The Butcher's base was rather horrifying. Reyna wasn't sure if it was the bodies of the dead animals that hung around and had maggots coming out of it or the other corpses, the human one. Actually. Both of them freaked her out.
Scipio's face was hard to read. After getting some food and a hour of rest, Reyna and Scipio had made a plan. They didn't have the numbers to storm the base, so they were going to sneak in. The two kept their armor, but they both wore black cloaks that covered everything.
It had been easy enough to sneak in. The Butcher's men were away, probably rounding up more victims. As for the Butcher himself, Reyna had no clue where he was. She did hear distant screams though, so that gave her a good hint to his location.
"Where should we go?" Reyna asked quietly. She leaned on the wall and stared at the ground. Reyna felt sick to her stomach, and the smell was terrible. It was really getting to her. Reyna pressed her fist against her mouth.
"Towards the screams," Scipio whispered. He glanced at Reyna. "That is where the Butcher will be. We will get answers and the book from him."
"Great," Reyna muttered. Scipio turned and left the room. After a moment, Reyna followed behind. They made it through a maze of corridors, but they didn't actually run into anyone. That worried Reyna. There should have been some of the Butcher's men around. Instead, it was almost eerily silent, especially since the screaming had stopped.
They slowly made their way towards the the location of the scream. A shaky breath left Reyna. The plan was simple. The two would get the book, and then, they would find Thalia. Reyna and Thalia would leave together and finally end this nightmarish time loop.
Reyna glanced to her side. Scipio walked with purpose. He told Reyna that the only thing he wanted was to be free, and it seemed like the end was in sight. They just needed that book, and she also needed to know where the barrier was. That would be harder to find, but if she just took a horse and rode it in one direction, that would work, right?
Scipio held up his hand as they made it towards a room that was covered with the skin of a bear. It hunt like a curtain. Scipio grabbed his sword with one hand and pushed the curtain to the side with the other. After a moment, he lowered his hand. Reyna glanced into the room and instantly looked away.
"All dead," Scipio said softly. He stepped into the room. It took Reyna a few moment to work up the courage to follow behind. There was bodies littered throughout the room. Each of them had their throats slit, and they have bled out long ago. Reyna knelt by one of them and felt their skin. They felt cold, so the bodies weren't fresh.
"Any ideas for how long ago this was?" Reyna asked. She closed her eyes. The rebels probably didn't do this, considering they had been a little preoccupied with trying to torture her. Was this a new threat at play? Did the Butcher have some rival group that went after him? Was it unrelated?
"The Butcher is described as a huge man with a scarred face. None of these bodies match that," Scipio said. Reyna forced herself to look at the bodies. None of them had scarred faces, just cold and lifeless eyes. Reyna quickly looked away. "We must continue on them."
"Agreed," Reyna said. She turned towards the door but heard the sounds of footsteps. Scipio unsheathed his sword. Reyna backed away, and two figures appeared at the door. A curse almost left Reyna as she saw Hannibal. Standing next to him was Thalia.
Hannibal looked around at the carnage. Then, he focused on the two of them and spoke, "What have you monsters done?"
"This is your handiwork, Barca. I am no fool," Scipio said. Reyna looked between the two of them. She met eyes with Thalia.
"I got the girl. She isn't getting away again," Thalia said. Before any of them could react, Thalia ran forward and launched herself at Reyna. The two hit the ground hard, and Thalia threw a solid punch that hit Reyna right in her injured nose.
Reyna threw her own punch at Thalia's jaw. Then, she shoved Thalia backwards. Her eyes were watering from the punch, and after this, she was going to teach Thalia how to not punch her ally in their broken nose. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Hannibal and Scipio were locked in combat.
Reyna tried to stand, but she was slammed into the wall. Thalia slipped behind her and wrapped one arm around her throat. Reyna tried to fight, but she was pulled to the ground and catch in some sort of choke hold, but thankfully, Thalia had enough common sense to not cut Reyna's oxygen off.
"Where's the book?" Thalia questioned quietly. She had her lips right next to Reyna's ear, and it took all of Reyna's willpower not to shudder.
"I don't know," Reyna muttered. She struggled with Thalia but didn't put much effort into it. "We just found this."
"Well, I found the Sibyl. You know that weird little oracle that made all of those Sibylline Books," Thalia whispered. Reyna's eyes widened, and she pulled away from Thalia. It took her a moment to pin Thalia to the ground.
