Last Shadow || Deception Book III

Chapter 18

A/N: Just wanted to put this warning here: This chapter is not canon. It's been a long time since I read the Battle of the Labyrinth and I honestly don't remember everything that happened so that's one part of it. Another part is the main battle that takes place when Kampê emerged from the Labyrinth. I just retconned it so Clarianna is the one who fights it instead of Percy Annabeth and Briares. Anyways, enjoy. 

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Pure chaos erupted into my ears as I emerged onto Zeus's Fist, still cloaked to avoid any unnecessary boulders flying in my direction. It seemed that I was a little late to the battle. Fuck, I'd spent way too much time talking with my siblings. I pushed that thought out of my mind. I'll worry about everything later when this battle is over, I thought. Right now, focus on the battle. My eyes scanned over the field intently. The fight had long since disintegrated into chaos, but I knew with almost 100% certainty that Chiron or whoever else had been in charge of formation had set up three main squadrons around the entrance to the Labyrinth in a rough semicircle. That was the one advantage they had, after all. It was a small opening, only about a few meters in width and sloping uphill. Any monster army that emerged had little choice on their direction of attack, and the waves that emerged had to be limited in size.

My eyes dropped towards the direct center facing the entrance to the Labyrinth. Sure enough, Chiron was there behind the main line, firing arrow after arrow into the dracaenae. My eyes flitted towards the trees around the clearing, confirming that the Apollo archers were indeed there. If the throng around the edge of the clearing was an indication, the Hermes cabin had set up traps to prevent the monsters from reaching deeper into camp, constraining their movements to the open clearing which made it easier for the archers to pick off and control. I switched my gaze back to the main battle, noting the grey banner by a white tent that marked it as the Athena kid's command tent. Good. I was sure that they had arranged for maximum enemy restraint on movement, and the rest of camp should be safe. Yet, I probably should still set up a barrier. I hesitated. Did I need to? Was it necessary? Sure, it was a precaution but...it was a lot of magic to ensconced this whole area in a barrier and that would only end up draining my reserves.

"Nicole, can you–"

I broke off. Fuck. She wasn't here with me.

No one was here with me.

I'd forgotten what fighting alone had felt like. There had always, always been someone at my back the last few years, be it Nicole, my brother, or–I shut down that train of thought before it could go any further even as a pang echoed through my chest.

Clarianna, you've fought alone before. There is nothing new about this, I told myself. Focus. Where was I most needed? Where was the defence the weakest? Where were the holes that the enemy could exploit?

Maybe I should set up that barrier. Given the current situation with the multitude of enemies continuously pouring from the tunnel, it was only a matter of time before something got by the limited defence in the chaos of battle. I let out a small sigh and reached deep down into myself, pulling up those shadows that had slumbered for so long. I could tell that my magic was restless. After nearly two years of silence, they'd had a taste of power in that raw eruption of magic between Kronos and myself, and they were eager for action. I almost shuddered at the raw hunger I felt within them. Had my magic always felt like this?

Hungry?

A frigid wind spread over the clearing as my barrier took form, a silent ripple that spread its slow darkness over the area. Sunlight filtered into grey. The air chilled. The sound of clanging shields and swords crashing against armour paused.

All eyes in the clearing turned to me as I threw away the shadows cloaking my figure and stepped out into the open.

My lips twitched as I met Chiron's relieved gaze from across the battlefield. "Sorry, I'm late."