What's up readers. We're back for Chapter sixteen, and this one's going to be a good one. Things are really gonna kick off here and start to pick up more, leading into the final parts of this book.

Alright, a quick "announcement" I want to make. I've decided to get rid of the little review/response section of these chapters.

I hope that doesn't disappoint any of you who read this, and if it does to so many, then I'll bring it back. But as it stands I've found it unnecessary and it takes up a lot of space, taking readers out of the story.

So from now on if you leave a review, I will respond to it in a PM. If it's a guest review, I'll definitely read it, but not type out a response on the chapter like I've been doing. This isn't coming from any hard feelings on my part at all, I love the reviews and appreciate them. I just feel that the whole response thing I've been doing takes up too much space, and I'd rather respond to a review personally in a PM. I might change it back, but for now, this will be the last time I feature it.

MountainBookSage25: "Oh man

I thought it was Odin himself

I mean

You got his messengers

My question now is

Will Matt be able to take off Ouranos' influence in his mind by the end of the book?

It'd be kind of annoying if he still has it by the following books you plan to write

Also please don't kill the family

That would be too edgy for this fic"

Response: Thanks for the review, and yeah, I have a lot of plans for Sigurd and Camp Asgard. About Ouranos's influence and Sera's family, just keep reading, you'll find out what will happen. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

NiHaR OP: "Camp Asgard sounds good, but they would be way weaker than the greeks, because of their small sphere of influence, sry for not reviewing last chap was caught in some shit, this chap 6k words which is still gr8 no need to beat urself u. Great chap as always"

Response:Thanks Nihar. You're right about them being weaker than the Greeks, and I'm aware of that, but for the sake of this story, they'll be powered up a bit I guess, so they can contend. They won't be as powerful as the Greeks still, but more powerful than they would realistically be. I hope that doesn't bother you. And don't worry about not reviewing the last chapter, it's cool.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the sixteenth chapter. The title is inspired by the famous short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell.

16. We Play The Most Dangerous Game

Harper

Picture this, my friends and I defeat all of the Yeti's, Sera's family, and destroy the manor. Shortly after we walk away from the wreckage, we find Matt waiting for us. Turns out he located us with his aura sense, and has been tracking us for days. We reunite and all is well.

Sounds nice, huh?

Yeah, that didn't happen.

As soon as Talon and I rounded the corner, a battle erupted from there.

To our left, Malachi shot a lightning bolt at one of the sniper towers, effectively disintegrating it to nothing. The Yeti inside however was quick, which was surprising, because as it leapt out of the crumbling structure, it appeared to be ten feet tall at the minimum.

Either way, it landed in another sniper tower with another yeti. They didn't miss a beat, and fired more shots at us, each one sending a loud CRACK! through the chilly air.

Talon and I somehow silently came up with a plan in that moment. He used his weird ability (that I still don't understand) of not being able to feel pain by jumping in front of me and taking the bullets to his chest. They bounced off like they had hit a bronze wall, and no harm came to the ex-assassin.

I took the chance to throw my knives simultaneously in the air. Both of them spun like boomerangs and soared right for the Yeti's heads.

A legion of glowing red eyes shot to the side anticipating my attack. The bronze glow of my knives disappeared from view and a clang was heard. Next thing I knew another shot was fired, and Talon again deflected it.

"Dammit, these things are good!" He yelled over me as I stood behind his body like a shield.

I reached out and summoned my knives back to me. Within a second they flew firmly into my grip. The Yeti's had deflected them with the butts of their snipers. I rendered the amount of speed it would take to do that, or even see my knives coming. Talon was right, these things were good. We'd need to work together.

I cautiously peeked over Talon's shoulder and scanned the area. Two of the twelve sniper towers had been destroyed by Malachi, piles of black ash laying in their wake. The others stood tall though, with a small army of furry white gorillas relentlessly trying to kill us.

As for us, Malachi himself was unharmed, the bullets ricocheted off his aura like nothing. But he stood there, moving slowly, like he was waiting for something, waiting for us, maybe.

Sera sent ice shards towards the Yeti's in a return fire, using her hands to quickly and skillfully form the sharp points and send them to their targets. Each one whistled and shot with great speed. Unfortunately as impressive as they looked, half of them bounced off the barriers of the towers, or off the tough Yeti skin.

Lastly, Talon and I were sitting ducks, with him tanking all of the bullets flaring at us and me sitting there staring like an idiot.

Or...

Just then, a thought came to my head, a plan that could work. But we would need to be quick.

I sheathed one of my knives and cupped my mouth with my free hand, "SERA!"

She looked at me with wide, confused eyes, her hands outstretched, about to create another flurry of ice shards.

"ICE WALL!" I shouted, and at first she didn't move, but that moment passed and she thankfully understood. She thrust her hand out towards our direction and a wall of thick ice jutted from the ground, raising up until it well covered our heads. The Yeti's bullets grew softer and quieter with the new wall, no longer whirring past us and hitting the ground.

Talon grunted, "What the hell are you thinkin?"

"A plan."

Sera and Malachi ducked over our way and kneeled next to us, an expectant look on their faces.

"What is it?" The Demi-Primordial asked.

"I think I've got something." I said, and peered through the transparency of the ice wall, able to vaguely see the towers fifty feet away. The Yeti's had stopped firing, realizing that it would be useless to waste bullets.

I lowered my voice and turned back to them, "Okay, here's what I'm thinking. On my count, Sera, get rid of the Ice wall, then Malachi, you destroy the sniper towers, all at once. Can you do that?"

He scoffed and glared in the Yeti's direction, "With ease."

I nodded, "Okay. Sera, after that, create an ice ramp over the gate-"

"A ramp? But-" She started.

I held up a hand, "Talon and I will use the ramp to jump over the gate and kill the Yetis. If we're good about this, it shouldn't take over twenty seconds."

"Then what?" Talon asked gruffly.

I gritted my teeth, "We'll see when we get there."

We waited another few seconds, the only thing audible was the blizzard wind inside the manor, raging. We were about to go in there, should this plan work.

I held up my hand with three fingers raised, the others stiffened, waiting for the countdown.

After each second, I lowered a finger, and once all three were down, we sprang into action.

Sera pushed her hands down, and the ice wall obeyed. It sunk into the ground with a rumble and disappeared from sight. Malachi's turn next. The Yetis fired a hail of bullets at him immediately, but it was no use. Malachi deflected all of them with his aura and raised his hands out in front of him.

His eyes started to glow blue and the snow around him melted. Each finger was assigned a sparkle of electricity, the way they danced across his skin spelled danger.

