The Demigod Games

Chapter Twenty-one

Thalia trembled at the sound of the cannon, blaring into her ears. She shuddered at the thought of the death possibly being her fault.

She couldn't control herself. Anger, resentment, despair, they all poured out of her in one inevitable reaction. She wished she hadn't done all she's done. It was the daughter of Neptune- Lara- who provoked her. Her name would bring nothing but furiousity to Thalia.

Thalia tucked her knees closer to her chest as she sat in the dark, alone. Only a few mere seconds after the canon sounded, a face appeared into the sky. Thalia never got to see it.

Standing above her was a row of white teeth and a deep orange nose? Thalia rolled to the side, fearing the unknown creature as it towered several feet above her. Fear struck into her heart when she discovered what exactly it was.

Fire spout out of its nostrils, nearly hitting Thalia. She felt the heat of the flames radiating over her body. Without a second thought, Thalia jumped to her feet and drew her dagger. The blade reflected the night of the moon, shining silver in the darkness. She wasted no time and threw the dagger directly into the drakon's heart.

Thalia watched in horror and confusion as the drakon raged on, unaffected by the deadly blow.

She had no other choice than to run, something she had learned to never do when she was a hunter. Hunters always stood their ground until they won. It was a concept of honor that kept them fighting until victory was achieved. All of those lessons Artemis had taught her lieutenant were out the window. Thalia ran as if her life depended upon it- and it did.

Her legs felt like bags of sand as she sprinted away. Her body felt heavy as she urged her feet to defy the laws of physics and go faster than a drakon ever could. Sand was kicked up with each stride, but Thalia didn't let anything stop her.

The drakon, of course, was much faster than Thalia could ever imagine. It caught up to her and prepared to burn her to ashes. Thalia dived to the side, expecting to be hit by wave of flames. She prayed to her father that the drakon wouldn't kill her.

She got her wish. An arrow spiraled out of nowhere and hit Thalia in the throat. She was dead instantly. A canon sounded once again. Thalia Grace was dead.

One daughter of Jupiter eliminated.

--

Edward struggled in the sand. He woke up to darkness, surprised that he even survived the night. His arm was completely healed, almost as if nothing had even happened.

He propped himself up, then watched faces appear after two canons sounded.

The first face to appear was the face of Hazel Levesque, a nonthreatening girl Edward vaguely remembered from training.

The next face was that of Thalia Grace. Her pale face and shortly cut black hair appeared in the sky. Her lips curled into a cocky grin. Edward was shocked that the daughter of Jupiter had died. He wondered what was the cause. She was a force to be reckoned with, but Edward smiled, glad that he had an even greater chance of winning.

The faces vanished.

Edward suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. The daughter of Neptune- Lara- had left him to die. She was ruthlessly planning to win. Edward was not by any means ready to let that happen.

He jerked himself to his feet and quickly found his axe emerged in the cool stream.

Edward swung it over his arm and began to walk towards the forested area. "I'm going to find you Lara," he hissed through his teeth. "I will kill you with my bare hands if I have to."

--

Piper and Leo were the first to discover the curse of the drakons. They discovered that the drakons could only be killed by either a daughter of son of a specific god. It was that difficult to figure out after Piper easily stabbed a pink drakon between the eyes, then watched it disintegrate.

"Why else would the drakon be pink?" Leo retorted, kicking some of the remaining dust aside.

Piper shrugged. "It makes sense, I suppose."

"Damn right it makes sense," Leo slipped a very small hammer out of his pocket. "Let's go find me an orange drakon."

It didn't take very long for them to find it. It was attacking the son of Minerva, spewing fire in every direction her tried to run. Fear was evident in the little boy's eyes. Maverick had never faced a challenge he couldn't defeat before. His entire life was flashing before his eyes, and he knew it was the end for him. He was going to die if it wasn't for Leo, who heroically tapped the drakon with his hammer, killing it all too easily.

Instead of thanking Leo and Piper for their kindness, Maverick attempted to shoot an arrow at Piper. She ducked and unsheathed her dagger, ready to strike the little bastard. He looked down, guilt appearing on his small face.

Leo and Piper relaxed, putting their weapons down and feeling sorry for him. Too late did they realize it was a huge mistake. Maverick had one of the fastest hands as well as one of the fastest mind in the arena.

He quickly plucked a nice out of his sleeve and threw it at Leo. It hit Leo right in the thigh, just above his knee. Leo's stance crumbled, he fell to back. Piper leant down to help him stand back up again.

As she assisted Leo in standing up, she glanced back at where Maverick once stood. Replacing his spot was another drakon, appearing to be smiling maliciously.