Dancing with Death

Eliza's Gone Crazy

Leo stumbled away from Eliza. "What are you doing?"

A grotesque smirk twisted across her face. "What I was made to do - bring chaos." She sliced her arm through the air, a long sharp blade of thorn extending from her palm, cutting through wires and fuel lines.

Sparks and oil rained down, dangerously close to igniting.

Leo noticed Buford the table out of the corner of his eye. Snatching the robotic table, he hurled it at Eliza and bolted out of the engine room. He had to reach the others, had to warn them. Whatever had happened to him in New Rome seemed to be happening to Eliza.

Something wrapped around his ankle and he toppled face-first onto the floor.

He looked down and found a vine spiraling around his leg, inching steadily up his body. He struggled, but it was no use. With no other options, he turned down the hall and yelled. "Help!"

The vine reached his neck and closed off his airway, silencing his plea for help.

Eliza stalked closer, her fists clenched around long slender thorns. A few feet away, she paused.

Jason, Piper, and Percy appeared at the base of the stairs with Hazel and Frank close behind. Annabeth was probably still at the helm. Good. Things were about to get interesting in the engine room.

Black rimmed Leo's vision as his lungs burned from a lack of oxygen.

"Eliza!" He recognized Jason's voice. "What are you doing?" The son of Jupiter held out his hands to Eliza. "Let him go."

Eliza released an over-dramatic sigh that gave way to a mischievous smirk. "I don't think so." She clenched her left fist tighter, squeezing the vines tighter around Leo's neck. At the same time she thrust her arm forward. Her blade elongated, lashing towards the others.

Jason spun aside, the blade whizzing passed him and stabbing violently into the bronze wall.

"Eliza." Piper kept her voice calm and soothing.

Eliza glared at the daughter of Aphrodite and a vine burst from the floor and wound tightly around Piper's neck, cutting off her charmspeak.

Piper clawed at the ever-tightening vines, unable to get enough grip to pull them free. Panic crept into her eyes as the plants dragged her to her knees.

Jason turned to help his girlfriend, but the blade tore free of the wall and smacked him backwards up the stairs.

Percy gripped his sword, Riptide, and stepped protectively in front of Frank and Hazel.

Eliza stepped over Leo's still struggling body. "Do you really think you can beat me, Son of Neptune?"

Percy adamantly stepped forward. "It's Son of Poseidon." He lunged forward, crossing blades with the Daughter of Proserpine, the sound of bronze against thorn clashing through the corridor.

Eliza glared directly into Percy's eyes, her golden gaze looking almost normal, besides the unnatural shimmer.

Despite her small figure, Eliza was incredibly strong. Percy felt his strength waning. "What's wrong with you?"

Her eyes flashed with anger. She didn't answer, just pressed harder and threw him back against the wall.

Frank tried to protect Hazel, but it wasn't long before he was slumped unconscious against the wall, vines creeping up his body like a cocoon.

Eliza turned on Hazel, who was slowly backing away. "Would you be a dear and make this easier on both of us?"

Hazel reached for her spatha.

Eliza flicked her wrist and vines batted the weapon aside. "I guess not." A menacing grin spread across her face as she inched closer. "I'm going to enjoy this." She thrust out her hand, sending a trio of thorns spiraling towards Hazel.

The Daughter of Pluto ducked the deadly projectiles and dashed up the stairs. She could hear Eliza following her. Now she understood what the legion meant when they referred to her as the Angel of Death.

A thorn shot passed her head as she stumbled onto the upper deck and raced towards the helm where Annabeth stood, struggling to keep control of the ship.

"What's going on?" The Daughter of Athena pressed hard against the failing ship.

Hazel skidded to a stop as she reached Annabeth. "Whatever happened to Leo at New Rome is happening again, to Eliza."

As if on cue, a thorn whizzed passed, embedding itself in the bronze railing of the ship.

Both girls turned to watch as Eliza's petite form rose from the lower decks, vines branching from her arms like tendrils.

"Bringing down this ship proved easier than I thought it would be." A sly grin contorted her features. "I hope you've made peace with your parents," she lifted her arms, vines lengthening and creeping across the deck towards them. "Because you'll never breath another word again."

Hazel instinctively reached for her spatha, forgetting she'd lost it below decks.

Annabeth stared at their opponent, not even considering the knife at her side.

The two stood side-by-side, frantically trying to formulate a plan. Eliza's powers were far beyond anything they'd expected. They were severely outmatched.

Eliza's grin widened as she stalked ever closer to her prey, the only thing between the Argo II and complete destruction.

Suddenly, a figure raced up the stairs, unarmed and obviously desperate. Jason darted towards Eliza and grabbed her from behind.

Eliza struggled, reeling around in an attempt to shake her captor, but Jason kept his grip.

"I don't know who you are, or how you're controlling Eliza." He seethed in her ear. "But I will get you out."

Eliza threw him from her back.

He skidded across the deck, quickly jumping to his feet.

Eliza glared him down and all the vines on the deck converged on him all at once, wrapping and slicing and pulling.

Jason screamed as a sharp thorn tore through his side just above the hip.

Annabeth appeared behind Eliza with a broken piece of deck board and smacked the Daughter of Proserpine over the head with all her strength.

Eliza crumpled to the deck unconscious.

A/N
Tada!! Another chapter. We are ALMOST to Topeka. Why do I make these books take so long?!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed.
-Cheshire