Chapter 25 ~ Katerina
Katerina shot up, unsheathing her dagger from her belt and dropping her fork in the process. She stood up, went downstairs with the others following behind her and crept to the door, peeking through the tinted window. She felt a catch in her breath. There was a small army of monsters- about a couple dozen, clustered outside. There were a variety of Scythian Dracaena, Telchines, Hellhounds... and three figures, but she couldn't make out the faces.
"Holy Hades," Katerina breathed. Vytoni, who was next to her, made to open the door but Nethrys grabbed her wrist.
"Are you crazy?" He hissed, "You'll get yourself killed." Vyt yanked her hand away, turning to look through the window again.
Trudy gulped and stepped back a bit, her face and hair steadily losing in color. She squeezed her boyfriend's hand, then held her dagger in a fighting position.
"Three... Two... One... Now!" They burst out the door, taking the horde of creatures momentarily by surprise. They were out numbered about two to one, and they had to protect Scarlett, who should have stayed inside, since she had no idea how to fight. She took on two Telchines at once, not pausing to hear their yelps as they crumbled to dust. She spared a second to check the others, and was relieved to see that most of the monsters had exploded.
Adrian was standing in front of Trudy, next to Rosamynd who was shooting vines from the ground and entangling the attacking monster. Lysandra was throwing her daggers, her accuracy so great that sometimes she even nailed them in the eye. Enryx and Elektra were slowly inching back to the caravan, shooting some of the monsters with their bows and arrows, trying to get Scarlett to safety. Vytoni and Nethrys had killed off their share of monsters, and were heading for the three figures who were obviously in charge.
There was a black-haired boy, the tallest, and a straight haired girl next to him who he had to be related to - and the girl in Elektra's dreams. Which means- The other boy had to be the son Nyx mentioned, William. Katerina smirked and went for the brown-haired boy, who was fumbling for something in his belt. He looked most vulnerable and an easy target. She sprinted at him, holding up her dagger at the ready but as she advanced, he glanced up and seemed to melt into the shadow. Huh? She whipped around, hoping to catch the boy again. Someone grasped her from behind and choked her in a headlock.
"Hey gorgeous, what are you gonna do now?" His smokey, husky voice whispered in her ear. She could feel his cold breath on her neck which rose goosebumps along her skin. Katerina panicked for a brief second, her arms fumbling for a clear stabbing point. She quickly remembered a panic tactic she had learned in martial arts class.
"I'm gonna sing!" Katerina whispered. The boy loosened his lock a little in confusion, letting his guard down while doing so. She elbowed him in the center of his stomach - S. She stamped on his foot with the heel of her boot - I. Then she punched him in the nose - N - "Not done yet, pretty," - Then she kicked him right there- G. The boy crumpled to the ground in pain.
She looked up, triumphant, but then her heart stopped cold. Nethrys was cornered by the girl, who had a long, wicked looking javelin. With his sword lying ten feet away. He was holding off with his silver shield which was scratched and dented, but Kat had a feeling that it wouldn't last long. She stepped towards him to help, but Vytoni had already beat her to it. Pressing a finger to her lips, Vyt silently picked up Nethrys' sword and scaled the tree that hung over the fight. Katerina saw Nethrys' eye flicker upwards for a fraction for a second, and knew he was waiting for Vytoni's signal. She held three fingers... two... one... She dropped down the tree and kicked the girl very hard in the head and tossed Nethrys his sword. They stood, facing the opponent, but she back away, her long, golden javelin poised in front of her. A wise decision. Then, before anyone can stop her, she dashed to her brother and Will, who Katerina didn't notice was stirring. They touched, and disappeared.
Katerina ran over to Nethrys with the others hot on her heels. To her relief, he was only dazed, but was gazing at Vytoni.
"You saved me," He murmured. They locked eyes for a second, and Vyt was the first to break eye contact.
