Sea Prince (Sea Prince Trilogy #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Percy could feel himself becoming more and more frustrated every time the authorities tried to keep him from the assailants.

As he desperately tried to explain that he was permitted to be there and that he was not a lost citizen, the Avengers stood there sniggering. Percy was ready to blast somebody in the face with water. Steve, sensing this, placed a calming hand on Percy's shoulder.

"He's with us, sir." Steve said politely. Percy hated how no further objections were made. Clearly if the Avengers hadn't moved on when the guy had stopped them, Percy was supposed to be there.

The ground shuddered violently, breaking Percy out of his thoughts. A plume of smoke was rising in the near distance.

Natasha confronted one of the panicked authorities surrounding the smouldering building. The strange thing is that it wasn't actually burning the building, like an illusion. The whole building gave off an eerie feel. It was a Starbucks cafe.

"What's the situation?"

"Hostage scenario. You've been called because we can't get close. It's a group of people with superpowers."

"Superpowers?" Tony asked. The police officer nodded in confirmation.

Suddenly a sing-song voice echoed across the cold dark streets. "Hiiiii!"

Percy's expression dropped into an emotionless mask.

He'd seen this girl before.

What was her name? Lyra? Layla? Laya?

No.

Lyla.

"Took you all long enough to get here. Half of you can fly even these pesky mortals got here before you did." Lyla snorted, picking at her nails from her seat on the roof.

"Who are you?" Clint demanded an arrow nocked and ready to fly.

Percy couldn't see her partner anywhere, remembering the archer who had stopped Lyla's attack. But the demigod was positive Hamish would appear should the daughter of darkness face anything she couldn't handle.

"I guess you could call me Welcoming Party," she grinned. She jumped down from the roof. A look of confusion crossed her features. "Oh wait, hang on a moment. I was supposed to say something else. What was it..."

Clint didn't wait, firing an arrow. A wall of black rose and swallowed the arrow. Clint gaped in shock. The wall of darkness receded and Barton's arrow was gone. Vanished. Percy assumed it worked similarly to Nico's Shadow Travel.

"Now that wasn't very nice. I'm still thinking!" Lyla tutted, "Oh yes! That's right! I'm supposed to tell you about the hostages! Let's see... Well, we have 6 hostages, one for each of us, Some crap about killing them if you don't comply and signals or something, but all that's irrelevant right now. Come in, come in. Let's have a drink." Lyla beckoned and turned away, walking into the cafe.

Having a small idea on Lyla's personality, Percy looked around at the group, shrugging before following her in.

The others gradually followed.

The interior was a mess. The cash registers had been clearly ransacked and there were splotches of ingredients on the floor, clearly having been thrown there.

The lights had been bashed and were flickering wildly, leaving the room dim with a haunted feel.

"Forgive the mess," another voice Percy recognised said from a booth. It was Hamish. The teenager was overly polite and well mannered.