Chapter 13: The Mad King

-o-

"Move on!" a Germani ordered from behind me, pushing me with his huge hand to keep me walking down the long hall with two werewolves leading the way.

Walls adorned with blue fabrics with gold edges blocked my way on both sides, on which hung paintings showing Acrisius in various poses: commanding an army with imposing pose; hunting a lion; and even what seemed to be that he was feeding some children (although it seemed more like he was feeding them only one grape from the huge bunch that was kept behind his back). Our footsteps were cushioned by a long royal blue carpet that stretched the length of the hallway, escorted by several pots of exotic plants that might be of interest to the guys at Demeter Cabin.

We stopped in front of an imposing double oak door that took up the entire wall. The two wolves began to push both doors open and the Germani friendly reminded me of walking with a shove that made me stumble before regaining my balance.

The room was huge, perhaps the size of a concert halll. The blue hallway carpet was also present, going to the back of the room escorted by lighted torches with werewolves and Germani standing guard on either side. Large red curtains with gold decorations covered the walls, barely lit by the fire of the torches with no other light source to illuminate the place. We walked through an uncomfortable silence until some figures became clearer as we approached. On her knees, in a white dress instead of the usual punk attire, was Thalia and, in front of her and seated on a gold throne with blue silk canopies decorating it and guarded by two werewolves with spears, was Acrissius, wearing a dark blue robe that revealed a broad hairy chest.

"When they told me who they caught, I couldn't believe it," Acrisius scoffed from his throne. "How do you see this, Thalia? He despised your noble sacrifice by coming here. Or did he change his mind and in the end he does want to join my forces?"

"Jack, what are you doing here?" Thalia said harshly, obviously upset by my presence there.

"I came to take you and the hunters back to camp. Someone here did not keep his promise."

"What?!"

"Technically I did my part: he came out of the beach house unscathed and nothing would happen to him when I ascended to deity. I never said what happened in the meantime." Thalia said something in Greek that made Acrisius widen her eyes and one of her guards put his hand to his mouth in shock, "Miss, language!"

"If I have learned anything from my time among demigods, it is how important oaths are. It was careless of us not to have made you swear by the River Styx... but it was also careless of you. So our deal is null and I come for the ladies."

"And did you come on your own? No reinforcements? That is a stupid thing to do," the king sneered. "I have seen groups of demigods wandering around but they all end up leaving when they see the strong defenses of the building. I didn't know how they would have discovered where I was but here you are. However, that does not matter anymore because it is time."

Acrisius clapped twice and a machine movement was heard somewhere in the dark ceiling that made the curtains in the room begin to rise, beginning to illuminate the place with the night lights of New York. The city moved at its usual rhythm as always, ignorant of the event that happened many meters above sea level and which could change the course of the course if all else failed. What caught my attention was that the light of the city didn't seem to matter to the glare that came from the moon, which was already in the night sky, clear of any cloud. A shaft of moonlight descended from above, illuminating the carpet between Acrisius and Thalia in a glowing circle. I didn't know where that light was coming from if there were still several floors above us.

"Goddess Artemis, I make this call for you to make an appearance before us for the lives of your hunters and their leader," Acrisius exclaimed aloud, standing up and raising his hands with his gaze fixed on the light of light in front of us. "If you do not heed this call, I will sacrifice each one until the floor of this room is filled with the blood of your vassals."

The king was silent and stared at the beam of light, yet nothing happened for a few tense minutes, to which he snorted in disgust.

"Well, so be it. Bring me one of the girls. I'll do it in front of their leader if necessary."

It was then the double doors opened, letting in the light from the corridor that cast some shadows.

"It won't be necessary!" a voice spoke in the room. It was Reyna with the rest of the hunters, now dressed in their hunting gear and clothes.

"What does this mean?" Acrisius exclaimed, alarmed by the presence of the girls

"Tell me, shoddy king, where did your soldiers catch me?" I asked, giving him a satisfying mocking smile. "I'll tell you: three floors below us. And where is the security room? Much lower. Surely you wonder how I did it to avoid the large number of cameras and alarms on each floor and I will tell you with pleasure: I took the security check and disabled them all.

