A/N: Gods, I'm nervous posting this chapter, but also very excited. I can't believe we're at 50! Only 10 more to go and I am not ready to say goodbye to this story. Thank you SO MUCH for all the lovely support. In terms of Lou, well you'll just have to wait until next week! Shout out to the guest, 27gutzwillriley, and especially TwentyBelow for the sweetest review's – you are all amazing. See you all next week! ~ Emma
It wasn't his first visit to the school. The mist was a wonderful tool for manipulating mortals. Keoki only needed to cloak himself from the demigods with a dark hooded jumper.
The mortal boy's information made it all too easy to follow the daughter of Poseidon around each day. He gauged her bonds and motives, watched her arguments and playful jests alike.
Now he watched her from afar as she danced among her strange array of friends.
First there was the daughter of Hecate, with her raven hair and a craving to feel free of the camp's confines. Keoki had smelt her demigod blood when he'd followed her into the mall. The quick conversation they'd shared had told him all he'd needed to know to exploit her.
Then there was the son of Mars. A strong fighter, from what the Laestrygonians had said, and a complication if his plan were to work. He stuck too closely to the daughter of Hecate's side. He would need to be dealt with.
The mortals? Well, they were inconsequential and Emma still held her legendary hero of a brother at arms length. A senseless move, letting her emotions steal her greatest protector away. From the spat Keoki had overheard coming in, the brother would not be a problem at all.
Which left only the boy who held her heart. He would have been the preferable hostage, but it didn't matter. She would come anyway, offering herself up and allowing Bahram to rise. Everything was falling into place.
The Roman boy leant down and whispered in the Hecate child's ear, catching Keoki's attention. He raised the apple to his nose, inhaling the scent that kept him alive. A rose protruded from his lapel and had debated surviving on the flower alone to maintain his cover, but though some Astomi would argue otherwise, he found the scent of apples far more invigorating.
The Roman boy peeled away from the group, heading for a set of doors. Keoki hugged the walls as he crept through the hall, following the boy out. He kept his footsteps quiet, knowing he wasn't nearly as strong, but he didn't need strength if he had surprise on his side.
He glanced over his shoulder, scanning the corridor for mortals. As the boy turned the corner, heading toward the mens bathroom Keoki lifted a fire extinguisher off the wall. Just the right weight. The Roman boy didn't stand a chance as Keoki slammed it into the side of his head.
The boy crumpled to the ground, raising a hand to his temple. "What the fuck?"
But Keoki swung again, rendering him unconscious. He put the fire extinguisher aside, reaching into his jacket for his dagger.
"Are you really that mad at her for bringing a friend to a formal?" A disgruntled female voice carried around the corner.
Keoki froze. He tried to work out if she was heading in his direction, but he couldn't tell. He hooked his arms under the boy's shoulder and began dragging him to a dark alcove. As the second wound was starting to bleed, Keoki hurried his steps. He couldn't afford to leave a trail.
"Yeah, when the Winter Formal is the day before the winter solstice. She's not only putting herself in unnecessary danger, but she's dragging Lou into it too."
The demigods.
He couldn't let them find him. Keoki looked down at the boy. He could cut off airflow, but there was risk the boy would wake up and make noise. Any fatal wound that pierced the skin would leave a trail of blood and a stench, leading the demigods to him. It was too great a risk. The boy was incapacitated enough and woud be for some time. It would be enough.
"Are you sure that's what this is about?" The girls' voices grew soft and their footsteps stopped. "Is this about the prophecy?"
Could he walk past them? Get back into the hall unnoticed? He couldn't stay in with the body, there was more to be done.
"How could it not be about the prophecy?" The boy's voice broke ever so slightly.
Good, Keoki thought, mortal emotions clouded their levels of attention. All he had to do was pass by and act like a human.
"If you're scared about the prophecy, then don't be like this," the girl said as Keoki started to walk. "She has Sugraphe, so she will fight him whether you like it or not. Just be there for her, support her. If it's her last night, don't ruin it for her."
As he walked by them he kept his eyes on the ground. Even when recognition flared in his mind. The brother and his girlfriend. If they looked away from one another and at him, it would be over. They would catch him. He fought his body, keeping his steps at a walk. The girl began tilting her head toward him, but she was too late. He burst through the doors of the gym, letting out a tight breath.
He didn't have time to fret about it. He had to find the daughter of Hecate.
Keoki lurked in the shadows, observing the mortals. They were so oblivious to what would come. Their lives would soon be changed forever.
It was easy to spot the tall boy and, from there, the daughter of Hecate. He needed her to see him, to draw her away without catching the attention of the daughter of Poseidon. He didn't need to worry. Once she recognised him as the boy from the cafe, she would come to him.
Chiron though he was so clever, keeping them isolated from the dangers of the world, but he was a fool. Hecate's daughter could not tell fear from excitement. It made her easy prey.
Her eyes lit up when she finally saw him. He raised a hand in greeting, feigning a look of delightful surprise. That was all it took for her to come running.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Keoki let his lips curl into a smirk. "I thought I recognised everyone at Goode, so how did I miss you?"
She laughed, lighthearted and bright. It wouldn't last. "I don't actually go here, but my friend does. Do you know Emma Turner?"
"Not personally." Keoki cocked his head to one side. "Do you want to dance?"
Lou regarded him for a moment and a thread of doubt started to unravel his inner composure. "Alright."
She shrugged, putting his mind at ease. As he pulled her onto the dancefloor the song slowed. Perfect.
