prologue
My name is Persephone Anastasia Jackson. Call me that, and I'll kill you. It's Perci. I am an Amazonian demigod daughter of Sally Jackson and the Greek god Poseidon, a legacy of Thanatos and blessed by Hestia. Yeah, Greek mythology is real, and the gods still exist today. That also means all the monsters are alive and, having no souls, continue to reincarnate in Tartarus. Gods, immortal and living on Olympus, are safe from monsters, so they hunt demigods to strike back at the Gods.
Recently, the mythological world has been through two wars, the second Titanomachy and the second Giantomancy. The second was a war against Gaia, which was won with many young demigods' deaths. After the war, the gods gave us time to mourn and recover before the rewards ceremony. During the ceremony, I was once again offered godhood. However, I declined to exchange for partial immortality and returned Hestia and Hade's thrones. In thanks, Hestia removed my demigod scent and increased the power of my inherited blessing. After Olympus threw a massive party that progressed well into the night, I returned to camp half-blood for the remainder of the summer and helped rebuild the camp. After the war, monster attacks slowed, with the Hunters of Artemis tracking down the groups that fled. Satyr's have been busy bringing new campers led by the gods to safe havens. Having no demigod scent anymore, I decided to go into the mortal world to attend school and get a Marine biology degree at NYU.
After settling on campus, life seemed normal; there were no monster attacks, and my grades were on point. I do not have any friends on campus, and I tend to be a bit of a loner keeping to myself; people tend to avoid me and give me a wide birth. Hecate enchanted my mask to hide it from those who cannot see through the mist. However, my scar and blindness in my left eye deter most who would seek friendship or more. I did not want any friends due to my childhood training and later monster attacks. I have developed constant vigilance, observation, and routines that alert me to potential threats. As the year was coming to a close, having not been attacked the whole year, I began to relax. I should not have. During the final month, I started feeling something was off, and then one of my teachers suddenly took a leave of absence. This sent my instincts on overdrive as the replacement teacher sent the hairs on my neck standing on end. They did not carry themselves like a teacher, had an air of authority and appeared to be interested in the students themselves rather than the subject being taught. I suspected them of being an agent posing as a teacher. Still, which agency has found me.
It's now down to the final week. Whoever has been observing me has run out of time. Whoever it is will have to make a move. I have carried all my gear with me, just in case.
Today I'm leaving. I have received notification that I'll pass the year regardless. Thanks to Hermes, I grabbed my backpack with unlimited storage and anti-theft and cleaned my room. Sheathing my four self-returning knives, two in my boot and two within my belt. I grabbed my guns and placed them in my enchanted holders around my thighs, only appearing when needed. My two hunting Knives were sheathed at my lower back. And finally, my magical gauntlets with hidden blades seemed to be fingerless gloves to mortals and left the university grounds. I approached a semi-deserted street with limited access and a large building on either side (perfect for an ambush). I noticed six men that were easy to identify; gods, it was almost painfully obvious. However, I found a female following me who appeared to be better trained. How she moved and blended made me feel like I knew her or how she operated. Then it clicked. She was trained in the Red Room.
After realizing this, I concluded that this would end in a fight. Moving to a short but abandoned street, I stopped and waited. Soon six men in various clothing came from either end. But the one who caught my eye was the woman. She was definitely from Red Room. Once I was surrounded, she spoke in Russian, "Madam B wants you back, Dark Pheonix!
"How did you find me?" I replied through gritted teeth.
Smirking, "We have always known where you are."
"Then why have you not approached me in the last six years?" Knowing I had her, she scowled. Planning my attack, I needed to do this quietly. I struck, throwing two knives at the two men behind me, piercing their necks and killing them instantly. I swept the legs out from under the guy on my left while blocking a kick from the guy on the right. Bringing out another throwing knife, I slashed his calf and continued to roll from the block's momentum. Moving next to the man on the ground, bringing my blade across his throat, silencing him. I threw the knife at the one I blocked, entering his temple and killing him. The last two men pulled out batons. Bringing out my gauntlets, I stopped the first while punching him in the guts, with the hidden blade doubling him over. While deflecting the second baton onto the first man's head with a resounding crack, sending him to the ground. I jumped and wrapped my legs around the final man's head using his shock, sending him into the pavement, where I snapped his neck. As I was recovering, The red room agent pulled out a gun and shot me in the back of the shoulder. Staggering around to face the Red Room operative, she shot me twice in both my thighs. As I began to fall, I grabbed my gun, hitting her in the head, all thoughts of stealth out the window.
Unable to stand due to the back wound piercing my lung coughing up large amounts of blood. I located a nearby ally and started to drag myself towards the darkness, reaching out for the shadows, hoping to stop the bleeding, and use water to heal the wounds. Already black spots were making their way into my vision breathing became more demanding as I coughed up more blood. I heard rapid footsteps approaching. Someone must have heard the gunshots. I came to a halt with my vision blurring, no longer with the strength to get to the shadows. Someone grabbed me and rolled onto my back. Struggling to see the person but recognized the aura as someone I thought long dead as everything went black. I gasped out, "Natalia?"
My story begins with a loving mother and a summer fling. My mother, Sally, was holidaying at Montauk beach, where she met my father, Poseidon. Sally could see through the mist, so when a man walked out of the sea in armor and holding a trident, she noticed. Bumping into Sally and knocked her down but didn't acknowledge or help her up. Sally, the strong-willed woman she was, yelled at him about manners; she didn't care if he was a god. Poseidon was taken aback by her fiery nature. He apologized, and soon they began talking.
