LoSP Ch.65 The Trap

PERCY POV

I helped Grover adjust the straps on his shoulders, securing the anti-teleportation device that Beckendorf and Annabeth had made on his back, much like a backpack. 

“What do you think you were doing?” I hissed, glancing around to ensure no one else was listening. “Artemis and I are supposed to be a secret. No one knows.”

“I—I mean, if what’s happening is happening, I’d keep it a secret too. But dude, Artemis. You’re dating Artemis. She’s cursed men who even looked at her the wrong way. And you’re dating her. The Maiden Goddess.”

“Goddess of maidens. There’s a difference.” I sighed. “And we already had this conversation.”

“But it is sinking in slowly. You’re dating a goddess. And not just any goddess. Artemis.” Grover looked around furtively. “If the gods know, it’d be… I don’t know? The scandal of the century for Olympus.”

I let out a sigh. “We’ll deal with it. I’m sure most will support us. I am friendly with half the council. Athena, Ares, Apollo—”

“Dude, Apollo is going to kill you. For Hades’ sake, you’re dating his sister.”

“Oh, he knows. Has known since he met me. God of prophecy and all.” I waved him off. “He tried to confront me but ended up just shaking his head and saying I am Hestia’s champion with a fatal flaw of loyalty. So asking me to be loyal and honorable was like asking water to be wet.” I smiled. “Artemis couldn’t believe I escaped the shovel talk.”

“I bet.” Grover rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll be more careful. It is just taking time to sink in. I mean, what do you do when you know your best friend is dating a goddess? That too, Artemis.”

“She isn’t as bad to men as myths make her to be,” I said. “Sure, she doesn’t trust them easily, but she isn’t that bad to them. Though she does purposefully cultivate the reputation to protect her hunt more.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. We Satyrs know her to be a kind goddess. Some, whom she allows, even help recruit girls for the hunt every once in a while. Or protect whom she asks us to till they get to them.”

“See?” A faint memory of Zoe’s glaring, disgusted face resurfaced in my mind. “Oh, that’s why Zoe was more on board with you than me in the beginning. I guess they interact with Satyrs. I had to threaten her to let me go on the quest to rescue Artemis and Annabeth.”

“Someone say my name?” Annabeth walked up to us with the rest of the quest members, her eyes darting from Grover to me. “What’s up between you two?”

“Yeah, you two have been weird since yesterday.” Thalia agreed. “What did goat boy do?”

“Why do you assume I did something?” Grover bleated.

I rolled my eyes. “We were talking about the quest on Othrys. Nothing else. Right now, we’ve a quest to undertake. A dangerous one. So, is everyone ready?”

As the group mumbled in affirmation or nodded, Annabeth stepped forward.

“I just need to get Grover a few things and last-minute details,” Annabeth removed a small remote from her pocket, adjusting its dial. “Grover, this is a signalling remote. Once you’re ready to set the device up, press the button. It’ll send a message to us and begin a thirty-five-second countdown. You’ll have five seconds to switch on the device— more than enough to press a couple of buttons. Remember: Press the white button to start it and then hold the plus button till the bar goes full. Close the panel, and flip the cloaking switch.”

“Understood.” He nodded. “I will remember.”

“Good. You'll have only thirty seconds to get to cover and regroup with Bianca in the forest. Once Thalia makes her move, you two will make your way around, convincing nature spirits to block the paths of escape for monsters. If we need help, you two will enter the field. If things go south with the monsters, or many remain even after the initial attacks, initiate the Panic.”

“I have already prayed for it. I sense that Pan approves.”

“Great. Remember, you’ll only have thirty seconds before Thalia fires the arrow. Get cover without fail, or you’ll be in a terrible situation. Likely dead.” Annabeth gave him a piercing look, and Grover gulped. “Don’t go too far in. We don’t want you to be spotted. Thirty seconds in, the field will activate, blocking all teleportation, and we’ll attack. The rest of us will get in position in the meantime. But it depends all on you, Grover.”

