The 'reward' the sun goddess promised turned out to be a brooch with a similar design to the shield. It had to have a function other than just looking pretty and Valen knew it. But he didn't have the time to ponder on it as his training was resumed.
And six months later, his training was complete, and his mastery over his grandfather's domains was evident. The day had finally come for him to leave.
"I hope you remember our pact." Odin said as he walked Valen to the bifrost. The situation as similar to the day he had first arrived in Asgard.
Valen nodded, "I do, and I will honor that promise."
"Good, now go. Your mother's pantheon awaits."
Valen bowed; this was one deity he had absolutely no issue lowering his head for. "Thank you Allfather Odin, for accepting my request."
Odin merely nodded and Heimdall sent the demigod away. "Are you sure it was wise to let him go before letting him know of it?"
"Oh he will know, the norns work in strange ways. They will tell him when the time is right."
"As you say, Allfather."
"The Prophecy we have, it is incomplete." He said.
"Yes," Odin said, unbothered He looked up to the skies of Asgard, "The norns are not the only ones in control of his fate after all…"
.
.
.
Valen walked through the park, this time thinking of a different prophecy. Percy would be turning sixteen pretty soon, and the prophecy would take place once he did.
After a few minutes of walking, he came across a nostalgic sight. A boy, barely fourteen, was sitting on the side of the road, a sleeping bag behind his back. He didn't know why, but he felt something different about the boy.
With a moment of hesitation, his vision switched and everything turned black, bar the souls of people. For normal people the color of their souls ranged from white-grey to pitch black, signifying the kind of person they were.
For demigods, it varied. Children of poseidon had sea green colored souls and smelt of the sea. Children of Athena had blue-grey souls and it smelt of new books and ink. Nathan's soul was electric blue and smelled of a thunderstorm.
This boy's soul was bright gold, it smelt of freshly cut grass and clean air, it smelled of summer. But strangely enough, as he got closer, he could feel the coldness he radiated, summer wasn't supposed to be like that. Was the boy like him, a mix of different deities?
No, his soul would show it if he did. Valen's soul was pitch black, with tendrils of blue sparks like lightning. It also radiated coldness. He had always thought it was because of his father's nature, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was a sign of his mother's heritage.
Maybe the boy was a norse demigod.
He sighed, the norse pantheon wouldn't take him in until he died. Valen couldn't help him. But he couldn't just walk away, he knew firsthand how it feels to live on the streets, and how he wished someone would help him for just a bit. He sighed once more, and walked up to the boy.
"Hey kid-"
The boy scampered away, holding his arms up, "S-stay away!"
"Hey, hey, hey relax. I'm here to help." Valen raised his hands above his head, showing he meant no harm.
"Help?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "Come on, let's get you something to eat."
"Really?" He asked, doubtful.
"Really," Valen confirmed. "What do you want? Burgers?"
"F-falafels."
Weird choice, but… "Say no more."
Pulling him up, Valen began looking for the nearest food stall, and to his luck, there was one nearby called Fadlans falafels.
"What's your name, kid?" He asked as they walked closer to it.
"Jimmy." He said, a bit too quickly.
Not willing to tell a stranger his real name huh? Good, it'll serve him well.
"Well, Jimmy, my name is Valen Steensen," He said as they entered the restaurant.
An old man stood at the counter, with a mane of silver hair and donning a tailored blue suit. "How can I help you sir?"
Valen looked back, raising an eyebrow at 'Jimmy'. The boy cleared his throat, and said something inaudible.
"I'm sorry?" Valen said.
"Falafel sandwich." He muttered, a bit louder.
Valen nodded. "Two falafel sandwiches, please."
The man typed the details into his computer and asked, "Cash or card?"
"Card." Valen said, subtly summoning his black and gold card from his ring. As he was finishing up his transaction, he spoke. "Why don't you go find us a seat, Jimmy?"
'Jimmy' proceeded to do just that, leaving the two alone. Valen looked back at the receptionist, "I would like to place a special 'order', Mr..?"
"Abdel." He said simply.
"Mr. Abdel, the kid is homeless, I don't know how or why but I want to help," Valen began. "I want you to give him any food he wants for the foreseeable future, I will pay well in advance."
Abdel's eyes softened and his gaze fell on 'Jimmy' sitting at the corner table. He shook his head.
"If money is the issue, I'm willing to pay more than the retailed price."
"No, that is not what I meant." Abdel said, "We usually have a lot we need to throw away, if it is slightly burnt or a customer decided to return their order."
