Page 4 of Ares' Shield
Am I really following a strange demigod that I don’t know deep into the forest when there’s something clearly wrong with him?
I should have grabbed Adrian or Raven before venturing into the woods like this. But I never would have found him again out here.
The branches of the trees scratch at his arms and face as he pushes through them without a care. The dryads are not going to be happy if he damages their trees, but he doesn’t seem to care.
What the fuck is wrong with this guy?
“Hello? Hey, you. What the hell are you doing? You’re going out into the middle of nowhere, bro,” I shout at him.
Still no signs of life. Just his stomping feet taking him farther away from the damn academy.
How can I knock some sense into him? I call my magic to me and lightning crackles in my palm before I fling a tiny bolt at the guy’s back.
A small grunt fills the quiet forest but other than that, he doesn’t react. He can feel pain, but it doesn’t do anything to deter him from his trail. If you can even call it a trail.
He’s storming through the forest with one singular focus, and actually following a path to get there isn’t that focused at all.
I adjust the straps on my backpack as I pick through the forest, trying desperately not to upset the dryads even more as I silently apologize for any damage done by this guy.
Should I grab the shell from my backpack and call Raven? What would she be able to do about it? The guy is huge. I distantly remember seeing him in the Ares common room, but I can’t remember his name.
Would Raven be able to talk some sense into him? Probably fucking not. It’s like he’s not even there.
“C’mon, bro. Where the fuck are you going?” I throw my hands up in frustration but continue to follow him.
I shiver as the buzz of the wards skates down my spine. They are still very much intact since we rescued the Hermes kids. Thank the fates for that because I don’t want to fight any monsters inside the academy grounds again.
The guy doesn’t even slow his pace as we come up to the wards.
“Dude, you don’t want to walk through there.” I reach out and grab his arm, but he pulls away.
He shoves me to the side as I try to step in front of him to block him and pain shoots up my hip as I land on it on the ground.
What the fuck?
I scramble up from the ground and watch in horror as he walks straight through the wards. They part around him like nothing, and he continues on his path. I stare with bated breath, waiting for a monster to come out of nowhere and attack him, but nothing happens.
He just walks out of the academy. He stomps through the forest until he’s out of sight.
How the fuck is this possible?
I creep to the wards and the buzzing rattles my teeth as I reach out to touch them. It’s a solid wall in front of me and I jump back as electricity that isn’t mine zaps me.
“Ow, shit.” I fling my hand to get rid of the sting.
How the hell did this happen? How was he able to get out without permission and I got zapped?
There is definitely something wrong here.
I step away from the wards and pick my way through the forest back to the academy when a dryad steps out in front of me.
“Have you seen that before?” I ask.
“No, but there are rumors of the ones with dead eyes.”
“Dead eyes?” I ask stupidly.
“They’re empty and I don’t like what they are doing to the trees,” she pouts and lays a green hand on the trunk of the nearest tree.