All of the tension came to a head when he released, and sent ten separate bolts in all directions of the towers. It looked like some crazy light show from Vegas. Ten individual blue lines appeared in the air at light speed and connected with the Sniper towers, obliterating them and sending the foundations flying everywhere. Black ash flew with the wind and rained across the snow, leaving a crumb trail of cinders.

Some of the Yetis had been caught in the blast, and they too were destroyed. But a select few managed to escape.

Not for long.

Talon and I ran towards the gate, on cue Sera summoned a thick ice ramp to support us. We sprinted side by side until we were well above twenty feet high, looking down at the disoriented monsters.

"Go!" I shouted, and flipped off in a frontal somersault off the ledge, pulling my knives out as I did so. Once I felt my boots touch the ground I went to work, identifying the Yetis location was easy. They had white fur, and blended in with the blizzard pretty good. But the red eyes ruined it, making them easy to see. I smirked, this was gonna be easy.

I leapt on top of the nearest one, hearing gunshots and maniacal laughter in my ears. That must be Talon.

I planted my feet firmly in the monster's back, and thrust my knives downward into it's neck. Blood shot out from the wounds and caked the snow beneath. With a loud roar, it struggled, but as the seconds went on, it slowed, and slowed, until it fell limp, and then dead.

I jumped off before it fell on me, and looked to the next one.

Everything went quick after that. Talon had already blew three Yetis brains out with his shotgun, and I darted around slicing their necks open with relative ease. At a distance these guys were dangerous, but close up, they were no match.

The last one gained it's senses quickly and fired a round at my head, to which I brought my knives in an X position to defend. The bullet grazed off and hit the snow. Before he could reload, I took my shot and threw one of my knives in a straight throw, connecting with it's chest.

The Yeti roared in pain, showing off rows of sharp teeth. The knife had dug in good, but not good enough.

I threw the other one, but this time he dodged, and closed the distance, bringing the sniper beside him in a swinging position.

I rolled under and grabbed my knife from his sternum, gripping it as tight as I could. I brought my head up to find a gaping mouth wide open, coming at my skull. I managed to sidestep and avoid the awful breath that followed.

The Yeti growled in frustration and swung it's arm at me, but I was just too quick. I jumped over it and caught an opening on it's other side. With a large inhale of breath, I stabbed the Yeti in the side, and brought it to it's knees.

I reached out behind me and summoned my missing knife to my hand, not taking my eye off the monster. When I felt the hilt hit my grip, I quickly slit the Yeti's throat, and emptied it's arteries.

Talon fired once more, and finished off his wave of Yetis, throwing the shotgun on his back, in some holster he must've created.

I looked around for more, trying to spot any lumps in the ground that could mean they were hiding, waiting to ambush us.

While I was doing this, Talon, Malachi, and Sera walked over, the Ice ramp now gone from the gate.

"Nice job." Talon said, eyeing the looming blizzard before us. "So, what now?"

Sera didn't look too happy, "We have bested the Yetis, which is good. But I am afraid that can only be the beginning. If we are abandoning reason all together...then who knows what they'll send out here."

Talon raised an eyebrow at her, "Shouldn't you? I mean, you are part of the family."

She pursed her lips, "I haven't been here in years. For all I know they could have enlisted a completely new guard of monsters."

Malachi's eyes seemed to be on something else in the distance, something that he didn't like.

I took notice, "Malachi, what's up?"

He pointed, "Am I seeing things, or are there more yetis coming this way?"

We all turned and looked down the giant white landscape. Ahead, a line of dark, giant shadowy figures walked towards us from the mansion. They did look like Yetis, but there was one small difference.

"Those things are way bigger than Yetis." I said, my eyes wide at the sheer size of whatever was stalking towards us. They had to be over thirty feet tall each.

"Use your aura sense." Talon told Malachi.

Malachi concentrated on the figures, and after a second tightened his lips. "No use, there seems to be some kind of magic...keeping me from sensing properly."

"Sensing properly?"

He nodded, "Yes. I can...tell that they are there, but I cannot identify their strength."

Sera looked like she had expected this, "They must have created a magical barrier..."

Talon turned to me, "Got a plan for this one?"

I was at a loss for words, "Not yet..."

Malachi tensed up, "I have one. Hang on to me."

We all looked at him like he was crazy. Just what was he suggesting right now?

He elaborated, without taking his eyes off the figures. "Hold on to me and I will teleport us over there. We will bring the fight to them."

"You sure we shouldn't try and sneak around them?" I asked, "Get into the mansion and have the element of surprise?"

Sera shook her head, "I doubt we still have that element."

Talon snorted in agreement, "No shit. We destroyed the sniper towers and killed the Yetis. You don't think they already know?"

I glared at him, "Just a question. Besides, the mansion's like a thousand feet away! How come they haven't already sent out Sera's siblings, or some butlers or something?"

Sera herself also seemed to be wondering the same thing, "Now that you mention it...they should've come out here by now..."

Malachi was growing impatient. He grabbed onto mine and Sera's arms and pushed himself against Talon's side.

"Enough of this. Whether they know we are here or not...we must fight!"

With that, everything turned a bright white. I felt my gut being sucked out of my stomach, everything flying at a million miles an hour like some kind of wild tornado. Have you ever seen a kaleidoscope? Well, that's what it looked like right now in my head. I felt like I was having an acid trip, or...at least what I imagine an acid trip to be like. I had seen plenty on the streets occasionally as a kid, when I searched for information on my brother. Usually that info came from drugged up mortals and demigods, so I'm familiar.

After an agonizing second, the craziness stopped and we appeared...above the giants.

Giants. Above.

Two things that aren't good right now.

First of all, our position took me completely off guard. I flailed in the air along with Sera.

"WHOA!" I yelled, the ground coming on us fast.

Malachi swiped his hand in the air and fixed the problem. He blew a surge of wind the opposite way and spread us out.

Now as to what we were about to land on, well...they were big, white, and ugly.

Okay, I'll describe better.

They looked like the Yetis we had just killed, only they were much larger. Definitely standing forty feet tall, and there were a dozen of them. They looked more human than animal, with tight gray skin and large patches of white hair on the chest, arms and face. They all had beards that covered their mouths, which I appreciated, because I did not want to see what they were hiding.

The giant closest to me swiped at me with it's beefy hand, but I guess it had bad eyesight, because it missed completely. I managed to grab onto a clump of disgusting hair on it's neck and catch myself, planting my feet on it's skin and gaining some balance.

