Annais was the God among mortals, the death that came along with life. Now more than ever, she knew the cost of her existence, of what Hades had done when he chose to pursue her mother. Everything came down to her and the other Min girls; three who...
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CHAPTER TWENTY: IF YOU LEAVE ME
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KIDNAPPING A GODDESS WASN'T nearly as easy as Khione made it look. When Mel, Leo, Hazel and Frank returned from their quest with Nike wrapped in a net like a life-sized burrito, Annais immediately regretted deciding to take a nap. Nike had one of Frank's sweaty socks stuffed in her mouth (the poor Goddess -- Annais didn't say this lightly) and a square of duct-tape sealed over her lips for good measure. But even though her voice was silenced, her eyes were twin hurricanes that told Annais everything she needed to know.
Nike was fucking pissed.
Should she escape the makeshift prison in the stable she now shared with Arion (and Blackjack and Eddie, when they decided to pay them a visit), Annais had no doubt she'd obliterate the Argo II and the demigods on board with no remorse. The Goddess' Roman and Greek sides -- Nike and Victoria respectively -- had been locked into war as tensions only continued to rise. She was unable to determine who would be victorious in the end and her own morals had been lost in the haze of bloodlust.
When the four demigods tracked her down in a Temple of Zeus that used to be inhabited by an old statue of her -- and by provoking her to reveal herself by loudly declaring that Adidas shoes were better than Nike shoes! -- she quickly turned a challenge of her own against them. She dared the four demigods to fight to the death (was there any other way to fight?) Greeks against Romans, Mel and Leo against Hazel and Frank. When they refused (obviously) she sent four bronze statues Leo dubbed as the Nikettes to herd them into an arena.
Annais almost couldn't believe the master plan they came up with. Part of her wished she'd insisted on going in Mel's place but it worked out and Annais was impressed to hear that Mel played a role in overthrowing the Nikettes. While Hazel used her powers to control the underground tunnels, Mel and Frank tied up Nike like a lassoed pig while she shouted delirious curses and declared they would never get their hands on the Physician's Cure.
One of the seven was going to die. Supposedly, Nike had seen it.
So now Annais was helping Piper and Frank hunt down one of the ingredients, the Poison of Pylos.
Who would've thought that tracking down one of the deadliest poisons in existence would be so difficult? Certainly not Annais! Frank had asked her to accompany him as backup in defence while he invited Piper along as he thought her charmspeak might've been useful if they ran into his shape-shifting relatives. Annais decided not to question that. She was the last person who could talk about questionable relatives, and Frank made sure to emphasise they were a very distant relation!
As it turned out, Annais' sword was much more in demand. So far, they had slain a Laistrygonian ogre in the bakery and thoroughly destroyed the ovens in the process. The port of Pylos would not be getting fresh bread anytime soon. Then they battled a giant warthog in the public square and defeated a flock of Stymphalian birds with the help of some well-aimed vegetables from Piper's cornucopia. Annais was relieved to have Piper watching her back. The monstrous activity was constant and could've easily forced her and Frank into a corner.
