We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.
Grover was having trouble hiding his way of walking without his crutches. We hadn't realized before because we were so tired but they were left on the bus too.
I tried to keep my head down; my name and picture were pasted on the front pages of several East Coast newspapers thanks to both me going missing and the exploding bus. Unfortunately, my blue hair was fairly distinct, so I had to borrow Grover's Rasta cap to hide it as best as I could.
It was not my style.
What the newspapers were reporting wasn't looking good for us. I was wanted for questioning and that picture of me with my trident (which looked like a blurry staff in the picture) was making rounds. It didn't help that the bus had blown up right after.
I wondered if there was a way to manipulate this mist thing that hid us? I didn't like how it was working. Could I file a complaint?
Annabeth assured me that the mortal police wouldn't be able to find us, but even she didn't sound very confident about that.
I ended up sleeping for most of the ride.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I was in the water next to a girl.
She was in a chiton and had black hair.
Lara.
She drifted in the water, guided by two dolphins. They seemed to be heading to a nearby island.
The dolphins were chattering softly, arguing and chiding each other for being too rough.
" Poseidon-ore said to be sure that she reached land safely! You have to be gentler, areto"
" I have to be gentler? You're the one that nearly hit her on that avitor rock!"
"I did not you vorlat ufa-"
They continued to bicker over whose fault various mishaps were as they reached the island. They gently sent her bobbing on the waves to reach shore and once assured she was there, they left.
I stood alone in the water with Lara unconscious next to me.
I studied her, finding some resemblance to me. I took after my mom in my medium brown skin tone, but we had the same hair, and our eye shape was the same.
I wondered if our eye color was the same; I hadn't gotten a close look in the last dream.
"And who is this," murmured a voice.
I looked up and blanched. A figure stood over me with dark skin, twisting green and black snakes for hair and spiraling grey-brown eyes that made me feel as though I were frozen.
Her gaze was on Lara, studying her curiously.
Medusa.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I was back at the pit with the unknown Titan. His shifting sands coiled over me once more.
"Who are you?" I asked again.
The voice chuckled, "You will know in time, Little Percy. Have patience."
I scowled. I wanted to know who He was!
"Bring me the bolt," He crooned. "Help me rise."
"I won't help you rise if you don't tell me who you are!"
The voice murmured. Other presences were there as well, pinpricks of warmth, a heat from my bones. "In time, little hero. Aid me and you will have all the answers you could ever wish for."
I glared at the pit. That wasn't nice! He wanted me to help without knowing who he was? And in doing so he wanted me to risk my brother and the people of the sea, my people.
"You're either Kronos, Koios, or Iapetus," I said stubbornly. "So which one!?"
The voice hummed, and I heard an outright laugh from another, one that made my fingers prickle like needles were poking them.
"You shall simply have to guess little hero."
I huffed, ignoring the snickers from the prickling needles. That wasn't fair! All I had to go on was gold eyes and shifting sands. And that He agreed to kill Uranus, but like… five Titans did that.
"You'll just say no, no matter who I say!"
"He's got you there," snickered prickling needles.
"Shut up," the voice hissed to prickling needles. "You need not know who I am right now, little hero, sim-"
"But that's not fair!" I protested. "If you're asking for my help then I should know who I'm helping, shouldn't I?"
"Life isn't fair."
"That's not how this works!"
"Yeah, that's cold, K-"
"Shush."
Ha! It started with a K! That meant Koios or Kronos. Ugh, Koios was intelligence and the heavenly axis (I wasn't sure what that was but…) and Kronos was time and agriculture.
"So you're Kronos or Koios!"
"Ha- OW!"
"Moving on," Shifting Sands said smoothly. "You simply need to bring me the Bolt. If you still hold questions then, I will answer them."
"And return my mom?" I asked suspiciously. "Because I'm pretty sure Hades took her. And I dunno how you'd get her then. And wasn't something of Hades taken?"
There was a beat of silence.
"Your mother will be returned to you. All I need is the Bolt."
Sounded suspicious, the voice is nice… but still…
"Well, I don't have the Bolt. Sorry."
"You need not worry, you will have it in time." The voice almost sounded amused.
I frowned, but the prophecy said that I would 'find what was stolen and see it safely returned'. Which meant that I wouldn't be giving it to the still unknown Titan. Besides, I couldn't risk there being a war.