Realization dawned on Valen, "So instead of throwing it away, you want to give it to him."
He nodded, "Yes, and I'm not going to charge you or the kid any money."
"What about the spoilt food?"
"We have to throw that away, I cant give a young child expired food!" He looked disgusted at the mere implication of it.
Valen took a look at his soul for good measure and was pleased to find it nothing short of light grey. Of course everyone has a bad side to them, but it seemed Abdel was mostly a good man.
"You have my gratitude." Valen said, and walked away.
It didn't take long for their food to arrive, and once it did, 'Jimmy' began instantly devouring his meal.
Valen just watched, remembering his time on the run. He shook his head, getting the image out, and pushed the other plate towards him as well. "That one's for you too."
'Jimmy' slowed his chewing, and gulped, "You don't want it?"
Valen shook his head, "Go ahead."
As he took the other sandwich, Valen decided to ask him some questions. "So, what happened for you to end up like this?"
The boy stopped eating, and put down his sandwich. "My mother-"
"Say no more." He said, he knew firsthand how painful it was to lose a mother. "Listen Jimmy, I've arranged a deal with the owner here and he's agreed to give you food he can't sell whenever you come here."
"What?"
"Yeah, you'll never go hungry again, but I can't do anything about your housing situation right now," Valen said, swearing he'd come back and find a way once the prophecy was dealt with; maybe he'd even strike a deal with Odin to let Jimmy stay at Camp Half-Blood.
"I don't know how to thank you." He said at last.
"Thank me by staying alive." He said, getting up from his seat, "See you around, kid."
"Wait," he said, making him stop.
Valen raised an eyebrow but gestured him to go on.
"My name, it's Magnus."
"It was nice meeting you, Magnus." He said, a small grin on his face.
.
.
.
Valen sighed as he stood beside the pine tree. He hadn't been there for a year, and now that he's come back, he knew it was only a matter of days before the prophecy begins.
It was still early in the morning, and Valen could see a handful of older demigods already in the Arena, honing their skills.
"Valen?"
A familiar soul approached, and Valen cracked a small grin. "It's been a while, Travis."
The son of Hermes responded in kind. "You've come back right on time."
"Oh?" Valen said, eyebrow raised.
Travis nodded, "Percy's birthday is less than a week away."
"Just a few more days until the war begins, huh?" Valen said, turning his gaze back to Camp Half-Blood, that might not even exist after the war was over.
"Come on, let's go back to the cabin, I'm sure the others would more than like to catch up with you."
But Valen shook his head. "Not right now, I need to talk to Chiron for a moment."
"Oh, alright then."
Bidding Travis goodbye, Valen headed to the big house.
"Dionysus isn't here," He noted. "Makes sense he'd be on Olympus."
"You're right, Mr. D has indeed been called back to Olympus."
Stifling a yelp at the sudden voice, Valen turned around. "Chiron."
"Valen, I suppose your visit was fruitful?" He asked, beckoning him to take a seat.
"It was, did you get the two demigods I sent here?" Valen said, he hadn't seen Theron or Aricia yet.
"Yes, quite an odd pair those two. Powerful too. And they had some very interesting tales about you," Chiron said, eyebrow raised.
Valen sighed. "I can't hide it much longer anyways, but the gist of it is this; my mother was a norse demigod. She was a daughter of Thor, that makes me part Greek god, part Norse god and part human."
Chiron didn't look very shocked at the existence of a different pantheon. "You were wise to keep it to yourself. Is there anyone else who knows?"
"Lady Artemis and Zoe Nightshade know, and I suspect Apollo does too." Valen answered truthfully, "And of course Theron and Aricia. They haven't told anyone else have they?"
He shook his head, "No, I have forbidden them from mentioning your unique situation to anyone else."
Valen let out a sigh of relief. "Anything else you want to talk about?"
Chiron shook his head, "You should go and catch up with your friends."
Bidding goodbye to the old centaur, Valen walked out of the Big House, and headed straight for the cabins.
On the way there he wasn't surprised to see Annabeth sitting on the stairs of Cabin six reading a leatherbound book.
"Valen?" She said, snapping her book close and got up from the stairs.
"In the flesh." He said, a bit taken aback when she engulfed him in a brief hug.
"Where have you been for the last year?" She asked, scanning him head to toe in an analytical manner. "You've gotten taller."
"That's usually what growing does, it makes you taller." He said dryly, "Unfortunately it doesnt seem to be the case for you."
