Nyx's Descendant

Chapter 7

I wish I had my sword. Or any weapon. I looked around frantically through the tomes, and scrolls, but nothing seemed to be useful. Any of the spells that I found were far too complicated for me to cast without proper training. I stood in the middle of the room, facing the door and the attackers. I knew I couldn't do anything. I heard the sounds of swords clashing. Then the door splintered open, the lock snapping.

The door swung open and three armed warriors rushed in, only to collapse on the ground at my feet. Swords and axes clanging to the ground. I took three steps back. Malen, Jeff and Matt all rushed in, spreading out. "Are you okay?" Malen asked me, approaching. "I think so. How did you know I was in trouble?" He pointed at the door and then my pocket. I reached for the key. I held it out in front of me. "How did this tell you I was in trouble?"

"We don't normally lock the door. So, when you used the key. It activated the magical protection and alerted me," he explained. He reached for his belt and pulled out a key that matched the one in my hand. I sighed in relief. "You didn't think you would be left unprotected, did you?" he asked me with a wink. "No, I guess not. I just didn't know you had magical links like this," I admitted. "Amesia set these up for high important visitors," he told me. "Magic isn't all bad then, is it?" I asked him.

"No, it has uses. I'm not a fan of most spells, but these, I like." He told me. "Well, thank you for coming to my rescue," I told him. He nodded. "Did you find out what you wanted to know?" he asked. "I think so. There's not a lot documented about the history of demigods and the gods. Just a basic and simple fact. The books did give me some insight on powers that I may be able to learn or develop. They also gave me a little into the history about the war and the children of the gods," I said.

"Anything useful you can take away from that?" he asked. I gave him a curious look. "Why are you so interested?" I asked him. "Sorry, I've just been in the dark about the history of our nations, and the rules we must abide by with the empire and the gods. I am just curious and want to know what your goals are now," he said. "I really have no idea. The more I seem to find out, the more questions I end up asking," I admit. "Yes, and I think we are close to catching the spider that is killing people," Malen told me.

"Oh?" I asked. He nodded. "Come on. I'll have this door fixed. I'll take you back to your room on the top floor. I'll escort you back here if you want to keep researching. I'm sure there's a lot here that you haven't been able to look at," Malen said. I nodded. "I could also use food. I was late in grabbing the food your sister had delivered at noon and was attacked when I went to grab it," I told him.

"I'll have some brought to you as soon as I can. Come on," he suggested and the four of us walked back down the concrete hall. "Do you know who the attackers were?" I asked. "Not yet, but we are going to investigate and find out," he promised. After we made it to the staircase. "Something about this doesn't add up," Malen finally said as we began climbing the stairs. "Sire?" Jeff called. "Who all knew he would be down here?" the prince asked. Jeff and Matt looked at each other, concern etched onto their faces.

"Tell me who all knew about this!" the prince commanded. You, princess Amesia and the king," Matt finally answered after a minute. "I doubt my sister would send assassins after Zeke. Why would my father? This doesn't make sense. He cleared Zeke of all charges in front of everyone in court. Why would he risk sending assassins?" We walked up the stairs and onto the first floor that is now bustling with people sitting at the tables, with candles brightly glowing.

"Is there anything up here that may be useful to demigods?" I asked him. Malen gave me an unsure shrug. "I'm not big on historical readings, facts and dates," he admitted. "Well, do you think anything up here would inform me about my godly history, or is that all in the downstairs area?" I asked, changing the question. "There may be something here. I can ask some of the scholars about it and see what they can find. It may save you some time," he replied.