"I don't think that's gonna work out."
I woke.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
The money was only enough to get us as far as Denver and after some debate we decided to save my extra stash. We'd try a different route for the rest (plus we weren't sure if I'd be compensated for spending a few hundred dollars on the quest).
Also, none of us were comfortable being in one place for longer than necessary, and two days on the same train was already too long. It didn't matter that it was a moving location, anything could get on.
I looked out the window and noticed a family of kentaurs galloping across a wheat field. A young boy kentaur caught my eye and waved.
I waved back.
None of the mortals seemed to notice; the buzzing mist hid the Godly world.
My thoughts drifted to my dreams. The dolphins carried the girl, Lara, to the island. She must've been the same one that Medusa mentioned, because Medusa was there herself.
Why was I having these? I'd never really seen the past before… well there was that one dream, but it was just the one. Now I was having multiple of the same story.
They were showing the past… I'd read about that, and I was pretty sure Tethys mentioned it, as well as Rosa one time. I needed to check my books but I was pretty sure dreaming of the past was Amuri-something.
Divination was strongly connected to the ocean, but I hadn't thought I had it much. It may have been strong in the sea, but it was still rare . Seeing the past was a form of divination though...
Grover suddenly kicked off his fake foot in his sleep and I had to scramble with Annabeth to stick it back on before anyone could see. I didn't want to find out what the buzzing mist would show them.
"So," Annabeth asked me, once we'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"
I blinked, "What?"
"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"
I didn't particularly want to share my dreams, not the one about the pit and the Titan(s?) in it, and definitely not the one about Lara, but the pit dreams seem to be related to the quest… it wasn't right to keep those details from a quest member. At least, I didn't think it was.
I shifted uncomfortably, then told her of the pit with the voice that was requesting the bolt in exchange for my mother.
Annabeth was quiet for a minute. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's a Titan, either Kronos or Koios based on the conversation… wait have you had dreams of Hades before to know that?"
She flushed, "No I haven't dreamed it but… someone else did. Anyways, why would the Titan's want the bolt? They haven't been active in… forever."
I shrugged, "The voice said to help him rise, so maybe they want to escape the pit. It's Tartarus, right?"
She pursed her lips, "Probably. Whoever it is, you have to be careful not to make a deal either way. The Titan's are evil, cruel and merciless. And Hades isn't much better either, on the off chance this is Hades we're talking about."
"So, does that mean that Hades does have the bolt? Or that he doesn't? Cause I still think something of his was taken."
She didn't seem to like them at all, neither Hades nor the Titans. They hadn't been cruel to me, though. But she seemed to have interacted with Hades's forces before…
She shook her head, "I'm not sure… The Kindly Ones were less aggressive this time, and that might be because they wanted the bolt, or something of his was taken and they were looking for it… I just don't have all the facts."
I raised an eyebrow, "This time? You've met them before?"
Her hand crept up to her necklace and she fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a oak tree, one of her end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."
I frowned. Regardless of who it was, I was absolutely planning to try and make a deal for my mom. Or at least plead for him to hear me out. Besides, that was… so cold to say. I couldn't leave my mom, not if there was a chance of saving her.
But then… if she was on the run so young… that must've meant that her family didn't want to protect her.
"What about your dad? What would you do if it were him in front of you?"
She raised her chin, her grey eyes hard. "That's easy. I'd leave him to rot."
I stared at her, taking in her expression. She really did hate her dad. What did he do? But if he was anything like Gabe… Yeah, I'd leave him to rot too.
I nodded, "Okay, I'm sorry your dad hurt you. But my mom isn't like that. She risked everything to keep me safe, I won't leave her behind. She matters more than anything else to me."
She shook her head, "My dad didn't want me. Maybe your mom wanted you but…" she took a deep breath. "My dad got his 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and he decided that it was best if I didn't exist anymore. I was there, but they never cared."
She looked at me and seemed so vulnerable, "I'm sorry about your mom, but this is bigger than her. You've got to consider the world as a whole… What kind of world would you bring her back to if you put her before the quest? Would you be willing to doom the world to save your mom… Would she want that?"
I looked away. I didn't want to put her before the quest. I had to stop the war, for Triton and my merfriends… for the sea as a whole… but I didn't want to leave my mom either. If it came down to it… I wasn't sure I could leave her behind.
I changed the subject.
"Why did you leave home?" I asked.
