A Guardians Choice (Book 2 of the Guardian of the hunt)

Chapter 9

It has been....way too long

Selena.

She was laying lifeless in Kayda's shaking arms. But...that can't be right. Literally seconds ago she was standing. Awake. Alive.

"Shit!" I yelled, immediately dropping my scepter to the desert floor and leaping over in one large step. Olivia and Felix scrambled to their feet, both calling her name with fear lacing their voices. As soon as I reached her, I grabbed her limp body and pulled it away from Kayda who also looked to be close to greeting Thanatos. Immediately I barked an order to Olivia, jerking my head over to Kayda. "Get her to the water, I've got Selena."

Olivia dragged Kayda to her feet, watching as she stumbled along behind her on her weak knees. I bundled Selena up in my arms, picking her up from the floor with ease and taking a few steps before feeling the ice cold liquid submerge my feet. Olivia fell to her knees beside me, hands burying themselves in the sand as Kayda helped her to regain some of her lost strength. Felix appeared on my right, already crouching down and cupping his hands, desperately throwing it onto Selena's foot as I crouched and let her lower half become submerged in the water. I'd almost expected an immediate knee-jerk reaction from her, like the water would tickle her skin and she be wide awake and looking a little less like a ghost. That's what had happened the first time I touched the water as a demi-god - one second feeling on the verge of death and so worn down I wanted to shut my eyes and never open them again, but then the next I felt so energized and powerful that I could take on an army. 

So why wasn't Selena waking up?

"Se...Selena?" I tried, slapping her cheek a few times. Her head rolled aimlessly to the side, one arm falling into the river. She didn't stir in the slightest. Not even a twitch of her eyebrow or a slight wheezy breath. "Come on Selena, you're able to get through this. I know you can."

"Selena, please!" Kayda urged, bringing her hands from where she'd had them buried in the sand and cupped them together. The water of Phlegethon glistened as she held it over Selena's mouth and let it dribble onto her dry lips. The water simply dribbled out of her mouth, something blocking the liquid from being swallowed. "Selena come on."

"Percy...Percy I think-"

"Don't you dare say it," I growled, shooting daggers with my glare as I snapped at Felix. Selena couldn't be dead. Not like this. Not so quickly. I couldn't lose another hunter is such a short amount of time. Artemis would hate me. I failed at my job. I failed at protecting Selena. "This can't be possible. She can't be...she was literally breathing second ago."

"I know Percy but Tartarus effects people differently. Selena just-"

"That doesn't mean shit! I should have gotten us here quicker. If we'd just gone a little faster or if I'd decided to not even bring the hunters in the first place then this wouldn't have happened and Selena would be OK," I rushed out, trying to wake Selena up with rough shakes. Kayda placed a shaky hand on Selena's neck, already letting her tears fall as she waited in vain for a whisper of a pulse. It was useless waiting for a pulse. I knew she was dead, I just didn't want to accept it. Felix reached forwards and placed a hand on her shoulder, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly.

"Percy...she's in Elysium already," Felix said, looking up with his large, honey yellow eyes and staring deep into mine. "Selena is going to be OK. she's where she deserves to be." 

"What are we gonna do with her...we can't just leave her," Olivia whispered, grabbing my shoulder. Her fingers shook against the fabric of my shirt, as if she was using me as support to keep on her feet. "I know it's not the best place to bury someone but maybe we should."

"I agree, we should at least bury her so no monsters come by and try to...to..." Kayda sighed, sitting heavily on the sand as she stared at Selena's pale body. The grief in her eyes hit me like a brick wall as I slowly lowered Selena to the ground and closed my eyes, wishing her the best in Elysium. We needed to bury her but it couldn't be anything extravagant and time-consuming. Even though we lost a member of the group, we still had a mission to carry out. Grieving properly would be something that had to wait. With that in mind I forced all of the emotions flurrying through my mind like a tornado to squeeze into a box. The lid of the box closed, and with that I took a deep breath, steadying myself and regulating my emotions enough to be able to speak.

"Everyone step back," I ordered, raising my hands over her body. I concentrated on every particle of sand underneath her body, willing the ground to slowly open up just enough to fit a body. It felt wrong to bury her like this, but it was the best option we had. It felt like icy daggers were twisting in my stomach as I watched the sand swallow her whole. And then that was it. Over in a couple of seconds. So quick that it was like she had never been there in the first place. Taking a deep and shuddery breath, I took a small step backwards and glanced up at the rest, holding my hand out and willing my scepter to come into my grasp. Kayda stared at the spot on the ground where Selena had just been, mouth parted slightly.

"What the fuck was that?" She whispered. "She deserves more than just being swallowed up by the ground." 

"Kayda, we don't have time to give her a grand burial right now. When we get back to the surface, only then can we properly mourn her death and honor her life like we would any other." I explained, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"You could at least give us a few minutes to say goodbye!" She growled, glaring at me.

"Kayda, he may not have gone about it the right way but I agree with Percy. We can't think on it too much. We all need to remain focused on the task at hand. I know it's terribly sad what just happened but we have to keep going, for the sake of ourselves and literally the rest of the Earth," Felix tried, using his sleeve to wipe away a single tear. Kayda turned her furious glare to him, balling her hands into tight fists.

"I get that, but she was one of my closest friends. I need time to say goodbye, to-"

"And so do I Kayda, but Percy is right. We need to keep focused. It might seem harsh and cruel but...who out of all of us here has the most experience with Tartarus. If Percy thinks it should happen a certain way for the safety of ourselves and the mission, it should happen a certain away." Olivia spoke, her voice hard.

"Fine. But fuck all of you," Kayda snarled, jabbing a finger at each one of us.

"I'm sorry Kayda, but it needs to be done. Be angry if you want, but don't let it cloud your judgement whilst down here. Something like that could cost us another life," I advised, speaking with a serious tone. "Now, let's keep going."