Ch. 2: Augustus

Auggie's P.O.V.

Ares seemed to piece together my act as he looked at El in my arms. I was a worried mess inside, scared and outright furious, but I was holding it all in. I couldn't let El freak out. I wanted to tell him in private, but we need to go now. 

"Go to mommy, El. Daddy and I need to talk more. We're playing hide and seek with Jesse, have you seen her?" I asked, trying to pretend this is all a game. I can't have her being scared for her aunt. She shook her head with her eyes closed. 

"That's cheating," she scolded me with a little smile. 

She’s so cute.

"You're right. I am sorry." I patted her head with a warm smile. "I'm going to steal Daddy for a little while then. I promise I'll bring him back once we find Jesse. Okay?" 

"Don't take too long or I'll miss daddy," she warned me with a pout. 

"We'll do our best to hurry." 

She nodded her head, hugging Andy's leg tightly as she looked at Ares. 

"Be careful, Daddy. Jesse isn't hiding in a very nice place." 

I think I felt my heart stop for a moment at her words. She knew where Jesse was. 

Of course she would know. 

"Can you give Daddy a hint, sweetheart? That way we can hurry back to you." Ares tried to coax her into helping us. El tapped her chin contemplating her choices. 

"Okay, Daddy. One hint." 

Ares nodded, kneeling down and leaning towards her so she could whisper in his ear. Her sweet little hand covered the side of her mouth as she silently spoke to him. I couldn't catch what she was saying, but I could tell it was bad by the way Ares' muscles tensed. Andy must have heard her with her dragon hearing as she froze, too. 

Damn it, I want super hearing, too. 

"Thank you, El. That was very helpful." 

Ares gave her a kiss on the head before standing back up. He then kissed Andy, and I saw them both light up, letting me know he needed her light magic for whatever hell we were about to venture into. 

"Let's go," he said as he traveled us through the shadows to some random clearing in the woods. 

"Where are we?" 

I turned in circles, scanning the area for anything that looked remotely familiar. All I could see were trees, and more trees, until my eyes caught a light. It oddly looked like a lightning bolt stuck in the air. It glowed, giving off a powerful magic that I could feel from 10 feet away. I wanted to touch it as it called to me. 

"What is that?" I whispered, so enthralled by it that I couldn't pull my eyes away. 

"Hell," Ares answered so calmly I thought maybe he was kidding at first. 

"That's not funny." 

"I'm not trying to be. This is about El, and they're using Jess to get to her. We're about to have a fight like no other." 

For the shadows!

"Shouldn't we get some of Ember's ice balls to help weaken these demons. Maybe grab Toni, too. You can't seriously expect us to march into hell alone." I can't believe I am even uttering that sentence. 

I'm about to go to hell, quite literally. 

"We're not." 

Just as I was about to question him, I saw a girl appear from the tree line. Her long, dark, curly hair bounced as she marched to us with purpose. Her almond shaped, golden-brown eyes landed on us with scrutiny, checking us out from head to toe. 

Her pale skin almost glowed against the light of the sun as she stepped out of the shadows. The full Cupid bow above her lips was more pronounced with the pout she sported. Her oval face with high cheekbones and normal rounded ears did little to clue me in as to what she was. I know she’s not an elf or a vampire at least.

"Really? This is it?" She arched her brow, unimpressed with Ares and I for some reason. "I can't believe they thought we'd be enough. They must really have some confidence in my skills." She shook her head almost disapprovingly as she spoke. 

"Excuse me? Who the hell are you?" I snapped, not feeling like being ridiculed by a stranger before entering into the depths of hell. 

"Frances," Ares and she said in unison. Frances seemed surprised as she looked at Ares closer. "She's here to help us," Ares further explained.

"You know her?" 

I'd never seen her before in my life, and I know all of Ares' friends. Outside of our fierce 6 group, Ares didn't have very many others. I watched her closely as her eyes assessed me further. 

"Not really. I just saw her coming to help. The gods sent her. Just as the demons are using Jesse to get to El, the gods are using Frances to help us. Gods can't intervene as much as demons." 

Frances furrowed her brow as she thought further. 

"So it's true then? The child of prophecy lives?" 

"Yes, she's my daughter." 

Frances' whole demeanor seemed to change as she watched Ares. She went from scrutinizing him to deeply sympathizing with him. She sighed as she turned and looked at the crack in the air before us. 

"Well, shit. Now I feel bad. Look, I was told I needed to rescue some shadow weaver from hell and that I would have some help. They weren't really keen on the details, aside from this had to do with the fate of the world and all that jazz." She sighed, rubbing her forehead with the side of her hand, pushing her curls out of her face. "Let's just get this over with." 

"Wait, if we're going to fight together, I need to know what you can do. What are you?" I asked her, needing to know if I can really rely on a complete stranger for help. She smiled, obviously very proud of what she was. 

"I'm a mixed bag, love." She winked at me with a smile. "I'm here because of my angel and fire elf side, but my mermaid side could come in handy while we're down there." 

I had a hard time trying to piece those species together. How the hell did an angel get together with a mermaid? Or is it that the angel got together with the fire elf and then their kid got with a mermaid? I shook my head, pushing the distraction aside and focusing. 

"You may want to pull on Bane for this one," Ares instructed me. 

'You ready for this buddy?' I asked him, feeling my flames stroke beneath my skin. 

'Always,' Bane's deep voice reverberated around my head. 

He was serious, ready to beat some ass with me. The flames erupted from beneath my skin, bright blue with red tips and yellow undertones. My fire has been changing little by little since mating with Nova. It's gotten more powerful and given me new abilities. It's also helped with controlling the darkness better. He and Sombra have become a real team, especially after taking Percy's advice. 

"I see why they only sent me now." Frances smirked as she saw my shifted form. "Question is, who are they sending to open this crack in the realm?" She looked around as if the person were going to materialize out of thin air, and materialize they did. 

"Sorry I'm late," she said.

Her dark blue hair was the first thing I noticed as the white fog began to disappear around her. It hung in neat, soft waves around her shoulders. She wore a long white dress, not looking ready for battle at all. Her skin held a gold undertone, making her shine under the sun like a goddess. She brushed her dress down with her hands before standing straight up, showing off her beautiful face. 

It was heart shaped, with her hair parted right down the middle over the dip of her forehead. Her round eyes landed on me, letting me see they were two different colors, one gold and one neon blue. She was tall and muscular, exuding power by the millions. 

"And who is this one?" I asked Ares, really not wanting to interact with these strangers. Ares just shrugged like he didn't know either, which surprised the hell out of me. 

"Petra, pleasure to meet you." She held her hand out, but with my flames I couldn't take it. "Don't worry I won't get hurt, advantages of being a demigod." 

Holy shit, those are real?

I slowly raised my hand and she took it, letting me feel her immense power. I was starting to feel better about going in through that crack in the air now. To hell we go, but with a nepheline and a demigod. I wonder how we'll fare?