February 26, 2015
My head was pounding and my limbs felt heavy. My cheeks were wet from tears. It's not my favorite way to wake up. My mind still spun from the memory, my memory. I choked back another sob, breathing deeply and trying to focus on my surroundings. I was slumped against warm black leather, the seat of a car. Pain squeezed inside my chest. But I wasn't in a car. All around me were various bits of metal and glass. I was in… a garage?
I tried to stand up, but discovered my feet were bound in thick, rough rope. So were my wrists. I kicked back and forth, trying to loosen the knots. The sound of metal pounding metal stopped so suddenly I hadn't realized it was there until it became silent.
Deep laughter rang out somewhere on the other side of a large scrap pile. "Dinner is awake."
I groaned. Why is everything always trying to eat me? And other demigods too. We can't taste all that great.
Instinctively I reached for Akantha. My sword wasn't there. "Styx." I wished, not for the first time, that my sword could magically come to me like Percy's does. I redoubled my effort to untie the ropes. They were getting looser bit by agonizing bit.
The ground fell away beneath me as I was yanked into the air. The enormous hand clutching the back of my hoodie swung me around to meet the gaze of a single, wicked eye. The cyclops took a deep breath and sighed. Its breath was sour and salty like a daughter of Aphrodite with PMS. "Smells so good. Not time for dinner yet," he lamented. "Maybe just a little snack…" His other hand came up, grasping my right arm and tugging hard.
I screamed in pain as the joint popped, and kicked wildly. By some miracle my feet made contact with the ugly eye. The cyclops cried out, stumbling back and dropping me. I landed hard on my dislocated arm. Tears sprang to my eyes. Shadows were beginning to thicken around me as though they could sense my pain. I took a deep breath and rolled onto my back to sit up. A couple yards away was a shard of broken glass that looked promising. I bit my tongue hard, tasting blood, as I squirmed desperately toward it.
Just as I grasped the heavy bit of glass the cyclops' giant shadow fell over me. I turned to face him. His red eye gleamed murderously. I directed shadows at him in a massive, solid wall. He was forced back a couple feet. I dug the glass furiously into the cords at my feet while he struggled against the shadows. The ropes fell away just as the wall of shadow failed.
I scrambled behind a surprisingly nice car. Maybe I was in a mechanic shop? Or a chop shop? I slashed furiously at the bindings on my wrist, freeing my hands at last though I still couldn't do much with my limp arm. I scanned the room, looking for an exit. Two large garage doors stood closed to my left, looking very heavy and impossible to open. A regular door stood across the shop with the cyclops between me and it. I was too tired and distracted by the pain in my shoulder to even attempt shadow-travelling. I swore. My odds of escaping alive were looking worse by the second.
"Please," I whispered to whatever god might have been listening, "just let me get out of here alive." The car I was crouched behind flew up and was hurled across the room. I tried to stumble away, but the cyclops' massive foot slammed into my ribs, cracking something, and sending me skidding into the wall furthest from the door. Heat blasted me from above. A large metal box was emitting shrieks and bursts of fire from small holes in the side just over my head.
"Now is dinner time," the cyclops bellowed. My head swam and I could barely move. I always thought I'd die a more noble death. Or at least put up a better fight. I was feeling pretty pathetic as I tried to stand, without much progress.
The door on the other side of the shop slammed open with a metallic clang. I had to blink a couple times. Amy stood in the frame, a knife clutched in her white knuckles. After a moment of surprise the cyclops lunged at Amy. She ducked under his legs, dashing toward me. Ryan and Sadie burst into the garage right behind her, hands blazing with fire and storm. They began attacking the cyclops in a frenzy.
Amy slid to her knees at my side. She produced a ziploc bag from her pocket. Ambrosia. I grabbed a handful, shoving it into my mouth and gulping down the lump. Amy tried to hand me my sword, but I shook my head.
"I can't fight with my shoulder dislocated. You'll have to pop it back into the socket."
Her eyes widened. "But… I… Okay." She swallowed, moving to my other side. "1… 2... 3." Pain flared through my arm as she thrust the joint into place. I guess I should be grateful Camp Parthenon decided to teach new demigods the basics of dealing with combat injuries.
The battle raging before me didn't look good. Sadie and Ryan were being driven back toward us. They were fighting well, but they are also relatively new to the whole demigod thing. They wouldn't be able to hold off the cyclops much longer.
The pain was lessening as ambrosia flooded me with godly energy. But it wasn't enough. My shoulder was sore, but I could use it again. I had at least one broken rib, probably more, sending stabbing jolts of pain through my side. I snatched the bag of ambrosia, grasping another handful. Amy stopped me.
