In the chaos caused by Valen's attack, the members of the quest were able to flee the palace, back into the labyrinth. Percy hauled up Valen's unconscious form over his shoulder, dragging him along as far as he could.
They stopped in a tunnel of wet white rocks, reminiscent of a cave.
"I can't go any farther," Rachel gasped, hugging her chest.
Annabeth had been crying the entire time they'd been running. Now she collapsed and put her head between her knees. Her sobs echoed in the tunnel.
Percy put the son of Hades down gently, resting his head on the wall of the cave. Yet when his hand came in contact with the golden wreath, he hissed, pulling it back.
"What in Hades?" He rubbed the back of his hand soothingly. Curiosity got the best of him as he tried to poke the accessory again, immediately regretting it when the heat scorched his fingertip.
"We need to get that thing off his head!" He said, panicking about his friends condition. Focusing on the water in his vicinity, the son of Poseidon conjured up a ball of the cool blue liquid and had it settle around the wreath.
The water sizzled, vaporizing in seconds. He cursed silently, summoning more water, but there was only so much of the stuff.
In the end he could do nothing but leave his friend to his suffering. He hated the fact that he couldn't to anything to help.
"What…what was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?" Annabeth lifted her head.
If only to take his attention away from Valen, he told her what he'd seen in the coffin, the way the last piece of Kronos's spirit had entered Luke's body when Ethan Nakamura pledged his service.
"No," Annabeth said. "That can't be true. He couldn't—"
"He gave himself over to Kronos," he said. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone."
"No!" she insisted. "You saw when Rachel hit him."
He nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. "You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush."
Rachel looked embarrassed. "It was the only thing I had."
"But you saw," Annabeth insisted. "When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses."
"So maybe Kronos wasn't completely settled in the body, or whatever," he said, frustrated. "It doesn't mean Luke was in control."
"You want him to be evil, is that it?" Annabeth yelled. "You didn't know him before, Percy. I did!"
"What is it with you?" he finally snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?"
"Whoa, you two," Rachel said. "Knock it off!"
Annabeth turned on her. "Stay out of it, mortal girl! If it wasn't for you…"
Whatever she was going to say, her voice broke. She put her head down and sobbed miserably. Percy wanted to comfort her, but he had nothing to stay.
They settled in uncomfortable silence, only broken by Annabeth's sobs.
It wasn't long before Valen awoke.
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"Do you have any idea how close you were?!" Hades shook Valen, "I could sense your soul burning up! Slaying the nemean lion is one thing, but this?"
Valen grimaced, "Kronos would have killed us otherwise, my stunt incapacitated him long enough for us to escape, hopefully."
"You didn't need to use that much hellfire." He retorted, "His face alone would've been enough."
He shrugged, "I wanted to be sure."
Hades scowled, "If you die of hellfire, you will not end up in any afterlife Valen. You'll simply stop existing."
Valen winced, "I know."
Hades took a step back, taking a deep breath in, calming his mind. "Your recklessness will be the end of you boy."
Valen sighed, he could not deny that. So he did the next best thing, he changed the subject.
"I know what mother was now,"
Hades snapped his neck towards his son, "What now?"
"She was a norse demigod wasn't she? That's why she's not in the underworld, but in the norse underworld. Valhalla, was it?"
Hades' face darkened, "Do not speak of it so filipantly. Our pantheons have been kept separate for a reason."
"What else can you tell me of her?" He asked.
Hades sighed, "It is not my place to tell, but I'd reckon your sword has some answers to it."
"Stormguard?" he asked, looking down at my hand, but the ring was not with him in the dream.
As if on cue, the realm quivered, Hades cast one final look at his son, "Remember, speak nothing of this, not even to your siblings."
"Wait, not even Nico and Bianca?"
Hades didn't answer, and the room fell in on itself.
.
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"We need to go," Valen heard Percy's voice when he awoke, "Kronos is sure to send monsters after us.
He knelt next to Annabeth. "Hey, I'm sorry. We need to move."
"I know," she said. "I'm…I'm all right."
Vlane groaned as he got up, "How long has it been?"
They looked startled, but Percy answered, "Around two hours, are you okay?"
Valen nodded weakly, wincing as even the smallest movements caused his bones to ache, "I'll live."
He powered through as they continued through the labyrinth.
"Back to New York," Percy said. "Rachel, can you—"
He froze. A few feet in front of them, his flashlight beam fixed on a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground. It was a Rasta cap: the one Grover always wore.
His hands shook as he picked up the cap. It looked like it had been stepped on by a huge muddy boot. He closed his eyes, praying his friend was alright.
