A: Gaia had control over the Seer Spirit of Delphi before Apollo defeated Python and "freed" the Spirit so she could serve him.
ObviouslyRavenclaw:
One of myths say Python was the monster who had taken the Spirit of Delphi hostage under Gaia's orders. The serpent monster was dedicated to her. When Apollo battled and killed it, he took control of the Spirit and his priestess could be the Pythia, meaning the Oracle. Really good guess!
Thalia and Harry will always have a special relationship, I'll definitely get them in some scenes together. But let's see if I can have all of you fall in love with Sky! He and Harry will have a curious and playful r/ship that I'm super excited. Also, Sky has a lot of plot involvement.
I'll reveal Harry's Animagus form soon.
You can be assured that anytime Ajax is on the scene, s**t's about to go down.
And yup! I'm so glad you caught the Phineas and Ferb reference. I've always wanted to add that. Kayla was perfect for it.
Warning: Explicit scene of character torture and death.
Listening to: Hell Yeah! (Original Mix) by Tiesto and Showtek
The first part of this song fits one of the fight scenes in this chapter. So excited!
12th November, 2013
2:10 pm, Mount Olympus, New York City
"Your parents have missed you. I'm just here to pick you up."
Rachel stared back at Ajax. "My… parents?"
He stood there with the vast backdrop of Manhattan lighting up the balcony. The great warding around Olympus was like nothing she had seen or would ever see in her life and it shouldn't have allowed a foe of the gods to simply waltz in.
And yet, Ajax was here. He nodded in response to her words, all casual like they were hanging out in a children's playground and he was a strange man who was telling Rachel that her parents had sent him to drive her home.
The fact that Rachel's parents happened to actively work for the Earth Goddess currently trying to take over the world sent her situation from bad to exponentially worse.
"You can't harm me," she warned him. "I'm the Oracle, host of the spirit of Delphi. And you and your minions can't barge into Olympus, you aren't allowed here!"
Ajax chuckled. "My darling, I really don't give a damn. You can either come quietly or kicking and screaming. It's all the same to me."
Rachel shook her head. Anxiety springing through the roof, she whispered, "Bolt."
From behind, an arrow flew into her space, narrowly missing her arm and slamming into the tile. It burst into flames and set a wall of green fire between her familiar and her.
It was nothing like the flames of the floo powder. This fire seared the air, growing tall enough to brush the ceiling, sending immense heat waves at her and the wall behind which cracked. Rachel stumbled back, swivelling just in time to see another arrow fly towards her, striking her in the shoulder.
Weapons didn't harm her. Even demigod weapons weren't supposed to injure her. The bracelet gave her iron skin, turning her body into a tank. Celestial bronze left no mark on her skin and not even Nico's sword forged of pure Stygian iron could hurt her.
But this arrow broke through her skin, its head now embedded into her left shoulder. The force of it whipped her backwards and she gasped as pain rocked her body, setting her shoulder on fire.
How?
How the hell—
"Rachel, get out!" Bolt roared, leaping onto Ajax to shove him down the stairs. He managed to catch the bannister with a foot to save himself but her teeth pierced into a chunk of his arm, ripping it apart.
Ajax grunted like it was a bee sting, his other arm bringing out a gleaming metal lance with a point so sharp it glinted through the fire.
Her tiger managed to dodge the lance as it stabbed, just where her neck had been. She jumped back, her powerful hind legs taking the brunt of her weight before pushing ahead.
Three more arrows flew at Rachel. She managed to dodge one by ducking and sliding to the left. The second grazed her arm, leaving a blazing trail. But the third found a target on her thigh, impaling deep enough to strike the bone. She screamed now, falling to the floor.
The arrowheads were melting her skin and flesh. She was burning, her body was on fire. Rachel writhed, sobbing and trying to douse the flames, but the pain skyrocketed when Ajax's lance pierced through Bolt's neck, sinking in several inches.
The tiger howled, her huge head bashing against his, trying to dislodge the lance.
Rachel was screaming, cowering on the floor as the fire overwhelmed the balcony. She was being burned alive.
Of the people who approached her, their arrows and swords out, she recognized only one face. Her old bodyguard, Kari, was standing there, the only one without a dispassionate face.
