-Percy-
His horror at the thought of the General using Sparti caused him to freeze for a few crucial seconds, enough time for the twelve skeletal demons to escape the dirt as translucent flesh, armor, and weapons appeared on their bony forms. The first of the skeletons that had emerged, which seemed somewhat the leader of the group, turned and eyed him with a gaze that seemed half speculative and half wary before the general snapped his fingers, causing all twelve skeletons to turn to the sound and an Espousal to drop down a piece of silvery cloth that, to his horror, was part of one of Zoe's parkas that had been torn up the night before. He had thought it was just a jealous camper from the Athena or Aphrodite cabins at first but not…he knew there was a traitor still at camp.
Just before the general could grab hold of the cloth to have the Sparti begin tracking Zoe he shot forward and grabbed the cloth, using the crowd's momentary surprise to kick of the general's nose for momentum, breaking it and causing the Titan to bring his hand's to the damaged feature with a yell, tearing off part of his own silver jacket with the motion causing him to curse but he kept on running, not giving the Sparti any advantage in hunting him.
Running through the mall he burst into the Air and Space Museum, using bursts of shadow travel along with his running to seamlessly get to the other questers without being seen. Once inside he saw them on the top floor balcony as he immediately shadow traveled up to them, "We need to get out of here." He ordered the moment he stepped out of the shadow causing them to jump in shock.
"Jeeze Percy," Katie complained, holding a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath from being caught off guard "what's…".
The daughter of Demeter was cut off by a loud roar causing him to look down and curse, "Is that?!" Thalia exclaimed in terror.
"The Nemean Lion," he growled in anger "Luke and the General sent it to distract us so that his dozen Sparti will have enough time to catch us.".
"SPARTI?!" Zoe yelled, barely able to be heard over the screaming mortals who apparently saw the Nemean Lion as a normal Lion.
Cursing he shoved the torn piece of Zoe's parka into her hand "A traitor at camp sent this so they could track you, I stole it and broke the General's nose but they managed to get part of my jacket so now they're after me. I'll hold of Garfield here while you guys get out!". Not even bothering to wait to see if they obeyed his order he got onto the balcony ledge and leapt off, screaming a battle cry as he kicked off the different shuttles and delivered an axe kick to the top of the Lion's head, staggering the massive beast.
Leaping back from the swipe of the creature's claws he summoned Riptide and used it to parry the Lion's slashes while trying to figure out a plan on how to kill it. "HEY YOU!" he heard just as he leapt to the side to avoid a viscous bite from the monster causing both him and his opponent to turn to see the others charging the Lion, weapon's drawn.
Katie was the first to get there but she failed to notice a piece of wreckage from the gate the lion had crashed through on the ground causing her to trip before the lion slammed her aside with a massive swat from its paw, knocking her into the wall unconscious as her sword tore apart a water fountain.
"Katie!" Castor cried out in fear, running over to the fallen girl, cradling her fallen form, completely oblivious to everything else, including the lion that had decided to prowl towards the pair.
Snarling in rage he shadow traveled in front of the fallen duo causing the lion to pause for a moment, eyeing him warily. Using that moment he reached behind him and ripped Katie's sword from the fountain, allowing a fount of water to burst forth and empower him with each drop of liquid touching his body soaking in and strengthening him as he shot forward with a burst of speed, striking the lion in the temple with the pommel of the sword to daze it before he leapt onto its back and began chocking it.
Slowly but surely the Lion's thrashes began to weaken till it collapsed and dissolved into gold dust, leaving behind the fangs, talons, and the pelt. Scooping up the spoils he saw the Sparti forcing their way through the terrified crowd causing him to curse. Pulling Castor to his feet he and the son of Dionysus picked up Katie and ran to their van, followed by Zoe and Thalia who jumped in after them as Zoe pulled out and the car shot down the road, and away from the Sparti.
