Chapter 77 Poseidon's Wrath
621words
Strange. I could feel the heat from the fire from where I was, yet it didn't deter him one bit as his hand came in contact with it. He raised the vial and waved it mid-air in front of him in a circular formation, conjuring what appeared to be an entryway to another world.
"What is that?" A shadow expanded over us, and I knew it was Hector and his fish. It took everything out of me not to glance up, in case it would draw Graves' attention.
"Preparation, for when the council arrives." He hummed an incantation that was light and songlike.
When he finished, I asked, "They're on their way?"
"Not yet. As I said, I have to prepare for their arrival first."
"What does that do?"
"A way of execution." He placed the empty vial onto the table.
"A way of execution isn't much of an answer." I had to bite down onto my bottom lip not to lose my temper. "Could you explain what it does, exactly?"
He lowered the vial and pinned me with a disinterested look. "Instant death the moment you come in contact with it."
"Is that how people get executed down here?"
"Yes," he nodded. "After all, we don't want bodies floating around in our living space, now do we?"
"Bold of you to assume they will execute us." Regardless of my dry tone of voice, a shudder skittered down my spine.
"Not bold," he corrected. "I know the way of my people, unlike you. Don't be too confident of thinking you'll get out of here alive. Hate to break it to you, girl, but that's not happening."
I nodded toward the mirrorlike thing. "So, you just vanish through it, or what?"
"Yes."
He was a terrible conversationalist.
With his back now turned to me, I snatched the opportunity to glance up. I couldn't see much through the canopy of kelp, besides shadows shifting through the gaps of weeds.
What on earth was Hector doing?
I inched closer to Kayn, wrapping an arm around his middle, and pulled him closer. He felt cold to touch, and my heart constricted. I didn't want to think about what a bad state he was in, but I couldn't help it.
If we didn't move fast, the worst was inevitable.
It became clear that I felt more toward him than I allowed myself to acknowledge, and that bothered me way too much to my liking.
My mind drifted toward the fact that he never told me about this crazy bond thing.
Jerk.
I swallowed back the tears. "How long before you have them come?"
"Not too long, girl," Graves sang. "It will all be over soon."
I resorted to searching for any sign of Hector when I spotted a shard of stone sticking out from the sand beneath Kayn. I nudged him aside and dove down to pick it up. When I straightened, Graves still had his back to me, humming to himself.
A sudden heavy current pushed Kayn and me forward in the cage. I gasped as pain tore through my body.
For a bare moment, I had forgotten about my injuries, only focused on Kayn's.
It wasn't until the water pushed us both against the front of the cage that Graves acknowledged it.
He spun around, lowering whatever he was holding inside his hand that was too small for me to see.
"What the dear mighty Poseidon is this?" he balked, his eyes transfixed behind us.
I attempted to peer over, but the water crushed me against the cage, preventing me from moving.
