𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 [Jason Grace]

89

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬.

The little fuckers loved to burrow under the temples in New Rome. Back when Jason was a centurion, his cohort always got the unpopular chore of clearing out their nests. Not to mention the basilisk poison he had been attacked with by the arai in Tartarus.

A basilisk didn't look like much— just an arm-length serpent with yellow eyes and a white frill collar— but it moved fast and could kill anything it touched. Jason had never faced more than two at a time. Now a dozen were swimming around the giant's legs. The only good thing: underwater, basilisks wouldn't be able to breathe fire, but that didn't make them any less deadly.

Two of the serpents shot towards Percy. He sliced them in half. The other ten swirled around him, just out of blade's reach. They writhed back and forth in a hypnotic pattern, looking for an opening. One bite, one touch was all it would take.

"Hey!" Jason yelled. "How about some love over here?"

The snakes ignored him.

So did the giant, who stood back and watched with a smug smile, apparently happy for his pets to do the killing.

"Kymopoleia." Jason tried his best to pronounce her name right. "You have to stop this."

She regarded him with her glowing white eyes. "Why would I do that? The Earth Mother has promised me unrestricted power. Could you make me a better offer?"

A better offer...

He sensed the possibility of an opening— room to negotiate. But what did he have that a storm goddess would want?

The basilisks closed in on Percy. He blasted them away with currents of water, but they just kept circling.

"Hey, basilisks!" Jason yelled.

Still no reaction. He could charge in and help, but even together he and Percy couldn't possibly fight off ten basilisks at once. He needed a better solution.

He glanced up. A thunderstorm raged above, but they were hundreds of feet down. He couldn't possibly summon lightning at the bottom of the sea, could he? Even if he could, water conducted electricity a little too well. He might fry Percy.

But he couldn't think of a better option. He thrust up his sword. Immediately the blade glowed red-hot.

A diffuse cloud of yellow light billowed through the depths, like someone had poured liquid neon into the water. The light hit Jason's sword and sprayed outwards in ten separate tendrils, zapping the basilisks.

Their eyes went dark. Their frills disintegrated. All ten serpents turned belly-up and floated dead in the water.

"Next time," Jason said, "look at me when I'm talking to you."

Polybotes's smile curdled. "Are you so anxious to die, Roman?"

Percy raised his sword. He hurled himself at the giant, but Polybotes swept his hand through the water, leaving an arc of black oily poison. Percy charged straight into it faster than Jason could yell, Dude, what are you thinking?

Percy dropped Riptide. He gasped, clawing at his throat. The giant threw his weighted net and Percy collapsed to the floor, hopelessly entangled as the poison thickened around him.

"Let him go!" Jason's voice cracked with panic.

All Jason could see was Dante choking Akhlys, the anger in his eyes. It was a good thing he wasn't here. Dante kind of lost his mind when his friends were hurt.