ENTRAPPED ₂

107

MADELEINE HATED BASILISKS. She remembered very vividly being chased by them up to Iris's quaint little shop. The only reason Percy, Hazel, and Madeleine had been able to get to safety was because of Frank. Basilisks were scared of weasels. Unfortunately, weasels couldn't breathe underwater.

A basilisk didn't look like much compared to other monsters Madeleine had faced. It was an arm-length serpent with yellow eyes and a white frill collar, but it moved fast and could kill anything with a touch. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to include Polybotes. A dozen were swimming around the giant's legs. The only good thing was that underwater, the basilisks wouldn't be able to breathe fire, but that wasn't the deadliest part about them by any means.

Two of the serpents shot toward 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.

Madeleine forgot that she couldn't breathe underwater without Jason's help. She surged forward, but Jason grabbed her shoulder.

"Hey!" he 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. 

Madeleine's heart was beginning to race in a sick, sick beat that she associated with panic attacks. The last time Percy had almost died in front of her, she had nearly murdered herself and Frank by causing parts of the earth to explode. She wasn't sure what she could do underwater, but she knew that they didn't need anymore chaos right now.

"Kymopoleia," Jason tried, stumbling a little over her name. "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 be a better offer, then?"

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. Madeleine swore at Jason, then swore in general.

Jason glanced up. He thrust up his sword, and 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 outward 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. 

Percy stood there, resolutely unharmed. Madeleine exhaled a soft, relieved laugh. They were going to be okay, bless Jason Grace.

"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 oily black water. Percy charged straight into it faster than Madeleine could scream at him not to.

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.

Madeleine's panic shot skyward again. Beneath Jason's and Madeleine's feet, the marble floor cracked.

"Let him go!" Jason demanded.

The giant chuckled. "Don't worry, son of Jupiter. Your friend will take a long time to die. After all the trouble he's caused me, I wouldn't dream of killing him quickly."