She grimaced and eyed me. She seemed to know what I was doing but she answered anyway.
"My dad's wife always treated me like some freak, wouldn't let me play with her children or be around them much at all. My dad always went along with her. He didn't want me, his 'regular' mortal wife and him always made it clear they blamed me for all the monster attacks. I took a hint, told my cousin ahead of time and then I ran away."
"How old were you?"
"Seven."
I considered it with a frown, "How did you reach camp? If you already had terrors trailing you…"
"Athena watched over me, she guided me to help. I made a couple friends that looked out for me, they made sure I was safe. For a time anyways…"
She stared out the window, her expression sad. Her thoughts seemed far away.
I looked away.
Athena helped her get to safety then, I was glad her mom tried to look out for her (did her mom wish to protect her, see her as a child that needed to be guarded? Did that lessen the terror attacks?)
I stared out the window in silence.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I stood above what looked like the aftermath of a great battle.
The land was torn, great cuts in the ground and large swaths of ashes coated what was once grass. Golden blood soaked the earth.
The stars above lit up the scene as if it were day, shining brilliantly.
I drifted down as figures shivered into existence.
" So it's true then, " murmured a figure of rocks and firmness. Nine others of similar feel stood around him.
" What? You doubted? " snapped a figure of swirling currents, ancient depths, the monsters in the deep. "They used an Adamantine blade to cut him to pieces! "
" Oh, boo hoo, sucks to be him ," drawled a figure of dripping shadows.
" His body is scattered in me! Just because you don't like him -"
" Peace ," murmured familiar lights, shifting scales, coiled waters. " Our waters hold his pieces but they are already fading away. New life is born of them. "
A figure of burning, fire and pain and sharp edges huffed, " I personally don't see the issue. He wasn't exactly kind to his children, it's hardly surprising they overthrew him. Now the only problem that I see is how to keep his corpse from crushing the Earth. "
" Wouldn't want your consort to get crushed, " muttered stardust and galaxy's, cool shadows and winged darkness.
" Jealous, mother? " teased shining light, burning eyes of brilliance, too bright to see.
Dripping shadows curled around stardust, " Now why would she be jealous- "
"Enough joking! This is an attack on all of us! " swirling currents interrupted. " If She's willing to turn on her own husband, who's to say she wouldn't do the same to others of us? It will take him an eon to recover!"
" Oh thank Khaos ," dripping shadows muttered. " Finally some peace and quiet. "
" Regardless of the peace and quiet from the storms, " mused the rising sun, spinning light, green grasses. "He was an important part of balancing the world. He aided me in many projects and we are weaker as a whole with Him sleeping to recover. "
" Maybe if we're lucky He'll never recover and will just sleep for eternity! " chirped burning fire and pain, I didn't think that was a normal tone for Him.
" Maybe I'll drown your pit in my waters, " snarled swirling currents.
"Lets all calm down, take deep breaths—"
"I don't breathe."
"None of us do," grumbled burning brilliance.
"It's a figure of speech!" stardust and winged darkness snapped.
"It's a dumb one. "
"You know what-"
"I'll end yo-"
"Enough children, " a new figure said as it appeared. I staggered, endless spinning, a space blank and empty and devouring all things, yet new beginnings forming endlessly. This was too much.
"We're not children, " pointed out swirling currents.
I struggled to breathe, the first ones were fine, the dream seemed almost muted and though I was aware of Their presences… it wasn't overwhelming like I suspected it would be in real life.
But this figure… they were far beyond that. My skin was crawling, I couldn't get enough air even though I didn't need it in this dream. It was like this being was pulling at me, trying to draw me in and tear me apart to put me back together again.
"Have patience. "
"He has been cut to pieces! Am I supposed to be happy and patient while standing on the one who incited this act? "
"The fall of the sky, a great tragedy. Yet do not say goodbye, time heals all wounds, even those it has given."
"When will he heal?" asked one of the steady and firm figures.
"War will bleed at the Siren's call. The Earth will lead, and the shadows crawl. The sea will speak, and the sky will creak. Champions will return to eternities roots." The voice was solemn, serious, all consuming.
"So, it's Pontus's fault that He returns," grumbled burning fire and pain.
"It is said and so it will become."
I wanted to say something, to interrupt, to point out how burning fire and pain was eyeing swirling currents (was that Pontus? As in thePontus?). I wanted to call out and warn Him, to ask Them all why they were doing this, but I couldn't speak.