“No pressure then,” Grover mumbled.

“To honor eternal.” Clarisse saluted, thumping her fist to her chest. “To glory and immortality. To war.”

“Do you just come up with these war quotes? Do Ares children have a book on those? Or like posters?” Thalia asked. “Because I swear, even Phoebe rattles some of those off.”

“Come on, Sparky. We’ve a mission.” Clarisse marched off to the car, and Thalia sighed, before following.

“Good luck, G-man,” I clapped him on his shoulder. “Stay safe and keep the shield handy.”

He held up the watch on his wrist— the one Tyson had made me, which usually rested in my bag, gathering dust, much like most of my backup weapons. “I will.”

Grover tugged Annabeth’s cap onto his head and disappeared from view. I felt him trudge away and cleared my throat. “Grover, you’re forgetting Bianca.”

“Oh, shit.” Grover reappeared, glancing at Bianca with embarrassment. “My bad.”

“Disappear only when you’re going out into their territory.” Bianca huffed. 

“Sorry.”

“Just get into position.” Annabeth glared at them, and they rushed away. “Nico, get ready, it is going to be a long swim.” 

“No, it isn’t. Son of Poseidon, remember?” I snorted. “Also, we all should give Grover and Bianca a five-minute head start at least. It is a lot farther and slower on foot.”

“True.” Annabeth turned, watching as my car flew up, disappearing into thin air. “But they’re off. And they’ve a location on all of us to ensure proper execution. Though we’d rather not wake the sea monster up before the attack begins.”

“So, we just sit here?” Nico asked. 

“For five minutes, yeah,” I said, stepping into the water. “I’m going to be underwater till then. Sense out if there’s any other trouble and ensure there isn’t some other trap waiting for us in there. Like one of the sea gods.”

I dove in, drifting to the bottom, feeling the slight currents in the vast lake and the fish and aquatic life around.

A small presence, somewhat powerful, drifted all around, barely aware or reacting to my presence. The lake’s nymph, or a minor lake god, seeing that it was a vast lake.

#Not much around.# Alexander commented as my senses brushed against a monster. #Except the sea serpent. Hard scales, so you’d have to aim for the soft parts. Or, you know? Stab hard.#

‘I’ve dealt with sea serpents before. I will kill it. Stab it hard and a bit of Greek fire always does the trick.’ I looked around, willing the water to shroud my presence. ‘You sense anything beyond what I do?’

#Not yet. If it is a trap, it is not at all an obvious one.#

‘Right.’ I sighed. ‘Do you think we should unlock a bind on my sword?’

#If necessary, we’ll do it on the field. Doing it right now will be unnecessarily reckless and a waste. Unlocking a bind would refresh you too, to an extent. Enough to get you back in shape and get rid of any tiredness or minor injuries. Even give you a boost to allow you to land a devastating blow.#

‘I see. I don’t think the serpent would be a problem anyway. It is big and ancient and whatever but, well, I have a very pointy and powerful trident. And Greek fire, which is lethal to monsters, especially if injected into their brains like a blast. And I’d be in water, which would compensate for anything else.’

#It isn’t sea water, but it does work decently enough.# Alexander gave me a mental shrug. #Speaking of which, that’s your queue. Five minutes are up.#

‘They are?’

As I asked, I felt two demigods enter the water from above and glanced up to see Annabeth and Nico swim in, wearing a device over their faces like divers wore. I kicked myself up, swimming toward them, grabbing onto their arms.

I gave them a nod before willing the water to propel us forward, and we shot through the lake, leaving behind a trail of bubbles and nothing more.

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Sunlight shimmered far above, the light of Annabeth’s timer gleaming against the dark waters around our bubble of air as Nico, Annabeth, and I crouched behind a jagged outcrop at the bottom of the lake, waiting for the timer to be started by Grover. 

Nico peered from the gap between the rocks, his leg trembling above the small ledge in the rock, while his knuckles were white against the stone. And I knew what he was looking at.

