Camp Half Blood: Magic and Vice

Chapter 26

Olthen's POV:

The second Vex left, I began spiraling. She's gone. She left me. Should I stop my plans and get her back? No... no I can't. I can't, I need the book. Besides, I've already come this far. And after failing the first time with Myra and Rose at the prison, I couldn't afford to throw everything away. But Vex... no. No no no. I felt anger bubble inside of me, burning and tearing through my skin. I wanted to scream. I wanted to kill. I couldn't, though. There was nobody to blame but Vex. And even she wasn't to blame. She felt the way she felt and I shouldn't change that. "Rose, you ready?" I knocked at the door to Will's room rapidly. I knew she had been staying with Will and I didn't care. She was loyal to me so nothing Will would say could possibly change that. There was no point in sparring them anymore.

"One second." I heard her muffled voice through the door. I tapped my foot impatiently. I didn't want to blow up at Rose. I felt as though I was already walking on thin ice even though nothing between Rose and I or Will and I had changed. Regardless of her allegiance to me, though, her mind was still quite fragile. I've been entering her consciousness during our training sessions in order to strengthen the walls so that old memories couldn't escape and replace the new ones I've been supplying. It's not nearly as close as I'd hope in order to continue my plans. Once I enter the underworld, my absence from the outside world could crack the foundation and her memories could flood back. And if she were to enter the underworld herself, then all of my work would be lost. Everything must be calculated precisely. There was no room for error. "You're early." Rose said finally stepping outside the door and throwing on a leather jacket. I bit the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from saying anything, even small, that I'd end up regretting. "You ok?" She asked. I nodded quickly and turned around sharply and began walking towards the training area. I heard Rose's footsteps follow closely behind moments after.

"Yes. Some things have changed and we need to be quicker. My plans for you are going to have to be completed in the coming days." I heard Rose's speed walk turn into a jog. She was beside me in seconds, keeping up with my pace now.

"Wait, what? I thought we had at least a week. Do you think I'm ready?" Rose asked. I bit my lip, deep in thought and filled with uncertainty.

"You don't have a choice." We fell into a silence as we made it to the training area.

Rose's POV:

"So..." I sighed, stretching. "What're we doing today?" I asked. I tried to stay in a lighter mood with a more laid back tone in my voice. Olthen was on edge, I could tell. I couldn't pry or else he'd practically kill me today in training. I didn't want that. I felt like I was walking on eggshells a lot lately, and Olthen's sour mood today wasn't helping.

"Mental first. Then physical. This is going to be the hardest session yet. Prepare yourself. Quickly." Olthen spoke as he walked over to a wall of weapons. He had gotten his katana out along with my glaive. He looked at both weapons and examined them closely. He nodded in approval before walking over to me, handing me my glaive. I grabbed it and held onto it as he spoke. "The two exercises we do will go quickly. One after the other. You'll barely have time to breathe when you come back to full consciousness, which is why I'm warning you now." I nodded.

"Shall we?" I stepped up to him. He tilted his head, a wicked grin on his face. Olthen always had a sort of terrifying look to him, but this was different. He looked... unhinged. Fear began to rise up my spine, but I pushed it down. Olthen told me to be ready. I was ready. He cupped his hands on my face after setting his katana in its sheath that was attached to his hip. Before I knew it, everything went black. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before my eyes snapped open and a katana was inches away from slicing my carotid artery. I stepped back and ducked, grabbing my glaive. I didn't miss a beat. I couldn't. We fought hard. I could barely make a cut on him, but he made several on me. I felt blood trickle from my forehead, arms, legs, and neck. Nothing vital was touched, luckily. After dancing for a while, we ended up dropping our weapons and engaged in hand to hand combat. I made a few gnarly punches upon Olthen's face and ribs. He didn't seem fazed. He was fearless. Practically immune to pain. In fact, it was almost as if each punch I landed fueled him. Made him stronger. I was tiring quickly. My head rang with a killer migraine and I could feel my lip swell and my arms throb with all of the punches Olthen was able to land. My heart felt like it could burst out of my chest any second. Minutes that felt like hours... or maybe it was hours that felt like minutes... I wasn't sure, but time went by regardless and, all of a sudden, I was on the ground. Panting. Olthen sauntered up to me and held his katana to my neck, the wicked smile plastered on his face once again. I tilted my chin up, feeling the blade laced with my blood. I held my breath until he moved it away. Once he did, I breathed rapidly, taking longer than usual to catch my breath.

"Good. You did well today. A couple more days and you'll be ready. Water bending tomorrow. Go clean yourself up." He walked away, not even thinking to lend me a hand. I didn't feel like I could even get up at this point. I needed sleep. I needed food. Gods, I needed help moving. Once I steadied my breathing I was able to inch my way to a sitting position. I used my glaive to pull myself up to stand. I ended up using my glaive as a cane, walking towards Will's bedroom. Gods I hope he's not there. If he sees me like this, lord knows what he'd do. I swung the door open slowly. He wasn't there. I dropped my glaive on the floor and crawled into bed. I didn't care about the blood, I needed rest. I pulled the blanket over me, snuggling into it, aching. I was soon fast asleep, new memories swarming through my mind. My mental state felt stronger. I knew I was getting stronger. I may feel like this now, yeah, but it's good for the long run. Olthen knew that.

I knew that.