The fire wasn't real flames, but her insides were disintegrating. And even through the pain, Rachel recognized Kari, a woman she'd known for years.
"I'm so sorry," Kari whispered.
Rachel turned away and caught her last glimpse of Bolt. The tiger managed to wrench away the lance, but Ajax rolled out from underneath her and pulled out a large and deadly double-sided axe. It was black and silver, sharpened so fine not even a strand of hair could survive.
The curved blade fell on Bolt's neck piercing through the tough muscle and sinew, slicing her head clean off.
It was hard to tell who was shrieking. Bolt's pain was her own and Rachel screamed for all of Olympus to hear, her fire growing bright enough to engulf the bracelet.
She was almost glad when her heart stopped beating and the world went dark.
Percy's bracelet felt like it had caught on fire. He watched his mom open her mouth to say something, watched Clarisse in the mirror react similarly before everything vanished into the aether. Percy was hurtling through space and within the next microsecond, he crashed into two boys, all three of them tumbling onto the gleaming balcony that overlooked the garden lawns of Olympus.
And Harry was here. What? Percy gawked at him, pushing off the hot floor. Half the balcony was on fire, there was blood splattered over the floor…
Bolt's head was lying by the edge of the stairs. Her body was right beside the fire in danger of being burned. Percy nearly froze, horror washing over him.
Harry, however, was looking behind him. Percy tore his eyes away from the unmoving tiger and saw what he'd found.
Rachel was lying dead in a pool of blood, her shoulder and thigh burned, skin charred and flesh singed all the way down to the bones. Her eyes were blank, staring up at the ceiling.
He'd never seen her so still.
His hands shook. Something powerful and hungry threatened to break through his skin and eliminate the threat. Riptide was in his hand and Percy didn't even remember bringing out his pen.
"You," Harry whispered, looking up at the intruder. Percy saw his face and the world went red.
Ajax was back, looking far too alive and whole for a gunshot to the head. One of his hands looked terrible with skin torn out, but even as Percy watched, it was healing. New flesh and skin formed rapidly covering the entirety of his arm, leaving only a bare scar proving it ever was there. The most dangerous part was that Ajax held a double-sided axe, a labrys, Percy recognized. Blood dripped from the blades.
Ajax just raised an eyebrow, barely surprised. "Harry, you look ravishing! Three for the price of one? I'm game."
Beside Percy, the third boy sat up, clutching a glowing dagger that had been impaled in his arm. He glared up at Ajax and said, "Four."
The man sneered down at him. "Who the fuck are you?"
Percy saw the tattered clothes of this as yet unknown boy, his memory bringing up an indescribable face.
Sky? he thought. Too many things were happening at once. The dream boy was real, Bolt was murdered, Rachel was dead, Ajax was alive and had killed both of them, Percy, Harry, and Sky had somehow been transported to Olympus, probably through the unfathomable power of their bracelets.
Percy got to his feet, sword pointed at him. "Yield."
Ajax merely cast a lazy eye on him, "No, thanks."
And he darted to the side, swinging the axe towards Percy who raised Riptide to parry. But someone slammed into his side and Percy stumbled away. He missed the axe and watched it go harmlessly through the blade of his sword, striking the floor and sinking a full inch in.
Sky was on his feet, eyes wide. "He's mortal! You can't fight him like this!"
Harry aimed a sharp curse at Ajax which burned the air and hit him in the chest. Ajax flew back, landing several feet away.
The air whistled and an arrow hit Harry in his wand arm. He cried out, dropping to the floor as the arrow burst into blistering green flames and began eating up his skin.
Sky took off his jacket to wrap them around the arm and stem the flames, but the dirty fabric caught on fire as well.
"Get rid of the arrow and the poison!" Percy shouted, spinning and finding five other intruders who were trying to advance on them.
It was a frenzy of fire and flying arrows. Percy managed to dodge one of them and take down an intruder. They were demigods, or wizards at least because Riptide sliced through them with ease. One body dropped and then two, but Percy didn't feel regret, especially with Harry's pained gasps echoing around the balcony.
Sky managed to strip the arrow away and use Harry's dagger to dig out the remaining green liquid that poisoned his skin. Harry screamed but didn't dare move until everything was out.