About a quarter mile ahead, the sea serpent that had been detected by my car lay coiled like a sleeping python, its massive, dragon-like head resting atop a disturbingly cube-shaped boulder. Thick bubbles rose from its snout, and the gills along its neck flared with every breath.

The serpent was enormous—easily over a hundred yards long, with the girth of a commercial airliner. Its scales gleamed like wet armor, broken by ridges of jagged spikes that jutted along its spine. The tail, shaped like a spearhead, curled up from the coils, twitching occasionally.

“Maybe an assault from underwater wasn’t the best idea.” Nico jumped down, nearly stumbling in the wet silt. “That thing out there is huge, and the two of us are useless while we are underwater.”

“Not exactly if you have the right tools and materials,” Annabeth said absently, removing a silver arrow from her quiver and spinning it between her fingers. “Specially designed to shoot targets underwater and explode. So I can do a decent bit, but nothing that’d actually kill that thing. I could get its attention if needed. Not that it’ll be. Percy, you can handle that, right?”

I shrugged. “It is a bit more dragon-ish than the sea-serpents I’ve killed before, but doesn’t seem much different. I once killed three sea serpents hell bent on turning me into monster chow, in less than a minute. This one’s asleep. So, I’ll say there’s a good chance I might kill this one before it even knows I’m there. I’ll certainly try that.”

“What’s the chance it’ll sense you approaching in its sleep?”

“This is technically a hunt. I’ve learned stealth from the Goddess of the hunt, and this is my domain.” I paused. “Not to mention, compared to that thing, I am basically the size of a fly.”

“Seeing how many flies I have swatted away, that is not reassuring,” Nico murmured.

“Once I stab it with my trident, it is just a matter of channeling Greek fire to melt its brains.” I glanced at the stream of bubbles that shot from the serpent’s snout. “And if not that, I can chuck a Greek-fire grenade up its nose. Greek fire happens to be very lethal to monsters, especially when injected into their brains. And a blast, even more so. It’s a bit tiring, but I've got practice and power to spare, especially when I’m in water.”

Nico nodded. “I suppose that’d help. My father said something similar about channeling the Death’s Touch.” As I raised an eyebrow, he sighed. “I couldn’t learn it in time, but he said that if I have an absolutely deadly intent toward my opponent or I am desperate, like really desperate, it’ll work. The ability takes a toll, though, so it is a last resort.”

“You’re still young. Demigods develop more abilities and gain more power as they age. I’m sure you will too.” I waved him off. “Your sister has used that ability before, I think. She reduced a few very deadly and tough to kill skeletons to ash with one single stab.”

“The Spartoi,” Annabeth said. “Thalia told me about them. Only Percy and Bianca could kill them, and Percy did it by crushing their skulls. Though I thought that stabbing only worked on the undead.”

“It is easiest to work on the undead. But it works on monsters and mortals too— Dad’s can work on gods too, which is scary if you think about it. The problem is that the more powerful the target is, the more tiring it gets.” 

“The greater the ability, the greater the price.” Athena’s words rolled off my tongue. “And it is always better to stick to what you can do and do it well.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Nico muttered, glancing sharply as the timer in Annabeth’s hand beeped. “So, do you need us to do anything? Or is the plan to go solo?”

“For the sea serpent? Unless things go very wrong, I’d prefer that the two of you stay back until I kill it.” I cracked my knuckles, letting my armor drape over me as my trident appeared in my hand and the warrior’s helm formed on my head. “Annabeth?”

“Twenty-five seconds.”

“Good enough,” I said before diving into the water. “Keep your distance till I kill it.”

With a push, I shot toward the serpent, willing the water to cloak me, willing myself to disappear in the waves. I swam up, careful to let my will manipulate my movements rather than my feet as I rose higher than the serpent was. 

Carefully, I positioned myself several feet above the dragonic head, hovering and letting my power trickle down the length of the Thyella Kavalaris. The tips of the trident glowed with a faint sheen of sea green as I zeroed in on my target, extending my senses as I did.

