No...
His hand twitched, ever so slightly, and the shot went wide, scything through the glass and into the man's body.
He barely felt the nick of the glass as it rained down onto the window sill and his head. He didn't notice the sticky blood trailing down his forehead as he crashed to the ground, ripping his hands open on the trellis.
You...Augghh! The voice inside his head, now only a voice again, trailed off in inarticulate rage, almost masking the pained howl that filled the bedroom.
There were lights on in the window now, and Percy ran, out the yard, across the street, and into the opposite house's backyard, leaping over the fence like a prized Olympic runner.
Percy didn't even have time to act surprised at his newly found strength and speed, instead concentrating on getting further and further from the house.
You fool, you imbecile! She is an unnecessary loose end! Now they will be monitoring her more than ever, and it will be all your fault!
Yeah, yeah, Percy's inner thoughts contained hints of stubbornness. And if there was one thing Kronos couldn't afford, it was insubordination.
Percy stopped in the middle of a deserted lot, screaming at the images that were flashing their way through his head, all conjured up by Kronos.
This went on for ten minutes before the boy collapsed, shaking.
Will you obey me now, Perseus? came the trailing voice.
Y-yes, master, he replied, broken by the images he saw.
Very good... Kronos continued, a slight tone of smugness in his mental voice. Now, we must hasten away. And do not fail me in the future; the consequences of disobedience will be swift and harsh.
Yes master.
He sprinted off, out of the lot, and towards the industrial district.
Kronos insulated his mind from his young slave's.
He will have to be changed, Kronos thought, grinning as though he was corporal. But I can easily arrange that. By the time I'm done with him, he'll have no qualms about destroying her. Quite the opposite, in fact.
There was a dull thump, and something wet hit my back. I jumped out of bed, spinning around.
There was blood everywhere. Oh my gods. So much blood. Brad howled in pain, and the blood gushed in sheets down his back, onto the bed.
I dived for my phone on the bedside table, fingers scrabbling to open it and dial the number.
I pressed it to my ear, taking the steps two at a time and tripping over at the bottom landing, the phone skidding out of my hand across the hall runner.
I jumped to it, picking it back up and pressing it to my ear.
"Fire, police or ambulance..." the voice asked, mechanically.
"Ambulance!" I shouted, running to the kitchen. "And the police, too!"
I was put on the line with an actual human this time.
"Hello," the voice was pleasant but urgent. "Can you please tell me the nature of your call?"
"My husband! He's been shot!" I yelled into the phone, my voice strained and frantic.
"Where was he shot, and where are you?" asked the voice.
"He was hit in the shoulder, I think. I'm at my house." I garbled out the address and she instructed me to keep on the line.
She had me warm up a towel and go back up the stairs to Brad, rolling him on his stomach and trying to staunch the flow of blood.
I could hear the emergency vehicles outside; their sirens piercing the air.
Please, please, please hurry up... I thought, frantically.
I heard the door burst open downstairs, and thought that I should have unlocked it it for them.
Then they were in the room, and I was shoved aside, losing my balance and falling, cutting my hand on broken glass.
I stood back up, huddled in the corner, crying, before someone came over to me.
I flinched, but they put a blanket around me, taking me downstairs and into the kitchen.
The woman had kind eyes, the irises a curious shade of amber. She was dressed in an EMT's uniform.
"Here, let's get you warmed up," she said, and I suddenly realised that I was shivering.
There was an old fashioned stove on one side of the kitchen, and the woman snapped her fingers whist pointing towards it.
It flared up.
"Hestia?" I asked, weakly.
She smiled. "Good guess."
She came and sat by me again, rubbing her hands against my shoulders. The warmth began to envelop me, and soon I felt as good as I could in this set of circumstances.
"The council wants to see you," she said, looking me in the eyes. Her eyes slowly returned to their warm fire from the unnatural amber colour. "Three days from now. On exactly midday. Your husband will survive," she said, reassuringly. "But we have some information about Percy. I think you will find it distressing." She paused. "I'm sorry we could not be more help to you and Percy," she said, hesitantly but sincerely.
Then she disappeared, and I was left staring at the roaring flames as my husband was rushed down the stairs to the ambulance waiting expectantly outside.
Kronos was happy. Well, as close as he could get to it.
They were in a mildewed apartment on the edge of an abandoned industrial lot. The staircases were rickety, the building rocked and creaked, and shreds of yellow cordon-off tape whipped around the outside of the building, trailing in through broken windows and gaps in the building like monstrous worms.
Percy was made to move into what passed as the living room. Grey walls, grey carpet and, oddly, an ornate golden throne, which was the only piece of furniture in the room. He sat in it, and Kronos assumed his corporal form.
Smiling, he faced Percy, placing his hands on Percy's arms.
Percy struggled against the Lord of Time, but was no match, and as Kronos started to talk in Ancient Greek, the words spoken with a lilting grace, his struggles grew weaker and weaker until they stopped altogether, and he stared blankly at Kronos.
Kronos knelt there for hours, muttering words that hissed in the air around the throne. Percy's eyes dulled, and his expression slackened.
"...And you will obey my will, always," Kronos finished.
The air crackled and hissed, and a bold of lightening hit the building, as though Zeus himself was trying to destroy the curse that was being put upon his nephew.
Percy sat there, staring into space, a blank expression on his face.
His eyes slowly—ever so slowly—changed colours, from sea-green, to a deep and cruel black.
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