I drummed my blistered fingers on my scorched knee. One fun bit of knowledge I've learned: Chimera fires burns just as hot in Tartarus as in the mortal world.
I had begun my waking hours with running my hands along every inch of my smooth stone prison; not discovering a ledge anywhere.
My chest seared sharply as I'd examined the rock. I'd taken a look at it before starting my search and saw that it had turned a nasty shade of green. It reminded me of the time I'd first found out I was a demigod and Percy had gotten hit with Dr. Thorn's poisoned spike. I still remember it, because finding out I was a demigod was one of the best moments in my entire life. I know, finding out I was vulnerable to both humans and gods? Not always the best thing, but it made everything so....interesting. Then Bianca joined the Hunters...
"Come on, Paris," I glowered, kicking a small stone so that it launched into the air. Crap, I thought as I raced after it. I couldn't let it hit the ground, it would--thunk.
The noise wasn't what I was anticipating. It sounded like it landed on something made of hollowed out wood.
Suddenly, I heard a deep, rumbling growl and a loud hiss. I gulped and stepped back slowly. I wet my lips and waited. For a few seemingly endless seconds, nothing happened. Then, with a roar that nearly blasted me off of my feet, a massive plume of orange flames shot forth from the dark, illuminating a creature that was almost as terrifying at Dr. Thorn.
A lion's head, lips pulled back in a fierce snarl, a body that reminded me of Grover's, uh, hindquarters, would it be? and a huge snake tail. The scariest thing about it, was it's mane was covered in dried blood.
I was so distracted by its appearance, that the sudden heat of the flame hitting my right side startled me and made me shriek. The pain was so blinding, so intense, I could barely stand. I could feel my skin blistering and smell my hair burning. My clothes smoked and I smelled charred flesh; the scent made me dizzy. I hacked out a cough and the chimera stepped forward, I could hear its goat hooves clopping on the stone and knew I should get back. I tried to lift a foot, and was surprised to find it wouldn't move. "Not cool!" I choked out, the fumes of the smoke still clogging my lungs.
I tried wrenched my foot up, but it wouldn't act on command. Another blast of fire and I was on my knees, just ducking past the flame. I groped at my boot, and found that the rubber sole had melted into a puddle, which had already hardened. The cold of Tartarus was definitely working against me. I gripped Erebus in my none injured hand and attempted to cut my shoe loose. All I accomplished was creating a small crack in the now-solid rubber. I quickly slipped Erebus's blade under the tightly tied lace and slid my foot out of the leather. I dodged a stream of something that glistened a deadly purple. Poison.
I scrambled to the side, a puff of frozen breath escaping from between my lips as I rolled across the ground. I scurried onto my feet and threw Erebus at the monster, the blade lit up as another blaze flew over my head. Of course, the blade spun just to the left of the monster and fell to the ground with a deafening clatter that made my ears ring.
My stomach gave a massive, hungry rumble. "Not now," I glared and darted forward to retrieve my sword. Chimeras are supposed to be as smart as humans, but mine seemed a little dull. Maybe it was conked on the head by a hero too many times?
"Are you stupid, or do you just look it?" I asked. That brought on a ripping roar that was followed by a steady stream of poison. I whipped Erebus around and chopped off the beast's head, but not before my hand was hit with a few ounces of poison. Immediately, my skin seemed to boil, it smelled like pus and rot.
I gagged and held my hand away from my face. I knew enough about Chimeras to know that their poison would kill a victim in three hours. I was dead.
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A/N
Sorry the update was so short. Sorry that it took so long. I've been working on my other Percy Jackson fan fiction, The Golden Apple - The Tale of Luke Castellan's Quest.
I promise I'll get Chapter 13 up ASAP!
The Unicorn Lover
