Chapter 14
Alaric
"Cece, calm down," I said into my phone. I could barely understand her.
"Alaric! Get off the phone! We are working to protect-"
Holding the phone away from my mouth and covering the mic I said, "Suck my dick."
Honey barked at Logan. Good boy. We've been out here all day, and nothing has happened. I brought the phone back up to my ear and softly said, "I can't help if I don't know what the problem is." All I heard was sobbing.
I started to walk back to campus with Honey close by my side, "Hey! Get back here, we still have forty-two minutes left of watch! Alaric!"
"Choke on it," I said flicking him off walking away. Logan didn't know what to say to that and Tobias was napping under a nearby tree. We've been out here since the ass crack of dawn. Nothing had happened and nothing was going to happen. What was important, was whatever happened to Cecilia.
A bad day at school?
"Where are you?" I asked.
"H-h-h-hospital," she struggled to say.
I picked up my pace and started to jog, "What happened? Are you hurt?" My heart rate spiked.
"F-f-f-r-reya...." Gods, what happened to Freya?
There was no point in me being on the phone with Cecilia she couldn't talk. At least not enough for me to understand what she was saying. I hung up hoping that didn't upset her more. I quickly made my way to the hospital. Walking into the crisp white, bleach smelling facility, I walked to the receptionist and asked for Freya's room. The middle-aged honey blonde woman typed something into her computer and then without even looking up to me she said, "She's still in healing." Honey pulled at my pant leg clearly trying to take me somewhere. "I'm sorry but no animals allowed. This is a hospital, not a veterinarian's office."
"What kind of healing?"
"It's not in her file, and even if it was, I couldn't give you that information. Now, please sir. Remove your dog from the premises."
"Fine, fine," I picked up Honey and quickly ran past the receptionist.
"Hey! You can't-"
"I'm with The Brotherhood!" I shouted back running like a bat out of hell. Once I was sure no one was following me I put Honey down and said, "Go find, Freya. Go on."
Like a bloodhound with a scent, he took off, Woof, woof, woof, woof. He barked at a steel door that read, 'Urgent Care facilities: no personnel beyond this point'.
Fuck it, I haven't come this far just to give up.
I pushed open the door and Honey started to run down the spiral staircase. As soon as I walk through the threshold, I could tell there was a difference between the modern medicine that was just happening and the old magic of a millennial ago. Gone where the white walls and hi-tech equipment. This part of the hospital barely even had lights.
I heard Honey's paws hit the concrete stairs. He barked up to me as if to say 'Dude? What is taking you so long?!' I jogged down the stairs and once we made it all the way to the bottom, I pushed open another set of metal doors. We walked into a rectangular watching area filled with windows and chairs. On the other side was a giant pool glowing blue which acted as the only light in this whole area.
"Alaric," Cecilia said rushing to my side burying her face in my shoulder. Her sobs were stifled at first, then overcome by the wave of her emotions she broke down entirely. I wrapped my arms around her pulling her in tight.
"It's okay, It's okay." She shook her head in the crook of my neck. I looked up and saw Damon was here. Standing by one of the windows with his hands behind his back, "What happened?"
Someone had to tell me what the fuck was going on, "Freya fought Zeus." he said not tearing his eyes away from the pool.
"That's not funny. No, really what happened?"
"It's not a joke," he said, "See for yourself."
I looked past Cecilia and into the pool. Four healers were standing in a circle each one representing one of the four elements. On a slab marble lay a body: small, crumbled, bruised and battered. "Is she-"
"Dead?" He said. "It's touch and go. But the healers are 'realistically hopeful'. Whatever that means."
I cleared my throat and said, "But, really what happened?"
I love Freya like a sister I never had. But, no one would be dumb enough to go up against Zeus. That's just a death wish. I finally calmed down Cecilia after a few minutes. Honey sat dutifully at my feet.
"She did," Cecilia said, "I don't understand myself why she would fight Zeus."
"Why is Zeus at Haven?"
"And Hercules. They're looking for soldiers to fight alongside the gods in Olympus." The Council is really looking out for everyone I thought sarcastically. But now wasn't the time for pettiness.
"Well it's about time everyone started to take this end-of-the-world shit seriously," I said.
"Elder Favian was working on it," Cecilia said composed now.
"Is anyone going to address the elephant in the room?" No one spoke up, "Okay, why did it happen?"
"I'm going to go on a limb and say it was Zeus's punches," Damon said. So, he started it. "Maybe the 'it' thing," he doubled down.
