madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-gaea isn't the only angry old lady-

y'all that other chapter that was posted for a few days was actually supposed to stay a draft as most of you would've figured, because its about ten chapters ahead 😃 so anyone that saw any spoilers shhhhhhh no you didn't 👀 just read this instead, thanks!

<3

Percy didn't want to admit it, but he was sort of relieved when the demon grandmothers closed in for the kill. Sure, he was terrified. He didn't like the odds of four [five? He wasn't sure what the kitten could do yet] against several dozen. But at least he understood fighting. That was what he did.

Wandering through the darkness, waiting to be attacked—that had been driving him crazy. Besides, he and Annabeth had fought together many times. And now they had a Titan, and Teqi, on their side. Although he wasn't sure if she was in the right condition to be fighting. None of them were, really.

"Back off." Percy jabbed Riptide at the nearest shrivelled hag, but she only sneered, like she knew something he didn't. She was probably right, Percy was out of his depth here, but he couldn't give up now, even if his body was begging him to curl up in the dirt and not get back up.

We are the arai, said that weird voice-over, like the entire forest was speaking down to them. You cannot destroy us.

Annabeth pressed against his shoulder, shaking like the last leaf on a tree in the wind. Her skin was colder than normal, and clammy. "Don't touch them," she warned. "They're the spirits of curses."

"Bob doesn't like curses," Bob decided. The skeleton kitten Small Bob disappeared inside his overalls. Smart cat. Percy sort of wished someone had a pocket he could hide in. The Titan swept his broom in a wide arc, forcing the spirits back, but they came in again like a crashing tide.

We serve the bitter and the defeated, said the arai. We serve the slain who prayed for vengeance with their final breath. We have many curses to share with you.

The firewater in Percy's stomach started crawling up his throat. He wished Tartarus had better beverage options, or maybe a tree that dispensed antacid fruits. "I appreciate the offer," he said. "But my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers."

"Your mum sounds smart," Teqi commented vaguely, and then let out a shriek as the nearest demon lunged. Her claws extended like bony switchblades. Percy cut her in two, but as soon as she vaporized, the sides of his chest flared with pain. He stumbled back, clamping his hand to his rib cage.

His fingers came away wet and red.

"Percy, you're bleeding!" Annabeth cried, which was kind of obvious to him at that point. He didn't say that though. "Oh, gods, on both sides."

It was true. The left and right hems of his tattered shirt were sticky with blood, as if a javelin had run him through. Or an arrow...

Queasiness almost knocked him over. Vengeance. A curse from the slain.

He flashed back to an encounter in Texas two years ago—a fight with a monstrous rancher who could only be killed if each of his three bodies was cut through simultaneously. "Geryon," Percy said. "This is how I killed him...."

The spirits bared their fangs. More arai leaped from the black trees, flapping their leathery wings.

Yes, they agreed. Feel the pain you inflicted upon Geryon. So many curses have been levelled at you, Percy Jackson. Which will you die from? Choose, or we will rip you apart!