Then he noticed something else. The cave floor was mushy and wet from the water dripping off the stalactites. There were large footprints like Tyson's, and smaller ones—goat hooves—leading off to the left.
"We have to follow them," he said. "They went that way. It must have been recently."
No one argued.
The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time they were slipping and sliding rather than walking.
When they finally got to the bottom of the slope, they found themselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. The satyrs eyes were closed and he lay motionless.
"Tyson!" Percy yelled.
"Percy! Come quick!"
They ran over, Valen struggling a little behind. Fortunately Grover wasn't dead, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.
"What happened?" Percy asked.
"So many things," Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then…we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this."
"Did he say anything?"
"He said, 'We're close.' Then hit his head on rocks."
Percy knelt down next to him shining his flashlight around the cavern. The rocks glittered. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance…
"Grover," he said. "Wake up."
"Uhhhhhhhh."
Annabeth knelt next to him and splashed icy cold river water in his face.
"Splurg!" His eyelids fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth?" His gaze found the last boy, "Valen? You're here too?"
The boy waved weakly, "Nice to see you too Grover."
"What happened?" He asked groggily.
"It's okay," Percy said. "You passed out. The presence was too much for you."
"I—I remember. Pan."
"Yeah," he said. "Something powerful is just beyond that doorway."
Valen inhaled, he could clearly feel the presence of a god beyond the door, a weakened and fading one, but a god nonetheless.
After a quick introduction, the group crossed the river, Grover leaning on Percy's shoulder.
"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."
"How do you know?"
"Carlsbad is in New Mexico," she said. "That would explain last winter."
Realization dawned on Valen's face, Ah yes, the boar incident.
They got out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, they started to feel the power emanating from the next room. Being in the presence of gods was nothing new to Valen, but for some reason this felt different, alive in a way.
His weariness and exhaustion faded away, as if he had rested for hours. He felt his magic replenish in moments, the wreath finally loose and cool. And the scent coming from the cave was nothing like the dank wet underground. It smelled of trees and flowers and a warm summer day.
Grover whimpered with excitement, the rest were too stunned to talk.
"Oh, wow," Rachel whispered in awe as they entered the cave.
The walls glittered with crystals—red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew—giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among the crystals. The cave floor was covered with green moss. Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like a galaxy of stars. In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it—animals that shouldn't have been alive. There was a dodo bird, something that looked like a cross between a wolf and a tiger, a huge rodent like the mother of all guinea pigs, and roaming behind the bed, picking berries with its trunk, was a wooly mammoth.
On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched them as we approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with gray. His horns were enormous— glossy brown and curved. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.
Grover fell to his knees, the others bar Percy following suit. "Lord Pan!"
The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."
"I…got lost," Grover apologized.
Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, like the first breeze of springtime, filling the whole cavern with hope. The tiger-wolf sighed and rested his head on the god's knee. The dodo bird pecked affectionately at the god's hooves, making a strange sound in the back of its bill.
"It's a Small World." Still, Pan looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist.
Noticing the others had knelt, Percy took to his knees. "You have a humming dodo bird," he said stupidly.
The god's eyes twinkled. "Yes, that's Dede. My little actress."
Dede the dodo looked offended. She pecked at Pan's knee and hummed something that sounded like a funeral dirge.
"This is the most beautiful place!" Annabeth said. "It's better than any building ever designed."
"I am glad you like it, dear," Pan said. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid. Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed…for a little longer."
"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"
Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his curly hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."
"Chose?" Grover said. "I—I don't understand."
Valen's eyes widened fractionally, he had understood what the old god meant, his father had explained the concept of heirs to him.
Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke. The giant guinea pig scuttled under the bed with a terrified squeal. The wooly mammoth grunted nervously. Dede stuck her head under her wing. Then Pan re-formed.
"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."
"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"
"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. he lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."
Annabeth's eyes widened. "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Pan is dead.'"
"But that wasn't true!" Grover said.
"Your kind never believed it," Pan said. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. You only prolonged my long, painful passing, my dark twilight sleep. It must end."
"No!" Grover's voice trembled.
"Dear Grover," Pan said. "You must accept the truth. Your companion, Valen, he understands."
Valen nodded, "He cannot remain much longer, the god Pan died millenia ago, this is more of an imitation, a memory unwilling to give in."
"But gods can't die," Grover said.
"They can fade," Pan said, "when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it. My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan is dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you must—"
He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird, who had started humming again.
"Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing Kumbaya again?"
Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes. Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cynic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."
"But…no!" Grover whimpered.
"Be strong," Pan said. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."
