Master of Death

Act 2 - Chapter 4

Percy came running up the hill after cleaning out the stalls. It was almost sunset and he needed to get back before nightfall. The deck was set up for a party. Streamers and balloons decorated the railing. Geryon was flipping burgers in a huge barbecue cooker made from an oil drum. Eurytion lounged at a picnic table, picking his fingernails with a knife. The two-headed dog, Orthus, sniffed the ribs and burgers that were frying on the grill.

He took all of this in within moments before his eyes settled on his friends. Tyson, Grover, Annabeth, and Nico were all tossed in a corner, tied up like rodeo animals, with their ankles and wrists roped together and their mouths gagged.

"Let them go!" Percy said, still out of breath from running so far uphill. "I cleaned the stables!"

Geryon turned. "Did you now? How'd you manage that?"

Percy told him, but only because his friends were still being held hostage. Percy could see that Nico was impressed, though Annabeth was glaring at him for some reason, which caused Nico to glare at her. It occurred to Percy that Nico knew why Annabeth was glaring and he disapproved.

Geryon nodded appreciatively. "Very ingenious. Though, it would have been better if you poisoned that pesky naiad."

"Let my friends go," Percy said firmly. "We had a deal."

"Ah, I've been thinking about that. See, the thing is, if I let them go, I don't get paid."

Percy scowled. "I should never have trusted you. You promised."

"But not on the Styx. When doing business, you should always make sure the oath is binding."

Percy drew Riptide.

Geryon eyed him warily as Orthus growled. "Eurytion, kill him."

Percy eyed the giant club the Son of Ares held. He didn't like his odds against him.

Eurytion looked at Percy before sitting back. "Kill him yourself."

Geryon raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Percy bit back his usual sarcastic comment and waited to see how the situation would play out.

"You heard me," Eurytion grumbled. "You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason and I'm tired of dying for you. If you want to kill the kid, do it yourself."

It was the most un-Ares-like thing Percy ever heard a child of Ares say.

Geryon threw down his spatula. "You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!"

"And who would take care of the cattle? Orthus, heel."

Orthus stopped growling at Nico and returned to Eurytion's side.

"Fine!" Geryon growled. "I'll deal with you later, after this boy is dead."

The fight began. Geryon threw two carving knives at Percy, who deflected one with his sword and dodged the other. Percy struck and Geryon parried with a pair of red-hot tongs. Percy stabbed him in the middle chest.

"Nice try, sonny," he said, "but the thing is, I've got three hearts! Quite a handy backup system."

He tipped over the barbecue cooker and the coals spilled all over the deck. One coal landed right beside Annabeth's face and she let out a muffled scream. Tyson strained against his bonds, but even his strength was not enough to break them.

Percy risked a glance river when he heard Annabeth's scream. They were all watching in fright, except for Nico. Nico merely watched with interest, as though he knew everything would be alright.

And it was. Just as Percy was about to make a frantic shot with a bow, three rib bones flew out of the ground and pierced Geryon's three hearts simultaneously. It was a display of immense control over his abilities, control that not even Percy had yet, and he had been training himself for years.

Percy rushed over and cut everyone free, ignoring Eurytion, who wasn't interested in killing them, even after his boss was slain. He thanked them, actually.

"Thanks, Perce," Nico said as he rubbed his raw wrists, glaring at Annabeth, who was giving both children of the Big Three dirty looks.

"I should be thanking you. That was epic. Who trained you? 'cause there's no way you got that good training yourself."

Nico smiled mysteriously. "I'll introduce you one day."

Accepting that answer, Percy was about to move on when Annabeth said, "It was Kronos wasn't it? You're the enemy!" She drew her dagger.

"Annabeth! Nico is not the enemy! He just saved us!" Percy defended, stepping in front of his cousin protectively.

She reluctantly backed down when Grover and Tyson also stepped in front of Nico. "Fine, but I don't trust him."

"I don't care if you trust me or not, Annabeth," Nico snapped. He turned to Percy. "Mind if I join you guys?"