"I'm tall enough." She protested.
Valen held his hand to his ear and bent down, "I'm sorry, can't hear you from up here."
"Jerk." She grumbled, hitting his shoulder.
"Valen? Is that you?" A familiar voice spoke out, and Valen turned to face the auburn haired boy.
"Hey Theron, how's Camp Half-Blood treating you?"
Theron gulped, "Much better than how she's going to treat you."
"Wha-" Valen never had the chance to finish his sentence as someone grabbed his collar and began shaking him vigorously, "You could have at least said a goodbye jerk."
"Wha-who?" Valen blinked away the stars, pushing her away, "Oh, it's just you."
"What do you mean it's just me?!"
"Ahem," Annabeth interrupted, "Maybe you want to introduce us, Valen?"
Valen sighed, "Right. Annabeth, this is Theron Cirillo and Aricia…err I never caught your last name."
"It's Failith." She grumbled back.
Valen nodded, "Right. Aricia, Theron, this is Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena. I'm surprised you don't already know each other."
"Well, we never really met before now." Theron answered.
"It's kind of how you don't know everybody in your class, you know they exist and are a part of it but you don't know them on an individual level." Annabeth said, picking an analogy she was familiar with.
The conch horn blew at that moment, signifying it was time for breakfast. Valen stared at the direction of the horn, "See you later then Annabeth."
"Yeah, we have so much to talk about."
Valen didn't know why but the way she said it made a shiver go down his spine. What had she found out…
Breakfast went as usual, Valen was pleasantly surprised to find Theron and Aricia already acquainted with his other friends, and the meal went without an incident.
After Breakfast, Valen was approached by Chiron. "Yes?" He said, eyebrow raised.
"I have a mission for you, if you choose to accept."
Valen narrowed his eyes, "Mission, not quest?"
Chiron shook his head, "No, there is no prophecy associated with this one."
"Go on."
And Chiron explained just what his task was, and a grin slowly crept up Valen's face.
"You are to take Percy with you. If something happens, and you get caught, the two of you would have a better chance at escaping," Chiron said.
Valen shrugged, "Sure, I don't see any issue with that. When do we leave?"
"Right now," He said, pointing to the black pegasus that had walked up to them, "Blackjack will take you to Percy." He then handed him a bag full of greek fire vials and a few rolls of duct tape. Wordlessly Valen stored them in his ring, but not before infusing each vial with some of his shadow magic.
"No rest for the wicked I suppose," Valen said under his breath, jumping on Blackjack, "I'll be back with good news soon, Chiron."
The old centaur merely nodded, "Good luck, and godspeed Valen."
"I make my own luck." He said as the pegasus took flight, and shot out of Long Island.
.
.
.
We found Percy sitting in a car, Rachel by his side. Valen grinned at his flabbergasted face, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Percy went red like a tomato, but shook his head to regain his composure, "Is it time?"
"Yep, get on. Sorry Rachel, I need to borrow Percy for a while."
"It's alright, go save the world." She said, not bothered in the slightest by the sudden intrusion.
Percy looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell my mom—"
"I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood."
He nodded in thanks, figuring this would be the last time his stepfather would ever loan him his car.
"Good luck." Rachel said, kissing Percy before he could even react. "Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."
"You know," Valen said once they had taken flight, "Something tells me Annabeth wouldn't really like that."
"Don't you dare."
Valen only smiled in reply as they soared over the Atlantic.
It was almost dark by the time they spotted their target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon—a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white. From a distance, one would think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord.
Then as you get closer, you might notice the giant figurehead—a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.
"Time to blow this ship up." Valen muttered, a grim look on his face.
Percy nodded, "Blackjack, set us down on the lowest stern deck."
Gotcha, boss, he said. Man, I hate seeing that boat.
"Don't wait for us," Percy said as they landed.
But, boss—
"Trust me," he said. "We'll get out by ourselves."
"I'm here Blackjack, I'll shadow travel us out if need be." Valen said, reassuring the horse, and even though he couldn't understand him, he knew he was grateful.
"Stay close," Valen warned, covering them both in a dark mist. Originally it was Beckendorf who was supposed to go on this mission, but Valen's return changed their plans. The son of Hades would be perfect for a sabotaging mission and they knew it.
With Percy leading the way, they followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, but froze when they heard noises.
"I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice—a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!"
"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!"
"Bah, your brain isn't on board!"
