Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝔸rguing with an electrical horse

A wolf launched itself at Jason. He stepped back and swung his borrowed sword into the beast's snout with a satisfying crack. Maybe it didn't feel as right in his hands as his sword, but the celestial bronze weapon still carried a legendary Tylenol headache. 

He turned toward the sound of hooves and saw a storm spirit horse bearing down on him. Jason concentrated and summoned the wind. Just before the spirit could trample him, Jason launched himself into the air, grabbed the horse's smoky neck, and pirouetted onto its back.

 The storm spirit reared. It tried to shake Jason, then tried to dissolve into mist to lose him; but somehow Jason stayed on. He willed the horse to remain in solid form, and the horse seemed unable to refuse. Jason could feel it fighting against him. He could sense its raging thoughts—complete chaos straining to break free. It took all Jason's willpower to impose his own wishes and bring the horse under control. He thought about Aeolus, overseeing thousands and thousands of spirits like this, some much worse. No wonder the Master of the Winds had gone a little mad after centuries of that pressure. But Jason had only one spirit to master, and he had to win. 

"You're mine now," Jason said. The horse bucked, but Jason held fast. Its mane flickered as it circled around the empty pool, its hooves causing miniature thunderstorms —tempests—whenever they touched. "Tempest?" Jason said. "Is that your name?" The horse spirit shook its mane, evidently pleased to be recognized. 

"Sorry to interrupt," Ethan panted. His gaze kept drifting back to where Nicki was protecting Thalia's frozen figure from being assaulted. Nicki's sword hung tightly in his grasp but he still kept it away from his body gingerly. "You can fantasise about being a cowboy later, right now we're a little busy, if that's okay?"

"Fine," Jason said. "Now, let's fight." 

He charged into battle, swinging his borrowed sword, knocking aside wolves and plunging straight through other venti. Tempest was a strong spirit, and every time he ploughed through one of his brethren, he discharged so much electricity, that the other spirit vaporized into a harmless cloud of mist. 

Through the chaos, Jason caught glimpses of his friends. Piper was surrounded by Earthborn, but she seemed to be holding her own. She was so impressive-looking as she fought, almost glowing with beauty, that the Earthborn stared at her in awe, forgetting that they were supposed to kill her. They'd lower their clubs and watch dumbfounded as she smiled and charged them. They'd smile back—until she sliced them apart with her dagger, and they melted into mounds of mud. Ethan was circling her, taking out the Earthborn from behind. He moved layer by layer of the monsters. They were too focused on Piper to care for Ethan's patrolling.

Leo had taken on Khione herself. While fighting a goddess should've been suicide, Leo was the right man for the job. She kept summoning ice daggers to throw at him, blasts of winter air, tornadoes of snow. Leo burned through all of it. His whole body flickered with red tongues of flame like he'd been doused with gasoline. He advanced on the goddess, using two silver-tipped ball-peen hammers to smash any monsters that got in his way. 

Very early into his battle, Leo had called for Nicki in a panic. A call the early responded to immediately. They worked side by side like a well-oiled machine. Leo worked on offense while Nicki focused on defense. Despite Khione's bombardment, the daughter of Hecate never fully took her attention off of Thalia's body or the wellbeing of her questmates.

Jason realized that Leo was the only reason they were still alive. His fiery aura was heating up the whole courtyard, countering Khione's winter magic. Without him, they would've been frozen like the Hunters long ago. Wherever Leo went, the ice melted off the stones. Even Thalia started to defrost a little when Leo stepped near her.