Anguished told Elli she was observant. If she could use that instead of letting herself go, she’d be in better shape when dodging. Elli watched as the wooden poles darted at her. Instead of barely missing her, she was able to calculate the aim and dodge it long before it got to her. A smile appeared on Elli’s face, who knew the small details counted?
“Have you tried climbing the rock wall yet?” Anguish called to Elli.
Elli shook her head. “No!” She exclaimed, now dodging in a comfortable rhythm using less energy than before.
“Tomorrow.” Anguish called back. “Meet me there, we need to build up your strength!”
Elli nodded in understanding and advanced through the obstacle course. She had picked up one of the wooden poles that had been shot at her and was now using it to protect her from the second set of steel poles. To her amazement, she managed to catch one and was now block with both simultaneously thinking about the video game that she played with some of the guy cops while they were on break. Her heart ached to a sense, reminding her that she wasn’t going to go back to that life. Letting out an excruciating howl, Elli fell to one knee and sucked in a breath to calm herself.
Anguish called out to his brothers to stop the course and ran to Elli’s side. Putting his hand on her back, Anguish tapped her hand to tell her to uncover the wound. Doing so, Anguish called over one of his brothers in concern.
“Search the poles, check if any of them leave any stand out from normal.” Anguish called, his brother nodded.
Returning, the brother shook his head. “They’re all normal, why what has happened?”
Anguish placed his hand gently on Elli’s cheekbone where the pain burned the back of her skull.
“What?” Elli asked in horror. “What happened?”
Nico sprinted from his cabin. Of course, leave it to a son of Aries to hurt the person they protected. Nico shook his head. He didn’t want to blame Anguish. If it had been any other Aries kid like Clarisse La Rue then he wouldn’t have left Elli in the first place but Anguish wasn’t like the other Aries kids. He was nicer and if anything strict but not as aggressive on impulse.
By the time Nico got there, Tucker had already entered the Arena and held Elli in his arms. Nico cursed in Greek under his breath as he saw the look of betrayal in Tucker’s eyes. Anguish sat close twirling one of the steel rods that was used in the arena, Nico wondered what had happened. Looking at Elli, Nico could sense an evil spirit and hissed. He knew of these spirits. How one had escaped Tartarus was beyond Nico’s understanding.
“I left her in your hands, Nico.” Tucker growled.
Anguish shook his head. “It’s my fault. Don’t blame, Nico.”
“Don’t stand up for the son of Hades.” Tucker hissed.
Elli shook herself free from Tucker’s hold. “Nico,” She said looking up at him. “Don’t believe him, Tucker’s lying.”
Tucker shook his head. “I’ll call Will.”
Nico frowned. “No.” He finally managed and Tucker looked at him with even more anger than before.
“You abandon my sister and then refuse to let me call for help?” He shook his head. “That won’t swing with me.”
Nico sighed. “Even if you call Will he won’t be able to heal her, Elli’s been cursed, can’t you tell?”
Tucker looked over at Elli with a shake of his head. “So, her eyes a bit swollen, that’s an easy fix.”
Nico opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a familiar voice from not too far behind him.
“He’s right Tucker, I can only help with the swelling but your sister has something else, something not even I can heal.”
Nico turn to face Will. “I told him he didn’t have to call you.” Nico frowned.
“Yea, well, I’m here.” Will said making Nico turn to face Elli. “Now, I’ll do what I can with the swelling but you’ll have to explain to her what I can’t fix.” He said with a looked that read: got it?
Nico grunted. “That’s what I was going to do anyway.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is.” Will smiled as he and Nico approached Elli.
First, Will turned to Anguish. “Don’t worry, Elli’s right, it isn’t your fault. You were helping her, this is someone else’s doing.”
Anguish smirked in understand but Elli could feel that he didn’t believe Will. Looking up at Will and Nico through her one good eye, Elli smirked. “So what kind of birthday gift did the inanimate object leave for me?”
Will lightly removed Elli’s hand from the side of her face and brushed her cheek. “Birthday?” He asked.
Elli nodded as she blinked her bad eye opened in surprise. “Yea, it’s my fourteenth birthday.” She smiled a small smile. “And what a birthday it has been.”
Will frowned as he looked at Elli’s eye. He had taken the swelling away but now Elli looked back at them with one brown eye and another a solid black. Around her eye were jagged black markings looking like electric sparks north and south of her eye and on her eye lid.
Elli frowned. “What is it?” Her eyes widened. “What are you not telling me?”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “Can you not hear it?” He tilted his head.
Elli shook her head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hear what?”
Nico look at Elli in concern. “Elli, your eye.” He said. “I don’t know how one managed to surface here but they’re call Arai, female spirits that are literally curses. One bounded herself to you, she only took one of your eyes so it’s not bad but…” Nico smirked. “I don’t know any safe ways to get your sight back, but I do know that you’ve been cursed. Do you feel anything else?”
Elli looked at Nico in confusion. “See? What do you mean? I can see out of both eyes perfectly fine.”
Nico shook his head. “Then what have you cursed her with?” Nico said directly to the spirit rather than to Elli.
“The curse shall not be lifted until she is found.” Elli said with a grotesque hiss that made the hair on the back of Nico’s neck stand.
Collapsing, Will caught Elli in his arms and sighed. Anguish looked up with a smirk holding out his arms. “Let me carry her.”
Will nodded and Nico followed as they headed to the Apollo cabin.
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