Opposites: The Staff of Light [Book One]

40. If You Thought my Room and my Cell are the Same, Think Again

I am already standing before her. She watches through the dark, her face pale. She knows!

I grin to myself at that thought. She knows I was watching her. Immediately, Raven Cooper dashes inside the west wing of the palace. I cursed. It was too good to be true. I could have gone for the strike.

At my failure, I moved back deeper into the darkness, walking alone with not a single sound, not even the shuffling of my feet. "Such difficult children..." I sighed to myself. Stopping by a pond, I sat on a rock, placing my elbows on my knees and lacing my fingers together. Only the incoherent croaking of frogs filled the air.

I looked straight at the water, staring right into the eyes of my own reflection. I dipped a finger into the surface, rippling the image. A new one formed however. I grinned wide when I saw her face—those perfect lips, those knitted brows... "Hello, Belinda," I spoke, still grinning. "You figured it was a nice time to ever show up to me again? You look beautiful in the water, just like how I killed you that faithful night."

"I will never let you kill our children, Nicholas," she retorted, "I will never let you drown them the same way you did to me."

I snorted. "Ha! What can you do? You can never return from the dead. I told you—the waters have prevented you to burn in hell."

"That is the most ridiculous of reasons to kill me."

"You're stuck in hell, Belinda, and that's all you'll ever get."

Her eyes flamed in rage. "I wander the earth. I will find my peace once you'll burn in the place you've spoken of. I have made my connections with Annabeth Candum. She is under my protection now. If ever you lay one finger on her, I swear—"

My hand reached for my dagger and I stabbed the image. The connection dissipated. I once again saw my reflection. I sighed. "Belinda, you have been nothing to me."

Annabeth

"Ow," I grunted, sitting up. Realization crept along my face, knowing that I had bumped my head on a stone wall. Looking at the exact spot where I hit it made my pain grow larger. I have to get out of here—quick. The only thing that kept me sane was hope—good old hope. If it wasn't around, I was more than sure my fear drove me crazy already. The castle guards could have bonked me in the head if they saw that insane version of me, yelling at them while hugging the jail bars.

I clasped my shoulder. Somewhere by the tips of my fingers was touching a symbol I never knew was there. I cured under my breath. I had been imprisoned because of it. I darted my gaze around the room. There's no sign of escape. I couldn't even fit my head through the gap between the bars. It was hopeless. I slept with the same ideas and attitude. I wake up nothing different. I casted my gaze on my hay bed, remembering my horse—the exact one I had no idea where it was as of the moment I was locked up after the court trials.

My mouth produced one long exasperated sigh. "Gods," I whispered to myself, hugging my knees against my chest, closing my eyes tight shut. Think, Annabeth, think. You can't run out of ideas. Please, not now—anytime but now. That was what I feared of—I couldn't think straight in life and death situations. There had been no windows, but I was sure it was dawn when I woke up from a dreamless sleep. Hence, the execution wouldn't be long.

I hit my back against the wall, sighing for the millionth time. Look at you—sitting alone in your cell. You're exasperated with the world as it is with you. What kind of example do you think you're being, Candum? Is this all a game to you? I slammed my fist against the hard cold floor. The bracelet of metal made a jiggling sound no different from a chime's. Somehow that relieved me—but not too long. I stared down at the bracelet. Taking it off, I willed it to morph into the Staff of Light.