The Lion Boy

The Lion Boy Part 22

Annabeth had tears pouring down her face. Percy's sobs racked his body and filled the room as he clung to Luke's body. Kronos's presence had left the room the minute Luke had been killed, Eris swiping the golden box he was contained in before taking her leave as well. Rheas face looked horrified, holding back tears of her own. A tattoo on her wrist was flashed as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. I was the same design Percy had drawn before the quest had started. She twisted it for a moment, before the lions appeared on the floor of the cave. They bounded over to Percy, onyx and ebony coats gleaming. They slowed when they came to a few feet away from Percy. Axi walked over slowly, bending down to nuzzle his head into Percy's shoulder. The mentioned son of Poseidon didn't even take time to register the fact that his beloved lions were back, he simply turned and threw his arms around the white creature.

Dynatos slid up next to him as well, curling his sleek shape around the boy. He sobbed into Axi's pelt. The rest of them turned away, leaving the poor boy in peace. Annabeth fleetingly debated going after him as well, but decided against it. There was time for that later. Thalia was passed out still, and everybody dreaded having to break the news that Luke was dead. Melinoe and Rhea conversed in the corner, as Annabeth just sat looking at the ground. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, she was still in shock. Honestly, she had thought the prophecy would apply to her, not Luke. The sly to become a slave to time? She was wily, as a child of Athena. Apparently it hadn't been enough. Percy had cried himself out by now, and was just laying with red rimmed eyes on his lions.

Dynatos had his head resting on Percy's back, while Percy's head laid on Axi's side. His silence was almost worse than the sobs. His eyes had returned to their normal sea green, but now they were murky with grief. He was still only a child, and to have one so young take the life of his best friend was crippling. His eyes started to flutter shut, and soon his soft sighs of sleep filled the room. The lions drifted off around him. Rhea glanced over at her champion.

"Your father will certainly have a shock in store for him once he realizes what Percy is capable of now. Hestia and I didn't plan for it to happen, but I believe his time with you as well is what sealed the deal." Melinoe nodded.

"I wonder what mother will say." Melinoe mused, thinking of the King and Queen of the Underworld. Annabeth interrupted the two of them by walking over, and with a shaky voice asked,

"When will be leaving?" The words were uttered quietly. She was still in half shock, and the inevitable tears had yet to come. Her grey orbs were filled with confusion, like she wasn't sure what had happened. Just a few words was all it would take for the dam to break, and her emotions to come surging to the surface. Melinoe turned, and held the side of Annabeth's face in her palm. She had a small smile, filled with sadness on her face.

"In the morning dear, you all need some time to rest." Annabeth nodded numbly, before she walked in a daze over to her best friend. She lay down next to him, her blonde curls trailing over his shoulder and onto the dark pelt of Dynatos. None of the already sleeping three stirred, and in no time at all Annabeth had joined them. Rhea had to look away.

"He was Percy's brother figure. To be the one to end it, taking somebody who meant so much to him... I don't know what it will do to him." She admitted, looking at Melinoe. The goddess of ghosts frowned.

"He's so small, and yet he already carries so many burdens. Thalia as well. It's a good thing she doesn't know about being the child of the prophecy yet." Melinoe grimaced. They were only children. "Still, it's only a matter of time." The two deities stood side by side throughout the night, watching over the demigods.

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Percy POV

I woke up the next morning, expecting to be covered in sand and with Bessy looming overhead as had become the usual. Instead, I was met with the comforting warmth that my lions had to offer. All of a sudden it came surging back. Luke, Kronos, Melinoe. I felt tears prick the back of my eyes, but shut them, forcing them back into hiding. Opening my eyelids again, I looked around. Rhea's cage, as well as the golden pedestal were gone. The steel one that had held us still remained in the corner, and I noted opening in the bars. I had done that, but how? A lilting voice snapped me out of my thoughts.