Chapter 33 ~ Nethrys
You stupid idiot. Nethrys scowled at his reflection in the mirror of a gas station washroom. He splashed ice cold water on his face, and wiped it with the back of his hand. His mind wandered back to Vytoni, and how shattered her expression was. She wasn't telling the truth. Sure, she barely got more than a few words out, but her implementation was obvious. She wasn't lying, either.
He, Enryx and Adrian had walked back up to the gas station to use the bathroom and wash themselves up. He was at the sink, his damp, black shirt curling under the Florida heat. Splashing more water on his face, he leaned against the wall, waiting for the others to come out. The water was still running, spraying a fine mist and making a faint rainbow through the shaft of sunlight of the almost dying sun. As he watched, it grew stronger and stronger, until it was practically unnatural. He stuck his hand in his pocket and fished a drachma out, flipping it in the air and murmuring, "O Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering."
William's swam into view , "Nethrys, thank the Gods I got you."
"What is it, Wolfe?"
"Courtney and Logan, they're planning to attack tomorrow."
"What?" Nethrys almost fell backwards, but with cold, sudden awareness, he also realized the day after tomorrow was the Winter Solstice.
"Courtney and Logan, they're planning to attack tomorrow." William repeated.
"They're attacking a day early!"
"Yeah! Can you get the others? Like Kat? How is she?"
"This is the guy's bathroom, so no. But I'll grab the others." Nethrys rapped the stall doors, shouting, "Wolfe is here. Hurry up." One after the other, Enryx and Adrian both came out, their hair sopping wet.
"What is it, this better be really important." Adrian grumbled shaking his head, spraying water all over the place.
"It is, Courtney and Logan are attacking tomorrow. A day early," Wolfe told them grimly.
"Great," Enryx copied Nethrys, cupping his hand under a different tap and flinging it at his face, "More pressure."
"I don't have the exact location," Wolfe continued, "But I know it's on an island. My best guess is the Florida keys. The Mist would have shrouded this, but you have Scarlett, so you would be fine."
Nethrys nodded, suddenly uncomfortable by the mention of her name, "So, when do we attack?"
"Soon, just get your butts here and Iris-message me from there. I have Trudy into Logan's hands, but I'm pretty sure he has a little crush on her, so he wouldn't hurt her."
"He has a what?" Adrian yelled, suddenly furious. Nethrys couldn't blame him - if someone told him that someone had a crush on Vytoni, he wouldn't know how he would feel.
"Listen, I have to go. I have to do some errands for Queen Horror. Bye, and say hi to my princess for me!" The Iris-message ended, leaving them staring into a dirty beige sink.
"Guess we have to go tell the others," Enryx turned to the door, the other following quickly.
They made their way towards their makeshift camping site, where Katerina was starting the fire in the middle of all the tents which were set up in a semicircle. Scarlett was trying to pick up a heavy log in the corner. Lysandra was sweeping away the dead leaves that were scattered across the floor with a spell she chanted. Rosamynd was growing some nearby plants, and Elektra picked them up swiftly, tending to the injured. Nethrys looked around for Vytoni, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Guys, we'll rest for the night and we'll leave in the morning for the Florida Keys," Nethrys announced.
"Why?" Lysandra stopped sweeping to look at them curiously - at Enryx, to be very exact.
"Wolfe Iris-messaged us-"
"He did?" Katerina nearly fell over, tripping and scrambling over to them. Adrian turned to her spoke to her in low voices, and Kat was nodding earnestly, looking happier than she had for days.
"Okay, so we'll rest for night and take off tomorrow," Katerina turned back to the girls and huddled with them, speaking in fast tones.
"Fine," Enryx agreed and trudged off to prepare his sleeping bag. Adrian followed suit, looking nervous yet energetic. Nethrys doubted Adrian would be able to sleep at all tonight.
Nethrys paced the now empty campfire, wondering if he should keep watch or look for Vytoni who was missing. Making a split second decision, he set off to where all the higher landscape were, already feeling the bruises he would undoubtedly receive.
He found her in his first guess, on a cluster of boulders that reminded him of Zeus' fist back at camp. Vytoni was half-hidden between two of them, near the top. She had her staff out, watching for incoming monsters. The moon was out now, making her deep brown hair outlined with silver. Wondering whether there was still time to go back, he stepped in view, just outside her arm's length. Secretly, he wanted to get closer but knew that would be suicidal.
"Hey," He greeted her hesitantly, careful not to meet her eyes.
"What do you want?" She replied flatly, still staring ahead of her.
