CHAPTER 12: THE GHOST KING
REYNA POV:
Exiting the pub, we avoided the police cars and Nico led me into an alley away from the chaos. We stopped and caught our breaths. Nico slid down the brick wall, forehead glistening with sweat, breathing heavily. I tried catching my own breath.
''You okay?'' I asked. He nodded, giving a thumbs-up.
''Yeah'' he confirmed. ''Just…a little tired from banishing those souls. I'm fine, just need a moment to catch my breath.'' He opened his pack and pulled out a Kit-Kat. He offered some to me. I obliged.
''I found out Kit-Kat bars are great for recovering from supernatural fatigue'' he informed me, crunching the chocolate and wafer.
''That's good to know'' I said, absently nodding. My mind was buzzing with alarm. Eric was going to attack the camp tonight? ''We need to warn the others on the attack'' I told him, offering him my hand. Nico took it and got to his feet.
''There's a car wash nearby. We can use the hose to create a rainbow and send an Iris Message to Frank and Hazel. After that, we should head to the cemetery near the pub. I was waiting there for Eric to show up'' he informed me.
''And he didn't?'' I guessed. ''You should shadow travel us to camp instead. We will face Eric's army together'' I insisted.
Nico held his hands up in a placating gesture. ''Wait, nothing happened in that pub until you showed up. I have a feeling he'll catch wind that we've escaped. If we can get Eric to appear in the cemetery and end him then and there with fewer enemies, we won't have to fight a full scale battle'' he countered.
I frowned, folding my arms. ''Nico, we don't have time to lose. Our friends need us. If Eric comes there-''
''We'll send the message to Hazel and Frank; give them time to mobilize the legion. Just wait ten minutes in the cemetery with me. If nothing happens, I'll shadow travel over there'' he argued.
''Please…'' he pleaded.
''Fine…tienes suerte eres tan linda'' I grumbled, relenting.
''What's that?''
''Nothing. Let's go warn the others first.'' We made our way to the car wash. After adjusting the pressure of the hose and accidentally dousing Nico with high pressure water a few times, we got a decent rainbow going. After awkwardly cutting in on Hazel and Frank having a make-out session in the principia, we filled them in on what had happened. Hazel chided Nico a bit for leaving without telling and he hung his head in shame and mumbled an apology but ultimately she was relieved he was okay. They both would round up the legion for battle and sure up the defenses. After that, we headed over to the cemetery, about a minute's walk from the pub.
The graveyard was dead silent. The moon hid behind the clouds as though it were scared. Gravestones lined the area like rows of crooked teeth. It looked like the perfect setting for a Halloween movie. During my time with the Hunters of Diana, I had honed my senses to be sharper than before and I scanned our surroundings, alert for any potential threat. Nico searched the desolate place.
''Sense anything?'' I asked him.
He shook his head. ''Nothing; we're alone. This place is deserted.'' I wasn't so sure. Not that I could detect possible spirits around but I felt a prickly feeling on the back of my neck like I was being watched. I was on edge.
''Eric, show yourself! Face me!'' Nico exclaimed. Nothing happened.
''We're wasting time. He's probably on his way to camp. We should go'' I said. He frowned, his dark eyes lingering on the gravestones as if trying to see if there was any soul hiding under that dirt and gravel.
''Yeah, let's go. It was worth a shot though'' he muttered. Just as I was about to ask him to shadow travel us out of there, the ground rumbled. All around the graveyard, spirals of dirt and stone swirled in the air, solidifying into crude human figures – earthen shells like the ones we'd faced in Pompeii all those years ago. They stared at me, their eyes ragged holes in faces of rock.
''These guys again…'' I muttered, my ribs throbbing in remembrance of our time fighting them on the Athena Parthenos quest. ''Nico, how did you not detected them?''
''It's Eric! He's controlling them, hiding their presence from me like he did in the pub. That must mean he's here'' Nico said. About five of them slowly shuffled forward. Through their mouth holes, they made hollow whistling noises, like someone blowing across empty soda bottles.