"You can't. You could…"
"I know," I interrupted. "But I have to." Amy stared into my eyes, biting her lip nervously. Her grip on the ambrosia relented. I threw the glob of glowing lemon bar into my mouth and stood with a surge of adrenaline. Searing heat coursed through my limbs. I felt like I was on the biggest sugar high of my life. But I didn't catch fire, which is always a plus.
I picked up Akantha and darted into the fray. I slashed at the cyclops' legs. He fell to his knees, crying out in pain. Sadie and Ryan charged in, but were batted aside with a sweep of his thick arm. I lunged at the cyclops' exposed side, getting in a good stab. He spun, wrenching the sword out of my hands. He yanked it out of his side, throwing it hard. Akantha stuck in the ceiling across the room, a good 5 feet above where it could be reached.
Dark curls whipped past me as Amy jumped onto the cyclops' back, thrusting her dagger into his shoulder. She jumped down just as quickly before he could grab her, slicing across his back. Another massive arm swept across the floor, sending us both sprawling toward the corner we'd just come from. He stood and began running unsteadily at us.
Fire exploded against his head, making him turn. Ryan was crouched near an unconscious Sadie, hurling fireballs. The cyclops just growled, changing directions and running toward the pair. Ryan backed away from Sadie, his eyes wide with fear, but determined.
I screamed.
The cyclops stumbled as the ground rocked beneath him. For a moment I was confused. I've never been able to manipulate the earth like my siblings can. The monster regained his footing and lurched forward. I slammed my palms against the ground and screamed again, forcing my will into the sound. The cement floor cracked and a chasm ran from me to the cyclops' feet. He scrabbled uselessly for a handhold as the crevice swallowed him.
Sudden calm crashed down, leaving us all panting and on edge. No one moved for several moments. Finally Amy and I skirted around the chasm to join Ryan and Sadie, who was awake but dazed.
A squawk broke the tense silence and another stream of fire burst from the metal box. Ryan frowned and ran to investigate the strange contraption. He pushed and pulled on it with no success.
"Ryan… we should leave," Amy began.
Ryan held up his hand to silence her. Slowly he reached his hand inside the largest of the holes. Bright tongues of flame whipped out around his arm and blasted through the other openings. Ryan winced as though the fire stung. A click sounded and Ryan removed his hand as the entire side of the box swung open. Inside, chained to a pole, was a small dragon with shiny scales the color Granny Smith apples. It belched fire, glowering at us.
Ryan stepped around so he was between us and the little beast. He held up his hands in a calming gesture and set them ablaze. The dragon's eyes narrowed to slits, then widened as he let out an excited sort of yip.
"That's right," Ryan said soothingly, reaching out to scratch its scaly head. I was surprised how gentle he was being. He slapped his nice little unlocking device down on the padlock, releasing the dragon and carefully pulling it out of the cage. It began to twitch nervously in the open air, opening and closing its wings.
"It's okay. You can fly now," Ryan promised. The dragon cocked its head, then shot into the air. It flew several fast laps around the garage and came to land sprawled across Ryan's shoulders with its tail curled around his neck. "Poor guy. That mean old cyclops had you all caged up so he could use your fire in his forge, huh?"
The dragon retrieved my sword from the ceiling, with some prompting from Ryan, and we left the shop. The little beast shot into the air, soaring high in elaborate spirals and dives. Ryan grinned at his new friend. "I'm going to name him Oswald."
The sun was just beginning to rise over a sparse scattering of buildings. As we drew closer I began to recognize where we were. A small town close to Long Island Sound.
Half-Blood Hill came into view after just over an hour of walking. I led our little group straight to the infirmary. My ambrosia high was wearing off quickly, and I passed out on a cot immediately.
. . .
Several hours later I was woken by someone shaking me. My brother's annoying, pale face stared down at me.
"Nico," I growled. "What are you doing?"
"You've been asleep too long. You need to get back to Camp Parthenon."
Everything came back to me in a rush. "Styx," I swore, jumping off the cot. "Cadence. But… how are we supposed to get back in time?"
"The others are waiting at the big house. We've got a trick that should get you there in time." I followed him to the big house where Chiron was talking to Sadie and Amy on the porch. Ryan was chasing Oswald and shooting fire into the sky in some bizarre form of tag. We've all been through so much it's easy to forget sometimes just how young a lot of the campers are. Ryan is only 12. Maybe 13.
"Ah, you're awake," Chiron said cheerfully as we approached. "You really should be more careful with ambrosia. Too much can have unexpected consequences."
I rolled my eyes at him. As if I didn't already know that. "Yeah. How are we going to get back to Parthenon?" I asked him.
"Ah Claire. Right to the point. I see the new camp hasn't changed you much. At least not yet." There was a twinkle in his eye as though we were sharing a private joke. I didn't get it.
He cantered down the gravel path, veering toward the forest. "If you'll follow me, young heroes, Annabeth has been working on something I think you'll find interesting."
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