"Mind if I join you?" She didn't answer, so he took that as yes. Settling down next to her, he tried not to think about how close they were, or how she smelled faintly of lemon scented shampoo. Her left cheek had a single rune there, a full circle with criss-crossing lines inside. The moonlight glinted off the circlet she always wore, a circlet that the lieutenants of Artemis always wore. He turned away, forcing himself to stare at the road ahead of them, "Listen... about today -"
"Forget about it," She said firmly, and as he risked a glance, she was looking down at the pendant he gave to her. Distinctly, the rebellious part of him stated that if she didn't take it off, that meant he still had a chance. He immediately squashed it angrily, mentally shaking his head.
"If I said I wanted to, I'd be lying," Nethrys frowned and fiddled with his metallic dog tag that hung around his wrist held by a thin chain. "And you know I can't lie. Not to you."
"Right," Her face showed no emotion; blank and all aloof, distant. Nethrys coughed, causing Vytoni to glance at him -only for a few seconds- then turn back to the horizon, "You should head back and get some rest."
"I'll stay," He protested, "Besides, we could use a second lookout."
"I told you before," Vytoni said quietly, "I don't need you to fight my battles." Nethrys was unsure whether she was convincing him or herself.
"Well then," Nethrys cleared his throat, standing up, "And if I told you these battles are mine, too?"
"Goodnight," She was staring determinedly at her combat boots. Nethrys felt a surge of disappointment, and pushed it away.
"'Night." He trudged back to where the others were - most of them were already asleep, and all of them were in their tents.
He blinked as the blinding light seeped through the open slot of the tent. He sat up and slid out of his sleeping bag.
Nethrys settled in his sleeping bag, not quite able to sleep. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, and he never even realized he fell asleep when loud voices invaded his mind.
"Wake up, time to go!" He looked at the tent opening, and Adrian was poking his head through the zip up door.
"What time is it?" Nethrys groaned, putting on his well-worn sneakers and the extra shirt that was identical the other one he brought with him.
"6:00," Adrian replied, his face nervous but determined.
"Why so early?"
"The earlier we set off, the earlier we can save Trudy."
"And Wolfe. And you know, the rest of the world."
"Yeah, I guess them, too," Adrian shifted, disappearing back outside. Distinctly, he heard him shout out, "We're leaving in twenty minutes!"
Pretty soon, the tents were all taken down and the fire was snuffed out. Katerina rented an SUV way too small for them, but she said that was the best she could get. It was a six-seater, but Nethrys assumed that a couple more can fit in the trunk that was accessible to the middle row seats - Katerina and Rosamynd, since they were the youngest, and lightest. Enryx was driving, with Lysandra as navigator. Vytoni pushed the reclined seat down and got into the back. Nethrys made to go sit next to her, but Scarlett slipped in just before he got in. Frowning slightly, he squeezed in next to her. She laid her head on his shoulder, pretending to sleep, and Nethrys didn't have the heart to shrug it off. Elektra sat behind them, discussing tactics with Lys. Adrian filed in the middle row, next to Elektra. Soon, the small van was on the road, and since there were four of them in a three seater, they couldn't use the seat belts. Katerina and Rosamynd was talking about the muses, who they were both good friends with and Adrian kept poking the back of Lysandra's head, complaining "Are we there yet?"
Enryx and Elektra were arguing about whether a bow and arrow or crossbows were better, ignoring the others' "Shut up!"
Vytoni was silent, as usual, but Nethrys couldn't crane his head to check on her without waking Scarlett from her 'nap'. The noise eventually died down, and within a few hours they were there. They parked the car. Nethrys awkwardly poked Scarlett, saying, "Hey, uh. You can wake up now," Scarlett sighed, making an excellent effort to stir and grown.
"Wake up."
Scarlett frowned while she woke up, blinking rapidly, and she stretched her arms up, yawning. She was still laying her head on Nethrys' shoulder. After Adrian and Elektra left, they reclined their seat for the back row to get out. Nethrys dragged Scarlett out, followed by Vytoni, who ignored his outstretched hand and jumped down next to him, her weapon already drawn as she took in her surroundings. Adrian opened the trunk for Katerina and Rosamynd to get out. Katerina bit her lip and tapped her foot impatiently on the concrete road.
"So how are we going to get to that island?" Rosamynd asked, chewing on her crimson red hair nervously.
"Yeah," Adrian replied, already setting a stride towards the dock, "But we need a boat first."
"How are we going to get a boat?"
"We could ask Chiron, I'm sure he can help us."
"Well, we should hope so."
They jogged to a nearby water fountain, and Katerina took out another drachma and tossed it to Nethrys. Flipping the golden coin in the air Enryx made a spray, creating a rainbow; it shimmered as the sunlight hit it's rays.
"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering," Nethrys murmured, "Show me Chiron of Camp Half-Blood." Chiron's weather-worn, bearded face came into view, breaking into relief as he saw the Godlings.
"Thank Zeus, you all are alright." Chiron breathed. The ringing sound of clashing of swords and shields provided very loud background noise, so Chiron dismissed them and turned back to them, "The deadline is nearing. You have a plan, I hope?"
