PROLOGUE
Princess Andromeda
The Sea of Monsters
Percy Jackson stared down his sword at Luke, taking great care to tense his muscles. his blond-haired opponent seemed completely at ease with the whole situation, as if it had all been orchestrated in the very beginning.
It unsettled him.
"Come on, Luke! Fight me sword-to-sword! Are you going to hide behind that shield all day?"
Percy's voice was hoarse from dehydration. Ironic. The yacht they stood on floated on a sea, and he was the son of the ocean- yet he craved the one thing he couldn't have. Sweet, sweet water.
Luke could see it too, and his eyes betrayed a mocking look.
"I'm fine, to be honest. I think I'll just wait you out, Percy. You sound a little… parched."
Gritting his teeth, Percy cleared his throat. He would not allow Luke to mock him like this. It was infuriating.
And suddenly Luke was upon him like a whirlwind. Percy, stepping back too late, barely avoided a sword thrust; it grazed his arm and sent blood spiraling to the ground below. He cursed.
Shifting his sword to his left hand, he lunged and stabbed downward, trying to unbalance Luke. His hack was deflected with almost contemptuous ease. Luke grinned. Making sure to be unnecessarily obvious, he cast the shield out from his arm; it hit the deck with a clatter.
"Now I am defenseless! Just like you… the only thing that matters now is swordsmanship."
Luke advanced slowly, still grinning that infuriating grin. Percy knew that he was being toyed with, but there was nothing he could do. Even the oceans seemed to be unresponsive, as if savoring his predicament.
With a panic, he realized that he couldn't so much as feel the water beneath him anymore. Stretching his palm, he concentrated, feeling for that familiar tug on the gut…
No such luck. Luke tutted disapprovingly.
"Oh, come now, Percy. Be fair. I'm not allowed to use my powers, so neither are you!"
In Percy's moment of utter shock, he stepped forward and batted Percy's blade aside almost contemptuously. Percy could only watch in horror as a cold metal sliced at his stomach and broke past the muscle.
Pain, unbelievable pain hit him in waves; he fell to the floor with a grunt, clutching at the sword. Luke, with a grunt, pulled it out. The blade was stained red with blood.
Somewhere, in the dim corner of his consciousness, he heard a voice shriek.
A hand, cold and long, touched his forehead. Frost instantly spread across his eyes, covering them completely.
Pain throbbed beneath his stomach, but dulled somehow… with panic, Percy fought to remain conscious. But his mind was already slipping far past the brink… the darkness claimed him, and he knew no more.