Chapter 27

As they neared the a small town and Reyna's phone began to capture a signal the trio heard shouting and loud noises, as the girls rounded the corner of a building they were quickly tugged back by Damien as gunshots sounded, he forced the girls to duck down just as the building opposite was riddled with bullet holes.

"Stay down" Damien commanded quietly as his eyes peered round the corner and he took in the carnage before him, people were yelling, some screaming, it looked like there had been a car collision and a man stood on top of one of the vehicles, he was yelling and waving around a gun, Damien couldn't understand what he was saying

He glanced back towards Reyna "What is he shouting about?"

Reyna moved closer as she listened over the noise of the screams and yells to hear that one man

"It's Portuguese, I can only pick up small snippets but he is looking for the man who crashed into his car" she flinched when more shots sounded, she was used to swords and spears, not the modern weaponry of men "He is going to kill him" she said locking eyes with Damien

Damien chanced a glance round the corner again, the large man was aiming at random civilians who hadn't been able to flee yet, many ducked for cover, he could hear crying, people filled with fear, he didn't blame them as he watched the crazed armed man, waving an assault rifle around

"It's the Muses" Hazel said, drawing their attention "Remember what Moneta said, the Muses are what keep the beauty in the world, without them anger and hatred will fill everyone, it's already started" she gestured in the direction of the yelling

More shots and the man shouted as women and children screamed, Damien's eyes zeroed in on a woman clutching her two small children, not twenty feet from the raging gunman. His eyes then studied the surrounding buildings, looking at routes to coming within range of the man, he need to take him down before anyone else got hurt

He turned to the two girls "You two stay out of sight and get a signal, I'll be right back" he went to move but a hand clasped around his forearm, he looked down into Reyna's dark, warm eyes

"Don't even think about it" she warned

"Never do" he winked at her and bolted across the street, using the other vehicles as cover

He climbed up a street post and leapt to the nearby roof, he took a deep breath as he crouched low, he moved slowly along the corrugated roof top, trying to stay as quiet as possible, even though he doubted the man would hear him over his own shouting.

He dared to peak over the edge again, the man had his back to him, he chose this time to bolt, he scrambled across the roof top, dropping to the next building before charging towards the ledge, the man was starting to turn, gun raised at the noise he was not expecting.

Reyna watched as Damien leapt towards the man, as gunshots rang out, aiming at the demigod as he soared through the air, the two men's bodies collided together and disappeared behind the vehicles, everything went silent.

Reyna gasped as she watched them fall, both girls started to move quickly towards the area they saw Damien disappear, they heard groaning as they grew closer, Reyna drew her dagger just as they passed the cars to see two bodies lying on the ground, not knowing which was making the noise

"Damien?" Reyna's voice was low

Damien rolled over onto his back looking up at them, taking deep breaths

"Yep" he groaned, wiping the blood from his lip "I'm good… just gonna lay here a minute" he gave them a thumbs up, a smile grew over Hazel's face while Reyna rolled her eyes and turned to look at her phone

"You're impossible" she mumbled

They were suddenly interrupted by a woman running over with the two small children, words rushing from her mouth, she knelt before Damien as he attempted to sit up, her eyes filled with tears as she gestured to her kids then to Damien and finally to the knocked out man.

Damien had no idea what she was saying and was even more taken aback when she grabbed his collar and pulled him close kissing him firmly on the lips, before he could pull away she was gone tugging on her kids hands and rushing down a side street

"Wh-what?" he said dumbfounded by what just happened, he looked up to Hazel and then to Reyna, who dropped her gaze quickly back to her phone

Hazel laughed "I think she was appreciative of you saving her life" she extended a hand to help Damien to his feet, as he rose he stretched, pain crossing his features, there was a nasty cracking sound as he pulled on one of his shoulders

He looked around at the empty street and the carnage that had gone on "Maybe we should clear out before anyone starts asking us questions"

"Agreed" Reyna piped up as she slipped her phone inside her pocket "Unless there's any other South American women you want to make out with?"

Damien couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he decided to keep his mouth shut and just follow the others, checking their surroundings for any other maniacs

"Did you get a hold of reinforcements?" Hazel asked as they left the small town

Reyna nodded and looked up at the sky, it was late afternoon "They will not be here until morning, we should find somewhere safe to stay for the night"

Damien looked back at the town then down the long expanse of dirt track surrounded by jungle "Well I don't think we are going to find a Hilton anywhere nearby" he attempted a joke but it was clear that Reyna was still upset by the day's events, so once more the trio fell into silence, the only sound was their footsteps on the ground and the occasional wild animal's call.

They walked for another hour or so while the sun dropped lower in the sky and they were forced to stop, Reyna directed them to a clearing, it looked like a field used for harvesting

"She should meet us here" Reyna said, taking a seat on a rock formation at the edge of the clearing

"Who?" asked Damien, rubbing the back of his neck, it was still aching from his fall earlier

"Annabeth Chase" Reyna replied, keeping her eyes on the sky

Damien leaned towards Hazel "Who's Annabeth?"

Hazel smiled slightly "She is the smartest Demigod you will ever meet, almost as brave as Reyna"

Reyna smiled a little "Almost"