I took notice of the others. Malachi was still airborne, and his giant was pissed off. It roared and bared it's teeth at him, ready to eat him I guess. It was intimidating. It's eyes were dangerously black and yellow, like fiery rings in darkness. But this was Malachi we were talking about, so I felt sorry for the giant.

Malachi clenched his fist and pulled his arm in the air like he was yanking a chain. The air behind the giant twisted and caused it to fall on it's back. Malachi took his chance and shot a lightning bolt down on it, lightning it up in a brilliant blue light. Soon that light became the only thing visible, because the giant was gone.

Malachi landed on the ground, where two giants decided to gang up on him and take him by surprise. They managed to grab him and throw him a several feet away, out of our sight and into the blizzard. When they saw where he went, they followed angrily.

Sera had landed on the ground in a heap of snow she had conjured, and was running rapidly, avoiding the giant's stomps.

She was doing it. Running away instead of fighting. I needed to tell her to snap out of it.

The giant I stood on noticed my presence and swiped at me, to which I dodged by simply stepping closer to it's head.

"SERA! FIGHT IT! YOU CAN DO IT!" I yelled encouragingly. She looked up at me with wide eyes, somewhat fearful.

I tried my best to give her a look that said what I wanted it to. You're strong, Sera. You can do this.

She shook her head and snapped out of it, squinting her eyes at the giant about to squash her, she formed a dome of ice around her, blocking the blow, but shattering it to. The giant was sent stumbling in recoil, growling in surprise.

Sera immediately followed up with a snow quake, causing the giant to sink slowly into the ground, further and further.

She's got this. I thought. I didn't need to worry.

I huge gust of wind blew my hair and forced me on my knee. It was the giant trying to swat me.

Hell, I needed to worry about myself, not Sera.

The giant started to buck wildly and swing it's head around. I held on by the tips of my fingers, it's hair tightly between them. It was disgusting, but it was the reason I wasn't flying off right now.

Finally it stopped and decided to swat at me again.

Big mistake, dumbass. I thought with a smug smirk on my face.

The moment it's fist came around I jumped and spun in the air, my knives out in front of me. With a few spins I became a deadly ball, ready to slice anything in my path.

And I did. The edge of my dual blades met the giant's wrist and cut the hand clean off. It roared in agony and the hand fell to the snowy ground with a CLUMP!

I bounced off of it's other arm and jumped back on it's neck, while it roared and got angrier.

I didn't need to mess around with limbs. No, I needed to go for the head.

It was then that a badass idea hit me, one that I wanted to try out.

The giant's other arm came around and I leapt over it, but this time, I let go of my knives, and left them hanging in the air.

As fast as I could, I turned myself around in mid air and found myself face to face with the giant, ten or so feet apart. I could see the wrinkles in it's gray skin, each white hair on it's face, and those giant yellow eyes...they seemed to be glaring into my very soul.

But that wouldn't last long, because I pressed my thumbs to the palms of my gloves and outstretched my hands.

The giant's yellow eyes became disjointed as blood flew out of them, gaping holes in their stead. My knives burst from the sockets and landed in my grasp.

I smiled, it had been a success. I figured with the magnetic momentum these gloves had, the knives would go all the way through, and they did. After I grabbed them, the giant fell face first, and shortly after, disintegrated to nothing.

I landed on my feet in the snow, kind of curious now. What kind of monsters were these exactly? They didn't look like Greek giants, so what were they? A different type of Yeti? They disintegrated though, while the Yetis just died and bled.

I heard a series of gunshots behind me, and found Talon struggling with his giant.

He had riddled the thing with bullets, but it was so big that they weren't having much effect.

He was dodging and taking hits fine, but inflicting damage was the issue. You could see it on his face.

"You good?!" I shouted.

He didn't miss a beat, and rolled under a swipe, popping up and firing another round in the thing's arm. "Just peachy!" He said.

The two giants that had gone after Malachi came flying from the blizzard, both bellowing.

They landed hard on the snow and rolled over each other like pigs, crackling from an electric shock.

Sera followed up on them with several spikes from the ground. Each one went through a different part of the body, finishing them for good.

I looked at her incredulously, and the look on her face suggested she hadn't even known she was capable of that. She laughed with a surprised breath and smiled at me.

I was about to smile back when a shadow emerged behind her, it's arms raised above it's head.

"SERA!" I shouted urgently, but it was gonna be too late-

CRACK!

A blue light stopped the giant dead in it's tracks, it shook violently and disintegrated to nothing. Sera and I looked on in utter shock.

"Don't lay a finger on her." Said a voice behind me.

I turned around and saw Malachi walking from the concealing blizzard, his eyes glowing blue and hit body covered in sparkles of lightning. It was an intimidating sight, far more than the giants.

"Holy-" I started, but Sera drowned me out with, "KAI!"

She ran to his arms and they held on to each other for dear life it seemed.

The moment was ruined by Talon cursing loudly in frustration at the giant he was fighting.

"I'VE GOT IT! NO ONE HELP-" But he didn't finish his sentence, as the giant punched him hard across his entire body, sending him flying twenty feet in the air.

Malachi and Sera broke apart and looked at him with concern. I was about to run to his aid, but he shot up, his sunglasses off, and fire in his eyes.

Literally, they emitted bloodlust like I had seen them do so many times before, only now even stronger than the last.

"ALRIGHT!" He yelled, "I've had enough of this shit!" He ran towards the giant, a sword morphing in his hand, a...golden sword.

Like before with the Sons of Thor, his sword glowed with a golden aura, the tip of it seemingly emitting a yellow wisp of energy.

Malachi and Sera hadn't seen this before, and it showed on their faces.

"What is that?!" She asked.

The answer came a few seconds later, when Talon leapt in the air and sliced it. I was confused at first, because he hadn't connected with the giant's body, but when a bright yellow flash flared from the sword, I knew why. The golden glow shot from the sword in the line Talon had swung, and flew towards the giant. Once it hit it's body, it faded immediately.

Talon landed on the ground, back to normal. The golden glow was gone, along with all of the giants.

Everything was silent. The three of us stood there, speechless.

He stood up and made the sword disappear. When we didn't say anything right away, he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?" I deadpanned.

"What happened?"

Was he serious? Did he have no idea he'd done it again?

Sera was jumping up and down for joy, "That was amazing, Talon!"

Even Malachi looked impressed, "Indeed. How did you do that?"

The dumbass looked genuinely confused. Maybe he really had no idea what we were talking about.

I stepped closer to him, "You seriously don't remember ten seconds ago? You just destroyed that giant thing."

