So, one of my longer chapters. Also a relatively quick update, which I guess is good for you guys.
Enjoy.
Percy
The Ádi village, at least, had sunlight. Hazam and I were dragged across the Island of Damnation in chains, our weapons taken from us and blades all around pointed at the Darker. If it had been just me, alone, it would've been all too easy to break the chains, kill the leader and merely walk away as they threw everything they had at me. But that would mean leaving Hazam behind to the mercy of the Ádi, which was something I wasn't willing to do.
The boat that took us across the water was a crude, square barge with a tattered flag hanging from the side, dropping down in the absence of wind. The Ádi rowed with oars made from tree sticks, bringing us across the water to their home.
Where we would be bought.
Hazam and I would be sold off to the highest bidder— the person who thought we would be worth the most in a fight. We would be returned our weapons— no shields or armor, just my sword and Hazam's staff— and then given a few days to fine-tune our skills. Then, when our new owner thought we were ready, he would put us on the market.
See, the Ádi had their own way of learning to fight. They would lead raids— sometimes to the outlying islands, sometimes to places as far as Teutland or Arcadia— and bring back prisoners. The kidnappers would then sell those prisoners off to Owners— privileged men usually who cared nothing for their slaves except to earn a profit off of them. The Owners would put their slaves up on the market as registered Dummies, and every week a Show would be gathered. Ádi from all over the city would gather in the bleachers, money exchanging hands as the Dummies were forced to stand in the middle of the Arena, facing the crowd.
Then, one by one, the Dummies would be chosen to fight.
It wasn't a Roman style game, where warriors were pitted against trained fighters for the entertainment. Ádi warriors— meaning most every man in the town— would pay money for a certain dummy and the two would go into the arena, where the warrior got to fine-tune his fighting skill on a helpless prisoner.
The better the Dummy got, the more soldiers he defeated, meant more people wanted to fight him. The price for that Dummy went up, as did the demand. Higher and higher ranks of Ádi would start paying for an opportunity to fight.
Hazam and I were going to be sold as Dummies.
We would be forced to fight in the arena.
For myself I had no worry; I was invincible, and I knew the training I had gone through at the hands of my dad and the mentor Chiron would mean I could handle anything the Ádi were able to throw at me— probably. Hazam, on the other hand, was an inexperienced warrior not used to fighting real opponents— mush less someone as fierce and fearsome as the Ádi.
They were a warrior tribe, dressed in crude leather clothes stitched up at many places and splattered in an unidentifiable liquid. They smelled like week-old fish that had been left under the sun to rot. Surrounded as we were, with Ádi on every side, the smell was overpowering.
Like the Darkers, they were on the smaller side— barely topping five and a half feet at average height for a male. But they were bulky and armed with their favored short sword or spear, and generations living on the Uncharted Isles had left them ferocious and strong. They were bulkier than either me or Hazam, short and stocky with little to no neck and wide shoulders.
Worst of all was their face. It was flat, with a squished nose in the middle, small ears and squinted, dark eyes that glared at us with hatred. Their skin was dark and thick, peeling from sunburn in many places. One of them caught me looking and bared his teeth in a sign of challenge.
They were sharpened to fangs, stained yellow and missing in several places. He caught my revulsion and snarled, grinning some more and touching his hand to the sword at his side. I felt a shiver of fear run down my spine.
The Ádi were not someone to be taken lightly. If Hazam was thrown into the arena with one of them, even an infantry soldier, he would be mercilessly killed— something I couldn't afford. I had grown to like the small, loyal Darker who looked up to me unswervingly. He was brave and independent, following orders without a second thought and I had no doubt if I told him, right here and now that we were going to fight our way out he would jump to it without a seconds hesitation.
No. It would be better to bide my time and escape when possible than to rush into something now. I could make an impression in the arena; maybe even kill a few of their top warriors while still finding a way to keep Hazam out of the way. On the boat ride here I had explained to him in hushed voices what would happen once we reached the town. The young Darker had shrugged and relaxed against the boat, taking in the situation while not fully understanding it.