"Katie." Castor whispered softly, the son of Dionysus running his fingers through the girl's hair.
Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder he focused in some healing magic from the water that still soaked the group, just enough that she was awake and could hear but not enough to allow her to interact just yet, "You love her, don't you?" he asked softly, causing Castor to jump slightly in surprise before looking away, blushing brightly.
"Yeah," the demigod said softly, still running his fingers through the girl's hair, no clue that she was able to hear him "but she'd never feel the same way about me. She's the daughter of Demeter, one of the first generation of the Olympians and one of the strongest. And even without that she's amazing, she's beautiful, caring, she's…she's better than I deserve.".
"What do you mean?" he asked confused as he noticed that Katie was fully awake but was keeping quiet to hear what Castor would say.
"I love my Dad," Castor said slowly "and my brother, but I know what we are. My father is the god of madness, wine, and revelry. Most of my father's children become alcoholics, heavy partiers, drug users, or simply go insane…how can I try and pursue her when I know what I am?".
He never got a chance to try and convince his friend otherwise as Katie opened her eyes and used Castor's shock to lean up and kiss the son of Dionysus tenderly. Quickly he got up and walked to the front of the fan "Hey," he said as he leaned between Zoe and Thalia's seats "Castor and Katie are in the back…settling a situation.". When Thalia looked like she was about to ask for more details he continued "Don't ask me because it's not my story to tell and don't ask them either, if they decide to tell you then they will.".
Thalia looked like she was about to argue the point but a glare from both him and Zoe shut her up, "Fine," the daughter of Zeus huffed "but can you at least explain what happened at the Museum?".
Sighing he explained what he saw and blushed when he admitted that he had used a spell his mom had taught him to send the dozen kittens to one of his sisters with a note explaining what they were as he wanted to raise them and see what they would turn into. "Only you Percy," Zoe said with an amused shake of her head "only you.".
"But what were those things chasing us?" Thalia asked "You called them what? Sparti?".
"They're spirits of war and carnage given flesh," he said softly "birthed when a dragon's tooth is planted and watered with an elixir that's main ingredient is freshly spilt human blood. Sparti can only be killed by a child of an underworld deity or one who had both the blessing of one along with a Stygian Iron weapon. I may have been given a blessing from Hades when I…after the Quest to get Grandfather's bolt but I don't have any Stygian Iron weapons or enough time to get one made to use. We can break them apart and give us time to escape while they pull their skeletal bodies back together. The only way we can kill them is if we succeed in the quest and get Nico, Bianca, and my mother out.".
He noticed the skin around Thalia's eyes tense at Bianca's name and he felt a pang inside at the reaction, that he saw even more of what Bianca had been talking about before. Before he could continue he heard the whirring of helicopter blades above the van. Sticking his head out the window he looked up and cursed "Another Copter from the Titan mercenaries!" he called inside "We need to lose them!".
"Well they don't exactly have to deal with DC traffic!" Zoe yelled back as she swerved into a different lane.
Noticing something he pointed and yelled "THERE! THE SUBWAY!".
Nodding Zoe drove into the Subway parking lot and parked quickly before opening the door and bursting out, followed by himself, Thalia, Castor, and Katie, the son of Dionysus and Daughter of Demeter both looking disheveled.
They ran inside the subway and got tickets on the only train leaving quickly, one heading south, and boarded, watching the helicopter circling the parking lot as the train pulled away. After a few minutes though the sound of the helicopter blades started picking up. They changed trains twice more before they lost the helicopter but when they got off they found they were at the end of the line in some sort of industrial area that had nothing but warehouses and railroad tracks.
Shaking his head he shouldered his bag, noticing how much closer Castor and Katie were, before pulling out his compass and began walking west.
YOU ARE READING
Son of the Moon
FanfictionBy:silverboar Sally Jackson dies when Percy is a baby and he is taken in by the most unlikely of goddesses and raised by her and her hunters. This is his story. (Published with permission)
