SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

70 - watching from afar

BRIAR WATCHED AS her friends fought for their lives while she could only sit there, staring as they bolted from a giant mountain that Ephialtes threw at them.

"I hate this," she muttered. "Why am I the one sitting here while my girlfriend and best friends are fighting giants?"

"You're hurt," someone said quietly, hoarsely next to her, and she looked over at Nico di Angelo. "It's okay."

"It's not," Briar bit her lip out of nervousness, drawing blood immediately. "I can still fight. I've distracted monsters with my voice while being hurt. I fell down a fucking ledge and I still killed a Titan."

"They'll be fine," Nico said, looking down at the giants. "Look."

Briar looked over to see a water pipe burst, shaking the floor. Jason sent a blast of wind against Ephialtes's chest. The purple-haired giant toppled backward and Otis lost his grip on a mountain he was holding, which promptly collapsed on top of his brother. Only Ephialtes's snake feet stuck out, darting their heads around, as if wondering where the rest of their body had gone.

"Watch, I'm gonna say 'I told you so' later," Briar said, just as Reyna deflected a spear that was coming for Percy into the lake.

That's my girl, Briar thought giddily.

Her friends backed toward the water, shouting things at Otis. He barreled toward them empty-handed, before apparently realizing that a) he was empty-handed, and b) charging toward a large body of water to fight a son of Poseidon was maybe not a good idea.

Too late, he tried to stop. The demigods rolled to the side, and Jason summoned the wind, using the giant's own momentum to shove him into the water. As Otis struggled to rise, Percy and Reyna attacked as one. They launched themselves at the giant and brought their blades down on Otis's head.

The poor guy didn't even have a chance to pirouette. He exploded into powder on the lake's surface like a huge packet of drink mix.

Percy churned the lake into a whirlpool. Otis's essence tried to re-form, but as his head appeared from the water, Jason called lightning and blasted him to dust again.

"You may have been right," Briar said lightly to Nico, but even from here, she could see how tired the three of them were.

As if on cue, the plaster mountain exploded behind them. Ephialtes rose, bellowing with anger.

Reyna, Percy, and Jason waited as he lumbered toward them, his spear in hand. Apparently, getting flattened under a plaster mountain had only energized him. His eyes danced with murderous light. The afternoon sun glinted in his coin-braided hair. Even his snake feet looked angry, baring their fangs and hissing.

Jason called down another lightning strike, but Ephialtes caught it on his spear and deflected the blast, melting a life-size plastic cow. He slammed a stone column out of his way like a stack of building blocks.

Reyna and the boys met the giant's charge. They lunged around Ephialtes, stabbing and slashing in a blur of gold and bronze, but the giant parried every strike.

"I will not yield!" Ephialtes roared. "You may have ruined my spectacle, but Gaea will still destroy your world!"

Percy lashed out, slicing the giant's spear in half. Ephialtes wasn't even fazed. The giant swept low with the blunt end and knocked Percy off his feet. Percy landed hard on his sword arm, and Riptide clattered out of his grip.

Reyna and Jason tried to take advantage. They stepped inside the giant's guard and stabbed at his chest, but somehow Ephialtes parried the strikes. He sliced the tip of his spear down Jason's chest, ripping his purple shirt into a vest. Jason stumbled, looking at the thin line of blood down his sternum. Ephialtes kicked him backward.