Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

My blood runs cold as the simple text message effectively shoots it's icy venom through my veins, and my heart starts thumping so hard in my chest that it feels like it's going to rip through my ribcage. A million thoughts ricochet through my mind all at once, but the endless torrent does nothing to eradicate those three sentences from my mind. I swallow hard, the severity of the situation smacking into me like a freight train. There was still a small part of me that had been hoping I could brush this all off as a simple prank, that the attack and text message I received three days ago could be repudiated with one of the logical explanations I love so much, but I can't ignore it anymore. Someone out there knows about the prophecy, and seems hell-bent on making it come true.

And that's the logical truth.

The phone slips from my hand.

Eric looks up at the unexpected noise, frowning slightly when he catches sight of my face. "You alright there Bambi?"

"I..." I start to speak but end up stopping, refusing to meet his gaze. "I think it's time I went home."

"Sick of the sunset already?"

I shake my head. "No. Never."

All the joking in his expression is wiped away by my confusing admission. He stares at me for a few more seconds, like he's expecting me to elaborate more on my contradicting statements, but I stay silent. I don't blame him for his bewilderment; the nature of our conversation alone this afternoon has been giving me emotional whiplash from how hot-and-cold both Eric and I have been acting as we both attempted to deter the other away from our secrets. But this is one secret I can never tell him, no matter how confusing my behaviour is.

Finally, Eric sighs and gets to his feet, an indecipherable look flickering through his eyes as he helps me up. "Let's go then."

The ride back to Spencer's house is once again spent in absolute silence; but this time the silence was stifling. I felt like I was slowly being smothered; both by the insurmountable fear that text woke inside me, and by the subtle looks Eric would shoot me out of the corner of his eye when he thought I wasn't looking. I knew he was full of questions about my sudden mood change, but I wasn't at all ready to answer them.

So, understandably, by the time we finally arrived back at Spencer's house, I couldn't wait to escape into the safety of my room; so much so that I contemplated throwing on my invisibility and leaping off the motorbike the moment Eric pulled to a stop.

But that contemplation is quickly squashed the moment I catch sight of Spencer standing in the doorway and the thunderous look on his face.

"Oh, crap." I mumble, instantly remembering all the other texts littering my phone's inbox that I had conveniently forgot about the moment I saw that anonymous text earlier. I slowly slip off the motorbike, pulling my sleeves over my fingers as I amble sheepishly up to Spencer. Eric doesn't move, staying silent as he watches with sharp green eyes. "Hey, Spencer."

He doesn't respond, staring at me with his arms folded over his chest. I shift nervously under his burning gaze. I think this is the first time ever that silence has made me feel uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry?" I finally offer when the silence becomes too unbearable.

"As you bloody well should be." He grunts, finally speaking up. "I want to say I'm not surprised, seeing as your mother isn't exactly an advocate for someone who listens to me at all, but then again, I thought you had more common sense than she does."

I grimace. "I know, I'm sorry. I just..."

"You just what?" He raises an eyebrow when my sentence trails off into thin air. "No, no, please do elaborate on why you decided randomly disappearing into thin air and not letting anybody know where you were was the best idea after someone tried to crush your throat into baby goddess-flavoured putty."