Hey guys! Only a couple more chapters to go! (sob)
I hope you enjoy the chapter! 10+ votes would be awesome :) And don't forget to comment!
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- Andrea
Chapter 32.
Ashlyn's P.O.V.
"Are you sure you can do this?" I ask, following Lyke up the driveway to his house.
He nods, "Yeah, of course. I've got to do it, I've got to be strong."
"For her?"
"For her."
We're both so busy thinking about our plan that we make a serious error of judgement when opening the front door to Lyke's house, rather than sneaking in through the back entrance.
"Lyke? Is that you?"
We both freeze at the distinct chime of his mother's voice. Lyke's parents are probably two of the loveliest people you'll ever meet, they're also extremely caring and supportive of their son, so when they see the two of us like this...
"Shit..." Lyke mutters. We're trapped in the foyer, and there's only one way to Lyke's room now...through the lounge.
The two of us take a deep breath and walk into the crisp white living room, where Lyke's parents are watching Game of Thrones on their large television. They're sipping glasses of red wine on their leather couch, and when we walk into the centre of the room, Lyke's mum almost drops her glass against the marble floor.
"Oh my!" She gasps, placing her glass on the coffee table and rising from her seated position.
We've sacred the poor woman half to death looking like this. We're both covered in dirt and our shredded prom clothes, our hair is tangled and we both look like we've seen something terrifying.
Obviously, that's true. I've seen enough horrors to last me a lifetime over the past few hours.
"What the hell happened to the two of you?" Lyke's father asks, his voice booming across the living room as he joins his wife to stand before us.
"Dad, I can explain." Lyke starts.
I gulp and watch his parents carefully, I've known them since I was very young, so they both think of me as a daughter sometimes. I've never seen them like this before, they're usually so laid back, like their son.
"Are you both alright? What happened to you?!" His mother asks, her voice wavering slightly as she does so.
Lyke nods once, "Uh, yeah, we're fine. We just went for a walk after the prom and got a bit lost..."
Lyke's father crosses his arms over his chest, "Do you expect us to believe that, son?"
He sighs, "I don't think you'll believe me if I tell you the truth."
An idea springs forward in my mind and I try to make myself blush.
"Uh, we just got a little 'caught up', that's all..." I mumble.
Lyke's parents stare at me for a few long, torturous seconds, before they share a knowing look and their expressions relax a little.
I nudge Lyke and he quickly catches on to the kind of story I'm going with. I just want to make the situation awkward enough that we can excuse ourselves.
"Well, erm, ah, I guess that makes sense then." His father coughs a little.
Oh god, this is SO awkward, even though Lyke and I weren't in the forest having a secret tryst, it certain feels like we did now.
"Why don't you two go and get cleaned up." His mother smiles, mirroring my own embarrassed expression.
"I'll go and use the shower, if that's alright?" I ask, desperately wanting to leave the room.
His parents nod.
"Why, of course Ashlyn, you know where it is."
I smile shyly, "Thank you."
Lyke is about to follow me up the stairs when his father taps him on the shoulder.
"Son, a word?"
My eyes widen and I walk quickly up the stairs before I have to hear any of the conversation that is bound to come next. All I know is that Lyke will probably kill me after this.
There's no point in showering, so I walk into Lyke's bedroom and search for his P.E. bag while his parents talk to him. I glance out the window and spot the tip of an arrow glinting in the bush where I stashed my weapons.
I eventually find his bag poking out from under his bed and busy myself by emptying it for the next couple of minutes.
How much stuff does a guy need in this thing? There's different sports tops, shorts, two pairs of trainers, deodorant, strapping tape, hair gel, a toothbrush?!
Boys never cease to amaze me.
"I don't know whether to thank you or growl at you right now!" Lyke sighs as he enters his room, to find me holding his empty duffle bag as I sit on the edge of his bed.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I just thought it would be easier if we spun our tale that way..." I explain, tossing the bag towards him.
He catches it and loops it over his shoulder.
"Did they give you the-"
"Safe sex talk? Yes." He groans, cutting me off and running a hand through his coffee-coloured hair.
I can't help sniggering at the thought, of poor Lyke, I'm a terrible friend. That's probably the last thing he needed after everything that has happened.
"It's going to be even more awkward when they find out we're not dating..." He adds, walking over to his bedroom window and pushing it open.
I get up from the end of his bed and come to stand beside him.
"Yeah, sorry about that, you're like my brother!"
He cocks his head and smiles at me, "Thanks sis."
"Come on then, let's go stop a monster."
Lyke jumps from his bedroom window, softly hitting the pebbled driveway below. I follow after him and collect my bow and sheath of arrows from their hiding spot before leaping onto his back.
Macy.
You are no match for four Olympians.
~~~
The city screams tonight.