"The Sibylline Books?" Reyna asked quietly. Some blood fell from her nose and hit Thalia in the face.
"Yeah. So, you need to take a fall," Thalia whispered. Before Reyna could argue, Thalia slammed two feet into her chest and slammed her into the wall. Reyna bounced off of the wall and hit the ground hard. Thalia was pinning her a moment later. "Sorry about this."
Reyna caught the fist that was headed right for her nose. In a situation where the two of them were pretending to fight, Reyna was somehow actually getting her ass kicked. Thalia knew how to throw her punches without any actual power, right? Maybe, she just didn't have any self control.
"Why would I take a fall?" Reyna snapped. She slammed a knee into Thalia's stomach and pinned her to the ground. Thalia looked like she had been winded by the blow. "Especially since the rebels tried to torture me only a hour ago!"
"I don't think a few punches count as torture," Thalia hissed. Reyna glared at her. "You were the one who said you had worse. It's not like you had any bones broken."
"You take the dive then," Reyna snapped. She wrapped both hands around Thalia's throat but didn't actually squeeze. All Reyna did was stare into Thalia's electric blue eyes. There was confusion and some pain on Thalia's face.
Despite the situation, Reyna found herself lost in Thalia's eyes. This was why she couldn't talk to Thalia. Talking to her meant they would inevitably make eye contact, and when they made eye contact, Reyna would just stare into those beautiful eyes. In what Reyna would call her dumbest moment yet, she leaned in to kiss Thalia. A fist slammed directly into her mouth.
Reyna found herself on the ground a moment later. Thalia pinned her to the ground and stared down at her. What did Thalia not understand about pulling her punches? Thalia spoke, "Just take a dive, Reyna. It's not that hard, and Hannibal won't hurt you."
"I can actually trust Scipio. He just wants us to retrieve the book," Reyna hissed. Her mouth ached in pain, and she could feel her nose was bleeding again.
"Scipio wants the Romans to have the book. It's not going to them. It is gong to Artemis, along with Sibyl," Thalia said. Reyna stared up at Thalia. She wasn't sure if it was exhaustion or being tortured or the fact that this entire situation was just one giant shit show, but Reyna was over the entire damn thing. She just wanted the book and to be out of this place, away from Thalia Grace and her stupid feelings.
"It is going back to Camp Jupiter and Lupa!" Reyna snapped. The next punch she threw had all of her power behind it, and the punch caught Thalia right on the chin. Reyna shoved Thalia backwards and scrambled to her feet.
Reyna watched Thalia flip her canister into a spear, and the hair on the back of her neck stood. She barely ducked underneath lightning. Reyna turned to look behind her, and she stared at the black mark on the wall. Reyna turned back towards Thalia and just stared. She really wanted to yell at Thalia for trying to kill her with lightning, but instead, she unsheathed her own sword and attacked Thalia.
Thalia dodged the blow and stabbed forward. Reyna deflected the attack and stabbed forward as well. Thalia dodged once again and danced away. Reyna caught her next attack and shoved Thalia backwards. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something land in the middle of the room. There was a loud bang and a bright flash from it
Reyna looked away and blinked rapidly, trying to get her bearings. Something solid slammed into her temple, and she collapsed to the ground. Reyna tried to blink away the stars that she saw, and upon being able to look up, she saw a man standing over her. Then, a boot slammed into her temple.
Reyna lost consciousness for a few moments, and when she came to, she felt something cold resting against her throat. Her head ached in pain, and she could barely keep it lifted. It took her a moment to realize that someone was holding onto her jaw and keeping her head lifted. The cold thing against her throat was a sword. Her eyes moved around the room. Hannibal and Thalia were gone. Scipio was lowering his sword.
"You have the Carthaginians. What do you want from us?" Scipio questioned. Reyna blinked a few times and tried to come to her senses. How long had she been out of it? "We have nothing to offer you."
"You two have much to offer us," a woman said. Reyna moved her eyes towards the woman. This woman wore a type of shawl, and her eyes looked green. Her pupils did as well. There was a familiar presence about her. Reyna was too rattled to place it. "You two have a simple answer to my one query."
"One of you knows the wolf of Rome. Tell me about them," the woman said. Scipio raised his gaze and didn't say a word. Reyna tensed as the sword cut slightly into her throat, spilling drops of blood. "Or, does your female friend know about it?"
Reyna blinked a few times. She could feel that she was on her knees, and someone was putting enough pressure on her legs that she wouldn't be able to pull away, and they had her hands trapped behind her back. There was also the sword cutting precariously close to her jugular.
