The Traitor {book 1}

3 - The General

Heather's POV
Okay, so I've never actually met  the General, but I've heard stories that made my spine feel as twisted as I've recently been acting.

Tonight, I was meeting him. And I was honestly terrified.

In the cave, the air was almost black, so I couldn't see him clearly. Just his figure. Even the look of his shadow made my stomach do a somersault in fear.

"Heather Jackson." He boomed, and I trembled a little. I tried to force myself to be brave, and only ferrets were wimps and cowards.

"Yes?" I asked, my voice surprisingly bold and strong.

"I have heard of you. Daughter of Poseidon." He stated in his powerful voice, that could send vibrations to knock people off their feet. "Good to know. I need a favour..." He said, and I narrowed my eyes, before raising my eyebrows.

"And that would be?" I asked, lowering one eyebrow, and putting a hand on my hips.

"There is a traitor among our mists, Heather. Your job is to find him, and bring him to me." The General said from his corner, and I took a five second blink. I nodded.

"The job shall be done." I replied in a harsh voice, as he excused me. Was he onto me? What's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to Annabeth, and Artemis!?  Millions of questions raced through my mind at 100 miles per hour, bouncing from the back of my head. I then re entered the cave, where Annabeth was held hostage.

Percy's POV
I don't remember falling to sleep, but I remember the dream.

I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass, like a pile of boulders. She was too tired to even cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.

"How is our mortal guest?" A male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. I'd heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. This voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.

Luke and Heather emerged from the shadows. Heather bit her lip, and sighed, as if she'd given up on something. Which was pretty unlike her. Luke ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at Heather and the unseen man.

"She's fading. We must hurry."

The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to her. Heather, yes, Luke, no.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then, a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light - Artemis - her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

I gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in many places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. I didn't know she just didn't will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place.

The goddess looked at Annabeth, amd her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"

"She will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her." I saw Heather frowning, but I couldn't figure out what she was frowning at.

Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. I wanted to run to her, but I couldn't move.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.

The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you are easy to beat Artemis."

"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your speciality, my dear."

Artemis groaned. "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now."

"No!" Artemis shouted.

Luke hesitated, as Heather stepped forward. "The girl may be useful, General. Further bait. My brother Percy is very passionate about her. He's the one you want. And he'll come, sooner or later." She advised, eyeing Artemis out of the corner of her eye.

"Bah! You truly believe that?"

"Of course, General. They'll come for her, I'm positive." Heather said boldly.

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she doesn't die from her injuries, you both may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."

Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess. Heather tried to follow, but was stopped.

"Heather. You are to stay here." The unseen man boomed, and Heather walked back to her spot near Artemis, biting her lip in anxiety.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is...challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the who cavern ceiling would collapse.