plague bringer - a heroes of olympus insert

𝗑𝗑𝗂. 𝖺𝗆 𝗂 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗇~ 𝗈𝗋 𝖺𝗆 𝗂 𝖺 𝖽𝗈𝗅𝗉𝗁𝗂𝗇~? (𝖺𝗆 𝗂 𝖺 𝖽𝗈𝗅𝗉𝗁𝗂𝗇~?)

Aria woke to the ship aggressively shifting and slamming into something else. She groaned as she stood up, a terrible feeling growing in her chest. Luckily she was a pretty light sleeper and her panic response kicked in, because she was ready to leap into action.

She quickly threw on a hoodie and ran up to the deck in her pjs, deciding that something bad was going on and there wasn't any time to waste. Aria was surprised by how right she was. A crew of half dolphin, half men were swarming the deck with Percy and Annbeth surrounded and Leo unconscious on the ground. She saw the couple look at her with wide eyes before the dolphin people shoved her towards them.

The final push launched her into Percy, almost sending the pair tumbling into the deck. "What on earth is happening?" Aria muttered, taking in the scene. The warrior dolphins didn't seem interested in killing them immediately, but had their spears ready to turn them into kabobs. They kept the three contained while more of their comrades flooded belowdecks and secured the hull. Aria could hear them breaking down the cabin doors, scuffling with her friends. Even if the other demigods hadn't been fast asleep, they wouldn't have stood a chance against so many.

Leo was dragged across the deck, half-conscious and groaning, and dumped on a pile of ropes. Aria winced at the sight. Below, the sounds of fighting tapered off. Either the others had been subdued or... or Aria refused to think about it.

On one side of the ring of spears, the dolphin warriors parted to let someone through. He appeared to be fully human, but from the way the dolphins fell back before him, he was clearly the leader. He was dressed in Greek combat armor—sandals, kilt, and greaves, a breastplate decorated with elaborate sea monster designs—and everything he wore was gold. Even his sword, a Greek blade like Aria's, was gold instead of bronze.

What really made Aria nervous was the guy's helmet. His visor was a full face mask fashioned like a gorgon's head—curved tusks, horrible features pinched into a snarl, and golden snake hair curling around the face. Aria hadn't met gorgons before, but the likeness felt good—a little too good for her taste.

Aria, Annabeth, and Percy turned so they were shoulder to shoulder, it was like they were a little triangle.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded. "What do you want?"

The golden warrior chuckled. With a flick of his blade, faster than Aria could follow, he smacked Riptide out of Percy's hand and sent it flying into the sea. Aria felt Percy stiffen and she felt panic seeping in. He'd been disarmed so easily and he was a fantastic fighter. This guy could cut her into pieces without a second thought, which was terrifying.

"Hello, brother." The golden warrior's voice was rich and velvety, with an exotic accent—Middle Eastern, maybe. "Always happy to rob a fellow son of Poseidon. I am Chrysaor, the Golden Sword. As for what I want..." He turned his metal mask toward Annabeth. "Well, that's easy. I want everything you have."

Aria's heart did jumping jacks while Chrysaor walked back and forth, inspecting them like prized cattle. A dozen of his dolphin-man warriors stayed in a ring around them, spears leveled at Aria's chest, while dozens more ransacked the ship, banging and crashing around belowdecks. One carried a box of ambrosia up the stairs. Another carried an armful of ballista bolts and a crate of Greek fire.

"Careful with that!" Annabeth warned. "It'll blow up both our ships."

"Ha!" Chrysaor said. "We know all about Greek fire, girl. Don't worry. We've been looting and pillaging ships on the Mare Nostrum for eons."

"Your accent sounds familiar," Percy said. "Have we met?"

"I haven't had the pleasure." Chrysaor's golden gorgon mask snarled at him, though it was impossible to tell what his real expression might be underneath. "But I've heard all about you, Percy Jackson. Oh, yes, the young man who saved Olympus. And his faithful sidekick, Annabeth Chase."