Rise of the Vampire Queen
Chapter Ten
Silence echoed between Chiron, Bacchus, and Celeste as the three of them stared at each other. Finally, a sigh escaped Chiron's lips before she spoke.
"So, you two made a promise on a lavender patch that if one of you should stay from the light, the other should end their life."Chiron said.
Bacchus and Celeste nodded.
"Also, the one turned would have to end the other's life because they won't be able to live without the other," Chiron said..
Both Bacchus and Celeste nodded again.
"I never thought this day would ever come," Celeste said.
Bacchus remained silent while Chiron rub his brow as he pushed out a breath. His eyes wander for a moment eyes as a thought crossed his mind. As he played it over and over, he nodded to himself for now. This all made sense.
"While you didn't, he did," Chiron said, looking at Bacchus. "Didn't you?"
Bacchus nodded and looked down. "Yes,"
"The reflecting pool," Chiron said.
Bacchus looked at Chiron.
"You remember."
"You saw your dark alter ego in the pool and it frightens you," Chiron said. "That's why you left early."
"Yes," Bacchus growled. "I am a monster. Should I not be destroyed?"
Celeste sat up. She bit her lip as a surge of pain followed. But the moment it left, she spoke.
"I don't see a monster. Dionysus, I see you. I have always seen you."
Bacchus eyes flickered between red and brown as he slammed his hand on the armchair and stood up.
"I am a creature of the night! You will keep your promise! Bacchus roared.
Bacchus went to charge at Celeste, but Chiron planted his feet and put his hand on Bacchus chest, pushing him back. Chiron glared at him. This would take longer than he thought.
Standing outside with their weapons drawn, Annabeth, Grover, and Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as they looked at the massive army of vampires heading their way.
Percy gripped his head, breathing hard as his eyes flickered from red to brown and blue. Lydia was by his side, seeing his struggle. Glancing back at Natalia, Lydia notice she was looking right at Percy.
"She's trying to control him," Lydia said.
"She can as long as her blood is still within him," Elizabeth said.
"Take him inside. We'll keep them busy," Annabeth said.
Nodding, Lydia helped Percy inside the tavern and slammed the door shut.
Tossing Elizabeth a dryad bone stake, Annabeth nodded to her then Grover.
"Let's go buy sometime," Annabeth said, charging toward the vampire's army.
Grover and Elizabeth nodded as they charged toward the vampires.
Back up stairs, Chiron pushed Bacchus back as Celeste pushed herself off the couch and back onto her feet.
Bacchus stopped moving as he looked at Celeste, whose eyes held a mixture of sadness and despair within them.
"You may be the king of vampires or the embodiment of darkness itself, but you will always be Dionysus to me."
"Cel.." Bacchus mumbled.
"You are still Dionysus, the stubborn fool who loves wine and the game of poker." Chiron said. "Transforming into this from doesn't change that."
"Chiron…." Bacchus said.
Looking down, Bacchus eyes remained brown. Celeste looked at Chiron nodding and he step out of the way. Celeste walked over to Bacchus. Taking a hold of his hands, he looked into her eyes.
"I, Celeste Molfant, break my promise to you. I will not harm you, for while you have stray from the light, it has never left you."
"I Ba… Dionysus Acroeites break my promise I am not a monster, just a stubborn fool."
"Both Chiron and Celeste chuckled.
A pale purple light formed around Dionysus and Celeste for a few moments, then shattered.
Clapping interrupted the three of them. They looked at the doorway to see Aphrodite leaning on the frame.
"Thank you," Dionysus said, bowing.
"Thank you," Celeste said, bowing.
Chiron bowed as well.
"You are welcome, its good to have the trinity whole again. Aphrodite said.
Snapping her fingers, Aphrodite's eyes lit up for a moment. From the screams down stairs, to yelling and shouting from outside finally reached their ears.
"The three looked out the window at Grover, Annabeth and Elizabeth, fighting an army of vampires as another scream came from downstairs.
"You three needed no distractions. Since you are back, your help is gravely needed." Aphrodite said.
Dionysus disappeared while Celeste ran down stairs. Aphrodite walked over to Chiron and touched his shoulder. He noticed Aphrodite's eyes held worry within, then when he went to open his mouth, she shook her head.
"Focus on the tasks at hand," Aphrodite said as Chiron disappeared.
Downstairs, Lydia stood there as Percy's aura flashed red and blue. It distorted his screams as he held his head.
