SUMMARY: Bella Swan was keeping more than one secret when the Cullen's left her in Forks, Washington. Nine months later and the Cullen's – along with Jacob, Leah, and Seth – have been recruited by Lady Artemis to help in the upcoming war. Bella is tasked with taking them to Camp Half-Blood, unfortunately for her.
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HUNTRESS OF THE SEA
CHAPTER SIX
Disclaimer: I in no way own anything that is directly related to Twilight or the Percy Jackson series.
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The vehicle full of mythological beings is currently going eighty down the highway on their way to Seattle.
It had surprised Bella when she had seen that the Cullen's owned an SUV large enough to hold all of them. Well, to relatively hold all of them. In the very back, the werewolves were smashed together, grumbling to themselves about the smell. In the middle sat the vampires with their significant others. Alice was neatly sitting on Jasper's lap, Rosalie was on Emmett's, and Esme was comfortably placed on Carlisle's lap. Bella tried not to look in the rearview mirror too much. In the end, Bella's luck kicked in and Edward ended up in the passenger seat next to her.
"Slow down Bella!"
Bella rolls her eyes, annoyed by Rosalie's worried tone. She had only told Bella to slow down five times in the last mile. It was the downside of driving Rosalie's red Maserati.
"Please, this is nothing," Bella laughs. "You should take a ride with Thalia."
Bella could feel Rosalie's glare on the back of her head.
"Yeah great, but you are driving my car," Rosalie reminds her; like Bella would need reminding. When it had been decided that they would be taking the SUV – which had surprisingly turned out to be Rosalie's vehicle – Rosalie had threatened Bella with bodily harm if even one scratch was put on it. Bella had politely responded that Lady Artemis would not take threats to her lieutenant very well. Bella had thought that Rosalie was going to throw a tantrum right then and there.
"Rosalie, Bella has been driving… fine," Carlisle says. His pause lets Bella know that he thinks her driving is anything but 'fine.'
The odometer goes up a notch. In the rearview mirror Bella sees Rosalie harrumph. Bella doesn't bother hiding her smirk. Carlisle sighs, but holds his tongue on the matter. A wise move on his part.
Instead he says, "Now, about this war?"
This time Bella sighs. She was hoping that one of the gods would take pity on her and make the vampires forget. Maybe even cause them to go into a deep daze, one that would last the whole trip. Bella wasn't picky; either way would work for her. Unfortunately, she had never had much luck when it came to the gods.
Knowing that Carlisle is one stubborn ass vampire and that he would under no circumstance let up on his questions, Bella decides that it would be best to answer him. Also, she had made a deal. And let it be known that Bella Swan never goes back on her deals.
She mulls it over and then says, "The titan lord Kronos is planning on destroying Olympus." How is that for simple and to the point.
Esme gasps. Bella watches her hands fly up to her mouth in the rearview mirror. Carlisle pulls her closer to him. Bella can't help but wrinkle her nose at the sight.
"Wait, hold up," Jacob says. He maneuvers around Seth and Leah, him being in the middle, to lean forward. He slaps his hands on the seat in front of him causing Rosalie to growl at him. He waves her off. "Who the hell is Kronos? And what is a titan?"
Emmett guffaws. "Are you serious, dude?"
Jacob growls. "Shut up, leech. Just because I haven't been around the educational block as many times as you have."
Bella intervenes before there's a full out shouting match in the car. "The titans are the original immortals, born from Gaea and Ouranos –"
"Who?" Jacob asks. Even Seth and Leah have managed to move forward to hear what Bella has to say, though Leah looks like she is seriously rethinking such a move.
Bella raises her eyebrow. "Not important," she mutters. "They ruled the universe after the Protogenoi, and before the time of the Olympians."
"Oh."
"Kronos is the titan king of Othrys and the Titan of time and agriculture. He killed his own father, and made himself the leader over his brothers and sisters. Destined to be overthrown by one of his own offspring, he devoured his own children. Zeus was saved by his mother, his father eating a stone instead. Zeus grew up and was able to save his siblings, who had been growing inside their father due to their immortality. Together, they were able to defeat Kronos and cast him down to Tartarus."
"Ugh!" Jacob exclaims. Seth and Leah mimic his disgust. "That is so messed up."
Bella shrugs. "Yeah, it is. But you kind of get used to it."
"Urrgh!" Jacob says again, a shiver running down his spine.
