Maelstrom

Twenty-One

[inter arma enim silent leges]

Dale's heart sank to her stomach. "What?"

Eli resisted a wince, meeting Dale's gaze sympathetically. "Do you really want me to repeat it?"

"There has to be another way," Reese insisted. "We can't just kill Chase!"

Dale sat down, suddenly feeling like she was having an out of body experience. Reese's and Eli's voices droned on around her, debating the how's and the why's of this twisted game; if they destroyed Typhon, they would kill Chase.

A shiver ran down Dale's spine at the thought. For the daughter of the goddess of life, she felt as if it was a sick curse to be witness to so many deaths in her lifetime.

At the thought, Dale caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye, and when she looked up, she wished she hadn't. Standing just behind Reese and Eli, feet away from Mark, was the ghost. She looked the same, wispy and elegant, just corporeal enough to be noticed but transparent enough that she went fuzzy from time to time. Haunting, nonetheless.

And she was looking right at Dale.

Dale's heart stopped. She forced herself to her feet, eyes still locked on the ghost.

"Enough," Dale said, her voice gravelly. She cleared her throat, hoping to rid the feeling like she'd been choked from it. "There's no discussing this."

Eli blinked, gaping at Dale. "B-but—"

"Eli," Dale asserted. "We will find another way. We can defeat Typhon without killing Chase."

"If you have another idea, I'd love to hear it," Eli said. "I don't like it either, Dale, but that's what we're looking at."

"We'll find another way," Dale repeated. She glanced at Mark and Reese, standing nearby, watching her carefully. The ghost nearby appeared to smile, and then dissolved into shadows.

Before anyone could protest, a blur of movement raised everyone's attention to the windows. Sprinting past Nectar & Ambrosia and through the front door were Jesse Argent, Bianca Windsor, and Orpheus Spencer. They were all out of breath, panting from beneath their armor as they stumbled into the base.

"Oh," Bianca wheezed, her hands on her knees. "You're all here."

"Bianca," Reese asked, walking towards her. "The hell happened?"

The daughter of Aphrodite shut her eyes, catching her breath. She waved her hand at the two boys flanking her on either side, similarly tired. "Ask them."

"Boys," Reese boomed. "Status report."

Jesse Argent straightened up, blowing out one final exhale as he regarded Reese. Seeing Jesse in action was always mind-numbing for Dale; just a few months ago, he'd been one of the sole survivors of an attack by the Masks. He'd been cautious ever since, but apparently, going to war was enough to get him fighting again.

"We were on patrol, and we found a group of Menoetious' goons." Jesse began.

"Did you engage?" Dale asked, alarmed.

Jesse shook his head, brushing back his dark hair. "There was no need to."

"What do you mean?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows, getting to his feet.