Forbidden Quests

Chapter 36

Percy

We were in the midst of traveling two hours after dawn when Nico's horse suddenly reared, whinnying forcefully.

Instantly, weapons were drawn, bows were loaded, and eyes were trained on our surroundings. Our horses were trained to react if they sensed monsters or something nearby, but if it was monsters, then any horse would react that way.

For the first minute, nothing happened. I was a about to tell everyone to stand down when Artemis let an arrow fly.

I watched the silver arrow shoot through the air, following it's path with my eyes. It hit something behind a tree, out of my sight, but in plain view for the goddess standing yards away from me.

Silence. Then a large Laistrygonian giant toppled into sight, falling face first into the earth, a silver arrow protruding from his stomach.

A nanosecond after it had fallen, another arrow was sent, this time by Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo in my group. Another giant fell. Both monsters were now just piles of dust.

Then it seemed as if the trees had come alive. Scores of Laistrygonians poured our from behind the trunks, attacking the group of demigods. My sword came down in a steep curve, cleaving a giant in two. I didn't pause, but kept Riptide swinging, taking down another Laistrygonian.

In the back of my mind, I was irritated that we had two big attacks two days in a row. But that was pushed aside when I realized that like yesterday, Artemis was our only chance of winning this fight. Tons of giants were present, and it seemed as though every time you killed one, two took its place. The questers were trying their hardest, sending several Laistrygonians back to Tartarus, but it wasn't going well.

Even as I watched, a giant swung his huge hand with great force, hitting Nico square in his jaw. It not only knocked the son of Hades out cold, it also sent him flying off his horse into the air, slamming him into a tree. The back of Nico's skull hit the solid trunk with a nauseating clunk. I heard Hazel's cry of anguish as she got a front seat view of her brother getting hurt. Dismounting from her horse, Arion (who had wicked speed, just so you know), she ran towards Nico, leaving Frank to guard her with his bow.

A sword went through the leg of Connor. The Stoll paled, crumpling to his knees as his leg gave out from underneath him, blood gushing from the wound in his thigh. Travis appeared, fending off more attacks and protecting his sibling.

"Don't you dare touch my little brother, again, you disgusting manure filled maggots!" He roared, his anger from his brother getting hurt directed towards the monsters before him.

Connor was safe for the moment, but many more of my questers were falling as well. I didn't know how many were fatal, but I knew we had to get ambrosia to the injured.

Panic was overriding me. I was defending two of my questers that had been knocked out from the giants. As I thrusted my sword into the belly of a giant, I saw a long, jagged cut traveling up my forearm. I didn't know I had gotten it, much less when and how. But I couldn't feel it, so I ignored it, going back to my game of "try to kill as many Laistrygonians without getting killed in a painful way." I think I was winning at the moment, seeing as I was still alive.

But we were falling. Horses were whinnying, some were running away from the scene, their riders on the ground fighting or injured. Blackjack had been kicking giants next to me, but a sword went cut through his wing, sliding through muscles. Blackjack whinnied in pain, rearing up and coming down on the giant. Still, Blackjack was wounded badly, and wouldn't be able to fly until he recovered.

I sliced through the giant that had wounded my horse, mad that he had been able to when I was right there to help Blackjack, then beheaded another Laistrygonian, turning it to dust. My strength was ebbing, but I had to keep it up to help my questers. I was the Captain. I had to stay up, and protect my group. I was about to sever the arm of a Laistrygonian when an arrow flew by my head. I heard a deep grunt behind me as I finished the giant before me. Spinning around, I saw a silver arrow laying in a pile of a dust.