Percy Jackson and the Adventures of A Sister

19. The Battle at Night

The day had finally come. It was the day the war would begin. The camps were prepared. Torches blazed in the entrances and the walls lighting up the night. Thor and the einherjar stood proudly with their armor glinting under the moon. Battle was nothing new for them. They had trained their entire life for a battle in which most of them would be wiped out. Behind the thousand vikings was the wall of New Olympus. Automatons stood on top of the walls. The demigods and legacies stood at the entrances. Nervousness hung in the air. Most of the demigods had found out about their heritage a mere six months ago. They may have been nervous, but that did not make them less determined. 

On the wall above the main entrance stood Andromeda. Dressed in armor made of imperial gold. Her swords strapped to her belt. She had a spear and a shield strapped to her back. She was talking to a woman who looked about 30. She was one of the twenty legacies who stood on top of the wall along with the automatons. This woman was the commander of the ranged defense. Her name was Belinda. After a few minutes Andromeda swiftly turned on her heel and walked toward the ladder on the inside. She had been awarded the title of praetor just after her brother had gone missing. 

Reyna always found the similarities between Andromeda and Hylla unnerving. Andromeda was a girl who would change personalities as quickly as Hylla could. Both of them would be cracking jokes, and a second later would be staring in a cold calculating manner at whoever they were talking to. Both of them had some kind of bad experience before they reached camp. Both the girls tended to discuss things like the best way to kill a drakon, or came up with new creative ways to deal with bullies, over a cup of coffee. Both of them had the habit of casually drawing their daggers and sharpening them when they were annoyed. Both of them were excellent leaders and warriors. 

Andromeda jumped off the ladder when she was 30 feet above ground. A normal mortal would have been killed if he or she fell from that height, but Andromeda merely rolled and came up standing in front of Reyna startling her out of her thoughts. "Reyna." Said Andromeda with a curt nod. "Praetor. What brings you here?" Asked Reyna. "Just passing by." Replied Andromeda. Over the last few months Reyna and Andromeda had become great friends. Andromeda chose not to join the warriors. Traveling was not her style. One could tell when the other had something on her mind. 

"What are you thinking about?" Asked Reyna. Andromeda sighed heavily. "I wish Percy was here. He would have been a great help." She said. Reyna nodded in agreement. Every single one of the original warriors had never fought a war without Percy at their side. After the Tartarus incident it was hard enough for them to be separated from their leader. Percy was Andromeda's brother. It may have been even harder for her. Suddenly the horn rang out signalling the start of the battle. Andromeda quickly ran to the entrance and took her place in the front lines. 

"Friends, this is the day we fight our worst enemy yet. Do not let that discourage you. These monsters think they can walk into our home and then threaten us. Let us remove that petty dream from their mind. FOR OUR HOME!" She shouted. A cheer rose among the demigod ranks, their former feeling of nervousness was gone. The monsters advanced. The Norse demigods attacked the giants. While the einherjar were occupied, the Greek monsters advanced. Belinda immediately ordered the automatons to aim for the drakons. The drakons may have been tough, but they were unable to deal with the onslaught of Greek fire. The hellhounds and centaurs stood in the back. They were going to attack last. 

The dracene were the first to reach the demigods. Apparently the plan was to weaken the demigods and then have the cyclops deal with them. The demigods locked their shield. Andromeda, Reyna and Will broke off from the phalanx and fought back to back among the crowd of monsters. All three were capable enough to deal with the dracene. Andromeda's swords blurred. She stabbed a dracene and at the same time decapitated three of them in a single swipe. This continued on for hours. Soon it was midnight. 

The fighters began tiring. Using the last of their strength they pushed forward and managed to gain a few meters. The line behind them moved forward. No one had died till now. The fighters leapt back a few feet, and at the same time the fighters behind them vaulted over their comrades using their spears to fling them up. Before the tired monsters could realize what had happened they were dealing with strong enemies who had not yet been tired by fighting the battle. This move was a really complex move. It took months to perfect and required a whole new level of synchronization to pull off. 

The wounded were treated. The monster army was half its original size. Andromeda and her friends leapt up over the demigod lines to return to the city. As they were soaring through the air, a stray spear hit Reyna's shoulder. The shock knocked her out and she ended up hitting the ground head first. Will rushed forward. A few of the medics ran towards them with a stretcher. "Take her to the infirmary. Andromeda come on." Said Will. Andromeda was staring shocked at Reyna's unconscious form. Fury overcame her face like a planet knocking aside asteroids. "Go on. I have a score to settle. Whoever hurt her will pay." She growled with rage filled eyes. 

Without waiting for an answer she vaulted over the fighting veterans and landed in front of them. Instead of returning her spear to her back she hurled it with as much force as she could muster towards a traitorous demigod. Many demigods did not even make it to camp. They simply joined Moros. It tore through the air and found its mark in the boy's chest. Percy had taught her many techniques that were known only to those of the sea. A few of them were even less known. Andromeda was the only demigod alive or dead to have learnt to use these powers. One of them was fueling her muscles with her divine magic. Andromeda began doing exactly this. This increased her strength greatly. 

This combined with the fact that she was making the spear move even faster using the water in the air, made sure it did not stop when it hit the boy. The spear came out the other side and hit a dracene in the stomach. She instantly burst into dust. The monsters stared at her, fear evident in their eyes. Suddenly the monsters at the front parted, revealing a young demigod. He gave Andromeda a cruel grin. "Enjoyed the little parting gift I gave your friend?" He said. 

With these words Mark Sherman sealed his own fate. He underestimated his foe. His objective was to make Andromeda sloppy with anger. Lady Tyche however, was not on his side. He would be meeting his master, who would not be in his human form, but in his true form. Doom. With a roar of fury. Andromeda charged. The foolish boy in front of her did not stand a chance. Her speed was enhanced so greatly, that by the time his hand was halfway to the hilt of his sword, Andromeda's swords were buried in his chest. She yanked her swords out and turned to the monsters after kicking the boy away. The monsters panicked and ran. Seeing their comrades flee, the rest of the monsters also fled. The first day of the war ended with the monsters retreating to their camp.