A/N: Sorry for ghosting you guys, there have been some 'problems' over here and I would rather not speak of it...
Anyhow, I hope you guys have been doing well!
Lastly I'd like to say that posting should stabilize by friday. (why? 'cause unfortunately this week I have several tests to do... Law school sucks btw)
Cheers!
[Blood Archive Entry]
Atop Luke's lap, Annabeth stirred. The violet-eyed demigoddess was woken by the loud conversation.
"What are you guys talking about?" Annabeth asked groggily.
Luke ruffled her hair. "Nothing much. Darian just asked what divine bas-" Before Luke could finish his sentence, Thalia stomped his foot, making the blonde grimace in pain. "He asked who our divine parents are."
Annabeth tilted her head but nodded anyway. "I see…"
Darian looked at Annabeth curiously, as she had eyes that were entirely different from the grey hue he knew they should be. "What about you?" He asked.
Annabeth showed a mischievous smile. "Guess?"
Darian chuckled. "I don't think I would get it right."
The little girl giggled. "Try it anyway!"
"Sure…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You are quite smart," he said, eliciting a smile on her young face. "So, I would say Athena."
Luke shook his head, and Thalia snorted and looked at him as if he were the dumbest person in the world. Even Rebekah seemed unsatisfied with his answer.
"Haha! No, dummy, Athena is one of the virgin goddesses; she can't have children." Annabeth said.
"Is that so?" Darian murmured.
Thalia laughed. "You kept behaving like a know-it-all wiseass, but you just said the stupidest thing possible." She said, wheezing between laughter.
Darian's expression fell, and he narrowed his eyes.
"As Annabeth said, Athena can't have children, so she is not her mother," Luke said, trying to appease Darian. "Good guess, though, and a smooth compliment if I ever saw one. Though I would have said Metis, a better option, I guess."
Darian deadpanned. "That would have been equally stupid of me, especially since her father," he said, pointing at Thalia, "ate his titaness wife out of paranoia."
Thalia immediately stopped laughing, and Luke grimaced at the comment.
"My mother is Hecate. Goddess of crossroads, witchcraft, and magic." Annabeth said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh… That makes you quite formidable, no?" Asked Rebekah.
The little girl looked at the blonde vampire with a beaming expression. "Thank you, Rebekah!" Then her expression became a bit downcast. "But ever since I came across Luke and Thalia, I've been nothing but a burden…"
Luke caressed the little girl's hair. "That's not true. You've been a great help. Not only did you keep watch when Thalia and I were down, but you always tried to keep our moods up. I don't want to imagine what would happen if you weren't around…"
Annabeth perked up. "Really?"
Thalia nodded. "That's true, little witch." She smiled.
Annabeth nodded contentedly.
"How close are we to Long Island?" Darian asked his mother.
"Another hour or so," she answered.
Darian nodded.
"Eager to get rid of us?" Thalia teased.
"Of Luke and Annabeth?" Darian tilted his head. "No, I quite liked their company so far. But you?" His smile became teasing. "Yes. Very."
"Douche." Thalia pouted.
"Stop being mean to each other!" Annabeth exclaimed.
Isolde raised her eyebrow at the girl's loud tone. Rebekah winced a bit due to her sensitive hearing.
"No need to worry about this, little witch, that's just how we roll." She said while throwing an arm over Darian's shoulder.
Darian's expression became unhappy. "Don't touch me." He said with a disgusted expression.
"What's with that expression, huh?!" Thalia screamed.
Luke laughed out loud, followed by the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Thalia looked like she was about to headbutt Darian.
At that moment, Isolde gasped and slammed the brakes, making the car swerve a bit.
The tires screeched, and the smell of burnt rubber filled the inside of the car.
"What's that for? I thought you knew how to drive!" Thalia complained.
"She knows how to drive, you fucking emo thunder girl…" Darian grumbled. "Something is blocking the road, or rather a group of somethings." His nose wrinkled as a foul smell reached him.
"Darian! Language!" Isolde screamed.
"Yeah, yeah…"
He cracked his neck a couple of times, and then he turned to Rebekah.
"You're going to join?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Not in the mood."
A malicious smile made its way to his face. "Perfect. I was meaning to vent some bottled-up annoyance."
"Have at it, then." She nodded.
Darian opened the door of the car and then closed it behind him. He walked calmly, his steps steadily echoing on the dry asphalt.
Three heads popped out of the car's windows, looking at the back of the child, and then forward towards the group of monstrosities blocking the road.
A massive creature with the head of a bull and the body of a monstrously muscular man. A one-eyed giant with a malformed body, yellowed teeth that reeked of carrion. Three women with monstrous expressions, blood staining all of their provocative clothes, and a copper leg.
'A minotaur, a cyclops, and three empousai,' Darian thought.
Darian's nostrils flared open as he smelled the scent of blood in the air.
His eyes narrowed as he turned his head to the side of the road, where there was a crashed car. Blood splattered all over the inside.
But what truly enraged Darian was the baby chair in the backseat. A single pacifier stained in crimson liquid rested atop it.
Darian's eye twitched. Irritation was building up inside his chest.
'Not only do these wretches hunt three innocent children for crimes that aren't even theirs… But these lousy excuses of living beings dare to do this?!' These thoughts kept echoing inside his head.
His face darkened. The air around him started reeking of blood and gore. The temperature spiked drastically. Shadows all around recoiled as if scared of something.
The monsters jeered, excited about the feast in front of them. A small appetizer was willingly walking towards them, and in the distance, a full meal course. The tantalizing scent of divine flesh, alongside two other scents that were just as alluring, if not even more.
The empousai were quite excited about the thought of tormenting and eventually eating the small boy in front of them. Though much to their annoyance, Hecate, their patron goddess, imbued them with the task of rescuing her progeny from the grasp of the other monsters and guiding the kid to that wretched camp.
But all of the others?
They were fair game.
And that beautiful boy would probably prove to be their tastiest meal up to date.
Darian looked at the excitement and hunger bubbling inside the monsters. And the more he looked, the greater his annoyance became.
The 'innocent and fragile boy' growled like an enraged beast.