Chapter Quote:
"They broke the wrong parts of me. They broke my wings and forgot I had claws."
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Chapter 13: I Jump Off A Cliff

Silena

Okay, Silena, you can do this. You. Can. Do. This!

Silena physically and mentally prepared herself for Phlegon's arrival. She had to time this and execute this just right if she had even the slightest chance of escaping him. Taking a deep, calming breath, she positioned herself next to the trap so the Eidolon wouldn't be able to see the catapult trigger placed carefully under her foot.

Silena kept an eye on the sky, praying he would get there soon. It didn't take long. Phlegon came soaring down, landing gracefully in front of her with a to-go bag. He handed it to her and smiled, saying, "Hope you like wonton soup. So, what did I miss while I was away? Anything exciting? Have a nice chat with your brother?"

"Excuse me?" Silena blurted.

"Sweetie, I know you talked to Luke. How is he doing? Enjoying the lack of responsibility?"

"He's not enjoying his lack of freedom, I can tell you that much. And he's going to figure out a way to escape."

"No, he's not," Phlegon replied casually, plopping down on the ground. Silena opened her to-go bag and pulled out the food. If she managed to escape, she wanted to be full because who knew when she'd have food next? The Eidolon continued, "So, what did you and Lukey-Boy talk about?"

"Nothing worth you knowing. Besides, I'm sure your own brother would tell you."

"Not necessarily. He's always on his high horse ever since he became Amara's second-in-command and her lover."

The Jackson girl nearly choked on her food. "He's what?"

"Her second-in-command? I know, shocking. Damianos is much better suited for the position, but noooo, she gave it to her lover."

"Balthazar and Amara are lovers? Is that why he wants her back so badly?"

"Partly to rule the world the gods are currently ruining, partly to have the love of his life by his side again."

"How do you feel about that?"

"They get stuff done. Oh, they've had their spats. Nasty ones too where we all think that they'll never get back together, but they do. They always do. Hang on, Bradley is giving me a quote... he says in a fight, they're lethal, but when they're around each other, they melt. I'm not sure if he's referring to my comrades or yours."

"Or both?" Silena suggested.

"I could see it."

"Could I speak to Bradley?"

Phlegon sighed. "He's been whining and bitching for the last three hours. I guess I could. But I don't want to."

"Please? Look, I've been really good and haven't tried to escape since the first day. Could you let me speak to him as a good behavior reward? I just want to make sure he's okay."

The Eidolon stared at her, trying to read her intentions to see if she had a trick up her sleeve. She stared back at him hopefully, trying not to betray her plans. It felt like an hour before Phlegon closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again, his golden eyes were an emerald green.

"Silena? What's going on?" Bradley asked in a daze. "Where are we?"

"Sorry about this," she responded. Shifting her foot, she triggered the trap. A bunch of rocks pelted into Bradley who threw his arms up to shield himself. Silena jumped up, grabbing the branch nearby and swinging with all her might to hit her friend. She felt bad but knew she needed to escape. Otherwise, the gods only knew how long it'd take for her to be rescued.

Bradley let out a yell as the branch slammed into his arm, knocking him clean to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Silena knelt down next to him, placing her handcuffs on the bleeding gash on his biceps. To her relief, they opened, freeing her chafed wrists.

"Get back here!" Bradley roared as she ran off. He was definitely Phlegon now, which meant she totally ignored him.

"Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die," she mumbled to herself before leaping off the edge of the four-thousand-foot mountain. Pulling the moisture from the air surrounding her, Silena formed a water slide beneath her. She surfed her way down to the safety of the ground, landing softly on the moss below. However, Phlegon stayed hot on her trail, so she threw out her hands, dispersing the water in a dense fog. Silena couldn't see above her, but that also meant Phlegon couldn't see anything underneath the fog, a.k.a. her. Practically crawling on her belly and using rocks and flora to protect her back from any attacks, she tried to figure out where she could escape from these mountains. She assumed the best way was down.

It took an agonizingly long time to get just a mile. Her muscles screamed in protest at her, tired from the crawling on the uneven ground. Her scraped up skin stung every time it made more contact with the ground. Not to mention the few times she heard Phlegon swoop down barely a foot away from her spot. But with grim determination, Silena trudged on.

Maybe it was pure luck, or maybe the gods took pity on her (that thought made her chuckle because she knew that was the least possible idea), she came across a set of stairs. Silena crawled alongside them, worried if she ran down them, Phlegon would see her and take her captive again with some form of severe punishment in store for the disobedience and deception.

"Silena Jackson! Where are you?" Phlegon's voice boomed from above. She cowered, flattening herself to the ground as much as she could, taking cover under a boulder. "Come out now, and I'll go easy on your punishment. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is hurt you. Better I find you than my brothers. Come, this is foolish. Please come out."

