The Librarian

"Just sit down, Kimmi." Nico told me with a sigh. "I need to tend your wounds."

I paced back and forth across the room that was extravagant to the point of looking like a film set. I suppressed the screams of frustration that were rising up inside of me. "Tend your own first." I told him, careful to keep my voice level. "I need to figure out where we are."

All I knew, all we both knew, was that we were on a sunny island. We had both caught a glipse of it before sacks were pulled over our heads and when they were pulled off we were being marched through windowless corridors by mortal guards. They shoved us into this large bedroom and left without a word. The only clear message left to us was the kit of medical supplies sitting at the end of the single large bed.

"I've already tended my own." Nico said. "Now come and sit down before you drive yourself insane. There's no use in knowing where we are if they've enchanted this place so I can't shadowtravel us out."

I reluctantly perched on the end of the bed next to him and gave him my injured wrists. "What do they want with us?" I asked, flinching at the cool sting of antiseptic.

"Kimmi, please-" Nico began.

"What do they want with us?" I pressed.

He sighed and set down the antiseptic wipes. "They wanted me to tell them of all the entrances to the Underworld. They wanted you because I refused to tell them. I think- I think Leuce wants to replace Persephone as Queen of the Underworld, and she's going to use me to blackmail my father."

I didn't know what to say to that, but luckily I didn't need to provide a response as both our attentions were pulled from the topic by a loud crashing outside our room. There were shouts of guards and yet more crashes until the sounds reached outside our single door. We could see the metal of the lock melt from our side of the door and it swung open to reveal an impish face.

"Miss me?" Leo asked.

Notes