Daughter of Neptune

"You're coming with me"

The siren's mouth started to move rapidly and Jason tried breaking free of Esme. The siren must have sung again, that's why her mouth was moving, but no words came out because she was suffocating.

Hannah tried to increase the water pressure of the ball and stop Miss Whakapu moving her mouth. Hannah had to close her eyes because of the pressure it took to maintain the sphere.

Hannah felt a sharp pain from her thigh and shrieked. She opened her eyes and found Esme struggling to keep Jason away from me. Hannah looked at her thigh and found a deep cut, which had already started bleeding. She shrieked again and lost focus on the water.

The sphere of water collapsed and the liquid fell to the ground. Esme and Jason scuffled next to Hannah but Esme noticed the wet floor and pushed Jason forward. It caused him to slip and fall to the floor. As he was going down he hit the water fountain and went unconscious.

The two girls faced the siren that gulped in fear and started to sing. Hannah reformed the sphere of water and covered her head before she could finish a line. Esme started counting out loud, "1...2...3...4...5."

The evil mermaid scratched at her throat as to clear the water.

"15...16...17." Miss Whakapu's eyes bulged as she realised they would kill her. Her face started going pale from lack of oxygen and she slumped still not long after.

"29...30." Esme signalled for Hannah to deform the sphere and Hannah did. Esme walked out of the store with a Jason over their shoulder and two backpacks in her hand. Hannah came out dragging Ben behind her.

They both didn't know what good the lyre did to their quest but kept it with them anyways. It didn't matter right now, they were off to find the kidnapped demigods.

~~~~~

Once again, my extensive search around the cells revealed nothing. There were no loose bricks or any way to escape. I felt drowsy after a few minutes and passed out on the floor.

I awoke sometime later in a different room. This one was large, with a small table not to far from me. I sat on a chair with my hands and feet tied together with rope. The tall walls were an earthy red with a black ceiling.

I smelt earth, exactly like Tom's scent. I turned a little in the chair and found a bench seat pressed against the wall behind me. Tom had his head in his hands and I saw his clothes had many crumples.

His head suddenly jerked upward and he met my gaze. We held eye contact for a few seconds when a loud noise made me jump in the seat. I turned back to the direction I was facing and saw a door materialize from the wall. It blended in perfectly; I never would have noticed it there if it didn't open.

Kronos walked in with an evil smile on his face, his black eyes scanning over me. His smile faltered for half a second when he saw his son in the room but regained the thick mask that was his face.

"We're going on an excursion..." I looked at his feet as to not anger the Titan and he walked right up to me.

"...And you're coming with me." He grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me from the seat and towards the hidden door. I heard Tom arise from the bench.

"No. You are staying here." Kronos ordered his son and Tom sat down obediently. I wonder if it was fear or loyalty that made him follow Kronos' instructions.

Kronos pulled me from the room and we went down a series of twisting turns and tunnels. All the walls were an earthy red; which made me think we were underground. Some doors we passed were black, brown, grey or a red.

Kronos stopped in front of a small, black door. He pushed it open and led me inside. Another black door was all that was inside.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Kronos opened the door and shuffled me towards it.

"You'll find out." He pushed me through the doorway. I felt a hard under me and I knew I had arrived. I opened my eyes and found myself in a dark cavern. It was unlike the caves I had just been in. I looked down and found the ropes that tied me were gone.

The earthy smell was replaced with a burnt one and the wall were a dark brown. A second later I found Kronos pulling me to my feet and pushing me towards a hill. The atmosphere was hot and I could feel sweat on my forehead.

The burning smell grew stronger and the heat greatened with each step I took. I found myself wanting to run away from the slope, but with Kronos' arm on my back I had no choice but to go forward.

We quickly reached the top of the hill and felt an intense heat hit me. I could see a large, fiery river before me. In front of me was a polluted river of flames. I saw a ripped teddy bear and a broken bicycle. Scrunched up balls of paper were floating downstream.

I looked to my left and saw no ending to the river, the same with my right. That's when it clicked; this is the River Styx.