In this book, we highlight different stories across Wattpad with what is deemed the best, most creative, funniest, or most thought-provoking excerpts-or maybe all four! If you're interested, submit an excerpt of your story today!
TAGS: Percy Jackson, Urban Fantasy, Dark Comedy, Quest, Angst
BLURB: Loyalty. What did it mean?
As the Second Titan War raged across the United States, Half-Bloods began to pick sides. To some Half-Bloods, loyalty meant fighting for their godly parent. For some Half-Bloods it meant standing beside their friends. Sometimes those two definitions of loyalty clashed. They pulled to either side of the war.
And sometimes, Half-Bloods picked the wrong side.
When the war comes to a close, the traitor Luke Castellan repents of his actions long enough to kill Kronos and is given a funeral with honor. His final act granted him redemption.But what about the living? Who redeems them in the eyes of the gods?This is the story of three Half-Bloods who become the sacrificial lambs on the altar of repentance to the Olympians. Because the Olympians have been called many things, but forgiving is not one of them.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
EXCERPT:
He looked around. Alex tried to catch a glimpse of the girls through the masses. But there were so many bodies. Thousands and thousands of people stuffed themselves into Main Street, USA. He couldn't see the ground: just the fireworks, Cinderella's castle, and endless bodies.
A screech split the night. Alex flinched on instinct. He knew that scream. That was a harpy. He looked up at the sky, tuning out the Disney music. No one else noticed. None of the humans. But several winged figures circled up above.
"Alex!" Ophelia said.
He turned right. She pushed herself through the throngs, angering a newlywed couple. Not a scratch or blemish could be seen on her beautiful fair face
"Where's Kitty?" he said.
Ophelia shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know."
Fear knotted in his chest. They needed her. She had the Lyre. Without her, without it, they'd suffered this gods forsaken quest for nothing.
More fireworks caused another great cheer from the crowd. Alex scanned the faceless mass, trying to catch some glimpse of blue hair or shining golden metal. She had to be there somewhere.
An explosion rocked the ground. Alex paused. The entire crowd of Magic Kingdom guests stopped clapping. The rumbling continued until behind the castle, a great ball of fiery illuminated the sky, turning it from black to grey.
He slowed his breathing. Taking Vindication from his wrist, he summoned a bow. The flood of crowds streamed towards the exit, screaming and crying. What they saw, Alex couldn't guess. But he saw seven harpies silhouetted against the flames.
"Find Kitty," Alex said to Ophelia.
He didn't see if she followed his orders. He focused on the celestial bronze arrow in his hand. Lining up the shot, he waited until he could see the whites of the ugly hag's eyes. Then he let it fly.
When the middle Harpy exploded into dust, the others screamed. He heard cries of vengeance for Kronos, shouts of anger and guttural clicks that sounded less like words and more like twisted bird chirps.
Bodies slammed into him as the chaotic mass raced for the exits. Alex tried to balance, using the bow like a wedge. Six harpies still circled above, trying to find him. He steeled his nerves. He'd fought the armies of Kronos. Disgruntled monsters working at a theme park for his half-sister could not stop his quest. They just had to find Kitty.
He aimed another arrow up at the sky. A second harpy disintegrated. But with her death, the others found him. Five pairs of monstrous eyes locked on him. Alex shivered. He released his last arrow just as they dove for him. Three down. Four to go.
Alex met the harpies with sharpened celestial bronze. In blade form, he made quick work of two. A third slashed him across the face. With a cry, he ducked and rolled away. The fireworks kept going. Their sporadic glow made the harpies look even more frightening.
He killed the sixth harpy as he tried to drive its talons into his eyes. Back against the concrete, it became hard to breathe. The central hub of the Magic Kingdom emptied. Just him, the monsters, and as he glanced left, his chest lightened at the sight of Ophelia, Kitty, and the shining Lyre of Orpheus. Alex screamed.
Pushing himself to his feet, he met the last harpy with glee. They couldn't stop him. He would save Leah Kim. He would save the survivors. They would get a second chance just as he had been given. None deserved it. But he would earn it for them. For himself.
"We gotta go!" Alex said.
Ophelia and Kitty ran towards him. Clutching the Lyre to her chest, Kitty looked like she needed to throw up. But they would have to deal with that later.
The ground exploded between them. Alex covered his face, falling back. Metal soared over his head as a trash can split into debris, thrown by a laistrygonian.
"I admire your attempt," said Phoebe, standing between four laistrygonian guards a hundred feet down Main Street. "But you need to work on your form. Thieving is an art, brother. One you clearly don't have."
