Drawn Swords - chapter 2
Unfortunately, the bull-man was just the first of many monsters I've encountered. The ride is supposed to take half a day, but eventually it took me nearly 2 days, especially since I've lost my horse by the end of the first day – it was either letting it get caught by a giant creepy dog or getting eaten myself. By the end of the second day, I had already mastered fighting monsters with anything that comes in handy – and I mean anything, from sticks and stones to my blue scarf, the only thing that remained from my mother.
My mother, who died in the hands of the bull monster. I had to make it to Triton Bay. I couldn't let her sacrifice be for nothing. The agony filled my lungs, making everything else less important. I felt like it was pulling me backwards, but at the same time, giving me the rush of adrenaline I needed to move forward without stopping.
It was the end of the second day when I stumbled upon the strange carriage. It was big and grey, but shining grey – like it was coated with metal. Was it…? On the side was written something, and it took me a while to figure out it says 'Delphie Strawberry Service'. It was quite odd, seeing such carriage so late – the sun set long ago and merchants usually don't ride this late, unless they have a death wish, but I didn't have time to think of it, because I was busy with protecting it from another monster.
The creature in front of me was probably the strangest one I've seen. It had the body of a lion, scorpion tail and human head that kept taunting me.
"If you'll let me eat the contents of this chariot, I'll let you go, young demigod," he hissed at me.
"First of all, the name's Percy, not demigod. And no, I'm not letting you eat the chariot, or the strawberries or whatever. Now leave or I'll kill you." I answered, already pissed. I didn't know where exactly I was or how long it takes before I make it to Triton Bay, but I had no desire to get any distraction. And yes, a giant scorpion mutation was another distraction.
The beast hissed, clearly unimpressed by my act of valor.
"One last chance, demigod. Leave." He snarled, his fur bristling. I planted my feet in the ground.
"How about you leave. And stop mistaking my name! Demigod doesn't even remind Percy!"
The monster smirked. Before I knew what's going on, he launched at me, faster than I expected. Automatically, I raised the stick in my hand over my head, but the creature snapped it in half with no struggle. I held it now in the form of an X in front of my face when it took a step back, examining me. I knew I was dealing with another level of monstrosity here – clearly it was more clever than any other monster I've encountered so far. Also, I was stuck in my place – if I'd move, the creature will attack the chariot. I could hear silent rustles from the inside, as the person who was inside moved. Suddenly, the curtain behind my head opened a little, and a face appeared. He was a boy, apparently my age, with regular brown hair and eyes, filled with fright. He handed me a little cylinder – a telescope.
"Use this. Save us, and we'll help you in return!" he whispered before he disappeared behind the curtain once again. I didn't take my eyes off of the beast, who smirked again.
"Well, well. A telescope? How useful. Now you could see me even better when I kill you!" it said launching at me.
He was right – I could do nothing with this telescope. I cursed silently – couldn't that boy help me or at least give something more handy? I mean come on, no one's leaving without a weapon of some kind to defend himself on the roads. But I had no time to think of the boy's foolish behavior, since I was too busy trying to keep the monster from tasting my flesh. I swung the telescope, and luckily hit a target – the monster shrieked with pain when the bronze hit it in the eye. From the carriage, I heard a murmur of two different voiced – one of them was the boy who gave me the telescope, the other sounded older, probably the owner of the carriage. I called to them.
"Hey!" I yelled over the monster's crying. "A little help could be great, you know! At least if you don't plan to come out and fight next to me, you better give something more useful than a freaking telescope!"
"Push the button!" the boy called from the inside. Wait, button?
"What button, you idiot? This is a telescope. A freaking telescope! It's only useful if I want to take a better look at the monster's teeth when it eats me you know!" I was yelling back with anger.
"It's not just telescope, okay? Just press the damn button!" the boy responded with panic in his voice. I took my eyes off of the human-scorpion, taking a closer look at the telescope. Strangely, there was a button, close to the end. I pressed it, and gasped in surprise as I dropped to the ground what once was a telescope – but now took a form of a long, bronze sword.
