Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 11: Initiation

"There's no use!" Luke snapped, glaring down at some of the telkhines who were futilely shooting arrows after the long-distant boat. "You idiots. In which world do you think your arrows would be able to hit them when they're that far away? Stop wasting our resources!"

A collective grumble rose from the gathered monsters as they snarled and shoved at each other, and I sighed. Stepping forward, I yanked Agrius's spear out of his hands, ignoring his surprised grunt, and hurled it into the deck.

It thudded to a halt, the arrow sunk fully into the wood in front of one of the dracaenae, who blinked in shock at the shaft that had embedded itself at her feet. Silence.

One by one, all heads swivelled to face us.

"Finally," I said, watching the monsters below with slitted eyes. "Pay attention when your leader speaks to you. Or next time, I won't miss."

"We don't ssssserve Luke," a dracaenae hissed. "Kronosssss isss the one we sssssserve."

"We all serve him," Luke replied frostily, glaring at her. "But He put me in charge here. So you better listen."

The monsters grumbled in reluctant assertion but stopped their disarrayed scuffles.

"Great. Now that everyone's paying attention, I have a few announcements to make," Luke said, raising his voice slightly as he addressed everyone, demigods and monsters, who were gathered on the deck.

"We're headed to Miami to wait for when the demigods from Camp Half-blood emerge with the Fleece. Then, as they come out from the Sea of Monsters, exhausted from the horrors inside, we ambush them and steal the Fleece. It'll be a couple of days before we arrive, and I want you all to get your business done before then. Understood?"

I watched, face impassive, as the empousai snarled in animalistic hunger, the telkhines howled in anticipation, and the dracaenae hissed in excitement.

"Good. All of you dismissed. Ally, Nicole, Alabaster, and Chris, come with me to the stateroom. Alex, you take the rest with you and continue to train."

"Yessir!" Alex said, grinning, and snapped Luke a sharp salute, a huge smile on his face. I smiled slightly at his enthusiasm as he glanced at me, and his eyes brightened even more.

I couldn't help myself but wonder as I watched Alex lead the rest of the demigods away, when the time came, would he follow me, or remain with Luke as my other brother would?

Don't think about that, I scolded myself as I followed Luke back towards the stateroom where we would hold Ally's initiation. Don't think about that.

"What's this occasion for?" Nicole asked curiously as we turned the corner to see her, Ally, Alabaster, and Chris leaning against the glass wall that separated our hallway from the open deck and the pool below. "Someone die?"

"Funny, but no," Luke replied drily, pushing open the door. "Ally's going to be joining us, officially, today."

"Right now?" Chris asked in surprise, his brown eyes widening.

"Uh, can someone please tell me what's going on?" Ally interjected, her eyes darting all around the room, no doubt soaking in every detail. Her gaze landed on the golden casket on the dais and, immediately, I noticed her shiver. "No way. Is that. . . "

"Yep, it is," Nicole announced, her tone somewhat . . . off. Expressionless. Her gaze was empty as she appraised the ancient golden coffin, her posture distant. "Just the ancient Lord himself, sitting in his little cut up pieces, waiting to be put back together by us puny demigods so he can reform to conquer the world again."