Amaurosis

XI: Spring Cleaning

Looming shadows strutted and sashayed across the dry desert. The clouds huddled above like a football team during a timeout, making all kinds of crazy shapes as the beaming light bounced through.

Humidity and warmth swirled through my hair, the wind whipping the loose strands around. Multiple times my eyes became victims to the tips of those sharp locks, but I couldn't feel any pain. No sharp prick or scratch, just a cold gush of air and uncomfortable itching.

Around me the demigods fought like crazy, swinging their blades in uncoordinated attacks, taking every chance they possibly could to catch their enemies off guard. That was a demigod's main power: distraction.

We were so good at it that it often worked on ourselves. We can get distracted doing pretty much anything from paintballing to cloud watching; from sword fighting to shoveling six-foot holes for our friends on quests-- speaking of which, I wonder where the campers were digging ours...

It's a really, really long list.

Each of them used their individual gifts in extraordinary ways: Leo throwing fire; Frank soared as a dragon, spitting the flames as Leo tossed them; Percy riding a whirlpool of endless swirling water as Jason pushed their opponents back with powerful gusts of wind; Hazel summoning rocks easy to trip over as Piper sat cross-legged beside a young oceanid, giving beauty tips and comparing nail color and skin combinations.

All of them were fighting to their bodies' capacity, to their mind's extent, but they were still losing. The enemy was simply too strong. Too large and overpowering.

One was male; the other was female. She had gorgeous, glowing long hair the color of wet sand and turquoise scales spotted her skin. Her fingers beheld the magic of fresh water, twirling it and bending its shape to her will as little fish swam around inside her bubbles, trying to escape.

She held whole rivers and streams in her bare palms. Her features were incredibly beautiful. Her legs, however, were a fascination of their own. Transforming constantly, her legs morphed from that of a tan, toned human to a glittering onyx tail. She balanced on a whirlpool of her own, keeping afloat as she drew her power from the wide spring.

He, on the other hand, was completely different. Being formed entirely of water, the titan left wet stains as he traveled across the gravel. His fists grew and shrunk at his command, the water doing anything he wished it to.

Dozens of arms jut from his waist, smashing and flooding on impact, and vine-like ropes of water wrapped the bottom half of his body. Dark blue veins of electricity and eels swam around in his near-transparent figure, and gleaming white pearls floated where his eyes should have been. Light blue flames rose and fell atop his skull and cyan mist oozed from his mouth.

I knew right away from my time alongside Titans that these beings were no strangers to the monster side. To my mother's side. In the mortal world, I believe such relatives are referred to as "first cousins, once-removed," but in our realm of gods and goddesses, they go by the names Oceanus and Tethys, children of Mother Earth and Father Sky.

I waded my way through the battle, trying my best to use anything to my advantage, but it felt as though I was walking through water. My limbs felt heavy and my resourceful mind shut down as if taking a nap. My eyes searched frantically for Nico, but he was nowhere to be found.

Usually, in these circumstances, he will not-so-heroically save me from whatever it is I'm about to be crushed by, but his annoyingly adorable, mocking face was nowhere in sight to tell me everything I was doing wrong and how awful of a person I was for thinking such actions were right.

Water crashed toward me as if in slow motion, the waves yelling and taunting at me, begging me to attack them with all my might, but I couldn't think straight nor move-- and not the typical paralyzed with fear kind of thing. I literally could not move. My arms and legs were filled with lead.