~ Chapter Nineteen:
NERO
Nero. Nero, come on.
Come free me. I'm stuck. Stuck in this place. Come on, Nero. Come free me.
Nero. Please.
Please.
Come free me. Nero. Come. Nero. For I'm here, here in -
AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGH!
AAARGH GOD, IT HURTS!
NERO. NERO, PLEASE!
Help!
AAARGH. H-h-help.
Help me.
Please.
Help.
*
I sat up, soaked in my sweat. Esme's screams rang through my ears. They weren't true, I knew that, but the shrieks of pain felt real. They felt real.
Real.
I looked beneath my bunk. Adam was curled up in his. Will had taken away the sensory panels at my request but there'd been no progress. But I had to put my trust in Adam. He had tried to fight back when I went inside his head. He knew. He was aware.
I had faith. Adam could get himself out. It was the safest way. We just had to pray he didn't burn up in the meantime.
Nero.
"No."
Help me.
"I can't."
Nero. Nero, come on.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I yelled.
A gasp. Followed by, "Where... what..."
I peered over my bunk. Adam was sitting up, his eyes green, staring around the dormitory.
"Oh my god!" I jumped down the ladder and knelt by Adam's side. "Hey, mate, you okay?"
Adam's eyes were wide. "What... you were..."
"I know." I pulled him into a hug. He hugged me back, then pulled away.
"We'll talk about that another time," he said.
"Adam -"
"Another time." His tone was firm so I let it go.
"You did it," I said with a grin. "You snowed."
Adam threw me his traditional cheeky smirk. "I'm Adam Grimshaw. I can't help being hot."
"Confident much?"
Adam laughed and then winced. "It was really hot, Nero -"
Nero.
"- like an inferno. Everything was ablaze. The heat, it was so intense, it hurt so much and -"
Come on, Nero.
"- it was because of the... the nightmares. You see, I get them all the time. Usually I deal with them alone. Then obviously you arrived -"
Help me. Please. Nero...
"- and you got put in my dorm. Thank god you were there, though, man. If you weren't -"
Neroooooo...
"- well, I'd be dead. Burned inside and nobody would know. Huh." Adam chuckled. "There's a story if ever there was for the kids one day."
Neeeeeeeeer-ooooooo. Come and saaaaaaaaave meeeeeeeee.
"Nero?" Adam poked me. "Earth to Nero?"
AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGH! AAARGH IT HURTS! PLEASE THEY'RE HURTING ME NERO! PLEASE! MAKE THEM STOP!
"Stop, stop..." I whispered. "Stop..."
"Nero?" Adam put a hand on my shoulder and shook me. "Nero, what's up, man?"
MAKE THEM STOP, NERO! Please. Please make them stop...
"They're torturing her," I gasped. "Adam, these guys... whilst you were dying, they took Esme."
I filled him in. He looked furious and upset.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded. "We have to go find her!"
"I thought it was just my imagination," I said quietly. "But these screams... they're so real, Adam..."
"Can you show me?"
I looked up. "What?"
Adam breathed in deeply. "Can you show me? Let me listen or whatever?"
"No. That's not my power. People share their thoughts with me. It doesn't work the other way round."
Adam sighed and then stood up. "Where's my baseball cap?" he asked.
"Over there." I pointed. "Why?"
"Because we're breaking out."
***
"This is where she was taken?"
"Yeah," I replied.
Adam and I stood in the pitch-black corridor. It had been cleared of all gas two hours ago and deemed safe. Leo, Thalia and Will were off 'making inquiries' into Esme's disappearance.
In other words, they were covering their backsides. They hadn't made this facility as foolproof as they'd thought. They felt like this was their faults.
I knew it wasn't, but sometimes it was easier to use an excuse for your scapegoat.
"We need to search for evidence," Adam said.
"We'll need some light," I pointed out. The whole corridor was completely dark to prevent anyone passing through.