"However, even with free access to the entire building, it would be a drag to deal with each of your soldiers and then find out how to get to the ceremony site, so I asked my hunter friends for a favor. They made their way to the storage room where you had their belongings, while I would surrender to your troops and they would bring me here while I left a trail for them to find me. "

"What are you talking about?" Acrisius asked before walking a torch and lighting behind his and my guards. On the carpet, something imperceptible there were dark stains on the blue fabric, stains that ended right where I was. The king walked towards me, I raised my hands with a mocking smile to show him exactly what he was looking for: a cut on my thumb, which dropped a few slow drops of blood.

Acrisius first seemed to be shocked by the elaborate plan I had exploited, but then he began to laugh quietly to a maniacal laugh with applause.

"Congratulations! It's the first time in centuries that something so simple could surprise me. You have my admiration, boy. Unfortunately, you won't be able to do anything with you and a bunch of girls."

"As Billy Mays used to say: Wait, there's more."

There was a click near us and the sound of chains falling. Thalia slowly rose to her feet, massaging her newly released wrists.

"I set a timer for the chains to release for this time."

The king looked at Thalia for a few seconds before looking back from her to me, "Is that all?"

"Nope," I said as I pressed the bracelet I was wearing on my right wrist, exactly where an image of a hammer was, "the party is just getting started."

Acrisius was raising an eyebrow at me, not understanding what I was trying to say, when the glass in the windows shattered, being pierced by several winged figures, some pulling carts. Several demigods descended, arms raised, into the room. In the background, Festus landed with his colossal bronze body being ridden by Leo and other campers as it let out a metallic roar that sent the nearby soldiers back to the rest. Among the newcomers I could glimpse the figures of Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Will (appearing from the shadows), and even Chiron, descending from a special wagon designed for his equine body.

"I may not be a demigod, but I am a descendant of Athena, goddess of wisdom, strategy, and fair war," I declared, standing firmly against Acrisius. "Now this is a fair fight, don't you think?"

Acrisius's expression was a mixture of anger, surprise, and confusion. In his eyes he could see that madness was claiming him when he saw the number of demigods who had arrived to interrupt his divine ascension.

"You little vermin!" the king drew his sword that hung from his belt and brandished it against me. I barely had time to turn my watch into a sword, which I had hidden before being caught. The blades collided with force before I repelled it to one side.

"Kill them all!" Acrisius commanded the forces from him. "Bring me the heads of every demigod who dares to oppose me!"

Chaos raged within the room, with demigods slamming into opposing werewolves and Germani with blades clashing and explosions everywhere. I didn't have time to see what everyone was doing when Acrisius's blade descended on me again before rejecting it.

"Do you know how long this plan took? How long did I wait for Apollo to get rid of the Triumvirate? What did I have to do to appropriate everything they left? Do you think this will be enough to stop me? Once you die here, I will besiege the Camp Half-breed and I will unite all demigods in my crusade against Olympus. I will be a god no matter how much blood is spilled because it will stain the carpet that leads me to the throne of Zeus. "

"All of this for revenge against Zeus," I mused, launching as many attacks as I could, but they would always be stopped with little effort.

"He ruined my life for me. He got my daughter pregnant and because of him the bastard Perseus who caused my death was born. It's all his fault."

"Don't you think you caused your own downfall? If you hadn't gotten rid of your daughter and grandson, you wouldn't have triggered all the events that led Perseus to those games and to that disc that was thrown and the one that killed you."

"SILENCE!" Acrisius roared, kicking me to the ground. "I don't have time to deal with you. Tonight I will kill the daughter of Zeus! I swear on the river Styx!"