''We can take them'' I assured. ''Just be careful they don't hit you'' I warned. That being said, we attacked. I ran my pilum through the mid-section of one earthen shell and it crumbled easily, before dodging the swing of another. Nico ducked under a clubbing swing from another one, before hacking it in the back with his axe. Together we cleared them out. Nico tripped behind a gravestone and fell, the last earthen shell towering over him. Before it could strike, I struck my pilum through its back, its gold point exiting through its stone sternum and the shell collapsed to dust.
Smiling, I gave him a hand and said, ''Careful, di Angelo.'' He rolled his eyes and took my hand. I helped him up to his feet. He brought his axe back into ring form. ''Now, let's head ba-''
ZZZZZZZOOOOUUUUUUU! A concentrated arc of lightning came out of nowhere and hit him, sending him flying into the gravestones.
No time to react and turned to see a dark shape hurtle towards me, slamming into me and I felt an electrical surge jolt through my skeleton, sending me crashing against a tombstone. What in Romulus? I shook my head, trying to get my bearings right. My pilum had been knocked out of my grasp. A figure stood before me – a teenage girl.
Her dark hair was cut short and choppy – punk style. She wore a leather jacket, grey camo trousers and hunting boots. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. Except her eyes weren't their usual brilliant blue – they were golden. A cruel smile decorated her freckled face.
''Miss me?'' she asked in Eric's voice. Not having my weapon with me, I tried punching her in the face. She swiftly ducked and elbowed my across the nose, before landing two more fists to my face, which did not help my dizziness. She then slammed her knee into my crotch and a flare of pain erupted in that region. I grunted in pain and instinctively knelt to grab the hurt area and her knee met my nose with a CRUNCH!
Sitting back against the gravestone, my eyes watered and vison blurred, my nose and the area between my legs throbbing, the sharp smell of blood flooding my nostrils, my head spinning from the blows.
''ERIC, LET HER GO AND FIGHT ME!'' Nico yelled charging over to us. Thalia sent another bolt of lightning to him, sending him skidding back before he could attack her.
''Oh shut up!'' she demanded, before glowering down at me.
''All this time…I thought I needed…YOU!'' Thalia yelled, clipping and punctuating each word with a punch to my skull. ''But I don't need you at all! I'm already the ghost king! I don't need you to manipulate him anymore!'' she said with sadistic glee, as she planted a boot square to my face. She threw another punch but I anticipated this, ducking under it and sprang to my feet, head-butting her on the nose, which made her back up. I followed with a spinning elbow to her brow, snapping her head back, before dropping low to pick her up. Hoisting the possessed daughter of Zeus onto my shoulders like a pro-wrestler, I slammed her onto the ground with an angry yell.
I pounced on her to hold her down. Thalia struggled and kicked and screamed in a demonic otherworldly voice, but I had her secure. ''Time for you to go'' Nico stated darkly, placing his hand on her throat. Closing his eyes, he uttered, ''Leave this body and return to Hades, spirit.'' I expected her to get back to normal, like Nico had done to the eidolons in the pub, but Thalia smiled, gold undead eyes unblinking and began to laugh creepily. Dread settled over me.
''You have no power over me, brother. I am the ghost king now!'' she exclaimed with glee. Just then, I felt the flapping of giant metal wings. I looked up and saw a winged metal monstrosity flying towards us, silhouetted against the dark clouds – it was Festus! What was he doing here?
Thalia laughed maniacally. ''Reinforcements have arrived!'' she exclaimed cheerfully.
Reinforcements? A horrible thought occurred to me. ''Nico, get out of the way!'' I screamed. We hurried to the side just as Festus landed roughly on the earth with a boom, shaking the earth. The metal beast roared, spewing fire into the air. I looked up in horror at the rider. There sat Leo Valdez. The son of Hephaestus had his usual crazy grin, but now it looked sinister and cold, his eyes glowing golden like those of Thalia. Leo was possessed by an eidolon too.
Of course… I thought. Leo had been residing at the Waystation when Jason had attacked. That didn't make him technically a full member of either camp, which makes him liable to possession. Next to me, Nico cursed in Ancient Greek. Leo spurred Festus and the dragon got ready to blow fire.