"Still angry at Poseidon," Cecilia added.
Guess we won't know until she wakes up. "How long until she's better? She took a beating and got her ass kicked but she still a demigod," she's not going to die.
"It's a waiting game. We have no idea," Damon said.
We wait.
Freya
I was wrapped in a profound never-ending sleep. I felt warm... safe?
I heard a voice say:
One half of me is yours, the other half is yours,
Mine own, I would say, but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours.
Damon?
I felt back into darkness.
I woke up wide eyed and screaming partly because of the pain I was in, and the other half because I lost to Zeus! I was fucking passed out!
"Son of a bitch!" I was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. I started to rip out the IV ready for round two.
"WHAT?! What's going on?" Cecilia said running into the room wearing a mint green long dress and a grey cardigan.
"What happened?!" I demanded taking in my surroundings. I guess anytime I get hurt I'm going to end up in the same room as always.
"You're awake," she said relieved. "You scared us all." She went from relived to my mom in three seconds flat, "What were you thinking! Do you want to die? Really, out of all the reckless things I've seen you do this really takes the-"
I tried to stand up only to take two steps and black out on the floor. Winning. A real golden moment.
The next time I woke up someone had handcuff me to the bed and not in a sexy way. I hulked out of my restraints and saw it was nighttime. A starry night loomed above, pretty enough to ignite the heart of any child.
"You're awake finally." A man in a black suit said standing in the doorway.
"HELP! Stranger danger!" I yelled I had no idea who this man was, and I was in no condition to fight anyone.
"Adorable," he said stepping into the room. I could make out his face the closer he came to my bedside. He had to be in his early thirties with three-day stubble and a neatly pressed suit, the kind you only see on high priced lawyers and gangsters. His hair was a thick lustrous black styled to perfection. He took in the room with a single sweep, his steel blue eyes settling on nothing before he said, "It's good to see you're awake."
"I'm sorry but who are you?" I questioned.
He smiled slowly like I had intrigued him, "Gareth Hoffman." He said extending his hand for me to shake. Apprehensively, I shook it.
"Look, if you're some big deal on campus I have no idea. So, you just going to have to spell it out." I said.
He pulled up a nearby wooden chair letting it scrape across the floor, "I assure you I'm not a 'big deal'. I was, however, told by The Elder's you needed a teacher before you're run in with Zeus."
He sat down waiting for an explanation, "Sorry, I've had a hundred other things on my mind. Three of which were important."
"Like finding the coin of Zeus and getting your ass handed to you," he said blatantly. I thought teachers were supposed to be wise and kind.
"I think I made my point," I said.
"That you would rather die than back down?"
"That my life is just as important as anyone else's. And I won't be called anything but my name. I'm not an it or anyone's punching bag," I said.
"I respect that. Are you okay?" He asked the question smoothly, the baritone of his voice reverberating through me. The low rumble of his voice is comforting as it wraps around me and carries me off to a world where sound is the power that could change everything wrong in the world.
"I'll be fine once this war is over," I said.
"The war with Poseidon? Or the war with Zeus? Or the war with Darkness? It looks like you're fighting everyone," he said getting comfortable.
"Why do you care?" I didn't know Gareth, but clearly, he wanted something, or else he wouldn't be here.
"You're my student. And very rarely do the council members give me students."
"Because, that explains it all," if anything that raises more questions.
"You need a teacher and I want a student." he stated, "You could do so much more than..."
He was searching for the right words but at the same time examining my body, "Getting my ass kicked?"
"I wouldn't say this is an ass-kicking, I would say this was an execution stopped midway," he paused and pulled out a small baggy with two white pills, "To help you heal."
"You must be out of your damn mind. I'm not taking pills from a stranger."
"I don't want to be a stranger. In time you'll see that," he said putting the bag on my nightstand, "I think the old world we knew is dead. You and your sister were put here for a reason. I want to help you fulfill that reason."
"Which is?"
"I think it's time for the God-Killer to embrace who she is and cast judgement on anyone. It is your birthright," he said standing up.
Before he can make his way out the door I called out, "Even the Gods?"
With his hand on the door frame, he turned around to say, "Especially the Gods. They're the reason we're in this mess to begin with. If you want justice, I suggest you take those pills and meet me on the training field come noon."
"I can barely stand up," and he wanted to train.
"You underestimate yourself. I'll see you then," he said shutting the door behind him and walking out. I stared at the pills.
Am I really going to do this? Before I could change my mind, I ripped the bag open and swallow the pills.
Yes. Yes, I am.