Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕂ronos vs a blue plastic hairbrush

TW: this chapter could be triggering to some people with depictions of blood and death I will place  **** before and after the paragraphs, so please skip them if you are not comfortable <3

A blast of cold air hit the pair as they emerged from the Labyrinth. They were standing near the top of Mount Tam. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, grey under a cloudy sky.

Nicki glanced up at the mountain's peak, where a black marble fortress loomed. At that angle, it reminded Nicki of an oversized mausoleum, with walls fifty feet high.

She had no idea how mortals could miss the fact that it was here. But then again, everything below the summit seemed fuzzy, as if there were a thick veil between them and the lower half of the mountain.

There was magic going on—really powerful Mist.

Above them, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. Nicki couldn't see Atlas, but she could hear him groaning in the distance, still labouring under the weight of the sky, just beyond the fortress.

Luke was stood waiting for them as they arrived. By now, Nicki looked like she had been hit by the plague. She couldn't stop violently shivering and Ethan had long since lost any idea of whether it was from her fever or internal shocks.

"Luke!" Ethan called, practically holding Nicki upright. "Get nectar or something, please!"

Luke said nothing but took Nicki into his arms. Her head spun as Ethan let go of her.

"I wanna go to bed." Nicki whimpered, nausea flooding her body.

Luke pointed down the mountain toward two telekhines who were stood about 20 feet downhill. "Ethan, you are needed down there. I'll take Nicki inside."

"Luke, I don't want to leave her. Maybe I—"

"I said go, Ethan." Luke's voice was icy. Ethan reluctantly trudged his way downhill, his gaze flickering back to Nicki and Luke in visible worry. "Come on. I got you."

Luke carried her, bridal style, through a dark foyer and into the main hall, that Nicki had never entered before. The floor shined like a mahogany piano—pure black and yet full of light. Black marble statues lined the walls, images of the Titans who'd ruled before the gods.

At the end of the room, between two bronze braziers, was a dais. And on the dais, the golden sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus was about ten feet long, much too big for a human. It was carved with elaborate scenes of death and destruction, pictures of the gods being trodden under chariots, temples and famous world landmarks being smashed and burned.

The whole coffin gave off an aura of extreme cold like walking into a freezer. Nicki's breath began to steam.

The room was silent except for the crackle of the fires.

Luke lowered Nicki to the floor. She fell to her knees, her legs too unsteady to hold herself upright. "Luke, what are you—"

"I'm so sorry Nicki." Luke faced the sarcophagus and muttered something to himself. "The Prophecy of the Night, what is it?"

"I can't tell you that, Luke."

Luke's fists clenched. "Through deadly fear she will slay."

"What? How?"

"Kronos knows many things, Pheonix."

Nicki's stomach dropped. "Luke, please. You're scaring me!" She tried to stand up but fell back to the floor painfully. 

"The one thing he doesn't know is that you're a spy. Not for us, but for them." Luke faced Nicki. "He has his suspicions."

Nicki let out a weak sob. "Please..."