𝔯𝔦𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔡𝔢

Conceal

Malcolm hesitated, his eyes downcast as he fumbled to speak his mind. I raised my eyebrows slightly. It was unlike him to have so much trouble forming the right words. "I found something," he started off slowly. Will paused, his hands hovering over my nearly-bandaged knee as he shifted his posture to give Malcolm his full attention. "I don't know who else to tell."

"Found something?" Will echoed. 

"About Void."

Will and I exchanged glances. "That's great news," I said quickly, my heart beginning to pound with anticipation. "What did you find?"

"Grover and Frank mentioned something about the word Void being engraved to the wall they were chained to during their captivity. It seemed odd to me that someone would engrave another's name onto a wall, so I did some research."

"And?" Will prompted. 

"It's an organization," Malcolm said. "There are bases all over the world, the closest one to us is in London. It can't be a coincidence, whatever it is has to be connected to the entity itself." I frowned. The entity? was already on the tip of my tongue, but Malcolm was already rushing to explain before I got it out. "Annabeth didn't know about him and I wouldn't expect her to. While she was gone, a lot of the Athena kids threw themselves into research on the entities of the Ancient World. Not gods or Titans but beings much more ancient than them."

"Like Chaos," I said. 

Malcolm nodded. 

I saw his reasoning. One of a warrior's greatest strengths on the battlefield and off was understanding their enemy. Chaos had dealt quite a lot of damage to us a couple years ago. Malcolm and the others would have done whatever was in their power to make sure that should Chaos ever strike again, we would be ready for it. 

"Believe it or not," Malcolm swallowed, "Chaos was meant to create. He was the first being to exist before the formation of Earth, but he was never meant to remain that way. Other beings came into existence - I'm sure you know the story. But the universe demands balance, right? Just like all things do; everything is attracted towards a state of equilibrium. Chaos is like that, too. Where he is meant to create, Void is meant to destroy."

I felt my heart sinking lower and lower into the pit of my stomach with every word he said. He was now explaining how dangerous the situation we were in now, Will nodding along attentively, but I was barely listening. All of us had thought that Chaos was the worst it could get. We hadn't stood a chance against him, even with the Olympians. And now there was someone out there who was worse? 

If what Malcolm speculated was true and that the organization named after Void was working alongside him... that meant that Void himself could be after me. As much as I wanted to believe the contrary, I had to look at the facts from a calm and clear-headed perspective. The people who ambushed us earlier were after me, there was no questioning that. 

Void wanted me. 

But he also wanted Percy, or he wouldn't have gone to great lengths to bring him back to Earth. He wanted me and Percy. 

That didn't make any sense, though. There was nothing connecting Percy and me other than the fact that we were very close. Did he want to use me as leverage to get to Percy? Or the other way around? No, there were so many easier options, like Will or Jason or Annabeth - the list went on and on and on. 

Belatedly, I realized Malcolm had stopped talking and was looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. 

"Are you sure that Void and this organization are related?" I asked.