SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

81 - cave fighting

BRIAR WAS NO expert on ghosts, but the dead legionnaires must have all been demigods, because they were totally ADHD.

They clawed their way out of the pit, then milled about aimlessly, chest-bumping each other for no apparent reason, pushing one another back into the chasm, shooting arrows into the air as if trying to kill flies, and occasionally, out of sheer luck, throwing a javelin, a sword, or an ally in the direction of the enemy.

Meanwhile, the army of monsters got thicker and angrier. Earthborn threw volleys of stones that plowed into the zombie legionnaires, crushing them like paper. Empousai gnashed their fangs and shouted orders at the other monsters. A dozen Cyclopes advanced on the crumbling bridges, while seal-shaped humanoids — telkhines, right? — lobbed vials of Greek fire across the chasm. There were even some wild centaurs in the mix, shooting flaming arrows and trampling their smaller allies under hoof. In fact, most of the enemy seemed to be armed with some kind of fiery weapon. And, sure, Briar was smoking hot, but she didn't want to literally be on fire.

Behind her, Nico was swinging his black sword with one hand, holding the scepter of Diocletian aloft with the other. He kept shouting orders at the legionnaires, but they paid him no attention.

Briar, Reyna, and Jason stood at Nico's back. Jason summoned gusts of wind to blast aside javelins and arrows. He deflected a vial of Greek fire right up the throat of a gryphon, which burst into flames and spiraled into the pit.

Reyna put her new sword to good use, and looking hot while she was doing it. She'd taken Mars's knife from Briar so she could throw it and it'd come back in her hand like a boomerang, a tactic that they'd done multiple times throughout the years.

Meanwhile, Briar was spraying food from the cornucopia in her hand — using hams, chickens, apples, and oranges as interceptor missiles. The air above the chasm turned into a fireworks show of flaming projectiles, exploding rocks, and fresh produce. In her other hand she had Katoptris, which wasn't that useful in such far quarters, but when the monsters got closer, she definitely used it more.

Still, they couldn't hold out forever. Jason's face was already beaded with sweat. He kept shouting in Latin: "Form ranks!" But the dead legionnaires wouldn't listen to him, either. Some of the zombies were helpful just by standing in the way, blocking monsters and taking fire. If they kept getting mowed down, though, there wouldn't be enough of them left to organize.

Briar cursed under her breath as a wave of Cyclopes crashed into them. She felt Jason's powers deflecting the incoming missiles above her while she commanded the monsters with charmspeak — encouraging them to attack each other or take a refreshing jump into the chasm.

"It'll be fun!" she promised.

A few listened, but across the pit, the empousai were countering her orders. Fuck me, Briar thought, slashing with her knife and yelling at the monsters around her to get away from her. Their stench was about to make her throw up on them.

"Stupid ghosts!" Nico shouted.

"They won't listen!" Jason agreed.

"Cohorts — lock shields!" Frank yelled. Since when was he there?

The zombies around him stirred. They lined up in front of Frank, putting their shields together in a ragged defensive formation. But they were moving too slowly, like sleepwalkers, and only a few had responded to his voice.

"Frank, how did you do that?" Jason yelled.

"I'm the ranking Roman officer," Frank said. "They — uh, they don't recognize you. Sorry."

Jason grimaced, but he didn't look particularly surprised. "How can we help?"

A gryphon soared overhead, almost decapitating Frank with its talons before he could answer. Reyna smacked it with Briar's knife, and the monster veered into a wall.