"I will bring back Uranus," Said the swirling currents, fierce and firm. " No matter how long it takes ."
I watched as dripping shadows leaned away from stardust to share a look with spinning light. Burning pain hummed and a horrible feeling filled me.
The blank and empty tugged at me and I fell, drowning as nothingness surrounded me.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I opened my eyes in a cave.
Lara sat before me, her eyes blank and staring past me. They were the same as mine, a striking sea green that matched what mine normally looked like.
Her hands were twisting her shell necklace.
She seemed around sixteen.
A familiar vague stiffness crept up my joints as a voice came from behind me.
" How are you feeling? "
I turned, Medusa.
Behind her were her two sisters, similar yet different from her. They had tusks where she didn't, and their snake hair wasn't nearly as bright. Hers were bright green and black while theirs were dull yellow and brown.
" I'm feeling much better, " Lara said softly. " Thank you for helping me. "
" Of course, " Medusa moved forward. " Offering hospitality to guests is only right. "
" When do I need to leave? " Lara asked. " I don't want to burden you. "
Medusa studied her, meeting her eyes. I watched with bated breath as Lara seemed unaffected, " You may stay as long as you need. This is a safe place, no one can hurt you here. "
Lara's fingers tightened on her necklace, the shell cutting into her hand, " Thank you. "
Medusa nodded, " We brought food, come eat. "
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I stared out the window, eyeing the big lion leaping past. That looked dangerous and felt… iron, soft, wild. The fact that I could feel its presence from here…
It dove into a bush and vanished.
My thoughts drifted back to my dreams, particularly the one of Lara.
She'd been able to look at Medusa, though her gaze hadn't been exact. Medusa said she was blind and those villagers said the same…
Poseidon had left her alone in the village, but He sent those dolphins with instructions to bring her to land. Did he know what island they brought her too? Or did he not realize that was where they were going to take her?
Medusa said Metua abandoned Lara, but the dreams showed him trying to help… but was that really helping? I wasn't sure what to think.
And that other dream…
The figures were so- so much. I rubbed my arms, I could almost feel the faint pull from the final figure that appeared.
That thing he said, it almost sounded like a prophecy. But… what was it for? The return of the sky? Uranus? I needed more information.
Maybe Triton would know, I'd ask him. The dream had to have some meaning, why else would I see it?
The intercom crackled for a moment before a voice announced we were arriving at our next stop in ten minutes.
Our next stop would be St. Louis, and since it was a few hour stop Annabeth said she wanted to visit the Gateway Arch. That wouldn't take too long, and would let us buy some decent food.
I had no idea what it was a gateway to though.
"Percy."
I turned at Annabeth's voice, "Yeah?"
She chewed her lip, "How… How do you know so much about your powers?"
"I told Grover, did he not tell you?"
She shrugged, "He said that you met Triton, and that he taught you things, but didn't know much else."
"Well, I figured out I could control water by accident." I blushed, "I was trying to copy Katara from Avatar."
Her lips twitched, "Seriously?"
"Don't judge! She's cool!"
She put her hands up, an actual smile appearing, "Okay, okay, so then what?"
"Then I started experimenting, trying to do all the things she could. Triton ended up finding out about me, probably through the fish, they're huge gossips."
"Fish gossip?"
I nodded, "Oh yeah, all the time. You can learn all kinds of things from them."
"Huh, wait does that mean you can understand them?"
"Yeah, as far as I can tell I can understand any sea creature, though I can also understand seagulls and pelicans… and horses… I'm not sure what the limits are, though I can't understand cats and dogs… or guinea pigs, I know that much."
She considered that, "How strange."
I studied her, "Can you not understand owls?"
She faltered, "I've never tried."
"You should try sometime. Zoo's sometimes have owls, right? We could go to one sometime and you could see."
She nodded slowly, "I'll do that. Back on focus, why didn't you say something? The whole camp was wondering who your parent was and you didn't even mention your water powers."
"Triton and my mom told me not to, they said to keep my head down and hide them. I didn't realize it was because of an oath though, nor did I know who my dad was, I… had other theories."
She leaned forward, "What other theories?"
I waved my hand, "Dumb ones, not important."
I was never admitting I thought Okeanus was my dad to anyone else.