Wielding his golden sword hard, Acrisius turned and headed toward the throne, where Thalia was fighting one of the wolves he had been guarding from the seats. She must have gotten rid of the one by now since she was now wielding a bronze spear that had vines of electricity running through the metal. She swung the weapon with such agility, killing the wolf with relative ease before turning and facing Acrisius. The two opponents looked at each other before starting the fight.

I could barely get to my feet when a Germani pounced on me. My first thought was to back off, turn my sword into a bow, and shoot several arrows to knock him down, but I remembered that I had given my quiver to the hunters as a weapon to go to the armory. I didn't know how they were going to use them without a bow, but they just told me they would manage. The colossus lunged at me, delivering heavy sledgehammer-like punches that could break a large number of bones if I was careless. I dodged every attack in which I found an opening by sliding between his legs on the waxed floor and slashing his calves, waiting for it to be enough to make him fall. That did not happen, as the cuts were too shallow, looking like he had tried to cut a concrete block. Before the Germani could crush me for failing my move, the massive figure of Luguselwa appeared, slamming the burly man backward.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, can you take care of this guy?"

"A pleasure," the woman said with a challenging smile, clenching her fists that began to buzz and launching into the attack.

My gaze went to the throne looking for two figures fighting a duel but they weren't there, but to one end of the room where there was a huge broken window that let in the moonlight in all its splendor. There they were still locked in their fight Thalia and Acrisius, the latter being who seemed to have an advantage in the fight because of his size and strength. Running through the fray in the room, he could see every move they made, noticing that Thalia was being pinned against a column. I was already a few meters away when I saw how the man was holding one end of the spear, to which Thalia released an electric current that reached him, making him shudder slightly.

"Do you think that would hurt?" I heard him say. "I have been training myself to endure Zeus bolts since before you were a single idea in your mother's mind."

Then Acrisus raised the spear from her with Thalia still holding on to it, throwing it against the pillar with force as to make her lose her grip and take advantage of it to hit her with the pommel. The girl fell heavily to the ground and without moving, as she gasped for air.

"The power of the lord of the Olympian gods and that's the best you can do," Acrisius scoffed. "I suppose I'll do Zeus a favor by getting rid of such disappointed progeny."

Seeing the man raise his sword, aiming to stab Thalia, I felt my heart break the beat limit and everyone seemed to slow as my mind raced. I could see out of the corner of my eye what was happening around me. Luguselwa had the Germani from earlier by the neck and was rubbing his metal knuckles on his head. Leo rode Festus and trampled as many enemies as he could. Percy and Annabeth did not separate from each other, covering their backs as they fought. Will rescued the occasional injured camper to a safe area of the room while being protected by Nico.

I felt every footfall he took on the polished marble floor, feeling every muscle tightening more to accelerate the pace towards Thalia and Acrisius, the latter launching his thrust at the downed girl. One of the braces on my armor was broken, which I felt was hindering my career, to which I quickly took it off and balanced it in the path of the sword. The world returned to normal speed as the point struck the armor, the sound of the din of battle filling my ears.

"Get out of my way," Acrisius growled, seemingly disgusted that I had just interfered with his plans again.

"If you want to get to her, you'll have to walk past me," I challenged, raising my sword.

Why the effort to protect it? She is a daughter of Zeus. She will always crave power and do anything to get it, no matter where she tramples. Her fellows have done so for millennia in every conflict in human history, with its worst point during World War II. You can be better, Jacobo. You don't have to be swept away by the mistakes of those fools on Olympus. I give you one last chance: join me and I will give you what your heart longs for most.รง"What I wish you cannot give me, so I decline the offer."

"What are you trying to-" Acrisius stopped mid-sentence, and looked at Thalia, still on the ground, and me, before laughing. "Really? Would you give your life for a summer crush? She is the daughter of the lord of the gods and you are just a boy who bumped into her by mere whim of fate. Not even Zeus would notice your existence even if you sting him with a pin. "

"I don't care about that. All my life I have been told what to do and how to be, but since she took me to the camp, I felt that I could really be me and discover what I can do as a legacy. I learned sword fighting, how to use a bow, I discovered many things with everyone in cabin 6, and... I was finally able to totally trust someone. Thalia is more than just a daughter of Zeus. She is someone I can talk to and trust with whatever. I know she will support me. Someone who gave her life in exchange for mine. I may not have a chance, but knowing that she lives is more than enough for me. "

Acrisius paused before shaking his head disapprovingly, "I expected more from you, but even I was wrong."

