A Guardians Choice (Book 2 of the Guardian of the hunt)

Chapter 5

Dionysus POV

I panted, backing away from the fight to catch my breath.

As soon as we'd landed in Alaska, Menoetius had not hesitated to call on a mini army of Satyrs. My Satyrs. Except they had been twisted, brain-washed and turned to look like monsters. It turns out that they were not only food for the army, but they were also a large part of the army. The closest one to me was revolting to look at.

Charcoal black hooves, blood drenched fur and midnight black skin. Much like Menoetius, the skin would crack to reveal a glow of lava in place of where blood should be before closing. They were nearly impossible to kill. Nearly. Poseidon figured his water would be enough to weaken my old friends before slaughtering them where they stood, now he was in the air, dousing any Satyr within his reach. Grunting, I lifted my hands, summoning all of the power I could and going for the nearest Satyr, hitting them with a purple stream of light. Madness. It stopped, its left arm twitching as it began to turn crazy. It let out a strangled roar, turning to a Satyr a meter away from it and leaping on, ripping a chunk of its shoulder out with its bare teeth. It was a gruesome fight to witness but it had to be done. 

"Dionysus," Demeter cried, two Satyrs nearing her with sharp claw like fingers and ready to maul her to death. I growled, raising one hand to the sky and willing vines to capture them both and pull them into the ground. I had faith that after that, Hades would drive them deeper down, never to see the light of day again. "Nephew, there are too many Satyrs. They are yours are they not? Can't you control them?"

"I do not own them!" I snapped, fed up that people thought I just used them and took them for granted. Little did they know they were actually my companions. My friends. It pained me to see them like this. "I can only control them through madness."

"We must do something," She retorted, allowing a scythe - much like the one that Kronos had wielded except hers was a lot sharper and not cursed - to appear in her hands. She swiftly swiped left, cutting a Satyr in half and watching as my uncle drenched it. There was a sizzle and I knew it was dead.

"We must stop Menoetius," Athena answered, appearing next to them and pointing at a part of the large clearing they'd been taken too. Hephaestus, Zeus and Ares all fought against the Titan, still yet to overpower him. "How we do that though, I am unsure. He is too powerful with his Satyrs, and somehow he grows even more powerful with every second. It's like he's got an energy source somewhere, something that keeps healing him."

"What of Annabeth," I questioned, knowing that the traitor was still out there somewhere. Athena sighed, wiping some blood that trailed from her sturdy nose.

"Hermes still searches, though he fears she is already long gone," She grimly replied, shaking her head and watching as I willed more vines to take down another Satyr that unfortunately got too close. "The trail went cold about five miles north, into Alaska. Do you know what else is currently in Alaska?"

"...A doorway to Tartarus," I sighed, dragging my hand down my face. There was no way we were getting her now.

"I thought there was only one of those," Demeter piped in. I shook my head, knowing full well that there were in fact five. And much like the entrances to the Labyrinth, they were always moving.

"There's five," Athena answered. "One in New York in the Financial District, another in New Zealand, Alaska, London and also Russia. Currently anyway, it could be different tomorrow."

"We must not worry about that right now though," I interrupted, panic taking a firm hold as I glanced over at Menoetius. "Ares has just been decapitated."

Short I know, but the chapters involving Menoetius and the Gods will be short - it's Percy that I want to focus on