"Yeah, well, now you owe me," She stood up and walked to the caravan without another word, leaving Nethrys to stare after her, a most peculiar expression on his face. The others helped Nethrys to the caravan, where Elektra immediately tended to his injuries, which were minor except for the gash on his side. Katerina suspected his shield had been more damaged. Enyo isn't gonna be too happy about this...
Katerina went in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water on the way. Sipping at her water, her mind unexpectedly wandered to William, the boy who melted into the shadows. Shaking her head, she went back upstairs to the den where they all were having brunch until the monsters interrupted. She decided to finish her tart, which had gone cold during the fight. One by one a few people started coming in, either to watch television or finish up their pomegranate tart just as she did. She was just taking the last bite when Enryx came in and announced another group meeting. They headed back downstairs, where the others were waiting for them.
"I think why we're having this meeting is a little obvious," Enryx began, "So I'm gonna jump right to the point." Katerina nodded in agreement, taking a seat on the floor and pulling her laptop to her.
"So now we know that Nyx's son, William, is one of the three people, which also means that we will be working against him," Rosamynd stated.
"Don't forget, he's the son of Phobos as well," Trudy reminded them.
"Trudy, that's it, he's a son of Phobos and Nyx! And you know what that means?" he's a Godling, like us," Katerina said clearly.
"I told you so," Vytoni muttered. Nethrys opened his mouth to argue, then seemed to think twice and closed his mouth again.
"The problem is," Lysandra hesitated, "Well, we were supposed to try and get William back to Nyx, right? But if he's, you know, a bad guy, do we try and convince him, which would slow us down and potentially leave us vulnerable, or just ignore it and treat him like any other enemy, which would be contradicting Nyx, and that's a pretty bad idea."
"Well," Adrian said slowly, as if thinking through something, which was surprising, "If he is on our side, that would make eleven, wouldn't it?" There were more mutters.
"I guess we can just keep journeying on to find Phobos, and just see what happens from there," Enryx decided. Katerina and some other agreed, but Scarlett, Rosamynd and Trudy looked doubtful, obviously still considering the eleventh thing.
"If Phobos is our target and William is a son of Phobos, if we hold him captive, do you think he can help us find him?" Elektra asked.
"But we can probably never find him," Katerina said knowingly.
"What do you mean?"
Katerina told them her fight with William, and how he just seemed to merge into the shadow. "It's called Shadow travel," She explained, "But I've never seen people other than Hades' children do that before."
"Don't forget, he is a son of Nyx as well. There is also a possibility that he developed it from Phobos, because most people have fear of the dark," Vytoni reasoned, "And this depends on his sphere of power. His role could somehow be related to shadows."
Scarlett was blabbering on about how 'good-looking' the other boy was, the one who looked like the girl's brother. Nethrys seemed a little relieved, until she mentioned that the boy had competition and glanced at Nethrys, who had purposefully looked away, his expression hard to tell. One by one, they left, either to train or relax or whatever. Feeling immensely bored, Katerina decided to go improve her agility and weaponry skills. She cleaned some monster blood off her dagger, making a face at the gross, oozing blood before tossing the wet towel at the sink. When she went to the training room, Enryx, Vytoni and Nethrys were already there. It was quiet except for the dull thunk of arrows, or the occasional curse when something missed. Kat followed their lead, working in silence. She stabbed the dummy in the eye hole, then in the gut, then through the ribcage. Eye hole, gut, ribcage. Eye hole, gut, ribcage. Eye hole, gut, ribcage... Soon, it was so systematic, her heart wasn't really in it. Her mind drifted off, and suddenly focused on William, the boy who disappeared into the shadows. If we do ask, would he even join us? What if he likes what he does? If he's not the one in the prophecy, then who else can be? Suddenly, she remembered a line from the third prophecy: Your trust will fall into the dark shadows. I wonder... She ran down the stairs, almost toppling over. Practically ripping open her laptop, she scanned the prophecies, adding a footnote about William in the third and fourth ones. He's the one, She thought firmly, He has to be.
