Hylla pulled her jacket closer to herself, shifting at the unfamiliar weight of armor. It wasn't something that she normally wore unless she was going into the thick of battle. Even then, her armor wasn't this heavy. Today was different. The armor that she wore was special not only because it would protect her from a sword slash, but also because it was reinforced to avoid being pierced by an arrow or bolt.
Next to her, Bristol stood quietly. He wore the armor of the Sixth Legion, and his faceplate hung from his belt. The other thing that hung from his belt was a gun. Hylla knew it was loaded with regular bullets. It was the perfect tool for killing the peacekeepers if they revealed that they were lying.
Hylla felt her heart thundering in her chest, and she swallowed painfully. Truthfully, she didn't know what was worse: if the peacekeepers were lying, and Hylla had walked right into a trap, or if they were telling the truth, Reyna was in Tartarus alone and the gods knew what kind of shape she was in.
The two walked into the restaurant. Hylla felt a shift in the air. It didn't give her a good or bad feeling. Really, it was as if the air shifted and then just completely stopped. She blinked, and her eyes moved around the restaurant. Her eyes widened in surprise.
The restaurant was exactly how they had left it, albeit with fewer patrons. A waiter was standing at a table, putting food down in front of the older couple sitting at it. But, the waiter wasn't moving. His hand hovered in the air with the plate resting in his palm. The couple was looking up expectantly, but they weren't moving. Hell, it didn't even look like they were breathing.
Hylla turned her head to look to her side. Bristol had a frown on his face as he watched the scene. It was as if the two had walked into a museum and entered a painting. This moment had been frozen in time. The dead silence was broken by a voice, "Hylla."
"Beleza," Hylla said as she looked across the restaurant. Beleza was sitting on top of a table. She held a glass in her hand and was swirling around ice and a bit of liquid. Like them, the peacekeeper was dressed for war. Her crossbow rested across her back, along with a few bolts in her bag. She wore armor, but there was no blade at her side.
Next to her sat another peacekeeper. The girl's eyes were cold and void, lifeless almost. In her hands swung a stopwatch like a pendulum. Beleza spoke, "How long do we have, Zara?"
"Minutes at most," Zara answered. She lifted the stopwatch. It wasn't like a modern one. It was made of gold and had writings and engravings on it. "If we want to save this."
"We may need it," Beleza commented. Her gaze moved to Hylla. "I'm glad you came."
"I still need proof that this all isn't a trap," Hylla declared as she crossed her arms. Beleza smirked and stood.
"If we wanted you dead, we would have already killed you," Beleza stated.
"Beleza, that is not what we are here for," the other peacekeeper warned.
"You're right, Zara. Truthfully, I'm not quite sure how to deliver proof without the gods knowing. I have no doubt they are keeping an eye on Mount Othrys and any forms of communication that can be used. Like dreams or an Iris message," Beleza explained.
"You could just show us," Bristol suggested. "Did you not record any proof of what you saw?"
"I saw what happened in a dream," Zara answered. She frowned and looked down. "We can't just go to Mount Othrys. Ares is bound to be looking out for anyone who will come by."
"I can't just take you at your word," Hylla replied heatedly. Bristol glanced at Hylla and rubbed the stubble on his chin. He reached into his pocket. Beleza tensed, and Zara moved her eyes to his hand. Bristol pulled out a cylindrical case.
"Sometimes, we can't rely on godly means," Bristol said. He opened the case and pulled out what looked like a scope of some sort. No, it was a monocular. "We can see anything within fifty miles."
"We can get you within distance of that," Beleza promised. "If you can trust us long enough to do that."
"Just know what happens to you if you're lying," Hylla said. Beleza nodded once and stood completely. She placed her glass down, setting it under water that a waiter was pouring from a pitcher, but the stream was frozen in place.
Beleza walked towards the front door. Bristol held it open for her and seemed to be dividing his attention between the two peacekeepers. Hylla followed behind them as Zara took up the rear. Hylla knew that she could spend the next day debating on whether to trust the peacekeepers or not, and she still wouldn't be able to come up with an answer.
Hylla had to pick a course of action, and she was going with the peacekeepers. If it was a trap, they would try to capture her and use her as a bargaining chip or something else. But, gods help them if they tried that. Hylla knew what her sister would do for her, but she didn't think the peacekeepers understood it.
If it wasn't a trap, that meant Reyna was in desperate need of help, and the peacekeepers were probably the only ones who could provide that help. Camp Half-Blood wouldn't raise a finger to help them, and Camp Jupiter was useless. There were the demititans, but what did they know about Tartarus?
If Reyna was in Tartarus, the gods had betrayed her. They had locked her away and were hoping that she would never come back. What would they do to Hylla at that point? And the Amazons that were loyal to her. Not to mention the Sixth Legion.
"You can end it," Beleza said, breaking Hylla from her thoughts. Hylla turned to look at Zara, who pocketed that stopwatch. Inside the restaurant, the mortals started moving like nothing had happened. Like time never froze for them. Beleza met her eyes. "We also brought a friend for backup."
Hylla nearly jumped as a woman appeared next to her. Beleza spoke, "Hylla, meet Camila. She can shadow travel us near the mountain."