The beast snarled when it saw the sword. "Oh, fantastic than you have a celestial bronze sword, huh?" It was standing differently, and I realized whatever that celestial bronze thing meant, it was afraid of it. It's posture was no longer of the almighty predator – it was standing with arched back, the tail hanging even higher. It looked like one of the stray cats back home when the kids cornered it. It felt… scared. This is my chance, I thought as I picked the sword up hesitantly. Okay, now what? I've never even used a sword before. It was heavier than a wooden stick, but also felt more comfortable – like it was in my nature to hold suck thing. I could feel the confidence within me. I'm going to make it out alive. I'm going to make it to Triton Bay and find my dad and then I will find every bull-man I can find and I will kill them all. With his thought, I ran forward, yelling with rage. Before I was even close enough to the monster so I could slay it, I felt the sharp pain in my left shoulder. Of course. In my moment of courage, I forgot about the tail – which was probably poisonous. I could already feel the venom inside my body – suddenly the sword felt a lot heavier, my feet weren't willing to run like they did before and my vision got blurry. Crap, I let my guard own, and now I was probably going to die. I knew it, I could feel it. But it didn't matter, I still had to kill the monster. All I could think was that I'm not going down easily,and I was willing to take the monster to hell with me. My grip on the handle of the sword tightened. I could see that the monster was at ease – it hit me, and now it was willing to let me die slowly and painfully. This was the chance I needed – I ran again, forcing my legs despite the heavy pain that made them feel like lead, and swung the sword once again. Then, at the last moment, I ducked, dodging another tail attack, and rolled on the ground. Then, I raised the sword – and felt a wave of relief as the monster cried when the sword cut through its' throat. It was shaking when it disappeared in a flick of golden light, like all the other monsters. Then, it became nothing but dust. All I could do was take one last look at the carriage when I felt myself falling down, letting the pain take control of my body.
What was this feeling? Something sweet. Comforting. Was this death? If it was, it wasn't so bad. Actually,it was nice. I felt lighter than ever, and I could taste my mom's favorite –the chocolate chip cookies she used to make on special occasions. It felt so real like I just grabbed one straight from the oven. I could feel a throb on my left shoulder, where the scorpion tail hit me, but it wasn't as bad as it felt before. My eyes were closed, but I could hear quiet murmurs next to me. I shifted a little, trying to hear something clearer. A voice hushed the others.
"Silent, he's up. Do me favor, give him some Nectar – not too much, he already had a lot. Grover, I want you to stay here as well. Make sure he's okay, fill him in. The others, go do your own chores." I knew this voice – it belonged to the man who owned the carriage. So apparently, he survived – and so did I. Where am I? How long was I out?
My eyelids felt heavier than my legs when I struggled to open them. The first thing I saw was a young girl who stood next to my bed. She was really pretty – golden locks in a messy ponytail, lean body, and above all – stormy gray eyes. I knew she wasn't a person to mess with – her stern glare told me she won't hesitate to snap my fingers if I even touch her. Still, I decided to be polite and introduce myself. I opened my mouth the same time she did.
"You drool when you sleep."
Well, there goes my charming first impression. I wiped my mouth quickly when she handed me a cup, half full with drink. I took it and gulped, trying to hide the embarrassment. I choked on the strange taste – it tasted like my mom's cookies. It was the same taste I had in my mouth before. What was this thing anyway?
"You say this is the guy who defeated the Manticore?" she asked the boy who stood next to her – the boy from the carriage. She looked unimpressed as she turned and left without another word.
"You should forgive Annabeth," the boy said. "She's not bad, she's just…" he looked nervous, and couldn't complete his sentence.
"Yeah, I get it. She just like to mock other people." I finished. He twitched nervously.
"Umm, yea. My name is Grover. I don't know if you remember, but I'm the boy you saved last night."
"Yeah, I remember. I'm Percy. Do you mind telling me what happened? I don't remember much, and what I do doesn't make any sense."
"I could fill you in." Said another voice, and I finally got to take a good look at the old man who was probably the boss. He wheeled himself into the room – literally. I've heard of the new wheelchair invention – a chair that helps disabled people to transport on their own, but I've never seen one. This one looked big and heavy, but impressive – like the man sitting on it. He looked old, but it wasn't about his age – it was about his presence. He could have been 35, but also 50. His hair and bushy beard were brown, and so were his kind eyes. He smiled gently and set the wheelchair next to my bed. Grover looked at ease when he was there.
"You saved us from the Manticore."
"The what?" I asked, confused. I heard it before, but still, it didn't make sense.
"The Manticore," the man explained patiently. "A combination of human head, lion's body and scorpion's tail. I think you're familiar with the tail." He looked at my shoulder with concern. "How are you feeling? We took you with us last night."
"It's fine," I answered, shaking my shoulder a little to show it's fine. And strangely, it was. I was supposed to die from the venom, but somehow, I could barely feel the pain any longer.
"Good, it means the Nectar and Ambrosia are working." The old man said.
"The what?" I asked, and all of a sudden, million questions were running across my mind, and I could barely contain my curiosity. "Also, where am I? Who are you, and why did you go on a trip so late? Also, how did I defeat that Manticore? Oh, wait, you know the monsters? I – "
"Young man, don't worry." The man cut me off. "I heard your name is Percy, right? You can call me Chiron. I took you with me to Triton Bay, as I believe this was your direction last night, but I could help you in case you need to get to some other place, this is the least I could do for you as you saved our lives." He smiled, a warm, knowing smile.
