Spirit of the Panther (House of Hades/Frank Zhang Fanfic)

I. Hallelujah, My Ass

I stood over a cliff, staring down at the hellish land before me. The air was acidic and it was too hot. I was shaking from the falling. I didn't want to be here but I couldn't leave.

I closed my eyes and breathed out. Hecate had the power over the underworld. I could do this. I was strong. Frank had told me that and I believed him because it was true.

The mention of Frank made my heart hurt. His last words to me had made me cry. He had tried so hard to reach me, but he failed.

I stopped myself. I needed to find the Doors of Death. I needed to get out of here. I knew I had almost zero chance of finding Annabeth and Percy down here, but I knew I could find the Door.

Taking a deep breath to harden my nerves, I leaped off the cliff. I felt weightless and I could feel my heart beating wildly. I stretched out my fingers and the winds bent to my will. I landed softly on the ground below me.

I stumbled and landed on the ground. The ground was like bits of glass. There was a lot embedded in my hands. I looked at my hands as they bled. I clenched my hands and all the pieces of glass got pushed out. My hands healed quickly. The perks of being a child of Hecate.

I looked up. I could hear the thousands of voices calling out. I could hear them talking about the Doors of Death. I hardened myself and followed the voices.

I marched on, keeping my eyes forward. I felt myself getting stronger. I was drawing strength from Tartarus. I didn't feel weak or tired. The air wasn't even bothering me.

I was walking for hours before I ran into a monster. It was a gorgon looking thing. It didn't even give me any mind. It just walked by, giving me a grunt and a nod. Either the Mist must be working very well or it saw me as an equal, not just another demigod.

I followed the gorgon for hours, keeping pace with it. It didn't even say anything to me as we walked. Eventually, the gorgon veered off and disappeared. I continued on and stumbled across the barren, horrifying landscape.

I reached out my senses. I could sense the nearby monsters. They were going the same direction I was going. I just needed to follow them. They would lead me in the direction of the Doors of Death.

My mind wandered to what happened when I fell down that chasm. Frank had said he loved me. I said it back and I had promised to come back. His face was so heartbroken when I fell.

Then there was what happened when I was falling down. I had screamed, but it sounded like a panther's roar. I remembered an old legend among Hecate kids that there was a spirit of a panther that bonded with a child of magic. I didn't believe it, but after that, I wasn't too sure now. The spirit hadn't been seen in thousands of years. I couldn't even remember who had it last.

I made it to a river. I was stumbling alone when a large group of monsters came up. I watched them uneasily. Unfortunately, they saw me. But they seemed to fear me more than I feared them.

They all froze in their spots and stared in fright at me. I could hear frightened whispers spreading among them. I could make out very little but I could hear something about the spirit of panther returning. By their reaction, this spirit wasn't something to mess with.

I rolled my shoulders and stood up straight. I could smell the fear rolling off of them in waves. My eyesight sharpened and my hearing grew better. It seemed like my senses got better and better by the second.

I bared my teeth and all the monsters flinched. I took a step towards them and some of them screamed. One of them holds out a sword weakly.

"Stay back," it said, its voice shaking. "We don't want to likes of you around us. We don't want the Spirit around."

"Then get!"

There were murmurs amongst the crowd.

The same monster spoke. "Spirit, we mean no harm. Don't hurt us."

These monsters are terrified of whatever this spirit is. And they talk of it as if it's a name, I thought.

I pointed my dagger at them. "Then go. Get out of my sight. Or you'll regret it."

They seemed to get over their fear and started growling. They rushed for me and I held out my hands to the sides. Purple and blue strings shot out of my hands. The strings shot for the monsters and tore them apart. They didn't last very long.

I fell back and landed on the ground. I stared at my hands, terrified. I was shaking badly. I was terrified of my own skills.

I stood up and almost started crying. I couldn't believe I could do such a thing like that. I took a deep breath and started off again.

My magic senses spiked up. My ears started ringing and the world went trippy. I stabled myself and looked around. I could feel Hecate's presence. I headed for where her presence felt the strongest and I found a doorway.

I could see Hazel and Hecate standing in a grassy area. The vision was black and white, Mist drifting around their ankles. Hecate waved her hand at me and Hazel looked at me, a sad and terrified look on her face. They seemed to have an argument and Hecate waved at me, gesturing for me to come forward.

I stumbled forward and went through the door. I fell through and landed with a thud on the ground. Hazel rushed for me and held my shoulders as the color returned to the world.

"Esmeralda!" Hazel exclaimed, holding my face.

I smiled and placed a hand on Hazel's, breathing in the fresh air. "I'm good. I alright now. No acid air or monsters."

Hazel smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're here. That you're back." She slipped my arm around her shoulders, helping me to my feet. "Let's get you back on the ship. Frank's been missing you a lot."