The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 47: Peace at Last

The black mist from above the fort and coming from the pit gathered into a large blob. After a few minutes it dissipated, revealing a rather pale man with dark hair dressed in the garb of an Ancient Greek king. As he looked around the room he let out a chuckle filled with pure evil. "It's good to be back," he said deviously. He then went to take a step away from the where of the pit, but was forced to sway backwards a bit as three arrows flew by him. Looking towards where they had come from, the king frowned. There stood Zoë, Clara, and Jacob with bows leveled at him. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that it's rude to attack your host?" he said coldly. "Especially when your host is a king!" With a defiant glare the trio took aim again, while Luke, Ethan, and Hannah charged the prophesied foe. Casually and nonchalantly the King flicked his wrist in their direction, causing tendrils of the black mist from the pit to fly out and ensnare the six heroes. Another flick of the wrist bound them from head to foot and stacked them in the corner.

By this point Percy and Thalia were glaring at him fiercely, while Annabeth knelt respectfully. "King Ixion-" she started.

"Failure," Ixion growled, using another tendril of the shadowy mist to throw Annabeth into a wall. Annabeth then lay there, unmoving as blood leaked from a wound on the back of her head. Percy stood in front of Thalia protectively as Ixion paced the room, barring the door as he did so. "Perseus and Thalia Jackson, how nice it is to meet you face to face," he said with fake politeness.

"What do you want?" Percy growled.

"Why, I've returned to claim what is rightfully mine," Ixion pleasantly replied. "What Zeus denied me millennia ago."

"And what is that?" Percy asked, trying to stall so he could come up with a plan. That was when he noticed it, one of the shadow mummies in the corner had a bright yellow light leaking from parts of it.

"Why, to become King of course," he explained. "I shall rule Olympus, and Hera shall be my queen."

"Like you could get the goddess of marriage to leave her husband," Thalia snorted.

"I love her and she loves me!" Ixion roared as he stopped pacing. A sadistic grin then erupted on his face as Ixion noticed where the hand of Percy that didn't hold Riptide was hovering. "Interesting, I see your relationship has progressed further than I realized." This caused the couple's glare to intensify. "So, when can I expect to see the little brat?"

"That's it," Percy said in a deceptively quiet and cold tone. "You can insult me, but I will not let you insult my wife and unborn child."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Ixion sneered.

"Not him, we," Thalia corrected as she stepped out from behind Percy and raised Aegis, causing the king to flinch and shy backwards slightly. "And we have faced far worse than you." Ixion's smile disappeared and was replaced by a scowl as Thalia said that. "We've defeated Titans, Giants, and the Earth Mother herself. You're just some washed up old king, child's play compared to what we've faced."

With an angry roar Ixion drew the sword at his side, and called forth more mist from the pit to attack Percy and Thalia. The tendrils were almost upon them, but before they could strike a beam of light light intercepted them and made them dissipate. Ixion looked to his left where it had come from, causing Percy and Thalia to do the same. Standing there, a fierce look on his face and eyes aglow with power, was Jacob. Behind him stood Hannah, who was working on unraveling the other shadow cocoons. So far she had released Zoë, and halfway through Luke. "Oops," Jacob sassed.

Turning his attention back to Percy, Ixion gave a roar and charged. The ferocity of the ancient king's attacks surprised Percy. He hadn't faced anyone with this level of skill since the Titans and Giants. The fighting was ferocious, and fast paced, none of the others could find an opening in which to help Percy. The deadly dance continued around the room, and all anyone could do was watch.