Hmm… no reviews for chapter 8. Expecting a few on this chapter, but hey, maybe I am expecting too much? I mean, the other stories that has the same length has like about 30-80 reviews. Well, maybe I was posting at the wrong time, but can you please tell me when is best to post a chapter, harvesting for reviews? (GMT +0 please)
The Freezing Death
Chapter 9: Daybreak
Percy's POV
Gourouni walked towards me, then swung his hammer in a horizontal arc and I ducked. What I know was, anything got hit by that gigantic hammer wouldn't get back up. I knew what the curse of Achilles could do. When I was invincible, I single-handedly defeated a regiment of undead British colonists with muskets. Now that the gods took it away, I am literally dead meat, unless I managed to land a strike at his left eye, which honestly, isn't a large spot either.
I side-stepped to the right and rolled as Gourouni struck a vertical blow at the ground. I aimed a jab at his left eye with precision. He turned to me, and grabbed the Riptide with bare left hand, then pulled it from me like stealing candy from a baby. He threw the Anaklusmos away. He then lifted up his hammer. I noticed that he had to carry the hammer two-handed, and I figured that it must've been awfully heavy. Lionel and Annabeth came out of the motel door, their weapons ready.
Annabeth lunged at Gourouni with her bronze dagger, swinging it, which he blocked with his long hammer hilt. He spun quickly, for someone of his size, moving to Annabeth's side. He clenched his right fist, and threw a punch at Annabeth. She nimbly dodged his fist, and returned a blow to his left eye. He moved his head, dodging the blow, and dragged the hammer across the ground with his left hand, trying to strike Annabeth with the hilt. She was in a deadlock.
Lionel jumped in with his sword, parrying the hammer hilt. The sword somehow has a weird vibe that was like looking at Thalia's aegis, but the effect was a lot stronger. It was as if the blade was at your neck. Annabeth backed away from Gourouni, and I felt Riptide returning to my picket. I uncapped it, and aimed a strike at his left eye. He got his hammer, and jabbed me with the hilt into my stomach, since hitting the head of the hammer at a lightly armored, nimble target was hard work. I was struck square in the stomach. Now, he was holding his hammer with both of his hands.
I quickly regained balance and rolled away just in time as the hammer came down. I got up into a crouched position, as Annabeth was coming up at Gourouni's back. I eyed at Lionel, trying to tell him to distract the enormous warrior. Somehow, he understood, and leapt over Gourouni's hammer as he made a sweep with his hammer. Suddenly, Gourouni's eyes flashed (well, his right eye) and I realized what was going on. He was pretending to not see Annabeth.
"Lionel! Protect her!" I shouted.
Lionel leapt over Gourouni's back, using Gourouni's shoulder as a stepping stone, and dived at Annabeth, bringing her down to the ground, as Gourouni turned around with a horizontal swing, which was avoided just in time. As Lionel got up, somehow, Gourouni's swing became faster, and I could see straining blood vessels in Gourouni's muscles. He threw another horizontal swing, which hit Lionel in the stomach. Lionel covered his stomach, and then fell over to the ground, not moving.
"Lionel!" I shouted, but he didn't answer. Blood was running from his mouth. In rage, I charged up to Gourouni's back. Gourouni turned around, and grabbed my throat, lifting me up from the ground, choking me, then threw me over to Annabeth. Annabeth reached over to me. I grabbed her hand.
"You know," Gourouni said, in his deep voice. "Holding back has its limits too." He raised his hammer up.
Lionel's POV
The world was switching on and off in my eyes. I felt as if I was hit by a truck. The pain was unbearable. Blood was running from my mouth, and some of my ribs may have been fractured. I got up on a sitting position. Annabeth and Percy were in each other's arms, on the ground. Gourouni was standing with his hammer raised, ready to kill. It was daybreak. The sun was going up, sunlight shining on the ground. I looked to my feet, and saw something glittering. A glittering silver bow and a stack of arrows. I knew exactly knew what to do.
I grabbed it. Even though I was not all that good at archery, I had to make the shot, or my friend dies. I sat up in a crouched position, drawing an arrow from the stack. Everything was in slow-motion. The mild breeze of the wind, the leaves gliding in the air. The grasses moving, like waves. The flowers moving at a natural pace. The sun, giving life to all. I aimed my bow, and pulled the string. The target in front of me, knowing that I must not fail. My eyes locked on the target, unmoving. My hands stopped shaking. The breeze stopped, and all that was left was silence. I offered a silent prayer to Apollo, and released the string.
The bow slightly recoiled in my arms, and the arrow sailed through the sky. It was spinning violently, gliding at the target, and screwed itself tight into Gourouni's left eye. Blood sprayed into the air from his left eye, like a red mist. He dropped his hammer, and then fell backwards, his arms spreading out. Blood was still spraying for a few seconds, and then stopped. Percy and Annabeth got up.
"Lionel, how did you do that?" Percy asked me.
"I-I seriously don't know." I answered. Suddenly, the pain came back, and I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach.
"Nectar and Ambrosia! Now!" Annabeth exclaimed as Percy staggered into the motel.
I got up, and moved towards the motel. Inside, the motel owner was shaking at the back of the counter, shouting some foreign words. Percy came down with some nectar and ambrosia. I took some gulps, and felt better. I kind of figured that the mist made it look like I just shot somebody in the eye. There were sirens wailing.
"We ought to get out of here!" I suggested.
"Oh yes we will." Percy agreed, and placed some cash on the counter. We ran off, and caught a bus, and went a few blocks further. We walked up to an appliances store, and there were half a dozen TVs facing outside. It was on live news, and there were all three of us, caught on camera.
"Well, you got a mate now." I told Percy.
"Well, where to now?" Annabeth asked.
We all stayed silent, until Percy noticed something behind me. His eyes widened as if he didn't believe it. I turned around, and there was a hearth fire, with a little girl and a boy sitting near it. I noticed that the boy was Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.
Percy's POV
I was surprised to saw Nico and Hestia there. It was as if it all happened by chance. I figured that the fates were pulling the string, but I wasn't sure which way they were pulling.
"Nico and… Hestia?" I asked.
"You mean, THE Hestia?" Lionel asked me.
"I am Hestia, the goddess of the Hearth, Lionel Crawford." Hestia said.
"Why are you here?" I asked her, trying to make it not sound offensive.
"I think I know who is behind all this." Nico started. "Thanatos, the personification of death." He finished.
"You mean… a god of death?" I questioned.
"No, Percy. Thanatos is not a god. Eris was the personification of strife too, until she claimed godhood." Nico explained.
"And, what is the difference of a personification and a god?" Lionel interrupted.
"God is invincible and immortal. Personifications are immortal, but not invincible. They stay alive as long as they don't get killed. Many personifications were killed throughout the ages already, but do understand, that they are feared." Hestia explained.
"Percy, I'm joining your quest." Nico said.
"Wait, Nico. Didn't the prophecy say that "Three heroes shall walk the path"?"
"Well, you know what path?" Nico asked. I was struck by that question.
"Err, nope." I said carelessly.
"And that is why I will guide you. Thanatos is in Illinois."
"Well, to Illinois then." Annabeth agreed.
"Thank you Hest-" I was about to thank Hestia, but when I turned to her, she was gone, and the hearth fire was burned out.
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