Tartarus Thief | ONC 2021 [ROUND 2 WINNER]

Chapter 13

The moment Persephone disappeared out of sight, the door slammed somewhere on the other side of the room.

"Vita?"

"I'm here!"

She stared down at the pen in her hands, her brain whirring with plans. It was pretty; a shining black with elegantly engraved wavy shapes in gold. She wasn't sure what they represented. The river Styx, perhaps, or the divine power that held this place together.

"Did you find the records?" said Gwen as she came around the corner.

"No, but I found this." She held up the pen. "Where's Barny?" Her eyes widened. "He wasn't captured, was he?"

"I don't think so. He just hasn't shaken them off yet. What's that?"

"Our new plan. Gwen, we need to go and find your records. Now. What's your surname?" Vita rolled up her own scroll and stuck it safely into her robes. She clasped the pen in her hand, as if it would disappear if she didn't hold on to it tightly enough.

"What? What are you going to do with mine?"

"There's no time to explain. Just trust me. Please."

Gwen nodded. "My surname is Hayes. Gwendolynn Hayes."

"Alright, uh..." She looked around at the nearby scrolls and pointed to her left. "That way."

They sprinted through the room together and came to a halt in front of the H shelves. They each started in a random spot and moved steadily in the right direction. Hack... Haddick... Haertman...

BANG!

The two women jumped when the door slammed again.

"Find them!" A voice screamed through an ensemble of hissing noises. "They will not escape again!"

"Shit!" Vita whispered. "We've got to hurry!"

Hall... Hammond... Harde...

A scream of frustration bubbled up in her throat, which she suppressed with effort. She'd never realized there were so many names starting with an H.

"Vivi!"

Barny leaped around the corner, wide-eyed and heaving. "They're right behind me," he whisper-yelled. "I'm sorry, I couldn't shake them off."

"It's okay." Vita fished the scroll from her robes, unrolled it and held it up against the side of a shelf. She wrote over her name and watched the scroll erase the letters that had been there before. She glanced over at Gwen, who was still absorbed in searching for her records, and watched her robes change from green to white.

It's working.

Footsteps stomped ever closer as the Erinyen searched the room.

She took a deep breath. What's it going to be, Vita? Hide the pen or help Gwen? With two records with Gwen's name on it, they're not going to let her go.

"Got it!"

As Gwen walked over, Vita threw her arms around Barny in a quick hug, whispering, "I'm sorry," into his ear. She crammed her own scroll randomly into the shelves as she accepted Gwen's.

"What's happening?" said Barny, an undertone of panic in his voice. "I thought you were searching for my records."

The footsteps were closing in, and she knew it was only a matter of seconds. She knew they had run out of time.

"Change of plans." Vita held the scroll against the shelf and scribbled down her own name, using the surname of her most recent mortal parents. Gwen's name removed itself so that only Vita's was visible. This time, her own robes changed from white to green.

It was done. There was no going back. Not with a handful of Erinyen only a shelf away.

Gwen gasped. "Wait, Vita, what are you–"

Just when she wanted to shove the pen somewhere into the shelves, an Erinye came around the corner, her snakes hissing furiously. "Over here!" Her bleeding eyes flicked down to the pen in her hands and her leathery face paled. "What is... HOW DID YOU GET THAT?"

Vita stepped back. Barny put a protective hand on her arm, but it made no difference. The Erinye charged forward and pinned her against the shelf with two hands on her throat. "What did you change?" she hissed.

"Nothing," said Vita, clawing at her throat.

Barny jumped at the guard, pounding on her back, but she effortlessly shoved him to the ground.

"TELL ME WHAT YOU CHANGED!"

"Nothing!" she wheezed, eyes bulging out of their sockets. "I never got a chance!"

The Erinye dropped her to the ground and picked up the pen, as more of her kind came around the corner. She passed the pen on to another guard wordlessly, as Gwen, Barny and Vita were seized with their hands behind their backs.

The Erinye stared at the pen for a few moments, then stepped forward to hover over her, their faces inches apart. A new drop of blood leaked from her left eye and the snakes on her head snapped at Vita. She bared her teeth. "Stealing records is one thing. Stealing the personal property of the Lord of the Underworld is unforgivable. You are going to wish you'd never been created."

Vita trembled under her glare, flinching every time the snakes shot forward.

The Erinye stepped back and barked, "To Tartarus with this one!"

Vita's heart leaped to her throat. She threw a panicked glance over her shoulder and saw her friends stare at her wide-eyed. The guard shoved her forward and she stumbled over her own feet.

"What about these two?" one of the guards asked behind her.

"They go where they belong. That one to the Fields of Mourning and that one still needs to be judged."

Vita closed her eyes as she was pushed out of the room of records. That one still needs to be judged. With the records switched, Vita's past was now Gwen's – and her status was Demigod.

Gwen would be sent down to Earth, where she could find Leo and be with her for the rest of eternity.

Whatever happened to herself, at least her two friends would be happy.

She shot one more glance over her shoulder as she was pushed around the corner. Barny stared back at her with tears in his eyes. One look confirmed what they both knew. This was the last time they would lay eyes on each other.

I'm so sorry, Barny.