Holding up her hands, Lydia formed a shield as a wave of bottle flew off the shelves in her direction. Lucky the shield block it as the bottle shattered on the floor in front of her.
By this time, Celeste ran down the stairs. Her eyes twinkled, giving off a white aura that pushed Percy back from Lydia.
"Calm down, Percy, focus. You need to push that mess out of your system." Celeste said.
Percy growled and roared as he forced himself to keep his feet still. His ears twitched at the sound of a whisper echoing through his mind.
"Percy…"
It was the voice he hard before; he didn't recognise it but after a few moments a word escaped his lips.
"… Father…"
"Yes, Percy, I am here to help you."
"I am so confused… I can''t,"
"You must cleanse yourself. Only then will you feel at ease."
Percy's eyes snapped open, with one eye red and the other blue.
"Cleanse," Left Percy's lips.
Celeste and Lydia looked at each other for a moment, then a thought popped into Celeste's head.
"Do you have a basin big enough for a person?" Celeste asked Lydia.
"Yes, in the storage room." Lydia said, point to the door on the other side of the room. "It should be by the door.
"Keep him busy," Celeste said.
"You got it." Lydia said, her eyes giving off a red glow.
The moment Celeste took off running to the storage room, Percy turned in her direction. But Lydia blast a light at Percy through her fingers, which caused him to look back at her.
"Oh, no you don't," Lydia said.
The moment Celeste open the storage room Lydia nodded to herself she hoped this plan would work.
Outside Annabeth, Grover and Elizabeth split up. Grover ran toward the vampires on the left side, slicing away and staking anything in his path. Followed by Annabeth doing the same thing on the right. Which left Elizabeth coming face to face with Queen Natalia.
The two circled around each other, Elizabeth branching a sword while Natalia elongated her nails.
"Turning on me was not a wise decision, dear," Natalia said.
"But it was the right one," Elizabeth said. "I am not even human. I am a snake, just like you."
"I know. I am your mother, after all." Natalia said, followed with a smile.
Elizabeth's eyes widen as she tightens her grip on the hilt of her sword.
"Come back to me and I will explain everything." Natalia said.
"No thanks, I will figure it out myself," Elizabeth said.
Natalia narrowed her eyes, clawing at Elizabeth, who dodge her nails and punched her in the jaw. Natalia stumbled back as Jeffery jump in front of her. He growled as he wailed on Elizabeth with punch after punch and kick after kick. Elizabeth blocked most of the blows with her sword, but not all of them. Resulting in her getting punched in the jaw and eye. Unable to move forward, Elizabeth grit her teeth as she kept getting pushed back with each punch and kick.
"Yeah done, kid," Jeffery said, showing his fangs.
"No, you are," a voice said from behind him.
Before Jeffery could react, the person behind him kicked him so hard in the back, he dropped to his knees. Elizabeth heard a loud crack. Without missing a beat, Elizabeth rammed the dryad stake in his chest through his heart.
Screaming, Jeffery shook violently before turning into dust.
Elizabeth looked at Bacchus, whose eyes were no longer red but brown.
"Bacchus?" Elizabeth asked.
"Dionysus," he said. "Thank you for bringing me here."
Elizabeth nodded as she looked back at Natalia, whose tearful eyes glared back at the two of them.
"You good kid?"
"Yeah… found out Natalia is my mother,"
"Ouch, that hurts."
"More like burns, but come on, let's finish this."
"Right behind you."
Elizabeth and Dionysus charged at Natalia.
Grover ducked as a vampire flew over him. When another did the same, he stab them with a stake in the heart only to get kicked to the ground. When another vampire pounced, a pair of daggers sailed across the sky, slicing them in half. Annabeth jumped down in front of Grover.
"You good?"
Grover stood up. "Yeah, thanks."
Annabeth slide under the vampire and picked up her daggers, but she failed to see the vampire jumping at her, but the back legs of a centaur kicked it away.
"Chiron," Annabeth said.
Nodding to the both of them, he pulled out his sword. Annabeth and Grover stood on either side of him. As they turned to face the other vampires.
"Here they come," Chiron said.
"Lets do this!" Grover shouted.
The three of them shouted as they charged forward.
Back in the tavern, Celeste dragged a large basin behind the bar. Pulling out two buckets, she turned on the sink, fill the buckets and pour the water into the basin.
