The Nature of a Demigod

Bull Fighting

I tightened my grip onto the horns, and tried hard to steer the bull in the correct direction. Eventually, I turned it toward the path I needed it to travel. The bull started bucking and hopped right over the sword.

My hand met the grip and I yanked it out of the ground, changing my hold on the handle. I sliced down, and one of the horn's went flying. The bull bucked at just the wrong time and I lost my hold on the other guy's sword. It clattered toward the ground and got stuck there.

The horn landed in my palm and that gave me another idea. The bull stopped bucking and started charging towards another pack of demigods.

I flourished the sharp horn in my palm and drove it into the bull's eye. Bullseye. Heh. Black oil squirted out past the horn all over the ground. As it neared the others, they scattered. I jumped off the top of the bull and onto the side, my feet planted just behind it's front legs, it's remaining horn my handle me off the ground.

I traced my fingers in the grass, feeling some energy flowing into my body. The grass died, and I grimaced. The energy hurt to take in, but I needed it. My weight, combined with that, I pulled the bull's horn towards the ground, steering it toward a particularly thick pine tree.

Prior to impact, I jumped off at the last moment and tumbled to the ground, smacking my back hard against a rock. The bull collided into the tree, letting out a horrid mechanical moan as the tree stopped it. The bull slammed to a halt, falling where it stood.

"I got it!" I laughed manically. "Ha! I got it!"

I did not get it.

The bull clanked to life, and turned to face me. It's face was dented and broken. The horn was driven further into that eye, and oil was leaking down onto the grass below. "Oh come on." I whined.

It started inching closer towards me. Granted, we were only inches apart to begin with. I started trying to back up, and the bull didn't stop moving. My back slid up the rock and I tried to hold onto my guts. The bull stamped it's feet and spat out some more smoke. It was darker than before, black like the night.

It opened up and prepared to spray fire at me. My breathing quickened, and my heart was working in overdrive to not explode. The bull's other eye suddenly was pierced with a short bronze blade. "Leave him alone!" Annabeth shouted.

The bull spun around, wildly, to face her. But it couldn't locate the source of the voice. It was blind, but it started spraying fire rapidly, narrowly missing both of us. She ducked, but the bull stayed on her.

The bull sprayed again. Annabeth lunged, clipped something and fell. She cried out. The bull looked down at the sound and reared up to fire again. I didn't have more than a second to react, but luckily, I'm pretty fast.

I sprinted towards her, lifting her up and getting out of the line of fire. The bull turned once more, spraying fire at the tree it rammed. The tree started groaning, and then it fell. Right onto the bull again. This time, it crashed to the ground, broken beyond repair. I started catching my breath, and looked down at Annabeth in my arms. She was breathing hard too. "You alright?" I sputtered.

Her face went red. She stammered. "Yeah. Yeah. I think I just twisted my ankle. We're uh... We're even now, right?" She asked. I tilted my head. I heard sparking coming from the still bull, but I didn't think much of it. "Yeah... I guess. But I saved you in Pennsylvania, then just now so- "

In an instant, a flash of light crept into the corners of my vision, and I felt a burst of heat. Time slowed to a halt. I turned to put my back towards the explosion coming from the bull and squeezed to protect the person I was holding onto.