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Of course, the left tunnel ended in a giant boulder. We skidded to a stop in front of it, everyone except Agro and I, panting hard. Lumbering footsteps and ragged breathing reverberated through the corridor behind us. I tuned into my superhuman vision, and it blurred forward, presenting me with the sight of a hideous, ogre-like creature.
"It's a Laistrygonian Giant chasing us," I announced.
"Sweet." Raiden cracked her knuckles. "I'll kick his butt."
"No!" said Annabeth quickly. "We need to keep moving; we don't have time for a fight."
"Fine," Raiden grunted.
"Agro," I said, "please move the boulder."
You got it, Chief, she barked, transforming into her giant carthorse form.
Agro surged forward and placed her front paws on the boulder. With a low, guttural noise similar to a grunt, she moved the boulder out of place.
Move it, people! barked Agro, and we all dashed past the boulder into a small room. I shapeshifted into an elephant and thrust my body weight against it. It moved easily back into the doorway, initiating a wail of frustration from the giant pursuing us.
"Well, that solves that problem," Percy said, as I transformed into myself. "And...oh no."
The opposite wall was lined with metal bars. Our tunnel had led us straight into a cell.
***
"What the Hades?" Annabeth pulled at the bars, but they refused to move.
Beyond them, we glimpsed rows of cells arranged in a circular formation around a shadowy courtyard—three levels of metal doors and catwalks.
"It's a prison." Raiden eyes darted around the room while her hands trembled. "Alcatraz."
"Wait, do you hear that?" Grover frowned.
We all listened closely. Sobbing reverberated throughout the corridors along with a raspy voice speaking in a language that sounded like rocks in a tumbler.
"Let's go through." Raiden easily parted the metal bars wide enough for us to step through individually.
We all passed through—a scent so revolting filled my nostrils that I nearly vomited.
"What is that smell?" Grover whimpered.
Kampê, Agro barked.
"What did she say?" Percy asked.
"Kampê," I clarified. "She said the smell is coming from Kampê."
Tyson retreated a step back, shaking from head to foot. We all glanced down and recoiled slightly at the sight of the monster across the courtyard, on the second-floor, balcony was Kampê. I'll admit, that even though I wasn't afraid of when I was fighting Atlas, I was a bit chilled when glimsping Kampê.
She resembled a centaur but with a woman's upper body. Instead of a horse's lower body, she had a dragon's form—over twenty feet in length, with black scales, massive claws, and a barbed tail. Below her waist, her legs seemed entangled in vines, but upon closer inspection, they were teeming with hundreds of vipers, constantly moving and searching. Her hair was a writhing mass of snakes akin to Medusa's. Strangest of all, at the juncture where the womanly part met the dragon aspect, her skin bubbled and shifted, sporadically sprouting animal heads—a fierce wolf, a bear, a lion—as though adorned with a belt of ever-changing creatures.
"She's horrible," said Annabeth. "Raiden, what are you doing?"
My best friend had her eyes closed while sweat trickled down her face. "Concentrating; just give me a minute."
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Twins of the Hunt - Book 4: The Labryinth
FanfictionThe trauma, pain, and anger left behind in the wake of Zade's and Zoë's death has left Ainsley Theron with a closed heart and a stoic face. She has vowed on then Styx to never leave the Hunt again. But, of course, since when have the Fates made life...