Now we were sitting in a crude hut, still chained and forced to find a comfortable position on the rough stone ground. We would be auctioned off tomorrow, I knew, after we had been cleaned up and ordered to look presentable. The captors wanted to make good money off of their slaves, and for that they needed us to look fresh and ready to fight.
Hazam scooched over, his hands behind his back and sweat dribbling down his face. It was hot in the hut.
"Break my leg," was the first thing he said, his voice perfectly serious and his face set in determined lines. I did a double take.
"I'm sorry?"
"Break my leg," he repeated. "You say Owners want us to be in tip-top fighting shape. You break leg, I no longer fight good, Owner no want me." He shrugged again. "Safe."
"Broken legs heal," I told him. "As soon as you're able to stand they'll throw you out into the arena again."
"But you escape us," he said, his eyes alight with hope. "By then Dawn Rider find way to escape and we return to Argo, safe. Worth a broken leg."
"I think you're overestimating my ability to come up with plans," I grimaced. "We need Annabeth for that." Again, he nodded.
"Daughter of Athena would be good," he agreed. "But you know land. You know how Ádi think. Come up with way to get us out and count on Annabeth to find us." I looked at him, surprised at this new revelation. Of course! I didn't have to get us off of this god-forsaken island— all I had to do was get us out of the village and near the coast. Then, if worst came to worst, I would summon a sea creature to bring us back to the Argo.
We could, of course, just wait for Annabeth and the rest of our expedition to find the coin and come looking for us, but I didn't want to put them in that kind of danger. Best for us to escape whenever we could, making a break for it and then finding a safe spot to hunker down until my crew came and found us. If anyone could do that, they could. Hazam was right; plus, I had some Nectar and Ambrosia in the bag they had taken from me that would heal his leg with no problem.
We might just get out of this alive.
"Okay," I nodded, a plan starting to form in my head as the pieces fell together. I would have to see how things went, where the arena was, what kind of security they had, but after that I had no doubt it would be doable. Hard, yes, but probably doable. "But we'll wait until someone's bought the two of us off. That way you're already a registered Dummy and they can't put you somewhere else."
"Good plan," Hazam nodded relaxing against the back of the wall. "We'll get out of here, Dawn Rider. No fear."
Annabeth
"That's it," Thalia said, nodding towards the tunnel entrance in front of me. I gulped, clutching my dagger a little tighter. The entrance to Arachne's cave was round, about ten feet in diameter and completely, utterly black.
"May as well get moving," Hector urged me from my side. We had planned it out on the walk here. The Prince of Troy would lead the way, dealing with any monsters that came close. Thalia would stay by my side the whole time, helping me in the fight with Arachne, and Nico would bring up the rear. The plan had originally been for Percy in all his invincibility to escort me, but now he was gone and that was out of the question.
I forced the thoughts of Percy out of my mind, knowing this wasn't the time to dwell on such matters. As soon as Arachne was dead and the coin was in my hand we would race back to the Argo and take the village by storm, winning back Percy and Hazam and maybe wiping out the Ádi while we were at it.
"May as well," I gulped, adjusting my shield and stepping closer to the entrance. It was like a giant hand was pulling me forwards, trying to grab me and throw me into the hole headfirst where Arachne could kill me.
"I'll take point," Hector said, sensing my reluctance and stepping in front of me, walking quickly to the entrance with his sword drawn. I had to force myself from letting out a relieved sigh; my fear of spiders was like a physical thing, trying to force its way from where I had shoved it down and into my brain, causing me to turn and run.
I stemmed it with logic, letting it wash over my head and soothe my nerves like a wave of cool water on a hot day. I was accompanied by three of Greece's best warriors, one of whom literally made his home in underground areas. Spiders weren't something to be scared of; they were tiny creatures that scuttled away if you so much blew at them. Arachne, like everything else, was just a person, one that could be tricked and deceived and, above all, killed.
I could do this.
