𝟬𝟮𝟰. to love is to sacrifice

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gone girl.
━━━ chapter twenty four

Percy felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach as soon as Annabeth told him that the Apollo cabin needed help. It wasn't just the mention of the Minotaur — one of his least favourite monsters in the planet and one that he associated with the worst memories — but also the thought of Amaryllis being in danger. While he was sure that the girl could protect herself, being powerful and all, he couldn't help but worry about her anyway.

After he was done negotiating with the River gods, he called two Pegasi for him and Annabeth so they could take them there as fast as possible.

Yo, boss. Blackjack, his black pegasus, landed at a trot, his friend Porkpie right behind him. Man, I thought those wind gods were gonna knock us to Pennsylvania until we said we were with you!

"Thanks for coming," Percy told him. "Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?"

Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right. Where to?

"We need to get to the Williamsburg Bridge," he said.

Blackjack lowered his neck. You're darn right, boss. We flew over it on the way here, and it don't look good. Hop on!

They saw the battle before they were close enough to make out individual fighters. It was well after midnight, but the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning. Arcs of fire streamed in both directions as flaming arrows and spears sailed through the air.

The pegasi came in for a low pass, and Percy saw the Apollo campers retreating. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing and of course, the one in front was none other than her.

While he couldn't see her clearly, he could tell that Amaryllis was using her powers to collect debris from the destroyed buildings and roads to throw them to the enemy. She let out a scream that could either be a war cry or a scream of agony and took out half of the dracaenae army with just one move. A wave of pride washed over him and he was about to start cheering for her when he realised that about a hundred more monsters marched behind those. The cheer died in his throat.

"There!" Annabeth called from the back of her pegasus. Sure enough, in the middle of the invading legion was Old Beefhead himself.

The last time Percy had seen the Minotaur, he'd been wearing nothing but his tighty whities. Percy didn't know why — maybe he'd been shaken out of bed to chase him. This time though, he was prepared for battle.

From the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear — a kiltlike apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull — hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. He seemed larger than the last time they seen each other — ten feet tall at least. A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it. As soon as he saw Percy circling overhead (or sniffed him, more likely, since his eyesight was bad), he bellowed and picked up a white limousine.

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