He widened his eyes, "The thing I was just fighting? I killed it?"

I nodded, "Yeah. You did the golden sword thing again."

"Really?"

I nodded again.

When he didn't say anything, I remembered when he talked about seeing his father and those two words he spoke. Seek me.

I lowered my voice, "Did you see him again? Nikandreos?"

He looked like I had just told him someone put a ban on sunglasses. I had never seen him so confused and conflicted, and frankly, I didn't like it.

He hesitated, "Yeah...I uh-" He noticed Malachi and Sera staring at him, and quickly said, "I'll tell you about it later."

His tone suggested he wanted to change the subject. But why? Why talk to me later about it when his two best friends, the people that he's known way longer by the way, are right here too? Was it that serious?

He must've noticed that I wanted to press further, because he impatiently growled, "We're in the middle of enemy territory, people. Let's get a move on."

We all put the thought on the backburner and turned to the mansion in the distance, mostly hidden by the hail of snow. It loomed on it's own little white hill, elevated above the mostly flat landscape like some creepy house you'd see in Scooby Doo.

You could see the faint glow of light from here. It looked like they were shining through three rows of windows. They could've been candles for all I knew, and that wouldn't surprise me.

"Lights are on." I said, "Guess someone's home after all."

Sera stepped in front of all of us, perplexion written on her face, "I'm very surprised my siblings haven't come out here."

"Well let's not waste time." Talon started walking towards the mansion, "I say we sneak in and kill the lot of em."

I was about to pull him back and suggest we actually think before we do, when I was interrupted by a ground shaking rumble.

We all nearly fell on our butts, like four moles through the ground, a trail of uprooted snow came straight at us, sending cracks and piles of snow everywhere.

I gained my senses and threw both knives and two of the mounds coming toward us, but whatever was under there was too quick, and my shot missed.

"What the hell?!" Talon shouted, and fired a concentrated round at a mound circling us, hitting it, but not stopping it. They all continued to uproot snow and ice, now surrounding us.

Malachi and Sera raised their hands, ready to summon their powers, but before they could, a thick cylinder of ice burst from the ground and encased us all, rising up and up until it cleared fifty feet high. In just another passing second, the top of it overlapped with thousands of tons of ice, and closed up like a healing wound.

We were sealed shut in a dome of thick ice, so thick that we couldn't see any of the outside, just darkness.

We all pressed against each other, back to back in a rectangular position.

"Four auras surround us." Malachi mumbled, "They created the trap."

Sera gasped, "No!"

Talon created a flashlight from his hand and turned it on, flashing it around the freezing cage rapidly, trying to find our attackers.

"There!" I shouted, spotting a figure moving quickly along the wall. I flicked my knife towards it, but it didn't hit, instead catching on the ice with a loud CHUNK!

"Kai, blast the roof!" Sera shouted urgently to her boyfriend, and he obeyed, sending a bolt to the top of the dome, and shattering it in a wide circumference, giving some gray light in on us. Talon fired a chamber of rounds at the figures sliding across the walls, but none seemed to hit. Whoever they were, they could move with skill.

I summoned my knife back to me and held it tight, trying to gauge where they would go. I was faster than them, but they used the darkness well.

I felt Sera tense up against me, her hands clench. The dome started to rumble and crack, pieces of ice falling off like crumbs. She was trying to bring the whole thing down.

But just as quickly as she did so, it started to form back. Any ice she destroyed was replaced ten fold by something else.

"It's no use!" Sera said, "It's them!"

"Who?!" I screamed, my eyes darted around the dome urgently.

Just then, everything stopped and went still. Sera stopped trying to escape, Talon stopped firing, and Malachi stopped shooting lightning. We just...stood there, and listened to the footsteps approaching us.

Four lights came on and nearly blinded me, each one stood parallel to us, surrounding us in a square. The lights were level with our heads...meaning that four people were wearing them like miner's hats, staring right at us.

And then it hit me, who these people were...

With a gulp, Sera confirmed it, "My siblings."

Sera's siblings continued to shine the lights in our faces, not moving an inch. Neither did we.

Silence ensued for a good half minute, just the faint sound of the blizzard outside, but no conversation.

That is until one of them spoke. "Seraphina, you've returned, with...friends."

"There's a surprise." Another one snickered.

"These are your siblings?" I asked.

Sera nodded, "Yes." Then she raised her voice to them, "Lower the trap so we can talk!"

"Talk?" Said a new voice, female this time. A little deeper than Sera's but still feminine enough. "After you killed the Yetis and the Frost Giants?"

I could practically feel Malachi's eyebrow raise, "Frost Giants?"

"Yes. It would appear they weren't worth the money we paid."

Talon cocked back the hammer of his revolver, "I say we just kill em. No time for talking."

They chuckled, a man's voice chided, "Brave one, huh? You've made some interesting companions Seraphina. They're almost as dumb as you."

Malachi shot a lightning bolt at him, but the man quickly encased himself with lightning and blocked it. He was about to retaliate when Sera yelled, "STOP!"

She held her hands up, "Please stop! Just lower the dome so we can speak!"

The female voice scoffed, "This is a waste of time. Let's kill them while we have them here."

She was silenced by a very deep voice, "No." A person that hadn't spoken until now. His light moved forward from the others, "I say we hear them out."

"But-"

"But nothing! I am the oldest and you do as I say!"

Nobody objected, and they lowered the dome with a loud rumble.

When the dome was buried completely under the ground, we all stood there in a standoff, and I got a good look at the siblings.

The first thing I noticed was the white hair. Sure, it didn't stand out in the blizzard, but my eyes were still drawn to it. The four siblings each had a full head of it, varying in length. The one closest to me had it parted to the right at medium length. It was choppy, like it had been frozen in ice the entire day. And considering the circumstances, it probably had.

The girl of the four had long, straight hair, neatly combed and groomed like Sera's. Only it wasn't in a braid, it was let down to her shoulders.

The other two had similar hair, both long and wavy, tied back in a ponytail, swaying in the wind like a continuous puff of white smoke. They were both male though, I could tell by their build. As they were a good six foot and muscular. The one claiming to be the oldest was a bit taller, but lean and skinny. While the female was about Sera's height, and had a curvy figure.

As for what they were wearing, they all looked the exact same. Each had on a black leather trench coat that covered their entire body and flapped to the side with the blizzard wind. It even covered their mouths and noses, because around their necks sat large collars that looked like dog cones, masking everything but their eyes, forehead and hair.

But as I looked up, I saw that even their eyes were hidden. The four siblings each had on a pair of black goggles, like soldiers in the military use for night missions. I guessed that was for seeing underground, and where the blinding light came from earlier.