We descended the slope slowly, feet scrabbling for purchase on the wet, uneven ground. Thalia, bless her rebellious spirit, had kept a torch and now held it in front of her, illuminating about ten feet into the gloom. Still, I was grateful for the light as we slowly moved farther and farther into the pitch black tunnel. Hector led the way, his sword out in front of him and his guard up. I felt slightly more at ease with the Prince of Troy leading the way; he was one of Greece's foremost warriors and damn good with his sword. Anything that came at us, he and Nico would be able to deal with it.
It was the same for Thalia. Having her at my side, her spear clutched in one hand and the horrible face of medusa in the other, eased the ball of tension in my stomach a little bit. Thalia would give any of the men a run for their money in a fight, that I knew. She could help me with Arachne— if worst came to worst she could stand from a distance and pick off spiders with her bow.
Suddenly something detached itself from the roof and flew at us, shrieking as it went. Immediately four Greek shields went up as we all ducked behind, bodies tense. Hector's sword arced through the air, catching the light as it went and striking the unseen enemy dead-on.
The bat dropped to the ground without a sound, cut neatly in half by the blade of Hector's sword. We stopped for a moment, breathing heavily while Hector wiped his blade clean.
"My heart's racing too much to admit," Thalia muttered to me as we continued down, weapons held a little tighter. "I can't believe we all—" her words were cut short as a mighty roar shook the cavern.
"That's for real, I think," Hector called over his shoulder, his words far too light for the situation he was facing. Out of the gloom, marching towards us with a massive club held in one hand, was a ten-foot-tall giant, wearing only a mottled loincloth. His eyes looked like they were on fire.
"Bugger," Hector said. "I'll deal with him and be back in a couple of minutes. Carry on, then." The giant, apparently, didn't like this dialogue. He took a step forwards, roared once more, opened his mouth wide and blew fire at the Prince of Troy.
"Whoa!" Hector exclaimed, rolling into a ball and covering himself with his shield. "That's new." The massive club swung down and he danced to the side, but he missed the left hook that the giant threw. It caught him in his chest and sent him flying against the tunnel wall.
"Go!" he repeated, ducking just in time as the club slammed into the side of the wall. Thalia and I exchanged looks before she took off running. I followed, with Nico keeping to the rear.
"Wolves in your hills!" Hector yelled from behind us, dodging another swipe and diving out of the way as a stream of fire shot by.
"Women in your beds!" Thalia called as we sprinted down the tunnel.
Linebreak
"Telekhines," Thalia told me as we slowed to a walk. The cavern was lit up by an eerie, green light now and we exited the tunnel, coming to a stop as the ceiling opened up and the walls stretched to either side, forming a massive cave of a room where we couldn't even see the ceiling.
"Do we have to fight them?" I asked quietly, observing the half fish, half dog with a little bit of human mixed in there creatures that stood in front of us. They were motionless, eyes not even focused on us— but they blocked the entrance to the massive cavern ahead. I could feel in my gut that cavern was where Arachne was waiting for me to come so she could kill me.
"I should think so," Thalia answered, clutching her spear a little tighter. "Pity you'll have to face Arachne alone if I'm dealing with them."
"I'll do it."
I nearly spun around in shock before reminding myself the son of Hades was still following us, his stygian iron sword clutched in one hand. He had been sticking to the shadows, moving in absolute silence and I had nearly forgotten he was there.
"There's at least a dozen of them," Thalia said doubtfully, and Nico shrugged. His all-black armor glinted in the half-light.
"Help me open a gap to let you two through," he suggested. "Then you run, and I'll deal with the rest."
"Same way Hector dealt with that giant?" I demanded, and Nico shrugged.
"He's not dead yet," the boy assured me. "Still fighting, the two of them, and I'm sure Hector's got something up his sleeve." His face hardened all of a sudden. "Now go. Or do you want to leave Percy with the Ádi any longer than need be?"
He had a point. Besides, if anyone could deal with the Telekhines it would be Nico— he was fast, he was strong and I wasn't totally convinced he could actually be killed, considering he was a son of Hades. His dad must have some say in that.
"Let's go, then," Thalia grunted, nearing the Telekhines with her spear at the ready. Still, they didn't move.