Our swords collided and this time I did withstand the impact. I no longer cared that my arms went numb with each collision. I no longer cared about every brush I received from the edge of the opponent's sword. It no longer mattered if I became hoarse every time I uselessly yelled at Nico, Will, Percy, Annabeth, or anyone who could get Thalia to safety only to be silenced by the roar of the ongoing battle. The events that started in that alley would end that night.

Even with such conviction to fight, little by little I was exhausted as I stood before each blow from Acrisius and with each missed attack I made, which he obviously knees buckled as I blocked a descending attack of the sword, forcing me to slide it. along the blade and then roll to a safe distance.

"I must admit, you've been kind of fun to fight, but it's already getting pitiful. Do you really think you can defeat me on your own?"

Before I could respond, Acrisius quickly stepped aside, dodging a spearhead at his right side. However, his toga was ripped, revealing a thin red line of the cut. Behind him stood Thalia, spear in hand and with a look that seemed to shoot sparks.

"Not alone. I am also here and we will both leave this building together. You instead," she pointed the spear at the king, "will pay for everything you have done: You took my hunters. You killed Shelly and Janie. You put this stupid dress on me. I'm not in the mood for games tonight."

"Good, because I'm tired of playing games," the man scoffed,

"Jack, can you still fight?"

"But what are you saying?" I held my sword tightly and took a deep breath. "I'm barely going for my second wind."

With a weak laugh, Thalia launched into the attack, throwing a thrust with her spear that Acrisius evaded, but I took the opportunity to continue the attack with a cut that was repelled. Before the king could counterattack, Thalia intervened with an ascending crescent motion that gave me enough time to take my distance for my next move.

During my days in the camp, I had training sessions with Thalia in which she taught me how to fight, with several spectacular falls and bruises with each defeat, and little by little I was learning the basics. During that time I learned her movement, her attacks, the way she held her spear, her posture. However, we hadn't had a chance to fight together ... until that night. I don't know how, but I could tell where she would go and where she would attack before she did before I did my part, and I suppose she seemed to feel the similarity, since she had put herself several times in a position that it allowed me to pull on the pommel of her spear to keep her out of harm's way.

The teamwork between the huntress and I must have been effective when I saw that Acrisius seemed to start patience with each small cut that appeared on his toga and the occasional superficial scratch on his body. We were also having our injuries, but nothing that would not prevent us from continuing to fight.

The blisters that had been on my hands after each training session were opening again, starting to burn with the sweat that began to run off my palms, but I still did not lose my grip on my sword as I intensified it. My legs seemed to be burning from the effort, forcing me to plan my every step to move quickly and efficiently. The air that entered my lungs hurt my throat, making me take a deep and rhythmic breath to continue in the ring. The closer I got to collapse, the more I learned to fight.

The tide of battle had its big turn when I evaded a thrust that ripped through the side of my hoodie. As Thalia threw her spear at the man's head and he evaded him by the thickness of a hair, a small window in his posture. My body moved on its own, driving the point of my sword into his side. Acrisius roared in pain, causing several heads to turn towards us. I lost my concentration when I saw the growing red stain that was growing on my opponent's side, reminding me that I was fighting against a human being like me, even if he had lived for centuries and caused a great number of attacks against me and others. However, that thought disappeared when I looked up and met the angry gaze of Acrisius, who lowered his sword towards me, to which I retreated to a safe distance, forgetting my sword stuck in the flesh, but it was not enough to see how The man strode towards me and hit me in the face with a powerful punch that lifted me off the ground. The impact was different from a Germani, which was like a wrecking ball, my face exploding in pain as if a mallet had hit me square. I only felt the fall to the ground and roll several times on its cold surface at the same time that a huge whistle silenced the sound of the battle around me. I could feel the blood emanating from my nose and its taste as it passed through my mouth as I exhaled and inhaled begging for air.