I had to admit inside of my head, these guys looked badass. The black coats stuck out in the snow like diamond in sand, and the way they kept their faces hidden, showed the mark of an assassin. These guys knew how to use darkness and how to act quickly. Well, if that wasn't already obvious, you saw how they used it in that ice dome.

They just stared at us, waiting for someone to speak, but we weren't budging.

Finally Sera did, "Brothers and...sister, I know that this looks bad, but I promise you we did not come to fight. The Yetis attacked us first!"

Technically Talon started it, I thought. But I kept that in my head.

The female Griffith wasn't on board, "Why did you come here then? To see us? Or to admit that you were a fool for disobeying mothers orders?"

"I did not disobey!" Sera shrieked. "She was forcing me! I didn't want to!"

They laughed, one of the bigger ones saying, "Still weak, like when she was a child."

"Completely useless." Another stated.

Malachi looked like he wanted to kill all of them right here, and the same went for Talon. I had to do something or they would, I just knew it.

I interrupted before things went crazy, "Listen. We didn't come here for any of that, we just...wanted to see if we could make a deal."

That gained their interest. Even through their goggles and large leather cloaks, I could tell the gears were turning in their heads.

"A deal?"

I fought the smirk playing on my lips. I had them now.

"Yeah. You have something we need."

The female Griffith started to interrupt but the oldest one held his hand up, silencing her. He stepped forward and said, "And what would that be?"

"The Elixir of Invisibility."

The two big boys immediately tensed up, The girl yelled in outrage and started to walk towards me, "Do you realize how valuable the elixir is?! You think you can just come here and demand we give it to you?! Absolutely not-"

Talon raised the revolver to the girl's head, "Not another step, ice bitch."

She stopped and chuckled, "Are you going to shoot me, cowboy?" A sharp point of ice began to form in her hand.

The older one thrust his hand behind him angrily, shifting the snow so that his sister was pushed back ten feet.

"Shut up and let me speak!" He barked, and turned back to us like nothing had happened, "I'm sure we can come to something. Let's take this inside."

If she wasn't wearing goggles, I would expect Sera's sister's eyes to be as wide as saucers, "Are you serious?!

"We are a family of business." He said coolly, and glanced at me, "I'm sure we can work something out."

The big boys looked at each other in confusion, but didn't say anything. Nobody seemed to be on board with what this dude was saying, so what was going on? I mean obviously something was up, and we didn't trust these people at all.

But what choice did we have?

"Good" I nodded, "lead the way."

Talon grabbed my shoulder, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

I turned my head and whispered to him, "What about? This is working."

He growled and pulled my shoulder again, harder this time. "Come here."

I called out over my shoulder to Sera's siblings, "Just give us a second!"

They didn't seem to hear me. The girl and the two big guys huddled up to the oldest one and...I really gotta learn their names. Anyway, they huddled up together and seemed to be arguing with each other frantically, while the older one tried to calm them down.

Meanwhile we got into a huddle of our own, Talon starting is off with, "What the hell's wrong with you? Acting all friendly with them."

"What's wrong with me? How about what's wrong with you? We got our diplomatic option back. We need to go in there and work something out."

He snorted, "Why? Like I said before, let's kill em. We already killed their guards, why would they wanna be cordial all of a sudden."

Malachi cocked his head, "It's a good point, Harper. What is the ulterior motive here?"

We all looked to Sera. She knew these people best after all.

But she looked just as confused as us. "My family would never just give something away. If they're going to give it to us, it'll be through purchase, or favor."

"So...money?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yes. They'll forgive the Yeti and giant thing, they can always get more. Besides, if we pay the right price for the elixir, our fight with the guards won't matter anymore." She sighed in disappointment, "That's just how they are. Greedy."

Malachi held up a hand, "But there is one problem here. We don't have sufficient money."

At first, my stomach tied into a knot. Reality hit in that we weren't rich at all, not even a single drachma.

Unless...

I tapped Talon on the arm, an idea in my head. "Hey Talon, why don't you just create a chest full of drachmas? Or better yet, a truckload? Hell, we can buy the whole place if we want to!"

Sera nodded, like she just remembered Talon had the ability to create whatever he wanted. "Oh! That's a great idea!"

But Talon himself didn't look very enthused. "Simmer down, cheerleaders. I can't create money with my ability."

My smile melted, "Why?"

He shrugged, "If I knew anything about my weird powers, don't you think I'd tell you by now? It's just a rule. I can't create certain things, like...a human being, or money. I can only do things like food, weapons, transportation, etcetera."

I raised an eyebrow, "Hold up, you're telling me that you could've just created food that night we went to town and had to fight all those storm spirits?" I flashed back to the diner, meeting Lipos the fat god, and battling a high ranking Ouranos minion in the parking lot.

He nodded, "Yep."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because genius, there's nothing like the fast food experience." He said it like it was obvious, with that dumb smirk on his face. Ugh, this guy is the death of me, I swear.

"Can we focus?" Malachi said impatiently, "Are we going in or not?"

"I don't think you have much of a choice." Said the deep voice of Sera's older sibling behind us.

We darted around and met his intense goggle gaze. He had his arms crossed patiently.

"You are on some kind of quest, correct? And you need the Elixir to go somewhere undetected?"

My mouth unconsciously fell open a little. How'd he get all of that?

"I'm good at reading people." He said, "Especially my sister. She always lacked the ability to hide her emotions."

"Hiding your emotions gets you nowhere, Langston." Sera protested, calling him by his name.

Langston sighed, "Whatever you say. Now then, I imagine you're getting quite cold out here, so will you make a decision to come inside...or leave?"

I realized he was talking to me. He didn't even have to look at me, it was just clear with the way he worded it. I was the only one out here that could get cold from this blizzard. If Talon can't feel pain, then he can't feel the freezing air, and neither can Malachi. Sera's used to it, since this is her element, and the same goes for her siblings. Those five are in their element right now.

As for me, my training lets me take on intense temperatures if need be, but I had to admit I was freezing my ass off right now. This constant blizzard was gonna give me frostbite in a minute.

Nobody else said anything, so I guess it's up to me.

I nodded at him, "Yeah, we'll come inside."

Langston turned his head, "Follow us then."

The four of us walked behind the four of them in a horizontal line, all the way to the mansion.

It was weird, we were just staring at their backs the whole time, and not a word was said. Well, scratch that, a minute into the walk they reluctantly introduced themselves.