"Do you guys just want to let us…" she trailed off, creeping nearer to the group. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking the entrance to the cavern we needed to get to with almost no space in between them. Because they stood at roughly seven feet tall it seemed like there was a black wall in front of us.
Thalia crept nearer.
One of them moved.
His curved sword seemed to appear out of thin air as he snapped at Thalia, jaws opening wide as he prepared to swallow her head.
Thalia caught the swing on her shield, flicked it aside and drove her spear through the stomach of the Telekhine, watching as he exploded into dust. I saw movement off to her left and yelled out in warning as a second Telekhine lunged, blade moving to behead her. There was no way Thalia could spin in time to block that.
The Telekhine disintegrated.
I looked to see Nico standing there, his Stygian Iron sword held in both hands. "Go!" he yelled, switching to a one-hand grip and picking up his shield before charging the group. Thalia cut down another one of the beasts and I followed her, my knife hissing through the air as it caught one in the leg. It shouldn't have been a fatal blow, but the Telekhine still burst into bright yellow dust. I remembered what Hector had told be about Celestial bronze and how it could kill monsters with a single touch.
And then we were through and Nico was behind us, shield swinging and sword flashing as he was slowly driven back up the tunnel by the group of Telekhines, their jaws snapping and their swords swinging from all angles.
Finally, he disappeared into the gloom.
"Back to back," I ordered Thalia in a quiet voice, looking around uncertainly. The ceiling was lost in the gloom, as were the walls. We had moved to the center of the cavern, weapons ready and eyes scanning for something, anything, to appear out of the gloom.
Then, at the middle of the room, I saw it. A silver coin sitting atop a pedestal at least five feet tall and made out of pure gold. The coin seemed to emit a light of its own, glowing around the cavern but somehow not dispelling the gloom.
"There it is," Thalia whispered, moving a step closer to it. I made sure to keep by back pressed firmly against hers as we moved towards the coin. My mind was whirling with possibilities. Maybe Arachne had gone to help her minions? Maybe she was out for groceries? Maybe someone had already killed her?
We drew closer to the pedestal, Thalia leading the way when she suddenly stopped. "Annabeth, look," she whispered, pointing to something I couldn't see. Slowly we shuffled a hundred and eight degrees, keeping out backs pressed together, until I was able to make out a carpet of shimmering, interlinked threads that surrounded the pedestal like a magic carpet, stopping us from getting to it.
It was a spider web.
A laugh rang out the cavern, high and loud. Both Thalia and I jumped and turned so our backs were against the web, facing whatever came our way. I scanned desperately into the dark, looking for the source of the noise. My knife was clenched tightly in my hand, ready for use.
I felt something on my leg and looked down carefully, trusting Thalia's senses to alert me if anything drew nearer. When I did I felt like screaming in terror, but I caught the sound and forced it back down my throat with some difficulty.
A spider was crawling up my leg.
Calmly as I could I reached down with the blade of my knife, picked it up and flicked the vile thing away into the darkness, keeping my face a blank mask. I was pleased to feel the terror inside shrink just a little.
The laugh came again. It ran my blood cold as it echoed around the cavern, bouncing off the walls, getting into my head and sticking there like some kind of vile strand of web. I shook the illusion away.
"Arachne!" I called out, pleased that my voice didn't crack. "Show yourself!" There was a moment of prolonged silence before something dropped from the ceiling, stopping inches from the ground and flipping over so it landed on its feet. I made out a web supporting it.
I tensed as Arachne walked towards us, preparing myself for some monstrous deity that would be so horrible, so ugly it would shock us, allowing her to kill us both without a second thought.
Arachne came into the light. Instead of a monster she was a woman, tall and thin with pale skin and long, dark hair that flowed around her as if she was submerged in water. She was dressed in all black from head to toe, including black shoes and a strange weapon clutched in her hand. I couldn't make out the details from where I stood but I saw the glint of a blade and decided it must be dangerous.