''No!'' Nico yelled and waved his hand, a wall of rock jutting out in front of us, blocking the fire. White hot tongues of flame curled around our barrier and I felt the heat on my skin like the breath of an oven. The flames shattered the wall of rock, dissipating into smoke as the rocks crumbled. Festus lunged forward, I sprang out of the way and Festus swung his head, sending Nico flying through the air into a tombstone. He lay motionless on the ground.
Panic overtook me. ''Nico!'' I screamed and Festus fixed his ruby eyes at me and snarled, teeth whirring like drills. He opened his mouth and prepared to shoot flames but I dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding being turned into Roman-BBQ. Springing back to my feet, I looked just in time to see a bolt of electricity hit me, sending me rolling through the dirt.
''Ugh…'' I tried to get up. The graveyard was ruined; crushed gravestones and burning grass marred the landscape, the graves casting ominous shadows. The smell of smoke burned my nostrils. Thalia looked at me, lifting an unconscious son of Hades before jumping onto the back of Festus, summoning a gust of air to lift her up. Since when could Thalia do that?
''Well, enough with the preliminaries, now off to the main event! Di Angelo will be sacrificed in front of the Romans and I shall become the ghost king! Thank you!'' Thalia said, doing a mock bow and Leo spurred Festus, getting ready to take off.
''No…'' I thought and sprang to my feet. No way in Pluto would I lose another person I loved. I ran to the dragon, its back towards me. I scooped up my javelin as I sprinted towards it. Just as Festus leapt off the ground, I grabbed its tail. We took flight, the dragon flying into the clouds with me dangling from its tail and holding on tight.
Wind howled past my ears and the temperature gradually dropped. I glanced back at the razed graveyard briefly. We were gaining altitude fast. I slowly climbed up, hooking my fingers in the gaps of the dragon's bronze scales. I was almost like climbing a rope in gym class, only Jupiter-knew how many feet in the air. Heart battering my ribs, I managed to climb onto the back of the metallic flying serpent. I stood up, thankful for my great balance. My braid had become a bit loose, strands of dark hair fluttering around in the wind. My arms felt cold at this height. We were in the clouds. Leo was driving the dragon, with Nico's unconscious body secured between him and Thalia, who glanced back in shock, golden eyes blazing.
''DON'T YOU KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP?!'' she yelled and sprinted towards me like a gazelle with her spear. I ran to meet her and she leapt forward, spear aimed at my throat. I ducked under and grabbed her, tackling her onto the bronze back of the dragon. Mounting her, I began to rain punches down on her face. Anger spilled out from me, having been pent up ever since this stupid spirit started messing with our lives.
''STAY AWAY FROM MY NICO!'' I yelled in Spanish, before getting up and stomping my boot on her face so she could stay down. Picking up her spear so she couldn't use it, I made a run towards Nico, running over the scales of Festus with ease. Thalia tacked me from behind and we fell forward in a mess of limbs. Thalia got on top of me and tried to punch my face. I did my best to block her hits and she unsheathed her knife and tried to stab me. I held her wrists, teeth gritting with effort.
This is bullshit, I thought. I knew Thalia had a fear of heights. No way would she even be able to even function properly this high if she wasn't possessed.
''WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?'' Thalia screamed. ''YOU WILL – ACK!'' That last part was because Nico grabbed a hold of her neck from behind, choking her and forcing her back. His hair whipped around his face like a bird shot out of the sky. He yelled something in Italian I could not understand. I kicked Thalia in the chest and she fell back.
At that moment, Leo turned the reigns sideways and Festus tilted to the left, trying to spill us off. We rolled to the left but before I could fall off, I jammed the spear into one the chinks in Festus's hard bronze scales and held on for dear life. I cursed Leo in Latin. Thalia and Nico managed to grab on too.
Nico tried to punch Thalia but she grabbed his arm and elbowed him on the nose, then kneed him in the ribs, trying to dislodge him. She climbed a bit upward and elbowed Nico on his head. Nico then elbowed her back as she tried to climb back on, before grabbing her head and bashing her face on the side of the dragon. Before I could warn him not to let her die, he kicked her and she fell into the clouds.
