Chapter 59: Chapter 59

There was darkness everywhere, almost pitch black. Lukas tightened his grip around my wrist, a loud breath escaping his mouth. We couldn’t walk out from there because the door was sealed. Who would do that? I opened my mouth to say something but halted midway when I saw them.

A faceless army appeared in front of the door, silver swords in their hand which was crossed against their chest. They were like five of them, standing in a row. I squinted my eyes to take a better look at them, but all I could see was a faceless dark fog and baggy red robes.

Fear gripped me; my hands suddenly clammy as I looked at them. My throat felt dry all of a sudden, and it took me a lot of effort to pull my eyes away from their gaze.

“The Inferus” Lukas breathed, his hands clenching into fists by the side.

I whipped my head towards him, raising my brow, “The Faceless?”

He nodded his head, his face blank.

“They don’t have any facial features and are like shadows—only much worse. I used to have an army of those before...They do not die.”

I stuttered, “What?”

“They are the evilest creatures of the universe. Chaotic. Whenever they go, they create trouble. That’s how they thrive. Most of them live freely and on their own but the others travel in a pack. Usually, the entire pack is hired to kill the enemy.”

I froze as those words sank in. Did someone hire an entire pack to kill us? My hands tightened around my belly. No wonder our phones were switched off and everything was dark. They might have done that for fun. My stomach curdled at the thought. What more were they capable of?

“Lukas I’m scared.”

He turned towards me, his eyes soft, “I’ll never let anything happen to you or our baby. I will try to hold them off while you escape from here.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. The idea of leaving anywhere without Lukas brought tears to my eyes. No. I cannot leave him behind. No matter what. I gripped his fingers tighter.

“Please don’t make me leave you, Lukas.”

He swallowed thickly, cradling my face between his hands, “They don't spare anyone, Talia. I can’t-I can’t lose you again. Think about our baby. Please go”

A tear slid down my eye, and I looked over his shoulder, the shadows were still standing at the entrance. How was I supposed to cross them? They were five of them, and Lukas was only one. My throat felt clogged up as I thought more and more about it.

“There must be a way-” I exclaimed, turning towards Lukas. “-something that can hold them off while you come away with me. I don’t want to go alone, Lukas.”

“This is the only way. Go back to our room and draw a portal. You can pass through it because of our baby.” He sadly smiled, his eyes gleaming.

Suddenly I heard a door crash which made me jump. Lukas stood in front of me and examined the sound echoing from the downstairs. His eyes widened when Dean stepped out of the door with a spear in his hand. I felt my mouth slack at that. How did he find us?

Dean raised his head, “My lord, I saw the barriers were broken, so I came to check with my guards.”

I followed his trail only to see four guards with their daggers. My shoulders sagged at that. Lukas moved away from me.

There was a twitch in his lips, “Let’s show them they are not welcome here.”

Dean nodded his head, a smug smirk on his lips as he twisted the spear in his hand, slicing the air through it and slamming it against the ground. I marvelled at the sight. He was a natural.

Lukas turned towards me and cupped my face, “I want you to go away now. We will all try to hold them off. Go to Underworld. Hades will help you.”

“But Dean is here-” I frowned in confusion, staring at Dean and his guards. Won’t they be enough to fight those shadows?

Lukas cut me off, “We will try our best, but they are too many of them. Just go!”

“Okay, I will. But promise me you will come back for me.”

He nodded his head, “Always, baby. Be careful”

I sighed as he pressed a firm kiss on my mouth before walking downstairs. My arms went around his neck, and I cried a little in the kiss. It felt like a goodbye. For real this time.

***

It took me a few minutes to find the room because the door kept disappearing. They were purposely doing that. As I did another turn, a low gasp slipped my lips, the hair on my neck stood up. I blinked my eyes repeatedly to make sure that it was real. I tried to force out a sound as I saw someone creep up behind Lukas, a sinister smile on their face. No. I wanted to scream. Why couldn’t I speak?

I looked around, hoping to get attention, but everyone was busy fighting the shadows. With each passing second, my heart thudded loudly against my chest. That shadow was going to cause serious harm to Lukas. I had to prevent it somehow. I reached my hand out, motioning for help. My vision started to get blurry, but despite that, I tried to run towards Lukas. I knew that I wouldn't be able to make it as he was downstairs.

My knees buckled as I took a step further, and I held onto the wall for support. Suddenly my body felt too heavy, and I could barely keep my vision. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Dean. He has been fighting from the floor to help me reach the door swiftly.

In that process, he suffered a massive gash on the side of his shoulder, but that didn’t stop him. As if he felt my eyes on him, he turned towards me. I motioned towards Lukas, mouthing the words, 'Save him!'. Dean tried to race towards me, but I shook my head, pulling back until I crashed into someone and collided painfully against the ground.

The last thing I heard was the sound of Lukas voice tearing through the room.

***

When I came back into consciousness, what I saw was something not unexpected. It was bright everywhere. My head felt heavy as I sat back against the headboard. I felt my eyes widen when I noticed the huge fluffy bed I was sitting on. My fingers smoothed across the material. Where am I? I thought to myself, folding my lips together.

The room was unfamiliar. I had never seen anything like that before. Everything was bright and glowing. My hands felt light as I lifted them to push the covers off my body. They immediately went towards my stomach. A sigh left my lips when I felt the bump. That’s the thing I feared the most while closing my eyes. Just the thought of losing my baby made my heart clench.

I noticed a glass along with catnip leaves. Who would place that nearby bed? That herb is used to cure headaches. Did someone know that I was going to wake up with a massive head? How is that possible?

My eyes focused on the herb for a few seconds before I tore my eyes away. It could be a trap. There was no way I was putting that thing in my mouth. Hiding under my breath, I turned around only to see the huge painting hanging in the corner of the wall. It was covered in glass. I gasped, my eyes widening horrifically at sight. It was so disturbing yet real that I felt shivers down my spine. Why would anyone paint that willingly?

A holy spear was going through the mid-section of the wings of a demon, black and huge wings. They were so majestic and beautiful, but that rod was impaling through the flesh and bone. The demon’s head was hung down as if in pain, the black fog surrounding him everywhere. I stared at the rod which was tied to a metal pole by chains with no chances of escaping it. If the demon tried to pull or tug at the rod, it will only hurt him, tear more at his flesh. My eyes slipped down and found the surface which was painted in black. A sea of black blood flowing down. Was it supposed to represent evil going away from his body? Is that why the rod was pierced through him?

Choking back a breath I averted my eyes away because I couldn’t look at it anymore.

I grew frantic with each passing second, trying to step out of the room, but something was holding me back.

Footsteps echoed towards my room, and I held my breath, wrapping my arms around the middle and peeked at the door. My mouth parted in surprise when I noticed him walk inside—a white shawl covering his upper half and a blank look on his face.

“Hi, Talia. You are in Olympus now. How are you feeling?” Zeus softly asked as he sat down in front of me.

***