Kane stood right behind me and Chloe, while the rest of the Whirlwind Hunters trailed behind their leader.

I did a quick head count: over fifty Whirlwind's in total, all armed with spears and swords. All of them stole quick glances at me, looking like they were waiting for orders.

"Okay," Kane said in a low voice. "Walk me through the plan. What are we going to do?"

Chloe glared at Maximus's son. "Do we have your word that you and your men won't tell Proculus what we're doing? Because if we can be able to do this, we do it all the way."

"I swore an oath that I would serve you two. I'm ready to die for that oath," Kane retorted.

"That's enough," I ordered. I looked at Kane. "Alright, this is what's going to happen..."

I went on and on through the plan. By the end of it – with a minute of arguing – we all agreed on the plan of action. Kane told me that Proculus only needs a few drops of mine and Chloe's blood, so he can wake Poseidon with it. Then, when the tribute is given for the ritual, the council would then help us escape before Proculus has the chance to finish both me and Chloe off. Then finally, when my father wakes up and calls the Olympians to help us, we might stop Proculus for good.

"What if something goes wrong though?" one of the Hunters said behind me. "Proculus will sense that something is wrong – he's an expert when it comes to reading people's intentions. He'll read you like a book the minute you walk into the ritual chamber."

"He won't," I calmly answered back. "Sometimes the book don't make any sense, what–so–ever."

The hunter kept quiet after that.

We continued to walk through the interior of the palace.

Along the way, I was still amazed by the majesty of the place, but wondering all the while why such an amazing place like this could house a really evil person like Proculus. It was like finding out a house was haunted day and night

As we continued down the corridor, we came across a large mass of people standing in the Throne Room. As several of the hunters came forward to make a path for us, all of the people turned their heads at me. Instantly, I felt very defensive, so I kept looking forward. But they continued to look at me, so I looked at some of their faces.

Cyclonians, Maximus had once said to me, talking about the history of Cyclone City's people and pronouncing the name of its occupants. The name felt so weird, so alien, that I had problems pronouncing the word correctly. Even Chloe kept getting the name wrong, until we both managed to say it correctly.

As I continued to walk forward, a few of the people did something that I wouldn't forget – they started clapping. That was the one sound I would not have expected in a long time. Then the noise went higher and higher, as each and every one of the Cyclonians started to clap as well. It wasn't a mocking clap, not with everyone whooping and jeering at us – this was a silent and respectful round of applause. I searched their eyes and couldn't believe what I saw – they believe that I should be given the respect I should've been given, along with my sister.

I looked back at Chloe, and I saw that a couple of the Cyclonians bowed to her as she slowly walked past. She looked at me, and I saw that her eyes were teary, like she was on the verge of crying. She quickly caught up and stood right behind me, silent and reluctant to speak.

Everyone continued to clap, knowing the terrible fate that awaited us, but they gave me a look that said it wasn't over. For a moment, I felt a sense of comfort; like I was one of them and that I wasn't going to die.

For one moment, I felt like a Cyclonian.

As we left the massive crowd of people, we stopped at a large wooden door.

Kane place a hand on the handle and looked back at me, giving me a reproachful look.

"Let's hope this works," I muttered as Kane pushed open the door.

Chloe gave me a brave smile, but it disappeared as soon as we entered the ritual chamber.

The smell was what hit me first, making me almost gag, like I was about to be sick. It was the smell of a dead animal, and rotten fish...At that moment; I knew straight away that I wasn't going to enjoy this.

Kane and the hunters escorted us round a corner to face the most horrendous sight I have laid my eyes upon.

Too many bodies and way too much blood.

In front of me was a black marbled room, with one of the walls completely removed, showing the sky, black with storm clouds and mighty...tornadoes?

In the middle of the room, a small rectangular dais stood in front of us. Lying on the dais, looking like he was dead, was Poseidon. He was dressed up like a roman retiarius – at his side was a neatly folded up net, large enough to capture a wild bear if needed. At his other side, his trident was laid before him. It was neatly cleaned, like I had never used it. Poseidon wore a platinum breast plate and a blue cloak was attached to his armoured shoulders. He was wearing jeans and his face was clean shaven.

All around my father were the bodies of four different creatures. I swore under my breath that Poseidon would never forgive Proculus for this act of barbarism and sacrilege.

On the floor to my right was the limp body of a great white shark, the gills fully opened as blood spilled out; its razor sharp teeth were all gone, leaving the poor thing toothless.

Next to the sea predator was the next amazing thing from the sea – a bottlenose dolphin. The snout had deep gashes, oozing blood dripping out.

The eyes were dark and glassy, letting me know that the magnificent creature was dead for sure.

The animal next to the dolphin was a bull – a fully–aged Charolais bull in its prime. It lay on its back, its chest refusing to rise and fall with every breath it should be taking. One of its white horns had been snapped of and had been run through the stomach with it. Three of Poseidon's sacred animals dead – that's just completely unforgivable.

