Chapter 36
Damien stayed low and crept along, staying close to the icy wall, keeping his injured hand held close to his chest, he had taken a chunk of the ice from the shattered wall and held it to his knuckle to stop the swelling, he was also hoping that it might come in handy as a heavy weapon that he could crack over someone's head if need be
He hoped that if he kept moving then something would seem familiar to him and he could find his way back to Markos, he would need his help to find and release the girls. But so far nothing jumped out at him, the noise behind him had stopped which he took as a good sign, but he couldn't relax, not when he and the others were trapped in here.
He came to another fork in his path, he need to make a decision, if he turned the wrong way he could run into one of those women with swords, normally he wouldn't mind running into beautiful women but in this situation he knew it would only end badly.
"Go right Damien"
Damien whirled around looking for the source of the voice, it sounded like it was coming from right beside him, but no one was there, great now he was going insane
"Go now" the disembodied voice demanded, it was deep and slightly menacing "There isn't time, go Damien"
Damien didn't know what or who it was but he didn't have anything else to go on, he went right and followed the corridor down, coming to the entrance to the dungeon, he silently thanked the voice that was in his head and moved into the open space eyes instantly finding his and Markos's weapons, he grabbed them and moved further in.
The coast was clear so he moved to the cell door that he had shared with Markos, the big guy was still pacing back and forth in frustration, occasionally looking back up at the crack in the ceiling where Damien had disappeared from a while ago.
"Hey" Damien whispered as he came into view, moving to the portcullis
Markos strode right up to the gate "You made it" he seemed a little surprised, obviously he didn't think much of Damien's potential, not that the son of Letus could blame him "Now get me out of here" he demanded
Damien nodded and began looking for how to open the portcullis, he hadn't seen what the women did to closed it, he was a little busy picking his face off of the ice with a banging headache.
"The sirens were over on that side" Markos said pointing towards the left side,
Damien moved over and kept searching "Sirens?" he asked, pretty sure that the Greek didn't mean the things on top of a fire truck that flashed
"They are monsters, used to lure sailors from ships in the ancient times" Markos answered impatiently, he was eager to be released "Apollo must have pissed them off too if they are here willingly helping Thamyris"
"Those women are monsters?" he asked not thinking they were that bad looking, not like the empousa he had seen last summer with her flaming hair and donkey leg
"Yes, not all monsters are hideous" Markos said "Now stop yapping and get me out of here"
"Would it kill you to say please?" Damien muttered under his breath as he continued his search
"I can still hear you" Markos growled back
"Okay just give me a sec, the walls looked smooth, no latch or lever… nothing" Damien ran his hands along the ice, looking for any signs of… well anything "You sure they were over here"
"It might be magically hidden" Markos suggested "Does anything feel off to you, take a breath and focus on one spot, let your instincts guide you"
Damien looked at the wall confused as hell, how was his instincts supposed to find something his eyes could not see, but he did what Markos asked of him and he took a step back, inhaling deeply he focused as best he could.
He didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling but then something pulled at him, it freaked him out a little but he went with it, his hand landing on the smooth surface in front of him, his fingers lingering on something, a slight groove in the otherwise flawless ice.
He hooked his fingers in it and pulled at it, it came away easily from the wall, as he did so the metallic portcullis lifted and Markos was ducking under it instantly and going to the entrance, he peered round the corner
"C'mon we need to find the others" he whispered quickly, he grabbed his swords from Damien
Damien hurried to his side and together they made their way through the maze of ice, Damien following Markos's lead, trusting that he had a better sense of things. They moved silently down the winding ice corridors, they could hear sounds around them, echoing through the halls, Damien gripped his sword tight, it making him feel a little more comfortable at least to have a weapon in his hand.
"Skatá" Markos muttered angrily "Annabeth would know which way to go"
"You really love her don't you?" Damien said, seeing the pained look in Markos's green eyes
The Greek nodded slowly, he kept his eyes on the hallway "I need to find her, I lost her once already and I am not going to let it happen again" he paused for a moment and looked at the younger man "And by the look in your eyes you feel the same way about your Praetor"
Damien dropped his gaze, feeling the pit in his stomach
"I also know that look" continued Markos after a moment of inspecting Damien features "I have had that same look in my eye before… don't give up, fight for what you love, or otherwise what is it we are fighting for?" he placed a hand on Damien shoulder
"Never give up Roman"
Damien nodded, but still the feeling in his stomach did not stop, Reyna had made it clear that she would put her duty above all else
"Come on let's keep moving, we can't be far off now" Markos continued moving slowly down the hall, they had to pause in a couple of places when they heard footsteps, their progress being slowed and Damien was certain that they had gone round in at least one circle
Soon they could hear new voices, familiar voices
"Annabeth" Markos breathed
Markos was about to move forward when Damien's ears picked up a male's voice and he grabbed the Greek's arm, holding him back, causing the big guy to glare down at him
"They are not alone" Damien muttered under his breath "Listen"
After a moment Markos heard it too, a deep voice talking, they couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but his voice was calm and low, Damien thought that it could be Thamyris, he seemed calm even when they broke into his ice palace.
Markos was itching to step closer, to hear what was being said, he strained his ears
"Consider my offer Miss Ramirez" he said in a calculating voice "I will call on you again later, after you have had some time to think over my generous proposition"
Footsteps started, coming closer towards the two men, Markos waved them back, and as they scooted down the corridor and just out of view when Thamyris walked passed with two sirens by his side, he paused for a moment, the holes where his eyes should have been turning to face down the hallway the two young demigods had just hidden down, Damien held his breath, no eyes meant he couldn't see, right?
He prayed that the same logic would apply in the mythical world as it would in the human world, another beat and Thamyris carried on his way and their footsteps faded down the icy corridor.
The two waited for another moment to pass before carefully making their way to where they had heard the others. Markos peered round the corner to see a well-lit cavern with furniture and food laid out on the table and the three girls sat around it, he was about to move when he saw two more figures lurking in the shadows.