Eye of Hecate

Jason

When my lance breaks, I know I'm dead.

The battle started well enough. My instincts kicked in, and my gut told me I've dueled opponents almost this big before. Size and strength equal slowness, so I just have to be quicker—pace myself, wear out my opponent, and avoid getting smashed or flame-broiled.

I roll away from the giant's first spear thrust and jab Enceladus in the ankle. My javelin manages to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor—the blood of immortals—trickles down the giant's clawed foot.

Enceladus bellows in pain and blasts me with fire. I scramble away, rolling behind the giant, and strike again behind his knee.

It goes on like that for seconds, minutes—it's hard to judge. I hear combat across the clearing—construction equipment grinding, fire roaring, monsters shouting, and rocks smashing into metal. I hear Leo, Ozzy, and Piper yelling defiantly, which means they're still alive. I try not to think about it. I can't afford to get distracted.

Enceladus's spear misses me by a millimeter. I keep dodging, but the ground sticks to my feet. Gaea is getting stronger, and the giant is getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he isn't dumb. He begins anticipating my moves, and my attacks are only annoying him, making him more enraged.

"I'm not some minor monster," Enceladus bellows. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little gold toothpick can't kill me, boy."

I don't waste energy replying. I'm already tired. The ground clings to my feet, making me feel like I weigh an extra hundred pounds. The air is full of smoke that burns my lungs. Fires roar around me, stoked by the winds, and the temperature is approaching the heat of an oven.

I raise my javelin to block the giant's next strike—a big mistake. Don't fight force with force, a voice chides me—the wolf Lupa, who told me that long ago. I manage to deflect the spear, but it grazes my shoulder, and my arm goes numb.

I back up, almost tripping over a burning log.

I have to delay—to keep the giant's attention fixed on me while my friends deal with the Earthborn and rescue Piper's dad. I can't fail.

I retreat, trying to lure the giant to the edge of the clearing. Enceladus can sense my weariness. The giant smiles, baring his fangs.

"The mighty Jason Grace," he taunts. "Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne."

My mind reels. I don't know these names, yet they make my skin tingle, as if my body remembers the pain my mind doesn't.

"What are you talking about?" I ask. I realize my mistake when Enceladus breathes fire.

Distracted, I move too slowly. The blast misses me, but heat blisters my back. I slam into the ground, my clothes smoldering. I'm blinded from ash and smoke, choking as I try to breathe.

I scramble back as the giant's spear cleaves the ground between my feet.

I manage to stand.

If I could only summon one good blast of lightning—but I'm already drained, and in this condition, the effort might kill me. I don't even know if electricity will harm the giant.

Death in battle is honorable, says Lupa's voice.

That's real comforting, I think.

One last try: I take a deep breath and charge.

Enceladus lets me approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, I fake a strike and roll between the giant's legs. I come up quickly, thrusting with all my might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipates the trick. He steps aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth is helping him move.

He sweeps his spear sideways, meets my javelin—and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shatters.

The explosion is hotter than the giant's breath, blinding me with golden light. The force knocks me off my feet and squeezes the breath out of me.

When I regain my focus, I'm sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stands at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction released so much energy, it blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. I'm not sure how I survived, but my clothes are steaming. I'm out of energy. I have no weapon. And Enceladus is still very much alive.

He goes to leap the crater, but gets knocked off his feet by an invisible force.

Ozzy marches past me, heading around the crater towards the giant. Her dark ponytail bounces as she walks, but even from a distance, her eyes are full of anger. She looks terrifying.

"Oz!" Leo warns.

If she hears him, she ignores it.

Enceladus sees her approaching and laughs. "Hah! And who might you be?"

"Osiria Kane," she says, twirling her staff. "Scribe of the House of Life, Magician of the Twenty First Nome, and Blood of the Pharaohs. Soon to be giant-slayer."

Enceladus gets back to his feet. "A magician?" He bellows in laughter. "I'm afraid pulling a rabbit out of a hat won't—"

He doesn't finish his sentence.

Ozzy hurls her staff, and it transforms midair, elongating and thickening, until it's a twenty-foot long serpent. The snake hits Enceladus with so much force, he topples over again. Ozzy grabs her axe out of thin air and keeps advancing on the giant.

He struggles for a moment, then tosses the snake off of himself. Ozzy's staff clatters into the dirt, twenty feet away.

But Enceladus was too slow. Ozzy has reached him now. A circle of blue follows her around as she slices her axe along the giant's inner thigh. He bellows in pain and swings his spear, but it bounces harmlessly off of her circle.

He breathes a column of flame at her, but Ozzy simply holds up her wand, and the fire cascades around her, leaving her untouched.

For a few moments, it looks like the giant has met his match. He can't manage to break through her circle, and Ozzy keeps attacking, one spell after another. Hieroglyphs flash in the air.

Ozzy dodges another strike from the giant, but in the half-second she's off balance, Enceladus slams the back of his hand against her protective bubble, and she goes flying. She lands about twenty feet away from me, back on our side of the crater. Even from so far away, I can see her grimace with pain. I'm surprised she's even still alive after hitting the ground with so much force.

I try to get up, but my legs are like lead. Enceladus roars with laughter. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigods."

Enceladus leaps the crater in a single bound, planting his feet on either side of Ozzy. The giant raises his spear, its tip hovering six feet over her chest. She tries to move, but clearly can't.

"And now," Enceladus says, "my first sacrifice to Gaea!"