Previously:

Still I laughed. "I would have thought you'd have done your research before offering me anything, old man." His finger snatched away. "Nothing you offer can be of any use to me."

"So be it." The king's barely restrained anger leaking through.

The torture I went through at his hand was nothing compared to what some of the monsters did to me in the pit of Tartarus the second time around. I put on a show for him, however, while I worked on my plan to free Blackjack and my mother.

And Murtagh.

"Aaarrrgggggh!"

"Will you swear your fealty to me in the ancient language?" His voice was deceptively calm when I knew he was growing in his anger and frustration. It's good to see I still had the ability to annoy people in power.

"Have your offers changed since the last time?" I panted.

"No."

"Then neither has my answer to that question. Stop wasting your time."

"Very well."

The sudden stop surprised me. No way was he giving up now. Was he going to do what I thought he would? If he wasn't running out of patience, I was.

I heard nothing for a while, making me anxious. Where did he go?

"Gal?" I called.

Nothing but for an echo.

"Tori?"

Still nothing.

"Rex?"

Nope.

"Trix?"

I continued calling out horrible nicknames I'd made up for him for the next hour...at least. It could have been longer but I wasn't keeping track.

Eventually, I ran out of names and I fell into a tired silence. My muscles were sore from the hot iron poking at me for hours on end and my throat was too from yelling so much. I was exhausted from exerting so much energy into making Galabatorix think he was causing me more pain than he was. It was a fine line I was walking. If he figured out I was faking, he would use more creative ways to torture me and that might render me useless in any future fights.

I needed him to try something else and my patience was wearing thin. If he doesn't do it soon, I was going to do it instead.

As I fell asleep that night—or day, I really lost track—I had a random thought; 'Finally.' But it wasn't mine.

- - -

I was walking through camp and judging from the weather, it was summer time. Everything was just as I remembered it, nothing's changed since my trip to...you know, I can't seem to remember.

I realized something. Camp was the same but for one difference.

"Where is everyone?" I muttered to myself. For some reason, I felt that yelling for anyone would be out of place. Never had camp been so empty during the summer. Not even during the winter or that first Titan war. I didn't even see the dryads at the edge of the forest.

Erie silence blanket the entire island. The only sound was my feet crunching the grass as I walk to the campfire. The trees were still, no wind made its way through the barrier. The fire was dead.

As I watched the fire pit, a feeling of wrongness came over me. A name but no face popped into my head.

"Hestia." I murmured. Everything about the scene before me was wrong but one thing stood out to me above all the others. "Why is the fire out?"

"Because hope died."

I spun around to see a young girl standing behind me. She was around eight, had unruly brown hair, and the deepest brown eyes I have ever seen. "Why?"

She tilted her head. "Because you let Alagaësia fall."

"Alagaësia?" I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion. Flashes of battlefields went through my mind. The broken bodies and buildings that seemed so familiar but no names came to mind.

"It was destroyed, all but camp." She confirmed, her eyes showing a sadness that seemed off. "And it was your fault."

"My fault?" I questioned haltingly, too shocked to do much more than repeat what she said.

"Everyone is gone," she said in the same tone. She hadn't moved from the spot I'd first seen her. "Thalia, Nasuada, Eragon, Saphira, Blackjack, even the gods. The gods did nothing, they care not for our fate."

That was my opening. Careful not to show my intentions on my face, I said, "Gone? The gods?"

"Yes." Now she moved closer, looking up at me. Here eyes portrayed a pain that seemed different from her before...before what? I couldn't get a grasp on it. "They forsook us, you forsook us."

"What did I do?" I asked, almost desperately. An unfamiliar sense of hopelessness overcame me. A feeling that was not my own.

"It's what you didn't do," she corrected. "You didn't swear loyalty to the right people.

I frowned in confusion. "What?" I am the primordial god of loyalty. How is that possible?

"Those you swore to overthrew the kingdom," she explained. "That was the start of the fall in the order to Alagaësia."

That wasn't quite right but I was not going to correct her just yet. She also seemed to think that camp was in the world of Alagaësia. I had no problem with her thinking that. It kept her from figuring out there are other worlds out there. Or should I say it kept Galabatorix from figuring that out.

"The border!" I exclaimed, as if suddenly realizing something. I jumped to a run to check on Thalia's tree. "Is it still up?"

We reached the hill not two minutes later, Peleus wasn't there but the Golden Fleece was. I put my had on the tree and closed my eyes. The protections were still in place. "Good." I sagged against the tree in relief.