The labrys was yanked out of the floor and Ajax, fury burning through him, advanced towards the pair. Percy, who was busy with three others, yelled, "Shield!"
Still shaking, Harry threw a large shield charm with his left arm, stopping Ajax in his tracks, but the black and blue of it flickered under his duress. Percy saw Sky make a split-second decision before grabbing Harry's dagger and getting to his feet.
"Wait!" Harry shouted, still on the floor, clutching his bleeding arm, but Sky marched, shoulders back, armed only with a bloody dagger that didn't seem enough against a Grecian nightmare like Ajax.
And yet…
Ajax feinted to the right before switching hands, the labrys slipping into his left hand and striking. But Sky dodged it, crouching away to slam a boot at the back of his knee before reach up to deliver a very swift stab to his hand.
The dagger was celestial bronze, so it passed by harmlessly, but the green poison was still all over it and that sliced through Ajax's fingers. Sky chopped off three digits, the poison setting his hand on fire.
Ajax dropped the labrys with a jolt and Sky caught it, swinging the edge up to drive it into his shoulder, shallow but breaking his collar bone.
He yanked it back, spinning away and holding the labrys in a defensive pose, chest heaving.
The fire on Ajax's hand didn't stem, and it should have caused great pain but instead, he looked incredibly pissed off.
Especially since he'd caught hold of a necklace that had sat around Sky's neck formerly invisible.
Harry stared in shock. Sky's form was changing. The subtle glamour over his skin disappeared and finally, Harry could really see him exactly the way he was.
Sky had brown hair that curled despite the dirt in it. The dark skin on his arms had some scars and his eyes were a deep green tone, like the ocean just after the sunset.
He looked a little too much like Percy. It was almost disturbing, but what was more terrifying was when Ajax crushed the necklace in his hand, a truly monstrous look growing on his face.
"I killed you," he hissed, sending shivers into everyone who'd witnessed the transformation.
Sky swallowed, holding the labrys tighter. "Didn't really take."
Percy, who'd stopped for a brief moment to process the fact that Sky looked like him, suffered for his pause. A woman, the same height as Rachel, darted forwards and drove a spear into his side.
"Argh!" Percy shouted, heat bursting through his body. He swung Riptide into her face, but it passed cleanly through.
He dropped the sword and grabbed the spear, blue light spilling from his hands in a panic.
The woman screeched and ripped her arms away as the spear crumbled, turning to dust in his bloody hands. It left a gaping hole in his side and Percy stumbled, falling in a daze.
"Duck!" Harry shouted at Sky, who dropped to the floor and rolled, avoiding the poisoned arrows by a hair. Ajax ran and rugby tackled him and the both of them went tumbling down the stairs, landing against every marble step with full force till Sky's head cracked against the floor.
The labrys slipped out of his hand and Ajax grasped it, panting and kneeling, ready to bring it down on his head.
It began to glow. Ajax paused staring at the labrys as the blue sheen expanded, bursting to brightness and consuming the weapon. He dropped it with a yell, his hands burning from the contact, and watched in anguish as his beloved labrys broke down, disintegrating before it even hit the floor.
Ajax's mouth was open. The air around him pulsed dangerously like the Mist itself was warning him. He looked up at the top of the stairs here Percy stood on trembling legs, one arm clutching his side, the other extended out to the now pile of ash at Ajax's feet. The veins on his arm were glowing blue from the strain but he pointed at the man and snarled, "You're next! Back away from him."
Several long moments passed before Ajax conceded, jaw set, face screwed up in hatred. Maintaining eye contact, he took a few steps back.
An alarm started to blare, startling everyone.
Harry got to his feet, leaning heavily against a column. On the wall behind Percy was a flashing light with the words:
EMERGENCY REENTRY IN 5, 4, 3,...
"Percy," Harry warned.
2, 1.
They've done this once before. When the skyline of New York lit up and the sounds of several Pegasi and a chariot screeching towards erupted, Percy spun around just as Harry reached for him, pushing him to the floor and conjuring a dome shield that was pure black crystal light.
The camp chariot crashed into the main balcony of Olympus, the hooves of four Pegasi trodding sloppily on the floor, struggling against the speed. The reins snapped and the Pegasi tumbled over the bannister.