Adam raised his palms and produced two large balls of orange glow. He hung them in the air, producing enough light to search by. He made another two but smaller, handing one to me, to use as torches.
"Look everywhere," I told him. "Anything, anything at all -"
"I know." He held my gaze. "We'll find her, I'm sure."
"Can we help?"
I glanced up, as did Adam. Zarah, Joey and Lucas walked down towards us. Adam bit his lip in annoyance.
"What are you guys doing here?" he snapped.
"Esme's my best friend," Zarah said innocently.
"You knew her all of three weeks," I recounted.
Zarah shot me a hurt look. I knew we'd got on well and I knew I liked her a bit. But I was with Adam on this. We'd be in a lot of trouble if we got caught, and these guys would only drag us down.
"We can help." Shockingly, it was Joey who spoke. I didn't know much about him but I did know, from Esme's and Adam's depiction, he was a pompous twat. "Trust us. Bornes stick together. Plus, Esme's a hottie."
"That's my sister," I said icily, and was about to say more when Adam shoved Joey hard into the wall.
"We're being serious here, Posh Boy," he snarled. Joey struggled but Adam held fast. "Nero's lost his sister and Zarah and Lucas have lost their mate. So you -"
"What have you lost, Adam?" Joey whispered, grinning. "What's the lovely gorgeous Esme to you?"
Adam raised his fist. "A mate," he said through gritted teeth.
"Really?" Joey smirked. "So she's a free girlie, then. Reckon I stand a chance."
Adam threw Joey's head back. I flew forwards and grabbed Adam's arms.
"Hey!" I said. "Let it go!"
Adam, begrudgingly, backed off and made them all miniature little lights. Joey moved off the wall and continued to smile.
"Knock it off," I said firmly. Then, to everyone, "We need to look for any kind of clues. Anything you see, even if it's something small, could be helpful. Adam and I will leave the facility tonight after curfew and begin a search."
"What if you find nothing?" Lucas asked.
"We'll still go," Adam answered, still seething. He looked at me for assurance. "Nero had these... visions. Of Esme being tortured. He could hear her screaming. He thinks they're real."
"I'm sure they're real," I insisted. "Also... maybe you already know but... fourteen years ago, Rachel Elizabeth Dare issued a prophecy about us.
"Seven children of demigods
Will become Bornes against all odds
Each will possess a different curse
That gives them powers for the worse
The two strongest will fight in vain
To honour their parents and to gain
The long strong battle against the wall
And lose who matters most of all."
I paused as my words sunk in. Zarah came and gave me a gentle hug. Then she gasped.
"Over there!" she exclaimed. She pulled away and dashed to the left of the corridor. Adam and I quickly followed.
Zarah held aloft a small piece of paper. Scrawled across in black ink were three barely-readable words:
Kheo Heliosi Khamen.
"Is that a place?" Adam asked suspiciously.
"I think it's a name," Zarah said. "A girl's, possibly African or Egyptian. I'm sure I've read it somewhere..."
"It means 'soul' in ancient language," explained Lucas. "Heliosi could be related to 'Helios' who is the old Greek god of sun. And Khamen is just an unusual surname."
"So she's known culturally?" I guessed.
Lucas shook his head, knocking one of his hearing aids out. "It means she's unique. One of a kind."
"So she'd be easy to look up," Adam finished.
"Exactly." Lucas grinned. "How many people are called Kheo Heliosi Khamen? We'll search her, see if she's been related to anything in the news. Maybe there'll be a location."
"Can you do that for us?" I asked him. "I'd like to continue searching. This woman could be in charge of the operation who nicked Es."
"Of course." Lucas looked to Zarah. "I'd like it if you came with me, Za. You have a good cultural understanding."
Zarah gazed at me. "Can't you take Joey?" she pleaded.
"I'll need him too," Lucas decided. He saw me watching and nodded once. He was buying us time. Giving me and Adam time to plan.