It flashes crimson and cobalt.
It turns to stone.
Lyke runs past the stone figures of hundreds of people on the waterfront as we search for Luca, Asthore and Callia. We find them inside one of the late-night coffee shops, sitting at an empty table, the rest are filled with the frozen figures of strangers.
The Cobalt Isles come alive at night, which is why Macy will have plenty of victims on her spree of terror.
"Took you guys long enough." Luca says as we come to stand beside the table they have occupied.
"Yeah, sorry about that, we had some parents to get past." Lyke explains.
Callia giggles a little, "Ooh, scary!"
I roll my eyes, "You don't know the half of if."
"Do I want to?"
"I'll explain later, right now, let's get Macy. Have you guys seen her?"
Luca, Asthore and Callia shake their heads.
"Not yet, we've followed her path of destruction though."
I nod, "She's certainly covered a lot of ground."
Just then, Luca's phone begins to vibrate in his pocket. He tugs it out and swipes the screen with his thumb before holding it up to his ear.
"It's Selina." He tells us.
We all fall silent and listen to the conversation.
"I'll just put you on speaker." Luca tells Selina. He takes the phone away from his ear and Selina's voice can be heard.
Yeah, sure, whatever, do you want to hear what I have to say now?
I sigh, "Hurry up Selina, have you guys got any leads?"
She laughs down the phone line. It sounds quite noisy where she is, so it's good her voice is quite...err, distinctive.
Well, what do you know? I managed to charm my way right to the scene of the crime.
We all share a mildly impressed look.
"Seriously?" Asthore asks.
Why, of course. I know where Tiger and Venus are...and Macy.
"Tell us then!" Callia snaps.
Gee, calm down. Trust Tiger to be throwing an 'End of The World' party. The two of them are at Cyprus. It's certainly a party to be at, I saw them taking Macy into the back room, I'm not sure when they'll bring her out.
"Perfect, just perfect." I groan. I haven't been to Cyprus in ages, probably the last time was when we went to get Damian and Selina to tell them they were gods.
It was pretty fun at the time, but I don't want to go back for this 'End of The World' party.
"Who's with you?" I ask.
Just Damian. Laura, Andrew and Marco are trying to find the rest of the group. Ashlyn, you and Lyke should get down here.
"Nice to know we're needed too." Luca snaps back.
Calm down honey, give Laura a call.
He sighs, "Fine."
"We'll be there in a couple of minutes." I tell Selina.
Hurry up then! I look like a mess and I want as little people to see me as possible right now.
Luca ends the call and searches for Laura's number.
I turn to Lyke, he's got his shoes and bag.
"Luca, can I have Marco's beanie?"
Luca nods and passes the black beanie to me before tapping the screen of his shiny iPhone and holding it up to his ear again.
"We'll let you know if we can find the others." Callia says, pulling me in for a quick hug.
"Stay safe." Asthore adds, smiling softy at me.
Lyke and I nod, before I climb onto his back once more and he sprints out of the café and through the desolate town centre.
There are no more screams here, just lots of statues and the lights of the empty police cars parked in the middle of the streets.
The town hasn't been destroyed, it's just become a graveyard. And if we don't do anything to stop Macy, it's going to stay that way forever.
Thanks to Lyke's amazing speed, we arrive outside Cyprus a few seconds later. The club looks packed, filled with oblivious party goers who have no idea what they're in for. They've probably been here for the past few hours, long enough to be oblivious to what has happened to their town during that time.
"How are we going to do this?" Lyke asks me.
"Can you run fast enough that you appear invisible?" I ask.
He nods, "Always."
"I guess I'll use this then."
I take out the beanie and tug it on, before prepping my bow and arrows.
Lyke's brow furrows.
"Ashlyn, where the hell did you go?"
I sneak up behind him and whisper in his ear.
"Boo!"
He jumps back and I pull off the beanie.
"What the...?"
I sigh, "It makes you invisible. It's what Perseus used when he took on Medusa."
"Oh, right."
I leave the beanie off while I explain the rest of the plan.
"If you can keep Tiger and Venus distracted, I'm going to find Selina and Damian and snake around to where Macy is supposedly hiding."
"Right, and then you're going to take an arrow to her head?" He asks.
I shrug, "Something like that."
Then I pull the beanie back on and follow Lyke through the doors into the crowded club.
~~~~
A/N
As you may be able to tell, chapter 33 is going to be quite the action packed one! I'm looking forward to it :D
10+ votes would be awesome! :) This novel will be finished before the end of the week :(
Here are some questions for you all...
1 - What do you think will happen next?
2 - Have you created a character for my next novel yet? Are you going to?
3 - Who has been your favorite character of the novel so far?
Might post chapter 33 a bit later today :D
- xo Andrea