"I would rather not drain my energy bringing six people along," Camila commented. Hylla turned her head to the side and made a motion for Sparta and Aquitaine to come out of hiding. "If we are trying to stay hidden, just taking Hylla would be for the best. I can use the shadows to cloak us."
"Are you okay going alone?" Bristol asked softly. Hylla looked at the Sixth Legion and then focused on the peacekeepers. She crossed her arms and let out a deep breath. If Camila was leading her into a trap, she would pay. The only thing Hylla cared about was figuring out what happened to her sister.
Hylla held her hand out, and Bristol placed the monocular into her hands. Hylla studied it and then turned towards Camila. Zara spoke up, "We need to prove to Hylla that we are telling the truth. Can you get her within fifty miles, so she can see that they have Arcadia prisoner?"
Camila nodded and held out her hand. Hylla slowly took it and watched the woman step into the shadows. Everything went dark, and she had no time to regret her decision as the world began to spin. Darkness consumed her, and it felt like her stomach was being thrown onto a rollercoaster.
Hylla's feet landed on solid ground, and she reached out to grab the nearest item to keep herself standing. Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked around the cave that they were in. Camila looked around as well, and a frown came to her face.
"Where are we?" Hylla questioned as her hand moved to her knife.
"We should be near the mountain," Camila answered. She crossed her arms. "I did not want to land here."
Hylla kept her hand on her knife as she looked around the cave. It didn't look that big, and there was a ledge that showed off Mount Othrys. Hylla raised the monocular and slowly looked through it. The first thing she noticed was the ruins of what used to be the Titans' base. She heard the stories from Reyna about how the Romans stormed the base that had been built here and then tore it down as the Greeks defended Mount Olympus.
As Hylla increased the distance, she tensed. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she saw two figures. One was the god of war Mars. He wore his armor and was pacing back and forth. His mouth moved, and he had a hand raised, moving around every so often to emphasize his lecture.
The person he spoke to was a goddess trapped underneath the weight of the sky. It looked as if Arcadia's breastplate was covered in ichor, and she was in an awkward position as she was standing, or rather kneeling. One of her knees was dug into the ground, and her other leg was pressed against it. Instead of holding the weight of her sky with her hands, it was pressing against her shoulder blades, dragging her further into the ground as she tried to keep herself up with her hands.
"What the fuck?" Hylla whispered as she slowly lowered the monocular. Every fiber of her being wanted this to be a trick of the mist. A lie by the peacekeepers. But, Hylla knew better. The Olympians had tricked Reyna and Arcadia. They trapped Arcadia under the weight of the sky.
And threw Reyna into Tartarus.
Hylla felt her knees go weak, and she stumbled back. She hit something solid and grabbed onto it for dear life. Hylla slowly turned to look inside the cave and probably somewhere to vomit. Camila watched her with a sympathetic look.
Hylla closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She tried to calm herself down, but how could this have happened? Why did Hylla let Reyna go alone? She should have been there for her sister. Hylla laid her head against the cave.
"I can shadow travel you whenever you're ready," Camila offered. Hylla pushed herself off of the wall and studied the back of the cave. She saw a bedroll in the corner and a backpack. Hylla walked towards it and slowly sat on the bedroll. She leaned against the cave wall and tried to calm herself down.
What the hell was she going to do? Reyna was trapped in Tartarus. How the fuck was Hylla supposed to help her? It took five members of the seven from the Great Prophecy to save Percy and Annabeth when they fell in. She didn't think the seven would be so willing to help now. Hylla moved her gaze to Camila.
But, who needed the seven of the prophecy when the peacekeepers were offering help?
Hylla didn't know what would happen if she helped the peacekeepers, but she didn't care because they spoke as if they wanted to help Reyna too. That was all that mattered to her.
"How?" Hylla questioned. She couldn't voice the rest of her question. Hell, she didn't even know what the rest of her question was. Her mind kept looking back to the fact that Reyna was in trouble, and she had no way to help her.
Camila remained silent. Hylla let out a shaky breath and slowly grabbed the backpack that had been left there. Her gaze moved to the mouth of the cave. This looked like the kind of place where someone scouted out the mountain. Probably a stupid demigod from Camp Jupiter.
Hylla studied the backpack. She played mindlessly with the zipper, trying to get over her shock. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, but at the same time, she didn't have the desire to move or do anything. Her gaze stayed focused ahead, still playing with the zipper.
"I know it is hard, Hylla. But we shouldn't stay here," Camila said as she offered a hand.
"Yeah," Hylla muttered. She threw the backpack to the side and saw something fall from the open pocket. Hylla grabbed onto the picture and looked at it. A frown came to her face as she recognized the two figures from the picture.
Hylla grabbed the backpack and opened it. She stared at the binders and notebooks filling the inside. After pulling them out, she studied the different weapons and vials that were inside. This was a scout's cave, but it wasn't just any normal scout. Hylla placed everything back into the backpack and zipped it up.
"I need to make a stop," Hylla said as she focused on the two people in the picture. While she recognized both of them, one of them was dead: killed in an attempt to rescue the goddess Athena. The second one was still alive and leading the demititans. That left Hylla with two questions. One: what were the demititans doing in this cave, scouting the mountain? Two: could it help her sister?