She pursed her lips but moved on.
"How come you didn't know your dad was Poseidon? Surely that would be obvious?"
I sighed, why did everyone think that?
"There are loads of sea deities! Have you read the myths? Sure, there's Theseus, who killed the Minotaur, and Orion, who hunted beside Lady Artemis, and Bellerophon, who killed the Khimaira, but there's also Achilles, who was the son of Thetis, Glaukus has a dozen possible parent's, Krethon and Orsilokus were the great grandkids of Alpheus, and Homer, who was the son of Meles, even Medusa was sometimes considered the daughter of Phorkys."
Annabeth blinked, "Oh... you know a lot about the sea Gods but I suppose that makes sense. Poseidon is usually the go-to, I'm not… I'm not entirely sure why." She frowned as she thought.
"Because most sea deities don't go on land much, but there's enough of them that they still have a lot of kids through history, their kids also don't get much attention for the most part, or the parents' history is skipped over when they get famous."
She hummed, "Yeah, I guess."
We sat quietly for a few minutes.
"So then… you were raised by Triton?"
"No, yes? He didn't raise me but he did help me learn a lot. He's a really good brother."
She nodded, looking deep in thought.
There was a brief static sound, then the intercom spoke, " We have arrived at St. Louis. We will have a three-hour layover before leaving for Kansas City. Enjoy your time in St. Louis."
"Come on," Annabeth said, shoving Grover to get him to wake up.
I grabbed the seed packets the Demeter kids gave me (shoved them in my pocket) and made sure to grab my waterskin. I left my backpack behind though. I didn't want to carry it the whole time.
"urbg, Enchiladas, wha-"
"Let's go see the arch. We might as well get some sightseeing done."
"And buy food," I reminded her, pressing Grover's rasta cap further down on my head. "I really want a burger."
"Yeah, yeah, and food, after the arch."
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
We reached the arch after a fun thirty-minute walk from the station. It was only a mile and a half but we got lost three times, had to ask for directions seven times, and saw a whole bunch of posters for a corn festival of all things.
25 th July – 27 th July
Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
Sweet Corn Festival
10am-4pm
Take a stroll to our sweetcorn field and harvest your own corn
I supposed it looked like fun, but we wouldn't be in town then.
When we finally reached the arch we bought some snacks from the snack bar then looked around the museum.
It was very hot, but thankfully there wasn't much of a line.
Annabeth knew a lot of interesting facts about the Arch, like how it was built and why it was called the Gateway Arch (apparently it was considered the gateway to the West… sounded dumb to me). Me and Grover traded snacks and listened to her ramble.
I got all the blue treats.
Something felt off though, a faint brushing scales and warmth. I eyed my surroundings, it wasn't strong at all so if there was something there it would probably be fine, but it still made me tense.
Grover sniffed the air, he'd been able to smell Medusa. Could he do that for all terrors?
"You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover.
He shrugged.
"Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."
I chewed my lip, something was wrong but I couldn't pin down what.
If it was another terror then surely it would be stronger?
The scales grew firmer as we entered the elevator, the warmth growing as well. On top of that a buzz scattered over my senses.
I tensed in the elevator, leaning closer to Grover's faint berry taste. It was familiar and safe. The elevator was too small for me to use my trident if I needed to, and fighting at all would be tough with so many people.
We were standing next to a middle-aged lady in a jean dress (long sleeved even, with jeans underneath… how? It was so hot already-). She held a leash connected to a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar.
I swallowed and scratched at my arms.
The scales were pressing now more than brushing but they still weren't as overwhelming as Medusa's presence, more like the buzz of the curse Carl had. I felt feverish though, the heat getting to me more than anything else.
The buzz had gone from skittering to strong and steady though, and that worried me the most. I'd never felt a buzz that strong before.
These feelings seemed to be coming from the lady and her dog, especially the dog, but I wasn't sure what to do about it.
We were already in the elevator and it only got strong when we were right next to her.
The elevator started going up, inside the Arch.
It's very, very strange going up a curved elevator.
"No parents?" the lady asked.
She had sharp eyes, and when she smiled I could see coffee stained teeth, teeth that seemed just slightly too sharp.
"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."
"Oh, the poor darlings."
It was way too hot for me, and the pressing scales were almost hurting now. The sensations got stronger the longer we stood next to them and the buzzing was giving me a headache.
