Rising Heroes Book Four: The Sands of Ouroboros

Chapter Thirty-Two: Take Me Through the Night

Disclaimer: I don't own HOO or VE

Chapter Thirty-Two: Take Me Through the Night

A swirl of light, a whirlwind of color, and a moment later the demigods fell into a warzone. 

There was fighting all around them. Metal and marble statues were whacking a variety of monsters, from Cyclops to empousai to hellhounds. Half the demigods fell to the ground by the Empire State building, join a group of Hunters defending it, while the other half fell onto the middle of a bridge in the midst of a battle.

Adrian pulled Skye out of the way just before the Minotaur stomped on her. He watched as his father, Percy, chopped his battle-axe in half and then threw him over the side of the bridge. A group of enemy demigods ran towards them, and it was Skye's turn to drag Adrian out of the way.

"I think we're in the middle of the New York battle!" Skye shouted to him.

Adrian looked at her like she was crazy. "You think?"

Skye took stock of her surroundings. Their kids and younger siblings were gone- hopefully back to their own time- but the rest of them seemed to have split up. On the ground with her were Waverly, Maverick, Ryan, and Reid, all battling against the sudden attack. Thankfully none of them were injured. 

There was another assault, pushing Skye and Adrian into a fighting circle with Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth's eyes widened when she saw them. "You!" she shouted. "I recognize you!"

Percy looked equally confused, dropping his guard just as Ethan Nakamura lunged at them. Skye shouted as Annabeth jumped in the way of the blade, stopping it from hitting Percy's invulnerability spot with her own body. 

"Mom!" Adrian shouted before he could stop himself. 

Percy's look turned feral. "Get back!" he yelled, sweeping his sword back and forth. 

Kronos/Luke was on the other side of the bridge, along with... "Holy shi...." Skye started. "Adrian, that's Leviathan."

Adrian glanced over. "That's... that's not possible."

Suddenly Blackjack swooped down, scooping up Annabeth by her shoulder straps and carrying her off. Percy turned to the army. Adrian could see what he was thinking- there was no way they could face them right now. They needed to regroup. Before he could stop himself, Adrian took a giant step forward, yelling with all his might. A giant ripple of sounds erupted as an earthquake rocked the bridge, cracking the asphalt and shaking the troops. Percy plunged his sword into the concrete, causing huge geysers of water to burst forth and fully demolish the bridge. 

With the bridge destroyed, they started going back to the hotel, taking out hordes of monsters on the way. But most had retreated, going back to regroup with their master.

When they reached the hotel, Percy rushed off to Annabeth, and Skye was relieved to see Addie, Evan, Ciara, Dustin, Carmen, and Reid talking to Chiron. She followed Adrian over to them.

"I explained the situation to Chiron," Carmen said. "He helped us get back when we were stuck in the Battle of the Labyrinth."

"Yes," Chiron said. "Unfortunately, the Kronos Immortie has gone missing. Someone stole it from camp a week ago."

"So... how are we supposed to get back?" Evan asked. 

Suddenly Dustin cried out. He lifted his arm, which was shifting and turning transparent in the light. "Dustin!" Ciara yelped. 

"I... I don't understand," Dustin looked panicked. "What is happening?"

The rest of his arm started to turn invisible. "Who did you say your parents are again?" Chiron asked, his horse half skittering. 

"Clarisse LaRue and Chris Rodriguez," Dustin said. He tried to move his disappearing arm, but it was now gone up his shoulder. He yelped when he other hand and the tips of his combat boots started to disappear.

"Clarisse has been dead for days now," Chiron said. "She died in the Attack of the Tree."

"What?" Addie looked stricken. "What Attack? That never happened," she glanced at Ryan. "Right?"

"It didn't," Ryan confirmed. "At least not in our timeline."

"A force of exiles attacked along with monsters," Chiron said softly. "We had no defense. We had to evacuate camp and regroup here. Then Kronos attacked, and we've been trying to defend for the last 24 hours."

"You been in this hotel for weeks?" Adrian asked, shocked. "They... destroyed camp?"

"Five days, yes. We tried to reach out to the Grigori for help," Chiron said, "but no one responded."

"That doesn't make sense," Skye said. "They would have helped if they could. Something must have happened." 

"Has anyone else died?" Ryan asked.

"Nico d'Angelo," Chiron said. Ciara took a step back and put a hand over her mouth. "Travis and Connor Stoll. And I heard the Roman camp was demolished yesterday."

Waverly looked like she was trying not to cry. "When did they die?" she finally croaked.

"Two days ago," Chiron informed her.

"So the longer ago they died, the sooner we'll disappear," Skye concluded. "We have to go back in time and fix this."

"I have no idea where the Immortie went," Chiron said honestly. "It might have been stolen by a spy. It was gone right before the attack."

Dustin let out another cry. He was rapidly disappearing now, his whole midsection gone. Ciara reached for him but her fingers passed through his face as though he was made of smoke.

"We're going to fix this," she promised him. "I love you."

And then... he was gone.

Ciara let out a cry. Addie hugged her fiercely, and she collapsed in her arms. "We have to save him," she said.

"We will," Skye assured her. "But we have to find the Immortie first, and go back in time quickly, so we can fix everything before we all disappear."

"At least we know Adrian will be fine," Ryan said. "Right?"

But then there was a guttural scream from the upper level. Grover ran down and stairs and made a beeline for Chiron. 

"It's Annabeth," he said, crying. "She's dead."