Isabella, Tartarus survivor

I should probably learn sign language

Chapter 33

Alex and Magnus led Issy to a bustling high street. "Blitz should be in Sephora. Come on." The trio entered a makeup store, and Magnus made a beeline for a short man putting eyeshadow on his arm and a taller man wearing a red and white scarf who looked exasperated. The tall one made a movement with his hands and the shorter of the two made a gesture back. Isabella looked on in confusion. She leaned in towards Magnus,

"What are they doing with their hands?" Magnus laughed and signed something at the taller of the two as we approached them.

"It's sign language. Hearth's deaf. You know sign language, don't you?" Issy shook her head, embarrassed. "Ah, it's alright." Magnus said, "You'll learn pretty quickly. It helps to have an actual deaf person to practice with."

"Is this the help?" Said the shorter man, sticking out a hand. "Blitz. And you are?"

"Um, Isabella." She said as she shook Blitz's hand.

"Brilliant." Blitz said. "So what can you do?"

"Well, er, I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I can shadow travel. And I can make people disintegrate."

"The disintegrate bit should have come first." Blitz said, signing along as he spoke. Hearth signed something. "He agrees." Blitz told her.

"Sorry." She said. A smile split Blitz's face.

"I was just joking, it's alright!" Blitz began to say something else but Alex interrupted him.

"Guys, we should probably head back to the hotel. Although, I don't know if Miss Death here will be able to come in."

"Maybe we could give it a go," Magnus said, "I mean, maybe if she's the daughter of Hades, she will be considered, well, dead enough to be in there."

"What's going on?" Asked Issy, not following the conversation.

"Hotel Valhalla. It's where we basically live." Magnus explained. "Only thing is, you have to be dead to get in there. And you're kind of not."

"I hadn't noticed," replied the Italian, sarcastically. "Although, um, I've been in the underworld more than the living. I don't know if that counts."

"Probably not." Said Alex. "I mean you're what, 15? Maximum you've spent in the underworld is seven and a half years, and given that you're actually alive, it's more likely that it won't help."

"It was more than seven years." Issy said quietly.

"Oh, sorry, eight." Alex said mockingly. Magnus shot her a reproachful look.

"Alex, what is with you?"

"I just... I don't like the idea that this girl can control us. Don't get me wrong, I trust your cousin, but this girl can manipulate the dead. And that's what we are. Who knows what she might do?"

"I do." Issy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I know what I'm going to do, and it isn't hurt you. I've been part of a prophecy for as long as I remember, and if I recall correctly, it's about giants, not... I can't remember what you call yourselves. And I don't even know if I could control you. I'm not going to try it though, because trust is important to me. I survived hundreds of years in Tartarus, and it's because I knew the right person to be with. My instincts are telling me I can trust you, so please don't prove me wrong." She was breathing hard by the end of her rant.

"Tartarus? Isn't that where all the Greek monsters go?" Blitz asked. Isabella nodded. "Isn't it meant to be worse than hell?" She nodded again, quiet, staring at the floor. Alex blinked slowly, wheels turning in their brain as they processed what had been said.

"OK," Alex said, "OK. I'm sorry." Issy looked up and gave a weak smile. Magnus let out a breath.

"That was intense." Isabella let out a slight laugh.

"Yes, it was." She agreed.

"We should get to the hotel." Alex said. "Come on. We'll show you how to get there."

The five of them arrived at a pond in the park they'd departed from. "Jump on in." Alex instructed, a slight grin on their face. Isabella frowned.

"What? No." She said.

"It genuinely works." Magnus said. "Look, Alex will go first!"

"Wha-" the green haired person began, but they didn't finish. Magnus pushed them forward into the river, and they disappeared. Hearth went next, and Issy found herself realising that it probably wasn't an attempt to kill her. Blitz jumped in, leaving just Issy and Magnus.

"You want to go first?" He asked. Issy looked at him, then at the pond, then back at him.

"Please." She said. Magnus nodded and indicated for her to go. Issy took a deep breath, and threw herself into the water.

Cold. That was the first thing she felt. Then burning lungs, screaming that she needed to breathe in, and she was falling. Free falling, her hands stretched out, her eyes wide open, trying desperately to cling onto what looked like branches. A hand grabbed hers, and she was pulled up by one Alex Fierro. Magnus landed neatly next to her. "We're sneaking you in the back way, to see if this will actually work." Alex explained.

"Follow me!" Blitz instructed, and began climbing down. "And you might want to come quickly. Don't want Ratatosk on us again." He pulled a grim face at Magnus and Hearth. Issy sensed that there was a story there, but figured now wasn't the time to ask. She clambered down, following Blitz's exact steps, not wanting to fall. She could hear a scuttling above her, but chose to ignore it and try to focus on the task in hand.

They climbed for what felt like an hour, but was probably only twenty minutes, then reached a door. Hearth signed something. "You ready?" Blitz translated. Issy took a deep breath and reached forward. She took the door handle, twisted it and pulled the door open. Her breath flew out of her lungs and the ground came up to meet her.