Shouting from the hall cut through the air. Persephone and Circe both buckled at the knees. Circe fell into a heap as Persephone grabbed the stone shelf to try and hold herself up. Jars tumbled down and broke against the floor, scattering their contents all around.
A short man in a tattered T-shirt and jeans rushed in. He pointed at Persephone. 揝he抯 still up. Hit her again!?
Persephone moved toward the man and caught his outstretched hand in her own. The bones popped as she crushed it. The man howled in agony, clutching his mangled hand to his chest. A woman barreled into the room and stepped closer to Persephone.
揝leep,?said the woman through gritted teeth.
Persephone immediately collapsed.
I willed a length of vine to wrap itself around the strange woman, but before I could order it to choke the life out of her, she looked me dead in the eye.
揝leep.?
CHAPTER 19
I heard the retching first and then I felt the pain. As my mind found its way back to the confines of my skull, my senses awoke one by one. My entire body ached, like I抎 fallen asleep in the most awkward position on the most unforgiving surface.
More retching and then a sour smell that made the muscles under my tongue seize up. I wanted to puke. I tried to roll over but the ache in my bones kept me pinned to the floor. At least, I thought it had to be the floor. I forced my eyes open and the light was like a knife cutting into my brain. I groaned.
So did someone else nearby.
I reached to touch my face and found that my hands rose up together. I focused on my wrists and saw that they were bound with zip ties.
揝he抯 up,?a voice said.
Footsteps rushed over and hands roughly pulled me into a sitting position. My head pounded, the room spun, and my stomach turned over again. I found my glasses dangling from the chain around my neck and slipped them onto my face. The lens was cracked over my right eye and the frame was bent, but as my eyes adjusted, the remains of a small stone building came into focus around me. This one didn抰 have a roof and only three of its four walls were still standing. Leaves, dirt, and broken branches littered the ground. A man sat on the edge of a wooden bench, clutching his stomach as he vomited onto the stone floor.
I turned away to keep myself from doing the same thing. I tried not to breathe. How did I get there? I didn抰 remember walking out of the other building or anything after the strange woman had told me to sleep and my body obeyed without question.
The same woman now took me by the shoulders and violently shook me. My head felt like it was going to come off my neck.
揥ake up. Get it together.?She slapped me hard on the side of my face, knocking my glasses sideways. The sting of her palm sent slivers of light through my gaze. My eyes involuntarily teared.
I gritted my teeth. 揇on抰 touch me.?
揙r what??the woman asked. 揥hat are you gonna do??
揤iv, don抰 antagonize her,?said another man who had been standing behind me. He went around and patted his incapacitated friend on the back then sauntered over to me. 揓ust relax. We won抰 hurt you if you just do what we ask.?
揟he hell we won抰，？said the woman. 揝he抯 the reason Katrina is dead, Dre. I should kill her right now.?
揌ow are we gonna get the last piece, then??the man called Dre shouted back at her. 揕ook at Calvin. He抯梙e抯 not in good shape. We can抰 even get close to the wall.?
They knew about the Heart.
They抎 tried to get there and clearly, judging by the thick yellow vomit Calvin was spewing onto the floor, had run into something they couldn抰 get past without severe consequences. And they knew Katrina Valek桵rs. Redmond.
揥e don抰 need her!?Viv shouted. 揥e抣l figure out another way.?
揥e do need her,?said Dre. 揂nd there isn抰 another way. Katrina had the right idea but you know how she was. She never wanted to wait too long for anything. She should have kept up the front a little longer and then maybe we wouldn抰 have to be in this position.?He turned to me and scowled. 揔atrina抯 our sister. Or at least she was. She抯 dead now, thanks to you.?
I adjusted my glasses and stared back and forth between them. I could see the resemblance. I could also see the resemblance to someone else桯ermes. I wondered if they even realized how close their immortal ancestor was or how repelled he抎 been by them to not even care what happened to them on the island.
I suddenly wondered if these were the people Phillip had encountered when he tried to sell the counterfeit pottery shard. It would explain why he couldn抰 get his story straight. The woman, Viv, was able to knock me out without laying a finger on me. She抎 probably done the same thing to him.
There were three of them, but the goddess Persephone said four people had come ashore. Karter had to have been the young man she mentioned.