Rising Heroes Book Four: The Sands of Ouroboros

Chapter Six: Back to the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own HOO or VE

Chapter Six: Back to the Past

Lily landed on her back on the ground, her tailbone hitting the floor hard enough to wince. At first she saw only stars; then everything slowly came into focus. Andi was sitting beside her, brown hair mussed, looking equally dazed. But even more alarming...

They were sitting in midair.

Lily bolted upright, trying not to panic. She turned a full circle, taking in her surrounding and the clear drop to the crowded city below.

Memories came flooding back; being attacked at her parent's house, the weird portal, seeing James. But it was only Andi beside her, and the people walking towards them also in midair. 

She pulled Andi to her feet and tried to think. She remembered what her mother had said about the invisible walkways at the Academy in New York, but those had been destroyed after the attack by Lilith. Had they been rebuilt? She had only visited New York once, when she was little; her parents were technically the future heads of the Assembly, and Griffin and Nya, the current heads, were family friends. Her parents came all the time for family business, but she rarely joined them. Now she wished she had.

Andi threaded her way towards one of the main buildings, the administrative one. The halls were surprisingly empty, and Lily wondered if some event was going on. "Excuse me," Andi asked one of the guards near the office buildings, "could I please speak to someone in charge?"

The guard huffed. "What for?"

Andi glanced at Lily, who planted a hand on her hip. "My name is Lily Eden-Wood," she said, expecting for the guard to start stuttering and immediately help them. Instead he just looked confused. "Eden... Wood?" he asked.

Lily nodded. "My parents are Violet and Lincoln Wood." Aka the two most powerful Grigori in existence, but she bit her tongue before she could say that. 

The guard laughed. "Funny. You're, what, three years younger than them? Two?"

"We need to see Griffin and Nya," Andi said. "My name is Andromache Gregory, by the way."

The guard's expression turned cold. "Everyone knows Nya is lost," he said. "If you want to see the fighting, go to the council room. Until then, stop being stupid."

Lily opened her mouth to argue, but Andi pulled her away. "What did he mean, that you're only a few years younger than your parents?" Andi asked.

Lily shook her head. "I have no idea," she said. "But at the very least we should go to the assembly room. Hopefully Griffin will be there."

But when they got to the large double doors of the main room, they were locked. And when they tried to enter through the side stairs onto the balcony, they found that they were packed with people. "What's going on?" Andi shouted in a young Grigori's ear as they tried to push to the front.

The Grigori rolled his eyes. "Decima is about to kill this girl," he said.

Lily and Andi shared a look. Decima was dead- how was she fighting?

When they finally got to the front, Lily had to grip Andi's arm for support. Her mother, Violet Eden, was sparring on the floor with none other than Decima. Their katanas clashed against each other's, and the famed warrior moved with a stealth and skill Lily had never seen. But more than that... her mother was young.

"How is this possible?" Andi asked.

Lily shook her head. Her eyes went to her father, watching the fight, to Griffin and the council in their seats. "I think we went back in time... to the wrong place."

"So what do we do?" Andi asked.

Lily wracked her brain. What had her parents told her about this? This was when her mother was being assessed, when Lilith and Phoenix were at large. Her mother had failed her testing, and right after the Academy building had been bombed.

"We have to get out of here," Lily realized.

Andi's eyes widened. "The attack," she said.

They made their way back to the stairs just as a gasp filled the room and the sounds of fighting ceased. Ignoring what she knew would come to pass, Lily marched Andi out of the room.

"Wait," Andi said, tugging at her sleeve. She couldn't stop her gaze from falling to Lily's stomach, but she took a deep breath and steeled herself. "We could warn people. We could get them out."

"If we change anything, our parents might not stop Lilith," Lily said, hating everything she was saying. She wasn't usually a rule follower, but after hearing all of her parent's stories... it took a specific sequence of events to defeat the dark exile.

"My mom's partner dies in this attack," Andi said. "She still mourns him."

"But it led to her developing feelings for your dad," Lily said. "It led to you."

Andi's shoulders sagged. Lily was prepared to lead her out, but before they could the same guard stepped in front of them. He grabbed each of their arms. "Hey!" Lily said, straining against him, but two other guards stepped forward to grab them. "Josephine wants a word with you," the guard said. 

But instead of leading them back into the main room, he led them towards the holding cells. Lily tried to fight, but they quickly slammed on cold metal cuffs which weighed her down and slowed her powers. They did the same to Andi before leading them down a set of metal stairs.

The holding cells were made of completely clear glass with metal frames. The first was almost like a fully furnished apartment, and Lily could see her grandparents playing cards on the table. Evelyn's eyes, inexplicably, widened in recognition.

In the next cell was another familiar face. With grizzled brown hair, pale brown skin, and caramel eyes, the demigod looked far more beaten down than the last time they had seen him, but Lily recognized him nonetheless. 

"Ryan?" Lily asked.

Ryan looked up, then slammed a covered hand against the glass. Lily could see his hands were shackled with fire-proof gloves, and the guards outside his door had firemen suits on. "You have to help me, Lily!" Ryan shouted. "You have to get me out!"