I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earthquakes and the sea also where fishes shoal.
— Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis
Chapter 6: Wolves and Titans
Perseus woke up early.
Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia were still fast asleep. Beckendorf was nowhere to be seen. It was peaceful and quiet.
Weird.
It wasn't supposed to be peaceful and quiet. They were five demigods on a quest, peace and quiet meant two things.
Monsters and impending doom.
"Incoming Iris message from Alabaster Torrington. Accept or decline?" a monotonous rang out from behind him.
Shit. "Accept," he said.
"Percy," Alabaster Torrington's voice came from the shimmering image before him. The demigod son of Hecate was standing in a thick forest, with leaves covering up half his face. "You bastard,"
"I'm sorry!" Perseus raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to go on the quest!"
"Not my fucking problem," the son of Hecate growled. "We were hunting the Hands of the Sky, and I woke up one morning seeing a note that says 'Sorry dude, I'm going to Maine'. You know she is not happy about this, right? We don't involve ourselves in matters of Olympus, man. You know this,"
Perseus grinned sheepishly. "There were two children of the Lord of the Dead. I had to go check it out,"
"Except you didn't," Alabaster scolded. "You went to Camp Half-Blood and got involved in a quest. Damn it, Percy! Our quest was important! The Hands of the Sky are important. You-"
"I said I'm sorry," Perseus said. "The Moon Goddess was captured. Under the sky,"
Alabaster's eyes widened. "Shit. I thought he was using demigods to handle his burden?"
"He was, but not now. She agreed to ally herself with us. Plus I have a big suspicion that the Titans might be trying to find an artifact at the Wolf House,"
"Wait," Alabaster said. "Wolf House? I thought you were with the Greeks?"
"I am. But we caught the Old Man of the Sea. Gave us some valuable intel,"
"So you'll find Romans there too?"
Perseus nodded.
"This is your mess, Percy," Alabaster said. "I don't want anything to do with Olympians. I like your dad and Auntie H is awesome, but that's about it. I'm gonna keep you updated on the search, and I almost forgot, she wants to have a talk with you,"
"Shit," Perseus muttered. "Okay, I'll meet up with you after this, but I'm counting on you to back me up,"
"Maybe," Alabaster said. "And the Moon Goddess allied herself with us?"
"Yeah," Perseus admitted. 'She and I had a rather interesting talk,"
Alabaster whistled. "The Ophiotaurus?"
"Yup," the son of the Sea nodded. "I told her how a certain Titan Lord was a free man, looking for an immortal to take his place. So she just went and did the most natural thing anyone ever does. The opposite of what I tell them,"
Alabaster laughed. "Most immortals are that way, dude. You've evaded her hunt quite a few times. Why the hell would she listen to you?"
"Immortals are fucking annoying," Perseus cursed. "Take care, dude. Call me if you find anything interesting,"
"Bye," Alabaster waved his hand. "Call her," he finished, swiping his hand through the misty screen.
The son of Poseidon cursed internally. His patron wanted to talk. That was never a good sign, they needed to get this over with as soon as possible. The Hands of the Sky were powerful artifacts, imbued with the essence of Ouranos. The Titans would be looking for them too, no doubt. And the Wolf House probably had an artifact or two hidden nearby. Shit.
"Perseus," Charles Beckandorf said from behind him. "Ready to move?"
"Of course Chester," Perseus forced a grin. "The others are up?"
"Thalia shocked Luke and Annabeth awake," Beckendorf smiled. "They're up alright,"
"Good," Perseus muttered. "Great. Get them out here please, I'd like to have a word before continuing on your journey,"
"Aye aye, captain," Beckendorf said as he jogged toward the minivan and yelled at the three demigods inside to get their asses outside.
Perseus chuckled at the scene, as Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth made their way outside with their heads down, Beckendorf acting like a parent. It was an amusing sight, considering Luke was the oldest of the bunch.
"Heroes!" Perseus addressed his four questmates. "While we will be making our way to the Wolf House, I am certain it is a trap! We shall be traveling towards our doom!"
Thalia groaned. "Aren't we always doing that?"
"We are!" The green-eyed boy nodded. "So no objections?"
No hands were raised.
"Fabulous! Let us begin!" Perseus clapped his hands. "To the quest-mobile!"
Groaning, all of them made their way back into the minivan. Perseus and Beckendorf sat up front, while Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth sat in the back.
"Okay," Perseus said, swiveling his seat backward to face the three in the back. "Let's talk,"
"Whoa," Thalia said. "It can do that?"
