Chapter Eleven
The Defeat of Circe
(WILL'S POV THIRD-PERSON)
There was a huge hole in the ground. Amy's sword lay in the street, it's owner nowhere to be found.
"AMY! AMY!" Will screamed. He started to run towards the hole, but Percy grabbed him.
"No! It's too dangerous."
"But she might still be alive!"
"We'll look for her after! The monsters are retreating." Percy insisted. Will reluctantly stopped fighting Percy, and the grip on his arm was released.
"The Empire Hotel! Let's go." Percy called. The demigods picked up the wounded and headed over to the hotel.
Will collapsed on a bed in one of the rooms. A few Hermes guys, his brothers, clapped him on the shoulder. A bunch of Aphrodite girls gave him sympathetic looks. That just made him feel worse. Annabeth poked her head in.
"Hi. The Demeter Cabin whipped up a buffet if you're hungry."
"Okay, got it." She left. Then an explosion shook the building. Will rushed out of the hotel with his fellow campers. Circe was floating above the street, a green light around her.
"Heroes of Olympus." She started. "Your representative has fallen. I am the new goddess of magic. More fighting would be useless, as I have defeated one of the most powerful demigods. Surrender and accept me as the new goddess of magic and childbirth, controller of the Mist, and I will reward you. Your camp will be repaired to be better than ever. So will your city. Accept me, and I will honor you above all others." The campers muttered among themselves. Percy and Will drew their swords at the same time. The rest followed.
Circe sneered. "You wish to fight still? Very well. I will kill everyone of you as I killed Amelia Roberts. None shall be spared!" Circe raised her hands. Out of nowhere, a figure materialized and charged at Circe, leaping into the air and raising her sword.
As Amy brang her sword down upon Circe's head, Circe screamed and thrust out her knife towards Amy's abdomen. Circe exploded into yellow dust and disintegrated. The campers stood there in silence, stunned, as Amy stood there. She was clutching at something in front of her, something silver and shiny-something inside of her. The stunned silence was broken only by Will.
"NO!" Will screamed, running towards her. He caught her as she started to fall. Amy stared helplessly at him with her blue eyes.
"Did I get her?" She whispered.
"Yes. yes, you did." Will's panic started to set in. He took a deep breath and tried to keep calm for her sake. "But...how did you survive the explosion?"
"I survived, but I used the Mist to make it look like I was blasted to pieces by the explosion. Pretty clever, huh?"
"Yeah." Will murmured. "Pretty clever." He lowered her down to the pavement, still holding her. He crouched and stared into her eyes. He looked around wildly. "Nectar! I need nectar! And ambrosia!"
An Athena guy stumbled to him and handed him some ambrosia and nectar.
"You are not going to die. You can't." Will gave her some ambrosia. She chewed it and swallowed. "What does it taste like to you?"
"Soup. Chicken broth with macaroni in it." She coughed, and flecks of blood settled on her face and his shirt.
"Nectar." He scrambled for the canteen.
"Too late, Will. Save it for the people who can be saved." She coughed again, and blood oozed out of her mouth.
"No no no no no no no." Will started to cry. "No. You can't die!"
"Will...I'll wait for you. Give the sword to Augustus Black in the Apollo Cabin. Tell him thanks for the essentials."
"What?"
"He'll understand. Ask him."
"I won't have to. You're going to survive." Will insisted.
"Don't lie to me, Will. We'll see each other again one day. I promise. I swear upon the River Styx."
Swear. See each other again. Promise. The words flurried around Will's brain.
"Take the knife out, Will."
Will gripped the handle of the knife and pulled it out. "Wait-that'll just make it worse."
"Shhhhhhh. Keep the knife. Remember me. Live on with your life."
"No! No!" Will shook her a bit, but the light in her eyes were already fading.
"Remember, Will. Remember." She whispered. She went still as Will weeped.
Her shroud was a creamy white, embroidered with a sign of every god she was descended from on it. Will clenched his teeth as he tried not to cry, but suddenly burst out in sobs as he took the torch and lit her body, which was wrapped in the shroud. Her flashlight-sword had been given to Augustus, the rest of her belongings mailed to her dad in Washington D.C. Will had the blood-splattered knife hanging above his bunk. As her ashes burned in the fire, Will thought of her last words.
Remember, Will. Remember.
Hecate cast a sad smile at her daughter's burning body, reached into the fire, kissed Amy's forehead, and disappeared.
Only Will noticed her.