Children of the Big Three-Book One-Quest for Truth

Chapter 29-Zaylor

Sydney, Eliza, and I joined a group of tourists going to the twentieth floor to look at the art.

"Eek!" Sydney whispered. "I'm so excited! I can't believe this is really happening!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said.

"Heeheeheehee!" I looked over my shoulder and saw a group of three cheerleaders giggling together.

"Ugh," I said.

"What?" Eliza said.

I pointed with my thumb behind my shoulder. "Cheerleading gossip girls."

"Ugh," Eliza agreed.

"Let's not ruin this for Sydney though," I whispered.

Eliza nodded.

The tour group we were in stopped at the entrances to the two elevators to go to the twentieth floor. Everyone in our tour group fit into the two elevators with the exception of us thre and the three cheerleader.

"Hey!" someone in the elevator called. "We can fit one more!"

Sydney looked at us hopefully, and we nodded.

"Go on," I said.

She ran to the elevator and squeased in before the doors slid shut.

"Heeheeheehee!"

I turned my head back and saw the chearleaders giggling again.

Man, what is their deal? I thought.

"Heehee." They stopped laughing abruptly. I turned my head to see them staring at me.

Ding! One of the elevator doors swung open. Eliza and I ran inside of it. The cheerleader girls walked up.

"Mind if we squeeze in?" one asked.

"Actually, yea-"

The girls cut me off as they walked in.

"Thanks!" one said. The doors slid shut.

Eliza and I shared a silent conversation.

What should we do? I thought.

Act like a mortal, Eliza thought back.

How?

Just play it cool. You never now, they could be monsters.

"Heeheeheehee!" The cheerleaders laughed again, but this time all three of them stared at me as they did so.

Okay, I thought. That's kinda creepy.

"Zaylor Maximo, we've been waiting for you," the cheerleaders said in unison. Their images started to flicker.

"Um...?" I said.

"Child of one of the big three," they said again. They tilted their heads. "But which one?"

They took their true form.

These creatures were so horrifying there was no way to descriibe them.

The first one lunged at me. I quickly dodged it by moving to the corner of the elevator. I then drew my dagger, and Eliza drew her sword.

"Oh, no need for that," the second one said.

"Let us kill you quickly," the third one agreed.

"Then you won't have to suffer," the first one added.

All three charged at me. Luckily, as soon as they did, the elevator doors opened to the twentieth floor. As they did, I jumped out the door and rollled on my back before quickly jumping up.

I don't know what the mortals saw, due to the mist, but it must have been something weird. Some gasped while others pulled out their phones.

"Ugh, Zaylor!" Sydney complained when she turned and saw us. "I leave you alone for two minutes and you meet empousae?"

"Yeah, we're best friends," I said sarcastically, raising my weapon. "Die, freaky cheerleaders!"

I swipped my sword at them, but, realizing I was failinng epically, sheathed my sword and pulled my bow from behind my back. I pulled an arrow from my quiver and shot at one's face.

"AHHHHH!!" one screamed. I looked to see her pull the arrow from her eye, the whole eyeball disinigrating into yellow dust. The empousae was left with one eye.

One mortal fainted and others started to scream.

"Well that's a beautiful sight," I joked, but I was frankly creeped out.

Eliza swung her sword at one, but it ignored her and attacked me. Sydney jabbed her sword towards one's hip, but it quickly jumped away and ran at me.

I would have been dead meat, but both my friends jumped in front of me, their weapons raised.

The empousae stood in front of us and we started to back up, our weapons still raised. We backed up enough where my back was touching the glass wall.

"And now," an empousae said, the others snickering, "we feast!"

I unsheathed my sword. "Guys, they want me, not you," I said.

"So, we're going to stay with you," Sydney said.

I looked out the glass wall and saw a river, at least 150 feet below. "Guys, if I don't make it," I said.

"Zaylor," Sydney said.

"I want you to continue the quest, go to the underworld-"

"Zaylor!"

"-find my mom, and tell her what happened."

Sydney looked back at me. "Zaylor?" I lifted the hilt of my sword. "Zaylor, what are you do-" I brought my hilt down hard on the glass and it shattered. A look of horror appeared on Sydney's face as she realized what I was about to do. "Zaylor, no."

"I have to."

"You'll die," she whispered weakly, tears swelling up in her eyes.

"If Posiden is my dad," I said, "he'll have mercy on me."

Eliza looked back as Sydney screamed, "Zaylor, no!"

I jumped out the window. I sailed down through the air towartds the river, too shocked myself to scream. I closed my eyes as my body slapped into the water, sinking, and I was lost in total darkness.