"Yup," Beckendorf replied for Perseus, swiveling backward too. "Don't worry, autopilot,"
"Cool,"
"Anyway," Luke said. "You were saying?"
"Thank you, Leroy," Perseus said. "The Wolf House is where the Roman demigods receive their basic training, before making their way to their camp. It is guarded by the Roman wolf goddess and her pack. If I am correct, the Titan of Endurance will be there to attract us and the Romans there to trap us. He wants us to fight each other, hoping that we'll take each other out,"
"We know about the Romans," Luke said. "But the Romans don't know about us, do they?"
"No they do not," Perseus confirmed. "And Romans do not like Greeks. At all,"
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "How do we escape or place the Titan back under his burden?"
"All will be revealed in due time," Perseus smirked. "You just have to trust me,"
Annabeth glared at him. "I don't trust you,"
"Perfect," the infuriating demigod grinned. "Use that energy,"
Annabeth let out an exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. "Wake me up when we reach,"
Thalia laughed. "I trust you. Don't let us die,"
"I shall do my very best,"
Jason woke up when Dakota dumped a glass of water on his face.
"Dude," the boy immediately sat up straight, trying to regain his bearings. "Not cool,"
The son of Bacchus rolled his eyes. "Get ready, Superman. We're late,"
Jason cursed and immediately ran to the baths. After freshening up, he got dressed in his armor and hefted the backpack he had packed the night before, before sprinting off to the gates of Camp Jupiter. He smiled at the several legionnaires who wished him luck.
"Centurion," Julius sneered. "You are late,"
"It appears that your observation is correct, Praetor," Micheal Kahale said, his lips pressed into a thin smile. "And you are without a sword,"
The Praetor sputtered. "I-I was under the impression that one would be brought for me,"
"Of course you were," Reyna rolled her eyes. "Do we really have to bring him?" she asked Jason.
"Yes we do," Jason smirked. "After all, without our great Praetor, we would certainly perish at the hands of the first monster we come across,"
Julius looked like he wanted to cry.
"Questers!" Leila strolled into view, her purple cape hovering just a few inches off the ground. "I wish you all good luck! I pray to the Gods that you succeed. May the Gods be with you! For Rome!"
"For Rome!" the five questers chanted.
Leila nodded and steadied her gaze on Jason. "I trust your judgment, Centurion Grace,"
Jason snorted. "Sure you do,"
Leila's eye twitched at the comment but she did not pursue further. "Marcus! Open the gates!"
The son of Mars who was standing near the wall, nodded. He removed a remote from his back pocket and pressed a few buttons. The gates of Rome slowly opened, revealing the outside world.
"Leave, quickly," Leila hissed. 'The monsters crawl nearby,"
Jason, Reyna, and Micheal nodded and ran outside, while Dakota had to drag a shuddering Julius with him.
"This is where the fun begins," Jason muttered.
Time was a limitless ocean.
He could hear it.
The waves crash.
He moved forward, towards the ocean.
The spirits nearby wailing in agony, begging him not to go near. Screaming in their punishment. Cursed by time.
"You tread upon the Domain of Time," a voice whispered in his ear. "Time,"
The boy ignored it and kept walking.
"The river denies you entrance," another voice said. "It denies you!"
He kept walking.
"Die!"
He kept walking.
"The essence of time forbids you!"
He kept walking.
"You dare?"
He could smell the water.
"NO! I deny you!"
He ran towards it.
"Stop! STOP!"
His foot touched the beach.
The Sands of Time.
The ocean was there. In its eternal beauty. Glittering under the stars, the waves crashing against the beach. There was no horizon in sight, just the water. The blue water shimmered as if it were all just an illusion. But it wasn't.
He could feel it.
He fell to his knees, a triumphant laugh escaping his lips.
He ran forward.
He could still hear the spirits wailing. Screaming in anger. Screaming in frustration.
He didn't care.
He could feel the ocean.
Free.
He jumped.
Jason cleaved through another hellhound.
"Jason!" Micheal Kahale yelled. "Now would be a good time!"
The son of Jupiter smirked. "Of course,"
"Run!" Dakota screamed, clearing the area, and dragging an unconscious Julius with him.
The monsters growled in confusion. The demigods had suddenly retreated. Weird.
Jason cackled. "DIE!"
The sky parted to unleash the divine fury of Jupiter. A bright light blinded them all, a lightning bolt had been called down by the son of Jupiter, straight onto the monsters. The light died to reveal a battered demigod in a purple T-shirt grinning like a madman, covered in gold dust.
