Vessels

Chapter 12: The pain you cause

Nico stands away from us, his hands are clenched into a fist and his eyes are tightly shut. He can't look at me, and honestly, I don't want him to. All I saw in his eyes was pain and anger. He's hurt by Rhea's state and angry that I refuse to prick myself again.

Souls, souls, souls, souls, souls

I want to help us all get out of here, but it feels like I'm being sucked dry every time my finger comes in contact with one of the spikes on the clutch.

Souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls

"It's okay, Amora." Rhea holds onto my hand, and tears roll down my cheek. "I thought there might be risks."

"I'm so sorry, Rhea."

Nico huffs, not believing I'm truly sorry for all the pain I've caused by bringing them here. I know it hurts him to see his sister this way, but I'm not willing to sacrifice myself for an escape. That defeats the whole point of this journey. If I die, my evil will be released, and I'm sure pricking myself with Hades' Clutch is killing me.

"I don't hate Vessels," Rhea says, and she tries to smile at me. "I actually dated a few of them."

This surprises me, but there are bigger things to discuss than Rhea's love life. We need to get her help.

"Stop talking," I say. "Don't waste your energy, okay?"

I look around for the millionth time, hoping to find some other way out and praying for a miracle to save us. Nico, despite previously criticizing me for the same thing, throws himself against the wall, and he starts to hit multiple areas on it. Maybe I was too weak, and he can break us out of here.

Souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls, souls

The whispers grow louder, and there's nothing that can drown them out now. Unfortunately, we can't give this room what it wants. There must be another way out.

Rhea starts coughing uncontrollably, and I notice blood at the side of her mouth. Nico stops hitting the wall for a moment to look at his sister, and when she calms down, he throws himself at the wall even harder.

"I only hate the pain that comes from losing Vessels, and it feels as if being triggered is inevitable." She coughs. "It's better to avoid all of you."

She's fighting to keep her eyes open, but I can see her slipping away, and I hate that I don't know what to do about it.

"I hope you make it, Amora."

I, confused, watch as Rhea gently takes the clutch out of my hand. Before I realize what's happening, she jabs the item into her already bleeding side. Her cry of pain draws Nico's attention, and he comes rushing to his sister's side as the wall starts to lower rapidly.

"Rhea!" He shouts.

I try pulling the clutch away from her, but I freeze when she flinches. The clutch is hooked to her body, and it will take more strength to pull it out.

Nico pushes me out of his way, but he, too, freezes when he realized how deep Rhea put the clutch in her. I know he wants to rip the glowing object away, but it'll definitely hurt her. She'll likely also bleed out.

"I'm...sorry, Nick," she cries.

When it looks like Nico has the mental strength to pull it out, the item stops glowing and Rhea's body becomes still. The whispers have also stopped.

When I glance to my side, I see the wall is completely down, and there's a small, black door that wasn't in this room before.

I look at Nico, but his eyes are glued to Rhea. However, I can't bring myself to look at her any more . This is all too much to handle.

I stand up slowly and turn my body to face the door. Although I'm hesitant, I call out to Nico, "Hey."

He ignores me, and he only looks my way when I put my hand on his shoulder. I never thought I'd want to see his angry and heartbroken eyes, but that look would be better than this one; emptiness.

"The exit." I look at the ground. "It's open."

I'm embarrassed to bring this up at a time like this, but we'll need to leave before any other trouble comes.

Nico glances behind him and sees the exit. Without saying anything, he pulls Rhea into his arms. However, when he stands up, Rhea's body starts to crumble.

We watch as her pieces fall onto the ground, and after some seconds, they disappear, leaving behind Hades' Clutch. The spikes are longer than before, but they start to shrink to a smaller size. I feel like throwing up at the thought that it sunk itself deeper into her.

Nico turns around and pushes past me as he heads towards the exit. I quickly pick up Hades' Clutch before following him out. I reach to hold his hand, but when a feeling tells me not to try to comfort him right now, I drop my hand.

He pushes the door open, and all I see is darkness. This doesn't stop Nico from walking through it. He doesn't even hesitate, and having no other option, I follow him through it.

Suddenly, my body is being pulled forward, but when I open my mouth to scream, nothing comes out of it. The journey, if I can even call it that, is short, and my body is thrown against something.

I groan as I look behind me, noticing I've been thrown against a dustbin. Looking ahead of me, I see Nico sitting against another dustbin. He looks at the ground, and I can't imagine what thoughts are running through his mind right now.

"I'm so sorry, Nico," I say, but he doesn't bother responding.

I rub my back before standing up and look at my surroundings. This building seems familiar, and my eyes widen when I realize we're at the Meve library. Well, we're at the corner of it.

Seeing an empty bag, I grab it and put the clutch inside. I don't feel like carrying it in my hand, mostly because I'm afraid I'll prick myself again.

"Nico?"

I don't think I can comfort him, but he can't just stay here. He needs to call a family member or friend to be with him right now. It also won't be good if anyone spots us here; two disheveled people with blood on their clothes.

A scream takes my attention away from Nico, and my heart starts to race when I recognize the source; Nova.

I turn around, leaving Nico alone and rounding the corner of the library. I watch as Nova is thrown into a van, and the door is shut after her. Before I know it, someone's arms are wrapped around me.

I struggle, but it doesn't help the situation. The stranger's hand goes over my mouth, muffling my scream. However, Nico must have heard the commotion, because he now stands in front of us.

I feel a little relieved to see him, but my heart drops when another figure swings a bat over his head. Nico falls to the ground and groans. At least that tells me he is alive.

The stranger then picks Nico up as if he is a feather, and after my attacker rips the bag holding Hades' Clutch out of my hand, Nico and I are taken to the van Nova was just thrown into.

One stranger slams my head down and proceeds to tie my body with rope. The same is done to Nico before we're both shoved further into the van. Looking around, I see Nova, Leo and Blair. They all look frightened.

"We're Vessels," I blurt, hoping this information will scare them away from capturing us.

However, a large, muscular figure jumps in after us and doesn't waste time placing duct tape over our mouths.

"We know." The person, jumping out of the van, laughs and slams the door shut, leaving us all in darkness.