"I guess so, sir!" Enryx nodded, grinning at the centaur.
"Anyway, Chiron. We need to ask for a favor-"
"What is it, Godlings?"
"Well, we kind of need a transportation to get to the Florida Keys- maybe you could help us, perhaps?"
"Hmm, that's where and why do you need to get there?"
"Look -long story short- we need a boat, pronto," Katerina was fidgeting nervously now, shifting from foot to foot.
"A boat? Any specific kind?"
"One that's sturdy enough to fit us all -that's nine of us, then there's Wolfe and Trudy, and maybe a few prisoners- and last the entire journey, sure."
"I'll pull some strings. A boat should arrive soon. Stay alert and stay safe." The iris-message ended and Chiron's face disappeared into mist, evaporating from the Florida sun.
Vytoni was first to break the silence."Well, we don't know how long 'soon' is, but I guess we should do something productive while we wait," She traced invisible maps on the stretch of stone on the fountain, as if already forming a bunch of battle strategies in her head. Knowing her, she probably is.
"Well, what should we do now? What is there to do that's productive?" Elektra asked worriedly, looking around as if searching for inspiration.
"I don't know, but I don't like waiting around." Scarlett whined, twirling a strand of her dyed purple hair.
"Yeah, well - wrong time, wrong place," Katerina growled, "This is a war, not some silly vacation. We don't get to choose."
Scarlett rolled her eyes and mimicked her speech, but in a higher tone, "This is a war, not some silly vacation. We don't get to choose."
"Shut up, blondie."
"Why don't you?" Scarlett stuck her tongue out like a little child and crossed her arms.
"Why don't you?" Katerina mimicked her voice, crossing her arms and standing like she did.
"Calm down ladies." Adrian raised a hand in a timeout signal. Katerina gave a fake laugh and punched him playfully on the arm. But apparently, it wasn't all too playful, since Adrian winced and rubbed the red spot on his shoulder. "No need to get violent, Kat."
"Woah, what is that?" Katerina gasped. Scarlett and Adrian's bickering was silenced when a huge sail emerged from the sea. A small sailboat was rising slowly from the glistening turquoise ocean. The huge deep blue sail had a gold trident imprinted on it, a logo of some kind.
"Holy Hecate," Lysandra gasped, looking up from her book. The sailboat had fully emerged out of the sea, the huge sail flapping against the strong wind and the fishes were jumping out of the water, looking like they were celebrating the boat's presence. The others walked over and leaned over the railing, looking up at the boat in awe. Nethrys was just close enough to see a young man was at the wheel, waving at them and beckoning them to come on board.
"This must be our ride." Enryx gazed up at their new means of transport. They all boarded the boat, marvelling it's beauty. The boat was made of dark mahogany wood; it had bold, white and sea-green stripes running along the edges. They approached the cockpit, where the sailor had his back to them, rummaging through a box.
"Um, excuse me?" Elektra tapped at the sailor's shoulder. He turned around and grinned, his teeth a frosty white. He took off his sailor's hat and bowed.
"Welcome aboard, Godlings," He looked slightly familiar to Nethrys, maybe an old friend or someone he bumped into, though he probably just had that kind of face. His eyes were sea green, which gleamed in the harsh sun. The wind was blowing at the back of his head, pushing his tousled dirty blonde hair into his face.
"Kyle?" Rosamynd asked, her expression looked almost confused but it turned into recognition, "Kyle!"
"Hello Rosie," Rosamynd blushed the same shade as her hair and looked down, "Heard you guys needed a ride, so here I am."
Kyle! That's who he is. The ones all the Aphrodite kids were swooning about. Nethrys gave the sailor a friendly nod, which Kyle politely returned.
"Aren't you the guy who thought he was drowning?" Vytoni frowned as she pieced together the puzzle. Kyle looked down, embarrassed and gave her a half-hearted shrug.
"I thought you were still at Camp Half-Blood!" Katerina exclaimed.
"Yeah, but I go to Camp Fish-Blood for the rest of the year. Like a family rotation." Kyle explained, giving them all a dazzling smile.
"There's a Camp-Fish Blood?" Scarlett asked, clueless.
"Of course there is!" Lysandra gave her a hopeful grin. "But Camp Fish-Blood is just what people call it, it's not its real name."
"Are there other camps too, that I don't know of?"
"There's uh, also a Camp Jupiter. For Romans like Elektra and I." Enryx's expression was carefully blank.
"Yeah, but we don't go there." Elektra tried to give them a reassuring smile but failed.
"Well, we best be off then." Kyle announced, grabbing hold of the wheel.
