A STORM IS BREWING | PERCY JACKSON

Chapter One

Downhill. That was where the battle was going. Gaea had been put to sleep once again, however, it was at the cost of Leo's life. Despite her defeat, there was still a horde of monsters, each more determined to avenge their mistress than the last.

Arachne's children had joined the fight as well. There was a swarm of spiders across the battlefield, ranging from minuscule to the size of a dog. The smaller ones crawled across Percy's body, biting wherever there was visible skin. He wanted nothing more than to shake them off; the feather-light legs caused chills to run down his spine. Nonetheless, he couldn't afford the distraction. He was focused on the fight in front of him.

In his subconscious, he registered his friends falling in battle. Their unconscious bodies were quickly transported to the safe zone that the children of Apollo had managed to secure.

Eventually, he made his way to Annabeth, the only other member of the Seven still standing. They stood back to back, fighting the shrinking army of monsters. He had just impaled an empousa when Annabeth whirled around and stabbed a dracanae that was about to attack him.

"Just like the Titan War all over again," she called as she turned and continued fighting.

Percy's sword clashed with the shaft of another empousa's spear. He grunted as the force caused him to stumble, allowing the monster to slash his shoulder. He hissed in pain before responding, "You and I remember the Titan War very differently."

As much as he wanted to stay by Annabeth's side, the two were separated as the chaos of the battle continued. Time started to blur as Percy moved through the motions of each fight. Dodge, parry, thrust, repeat. His body was on autopilot as he moved through the legion of monsters. He found himself fighting beside Thalia and Nico. The trio moved like a hurricane, their unique powers complimenting each other, and decimating the monsters in their path.

The sun was setting as they faced the last monster on the battlefield, a drakon. Thalia called down a bolt of lightning while Percy summoned a wave, the familiar tug in his gut causing the drakon to be doused in water that puddled at its feet. Nico covered them in shadows, confusing the monster. The combination of water and lightning caused the drakon to be electrocuted and it spasmed as arcs of electricity traveled through its muscles.

The creature stumbled to its feet and trampled the ground as it tried to reorient itself. The cousins took advantage of the drakon's confusion and charged at it. Thalia was standing to the side of the monster's face, avoiding its poisonous breath as she clanged her spear to her shield. The loud noise disoriented the monster further, which proved to be fatal as Percy scaled up the side of its body, the bumps and ridges providing footholds for him to use. He drove the point of his sword into the soft part of the drakon's skull. The monster roared in pain and reared up, almost knocking Percy off. Nico, who had been standing on the other side of its head, took the opportunity to slide underneath of the drakon. His sword carved into the unprotected underbelly of the beast like a knife through warm butter.

The drakon dissolved into yellow powder, leaving its hard outer shell behind. Percy slid down the side of the shell as Nico crawled out from underneath it. Thalia was waiting for them as they finally caught their breath.

"We did it," Nico breathed before he collapsed to the ground. He was pale and his face was gaunt, skin stretching tightly across his face.

Thalia and Percy rushed to his side and picked him up, supporting his weight between the two of them. They were both worried about their cousin, who looked too close to death, even for a child of Hades. "What happened to him?" Thalia asked as they made their way to the infirmary.