"I missed this," Jason breathed out.
"I can see that," Reyna nodded. "Now let's go, The Wolf House is near,"
Jason twirled his gladius in his hands. "Yup,"
The daughter of Bellona rolled her eyes and gestured for Jason to follow her, leading the five demigods toward their destination.
"I hate you, man," Micheal shook his head in disbelief. "You get all these cool powers like lightning and flying, and I get perfect hair,"
"Hey," Dakota scolded. "At least you get something good. All I got was an unhealthy addiction to Kool-Aid,"
Jason laughed. "Not my problem dude, you're still the best swordsman in Camp. Dakota's right about himself though, he's just addicted to Kool-Aid,"
"Not cool!" Dakota punched Jason in the shoulder as all of them laughed.
After about an hour of walking, they all decided to rest and make camp. They couldn't fight Titans on empty stomachs, could they?
"Why can't we just leave him here?" Reyna asked, genuinely confused, pointing towards the now awake Praetor of Camp Jupiter.
"Hey!" Julius glared at the girl. "This is no way to talk to your senior officers!"
Reyna just rolled her eyes at the son of Ceres' antics. "You passed out the second we saw our first monster and had to be carried by Dakota to safety. You really expect me to hold any respect towards you?"
Julius scowled. "I had faith in your abilities, Centurion. I was not needed,"
"You are still not needed," Reyna said distastefully. "You can go and get your podex-"
"Reyna," Micheal interrupted. "Shut up. I hear something,"
Reyna narrowed her eyes and looked around, she could hear the rustling of the leaves and a slight growling noise.
"Um guys," Jason said. "I think I know what we're dealing with,"
All of them turned their faces toward the son of Jupiter to find him staring at a huge figure, with red eyes.
"What type of hellhound is that?" Dakota took a ready stance, bringing up his sword and shield.
"Not a hellhound," Jason said as the figure revealed itself, walking out from the shadows. A huge animal walking on four legs with golden skin covered in fur, a bushy mane around its neck, and gleaming red eyes, staring at the demigods with sick fascination. "Lion,"
Julius fainted.
"Fuck," Dakota said. "How do we kill it?"
The Nemean Lion tilted its head to the side, watching its prey curiously, drool escaping its maw. A low growl escaped its mouth, sending chills down their spine.
"You guys run," Jason flipped a coin in the air. "I'll take care of it,"
"Like hell you will," Micheal let out a deep breath, studying himself for another battle.
"Well then," Jason smirked, a golden spear forming in his hands. "Brace yourselves,"
The Lion pounced on Jason, who rolled to the side and wasted no time in unleashing the wrath of the heavens upon the growling monster.
"Die you overgrown cat!" he yelled as the lightning struck the Lion in a blinding light.
The lightning disappeared to reveal an annoyed monster with a few slightly burnt patches of fur, looking very hungry.
Micheal wasted no time in charging the monster, slamming into its side with his shield held in front of him, Dakota did the same alongside him. They both knew very well from the myths that the Nemean Lion could not be cut, its pelt was impenetrable, and they could only use brute force in hopes of damaging an internal organ or two.
The enormous monster stumbled but did not lose its footing. Instead, it roared ever louder and swatted the two demigods away like flies, with a flick of its paw.
Reyna grit her teeth in anger, watching her friends fly away. "For Rome!" she bellowed and charged at the monster, her shield raised and spear pointed toward the monster's face. She threw the shield like a frisbee, aimed straight at the Lion's red eyes, and used her spear as a vault, flinging herself into the air.
"JASON!" she yelled.
The son of Jupiter raced forward and slammed into the Nemean Lion's snout, making it stumble. Reyna landed on the monster's neck and grabbed hold of its mane. She slid down, not letting go of the hair, making the overgrown Lion fall to its side.
"NOW!"
Jason's body sparked with electricity as he summoned another bolt from the sky. It arced onto the Lion's belly, causing it to howl in pain.
"Yes!" Jason yelled. He flew into the sky and dive-bombed the Lion as Reyna pierced its eye with her spear. The Lion roared and thrashed around blindly. Reyna was flung into a nearby tree, and Jason punched the monster with his fist sparking electricity. The Lion snarled, turned, and regained its footing. Jason hovered near him, his body sparkling with lightning. He flew towards him and began attacking him from every direction, punching, flying, and punching again.
The Nemean Lion roared, the son of Jupiter was annoying him. The demigod's electric punches seemed to be affecting it. Snarling, it swatted Jason out of the air like a fly.
