Demigods » 1D + 5SOS

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

(a/n) sometimes I want to take Luke's face in my hands and bring him so close to me that our noses are almost touching and say "CUT YOUR DAMN HAIR"

Luke had never felt so stiff before in his life.

He slowly forced his neck upwards so that it was no longer at an uncomfortable angle. His head ached slightly, and he wrinkled his nose at the pain. He tried to get up, but a sudden fiery sensation made him stop quickly. It had come from his wrist, the one that Castellan had cut. He was tied to a birch tree, his arms pulled behind him in a painful backwards hug. He wondered if this was another one of Castellan's traps.

"H-help," Luke whimpered.

It was dark out, but there was a dark orange line appearing in the sky. He realized that it must be the sun, and he sat up straighter, ignoring the pain in his wrist. He was free! He had beaten Castellan!

Luke tried to talk, but his throat was dry. He swallowed hard and licked his lips before calling out, "Michael? Ashton? Calum? Guys, I'm free! I did it!"

He couldn't see anything in front of him, but the sky was slowly turning gray from the rising sun. As it began to grow lighter, he could make out the shapes of his friends sleeping on the ground. None of them seemed hurt, and he sighed in relief.

"Guys!" he shouted louder, and Calum woke with a start.

"What's going on?" he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Calum, it's me!" Luke cried eagerly. "I'm here! I'm back!"

Calum stiffened for a second, but he didn't reply. He began to shake his friends until they were awake. He told them what was going on, and Ashton was quick to unsheathe his sword again. They walked over to Luke and towered over him.

"Good morning?" the blonde boy said apprehensively.

"Who are you?" Ashton asked. He had a stony expression on his face, and he placed a hand on his hilt.

"It's me," Luke said nervously, quickly glancing down at the sword. "Please don't hurt me, I'm not Castellan, I swear."

"We're not going to fall for that trick again," the drummer said coldly. "You have to prove that it's really you. Why weren't you invited to Michael's sixteenth birthday party?"

"You already asked him that," Calum reminded him.

"It's just a test of his intelligence."

Luke didn't like how his friends were glaring down at him, like he was evil. He didn't like what they were saying about him, either. He knew that they thought that they were talking to Castellan, so he shouldn't take it personally, but it still kind of hurt.

"I wasn't invited because I was dating a girl that Michael liked," Luke replied, feeling even more hurt. He had seen the conversation through the little keyhole in his prison, and now he knew the truth. "He told me that he was sick and just wanted a private family party instead." He looked over at Michael. "Why didn't you tell me that before? I would've understood...."

The guitarist bit his lip and looked down. "He's really convincing, Ashton."

"Castellan wouldn't be stupid enough to answer the same question twice," Calum agreed. "It must be Luke."

"But he was stupid enough to tell us his evil plan," Ashton pointed out. "We need another question that only we would know the answer to."

"Do you have one?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"We can't sit here and waste time thinking of another trick question," Calum said in annoyance. "We have to keep moving with our quest."