The Mighty Ones' Fall

Chapter 15: The Truth (Finally) Comes Out

This chapter is a bit longer than the ones before it, but I wanted all this to fit into one :)

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"So what are you going to do now?" Hannah asked Alec in Greek. Struggling to keep up with the hero's lengthy stride, we all walked a few yards back to the edge of the forest that bordered the town's biggest road.  

Alec only glared straight ahead in determination as he tore off his body the pieces of his armor one at a time and threw them into the bushes. He was going to strut right out of the forest without a second thought. "I'm going to meet him," Alec stated firmly. He didn't give a damn about what the rest of us thought. He was mere inches away from being illuminated by the dull glow of early morning light, which seemed to reach absolutely nothing in the woods beyond the first line of trees, the Forest Gods' first line of defense against the Sight-less. Inches away, I tell you.

And then Hannah crossed her arms and told him matter-of-factly, "You're shirtless." It was kind of epic, but in a slightly cruel sort of way.

Immediately Alec stopped dead in his tracks. His shoulders heaved in a sigh, and I watched his whipping scars and the inked owl's wings stretch taut as his back muscles rippled. Then the hero cursed under his breath and started kicking at ferns and fallen logs, until he finally found what he was looking for. Out of a hollow log he pulled a random t-shirt, and threw it over his head, not even bothering to brush off the cobwebs. I wondered how long it had been hidden there.

"Can we come with you?" Layna asked in a very small voice, probably expecting to be screamed at.

But this time Alec only frowned. "You're going to follow me no matter what I say," he responded tightly, and I translated that to "No, but whatever. I don't care anymore." Worked for me.

Brady cleared his throat. "So, who exactly are we meeting?" he asked as he, the twins, Hannah, Layna and I followed Alec out to the street, but only after looking both ways to make sure no one saw us come out of the forest. It was supposed to be deadly and inhabitable, after all.

You could probably guess that Alec didn't answer Brady's question. With that familiar thousand-yard stare in his eyes, Alec strode across the street, not bothering to look for cars racing toward us. In a town as small as the Woods, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Even the establishment itself looked timeless. The six buildings lined up on the other side of the street and facing the forest seemed ancient, but for the most part well cared for, styled in a modern fashion while still keeping the rugged essence of the region. Almost all of the shops, ranging from antique dealers to restaurants, had tall windows and open doors, welcoming anyone and everyone who was willing to stop by and say hi.

By far the busiest shop was the building dubbed, in rusted iron letters resembling flames, the Fire Pit. There were three small round tables set up on the sidewalk outside, but they were all empty. The door was open, however, and there were quite a few people at the tables inside. The regular breakfast crowd, I guessed. The familiar breakfast crowd, of which the seven of us were not a part. That much became clear immediately when we walked though the door and were met with only silence and blank stares. There was no flying under the radar in the Woods.

Seemingly unfazed, Alec sighed and made his way to the bar on our right, where a scruffy-looking man with a beer belly was sitting on a stool and waving. I thought the fact that he was drinking lemonade at eight in the morning was a little weird, especially since it wasn't very warm outside, but I didn't say anything. In fact, almost everyone in the restaurant had a tall glass of lemonade by his or her plate. So, simply exchanging excited glances, my fellow Knowing members and I followed the hero and took our seats beside him, while a waitress left the table at the other end of the dining room, by the restaurant's large fireplace, and returned to her place behind the bar.