The Unknown Allegiance

| Chapter 8 || Little Project |

Chapter Eight

Little Project

*First Person Point of View ~ Perseus*

My first sensation was the cold water splashing on my face.

Now, normally water doesn't affect me, rather, it strengthens me, but this time, it was different. Instead of the refreshing rush of energy I was used to, I received the chill of the cold and a painful burning as my flesh was exposed to the liquid.

I immediately sat straight up, my back arching from the agonizing sparks that ran through my veins. It was like someone had just turned every drop of water in my body into liquid fire!

I choked and coughed. Thalia's limp body fell away from mine, and I was sorry about that, but at the moment, I couldn't focus on her. I could only focus on how much my body hurt.

In the back of my mind, a voice registered, saying, "Get up. Time to go."

After a second or two of writhing, I felt a large hand grab my arm, dragging me into a standing position.

"Where are you taking him?" I heard Thalia's voice, weak and restrained. "He's in no shape to fight another monster!"

"He ain't fighting no monster," the gruff voice of my jailer said. He shook me, my body flying around like a rag doll. "He's coming with us."

Looking up, I saw Thalia struggling to stand. She was favouring her left knee. She was screaming, her mouth wide and her eyes red with tears of frustration.

I tried to say, "It's okay, Thalia," but it didn't come out like that. It sounded more like Parseltongue than English in even my own ears, so I don't know what the other two heard.

I was dragged out of the dark cell once again. Immediately, I knew that the jailer was telling the truth; we weren't going to the arena. There were only two paths from the cell, left and right. The arena was left. We'd turned right.

This trip was longer than the last but had less turns. My vision kept filling with spots and rushes of dizziness kept bringing bile up to the back of my throat.

My vision cleared for the seventh time, revealing a room instead of the hallway ceiling I'd been staring at since the cell. It was quite large, round, and had glossy metal for walls, not a single flaw messing the shiny surface.

The floor was comfy, I thought as I was dropped. My head rolled slightly as it collided with the floor so that my eyes were staring half at my reflection and half at my jailer's boots.

"Good," I heard a different voice say, "You've brought him."

I struggled to look up. The voice was smooth and deep in a way that a human couldn't manage, and since it didn't sound like a monster, I had no doubt that it was some sort of Immortal.

"What'd ya need him for again, boss?" my jailer asked. His mashed his trashcan-lid hands together. He looked nervous in the face of this man. That means I can't underestimate him.

"No business that it yours, Olifrius," the man said. He shooed the cyclops away, walking over to me. Pretty soon, I was staring at his polished leather shoes, which had somehow been kept in perfect condition. I briefly wondered if he had to get them polished every half hour to keep them looking like that, but pushed the thought away.

He crouched down and tilted my head up. I finally saw his face.

He was a titan. That much was obvious. He just had the look and feel of a titan. I just didn't know which one. I scoured my brain for the answer.

He wasn't Kronos. His voice was different and his eyes weren't gold.

He wasn't Hyperion. I'd faced him before. I'd won, but I'd never forget his face, even though the last time I saw it, it was a maple tree.

He wasn't Iapetus, or Bob, as I'd called him. Bob would never stand against us, hopefully. I wonder how he's doing. Was he still in Tartarus? Had he and Damasen escaped somehow over the past sixteen years? I hoped so. They didn't deserve to be down there. I mentally slapped myself and continued down my list of Titans.

The only other titans I knew were Krios and Koios. He wasn't either of them. That was five out of the six original male Titans. If only I remembered who the last of the original six was. This Titan could only be him.

This titan had glowing red eyes, reminding me angrily of Ares. His hair was wild and dark burgundy - the colour of dried blood. His golden armour depicted the worst of pain. Demolished walls. Villages going up in smoke. Mortals and Demigods alike perishing in battles.

"You are trying to guess who I am," he said, breaking me from my thoughts. For the first time, I noticed that he had a slight British accent on his words. "You know, I'm kind of insulted that you don't know. You should be trembling in fear of me, Perseus."

I flinched at the use of my full name. He said it with such familiarity and hate that it burned my very soul. He looked directly into my eyes and suddenly, I saw it. Flashes of the most terrible of disasters the world has ever seen.

A name surfaced in my mind. "Perses," I said. "The titan of Destruction."

A glint of pleasure formed in Perses' eyes. "Well done, little hero." He stood, but not before grabbing my arm and hoisting me up, depositing me on a metal table.

The smooth surface of the table was the same as the floor, the only difference being that there was a bright light shining directly down on my body. Monsters used fluorescent? I thought they used torches and other sources of fire.

"I am not a savage, Perseus," Perses said as if he could read my thoughts. He probably could.

"Unlike those gods, I can move along with modern technology. It is my domain. Destruction always leads to rebirth. A clean slate. A blank canvas for me, the artist, to paint a new masterpiece."

He grabbed something. I didn't know what it was, but I knew he grabbed it, because there was a slight clatter of metal on metal, like a string of keys clanging together.

He approached me again. "Perseus. You're going to help me with a little project I've been working on." He raised his hand, revealing the wicked-looking dagger in it.

As he slowly brought the dagger down, he spoke," They say that guardians can sense when their charge is in danger." He set the cold blade against my throat. "I wonder..."

He took the knife away, turning to the wall and waving his hand in the air. The air shimmered for a second before it displayed Artemis with her hunters.

"Is it the same if the roles are reversed? Will your little maiden goddess feel it when I cut you open? Will she know when you're about to take your last breath?"

My heartbeat quickened as he taunted me. It quickened, not because I knew what he'd do to me, but because I did not know the answer to his question. I'd never asked the Great One or Artemis if it was true. I was always by Artemis' side, or fighting for her safety when I wasn't. She'd never said if she could.

Perses was getting closer now, but all of my attention was focused on Artemis in the misty image.

The dagger came down, and I braced for pain.

***

Word Count: 1266

Average Words Per Chapter: 1460

Word Total: 11,680

Posted: Saturday, January 28th, 2017

Edited and Re-Posted: Monday, February 14th, 2017

~CSP2708~