Valen gulped, it felt wrong, all of it felt wrong. Gods were supposed to be immortal, eternal pillars of strength that never eroded, never fell.
But here he was, witnessing one of those pillars crumble to dust.
"Percy Jackson," the god said. "I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear."
He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, your time is coming. You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined."
Then he looked at Tyson. "Master Cyclops, do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to our expectations. But you, Tyson—your name shall live among the Cyclopes for generations. Miss Rachel Dare…"
Rachel flinched when he said her name. She backed up like she was guilty of something, but Pan only smiled.
He raised his hand in a blessing. "I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."
"I—" Rachel faltered. A tear traced her cheek.
"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."
Then, the god turned to the son of Hades, "Valen Steensen," He faltered, "Dear boy, your life has much more hurdles still, but never fall, never give in. Even when all hope is lost and despair takes root. You are destined for great things, I see his mark on you."
Valen furrowed his brows in thought, the grim news affecting him more than he wanted to admit.
Finally he turned back toward Grover. "My dear satyr," Pan said kindly, "will you carry my message?"
"I—I can't."
"You can," Pan assured. "You are the strongest and the bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me."
"I don't want to."
"I know," the god said. "But my name, Pan…originally it meant rustic. Did you know that? But over the years it has come to mean all. The spirit of the wild must pass to all of you now. You must tell each one you meet: if you would find Pan, take up Pan's spirit. Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you."
Grover wiped his eyes. Then slowly he stood. "I've spent my whole life looking for you. Now…I release you."
Pan smiled. "Thank you, dear satyr. My final blessing."
He closed his eyes, and the god dissolved. White mist divided into wisps of energy, but this kind of energy wasn't scary like the blue power I'd seen from Kronos. It filled the room. A curl of smoke went straight into their mouths, Grovers larger than the others'. The crystals dimmed. The animals gave them a sad look. Dede the dodo sighed. Then they all turned gray and crumbled to dust. The vines withered. And we were alone in a dark cave, with an empty bed.
Valen's heart fluttered, a gods death was unnatural, and not many have witnessed one. He inhaled deeply, sighing.
Percy switched on his flashlight. Grover took a deep breath.
"Are…are you okay?" he asked him.
He looked older and sadder. He took his cap from Annabeth, brushed off the mud, and stuck it firmly on his curly head.
"We should go now," he said, "and tell them. The great god Pan is dead."
No one muttered a word their entire way back.
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Valen Steensen POV:
Distance was shorter in the Labyrinth. Still, by the time Rachel got us back to Times Square, I felt like we'd pretty much run all the way from New Mexico. We climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds
The death of Pan still lingered in my mind, I knew very well his soul didn't go to the underworld, it simply vanished, like a flame extinguished.
Percy led us into an alley, and whistled as loud as he could six times.
A minute later, Rachel gasped. "They're beautiful!" A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Six of them, all white bar the lead pegasus, which was black.
"Yeah," Percy said, most likely mentally communicating with the pegasi. "I'm lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp quick."
Moments later, each of us got on a pegasus, bar Rachel.
"Well," she said, "I guess this is it."
Percy nodded awkwardly "Thanks, Rachel. We couldn't have done it without you."
I tuned them out, leaving them to their conversation. My mind wandered to what Kronos had said, son of the north. No wonder my mother had taught me some norse myths, not as many as greek mind you, but I knew the basics.
Still, I couldn't remember any of those gods' physical traits. The closest I rememebred were how they appeared in movies, but none of them had red hair.
Percy came back soon after, and the six of us were off.
We landed in the middle of the cabin area and were immediately met by Chiron, an old Satyr, and a couple of Apollo cabin archers.
Chiron showed no surprise when we told him about the quest, almost as if he had anticipated that.
"I feared as much," Chiron said. "We must hurry. Hopefully you have slowed down the Titan lord, but his vanguard will still be coming through. They will be anxious for blood. Most of our defenders are already in place. Come!"
"Wait a moment," the satyr demanded. "What of the search for Pan? You are almost three weeks overdue, Grover Underwood! Your searcher's license is revoked!"
Grover took a deep breath. He stood up straight and looked him in the eye. "Searcher's licenses don't matter any more. The great god Pan is dead. He has passed on and left us his spirit."
"What?" his face turned bright red. "Sacrilege and lies! Grover Underwood, I will have you exiled for speaking thus!"
"It's true," Percy said. "We were there when he died. All of us."
"Impossible! You are all liars! Nature-destroyers!"
I snapped, my hand shooting up and grabbing his throat before he could respond, "Listen here you little shit, the god is dead, I felt it clearly. I get that you're in denial, but we're on the brink of a war, so get your head out of your ass and do something useful for once."
