#1 Daughter of Hera: Rise of Tartarus

Chapter 2 - My Best Friend Kills Some Vampire Donkeys

That morning, Clarisse and Trisha fetched me at home. 

Clarisse was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a red t-shirt. Her combat boots matched her outfit perfectly, making her looked more intimidating than ever. She didn't bring her ball with her, instead she has a leather belt with a satchel around her waist that looked suspiciously like a scabbard. A handle of what looked like a knife or perhaps a dagger stuck out from the satchel but I just ignored it. 

Trisha was wearing a pink and red knee-length dress. Her brown sandals and gold heart necklace completed her outfit making her looked like she's ready to hit the catwalk. 

I wore an electric blue t-shirt, the same in color as my eyes, and a pair of jeans. I chose to wear my galaxy converse and the gold charm bracelet with an eagle and a peacock dangling from it which was given to me by Aunt Beryl a year ago. I kissed the triplet goodbye and we rode Trisha's car toward the mall.

The mall was pretty packed with people today. Summer sales and numerous new movies were on today. We watched a movie first before we scanned the shops. We dropped occasionally to restaurants for breaks. Hours passed easily as we spent the rest of the day in the game zone, challenging each another to play this and that. We've collected a number of tickets which we divided to exchange for prizes. We picked stuffed animals and gave to each another. Clarisse gave Trisha a cute white stuffed cat. Trisha gave me a pink stuffed bunny with a sky blue ribbon and a carrot which I gave the name, Carrot. In my turn, I gave Clarisse a pink stuffed pig whose eyes were the same color as hers.

Before we went home, Trisha pulled us to the comfort room to fix ourselves. Not before long, a group of five girls, dressed to kill in a fashion sense, entered the comfort room. I've noticed Clarisse tensed up. She kept glancing at the group as if waiting for them to lunge to us. She looked like she wanted to leave as soon as possible. I couldn't blame her. I'm feeling quite uneasy since those girls entered the comfort room. The hairs on my neck kept standing up and my senses told me danger. My instincts kept screaming RUN! 

But how can they be dangerous? Why I'm feeling fidgety when I don't know who they are and they don't know me? Even though they know me, which I doubt, why would they hurt us? 

My thoughts were shattered when I felt a tight squeeze on my arm. Clarisse whispered at me even though her eyes were still on the group of girls."Let's go. Now." 

Her voice was firm. It was not a suggestion. It's more of a command. I fixed my eyes on her and nodded. I tapped Trisha on the shoulder and mouthed the words. Let's go. Thankfully, she didn't ask why. She must be feeling the same because her eyes kept glancing at them. We were about to leave when one of the girls spoke up.

"I can smell half-bloods." 

Her voice came up with a hiss just like a snake. She focused her hating eyes on us. My heart thumped loudly in my chest. Her friends' eyes are also on us now and they are starting to walk toward us. I expected them to sneer at us or something that flirty girls usually do but instead one of them leaped toward us. There was a flash of bronze as the girl burst into a shower of golden dust. 

Before us stood Clarisse. A bronze dagger on her hand. The other girls hissed angrily and stepped back, their eyes fixed in pure hatred.

"A daughter of the war god!" One of them hissed. 

Clarisse pointed her dagger toward them and fixed her intimidating eyes on them."Don't dare step any closer, demons. Or I will send you to Tartarus the hard way." She warned. 

At that, their form shifted. Their skin turned pale as a corpse and their hair aflame. Their nails grew into talons and fangs appeared at their teeth. Each one of their feet turned into a donkey's leg while the other transformed into a metal prosthetic leg. They gnashed their teeth as they watched cautiously at the glinting bronze dagger. I covered my mouth with my hands to stifle a scream. Trisha gasped in horror as she held tightly on my arm.