Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 40: Smoke and Shadows Pt. II

Yeah . . . no.

Dammit, I lamented as my fingers ran over the engraved symbols of flight, shadow, and water. I think I'll just lie here for the next day.

You can't, a voice whispered. Not yet.

Just five minutes, I thought. Five minutes, and then I'll-

Clang!

The sound of metal ringing on metal jerked me upright and whipped my head around to where Thalia and Luke were fighting. The sound had come from Luke's sword as Thalia knocked it out of his hands with her shield.

It seemed to clatter against the rocks in slow motion, and I forced myself up, taking a shaky step towards the two.

Please don't kill him, I begged silently as Thalia pressed the point of her spear against his throat.

Don't kill him.

"He's a traitor!" Thalia said, as Annabeth scrambled down the rocky outcrop and I realized that some time ago, maybe it was when Atlas knocked out my barrier, that the mist had shattered and the illusion was gone.

Oh gods, I've been discovered, I thought as panic swept in. It's over.

Pull yourself together, Clari, Artemis said as she swept past me in a blur towards a figure lying among the rocks. You're wreathed in shadow.

What? I thought, glancing down. Sure enough, black smoke swirled around my feet and I blinked in surprise and relief before the realization of why Artemis was running in the first place kicked in.

Zoe! I started in her direction, but then paused and turned to look back at where Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth were.

"Is that what you want?" Luke sneered, his blue eyes dark with scathing disgust. "To drag me back to Olympus as a trophy to appease your dad?"

Before I could think through my decision, my feet were carrying me towards Luke. I knew him, and I knew that he knew his words would make Thalia hesitate. She did, and I saw in slow motion as Luke grabbed for her spear, distantly heard the "No" burst from Annabeth's lips, and Thalia kick him away.

On instinct, I lunged for him, my vision tunnelling and everything except the terror on Luke's face vanishing.

Maybe I shadow-walked without knowing because I was suddenly two steps away from him. My fingers managed to latch onto the hem of his shirt, but both of us were off-balance, I was weakened, and as his momentum carried him over the side of the cliff, I fell with him.

For a split second, I was frozen in shock, the whistling of the wind drowning out all thoughts. And then the terror of free-fall hit, sending adrenaline through me.

I had no magic left, no hope to shadow-walk both of us away, nothing. Was it going to end like this? Both of us, falling to our death in the shadow of a mountain of evil?

There wasn't even time for me to say "I love you," I thought as the rocks loomed up ahead.

There wasn't anything to do except hug Luke, hear his frantic heartbeat, and close my eyes, bracing for death.

And then a painful thump and the sudden drop in my stomach as I felt myself rising.

"Bostress, warn me the next time you decide to go cliff-diving," Blackfire neighed as he soared into the sky. "That was too close. And uh, if you can, maybe mist it so Luke's 'dead'?"

"Remind me to buy you a bucket of apples," I choked out as I pulled myself into a sitting position and created the illusion with gritted teeth, somehow managing to dredge up the strength to manipulate the mist just slightly. "Thank you for saving my life again."