"Ah, there you are!" Proculus said as he stepped out of the shadows, wearing a smug smile on his face. He was wearing his blood red cape and a new type of armour – pitch black armour as dark as night, inlayed with platinum.

Proculus noticed me looking. "You like the new armour? It was made purely out of pure nightmares, and was fused together with platinum. Stronger than either silver, gold, bronze, iron and steel combined. Helps protect me from my enemies."

He looked at the pile of bodies. "We hadn't been able to get the blood of a horse, so we settled for the blood of one of our prized storm stallions." He brought out a large vile of crimson liquid.

I looked at him. "You committed sacrilege," I muttered.

He shrugged. "Yeah, you could say that." He looked at Kane and nodded approvingly. "You made yourself useful for once Kane Orion. Well done."

Kane bowed before Proculus, except that his eyes smouldered with anger. "Thank you, my lord."

Proculus looked back at me. "You know, I'm actually surprised that you're not screaming at me."

I just stared at him.

"For a time," the Cyclone Prince continued, "I thought you were a coward trying to run away. But it turns out that you're braver than I thought."

Chloe stepped forward. "Where are Chiron and the rest of his students?"

Proculus looked at her and clapped his hands. Instantly, from the shadows, the Storm Guard came out, dragging several demigod students with them. Chiron was nowhere to be seen, which got me worried. For all I knew, Proculus had put him through torture that was best suited for a centaur like Chiron – I just hoped he was alright.

"Chiron was out for two hours," Proculus explained, "before we arrived back in the city. He's actually lucky that I spared his life."

"You almost killed us!" several of the students yelled.

"I think the students disagree with you," I muttered.

"Think what you like, Dimascio," Proculus told me. "You won't be thinking for long."

He looked at Kane. "It's time."

One of the hunters walked Chloe forward and made her kneel before the dais, while Kane pushed me towards the floor.

All the students looked at me, while most of them shouted at Proculus to let Chloe go.

"Ladies first," Proculus said as he stood next to Chloe, bringing out a small sharp dagger.

Chloe looked at me, wondering whether or not we should get out of here.

Not yet, I thought to her. The plan has to work.

Proculus grabbed my sister's hand and quickly sliced her palm, creating a large red welt that already started to bleed. Proculus then forced her hand on the edge of the dais and rubbed her palm on the smooth surface, leaving a small puddle behind.

Kane immediately came forward and brought Chloe back to my side.

"Now it's your turn, brother," the Prince said.

One of the hunters came forward, so he could take me over to Proculus, but I shook my head, making the hunter stop and frown.

"I'll do it myself," I said to him. I walked forward and stood right in front of Proculus.

"You'll do it yourself?" he asked, frowning slightly.

I held out my hand. Proculus looked at me, frowning.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him. "And I'm the only one who can cause any damage to my skin."

"Just give him the knife, for God's sake," Kane grumbled.

Proculus seemed sceptical about it, but he finally gave me the knife.

For one moment, I thought about stabbing Proculus with it. I could end all of this with one slash, and not worry about surviving one more day. But then I thought about everyone in the room – even if I struck the Cyclone Prince, I wouldn't be able to kill him. He's immortal and would surely kill my friends out of fury.

I carefully placed the edge of the blade on my palm and quickly slashed it. The pain was sudden, so it only stung at first but then started to burn like it was covered in acid. I placed my hand on the dais and rubbed it on the smooth marble, stepping back afterwards.

"Perfect," Proculus said. He looked at the vile in his hand and spilled the contents on the floor next to the dead animals. He then came forward and knelt at the dais.

"Father Poseidon," he said in a loud voice so everyone could hear him. "God of the Sea's, mover of the earth and Bringer of Storms; hear my words. I, Proculus Mathias, son of Victoria Mathias, hereby give you the six tributes of blood. The blood of the bull, the dolphin, the shark, the winged horse and finally, last but not least, the blood of your two strongest children of the century – Marcus and Chloe Dimascio, descendants of Achilles and children of Sarah Dimascio."

All of a sudden, the piles of animal blood rose up to form a funnel and hovered above Poseidon. Mine and Chloe's blood did the same, but they turned into blue mist, as well as the blood of the selected animals.

"May their blood wake you from your tormented sleep, Father Poseidon, for you don't deserve to be in this state no longer," the Prince chanted. "Rise up, and become the god who we worship. Rise up, and return to your rightful domain. Rise up, and be powerful and WHOLE!"

The mist shot right through my father's mouth. He shuddered, like he was convulsing. His eyes opened, but they were pure white. He started to glow with living energy. The mist continued to pour into his mouth, like a snake trying to kill its prey.

Proculus looked back at me and Chloe. He smiled slightly. "Thank you for waking our father."