It turns out everyone in this family has an old fashioned name. I figured Seraphina was, but you could still shorten it to Sera, so I didn't think much of it.

But no, everyone has a long old style name.

First there's Langston, the oldest. Then the two more muscular guys, Theodore and Whitman, then the female, Victoria.

Yeah, those are a mouthful.

We were nearing the castle like structure now, and as we got closer...it became clear that it was indeed, a castle. It was made of gray stone, and arched in a triangular point in several places, like a giant church steeple. It's really hard to describe, so just picture any creepy Romanian castle you've ever seen, and that should cover it.

Talon inhaled sharply next to me, his chin in the air looking up at the massive building.

"Holy shit..."

Within a few minutes we closed the distance to the huge double doors in the center. Bolted to each of them sat a metal carving of who I guessed to be Khione.

The inside of the mansion was even more impressive than the outside. The carpet was red and gold all the way through. Dozens of paintings, decorations, and furniture sat everywhere along the floor and walls. Multiple times I spotted a spiraled staircase, once at the entrance, and twice more on the way to the dining hall.

"Where are you taking us, Langston?" Sera asked.

He didn't turn his head, he and the other three kept walking forward.

"To the commons. Father should be waiting."

Sera gasped, "F-Father?"

"Yes."

I gripped her arm, "You okay?"

She didn't look it, but she forced a nod, "I-I'm fine."

I had to look away from her, or else the guilt would take me completely. Of course she wasn't okay. We're literally walking through her hell, about to face the man responsible for all of her trauma. Her father was the one that created the four monsters in front of us, and wanted Sera dead, all because she didn't adapt to their sick way of life.

She said she could do it, that she was strong. I never doubted that she was, but I felt horrible all the same. I couldn't imagine reliving the things I'd been through. Going back to my old house, or seeing my father's grave again. But at least those things were objects, Sera had to be around these people right now, who hadn't changed one bit.

I saw Malachi grab her hand in comfort, and give her a reassuring smile, telling her silently that he was there for her. It honestly made me feel good, seeing that. One year ago we had such a wrong idea about this guy, thinking that he was some psychopath that wanted to kill all the gods just for fun, but in reality he was just being used by his asshole father. The real Malachi was dumb, dense, and intense sure, but also kind, and certainly a great boyfriend to Sera.

I couldn't help but think of him, seeing that. Of course I would.

As much as I've tried to hide that I don't need that kind of comfort, or that kind of reassurance from anyone...the truth was I did. You know that.

Matt was so sweet when I showed him my past, and he always put my feelings first. It was so short, and I longed to feel that again from him, as an actual couple. But of course that was ruined, all because of this stupid war.

I needed him. I did. Especially now, with everything that's happened. Camp Half Blood in ruins, Will dead, Chiron dead, and my brother the one that killed them.

My life is a mess, and I need him.

…

Well, that was depressing wasn't it?

My thought train of sadness ended when we finally reached a large opening, leading to a cozy, yet large den area. A fireplace sat in the center, lit with a medium sized orange flame, crackling and swaying naturally, giving off enough heat that I could feel any coldness of the blizzard outside fading from my skin. A rug encased the hardwood floor beneath, all kinds of designs on it that I couldn't recognize, like inscriptions from a different culture or something.

A big table sat in front of the fireplace, parallel to a long red couch and a white recliner. In the recliner, I could see a set of neatly trimmed white hair.

Sera's father.

The siblings brought us around the chair and stood us there. They went to position behind their patriarch, taking off their goggles and lowering their collars for the first time, giving us a real look at them.

As for the siblings, they looked just like Sera. Langston was handsome, but in a model type of way, not a Matt Beckett type of way. Say if you took away all of the demigod stuff and labeled them as mortal, you'd look at Matt and think that he could handle himself, that he had a sort of tough type of manliness. But with Langston, he looked like a royal elf. His features were perfect, from his nose shape to his skin to his eyelashes and blue eyes themselves, everything was neat, perfect, and sparkly.

The bigger boys Theodore and Whitman were a little different. They reminded me of the former type of appearance that I said, the tough type. They both had trimmed white beards, and their skin didn't look as smooth as Victoria's, Langston, and Sera's. It was clear they weren't all about appearance.

Victoria was a splitting image of Sera, only take away the innocence and playfulness. Her eyes read death, like she was one inch away from killing you, all the time. She reminded me of a cornered cat, from the way she stood to the way her eyes darted at your every move. But as for her features, they were beautiful, just like Sera's. The only difference being her straight white hair.

Now the father, who's name I didn't know. He looked to be in his late forties, he had short white hair, styled neatly in the front, but not to the point where it was wild or anything, just a plain style. He had a handlebar white mustache, hiding half of his lips, and no beard to match. So if you put an eyeglass on him, he would look like he came straight from the 1920's. He wore a neat suit and a tie, pressed flat with no wrinkles, crinkles, any of that. Everything was perfect, just like with Langston. Even his skin looked like it had been preserved, because it was way too smooth looking for his age.

They were all a little different in their own way, but the thing that connected them hit me. They were all psychopaths. Everyone of their eyes were dead, emotionless, and cold. I recognized that look, because I had seen it before, on the face of my brother, and myself when I only wanted revenge.

These people were killers, and they liked it.

The patriarch spoke first, with a smile, "Seraphina! You've returned, after so long!"

Sera wasn't fooled, "After you sent me to an Island to be enslaved."

He sighed, "Off to a good start then." His eyes flicked to me, then Talon, and lastly Malachi. "And who are these people?"

"Her friends." Langston said.

He laughed, "By the gods, the impossible has been achieved! You've managed to make not only one, but three friends! And my my, they seem as...unique and strange as you are! Hello to you all! My name is Reginald Griffith the Third."

Okay, I hated this guy even more.

Malachi stepped forward, his face wrinkled in anger, "I should kill you for what you did to her!"

But Sera held him back, "No, Kai!"

Reginald only laughed, "He says that and he actually means it! Wow, I can just see it in their eyes, Seraphina...they have no problem with death. Of course I can't see that boys eyes, because he's hiding them! A good tactic, very smart."

Talon grunted, "Thanks, Colonel Sanders."

"Good one!"

I knew we were on a mission, but I couldn't help myself, I had to stand up for Sera, and justify my actions. "What we do isn't what you people do. Sera's told me about you all, and how you used to treat her. Beating her and isolating her for not being a sadist like you all, for being an actual human. You people are monsters! You like death! That's the difference between us, we do what we have to because it's out of survival, not enjoyment."

Survival...

I nearly fainted right there, realizing how much I sounded like my brother...