The chariot bounced off of the shield, sending demigods flying every which where. It dashed against the opposite wall which was already weakened by the fire. Cracks appeared and the entire wall broke apart, tilted heavily down and falling into immense pieces over the two boys under the shield.
"Shit!" Harry yelled, feeling the pressure intensify. Percy groaned, clutching at his side, now bleeding profusely.
"I can't move," Percy coughed, eyes screwed shut. Harry winced. "Can I apparate with you?"
"Please don't," he pleaded.
"Lemme think," Harry whispered.
Ajax waved his arms, shooing away the clouds of dust. He was on the top of the stairs now, walking to inspect the damage.
A flying chariot had crashed the party. Of all the kinds of luck on the planet…
He shook his head, chuckling. Harry'd be fine even if his neck was snapped under the massive hunks of the wall. Percy, he didn't care for.
Skiron… that was a problem for another time. He'd left the boy unconscious for now. When Ajax planned to kill Skiron, it would be phenomenal.
He counted five people on the chariot, most of them unconscious, the rest of them reeling from their crash landing.
Two girls were splayed out on the floor beside the chariot, the brunette unconscious, the blonde trying to sit up slowly. Ajax withdrew his trusty pocket crossbow, snapping it open and aiming it at the blonde.
Her body seemed to realise it was a target and she jerked away on instinct, missing the first arrow. Ajax shot again, this time catching her in her stomach.
She screamed, collapsing back on the ground and squirming against the intruding object.
"Quiet," he hummed. "Don't wake your friend. I'm already pissed off."
She glared at him, her body heaving with every breath. Gritting her teeth, she hissed. "You can't be here!"
"I am though," he said, before looking at the chariot with passed-out campers. It was a mix of Romans and Greeks. Fun.
He braced his stance on the floor and placed a foot on the edge of the chariot, applying force. It teetered off the balcony dangerously.
The Athena girl floundered, staring at him aghast. "What are you doing?!"
Wasn't it obvious? He looked at her, wondering if she really was as smart as people thought her to be. "I'm pushing them off the balcony."
He shoved with all his might and the whole thing titled. The girl screeched as her friends fell along with the chariot, disappearing into the vast green of the gardens below.
That would be a lovely sight. Red mess on green grass. He was sorry to miss it.
Ajax found Kari, lying by a broken column, and kicked her leg. She let out a soft moan, coughing against the debris cloud. Her arms had scorch marks from the blue fire thing Percy had done.
"Idiot," Ajax scolded her. "You got so close to Jackson. You could have taken him out."
Kari grimaced and spat, "Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting a spawn of Poseidon to burn me."
He nodded. "Yeah… that one was outta left field. I'd heard rumours of what he did to the Minotaur during the war… Damn bracelets. Get going, I'll bring the girl."
Somebody groaned behind him. Ajax frowned, finding the young brunette stirring slowly. The Athena girl was trying to shush her to not draw attention, but she was too far away from the amateur hero.
The girl seemed new or she wouldn't make so much noise waking up. Demigods were usually slippery bastards. She was lying on the ground, mere feet away from Rachel's body. She must have been flung pretty hard from the chariot as it bounced off of Harry's pretty shield.
Ajax debated on just ending her here. It would be a far better thing for her, for them both to avoid what Gaia had planned for the world. At least, she'd be more or less safe in Elysium.
Wow, was he growing soft in his old age?
He aimed the crossbow at her slowly moving body (the Athena girl gasped and yelled profanities) when something caught his eye. Right below the brunette's elbow, a bright pink card stuck out sparkling against the dust all over the floor. It beheld words written in loving handwriting.
It wasn't the message that had his attention though. He picked up the card, breathing gone shallow, barely able to believe his eyes.
The girl blinked and raised her head, eyes widening in confusion and fear when she saw a crossbow aimed at her face.
Ajax showed her the card. "Where did you get this?"
She opened her mouth, powerless, fear etched over her. He lost his patience, voice shaking. "I said where did you get this?"
"Oracle of Delphi!" the Athena girl screamed. "I ask you to show Ajax his destiny!"
