A Haunting Melody: The Golden Lyre

24 | Psi

The symbol Psi (ψ) is considered to be the most mysterious of all the Hunter Marks. Not much is known about this Mark, other than its properties. If a Hunter receives this Mark, they are given the gift of longevity. Their body will stop ageing and theoretically, they can live forever, so long as they do not meet any mortal harm. The only Hunter recorded to own this Mark is Orion Boeotia, who has not been seen in over 500 years and is presumed to be deceased.

***

Astrid breathed unevenly as she pulled her wrists apart with all her might. The ropes they had used were not ordinary ropes. They had been coated in a hard wax, designed to withstand harsh weather on the open sea.

After they had led her out of the building she had been held in, she had been thrown rather ungracefully into the boot of a car and felt incredibly uncomfortable every time the car hit a bump.

A feeling of absolute helplessness overcame her. Would this be the end for her? What had Daniel meant when he called her 'useful'? She couldn't bear the thought of dying by their hands. Especially not before she could make Daniel pay for his deceit.

She looked around the cramped, dark space to see if there was anything she could use. There was absolutely nothing. She supposed it was wishful thinking to hope that they were stupid enough to leave any of her weapons on her.

There was only one thing she could do now.

She forced herself into a foetal position, making sure her mouth lined up with the rope tied around her arms.

Astrid bit down onto the hard wax with all her force. She could feel sand on her tongue as she chewed on the rope and she had to resist the urge to spit. She could still taste the blood from earlier.

Once she had gnawed through the wax, she got to work on the fibres of the rope.

After what felt like ages, she finally forced her arms apart enough to snap the rope and break her arms free. Next was the rope around her ankles.

After she had untied the ropes around her ankles, she rubbed her wrists and ankles, which were bloody and bruised from all the struggling. All she could do now was wait.

***

When the car finally stopped, Astrid waited with keen alertness as she listened carefully to the crunch of footsteps on gravel. She could tell that someone had walked around to the back of the car.

As the boot was opened, Astrid took her chance and kicked both feet out with incredible speed, sending the Siren flying backwards.

Before she had even gotten entirely out of the car, Astrid heard the shrill scream of another one behind her. She quickly turned and grabbed her wrist before she could plunge a knife into her.

With a quick series of kicks and jabs, Astrid has forced the knife out of her hand and sliced the Siren's neck open.

Blood squirted everywhere as she grabbed her neck, coughing and struggling for breath. Before the Siren had even collapsed, Astrid was standing over her, plunging the dagger deep into her heart.

She sensed the one she had knocked down get back to her feet and quickly spun around to defend herself from the impending attack. Holding tightly to the knife she had taken from the other Siren, she let out an angry grunt and charged towards the Siren, jumping onto her with immense force and plunging the knife into her eye.

The Siren tried to scream, but Astrid quickly covered her mouth with her free hand. The Siren bit her, drawing blood and causing her to yank her hand away.

"Ow!" Astrid yelled furiously, before stabbing the knife into her chest repeatedly.

Once she had stopped moving, Astrid lowered the knife and dropped it to the floor, catching her breath.

She looked at the bloody body as it morphed underneath her. Eventually, there was nothing left but a pile of white ash, which had gotten all over Astrid's pants.

"Bitch," Astrid muttered, forcing herself onto her feet and examining her injured hand.

The bite mark was ugly but manageable. She took the time to properly survey her surroundings for the first time and quickly realised that she was at the beach - the same beach where she had found Peisinoe's base.

She let out a gasp as she looked at the moon in the sky. It was almost time. She was thankful that the two Sirens she had just faced were ancient. There were no bodies to clean up at least.

After a quick search of the car, she discovered that the knife was not the only weapon they had been carrying.

As it turned out, they had kept all her weapons with them in the front of the car. She felt relieved to have her weapons back. She would need them, where she was going.

Jumping into the driver's seat, she turned on the ignition with renewed urgency and sped off towards the Cathedral. She just hoped she wasn't too late...