The mental copy of my domain can't be tampered with by anyone other than me. They were there for a reason and I knew how the barrier here was put together better than the back of my hand. Reaching out with my magic, I started tweaking the magic surrounding the camp.

"They will not hold for long," the girl that was supposed to be Hestia said ominously. "They have taken over the rest of the kingdom, it is only a matter of time before they take this place too. There is nothing you can do anymore."

I turned to stare at her, peering into her soul. "There is one thing," I muttered.

"What?" She asked, looking confused.

Stalking toward her quickly, I snatched her wrist. My magic seeped into her, changing her appearance. Stripping her disguise. She struggled against me even as I forced her to touch the tree. I made the magical connection as quickly as I could. "Let go!"

"You think you can play with my flaw like that, Tori?" I growled. Instead of an eight year old girl, a grown man in a black cape stood in front of me. "I think not."

"What are you?" Galabatorix questioned. It seems he was starting to think I wasn't human.

I grinned wickedly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

I stepped out of the borders to camp and moved out of reach. Folding my arms across my chest, I watched in expectation for Galabatorix's reaction.

He growled angrily, eyes glinting with barely restrained anger. Drawing his sword, he charged.

Only to be thrown back by the barrier by at least 10 feet. "Arrrrgggghh!" He stood up, his feet uncertain beneath him. Not one to give up, he came at me again. This time, he wasn't thrown back but he was blocked from going any further. He struggled for a time and finally took a step back from the barrier. "What have you done?"

I hadn't moved an inch, still smirking. "I trapped you in my mind," I said. Shrugging noncommittally, I continued, "I can't keep you here for long but it will be long enough to get what I need from you and then to where I need to go."

"You can't get in my mind," he sneered greasily. "It's too well protected."

Shaking my head, I tsked. "Gal, you obviously know nothing of the mind arts." I started pacing, getting ready to lecture. "You see, in order to enter another's mind, you need a door of some kind. A door can be created in numerous of ways. You used the one that opened as I fell asleep. The easiest. Everyone's mind is vulnerable in those few moments between reality and the dream world. You also used one that appeared when I thought of Hestia when I saw the fire pit. Thinking of things or people outside of your immediate vicinity distracts your mind naturally and creates a door. No matter who you are. The trick to protect the mind from those is to hide the doors and lock them before anyone finds them. Or to train the mind to not make any more than necessary."

I paused in my lecture to see Galabatorix silently fuming. Was he upset I saw through his tricks? Why? They were blindingly obvious.

I grinned. "I used one myself not too long ago when you thought about the gods and Alagaësia—or more specifically your castle—being overthrown. And Blackjack. The other random doors you threw out there were not necessary." I had stopped pacing long ago. "I got what I needed from the ones I used. I know where Blackjack, the egg and Kílf are."

His eyes widened. "How?" His voice was subdued. A strange sound, coming from him. "I didn't feel your mind..."

I shrugged. "If magic did not see fit to teach you that, I see no reason why I would. Enjoy your stay here at Camp Half-Blood."

Waking up was an ordeal. My eyes refused to open for the first five minutes and my throat felt parched. I stretched my magic out to feel around my surroundings. No one but Galabatorix was in my cave. And he was in a veggie like state as an effect from his mind being trapped in mine. This was just as well because I needed to get out.

I sat there for a few minutes. In what way would I get out? There were a few options and it didn't really matter which one. The restrains on me as I laid on the stone table weren't strong enough to hold me so I could easily just break them. But then there's the question of the wards he'd put up. They were extensive. And repetitive. And entirely pointless.

None of them would be able to latch onto my magical signature if I hid my power.

In the end, I got too lazy to try any of the elaborate plans I had come up with and flashed out to the room with the egg and my mother.

Flashing directly in the room was foolhardy despite the fact I was magically undetectable. Going somewhere like that in enemy territory could get you trapped or killed. Instead, I appeared just outside the doors.

Unfortunately, there were two rather impressive looking guards on either side of the large, double doors. They carried staves that were about three feet higher than their heads. They were both large men already so it was quite impressive.

We took one look at each other and I flashed around the corner. I waited, breathless, to see what they would do.

"Did you see that, Malcolm?"

"Yeah, what'd'you reckon that was?"

"I don't know, I heard these halls were haunted though."

"Haunted?" Poor Malcolm.

