Titans Wrath

Percy: Chapter 8

     The next few days flew by. I'd started to get the hang of my haywire senses, and training with them has proved to be incredible. Things I didn't notice before in my friends fighting styles were suddenly jumping out at me. I could see their individual muscles tense before they struck, hear the way their breathing changed over the clashing of swords. I hadn't laid eyes on Artemis since my first day with the hunters, apparently off doing some managing of her spheres of influence, but that changed on the 4th day since my arrival with the hunters. During a sparring session with Frank, someone cleared their throat as we were taking a water break. I looked up to see Artemis along with her hunters gathered at the entrance to the arena. I had lost my camp shirt at the beginning of the session for fear of having it cut to ribbons by Annabeths drakon bone sword, but if it bothered the hunters they didn't remark on it. "May I help you m'lady?" I asked out of curtesy, reaching over and grabbing my orange shirt and sliding it back over my head. 

     A ripple of murmurs passed through the hunters as Artemis stepped forward. I noticed now that most of the hunters had swords or long knives in their hands, Artemis herself wielding a thin bladed short sword. The blade was no more than an inch wide and curved like a scimitar. The sunlight glinted off its razor edge as she moved towards me. "We'll see about that. I understand you've been tasked with training your fellow Guardians. Am I safe in assuming that is going well?" I had to gulp back a knot of uneasiness in my throat as she stopped but a foot away from me.

     "I'd like to think so, yes. They're making excellent progress in their respective fields. Why do you ask?" The sentence barely had time to leave my mouth before her sword flashed so fast I couldn't track it. My instincts saved me before my brain had time to comprehend what was happening. In a clash, I parried her slice at my neck and punched her firm in the chest, knocking her back a few feet and giving me room to get into a defensive stance. She stumbled from the force of my fist but straightened, laughing. Her laugh was a clear, high sound, like wind chimes in the spring wind. 

     "Oh, this is going to be fun!" She exclaimed with a wild glint in her eyes I'd never seen before. I back peddled a step but she launched herself at me. Her blade was so thin and fast, I had to rely on my heightened senses to stay alive. She was so fast, faster than anyone I'd ever fought before, and striking with blows only a god could match the power of. Every hack and slash that I parried or blocked sent vibrations through my whole body, making my arms ache and forcing me to slowly back against the wall of the arena. 

     I heard cheers and yells coming from both the hunters and my friends, but I was forced to block out the sound and focus entirely on my opponent. She was fast, so very fast, and strong, but she was following a pattern. Her attacks were coming from her right side, trying to play off my non dominant hand, but she didn't know I could fight just as well with my left as well as my right hand. Her strikes were also going for the same area, always hitting for my upper chest or my neck, so she wasn't guarding low. 

     With an animalistic roar I dropped my stance, ducking under her next swing and swept her legs out from under her. A tearing sound filled the arena as she grabbed onto my shirt for balance but just ripped it off in her fall. She tried to scramble to her feet but I was already upon her, my combat boot stomping down on her sword arm and pinning her wrist to the ground, my other knee digging into her chest as Riptide dug into her neck. We were both breathing hard, our eyes locked and just staring at eachother before slowly but surely my hearing returned. My friends were cheering loudly and the hunters were clapping with disbelieving expressions on their faces. I looked around and let my muscles relax, tossing riptide and getting off of Artemis, holding my hand out to help her up. She grinned and took my hand, letting me pull her up. She turned to the hunters. "Girls, I think we found someone who might actually be able to match you in combat." 

     The cheer that rose from their ranks did not sit well with me. 

     Later that evening, Annabeth and I were in my tent at the hunters camp. We had just gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed. We were both in my bed, cuddling and talking aimlessly when their was a knock on the front post. After walking over and opening the flap, I was met with one of the hunters that had attacked me on my first day as Guardian. I couldn't remember her name off the top of my head, so I just stood there and waited for her to address her reasoning for being here. It was the archer who had continued to fire at me the whole fight, making things difficult. She looked up at me before glancing past me and seeing Annabeth in my bed, covered up. The huntress flushed red and stammered. 

     "I-If you're not 'o-occupied', dinner is r-ready and our lady has asked that you join us." I turned around in time to see Annabeth hide under the covers, equally flushed.

     "I'm surrounded by children." I sighed, calling over my shoulder before closing the tent flap and stepping out. "Let yourself out whenever you feel the need, be safe Wise Girl." In the 5 minute walk back to camp, the huntress kept looking over her shoulder at me, acting weird. As we approached the border of camp, the hairs on my arms stood up. I stopped in my tracks, my hand already reaching for Riptide in my pocket, too late.

     With speed only Hermes himself could match, my lead hit the ground and shouted, "NOW!" Even with my enhanced reflexes and speed, I wasn't able to pull my sword before a weighted net was thrown over me, forcing me to the ground. Silver flashes darted in and out of my vision through the thick rope of the netting. I struggled to get my hand to my pocket to use Riptide to cut through the netting, but a weight was already being put on my arm, holding it in place, and more weight being placed on my other limbs. Whispers flitted through the air, curses falling from lips all around me. I managed to rip my sword arm free and my fist connected with something hard. I heard a woman yell in pain but before I could make another scramble for my weapon, more weight was placed on my arm, twice as much as before. Through a gap in the netting, I saw someone standing over me. It was one of the older hunters, a daughter of Heracles if I remembered right, with arms as thick as tree trunks. We locked eyes as she raised her foot in the air, bringing it down on my head, and all I saw was black.