"I see many things," the woman said. She knelt in front of Reyna. "One of you knows the wolf of Rome well. One of you can tell me everything that I want to know. That one will be questioned. The other will be allowed to walk away."
The only wolf that Reyna's scrambled brain could think of was Lupa, but she wasn't about to sell out the wolf goddess. At the end of the day, Reyna would keep her mouth shut, even if Lupa had thrown her into this mess. Silence filled the room, and the woman stood.
"Why go through all of this?" Scipio questioned. "Why would you go through the Butcher and all of his men just to get to us? What does this wolf of Rome have to do with anything?"
"It has everything to do with this," the woman snapped. She turned on Scipio. "You two would not be able to understand, but I am from a time beyond you. This entire place is nothing more than a facade. My men and I have been waiting for the right moment to avenge my sister."
"Avenge your sister?" Scipio questioned. He raised an eyebrow. "Did Rome pillage one of your villages."
"You crossed the barrier," Reyna said suddenly. She didn't mean to speak, but the words had just slipped out. Her mind was still trying to work through the clues in her head, but she just forgot to tell herself not to talk.
"It seems I have my answer. Show me her arm," the woman said. Reyna didn't fight as both of her arms were brought in front of her. The woman grabbed her forearm and examined the tattoo on it. "So, you know of a wolf of Rome."
"What is so important about this wolf?" Reyna hissed. She almost swallowed painfully as the sword shifted against her throat.
"My family is ancient," the woman whispered. Her green eyes met Reyna's. Those eyes reminded Reyna of something, but she just couldn't place it. "We were given a great task by the gods, and my sister was chosen for the most important position. The gods tasked her with finding these books, and she found a lead. But, a beast began to stalk her."
"The beast was as large as an elephant. It moved with speed that did not match it's size. I still remember those cold eyes. It stalked into my village, killing everyone in sight. This wolf made it's way into the temple where my sister was. I returned home after the massacre. The first place I ran was to the temple, and do you know what I found?"
"I found the corpse of my sister: desecrated and pillaged. Not something that a beast could do. With her dying words, my sister told me that the beast transformed. It became more person than monster, and it questioned her about the Sibylline Books. When my sister didn't answer, she was tortured and maimed. Your wolf of Rome did that, and I have swore to find those books ever since."
"I have walked this world for so long, taking up the burden of my sister. Now, you are going to tell me everything about the wolf of Rome, or what that beast did to my sister is only a fraction of what I am going to do to you," the woman hissed. Reyna remained silent. "Do not think I won't, Roman."
"She knows nothing of the wolf of Rome," Scipio interrupted. He took a step forward. Reyna winced as the sword went a little deeper into her neck. Anymore deeper would mean permanent damage. "She cannot help you, but I can. There is no need to torture her."
"You lie," the woman snapped. She stood and turned. "I have spent much time consorting with the gods. I know she is from Camp Jupiter, and I know of the connection. I am not fooled, boy."
"You are a fool," Scipio stated. The woman turned on him. Reyna stared at the ground. The man had let go of her arms after he showed the woman her forearm. Reyna suddenly grabbed the sword at her throat and pulled it away. She slammed her head backwards. A man howled in pain and fell backwards. Reyna stumbled to her feet.
Reyna turned, only for a heavy weight to slam into her. The weight slammed her into the wall, and her head cracked against it. Reyna crumpled to the ground and placed both hands to her head. There was the sounds of fighting, but Reyna didn't have the strength to look up.
Someone knelt by her and gently grabbed her arm. Reyna groaned and felt a hand gently touch her forehead. Scipio spoke, "We must hurry."
"Woman," Reyna slowly groaned. Scipio helped her to her feet, but she collapsed against him. Scipio caught her.
"Stay with me, Reyna. Just stay awake," Scipio said. Reyna stared at the ground and saw a pool of blood. There was another man near the pool of blood. He had a sword sticking out of his lower spine. "This one is going to answer my questions. Then, we're going to find the book."
"Thalia," Reyna slowly said. She tried to stand on her own, but her knees went weak. Scipio grabbed her and helped her slowly sit against the wall. He offered her some nectar. Reyna slowly took it, but she still felt confused and disoriented. "Have to help her."
"We will," Scipio promised. He studied her for a moment and stood. Scipio turned towards the fallen man. "First, we will get our answers from him. Then, we will take care of you. After that, we will find your friend."