He always preached survival nowadays, saying that's what he was doing. Surviving.

No, this was different. What I did was different, he was delusional. He killed innocent people. Chiron, London, Emma, Will...

I was not like that.

I almost missed what Reginald said in reply, but his voice was distinct, it was commanding and loud, but friendly also. Or at least...it sounded friendly.

"Listen child, this is a cruel world, a harsh world. You have to be strong to live in it, and I make my children strong. That's why I do what I do, why I raised them that way, so they would be able to live, and not be weak." He sighed, "However..."

We waited, and when he didn't continue right away, I prodded, "However what?"

"I do regret treating Sera the way I did."

The other siblings raised an eyebrow in confusion, even Langston broke his deadpan expression.

Sera was shocked, "W-What?"

Reginald leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, "It's true...your mother feels the same way too. She would tell you if she wasn't on that trip at the moment. For years we regretted the way we raised you. If we wanted you to be strong, we should've helped you, and gave you extra time. Not threw you off as useless. I was...lazy, and I should've worked extra hard with you. For that, I am sorry."

Okay, this is bullshit.

I looked at Sera, hoping she wasn't buying any of it. But to my dismay, she looked genuinely hopeful.

"R-Really?"

He nodded, "Yes."

Talon scoffed audibly, "This is horseshit, old man! You're lying through your fucking teeth!"

Malachi nodded, "Agreed. This man hasn't changed, Sera."

Reginald looked hurt, and it seemed genuine. I was surprised actually, because if it was fake...then he was a damn good actor.

"I understand your skepticism, but let me prove it to you." He said, getting up. "You came here for something, yes?"

We didn't answer, and Reginald looked to Langston, who nodded, telling him it was the Elixir.

He turned to us, "Let me prove it. Charles!" He called out that last part to another area of the room, and immediately a butler came walking through the doorway, stopping at Reginald's side.

Victoria looked like she was watching a horror scene, "Father what are you doing?!"

Theodore and Whitman were speechless, they kept looking between us and their father, urging Langston to say something.

He did, "Father, have you lost your mind? Your just going to give away-"

Reginald ignored him, addressing the butler instead. "Charles, fetch the Elixir from the potions room."

"Father! Have you gone mad!"

Okay, now I was confused. He was actually just gonna give it to us? No way. I'm not that stupid, and not even Malachi is that stupid. Their was a catch.

"What do we have to do for it?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Free of charge. I want to give this to Seraphina as an apology, and you can be on your way."

Talon pushed me aside and pulled his gun out faster than we could react, aiming it at Reginald. The siblings immediately surrounded him, all forming weapons of ice in their hand, ready to stab him. Of course, it wouldn't work, but they didn't know that.

Just as they did, I gripped the hilt of my knives, but kept them sheathed. Malachi clenched his fists, tiny volts of electricity already popping from his fingers, and Sera...well, she was still standing there, completely shellshocked at what her father said. I didn't like how hung up she was on it, not at all.

Talon didn't budge, "What's your game old man? I know damn well a greedy bastard like you ain't giving us shit for free."

Reginald raised his hands, "Lower your weapons, children, all is fine."

The four looked very hesitant to do so, and didn't at first.

Reginald's eye twitched dangerously. It was obvious he hated when people didn't do what he ordered immediately.

He lowered his tone to a deep, dark level. "Put away your weapons, children. Now."

They dematerialized their ice weapons, and backed away, leaving Talon and Reginald in a staredown.

"Dear boy, I have no other motive than to prove my regret to my daughter. The Elixir is more vast than you think, I can replace it."

"Don't you use it for assassin work?" Talon asked.

"A fellow of the industry, are we?"

"How could you tell?"

Reginald chuckled, "Look at you. How could I not?"

That earned a head shrug from Talon, "Fair point. But I'm out of the gig."

"Well, I'm not. My children here are more than capable of getting rid of a target, and they actually rarely use the Elixir, So if I must part with it to make my point known, I will gladly do so."

But Talon didn't look convinced, he kept the gun leveled to his head. I would've done the same, no way has this guy changed.

"I-It's okay, Talon. Lower the gun." Sera said.

Malachi and I turned to her incredulously, "What?!"

"I said it's okay."

Malachi knit his eyebrows, "Are you crazy?! Have you forgotten what he put you through?!"

I nodded, "Sera, we can't trust him."

She looked conflicted, but still hopeful. This wasn't good, she was clinging on to something that she wanted, a perceived reality of her father actually feeling sorry. It just wasn't true though, she needed to wake up.

But then again, if he was actually giving us the potion...

Sera sighed, "I haven't forgotten, of course not. But...I believe in second chances. Besides, what do we have to lose? We'll get the Elixir."

Talon grunted, "We have a lot to lose, Sera. This could all be a trap."

Reginald raised a finger, "Now before you go saying that, just let me show you that I am serious." He turned his head, "Charles! What is taking so long?!"

Charles the butler came speeding through the doorway again with a large glass bottle full of orange liquid. It was held by a cork on the lid.

"My apologies, sir."

Reginald raised an eyebrow at Talon, "May I grab the bottle, sir? Or are you going to shoot me?"

Talon hesitated, but nodded his head, "Grab it, slowly."

Reginald did so, and held it up to us, showing it off.

"This is the Elixir."

"Prove it."

The siblings watched on in a sort of awe, like watching a tennis match of death. They seemed surprised and even a little excited that someone was actually pointing a gun and making demands to their father. It probably didn't happen all that much. Not just Talon, but all of us had proven that we weren't to be messed with. If they had any real skill of reading people that they seem to have, they would know by now that Malachi alone could kill them with a strike.

Reginald chuckled, "Very well, drink some, and you will turn transparent."

"Don't wanna waste it."

"I assure you, I have more bottles. You can drink the equivalent of a shot glass, that alone is enough."

Charles the butler pulled out four shot glasses and held them up.

Talon shook his head, "How do we know it's not poison?"

"It is not."

"Drink it then."

Reginald laughed, and gave Talon a look of admiration, "Very well then. Charles, drink a portion."

It was my turn to call him out, "No, you drink it Mr. Griffith. Butlers are disposable to you...right? If it is poison, and he dies, you don't mind that sacrifice."

He glanced at me, "Smart girl. You have made quite the friends, Seraphina, quite the friends. Very well, I shall drink a glass."

He held out his hand and Charles gave him a shot glass, and filled it up with some of the Elixir. He did the same with four more glasses, and gave them to each of us.

"You go first." Malachi ordered.

Reginald raised his glass, "Of course." He put it to his lips and tilted it up, emptying the liquid to his throat.

