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MY HEART RACING for two reasons, I charged out first. Angelique let loose a string of curses (I heard English, Latin, Ancient Greek, French and Vietnamese) before she did the same.
The moment we were out of the trench, the twins had lifted another plaster mountain and were waiting for a clear shot. The giants raised it above their heads, preparing to throw, but Angelique was ready.
With the flick of her hand, a water pipe to burst at their feet, shaking the floor.
I then sent a blast of wind against Ephialtes's chest. The purple-haired giant toppled backward and Otis lost his grip on the mountain, 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.
The crowd roared with approval, but I suspected Ephialtes was only stunned. We had a few seconds at best.
"Hey, Otis!" Angelique shouted. "The Nutcracker sucks ass!"
"Ahhhhh!" Otis snatched up his spear and threw, but he was too angry to aim straight. I deflected it over Angelique's head and into the lake.
We slowly backed toward the water, shouting insults about ballet—which was kind of a challenge, as we both didn't know much about it. It was still funny though.
Otis barreled toward us empty-handed, before apparently realizing that a) he was empty-handed, and b) charging toward a large body of water to fight a daughter of Poseidon was maybe not a good idea.
Too late for him. We rolled to either side, and I summoned the wind, using the giant's own momentum to shove him into the water. As Otis struggled to rise, Angelique and I attacked as one. We launched ourselves at the giant and brought our 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.
Angelique churned the lake into a whirlpool. Otis's essence tried to re-form, but as his head appeared from the water, I called lightning and blasted him to dust again.
So far so good, but I could tell Angelique was struggling to keep him down. I was also already tired from our fight underground. Our was strength waning, and we still had another giant to deal with.
As if on cue, the plaster mountain exploded behind them. Ephialtes rose, bellowing with anger.
Angelique and me waited as he lumbered toward us, 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.
I 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.
