A One Way Trip (Dancing With Death part 2)

The Big Friendly Giant

"Are you sure about this?" Eliza whispered to Annabeth. "We're following a titan through Tartarus; and now he knows who he really is."

Annabeth sighed. "He has Percy. We don't have much of a choice."

"Fair point." Eliza agreed. "But after that?"

Annabeth stared at Bob's back, where a skeletal kitten - Little Bob - had curled up on his shoulder. "He hasn't attacked us yet. Besides, he knows where he's going. We don't."

"Exactly," Eliza protested. "He could be leading us into a trap."

"If he does, we can handle it." Annabeth assured. "We do have a goddess on our side."

Eliza sighed. "Fine, we'll stick with the titan, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Annabeth nodded and they continued in silence.

Up ahead a small pocket of light revealed a house constructed of bones and a single tree with a massive skull biting the trunk.

Eliza froze, staring at the leafless tree. So things could grow down here.

Suddenly, a huge reptilian mass lurched out of the shadows towards them. Just before the Maeonian Drakon reached them, a giant man grabbed it by the neck and threw it aside, sending it rolling across the rocky earth.

They watched in shock as the giant brawled with the drakon, finally ripping the tree from the ground and stabbing it through the beasts's lower jaw. He finished off the monster and gathered up the meat that was left behind.

He faced Bob. "This is a dangerous place for visitors. Come inside."
                                     *   *   *
The giant - Damasen - stood by the fire, stirring a Drakon stew.

Eliza watched him carefully, expecting him to attack at any moment. Instead, he simply made his stew and tended to Percy, who was lying on the massive bed.

Damasen turned to the others, his eyes settling on Eliza. "You do not trust me."

She held his gaze. "Should I?"

He sighed. "I suppose not, but I will not hurt you. I am a healer, not a fighter."

"You fought the Drakon." Eliza noted.

"That is my curse." He lamented. "I cannot avoid fighting the Drakon. If I could choose, I wouldn't, but here we are." He eyed her curiously. "I sense I'm not the only one here with a curse."

Eliza locked eyes with the giant. "You would be right, but forgive me if I don't Trust you with something so personal."

He chuckled. "Fair enough. The two of you should get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you."
* * *
Eliza lay awake, her mind swirling with too much information. Damasen wasn't like the other giants she'd met, but he was still a giant. Just like Bob was still a titan.

She wanted to smack herself for putting them in a box, but she couldn't help it. Something inside her kept screaming that this was wrong, that she shouldn't associate with giants and titans, let alone trust them.

But these two had proven themselves. It wasn't like she'd voluntarily put her life in their hands, but she trusted them to be there, to help however they could, especially Bob. Despite knowing who he was, the titan hadn't betrayed them. He was still Bob. And despite how Eliza had been treating him, he still called her 'friend'.

She sighed and rolled over to face the fire. Bob and Damasen had finally fallen asleep. The two had stayed up late discussing Death Mist and the difficulty of getting it. Damasen had urged Bob to forget about it, to let the half-bloods figure it out on their own, but Bob had stood up for them. After everything that had happened and everything he'd figured out, he still wanted to help.

She couldn't help but smile. No, he definitely wasn't like any other titan she had ever met.
* * *
Eliza was surprised she'd actually slept. Her mind had been racing with so many thoughts, so many questions and suspicions, she didn't think it was possible, but she'd woken up to a crackling fire and the smell of stew boiling over the flames.

Damasen still refused to help them, no matter how adamantly Annabeth held to the idea that the line "foes bear arms to the Doors of Death" meant the five of them going together.

Outside, they heard a bellowing voice shouting in the darkness. Polybotes was getting closer. They had to move.

Bob led them back into the shadows. He was taking them to someone call Akhlys, who could allegedly shroud them with something called Death Mist. He believed it was the only way to get to the Doors of Death unnoticed.

Suddenly, he stopped. "She's that way."

Percy turned. "You mean you're not coming with us?"

Bob shook his head. "This way is not meant for immortals." He moved his gaze to Eliza.

She faced the others. "Go. We'll find another way around."

"But the Death Mist." Annabeth started.

"Probably wouldn't work on me anyway." Eliza finished. "My aura's to strong to be covered by a cheap trick." She placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "It'll be fine. You'll have each other."

Bob stepped forward and placed his hand on Eliza's shoulder, making her tense up. "And so will we."

Eliza took a deep breath. "Right. We'll see you on the other side."

Annabeth held her gaze. "You promise?"

Eliza pulled them both into a hug. "I swear on the River Styx." She pulled away and watched as they disappeared into the shadows.

A/N
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm suddenly realizing that if I follow my original plan (a.k.a. my only plan) this is going to be a very short book. If it ends up being less than ten chapters should I just added it to Dancing with Death? Or should I scrap the plan to make this a trilogy and just add the third book onto this one?
Also, about the chapter title... I couldn't resist. 😂
Anyway, thank you all for the support.
-Cheshire