Just as I had anticipated, I felt power brush against it. The power of the skies and lightning, mingled with the achingly familiar power that I always felt from Artemis. As the silver-blue light shone across the lake, glinting across the scales of the serpent, I shot down like a meteor, angling my trident at the right angle, pouring my power down its shaft, and my trident’s tips lit up with Greek fire.

The creature’s eyes shot open, snake-like thin slits darting up the sea of orange iris, and it began to raise its head. Unfortunately for the sea serpent, it was too late as my trident sank through the skull as I landed, the impact slamming the draconic head onto the rock. 

“To Pan,” I whispered, unleashing the power gathered on the trident. 

An explosion of Greek fire tore through the sea serpent’s head, cracking the stone below while the water around me boiled, the force reflecting back up. Time seemed to slow down as I felt it, and let my body be dragged with it, shooting up the lake. 

At the same time, I extended my senses, checking up on Annabeth and Nico, ensuring the blast hadn’t hurt them and willing the water to shield them, so it remained that way. 

My head broke the surface of the water, and I went airborne, while water tore through the lake’s shore below, drowning hellhounds and Dracaena. I glanced around, taking in the monster-dust riddled battlefield as I slowed in mid-air. 

Several scores of monsters still lived, running away from scorched craters where silver light shone— Thalia’s work, and Artemis’ too, in a way.  Yet they were far fewer than I had expected. Out of the seven hundred, I was willing to bet there were fewer than half left. Perhaps only a third.

As I plummeted, I willed the water to rise, using it to slide down to the ground safely, before rolling to my feet.

Above me, gunfire roared, raining down on the far edge of the field. But I barely paid it heed as I strode through the field, toward where I felt the greatest power— the two Titans who stood by the forge, looking around widely.

Even from a distance, I could see them almost clearly. Astraeus was a tall man, with long raven hair and pale skin, covered in a shining armor that shimmered, almost twinkling like stars. Next to him, Asteria stood, her hair a shade of silvery-blonde that flowed, while her white eyes stared around at the destruction being wrought.

“ASTERIA. ASTRAEUS.” I bellowed, my voice thundering over the roar of gunfire and screams of monsters. “I give you one chance!” My trident turned to a sword, and I leveled the blade in their direction without breaking my stride. “Surrender or die!”

From across the field, their heads snapped toward me, one pair widening while the other narrowed. Raising his hand, Astraeus snapped his fingers, and I prepared myself as I felt a wave of power roll across the shore. 

Instead of touching me, it wove around and suddenly, as if bound, every single monster stopped dead in their tracks, snapping up in attention like a well-trained army. 

Being trained by Alexander, Athena, and Ares, I recognized what it was immediately. The War command— without the command part. Somehow, Astraeus was commanding the army of monsters like he owned them

“By the will of the Titan Lord,” Astraeus’ whisper echoed, ringing in my ears, even while the explosions rocked the battlefield. “Kill the boy.”

As one, the monsters turned and charged toward me, pulling their weapons out, unbothered by the attacks from above. 

‘What the hell? Is Astraeus a god of war too?’ I prepared myself, drawing on the water behind me, just as I felt Annabeth and Nico emerge from the lake. My heart pummeled. ‘Can’t let him hurt my friends either way. So he’ll die all the same before he can get to my friends. I won’t put them in any more danger than I have to.’

I let cold fury well in my heart and seized the waters, thrusting my sword out while drawing every bit of heat from the tide. As the water shot out, it froze into shards of ice that swept across the charging army, piercing through several monsters.

Heat welled on the edge of my blade, the power thrumming as fire from the craters and burning bushes was pulled to my sword, burning monsters in the way.

A silver arrow whizzed past me, exploding on the chest of a charging Laistrygonian Giant, reducing him to dust. In the next second, the ground rumbled and skeletal hands erupted, pulling a charging group of cyclopes— each about ten feet tall— into the ground and swallowing them with a crunch.

