The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

nine

DECISIONS

Piper ran. This was not a matter of bravery or cowardice. A demigod's body simply wasn't designed to endure such heat. Had she stayed in Medea's proximity, Piper would have burst into flames.

The only positive development: their ventus jailer vanished, most likely because Medea couldn't focus on both him and Helios.

They stumbled toward Meg, yanked her to her feet, and dragged her away from the growing firestorm.

"Oh, no, Apollo," Medea called out. "No running away!"

Ariana pulled Meg behind the nearest cement column and covered her as a curtain of flame sliced across the garage-sharp and fast and deadly, sucking the air from her lungs and setting her clothes on fire.

Ariana rolled instinctively, desperately, and crawled behind the next column over, smoking and dizzy.

Apollo and Meg staggered to her side. Meg was steaming and red but still alive, her toasted lupines stubbornly rooted in her ears.

Ariana had shielded her from the worst of the heat.

From somewhere across the parking garage, Piper's voice echoed, "Hey, Medea! Your aim sucks!"

Ariana peeked around the column as Medea turned toward the sound. The sorceress stood fixed in place, encircled in fire, releasing slices of white heat in every direction like spokes from the center of a wheel.

One wave blasted in the direction of Piper's voice.

A moment later, Piper called, "Nope! Getting colder!"

Meg shook Apollo's arm. "WHAT DO WE DO?"

Ariana knew she would die if she suffered even another glancing blast from that fire.

But Meg was right.

They had to do something. They couldn't let Piper take all the (quite literal) heat.

"Come out, Apollo!" Medea taunted. "Say hello to your old friend! Together you will fuel the New Sun!"

Another curtain of heat flashed past, a few columns away. The essence of Helios did not roar or dazzle with many colours.

It was ghostly white, almost transparent, but it would kill them as fast as exposure to a nuclear core. (Public safety announcement: Reader, do not go to your local nuclear power plant and stand in the reactor chamber.)

Ariana had no strategy to defeat Medea. Meg must have seen the hopelessness in Apollo's face.

"ASK THE ARROW!" she yelled. "ME AND ARI WILL KEEP MAGIC LADY DISTRACTED!"

Ariana and Meg darted off.

At corner of the pillar, Ariana, Piper and Meg
were now playing a deadly game of chicken-fried chicken-with Medea's blasts of grandfather fire.

"Piper! Ariana!" Apollo yelled.

Ariana glanced over from five pillars away. Her face was pulled in a tight grimace. Her arms looked like cooked lobster shells.

Apollo mimed shooting a blowgun, then pointed in Medea's direction.

Piper stared at Apollo like he was crazy. Ariana couldn't blame her. Even if Medea didn't bat away the dart with a gust of wind, the missile would never make it through that swirling wall of heat.

Apollo could only shrug and mouth the words Trust me. I asked my arrow.

Instantly, Ariana knew Piper did not trust Apollo's arrow but Ariana trusted the former god. She kind of had to otherwise she'd be a rubbish friend.