Dancing with Death

"That's Not How the Legion Sees It."

"Well, that was quite the scene." Annabeth stood in the doorway.

Eliza lay on her bed, refusing to meet Annabeth's gaze. "Please go away." She clutched her pillow in her shaking fists.

"No." Annabeth strode into the room and sat on the edge of Eliza's bed. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

Eliza scoffed and rolled over. "I almost skewered Jason in the face, and you're asking what's wrong?" Her voice broke as she held back her tears.

Annabeth sighed. "You were upset before that." She gave her a knowing look. "Or do you make a habit of kicking training dummies into the Atlantic Ocean?"

Eliza rolled over to face the wall.

"Eliza please." Annabeth pleaded. "You can't just bottle it all up. That never ends well."

Eliza squeezed her eyes shut, biting back tears. She didn't respond. How could she? Annabeth would never understand. She was a monster.

The daughter of Athena finally released a long breath and stood. "If you change your mind, I'm here for you." She walked out, closing the door behind her.

Eliza curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest and letting her tears stream down her face. Sobs shook her body. Why was she here? She wasn't one of the Seven. So far, she'd been a distraction - one more problem to fix.

But where else was she supposed to go? Camp Half-blood had bigger problems to deal with right now; and the Romans thought she was a monster. Against her will, Jamie's face flashed into her mind. Maybe they were right.

"Are we going to talk about what happened up there?" Jason's voice broke through her derailing thoughts.

Eliza curled tighter into herself.

"Eliza." He walked over to the bed, standing directly in her view.

She buried her face in her knees.

Jason knelt beside the bed. "You're thinking about him aren't you."

Unable to form comprehensive sentences, she nodded.

"Eliza," he tried. "that wasn't..."

"Don't!" She finally moved to meet his gaze. "We both know it was."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away. "You couldn't help it. You were still getting a handle on your powers."

Her voice was weak as she replied. "But I still did it."

Jason grabbed her hand, making her release her hold on her legs. "You have to stop blaming yourself. It was an accident."

"That's not how the legion sees it."

He leveled her with a stern gaze. "You were having a panic attack. You had no control."

"Exactly!" She sat bolt upright. "I still don't have full control. You saw what happened at Fort Sumter. I almost killed them." A sob quaked through her body and she collapsed into Jason's arms. "They're all right about me."

Jason pulled back and grabbed her shoulders. "No. They're not. You are not a monster." He squeezed her shoulders tighter. "You are the closest thing I have ever had to family. Never forget that. You're my family."

Eliza's chest tightened. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. All she could do was shake her head. She pulled out of Jason's grip and walked to the window, hugging herself as she stared through the glass.

She looked away as Jason approached. "I can't... I don't want to hurt you."

Jason gently turned her head to face him, brushing her red-tipped hair out of her face. "You won't."

She forced herself to meet his gaze, tears threatening to spill over. "You don't know that."

"You're right." He admitted. "I don't know, but I do trust you."

"Maybe that's not such a good idea." She squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.

Jason took a deep breath. "Maybe it is, but that doesn't change the fact that I trust you with my life. Nothing will ever change that."

She hung her head, her hair falling back around her face. "Wanna bet."

Jason sighed in exasperation. "Eliza. When will you get into your head, that I will always care about you." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Nothing you do will ever change that." He gave her a quick squeeze and walked out of the room.
                                      *   *   *
Eliza sat on the edge of the bed, the same memory playing on repeat in her mind. Jamie kneeling beside her shaking body, his blonde hair tossed by the breeze. The ground rumbled beneath her. The pressure and panic built up until she finally screamed and massive thorns burst from the ground.

Jamie gasped, drawing her attention. One of the spikes had impaled him through the abdomen. Blood stained his shirt and dripped down the thorn. His piercing brown eyes stared painfully into hers.

Tears blurred her vision as the fear returned, threatening more destruction, more pain, more death.

Out of nowhere, Jason leapt through the giant thorns and dropped to the ground beside her. He wrapped her in a tight hug, squeezing her gently. He didn't say anything. He just sat there holding her, letting her know someone was there.

She broke down as she relived the painful moment over and over. She and Jason had been twelve-years-old. Jamie had been the praetor. Jason took over after... she didn't finish that thought. She'd already gone through it too many times. Jamie was her first victim. That was the birth of the Angel of Death.

Something plowed into the side of the Argo II, throwing her off her bed.

Standing, she raced out of her room and up the stairs. As she reached the upper deck, she found a massive creature that looked like an aquatic centipede.

Eliza stared at the gigantic beast - a scolopendra.

A/N
I'm baaaacckkk!!!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. 😁
- Cheshire