Which meant Nico and Annabeth had entered the field and not only had they entered, but were already on their way to kicking monster ass.

“Percy, get the Titans, we’ll watch your back and sides!” Annabeth shouted from behind, as I saw another silver arrow pierce through the heads of three Dracaena who were stepping in my way, all of whom exploded into monster dust.

‘Better monsters than Titans.’ I tapped my watch, and Coeus’ shield spiralled onto my arm. From afar, I felt power gather and zeroed in on it.  ‘Asteria seems to be doing something. I can feel the power.’

Pushing energy in my legs, I barrelled forward, toward Asteria and Astraeus to stop whatever the two were planning.

Now, the fastest of mortals, after years of training and world records, could run at about twenty-seven miles an hour. An average, untrained demigod of an Olympian, one without any great power, could match the same with a little desperation. And if they were the children of Hermes? They could probably run twice as fast without any training.

Me? I was neither average nor untrained. I was the son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three, and I had trained for years to push my limits. To be faster and better. 

Thus, when I sprinted, my speed was closer to that of a sports car as I ran across the ground, covering the distance between myself and the Titans in seconds as the wind shrieked past my ears. 

Asteria stood pressed against a wall, her blank, white eyes glowing as an orb of pure starlight gathered in her arms— something that made all the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

#She’s summoning something. Stop her!#

Mid-step, I spun around and threw my shield like a frisbee, straight at her.

In the blink of an eye, Astraeus stepped in the way, knocking the shield out of the path with his spear, sending it crashing into the forge’s wall.

“You’ve interfered for far too long, boy. Not—” He stopped short as I leveled my sword at him and unleashed all the fire I had gathered in a colossal burst of flames that rocketed toward Astraeus, who didn’t even have the time to move before being swallowed by the flames.

Without missing a beat, I darted forward, bringing my sword down, ready to kill the titan. Instead, a spear blocked my sword with a ringing gong, as my sword arm trembled from the force.

Astraeus emerged unscathed, his body flickering as he sneered. “As I was saying, not today.”

With incredulous ease, he pushed me away, thrusting his spear at my abdomen, which I parried, gritting my teeth.

#I don’t remember him being remotely this good. Then again, I barely knew him.# Alexander muttered.

‘He’ll die all the same.’

I attacked, my sword meeting his spear in a flurry of slashes, all of which he parried while behind him, the orb of starlight grew and was now the size of a small boulder.

#Take Asteria down. You can kill Astraeus later. Push him away and disrupt whatever she’s doing. She’s unfocused, so just run your sword through her.#

I gave him a mental nod and moved forward like water flowing between rocks, channeling as much power as I could into my fist— my earthquake powers. 

In Ares’ words, if a bastard made your job hard, you better ensure you make his life equally hard.

And a punch with the power to shake cities to the chest would do that. It had, in Ares’ case and landed him in Apollo’s care for two straight weeks when I had tried it on him during our spars.

I caught Astraeus’ spear in a deadlock and jabbed my fist at his chest, ready to be done with him.

Instead, he caught my fist with his free hand, causing a sound like a large thunderclap to echo through the shore, the shockwaves sending monsters sprawling.

Astraeus didn’t even wince.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered.

Astraeus smiled. “For Astraeus, yes. For me?”

The body changed, the hand around my fist growing in size as the whitish-blue eyes turned to a cruel, cold obsidian. The long hair faded into a crisp, military cut as the man became larger, grinning savagely in satisfaction as I felt my heart plummet.

“We meet again, son of Poseidon,” Atlas rumbled. “And this time, there’s no moon goddess to save you.”

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter!

Yes, it is Atlas. The General of the Titans. The Titan of strength and endurance. Percy's titanic counterpart, who gives everyone nightmares. Not to mention, the only Titan whom Percy had to run from (and hand the fight to Artemis).

And he is back and out for blood! Stay tuned to read ahead!

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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!

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