We all waited, and nothing happened.

"Why the hell isn't it working?"

He held up a finger, "Wait for it..." a few seconds later, his finger that he held up started to disappear, then shortly after, his hand. It crept up slowly.

I was stunned. He was actually giving us the elixir, no catch, no ulterior motive...

This couldn't be true. Why was he doing this? Was he genuinely sorry about the way he treated Sera? Judging by the siblings' reactions, this wasn't planned, so maybe...maybe it was true.

He gestured with his visible hand, "Go ahead, drink up and see for yourselves. The Elixir will last a couple of days, so you won't be strapped for time."

We all looked at each other, Sera with a bit of an I told you so expression. Even Talon and Malachi were starting to become convinced. I mean, he did prove it was the Elixir.

But still, something felt off.

"Or don't." Reginald said, "You can drink them later. Just take the bottle, here." He motioned for Charles to give to to Talon, which he did. Making Talon holster his revolver.

Talon looked at it, then at us, "Nah, we'll uh...we'll drink it. Seems legit. Besides, we gotta get going."

I looked at my glass and swirled the substance around, making sure it wasn't mixed in with anything. But no, it looked just like what he had drunk.

I shrugged, "I mean...yeah, I guess we should. Malachi?"

Malachi nodded, "I suppose so."

Sera smiled, "Um, th-thank you, father."

Reginald returned the smile, "Of course, dear. It's the least I could do."

Talon chuckled, "Bottoms up, then."

We all pushed the glasses to our lips and drank it in full, the substance immediately going down my throat and leaving a burning sensation. I couldn't help but scrunch my face at the taste, it was like eating three lemons at once, then throwing a jalapeno in there somewhere.

I shook my head, "Wow, that's some strong stuff."

It was even affecting Malachi, "Indeed, a bit more sour than I expected."

I looked at my fingers, and noticed they weren't disappearing. Instead of a light sensation that one would expect, I felt a heavy sensation instead, like I was being pulled to the ground, losing my grip on reality.

"Wh-What's happening, father?" Sera asked, "Is this a side effect?"

Reginald smiled with mock politeness, "Of course it is. Drowsiness is a common effect to a tranquilizer potion."

It took us a second to actually process what he just said.

"Tranquilizer?!" I yelled, "You bast-" But I was cut off by my own body falling to the ground, landing hard on the carpet with my chest, barely avoiding a faceplant.

Talon and Malachi tried to both make a move and kill Reginald before the potion took full effect. Talon was only able to fire a single round, but it hit the roof instead of the head Griffith. Malachi wasn't able to summon a lightning bolt in time, and they both fell to the ground.

Sera fell on her back, and looked up at her father with disbelief.

"F-Father..."

Her siblings walked up behind him and smirked knowingly, like they had expected this all along. We shouldn't have fell for it, we should've taken their confusion as a sign that her father clearly hadn't changed.

"Dear Seraphina, how could you be so naïve as to think I regretted treating you like the trash you are." He chuckled.

Soon enough I was the only one still conscious. My hands were shaky, but I still tried to grab my knives and throw it at the bastard, but everything was spiraling out of control, my vision was blurry, my arms and legs were going fully numb.

"You won't get...away with this." I managed to growl.

Reginald and the four Griffith's smirked coldly down at me, "On the contrary, Daughter of Nemesis, I think I shall."

I didn't even have time to question how he knew my parentage, because in the next split second, I was out like a light.

Darkness.

My eyes opened barely, and all that was there, was darkness.

It felt like I had been asleep for hours, I could practically feel the crust and water on my eyelids, keeping them snapped shut. My entire body felt like it had been put through the ringer, still a little numb and woozy. I guessed the potion was still in effect.

Gods, how stupid I had been.

I should never have trusted that bastard for one second, but I did. I let my guard down, and actually thought he might've been trying to atone for something. But no, of course it was a lie.

But still, he made it extremely convincing. How'd he even take the potion himself without passing out like us? Or did he after we did, and just managed to hold it together so he could laugh in our faces. Maybe he took an antidote shortly beforehand?

I inwardly groaned. Priorities Harper, you just got tranquilized.

I could feel my wrists and ankles bound up tightly by something solid, making it hard to move around. I forced my eyes open and looked up to see metal handcuffs and chains attached to my body, holding me in mid air about two feet from the ground. The room itself looked like a dungeon, barely lit by two large torches on either side of me, showing off gray brick and cobwebs.

I yanked on the cuffs and felt a sting in my wrists, causing me to wince. I had been in here a while, I could tell by the dull throbs in my limbs and the sweat on my skin. The air was muggy and humid, a sign that I was completely enclosed, no windows or spaces in the walls.

They had most likely moved us after they knocked us out. The others were probably in similar rooms, being kept and hung up like I was.

But what was the intention? Why keep us here? Were they going to torture us? Kill us?

I didn't want to find out. I had to get the hell out of here and find the others.

I winced and shook my head, trying to gain back full consciousness and find a way to get out of these chains. I looked around the room, but saw nothing that could help, nothing was here but me and the torches. Not even...

My knives...

I tilted my head down and looked at my waist to find that my knife strap was there, but...no knives.

"Dammit..." I groaned, just great, my weapons gone too. This just got a lot harder.

Thump...

My head shot up at the sudden sound. Something had definitely hit the brick below, like a footstep almost...

I tried to make my voice threatening, but instead it came out as a weak croak, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Harper."

I furrowed my eyebrows. I recognized that voice...

The shadows in front of me shifted in movement, and a large figure wearing a black cloak stepped out, the silver glint of a sword illuminating the area around him.

I recognized that black cloak, that sword, and that ugly scar...

It appeared to me now, the sword reflected off of his face just enough for me to spot the X shaped gash. My face immediately darkened, my posture stiffened, and my stomach knotted.

"Levi." I snarled.

"Bet you didn't expect to see me again so soon, huh?"

He moved his head up to look at me dead in the eye. When ours met, the temperature in the room seemed to get colder somehow, the tiny hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up. Being in his presence again, for the first time since Chiron's death...it both unnerved me and invigorated me with hatred, the same hatred I felt that day.

I decided right then that a change of plans was in order. I would find my group later. First...I had to kill Levi, and settle this once and for all.

(000)

Revenge is on the horizon...

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! A bit of a cliffhanger, which I seem to enjoy using these days haha, but you won't have to wait too long, don't worry!

Be sure to check out chapter seventeen, where we'll find out a little more about the Norse Camp, Sigurd, and the Sons of Thor's past!

Until Next Time.