Several others drew their weapons and surrounded us. I didn’t move. Somewhere nearby, Sprout was sobbing, and the remaining guards took the others into custody. Including Tuck.
But I couldn’t move, not if I wanted Perry to stand a chance. One by one, the guards wrapped rope around their hands, and they dragged them off into the woods. Sprout’s sobs faded, and Mac was silent as ever; Tuck, however, shouted as they carried her away, “James, don’t let him die!”
I gritted my teeth. Apollo—please. I’ll do whatever you want. A dangerous proposition, all things considered, but I was desperate.
Anything I want, all for a mortal?
Apollo’s voice filtered into my mind, much faster than I’d expected. I craned my neck, searching for him in the trees, but of course I didn’t see him. We may not have had powers of invisibility, but no one saw us without our permission.
Yes, anything. Just heal him.
A pause, and then, Fine. Get rid of the other mortals. I can’t do this with them watching. Zeus is going to kill you, you know.
Yes, I know, I snapped. If I get myself captured, do you promise to do everything in your power to save him?
I could practically feel his indignation from here. I’ve already said I would. Now get out of here before I change my mind.
Pushing the last of what energy I had left into Perry, and hoping against hope it would hold him until Apollo reached him, I held up my hands and stood. “All right, you have me. Let’s go.”
For the longest ten seconds of my existence, no one said a word. At my feet, Perry grew weaker, and I let out a frustrated growl. Obviously they were scared, but did they have to be cowards about it?
“Listen, either you can arrest me right now, or I can kill all of you and walk out of here without a scratch,” I said. It wasn’t an empty threat. Perry’s life was at stake, and I wasn’t playing around. Not anymore.
A few guards shuffled forward, still holding their swords, though their fear damn near smothered me. I held out my hands, and the bravest of the lot quickly bound them. Nothing I couldn’t get out of, but I’d drained myself trying to save Perry, and my legs were unsteady and the edges of my vision fuzzy. I could still take them, though. Probably.
“Come on,” I said, stumbling forward in the direction the guards had led the others. In the distance, I sensed some sort of village, along with a castle and a sizable farming community. That must’ve been where Tuck and the others had come from and where the guards were taking them now. Sure enough, I could feel Tuck’s trail, warm and red with panic.
I led the way, and none of the guards questioned me. Despite the binds on my hands and the weapons in theirs, they kept their distance, muttering things to one another that they thought I couldn’t hear. I could, but it didn’t matter. I had to find Tuck.
Apollo? Is he all right? I said once the outskirts of a small village came into view, mostly made up of wooden shacks and dirt. He didn’t answer. Emaciated horses stood at their posts, their heads hanging low. Regardless of the late hour, serfs were scattered throughout the roads, packing or hauling carts filled with food they would likely never get to eat, and they raised their heads to watch us as we passed. No one looked well fed or clean.
Apollo? Still no response. I tried again, but all I heard was silence. Perfect. Either he was ignoring me or Perry had died, and he wasn’t in the mood to tell me. I clenched my fists and pushed onward. He’d healed him. This was a game—Apollo’s idea of a joke. He’d tell me eventually. Everything would be fine.
Despite the rampant poverty the serfs lived in, the walls around the village were staffed by several dozen clean-cut guards dressed in the same black uniforms as the ones who trailed me. All of them looked as if they’d had three square meals a day for the majority of their lives. And inside the stone walls, the homes became better somehow—slightly larger, cleaner, sturdier, infinitely more habitable. The horses in the street were plump and groomed, and the few people still outside after dark wore clean clothes and smiles. Until I passed, of course.
Looming in the distance was our ultimate destination: a castle. Nothing that would ever compare to Olympus, but against the backdrop of menial living, it looked luxurious and much better than it was. The guards took it from here, though they all hesitated before surrounding me. Still, it wouldn’t look good to have a prisoner lead himself in, so the leader took point while the rest of them tried not to get too close.
The inside of the castle was dark and dank, with torches lighting the way. Definitely nothing like Olympus. I followed the guards, who led me straight down Tuck’s trail. She wasn’t far—I could practically see her glow through the stone walls, and I grew more and more anxious the closer we got. What if Apollo hadn’t saved Perry? What if he gave up as soon as he saw how badly he was hurt?
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t tell Tuck the truth.
We entered what must’ve been some kind of great hall, complete with two long tables flanking a shorter one on a raised platform. Sort of like a throne room, except this man—this earl—wasn’t a king. With the way he sat in his gilded chair, however, his head held high as he stared down his nose at the three hunched figures kneeling in front of him, he seemed to think he was.
Tuck. Mac. Sprout. Even from the entranceway, I could sense their pain and terror. Sprout was practically vibrating, he was trembling so hard; Mac was a sickly shade of green; and Tuck…
I’d never sensed such a weird combination of fear, anger and hatred in someone before. Terror rolled off her, filling the room with an odd chill. But she stared up at the earl, her head raised when everyone else’s was bent. That was my Tuck.