The Battle of The Labyrinth [Book Four]

Gladiator Fights.

((lmao I could have sworn I put this in the correct book last time I'm so sorry 😂😂))

"How could you lead us into this trap?" Annabeth demanded, glaring over at Rachel as she was held up in place by one of Luke's monsters, feet inches off the ground. 

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was in the same position, as was Percy, however with more guards pointing weapons at him to stop him from drawing Riptide.

"I didn't mean to!"

They had it all easy. Me on the other hand? Currently running in literal circles around the arena, my spear in my hands as I avoided the divebombs of my opponent; a Gryphon.  Part eagle and part lion, all danger. The back legs were lion paws, and the front two were a set of claws, talons outstretched for its prey. The majority of the body was that of a lion as well, aside from the front claws and the head, with a matching set of beady red eyes and a terrifying looking beak that was ready to tear me apart. The stands were filled with monsters, all roaring, cheering, and chanting, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" repeatedly.

They were filled with bloodlust, Antaeus was bellowing with laughter, Luke was watching with silent panic while clutching the armrests of his chair, and I was frantically defending against the monster before me.

"Come on, Reagan!" Percy cheered from his spot on the side of the arena.

The Gryphon let out another bloodthirsty screech, and instead of diving for the prey it landed on the ground meters in front of me, massive wings on display before they curled against the creature's back. Maybe if it wasn't trying to kill me, I would admire it as a beautiful wild animal. But as it stalked towards me, all I could see was a monster that wanted Scrambled Demigod. Steeling myself, I inhaled and exhaled to calm down and gripped my weapon in my hands tightly and stood my ground. It dived at me with the fluidity of a feline, pouncing at me with talons drawn. I rolled to it's left, my spear pressed against my body as I dodged. Growling through its beak ferociously, it twirled around and I jabbed at it. Letting out a pained wail, the Gryphon jumping away to get away from the weapon that had drawn blood. 

I give this snarky, confident grin. "Come on, charge me. You know you're hungry for some Half-Blood right about now," I mutter to myself, panting through my nose instead of my mouth.

It circled slowly, this time more cautious of me, and I didn't take my eyes off of it and circled it in turn. As a child of Ares, I was naturally adept in combat. It was like time slowed down for me, and I could see everything perfectly. The monster suddenly launched itself at me once more, and as I prepared to defend, it unfurled it's wings and took flight, almost taking my head off in the process.

"Yikes!"

The flapping of wings caught me off guard, blowing my hair awry and kicking up dirt in the process. Coughing and waving my hand in front of my face to clear the air, I wasn't prepared this time when it dive-bombed me. The Gryphon collided into me, and I was knocked flat on my back, knocking the air out of me. As it soars back into the air, I'm gasping for air and rolling to get back up, hands scrambling for my weapon that had fallen from my grasp. 

"Get up, Reagan!" Annabeth screams, and I can't help but tear my eyes away from the monster and look over towards her. 

Cursing softly in Greek, I grab my spear and stand up and face my enemy. As the Gryphon does a nosedive, I don't move and just stand there, readying myself. Like before, it thinks to push me back over, or worse, pierce me with it's talons. But before the long talons could even get close to my chest, I let out a scream and stab at the monster in the air. The bronze spearhead impales the monster in it's own chest instead, and it lets out this ear-splitting, agony filled screech. I wanted to drop my weapon and cover my ears.