"Uh, Valen." Percy said, looking below me with apprehension.
I frowned, looking down, and cursed, letting the old satyr fall, who promptly ran away. Two beady red eyes were visible in my shadow, and the snout of a hellhound began forming.
"Begone," I said, "I have no need of your services yet."
The hound growled lowly, retreating back to my shadow.
"Lord Hades has given you control over some of his infernal beasts it seems." Chiron mused, "Stil, I must advise you to use caution when summoning them, especially if you're injured. If your control falters, even for a moment, it might very well turn on you."
I nodded, "Of course, I have no plans of doing that anytime soon."
Chiron turned away, readying his bow, "Come with me, all of you."
He galloped towards the woods, and we tried our best to follow.
It was the biggest military operation I'd ever seen. Everyone was at the clearing, dressed in full battle armor, making me feel underdressed for the situation.
The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth—razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Beckendorf was manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus's Fist. The Ares cabin was on the front line, drilling in phalanx formation with Clarisse calling orders. Apollo's and Hermes's cabins were scattered in the woods with bows ready. Many had taken up positions in the trees. Even the dryads were armed with bows, and the satyrs trotted around with wooden cudgels and shields made of rough tree bark.
Annabeth went to join her brethren from the Athena cabin, who had set up a command tent and were directing operations. A gray banner with an owl fluttered outside the tent. Our security chief, Argus, stood guard at the door. Aphrodite's children were running around straightening everybody's armor and offering to comb the tangles out of our horsehair plumes. Even Dionysus's kids had found something to do. The god himself was still nowhere to be seen, but his two blond twin sons were running around providing all the sweaty warriors with water bottles and juice boxes.
"It isn't enough." Chiron said.
"Yeah, there will be deaths," I agreed, "But we shall rise nonetheless, this camp is the only safe haven for demigods. The strongest of the century are with us, the titan army is many, but we are stronger, more organized, and this is our home turf. We have the advantage here, and I'll be damned if we still lose."
I glanced around, many had stopped to listen to me. My sword and bident materialized in my hands, "If you fall, know that Elysium is waiting for you. The blood of Olympus runs through your veins, the golden blood of the gods themselves. So fight, fight knowing this might be your last day alive, for if we fail, even the afterlife won't be safe. For all half bloods around the earth, for Camp Half-Blood!"
"For Camp Half-Blood!" Beckendorf was the first to cheer, and it was like a seal came loose.
"FOR CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"
I stammed the bottom of my bident at the ground, sending a wave of darkness all around me, mostly for show.
The ground began trembling, and I froze, "That wasn't me."
Everyone in the clearing stopped what they were doing. Clarisse barked a single order: "Lock shields!"
Then the Titan lord's army exploded from the Labyrinth. The first to come out were a group of laistrygonians, using trees and flattened cars as their sword and shield. With one swipe they swept half the Ares' cabin.
I grimaced, three deaths already.
"Fire!" Beckendorf yelled. The catapults swung into action. Two boulders hurtled toward the giants. One deflected off a car shield with hardly a dent, but the other caught a Laistrygonian in the chest, and the giant went down. Apollo's archers fired a volley, dozens of arrows sticking in the thick armorof the giants like porcupine quills. Several found chinks in armor, and some of the giants vaporized at the touch of celestial bronze.
Yet, as the Laistrygonians were on the verge of falling, the second wave came, around forty dracaenae in full battle armor, wielding spears and nets. They dispersed in all directions. Some hit the traps the Hephaestus cabin had laid. One got struck on the spikes and became an easy target for archers. Another triggered a trip wire, and pots of Greek fire exploded into green flames, engulfing several of the snake women.
A single black arrow flew up to the sky, expanding in size until it was the size of a car, then it split, the massive arrow separating into dozens upon dozens of smaller arrows. The black rain descended, taking out over a dozen monsters, gravely injuring the rest. I shuddered, Bianca could be scary sometimes.
I saw a dark form dancing around fluidly, a stygian iron blade carving small but precise cuts at every major artery it could find. Nico had come a long way.
I shook my head, what was I doing standing around like a dumb idiot?
"For Hades!" I yelled, leaping off with my lance held back, brimming with dark energy. A new wave of monsters spilled out of the opening just as I slammed down, causing a dark explosion as shadows arose, razor sharp spikes impaling the ones closest to me.
I summoned Stormguard, weaving through monster after monster, stabbing with my bident and slashing with my sword.
"Serve me!" I heard somewhere to the side, and then, skeletons arose, spirits of the dead longing to fight once more. I grinned, good job little brother.
