𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

murderers, traitors, & hawaiian print

JASPER ELIANO
JASPER WOKE QUICKLY. He tested his limbs, his fingers, his toes: everything seemed to be in order. His mouth was dry, but he could still taste and smell and see. The only thing that really hurt were the damned werewolf scratches on his stomach.

He hefted himself up on two arms and rolled over, sitting up in the motion. He scanned the courtyard. Everything seemed to be normal, except for the fact there was camouflage netting over the Athena Parthenos and the fact that Reyna was nowhere in sight.

Jasper had a vague memory of someone lifting his head, asking if they should kill him. He remembered being shot, too, and falling onto Reyna, but he couldn't feel the wound.

"Reyna!" he called hoarsely. Nothing in response. Dead silence. Even Aurum and Argentum lay on the ground, completely deactivated.

It was then he noticed the small piece of paper that had been lying by his side. He snatched it up and read it with shaking hands.

IOU one Roman praetor.
She will be returned safely.
Sit tight.
Otherwise you'll be killed.
XOX, the Hunters of Artemis. 

Jasper stared at the note, trying not to scream or tear it to pieces. It could be valuable. It could be useful.

He knew little to nothing about the Hunters. Nico and Reyna had explained what they knew about them, but their knowledge was nearly as limited as his.

He glanced at Nico. The son of Hades was still very passed out. Jasper hated to wake him, but he knew he needed help, and Nico would want to be awake for this.

He walked over and gently shook the son of Hades―or tried. His fingers passed right through Nico. A terrible cold feeling began to build in his throat.

"Hunters!" he called, looking up at the starry sky. "If you're so high-and-mighty, come help my fucking friend. Come on!"

Nothing. Not a sound, not a movement. Absolutely nothing.

Jasper's hands shook with some terrible monster of rage. He tried to grab Nico again. This time his fingers met the boy's thin shoulders. "Nico, wake up," he said urgently. "Please."

Nico's eyelids fluttered. "Huh?" His eyes darted around, looking at their surroundings. "Jas? W-what's up?" He struggled to sit up.

Jasper took a breath, trying to keep himself steady. "They took Reyna."

Now Nico was awake and sitting. "Who? What happened?"

"The Hunters, I think." He passed Nico the note.

 It took the son of Hades a few moments to read it, but once he had he crumbled it in his fist. "I'm going to kill them," he said quietly. "I swear to the gods, I'm going to―"

"I thought the Hunters were on our side," Jasper interjected hesitantly. "Is Reyna in danger?"

Nico shook his head, his face growing crueler by the second. He stood. "She's not in danger. Not until they let her fucking die." He brushed himself off. "We're getting out of here, Jasper. We need to find Reyna."

Jasper vaulted up and seized the boy's wrist. Nico flinched, but Jasper didn't back down. "Nico, what are you talking about? Is Reyna in danger or not?"