The Chihuahua growled. The woman chided it, "Now, now, sonny. Behave."
The dogs eyes were narrow, glittering black with a flicker… they looked red for a second there.
So, these two were definitely terrors, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out which ones.
I gave her a polite smile and tried to hide my panic.
This was not good, we'd be in a confined place with no way out. And I was not feeling good, the heat was making me feel nauseous and my head was pounding from the buzzing.
We reached the top.
The top reminded me of a tin can, but carpeted. It wasn't very stylish and really only seemed to exist for the view.
I could see the view of the river from the windows (the East side according to Annabeth) and it seemed almost below us. Annabeth handily informed me it was actually almost a hundred and fifty meters away and it just seemed so close because of how high up we were.
Annabeth was mumbling a lot about the structure and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor, plus added seats for disabled people or just those that needed a break, and of course a better emergency exit, with a ramp.
I listened with one ear and eyed the dog and the lady.
"Hey Grover," I murmured when Annabeth took a break from talking to study one of the window edges (her hands were twitching slightly like she wanted to write this all down). "Are you sure you don't smell a terror?"
Grover looked at me with a frown before he followed my gaze.
"I… I mean… I don't smell anything beyond the usual smell of underground."
I swallowed, but we weren't underground anymore.
I was about to point that out, and maybe hurry us to the emergency exit just to be safe, but the park ranger told us that the observation deck would be closing.
I hurried to steer them to the exit, though Grover had to tug Annabeth as she was distracted by her thoughts. I faltered when they got on, there were already two other tourists on it.
My stomach dropped.
"Next car, sir." The park ranger said.
"We'll get out," Annabeth said, noticing the problem. Grover nodded quickly in agreement. "We'll wait with you."
That wouldn't be good, they needed to get out on the off chance that the terror wasn't after me. Besides, less people here meant less people I had to worry about if I was attacked.
This space was too confined for us to fight properly in a group.
I swallowed and plastered on my princely smile, "Don't worry, it's fine. I'll meet you guys at the bottom."
Neither of them seemed happy, and Grover looked ready to get off and wait anyways, but I waved and the doors closed, the car disappearing down the Arch.
Now the only ones left were a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the lady with the Chihuahua (aka the terrors).
I sent her a bright smile, hoping to delay, maybe I'd get lucky and she was just sightseeing, terrors can sightsee too right?
She smiled back at me, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.
…
…
Awesome.
I absolutely loved the proper confirmation that she was a terror and not at all human.
Made my day.
The Chihuahua (aka second unknown terror) jumped towards me and started yapping.
"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."
"Doggie!" the little boy cried excitedly. "Look, a doggie!"
His parents pulled him back, chiding him for trying to bother a service dog.
The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.
"Well, son," she sighed. "If you insist."
I paled rapidly as the Chihuahua barked, louder and louder and with each bark it grew. It took only a few seconds before it could barely fit in the observation deck, it's true form revealed.
I had no idea what the mortals saw (the buzzing was painful and my head hurt a lot) but the boy screamed and the adults seemed frozen in horror.
"The Khimaira," I whispered.
She grinned at me, her teeth clearly fangs now as she rolled up her denim sleeved to reveal the skin on her arms was scaly and green.
"Very good, my dear son The Khimaira."
The Khimaira was so tall its back rubbed the roof. Its lion head had a blood-caked man, as if it had just come back from an all-you-can-eat human-ribs buffet, without a bib. Its body and hooves were that of a goat, a very furry, large, hard-hooved goat. Its tail was, quite frankly, terrifying. A snake that I recognized as a gagamure ophi, it was in the medical book Lagi gave me.
The only problem was that it was listed under 'EXTINCT' and was being used as a medical example of fast acting venoms, you had ten minutes to treat it or you'd die.
Its name literally meant eternal death viper. That didn't really inspire confidence.
I eyed the over ten-foot-long, black with purple and blue overlapping diamonds, snake. That was the most dangerous part of the Khimaira
There was still a rhinestone dog dollar around its neck, the plate size dog tag now easy to read in Greek: Khimaira—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.
I swallowed hard.
The Khimaira had never actually been defeated in real combat, and certainly not alone. I knew the myth well because Bellerophon was a child of Poseidon, it was a sea myth.
Bellerophon killed it yes, but he did that by dropping lead down its throat and basically tricking it into killing itself. He'd had the field advantage, a Pegasus, and time to plan ahead of time.
