Camp Half Blood: One "Salty" Adventure

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Myra's POV:

The walk up the mountain was silent except for the wind howling in my ears. It may have seemed crazy, but I could feel Khione's presence in the air. It made me anxious and tense. I found myself jumping at shadows and I fell a little ways behind Ben and Rose because I was so busy checking all around us for monsters.

"Myra! Come on!" Rose shouted worriedly. I flinched in surprise and almost slipped as I ran over to her and Ben. Rose gave me a weird look. I tapped my foot anxiously on the ground, trying to dispel some of my nervous energy. I thought I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye and gripped onto the hilt of my sword.

"Myra! It's just a shadow, calm down. Save that for when we get to the castle."

"I'm not worried about the shadow. I'm worried about what cast it." I snapped and started to walk over to investigate, drawing my sword. I didn't see anything around, but I refused to put my sword away and to let my guard down. After a few minutes of investigating the area, I walked back over to Rose and Ben who both looked annoyed. I gave them a weak grin and we then kept on going until we reached the castle.

"Well... this is it. No going back now, huh?" I didn't reply, just glared at the large spires. I had gained a wretched fear of heights after Khione had tossed me off one. A large sheet of ice rolled out in front of us like a carpet. It lead up to the main doorway. Ben started towards it, but I stopped him before he could get any closer.

"Don't!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Why not!?" Ben protested. "I thought she was going to let us in?" I almost laughed. The thought of Khione making my life easier was ridiculous. I walked up to the ice path and stabbed at it with my sword. Shards of ice shot up from the surface, almost impaling me. I took a step back and glared at Ben. "Alright, I'll listen to you from now on. I kinda like living."

"Good idea. Follow me. We go in around back." I walked off without looking behind me. The back entrance would lead us through a maze of hallways, but the front was a death trap. We encircled the castle and arrived at an inconspicuous doorway. It was locked, of course. I formed a key out of ice in my hand and let us into the castle.

Seeing the inside of this place awake was just as terrifying as being asleep. Rose and Ben stood in awe, but I hurried them forward. There were too many monsters in these hallways. I lead them down three different hallways and finally stopped at two wide silver doors. They gleamed and reflected the harsh light into my eyes.

"This is it..." I took a deep breath. "You should know now. This isn't the entrance hall that we are walking into..." I spoke carefully, turning around to face Ben and Rose.

"Should I even ask?"

"It... it's an arena... She makes me spend most of my time in here..."

"Don't let her get to you, Myra. You can do this, we're in this together."

"Yeah... together." It didn't really feel that way to me. I had been fighting Khione in silence for over a month now. Rose and Ben were on my side, but they had no idea what we were up against. A sudden realization hit me and I withheld a horrified gasp. I decided not to tell Ben and Rose what I'd just discovered. If they knew they'd try to fight fate and that would kill us. I slowly reached out and grasped the handle, giving one last desperate look to Ben and Rose. I pulled the handle and let the doors swing wide open.

The arena was a place I didn't know existed during my first visits to Khione's Castle. I normally appeared in the entrance hall. The stronger my doubts about coming to stay here got, the more often I appeared in the arena instead of the entrance hall. Unlike my original training, Khione now refused to teach me anything. She sat back in her throne and watched me fight for my life like a gladiator. It wasn't hard to predict what she would do with us next. I walked into the room before Ben and Rose in case of any traps. The ground was dirt covered in permafrost and blood. My blood. I cringed at the sight and tried to back out only to run straight into Rose. The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Hey hey, it's fine. We can do this. This is your element. It's time to own it." She spoke calmly. I wasn't sure how she could be calm at a time like this. I just nodded and tried not to cry.

"Welcome." Khione's smooth voice made me want to be sick. I was practically shaking on the spot. I looked around the arena. Trying to find where she was. Khione, of course, was casually leaning back on her throne as if she had invited us over for a dinner party and not a death match. "I see you've arrived just on time. Haven't they, Myra?" She easily leapt down from her throne in front of me. She lifted my chin and forced me to look into her blazing blue eyes. Ice involuntarily shot off of my hands and I pulled away from her quickly.

"Myra? What is she talking about? What's going on?" I wanted to cry for being such an idiot. Khione had been in my head, of course she knew when we were coming. She knew everything about me. I was completely helpless to stop her from hurting Ben or Rose.

"W-well... You know what we're here for Khione. I... I told you I would trade fair." I cursed at myself for stuttering. Khione seemed gleeful when she saw how scared I actually was. She tossed a golden key at Ben and beckoned me forwards.

"I can't believe you, Myra! After everything that happened! Everything we talked about... how could you."

"I'm sorry ok! There was nothing else I could do! We got the prophecy wrong. We misunderstood. 'Four at the beginning, one shall remain' it was always about Cole. He was supposed to be here, Rose! But he's not! So I either give myself up or we all die! That key will free Olympus. Bring it back to Camp... Chiron will know what to do." I was unable to restrain myself from shaking now as I stumbled over to Khione.

"Oh no no, did you think I'd let you go that easily? That's just not how it works here." She spoke with a wicked grin.

"M-Myra..." Rose shot me a terrified glance. She gripped on tightly to her glaive and to Ben's hand as he stepped out in front of her protectively, putting himself in between the two of us.

"No! You promised! You swore on the Styx you'd let them leave your castle! You said they'd have safe passage!" I yelled angrily. She laughed at me and pushed me aside.

"I'm a goddess and you think I abide by stupid promises? That Styx curse probably won't affect me for eons. You stupid little demigods all think you can save the world don't you?" She hissed and turned back towards me. "My own daughter comes to my castle trying to bring back the gods that oppressed me! You are no daughter of mine!" I backed away but she continued to step forward until I was cornered. Something in me broke and for the first time, I fought back. I concentrated all my powers on the door. I could feel the ice running through the door's weak spots. I looked Khione straight in the eye and clenched my fist. The ice within the door shattered leaving a gaping hole directly in the center. It had worn me out, but I wasn't done yet. I could vaguely hear Ben and Rose shouting at me. Khione began firing ice crystals at us, and Rose came charging in with her glaive to try and protect me. Before she could get too close, I erected a wall of ice in front of her. There was no way I was losing her to Khione.

"ROSE, GET BEN AND RUN!" I screamed as an ice crystal grazed my arm. I didn't wait for her to respond as I charged Khione. I might die, but at least Rose and Ben still had a chance. They could make it out of here. I was barely able to dodge the crystals now and I could feel my body weakening. It was only a matter of time until I collapsed. Khione teleported onto her throne as soon as I got remotely close to her. Rose's hand closed around my wrist and she began running to the doorway where Ben was waiting. I staggered behind her, I was growing tired quickly. The hallway was crashing down around us as we ran. Rose was supporting my weight and I knew if she had left me behind she would've escaped by now.

The door was in our sights. We were ten feet behind Ben when he made it outside. A manticore slid out in front of Rose and I. I used the last of my strength to put up an ice shield and protect us. I lost my grip on Rose's hand and came crashing to the ground. Before I lost consciousness I felt someone pick me up off the floor. The last thing I heard was the slamming of a door and the distinct noise of heels clicking against the hard tile floor.