DEMI-GOD: The Lost

Chapter 22

"Wake up," A soft voice urges Kayea to wake up. A gentle hand rocks her back and forth. With a groan, Kayea forces her eyes open and rolls over.

The familiar cold metal is for the most part gone. The little girl she had protected is sitting next to her with tearful eyes. "Okay..?" She whispers. Kayea nods her head slowly and looks around her.

It's light here, almost like there's a sun above them. There's buildings that look like they're about to collapse at any moment, and a mile or so behind her is a massive bridge that looks like it was swallowed in darkness. Whereas in the other direction is an even bigger tree that's sparkling with light.

"Woah." Kayea whispers. The child grabs her arm tightly and buries her face in Kayea's chest.

"You're awake." Aeo walks out of a nearby building. He looks alright for the most part. "You just couldn't listen could you." He punches her arm and looks at the child. "What's your name?" He asks.

The kid clings as close to Kayea as physically possible and cries softly. Kayea rubs the young girl's back and stands up while holding her. "It's okay. You're safe now." She whispers to them. "How's B- the others." She stutters and catches herself. Why was Blake the first person she thought of? Is that also from Carver's love magic?

Aeo looks at the tree behind him, "They're pretty upset with you. Other than that, they all got out uninjured." Kayea sets the girl down, immediately she clings to Kayea's legs like a little monkey.

"What is that thing?" The tree's bark is a light golden brown and the leaves a glowing soft yellow with a few other colors mixing in. All around the city are these small floating leaf-like things.

Kayea reaches her hand up, one of the leaves landing in the palm of her hand. It's so weightless she can't even tell it's there. One of the leaves lands on the kid's head, the spot where it touches turns a bright white and a loud scream follows from her. The young girl practically tackles Kayea in an attempt to hide from the leaves made of light.

"What's wrong with her?" Kayea lifts her up and carries her into the building Aeo had walked out of.

"She's a Nightmare. The light kills them." Kayea's head whips around at him. "The adults are turned to ash the moment they step foot in here. The only reason that kid's still alive is because she's young."

Her small hands grip Kayea's shirt so tightly that her hands tremble. "She can't stay here then." Aeo looks at the tree through the window and then out at the street.

"I don't think there's anywhere else for her. For some reason, the other Nightmares locked her in that cage." Kayea brushes the girl's hair out of her face. Her pretty red eyes are watery and her dark cheeks stained a slight red.

"That's because she isn't a Nightmare." They both look over at the hallway, out walks a half man half skeleton. "She's a villager from Tartania." He walks towards the girl and looks down at her closer.

"What's that?" Kayea mutters even though she already knows the answer to it.

"The villagers are the remnants of the titan world Tartania. Now known as the prison of H-, Tartarus." The girl clings tighter to Kayea and stares at the skeleton in fear.

"But how would she have gotten here?"

"Tartarus is connected to the four entrances. Elysium, The Dead Sea, and Asphodel." That's only three, "The fourth entrance was blocked off during the escape. The girl probably got out of Tartarus when Hades refused to restrain them."

"Why would he do that?" Kayea pulls the girl back and looks her over. She's covered in wounds still and her clothes are practically falling off her small and frail body. The skeleton man doesn't give a response to the question and instead waves over a woman.