"JACK!" I thought I heard Thalia scream, though it was as if I heard her from the bottom of a well.

"I'll take care of you later," I heard Acrisius say, although quieter. "Zeus's trash first."

I could barely see what was happening while my body was lying on the ground, as the fight between Thalia and Acrisius happened as if slides of a presentation were changed. I could only see one start to attack before my eyelids felt heavy only to open them again when the other was about to counterattack. The images went by until they got worse, with Thalia managing to disarm Acrisius, but he was holding her spear and hitting the girl with the pommel on the head, leaving her lying on the ground like me.

"Now," Acrisius breathed jubilantly, wielding a golden knife that was hidden in his belt, "it is time to pay for everything that has been done to me."

Every step the man took to Thalia felt like a horrible eternity as he struggled to clear my head and try to get up, but it was all useless. Thalia was about to die right in front of me and there was nothing I could do except lie there like useless.

My legs and arms weren't responding. My mind was in a whirlwind of self-hatred at not being able to move, terror for Thalia's life and anger at feeling powerless over all that. Before all that, I could only think of one thing:

"To whatever god is listening, I ask for strength to save Thalia Grace. In return, I will give my life."

What seemed like seconds passed in silence until I felt a small glimmer of energy beginning to burn inside me, as if a small flame was beginning to be born in a bonfire. My arms seemed to feel like toothpicks, but they still managed to hold me steady to lift me up and stand on my legs that looked like cement.

Acrisius was standing before Thalia, who seemed to be kept conscious only by a small thread despite the glittering knife looming over her. One step felt like torture, but I still followed another and another until I was running before I knew it in the direction of the mad king.

There was no longer a plan of attack. Now I just wanted to get that guy away from her.

"Hey, idiot!" I yelled at him, managing to get her attention back to me as I tackled her massive body, which felt like hitting against a bag full of rocks.

Impressively, I managed to push Acrisius several meters back towards the huge window at the end of the room. As heavy as each step was, I did feel that I was moving slowly with my hands gripping the man, who was struggling to free himself.

"Let go of me, stupid! She deserves to die for what her father did to me!"

"She's not to blame for anything. She's just a girl who has to bear the blame of an irresponsible father and put up with idiots like you who don't have the balls to go straight to him to complain."

"You really are stupid," Acrisius tried to lift me off the ground in vain, it was as if my feet were stuck together and refused to come off unless I wanted to take another step. "It's a matter of time before she tramples on someone and honors her father, who is always thirsty for power."

"She's not like that," I objected, taking another step. "Even if she seems bossy, headstrong, stubborn, and does not accept suggestions from others, she is also kind to those who need help, who is willing to give you advice and comfort in your worst moments. Thalia Grace is not her father. She can be better."

"You live an illusion, silly child. Too bad you won't see how your words are wasted when she dies by my hand."

"Not if I can help it."

"And what will you do? Push me until I fall asleep?"

"No, something better."

"What do you mean-," Acrisius then looked back, leaving a few meters before we reached the window. "Let go of me! You will kill us both!"

"If with that I can keep you from destroying the world, so be it."

"What a pity," he said with mock sadness, "I had already marveled at your guts."

His hands stopped struggling with me and released me before a great pain exploded in my back, causing me to let out a great scream of pain. The knife from earlier was embedded in my lower back, from which blood was pouring out in abundance. My first thought was to let go, but that could also mean my end and everyone's else, so I did what I could to strengthen my grip and continue the few meters towards the window. The knife came down again, stabbing me in the back with indescribable pain that paralyzed me for an instant, but I kept going. A third stab fell on me, almost hitting me where my heart should have been if I hadn't stepped aside at the last moment, hitting my shoulder blade instead. The lights and noise of the city below us grew louder as we got closer, to which I gave a hard push as a fourth stab fell within inches of my spine. I felt like I couldn't handle the pain anymore while my face was covered in sweat and my back must have already been stained a crimson red that was starting to spill out at my feet.