They took off. The boat was swiftly moving with the wind, their motions matched. The albatrosses squawked, hovering above the large boat. Nethrys smiled; the sea calmed him somehow, but maybe it was just the enchantment of the boat. He went down the hatch to a lower deck and claimed a vacant cabin. The cabin was tight, fitting only a narrow bed and closet. At least he had it to himself.
Nethrys dumped his backpack onto his bed and laid down, using his backpack as a stiff pillow. He gazed through the porthole, where dolphins were jumping every few seconds following their ship. Probably some pets from Camp Fish-Blood. Thoughts about camp had him thinking about Camp Half-Blood, where he grew up since he was ten, and after five years of intense training and him excelling in sparring, he was given the honour of being the training instructor for the others. Just after his sixteenth birthday he was asked to oversee three young demigods who were going on their very first quest - Alyssa, Jamie and Scott. They were his trainees and were only eleven or twelve. Nethrys sighed; he missed Camp Half-Blood and all his friends.
After around four hours on the boat, not doing anything but wondering around the sailboat and looking for Vytoni, who he found later near the mast but decided not to approach her, partly because he knew she wanted to alone and partly because she was probably the only one who can climb up there, anyway. The ship docked at a small island that was almost deserted apart from a few tropical animals here and there.
"Chiron's friends -Aphros and Bythos- told me to give you this," Kyle handed Nethrys a box that looked like it could fit a chair. Nethrys mumbled a 'thanks' and got off the boat and laid the box down on the picture-perfect white sand, spilling its contents: a bronze helmet, more than enough torso armour, and a new shield that he probably never was going to use. There was also an array of knives and daggers, so he took one and strapped it on his forearm, covering it with his black jacket.
"Wow, thanks Afro and Biter." Scarlett said cheerfully, standing a little bit too close to Nethrys.
"It's Aphros and Bythos," Katerina corrected, giving her a death glare and coming over to examine the weapons.
"Whatever," Scarlett shrugged it off.
"We can marvel over this later, we need to contact Wolfe!" Enryx suggested. Katerina nodded in agreement and fished out a gleaming drachma and tossed it to Adrian. He caught it and put the new shield against the sea spray, making a miniature rainbow.
"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering," Adrian chanted. "William Wolfe. Florida Keys."
They crowded around the growing image in the mist, and Wolfe's face shimmered first; and once his face was clear enough to, he greeted them grimly."'Sup?" He glanced around, his face lighting up into a huge smile when he caught sight of Katerina, "Princess! How're you?"
"Hello?" Lysandra prompted, "World to save, remember?"
"I'm good, miss you though." Katerina replied to William, ignoring Lysandra's comment.
"Back to saving the world."
"Ok, so we'll have to scout around, but there's a cave on one end of the mountain. You can't miss it- it's gigantic."
"We'll be there as soon as we can, and we'll bring some gear over for you and Trudy," Vytoni's eyes flicked momentarily to the pile of weapons by Nethrys' feet.
"Great, good luck. See you soon." Will gave a quick wink at Katerina before ending the iris-message.
"We better get geared up and ready to go then." Enryx ordered. They all each quickly put on their Greek armour, shoulder and knee pads and saved enough for Trudy and Wolfe. Nethrys activated his shield to check if it was in good enough condition and tapped it to shrink it back. Since they still had a few knives to spare, Nethrys put another one in his black leather sheath and tightened it, attaching it the loop of his jeans. Scarlett was carrying a small dagger and a spare knife, she had a frightened expression on her face. Nethrys was on his way to feel sympathetic, until she clung onto his arm, looking like those damsels who faint everywhere in the movies. As gently as he could, he pushed her away, pretending to go through the plan again as he turned his back to her.
They scouted around the island for a while, the sun scorching down on them, making them sweat and feel thirsty. They only had 3 bottles of water; only one was cold, and another was half empty. They devised a plan to make sure they all had equal amounts of water, but when the one of the bottles came to Adrian, he tossed the rest of it into his mouth. The others groaned and protested, leaving Adrian apologizing but laughing at the same time. Soon they reached a cave shaped vaguely like an animal of some kind, maybe a dinosaur or a hybrid canine, or... A dragon.
Nethrys realized it was mentioned in the prophecy: Mind the dragon when you expect it least. Dragon; the entrance to the cave was a dragon's mouth and the body snaked inside a mountain. Nethrys could just see it coming out the other end. A river of water trickled down from the dragon's mouth. Like fire. The others stared at it in shock, all realizing what it was at the same time, horrified faces overlapping their shock. Enryx gulped and then proceeded to go inside the dark cavern. Before he moved another step, however, Lysandra grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"What are you doing?" Nethrys heard her hiss. Enryx ignored her, and instead dragged her into the cavern with him. Shortly after, the others followed, disappearing into the dragon's mouth, as darkness became their only friend.
~ END OF CHAPTER 33 ~