Her face would've been beautiful if it weren't for the eyes— and the pincers. Bulbous and black, they stared at us from four times as many sockets as there should have been. Her mouth was stretched and flat, with two horrible fangs jutting out from either end, frothing and snapping as she took us in.
She spoke in a surprisingly normal voice.
"Daughter of Athena," she hissed, all eight eyes focusing on me. "Come to steal my coin, have you?" Stemming my fear, I took half a step forwards I tried to sound brave.
"We come from the ship Argo, flagship of Greece and captained by Perseus Jackson himself. We're on royal delegation to slay you and take back to Greece what's rightfully hers." I gestured behind me. "The Mark of Athena, gifted from the Riders of Rome to my mother and stolen by your cowardice." I held my blade in front of me, hoping the sight of Celestial bronze would intimidate the monster. "Step aside and unravel your web, Arachne, and you may live. Resist and we'll send you straight to Tartarus."
I thought it sounded brave and noble— the kind of speech Percy may deliver. Arachne regarded the two of us for a long moment, before throwing back her head and laughing, pincers clacking together as she did.
"You think fancy words will intimidate me, daughter of Athena?" she asked once she was done. "Do you know how many of your kind I've faced before? If you wish I can show you their skulls! Or I've made myself a crown out of their weapons." She studied my knife intently. "The cursed blade of the Captain," she said quietly. "How brave of you to carry it. That will make an excellent addition to my collection."
"You'll not be getting it," I snapped, surprised at how brave my voice sounded. "By the time Nico's finished with your servants, you'll be dead on the floor and I will have the Mark in my hand." Then, not giving her an opportunity to reply I lunged, my knife slicing forwards. I put all the force possible behind the stab while still keeping my balance, making sure to lunge forwards with my left leg so I didn't overextend.
Arachne hissed in surprise and leaped backwards, just dodging the tip of my blade. Her hiss turned into a laugh, right hand coming from behind her back to swing at me with her sword. It was a horrible weapon, obsidian black and pure as night. The handle was made of eight interweaving strand of metal, twisted together to form pockets for her fingers. The blade was jagged and uneven, reaching three feet out and bending viciously. On the pommel lay another blade, jutting out three inches or so but reflecting wickedly in the light, proving it was sharp beyond measure.
I angled my shield and watched it bounce off. Thalia had discarded of her spear now and nocked and arrow on her bow, stepping sideways so that she had a clear shot at Arachne. "Freeze!" She barked, bringing the bow back to a full draw and firing almost in an instant. The next second another arrow was on the way. I knew how good a shot Thalia was— and how powerful her short recurve bow was. I was shocked when Arachne turned, dodging one arrow and slicing the second out of mid-air. Trying to use this distraction to my advantage I lunged, sweeping sideways with my shield.
Arachne hissed and backed up, her eyes alight. "Not bad, daughter of Athena!" she cackled. "You wish to play with distance weapons?" Before I could respond she launched up into the air, doing a backwards flip and disappearing into the gloom. I backed up until I was standing next to Thalia, holding my shield protectively.
Then, from somewhere to the right of where Arachne had disappeared, a dart sailed past my ear and stuck into the ground. It was, just like everything else, pure black with a white substance in it that made me shudder as to what would happen if it struck me.
"Miss!" Arachne cackled, now from behind. I spun around, bringing my shield up just in time to block another dart. As soon as it struck the shield it exploded, the white goop streaming out of its casing and surrounding my shield, growing and expanding and covering the surface with shocking speed. Yelling, I flung the disc away and drew the sword that was strapped to my thigh, eyes scanning back and forth.
I did not want to get his by one of those darts.
Thalia, meanwhile, had sent a stream of arrows in the direction the dart had come from, hearing them ring off of stones and clatter down to the floor.
The Arachne was there, knocking Thalia aside with surprising strength and lunging at me. I parried with my sword and swung with my knife, disengaging and spinning away. Arachne was already coming again, obsidian sword hissing through the gloom in a series of bewildering strikes, cuts and slashes. I was forced backwards, trying to stay close to the coin— which was also my light source. Without it I would be dead in seconds.