The half-blood groaned, slamming into a tree. He looked in front of him to see the Lion sprinting towards him. Jason screamed in anger, his eyes flashing a brilliant white, clouds gathering around him as he slowly started hovering off the ground, electricity covering his skin. He was ready for the final confrontation with the beast. The Lion roared in approval, ready for a good fight with the son of the Sky.
Jason yelled in rage and flew forward to meet the beast head-on.
The Lion jumped, doing the same.
Then, the beast exploded into golden dust.
Jason looked around in confusion, he hadn't even hit the Lion and it had still returned to Tartarus. His confusion was slowly answered as he saw a demigod laughing crazily, standing where the Lion was, covered in dust.
Dakota cackled. "YES! Ah, that was amazing!"
The winds dropped and the clouds around him disappeared as Jason slowly lowered himself to the ground. "You killed it,"
The Centurion of the Fifth Cohort raised an eyebrow. "Of course I did! A spear up the podex always does the trick! I saw you guys fighting, the cat was vulnerable. I aimed an arrow or two at it but they seemed to bounce off, so when it jumped in the air, the behind was exposed! I did what…"
The boy continued rambling on but Jason did not care. He hobbled forward and wrapped the boy in a hug.
"Thanks," Jason wheezed out. "I was about to turn into toast"
Dakota laughed. "You're stupid. Do you think I would've just sat by and watched you get all the glory? No! I got the kill! I killed the great Nemean Lion!,"
Jason grinned and slapped the boy on the head. "I need to sleep,"
Lupa pounced on another hellhound, ripping its neck with her powerful bite.
It had been three hours since the Titan Lord Atlas had attacked her home. While she could sense Atlas was just outside her home, waiting for the monsters he had sent to finish her pack to return successfully, she hoped that he would be disappointed. After all these years of training the heroes of Rome, she couldn't let herself be outdone by a simple horde of monsters, could she?
"My Lady!" one of her pups screamed from her left. "The Titan approaches! Our numbers are dwindling!"
Lupa growled. She set off toward the nearest monster she could find. Jumping and tearing through it with her claws and fangs. She lost count of how many she had killed, but she could feel her pack's morale was going down.
She howled.
For a split second, the monsters stopped attacking, fear crawling through their veins as the voice reached their ears. The wolves in front of them looked rejuvenated, with more fighting spirit.
Lupa sent a low growl to the empousai in front of her. The monster's eyes widened in fear as she scampered back, hoping to run to safety.
If wolves could grin, Lupa did, as she ran off toward her prey bit the monster's leg, and cleaved through her with a slash of her paw.
Soon the monsters were returned to Tartarus, and Lupa could tend to her pack.
"My Lady," a black wolf knelt before her. "We have seven dead, and fifteen injured,"
Lupa shifted into her human form. "Faex. Get the healers. Tend to the injured first and rest,"
The wolf shifted. "My Lady, the dead-"
"The dead can wait," Lupa growled. "The alive must be saved, then we can give them their final rites,"
The wolf nodded and ran off.
Lupa could still sense a presence outside her woods. The monsters were all gone, but the threat of the Titan remained. She knew that her pack was injured and she did not want more dead. She was going to face the final foe herself.
She trudged into the woods, transforming into her wolf form, and started sprinting, hoping to catch Atlas by surprise. Slashing and cleaving through the leaves and trees in front of her, she finally reached a clearing.
A man was sitting on a rock, twirling a spear around in his hand. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and black jeans. He had dark onyx eyes and a scarred face.
The man smiled as he saw the wolf. "I hoped my monsters would wipe out your pack. But it seems I underestimated you, Lupa,"
The wolf immediately transformed into a beautiful woman in Roman battle armor. Lupa smiled, revealing her sharp fangs. "I shall put you back under the sky, Atlas Telamon,"
The man laughed, and he was covered in a bright light. Now, before her stood the Titan Lord Atlas, General of Kronos. He wore classic Greek armor and his spear looked even more deadly than before. "I never liked you Romans," he shook his head. "Too pretentious for my taste. Always following rules, and too much politics. The systematic armies and basic fighting styles,"
Lupa raised her hands, her claws growing in size. "You'll find that I am anything but basic,"
Atlas let out a crazed laugh. "Finally, after three thousand years of waiting, a fight. Come on then, wolf. Impress me,"
Lupa lunged at the Titan, but he easily sidestepped. She landed and let out a roar, slashing her claws wildly at the Titan as he easily maneuvered through them, ducking and dodging.
