Chapter Twenty-Three
Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.
Kyra's POV
"Ugh." I groan, squinting open my eyes. But instead of having just a dim glow of light, there was nothing, just complete darkness.
My head hurt, my stomach hurt, everything hurt. My whole body was covered in cuts and bruises. I wasn't chained up anymore, that much I could tell. My wrists and ankles were bound together again though.
"Hello?" I ask, trying to move around. I bump into something warm and cushy.
"Oh, thank the gods." Nico says, sighing.
"Mama? Are you okay?" Mike asks.
"Nico, what happened?" I ask.
"Daemon, he ah, did stuff to you for a long time. You stopped screaming maybe an hour into it. I thought...I thought maybe—" his voice was scratchy.
"What happened?" I ask.
He takes a deep breath then starts again. "After another hour or so, I guess he got bored. I heard the chains rattling and then you fell to the ground. He tied you up and dragged you in here. I couldn't see you because he had already turned off the lights, but Ky, I could feel blood all over your body." he says, his voice hoarse.
"I'm alright, and that's what matters. Did he say anything before he left?" I ask.
"He said he'd be back later." he says.
"Mama, I wanna go home." Mike says, sniffling.
I feel around and find him, then pull him closer to me. "I know, I want to go home too. We'll get there eventually, I promise." I say.
"Oh my gods." someone gasps.
I open my eyes and see that the lights had been turned back on, so I could faintly see someone standing outside the cell.
"Silena?" Nico asks, standing up.
She fumbles with some keys and a second later I hear the lock click. The door swings open and she beckons us out.
"Oh gods. Kyra, what did he do to you?" she asks, her eyes wide.
"Too many things." I say.
"Here." she says, yielding a dagger. She cuts the rope around my ankles and wrists, then does Nico's and Mike's as well.
"C'mon, I was ordered to take you to the showers so you could get cleaned up." she says, gently patting me on the back.
"What about Nico and Mike?" I ask.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine. Charlie will be here in a few minutes with some water for them." she says.
"Go on, Ky." Nico says.
"I'll be back." I say.
He nods and pushes me forward a little. I follow Silena to the door and then head out into the blinding hallway.
I got out of the shower, feeling fresh and clean. Silena had given me a new pair of jeans and a new shirt to change into, along with a small piece of ambrosia. I couldn't count how many times I had thanked her.
"You know, as soon as Daemon heard you were being brought here, he's been obsessing over what he'd do to you. The things I heard him talk about, the tortures, they were awful." she says, shuddering.
"Nico said I passed out from the pain about an hour after he started." I say, examining my newly acquired cuts.
He had carved into my arms. Unfortunately, I had been conscious for that part. Some of the cuts were deep, so they were taking longer to heal than some of the others.
We turn a corner in the maze of hallways, but it was the wrong way back to the department.
"Uh, Silena, aren't you taking me back to the department?" I ask. I certainly didn't mind not going back, but I wanted Nico and Mike with me.
She looks at me, pity in her eyes. "I'm afraid not. I was given orders to bring you to my boss after you were cleaned up." she says.
"What about Nico and Mike? Are they coming too?" I ask.
"I don't know if they'll be brought up later or not. I was only told to bring you." she says.
"I'm not going unless they're with me." I say, crossing my arms.
Silena stops walking and turns around to look at me. "Look, if you don't cooperate and come with me, you, Nico and Mike will probably be killed. So unless you want that to happen, follow me." she says.
She turns back around and resumes walking. I pause before going after her. If what she said was true and all three of us would be killed if I didn't cooperate, I'd rather take my chances with meeting this guy first before he makes his decision on our lives.
I follow her down a hallway and the walls start to darken in color, going from white to cream, beige to tan, and so on. The floor also changed, going from the stark white tiles to a sort of uneven river rock floor.
We go up a narrow spiral staircase and come out into a giant entry hall. The floor was a sparkling siam, and the walls were a yellow-gold color. In front of us were a pair of giant doors; they looked to be made out of light sapphire gems.
"Here you go." she says, nodding to the doors.
"He's in there?" I ask.
She nods. "I've never been in, but behind those doors are his quarters." she says.
"Can you promise me something?" I ask, turning to look at her.
"Yea, sure." she says.
"If—if he doesn't let me come back out, promise me you and Charlie will get Nico and Mike home to safety." I say.
"We'll try our best. Now go on, you don't want to make him angry." she says, nudging my shoulder.
I take a deep breath and nod, walking towards the giant crystal blue doors. Here it goes.
A/N:
Sooo, what do you think is gonna happen in there? I'm pretty sure you guys are going to be kinda confused when you read chapter 25. It's a really long chapter, I'll tell ya that ahead of time.
Also, I think you guys are really going to enjoy the next chapter! A character from The Shadows of Revolution will be returning! ^.^
Well, yesterday I picked up Zoe! She was pretty tired because she was still under anesthesia from being spayed, so she was kinda out of it for most of the day. She and my other dog, Charlie, are getting along quite well, so that's a relief. We think he's actually a bit protective over her, and we're not sure if that's going to be a good thing or a bad thing...
Right now she's asleep on my lap, she's been playing most of the day so she's a little worn out. I swear, she can be the wiggliest little thing and then go to the laziest on the planet. It was really funny this morning; I woke up and she was already out and playing and Charlie would be playing with a specific toy and she'd just go right up to him and steal it then prance (yes, she literally prances when she walks) to his bed and lay down and start chewing on the toy. He didn't really seem to mind though, so I suppose it's alright.
So ah, it's Christmas Eve...It feels like December has just flown by this year...Actually, scratch that. This whole year has flown by.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a happy holiday, whatever it might be that you celebrate, and I'll talk to y'all again on Saturday! :)
M/A:
"'Take another step, take another step back, don't leave
Look at where we've been through time
I'll always value your life over mine'"
Your Life Over Mine by BriBry.
XOXO,
Mrs-diAngelo25