Ajax whipped around, ready to bludgeon her smartass head in, but Rachel's body gave a frightening jerk like someone had placed defibrillation paddles on her chest.
Her eyes glowed green, copious amounts of the Mist converging around the two of them. Rachel's body sat up and pushed off the floor. The spirit of Delphi had taken complete control, standing on two feet in a dead body.
"You bitc—" Ajax snarled, but the Oracle's mouth opened and the voice that slammed against his ears was horrendous and unsettling.
"AJAX THE LESSER!" she boomed.
"Shut up!" he screamed, raising the crossbow at her but she continued.
"YOU HAVE SEARCHED THROUGH TIME AND FAILED.
YOU HAVE DELIVERED PAIN OUT OF ITS RANGE.
THEIR FORGIVENESS IS A SHIP LONG SAILED.
FOR YOU CHOOSE TO NEITHER REASON NOR CHANGE."
Ajax aimed the crossbow at her face, but the rage was boiling in him and he swore wickedly at her.
The Oracle's face grinned, blood matted in her hair. Her next words chilled him because she whispered-
"Your death will be as you have lived.
Tell me, Ajax, what have you to give?"
He screamed in fury and shot an arrow, point-blank at her. But a shield sprung up from the floor, encasing the Oracle safely and catching the arrow in its solid form inches from her.
Ajax spun around, apoplectic, only to realise it was Harry facing him with a charred arm, with an expression of pure wrath.
He didn't have his wand, but Ajax still felt the disarming charm slam into his fist, breaking his fingers, trying to dislodge the crossbow. Ajax laughed, manic and inspired, holding on despite the pain and now advancing towards.
Harry didn't hesitate. He brought his arm up to yell, "Reicio!"
It was as though the winds had caught him. Ajax was lifted into the air and thrown bodily off the balcony, hurtling a hundred yards and crashing through the toughened walls of the throne room.
The thrones hissed at the intrusion and Ajax felt his broken bones and torn sinew slowly stitching back. Pain was old and an everyday thing but this made him pant till he could move his head slowly.
Did Harry mean to kill him? Ajax wasn't sure. His spine had cracked and his skull was definitely bashed in. Owie. It was sweet to think he harboured such passion to destroy him. How quaint for the Healer.
Of course, landing in the Olympian throne room wasn't a good thing. There were no gods present, their presence was very clear and they were not pleased.
Ajax knew a thing or two about rage.
Harry nearly fell to his knees. He stumbled over to Annabeth who was trying to sit up with a bloody arrow sticking of her stomach.
"Ann…" Harry cleared his throat painfully. It felt raw from all the energy he'd expelled. "Annabeth?"
She winced, holding onto the stem of the arrow. "Ambrosia… in the bag!"
Percy, who Harry had managed to drag out under the wall, had passed out. There was another girl with them, someone Harry had never met before. She stood on shivering legs to look at Rachel's corpse, still standing in the protective shield Harry had cast.
The spirit of Delphi was silent, but still present, eyeing the arrow still wedged in the shield. She was silent, almost demure in her observation. Harry couldn't look directly at her. The burn wounds had left gaping holes in the flesh of her shoulder and thigh.
"I'm Harry," he told the new girl, feeling wired. "What's your name?"
She swallowed a couple of times before looking away from Rachel. "Piper."
"Okay, Piper. Can you help us out?"
He could tell she was in shock because she nodded and made her way over to them silently. She found the ambrosia squares for Annabeth to take and helped Harry roll Percy onto his side to try and bandage his wound.
Luckily, the spear hadn't been poisoned so it was a clean but deep stab. Piper looked away while Harry tried to clean it up as best as he could. It was then he thought of Will.
"Wait… where are the others?" he asked and Annabeth went still.
Piper looked around as well, blinking and becoming more aware. "Leo?" She called out. "Hazel? Coach!"
"They fell," Annabeth whispered, sounding deathly afraid. Harry's heart dropped and he looked at the balcony and the broken bannister. There were skid marks from the chariot's wheels ending there.
"What about the horses?!" Piper asked, panicking and getting to her feet.
Annabeth blinked. "The Pegasi? Shit, they went over first..."
Piper and Harry ran over to the balcony and peered over the edge. It was a long way down, at least a hundred feet. He couldn't tell if it was magic, but it felt that high up.
