A/N. reviews!
"ooooo, I like the ending of this chapter lol" -allisonj1008
Glad you did. It's pretty important, as it marks a shift in Percy's demeanor.
Onto the chapter!
Percy missed his wings. He really did. But he also knew that he didn't deserve them. This was his penance. So he continued to climb the mountain. Every step got him closer to the top. His feet seemed to miss every patch of gravel, every plant root, basically anything that would send him tumbling down. The sun beat down on him, but even in his dark red and black suit, he didn't break a single sweat.
A large explosion rattled the mountain. Percy crouched quickly, gaining his balance. When the earthquake stopped, Percy stood back up and resumed his hike.
He was nearing the top. As he reached the summit, the ruins began to come into view. The ruins were unimpressive: a few stone walls, a weed choked central courtyard, a dead-end stairwell chiseled into the rock. Some plywood sheets covered a pit and a metal scaffold supported a cracked archway.
But layered over the ruins was another layer of reality—a spectral image of the palace as it was in its heyday. Whitewashed stucco walls lined with balconies rose three stories high. Columned porticos faced the central atrium, which had a huge fountain and bronze braziers. At a dozen banquet tables, ghouls laughed and ate and pushed each other around.
They milled around, chasing after ghostly serving maids, smashing plates and cups, and basically acting like a bunch of frat guys.
Most looked like Lares from Camp Jupiter—transparent purple wraiths in tunics and sandals. A few revelers had decayed bodies with gray flesh, matted clumps of hair, and nasty wounds. Others seemed to be regular living mortals—some in togas, some in modern business suits or army fatigues. He even spotted one guy in a purple Camp Jupiter T-shirt and Roman legionnaire armor.
In the center of the atrium, a gray-skinned ghoul in a tattered Greek tunic paraded through the crowd, holding a marble bust over his head like a sports trophy. The other ghosts cheered and slapped him on the back as he made his way through everyone. As he got closer, he noticed that an arrow sprouted from his throat, right in his Adam's apple. The bust he was holding was of a god Percy would recognize anywhere. He held a statue of Zeus, beard and all, in his arms.
"Our next offering!" The ghoul shouted, his voice buzzing. Presumably from the arrow in his throat that would vibrate whenever he spoke. "Let us feed the Earth Mother!"
The frat boys yelled and pounded their cups. The ghoul made his way to the central fountain. The crowd parted, and Percy could see that the fountain wean't filled with water, but with sand. From the three-foot-tall pedestal, a geyser of sand spewed upward, arcing into an umbrella-shaped curtain of white particles before spilling into the circular basin.
The ghoul heaved the marble bust into the fountain. As soon as Zeus's head passed through the shower of sand, the marble disintegrated like it was going through a wood chipper. The sand glittered gold, like the statue had been filled with ichor. Then the entire mountain rumbled with an earthquake, just as it had earlier.
The dead frat boys roared in approval.
"Any more statues?" The ghoul roared to the crowd. "No? Then I guess we'll just have to wait for some real gods to sacrifice."
His comrades laughed and applauded as the ghoul plopped himself down as the nearest feast table.
Percy recognized the ghoul. Antinous was one of the suitors that tried to marry Penelope. In fact, he was one of the leaders. When Odysseus came back, he shot him through the neck with a bow.
Percy walked forward and started to clap. With the roar of the ghosts calming down after the explosion, they all heard the sound of his clapping and the click of his fancy shoes on the stone. Whispers began to fill the silence as they watched Percy approach Antinous. The Devil sat down at the ghost's table, sitting right in front of him.
Up close, Antinous's eyes were a solid yellow. His lips stretched paper-thin over wolfish teeth. At first, Percy thought that the ghoul's curly dark hair was disintegrating, but then he saw that a steady stream of dirt was trickling from Antinous's scalp, spilling over his shoulders. Clods of mud filled the old sword gashes in the ghouls' gray skin. More dirt spilled from the base of the arrow wound in his throat. The power of Gaia was holding this guy together.
"Lucifer." Antinous said slowly, his gaze guarded. "What can I do for you?"
Percy leaned forward and placed his hands on the table, folding them. "I want information."
Antinous laughed. "Do you hear that?" He yelled to the ghosts. "The Devil wants information from us!" he turned back to Percy. "And what makes you think I'm going to give it to you, the enemy?"
Percy's lips split into a ferocious grin. "Because I could just kill you and interrogate you in death."
"Lucifer, my friend," Antinous said in a way that made it clear that they were not friends. "From the Earth we come, from the Earth we go. Gaia will just raise me once again if you kill me!"
"Why would she? What use does she have for you? And that's even if she could, which she wouldn't be able to. She has no say what happens in Hell. She had no say in what happens in the Underworld either, now that the Doors have been free." Percy sat back and eyed the ghoul. "In my professional opinion, the wisest decision would be to give me what I want, so you could have a chance to live this facsimile that you call a life."
