ANNABETH POV
Pain flared up from my ankle. When Kelli lunged, the impact sent us both to the ground. I was thrashing underneath her, trying to dodge her sharp claws and fangs. She had my arms and legs pinned down, making me unable to knock her off. From the corners of my eyes, I saw the other empousai advancing towards me. They all had murderous looks in their eyes.
I tried thinking of a plan, my mother is the goddess of war strategies, this can't be that difficult. I took in my surroundings, trying to use them to my advantage. I saw a cliff to my right, it was about 20 feet away. The plan started coming together in my mind. I just had to wait for the right moment.
Kelli was ruthless, she was holding nothing back. Her nails pierced into my arms, drawing blood. She kept trying to rip my head off with her fangs. When she finally came close enough to my head, I hit my forehead against hers. I heard a crack and felt blood drip down my face.
I hit her head so hard, she released her grip on me and fell backwards. This was the perfect moment. I quickly got up, wincing from the pain of my ankle and head. I tightened the grip on my dagger and charged left.
My body went into auto-pilot. Stab. Duck. Roll. Slash. Dodge. I was soon panting for air. It was bad enough to breathe toxic air, now it felt like someone was choking me. I had three left and they were persistent. My main focus was to kill the other two, in attempt to single Kelli out. One bit my arm and the other jumped on my back. I gasped when it sunk its fangs into my shoulder. I stabbed the one on my arm. It turned into gold dust in seconds.
I tried shaking off the other. It still had a hold on my shoulder, causing blood to run down my back. I used the hilt of my dagger to hit her head. It retracted from my shoulder, giving me a chance to attack. I grabbed its arm and flipped it over me. It slammed into the ground with a satisfying thud. I pinned it down the exact way Kelli did and drove my dagger through its chest. Like the other, it turned to gold dust.
"Finally, it's just you and me Kelli. If you give up now, I might go easy on you." I said trying to bait her.
"Never. Bring it on blondie. I've been waiting years for a rematch." We circled each other, daring the other to make the first move.
"Remember Luke, the one Kronos possessed." Step One: Get her riled up. I saw her freeze at the mention of his name. That got her attention.
"What about him?" She said with venom. She took the bait and now I had to reel her in.
"He never liked you. I saw how you threw yourself at him. How pathetic. He would never go for a girl like you." I smirked at her. I could see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Listen here, you trash. I am going to make your death slow and painful. Better make you last words count." She kept pushing me back towards the cliff. Step Two: Make her think she has the advantage.
"The truth was, he was in love with me the entire time." I had to stretch the truth, it was the only way to seal her death. I saw a flame grow in her eyes. She growled and sprinted towards me. At this point, I was a foot away from falling off the cliff. Step Three: Finish her. Just a little closer: 7 feet. 4 feet. 2 feet. NOW!
I quickly side stepped. I saw her eyes grow wide. She tried to slow down, but it was too late. She fell off the cliff screaming curses at me while her arms were flaring in the air. All too soon, it stopped. The only sound heard were my labored breaths. I looked down from the cliff and gasped. Below me lay hundreds of stalagmites. I guess she was speared to death by one of them. Luck is on my side after all.
I backed away from the cliff and looked for a place to rest. I don't know what to do. Should I just give up and let the monsters kill me? Or do I keep fighting in hope that I will find a way to escape? I thought about those two questions as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
AN: SORRY I WAS GONE FOR A MONTH. SCHOOL GOT IN THE WAY. NEXT WEEK IS SPRING BREAK, SO I WILL BE POSTING THE ENTIRE TIME. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE STILL READING, IT MEANS A LOT. NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON.