Jɪɴx ➪ 𝙡. 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯

a thousand words

chapter eighteen; a thousand words

Jinx could sense something was wrong inside of her. It was as if her body was fighting against itself.

Her anxiety was already through the roof, skyrocketing at the slightest movement. She was on edge, understandably so. She wasn't like the rest. She wasn't a seasoned battle warrior. Jinx soldiered on despite her overwhelming thoughts.

Peace is never an option when someone's as bad an overthinker as she is.

As they traveled deeper, the corridors widened. The ceilings rose to six meters high, decorated with elaborate paintings of owls in the branches of white poplars. The tunnels were big enough to accommodate large monsters, even giants. There were blind corners everywhere, perfect for ambushes. Their group could be flanked or surrounded easily. They would have no good options for retreat.

The doors were near. Jinx couldn't tell if it was her father calling her, or Gaea... Her older sister.

Most siblings get into the normal dynamic of bullying the younger one, teasing and taunting. She had even heard that on some occasions a sibling would attempt murder on the other, because of that Jinx was positive that they were indeed related. Gaea had been sending mixed signals.

One moment, she would be threatening her and attempting said murder. The next, she's offering her a spot next to her as her right-hand girl. Jinx could only imagine Khaos had told Gaea something. It was no secret that Khaos wanted her alive.

Leo held his fire close to the walls. Jinx saw Ancient Greek graffiti scratched into the stone, almost making her want to put on her glasses and study this writing for hours.

"Offerings?" Piper guessed looking at the floor littered with silver coins.

"Yes," Nico said. "If you wanted your ancestors to appear, you had to make an offering."

"Let's not make an offering," Jason suggested.

Nobody argued.

"The tunnel from here is unstable," Hazel warned. "The floor might...well, just follow me. Step exactly where I step."

She made her way forward. Frank walked right behind her. Jinx could practically feel his nervousness. The two of them were probably in the same boat.

He stopped cold. If it weren't for Nico, she would've walked right into him.

"Frank?" Jason whispered behind him. "Hazel, hold up a second. Frank, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Frank murmured. "I just—"

Jinx tentatively put a hand on his arm, "are you alright?"

She quickly dropped her arm, feeling an unwelcome presence.

Approach the poet.

Like any child, Jinx was alarmed when she suddenly heard her father speak to her in a commanding tone. Very unlike his usual teasing tone.

She tried to communicate back with him, but she didn't have much practice in that area and certain circumstances snapped her back to her surroundings. 

"Frank, don't move." Hazel sounded alarmed.

He looked down and realized he'd been about to step out of line.

"Lead where?" Frank asked.

Jinx whipped her attention back to her big friend and started freaking out. Why was he talking to no one and why did he seem genuine, as if there really was someone there.

Her father sighed dramatically, Ares.

She could hear the annoyance in his voice. Clearly he hadn't gotten along well with the god of war, though she wondered who did.