Mythology Meets Magic

Chapter IX

Annabeth

Annabeth smiled as she crept down the stairs quietly. Tegan was sitting by the blazing fireplace, with her soulmate's head resting in her lap. The scene was adorable. Tegan and Tenn were meant for each other, and Annabeth didn't think that simply because some Goddess had decreed they were two halves of the same soul. No, they were simply; Tennegan. There was no other way to put it.

Tegan noticed Annabeth and gave her a faint smile. Her expression looked troubled. She cast another glance at her soulmate, raking her slender fingers gently through his hair. Annabeth could tell Tegan was trying to piece something together, and she didn't want to get in the way of that; not yet. As a daughter of Athena, she could understand that.

Annabeth remembered the reason she'd come down here, to make sure Ellis wasn't secretly planning anything. Although she trusted this new Coven and Piper's charmspeak abilities, it was better to be safe than sorry. "I'm going to check on Ellis," Annabeth whispered. Then she hurried past the warm fireplace and went to find said witch.

Moments later, she could feel Tegan's purple tips brushing against her arm. "I'm coming with," She hissed. "I feel something.. pain, maybe fear? Weakness? I don't know what exactly, but it's setting off my magic." She gestured to her hands, which had small, glowing orbs of rainbow magic shimmering softly.

Annabeth nodded, her cold and calculating grey eyes darting nervously across the room. Was it Joseph? That traitor Trey? "Better to have backup, just in case." Annabeth's hand crept towards her drakon bone blade. Despite growing up wielding daggers, she was still extremely proficient in wielding the sword Damasen had given her. A pang of guilt tugged at her, but Annabeth shoved it down. Now was hardly the time to get lost in emotion.

Tegan grasped Annabeth's hand, and in a flash of light, they appeared in front of the guestroom Tegan had escorted Ellis into earlier that evening. Annabeth's head spun briefly, still unused to the sneaky High Priestess' teleporting ability. It was a far cry from that of Nico's shadow traveling- which felt more like a roller coaster ride- or maybe like stepping through the Stargate. Perhaps that was how Nico's shadow travelling worked, disassembling their molecules, then reforming them wherever Nico chose. Annabeth shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Again, now was not the time to delve into the mysteries of shadow-traveling, and wondering whether it was related to a fictional show that ran in the late 1990s and early 2000s; although, it was an absolutely incredible show and deserved much more acknowledgment.

She turned her attention back to the task at hand, only to find Tegan had already swung open the door and was crouching beside Ellis, whose shirt was soaking with sweat, and his hair was in a tangled mess.

Annabeth rushed in after Tegan, just as Tegan cursed and asked, "Why didn't you call for us?"

Ellis' amber eyes were paler than before, as he glanced up at Tegan and Annabeth shakily. "I-I was af-afraid you'd th-think I was try-tr-trying to t-t-tr-trick you o-or something. I want you to t-trust me."

Annabeth's face fell. Tegan frowned. "Why aren't you on the bed?" The High Priestess asked.

"I-I haven't slept in a b-bed since I was- five- before the c-curse.. It's.." He trembled as he spoke. Annabeth cocked her head to the side, recalling everything she'd been told about the shadow creatures. She felt as if Ellis' ailment had something to do with that. She hardly noticed when Tegan's bright light whisked them back to where Tenn was sleeping soundly.

"Dam it, Ellis. I don't know what Joseph has said about us, but we're not monsters." Tegan grabbed a flannel blanket off the couch and wrapped it around him. "You do not have to kill yourself to get us to trust you."