Katerina rolled her eyes. If William is part of this prophecy and quest, it's gonna be so annoying. Katerina took her laptop with her back upstairs to the den where Rosamynd was sitting in front of the TV eating a bowl of cereal that was resting on her lap. Katerina debated to herself whether or not she should tell the others about William and how he was part of the Prophecy and the quest.
Rosamynd looked up from her 'Froot Loops' cereal and smiled at Katerina, her dazzling lime green eyes friendly.
"Hey, how are you?" Rosamynd asked, munching on her froot loops. Trudy wandered in too, with Adrian in tow.
Trudy walked through the door of the training room alongside Adrian. Her cheeks were a soft pink colour and her hair was light brown now in a high ponytail. She was wearing a loose white tank top with running shorts and sneakers.
"Where's Enryx?" Katerina asked them.
They looked confused, but Trudy giggled and said, "He's up on the roof, talking to Lysandra."
"What's up with them anyway?" Rosamynd asked, digging through the bowl of cereal looking for her flavor of choice. Trudy giggled again, sharing a knowing look with Adrian, who was trying not to smile.
"I don't know," Katerina shrugged, really not knowing what was going on up there. Then she shook her head, getting her mind back on track, "Hey, listen, remember William? The boy we were talking about? Well, he relates to two of the prophecies. Don't you see? We have to trust the shadows: His powers are shadow related! He has to be the eleventh member!"
"But he's on Phobos' side!" Adrian countered, "There's no telling what choice he'll make!"
"But we have to give him a chance, at least capture him and make him tell us everything he knows about Phobos and his plan," Katerina exclaimed in defence.
"Like you said, it'd be impossible to track him down," Rosamynd reminded her.
"Not impossible! We just need bait," Katerina smirked a little, recalling the battle, "Listen, next time we are under attack, one of us goes for him while the other sneaks behind and grabs him. That makes sure that if he does get away, one of us will be taken along with him, so we can contact via Iris-message. Trudy, you can change your appearance to look like me, because he probably might have a grudge. And if he's not quick enough, Elektra, shoot that cool knockout gas arrow to, well, knock him out. then Rosamynd can wrap him up with vines.
"How about the boys?" Adrian asked, a slightly hurt expression of his face.
"Maybe leave this one for the girls," Katerina smiled while Trudy shrugged apologetically. Adrian nodded and shrugged then walked back into the training room bathroom, probably to wash up.
"So this is a girl's mini-quest?" Trudy asked, an eyebrow raised, "And I have to try to look like you?"
"Yeah! Sorry if that's gonna be hard," Katerina apologized, but Trudy instantly waved it off and her hair turned a darker, rusty brown color with metallic gold strands. Her eyes turned a sapphire blue colour and her skin deepened slightly, gaining a tan.
"Hey, what's this about an all girls mini-quest?" Lysandra burst into the room, followed by Vytoni. Katerina quickly explained the plan to them.
"We won't be very useful," Vyt mused, "We could just stay here."
"Nah. You guys should just come tag along. Post guard or something." They didn't look exactly thrilled, but they nodded.
Lysandra shrugged but smiled, her sharp fang on the left side of her mouth twitching. Vytoni just remained mute, and they stood there in silence for a few minutes until Scarlett burst into the room, causing Vytoni, Katerina and Trudy to make excuses to leave, muttering amongst themselves. Katerina went to the kitchen, fixing a snack to take her mind off things. Then, she realized that they don't even know where William even is. Disturbed, she quickly made herself a salad, filled with chopped up tomatoes and cucumbers, topped with an alarming amount of lemon juice. Mm, She thought, as she munched happily, why haven't I ever make any of these? This tastes wonderful.
Her thoughts were ungraciously interrupted by Nethrys, who came crashing in, making a beeline for the fridge. "Man, how can you stand rabbit food?!" He shook his head, ripping out a huge chunk of jerky, "Anyways, what's this about a mini-quest? You don't even know where he is!"