I had none of that.
The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Perseus Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Ekhidna!"
I felt numb, "I'm on a quest for Zeus. Killing me seems counter-intuitive. And I really don't think I deserve this great honor."
She laughed, "Why should I care? Your scent is fainter than I expected for one of your lineage, and you're still protected well, but I won't be the one suffering the backlash."
I made note of that, Medusa had mentioned my protections as well. Okeanus said they were weaker, but that they may still hold if Triton was guarding me. It seemed like he was.
She grinned, "Even should I be punished some, it would be well worth it to kill one of the blasted children of Poseidon."
Oh yay, I loved this, best situation, she wanted me dead for my dad. Or maybe because Bellerophon killed the Khimaira last time.
I was beginning to see a pattern.
"Now then! Kill him!"
The Khimaira charged a whole of ten feet to reach me as I dove to the side, drawing my knife.
I couldn't use my trident here effectively, it was too enclosed.
I flicked the lid off my ever-present waterskin and crouched. How was I supposed to survive this?
The family and park ranger screamed behind me, making my headache worse. They were trying to pry open the emergency exit.
I had to keep them safe.
I bolted to the side, flicking the water out in a loose shield. I had no idea how to fight this thing but I had to do something.
"Is this really necessary?" I called, "We can't just talk it-"
I yelped and reinforced the water around me in a protective shield as the Khimaira whipped around faster than should be possible and breathed a column of flame right at me.
The water boiled but shielded me from the fire while my surroundings melted.
The arch had large ragged holes on both sides of me.
That was close.
The carpet was on fire as well.
Fabulous, we just blow torched a national monument.
Triton would be so proud.
I focused and swept the water out, arcing blades that I froze mid-air to attack the Khimaira.
I put out the fire on the carpet with a thin film of water.
"You will die here Perseus Jackson, there will be no begging for mercy, Zeus would not grant it." Ekhidna sounded far too gleeful.
I sent a dozen more arcing blades at the Khimaira, drawing more water out of the water skin as fast as I could to prepare a larger attack.
I had to redirect quickly as the Khimaira breathed fire again, and my water shield boiled away (but did protect me).
"I wouldn't be praying to Zeus," I snapped. "I'm of the sea and I'd pray to the sea."
Who cared about the God that'd tried to kill me twice now on the seamu quest I was doing for Him.
My ice blades didn't seem to do much damage, I needed to do something else. But I'd need more water for that and I could only draw out so much at one through the thin opening, and the Khimaira kept boiling my water.
I slipped to the west side, getting away from the holes in the wall.
The Khimaira was slower to turn all the way around, and I took advantage of that to pull more water out, separating a few threads to lash out at Ekhidna herself.
One struck her face, blood dripping down her cheek.
"You dare! You will pay for that Perseus Jackson!"
I drew the water into a larger ball, growing it as quickly as I could.
The Khimera opened its mouth, fire glowing in its throat.
I threw the water into its mouth, down its throat.
It roared, recoiling and shaking its head.
I drew out more water, freezing it almost as quickly as I drew it out.
I set my stance and focused intently on manipulating the water.
I threw more ice blades at Ekhidna and aimed a few shards at the Khimaira's eyes.
It shook its head and the shards missed, shattering on its head.
I snapped more water out, diving to the right to avoid another breath attack, though it was weaker this time.
I sent more water out, lashing at the Khimaira's face and trying to shove more down its throat, holding it in a ball around its mouth and nose.
It snarled and turned away.
I kept a grip on that water, holding it in place.
I ducked East, avoiding Ekhidna's own attack, a large tail having formed without me noticing.
She lashed out at me again and I side-stepped, sending water up her tail and to her body.
More water, lower the temperature, freeze up her tail and body.
She screeched, recoiling at the change in temperature.
I readied another attack, but realized a second too late I'd made a mistake.
I'd stopped watching the Khimaira.
The Khimaira's lion head was struggling with the water and turned away, but the snake had no such issue.
It snapped around and buried it's fangs in my leg.
I cried out.
Burning spread up my leg, like fire was injecting into my body.
The heat was unbearable.
Ten minutes for treatment.
But it was extinct so the book didn't say the treatment.
The serpent tail yanked, it's fangs still in my leg.
I tried to stab down but it pulled me over.
My attention shattered and the water I was controlling collapsed.