Carlisle catches Bella's gaze. "The stories say that he was defeated. Cut up into pieces. How is he able to rise again?"
"No monster can truly be destroyed. They can only be vanquished for a time, their essence being spread apart. They have the power to reform. The titans are the same. They are trapped in Tartarus, but with help, Kronos has risen from Tartarus and is making his way towards Olympus."
"What kind of person would help a titan?" Jasper asks.
Bella's thoughts drift to that one person. She had personally never met Luke, but she had heard the stories. "Someone who wants to see the gods fall," she all but whispers.
"And you are a part of this world?" Alice gasps, horrified.
Bella cast's her eyes at her. "Yes," she replies proudly.
Alice leans back against Jasper, looking sad. Bella doesn't understand why, but then again, she doesn't really care why. Carlisle also notices the exchange. He shoots a sympathetic glance at her as Jasper rubs her arms.
"How are we expected to help?" Carlisle says his voice laced with worry.
Bella shrugs, unconcerned. "The same way any of us are going to help – by fighting."
"But we have no idea what we're up against!" Jasper protests.
Bella rolls her eyes. "Half the camp has no idea either. You guys, however, will have the slight advantage of your vampire skin. From what I was able to gather, our arrows only bounced off your skin."
"But they stung." Rosalie whines, her hands rubbing arms.
"Not only is there that but there is also your super speed. Demigods can have many talents depending on their parent, but they don't usually have super speed."
"I really don't think we're qualified to be fighting in this war, Bella," Carlisle says. His gaze is landing on every one of his children. Even Jasper, who has fought many a battle, looks worried.
Bella watches Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle pull their significant others closer, like by doing that simple act they could protect them. She can't help but glare at the sight.
"Look, qualified or not, Lady Artemis has already spoken," Bella states matter-of-factly. "And if we make it to Camp Half-Blood in time, then maybe you can get some training in."
"Are you going to fight as well, Bella?" His voice, suddenly speaking up after all his silence, nearly causes Bella to veer off the road. Rosalie shrieks, grabbing onto Emmett for support. Alice lets out a yelp and nearly tumbles out of Jasper's lap. The werewolves slam back into their seats and bounce off each other for a second.
"Are you insane?!" Rosalie yells, as soon as she has steadied herself. "That's it! Pull over! I'm taking over driving!"
Before Bella can reply, Emmett pulls Rosalie closer and starts whispering in her ear. What he is saying to her, she will never care to know. But whatever he says calms her down enough to only continue glaring at Bella.
With that aside, Bella turns to practically yell at Edward, "Of course I'm going to fight! Are you insane? Why wouldn't I?!"
He winces, his fingers start tapping nervously against his knees. A feeling of content washes over Bella once she realizes that he's scared to speak to her. "Because it's dangerous," Edward defends.
Bella can feel her temper nearly shoot through the roof of the car. "I…you…it –" she blubbers, unable to form the words that she wants. "Urrggh!" she yells at last, turning away from him.
"Watch out!" Alice shrieks at the same time.
Bella looks at the road in time to swerve the car to the right. Unfamiliar with driving such a huge vehicle and panicked, she slams on the breaks. The car skids, the breaks locking. The wheel spins out of her hands, and the car rolls over and over. Glass is flying everywhere and the airbags have deployed on Edward and Bella. Finally everything is still, the world now upside down.
"Bella!" Edward yells, his voice muffled to Bella's hearing. Her ears are ringing. Her senses are in overload, picking up everything that is happening around her. Esme, Rosalie, and Alice are lying on the roof of the car, which has now become the floor. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper are snapping their seatbelts, falling next to the girls. Edward seems to be so panicked that he doesn't realize a simple seatbelt is holding him back. He's already popped the airbag in front of him. And either the wolves were thrown from the car or they had simply fallen behind the seat from Bella's view.
Bella pulls out her knife, popping the airbag in her way. She quickly cuts the seatbelt, falling to the roof of the car amongst some glass, not feeling any of it. She glances out the shattered front window, which is now pointing West when they had been going East.
"Everybody get out!" she yells. Before she can move, a pair of cold arms wraps themselves around her waist and hoists her up and out of the vehicle.
"Put me down," Bella says, batting at Edward's hands. He looks conflicted for a second, but then gently places her down. "Never touch me again!" she yells at him.
The rest of the vampires appear around them, the wolves one step behind.