"You have to do better than that!" he boomed. "Come on! Hit me!"
Lupa jumped and turned into her wolf form, trying to bite into the Titans shoulder, he dodged and allowed her to use her claws. They sunk deep into his shoulder, drawing ichor. Atlas laughed and slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, exploding with energy. Lupa was flung back into a tree.
She got up and licked the golden ichor on her claws. "I hit you," she smiled.
Atlas boomed with even more laughter, as he tilted his head. "You did," he nodded. "Now it is my turn,"
He sprang into action, not giving Lupa a second to think as she narrowly avoided due to her instincts. Atlas brought down his spear, but Lupa rolled away, swiping at the Titan's calf, grazing it. Atlas roared and kicked her into the air.
Lupa groaned. Her internal organs were not looking good. She blinked and Atlas' fist connected with her jaw. The Titan of Endurance was a monster, even after millennia of holding the sky, he was still the best at what he did. Another fist connected with her stomach and she slammed into the ground. Atlas let out a crazed laugh and unleashed a flurry of punches upon the goddess.
Lupa screamed in pain and rolled away as soon as she saw an opening. She knew she could not beat the Titan head-on and escaped into the woods. Running as fast as her broken body allowed her.
Atlas let out a huff in annoyance. "Come on! We were just beginning to have fun! Don't run away from me!"
Lupa paid the voice no heed as she looked for places to hide and regain her energy, hoping to unleash a surprise attack on Atlas as soon as he entered the woods.
Atlas picked up his spear and walked into the woods. "Come out cane. You are a Roman, are you not? I thought you guys never ran away from a fight. Puny Goddess! Come out and feel my wrath! I know you're there, I can sense you! You cannot hide from me!"
Lupa's heart rate increased as she heard the Titan. An unfamiliar feeling gripped her heart.
Dread.
She steeled her nerves. She knew she had to give it her all. The Titan would fall before her, and she would bask in the glory of victory.
Atlas walked deeper into the forest, the moonlight illuminated the woods. He used his spear to cut down everything in front of him, clearing out a path as he searched for the Goddess.
Lupa could see Atlas next to her as she was hidden under a bush. Growling she jumped and sunk her fangs deep into the Titans neck. Atlas roared, he grabbed the wolf by the tail and pulled, but she did not budge. Lupa refused to let go, she could feel the ichor leaking down the Titan's neck.
"Die!" Atlas screamed. In a swift motion, he grabbed Lupa by the neck, almost crushing it, and ripped her off his neck, throwing her on the ground. His neck was a mess of flesh and ichor, Lupa had done a real number on him. He was furious and attacked her with his spear, stabbing downward on the wolf.
Lupa transformed into her human body and jumped, narrowly avoiding being impaled by his spear.
Atlas growled and attacked in a flurry of slashes, his spear became a blur as the Wolf Goddess did her best to parry with her claws, but she could not match Atlas' speed. His slashes cut into her skin and burned her, ichor began leaking through her skin too, as her breastplate was ineffective against the might of Atlas. She was forced onto her back foot. She tried her best to dodge and get a few slashes in, but it was futile.
Atlas was grinning crazily, the thrill of fighting slowly returning to him. His muscle memory was taking over, all those years trapped under the sky had done a number on him, but he was feeling his hands get lighter, as his brain slowly went into autopilot. He could see Lupa was struggling and decided to go in for the kill, stabbing her face.
Lupa's instincts went into overdrive. She was an animal first, and a Goddess second. Her instincts were her base and she felt them tingle and moved her face away as Atlas brought it down.
Atlas smirked and moved it to the side, smacking Lupa in the face. She howled in anger. Atlas showered a flurry of punches and slashes on Lupa. This time, she couldn't dodge, her head hurt from the sheer power Atlas put into his blows.
Atlas stopped for a second to admire his work. Lupa was beaten and battered, purple marks and cuts were littered across her face and body. "You see, Goddess? It is futile to resist. You are a good fighter, join our ranks. You do not need Rome. You do not need Gods,"
Lupa voiced her disagreement by letting out a low growl.
Atlas scowled and punched the Goddess in the face, knocking her out. "Fine. Let your Gods witness this as the first victory of the Titans!" he roared to the sky. "Now, for your pack," he grabbed the Goddess by the hair and dragged her through the forest, toward the Wolf House.
The unconscious Goddess groaned as Atlas dragged her body through the forest, making him chuckle. It had been a while since he had fought an actual foe. Koios was never one for spar sessions, instead the older Titan preferred to read the mortal literature he had missed during his time in Tartarus. Atlas did not understand that, preferring to slaughter a few demigods in his free time.
