Son of Hades (Redo)

Spiraling Soul

The next morning when I awoke, a small groan escapes my dried lips. There was a note and a glass of water waiting for me on my bedside table. I crawled weakly over to it; noticing that dried blood caked my scarred chest.

'Remember what I said', in brilliant and curved letters with a pink mark where Angelique kissed the paper. Angrily, I threw the glass of water at the wall and the glass smashed... It's contents fizz and bubble against the wall and then the floor. I stare.

This means war.

      Feeling more determined than ever, I pull on a sweater to cover the bruise and gather a bundle of clothes that will conceal it.

      I don't feel safe walking these halls anymore. I look behind me every time I turn a corner. I can't help but feel that I am being followed. But I'm not. Since last night, I know that I'm just being overly paranoid, and I can't help it.

      Thankfully, the bath-house is empty for once.

      I quickly draw my bath, and don't undress until I know that it really is empty here. Quickly, I undress and slip into the bath. The blood washes away into the bath, and I drain it once and watch as it watches away into the drain. I scrub it free of my blood, and fill the tub again.

      I rub my skin red until it's raw, and smells thickly of ivory and silk and flowers. I sink a bit lower in the tub when someone walks in. But it's only Akari, and I make sure that no one can see the mark that Angelique left.

      And suddenly, my head is under the water and I can't breathe.

      I have a brief flashback, thinking about what happened on that bridge. My lungs fill with water, and I remember fighting the waves. But why would I fight the waves if I wanted to die? They hadn't been peaceful. . . Rain pounded against the water, and they had thrashed me around. I hadn't been able to reach the surface.

      Getting yanked up by my tangled hair, I gasp for a breathe. Something sharp is pressed against my neck. "You haven't been very good at keeping your secrets." I recognize Ivana's sharp Russian accent.

      I spit out water, and cough. My throat burns. My eyes hurt. Every bone and muscle in my body is tingling with adrenaline and the need to fight back. "Death by drowning, wasn't it?" I remember when I first saw Ivana. She had been bloody, with twigs in her hair as if she had been in the woods. "How does it feel to relive your death?"

      I felt the knife edge cut against my bone as Ivana ducked me back under the water.

      At the very last moment, she pulled me up. "You're going to tell me everything that Jasmine is doing to sabotage this competition." She grips my hair harder. "I've seen that handsome ex-servant of yours leaving your room. Those threats and rules Persephone made . . . You'll pay for breaking them. Now, tell me what the hell she is up to."

      "What makes you think I know?" I grit my teeth. I resist the urge to turn this over, pull her into the tub and have her slide the knife across my neck.

      "She tolerates that relationship. I've seen it in Jasmine's eyes. You've danced with them. You were the one who got Harley eliminated." She grips my hair harder. "Weren't you?" She hissed. "Weren't you?"

      I purse my lips, gripping her arms and throwing her into the tub. Unlike me, Ivana is fully clothed. She coughs and sputters and drops the knife into the water. I take advantage - grabbing her in a headlock and making sure that my grip is hard. "Listen to me, and you listen good. If you touch me again, if you ever touch me again, I will end you. I have an advantage over you, Ivana. An advantage that you don't have with Castiel." I ducked her under the water, held her there for fifteen seconds and brought her back up again. "That was just a teaser, sweetheart." I whisper the next few words. "If you attempt to get near me one more time, you'll be the next one to go."