I was too shocked to speak. What would we tell Jason…
As Nico and I got up on the dragon, I saw Thalia run up the other side of the dragon towards us. What the- How?
WHAM! She punched Nico and he fell off balance and tumbled down the wing of Festus. Terror swept over me and a scream built in my throat but Nico whipped out his axe at the last moment and struck it into the thin sheet of bronze, sliding down Festus's wingspan, carving a long scar in the metal. The dragon screeched in protest. Nico was holding on with one hand to his axe, its head embedded in the metal. The rest of his body was dangling in the air.
''Hold on!'' I yelled and as Nico tried to grab on with his other hand, the axe slipped out of the dragon's wing and Nico di Angelo fell.
''NOOO!'' I screamed in horror.
NICO POV:
Funny, that in my time with Reyna we'd been in a situation where we were hundreds of feet in the air twice now. As I plummeted through the clouds, the cold wind whipping my face and making my eyes damp, I got flashbacks of when we had accidentally dive bombed Mount Vesuvius in Italy all those years ago. It was still night time and I had to time a shadow jump perfectly as I reached he ground.
As the clouds parted, the fields of Mars came into view. The camp had been busy. Battle raged across the field as the legion fought earthen shells like those in the graveyard. The sheer number of them was more than I'd expected. Distance between me and the ground was closing rapidly. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. Right before I hit the dark shadow of one of the fortresses, I tapped into my powers.
Instead of hitting the ground and becoming a son of Hades pancake, I dove straight into the shadows. It still felt like I was falling, icy wind spiking my face, but I was surrounded by an inky blackness, distant voices whispering faintly. A moment later, I emerged and stumbled onto the grass. I had made it to the ground safely. I stood in the shadow of a fortress and saw the battle raging before me – the army of the dead verses the legion. Earthen shells, like those in the graveyard, fought with the Roman demigods. Among them, I spotted Hellhounds and bat-like daimons – those pesky Keres; spirits of disease.
The mighty roar of Festus sounded across the noise of war and I saw the metal dragon descend from the sky. Due to the cut I'd traced into one of its wings, it couldn't properly fly. It clumsily glided downward, like a plane being flown by a drunken pilot and it spewed flames as it crashed into one of the fortresses, smashing through the bricks and leaving a gaping hole at the entrance.
''REYNA!'' I yelled, fear overtaking me. I ran as fast as I could, sprinting across the battlefield. Fighting took place all around me. I prayed to the gods Reyna had survived that fall. I knew I had to take down Eric for the other spirits to stop. The battle continued, which means he was alive. That meant Reyna had to be too. No way in Hades would I lose another person I love. Not again.
Scenes of fighting took place around me; Tyson the cyclops bitch-slapped an earthen shell's head off and Hannibal the elephant grabbed a winged Keres with his trunk and smacked another one with it. Hazel zipped past on Arion, cutting down rogue Hellhounds.
I reached the fortress, a pile of rubble from where Festus had crashed through. I saw a rhinoceros charge past me (which must have been Frank) and barge through a group of earthen shells, sending them toppling like bowling pins. A group of legion eagles circled the fortress, diving down and shrieking. The roar of the dragon halted me to my tracks. The metal head of Festus reared above the ruined wall of the fortress and shot columns of fire at the eagles and snapped his jaws keeping them at bay.
I thought of Leo and hoped that he was alive. I scanned the ruins. ''REYNA!'' I called desperately, worry dissolving my soul.
''I'm here!'' she called out. I turned and saw her run towards me. Her hair was undone, cuts and bruises tattooed her face and arms but she otherwise looked okay. Relief overtook me.
''My gods, Reyna are you alright?!''
''I'm fine. Nico, that fall…how did you survive?'' she demanded, her eyes wide.
''I shadow travelled right before I hit the ground'' I filled her in. ''Where's Eric?''
''I lost Thalia during the crash. She has to be here somewhere!'' she said, her eyes frantically searching the rubble. A feminine scream cut through the air and a blue arc of lightning flew from atop the wall, striking an eagle out of the sky.
