Harpies

Chapter 6

We all sat in silence, shocked at what he had just said. I thought of asking why, but some other forced tugged at me to look up. I hadn't noticed before that the ceiling was glass and as I looked up, it shattered.  

Everything blurred around me. I heard everyone scrambling to get up. I heard Mars yell at someone to get something, but I couldn't move. I was frozen, stuck in my seat as this new stranger dropped in from the broken ceiling.   

He was unnaturally tall, taller than even Mars, who is well over 6 feet tall. He was thin too, the kind of thin that makes you wonder if a person even eats. He had short black hair and dark, almost black eyes. He looked like he was possibly mixed between Japanese and something else. He was wearing a dark overcoat and tight pants underneath. He looked around the room, seemingly pleased with the chaos he was causing, then his eyes turned to me.  

Horrified, I shot out of my chair and backed as far against the wall as I could. While I had been staring at him, three more men dressed the exact same way dropped in and were attacking the harpies. I panicked and tried to find a way to help but Persephone grabbed me and mouthed something I couldn't understand.  

She grabbed my hand with more strength than I would have given her credit for and flung us out of the nearby window.  

I tried to scream but nothing came out. I flailed around and clung to Persephone's little body. She opened her wings at the last possible second and we floated safely to the ground.   

"We have to find Nana!"  

I stared at her. "Are you crazy?! How is she going to help? We can't bring her into this!"  

"She is our protector. We have to find her."  

I swallowed nervously and nodded. "I think I know where she might be."  

We raced off into the garden and I retraced my earlier path with Nana, heading straight for the greenhouse. A light was on inside and I could see Nana's shadow. We rushed in and found her.  

Nana smiled at the two of us together, apparently oblivious to the danger inside the house.  

"I see you've met the children."  

Persephone wasted no time. "Nana, hunters are here."  

Her face hardened and she brushed past us. I watched her walk towards the house. Her feet seemed as if they didn't even touch the ground. She stopped directly in the spot where we had landed when we flew from the attic.   

"Persephone, take the front. Anna Lee, you need to go to the other side of the house. Try to get as straight across from me as you can. There should be a corner pointing to a bare spot in the garden, stand at that corner. When you get there, stretch your arms out, close your eyes, relax, and repeat these words: Vires meas solus protegas me. Potentiae tres protegat nos omnes. Potentiae praesidio domo hac. Comminatio necesserimus et ultra non accedat. Can you remember that?"  

I nodded and took off around the house looking for the bare spot. I found it and spread my arms out, tried to relax, and after a long pause, I closed my eyes and spoke.  

"Vires meas solus protegas me." I felt something odd, like I was leaving my body, floating above it.  

"Potentiae tres protegat nos omnes." In my mind, I could hear Nana and Persephone's voices, along with mine, as clear as if they were standing beside me.

"Potentiae praesidio domo hac." Our voices blended together and got louder and louder with each word.  

"Comminatio recesserimus et ultra non accedat." My own voice grew even louder. Wind rushed by my body and I opened my eyes.  

From my fingertips a sort of haze was coming out, and spreading through the air and up the house walls.   

I gasped. The haze connected itself at the top of the house, repairing the broken ceiling. There were several more hunters on the roof, but it looked like they couldn't get in.   

I ran back around the house, back to Nana, and met Persephone on the way. Nana called out to us, "Go on up. I've got things taken care of out here."  

I grabbed Persephone's hands and we soared up to the attic, having to unfortunately break through the window again.  

Persephone looked around, found an opening in the fight, and drug me behind her into a hallway and then into a room. She locked the door and we hid in the corner. We could hear the fighting still going on in the main room. Everyone was yelling, things were falling over, I heard something crash and break. I held on to Persephone, stroking her hair and kept telling her that everything would be okay.  

The fight was winding down, but I felt it. I knew something was wrong. The doorknob turned, snapped, and fell off. I glanced down at Persephone, then jumped to my feet, standing in front of her.   

He walked through the door with his hands in his pockets. He looked at me and he ... laughed.  

"It's a sweet notion. Quite noble really. To put yourself in front of the child. But for what? You're both going to die."  

Something inside me clicked. I felt a scream come out of my throat and I lunged toward him. I knew I was no match for him. I kicked and scratched and grabbed everything I could get my hands on but he just tossed me around like a toy.  

He was laughing uncontrollably at me and my vision was going blurry. I looked down at my body; I was beaten up pretty badly, bruises all over, my arm and several ribs felt broken. I turned around to look at Persephone; she was scared, obviously, and she was crying silently. I turned back around as he took a step towards me. He drew his hand back and slapped me hard across the face.  

I put my fingertips to my face as I fell over onto the floor. My fingers had blood on them and I was struggling to remain conscious. He kneeled down in front of me and put his hands on either side of my face.   

This is it. I'm going to die.   

But I didn't. Something happened. He was flung out of the way. His face was replaced by the distorted face of Mars. He was saying something, probably yelling at me, but everything was dull and blurry. Then it was black. Everything went dark and I closed my eyes.