Arden

35. Deception

35. Deception 

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...

***

We know where she is. We know everything.

I'll admit, I may have lost my temper a little bit...

Or maybe a lot. However, between Hayden throwing me off the cliff, being attacked by Aspasia, and then kidnapping Nikki, doing who-knows-what to her, I've had it.

I couldn't take it anymore and I was so ready to beat Hayden's ass.

Penny sang like a damn canary.

Nikki was in this old abandoned house that was outside of town. I think I knew where it was but I know we'd find it eventually.

Penny said Hayden needed some key from her. Zane were right. I don't know why but, they just needed the key. After Penny told us what we needed to hear, Zane knocked her out, and that would give us some time.

Zane and Armani said we needed to hurry, and for some reason, they were more anxious than I was when we found out she was being held in abandoned house.

After switching her actual arrows with a crossbow, we were on our way to that house.

Zane drove his car fast down the street, there were hardly any cars on the road. I was in the passenger's seat and Armani and Ali were in the back.

But... Ali was still unconscious.

"He's not waking up." Armani said, slapping his face gently and shaking him.

"Arden, what did you do to him?" Zane asked.

"It's not my fault. I didn't know it would last this long." I said defensively. Armani sighed on the backseat.

"Ugh, I give up." She said pushing Ali over. "Zane, could you go any faster?" Armani asked worriedly.

Zane was bouncing his leg up and down as he was driving, constantly looking out the window.

I drew my eyebrows together wondering why they were so anxious. "You guys, we know where she is, she's not hurt, remember? We'll find her in no time."

Armani shook her head and Zane spoke. "Arden, you don't understand...they're putting her through the worst kind of torture..."

I looked at him curiously. "But...Penny said that they didn't hurt her. They didn't do anything to her." I said quietly.

"They might not have put a hand on her but..." Armani trailed off.

"Nikki has two fears, Arden. As demi-gods, our fears and our weaknesses are linked to who we are." Zane explained lowly to me. "Armani has the fear of being hunted- still everyone does, but she's the hunter, not the hunted."

Okay, that makes sense. "It's true. I was once being chased by this cat. I almost shit my pants." Armani told me as she leaned forward. I shook my head.

"Thank you, Armani, I really needed to know that." I told her sarcastically.

She just shrugged and Zane continued. "Your mother turned Arachne into a spider, you have arachnophobia."

There was a silence in the car before I spoke. "So, what are you afraid of?" I asked quietly. Zane didn't answer, he just pressed on the gas, sending Armani to fly back into her seat. Jeez, a simple no would've sufficed.

"As I was saying," Zane cleared his throat. "Nikki's mother, Nike is the winged goddess. She's free to...fly, be open....to test her limits. Nike can't be tied down."