"I'm sorry I didn't call you." She bit her lip, perhaps to appear more enticing. The ways of demigods and mortals so often perplexed him. "My phone's broken."
"Not to worry, I'm here now." He placed a hand on her hip drawing her closer with a firm hold.
"I can't believe how small the world is." Her lips parted, revealing a bright smile.
He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingers curling around the blades handle. "That depends on how much of this you deem to have happened by chance."
Her smile faltered and her face morphed into one of shock. He pushed the dagger into the soft tissue of her abdomen, his own smile growing wider.
He shoved her away, letting her fall to the ground. Shrieks echoed around them as people tripped over themselves to flee. He turned, setting his sights on the exit. The crowd covered him, but he was in no hurry to leave. Not until she'd seen him. As the mortals ran through the doors, he stood to the side, waiting.
A clear path to the daughter of Poseidon formed. When her green eyes met his, he smiled and held up the knife, still dripping with the other girl's blood. While the other demigods bickered among themselves, she narrowed her eyes. Always willing to kill for her friends and she looked ready to do just that. She ran toward him.
Keoki slid through the doors into the now empty corridor, reaching behind a locker to where he had stashed his sword. A knife was too small for a fight such as this.
The daughter of Poseidon kicked open the doors, weapon in hand, and threw herself into the corridor. Rage was written over every iota of her face. The fire in her eyes caused a fear to rise in him that he had not expected. There was no water here, but she held a blade in her hand that he had not been expecting.
Their swords clashed as she swung at him over and over. She tensed her jaw, raining down blow after blow as she beat him back. Keoki grit his teeth and met her ferocity with an equal dose of his own. She was good, but even with her rage he knew he would not lose. He had been startled, but now he was ready. He dodged her next swing, the momentum sending her forward too far. She stumbled, but held her footing.
"You let your sentiment rule you." He smirked, allowing his confidence to return.
Her response was to cry out like a feral beast and launch another attack. He swatted it away with his blade, parrying each of her strikes.
Her strength was greater than he had thought and he began to doubt if he could take her by force. She was far better than the night she had killed his brother, but Keoki was not his brother. He fought battles on every front.
"What do you hope to achieve?" He hissed as they broke apart. "If I win, you will be taken to Bahram by force. If you win, and I die, you will do so willingly."
A dark laugh bubbled out of the girl's mouth as she panted. "Of course. Why would I not aid the rising of my greatest enemy?"
She launched herself at him again. Slashing and swiping at any opening he gave her. He blocked them one after the other. All he needed to do was keep her there long enough to listen. A clumsy strike from the girl and he had her sword in a lock, his hand on her wrist. Her eyes filled with fear as she struggled to pull away.
"Not even to save an old friend and flame?" He let his smile widen as he pushed her away. She stumbled back, only just managing to stay on her feet.
Doubt flickered over her face. "What do you mean?"
"We have him. That boy you argue with, but can never escape. The one you pine after, hoping to be reunited in a friendship long lost. He will die as a sacrifice tonight. Unless, of course, you offer yourself in return."
Her doubt was replaced with a look of storm. She laughed louder this time, hysteria seeping from her every pore. "Of course it wouldn't matter to Bahram how much he's done for you. Of course Austin is still disposable to him. You all are. You're all idiots for following him."
"Oh, sweet child." Keoki cocked his head to the side as he observed her with a mocking pity. "You still believe he was the one who helped us."
The hysteria drained from her face and silence settled over the room. He savoured the taste of power that it gave him. Something that, after tonight, he could and would get used to. He fuelled himself with the distress and confusion that radiated from her.
"Your ex lover told us nothing. He refused to hear the call, and he will pay for it." Keoki tried to remain stoic and impassive, but he could hardly contain his excitement. He had waited a long time to bring the world she knew crashing down around her. "No, the only one of any use was a boy with white blonde hair and pale blue eyes."
Dread covered her face as she started to tremble. This was the kind of fear he'd wanted from her. It was everything she deserved.
"Was it Euan? Or Ethan?" He tapped his chin, failing to hide his delight.
"Evan." Her voice was as quiet as it was weak. Weak and pathetic as she was.
"Yes. Evan," Keoki chuckled. "He really was a help."
He had hoped she might feint, or drop her sword, or perhaps try to fight him screaming 'no, you're wrong!', but instead she just stood, staring at the floor. She reminded him of the calm before the storm. The wind and the rain were yet to come.
"You have until midnight to save your old friend." He sneered at her, bored by the exchange. "Meet us by Gapstow bridge at the turn of the solstice, alone and unarmed. He will rise and you cannot stop him. With or without you, he will rise. How much blood of those you love do you want on your hands?"
She shrieked like banshee freed from a cage and launched herself at him. A more thrilling reaction. Energy thrummed through his body as he fought her, though he knew he could not kill her. Not yet.
He slammed the flat of his blade on her arm, making her cry out in pain. Another hit to her stomach and she was winded. He slammed a kick onto her now hunched shoulder, that sent her sprawling on the ground.
"Think of all you've done." He took a step back and then another. "You do not deserve to live."
He watched her heaving on the floor. How would it feel to slide his sword between her ribs, to watch her blood spill onto the floor, to see the light drain from her eyes and know that his face was the last she saw?
Temptation baited him, but he knew he must not act on it. There were greater rewards at stake, but he didn't know how much longer he could go without killing her.
He clenched his jaw, tearing his eyes from her helpless half-mortal body and stole away, into the night.