"Yeah, phantoms from the days of the elves, wandering the halls because they can't find their way to halls of their ancestors."

"I don't like that."

"Me neither but we can't exactly raise the alarm over a ghost, the king would have our heads."

"True that, Svengali."

It fell silent after that as they both seemed to agree any more conversation than that would leave them headless in the end.

I hid my laughter in my fist and flashed to find Blackjack's cell. Now that I saw those defenses, I need to see his and figure it out from there.

"Blackjack!" I whispered as loud as I dared. I was in a part of the dungeons that only had giant cells—large enough for a dragon— with bars for the doors. I didn't dare open my mind for our connection. Murtagh was still a threat despite the fact he hated the king. Too risky. "Blackjack!"

I heard a low growl and a huff come from the far right. It echoed slightly but I could still tell where it originated from. Coming up on his cell, I grinned. In the extremely low lights, his scales glittered like obsidian. A large long chain around his neck kept him close to the ground and dirt caked his claws. They were torn and bloodied, like he'd tried digging his way out.

"There you are buddy," I whispered fondly. Reaching my hands through to scratch at his scales, I tried sending calming vibes to him. "Don't try connecting with me just yet, I need to get us someplace safe."

He snorted and stepped back as far as he could. He was starting to get restless.

The giant lock on the cell doors was almost laughable. The larger the lock, the easier to pick. And this one was the easiest I'd ever done. The doors swung open with a loud squeak and I entered so I could get a closer look at the chain around his neck.

This one was a little more difficult. It had wards surrounding it to prevent blunt force and  magical alterations. Fortunately, the wards against magical alterations was for the metal only. It took no longer than a minute to turn Blackjack into a snake, pull him from the trappings and turn him back. I watched as Blackjack awkwardly and loudly clambered out of the cell.

"This isn't going to work," I muttered. Then, speaking louder, "Hey, buddy do you mind being a horse again for a few minutes?"

He lowered his head to show his acceptance and in the next second, he was a familiar, wingless black horse.

"Alright, let's go," I flashed us a little down the hall from the two guards and charged, Blackjack quickly following my lead. "Ahhhhh!"

They were so startled, they dropped their staves and jumped so far in the air, they almost matched the height of the doorway.

Knocking them out was too easy. They became senseless heaps on the floor in under five seconds.

"Nice," I said, nodding my head in satisfaction before bending down to pick the lock. I really was spending too much time with Hermes and Apollo if this is a habit I'm picking up.

These doors swung open soundlessly and revealed a huge room filled with glowing treasure and rocks. Eldunarí. The hearts of hearts that belonged to hundreds of dragons.

Not to mention a marble statue of a beautiful woman standing over a large green dragon egg. Right in the center.

Why did he keep all of that in one place? That wasn't very smart.

We hurried inside and shut the doors. I kept my hands on the handles, focusing on the magic surrounding the room. The locks clicked shut again. The wards were now mine. No one was going to get in as long as they were active. Not even Shruikan, Galabatorix's dragon, could break down those doors now.

It would have been far more difficult to actually escape Urû'baen than it would be to stay. So I gathered us in one spot and changed the wards so we could 'hide' out here until the Varden came. Then, we could help them take him down from the inside. Food had been my only concern but my sisters said they would take care of that.

With the wards taken care of, I turned to the marble statue guarding the egg. She had long hair that went down to her waist, a round face and was a little short. Despite her height, she was fierce, wielding a battle axe in her right hand the size of her shield on her other arm.

I knew this woman. Some of her features were as familiar to me as my own. I got my height from Dad for sure but our expressions in the middle of battle or when protecting...I'd never seen my own face in these instances but I knew the expression on her face. I'd felt the feeling behind it before.

I don't know when I had made it to her side, it must have been while I was looking at her. Reaching out my hand, I touched her shoulder.

"Mother," I breathed.

Color entered her stone form and she softened until there were no more traces of the marble left. It happened so quickly, it had to have been a defense mechanism. Instead of stumbling out of her position, like I expected her to, she flowed into another form, facing me head on, axe aimed at me as if she was going to throw it.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Perseus Chaosson," I answered quickly with my hands up. "And you are Kílf...aren't you?"

- - -

Somewhere deep beneath the castle came and angered yell. It didn't reach the surface but it echoed throughout the cells hauntingly.

The Black King had awoken, free of the mind prison inside his prisoner's own mind. Although, he wasn't a prisoner anymore was he?

He was an invader.