I let go of my polearm, and the weapon flew, piercing through enemy after enemy as if fit had a mind of it's own. I held Stormguard with both arms, imbuing it with dark energy, putting more force behind my blows.
Dracaenae, laistrygonians, cyclops, they all fell to my blade, it was only stopped when a celestial bronze sword parried it away.
I frowned at the boy who had interrupted me. He didn't look any older than ten, I shrugged, he joined kronos, he didn't deserve mercy.
I waved my hand at him, and his own shadow stabbed through him, and the boy fell. I had lost count how many demigods had died in the battle.
I moved on, my blade now held in one hand, with one of my pistols on the other. Usually I would wait until I had gotten some training with the thing, but aim didn't matter now, there were too many monsters, I was almost guaranteed to hit one even with my eyes closed.
I heard a slicing noise behind me, and swerved back, a dracaenae had sneaked up on me, but Nico had intercepted it, saving my life.
Any words I had died in my throat when I saw Nico's expression, grim and weary. He had seen too much death in one day, it tends to change people.
He inhaled suddenly, moving on to a different monster. It was then that I noticed the blood splattered over his clothes, and it was not his.
I gulped down my worry, there was no time to comfort him in the battle. Without a word, I continued hacking away at monsters and demigods alike.
Just when it seemed like the battle had balanced out again—like we might stand a chance—an unearthly shriek echoed out of the Labyrinth, it almost made me stumble.
I glanced behind, and wished I hadn't.
The monster flew up, it had the body of a dragon—at least twenty feet long, black and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs looked like they were sprouting snakes, hundreds of vipers darting around, constantly looking for something to bite. The woman's hair was also made of snakes, like Medusa's. weirdest of all, around her waist, where the woman part met the dragon part, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing the heads of animals—a vicious wolf, a bear, a lion, as if she were wearing a belt of ever-changing creatures.
She landed on the top of Zeus's Fist and surveyed the carnage. Her face was filled with evil glee. The mutant animal heads growled at her waist. Snakes hissed and swirled around her legs. In her right hand she held a glittering ball of thread—Ariadne's string—but she popped it into a lion's mouth at her waist and drew her curved swords. The blades glowed green with poison. Kampê screeched in triumph, and some of the campers screamed. Others tried to run and got trampled by hellhounds or giants.
"Di Immortales!" Chiron yelled. He quickly aimed an arrow, but Kampê seemed to sense his presence. She took flight with amazing speed, and Chrion's arrow whizzed harmlessly past her head.
"Stand! Do not run from her! Flight!" Tyson yelled, but immediately went down when a hellhound pounced on it.
The aberration flew straight into the woods, where the archers had been. My heart sank.
"Nico, where is Bianca stationed?" I turned towards him, his fale full of horror. That was enough of an answer for me.
I began running, my bident flying at me, just as it was about to shoot past me, I grabbed ahold, shooting forward, uncaring of what stood in my path.
I saw corpses everywhere, well over a dozen. I knew some of those people, I had laughed with them, fought with them, formed a sense of brotherhood with them. But life was fragile, perhaps the most fragile thing there is. I saw Lee Fletcher slumped down beside a tree, blood trailed above him, his bow still had an arrow notched in it.
He was dead. I shook my head, homing in on Bianca's location.
I found her facing the monster, shooting arrow after arrow until it got close. She discarded her bow for her daggers, shadow travelling to the monster's head and stabbed one of her daggers into it's neck, the bracer on her other hand shot out a dark bolt into it's eyes.
The beast roared, grabbing her like one would do a bug, and hurled her away. Bianca flew up, fear and pain etched on her face, before acceptance. Her body crashed through half a dozen trees before she came at a stop. She stopped moving, the stench of death all around her.
I saw red, hurling my bident at it, my aim true. Stormguard burst in hellfire, and I threw all regard for self preservation away.
I slammed into it like a cannonball, my sword cutting a deep festering gash at it's torso. It tried grabbing me, and hissed when it touched my body wreathed in hellfire.
Valen, stop at once!
My father's voice echoed in my mind, but I was beyond caring. I swung Stormguard more like a club than a sword, my bones rattled with each hit.
I kept hacking and slashing, carving deep into it's torso, each hit absorbing the monsters essence. I heard something crack, and the heavens roared. Dark infernal hands arose from the ground, grabbing the beasts limbs and began pulling it down.
"No!" I bellowed, causing hellfire to wash over the monster, burning away the hands and parts of it's skin.
I raised my sword to the skies, and brought it down in a devastating arc. As my blade lodged itself deep into it's skull thunder roared and my sword exploded, a maelstrom of lightning, wind and darkness.