created →jason grace

thirty-eight

{Lina}

VOICES FADED IN AND OUT as Lina floated through the darkness of her mind.

"LINA! Oh gods, what do we do. Lina open your eyes please, please I'm begging you."

"I'm sorry, child. Lina, who has a mortal body now is not capable of coming back. Had she been who she once was, this would not have affected her."

"This is your fault! Do something, she can't be dead."

"You will not speak to me—"

"FIX HER! I will not allow you to take another person I care about away from me." a hand brushed at Lina's hair.

"Sunshine, we need you. We can't do this without you," a low voice spoke next. "You've helped us so much."

A conversation broke out amongst some of the voices. It sounded like an argument. Why were they arguing with each other?

"C'mon princess. Breathe, for me..." the voice had to pause. "You have to be alive."

The hands were back and the last thing she felt were those hands caressing her face soothingly as the darkness took over again.

Now new voices rose from the dark.

"The mortals seem to no longer fear us. Should we remind them of what we are capable of when angry?"

"That would not be wise, father."

"C'mon, sister live a little. Zeus is actually saying something reasonable."

"Do not call me sister, Ares. And stop instigating him. It is not correct for us to interfere with mortals just because they forgot your offering one time."

The voice seemed familiar to Lina, she just couldn't place where it was from.

"Oh, ____, stop being so uptight...."

The voices faded again, and something else broke through the silence.

"Father, what do you mean? Surely you're not condoning this." the same female voice from before spoke angrily.

"____, daughter listen to me. It's time these mortals understood. We must be worshipped. No matter what. They are never allowed to forget about us."

"But with war! How is that fair? And you're pitting the two sides against each other? There will be so much bloodshed. Unnecessary bloodshed."

"Enough daughter. You will join us. You are a goddess and my daughter."

"There is no Justice in what you are doing father. I will not stand by and watch as who knows how many demigods die because your ego could not stand that you are no longer the center of their universe."

"____ think about what you are doing."

"I did. I will join the demigods in battle. And I will try my best to stop this useless war."

"Then you are dead to me daughter. You shall no longer carry the title goddess. And since you love mortals so much you shall carry the body of one, until you find what you think you are looking for."

"All I am looking for is to stop this useless fighting, that this conflict between the two sides be over."

Again the voices faded away and Lina could feel she had jumped further ahead.

"____ is dead."

Lina could feel the shock in the nonexistent room she was in.

"My daughter... tell me, how?"

"She was almost done with peace talks, when an ambush was launched at the meeting she was at. She was dead before she could realize what happened."

"She was right. This fighting, all of this. This is pointless."

"The demigods are almost all wiped out, on both sides. Greeks and Romans. So much death."

"Hades, brother. I wish to speak to her. Let me talk to my daughter."

"I cannot do that—"

"I DO NOT CARE FOR THE RULES RIGHT NOW!" thunder rumbled.

"Brother, calm yourself. I mean, there is no possible way for me to bring her here. Her spirit is not in the Underworld."

"Not in the Underworld... then where—"

A gasp was heard as 11 heads whipped towards the noise.

"I cursed her, my last words to her were a curse—"

The darkness came back but this time something was pulling Lina. Pulling her towards the surface. A voice. One she could almost recognize.

"—na, wak—"

"Lin— ke up—"

"LINA, WAKE UP!"

And that's when Lina broke through the darkness and opened her eyes.