"As for the monsters… yes, I know of them, as all of the other Demigods." He said bluntly.
"Wait, demigods… I think I've heard this one before. The Manticore called me a demigod last night. What's this?" I asked.
"Tell me Percy, what do you know of the Greek myth?" Chiron asked. Okay, I think I didn't protect him last night. Maybe his head got hit.
"Err… I know a little, heard a bit of the gods."
"Okay," Chiron noded with approval. "What exactly? Do you know the gods?"
"Umm, well, there's the big three, right? Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Each of them was a patron god of something else – Zeus owned the sky, Poseidon the sea and Hades the underworld." Chiron nodded again.
"What else?" He encouraged me.
"There were many other gods and they kept fighting, especially against each other."
"Okay, we're getting there. Do you know what else they did a lot?" Chiron asked. He looked comfortable, like he had doen this conversation many times. I started to wonder – was he some kind of a history freak? Or maybe just a general freak?
"Eh… I'm not sure where this conversation is going," I admitted awkwardly. Grover looked like he wanted to say something, but Chiron raised his hand, and he just bit his lips with concern, looking at me strangely.
"I'll give you a hint," Chiron said, scratching an invisible dirt on his knee. "Do you know Hera?"
"Yeah, she's the goddess of marriage or something, isn't she?" I replied. Luckily, my mom was obsessed with the Greek myth. My mom. I felt a sharp ache in my body, like I couldn't contain my miserable feelings. I think Chiron could see my mood shift, because he spoke with softer voice now.
"Tell me, Percy, why did you go on this journey?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I wanted to find my father," was all I could say. I wasn't ready yet to confess the loss of my mom. It was like saying it out loud means it's real. I guess Chiron understood I want to drop this topic, so he went back to the Greek myth.
"Hera's the goddess of marriage, yes. And do you happen to know who's her husband?"
"Isn't it Zeus?" I answered, and Chiron nodded, clearly satisfied by my knowledge.
"And yet, was Zeus loyal to her?" he asked, mischievous glint in his eyes. Behind him, Grover smiled awkwardly. I tried to think of the stories.
"Well… I don't think he was. I remember the story of Argus, I think? The peacock?" I started to remember. "And he wasn't the only one, like, all of the gods were… spending quality time with others. I know Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she cheated on him with Ares. So basically, the gods know zero loyalty to each other." A thunder rumbled – a strange thing in the middle of the summer. Grover let out a little scream, and looked at Chiron with worry. Chiron ignored him.
"Well, in general – yes, the gods aren't the greatest spouses. Most of them, at least – some of the goddesses are maidens, like Athena and Artemis. But yes, you got it. And do you know what they called the kids of a god and a mortal?"
"Eh… I don't think so, sir."
"No need to call me sir just Chiron," Chiron said, although he looked pleased. "Percy, they called these kids demigods."
"Demigods? Like the… Manticore called me, and you." I looked at him. Yep, no doubt. He got hit. Crap, I got bitten by a scorpion-monster for nothing.
Chiron and Grover were both silent. Chiron looked calm, like he knew what's coming, and even Grover looked like he's curious to see my reaction. It was like they were both testing me. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Chiron, I'm sorry. I totally failed last night, right? Or maybe, actually, I didn't – is this a dream or something?" Yes. This made sense – I'm the one who hit his head. "I mean, come on. Demigods? And also that monster actually. Or the sword – what a hallucination! I mean, a telescope that turns into a sword? I haven't even seen the tele – " I was cut off by Chiron, who handed me the same telescope. Once again, there was a mischievous hint in his eyes.
"No, Percy, this is not a dream. And you might want to check this sword again."
"Wait," I said, the sick feeling in my guts growing stronger. "A demigod? Are you actually serious?"
"Yes, Percy. I am. Welcome to the real world, Percy Jackson. A world of gods and monsters – and also, people like you. Demigods."
A/N: hey guys, thanks a lot for the follows/ favorites! It really means a lot :) You know what could be even better? REVIEWS! So in case you enjoyed this chapter or the 1st or you have criticism - everything (except for flames. Does anyone on this site even posts flames?). This One's also longer than the prologue, but I don't think it's too long. Or is it? Let me know. Anyway, since the chapters are getting longer (though most of them will be this length), it might take a longer than a week until I update, but hey, maybe I'll be lucky like this time and in 2 days of hard work I'll finish the next chapter - or a bunch of them. Also, I'm still looking for beta reader, so if you want - I'll love you so much. I mean, falling-down-to-Tartarus-with-you love. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review!