The Sun in the Shadow

Chapter 10

Not to say the girls liked Will's plan. They actually screamed at him as he was taken away.

Well, at least they were screaming in their minds. They couldn't give up their cover just yet.

"That idiot, no-brained, glowing, UGHHH!" Hazel whispered to herself, tugging on her curls and punching a rock. Annabeth was cursing in what seemed to be several languages, watching as the last of Will's aura faded in the doorway. 

"What are we supposed to do? How are we going to get in? That idiot!" Hazel continued her rant while Annabeth repeatedly sunk her dagger into the ground, relieving  her anger through the force. Finally, Hazel ran out of curses to put on Will's cabin and Annabeth could begin the 'thinking of the plan' part of their rescue journey. 

It took several minutes of mumbling and cursing before Annabeth had any semblance of a thought she could use for an idea for the plan. In no way were either of the girls fully prepared for anything other than walking and fighting. So she worked with that.

Annabeth squinted at the walls of the castle, then broke off a piece of the rock they were hiding behind. It easily crumbled in her hands, the rock brittle in the moisture-less environment. She kept glaring at the wall until finally she brightened a bit.

"I've got an idea, Hazel," she whispered.

"Of course you do," Hazel responded, but Annabeth talked over her.

She gestured to the wall, "The palace is made up of this rock, which is incredibly brittle, as you can see," Annabeth began. "That means that it would barely take any effort to break an escape hole through, especially with a super hard rock that may so happen to be in our reach." 

Hazel glared at Annabeth and then swept her hand up, as if pulling something from the ground. A second later a medium sized diamond landed in-between the two girls. 

"Alright, now we just have to take out the guards on the wall that hides the dungeons and break through, no problem." Annabeth picked up the diamond, stuffed it in her jean pocket, and the stood up in a crouch. Hazel followed her lead and together they shuffled towards the back wall. They peered over the rock to check the forces and Hazel breathed in sharply.

"Don't let any escape or sound the alarm, we'll never make it otherwise," Annabeth said, but her eyes were wide as well.

On the wall was over 50 soldiers from different eras, all with weapons that could kill. They were lined up and facing the girls, making it impossible for the to sneak up on them.

"No problem, she said. This will be easy, she said," Hazel whispered to herself and Annabeth scowled. They took a deep breath in unison and then unsheathed their weapons.

"Let's do this," Annabeth said, her expression grim. Hazel nodded and together they advanced.

~o~

As the guards dragged Will through the palace of black stone, he became increasingly aware of the complete uselessness of the building. The entire first floor seemed to just be halls leading away from the lobby thing. It was almost as if the building was meant to ensnare lost souls and lose them in the depths of halls. However, eventually the fancy guards took him into a room with a bunch of doors along the walls and stuffed him through one. With a click and a clatter his door was lock and he was trapped.

"Well, I guess I didn't think this one through too much," Will said to himself, scratching the back of his head as he tried to think. The cell wasn't that big, but it was a fair size, so even with his aura of light he couldn't quite see to the other wall. "If Nico is in here it could be any of the cells. Hazel said that he would be transported in, but to which one?" His voice was almost a whisper, so Will froze when there was a shuffle sound in the corner.

Adrenaline raced through Will's veins as he thought of all the possible monsters that could have made that sound. Thoughts like, "Maybe they just put a monster in the cells to kill the inmates," and "What if I am locked in an already occupied cell!" swirled in his mind, making his thoughts unclear. Slowly, he took a deep breath to calm his heartbeat and then stepped back, his hand searching for the solid wall behind him. When he finally found a corner, Will sunk down and huddled into a ball in the corner, trying to make himself as invisible as possible.

Of course it didn't work because Will had kind of forgotten that he was glowing. 

The shuffling continued until Will couldn't stand the anticipation. Slower than molasses, Will crept forward to inspect the creature making the noise. His heart felt like it was escaping his ribcage and his hands shook as he inched forward on all fours. When he finally could see the creature making the noise, Will gasped and cried out.

"Nico!"