The chariot was in ruins having crashed into the garden and splintered apart into a hundred pieces. But they couldn't see any blood or mess, any remains of demigods scattered about.
"How many Pegasi did you take?" Harry whispered, daring to feel hopeful.
"Four," Piper whispered, covering her mouth with both hands. "They're real fast, right? They could have caught them?"
"I think so," Harry didn't want to make any promises. But if Will, Reyna, Hazel, and the other new demigod and their satyr guide had perished, there would be hell to pay.
Piper then looked down and grimaced. "Dude, your arm."
"Please don't remind me," Harry sighed, glad he was still in fight mode. The adrenaline was starting to wind down and he knew he'd collapse in a matter of minutes. They had to contact the camps or the gods. Or both. Yeah, everyone.
Was he forgetting someone?
Harry nearly slapped his forehead. "Sky!"
Piper gave a jolt as he rushed past her, taking the stairs a few at a time till he reached the base where Sky was starting to wake up slowly.
"Ow," he whimpered, reaching for his head.
"Don't move!" Harry urged him, laying his head down again. There was a nasty bump and cut alongside his temple. Blood had spilt over the tiles, but it looked better than Harry had feared.
Sky grabbed his good arm. "Ajax! Where is he?"
"I tried to banish him," Harry said, looking up at the hole in the wall where he could peer into the throne room. "But he crashed inside. I didn't even think that was possible."
Sky squinted. "Is that… the Gods' throne room? The place where their seats of power are?"
"... yeah."
"Shit!" Sky tried to get up again, but Harry pushed him back down. "What are you trying to do. Give yourself a concussion?"
"We need to make sure he's gone!" Sky gasped, trying to roll over to his side and sit up. "We can't leave him just wandering about Olympus!"
"I'll check!" Harry glared him into submission. "I can still make a decent shield without my wand. Both your swords are still in Queens, remember?"
Sky pouted. "Who's fault is that?"
"Just stay here."
His arm was beginning to really hurt. Well, it was hurting before, but now, he couldn't ignore it. Harry rubbed his face, kept his shield charm ready to be cast.
The room was deadly quiet. It was humbling to be in a place where towering thrones stood at an incredible height. Each one gave out a strong hum of pure energy. The room was hot when Harry entered and he could sense feelings of annoyance and anger at the intrusion.
But the gods themselves weren't present.
Instead, the only other person here was Ajax, who was now standing up, testing his newly healed hands. He seemed to be observing a bright pink card with strange fascination. Harry gawked at him and hurled up the shield to protect himself the moment Ajax looked up.
"Babe!" he cried. "That was awesome! You nearly killed me, though. You didn't mean that, did you?"
"You're crazy," Harry whispered, feeling a sick twist of revulsion in his gut.
"About you," Ajax grinned. "Sorry about the arm. I'll see to it that Allan is immediately punished for it. But I think Percy already took care of him, so…"
"What d'you think the gods are going to do when they find you here?" Harry demanded.
"I think they're gonna be a little irritated," he agreed. "But they have bigger problems."
Ajax brought out his crossbow again, pointing it lazily at the ground. Harry tensed, his shield growing brighter.
"You can't hit me," Harry said, trying to not shake. "That one's not poisoned."
Ajax grinned. "Funny. Your sister said something similar. But the thing about this room is that it's fragile… like a bomb."
And then, he raised his arm and aimed the crossbow directly opposite Harry, firing the arrow straight at Zeus's throne.
The tall and proud platinum seat emanated its own light and energy. No flimsy weapon like an arrow from a pocket crossbow could even dream of nicking it. But it wasn't about that. It was about the king's ego.
The arrow plinked off of the throne and there was an explosion of light.
Ajax threw himself to the side, expecting it, but Harry stared in shock when the room shuddered, cracks emerged, and bolts of lightning blasted out from the throne, some hitting the floor where Ajax had been standing, and one heading straight ahead towards the doors.
Unfortunately, Harry was in the way. And no mortal shield could hold against the king's bolts.
Was this how DJ felt? Harry wondered dimly as angry lightning exploded right through the shield and slammed him in the chest. It catapulted him straight out of the room, across the foyer, and through the warding of Olympus.
