Falling Through Portals

On the Black Pearl

Chapter 76

Lorem allowed herself to be pulled through the crowd of Pirates. Her body was so weak from being in the water all day. She was certain if she had tried to put up a fight it would have been pitiful.

They jeered at her. The filthy men smelled like mildew and sweat. Their faces were covered in dirt and Lorem wasn't sure that they owned a comb. Their hands reached out to touch her and she shied away from them, urging her magic to put a layer of protection around her. The man who had her arms behind her back, pushed her through the crowd. Lorem strained her head to see Percy.

"Lorem!" Percy yelled after her as they took him below the main deck level. She wished that the mental connection had stayed after they had left the water. But they would be okay.

A few of the men picked up Militum's body and took it where Percy had disappeared. Why hadn't Percy used his powers? His desperation was evident before he disappeared. She forced herself not to freak out. Why didn't he try to attack?

She was powerful. She could kill them all with her thoughts. Militum was even more powerful despite being knocked out at the moment, and Percy was the most powerful Demigod to ever live. They could get out of this situation.

One of the men standing in their way reached out and brushed his hand against her cheek. Lorem let out a revolted sound and there was more laughter. Panic filled her. Her shield didn't work. Frantically she tried to change her shoes to combat boots. Nothing happened. Lorem reached for anything within the possibility of her power. Move the water, shake the boat, unfurl the sails, and even make a comb appear. Nothing happened.

Fear swallowed her.

Lorem couldn't do anything. Militum no doubt was having similar issues, which would have made sense since he was knocked out at the moment.

Flicking her gaze to the water, she realized that it was the boat. Something about the boat was blocking her power. It had worked when they were in the water, she could feel it. But now . . .

Her heart was racing so fast she thought she would stop breathing.

A wooden door was opened in front of her and she was thrown inside.

"Enjoy your stay, Miss," her captor laughed, followed by his friend's laughter and the door slamming shut.

*******************

Percy banged against the cell bars. They had been down there a whole twenty minutes already but he couldn't stop trying. Or maybe it had been thirty minutes. Percy didn't even know how long it had been.

Militum was as useful as a pile of rocks. But despite his hatred, Percy made Militum's body sit up against the hull of the boat so that he wouldn't suffocate in the water that reached his ankles on the floor. He had a feeling that Percy would regret his decision later.

He had tried everything to get out of the disgusting cell. Riptide wasn't changing from pen to sword. No matter how hard he urged the water, it wouldn't move an inch to his will. He had finally picked through his own pockets and Militum's hoping to find something that he could use to pick the lock. Although, Percy had no clue how to pick a lock he figured he better take the chance.

This situation was different from all the other times he had been confined to a cell while on this journey. not only was this the worst cell he had ever had the displeasure of taking residence of (he had been held captive by Hades, and who could forget Circes Island where he was trapped as a gerbil, and when he had been imprisoned by the Amazons, and when he had been forced to fight Ethan Nakamura, Gosh, how many times had he been imprisoned???). But this place was a special kind of awful. Along with the ankle deep water on the bottom deck of the ship, the walls were covered in mildew and slime (which made him anticipate Militum's irritation at it when he woke up), and he was pretty sure that there were some rats scurrying through the water by his feet.