Hunter

Chapter Forty Four - Doppelganger

On Olympus, everyone was beautiful. Adorned in gold jewelry and decorated with flowers, they represented what the gods were about. Despite it being the middle of the night, deities and servants were plentiful, the life of royalty living on throughout the night. We walked on green cobblestone floors lined with bronze sidewalks. Columns and pillars of pure white framed the pathways, leading to mysterious new places filled with life and energy. Potted plants floated in the air, in meticulously painted vases. It was happy. Olympus was happy.

The people were smiling and cheerful, all of them dressed in vibrant and bright colors. All were drinking and having fun, eating cheese and grapes, as cliche as it seemed. Music played in the streets with no particular source as people sung and danced gaily, their hands in the air, not a care in the world. There wasn't a single child anywhere: everyone looked to be at least eighteen.

"Wow," Jasper breathed, and he was right. It was 'wow'.

"Yeah, what he said," Dee responded airily. There was such a giddy feeling in the air that it was easy to forget why we were there.

"We need to stay on task."

"Can't we have some grapes first?" Something told me no. My instinct was never one to fail me, so I wasn't going to take it for granted then.

"Don't eat or drink anything. Come on, let's keep moving." We headed to a colossal building in the middle of it all. That was most likely were the twelve Olympians resided. It rose above everything else, imposing with its spiky towers and tall walls. The more we inched towards the center, the less crowded it became, until eventually, it was only the four of us, wandering the streets. Only our footsteps could be heard. I wasn't sure what we were looking for, but I trusted Jasper's directional skills enough to let him lead us through unknown waters.

"Southeast wing?" He asked, looking at something engraved in the paving.

"Yeah. That's what she said."

"Then we're here." We passed underneath an archway and entered into a romantic looking section. Flowers bloomed beautifully in the shade of low-hanging trees. The color of the walls changed to a faint rose-gold that glistened in the light of the sunset sky. Everything seemed as though it were in full bloom, almost like the spring-time. The southeast wing was very cozy and picturesque, telling me that goddesses like Demeter and Hestia housed themselves in that area.

"Wait," I called. I stopped in the middle of the road, my hand raised like I was waving goodbye.

"What is it?" To my left and right, houses were joined together, stone by stone, but there was a particular pair that looked like it was joined by a wooden board. I walked over to it and knocked, hearing the echo from the other side.

A secret passageway.

I pulled my bracelet off of my wrist and changed it into a mace.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked. "You can't just destroy--" The wood splintered into a million pieces, and descending stairs were revealed to us. I turned smugly to face Jasper's mortified face.

"We're going to die," he whispered. Changing my new weapon back into a bracelet, I squeezed into the passageway. It was dark in there, and thankfully Aiden lit up the room with his bright 'personality', as he had called it. He ended up leading the way, since he had the flame in his hand, followed by me, Dee, and Jasper.

"Any clue where we're going?" Aiden asked, slightly concerned

"No."

"Well, isn't that wonderful," he muttered, adding on something about girls.

"I heard that, Steele."

"Whatever."

We walked on for a few moments before arriving at a door with an engraving of a bird on it. Specifically, a dove: Aphrodite's bird. Aiden looked back at me, and I encouraged him to open it. Putting out his flame, he pushed open the smooth wood, and we were in. Aphrodite's chambers were immaculately clean and organized, not a single thing out of place. Everything looked as though it belonged, as though it was built to be there.

"Let's start looking." We all sprung into action and started rummaging through her things. We were careful, trying not to destroy the order of things. I was flipping patiently through some books when I spotted Deirdre not being industrious.

"Dee, what are you doing?"

"Look at this bird statue!" It was a pure white crane with a red mark on its face. "It looks so real." I walked up to her and looked at the bird. Something glinted in its feathers and I reached forward.

"What is--" The bird squawked and flapped its wings, its sharp claws aimed for my face. My necklace fell out of its feathers and I grabbed it. The bird came at me again, but Aiden's fire was quicker. It fell the ground with a loud thud.

"Well, that was... interesting." I examined my necklace in my hand. I felt stronger. From the moment my hand touched the metal, I felt more powerful. That was my necklace, and that was the evidence that we needed. As much as I wanted to put it on, I knew that I had to wait a little longer before I could have it back.

"This is what we needed. Now, we need to get back to Aphrodite and give her my necklace. Dee, the time?" She checked her watch.

"It's almost two o'clock."

"How did that happen?"

"Time must run differently here," Aiden observed.

"Well then, we better get going." I jogged to the door, and once I reached it, I received a powerful blow to my face. I fell back into Jasper's arm, and I felt my necklace fly out of my hand. Then I heard his confused voice.

"Andrea?" My eyes opened and I ignored the pain. There she was, in all of her blonde-haired, green-eyed glory, my necklace floating in her hand. I snarled at her, not knowing that I possessed the ability to do so, and I attacked.

"Hayley, wait!"

A ball of electricity in my fist aimed for her face. She ducked and went for a jab at my stomach. I dodged left and spun, going to jab an elbow in her back. She intercepted and grabbed my wrist, twisting it painfully. I howled in agony, dropping to my knee. Dee jumped in, knocking Andrea off her feet. I went for another blow, but Jasper blocked and redirected my attack. The shot of lightning in my hand smashing a vase. I pushed him away angrily and turned in time to see her swiping Dee to the ground. Dee's head hit the concrete painfully and Andrea ran.

I chased after her, gaining on her. She turned left and bumped into her exact look alike. Confused, I watched as both of them rubbed their heads at the same time and groaned exactly alike. Both my hands were burning with power as I watched the scene unfold. I heard steps behind me as Jasper, Aiden, and Deirdre caught up. Both Andreas stood up, looking scared.

They looked at each other at the same time, both of them confused and wondering what was going on. My necklace lay on the floor between them, exactly in the middle.

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Oh Snap!

Can you guys guess who is who? Comment and let me know what you think. How is this even possible? I'd love to hear your ideas.

-ABD