"What happened?" Jacob yells as he brushes some glass out of his skin. A few drops of blood trickle out before the wound shuts itself. Seth and Leah are doing the same thing, wincing every so often.
"That," Bella breathes, pointing straight ahead of her.
Jacob is almost too afraid to look.
All of them turn at the same time.
"What the hell is that?" Alice breathes, too scared to speak any louder for fear of scaring the thing.
"That is a hellhound," Bella replies while taking a few steps back.
Rosalie shivers at the thing before them. It looks to be the size of a grizzly bear. It's a pure black mastiff with glowing red eyes.
Emmett steps forward, pushing Rosalie behind him. "We can take it," he says. Jasper, Edward, Carlisle, and Jacob all follow his lead. Seth makes a move forward until Jacob sweeps out an arm and pushes him back. Seth huffs, but feels grateful all the same. As big as he is as a wolf, the dog before them is even bigger.
"Not likely," Bella says, walking forward. Her bow is back at her side, her arrows strapped across her back. "Unless you would like a one way trip to the Underworld."
"What?!" Rosalie shrieks. She immediately moves forward to grab Emmett's arm, pulling him back from the front.
Her sudden movement startles the monster.
It growls and then let's out a bark loud enough to rival an artillery gun. It charges straight for them. Bella stands her ground, aiming her bow and arrow. The vampires and wolves watch in stunned silence. Right as Bella is about to let her arrow go, two more monsters appear at its side seeming to spring up straight from the shadows.
"Hades!" Bella spits. She lets her arrow fly. It arcs in the air and then hits the dog perfectly between the eyes. One last whine escapes it before it disappears in a puff of dust. The other two hellhounds close in on the space where there fallen companion had just been. Bella whirls around. "Run!" she shouts, taking off into the forest.
Bella has no idea where they are going. The only thing she knows is that she has a group of supernatural beings trailing her that she has to get to Camp Half-Blood. She wildly glances around their surroundings, but all there is are trees.
Trees…
"Climb up a tree!" she commands.
The boys pull the girls onto their backs and quickly scurry up the nearest tree. Jacob, Leah, and Seth – who have transformed into their werewolf forms – have some trouble, but eventually make it up. They balance precariously on a one of the tree's limbs.
"Bella, come on," Edward says. He's next to a tree, but waiting for Bella to go up one herself.
Bella shakes her head. "I'll lead them away."
"No," Edward snaps. His eyes are pleading with her to stay. To listen to him.
"I wasn't asking your permission."
Before Edward can move, Bella whirls around and takes off farther into the woods. The hellhounds burst onto the scene. Edward moves forward both afraid and determined to take out the dogs before they can reach Bella.
"Edward, no!" Esme shrieks. She moves to jump out of her tree, but Carlisle grabs her, holding her close so that she can't move. "Not Edward!" she yells, trying to fight Carlisle away.
Edward rushes forward, aiming for the hellhound on the right. He's almost on top of the thing when it rolls to the side, completely disappearing out of sight. Edward slams into a tree, knocking the thing over and causing a crack as loud as thunder. He jumps out of the tree to see the hellhound's no longer in sight, but he can hear them running the same way that Bella had taken off into.
The vampires and three wolves jump down from the trees.
"Why didn't they attack us?" Carlisle wonders.
Edward shakes his head. "Who cares?" he replies. "They went after Bella. We have to save her!" He doesn't wait for anyone to reply, taking off into the woods to find Bella.
Bella; who he must protect at all costs.
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And; scene.
This update is for LiveLaughLove (Guest), whose review made me oh so very flattered by calling my story perfect of all the Twilight and PJ crossovers. That's a huge compliment and I am very grateful.
Jeez, this chapter was hard to squeeze out. I feel like Athena, giving birth to a brain child. …Ew, that's kind of gross to think about.
Iiiiii start classes again tomorrow. And go back to work. And have to pack up for the move in two weeks. Why me? Somebody steal me away and lock me in a room to only write and update this story.
Please excuse any of the 'historical' errors in the story. I choose to be a Nurse and know about bones and the body, not about history. Props to those that do though! And also, excuse my lack of knowledge about what happens in a car accident.
Luh luh luh. Mmmm, that's all. Except, please leave a review! I tremendously enjoy reading all of your reviews! They truly brighten up my day! Especially when I'm at work and just want to slap all of my coworkers…
Kay, that is all. Review and have a good day!
P.S., I made a book cover thingie for this story. Yay. Who's impressed?