tHE gIRL wITH tHE iRON fISTS

cHAPTER 19

cHAPTER 19

Hunter

I never noticed she was missing. I was too busy trying to keep my toes from stepping B's feet. I saw a glimpse of Ivy's shirt and a man in black before I realized what was going on. "Where's Ivy?" I panicked a bit.

"Oh gods." B's eyes flitted around the room. "Code Green, everybody. We lost Ivy. Let's meet up at the table we were at." Nobody could her her, so it made sense that she was like a walkie-talkie. I looked at Mariah and Damion and saw that they had started heading toward the table. I followed them and saw B behind be. We reached the spot and saw a group of men sitting there, laughing like they were drunk. I heard B gasp.

"Hey, do you think we could sit here?" Mariah asked politely.

"Heh, you wish." I heard one of them snap back. I bit my lip, trying to keep my cool. B stepped forward and tapped the biggest guy on the shoulder. Her eyes were dead calm, but I could see her fists clenched.

"I know you can hear me." She mind-speaks.

"Indeed I can, lass." The man grumbles. "Stupid demigods these days." I was shocked.

"Then you can tell me where Ivy is." B stands straight and looks even scarier.

"Aye, I've no idea where she is, lass."

"Then what's her ring doing on your finger?" I widen my eyes to see that there is a ring on the man's finger. How it fits, I have no idea. "My name is B, daughter of Bianca, the goddess of dust, and I demand that you tell me where she is, servant."

The man sighs and lifts the hat he's wearing off his head. A shiny white head with hollow eye sockets and white teeth stared back at B. I widen my eyes again and saw rotting flesh cover most of his neck, and I squealed on the inside. "You're a zombie." I whimpered. I look at the other men and realize how bony they are.

"You've got me, madam. Unfortunately, I wasn't lying when I told you that the girlie's disappearance is not my doing. I think it's Filkhorn's doing. I swear I was talking to a man whose face was abnormally hairy. Let me introduce myself. My name's Brare. I used to be a pirate before I sacrificed my life to save a town." He holds out a skeletal hand, and B shakes it. "I am at your service."

"Thank you, Brare." B says. "Do you have any idea how to get Ivy- that's her name- back?"

"I'll tell you something, lass. You and your friends are in danger. Even if I didn't see a wolf, you have to get out of here by midnight." I look at a clock on the wall next to us. 9:42.

"2 hours," I say.

"Right. You need to find the Goldenglow. I was searching for it myself, as a young pirate."

"Was that the glowing light we saw?" Mariah asks.

"Right again. And it's you lassie, who needs to go. Take a friend with you." Mariah's face pales.

"Me? I need to do this?" Mariah looks like she's about to collapse.

"Persephone visited you in your dreams, did she not?" Brare stands to his full height, and he's almost 6 feet. "You must go, and hurry."

"Damion, come with me. I think Hunter should go with Mariah." I nodded. I didn't like being separated, but I thought it was the best idea. "We'll go find Ivy. Get the Goldenglow." B looked at us for a minute, before taking off her necklace. "Tiffany gave this to me a long time ago. I think you'll need it." She wrapped Mariah's hands around the necklace and she left with Damion.

***

Mariah

I was still hyperventilating when we got to the garden. Brare had told us that it would be in the center of it. It was a long walk.