𝐃𝐄𝐉𝐀 𝐕𝐔 • Percy Jackson.

15

BLOOD FLOWS THROUGH HIM, out of him, dripping like a rundown faucet with bad pipework. It's what makes one mortal, human, alive. The stinging is toxic, yet it's enough to make him sober. He stares at the blood trickling down his charred hands: the broken skin rubbed raw, holding tightly onto the golden sword glinting with the golden death of monsters. He hears a hiss in his ear, it whispers nobility he's never known.

❝ LAVENDER BLOOD. ❞

He had heard it twice. His ears ring like warning bells as he stares at Echidna and her damn dog. The title held no familiarity, no understanding, what was the meaning? The question rang in his head so loud he felt it could be engraved. Engraved and weaved into his mind and boiled in his blood. "You, Boy." Echidna hissed, her eyes staring into his own. He gripped his sword, trying to keep it from slipping from the mix of sweat and blood.

"Zeus has ordered for your end."

He flinches, "what why–" he didn't get to finish before he had to leap aside again as the Chimera bared its teeth to bite him. Its sharp teeth make a snap as they grind against each other. A warning.

He raised his sword, preparing to slice, but he had to abandon that as a stream of fire began to come straight towards him. Not even letting me think! The heat seared the air.

He  groaned, staggering to the side before he raised his sword stabbing straight into the Chimera's side as it looked the other way. He cursed when it did nothing, before jumping over the serpent tail that had slithered near him. Ready to sink its poison into his body just like Percy. He didn't want to think about him.

He aimed for another cut, but it did nothing.

He breathed hard. His arms began to drop and his posture became sluggish. He was getting exhausted. Having to avoid the flames, the mouth, the holes in the ground where metal melted into holes that would make him drop over two-hundred feet.

He stumbled back, looking at the giant beast, while Echidna's cackle echoed in his ears. Dark and twisted as he felt his body burn. "You have nowhere to go, half-blood." She said with a grin, her fangs flashed. "Always forgotten, Lavender blood. Aren't you sad about it? It's your fate." She hissed, the Chimera growled.

"Why do you call me that?" He asked, ignoring her question.

She laughed. "Heroes are so incredibly ignorant these days." Was all she said before the Chimera jumped straight at him, mouth open wide, and he could only raise his sword staring straight at its eyes.

thump.

thump.

thump.

His heart was in his ears as the Chimera dropped onto the ground with a thud. Blood was dripping. The monster began to turn into dust. Echidna screamed. "How can you spawn of lethe be able to–" Amani blinked, glancing at his sword, before turning to glance at Echidna.

"You damn half-blood!" She screamed, rushing towards him, he staggered to the side. The world spinned and he clasped his head. Right. He turned right. A talon barely missed his shoulder. He gripped his sword, as she turned to face him, he raised his sword.

They stood opposite from each other. "What am I?" He rasped out, his voice holding an undeniable rage in it. Echidna stayed silent, her snake slit eyes narrowing. "What am I?" He asked again, and she opened her mouth, "a half-blood." He could feel his hand clench around the sword handle. His blood burned underneath his skin. Black moths raged in his stomach like chaos had begun.

"Why do you call me Lavender Blood?" He asked, bringing more detail into his question. Echidna laughed, "you have so much to learn, Amani." She whispered with a sick grin. He glared. "Then do tell?" He pushed, she sighed as if what she would say would be such a hard job. "My lips are sealed, lord Zeus has commanded as such." Was all she said and Amani almost wanted to scream and slice her neck off.

"Why does Zeus want to kill me?" He asked, he waited. Waited. Waited. Waited.

He was given no answer.

He went to slice her neck.

She dodged and sunk her nails into his shoulder before throwing him to the other side of the room. He shut his mouth to prevent the scream from coming out.

"You may have made my Chimera drift, but you will be killed today." She said, walking towards him. "You will be killed like Percy Jackson." She concluded, he tried getting up from his lying position, his body screamed to not.

He glanced around, the place was an absolute mess, however, the emergency exit doors were open. He turned away from them, and glanced at Echidna, before making a run for the emergency exit.

Echidna followed after him, her footsteps screeched in his ears. He ran with a stinging shoulder and a limp in his knee. He heard her scream, "The world will forget you, Amani," before shutting the door with a thud.

He took a breath, glancing at the stairwell, and he gave a pained look before running down the steps,  occasionally tripping, but nothing too serious until he reached the end. His breathing was labored, while his legs were burning. He had glanced multiple times back, but Echidna never followed and he breathed a sigh of relief.

–

When he finally made it out of the arch, he hid behind the officers, firefighters, media stations, to make it out without being detected and asked questions. He heard news reports, "...but it’s still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We’re trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch." He almost paused there and ran up to ask someone about it, but he kept walking. Percy was a son of Poseidon, he could probably survive the fall into the river. Right? He had a feeling he could.

He didn't dare go and see if he was involved as well.  He pushed past the crowd, trying to see if Percy, Annabeth, or Grover were near. Yet as he continued to look, he wasn't sure if they were, and the words Echidna spoke made his heart pick up. "The world will forget you, Amani.".

Police officers were everywhere and avoiding them was the hardest, he just hoped nobody paid too much attention to him.

He heard a scream, "There he is! That’s the boy!"

He followed the scream, a feeling of hope that it was Percy. He ran around the crowd picking up snippets of Percy's name, from news reporters.

Yet as he continued he realized not once did anyone mention his name. Despite being there as well. He stumbled through the crowd and yet not a single person mentioned Inaya Shah's son. Terrorist attack this, Adolescent boy that, Percy Jackson yet no Amani Shah. He felt undeniably cold.

He felt his brain go muddled, perhaps the exhaustion was getting to him. He blinked. Zeus didn't like him. Lavender blood. Deja Vu. None of it made sense. He rubbed his eyes before limping to the station. Perhaps they were there.

Perhaps.