BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

28.

DESPITE SHEER DUMB luck existing, Eden knew she was probably going to die.

The battle had started well enough. Perfect Jason rolled away from the giant's first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. Perfect Jason's javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor — the blood of immortals, the liquid that should've been running through Eden and wasn't — trickled down the giant's clawed foot. She stood by, waiting for an opportunity to strike because she'd thought that Perfect Jason had the giant handled.

Enceladus bellowed in pain and blasted Perfect Jason with fire. While he'd dodged that, Eden struck behind his knee — scythe, then a round of bullets.

It went on like that for seconds, minutes — it was hard to judge. Eden heard combat across the clearing — construction equipment grinding, fire roaring, monsters shouting, and rocks smashing into metal. She heard Fire Boy and Kaleidoscope yelling defiantly, which meant they were still alive. She tried not to think about it. She couldn't afford to get distracted.

Enceladus's spear missed Perfect Jason by a millimeter. Eden rolled and jabbed the heel of his foot, and he nearly kicked her aside.

"I'm not some minor monster," Enceladus bellowed. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little toothpicks can't kill me."

Eden didn't waste energy replying. She was already tired. The ground clung to her feet, making her feel like she weighed an extra hundred pounds. The air was full of smoke that burned her lungs. Fires roared around her, stoked by the winds, and the temperature was approaching the heat of an oven. Eden's worst enemy was fire that didn't come from her weapons. It weakened her too much, and she'd already done more strikes than Perfect Jason had.

Speaking of him, he raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike — a big mistake. Don't fight force with force, Luke Castellan's voice echoed in her ear, because he'd taught her how to be the most powerful swordman right now. She felt sick as she watched as Perfect Jason deflected the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm probably went numb.

He backed up, almost tripping over a burning log.

"The mighty Jason Grace," the giant taunted. "Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne."

"What are you talking about?" Perfect Jason asked. Then Enceladus breathed fire.

Eden had hit the ground, but he'd had moved too slowly. The blast missed him, but heat blistered his back. He slammed into the ground.

The giant's spear cleaved the ground between his feet.

Perfect Jason managed to stand. He looked at Eden, who nodded, then he charged.

Enceladus let him approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, Perfect Jason faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move.

He swept his spear sideways, met Perfect Jason's javelin — and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.

The explosion was hotter than the giant's breath, blinding Eden with golden light. The force knocked her off her feet and squeezed the breath out of her.

When she regained her focus, she was sitting at the rim of a crater, way far away from Perfect Jason. Enceladus stood at the one of the other sides, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. Eden wasn't sure how she'd survived, probably that sheer dumb luck, but her clothes were steaming. Fucking hell, she'd liked these.