Percy shared a glance with his cousin and pointed downstairs. The duo descended as quietly as they could, Valen's dark mist making them all but invisible.
Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade. Finally they came to a metal hatch. Percy mouthed the words "engine room."
Nodding, Valen took ahold of Percy's shoulder, warping them both inside. Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall.
A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice them. He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard, agitated about something.
Silently, Valen began manipulating his shadow, making it ripple and stretch, by the time the telkhine noticed, it was already too late and the blade bisected him clean.
"I'll never get used to how scary your abilities are," Percy commented; they hadn't even needed to move.
Valen shrugged, "Your abilities can be as terrifying, you just don't use them like I do." Summoning a vial of greek fire and a roll of duct tape, he tossed the items to Percy. "You take the console, I'll handle the turbines.
The room was hot and humid, and in no time they were drenched in sweat. Percy had just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when he heard the pounding of feet on metal steps—so many creatures coming down the stairwell he could hear them over the engines. Not a good sign.
Valen walked forward, handing Percy the rest of the bag, "Handle these, I'll take care of them."
Percy grabbed his arm, "Are you sure?"
Valen glanced back, summoning Stormguard pulsing with thunder, "As sure as I'll ever be."
Percy nodded, "Don't get yourself killed."
"Look who you're talking to, I'm not dying to these fodder monsters." Valen grinned, disappearing into his shadows.
.
.
.
"Run, run!" A telkhine burst out of the stairs, alerting all around him, "Run for your lives!"
The demigods and monsters looked at him, confused, but made no move to run.
"Do you want to die!? He'll be here soon!" It screamed at them.
"C'mon man, I just wanna have some fun!" His voice sent shivers down their spines, and their blood froze when he walked out, wreathed completely in shadows, lightning surging through his eyes.
"Stand your ground!" Another monster yelled, "The night is our domain, we are strongest now!"
"What a coincidence!" Valen grinned, "So am I."
Monsters never felt fear. Why would they? They were the apex predators on the planet. But against a being like this, one could not help but be utterly terrified.
He knew they were all going to die; the least he could do was give the demigods a quick death.
Glancing around for good measure, he shadow travelled back to the console room. "Are you done with this room?"
"Yeah." Percy nodded.
"Good, I'll get you out and distract the others. finish up with the rest while I do. Preferably before I'm torn to shreds."
Percy rolled his eyes, "As if anyone apart from Kronos could actually beat you on this ship."
"True, but still hurry." Valen agreed, warping them both outside.
"Wha-?" Percy stumbled back, forcing himself not to vomit at the sight.
Although Percy knew his actions would lead to the deaths of many demigods, he did not think he'd be this affected by the corpses. He shook his head. He had to do this, for the survival of Olympus and Camp Half-Blood.
Valen let Percy take his time, as a son of Hades, seeing this amount of death didn't faze him, but Percy didn't have that luxury.
Once Percy had composed himself to a manageable degree, he patted his shoulder and warped away, leaving Percy on his own.
At the front of the ship, Valen made as much noise as he could, summoning lightning, waiting for the monsters to scream for help before killing them, and it was working, telkhines, dracaenae, evil large crabs, all kinds of monsters swarmed him, but none stood a chance.
Yet, this was draining him; he had his limits, and he had used a good chunk of his reserves already, but the monster army didn't seem to be thinning.
Hurry Percy.
Lightning surged through his weapon, and pushed away the monsters closest to him in a small explosion, and Valen stabbed the deck. "Burn." He whispered, and the entire front deck went up in flames, weaker than what hellfire was usually capable of, but strong enough to hold the monsters at bay.
"You're tiring dear boy." A dracaenae whispered sultrily.
"I have enough energy to slaughter you yet," Valen warned, summoning Shadeslayer.
"Do you?" She asked, sounding doubtful.
Valen pressed his lips thin and concentrated on her shadow. But it was of no use, for she anticipated that and moved out of the way.
"Your party tricks won't work on me." She smiled. "Stay back, I'll handle this one~"
Valen looked at her disgusted, "I feel violated."
The dracaenae giggled, "You'll feel a lot more things when I'm done with you~"
"Lady, I'm a minor." Valen's expression soured, "I do not need a crazy monster chick lusting after me."
"I don't care."
"..." Valen deadpanned at her, "Screw you."
"Screw me yourself, coward~!"
"Did not mean it that way," he grumbled, lunging at her, sword in hand.
The dracaenae hissed and raised her talons, blocking his first hit. And his second. And his third.