''My guess is she's over there'' I said. ''Come on!'' We ran into the ruins, jumping over crumbled walls. Lightning lit the sky and the roars of the dragon echoed across the battlefield. Fire from the dragon had begun to envelop much of the building. A massive storm cloud had rolled over the field. I had to get to Eric and put an end to this, somehow. We peaked into a room which had a stairwell leading up to the upper wall. Between us, a group of three armoured girls stood guard, golden eyes gleaming behind their helmets – possessed Amazons. We hid back behind the wall.
Reyna readied her sword. ''I'll hold them off. You go after Eric'' she said. I looked at her.
''Hey, we can take them together!'' I argued.
''I can take them on my own. There's no time! You need to put an end to this before any more carnage ensues! Besides, he'll only use me as leverage'' she countered.
''Whatever happened to sticking together?'' I asked incredulously. Reyna glared at me like she was about to stab me. Then she did something that surprised me even more.
Cupping my face in both her hands, she kissed me.
''Stop him'' she ordered. ''And don't die, Death Boy'' she told me, before she ran into the room with a battle cry. If not for the dire situation we were in, I would have sat there with a dumb look on my face and try to remember my name but instead, I got up and quickly snuck past the Amazon warriors who were preoccupied with Reyna.
Traversing the stairs, I reached the top of the wall and ran towards where I saw Thalia, using her lightning to fight off eagles. Jason landed next to me with Piper.
''There she is'' Jason said. He looked sad. ''Thalia…''
''That's not your sister'' I told him.
Just then, a metal claw grabbed the ledge a few feet from us, halting us in our tracks. Festus rose from behind the ledge, growling – a rumbling, metallic sound. His bronze wings spread to their full impressive span. I tried not to cower in fear as his shadow loomed over me. On his back sat Leo, eyes golden.
''Leo!'' Piper yelled.
''Burn them!'' Leo commanded. The eidolon inside him used Leo's regular voice so he could control Festus.
''STOP!'' Piper yelled, charmspeak oozing out in waves. The dragon and his master paused and looked confused.
''I'll get Leo'' Jason said and took off like a blonde Peter Pan. He flew past Festus, who tried to bite him but the son of Jupiter was too nimble. He tackled Leo off his mount. The outraged dragon snarled and got ready to blow a column of fire.
''HEY, OVER HERE!'' Piper screamed, once again grabbing his attention. Festus turned towards us, breathing fire. I grabbed Piper to drag her back into the building to avoid the flames but just then, a massive dark shape flew over me, intercepting the automaton. It was another dragon – one made of flesh. Grey scales, bat-like wings and a shape which resembled that of a Komodo dragon launched itself at Festus, knocking him away from the edge, causing his fire blast to miss and blowtorching much of the stone with flames.
''Is that Frank?'' I asked, eyes wide in surprise.
''Must be'' Piper answered. The two snarling creatures fought viciously, clawing and biting, wings flapping like pissed off birds. Frank the dragon once again tackled the metal one into the other side of the fortress wall, smashing through it.
Jason flew back to us with a struggling Leo in his arms. He stumbled to the floor, spilling Leo with him. His gold eyes burned with hate.
''YOU WILL ALL BURN! YOU WILL ALL-''
BONK! Jason knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.
''Sorry Leo'' he apologized.
''Take him to safety'' I told them. ''I'll deal with Eric.''
Jason put a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. ''Hey, Nico. Bring my sister back, promise?'' he asked. I suddenly got a flashback to when I had asked Percy all those years ago in the winter in Camp Half-Blood to keep my sister, Bianca safe.
I nodded and Jason hoisted rag-doll Leo over his shoulder and grabbed Piper by the waist and took off. I ran to where Thalia was. When she saw me, she tried retreating into the room behind her when the two tussling dragons fell on top of it, squashing it flat. Dragon-Frank stood on top of Festus, biting his neck and their combined force made that part of the tower collapse, a giant mushroom cloud of debris rising from them. A power jet of flame forced Dragon-Frank off the metal one and Festus roared defiantly, charging him once again.
I stared her down. ''Face me, brother! It is time to end this!'' I challenged, bringing out my axe.
''Yes, my brother. It is time…'' Thalia sneered and flicked her wrist, a spear appearing in her hand and we slowly approached one another. A gust of fire from Festus destroyed the path behind me. No backing away from either of us now. Then at once, we attacked.
