Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕎ar holds no victors

Nicki had been in fights before, but this was a full-scale battle.

The first things out of the Labyrinth were a dozen Laistrygonian giants erupting from the ground, yelling so loudly her ears felt like bursting. They carried shields made from flattened cars, and clubs that were tree trunks with rusty spikes bristling at the end.

Nicki slipped out behind them, flattening herself against a tree out of view. Her veins buzzed impatiently as she carefully charmed protection spells around

One of the giants bellowed at the Ares phalanx, smashed it sideways with his club, and the entire cabin was thrown aside, a dozen warriors tossed to the wind like rag dolls.

"Fire!" Beckendorf yelled. The catapults swung into action. Two boulders hurtled toward the giants. One deflected off a car shield with hardly a dent, but the other caught a Laistrygonian in the chest, and the giant went down.

Apollo's archers fired a volley, dozens of arrows sticking in the thick armour of the giants like porcupine quills. Several found chinks in armour, and some of the giants vaporized at the touch of celestial bronze.

Just when it looked like the Laistrygonians were about to get overwhelmed, the next wave surged out of the maze: thirty, maybe forty dracaenae in full battle armour, wielding spears and nets.

They dispersed in all directions. Some hit the traps the Hephaestus cabin had laid. One got stuck on the spikes and became an easy target for archers. Another triggered a tripwire, and pots of Greek fire exploded into green flames, engulfing several of the snake women. But many more kept coming.

Argus and Athena's warriors rushed forward to meet them. Nicki saw Annabeth draw a sword and engage one of them. Nearby, Tyson was riding a giant. Somehow he'd managed to climb onto the giant's back and was hitting him on the head with a bronze shield.

Chiron calmly aimed arrow after arrow, taking down a monster with every shot. But more enemies just kept climbing out of the maze. Finally a hellhound—not Mrs O'Leary—leapt out of the tunnel and barreled straight toward the satyrs.

"GO!" Chiron yelled at Percy. He drew Riptide and charged. Nicki cursed and took off alongside him, racing parallel to the son of Poseidon.

As she raced across the battlefield, she saw horrible things.

A half-blood was fighting with a son of Dionysus, but it wasn't much of a contest. The enemy stabbed him in the arm then clubbed him over the head with the butt of his sword, and Dionysus's son went down.

Nicki turned away, covering the boy in a protective bubble to ensure he could rest peacefully. She sent burst after burst of magic across the battlefield, attempting to protect as many campers as she physically could.

Another titan warrior shot flaming arrows into the trees, sending Camp's archers and dryads into a panic.

A dozen dracaenae suddenly broke away from the main fight and slithered down the path that led toward camp, like they knew where they were going. If they got out, they could burn down the entire place, completely unopposed.

The only person anywhere near was Nico di Angelo. He stabbed a telekhine, and his black Stygian blade absorbed the monster's essence, drinking its energy until there was nothing left but dust.

"Nico!" Percy yelled. He looked where Percy was pointing, saw the serpent women, and immediately understood.

He took a deep breath and held out his black sword. "Serve me," he called. The earth trembled.

A fissure opened in front of the dracaenae, and a dozen undead warriors crawled from the earth—horrible corpses in military uniforms from all different time periods—U.S. Revolutionaries, Roman centurions, Napoleonic cavalry on skeletal horses. As one, they drew their swords and engaged the dracaenae.