I hit the ground next to one of the holes on the East side.
My knife skittered from my hand, balancing on the edge of the hole.
The snake let go, pulling back.
I struggled to my feet.
My head pounded, my skin burned, my veins were on fire.
My leg was changing color through my torn pants.
Pain lanced through my leg, burning up into my body.
I couldn't put weight on it.
This was bad.
I struggled to breathe, grabbing onto the edge of the hole to steady myself.
My hand burned where I grabbed it.
The Khimaira roared and I weakly pulled for the water.
Water, any water, please. Maybe it would help, even just a little.
The Khimaira advanced now, growling while Ekhidna cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"
No, they didn't, the heroes of old didn't have the gods sending them on quests while the God they did the quest for tried to kill them.
What did I have?
Something?
Anything?
The trees outside caught my eye and through the dizziness and pain I realized.
My hand slipped into my pocket, and I ripped out one of the seed packets.
I couldn't see which one I had, my vision was too blurry, but hopefully it would be enough.
I had sun and water and magic seeds from the Demeter cabin. That would be enough.
It had to be.
A beat passed, nothing happened.
"Did you expect some little seeds to stop us?" Ekhidna laughed. "Don't be fooli-"
The seeds surged.
The area filled with vines.
Trumpet vines.
I ached.
The vines wound around the holes, wound up the Khimaira's legs, spread quickly across the floor.
They weren't particularly dangerous.
But they were enough.
The mortals finally pushed the door open and fled.
I burned.
The Khimaira reared back, flames flickering over the vines.
Not happening.
I yanked, using what little strength I had left to drench the vines in water.
The flames didn't burn them.
They kept growing.
The Khimaira was entirely wrapped up and Ekhidna screeched in fury.
My vision was going black.
My body burned.
My chest hurt.
How long had it been?
Two minutes? Three? Longer?
I was already on the edge of death.
I needed… I needed to get out.
I stumbled, my hand dripping blood as I let go of the edge of the hole in the wall to snatch up my knife.
I stumbled and grabbed the trumpet vines to steady.
The burning ached and my head pounded and all I could do was stare at the hole.
The river was so close yet so far.
I could barely focus, the water in my bag couldn't be drawn out quick enough and I didn't have the strength to control it.
There was a river.
There was no sea.
There were no sea Gods here.
I prayed despite that.
I prayed to the only immortal that could possibly help me.
I prayed to Tethys-ran.
Please
"Die child of the sea, die and know no God would save you."
I couldn't keep my eyes open.
The burning reached my chest.
The Khimaira roared.
Something slammed into my chest and I was weightless.
My gut tugged.
I closed my eyes and fell into darkness as a roar filled my ears.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Triton POV
I was having a perfectly lovely day.
Well, other than the stress of final edits to the letters and ensuring I had my messengers together to pass them out, and Persi's friends bugging me for information, and handling Metuano increased worry and work, and Mevuno growing stress.
Ignoring all that, I was having a lovely day.
I got my favorite food for lunch, I got some delicious snacks from Lagi and Fetu trying to bribe me for info on Persi, and I figured out an amazing present for Persi's birthday.
Everything was going wonderfully.
And then the conch pin pinged.
I faltered as I registered his condition.
Heat, low degree burns.
Okay, that wasn't too bad. Maybe it was a sunburn? Or… something like that. Yes that would cover that.
It would be fine. He was fine. There was no problem and the conch pin was just overly sensitive.
I'd just fix that when I next saw him.
And then the conch horn blazed .
Snake bite, strong venom.
He was dying.
The hairpin I gave him was only for poison, not venom. Their makeups were different and they needed different protections and he only had minutes left-
What venom was that!?
I bolted, it didn't matter I would heal him anyways.
He wasn't near the sea so it would take precious minutes to reach the edge of the sea, and another few to reach him.
Did he have that long?
I couldn't wait that long.
I had almost reached the edge of the sea when he hit water, a river.
I could use that as a path to reach him quicker, he was only a minute or two away now.
The water was helping him fight the symptoms of the venom, it would buy him a few more minutes but it wouldn't heal him.
Just a little longer, hang on Persi.
I'm coming-
Mevu was floating in the water before me.
Her gaze was stern and her lips twisted into a grimace.
"You cannot."
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Unknown POV
"Please."
I reached.
"Of course," I murmured.