Thalia brought out her shield, Aegis, the hideous visage of Medusa emblazoned into the bronze made me shudder. Despite that, I snarled and dodged her spear thrust and counter attacked. When my Stygian iron labrys met her shield, a ball of lightning erupted between us, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power, adding to the smell of fire and smoke.
I dodged and parried spear jabs and struck her shield, sparks flying off. Thalia jabbed at my chest and I grabbed it at the last second but felt electricity pass through my body, jamming me in pain. My knees wobbled. Thalia laughed in a cold, undead way and kicked me in the ribs, a flash of pain spreading across my chest and I fell back, my back against the wall post.
''Die'' she said and stabbed with her spear. I narrowly dodged it and her spear crashed into the rock. I counter-attacked, trying to get rid of her spear. She blocked with her shield and slashed at me with her spear, the tip just grazing my chest. The pain was stinging but I continued fighting. I had to find a way to get past her guard. We traded attacks back and forth, leaving cuts and bruises but nothing major. I had to get past her shield but she was good. I narrowly avoided being impaled numerous times.
I tried circling to the non-shielded side, but Thalia jabbed with her spear. I rolled out of the way, trying to create distance between us. I feigned an axe strike and she took the bait, over-extending with her spear. I sidestepped and grabbed her spear, before kicking her away, successfully yanking the spear out of her grasp. Thalia growled in frustration and I attacked with ruthless abandon, whaling on her shield, trying to get it off her grasp. Backing her up against the wall, a pried it off her slowly and dislodged it from her grip, sending it skittering away. I held the edge of my axe to her throat.
''You wouldn't kill your ally, would you?'' she asked in Eric's gravelly voice, but it had a nervous edge to her tone.
''Give up…its over'' I said. ''You and your army will go back to the Underworld; you are dead and nothing more. You obey ME! I AM THE GHOST KING!'' I growled angrily, pouring as much force and authority into my words. I knew I had to command him. The dead were my birthright, my sphere of control.
Thalia turned pale, her eyes shining in fear and she shuddered. I would have felt sorry for her if not for the eidolon she was possessed with.
''Yes…'' she said uneasily, beginning to slowly walk past me, head bowed submissively as though I would hit her, keeping a cautious eye on the Stygian iron labrys. She peered uneasily into the battlefield.
''As you wish…your MAJESTY!'' she snarled all of a sudden, throwing a pile of embers at me. They landed on my eyes and I yelled out in pain, dropping my axe to hold my eyes, trying to rub the burning sensation out of them.
Thalia pounced, tackling me to the ground and we rolled on the ground and I felt a stabbing pain in my right arm. I opened my eyes, but they were still blurry and watery. I kicked Thalia off me and grabbed my axe, ready to fight back though my vision would take a moment to recover.
We fought back and forth like animals. I could dimly make out the faint outline of Thalia duel wielding two silvery hunting knives. I swung widely with my axe and Thalia easily danced out of the way, slashing me across the arm with her daggers. We traded back and forth but I was at a disadvantage from her cheap shot, my vision hazy.
Thalia kicked me and I fell back. I saw her leap at me with her daggers. I tried to move but Thalia grabbed my hand and drove her knife through my palm, pinning it to the brick wall. I screamed in agony as a horrible, searing pain erupted from my left hand. Thalia grabbed her other knife and drove it through my other hand, pinning me against the wall. I was defenseless. My mind went blank with pain as I groaned miserably. Turning around, she retrieved her spear and held it. I tried moving my hand and needles of pain shot through my entire arm as I tried to dislodge the knife from the wall.
Thunder rumbled above us and lightning flashed, an arc of electricity hitting her spear, which buzzed with the power of the storms.
''Finally…farewell brother…'' she said, smiling like a lunatic. I got rid of one knife and grabbed the spear before she could thrust it in. I gritted my teeth, trying desperately to keep it away from me but I knew there was no chance.
I'm sorry, Reyna, I thought. Thalia kicked me in the face, making my grip on the spear go slack and raised her weapon to end me.
