Storm Rising

Chapter 30

Ryker's POV

I hold Leon in front of me I run towards a huge Cyclopes. My throwing knifes are positioned on my shoulders so I can easily throw them at a monster. Pax charges a hellhound, stabbing it in the gut. I focus my attention on the fight in front of me. Swinging Leon in an uppercut, I slice upward on the Cyclopes making him disappear into golden dust. Not even thinking, I grab a throwing knife from my shoulder sheathes and throw it point blank behind me. Throwing a knife into another hellhound, I turn around to see a pile of golden dust with my knife sticking through it.

A dracaena comes at me with her trident out ready to impale me. I parry her strike and stick Leon into a crack in her armor, effectively disintegrating her. She wales loudly as she turns into dust. Two more dracaena that must have been her sisters come at me, jabbing at me from opposite sides. I block the dracaena on the left's strike, while chucking a knife at the scaled dragon woman on the right. I disarm the dracaena and stab her through her neck with her own trident.

Sensing something behind me, I whirl in a one- eighty spin, my sword parallel to the ground. I slice off a huge hellhound's paw. It barks angrily and charges at me, limping ever so slightly. It moves to pounce on me, but I leap to the side and stab the hellhound in it's side.

"Yah!" I give a battle cry. The monsters closest to me have been destroyed, so I take moment catching my breath and looking around. A monster about ten yards away from me disappears for no apparent reason. While still keeping my senses to the battle around me, I look for the source of the death of the monster nearby. I spot a red arrow laying in a pile of dust. From the corner of my eye, I see another red arrow whiz from a tree, striking a Cyclopes near Pax dead.

I'm broken out of my thoughts when a telekhine, one of the sea demons, swings it's sword at me. I block the strike before stabbing the little guy in his back flipper. A circle of monsters starts to enclose me in a tight circle. Before they can render my weapons useless in such close quarters, I jump into the air, do a three sixty, killing all the monsters around me. I spot something pink and white again. A girl, probably the daughter of Aphrodite we're looking for, fights with a celestial bronze dagger. Her loose brown hair whips around her as she fights. I stab another Cyclopes before continuing to watch the girl. She weaves through the monsters like it's a dance. She's light on her feet and her white t-shirt and pink shorts are barely torn. She battles a gryphon about the size of a horse, weaving around it. A manticore slowly begins to creep up on the unsuspecting girl. Leg muscles tensing, it prepares to pounce. Without thinking, I grab two throwing knifes and hurl them at the manticore. The first knife pierces the manticore's back, imbedding itself deeply into the fur. The manticore howls as the second knife pierces it's flesh on it's face. The girl stabs the gryphon in it's chest before spinning around. She notices the two knifes and the pile of dust. Her eyes meet mine in a thank you. I nod before returning to the fight.

There are still a lot of monsters left when an empousa approaches me on her mismatched legs. I instantly raise my guard but empousa has such a winning smile. I become mesmerized in her smile.

"Well, aren't you handsome, little hero," She says.

I stare at her in her beautiful dress.

"Master will be quite proud when he finds I've brought him a special demigod," She soothes as she approaches. My brain screams at me to raise my sword and fight, but I'm frozen. The monster closes the gap between us and she lunges. I see my death leap at me. A knife impales itself into the empousa's side.

"Noooo!" She screeches. I look over to see the girl, knifeless. I nod my thanks to her before throwing the knife back to her. She runs off to kill more monsters.

I grab my fallen knives and I'm about to run back into a upcoming horde of monsters when I three hellhounds sneaking on Pax who's fighting two Cyclops. I yell at Pax but my voice is lost at the sound of the Cyclops roaring in pain and anger. I have a quick desicion, either, run to Pax or run to the horde. I almost choose run to Pax when I have an idea. I summon my lion, Leon and I tell him to help Pax. He immediately races over there and dispatches the hellhounds with three quick swipes.