It was all according to plan. While the monster was distracted by his strikes, she never noticed the dark blade forming behind her. Or so Valen thought.
As the blade shot out, aimed right at the dracaenae heart, she grabbed his arm, and moved behind him, using him as a meat shield for his own attack.
"ACK!" Valen's voice was cut short as blood pooled in his throat and he looked down at the sword stuck in his right lung. As the dracaenae let him fall, it dissipated, and Valen had to stifle a scream when he fell to the ground.
She bent down over him and opened her mouth wide, showing her razor sharp fangs.
I cannot die like this! Valen struggled, but she had him immobilized, and her face got closer.
Calling thunder would be too dangerous, and she'll anticipate my sneak attacks. Valen went through every possibility in his mind and finally settled down on one. He stopped struggling, and the dracaenae beamed.
Grabbing his face with one hand, she went down on him. But instead of ripping his throat out, she went for his lips, forcing a kiss upon him.
"Mmph!" Valen was startled at the sudden action, he had not expected this. But it worked for him nonetheless.
He felt the back of his throat heat up and fed more of his energy into the dark flame in his throat. And while she was still distracted, he let it go.
And the scream of pain that she released was so satisfying, he almost forgot how he was violated. Taking sick satisfaction in watching her face melt from the inside out, he waited a bit longer than he needed to before decapitating her.
Wiping his lips with the sleeve of his shirt, he felt disgust swell up inside him.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Very good, Valen Steensen. You would have been the perfect vessel, had you turned." Kronos said with a grin, amused at the display.
"Careful, you'll hurt Luke's feelings."
"Luke Castellan is no more, only I remain."
"Oh yeah? Prove it." Valen challenged.
"What?" Kronos seemed genuinely confused at the sudden demand.
"Prove it, prove that only you remain in that body," Valen said again, crossing his arms. He had to stall long enough for Percy to arrive.
"..." Kronos stared at him neutrally for a moment. "Bind him, we shall wait for Perseus to come before killing him."
"As you wish sire." The monster closest to him bowed, a Laistrygonian giant, and stared down at Valen.
Valen stared back, a plan forming in his mind. And he let his weapons revert to their concealed form, raising his arms, "I'm all yours."
.
.
.
Percy Jackson POV :
I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.
All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could follow the golden dust to wherever Valen was. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter mile away. I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze.
"You're late, Percy." Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold.
"We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful—the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade.
"Come, bow before me."
"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered.
Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've gotten into position so fast unless they'd known I was coming.
I looked up at Luke, and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed . . . or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.
A voice in my head said: I have to fight him eventually. Why not now?
According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only seven days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a week make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. I'd already fought monsters and gods before.
As if reading my thoughts, Luke smiled. No, he was Kronos. I had to remember that.
"Come forward," he said. "If you dare."
The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it, and Riptide grew into a sword.
Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands—a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind, I charged.
Time slowed down. I mean literally slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy, I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep toward my death.
I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me—the source of my power. I'd gotten better at channeling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen.
I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. Dracaenae hissed with laughter.
Hey, ocean, I pleaded. Any day now would be good.
Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalized me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.
I struck at Kronos, but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face—Luke's face—a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.
Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back, and the evil blade missed by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.
I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator.
Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful, my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain.
I remembered what a sea demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body. Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away.
He wasn't just cutting or slicing like a normal blade should. He was attacking me directly.
I stumbled backward, switched my sword to my left hand, and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that.
Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay."
My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time. "Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was his head."
"I would kill you now," Kronos mused, "but I suppose killing your friend before your eyes would break you more."
And my heart fell when two giants lumbered forward, dragging Valen between them.
"No!" I yelled.
"Yes!" Kronos yelled back, "Watch him die demigod, watch the fate that awaits your kind!"
"Like hell I'll die." Valen retorted, shadows rising around him. Not allowing Kronos to even understand what was happening, Valen warped to me and grabbed me shoulder, before shadow travelling us over the sea.
"Go to hell, you son of a bitch!" He snapped his fingers, and the Princess Andromeda went up in bright green flames.
And Valen lost consciousness as soon as we hit the water.
Crap, he can't breathe underwater. I thought, a memory surfacing from when I was in the sea of monsters.
So I imagined all the bubbles in the sea—always churning, rising. I imagined them coming together, being pulled toward me. The sea obeyed, and when I opened my eyes, we were both in a huge bubble of air.
And then I too passed out.