NEVER BE THE SAME . . . percy jackson

ninety nine: the poison.

AKHLYS LUNGED AT Percy. Naturally, he didn't move because he's stupid. The goddess's claws raked across his chest.

Percy stumbled backward, but his legs moved too slowly. In desperation, he threw his backpack at her, but it was still smoky. It fell with a soft thud.

Akhlys snarled, crouching to spring. She would have bitten Percy's face off if Brooklyn hadn't charged and screamed, "HEY!" right in the goddess's ear.

Akhlys flinched, turning toward the sound.

She lashed out at Brooklyn, but she was better at moving than Percy, probably because she's just more talented. So talented that she's the one saving her goddamn knight in smoky armor.

Brooklyn dove straight between the goddess's legs and somersaulted to her feet. Akhlys turned and attacked, but Brooklyn dodged again. She nearly felt the adrenaline flowing through her veins — if she had veins, at least.

On Akhlys's third attack, she wasn't so lucky. She tried to veer aside, but the goddess grabbed Brooklyn's wrist and pulled her hard, sending her sprawling.

Before the goddess could pounce, Percy advanced, yelling and waving his sword.

"Hey, Happy!" he yelled.

Oh, here we go, Brooklyn thought.

Akhlys spun, dropping Brooklyn's arm. "Happy?" she demanded.

"Yeah!" he ducked as she swiped at his head. "You're downright cheerful!"

"Arggh!" she lunged again, but she was off balance. Percy sidestepped and backed away, leading the goddess farther from Brooklyn.

"Pleasant!" he called. "Delightful!"

The goddess snarled and winced. She stumbled after Percy. Each compliment seemed to hit her like sand in the face.

"I will kill you slowly!" she growled, her eyes and nose watering, blood dripping from her cheeks. "I will cut you into pieces as a sacrifice to Night!"

Brooklyn struggled over to Annabeth. She started rifling through her pack with Annabeth, looking for something that might help.

"Cuddly!" Percy yelled in the distance. "Fuzzy, warm, and huggable!"

Akhlys made a growling, choking noise, like a cat having a seizure.

"A slow death!" she screamed. "A death from a thousand poisons!"

"Percy!" Annabeth realized, making Brooklyn look up and gasp. All around Akhlys, poisonous plants grew and burst like overfilled balloons. Green-and-white sap trickled out, collecting into pools, and began flowing across the ground toward Percy. "Uh, hey, Miss Wonderful! Cheerful! Grins! Over here!"

But the goddess of misery was now fixated on Percy. He tried to retreat. Unfortunately the poison ichor was flowing all around him now, making the ground steam and the air burn. He was stuck on an island of dust not much bigger than a shield. A few yards away, his backpack smoked and dissolved into a puddle of goo. He had nowhere to go. He fell to one knee.

"You will feed the eternal darkness," Akhlys said. "You will die in the arms of Night!"

Brooklyn shouted insults, throwing drakon jerky at the goddess, but she didn't even glance at her and Annabeth. Which, rude.

And then the poison tide stopped.

The fumes blew away from Percy — back toward the goddess. The lake of poison rolled toward her in tiny waves and rivulets.

Akhlys shrieked. "What is this?"

"Poison," Percy said. "That's your specialty, right?"

He stood, his eyes flashing with anger. As the flood of venom rolled toward the goddess, the fumes began to make her cough. Her eyes watered even more.