Shattered |Leo Valdez|

Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Erikka's P.o.v.

Did all immortal people walk this fast? I would seriously hate to have to race one to a Black Friday sale. Hermera's stride seemed to be three times longer than mine or Leo's. My grip on Leo stayed firm as she walked, talking as she went.

"We- the gods- have been looking for her for a while. Hades noticed something was off in Tartarus after the Underworld turned pitch black for a whole day." Hermera said. To me, that sounded like an improvement. At least then you wouldn't be able to see all the agony down there.

She continued. "Nyx had to be working with someone powerful for her to be able to escape for so far and long." A crease formed on her perfectly tan forehead as she furrowed her brow. Being the goddess of day, it was hard for me to venture into any likely places where she could be."

"How did you get to us? How did you save us?" I asked, confusion sewn into my voice. Leo was strangely quiet, staring at his feet while we walked.

Hermera smiled and glanced sideways at me. "I needed light. If there was light in the darkness, I could go. The problem is, there are little lights everywhere, but no where Nyx would be. I only came here because the beacon of light was so extreme, I gave it a try. So, it is I who should be thanking you, young demigods."

I nodded and let us lapse into silence. To be perfectly honest, I almost expected Leo to say something about beacon sounding like bacon with a Jamaican accent, but he stayed perfectly quiet.

Was he sick?

I squeezed his hand to get him to look at me, but he kept his eyes down on where he was stepping. The silence was starting to hurt my ears,- and give me too much time to think- so I was grateful when Hermera broke it.

"If I may be so bold, how was it possible for you to create such a light? It was almost bright enough to challenge me." Her tone sounded impressed. How was I supposed to answer that?

'Oh yeah! When I make out with this boy over here who is still in love with his dead girlfriend, we make this light shine from us by pushing my power into him like puke! And it's brighter than the sun!' Yeah. That's not weird at all. "Umm, we, umm-" I stuttered, until Leo finally cut in.

"We hugged. And I don't know. It just happened." Slowly, I blinked at him; I was both relieved, and a little disappointed. His eyes were now obviously avoiding me, so I just tried to ignore the aching feeling coming from my chest. But, as one of my favorite books- The Fault in out Stars- once told me, "That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt." So my heart still hurt. John Green is such a troll.

Suddenly, Hermera stopped walking and in my haste to stop I tumbled forward. Two strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to my feet. "Thanks." I said, the blush forming in my cheeks. Leo didn't acknowledge me.

Instead, he grunted the word 'klutz' and dropped his arms from their place around me. Now he wasn't touching me at all. My hand felt empty without his in it, but I just shook my head and looked up at the goddess.

"Through that door you will find yourselves back where you were before Nyx intervened. Hurry, heroes, your friends are waiting. We will meet again." She smiled and pointed us to a door that had either just appeared, or I was extremely oblivious. The door was maybe ten feet tall and wider than two Hagrid's. "Look away now. Do not gaze upon me in my true form." But suddenly I couldn't stop looking.

My eyes wouldn't close and my hand wouldn't cover them; it was as if something were holding them open so that the extreme divinity of it could burn me alive. She started to glow, her body growing to twice its normal size. "Gods, Rikki." And as the light began to be painful, a hand covered my face and pulled me to a warm chest.