The Mighty Ones' Fall

Chapter 13: Tension

About an hour later, we were still wandering aimlessly. We had yet to see another satyr or nymph, and I didn't know if that was because there really weren't any, or they were just good at hiding. (Personally, I was guessing the latter.) On the other hand, we hadn't come across any monsters, which was lucky since I wasn't sure how we were all supposed to survive without weapons. Still, every time a bush or tree rustled the tiniest bit, Layna would jump and gasp, then cling onto Brady's muscular arm for dear life. It was a little bit pathetic. Each time she did this, I noticed Damien glance sideways at Hannah, hoping she would do the same to him. Darius, however, only rolled his eyes, seemingly fed up with everyone.

"Maybe we should just settle down for the night," Hannah suggested with a yawn as she stopped in her tracks. "We don't even know if we're going in the right direction."

"It's all Jace's fault," Brady said immediately, and Darius snorted.

"Excuse me?" I hissed back at Brady, crossing my arms. "You could have suggested a different way to go, you know. I'm open to suggestions."

"Who declared you the leader of our group, anyway?" Brady wondered aloud, an edge to his voice.

"Well, no one else was stepping up."

"Only because I didn't get the chance to. I'm new to this group, remember? And now I'm challenging your leadership," Brady announced, puffing out his chest. "So, how do you want to settle this?"

I only shook my head. "This is ridiculous."

Layna started tugging at Brady's sleeve. "Just stop," she pleaded with him, her thin eyebrows knit together in an over exaggeration of worry. Sometimes, she made me sick, and I hated how I was so drawn to a girl like her. If this was love, it sure as hell wasn't fair.

I was sure Layna was about to say more, like she always did, but just then, we were interrupted. Only a rustling in the bushes, it seemed, but a large one at that. Frowning, I glanced around and warily motioned to Brady and the others to crouch down in the bushes beside me. In a matter of seconds, six adult Knowing Warriors, each dressed in full body armor and carrying his own weapon of choice, stomped past a cluster of pine trees and into our view. The search party. I cursed silently to myself, wishing the harpies and Erinyes could have flown to the Woods faster than they did.

Thankfully, the six Warriors seemed oblivious to us traitors hiding in the shrubbery, and they continued about their merry way. I was pretty sure they were arguing about which one of them would get to kill Alec when they found the poor hero. The three of them with swords were slicing violently and carelessly at the foliage, trying to clear a new path in an act the Forest Gods would have hated, while the two with spears compared the sizes of their biceps. The final Warrior, a skinny archer, was simply humming to himself, taking up the rear of the pack. The only good news was that it sounded like they weren't exactly sure of where they were going, either, meaning my team still had a chance of finding Alec first. We had to.

I felt it was finally safe to let out my breath when the Warriors disappeared from view and their voices sounded far away. Still, I didn't risk speaking above a whisper when I told my fellow traitors, "Let's get out of here. Fast."

I didn't need to tell them twice. Without even saying another word, we crawled in unison in the direction opposite of the way in which the Warriors were heading. We wanted to put as much space between them and us as possible, at least for the time being. Frankly, I would have rather been killed by a mythical monster than by one of my own people.

When we finally agreed we had walked far enough away from where we last saw the search party, we sat down in the grass at leaned back against the rough bark of the tree trunks, preparing to sleep. I felt that as the self-proclaimed leader of the group, I was obligated to take the first watch shift, so I did. For once, Brady didn't argue. He did, however, lie down beside Layna close enough so that their arms were just barely touching. Probably to annoy me, I guessed. It looked like Brady was finally starting to see me as competition.