Anytime Percy would turn in Celeste's direction, Lydia would keep him focused on her with a blast from her fingers. But when he defected them. She clasped her hands together, forming a red light morphing into a rope. It snaked around Percy's body and held him tight. Lydia struggled to keep her hands closed, for Percy's aura was growing stronger. No matter how much power she put into the rope, Percy always seems to cause the rope to break.
"He's breaking from my hold!" Lydia shouted.
"Almost there," Celeste said, just as she poured the last bucket of water into the basin. "Now!"
The rope around Percy shattered. He turned to Celeste and charged at her. Lydia flicks her wrist, sending a red wave at Percy, knocking him up in the air. Celeste jumped up and kicked him in the basin. The water spilled over as Percy sank to the bottom.
Lydia walked over, joining Celeste as they watched the water.
"We use water for cleansing in the arts," Lydia said.
"For the son of Poseidon, it should work even more so," Celeste said.
Laying in the water, images flashes thought Percy's mind. From his mom, Annabeth Grover, Chiron Dionysus to Natalia and the vampires, he remembered it all now.
"Father thank you…"
Now help them, my son.
Lydia and Celeste noticed a red ink floating up from Percy, staining the water, but a blue light steadily emerged, glowing brighter and brighter as the water bubbled. Looking at each other, both Lydia and Celeste ran to the door.
The moment the door to the tavern opened, Dionysus looked at Celeste, who gave him a wink. He hit the ground and Elizabeth did the same. Annabeth and Grover did the same as Chiron jump out of the way.
For within seconds, an enormous wave of water gushed out of the tavern. The moment it hit the vampires somewhere washed away while others turned to dust because of the water crystals forming into stakes.
When the water disperse there stood Percy glowing from head to toe. Natalia glanced around. With her vampires wiped out, she alone remained.
With fury surging through her, Natalia charged toward Percy, who charged right back at her. The two jumped in the air. A trident formed in Percy's hand. He threw it at Natalia, which sent her sailing across the sky and pining her to the tree by her neck.
Everyone looked at Natalia, struggling to get free.
Annabeth and Grover ran over to Dionysus and Elizabeth continued looking at Natalia as Chiron came to join them.
"Chiron…. I" Elizabeth tried to say.
Chiron merely shook his head.
"While I am disappointment in the choice you made, I am glad you saw the error in your judgement."
Elizabeth nodded, but she still couldn't look at him. Looking at Natalia still pinned to the tree, she noticed there was a bottle in her hand.
"That's the bottle she used to give Percy his drink," Elizabeth said
Dionysus threw a dagger at the bottle, but Natalia guzzled down the liquid before the dagger shattered it.
"Did she drink you blood?" Chron asked.
"No," Dionysus said.
Natalia's eyes glowed as the trident pining to the tree dissolved. Once she was free, a sword appeared in her hand as her human form slipped away, revealing her green scaly skin and red reptilian eyes. Her body increased in size as well.
"Percy looked out!" Elizabeth shouted.
Seeing Natalia's snake form, Percy's eye glisten as he held up his hand, forming a barrier around him.
Annabeth and Grover touched Percy his shoulders, and the barrier grew. Celeste and Lydia joined them, offering their power. Dionysus, Chiron and Elizabeth joined them as well.
The barrier covered everyone, reaching far enough to cover the whole tavern.
Natalia charged at them, her sword steadily break thought the barrier aimed for Percy's head.
"With his blood in my veins, I'm unstoppable," Natalia said.
Biting his lip, Percy pushed out as much power as he could. From his nose bleeding, he grit his teeth, as he could barely keep his arms up. His was body growing weaker, but he refused to give up. Even with everyone's combined power pouring into him, the barrier was still weakening.
Just as the barrier shattered, and the sword was about to touch Percy's head, a loud boom erupted all around them as a hand grip the blade. Blood trickled down the blade into the hilt, which brought a smile to Natalia's lips as everyone else stood there, surprised.
For gripping the blade was none other than the king of the gods himself, Zeus.
"You may yours master's blood within you, but you are not him. Zeus said, glaring at Natalia with his electric blue eyes.
Pushing Natalia back, Zeus shook his hand as the cut on his palm healed within seconds. Zeus stood in front of Percy and the others as a slight electrical tinge danced around his black hair.
"You have done well Percy," I'll take it from here," Zeus said.
Percy nodded. Zeus stared at Natalia, who glared back at him.
"Queen of the Vampires huh, show me what you got," Zeus said.
Natalia smiled. "With pleasure."
Zeus smiled as he and Natalia charged at each other while Zeus continued to smile.
"This is going to be fun,"