"Where's Lumi?" Came Perseus's confused voice.
He had returned to find the other two girls panicked, rapidly searching for their vanished friend.
It had all happened in a second. One second, Lumi was pushing them away from the cruel apparition. The next, she was being pulled up into the air, frozen stiff. They saw how her eyes rapidly flit side to side, her terror belying the ridiculous sight. Iris watched the vessels tense in her neck and face before rushing to her aid. She tried to grab her by her legs, but whatever force was holding on to her only lifted her up higher. Lorna tried to attack the floating image of the prince, hoping she could cause it to dissipate. Instead, her hands would only pass through the mirage, not making any connection.
Their concentration was broken when some of the passerbys on the boardwalk called out to them, inquiring as to what they were doing. The other two girls were horrified to realized that people still could not see what was happening. The floating prince was still invisible and now it looked like their friend was as well as no one seemed to be shocked at the sight of a floating girl. The distraction was enough for Lumi to be pulled towards the prince, pulled through the whatever this rift was. The mirage rippled as she passed through, her legs being the only thing sticking out within seconds.
"NO!" Both girls called out as they raced to rescue her, but their efforts were for naught as their fingertips only brushed the soles of Lumi's shoes before she vanished. The last thing they saw was the smirking image of that horrible prince before the rift closed, leaving behind two overwhelmed girls on the precipice of a panic attack. That's when Perseus came back, his good mood making an about-face into a more alarmed one. Taking in Iris's washed out gray skin and Lorna's rapid cursing in Spanish, he immediately knew something had happened to Lumi.
Rushing to Iris, he grabbed the girl by her arms. He gave her a quick shake forcing her to focus on him. He felt his heart constrict when he saw the fear in her wet eyes. Her rubbed his thumb under her eyes, catching the stray tears that escaped.
"Iris," he asked her, struggling to keep his voice steady even though the panic building in his chest made it hard for him to breathe. "What happened?"
Iris gulped down a breath, coughing in her hurry to get the words out. She felt Perseus's finger tightened into her flesh. But the adrenaline kept her brain from registering the pain.
"There was...a prince," she managed to stammer out. "A floating prince!" Her voice rose in active as she hurriedly spat out the words.
"Hey," a voice called out. The passerby hesitated when she saw the way the trio stared at her. Like everyone else, the commotion the girls caused earlier had drawn the attention of a small crowd. Some people murmured about a missing third girl but the passerby was a late comer. She just wanted to know if the girls were in danger and if the young man was an assailant.
"Is she alright?"
Iris turned back to Perseus, struggling to continue. Perseus released her arms and grabbed her wrist instead. He stalked up to Lorna and grabbed her other wrist.
"Yeah," he answered the woman in a monotone. "we just need to look for my sister."
With that, he rushed away with the two blubbering girls, happy for the bystander effect that kept people from following behind them. Still, to make sure he was not followed, he dragged the girls to a bus stop just as one of the vehicles were pulling up. He knew that he was not in the right mind set to drive, not with the anger brimming under the surface causing his pulse to thud in his ears and the fear to encroach from the corners of his vision like a black cloud. He got the girls to sit in the back, squeezing in as close as possible.
He didn't know that his leg was jumping up and down until Iris placed her hand on his thigh, causing him to immediately stop. Lorna pulled the signal to alert the driver to stop at the next stop. She gently pushed for Perseus and Iris to get ready. They were nowhere close to their homes, but she knew they did not have time to waste trying to make their game plan.
When they clattered off Perseus plowed right back into his interrogation.
"Again," he bursted out. "Where's Lumi?"
The two girls were still blubbering, overwhelmed by everything that was going on.
"The prince.." Lorna said weakly. "The prince took her."
Hearing those words caused his stomach to drop. He knew that they were coming. He knew that there was no other way for Lumi to disappear. He knew that there was always a chance that this day would come but he naively thought that he did all he could to keep it from coming. He wanted to scream, to shout. Heck, he wanted to cry too. Instead, he let the anger take over and unleash them on the other two victims.
"How could you two let this happen?!" He shouted at them. He watched the other two girls reel back in shock. Iris in particular stopped crying momentarily, her watery eyes drying to make way for her own anger.
"What." Her voice was steady but so cold.
"I entrusted my sister to you two," Perseus stupidly continued on. "You were her best friends! If you guys could not protect her, then what was the point of you guys even becoming friends!"
He wanted to continue, he needed to continue. He had to expel all of this pain, anger and fear through words. But he did not get a chance to. Before he could spit even more insults, Iris marched up to him and slapped him. He was surprised not expecting her to strike him. Maybe it was selfish, but he knew that Iris was attracted to him. He was aware that she always tried to get close to him, that she would always encourage him to take care of his health, that she always made sure to not only watch out for his sister but for him as well.
So to have her slap him cause his brain to short circuit for a moment.
He stood up to his full height, ready to continue screaming at her. Then he saw the look in her eyes. He had been so focused on his own fears, making his worry for the other two girls take a back seat. Yet when he saw the look of betrayal and hurt in Iris's eyes, he felt the anger drain out of him.
"Iris..." He reached out for her. He stopped when she took a step back, shaking her head. She ran back to Lorna's side and grabbed the still shell-shocked girl. Together they ran away from him, running in the direction of Iris's house. He numbly thought about going after them so that he could apologize. Convince them to let him escort them home. He would never have allowed them to go home alone.
Yet he didn't. He was still angry. He still partially blamed them. But he knew that he was the one at fault for letting his guard down. Falling to his knees, Perseus let his emotions take over, feeling his chest collapse from the constricting pain. Sobbing, he pressed his face to the ground. Whispering a wish to the heavens, hoping that the gods who gave them mercy earlier would hear his plea.
"Please be okay...Lumi."