The Mighty Ones' Fall

Chapter 13: Tension

.

We stopped four times on our way to the Woods - two times for bathroom breaks, two more so the harpies and Erinyes could rest their wings. It sure seemed like slow going, and it probably was. The sun was beginning to set, and for all we knew, Jason's search party could have long since passed us on a plane. But I didn't really want to think about that.

"Hey, look down there! I think I see it!" Layna suddenly exclaimed in English, pointing somewhere below her. She had reacted with so much force that the black-haired harpy carrying her almost dropped her. Not even bothering to look for the town, the twins only laughed at Layna. There were moist, gray clouds surrounding us, after all, and we were cold and wet.

But sure enough, when I glanced down below me, I could make out the faint outlines of buildings illuminated by little glowing dots of light. And in a blink of an eye, they were gone again, and I was just watching the treetops pass by in blurs. The forest seemed bigger than I remembered.

"You okay, Jace?" Damien called out to me from the clutches of an Erinye, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Just thinking about what we're going to do when we land," I replied with a nod. "Odds are that Alec won't want to talk to us. He might even hide from us."

"And we won't be able to find him," Damien finished, obviously understanding my concern, his blue eyes narrowing. "So you want to look for the Oracle first? What if they're together?"

"The Oracle will want to talk to us for sure," I answered firmly, "no matter what Alec thinks."

Damien only sighed. "I hope you're right."

.

The ground came up under us all too fast. The Erinyes and harpies dropped the twins, Hannah, Layna, Brady, and me when we were about ten or fifteen feet above the small meadow, and we flailed helplessly as we fell. Then, we hit the earth with a solid thud. Surprising? No, but it certainly knocked the wind out of me. There was no question I would be sore in the morning.

 As soon as I caught my breath, I stood up and watched as the three Erinyes and the three harpies beat their powerful wings, propelling them up into the soft purple twilight sky as they cackled in unison. Apparently they had better things to do than watch my friends, Brady and I (I wasn't quite ready to say that Brady was an actual friend) stumble around the forest in confusion. Not that I blamed them, or anything.

"Um, Jace? They're watching us," Damien whispered shakily, and my attention was immediately redirected.

"Who's watching us?" I asked, my eyes wildly scanning the perimeter of the small meadow, which, unlike in my dream, was entirely free of dead bodies. But then I grew quiet when I caught sight of a couple tree nymphs, characterized by the light greenish tint to their skin color. Nearly naked, the two girls huddled next to each other, studying us for only a moment before scurrying of into the trees, probably afraid of us. I turned around just in time to see in the distance a satyr, a man with two furry goat legs, disappear into the bushes as well.

"Hey, wait up!" Layna called out to them in Greek, but they were already gone. If anything, I bet her shouting made them run away even faster than before.

Brady just cursed under his breath. When I glanced over at the blonde and frowned, he explained curtly, "The first thing they're going to do is go tell Alec we're here. You can forget the element of surprise."

"Then we should follow them," Hannah said, much more brightly than Brady. And follow them we did. However, as soon as we reached the tree line, we lost their path. None of us was a good tracker, and the many footprints and hoof prints criss-crossing in the moist soil and flattened grass only confused us. I knew finding the nymphs and the satyr again would be hopeless, so the only thing I could do was suggest a direction to try. Then the six of us started walking.