Soon they fell in love, and nine months later, I was born. Shortly after my birth, Poseidon left. Sally raised me by herself, showering me with love and attention until I was one year old. She married a man Gabe Ugliano who was very smelly. He was nice initially and spoiled me. However, as soon as the wedding was over, he showed his true colors, drinking heavily, always yelling and hitting Sally and me. We learned about his gambling habits, as he demanded money from Sally. He forced Sally to get a second job to cover his practices. However, one day after my second birthday, everything changed.
Gabe came home in a drunken rage; he had lost a lot of money gambling. One of Gabe's favorite ways to release his anger is to beat Sally or me. So, as I was sitting in the lounge room, he came in and grabbed my arm and threw me across the room. I hit my head on the wall and fell; my arm bent at a funny angle. There was so much pain, but I knew he would beat me more if I made a sound. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming out. I slowly became dizzy and struggled with what was happening around me. I saw two Blurry figures moving in front of me, yelling. I couldn't understand what was being said. As the bigger blur left the room, the smaller blur approached me; I realized this was Sally when she suddenly went rigid and screamed. As Sally fell forward, she spoke something to me, but I couldn't understand the ringing in my ears. When she was on the floor, I saw something sticking out of her back. I realized Gabe had killed her. The bigger blur, which I assumed was Gabe, came towards me then I saw something coming at my face. Everything went black.
I was awoken when someone grabbed my hair and pulled me up; as my vision cleared, I could see Gabe's angry face. He had a large knife held in front of my face. "You belong to me. You will do as I say when I say it. You will not make a sound, or your punishments will worsen, as a reminder of who owns you." Snarling, he brought the knife to my face and slashed down my left eye to my chin. Suddenly, the world turned black in my left eye with some swirling color where Gabe's heart would be; it was blood red with black swirls. Later I learned this was part of the power I received from Thanatos and what the colors meant. This was the ability to see souls. I screamed. Gabe repeatedly dragged the knife over my face but left my other eye alone. He grabbed me by my hair and threw me in the closet on a pile of old blankets. Before he slammed the door, he screamed. "Welcome to your new home."
Over 18 months, I was starved, beaten, whipped and burned. Gabe was disgusted with my face and forced me to wear a leather mask covering my lower half, making it difficult to speak. When I was punished, I was stripped and chained to a wall; if I made a noise, I would be beaten until I passed out.
One day Gabe was on a losing streak with his poker buddies. He was running out of money, so one of his buddies, who always looked at me funny, told him to bet an hour with me to do whatever the winner wanted. Gabe liked this idea. Time with me became a regular thing for Gabe to bet with. At the end of the games, I would be taken to a room and chained to the wall or the bed; I was no longer pure because of Gabe's gambling. This continued for months. No matter how much pain I was in, they didn't care as long as I did as I was told. My body was covered in scars and bruises, and you could see my ribs as I was clearly underfed. I would maybe get a slice of bread once a day if Gabe remembers or wasn't passed out drunk. One day I tried to sneak some food and received the worst beating I have ever had, where I had the words thief and scum carved into my chest. I no longer wore clothes and have been given a bed sheet and belt with a hole in my head. As I stood in front of the mirror, after another hour of Gabe's buddies, a silent tear ran down my face. Not a single spot on my body was free of scars, burns or brands. I hate myself and my life, but something tells me I must keep going and survive. One day I'll have revenge.
This day started out like any other. Wake up, get beaten. Cook breakfast and grab a beer. Make lunch. However, after lunch, Gabe walked around the house muttering something and constantly glancing at the clock. I was bandaging myself up after a brutal beating session I got from Gabe because he celebrated my fourth birthday this way each year. It was the only way I could tell my age. There was a knock at the door. Gabe got up to answer it. As he passed, he threw his beer bottle at me. Which broke over my shoulder, giving me new cuts and glass in my hair. As I tended to the latest cuts, I could hear talking coming from the door. Gabe sounded happy, so I assumed it was more of Gabe's poker buddies, causing me to shiver at the thought of another night in agony. Yay, happy birthday me (note the sarcasm).
Gabe yelled for me to come to the door, so I got up on shaky legs, a small trail of blood following me and proceeded down the hall. I saw two men in suits who, once they saw me handed Gabe an envelope full of money. He greedily snatched the envelope and started counting. Stopping next to Gabe, awaiting instructions. He looked up and kicked me in the back, sending me out the door and slamming it behind me. One of the men grabbed my arm and pulled me off the ground. While the other came up behind me, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I started to feel sick, and it made me sleepy. Something was put over my head, and suddenly everything went black.
When I awoke, I was strapped to a chair in an old-fashioned office with a big wooden desk and a lady in a suit sitting there staring at me. Another man in combat trousers and a jacket was there near the fireplace. He revealed a red-hot fire poker; it was a brand having experienced before. I struggled against my bonds as he approached, but the straps were too tight. He ripped the sheet off my left shoulder. There he pressed the brand just below my collarbone. I bit my lip so hard not to scream; blood dripped out from under my mask. Once done, he put the poker back in the fire and nodded to the lady behind the desk. She handed him a box. Inside was a new mask. This one had vents on the front, allowing me to talk, and it covered the lower half of my face. It was made out of some metal and was painted black. It almost looked like a piece of armor. He ripped off my old one cutting the straps with a knife. Once it was fixed in place and strapped under my hair. My attention was returned to the woman behind the desk who spoke heavily accented English; a smile adorned her face.
"I am Madam B. Welcome to the red room".