The pain that rocked through him was like nothing else. Maybe this was what the Killing curse felt like for a millisecond? His entire body felt fried like he'd been dropped into never-ending FiendFyre.
The sensation of being airborne didn't even alert him. Harry passed out just as he began to fall more than six hundred stories to the hard pavement outside the Empire State Building.
Like he was gonna do what Harry said. Sky inhaled carefully and sat up, wincing hard. His head throbbed with the force of a hammer pounding. This was worse than a hangover. And he'd only had that once.
He just managed to stand up when the throne room shook and Olympus trembled. Sky saw lightning strike out from the walls and held onto the railing to stop from falling over again.
Oh gods, that can't be good.
His teeth rattled painfully and Sky grunted, shoving away from the stairs, hobbling over to the throne room. Jupiter was no doubt infuriated at the fact Ajax crashed into the throne room but if Harry got caught in the crossfire…
Something was flung into the air so fast Sky thought it was dark lightning. It flashed by in a fraction of a second, breaking through the warding around Olympus.
Wait a sec.
Sky gasped, running to the edge of the mountain, holding onto the last pieces of the wall before the whole view of New York City was open in front of him.
They were so high up. And Harry was falling, his body slack, disappearing through the clouds below them.
Maybe it was the head wound. Maybe Sky really was a sucker.
Despite the ridiculous height that made him want to cower, Sky flailed an arm, rushing to the edge and kicking off from Olympus.
He was falling.
Full facts: Sky had jumped and was now falling.
(My man can't fly, btw.)
The wind blew at him sharply, cold and almost painful as he went faster and faster, unable to even hear his thoughts against the barrage of noises from the air around him.
Sky panicked and slammed through a cloud that left his skin iced. He shook his head, wondering what his parents would say about his life choices before spotting Harry just a dozen feet below up, unconscious.
He snapped his arms to his sides, immediately picking up speed. His eyes narrowed to avoid them being ripped out by air resistance. The distance between him and Harry reduced until they were so close that Sky opened his arms, slammed into Harry, now both of them falling together.
It wasn't exactly a solution. But Sky gasped at the heavy contact, his body aching. Harry wasn't any better, the front of his t-shirt blackened and charred from lightning. His skin was reddened, sharp lines staining it at his chest and neck, climbing up to his face.
"Harry!" Sky panicked, slapping his face. "Come on, man! Wake up!"
But he stayed still and unresponsive.
Reminder: Sky could not fly.
But it's not like he was a fan of flying. The dude was a son of Neptune, flying's a no-no. The best he could do was fall and hope to not risk Jupiter's ire.
The ground was rising up to meet them. His skin felt stretched and dry, the wind screaming in his ears. They were falling too fast.
Sky wrapped one arm around Harry, tucking his still smoking head into the crook of his neck. He had only one idea that would probably work.
They were just fifty feet above the road when Sky reached out his free arm, feeling into the earth and sensing the water main below. A large pipe carrying gallons of treated water ran underneath the street outside the Empire State Building.
He had no choice. Sky concentrated, summoning the water out as hard as he could. The pipe ruptured and the ground shook. A shockwave rippled out from a single point in the centre of the road before it cracked open like an egg, a fissure building right before his eyes. Tremors hit the buildings beside it but that wasn't his focus.
A gush of water burst out of the pipe, several yards below the ground, spilling out like a tall geyser. It sprayed out of the street just for Sky and Harry to fall into the high-pressure fountain he'd created in the middle of Manhattan.
The water slowed them despite their fall at terminal velocity for several seconds. Sky twisted his body to absorb the shock of cold water hitting them. Harry didn't even stir, completely out as they rolled through the geyser and onto the cracked tar of the road, finally stopping by a hydrant.
Sky coughed, pushing off of him and landing on his back. The sight of the incredible height of the tower could not keep him awake for long. He just couldn't believe that had worked.
Plot's rolling in now! Stay tuned for more.
Q: The background song is Hell Yeah! (Original Mix) by Tiesto and Showtek. The song has two parts. Part one is the intro for Sky's real appearance. Part two is for another character in my series that I've already used. Can you guess who I'm connecting Sky to? Big clue is in this chapter.
Cabba :)