The Lightning Thief

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The carriage was crammed with people. The three travellers barely fit in, for everyone wanted to escape this hell of a town. Nobody knew the source of the new Shadows, but they killed; to know that was enough.

All carriages going out of town were full of men, women and children, the streets were impassable because of the many vehicles.

But the carriage in which the three travelled in was small, so the driver could take a shortcut through some narrow alleys. Soon they got out of town and, driving on private roads, they made a good speed.

The driver was racing to get to the nearest town as soon as possible. The package lying on top was falling off because of the high speed, but noone seemed to mind; they were just glad to get away with their lives as fast as possible. Catie and Ignatius had their package on their knees, so they did not lose anything. Jennifer did not seem to have any except for a small handbag, the colour of which was matching her dress.

Ignatius must feel so guilty, Catie thought. But her employer just sat between her and Jennifer and stared into empty space. The look on his face was such that the little children travelling in the carriage were frightened and tried to hide in their parents' laps.

Catie could tell Ignatius was in great pain, but refused to give in to it. She took his hand. It was cold as ice. When she accidentally touched the black wound, he winced and pulled his hand away.

"Are you alright?", she asked quietly so the children could not hear her words. He just bit his lip, nodded and remained silent.

Catie had expected this reaction and gently put her hand on his forehead; it was hot- like he was burning. Ignatius closed his eyes. He seemed exhausted although they had done nothing all day. Catie pulled her hand away.

"Miss Smith", she whispered and leaned over Ignatius to speak to the blonde beauty, "Mr Illuminon is ill. He won't be able to hold on for much longer. We have to stop and get to a doctor!"

Jennifer only replied: "We can't go out of this carriage. We wouldn't be able to find another one so soon. And I assure you that Mr Illuminon will be perfectly alright once we've reached our destination. Once he knows how to control the Shadows and has been made a Shadowsmith, he will feel better."

"What? I thought we were going to the Shadowsmith! What do you mean, Mr Illuminon has to become one?", Catie asked horrified.

"Only a Shadowsmith who has been taught the Art of Shadows and has them in his blood can control them. And every Shadowsmith must die when another one has the Shadows in his blood. The former Shadowsmith died when the Shadows Mr Illuminon created began to share his blood. But Mr Illuminon was not taught how to control the Shadows, that means he is no Shadowsmith, so they control him now; he is growing weaker and weaker and has to witness the death of every person the Shadows kill. If noone becomes a Shadowsmith soon, the Shadows will kill him."

Catie sat silent for a moment, unable to cope with this flood of information.

"So you mean, it doesn't have to be him? If someone else is made Shadowsmith, he can live, too?"

"Well, Mr Illuminon is not a full Shadowsmith yet. If he was, he'd certainly die if any other became one. But he isn't, so if another person would have learned the Art of Shadows and if this other person would have the Shadows in his blood and be made Shadowsmith, Mr Illuminon would lose his Shadows and his illness. Now", Jennifer smiled, "these are a lot of ifs, so just forget what I said. It will certainly never come to pass. Who would sacrifice himself for Mr Illuminon? He has no friends, after all."