I caught a thrust on my knife and flicked it aside before going on the attack, swinging overhand and sideways simultaneously with my sword and knife respectively. Arachne parried the knife swipe with her shield and I used the momentum to swing low, spinning around and cutting up with both weapons.
Arachne dodged backwards and I found myself horribly off balance as the spider goddess lunged, sword arcing forwards to strike me in the stomach. I knew the force of the blow would shear right through my armor, cutting into my chest and no doubt killing me. I had failed, just like the rest of the Athenians who tries to retake the coin. Greece would burn because of me.
Dual throwing knives took the sword on the blade, throwing it to the side and causing Arachne to lurch off balance. Taking this to my advantage I spun around and backed up again, holding both weapons out in front of me. I knew of only two people who carried throwing knives on them.
One was Percy, who I was ninety-nine percent sure wasn't here.
The other…
"Hey," Hector of Troy said, stepping out of the shadows with his weapons drawn. Arachne spun towards him.
"Hey," Nico called, seeming to melt into existence while wiping his blade clean of dust. Arachne was now surrounded at three points, spinning in a circle quickly to keep us all in her line of vision.
The spider goddess looked decidedly uneasy.
"Hi," Thalia greeted, appearing stepping closer with her bow up at half draw. Arachne let out a panicked hissed, her eyes settling on me.
"You know the myth, daughter of Athena," she hissed. "You have to be the one to slay me in a fair fight."
"Actually," Hector called out, his voice travelling far and clear. The Prince of Troy quirked a smile, his semi-curly hair falling into his eyes. "You forfeited that right the moment you had a giant attack Annabeth. And the Telekhines." Hector shrugged, still smiling adamantly. "I guess you lost at your own game, spider goddess." She let out an insane his and the next moment a dart was hurling through the air towards Hector.
His shield came up at a thirty-degree angle to the shot, catching it so it bounced off and continued across the floor instead of sticking. As if communicating through some other form besides speech, the four of us moved in.
My breath was coming out a little quicker now. We had the spider goddess cornered, surrounded by four of the finest warriors in the world. The only thing for her to do was to lay down arms and die an honorable death now.
I doubted that would happen.
"She still has to kill me!" Arachne yelled, pointing at me with her sword. I saw a flicker of movement from the blade as it spat one of the web-filled darts at me while my gaze was focused past Arachne, on Hector who was nodding.
Before I could really register what had happened my knife flashed upwards, slicing the dart in half inches away from my chest and watching it drop to the ground. Arachne physically staggered, as if I had punched her in the throat.
"Who— who are you?" she asked in disbelief as I stepped over the broken dart, headed towards her. Her face looked decidedly uneasy now and she stood in a defensive stance, sword drawn and shield up.
"I'm Annabeth Chase," I replied as she lunged. I dodged sideways, ducking the blow before coming up and delivering a rapid series of over-hand and side cuts, still advancing steadily on her as she retreated. "I'm a daughter of Athena, born and raised in the heart of Greece." I cut overhand. "At age five I was left in Britain to learn their ways." Both blades clang simultaneously off of her shield and sword, causing Arachne to stumble with the force of the fall. I realized my voice was rising as I went. "Greatest tactician to ever walk the earth, wielder of the cursed blade and retriever of Athena's mark." Clang, clang, clang. My strikes were coming quicker now, cutting down from all angles and delivered with perfect force. "Trained by Hector the great, protected by Perseus of the Argo and now," my hands moved in a blur, catching Arachne's blade between my two, twisting it away and kicking her shield aside with contempt. My knife flashed once, twice across her throat, before I stuck both blades into her chest. "Slayer of Arachne, thief of the coin."
I twisted my knife, yanking it out of her body and watching he drop to the floor. I could see the light leave her eyes and looked back at Thalia uncertainly.
"Um… I probably should've asked this earlier: can I actually kill her?"
Not even a cliffhanger ending! Whoa!
Thank you to everyone for their reviews. Since my updating schedule is totally messed up anyways, I'll make a deal: if we hit 900 reviews I'll update the moment that happens. Otherwise, it'll probably come in a week or so.
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