Holy Water [Dean Winchester]

35: A Different Kind of Misery

"It's a trap," Annabeth said.

Akhlys cackled. "Didn't you expect me to betray you?"

"Yes," Annabeth and Persie said together.

"Well then, it was hardly a trap! More of an inevitability Misery is inevitable. Pain is–"

"Yeah, yeah," Persie cut her off. "Let's get to the fighting."

She drew Riptide, but like the rest of her body, the blade was made of a smoky mist. "Ah fu-"

The goddess's ruined mouth split into a grin. "Did I forget to mention? You are only mist now– a shadow before death. Perhaps if you had time, you could learn to control your new form. But you do not have time. Since you cannot touch me, I fear any fight with Misery will now be quite one-sided."

Akhlys's fingernails grew into talons.

Her jaw unhinged, and her teeth grew into yellow fangs.

Luckily Annabeth was with her. Persie's stupidity allowed for the goddess to get a slash in, sending burning pain throughout her chest as she let out a harsh groan.

Annabeth was better at moving than Persie, which was no surprise to her. The Daughter of Athena dove straight between the goddess's legs and somersaulted to her feet, and when the goddess turned and attacked again, Annabeth dodged once more.

As soon as the goddess actually made contact with Annabeth, Persie was stunned from her stillness.

"Hey, Happy!"

The goddess spun, dropping Annabeth's arm. "Happy?"

"Yeah!" She dodged a swipe at her head. "You're downright cheerful!"

She let out a scream.

"Pleasant!" Persie called, leading the goddess further from Annabeth. "Delightful!"

The goddess snarled. "I will kill you slowly! I will cut you into pieces as a sacrifice to Night!"

Persie saw Annabeth ruffling through her pack from the corner of her eye, and knew that any time she bought them would be another second that Annabeth could use to save their lives.

"Cuddly!" She yelled. "Fuzzy, warm, and huggable!"

"A slow death!" Akhlys screamed. "A death from a thousand poisons!"

She was not ready for poison ichor hat was flowing all around her, making the ground steam and the air burn. She fell to one knee.

Persie looked over at Annabeth. She wanted to tell her to run, but she couldn't speak.

"You will feed the eternal darkness," the goddess spoke. "You will die in the arms of Night!"

She was dimly aware of Annabeth shouting at the goddess, throwing random pieces of drakon jerky at the goddess.

But the poison kept pooling.

Little streams trickled from the plants as the venomous lake around her became wider and wider.

Lake.

Streams.

Water.

It might have been her brain being fried from the poison fumes, but she laughed. Poison was liquid. If it moved like water, it must be partially water.

She remembered extracting water from Jason's lungs back in Rome. If she could control that... then why not other liquids?

She glared at the poison flood that moved in on her on all sides. She concentrated, and could have sworn that something inside of her cracked... a crystal ball had shattered inside her, and warmth flowed.