Chapter 38

Reyna had a better sense of direction then Markos had and she was able to lead them quietly through the maze of ice corridors to where the massive cavern was, Euterpe's sorrow filled melody still echoing all around them as she stood in the room, unmoving apart from her singing.

They had stopped in the shadows, Reyna peered round the corner, taking in the numbers and positions of the sirens that guarded, the faun was still there, what had Thamyris called him? Marsyas. The name didn't ring any bells with her

"Annabeth do you know who Marsyas is? Or why he has so many sirens at his disposal?" she whispered turning to the blonde

She thought for a moment, the catalogue in her brain sorting through all of the things she knew, it was always a marvel at how much the daughter of Athena could remember, but then again Athena was the goddess of wisdom, a good memory was a requirement

"Marsyas challenged Apollo, he was judged by the Muses" her eyes saddened as she recalled the rest of the tale "He was skinned alive as a punishment and imprisoned in a tree, Apollo humiliated him and left him on show as a reminder not to challenge a god" her grey eyes flickered to Markos, who looked even more tense than usual.

Reyna also glanced at the large Greek, understanding his anger

"Guess he got out somehow" Markos grumbled, moving the conversation on, not wanting to linger on the moment

"And the sirens?" Reyna asked

Annabeth peered round to see the sirens, they looked like the beautiful women they were referred to in modern tales but she knew that they were missing one crucial feature

"They sang in a competition against the Muses, they lost and for their punishment they had their wings ripped from their bodies"

"They like their punishments" Damien muttered, all eyes turned to him "It just sounds like the gods are just as bad as Thamyris" he shrugged shyly, with the other four watching him

Reyna turned back, her mind coming up with a plan, she could see another entrance to the cavern on the other side, if they could attack from both sides then they would stand a better chance of fighting the group of sirens and Marsyas.

She turned back to the group "There is an opening on the other side of the cavern, if a couple of us can get around there then we can attack from both sides"

Annabeth nodded "Markos and I can go round, we know each others fighting styles"

Reyna reached out and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder "Be careful and wait for my signal"

"You too" then she leant in and whispered something to the Praetor

Damien noticed the knowing in her deep brown eyes, he wondered what she had said to her, but he also knew that Reyna was not going to repeat the words.

Annabeth nodded to Damien and Hazel before creeping off with Markos, they disappeared round the corner, now all the trio could do was wait, wait while they were surrounded by enemies, Reyna didn't know if they were aware that they had escaped from their imprisonment, but she had a feeling that was the reason that the Muse was now so well guarded.

"So"

Damien's voice took her attention

"What is the plan?" he asked

Reyna didn't look at him directly, her eyes fixed on the cavern, keeping an eye on the sirens and especially Marsyas who was watching the cavern carefully, no doubt waiting for the demigods to try and free Euterpe

"You stay behind me and Hazel, no running off, you do as we say" she ordered

Damien shifted closer towards Reyna "Reyna, I may not be much of a fighter but I have other skills, use me, don't leave me behind"

Deep brown eyes met his, he could still see the anger in her, but also the hurt

"You are reckless Damien" she whispered "You say you will follow my command but then you let your heart govern your actions and not you head, Romans need to follow orders"

"Give me orders and I will follow them" he swore "Just don't ask me to hide while the rest of you fight"

Reyna held his gaze for a moment longer before turning away, Damien closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, trying to keep himself calm, Reyna was right, she always was, he allowed his emotions to get the better of him, choosing what he believed was the right thing to do

There was a long moment of silence before Hazel gave Reyna a look, before nodding towards Damien who was staring at the ground, Reyna sighed

"There is a siren on a ledge" she finally said "Disarm her, take her down, then get behind me and Hazel and stay out of trouble, don't take on anything or anyone you cannot handle, this isn't the war games"

She turned to face Damien, he nodded at her smiling a little

"Thank you Reyna" he squeezed her forearm comfortingly

Reyna could feel warmth flooding through her arm, she swallowed ignoring the closeness of their positions, but even she couldn't deny that she liked being close to him, but this was nor the time nor the place for this right now.

She returned to watching the cavern, keeping a close eye on the tunnel on the other side of the icy space, waiting and silently praying to see the blonde, she kept reminding herself that Annabeth was smart and strong, as was Markos, they would make it.

She watched as a couple more sirens entered from where Annabeth was supposed to be, she began to worry before realising that if they had been caught then they would have been dragged into the cavern or more sirens would have been called to recapture them, they were still alive.

Not a moment later she caught sight of a flash of golden hair from the other side of the cavern, she made eye contact and held her hand up in a signal to standby, she turned back to Hazel and Damien

"They are in position, there are three sirens directly in front of us, Marsyas is by Euterpe, Hazel you and I will attack them from behind" she explained in a hush voice

Hazel nodded readying her spartha

Reyna turned her attention to Damien "You get up to that siren on the ledge, take her down, be careful"

Damien nodded and leant around Reyna, getting a little closer to her than he meant to as he checked out the route he would have to take to get up to the ledge, the siren had a bow in her hand and a quiver on her back, it would take her a couple of seconds to notch an arrow, that should give him enough time to at least get up to the ledge, taking her down would be an entirely different ball game.

"Okay" he said moving back, catching the look in Reyna's eyes "I should be able to get up there" he gave her a small comforting smile

Reyna nodded "Don't take too many risks" she looked at both of them but Damien knew that she was directing it at him, he did have a bad history with not thinking things through entirely

"Let's move"