Then, a miracle in the form of Reyna appeared and kicked Thalia out of the way. This girl was something else. She looked at me in a mix of worry and anger. She had a black eye and a few cuts on her face and arms but otherwise looked okay. ''No mueras en mi ahora, Death Boy!'' she scolded and then met Thalia in combat. The two ladies fought like demons, Thalia with her knives and Reyna duel wielding her sword and knife.
I tried to recuperate. My hands felt like they were being chewed by fire ants. Struggling to get up, I tried to pick my axe up with shaking hands. I cried out when I tried to grip them with my injured hands. I felt a sudden rush of energy – it was coming from Reyna; a wave of courage and resilience that gave me strength. Doing my best to ignore the sharp pain, I gripped the handle of my axe, the damp, sticky blood making it slippery. I stood up and saw just in time to see Reyna kick Thalia away, making her stumble and fall on her butt. Thalia had blood dripping from a cut on her right cheek.
Growling, she ditched her knives and brought out her spear. She raised her spear and thunder rumbled, lightning dancing in the black murky atmosphere. The air became charged, the hairs on my neck standing up and Reyna prepared to dodge. Thalia's gold eyes glanced towards me and she smirked and when the lightning came down, it ricocheted off her spear – and directly towards me. I watched, paralyzed as the bolt of lightning streaked towards me.
I waited for the bolt to fry me but then, in the blink of an eye, Reyna jumped in front of me, taking the full blast of the lightning. Horror engulfed me. The daughter of Bellona lay on the ground, her body twitching.
''REYNA!'' I yelled, fear coursing through me. I worriedly knelt by her side. She winced and whimpered in pain and I felt my heart shatter into splinters.
''RA-RA, you don't look so good!'' Thalia said mockingly in her normal voice. I looked up, my panic dissolving, replaced by anger, as dark and cold as my blade.
Thalia laughed manically, her posture crooked, golden eyes ablaze with insanity and my wrath exploded. I screamed in pure rage and the air around us dropped to freezing. All around the field of Mars the sound of fighting stopped. The two dragons disengaged and stared at me.
Thalia fell to her knees, dropping her knives and clutched her head. Her nose was bleeding. I marched over to him. Pointing to him, I said, ''You are not the ghost king, I am!'' Thunder boomed overhead. Rain drops began falling, slowly putting out the fires.
''You'll bow down!'' I ordered. My voice boomed across the field as though they were on mega-speakers. ''To your king!'' All the dead knelt – the earthen shells, possessed Amazons, Hellhounds, the Keres, Leo and even Thalia knelt. The other legionnaires looked at me in awe.
''You do not belong here. GO HOME!'' I commanded. At once, all the earthen shells crumbled to dust and the possessed people all lay down, their eidolon hosts leaving their bodies once and for all. The Hellhounds all shadow travelled away and the Keres vanished in thin air. I turned to face Thalia. Her gold eyes were wide in terror.
''Get lost'' I growled. Thalia fell back, curling up on the ground, her eyes closing. Rain now began to pour down faster, rapidly extinguishing the fire, replacing the smell of smoke and ash with the scent of petrichor. I looked back at Reyna. She lay on her side, staring at me in shock. I smiled, feeling my consciousness slipping.
''We did it'' I told her and then promptly fainted, the thunder and rain drops fading into the blackness.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
HOLY SHIT, WHAT A CLIMAX! Also, Reyna and Nico kissed for the first time. So cute, UwU. Also, I just finished the TOA series. I love Rick, but he made a lot of mistakes with certain characters in this line of books and thanfully, the Tower of Nero is the final installment in the PJO franchise.
He said he's left the characters off where he has left them and is leaving the fans to ponder what becomes of them. The adventure never ends and I am honoured to pick up where he has left off after the events of the last book. What I am writing is canon to me, it remains respectful to the already established canon of the universe so yeah. No one else had stepped up to do the task so here I am. ENJOY! I had a blast writing this climax! More to come!
Archangle: THANKS!
Suzaku Mizutani: You guessed right, my friend! It was heavily inspired by that scene in Lucifer. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, my g!
REYNICO4EVA: Wow…THANK YOU DUDE! I appreciate that a lot!