Thank you, I mouthed.
He nodded again, then walked off. Moodily, Zarah followed. Joey hung back.
"Problem?" Adam said sarcastically.
"Nah," Joey said with a grin. "Just thinking."
He strolled off, leaving Adam fuming.
"Git," he muttered. "Always winding me up."
"Don't let him," I replied.
Adam stared at me. "You're all right, Jackson," he said.
"Well, you're not," I joked, "ogling over my sister."
I laughed as Adam blushed. "Esme's cool," he said, "but a mate. Nothing more."
"You sure about that? Do I need to have a peek inside your head, Mr Grimshaw?"
Adam scowled. "Don't you dare, Jackson. I almost fought you out last time."
That got me. My power could be useful but if people knew it well enough and were able to fight it, what use would it be?
I lightly skimmed the edges of Adam's mind. He truly was worrying about Esme just as a friend, but he was thinking about what Joey and I had said about her.
"Back off," he ordered.
"You could tell? I barely touched you!"
Adam smirked and pulled his baseball cap lower over his eyes. "I'm a master of deduction."
We suddenly heard footsteps. The others had only been gone two minutes. No way could that be the other Bornes just yet.
Adam extinguished all of the small lights and pressed against the wall. I followed suit. Three figures walked down the corridor slowly, chatting quietly in the dark.
"Any news on Esme?" an unfamiliar voice was asking.
"Thalia's got all the Hunters out looking," came Uncle Leo. "I've warned Percy and Annabeth not to leave. They know now."
"Mr Mad Mechanic, my goddaughter's been kidnapped," said a very soft but fierce voice. "I want her found, soon!"
"Pipes," said that first guy, "let Leo do his job."
"Jason!" I whispered. "Piper and Jason!"
Adam elbowed me hard in the gut so I shut up sharpish.
"Wind spirits are searching," Jason revealed. "And the Romans at Camp Jupiter are sending scouts on missions. Unfortunately, two soldiers died this morning in Canada due to a run in with some Cyclopes. So the new praetor at Camp - would you believe he's a bloody descendent of Octavian - well, he's calling for all scouts to stop."
"You're kidding!" Piper cried. "You guys have got fifty out every six hours, it's a great system."
Jason sighed. "I'm thirty now, Pipes. I'm known as that 'old guy who gives orders'. Nobody gives a crap anymore what I say."
"You serious?" Leo snorted. "Come on, you're the Big Shot son of Zeus - sorry, Jupiter. You need to build up some... I don't know, charisma."
"Like Percy," Piper interjected. "He's an annoying bugger, sure, but his personality is fantastic."
"He's no leader, though, is he?" Jason pointed out.
"In his own way, he is," Leo said. "People look up to him and rely on him. Whether or not he encourages that is irrelevant. Kids here love him. But kids at Jupiter love you."
"Stand up to the praetor," Piper said.
"What does Reyna think?" Leo asked.
"Dude, your girlfriend's all for you," Jason said, and you could hear the smile in his voice. "She's a big Valdez lover."
"Trust me, I know," Leo laughed, making Piper gag as they all left down another corridor.
Adam lit just one light, illuminating the area only slightly. He breathed in deeply.
"We're gonna have to be extra careful," I noted. "The search is huge. They'll triple that when we disappear."
Adam sighed. "I know, man. But we've gotta go."
"Should we tell them about Kheo Heliosi Khamen?"
"No," Adam said immediately. "We shouldn't. They'll do all this extensive tracking crap and alert the kidnappers that we've found them. We can't risk them running off."
"Guess not."
Zarah ran up to us. "We've found Kheo Heliosi Khamen."
"Great!" I said. "Who is she?"
Zarah grimaced. "She's... she's not a woman, guys.
"She's the seventh Borne."
***
Heehee!
Guys... which do you prefer? Quick but short updates, or slow but long updates?
Comment and vote :)
Hope you enjoy!
~ Lauren xx