Almost At The Top- Book Four in the United Series

Chapter Eight

Max's POV:

"Octavian?!" I exclaim, anger burning inside of me.

Octavian laughs at me and I glare at him. Confusion and rage build up inside of me.

"Ah! The all-powerful Max Jackson, daughter of Poseidon! Now this is a nice view," Octavian exclaims, smirking down at me tied up and on my knees with his arms crossed.

"Let's make a deal. I ask you a question, and you answer honestly. Then you ask me a question, and I'll answer honestly. Deal?" Octavian asks me, still smirking.

"I would, but it doesn't look like you keep up deals for very long," I tell Octavian. He smirks even wider then kneels down in front of me. I decide to play along and pretend I can't use my legacies, just to see what Octavian wants from me.

"Look, Jackson. I made mistakes in my past and I'll continue to make mistakes. But right now, I'm just trying to be completely fair with you. So, do we have a deal or not?" Octavian asks me and I sigh. If he really is going to answer honestly, I can get tons of my questions finally answered.

"Fine. But you better answer honestly," I warn Octavian and he chuckles.

"Same with you. Now, first question: what are you doing here?" Octavian asks me.

I can ask you the same dam thing.

"We escaped the Mogadorians and decided to come here," I answer honestly. "What do you want from me?"

Octavian shrugs his shoulders. "Information. Revenge," Octavian answers. The word 'revenge' rings in my ears. What is he going to do? "Is it true that you're what everyone calls a 'Loric'? An alien from the planet Lorien?" Octavian asks me.

"Yes. It's true," I answer. Now it's my turn. "What do you mean when you said you wanted revenge? What are you going to do?" I ask.

Octavian shrugs again. "That should be obvious. I want revenge on you for beating me in New York. I've already got my revenge on your boy Ivanick," Octavian smirks and more rage builds up inside of me.

"What did you do to him?" I ask Octavian, my jaw clenched in anger.

"Hold on. You still wanted the question 'what are you going to do' answered, and I'll answer that first," Octavian says. His smirk grows wider as he stands up, gripping his Imperial gold sword tightly, then he takes a swing at me. His sword cuts my cheek and I automatically know what he's going to do.

"Does that answer your question?" Octavian asks me and before I can spit something at him, he pushes me to my side then kicks my back and brings his foot down on my side. I let out a small gasp of pain as Octavian continuously kicks and stomps on my side. I can feel a few of my ribs shatter.

When Octavian is finally done kicking my side, I manage to sit upright, though it's hard to get up after my hands and feet have been tied up.

"Now, where was I? Oh, right. What are Mogadorians?" Octavian asks me, kneeling down in front of me again. I feel an urge to blind him with my Lumen and launch him to Africa.

"They're another species of aliens from a planet called Mogadore, and they've been hunting us Garde for our entire lives," I explain to Octavian, my voice cold as ice. "What did you do to Ivan?" I then ask Octavian, glaring at him.

"Don't worry, only knocked him out with a few cuts. He's exactly where he was when I left him, which is where I found him," Octavian explains. Now I have five questions I need badly answered: where are we, how long have I been here, where is my sword, how far away is the border, and how did Octavian come back to life?

Ivan's POV:

I groggily wake up and expect to see and feel Max by me, but I don't.

I look around frantically but I can't see Max anywhere. I feel a sharp pain in my leg, so I look down and see a deep stab in my thigh. That's when all the memories come flooding to me. Octavian.

Octavian has Max, I know he does. The problem is trying to find her.

I search the ground for any footprints but I don't see any. How long have I been unconscious for?

I look up at the sky but it doesn't seem to have changed since the last time I checked, which was with Max. Good. Barely any time has passed. Then I quickly remember that Max has telepathy.

Max? Max, are you there?

I pray to get an answer.

Ivan?

I sigh in relief. (Note: Ivan's thoughts are bolded, Max's aren't.)

Max. I was so worried about you.

I was been worried about you, too. I smile. It feels good to hear Max's soft voice again.

Not as much as I've been worried about you. Now where are you?

I don't know. But I'm with Octavian. She's says 'Octavian' like it's a disease.

Hold on. I know how to find you.

What?

I think it's part of my telepathy. Ella can do it, too. I know where to go to find you because I'm speaking with you telepathically.

Well then come.

Don't worry, I will.

Then she breaks the connection and that makes me wonder what Octavian did to her, or is doing to her. Probably the worst.

Max's POV:

Octavian doesn't ask another question.

Instead, he continues to get revenge on me. He pushes me onto my back, then plunges his sword as slowly as possible into my left arm. I bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain. Octavian quickly pulls his sword out of my arm again, realizing that he's not getting anything out of me.

Octavian turns his back on me, then starts to do something that I can't see. I quickly try to use my telekinesis to untie myself but I can't. I frantically look around for any signs of Setrákus Ra but I can't see him anywhere, but I also can't use my legacies.

"Well, this might get something out of you," Octavian says aloud and I can basically hear the smirk on his face. I can tell he's close to laughing in victory. That's never a good sign.

Octavian turns around and that's when I hear the crackling of a fire. I look up to face Octavian and he's holding a large branch, the top of it burst into flames.

Octavian kneels down next to me again and, smirking, turns me onto my side then lifts up my Camp Half-Blood t-shirt to show my side. I grit my teeth together and shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for the worst. I realize I'm holding my breath.

Then, laughing, Octavian lowers the burning end of the stick to my side and I automatically feel the burn.

-----------------