Wisdom's Revenge | Olympus's Traitor #2

Chapter 2: Newfound Safety

《 5 YEARS LATER 》

     Another five years had passed without any sign of Aether, but the Jackson family, along with the Hunt, still had not given up hope. He was out there, somewhere, they could feel it. At the moment, however, Percy and Thalia along with their girls were approaching a rundown house somewhere in Colorado. They were on assignment from Artemis, apparently there were two young kids in there stuck with an abusive stepfather after their mom had died. As they neared the front door, the sound of slurred yelling and breaking glass could be heard. In a panic Percy forgot all about stealth and kicked down the door, his only concern was the kids. The door flew off of its hinges as Percy stepped inside, a small knife that he used for situations just like this held at the ready. The sight he saw made his blood boil. In the corner of the room huddled two little kids who looked to be about five or six in age and appeared to be twins. The girl had dark brown hair, almost black, with eyes a similar shade. The boy had the same colored hair as his sister, but his eyes were much lighter. He crouched protectively in front of the girl, blood dripping down his cheek from a series of long cuts stretching from his left temple down to his chin. An overweight man with a beer-stained shirt stood directly in front of them, a knife dripping blood held in his hand.

     "I told you," the man drunkenly thundered, too drunk to notice the group standing in the broken door frame. "To get me another beer!"

     "They're all gone," the boy whimpered.

     "Then go get more!" the pig yelled, spit flying from his mouth as he raised the knife once again, causing the two children to cower away as much as they could.

     "Lay another finger on those kids, and I'll make you wish you had never been born," Percy growled.

     The disgusting pig turned to see who had spoken. "Get out of my house, this is a family thing," he slurred. His gaze then turned to Thalia. "She can stay though," he said, licking his lips.

     Thalia's face went red with anger and she went to March forward, mortal knife glinting dangerously in her hand, but Percy held her back. "What are you doing? Let me castrate this pig," she growled.

     "And I have no intention of stopping you, but-" Percy said, finishing with a nod towards the kids in the corner.

     "I told you to get out of my house!" the man roared as he charged. Rolling his eyes, Percy merely stepped to the side and slammed him on the back of the head with the hilt of his knife. This caused the pig to collapse to the ground, out cold. With help from Asteria, Thalia then dragged him into the next room.

     Percy and Angel then slowly approached the two children, who cowered back at the sight of the strangers approaching. "Please, don't hurt us," the girl whimpered.

     "It's okay, I won't hurt you," Percy soothed. "I'm Percy, and this is Angel. We're here to help."

     "Let me help you," Angel said softly, hand held out and glowing a slight silver.

     "No, stay away from us!" the boy cried, eyes flashing a slight yellow before a small amount of golden light exploded outwards from him. It wasn't a lot, or very powerful, but it made Percy and Angel squint slightly.

     Reaching the last few inches Angel placed her hand on the boy's cheek, which caused him to flinch. As her hand rested there it gave off a gentle silver glow that spread to the rest of the left side of his face. After a few moments Angel removed her hand, revealing that the boy's cuts had been healed. All that remained were a couple of light scars."Better?" Angel asked.

     The boy nodded his head. "Thank you."

     "We'll get you out of here, and somewhere safe," Percy said. "But first, what are your names?"