orenda [leo valdez]

lxxvi. Never Rely on Apollo for a Plan

"You ready?" Thalia asked from beside her.

"Born ready, baby!"

They leapt into action together as soon as they saw the first monster.

The entire Waystation, every single person who had bunked there last night, was fighting. Kira caught Leo's eye on his bulldozer.

In the middle of the roundabout, on top of the fountain and surrounded by Cyclopes, Jimmy stood like an ancient war god, swinging a bronze weapon that resembled a double-wide hockey stick. Each sweep sent crackling tendrils of electricity through his enemies. Every hit disintegrated a Cyclops.

Thalia, from beside her, nocked an arrow and took off a blemmyae's head.

Kira twirled her sword nervously, she had never gone into a battle so unprepared or injured before, but it wouldn't be her last. She refused to go down in battle.

She charged with no hesitation to the nearest blemmyae, slicing it in half. The head slid and hit the ground. it slowly turned to dust.

Hunter Kowalski leaped from foe to foe, shooting down blemmyae, wolf-headed warriors, and wild centaurs with ease.

A Germani solider ran at her. She hesitated to fight a fellow demigod, as she always did. Her opponent showed no such thing. She side stepped his attack with his long sword, barely missing being sawed in half.

He ran at her again, and rolled behind him, slicing at the kink in his armour. He gasped, holding the bloody wound. He couldn't been older then fourteen, his eyes a deep blue, as if they had been drowned. His hair was masked by a pointed war helmet.

Kira slammed the hilt of her sword into his forehead, and he crumpled.

When she turned, she was cornered by three cyclops. They charged, but Kira just ducked and somersaulted under them. She held her torso, feeling her ribs aching.

She twirled her sword in her nondominant hand, glaring at her cast. Stupid blue cast.

The first lumbered towards her, and she stabbed at his knees. He howled, clutching his injury as dust spilled out. She struck again, striking his heart. He disintegrated before her eyes.

"My brother!" The other cyclops wailed. Kira felt a moment of guilt, but it was quickly masked when she remembered they are trying to kill her. She leapt onto the cyclops back, stabbing the back of his neck. He as well turned to dust. Kira went to do the same to the last cyclops, but this one was smaller, quicker, and smarter. As soon as she got close, he whacked her into a brick wall.

She cried out as soon as she felt the impact. Her body crumpled to the ground, pain blossoming quickly. Her ribs screamed in protest.

She gritted her teeth, trying to hold her own weight. She probably looked pathetic, one hit and she was knocked, but her injuries from the day before weighed her down.

Her eyes glittered with anger. She used the sword as a crutch, making her way to her feet. The Cyclops charged, but she ducked and stabbed his groin. He let out a moan of pain before being reduced to a pile of ash.

She breathed a relieved sigh, leaning against the wall. She only allowed herself to rest a few seconds before she jumped back into the fight.

She felt like she fought forever. Apollo and Meg took ages, and the Waystation was fighting as bravely as they could, but monsters kept coming. After two constant hours of fighting and exhaustion, something happened.

All the sudden, she felt a tremor in the ground. She recognized Commodus even if she had never seen him. His eyes were a brilliant blue, brown hair with a long beard, and he walked with the confidence that only a god had. All around him, monsters parted ways, and Commodus struck down any demigod in his path.