Of Blood and Darkness

Witch House

The station wasn't far. They were just in time to buy tickets for the last train south. As the others climbed on board, Percy said, "Be with you in a sec," and ran back into the station.

He didn't return until the train whistle sounded, and the conductor shouted, "All aboard!"

He made it just in time, and slid into his seat.

Hazel frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he croaked. "Just...made a call."

They didn't ask for any more details, although Valen could guess who he would've called.

Soon they were heading south along the coast, watching the landscape go by. Bald eagles soared overhead. The train raced over bridges and along cliffs where glacial waterfalls tumbled thousands of feet down the rocks. They passed forests buried in snowdrifts, big artillery guns to set off small avalanches and prevent uncontrolled ones, Hazel explained, and lakes so clear that they reflected the mountains like mirrors; the world looked upside down.

Brown bears lumbered through the meadows. Hyperborean giants kept appearing in the strangest places. One was lounging in a lake like it was a hot tub. Another was using a pine tree as a toothpick. A third sat in a snowdrift, playing with two live moose like they were action figures. The train was full of tourists oohing and ahhing and snapping pictures.

"What are you thinking?" Percy asked.

"Just...possibilities," Frank said.

Valen closed his eyes, taking in the ambient mana. He would need it in the battle to come. He did so for an hour, before a disturbance in the mana blossomed. He spread out his shadow sense.

His eyes snapped open, "We have company."

Then a shadow passed overhead. Tourists murmured in excitement and started taking pictures.

"Eagle!" one yelled.

"Eagle?" said another.

"Huge eagle!" said a third.

"That's no eagle," Frank said.

"That's a gryphon," Valen said.

Percy looked up just in time to see the creature make a second pass. It was definitely larger than an eagle, with a sleek black body the size of a Labrador retriever. Its wingspan was at least ten feet across.

"There's another one!" Frank pointed. "Strike that. Three, four. Okay, we're in trouble."

"There's an entire flock." Valen said, waving his hand and covering them in a dome of shadows.

Then several things happened at once. The emergency brake screeched, pitching them forward. Tourists screamed and tumbled through the aisles. The monsters swooped down, shattering the glass roof of the car, and the entire train toppled off the rails.

The dome protected them from most of the damage, before shattering and throwing them on the frozen ground.

A gryphon descended upon them, its claws opened towards them. A spike of stygian iron dust skewered it inches from Percy's face, and it turned to golden dust. The iron pulsed black as it ate up the essence of the monster.

Valen pushed himself off the ground, the iron dust returning to his hand, "You alright?"

Percy nodded in thanks, standing up and uncapping Riptide. A few feet away, Frank stabbed his spear into the ground, and broke off the tip. The ground trembled, and a skeleton hand broke through the surface. Hazel made a sound like a cat with a hairball, and Percy held his sword up threateningly.