Chapter 12: Kenzie

I lowered my hand and glared at Zeus with as much anger as I could muster. I suppose that that must have been quite a significant amount, because he couldn't keep eye contact for longer than a few seconds. Either that or he was just being the coward again. I liked to think that it was a little bit of both. I smiled wickedly. I didn't have my bow or anything on me, but that was okay. I didn't even have a sword, and as much as I didn't like fighting with them, I admit, that I would have killed right then to have one in my hand. Instead, I was armed with my powers and my bare hands. At the thought of my powers, my blood ran cold. I hadn't summoned a monster in what felt like years. I knew who I was going to call. Ankah. I consecrated, forming her image in my mind's eye. My hellhound and a good sword clasped in her powerful jaws. I let lose a cry as a cold wind ripped past me. Nico released my hand, knowing that this was something that I had to do on my own. A cloud passed across the sun, throwing us in total darkness. Rocks scrabbled somewhere behind me and Ankah bounded to my side. Metal clanged against the ground at my feet and I scooped up my weapon. A double bladed sword about three feet long and wickedly sharp. I swung it and heard the satisfying sound of celestial bronze cleaving through the air. I tossed my weapon in the air, brandished it, and leaped atop Ankah. The hellhound growled threatening as I urged her forward. In the time we had been apart, she had grown to an amazing size. Now standing at least ten feet at the chest, she was powerfully built and lean muscles rippled along her flank. Together, we would have struck fear into the heart of any Hades fearing demigod. Even Zeus looked marginally intimidated. Satisfied that I had made my point, I waited with my sword drawn. The moon came out, casting white light down upon us. Stars as cold and forbidding as the dark side of the moon, frowned down upon us, forbidding and displeased. For a moment, the god's attention wavered. Ankah bounded forward and Zeus rolled out of the way a second to late. Ankah's great paw hit his shoulder hard and he was thrown back, electricity crackling around him, making the air smell of smoke. He used the master bolt to push himself to his feet as we circled around him, looking for an opening. He brandished the bolt as Ankah stalked around him, dark and silent as the night itself. Red eyes glittering with anticipation, I could almost feel the excitement coursing through her veins. She bared her canines and Zeus raised the bolt. Quick as lightning, she dodged his strike and slipped under his guard. Off balance, he stumbled as her teeth closed around his torso. Ribs cracked as the hellhound shook him from side to side, then flung him back down. I jumped down and landed lightly. I walked with slow deliverance to where the god lay on the ground groaning. I delivered a savage kick and he flinched back. Gritting my teeth, I placed my sword casually against his neck. Sweat beaded his forehead and his electric blue eyes met my lapis ones. Pure terror showed in his face. Disgusted, I looked down upon him. Blood soaked through his clothes, ichor, the immortal blood of the gods. My own was somewhat less long lasting.

"I don't know where you're going, but I hope peace is slow in coming." And I thrust. I pulled back and severed his head. A moment later, the body disintegrated. Just like a monster, I thought.

Nico came over to me. Together, we watched the dust blow away. "Great gods," he whispered.

"Yeah."

"So..." he said rather awkwardly.

Nimn came over and peered down. "This is going to land us in a whole lot of trouble," she warned. "All of us."

"Right," I said. "Especially me and you."

"Exactly. Nico, you might get lucky and be spared, but don't get your hopes up for Kenzie."

"What!" Nico cried. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said with great finality, "that it's very likely that Kenzie will be killed and I returned to my original sentence."

"Holy Hades," he snapped, "they wouldn't be that harsh."

Nimn looked grim. "I know and you know that the gods are harsh for a reason. People would never follow a kind god. They need fear to keep them in line."

The truth was harsh, and I held Nico's hand all the more tightly. Yes, death was a looming reality that we would have to face. Or at least, I would have to. I just hoped that I would be spared from the Fields of Punishment. He bowed his head and took a deep breath. When he looked up again, his eyes held a steely glint. "Then we have to go."

"No," I said firmly, surprising even myself. "I'm tired of hiding. Y'all can leave, but I'm staying."

"Kenzie," he started.

Nimn laid a hand on his shoulder. She looked at me curiously. "Its her choice. And I must admit, its the far brave, the far nobler of the other option that we have."

Nico sighed. "Whatever punishment they see fit to lay upon you," he whispered to me, "you won't have to bear it alone."

"Oh Nico," I turned and flung my arms around him. We held each other tightly for a long moment, then broke apart again. He kissed my forehead gently, and we followed my mother back to the Olympian Palace.

There was a fountain in the back and Nimn used this to make contact with the neutral gods. Within a minute, there was a series of loud popping and flashing of lights. Nico and I remained side by side through it all. Hades tried to pull us away so we could escape, but we refused flatly. He shook his head despairingly and walked off to his throne. At last, there was no one left to arrive. Apollo, Hestia, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Athena, and Demeter were all that remained. The other abandoned thrones made the mammoth place feel all the larger and emptier.

Hestia started the conversation. "We would like to know," she said, slowly and clearly, "what happened. Not just tonight, but the full story." She looked at Nimn very hard. "I want to hear everything, from the beginning."