"You did well, boy," Acrisius whispered in my ear. "For the first time in centuries, a mere mortal has given me battle and given me a spectacle as few have. I will honor that by telling your legend in my reign, as a message to all those who dare to challenge me. For now, it is time. to say goodbye. "

I could feel the edge of the knife pass over the back of my neck, like a game before driving the point in one last blow while I could hear Dodona's prophecy in my head: "the blade will descend 4 times." It was the end.

"Yes, it's the end... for both of us," I said, gathering all the strength I had left in my legs and starting to push without stopping. My breathing was weak, my vision was blurry and I had the taste of blood in my mouth, but I didn't dare to stop. I couldn'tn fail. With a roar, I carried our bodies over the edge and we fell into nothingness. I could only hear my last breath and the roar of New York traffic many meters below me as I closed my eyes and prepared to plunge into the eternal darkness that death carried. However, something stopped me. Rather... someone.

When I opened my eyes I was met by the sight of the illuminated streets of New York below my feet, with the traffic of its streets moving like in a golden river with sullen people. Acrisius's hand was clinging to one of my feet while the man stared in amazement at the aerial view of the city. Holding my hand and clinging to the window frame was Thalia, a trickle of blood running down her temple and staining the white dress she wore.

"Thalia..." I could barely say her name before coughing up blood.

"I got you. Just hold on," she said with effort, barely able to keep her grip on the weight of a boy and a mad king together. "Percy! Annabeth! Nico! Anyone! Help!"

The girl's words were absorbed by the battle still in progress in the room, so no one could have easily overheard her.

"It's okay, Thalia. Everything will be fine," I assured her, trying the best smile I could despite the blood dripping from the corners of my lips. "Acrisius is holding my leg and I've lost too much blood to kick him off. You have to let me go."

"What?! Of course not! Something will come out and we'll be fine."

Perhaps it was the factor of being at death's door and the situation I was in that my mind seemed to think in such a fluid way that I finally understood many things: that my mother had lied to me and the carrots would not give me vision night, the relationship of my sisters buying shoes and the sudden disappearance of a box with money saved, and, at the end of it all, that everything prophesied was already coming true.

"The old ladies in the taxi talked about this: if I keep holding on, Acrisius will climb on top of me and nothing will stop him anymore. But, if I let go-"

"Don't you dare even mention it. I won't let you die."

"You won't. You would be saving me and the world."

"But-"

"I just ask that you tell my parents and my sisters that I love them. Tell the boys that I thank you for everything. And, Thalia ..."

"Jack?"

I stopped at that moment. I could use that last chance to tell her how I felt about her, to tell her how important she was to me, and that it was my reason for invading the tower of Acrisius. But telling her that would only hurt her heart even more the moment I'm gone. Instead I simply said:

"I'm glad I met you. You have given me the best summer of my life."

Her blue eyes began to shed tears the moment my hand slipped from hers and severing the last tie that bound me to the world. The last thing I saw was her trying to grab me again but it was too late. I was already out of reach of her.

It was curious to see images of my life passing before my eyes, since I was not a fan of Mexican cinema, but I couldn't help but smile to see my grandmother, my cousins, uncles and my whole family again, even if they really weren't there. How would you react when you learned of my death? Then I started seeing everyone at camp: Percy with Annabeth, Nico and Will, Chiron on the porch of the Big House, Leo fiddling with his tools, Rachel painting on his canvases, the boys from Cabin 6. However, The one I saw the most in those last moments was Thalia: the first time we met, when she went into my apartment, when she took me to camp, the sword and bow training sessions, when I accompanied her after Janie's funeral and Sherry. The last image I saw was of her smiling before I closed my eyes as she surrendered me to the void.

As long as Thalia could go on living, there was no regret.

It had been a good life.