He looked at Kane. "You know what happens to them. Get rid of them."

Kane looked at me, a questioning look in his eyes. I nodded, hoping he knows what to do next.

In that one moment, everything happened so fast – Kane threw the dagger at Proculus, catching him in the shoulder. The Prince cried out in pain and stumbled backwards.

From the crowd of Storm Guards, several adult people sent blasts of wind at the soldiers, catching them off guard. Then I remembered that the Council would step in and help us. This must be them. Every demigod that was before them rose up and helped the Council members.

Proculus pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and glared at me with evident fury in his eyes.

"You freaking fool!" he yelled at me. "I'm gonna kill you!"

I snapped the chains of my shackles and brought reached for the centre of my armour, where Poseidon told me that I could find Tsunami. He didn't disappoint me, because I easily took out the silver cylinder and it turned into a metre long sword. Tsunami glowed like a bright star, making it look like one of those lightsabers you might see in Starwars. Proculus immediately backed away.

I pointed my sword at Proculus. "Stop this madness, brother."

"I think not," he snarled. "I am not having you or your sister live, and I am not having you become the next Prince of Cyclone City!"

"You can't just defy our father forever," I warned him. "He'll throw you into Tartarus for this. I'll guarantee it, that I promise."

Tartarus – the pit of damnation, where the most tormented of souls are kept. It's the one place that freaks me out when I hear about it, or even read about it. It was named after the Primordial god Tartarus, who sired the Giants with Gaia – the most terrifying god who came into existence.

Proculus wavered a bit, but for only a second because he continued to glare at me.

"Then I'll make sure I drag you down with me," he said.

He started to charge right at me, but a hand clasped over his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You'll do no such thing."

Proculus looked behind him...so he looked at the towering form of Poseidon.

Poseidon stood well over two metres tall, glowering at Proculus with fire in his eyes. He carried his trident and weighted net, his armour gleaming in the blackened room like the light of a star. His hair was swept to one side and he glowed with an aura of minty blue.

"You will not kill my son," he growled furiously.

Proculus cringed at the sight of my now–fully–awake father. "But–"

Poseidon slammed his fist into the Princes face with all the pent–up power that was now coursing through his body. Proculus collapsed to the floor in a heap.

The Storm Guard looked astonished to see Poseidon up and moving, but they didn't have enough time before they were all knocked out by the council members.

One of the council members came forward. She looked like a middle–aged women, but I knew she must be older than she looks. She had blonde hair which was pulled back in a ponytail, and she had a stern face. She wore a hooded red robe and black trousers.

"Good to see you standing again, Poseidon," she said.

"Nice to see you too, Ariadne," my father replied. "It feels good to be awake again." He tilted his neck to the side, cracking his neck in the process which made me cringe. "Except that my neck is uncomfortably stiff."

He looked at me and Chloe, a small smile on his face. "I'm proud of you two. You're as brave as your mother."

Chloe rushed forward and threw her arms around Poseidon's waist, crying silently into his chest. Poseidon wrapped his arm around my back.

For the first time in three months, I was both happy and relieved. That is until I looked at the unconscious body of Proculus.

"We need to get out of here," I said. I looked at Poseidon. "We need the Olympians to help us."

Ariadne came forward. "Okay, let's get you three outside."

"Wait!" Chloe exclaimed. "What about the others?"

"We need to get them out first," Kane agreed. "My father is in a cell with Jake O' Riley and Katie Grace. We need all the help we can get."

He turned towards his hunters. "Get the rest of the team. Spread the word – Poseidon is awake. Get as many reinforcements as quick as you can."

"Be really quick," Poseidon added. "I might have knocked him out, but Proculus will wake up any minute. Be swift and don't get caught."

"Yes, sir," the hunters shouted. They all bowed to us and they rushed out of the ritual chamber, leaving us behind.

Another one of the council members came forward. He was a bald guy, but he was built up like a wrestler. "We'll need some weapons. My lord Poseidon, you, Kane and your son aren't enough. We need all the weapons we can get."

"Atticus is right," the third council member said behind him. I looked closely at him and a thought of recognition flashed in my eyes. This was one of the hunters who got me and Chloe out of Cyclone City a few days ago – the one who helped me off the floor when I passed out.

"Good to see you again, Titus," Poseidon said. "Thanks for trying to get my children out of Cyclone City the other day."

"I couldn't leave them in the state they were in," Titus replied. "Okay, like Atticus said, we need to get our weapons and hold ourselves against Proculus and his men until the Olympians arrive."

Poseidon and I looked at each other. We both nodded.

"Let's getKatie, Jake and Maximus first," I said, the new plan forming in my head. "Whenwe get out to the open, Poseidon calls the Olympians for help. We hold Proculusoff as long as we can until Zeus and the other gods come, then maybe, justmaybe, we can stop him for good."