cohort. Dakota.

I scrambled to his side. His breathing was already ragged. He pushed a small disk into my hands. On its surface were Ancient Greek enchantments spelling out "Never Miss", "Fatal" and a bunch of other lethal spells that would have been harsh even for the Field of Punishment.

Dakota's eyes had a panicked look and he gasped, "Had… a dream. You'll need… it… soon. Choices… so many choices…"

His hand relaxed and his eyes glazed over, locked in a permanent expression of panic. I closed his eyelids and removed the spear.

Nico was doing combat with one of Ourea's minions, but he was tiring fast. His little trick in the tunnels hadn't exactly done him any favors either. Then, a well-timed swipe from the monster sent Nico flying into a wall of an old coffee shop where he crumpled and lay still. Being the idiot that I can be, I threw Riptide. It spun through the air and lodged itself in the monster's left shoulder blade, driving it to one knee. Just as I reached it, I drew a dagger and drove it through the top of its head. The monster melted into the earth. I ran over to Nico, who still hadn't moved. I put a finger to his neck and wave of relief coursed through me as I felt a faint pulse.

NICO POV:

I felt myself hit the side of the coffee shop and I blacked out. Then I felt like I was being pulled from my body and into the ground. After a few minutes of solid earth, I exited in the underground cavern of the underworld. The Field of Punishment was destroyed. The barbed wire fences had completely toppled, letting the worst of the dead run free. But what I saw in the distance was what nearly stopped my heart. My dad's palace was surrounded. Dark horsemen and soldiers swarmed the fences where most of my dad's undead army was busy trying to repel the attackers. A figure seemed to be leading the charge. The guy had pale skin as if he hadn't seen daylight in eons, and his eyes were black and seemed to burst into hellfire from time to time.

"Erebus. Oh my gods." I thought.

I was pulled into my dad's throne room. Hades was sitting on his throne with Persephone. He saw my ghost and pulled me into a hug. To say I was shocked was the understatement of the year. He pulled away and looked at me.

"Listen son. I know this is a dream, but your spirit is physically here. There is something of the utmost importance that you must know."

A boom shook the palace.

"Husband! They have almost breached the defenses!" Persephone cried.

Hades ignored here. He reached his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a scroll and handed it to me. "You will know what to do with this when the time comes."

I put the scroll into my pocket. Hades smiled grimly at me.

"Make sure you keep it safe. Do not let it fall into enemy hands. Now go! Bring the House of Hades the honor it deserves!"

He pushed me away. A louder boom shook the palace as my spirit spiraled back into my body. I woke up with blinding light in my face and something wet trickling down my shirt. I lifted my head blearily and saw that Percy was soaking my wounds in nectar.

"God Perce… we need to get out of here." I mumbled.

I looked farther past the buildings. Reyna was fighting two of Ourea's monsters. She slashed and ducked but even I could tell she was getting tired. I reached out and concentrated. Tendrils of darkness reluctantly shot out. But as soon as they came in contact with the Aether and Hemera strengthened sunlight, they began to steam. I continued to pull shadows from dark places and soon enough I had smoky ropes that I planned to use as a weapon. I made a fist with my hand. The tendrils raced up the leg of the first monster and completely coated it, scouring the flesh from its bones in a matter of seconds. Reyna pulled off a backflip out of range of the club and flung a small knife right into the remaining monster's eyes.

She took a deep breath and shouted. "RETREAT!"

PERCY POV:

At the call, demigods everywhere fought with renewed effort in order to get away and slashed and killed the monsters that they were fighting and ran towards the hills that surrounded the camp. I hauled Nico to his feet and dragged him to the nearest exit. Caleb materialized behind us and picked up Nico's other arm. Caleb was sporting a new cut over his right eyebrow. Hm. I'd have to ask about that later.

Minutes later, we stood on a small hill overlooking the camp. Billowing clouds of smoke rose from ruined buildings and homes. Bodies littered the streets. Broken weapons lay beside their fallen masters.

Reyna came and stood next to me. "By the gods…" A tear trailed down her face before she started sobbing. I put an arm around her and she buried her face into my shoulder and cried. I patted her soothingly and whispered in her ear.

Little did I know that a blonde goddess was watching us with hate filled eyes.

-Ω-

End of Book 1

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