Partners in Crime || PJOxHP || Marauders' Era

The Hunt

The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward the demigods with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Percy remembered his own shield. He hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from his brother, was badly damaged. Percy wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

Jessica heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to her with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, Jessica thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. 

It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Jessica ran out to help her. She parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. Percy raised his shield over them, but Jessica knew it wouldn't be enough. 

***

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes." 

They were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. They had no chance. 

Then Jessica heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods. The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—" His sentence was cut short when something shot past Jessica like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but Jessica's eyes must've been playing tricks on her. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy. The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. 

Jessica took her chance. She swiped at him with her sword, but the manticore wasn't as injured as he looked. He brought down his heavy tail to attack Jessica- "Ventus!" 

The manticore flew a few meters away, his tail slamming into Percy's shield, knocking him aside. But the spell was too powerful- Jessica too, flew backwards as the words spilled from her mouth, and rolled into the snow next to Percy. She could've sworn she heard a very definite, loud CRACK! like someone had just Apparated.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like Jessica. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to her, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

Jessica didn't have a chance to ask what she meant. One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"