Annabeth Chase and the Last Olympian

Chapter 15 - Who puts poison on a knife?

Nothing stops a wild pursuit quite like the sight of a Titan. 

As the Apollo campers caught sight of the group and who was leading them, they faltered, unease rising among them. The monsters they'd been pursuing merged into the group. The enemy demigods drew their swords and charged.

"Now, we pull back," Percy said.

A volley of arrows knocked several of the horsemen down, but there were just too many to stop with the limited supplies we had left. And the skeletal horses were fearless, charging even as Percy twirled his sword at them.

"Retreat!" he yelled to us as he stood fast. "I'll hold them!"

As the Apollo campers ran back, I charged forward, reaching Percy's side just as the horseman crashed upon us. They quickly circled us so I pressed myself to Percy's side, the two of us back to back. I had my mirrored shield on my arm and I used it to deflect several sword attacks, trying to knock them off balance so I could lash out with my knife. While it was slightly unwieldy, it made it easier to defend myself against such great numbers.

Percy had no such hindrance. He was straight back into the groove of fighting, moving faster than I'd ever seen him before. Except this time, he wasn't trying to kill the enemy. These weren't monsters but demigods, even though they were trying to kill us just the same. Instead, we focused on wounding them, enough to get them out of the fight. I tried not to look too closely at their faces, worried that if I recognised them, then it might make it harder for me to injure them. That had never caused me a problem with Percy, but this was slightly different. 

After several of their mounts being disintegrated as we slashed their legs, the demigods decided it was better to dismount and fight us on foot. I used my shield to smash their helmets in, knocking several of them unconscious and battering them away from us. Behind me, I could see Percy kicking them over so they tripped the demigods coming in behind them. 

I ducked behind my shield to deflect a high sword strike that was coming for my head, only to see a black hoof kick the demigod in the head. Glancing up briefly, I saw that Blackjack and Porkpie were circling over head, swooping to to distract our attackers and keep their attention away from killing us. 

We were making good progress, the circle of demigods around us gradually growing smaller even as we drew closer to the middle of the bridge, when that weird sensation came back. It surged through me so strongly that I had to gasp for air, like someone had sucker punched me. The feeling that something bad was going to happen was nearly overwhelming. 

Out of my peripherals, I saw a demigod rise just behind Percy, a knife aimed at his back. I don't know why I did it; maybe it was because I still didn't trust in the Achilles curse, or maybe it was because of that weird sensation, but instinct caused me to lunge forward. I threw my arm up to block the stroke, my body in front of Percy's, and the knife sliced into my upper arm. 

Immediately, pain shot through my body and I screamed. It was like fire was coursing through my veins. I heard Percy yell my name, but it felt like it was coming from far away. I fell to the ground, clutching my arm, pain nearly overwhelming my senses. Black spots danced in front of my eyes and I had the urge to vomit. 

I sensed Percy step over me, the demigod who'd tried to stab him falling back as Percy slammed his sword hilt into his face. 

"Get back!" I heard Percy yell, fear crackling in his voice. Vaguely, I wondered why he was so scared. "No one touches her!"

"Interesting," a familiar voice said. 

I tried to focus my gaze, but it felt like I was looking through a red haze, the pain rippling through me making my eyes waver. But I could see Percy hovering over me, sword slashing around him, trying to keep the enemy from us. And not far away, still on his skeletal horse, sat an impressive figure in golden armour, scythe in hand.