Chapter 81: Shadow man
Aria POV
“Aaaaahhhh” I scream, still falling. There’s no wind or sound, just an endless darkness swallowing me whole.
My stomach drops, my heart slams against my ribs and then I hit something solid, very hard.
“Fuck” I groan out as pain shoots up my legs as my heels scrape against the rough stone of where I landed.
I stumble forward, barely catching myself before I fall again. My palms press against the cold rock and I suck in a sharp breath, forcing myself upright.
“Okay,” I whisper, my voice echoing strangely. “I’m alright.” I repeat to myself and look around.
The darkness shifts into massive rock like pillars. They all rise around me, jagged and uneven, floating in the air. Beneath them, glowing fire churns like molten lava, glowing red and gold.
The sight of it should terrify me, but I’ve been in the underworld long enough. I look around, for anything, I’m meant to feel hot from all the fire but I’m far from it.
My chest tightens at that, is this a part of the underworld? “Hades?” I call out, my voice louder now, “Hades!”
Nobody answers me of course. Panic starts to set in. This isn’t the underworld that I know, it’s not anywhere I even recognize.
I lift my hands instinctively, focusing, as I try to open a portal but nothing happens.
I try again, pushing harder, calling on the magic that I usually always feel beneath my skin. But nothing.
I stare down at my hands, my fingers trembling slightly. They look normal. Too normal. Somehow it feels wrong. Like I’m human again.
“What the hell?” I mutter
“Aria.” A voice calls out my name
I spin around so fast my heel slips against the rock. “Who’s there?” I snap into the darkness, my heart pounding.
“Aria.” The voice sings songs my name again, deeper this time, almost amused.
“Always so jumpy.” A figure steps forward as if the shadows themselves are a part of him.
I immediately recognize him, Shadow man. He leans casually against a jagged boulder, a black lung bat resting in his hand. He swings it slightly, like this is all some kind of game. His lips curves into a knowing smirk
His eyes meets mine like he had been waiting for me.
My throat tightens, “Why can’t I use my powers?” I ask quickly, skipping everything else. “What did you do?”
He chuckles, “Straight to business huh?”
I narrow my eyes at him, “I don’t have time for this.”
He lifts the bat slightly, tilting his head, “It’s been a while Aria, these days, this is the only way I can catch you alone.” He grimaces
I told my arms over my chest, irritation bubbling up, “I didn’t disappear, you were the one who disappeared.” I say, “You gave me the book and vanished. I’ve been busy, and you weren’t exactly around either.”
He studies me for a moment, his expression unreadable. “And yet you’ve been learning without me.” He smiles
My jaw tightens, “I’ve been serving on my own that’s what.”
“How are your spells?” He asks calmly, “And your control?”
I hesitate. My mind flashes to the hospital, to my father who was weak one moment and when I touched him, the way life surged into him and then the flowers around dying.
Should I say something? I swallow .
“ I somehow healed my father.” I admit, “But afterward… things around me died, plants and flowers and I don’t understand why.”
His expression goes completely still. He doesn’t smile or try to tease me. He stares at me like he’s looking directly into my soul.
“That’s fine,” he says eventually. “It’s part of the process.”
A chill slides down my spine,”Part of what process?”
He steps closer, “To reveal your true power dear Aria. To becoming useful.”
I stiffen, “I’m not some tool.”
He doesn’t argue, he only raises his hand, “Open a portal,” he says
“I can’t,” I snap, “You practically just saw that.”
He smiles, “Try again.”
Before I can argue, he snaps his fingers. The air around me shifts violently, power surges through my body all at once, wild and uncontrollable. My feet lift off the ground without my permission.
“What are you doing?” I shout as the darkness rips open in front of me.
I’m pulled for war and the world snaps and light explodes around me.
I land hard on marble, my magic slamming outward in a violent wave before I can stop it.
Gasps fill the air and the music playing cuts off. A scream echoes as I land and someone is thrown across the room, crashing into a pillar with a sickening force.
The room freezes. I’m on Olympus, in the middle of the party.
“Fuck my life.” I mutter