"Ask me again when - hold on, how do you even know?" Katerina questioned defensively
He tapped his head knowingly, "Psychic powers," He said, laughing to himself, "Well, I can tell when you're lying and even though you weren't, it wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out what's got your knife in a knot."
"Dagger," Katerina corrected, drowning the salad with pomegranate juice.
"It's an expression," Nethrys said, frowning. "But anyways. You can try tracking him."
"Tracking him how?"
"Come on!" He rolled his eye, "You have two witches on our team! - not in a bad way. I mean, they're not... never mind," He added, blushing bright red. Katerina smirked. Figuring out which 'witch' he's referring to isn't rocket science, either.
"Three," Kat corrected again, adding, "I've got magic blood too, remember? I'm just not as skilled at magic as Lys and Vyt are," when she saw his eyes narrow with confusion.
Nethrys nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. Grabbing a pack of granola bars filled with gods-knows-what, he walked out again, throwing a "Good luck!" on the way out. Katerina followed him out, but went over to the second floor. She saw Adrian and Trudy snuggled up on a violet loveseat, cosying up to each other. She shrugged and carried on to where Vytoni was reading thick books that Katerina didn't begin to understand. Lys was scribbling into a notebook that she seemed to constantly write in, while Vyt was drawing more and more runes onto her arms, legs and clothes, which were so crowded with scribbles Katerina could hardly make out their original color.
"Hey," She greeted them. They murmured replies, but didn't look up. "'Whatcha reading?" She asked them.
No answer. She sighed frustratedly and waved a hand under their noses, snapping them out of their trance. They glared at her, but eventually closed their tomes.
"What?" Lysandra asked, "This better be good."
"I need you to try and track William," She said.
Vytoni shrugged and replied, "Sure. Got something to track with?"
"Uh... no."
"Hmm," Vyt thoughtfully tapped one of her runes, the one that hopefully provides a tracking spell. "Well, not really. You need something to track him with, though I can summon someone who can.
Katerina was about to opened her mouth to agree when Nethrys strolled in, caught sight of Vyt, spun around on his heels and exited.
"Wait a minute," Lysandra said, "Nethrys! Come back here!" He twisted to face the girls then shuffled back in, a slightly irritated expression on his face.
"How may I be of your assistance today?"
"Ha ha," Lysandra rolled her eyes, "Can you lend us your shield for a moment?"
He left and came back shortly with the slightly dented shield. "Good," Lysandra sighed in relief, "The marks are still here."
"Good?" Nethrys glared at her, "How is that good?" Lys ignored him and gave the shield to Vyt. Vytoni looked a little hesitant at first, but took the shield and began marking the rim with a strange symbol.
"Okay, after this, we'll help fix your shield," Katerina promised, "Or - well, Trudy can fix it for you."
The symbol started glowing a faint gray. "Step back," Vytoni muttered. So they did. The pulsing glow grew brighter and brighter, until Vyt's eyes widened and glowed briefly black, standing rigid. Nethrys stepped forwards, but she returned to normal and he left, warning them they have one day to repair his shield.
"Well?" Katerina asked her impatiently.
Vytoni was silent for a moment, then said, "Give me a map." Katerina tore one off the walls, smoothed it out with her hand then passed it to her. Vyt studied it, tracing patterns and murmuring to herself. Finally, Vytoni marked a spot with a pin, right off the border of florida, which were where they were. Maybe they had still a little bit of driving today but overall it was really close by.
"Perfect," Katerina murmured softly, memorizing the place but taking the map anyways. She headed back downstairs and sat next to Elektra, who was driving and showed her the location. Within twenty minutes, they were already there.
The girls -with the exception of Scarlett- went outside and hiked up a small hill, until Vytoni whispered, "Stop. They are here." Cautiously, they crept along the bushels out of sight, until Katerina saw the silhouettes of three figures on the crest of the hill. Her heart sped up, and she was filled with adrenaline.
She slid a dagger out of her left boot, sweat dripping down her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw the offences, Trudy disguised as her double and holding a dagger that Katerina lent her and Rosamynd. Lysandra and Vytoni, who were going to be taking down the other two, were already moving, sprinting unnoticed towards the targets. Elektra was perched on an overhanging tree, knockout gas-filled arrows at the ready.