"You!" a wolf howled, as he reached a clearing. It was covered with wolves of all shapes, sizes, and colors. "Who are you?"
Atlas grinned and threw the body of the knocked-out Lupa onto the ground in front of the wolves. "I am Atlas. And I hope you all prove to be better opponents than your patron,"
The wolves growled and Atlas could feel their killer intent. "You will pay for your crimes against our Goddess and Rome!" a large wolf with grey fur growled as the other howled in agreement.
Atlas cracked his neck and grinned in anticipation. "Bring it on,"
Twenty-one hungry, angry, and strong wolves pounced on the man who dared to hurt their Goddess, while Atlas just laughed in delight. He swung his spear like a maniac, entering a trance-like state as he punched, stabbed, and slashed every wolf that came near him. It was a bloodbath, Atlas grabbed the wolves and beat them to the ground, he ripped them apart by the jaw with his bare hands and felt immense pleasure while doing so. He slashed and stabbed until the ground was littered with furry bodies and the air smelt of blood.
He laughed. "Accept my offering Earth Mother! This marks the beginning of the new era of the Titans!" he kicked a few wolf bodies away and grabbed Lupa by the hair again, dragging her to the side and imprisoning her in a cage given to him by Koios.
"Good. You have done well,"
Atlas turned to see an image of Koios looking at him. "Yes, strategos. I have done as you asked,"
Koios raised a brow. "You have done well. But you have not done as I asked, Atlas. I asked you to imprison them all! Not slaughter them! You have just spared the Goddess!"
Atlas groaned. "We did not need the wolves! They were annoying! I felt like the Earth Mother would appreciate the sacrifice!"
"You are impossible," Koios facepalmed. "But I will be arriving in two days. I suspect that the Greeks and Romans, along with the Hunters will arrive in about 5 hours or so. Make yourself comfortable until then. And do not kill the demigods. I wish to talk with them,"
Atlas grit his teeth in annoyance. "Come on! Just one?"
Koios rolled his eyes. "No, boy. And clean the place up by the time I arrive. I do not wish to have dead wolves at my feet and the air smelling of dried blood,"
"Yes, strategos," Atlas said, nodding in agreement. Koios was annoying, but he was his superior officer, he had to listen. No matter, he would kill the demigods as soon as Koios was done with them.
He walked around and lazily snapped his fingers, gathering all the bodies of the wolves in one neat pile. He lit a fire and burned the bodies. Atlas honored their sacrifice as warriors in protecting their home and blessed them to have safe passage into the afterlife. He had to do something about the blood though.
He shook his head. I'll deal with it later.
For now, he sat near the fire and tended to the scratches the wolves gave him and his torn neck. He let out a low chuckle. He hadn't had this much fun in three thousand years.
He couldn't wait for the demigods to get here.
Zoe crouched below and peered through the leaves, trying to spot an enemy, but she saw nobody.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lupa's pack was never quiet, you could always hear them howling. But she couldn't hear anything except crickets chirping.
"Maybe they're asleep?" Atlanta whispered to her.
"No," Zoe shook her head. "She never lets all of her pack sleep at the same time. There is always somebody awake,"
Phoebe sighed. Maybe they were captured too? No. There was nobody who could capture the Wolf Goddess. Then again, there was nobody who could capture Artemis.
"Zoe," Phoebe whispered. "What if… they've been captured? Like her?"
Zoe gulped. "We have to entertain the possibility. Stay quiet, sisters. Be alert,"
All of them nodded and looked around. It was dark, they could barely see. But they could hear rustling the of the leaves.
"Guys," Bianca breathed out. "We're not alone here,"
They raised their knives, ready for an attack. Zoe gestured for them to get closer as they slowly shifted.
"Boo,"
Bianca fell back towards her sisters, startling them too. They all turned their heads, expecting to find monsters but instead saw a sight Zoe considered to be worse.
Perseus Jackson was crouched on the ground with four annoyed demigods standing behind him.
Zoe growled.
Perseus shot her his signature lopsided grin. "Yo Zendaya. We're here to help,"
So Koios does not use Iris Messaging to call Atlas because that would be pointless, alerting the Gods. Also, I was always confused that in TTC, the questors just go to Orthys without a plan. Like what if Atlas wasn't waiting for them at the top, how would they free Artemis then? Someone has to hold the sky, right?
Anyway,
Thanks for reading. Huge thanks to Spartan for his help.