A Frozen Heart - Leo Valdez

20- Betrayal

:)

The room is chaotic. I feel as if I’m standing in the middle of a stampede with wild animals chasing one another, hungry for blood. Thick yellow dust comes up to my ankles, making it hard for me to move as I run around the Lobby, occasionally stepping over wounded demigods.

All around me, monsters and demigods fight. Hellhounds, Cyclops, Telekhines, Empousas, even a gorgon, slices their claws and bares their teeth.

I’m struck dumbfounded straight in the middle of the mayhem, barely even hearing the battle cries and screeches of the dying. How did this happen? I was so careful!

To my right, a familiar looking girl who I believe went to Camp Half-Blood, yells nasty words and taunts a Cyclops. Her sword is long and intimidating- she glows a rosy red. A blessing of Ares. The tough looking girl dodges a rock thrown from the Cyclops and slides underneath it’s legs, stabbing the beast in the thigh.

A squeak of panic escapes my lips but the girl doesn’t notice, she quickly moves on to the next monster. I quickly realize this fight isn’t going too well for the monsters. How can that be? Monsters are suppose to be the strong ones!

Occasional dirt falls from the ceiling and the pounding of things hitting the walls shakes the floor. Even though I anticipate Gaea to do something about this, it doesn’t even seem she notices. My foot stomps the ground. Atë had to be a distraction! She kept me with her to keep me from coming back and stopping the escape!

“You’re her!” A boy says behind me. I twirl around to face a young boy, probably around twelve. “You’re the betrayer.”

A scowl twists up on my face, my dagger raises high in the air and slams down on the boys forehead. It’s not until he crashes to the ground and I see no blood, when I realize I didn’t use the blade. I only used the hilt.

A demigod with a purple shirt slams into me, sending me crashing to the floor. An angry cry flies out my mouth as dust enters my eyes and throat. When I look up, Percy Jackson is standing in front of me.

Caught completely off guard, I struggle to stand, my burns stinging with every movement. The still wet blood on my hands causes the dust to stick to my palms. I wipe them on my body gauze.

“Chase,” Percy nods, bringing Riptide out in front of him in a defensive pose.

“How are you out?” I demand.

Percy smiles. “We’re the seven,” He says. “Plus we had a little help.”

As long as I’ve been at Camp Half-Blood, I’ve never met the son of Hades. People always described him as if a ghost- there were stories but no actually proof of the person itself. But here he is. Standing straight in front of me with his sword drawn.

“How did you get in here!”

“I have my ways,” Nico replies, taking a step forward.

Percy opens his mouth, but I don’t give him a chance to speak before bursting into action. My dagger swings towards Nico, aiming straight for his shoulder. Easily, he defends himself. His sword clangs into mine, swiftly he sends a strike at my stomach.

My face is back in the dust as I’ve ducked from the attack. “Urgh!” I yell, taking my dagger and slashing it across his ankles.

Nico moves a second too late. It was only a scratch, but my attack drew blood. I stand back up, breathing heavily. The air is thinner with all the demigods and monsters, making it almost impossible to breath. My lungs take in large gulps of air.

Sometime between the start of the fight, Percy got distracted by a gorgon. A couple of feet to the left, he stands in his own battle.

Nico charges back at me, his black sword long and intimidating. While I block his blow, Nico’s elbow slams into the side of my skull. Black dots splatter my vision, causing me to slam to the ground.