Three... two... one...
They sprang into action. Lysandra threw her indigo dagger at the boy standing next to the tall, dark haired girl. The dagger knocked his metallic spear out of his hands, his cold, handsome features twisted in surprise and fury. Vytoni and the girl were engaged in battle, Vyt's opponent's expression frustrated and very, very angry.
"Where's your pretty boyfriend?" The girl taunted.
"He's not my boyfriend," Vytoni growled darkly, her striking brown-gold eyes narrowing in determination. She disarmed her opponent, and thrusted the heel of her hand into the girl's face, successfully knowing her out.
"Courtney!" Her cousin, who was momentarily distracted, gave Lysandra an opening to punch him squarely in the eye, and causing him to howl in rage and crumple to the ground. Where is William? In the midst of the chaos, Katerina snuck off and skirted around to the fight, looking for the shaggy-haired boy. Finally, she saw him next to the boy who Lys had hit. Katerina signalled Trudy. Time for action.
Trudy strode into the scene, She ran up to William and attempted to stab him in the chest but he caught her arm then pushed her aside. Trudy fell to the floor with William towering over her.
"Rematch?" The boy snarled. Katerina noticed that his voice had a slight accent, probably a european one. Focus! He unsheathed his coal-black sword with a violent royal purple hilt. Katerina got ready to grab if him as Trudy distracted him, causing a big scene. Katerina gave Elektra the signal , and she immediately let loose an arrow with a capsule on the edge instead of the usual, sharp tip. William's practically black eyes widened in surprise and tried to disappear through shadow, but Katerina quickly grabbed him and held in a headlock.
"Oh no you don't," She hissed. He struggled, then seemed to think better of it and closed his eyes for the impact. Even though William was the target, Katerina was pretty close as she started to feel drowsy. She pinched her skin and staggered under William's unconscious weight. Elektra had decided to shoot the other two as well, for good measure. Rosamynd summoned a maze of thorns and vines and held William tightly in place. Lysandra, Vytoni and Elektra went over to them, having dragged the unconscious bodies between two boulders. Vyt picked up William's fallen sword, examining it with slight interest before making it disappear.
"It can come back," She assured them, "I just stashed it elsewhere. Where do you think all my weapons come from?" Katerina decided not to ask.
Trudy's hair had turned back to it's original macadamia colour and her skin was resumed to it's slightly lighter tinge. She blinked a couple times, her eyes slowly going through a spectrum of colours before reverting to her original amber.
"That was tiring, pretending to be you," Trudy confessed, "I can only do this for a couple hours at a time - well, without your mother's help, of course."
They all returned back to the caravan where the boys and Scarlett were anxiously waiting if their mission was a success of not. Their faces were pressed up against the window, eyes widening as they edged closer and closer towards their homey caravan, which had gone through so many battles along side them. Katerina could already see it was getting weary. We can get it a paint job when all this is over.
Adrian flung open the door and hugged Trudy. Nethrys looked like he was going to greet Vytoni but she looked away, the 'boyfriend' comment obviously still on her mind.
"Great!" Enryx smiled at Lysandra, who flushed and looked away.
"So that's William?" Scarlett asked, her eyebrows raised, looking down at the unconscious Godling.
"Yup, that's our team member, unconscious and had almost killed us," Elektra reported cheerfully. They sat him down on one of the dinner chairs and tied him with a strong sphinx-hair infused rope.
"So what are we gonna do with him?" Rosamynd peered uncertainly at him, her voice showing signs of guilt.
"Just keep him here, I guess. And demand answers. Request him to help us. You know, the usual," Katerina shrugged, poking his cheek. He stirred, and she quickly retracted her hand and drew her dagger.
"Stand aside, ladies," Nethrys grinned at the waking figure and cracked his neck, "My turn."
~END OF CHAPTER 25~