The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 15: Run Away

      Annabeth took off her dagger and sheath, set them off to the side, and walked to the middle of the arena. Danny faced her and put up his fists, falling into a fighting stance; she did the same. Chiron stood a few yards away.

     "Remember," He said. "No killing or maiming. Fight fair, and if I say stop, you stop. Understood?"

      Danny and Annabeth nodded.

      Chiron nodded in return. "Very well. Begin!"

      Danny immediately stepped forward and aimed a kick at Annabeth's stomach. She grabbed his ankle and twisted it in an attempt to throw him off balance. Danny kicked free and used his momentum to power his next strike with his fist. Annabeth crouched to avoid it. She attempted to sweep Danny's legs out from underneath him, but Danny somersaulted over her head and landed behind her.

      Danny turned just in time to block Annabeth's foot as she tried to kick him from her crouched position. He sprung backwards to avoid her attack. Annabeth got to her feet and they started circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

      Seeing an opening, Danny leapt forward to punch Annabeth, but she caught his arm. She stepped forward and attempted to judo flip him over her shoulder, but Danny intangibly stuck his foot in the ground to keep himself in place. The force Annabeth put into trying to flip Danny knocked her off balance, allowing Danny a chance to free his arm.

      While Annabeth was unbalanced, Danny struck her in the side. Though winded, Annabeth managed to recover enough to throw her full weight into Danny and tackle him to the ground. They wrestled on the ground, both trying to gain the upper hand, until Chiron called an end to the fight.

      Danny and Annabeth took a moment to catch their breaths. Annabeth stood and held out a hand to help Danny up, which he gladly accepted.

      "Very well done, both of you." Chiron congratulated as he trotted forward. "Danny, have you by any chance been trained in martial arts?"

      "A bit. My mom taught me some moves for self-defense." Danny noticed that Annabeth hadn't let go of his hand yet. "Uh... can I have my hand back?" He said jokingly as he turned to face her.

      Annabeth stood frozen, staring at his arm—his right arm.

     Crap.

      Danny hadn't noticed, but while they had been sparring, his bandage had come loose and fallen off.

      "What in the name of the gods is this?!" Annabeth shouted, twisting Danny's arm to show him the mark. "Why does it say 'Death'?!"

      Danny didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her that he was Thanatos' apprentice, but what could he say that she would believe? Luckily, he was spared from answering by Chiron, who separated the two of them.

      "Annabeth, I am certain Danny has his reasons for hiding that from others." Chiron said in a calming voice.

      It had no effect on Annabeth.

      "Well, I'd like to hear them." Annabeth folded her arms and glared daggers at Danny. "Why even have it? Why would anyone have the name of the god of death tattooed on their arm? Why keep it hidden? What are-"

      "Look, I don't have to explain myself to anyone, least of all you." Danny snapped, interrupting her tirade. Before she could say anything else, he turned and stormed out of the arena.

      Danny heard Chiron and Annabeth calling after him, but ignored them in favor of running into the forest. He needed to be alone for a while. His only coherent thought upon reaching the tree line was to go somewhere safe, like Persephone's garden, or...

      As soon as that thought crossed Danny's mind, he found himself slipping into darkness.

      Danny felt wind whipping by him, like it was trying to pull him apart. He realized that he was in the same darkness that he went through whenever he shadow-traveled with Thanatos. As Danny's thoughts began to wander, he felt the wind increase, prickling like thousands of needles against his skin. He didn't know how he knew it, but he knew that if he stayed there any longer, he would become part of the shadows themselves and never return. Danny put all of his power and focus into thinking of Persephone's garden, and took a step forward.

      Danny stumbled out of the shadow of a pomegranate tree in Persephone's garden. He fell to his knees, exhausted. Who knew shadow-travel on your own could be so draining?

      Through the ringing in his ears, Danny heard someone calling out to him. Looking up, Danny saw Nico standing over him, pointing a black sword at his chest.

      "Who are you? How did you get here?" Nico demanded.

       Why... why is Nico being so aggressive? Danny wondered as he faded from consciousness.

{FYI: The bolds are intentional.

See y'all next week! :)}