An overwhelming urge to show herself rushed through Silena. But maybe her determination to get away from the Eidolon prevented her from falling for his Charmspeak because she stopped herself. That was a close one...

Think, Silena. You're a granddaughter of Athena. Act like it! She chastised herself. Racking her brain, Silena poured over every idea she could and formed every new one, but none seemed like they would work. Plus, fatigue began to settle over her rapidly. If she didn't get to a safe place soon, she was going to pass out, and then she'd be at the mercy of anyone or anything that found her. She couldn't let that happen.

"Come now, Jackson! I can see where you're going. This mist trick you're using is impressive, I'll give you that," Phlegon shouted.

Phlegon's been following me because he can see the direction the mist is moving... then I'll move it in the opposite direction! Silena thought excitedly. Suddenly, another idea formed in her head. Unless that's what he wants me to do. Unless he knows I'll pick up on that. He's super cocky right now and I'm so close... I just have to take the risk.

Using as much of her strength as she could muster, Silena concentrated on moving the mist gradually away from her while crawling in the opposite direction. She made it snake around different rocks to ensure it looked like she was trying to confuse him while she supposedly moved that direction. The scariest thing to her remained the fact she couldn't see where Phlegon was. For all she knew, he could be directly above her. But she had to take the chance.

Slowly but surely, the mist disappeared over her, leaving Silena completely exposed. She darted behind a tree, peering carefully around it to see where Phlegon flew. She saw him circling one of the mountains in the distance, following the mist she'd sent in that direction. She allowed a small amount of relief to flood through her before she set off again, keeping low to the ground.

Every noise, every branch snapping, every shout from a tourist set Silena's nerves into a frenzy. Every time, she thought Phlegon had found her. But she refused to let the fear incapacitate her.

Miraculously, Silena made it to the base of the mountains. In the distance, she saw a hotel. If she could get to that without causing a scene, she'd be golden. Taking a deep breath, she made her way over there, receiving quite a few stares from passers-by, probably wondering why it looked like she'd just had (and lost) a fight toa tree with her scraped up arms, leaves sticking out of her hair, and scratched up face. However, with one deadly glare their direction, they hastily avert their eyes. Perk from having been in Tartarus? She learned how to give one Hades of a death glare.

Just when Silena thought she couldn't walk any further, the hotel appeared in front of her. She let out a sigh of relief until she heard thunder roll dangerously close behind her. Whirling around, an ominously dark cloud greeted her, lightning striking all over the place. In the midst, a figure darted high above the mountains, steadily getting closer to her location.

Phlegon.

Although every part of her yelled at her to run the rest of the way to the hotel, she knew running would look suspicious, even if she was a few miles away. If Phlegon saw her running, her freedom would be short-lived. Silena had no fight left in her at the moment and just wanted to sleep for days. But first, she had to make a call.

More stares ensued as she entered the hotel: Shānqū jiŭdiàn. Silena ignored them, going straight to a phone and dialing internationally. She had taken it upon herself to memorize her parents' numbers, her brother's, Bryn's, Derek's, the twins', Hallie's, and Camp Half-Blood's in case a situation arose where she didn't have her own phone on her or if it had died.

Like this one.

Her phone had somehow remained on her body throughout the ordeal, but it was completely dead, and with no charger, it was useless.

"Hello?" A familiar voice queried on the other end.

"Bryn!" Silena exclaimed, sagging against the wall next to her in relief. "Thank the gods."

"Silena! Where are you?" Bryn demanded, sounding beyond worried. In the background, she heard Derek shout her name. She must've rescued him already...

"I'm in a hotel, the Shānqū jiŭdiàn, on the outskirts of the Tianzi Mountains."

"Okay, hang tight, we're coming to get you. Where's Phlegon?"

"Not sure, but probably closing in on my location. Please hurry, Bryn. I can't hold my own for much longer."

"We're leaving now. See you soon." The phone clicked, and all she heard was a dial tone. Silena sank to the floor, finally allowing herself to sit down and take a moment. Her head throbbed, her arms and legs ached to the point she couldn't stand up when she tried.

"Miss? Are you okay?" a stranger asked politely.

"Water. Please get me some water," she requested. She would drink part of it. The other part, she would use to heal some of her wounds and hopefully reenergize herself.

"Of course, of course." They hurried off. Thunder rumbled again, sounding like it was practically on top of the hotel. Phlegon must've figured out her trick.

Please hurry, Bryn. Silena prayed.

"Silena!" a girl shouted from across the room.

Well, speak of the devil...

Suddenly, Bryn Winchester was on her knees, cupping Silena's face in her hands. "Oh my gods, what happened to you?"

"Phlegon," she mumbled. That's when she saw her blonde captor entering the hotel. With only a shred of energy left, she used it to warn her friend. "In-incoming..."
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Looking forward to the next chapter! Reviews would be lovely :)