"How about some food?" Antinous said, snapping his fingers. A ghostly serving maid rushed forward. Percy had to blink twice when he saw her. For a split moment, he thought he saw his wife, Zoë. But as she got closer, he started to see differences. Her hair was brown, not black, same for the eyes, brown, not black. She was shorter than Zoë, and not as muscular. The closer she got, the more she paled in comparison to his wife.
She set down a lump of mystery meat on a plate and red wine in a glass. Percy eyed it, unimpressed, and looked up at Antinous. "Last time you were here, you lusted after Penelope, Odysseus's wife. What do you desire now?" he asked, looking in Antinous's yellow eyes.
As if he fell into a trance, dirt began to fall from his mouth. Was dirt his drool as well? "I, uh, I want power."
Percy scoffed. "Typical. Just like every other bloke in the world. Why don't you mix it up?"
Antinous snapped out of the trance. "You're insulting what I want? Seriously?"
"When it's basic as fuck, like that, yeah."
"Whatever, you'll be dead in a few days anyway. It won't matter."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
Percy leaned forward. "And how, exactly, are you going to kill me?"
Antinous grinned. "You've seen what every monster has on them these days. Feathers from your daughter. Plucked straight from the source. Conquest has her chained up in the acropolis in Athens." He bragged. "You'll be amazed at how fast they grow back, ready for more plucking." He sighed. "Sadly, she doesn't scream anymore. Must be getting used to the pain."
Percy narrowed his eyes. He felt a coldness spread through his stomach. It wasn't anger, for anger is red and hot. This was fury. But he batted it back, bit his tongue, and thought before speaking. "So what? What good are your weapons if none of you are good enough to actually finish me off. I just massacred an entire legion of monsters, each one with one of her feathers in their hand."
"And you think you can win with Conquest on our side?"
"I've freed the others. What makes her so different?"
"They were physically restrained, but her? She's been prisoned mentally. How are you going to free her when she has the Earth Mother whispering in her ear, promising her her destiny?"
"The truth."
"But that's what Gaia is telling her already. That's she's meant to help end a quarter of the world. Isn't that what you were going to tell her?"
Percy stared at the ghoul, who smiled as he realized that the Devil had no retorts.
Antonius spread his hands, as if he was about to take a bow. "What, no argument?"
Percy stood up. "I believe I've heard everything I need to."
Antonious laughed disbelievingly. "You can't admit when you're wrong, can you! You always have to have the last word. You can't just see yourself being beaten. Even when you were cast out of Heaven, you still couldn't admit defeat. You set yourself in opposition to your father. You, Lucifer Morningstar, are nothing more than a child, set to rebel against his parents, unable to grow up." He scoffed. "No wonder you lost your wife and daughter, you and your stupid pride probably couldn't admit that harm could befall anyone associated with you."
Percy narrowed his eyes as they began to glow red. His hand began to feel hot as a small flame began to dance around his fingertips. "Choose your next words very carefully. I've been very short tempered as of late." Percy's voice was deadly calm, like that of a calm before a storm.
"See, there you go again! Prove me right! Prove Gaia right! Don't you see, Lucifer? You're predictable! We know you! And this is why we've won!"
Percy opened his mouth as if to yell, but instead of words, fire spewed from his lips. Antonious screamed as the mud that held him together began to burn, turning into scorched dirt. The ghoul faded out of sight, sent to Hell.
The ghouls in the atrium began to rise and glow angrily. They began to pull out corporeal weapons. Percy smirked slyly and pulled out Riptide. He didn't uncap the pen, but stared down one of the ghouls. Provoked, it rushed forward and swung its blade at Percy. The Devil ducked underneath it and grabbed the ghoul's wrist as he came up behind it. The ghost seemed surprised that Percy was able to touch it. It was more surprised when Percy uncapped Riptide and stabbed it through the chest, discorporating it.
Percy met another ghoul in combat, while the rest of the frat ghosts surrounded them, chanting 'FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT' over and over like they were highschoolers in a hallway. Percy dispatched his opponent easily and turned to the crowd that surrounded them.
Wordlessly, he waved his free hand. Every ghost found himself unable to move, paralyzed against their will. Terror reigned in their eyes as cruelty reigned in Percy's. He snapped his fingers and flames erupted from the ground.
The ghouls tried to open their mouths to scream, but found that their lips were sealed. As the fire consumed them, they tried to curse Percy, but their lockjaw wasn't doing any favors. Percy watched them all burn, the flames dancing in his eyes, while a smile played on his lips.
When the fire died down, and the smoke cleared, all that was left was ash and the smell of burning flesh. The spectral image that overlaid the ruins was gone. The ruins themselves were blackened with soot.
Percy turned and walked out of the ruins. The sun was in front of him, casting a long shadow on the ground.
A shadow of horns and leathery wings.
A/N. So yeah, Percy is getting a little more brutal. He's no longer playing around with his enemies. The loss of Zoë is hitting him hard. Hence why he's starting to seem more 'Devilish' now. Maybe you caught that, what with the last chapter's ending and this one's, I don't know.
Thoughts?